Informal Assignment #6: Telekinetic Superheroine

                   Telekinetic powers…I would have never thought that one day I would possess these powers. As a child I knew I would be different from the others ever since I was involved in a freak accident in my home town. One day while I was playing in the woods with some friends, we found an old abandoned house to play in that was starting rot all over, making it very unstable. All of the sudden there was a small earthquake and the house started to collapse while we were inside. As we started to freakout large beams of wood began to fall all around us. While we were trying to get out, one of us got trapped and didn’t make it, and I was the unfortunate one to witness our friend getting crushed to death by a heavy wooden beam. If my friends hadn’t pointed it out I wouldn’t have noticed untill I got home that a large streak of my hair had turned white. It doesn’t surpise me now looking back because I was truly petrified at what I had witnessed and had gone through. Me being put into that state must have triggered my telekinetic abilies. At the time I didn’t know how or why it happened but it was like an invisable bubble kept the rest of us all together and kept the other pieces of the house from landing on us as we ran out. From that day forward, I noticed that when I was really upset or very angry, my powers would go haywire. I soon realized what was happening and started to learn to have more control over my powers along with testing the limits of them. I figured out that my telekinetic strength and skill are both of an extremely high level, capable of grasping very heavy objects, even as far away as in the Earth’s orbit, and manipulating hundreds of components in mid-air in complex patterns. My favorite part of having telekinetic powers is that I can lift myself and others, if I wanted to, giving myself the ability of levitation and flight. Finally the power that saved my life and my friends, so long ago, is that with my telekinesis I can create durable shields and later I found out that I can produce very strong energy blasts.

Informal Assignment #5: Valley Fair

Ever since I was a young child, going to Valley Fair was always a very big deal. Being raised in South San Jose, going to Valley Fair felt like entering a whole new world because the mall that I am used to, Oak Ridge, is completely different from Valley Fair. Over the years Valley Fair has always been changing becoming the ultimate luxurious mall in the area, but one thing that remains the same is how I get treated when I show up and walk around the mall. Speaking for myself, I noticed that the people that shop and even sometimes the workers at Valley Fair are very stuck up and smug people. They look at me like I am from a different planet or I am not supposed to be in “their” mall. Maybe it is because they are not used to seeing a black person walking around the mall since the area that the mall is in is predominantly white and Asian. Going to the mall this time was a little bit different. Not only was I observant of the type of people walking in the mall but more observant and cognisant of the store placement and the whole structure of the mall all together.

            I never noticed how Valley Fair was set up before we were assigned this assignment. First of all this mall is huge! If you have not been there before or have not been there for a while you could get easily turned around and confused. On the first floor they have nice sit down restaurants and the flooring throughout the mall is all tile and it gives you a luxurious, royalty type of feeling.  I feel they do this because all the high in stores are on the first floor like J. Cole, Tiffany’s, Louis Vuitton, etc. What all of these expensive stores have in common is that it has two entrances, one in the back that opens to the parking lot (with valets) and the other to the inside of the mall. This is for the people who are in a rush and just want easy access to their designer store with out all the fuss with the common people inside of the mall. While this is happening on one side of the mall, on the other side is basically the children’s section. The people who designed the mall strategically placed the play area with all the children stores away from the expensive stores.  I feel they did this to keep the little “rugrats” out of the way causing havoc as far away from their money makers as possible. Very clever. On the second floor it is completely different. Notably, the whole second floor is carpeted! You’re asking yourself “Why would they do this?” Well it is easy to see that they set it up this way because the second floor is catered to the younger population. Teenagers can be seen running in and out of stores like American Eagle, Zumiez, Abercrombie, and Forever 21. Also there is the food court on the second floor…the main hangout spot for all teenagers.

            Although I may not agree with how the mall is set up, I feel that it makes the people of the mall comfortable. It is easy for the consumers of the community to fit into the part of the mall where they feel the most comfortable. For example: More of the teenage stores are on the second floor along with the food court, so once they are done window shopping they can go straight to the food court to purchase cheep food or just sit a talk at the tables. Another thing that I noticed about the mall store settings is that the stores geared toward bigger people (basically women), they are placed right next to the food court, and so once they come out the store they can take a few steps over and have Cinnabon. The reason why I don’t agree with how the mall is set up in terms of the stores is that it creates a type of class system within the mall and we already deal with that in the real world. It keeps people in their certain ranks or groups, teens with teens, wealthy with wealthy, middle class with middle class, etc. If the mall is supposed to be like a Heaven, then everything should be all shuffled together with no segregation.

Informal Assignment #4: Crimes Against Fashion

            When I was younger like preschool/elementary school, my brother and I were always very close with everything that we did. That was because of our age difference, depending on the time of year he would sometimes only be a year older than me and then at another time in the year he would be two years older than me. We are really only a year and a half apart. Since we were so close I always wanted to be with him and hang out with him, so naturally we had a lot of the same friends. The first time I committed my “crimes” against fashion was when I was in the third grade. That was around the time that I received my first pair of hand me down clothes from my brother. Some people say that little girls should not be wearing little boys clothing…..well I guess I missed the memo because I did, and I loved wearing my brothers old clothes that didn’t fit him or that he didn’t want anymore. Not only did the clothes make me feel closer and as cool as brother, they were sporty and less restricting than girl clothes. They allowed me to keep up with the guys since most of my friends were guys. I really didn’t think anything of the new clothes that I received. They didn’t confuse me about what gender I was or my sexuality because I was always crushing on boys and girls were annoying to me. My mom didn’t care because she knew I was running around roughing it with the guys and the types of clothes were perfect for that. Plus my mom, being a single parent with three children, it was less money spent on one thing that could be put to paying bills.

            The one and only person that who literally policed my “crime” in order to reinforce or bring me back into normative definitions of sexuality and gender was my grandmother. She is very old fashioned with the notion of baby girls wearing pink and baby boys wearing blue. Since I was the first girl granddaughter, she got excited and went a little overboard with making me her little pink princess. Looking back, I was the most difficult grandchild she will ever come to have because I would not let her have her way with me and let her mold me into the dainty little flower she want me to be. She would always buy everything pink and lots dresses for me and I would tell her I don’t like pink but she would force me to wear it anyway. Later she would give into me and would buy other colors and more things like jumpers that would look like a dress in the front but they were shorts in the back.

            Another major crime I committed was when I cut my hair. My junior year in high school I really wanted to shave all my hair off, just to see what it would be/feel like. Well I talked to my mom and she was cool with the idea; she would just make sure that this was what I really wanted to do. Long story short I chickened out and didn’t end up going through with it. But when I came to college I really didn’t care what people would think, all I knew was that I really wanted to do it and I was ready. When I cut my hair society was the main group that would police my actions because they would keep labeling me saying that I look like a boy (sometimes confused me for a boy) and that I look lesbian or gay. None of the comments I received bothered me in the slightest because I am comfortable with my gender and sexuality. I just got annoyed having to explain to people why I did it and that I am a girl and I am straight.

            Today in society people have gotten the idea that clothing and different hairstyles define what your race/ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, and even nation you come from. People need to wake up and realize that different clothing and hairstyles don’t define who a person is; it what’s on the inside that people should look at but that rarely seems to happen since people are so quick to make a judgment based on appearance. Hasn’t society heard of the phrase don’t judge a book by its cover?

Informal Assignment #3: Gem Sweaters, Prairie Weddings, and Stretchy Pants

           Today fashion has taken a major role in our society. We like to follow what the top celebrities are wearing with a hawks’ eye. If we don’t follow them closely or aren’t up on the latest fashion, then we are usually rejected or ignored within certain social groups. Fashion also ties into being thick or thin. Depending on the size of your body, society has a set code of what is appropriate to wear out in public, at big events, or even in music videos. We have become more judgmental and critical of what is “cool” or “in” vs. what is not.

            Leslie Hall makes it apparent that she doesn’t agree with how people deal with these kinds of issues. When visiting Leslie Hall’s website, the first thing you see when it comes up is Leslie Hall herself, wearing a hot pink outfit while wearing tons of makeup. The outfit is ridiculous and the makeup makes her whole appearance over the top, and not in a good way.  She has made herself look like she is a lot older then she really is. According to society’s norms, she would be considered fat and overweight. She has her website set up this way to express to people that you don’t have to fit and follow the code that society has setup for itself when it comes to what you wear and how you should act according to your size.

            While exploring her website she made it clear to me how society is. Society itself is geared toward skinny, non-curvy people. Leslie Hall designs stretchy pants that are made to “…hug your legs and hold your prod lady stuff.” She even states to, “Go ahead and gain a few pounds, these pants will still love you…” She is demonstrating that with ordinary pants from major brands, they aren’t catered to allow that much stretch if you do gain weight. You will always have to go out and buy a new pair once you have “out grown” them. Some major brands aren’t good for big movements like Leslie’s famous high kicks and leg swings. When looking at her stretchy pants she is proud of her crotch seems. She tells you that the strength is there and that she uses cobra veins. Although she is exaggerating about what she is using, this is important in what she is trying to get through to the public. She is explaining discretely that everyone is not made the same and that it’s ok to be a big person. Designers should be more conscientious of sizes in society today.

            In addition to making stretchy pants, Leslie Hall also has wedding packages setup for lucky couples who are interested in having unique weddings in Iowa. One of the wedding packages is called “Praire Wedding of Tenderness”. Now I haven’t been to many weddings but the ones portrayed in movies and the ones described of major celebrities sounds nothing like the one that Leslie Hall is offering. Leslie Hall’s wedding package is described as a simple wedding in praire grass, and the fine dinning is done on a quilt. Leslie Hall’s perspective on weddings is that it is a special time with your loved one. It doesn’t have to be done up super expensive with a whole bunch of material objects in the way. To me this is important to her because today society has blown up weddings into something that takes away from the most important aspect of weddings, which is the union of two people. But now it’s about center pieces for tables and what designer dress the bride wants. All of this amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs. 

            Although I didn’t get a chance to go into her music videos, they fall into the same category of going outside the norms and being different. In music videos they are supposed to be flashy and expensive, not home made. Bigger women are not supposed to be dancing or even wearing skin tight clothes because the audience can see everything moving and it is not “appealing”.     

This is all important to what the bigger picture is for Leslie Hall. People go through life trying to be like what they see on TV and follow what the top celebrities are wearing and what size they are. They are focused on material objects and not on what is more important in life. People, mainly women are losing themselves in trying to become what they see on TV and in magazines.     

Informal Assignment #2: Blue vs. Red

From the very beginning of the movie the directors of The Matrix, discretely set up the conditions that Neo would face when Morpheus presents him with an ultimatum. Neo is constantly given “choices”, either to take that path of already knowing what will happen or to take a chance and explore the unknown path. It first happened when Neo was invited to go out or to stay at home; then when he was at work, his boss was explaining to him he could stay and work for the company or he could leave; then he could either escape by the window or leave with the authorities. In each of these situations one choice would be like taking the red pill and the other choice would be like taking the blue pill. Whenever he was in a tough situation he would take the easy way out and go with what was comfortable with him. But all that changed when Trinity made his decision easier for him by saying, “…you have been down there…you know that road…you know exactly where it ends...” Once he closed the door and stayed in the car, he knew that he would not be going back to Kansas.

            “You take the blue pill-the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe.” For me, by taking the blue pill one would be taking the more conservative route. There is no change in the existing conditions or ideas. There are no risks being taken or hard choices being made. Nothing stands out and everything is the same. One would just continue with their everyday routine, being just another sheep herded along with the flock. There is no sense of control over ones self, you are trapped. Taking the blue pill is like taking the safe road because it is what you are used to, you are comfortable with it. If I took the blue pill I would be full of regret because I would already know how this path goes and I would constantly be wondering what would have happened if I would have went with the red pill. I would feel like slave to the daily routine compared to what my life could have been like if I went with the other pill. I feel like whenever I regret not doing something or not going along with something, the same saying pops up in my head: should have, could have, would have.

            “You take the red pill-you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.” My first instincts would be to say I would have without hesitation gone with the red pill. But I probably would have taken a quick second to think about what options he is actually presenting me with. I would have thought about how my life was going then and how it would be if I took the red pill. Thinking now if I was actually in that position, I would see my everyday routine for my life now if I went with the blue pill, but thinking about how it would be with the red pill, I wouldn’t be able to picture anything. Like Morpheus says, “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” With the blue pill I would be walking the unknown path. I would have been anxious about the decision but very excited about the first steps along the path of the unknown. I am the type of person that regrets not taking certain chances when they are presented to me. In life there are certain times when you go with your gut feelings on certain things, especially if they are potentially life altering decisions. When I don’t go with my heart or my gut feeling I am always regretting not going with that decision. Usually that decision was doing something or trying something that I haven’t done before, a path that is different from my everyday routine.

            For society I feel that we are in mystified by the idea of the unknown and at the same time we are not quite comfortable with leaving or abandoning what is known. Nevertheless, sometimes society is afraid to take steps toward the unknown so they like to imagine it through movies. This concept of red vs. blue pill, or known and unknown is portrayed in so many movies like The Wizard of Oz, Pan’s Labyrinth, and even in The Phantom of The Opera.

Informal Assignment #1: Examined Life

            

              In Astra Taylor’s documentary, Examined Life, the viewers were allowed to take a walk with eight of the most engaging and mind stimulating free thinkers. I thought it was interesting for Taylor to have them continuously walking because simultaneously their minds were doing the same thing when they were being questioned. It was like she planned the documentary to happen that way so the viewers can see the connection between the two. While their bodies were physically taking the walk, their minds were also taking a walk within their minds, to explore what they felt philosophy is to them. What kept the viewers engaged with the documentary were the different settings for each of the eight philosophers. From the expensive and trendy Fifth Avenue in New York, to a trashy landfill, to the mission district in San Francisco, to central park, to an airport, and even in a taxi cab. The different settings reflected or were related to their ideas and questions they proposed in relation to their everyday experiences. Although many of the philosophers had compelling ideas, I was caught between Peter Singer and Avital Ronell. Despite Singer’s idea that applied ethics challenges morals, I gravitated more towards Ronell’s ideas.

                Ronell stated that in order to be an ethical person you have to be an anxious person. The more anxious the person the more ethical they are. She uses George Bush as an example, saying that he has no anxiety when he sends people to the electric chair. I think she feels that George Bush is not an ethical person because of his rash decisions, and this makes him a dangerous person. When she was explaining her idea, although her example may have seemed a bit extreme, I immediately understood what she was trying to convey. Either in a negative way or a positive way, by being an anxious person you are more prone to think about how your decisions will affect other people. Being anxious means that the person is full of mental distress and they are constantly thinking of all the situations that could play out if they were to carry out a certain act. If someone is not an anxious person, they are not thinking things all the way through before they make a final decision on something. For me, someone who is not anxious is a dangerous person to be around because if they are quick to make a decision without hesitation, or to think twice about what they have done, they could seriously hurt someone or a group of people. As a society we need to be more anxious so we can prevent unnecessary problems and conflicts from arising like violence between races or wars between countries.

               Another one of Ronell’s ideas that got the wheels in my head spinning was that as a society we always try to get instant gratification. That was easy to understand for me because I see it everyday. When someone is hungry they don’t have to go through the trouble of making everything from scratch like in the days before packaged goods. One can just go to a fast food place, where everything is all put together for the person; it’s instant. Although this is a small example, I feel it goes deeper than fast food or junk food. Instant gratification has made society very lazy and not very ambitious to try harder for what one wants. We seem to want the easy way out; we want to be patted on the back for the bare minimum, so we can have that instant gratification for something as small as just trying instead of taking a longer road to excelling at something. I think that society needs instant gratification at times because some people are not as determined as others, and some need small encouragement like instant gratification to show them that they are on the right track of achieving a goal or an assignment or just accomplishing something.

              The final idea of Ronell’s that I want to close on is that if we don’t know the other then we wont violate it, you will let it live. But if you think you know the other then you could kill it. Basically, we don’t understand that we don’t understand. For some reason we don’t realize that we don’t know everything and we don’t want to take the time to fully learn and understand something. Instead of admitting we were wrong about the other we try to cover our tracks. As a society we need to realize when we are wrong or when we haven't gotten all the information and just sit down and take the time to completly understand.

             Overall, I feel that Ronell is trying to tell us that in philosophy and in life, we need to take the time to ask questions, explore our options, and try to understand before making quick judgments or decisions.

The Scavenger Hunt

#2

#7

#9

#6

#3

#5

#14

#4

                                                                                                                                        

                I thought the scavenger hunt was a fun and interesting experience. If I had to do the scavenger hunt again I would look at the instructions more closely because I took the scavenger hunt too literally. I thought that we actually had to go and find everything, but in reality there were no specifications on how to get the pictures of the items. One thing that I would change about how we handled the scavenger hunt would be to slow down. I personally felt like we were rushing too much to try to find items. I think the scavenger hunt reveals who stands out most in the group and who just sits back for the ride. This shows who has more of a leadership characteristic and who is more of a follower.