Reflection Essay

The Project:

The biggest struggle I dealt with concerning the project was learning how to use video editing software. Once I figured it out though, there weren’t really any issues or struggles. When I watch the documentary, the part that makes me most proud is the ending. I think the last few shots in conjunction with the music are very powerful. If I could change any part of the documentary, I would try and focus it more instead of being such a broad overview. I think it accomplishes what it needs to as an overview, but I do think it could be better if it discussed more in depth on fewer topics.

In terms of responsibility for the documentary, everything was split very evenly, being that pretty much all of us did everything. I didn’t film at all, but I contributed a substantial amount to editing. Honestly, our group functioned in a way so that nearly everyone did nearly everything, once the group dynamic was established.

In the beginning of the project, I know that I was not as motivated as others in my group to contribute. I attribute this mostly to not making myself aware of how much time we needed to film and edit a documentary. Once I was made aware of this, I tried to promote a healthy group atmosphere by making my schedule known and being available as much as possible to the group. I really wish I had been more motivated in the beginning of the project, but I do feel as though my contributions through the rest of the project compensated for my shortcomings.

The Class:

           

            I do think my critical thinking skills were improved in this course. The blog responses engaged me differently than assignments have in the past and they were as mindless as I had first expected them to be. I ended up thinking a lot about them and having to put a lot of time and effort into them. I really enjoyed using different forms of media, rather than just essays. I think it is really important, especially as technology furthers, for people to be able to convey their thoughts through mediums other than papers. I think public speaking is really important, even though I’m not that good at it. One particular media we looked at that really stuck out to me was the art/photography projects about the death penalty. It was really cool to see ideas and opinions conveyed without the ideas and opinions actually being said.

            I really enjoyed the discussions that we had in class. I would have liked to have more of them. I wish that less of the class was devoted to the final project, but when the final project is a documentary, a lot of time is needed to be devoted to it, so I understand why we did it. I liked how you left the discussions up to the class and let them go in whatever direction they ended up going in. I really liked your style and found it really effective.

            I can’t really think of anything you should do to improve the class. I thought the class was very interesting and I had a lot of fun learning how to make a documentary. I really enjoyed the class and I wouldn’t change anything about it.

            

Born Into Coal

I found this documentary to be very interesting. Looking into the lives of coal miners and their families was very engaging and I really enjoyed the narrative of the film. I do believe that the camera work and editing of the film made it more riveting and engaging than it would have been otherwise.

One thing I really enjoyed about this film was the close up shots. When the camera was closed in on the face or fingernails of the miner and showed all the dirt and coal that was caked into them, it really conveyed that coal was the lifestyle there. One time I found this particularly effective was at the end when the father is at the beauty pageant, surrounded by glitz and glamour, but his fingernails are stained black with coal. I think this really shows that coal in ingrained in the culture of West Virginia.

Another thing I found particularly effective in this film in terms of close ups, was the comparison between the mothers hand, the fathers hands, and the daughters hands. Like I said before, the fathers hands were always dirty and covered in coal. The mother had clean hands, but her nails were't painted  and she wasn't wearing much jewelry. The daughter had a different manicure in every shot. The differences int he hands of the characters spoke volumes to me about how women are seen in a town where coal mining ("mans work") is the focus.

The film followed three different miners and their families, interviewing everyone. The story board was set up in a way that it would follow one family for a while, then switch to another, but connect the two in some way. There was also some shots that would follow a family member to an event, whether that be a doctors appointment or the beauty pageant.

This film was very effective, mostly because of the cinematography. The use of close ups was very powerful. Al together, I really enjoyed watching this documentary.

J.Crew vs. Old Navy

When comparing the websites for Old Navy and J.Crew there is a clear difference. They are targeted for different audiences and the visual rhetoric reveals that.

The J.Crew website is mostly colorless. It keeps a simple black and white theme through out the site, the only exception being the navy clothes. The font is sleek and black on a white background. The site is steam lined. For the most part, this website conveys a sense of style and being fashion forward. It is "classy" and understated. The website reflects the clothes that J.Crew sells. The purpose of the website is to advertise and sell the clothes they produce. This is done by making J.Crew seem stylish and sleek. They are targeting an audience that is looking to be fashionable, as well as a wealthier audience than the audience Old Navy targets. For the audience that they are targeting, J.Crew does a good job of conveying the style and exclusivity that J.Crew embodies.

The Old Navy website is quite different than the J.Crew website. While the J.Crew site was streamlined, sleek, and used minimal colors, the Old Navy website is full of different colors and patterns. This site gives more of a fun and exciting vibe. The colors are all bright like yellow, pink and light blue. Old Navy is targeting a less wealthy audience than J.Crew and doesn't give the vibe of exclusivity that J.Crew does. Old Navy is marketing to families, as there are many pictures of children as well as adults. For the audience that Old Navy is trying to reach, the rhetorical choices made are effective. The bright colors and patterns are attractive to children, and parents of children, and they give the idea of openness. In a way, Old Navy markets itself as the clothes of the people.

The differences between the Old Navy and the J.Crew website are extreme, which is surprising because they sell a lot of the same style of clothes. The main difference that governs almost everything about the two websites, is their audiences. While J.Crew is trying to market to the "elite," Old Navy is marketing to normal everyday people.

No Seconds vs. The Last Meals Project

I think that "The Last Meals Project" was more effective than the "No Seconds" website. I think that "Last Meals" focused more on the person eating the last meal, and "No Seconds" focused more on what exactly the meal was. Associating the meal with the person was more effective because it connected the two and made the person eating the last meal more visible. "Last Meals" also included information about what makes up a lethal injection as well as how much an executioner is paid to execute. This information makes it more real that someone is dying after eating the meal shown.

The color of the text on the two websites also has an effect. In "No Seconds," the text is black on a white background. The text on "Last Meals" is red on a white background. The red has more of an effect because it is reminiscent of blood.  The black on white gives a factual vibe that doesn't really give any emotion, while the red adds emotion and intensity to the page.

The photography in "No Seconds" is much more impactful than the images in "Last Meals." The focus of the "No Seconds" is more about the food than the person, and the way the food is presented shows this. The food (or lack of food) is made to be colorful and over the top. The colorful table cloths and serving dishes as well as the plethora of food contrast with the situation at hand. The photos juxtapose the dark idea of the death penalty and people committing serious crimes with a bounty of food and colorful place settings.

In "Last Meals," the focus is placed much more on the person. The person to be executed's picture is the majority of the the page. The photo's are grainy, low quality and black and white, which leads the viewer to look a little harder at the photo. There are smaller and less emphasized images of the last meal, but the main focus stays on the person. The "criminal" is humanized as their crimes are not described like they are in "No Seconds." Without knowing what the person in the photo has done to deserve the death penalty and subsequently a last meal, the viewer can feel for them a little more and sympathize.

The two pages are similar in many ways, but their focuses are different. "No Seconds" focuses on juxtaposing the two opposing ideas of a death sentence and the American tradition of choosing a last meal. "The Last Meals Project" focuses instead of those who have been given the death sentence and what they chose to eat. Both are effective, but I think that "The Last Meal Project" was more effective.

Speech Critique

I think that my speech could have been much better. It was clear that I was nervous and not as well rehearsed as I should have been. Using the flash cards that I made, caused me to lose focus on my physical appearance. I stood mostly stationary and awkwardly shifted my weight instead of using the energy I had in a productive way. I also talked very quickly and was under the time limit. Had I spoken slower and more concisely, I would have been within the time constraints. I know now that when I get nourvous I tend to play with my hair a lot, which can be very distracting. I think if I want to correct all of the issues of my speech, I should practice a lot more and try to be more comfortable in front of an audience.

Questions I Hate Answering:

As the youngest child and only girl in my family, I always get the questions about if my brothers beat me up, were mean to me, or if they are over protective. I absolutely hate getting these questions because honestly none of it is true. I have three older brothers ranging from one to four years older than me and for the majority of my life I’m pretty sure they were oblivious to my existence. I guess for a lot of people the thought of their older siblings not beating up on them would be a good thing, but I would’ve been happy with any form of acknowledgement. Now that we are all in or graduated from college, we are a lot closer and they have started to make fun of me, but for the majority of life, it was as though I didn’t exist to them.

Another question I hate answering is about my tattoo. It is on my foot, and in the winter out of view from everyone. In the summer though, it is on full display when I wear sandals. I don’t regret my tattoo at all, but sometimes I wish I had gotten it somewhere less visible because of how many times I get asked what it means, or if it hurt, or where I got it done. The meaning of it is long and personal and not something I can typically summarize in a sentence. Of course it hurt, it is a needle stabbing you repeatedly in the foot. Everyone always has an opinion on tattoos and are readily available to share their opinion whether you want it or not. When I first got it, I loved talking about it to whoever would listen, but now it is just part of my body. It’s like someone asking me about my toenails or a birthmark. The shininess of the tattoo had worn off and talking about it is the last thing I want to do.

TED Talk- Sally Kohn: Let's try emotional correctness

The speaker in this TED talk was Sally Kohn. I thought her speech was very effective, so much that I want to put into practice what she spoke about. It had a lot of really good things about her speech that, I believe, made it as effective as it was. Firstly, she came into the speech with a captivating hook. It began, “When I do my job, people hate me.” This start to the speech reels in the audience, making them ask, What is her job? Why does it evoke such strong feelings? Leaving these questions unanswered at first keeps the audience on the edge wanting more. Another thing that Sally Kohn does is give off a likable persona. Her humor and seriousness about the topic are balanced evenly so that it is clear that she believes in what she is saying. She has a light tone that backs up the words that she says.

The speed at which she talks in slow enough to understand what she is saying and to have time to really think about what she is saying, without be too slow. Her body language gives off confidence, without seeming cocky. The only problem with her appearances, is that her shirt is ill fitting, which I know doesn’t seem that important, but I was distracted at some points by it. But maybe that’s just me.
One thing I think her speech could have used was visuals. The speech was short and didn’t contain any statistics to display, but I think some of her points that she made could have been reinforced had they been in writing.  

Overall, I think it was a really well done speech both in content and delivery.

Detroit vs. Everyone

I have never seen Detroit as anything other than a dirty, run down city. But I have never been to Detroit, and I have absolutely nothing to base any belief I have of the city on. This article really reeled me in with its introduction. They way all of the authors, and my own, misgivings about Detroit were immediately shown to be true until they were shortly there after negated. It’s so common for people to believe the worst in things, whether it is a person or a city. After reading this article, I have gained a new perspective on a city that previously I’d assume would keep declining until there was nothing left of it.

I am a big fan of the state of Michigan. Every summer of my life I have gone to a summer camp on the western coast on Lake Michigan. I have biked across the state of Michigan more times than most. I would venture to say that it is my favorite place in the entire world and it’s hard for me to believe that there is a more beautiful sunset than the one that falls over the lake. Having these strong feeling about Michigan makes it hard for me to believe that just 250 miles away is America’s dump of a city, Detroit. Compared to the rolling dunes and sparkling lakes of the western Michigan summer, Detroit is somewhat of a joke to all of us at the camp. We all think, why on earth would anyone want to be there, when they could be here?

All this being said, It’s clear my view of Detroit had been skewed. Instead of the grime-covered concrete jungle I had conjured up in my head, Detroit has splashes of greenery, beautiful and colorful art lining unexpected places, and expansive parks. Detroit has been given a label that it doesn’t deserve. With an underlying sense of sadness to everything, maybe from being known as a failing city, Detroit is beautiful for all that can get past the preconceived judgments and take a look.

Bodies of 2013

Bodies are important in the society that we are living in now. As unfortunate, or fortunate as some people may see this, it is the truth. Our bodies govern the way we move, the way we dress, and the way we are perceived by others. Some would argue that the reason so much emphasis is put on the human body is because of the American culture and the stars that feed it, while others would say that it is just human nature and survival of the fittest that has us focus in on bodies.

I think it is really interesting that the writer of the article, “My Bodies of the Year,” viewed the year of 2013 as one that transformed from beauty to angst. Obviously with the loss of the author’s mother, 2013 was not a good year for him, but for me it was quite the opposite. 2013, instead, moved me from angst to beauty, or rather the angst of high school to the beauty (or freedom) of college.

Morris, the author, uses countless examples from the pop culture of today to show this shift from beauty to angst. One of the author’s examples comes from Katy Perry, and proposes the potential for the shift coming from people tiring of beauty. I think this is particularly interesting. Culture is not stagnant, and the likes and dislikes of a population will not, and for that matter cannot, stay the same. The ebb and flow of styles through the decades illustrates this idea. Innovation and doing something different is constantly rewarded. Anything that isn’t innovated is left behind, like a toy being abandoned by a child when they receive a new one. In my opinion, people don’t tire of styles or fads or even body shapes; they get distracted by the next new thing.

I think that bodies have and will always be important. Ten years ago, maybe eating disorders weren’t as much as a problem, and maybe people weren’t talking about them as much as they are now, but I believe they were just as important. I think talking about bodies and changing our bodies and telling others to change their bodies has become more widely accepted than it was ten years ago, but I would bet everyone was thinking it in 2004, afraid to say anything. Before you hear a single word or know a single fact about someone, you’ve already made a judgment on someone based on their body. As superficial as that may seem, I think that is what makes the importance of bodies on society timeless.