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.