Rohith

__**February 7th, 2014**__ In a class completely about words and word choice, one would expect an English teacher to say highlight the importance of good diction. However, what about outside of the classroom bubble? It is always important to be aware of what we are saying. You never know what could end up majorly offended another individual. Citizens involved in music, entertainment, and pop culture, it is even more critical to be aware of what we say and here because many other people might view their words and publicly take offensive to which ends up hurting the artist/actor. Brother Ali's essay in the Huffington Post describes his own personal experience regarding hurtful words in rap music, and his recently changed opinions in the matter. Specifically, Ali narrates how he used homophobic slurs in his songs which people have been offended and hurt by. In his essay Ali makes a reference to Tyler the Creator, a person who many people believe to be very funny. "I'm not homophobic. I just think 'ft' hits and hurts people. It hits. And 'gay' just means you're stupid. I don't know, we don't think about it, we're just kids. We don't think about that s--t. But I don't hate gay people. I don't want anyone to think I'm homophobic." Words like ft and gay are often used in society and on social media to describe stupid or undesirable things. These words are taken lightly and jocularly. This is obviously unfair to homosexuals and is highly offensive. I have always been aware of what I say online because you never know who could be reading it, and what you post never goes away; so I generally double-check before I post. Brother Ali's essay presents a very interesting view on the issue, which I didn't really think about until now.

__**February 21st, 2014**__ The article about the Sexist Avengers T-Shirts talks about how Marvel is creating boys shirts which say "Be A Hero" on it, and girls shirts which say "I Need A Hero" on it. The article mentions how this is nothing new, even though the sexism behind the shirts is controversial. Although some could argue that they had no sexist intentions in creating the shirts and say that this merely was a stylistic choice. The second article, 'Clothing Straddles the Line Between Sweet and Skimpy', which was about the clothing choices that the author's daughter was making and how they were inappropriate. Both of the articles discussed the impact that clothing plays on society.

Clothing is a very important part of society, and can tell a lot about a group of people. If a foreigner visited the country and saw the sexist Avengers T-shirts, then they would likely assume that America is a place which is sexist towards women (which is a wrong idea). Also when girls where super short and revealing attire, they often come across as trashy or provocative- even though the girl might just be trying to dress in a trendy way. Apparell is a part of culture, so naturally it has a very huge impact on society. It is very important to make modest clothing choices so that we can come across as good people.

__**February 28th, 2014**__ If epic hero archetypes like Odysseus are supposed to be the best of the best, a role model for us all, then who are the heroes of today and what are the values that our society upholds as models for "ideal" character traits? In Ancient Greece, Odysseus was a hero so naturally, he was one of the most famous people of his time. The traits he possessed fit the hero archetype. Heroic traits he possessed included courage, perseverance, good-looks, cleverness, leadership, and other desirable characteristics of a hero. Many of the heroic archetypes of back then still stand today. Policemen and firefighters, who save lives directly or indirectly everyday, are considered heroic within our culture. However, one of the most famous people is Miley Cyrus, a young singer who considers herself the world's biggest feminist. Miley uses oversexed behavior to sell her records- a tactic which works surprisingly well. She has a huge influence over young girls and is considered a role model - for better or for worse.

Miley is considered very controversial. Many people consider her actions inappropriate and 'disgusting'. Even Jennifer Laurence, another famous celebrity has publicly said “It is a part of the entertainment industry that sells,” she said. "For some disgusting reason, young sex sells even more.” in a reply to a question asking her opinion on the sexualization of young girls in Hollywood. Sinéad O'Connor, an Irish celebrity, has recently written an open letter to the young pop star strongly stating to Miley that she has an influence over young girls and she should be aware of that. Miley, however, doesn't care about other people's opinions, and feels like she can be whoever she is. Odysseus was also considered controversial, in a sense. He made very many controversial decisions. One decision was to venture into the cyclops cave and risk the lives of his shipmates- many were eaten by the monster. Another controversy of Odysseus was how he had numerous affairs with women on his journey back to Ithaca, when he had a wife (his wife waited for him for twenty long years on the other hand). Although Odysseus performed many unfavorable actions, he is considered one of the great heroes throughout history/mythology. So where does that put Miley?

Miley also possesses many heroic characteristics. She's very brave for revealing her other side to the world when she probably knew the negative reaction she'd receive. Also, Miley is somewhat attractive, so she (somewhat) fits a heroic archetype. However, one of the most important characteristics of being a role model in a society is a positive influence. Miley Cyrus is not this, so she cannot fit the archetype. The heroes of today are the firefighters and police, who directly save and improve the lives of citizens. The heroes of today are the unsung heroes, who do good deeds and improve the world in the dark; who do not bask in fame. Many archetypal characteristics of Ancient Greek are still upheld by society to this day, but the heroes of the world are not always the ones with the fame, nowadays.

__** May 12th, 2014 **__ In english, a project was conducted that required the students to learn and use propaganda and rhetorical techniques and look for the use of these same techniques in the works of both the famous and infamous. We had to form groups of four or five and create a campaign for one of the "candidates" that Ms. Whitley had created to run against each other. The group members had to evenly split up the work as a team to complete the various aspects of the projects, such as creating a flyer, poster, commercial, and/or slogan. For our campaign, our group made two flyers, a catchy slogan, and a commercial. Rhetorical techniques we used were alliteration, allusion, biblical allusion, repetition, and metaphor. The most challenging aspect of this project was dividing up the work evenly and completing it before our deadline was met. I felt like this project had the perfect amount of difficulty, and it was challenging but fun at the same time. I felt like our group did everything perfectly because we won. I will use this project's persuasion techniques for the rest of the class. I will use the persuasion techniques and flyer making skills I've learned in other classes too. I will definitely use what I've learned in this class project for life. If I ever have to create a campaign for a friend, then I can tell them I have experience in creating a campaign. THANK YOU MISS WHITLEY(: