Techno Rican

Last Day of class

2006-12-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

Hello all,
Last night was our last class. I just want to let you know how much fun I had this semester. This class wsa great. Thanks professor Beach for opening up our eyes to the world of media and media literacy. I had tons of fun, creating webpages and blogs and analyzing media as well.
Hope to see you all around soon,

Ligia

MUSIC

2006-12-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

I generally listen to music from the 80's and some new singers like Marroon Five and Five for Fighting.
It's hard to catch a concert of my favorite singers and bands from the 80's, eventhough John Bon Jovi is still Rockin' around and We recently went to a Journey concert and a Def Leppard one too.

My favorites were Simple Minds, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, The Cure, INXS, Spychedelic Furs, Pet Shop Boys ,more New Wave style of the 80's.
Now, those concerts are hard to fins nowadays (eventhough I heard the Pet Shop Boys were recently in Minneapolis).

I guess I like this music, because it reminds me of my High School years and all the fun and parties that we had at the time. All the dressing up in a the 'punk' style. I must admit that I was a fan of Maddonna and Cindy Lauper, yet Maddonna's early years (not the later ones- I wouldn't go to a concert of hers now even if it were for free).

But my ALL TIME FAVORITE is:
TAKE MY BREATH AWAY- by Berlin

Lyrics:

Watching every motion
In my foolish lover's game
On this endless ocean
Finally lovers know no shame
Turning and returning
To some secret place inside
Watching in slow motion
As you turn around and say
My love

Take my breath away
Take my breath away

Watching I keep waiting
Still anticipating love
Never hesitating
To become the fated ones
Turning and returning
To some secret place inside
Watching in slow motion
As you turn around and say
My love

Take my breath away
Take my breath away

Through the hourglass I saw you
In time you slipped away
When the mirror crashed I called you
And turned to hear you say
If only for today
I am unafraid

Take my breath away
Take my breath away

Watching every motion
In this foolish lovers game
Haunted by the notion
Somewhere there's a love in flames
Turning and returning
To some secret place inside
Watching in slow motion
As you turn around and say
My love

Take my breath away
Take my breath away

For me this is the most romantic song EVER!!! It is a song of giving and openingup to your loved one. Plus it is sexy as well. It does help that it was used in teh movie TOP GUN, a big deal in the 80's. I guess it brings memories of that first love. I can identify with the lyrics, they are daring and romantic. I just love it!

Changing Moods...totally different from the above....

Another favorite song:
Don't You (Forget About Me)-Simple Minds
Hey, hey, hey ,hey
Ohhh...
Won't you come see about me? I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby
Tell me your troubles and doubts Giving me everything inside and out and Love's strange so real in the dark Think of the tender things that we were working on
Slow change may pull us apart When the light gets into your heart, baby
Don't You Forget About Me Don't Don't Don't Don't Don't You Forget About Me
Will you stand above me? Look my way, never love me Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling Down, down, down
Will you recognise me? Call my name or walk on by Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling Down, down, down, down
Hey, hey, hey, hey Ohhhh.....
Don't you try to pretend It's my feeling we'll win in the end I won't harm you or touch your defenses Vanity and security
Don't you forget about me I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby Going to take you apart I'll put us back together at heart, baby
Don't You Forget About Me Don't Don't Don't Don't Don't You Forget About Me
As you walk on by Will you call my name? As you walk on by Will you call my name? When you walk away
Or will you walk away? Will you walk on by? Come on - call my name Will you all my name?
I say : La la la...

I guess I liked it so much because the lyrics are about the typical teenage love relationships and all that troubles that girls and boys go through when they break up and want to be together and all that...ha,ha,ha.
But undoubtedly, the melody was great! AWESOME!! I still hear it on the radio and still feel young and like dancing!
Plus...it was from one of my FAVORITE 80's movie The Breakfast Club.

Another Favorite Song:
IF YOU LEAVE Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark (OMD)

If you leave, don't leave now
Please don't take my heart away
Promise me just one more night
Then we'll go our separate ways

We've always had time on our sides
Now it's fading fast
Every second every moment
We've got to--we've gotta make it last

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd still be friends, someday

If you leave I won't cry
I won't waste one single day
But if you leave don't look back
I'll be running the other way

Seven years went under the bridge
Like time standing still
Heaven knows what happens now
You've got to--you've gotta say you will

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd meet again

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd still be friends

I touch you once I touch you twice
I won't let go at any price
I need you now like I needed you then
You always said we'd meet again someday

If you leave
Oh if you leave
Oh if you leave
Don't look back
Don't look back

I Guess I like this song so much becuase it was from my favorite movie EVER! (from the 80's- Pretty in Pink)
Plus, it is the typical teen-age dilema, and typical love song theme. It reminds me of those years and of my very first boyfriend (not really) hee,hee...but it brings nice memories of the 80's. IT HAS PROM WRITTEN ALL OVER IT!!!!

But my ALL Time FAVORITE is:
Take my Breath Away-by Berlin

Movie Adaptations

2006-12-07T18:24:00.000-08:00

I teach Julia Alvarez's "In the Time of the Butterflies" in my Literature Class.
I usually have the students watch the movie with Zalma Hayek and Marc Anthony.
While the movie is great,being an adaptation it leaves things out, and changes some others.

I have my students:

1- Research the life and dictatorship of Leonidas Trujillo and the Mirabal Sisters
2- Read the novel
3- Watch the movie
4- Answer a series of comprehension questions related to the novel
5- Create a chart naming the differeces between the movie and the novel
6- Differenciate the real events from the made-up ones in the movie related to Trujillo's Dictatorship and the Mirabal Sisters. I try to make the students aware, though, that they must keep in mind who's tellingthe story and might it be different if told from someone else's point. Would the emphasis on things be different?

Eventhough the students watch the movie in class, the Exam is largely based on the novel. I use the movie to benefot those who are more visual, yet in a literature class, teh written work comes first. YET, teh students learn that they cannot always trust movies instead of readingteh novels.

My Media Texts

2006-12-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

In my house we watch ABC, Disney Channel, Lifetime Television and some ESPN.
from what I've learned, I believe they are owned by the
Walt Disney Coorporaton.

Right now we listen to KQQL 108 on the radio because of it's Christmas music.That too is owned by Disney.

No wonder all what my 7yr old daughter talks about is about characters and things related from Disney:Hannah Montana, Zack and Cody, Ally and AJ (We even went to the Aly & AJ concert in Puerto Rico before coming to Minnesota). And we visited the Magic Kingdom(for a 5th time) earlier in the summer.

From what gave gathered from this experience, my daughter, as well as us, has been secretly brainwashed into buying Disney Merchandise and family based entertainment.
What surprised me is that eventhough this process began since we were in Puerto Rico, I chose a radio station here in Minnesota that belongs to the same owners and I didn;t know it. Has the brainwash been so engrained in us that subconsciously we choose their products!

We still love the parks; and Aly & Aj as well as Hannah Montana ROCk Big time.

Christmas Shoes

2006-11-30T12:10:00.001-08:00

In teh spirit of Christmas I think this is Beautiful...

Loved it!

2006-11-29T13:38:00.001-08:00

http://veryfunnyads.com/ads/25044.html

Cool Video ...

2006-11-29T12:11:00.000-08:00

I'm from the 80's generation. I just loved this video from How I Met Your Mother, one of the greatest fake music videos in sitcom history (not much competition there, but still...)

Posted By:Robin Sparkles

Get this video and more at MySpace.com

Documentary

2006-11-15T08:46:00.000-08:00

As an educator at the UPR, one of the classes I teach is a basic freshman course. The students in this couse read some essays on identity and the new life that they will encounter in college. It has been my intention to create a documentary which we can use in class in later years when discussing this topic. My idea is to interview several 1st year students on the first weeks of class and to interview them again at the end of the 1st semester and at the end of their secnd semester as well. Then , if it were possible, interview these same students on their last semester before they graduate. The purpose of these interviews would be to have the students reflect upon their identities, how they perceive and project themselves to others and to have the new students who will see the documentary years later know that they are not alone and were not the first to feel how they do.

Questions on identity might be asking them:
How they see themselves?
How do they think others see them?
Into what category would they place themselves if they could.
(Ex. Popular, geeks, nerds, all these categories of teen-age culture)
Whatis the importance of being in one or other of these categories, if any?

I would also give them free time to express themselves freely.

Activities I would include aside fron the indicidual interviews would be gruop interviews, recordings of groups around campus, "normal" campus life and activities.

I don't think I'll have difficulty capturing the "truth" and reality in the activities recorded. Teen-agers are true to themselve spretty much on or off camera. But, the group intervies might cause a bit of doubt, since we all know how some students can me influenced , intimidated or cohibited by others. But the whole point of the group interview is just that, to observe teen-age life and reactions at it's true context. The individual interviews have more of a possibility of being more honest and true, if the student is really being hin/herself.

News Analysis

2006-11-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

News Analysis

I watched channel 11(Kare11) NBC 10 O’clock news.
Thursday Nov. 9,2006

10:00- Acquital of Cold Case . Ron Michael’s is set free after being in jail for a year for the murder of Jeff Hammil.

10:02- Two deadly crashes (Blaine and, Snelling and County B road)

10: 03 Teacher at Folwel Middle School accused of criminal sexual conduct against two students.

10:03 Sand Dunes Forest Fires

10:04 Gov. Tim Pawlenty said will work with DFL in Legislature,Emphasis made on the fact that Pawlenty narrowly won.

10:04 Senator will represent the mayority
10:05 Promises of working together.
10:05 President Bush welcomes 1sst female speaker in the House,Nancy Pelosi, Bush said that being the father of girls, it is really impersive to have the 1st female spealer in the house.
10:06 Generic versions of Acetaminophen are being recalled. They may contain metal CVS and Wal Mart brands.
10:07 Loose moose in Minnetonka. Todd Kohberdall saw the moose from his office window. How did the animal who stays away from people en un in the Minnetonka road. Believed to be a bull who strayed away.
10:08 There is a 7,000 moose population in MN
10:09 Winter Weather
Commercials---------
Movie Babel
Subway restaurants. 2 foot longs for $8.99
Minnesota Storms Magazine
Vicks Day Quil and NyQuil
Mills Fleet Farm Holiday decorations
Movie Casino Royale Bond Nov 17
Direct TV Football bundle
Movie Babel (longe rcommerical this time)
Whatevershow.com

10:13 Boyd Hoopers land of 10,000 stories- A 78 year old woman names Jo Steward brings laughterto her Solon Springs townin Wisconsin. She has a laugh group that meets every Thursday morning in from to the public library for 15 minute sof genuine laughing. No joke sallowed. Her son thinks it looks a little crazy.
10:17 Weather on Snowfall . Average snowfall in MN after 122 years of recording is 45.8”
Five day forcast
10:20 Commercials_--------
Story DUI EXTRA
Borat actor on Jay Leno/ Connan o’brien
Menard’s
Minute Clinic
Applevacations
Rainbow Supermarket
Super America convenience stores coffe 99 cents any size freash sandwiches
Arby’s
Borat Movie

10:24 HHL Scores
10:24 High school football St Clod Tech looses a coach and his 10 children continue his legacy. Sin coaches the team. Another son plays in the team.
10:27 College Football Rutgers beats Louisville
10:28 Female State AAA Volleyball
10:29 Commercials---------
Herbeger’s Sale
Electricity from Coal
American Family Insurance
Treasure Iskand Resort and Casino
Cars DVD
Famous Dave’s BBQ
Herberger’s One Day Sale
10:32 Santa’s Arrival at MOA

I felt that most news were not thorough enough and that there was a lot of advertiseing. I also noticed a pattern in the commercials the first and the last were always the same in each segment. Thre interruptions of commercials.

2006-11-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

Violin Practice

Listen to the Virtuoso!!!
Just 2 classes..je,je,je.
You gotta love her!!

Male Chic Shine

2006-11-02T16:10:00.000-08:00

Before

After

Male customers welcome. Men can also find their sleek side on Chic Shine.!!
Painless waxing.

Chic Shine

2006-11-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Before

After

Don't get lost in the bushes. Visit Chic Shine. We'll discover your sleek side.
$5 off any waxing service through the month of November.

Advertisement-for Parents

2006-11-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

advertisement-Parents

This ad is definitely targeted toward an adult audience,specially parets or future parents. It's another language academy stressingtheimportance of learning English. Discourses- white mid-size family,age(30's40's, maybe older) It could also be targeted towards grandparents. It's tellingthe audience thatignorance can be 'dangerous'. Or basically telling the audience to NOT be ignorant or be made fun of.

2006-11-02T08:33:00.000-08:00

Advertisement- Porfessional

Berlit'z great funny way of telling young men and women that if you wnat a good job, or to retain theone you have, you must learn English. In a way it is saying that it is a responsability to learn English.

2006-11-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

Advertising Auto

This car advertisement is mainly for a adult (25's30's)audience. Directed towards people who work, since the characters are getting ready for work inthe morning, or at least that's what it looks like. he's in a suit, she's dressed for the office. Dicourses here-White professionals, who went to college, live in the suburbs, love action or are driven (do whatever it takes) to reach their goals. It's funny, therefore it implie sthat it's okay to be adventurous or even believe in the saying that "the means justify the ways" The song "Happy Together" should also make you think that the car will make you )and your relationships) happy.

Check this video out!

2006-10-24T19:45:00.000-07:00

go to this link:
http://i.euniverse.com/funpages/cms_content/12925/greaserbabies.sw
and enjoy

2006-10-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

Saludos de Laura Sofia

Aqui estoy en Minnesota. Gozando!

2006-10-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

Lord of War intro

This is teh video clip I presented in class. I believe it is a wonderful example of most of the movie techniques we discussed in class (Pan shots, tracking shot, color, sound, music etc).

2006-10-23T07:29:00.000-07:00

Michael J. Fox

Great example of media use in Politics and political agendas. The use of famous people to pormote your political campaign.

Book Review

2006-10-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

I started reading Skellig, not knowing what to expect. I bought a used book at the bookstore, and there was a big black label in the back of the book that kept me from the back cover tid-bits. I think this was a good thing. I entered Michael’s world as I read the book, with no predisposed mind. To tell you the truth, I thought Michael was older. It wasn’t until after more than half the book that I looked at the back and found out he was 10. Another confession I must make, I thought that the book was going to be more mysterious and scary. What I mean is that I never expected it to be so touching and loving and tender and truth be told, I didn’t expect to cry reading a book named Skellig. After all, what does Skellig mean? I looked it up. Skell is a homeless person who lives on the streets and sleeps in doorways. What a wonderful name for the character!

I must say that I was surprised at the fact that Skellig could have been and angel and had wings. In my last reaction journal I talked about Ikarus and Wings and The people Could Fly. All dealt with people with wings. I even talked about James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series. What a coincidence.

I loved meeting this fantastic creature named Skellig. As seen through the eyes of two children, this creature was wonderful and beautiful and loved. If the adults had found him, he would have died right there in the garage. The mother’s reaction when she “dreamt” about him was a typical adult reaction. I guess children see things in people that adults don’t. Michael and Mina saw the tenderness in his eyes, loved him right away and took care of him until he was strong. They could see him beyond his dirty clothes, tangled hair, dry pale skin and bad smell. They saw what really mattered, who he really was.
Michael was a boy who needed to believe in something. At the time, his life was complicated. They had just moved and his baby sister was very sick. He needed an escape, something to believe in.
Mina, on the other hand, was so special. She was a sensitive caring girl. She was different from other children her age. She read and liked William Blake (By the way one of my favorite English poets). She could have seen Skellig even if he didn’t exist.
Reading Skellig reminded me of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein (my favorite book of all times-and the first one to make me cry). Skellig was not created by any of the characters like the creature in Shelly’s book, yet I believe it’s the creature’s tenderness that’s so alike to Skellig. They were both bizarre, ugly to the eye creatures that no one understood, but they had love in their hearts and just needed love in return.

Troy was another nice surprise for me. To be honest, I’ve never been quite fond of the story of Troy and Paris and Helena. But, it being told through the eyes of the servants, of common people, it was a whole different story. I guess it makes the reader identify more with the characters when they are normal people, than when they are kings and queens and gods. I loved the way that the chapters were divided by the names of the places the action takes place in (the Blood Room, Priam’s Castle, etc.) I could picture these characters so well in my mind, even though I could not help picturing Paris and seeing Orlando Bloom’s face [blame Hollywood for that one].
The fact that the story of Troy was told by servants and common people, made it more appealing to me. It was like their gossip and their daily lives, rather than the [to my opinion] dry and rather complicated versions of mythology.
I laughed at the fact that nobody dared say they saw the gods for fear of being treated as lunatics, like poor Cassandra. Although, if almost everyone saw them, why couldn’t they believe her? I counted the people who saw these gods, and almost all the characters saw a god one time or another. And I loved the way that they would immediately forget the incident, or remember it as a dream. When Poseidon came to the market and kissed the servant girl and later the fish disappeared. I thought it was witty of the god and very funny too.
I believe that the author presents the story of Troy in a feminist way. She mentions several times that the talk is that Helena is to blame for the war, yet she oftentimes says that it’s because of men. She blames greed and power and money and other things rather than it being all about Helena. Even the singer will tell his grand daughter Polyxema, that Helena’s version makes a better story than the truth.
She also mentions how men fear to appear feminine or womanish. They are afraid to show their true feelings as if being girlish was bad. And other times, the book is filled with Xanthe’s vision of herself as only a girl, and she even says that women are worth nothing several times in the book. I believe that this is dome with a purpose. To make girl readers snicker at this and react. Men are presented as powerful beings, yet in a physical rude way. Women are presented as wise, smart and powerful in other ways.
I was surprised at the abortion topic being presented so openly and honestly. Poor Marpessa, I actually felt bad for her, even more than Xanthe.
And I loved the way she would incorporate modern language into the story, like when insulting people sing words as ‘bitch’. I’m sure the people of the time would have used other words, perhaps ‘whore’ but bitch is such a modern way it helps the reader identify more with the characters was well.
Religion was another aspect that I found similar to our. I mean, there are so many things about these people’s relationships with the gods and I could relate them to Christianity and I bet other religions we practice as well.
I believe that this book is a great LOVE story. There is love all around the story if the Trojan War, and maybe that’s what made it more appealing to me this time. I loved the fact that Polyxema and Iason ended up together at the end. I mean, finally the servants get a happy ending. Marpessa and Xanthe were servants, but not quite as Iason and Polyxema, for they lived inside the castles with the lords. So having these two other servants find love and happiness at the end, made alit of sense. After all, the story is told through their eyes. Marpessa suffered for what she deserved. Yet, she would end up with Alastor too. Poor Xanthe could not end up with anyone, for she did not believe in Aphrodite. Very clever!
I know that the professor said this is a great book of transition for when discussing Folklore and then going into Fantasy. I believe it is so. It is a great way of introducing those students who are not very fond of mythology into this wonderful story [as I see it now]. If it worked for me, I believe it can work for anyone else.

The third book I read was Spinners. I enjoyed it very much. And like Troy, it is the retelling of a folklore story, Rumpelstiltskin. There’s another story I could never quite identify with. I found it dry and hard to digest. This version was much more interesting. The characters were more human. The story is still quite the same yet, Saskia having her best friend, Dagmar to talk to, made the character more appealing to my taste. It was an easy read and I enjoyed the relationship that the spinner had with Elke. I found that the Miller was quite a bad father, and that Saske had to work like a slave to survive and support the drunk bastard that was plain wrong. I understand that these folktales were crude and cruel, but I’m just saying how it made me feel. I felt sorry for the spinner, though. He was never happy after spinning the hay into gold. Why? What was his sin? What had he done wrong other than lie to the father of the woman he loved? And she didn’t even love him back! Poor thing. Others were bad in the story, the king for example, and Saskia herself was selfish and mean to the spinner too. And her father the Miller, he was awful, yet these people don’t get to suffer half of what the spinner did. And why? Because he lied? Because he loved?
And the ending, gosh! I was very surprised, for I thought they would end up together and happy at last. Yet, I didn’t quiet understand the end. Did the spinner die? Did Saskia die? Did the baby die? What happened? It was horrifying and confusing and entrancing all at the same time.

Vote for Pedro!!!

2006-10-20T19:06:00.000-07:00

I thought I could add a little something else to the blog,
and I really enjoyed Napoleon Dinamite.
Eventhough I saw it along time ago, everytime I get the chance I watch it again.
It's the fight of the Underdog!
So do a little dance with Napoleon,and have some fun.
Vote for Pedro!!!!

Media Ethnography

2006-10-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

I belong to a virtual community in the Yahoo groups. I joined this community last year, as soon as I applied to the U of MN. I have met a lot of people through this group. I learned about it because it was recomemnded to me by someonein the Graduate School. It's called Boricuas en Minnesota. For those of you who do not know Spanish= Puerto Ricans in Minnesota. Boricua is the word that we like to use to describe our ethnicity, since before the Spaniards came to the island and named it Puerto Rico, the Taino indians already lived there and called the island Boriquen.

I thought that interviewing some of the group's members could help me understand the ethnography and the responses to the group. I had to interview them- cybernetically-since it's a virtual community. Although, most of us already know each other personallly.

Anyway,media is media and here are the results.
I asked the members 10 questions.
My findings were not a surprise to me, although some of the answers were.

The main point that unifies us all is that we are all Puerto Ricans who live in Minnesota. Most of us in the Twin Cities.
Some of us are either graduate or professional students at the U,
and some are professionals who work outside, such as engineers, lawyers, teachers etc.

*When asked why they joined the group, almost all said that it was because they were far from home and wanted to communicate with people like them-from PR who spoke Spanish and understood them. ne said because of the convenience of the technology.

*When asked how often they read or post messages on the webpage, most said almost every day or once or twice a week.

* When asked What they posted, most said it was announcements of activities, calls for help or informantion. Two said they posted jokes and and one said jokes and pictures of the activities.

* Everyone said they felt good about receivingthe messages, although one said that she felt overwhelmed by the amount fo them, She feels personal messages should be kept personal and not everyone in the group needs to know.

*For the exception of one, all others hace recomended the group to other fellow Boricuas.

* The group has helped all who replied in personal ways. They ahev met people and made good friends, Most said that they found moral and psychological support. It helps them feel like they belong when they are so FAR AWAR from HOME.

* When asked who made the rules and does everyone agree with them. All said that teh Moderator makes the rules and teh rest agree.

*When asked who maintains order in the group, all replied the Moderator and the members who quickly get involved and send messages to each other when someone says something out of line.

* When asked who gets more recognition and who's most popular, Lexa got teh most votes, followed by Thomas and Marien and Erwin were mentioned also. One person refrained from answering.

I noticed that the people who replied to my request, the ones who helped me with this assignment, are the ones who are most active in the group and those are the ones who were metioned as being most popular. The moderator was also recognized as being respected by the cmmunity. Surprisingly enough, someone who said reads the messages on a daily basis, answered my request and said that this was the first time she ever participated in the discussions or posted a message.

I also noticed that the mayority of the more active group members are students at the U.

When it came to order and discipline in the group, everyone acts out and tries to maintain a peaceful atmosphere. I guess it's because they appreciate their community and what they have, and that eventhough they said teh Moderator has the final word, they don't wait for him to be the first to put down his foot. They all act.

I believe that the nostalgia for our caribbean island and families is what binds us together, as well as our social positions. Everyone is either a graduate or professional student or a working professional. So I can say there's a Puerto Rican /Prefessional /Upper/ Upper Middle class discourse being displayed here.

I had not seen this virtual community as I do now, before analyzing it as I did. It was great fun. I'm sure some other members will reply later on, and I will make the changes in the postings as I get more replies.

Analysis of Media Representations

2006-10-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sports have been represented in many ways throughout history.
Yet, one thing has reained constant.
Sports is for men.
And even then, white men and black men are portrayed differently was well.
Some sports are related to black men, some are related to white.
I see race discoursse as well as gender discourse here.
Look atthe pictures under Sports in my Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13666247@N00/

If you notice carefully, the pictures portraying women are barely sports pictures.
Women are portrayed as passive, calm, healthy beings and that's what they apporach sports for.
Or, women are only interested in the handsome players,not the sports. as we see in the "Calcio" calendar.
We see no sweat in the pictures of the women basketball players. That pictures represents them in a passive pose, unlike nasketball pictures of en where we see then in full action, all sweaty and enjoying the game.

The female volleyball team, might as well be posing for a magazine and they could be models and not players for all the picture suggests.
The water advertisement from Asia, I mean, look at how she's dressed and how calm she is. Sports are not represented as activiies full of action for women.
Or maybe some sort of other actin, if you know what I mean, as suggested in the Italian calendar.

Men on the otehr hand are represented as victorious, sweaty, full of emotion and enjoying either their game or theri victory as seem in the pictures of the racecar driver, basketball, hockey etc.

Now, white men and black men are portrayed differently as well.
The white man is portrayed as victorious, enjoying, and for certain sports only.
just look at Hewey Lewis' album titled sports. Pool tables and darts.
Are those sports? Well yes they are, but they are not our typical sports.
At least not the Black man's sports.

The black man is represented I dare say as a sports beast.
Look at the Football player's picture, There he is, huge among the reporters, he';s an 'animal' a great player.
We have the boxing pictures of black men.
Boxing is a fighting game. I personally believe it' sdemeaning, therefore we have the black boxers. get my grift?
Anyway, Where's the black hockey player? or the black racecar driver?
You get what I mean.
These are all ideas gotten from the images I found under sports in google images.
I'm sure there are a lot ore images to support my ideas and vision.

2006-10-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

Critical apporaches to "Rosseane" the TV show

2006-10-05T12:02:00.000-07:00

I guess you are all familiar with the TV show from the 80's Rosseane, starring Rosseane Barr, John Goodman, Sarah Gilbert etc.
Well, you must have seen the re-runs...anyway, I believe that this sitcom is great for Critical Analysis.

First of all, look at it from the Critical Discourse Analysis point of view.

It is a wonderful example of the Discourse of class. This family represents what most of middle-class working families are like. It presents problems of teen pregnancy and wha tit leads to, not goingto college and belongingto the hard labor working class, and making ends meet; having three children and trying to provide for them as best they can, dealing with relatives who look at them for comfort and support. Trying to keep a marriage-loving relationship afloat. It is the lives of many Americans and many people around the world.

I must admit that at the beginning, I used to NOT like the show. I found it vulgar and offensive. I believed it was a means of accepting the rude behaviors as okay. I thought it was goingto corrupt society! JA! ...Little did I know.

It was later that I learned that the whole point of the show was to enhance these characteristics, that I found particular, as a way of expression, as a way of CRITICISM and in a way of comforting, perhaps, to those in that situation (societal class).

The show presents the working class being oppressed by the higher class, sometimes staying that way, but most of the times, overcomming the high class, outwitting the oppressors. Winning in the end.

According to Neo Marxists and their definition of "cultural capital", Rosseane and her family have none of it whatsoever. Their ways of speaking, acting, moving, thinking are all marks of them not being refined or cultured. Most of the times they are vulgar and rude and they wnjoy that. When one of their children would complain about their behaviors Rosseane and her husband would laugh and enjoythemselves. They knew who they were and where they came from. They were okay with that.

I believe teh series could also be Analyzed in terms of Narrative Analyis. In Northrop Frye's narrative patterns, it would fall under the category of Irony. It was a very ironic show, presenting the oppressed working class and how they always, in the end, finished happy and achieved whatever their goals were. I believe it was poking the eyes of all of those people-who like me at the beginning- don't like , or understand the working class.

There are also cultural codes that we can draw from the Semiotic Analysis. You must have an understanding of the American working class in order to fully understand the irony, sarcasm, comedy in the series. (Like the Simpson's or South Park)
People identify with the characters and situations in the series, because they can relate.

Finally, I believe that the TV show can also be analyzed from the Psychoanalitcal Theories perpsective- Feminist Analyisis.
How much mor efeminist can Rosseane get. Her household wsa matriarchal. The Mother ruled the house. The father was someties afraid of her. he ws submissive, she had teh final word. The show did not present Dan-the husband- in a way that implied that he was not masculine, nor did it present him as weak. Sometimes he expressed his frustration with havingto deal with Rosseane's authoritarian ways, yet he comlpied.
Rosseane taught her children that women were powerful. She taught her son to respect women..somethin most middle class families do not do. They just accept the "nachismo" of society where the husband is teh MAN of the house. She broke that rule, that stigma. Towards the end, she even had a lesbian friend and she would talk openly about how women had choices and could make them, openly. PLEASE DO NOT confuse lesbianism with feminism. But it is ,in a way. a form of expressing that women can express themselves freely and that they can havie choices other than those imposed upon them by a male dominated world.

Here's a link to the 1st season:
http://www.carseywerner.net/inflight/roseanne/roseanne_season1.htm

Movie Scene-Elizabeth Town

2006-09-21T12:07:00.000-07:00

The scene I chose for this assignment is scene #21- The road trip.
In this scene we see the Mitch driving in his car. Then we see on the passenger's seat an urn.
That urn turns out to be Mitch's dad, who died while away from his family.
Mitch is supposed to bring him back.

In the scene we see how the camera shifts between shots oo closeups of Mithc and closeups of the Urn,
Mitch is having a heart to heart conversation with the urn (his father).
He tells him that they should have taken that road trip a long time ago.

The scenes shift from Mitch to the urn. Mitch talking and patting theurn as he would have his father's shoulder if he were there.
We see Mithc laughing and mitch crying and mitch angry and mitch laughing again.
The scene sequence is

1-Close up of Mitch, close up of urn
2-Tracking shot of the car moving in the empty road
3-Close up of laughing Mitch, close up of Urn
4-Flash back of Mitch's childhood(playing with his dad and doing some hand gestures), Mitch in the car doing same gestures as in the fashback
5-Close up of Cryinh Mitch, close up of urn
6- Close up of Mithc Laughing again
7- Low angle shot of Mitch's arm out the window spreading some of his father's ashes into the air.
8-Long shot of the open road and lonely lands.

I believe that the scequence of scenes was crated to establish a bond between father and son. As one would in a conversation, taking turns one from the other.
The different shots of Mitch in defferent moods and then the close up of the urn was done to recreate the feeling of a parent being there for you in all you different times and moods.
The arm out the window spreading the ashes is as to physically proove that the father was there on the road trip with him (at least his ashes were).
The longshots and the tracking shots were used to create the sense of lonelyness that Mitch felt. He felt all alone in the world and so was the road and the scenery.

Another scene I liked from this movie was the ending.
Mitch is on a "scavenger's hunt" following clues left on cards for him at a Farmer's Market.
There we haveTracking shots of Mitch finding the places and the clues, and the longshot to establish the crowded place he's in. There are closeups of him and there are people walking and moving fast all around him. There's a zoom shot of a carousel inmovement, which represents how he feels going round and round looking for the girl. There are Tracking shots too of him searching until he finally sees her and she sees him (All this accomplished through zoom shots and close up shots.
They run towards each other and embrace, people walking around them not nmoticing them. (It's to symbolize that it's just the two of them in their world).
We then hear his voice talking about the Brittish army slogan, about plants breaking through theground and salmons and we are actually presented with scenes of a pilot in the air, a green plant breaking through cement and blooming, and salmons swimming against the current, to symbolize that everything is possible. We hear what he says but we also see it as he says it. Great technique.

2006-09-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

Ligia

2006-09-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

Teaching Media Studies

2006-09-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

I remember taking English in my high school years and let me tell you, the only thing I enjoyed was reading because it was an escape from the teacher and the classroom. Eventhough English was a second language to us,I went to school in Puerto Rico, the school's curriculum used books for native speakers of English. we had two periods of English, one for Language and one for reading. We would disect sentences into the grammar diagrams, most of thepeople not knowing what the sentences meant. Reading was done inthe classroom, with everybody falling asleep over their texts. We would then answer questions onthe board. I To top things up, our teachers were native speakers of Spanish and their English was not very good either. So you get an idea of the kind of pronunciation we were taught. Sometimes, a studenthad to jump in and correct the teacher for pronouncing or defining a word wrong. This is how bad it was for me. It was pretty boring and not to mention unproductive.

Here is a plan that I would like to defend in the creation of new ideas and the integration of media and technologies into the English curriculum. Hopefully, it will make teaching and learning English a more pleasurable and productive explerience.

The English Curriculum in our district has been quite diffrent for some time. We have ben tyring to enhance the new technologies that are up and rising in our community. Today, technologies play a big role in our lives.Everybody is esposed to media some way or the other. We believe that the curriculum in schools should provide our students with the literacies nessesary to operate in the world. This said, we should not ignore the Basic of reading, writing and critical thinking skills that must be developed in English class.

Our new perspective on the curriculum is to integrate media to the curriculum through integration.
Let's take reading first.There are studies that prove that once students can relate to literature, they can better understand and appreciate it.
Our purpose is to make students combine media with literature. We could do this through the use of:

Computers/ internet- Students can post their ideas and reactions to the books in a way where they will not feel thay are doing homework. It would be simmilar to what they do when they speak to their friends on web groups, email, blogs etc. The teachers may create a source of communication in the virtual world, such as yahoo groups.
The teachers will correct for reading reactions and cover the grammar correction as well. Teachers will state their rules and grading criteria before they begin the process.

Movies- after the students read and discuss a book, they can watch the movie and discuss other people's interpretations. They can by the way notice the diffrence between a boolk and a movie and better appreciate the readinmg experience.

Advertising- Reviewing and criticizing adversitements in the print, film, and virtual media. They can find allusions to the classics in the advertising, they can interpret and develop their critical thinking skills. they can learn to distinguish when they are being influenced by the mainsrteam forces.

With theintegratoin of technologies and median into the curriculum teh students will still be able tolearnthe use of correct grammar, they could still rad their novels anc classics, and they can develop critical thinking skills in new environments.

Writing and composition, and even typing, skills will be developed with the use of a computer.

Reading, and research skills will be developed trhough the search and reding of e-books and the use of virtual libraries.

Critical Thinking skills will be developed through discussion forums online, both in chat and in asynchronic forums.

Diction and pronunciation- ESL students can benefit greatly from listening to video clips and dictionaries online that provide the correct pronunciation of words. They cn also learn the idiom sof the american culture throught the viewing and listening of films and advertisements.

Welcome

2006-09-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

My name is Ligia and you might remember me because I got to the class late and I walked in with my daughter. Her name is Laura Sofia.

Well, This is my first semester at the U. We moved in from PR two weeks ago. We've been very busy these days. And as you could see, I still haven't found a sitter for my daughter yet!
Do you know anyone who is trustworthy?

I hope to get to know you guys wellduring the semester and let's have some fun in this class!!