KATHY
Writing Assignment #1: Defining Terms For Ourselves
Neighborhood: The area where you live in and take part of everyday . The surroundings of your home or block ; like local stores , laundry mats, and supermarkets. The place your currently living or grew up in .
Community: The people who live in your same area. Like neighbors who you know , socialize , or just see on a daily basis in your neighborhood. The people you live around and are surrounded by .
Nature: parks , environment, forest , mountains , and lakes . places that are flourished with plants and wildlife .
Environment: The surroundings or conditions in which a person lives and or operates. The general mood or tone of the setting that is around you, in the place you're in .Also the outdoors , nature , the world .
Community: The people who live in your same area. Like neighbors who you know , socialize , or just see on a daily basis in your neighborhood. The people you live around and are surrounded by .
Nature: parks , environment, forest , mountains , and lakes . places that are flourished with plants and wildlife .
Environment: The surroundings or conditions in which a person lives and or operates. The general mood or tone of the setting that is around you, in the place you're in .Also the outdoors , nature , the world .
Growing up I had a wonderful childhood in my neighborhood. My neighborhood had a strong sense of community and trust. Everyone was friendly. Very frequently ,when the weather was nice, everyone would get together to have BBQs and enjoy small talk. While all the kids from my community and I played in the pompa; which was the neighborhoods fire hydrant (yes , this was very Spanish I know, but the pomp helped shaped my childhood). It provided me with wonderful memories and security. This important because it represents the fun and good memories it created ,bring everyone together. This was traditional, and while still a bit getto, I embraced it because something so simple as a fire hydrant took all of our problems away. My community was predominantly Spanish- Dominicans and Retoricans and-like me, along with african americans and very little Arabs. Everyone easily connected because we had common life styles within our culture. This made it that much easier to relate and communicate. Everyone was very hospitable and humble ,but as the years went by things got really bad and real fast. As time went by things starred changing, homeless shelters were build and a lot of renovations were done. Parks I spent time in were turned in buildings and spanish stores became delis. This stripped me of what I new as my environment , also what I had associated with culture and home.
Currently my relationship in connection to all of these terms are very limited because they all connect to one another. I am limited to these terms/ideas because of the area and current neighborhood that I live in,which is no longer safe. Nowadays my neighborhood is full of violence, I feel it will never be the same. It's not a good environment to live in. Hangout outside is no longer something I enjoy doing. Among the small percentage of family's and hard working people my neighborhood is infested with crack heads and drug dealers. Which are part of my small community and the reason for its lack of communication and involvement. I have very little interaction or connection to my neighborhood now. I no longer enjoy the outdoors in my neighborhood, I stay home with in the four walls of my room, listening to music or watching TV.
How do you see yourself in these various places ?
I used to ,but I currently don't because of the lack of interaction and involvement I have with my neighborhood ,community , and environment .I no longer recognize my neighborhood or community for that matter. I'm not part of the problem nor the solution or maybe because I am not part of the problem am I part of the solution ? Even thought things have changed ,sadly ,in a negative way , this is where I grew up. So, essentially this is all a part of me and how I am as a person. NOT who I am as a person. However, I no longer associate myself with my neighborhood I will never deny where I come from because it shaped who I am.
It's so frustrating how these places have influenced my character and demeanor. I constantly have to keep an open eye ,be alert , and aware of my surroundings. This is just for my well being because anything can happen at any giving moment. I hate the fact that I have to be cautious of keeping track of what time it is because past certain times I have to make sure certain things are done, or not done. My guard remains up at all times not only in my neighborhood but just in general. This is how currently living in my changed neighborhood has also changed me , or things I do .
Currently my relationship in connection to all of these terms are very limited because they all connect to one another. I am limited to these terms/ideas because of the area and current neighborhood that I live in,which is no longer safe. Nowadays my neighborhood is full of violence, I feel it will never be the same. It's not a good environment to live in. Hangout outside is no longer something I enjoy doing. Among the small percentage of family's and hard working people my neighborhood is infested with crack heads and drug dealers. Which are part of my small community and the reason for its lack of communication and involvement. I have very little interaction or connection to my neighborhood now. I no longer enjoy the outdoors in my neighborhood, I stay home with in the four walls of my room, listening to music or watching TV.
How do you see yourself in these various places ?
I used to ,but I currently don't because of the lack of interaction and involvement I have with my neighborhood ,community , and environment .I no longer recognize my neighborhood or community for that matter. I'm not part of the problem nor the solution or maybe because I am not part of the problem am I part of the solution ? Even thought things have changed ,sadly ,in a negative way , this is where I grew up. So, essentially this is all a part of me and how I am as a person. NOT who I am as a person. However, I no longer associate myself with my neighborhood I will never deny where I come from because it shaped who I am.
It's so frustrating how these places have influenced my character and demeanor. I constantly have to keep an open eye ,be alert , and aware of my surroundings. This is just for my well being because anything can happen at any giving moment. I hate the fact that I have to be cautious of keeping track of what time it is because past certain times I have to make sure certain things are done, or not done. My guard remains up at all times not only in my neighborhood but just in general. This is how currently living in my changed neighborhood has also changed me , or things I do .
Reflection Assignment #2 : Mental Mapping Reflection
PARAGRAPH 1:
The mental mapping process has made me realize how I perceive my neighborhood, as well as the people within my community, and why. It gave me an over view of my childhood experience and the current one. Between these two different time periods in my life things have negatively change. This why I no longer associate myself with my community. The increase of violence has given me no other option but to disconnect myself, from what help mold me as a person. This process also evoked me to think deeper about my neighborhood, in positive and negative aspects. For example I never noticed how my neighborhood doesn't have any trashcans, like there are on every corner of Manhattan. This makes me ask myself, why is this? I think this is important because it shows how my community lacks certain essential accommodations ,like trash cans. Thus enabling my community to resort to the water drain as a trash can. This shows my communities unjustifiable adaptation, to our situation. Why do we have to make due of what we have because of the things we lack? My community changed the water drains purpose for basic needs. Leading me to conclude that the interaction that happens in certain places is greatly influenced by the surroundings and the environment, that a person is a part of. These actions don't associate with the norm in other places, but is that because norms are different for boroughs or people? Or is it the certain attractions that boroughs have ,which appeals to an affluent aduence. The yankee stadium is in 161 and even there I notice different accommodations-movies,parks,food courts,police stations-, yet its still in the bronx.I would share my personal map with kids from the bronx,as well as different boroughs:this will allow me to compare and contrast my situation to theirs ,also provide answers to my questions.
PARAGRAPH 2:
My over all thought is that I no longer want to be a part of my neighborhood because I don't consider it my neighborhood. The violence has limited the interaction that I have in my community. It gets hard for me to understand what went wrong? How things went wrong? How and why did my neighborhood change in this way? Personally what was beneficially for me was getting to recap on a time when things were different and better. Im happy to say that my neighborhood was not always bad. This process gave me a chance to go back and remember what I used to love about my neighborhood, even thought things were not always good I learned to make do with what I had ;at the moment everything was more then enough. I loved it all: The loud spanish music ,playing out from peoples windows on sundays ,seeing all the flags hanging outside of people doors or fire escapes , the smell of spanish food in the air ,talking to old spanish clerks ,knowing and loving everyone . These things were hard for me to express to my group because I felt a bit ashamed of my circumstance, but once I focused on the positive aspects of my neighborhood a little spanish girl bursted right out of me. I became so happily overwhelm with the memories of my childhood that my current situation flew out the window. To me my neighborhood no longer exists but I will never forget it !!
The mental mapping process has made me realize how I perceive my neighborhood, as well as the people within my community, and why. It gave me an over view of my childhood experience and the current one. Between these two different time periods in my life things have negatively change. This why I no longer associate myself with my community. The increase of violence has given me no other option but to disconnect myself, from what help mold me as a person. This process also evoked me to think deeper about my neighborhood, in positive and negative aspects. For example I never noticed how my neighborhood doesn't have any trashcans, like there are on every corner of Manhattan. This makes me ask myself, why is this? I think this is important because it shows how my community lacks certain essential accommodations ,like trash cans. Thus enabling my community to resort to the water drain as a trash can. This shows my communities unjustifiable adaptation, to our situation. Why do we have to make due of what we have because of the things we lack? My community changed the water drains purpose for basic needs. Leading me to conclude that the interaction that happens in certain places is greatly influenced by the surroundings and the environment, that a person is a part of. These actions don't associate with the norm in other places, but is that because norms are different for boroughs or people? Or is it the certain attractions that boroughs have ,which appeals to an affluent aduence. The yankee stadium is in 161 and even there I notice different accommodations-movies,parks,food courts,police stations-, yet its still in the bronx.I would share my personal map with kids from the bronx,as well as different boroughs:this will allow me to compare and contrast my situation to theirs ,also provide answers to my questions.
PARAGRAPH 2:
My over all thought is that I no longer want to be a part of my neighborhood because I don't consider it my neighborhood. The violence has limited the interaction that I have in my community. It gets hard for me to understand what went wrong? How things went wrong? How and why did my neighborhood change in this way? Personally what was beneficially for me was getting to recap on a time when things were different and better. Im happy to say that my neighborhood was not always bad. This process gave me a chance to go back and remember what I used to love about my neighborhood, even thought things were not always good I learned to make do with what I had ;at the moment everything was more then enough. I loved it all: The loud spanish music ,playing out from peoples windows on sundays ,seeing all the flags hanging outside of people doors or fire escapes , the smell of spanish food in the air ,talking to old spanish clerks ,knowing and loving everyone . These things were hard for me to express to my group because I felt a bit ashamed of my circumstance, but once I focused on the positive aspects of my neighborhood a little spanish girl bursted right out of me. I became so happily overwhelm with the memories of my childhood that my current situation flew out the window. To me my neighborhood no longer exists but I will never forget it !!
Data Assignment #3 : Advertisements In Our Environment
AD BUSTERS
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection: The advertisement images above come from all different places.I encountered most of these advertisement on my commute from school to my house:on bus stops, train stations ,and phone booths. Other images came from magazines that I had laying around my house, also from my phone, when Im on social networks. A few advertisements came from my TV screen during infomercials.
Data Analysis
Content Analysis:Once I gathered my advertisement images I decided to analyze them by creating general themes, that appeared within the advertisement . Some of these reoccurring themes were: fashion, foods,famous people ,gender,money, entertainment,etc.. Once I had all my themes I counted how frequently these themes reappeared in each advertisement. Since the purpose of an advertisement is to convince consumers to buy something, I pinpointed my fouces on how this was VISUALLY done, what was visually bold or very visible in all these advertisements.I payed less attention to what was being advertised and more on how it was being done, weather through categories of visual images,used words, or message that were use to communicate with consumers.
Critical Discourse Analysis:
I selected an ad that was from banana republic to investigate more deeply and critically, which i saw on the corner of the school block . I chose to analyze this ad to see how exactly banana republic choses to metaphorically speak to consumers ,visually.The visual image is of a famous model who is wearing a white banana republic coat along with some accessories.I thought it would be interesting to critically analyze the reasons behind the design of the ad, why model? why a women ? why a model with dark skin to advertise white clothing ?why on a pone booth? why in this area?
Data Collection: The advertisement images above come from all different places.I encountered most of these advertisement on my commute from school to my house:on bus stops, train stations ,and phone booths. Other images came from magazines that I had laying around my house, also from my phone, when Im on social networks. A few advertisements came from my TV screen during infomercials.
Data Analysis
Content Analysis:Once I gathered my advertisement images I decided to analyze them by creating general themes, that appeared within the advertisement . Some of these reoccurring themes were: fashion, foods,famous people ,gender,money, entertainment,etc.. Once I had all my themes I counted how frequently these themes reappeared in each advertisement. Since the purpose of an advertisement is to convince consumers to buy something, I pinpointed my fouces on how this was VISUALLY done, what was visually bold or very visible in all these advertisements.I payed less attention to what was being advertised and more on how it was being done, weather through categories of visual images,used words, or message that were use to communicate with consumers.
Critical Discourse Analysis:
I selected an ad that was from banana republic to investigate more deeply and critically, which i saw on the corner of the school block . I chose to analyze this ad to see how exactly banana republic choses to metaphorically speak to consumers ,visually.The visual image is of a famous model who is wearing a white banana republic coat along with some accessories.I thought it would be interesting to critically analyze the reasons behind the design of the ad, why model? why a women ? why a model with dark skin to advertise white clothing ?why on a pone booth? why in this area?
Date and charts
Content Analysis: When collecting my visual data I noticed how these advertisements DREW in consumers ,which was mainly throughout the popular (most common)themes of gender , fashion , entertainment ,and famous people. Most of these ads contained a high percentage of females and their body parts or features (witch makes me question ...are ads trying to connect to a specific gender to sell a product ? Or make a products more appealing to consumers by using females as the ideological /common gender )?And how these females are being ported or exposed? .A lot of the advertisements also ported the theme of fashion ,which again ,yet not surprisingly ,was done mainly with females. But what are these ads really selling by putting these flawless looking , professional models other then clothing ? Is it selling the a message saying " you too can be this beautiful and happy ,if you possess this clothing ?
Critical Discourse Analysis:I think expensive brands such as banana republic are all around Manhattan to appeal to an affluent audience. As to why flawless male and female models are used , I think is to make people feel that they too can be flawless ,or just make the clothing itself more attractive to acquire. However ,the main gender used throughout these ads were females ,why? I think it's because women are beautiful ,but at what expense are they made to look attractive ? Though less clothing ,or when an ads pinpoints a females specific body part ,or by covering her natural beauty by adding on pounds of makeup!!!!
Discussion:
This project has taught me a lot. At first I didn't understand the true purpose of this advertisement project, or how it was applicable to me, and what it negatively imprints on people. Finding qualitative data, on advertisements helped me understand how messages are portrayed through advertisements. Since the purpose of an advertisement is to convince consumers to buy a certain product, I focused in on how this was visually done. Through categories of visual images, common used words, or message that were used to communicate with consumers. By creating general themes that appeared within the advertisement, I got a better understanding of what people tend to usually care about or stress( with the most popular themes). When collecting my visual data I realized how advertisements manly use famous people or models to make a product or something appealing. I noticed how these advertisements captured the attention of people throughout the popular themes of gender, fashion, entertainment, and famous people. Making me conclude that this is what society focuses on, which is what is making these themes emphasized in ads. If advertisements connect through fashion is because our society shows a great interest in clothing. There might be a high demand for materialistic goods, keeping up to date with fashion treads, and most of all appearances; thus having advertisements connect or appeal to us through these themes, these advertisements supply what the majority demands.
Now as for how this is done !!!! (I will use women as an example):
The world of business is often hostile towards women and families. Especally through advertisements. Advertisements today express that appearances and outer beauty is most important for a women to obtain. Advertisements do this by bombarding us with " ideal beauty ". They advertise these flawless women (which don't exist), that we then try to imitate; and when we don't succeed we feel ashamed and insecure with ourselves. But if " ideal female beauty" is flawless, it is also unattainable. Although, in reality these women themselves don't look like this. Through photo shop females self esteem is essentially demolished. These unattainable ideals discredit natural beauty. This makes failure inevitable because it is impossible to obtain physical perfection. We are being consumers to false hopes and dreams but most of all negative perceptions.
Some reoccurring questions I found myself thinking about during this project was ... are companies only objective to make money, and at what cost? Dose the fate of hummnite no longer matter;because I don't think that these companies understand or care for that matter ,of the negative impacts these advertisements have. Could it also be our responsibility to stop partaking or acknowledging such products ? Also why are irrelevant things like clothing, accessories or human imperfections advertised ? Why not positive things ? WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF THESE ADVERTISEMENTS ?????
Critical Discourse Analysis:I think expensive brands such as banana republic are all around Manhattan to appeal to an affluent audience. As to why flawless male and female models are used , I think is to make people feel that they too can be flawless ,or just make the clothing itself more attractive to acquire. However ,the main gender used throughout these ads were females ,why? I think it's because women are beautiful ,but at what expense are they made to look attractive ? Though less clothing ,or when an ads pinpoints a females specific body part ,or by covering her natural beauty by adding on pounds of makeup!!!!
Discussion:
This project has taught me a lot. At first I didn't understand the true purpose of this advertisement project, or how it was applicable to me, and what it negatively imprints on people. Finding qualitative data, on advertisements helped me understand how messages are portrayed through advertisements. Since the purpose of an advertisement is to convince consumers to buy a certain product, I focused in on how this was visually done. Through categories of visual images, common used words, or message that were used to communicate with consumers. By creating general themes that appeared within the advertisement, I got a better understanding of what people tend to usually care about or stress( with the most popular themes). When collecting my visual data I realized how advertisements manly use famous people or models to make a product or something appealing. I noticed how these advertisements captured the attention of people throughout the popular themes of gender, fashion, entertainment, and famous people. Making me conclude that this is what society focuses on, which is what is making these themes emphasized in ads. If advertisements connect through fashion is because our society shows a great interest in clothing. There might be a high demand for materialistic goods, keeping up to date with fashion treads, and most of all appearances; thus having advertisements connect or appeal to us through these themes, these advertisements supply what the majority demands.
Now as for how this is done !!!! (I will use women as an example):
The world of business is often hostile towards women and families. Especally through advertisements. Advertisements today express that appearances and outer beauty is most important for a women to obtain. Advertisements do this by bombarding us with " ideal beauty ". They advertise these flawless women (which don't exist), that we then try to imitate; and when we don't succeed we feel ashamed and insecure with ourselves. But if " ideal female beauty" is flawless, it is also unattainable. Although, in reality these women themselves don't look like this. Through photo shop females self esteem is essentially demolished. These unattainable ideals discredit natural beauty. This makes failure inevitable because it is impossible to obtain physical perfection. We are being consumers to false hopes and dreams but most of all negative perceptions.
Some reoccurring questions I found myself thinking about during this project was ... are companies only objective to make money, and at what cost? Dose the fate of hummnite no longer matter;because I don't think that these companies understand or care for that matter ,of the negative impacts these advertisements have. Could it also be our responsibility to stop partaking or acknowledging such products ? Also why are irrelevant things like clothing, accessories or human imperfections advertised ? Why not positive things ? WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE OUTCOMES OF THESE ADVERTISEMENTS ?????