Final Challenge Check-In

Check-in #3: After you complete your challenge, reflect on the process of your experience writing for this specific genre. How did completing the chosen challenge enhance your understanding of Gothic representations? What difficulties or issues did you have during the writing process?


This challenge consisted of writing a paper on how a poem by Emily Dickinson ("I started early..") represents the Gothic. This really enhanced my understanding of the Gothic because I was forced to really think about what Gothic actually is. Honestly, this is something that I probably haven't done enough of in this class. It's easy to quickly write down terms that you think relate to the Gothic (as we did in class), but it's another thing to actually have to write a paper on how specific aspects of a poem represent specific features of the Gothic. I had only a couple difficulties during this assignment. This included ensuring that I didn't get too repetitive when saying certain aspects of the poem represented the Gothic. Also, as always, I struggled with making sure that my explanations and arguments were coherent and that I could fit all my ideas within the constraints of the word count.

Extra Credit: Teapot Emblem

A traditional Arabic teapot
http://www.tarteebi.com/site/contest765.html

Dubai is a common topic throughout my blog posts. This is represented by this Arabic teapot that I have chosen to be my emblem. I chose this to be my emblem because it represents not only Dubai, but also the meaning and experiences that I relate to Dubai. I spent almost all of my life there and learned more about other cultures and people than I could ever have learned if I had been born and raised in either of the countries that my passports are from (I have had a British passport my whole life and have recently acquired an American passport). 

To me, this Arabic teapot portrays what it means to be a third cultured kid (TCK). To me, it means not being sure how to respond to the question, 'Where are you from?' or 'Where do you consider your home?'. It means being tolerant of people of all cultures and being open and respectful to new things that I encounter. It also reminds me of the quote (included at the end of this post) that I came across a while ago that I take very much to heart. I can strongly relate to this because not being from the same countries that my parents, friends and people around me are from has always enveloped me in a strange sense of loneliness; as if no one can really understand my background and the way it affects how I view the world and I can never understand the same for them. 

"TCKs incorporate pieces of different cultures into themselves and appreciate them, but there’s no sense of ownership—many are loners. They don’t belong, not even to the place on their passport.’"
—David Pollock, El Paso Times

Proposal: Problem Statement

The movement of political correctness is harming America’s ideologies of individual freedom and diversity. Whilst the intentions of political correctness (PC) seem beneficial since it supposedly prevents offending any group of people, it is actually an inhibition of free speech and the reversal of traditional American ideals. The very origins of PC demonstrate the hindrance of America’s ideals of freedom and diversity.

Political correctness actually has as totalitarian nature, since it originated with cultural Marxism ideals. When the economic Marxist theory failed, a group of Marxists banded together to create cultural Marxism. Cultural Marxism holds culture instead of the economy as the site of class struggle. It concludes that minority populations such as women, blacks and homosexuals will be the equivalent to the proletariats (the working class) in economic Marxism while the ‘superior’ populations such as men, whites and straights will be equivalent to the bourgeoisie (the wealthy, upper class). It is significant to note that this equivalent ‘working class’ are the groups today that are protected by political correctness. There are a few Marxists that are the main contributors to the ideas of a ‘quiet’ revolution that would destroy the current Western culture in order to make way for a new culture of Marxism (Lukacs, 1971).

One of the main contributors to this new Marxism was Antonio Gramsci, who formulated the idea of a ‘quiet’ revolution that contrasted with the original violent revolution of economic Marxism. It was his belief that human thought could be controlled from within through the use of psychology. Manipulating human thought from within would make resistance an impossibility because there would not be a noticeable group to resist against. This approach is outlined in Charles Reich’s book when he describes this upcoming revolution as one that “will not be like revolutions of the past. It will originate with the individual and the culture, and it will change the political structure as its final act. It will not require violence to succeed, and it cannot be successfully resisted by violence.” (Reich, 1971). This proves to be consistent with PC, as it evidently has wrongfully been interpreted by Americans as a set of beliefs that are beneficial to society when instead PC is ‘quietly’ harming it.

A group of Marxists founded the Frankfurt School in 1923, and many fled from Germany to the United States when the Nazis came to power in 1933. The Frankfurt School worked towards translating economic Marxism into cultural Marxism as well as embedding their beliefs into American society via universities. They spread their beliefs through notions of ‘multiculturism’ and Critical Theory throughout universities such as Columbia and Stanford (Dr. Gerald L. Atkinson, 1999) so as to discretely spread their ideas. Critical Theory is a “social theory that revolves around criticizing society as a whole and it was used to shed negative light on Western culture. The Frankfurt School used Critical Theory to convince Americans that there were flaws in their culture by relentlessly criticizing aspects of prejudice within the culture. This lead to the creation and spread of PC, which was to be used to remove prejudice between different groups within Western culture.

Political correctness was strategically integrated into the beliefs of the baby boomer generation in the 1960s. The Frankfurt School took advantage of the large opposition to the Vietnamese War draft. This opposition of going to war rivaled the traditional idea that war was glorified. The School also took advantage of the increase in university educations among the youth of this generation, since the School intended to spread its ideas through universities. This generation of Americans with beliefs tainted by Marxism is what the current generation has been raised to believe. This has resulted in a rapid increase of political correctness in the last few decades as well as a generation of grandparents who no longer recognize what America is today. This is evident in the large majority of older generations having more conservative and traditional beliefs that are now labeled as racist and narrow-minded (PewResearch, 2014).

The creation of a movement of political correctness that urges society to disengage in social disagreement over non-negotiable differences between people result in the demonization of those are politically incorrect. Those who are politically incorrect are now punished either institutionally (job termination/suspension, being put on trial, etc.) or socially (ruined reputations after being labeled a racist, bigot, etc.). In other words, those who disagree with the ideals of Marxists are punished. This is especially effective for cultural Marxists who want to destroy Western culture because PC harms individual’s freedom of speech by punishing those who choose to voice their individual opinions. PC effectively levels the playing field between different groups of people which aids cultural Marxists in destroying Western culture in order to create their own communist culture.

Political correctness is a problem in America because it limits the freedoms of individuals which is a concept that the nation prides itself on. America supposedly functions as a democratic nation but has been taking totalitarian steps towards cultural Marxism beliefs through PC.

A possible solution would be to change the way Americans think about the corrupt multiculturalism belief system that is in effect today. Instead of continuing forward with these 'liberal' views that were actually products of cultural Marxism's plan to destroy traditional American culture, America should strive to regain its roots. The traditional values that America flourished on prior to the political correctness movement should be re-introduced. 

References

Atkinson, Gerald L., CDR USN. "What Is the Frankfurt School." (1999): n. pag. Web. 30 July 2014. <http://www.newtotalitarians.com/index_files/FrankfurtSchool.htm>.

Lukács, György. History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 1971.

"Millennials Less Conservative than Older Generations." Pew Research Centers
Social Demographic Trends Project RSS. PewResearch: Social & Demographic Trends, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 31 July 2014. <http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/03/07/millennials-in-adulthood/sdt-next-america-03-07-2014-1-06/>.

Reich, Charles A. The Greening of America. London: A. Lane, The Penguin, 1971.

Is There Too Much Political Correctness In America?

Thesis/Main Idea: The concept of 'political correctness' is harming America as a whole. Whilst the intentions of this ideology are beneficial, it has transformed into an over-sensitivity between peoples. This increased sensitivity creates divides between different cultures and races and restricts the necessary discussion to solve tough issues. Being an overly politically correct country creates borders between races instead of uniting them in the melting pot that America is said to be. *define the difference between politically correct and overly politically correct*

Practical/Policy: Go back to the basics of problem solving rather than masking it with political correctness. Being overly sensitive and thus, too easily offended makes it difficult to get to the heart of tough problems (or any problems that involve minority populations or race in general). Additionally, many individuals have been fired, demoted, or put on trial for stating their opinions. Individuals should not be punished by large institutions for utilizing their right of free speech. It is useless to be blatantly discriminatory but it also useless to be overly politically correct. A balance should be attained and America as a whole should be reminded of this.

Research Solution: Conduct a study on the disadvantages of being over-sensitive. More research should be done to shed light on the portion of the population that believes that their rights are being stifled by this notion of being politically correct and how political correctness has lead to the hypersensitivity between different people. 

Media Solution: Today, it is common for the media to 'take down' those who fail to be politically correct. This sends a message to the public that they should follow suit in this idea of walking over eggshells or else they will be punished. To avoid this, the media should stop penalizing and attacking individuals who harmlessly state their opinions. Their intend should be to remind people that stating their opinions in a way that doesn't harm others is beneficial to society and will allow for a more unifying environment. Media should clearly identify that there is a "The difference between a culture of honesty, respect and diversity is different from a legal and elite mandate of a code of silence that precludes discussion of the toughest issues." (Shapiro, 2012)

References: http://townhall.com/columnists/garyshapiro/2012/02/16/political_correctness_is_hurting_america/page/full

#4: Ramadan

"Ramadan Mubarak" means Happy Ramadan in Arabic
http://www.assabile.com/media/category/1020x320/date-ramadan-debut-ramadan.png

Ramadan is a month on the Islamic lunar calendar that affects everyone of any religion in Dubai. This is a month where Muslims fast (refrain from drinking, eating, chewing gum, smoking and intimacy) from sunrise to sunset. No one is allowed to eat, drink, smoke or chew gum in public and modest clothing is even more important than normal during this time of the year. Failure to follows these rules can result in a large fine and sometimes even deportation in extreme cases. It is also seen as disrespectful to play loud music during the times of fasting. A lot of restaurants and stores also close for the day, which is unfortunate if you like to eat out.


Despite all of these restrictions, I look forward to Ramadan every year. I can't even think of only a single anecdote of how this holiday (along with it's restrictions) has affected me, since it has occurred every year for the 17 years I lived there. Also, it affects me just by being in existence. It is a huge cultural experience and from the very first day of the lunar month and you can definitely sense a huge change throughout the whole city. It seems a lot more quiet since most people take this fasting time to rest and reflect. The only exception would be just before sunset, or Iftar (the time when the Muslims get to break their fast). There are usually a lot of speeding drivers who are rushing to get home to break their fast. The strict rules for non-Muslims and tourists show that although Dubai has grown extremely more Westernized, it is still a place of rich culture. Growing up in a place of a strong sense of Muslim culture mixed with the cultures of my friends who are from all over the world really affected my own beliefs. I have grown to be very tolerant and welcoming of all cultures, and I am thankful to have had that opportunity.

The Second Challenge Check-In

Check-in #2: Update on the progress of your challenge on your blog in the form of a memo. Either upload the text or provide a link to the document on your blog.


TO: Mikayla Beaudrie

FROM: Shawn Rosselet

DATE: July 26th, 2014

SUBJECT: Challenge Check-In #2


After reading only a few of the texts provided under the Literary Analysis section, it has become clear that Emily Dickinson's poem is the best choice for this paper, as it is clear that it represents the Gothic. The only difficulty is the poem's short length; the quantity of evidence is scarce, so hopefully the idea of 'quality over quantity' is true for this poem. This is because quality is necessary for a lot of information to be extracted from the few ideas that are present in the poem. Thus, a deep analysis of the poem will be necessary to meet the assignment's word count minimum. Many details will need to be provided for each reason.


Potential Reasons

There are a few aspects of this poem that can be pinpointed as a source of representation of the Gothic. It may also be useful to research the context of this poem (e.g. date of publication, the author's life at the time, etc.). Although these aspects are not yet solidified and may change in the near future, potential aspects at this point are as listed:

• use of symbols
• portrayal of ideas
• literary devices
• format/structure
• diction

Analyzing these aspects of the poem and figuring our the role they play in representing the Gothic will lead to a successful paper for this assignment. The use of evidence in the form of quotes will be necessary to convince the audience of the role that each aspect plays. Logical and reasonable arguments will have to be made in order to construct a persuasive paper. Meeting the mentioned criteria will result in an effective argument that Emily Dickinson's poem represents the Gothic.

#3: It's 'A Bug's Life' for Me

http://www.womansday.com/cm/womansday/images/k1/h-wd0809-02-A-Bugs-Life-2.jpg

http://showbizgeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Screen-Shot-2013-04-26-at-09.48.19.png

'A Bug's Life' is one of my favorite movies to this day. I chose this movie because I actually just recently watched this movie (last week), so it's still fresh in my mind. On top of that, my brother and I used to watch it on VHS as kids (along with many other movies). I have always found Flik's spastic, optimistic personality to be hilarious yet oddly inspiring. From the very beginning of the movie, he is trying to shove his inventions in everyone's faces so they can acknowledge his ingenuity. All he wants to do is make a difference in the colony with the use of his inventions, but his clumsiness usually made others dislike him and therefore his inventions. He also stops at nothing to save his colony from Hopper and his gang of grasshoppers. He perseveres even when no one believes in him.


The fact that I have wanted to be an engineer since I was little probably added to my interest in Flik, even as a kid. I always thought his inventions were great and under-appreciated by the rest of his colony. Also, his dedication to making a difference in his colony really stood out to me, and this is something I can still relate to. I study hard in school because I hope to one day be able to make some kind of difference in the world. I persevere through crappy classes and impossible exams similar to the way Flik persevered through his unpopularity and intimidating enemies. Overall, Flik has many qualities that I can relate to and I hope to follow Flik's footsteps and reach my goals through ingenuity and dedication in order to make a difference.