Glee - "Duets"

What I find interesting about this show is its ability to take stereotypical, archetypal characters and turn them on their heads. For instance, we got the normal and overly cheerful nice girl with Rachel, but she is also seen as manipulative and self-absorbed. This is especially evident when she says that she wants to allow another couple win the duet competition, because she is helping other people feel like they have accomplished something while only looking for her own benefit in the long run.

Rachel is not the only example of such characterization; The McKinley High cheerleaders have also been altered from their typical forms. Brittany and Santana are shown to be the most popular of their school. However, their relationship is what sets them apart from the typical cheerleader. Showing the two girls acting on lesbian impulses provides enough character development to increase the diversity of the already wide-ranging show.

The biggest distinction of the show comes from Kurt and his embodiment of what a typical homosexual character can be described as, and his ability to stereotype others. He is quick to assume that another character, Sam, is gay based on how his hair looked; At the same time he can call another one homophobic for telling him that he is overstepping his boundaries. The whole situation with Kurt is interesting because it is a typical scenario of a fictional work: A guy likes someone, uses a scheme to get close to that person, and in turn tries to get that person to like them. The only difference is that this time the situation is based on a homosexual interest that can cause many problems when sexual preferences are taken into question and consideration.

Sloan texts

Usually I'm the type of person who would rather read a book than scroll through a computer screen. However, Sloan's text completely made me rethink my opinion on this subject. While both were essentially the same writings, the hypertext was more appealing to me. Maybe it had something to do with the white on black, rather than black on white writing. The obvious differences are the pictures and the sectioned approach of the hypertext as well. While those did have a factor in my decision, my real reason is based on the lack of personality from the book. The hypertext really made me feel for the writer and put me in her shoes.

I really had no issues with the links in the hypertext. To me they pointed out important aspects of the writing, almost like keywords in a textbook. If there was a distraction, it would only be that it would make me want to see where they took me. That really doesn't distract me because i wanna know more about what I am reading.

Now in regards to tonight's reading and whether it would be effective in hypertext form, I can say this. I don't think anything can help that writing because I couldn't understand a word of it. It made absolutely no sense to me and there really would be no point to add pictures. There are too many directions that this text goes and random descriptions, that it's ridiculous. If this text made absolutely no sense to me in a book, I highly doubt it would be any better online.

CESL Experience

The cultural identity experience at CESL really opened my eyes about some things. I thought that when I started school here at the U of A, it was scary. I had no idea how very lucky I was to be here, rather than somewhere else, especially a place where I couldn’t speak my native language. At CESL, I spoke with a girl from Korea named Hedy. She was a funny and nice person and I was happy to be paired up with her. She told me about how people in Korea seem to get very angry, but they have a way of getting calm very easily. That is something I can value, because I’ve lived with people that should take similar advice. What I found interesting was that she had been in Arizona for about a month now, yet she hadn’t tried any Mexican food. I did have to tell her though that cilantro is sometimes used. Apparently some Asian cultures also use cilantro and she had specifically told me that she hated it. When comparing this to our culture identity reading, I found that the main character and all the students in CESL were in a similar situation. All, after travelling to a foreign country, had to take tremendous amounts of classes to be able to speak a foreign language. While the character in the reading only had to cross a border, it showed the dedication that the character had to understanding another way of life. I believe that these students in CESL too have to have some sort of dedication to learning about our culture; otherwise they would not want to put themselves in such an unfamiliar place far from home.

A Persona Text Rebirth

The persona text that I decided to use is radically different from anything we have read in class. I have never been very interested in writing anything personally based on my life, or rather writing about my life in general. When I write, I like to imagine places and people that don’t exist. It’s actually difficult for me to write myself into anything I write at all. What is unusual though is that I always seem to write people I care about into my writing. Considering that I don’t write in a style centered on me, I found it only fitting that my persona text should be about something that doesn’t exist. I decided to write about a fairy tale inspired story that I had written titled “Rebirth.” The six-page narrative couldn’t be more different from anything we’ve read in class. While the stories in class seemed to be works centered on our real world, my persona text is influenced by a world of fantasy. The many differences include the characters, and even the time period. However, one can see a similarity. Out of all the texts from class, the one that really compares with my text is “Emily’s Exit.” Both have characters that get lost within their identities as they encounter a journey that affects the future of everyone. I do notice one key component of all of the texts, mine included. They all have a purpose. Whether that purpose has to do with reflection on a life of false memories, a struggle with the innermost doubts of the mind, or even trying to overcome the world around them. It is clear that there is a reason behind writing in general. That is what I believe allows me to choose my persona text and why it is important to me.

Journal #1

I believe that family truly is an important aspect to anyone, good or bad. Without those residents in the establishment of life, you may not witness experiences that shape you into your true self. It is because of this idea that I can take relief in the fact that through all the hard times caused by my family, my sisters in particular, I can still come out on top and be a positive individual. My experience is centered on the various acts that one of my sisters inflicted on other members of our family and how it shaped me into a different sibling. Now I remember that she, my sister, had a troubled life. It in no way, however, makes up for everything she has done.

This experience occurred about a year ago. It was around some holiday when our whole family was getting together. My sister hadn’t shown up, but we thought of it as normal as she was somewhat of a flake. It was unfortunate that the reason behind her not showing up was because of negligence towards my one-year-old nephew. She had apparently decided to take a nap in her truck while letting her baby play around with anything he could grab, including a bottle of her psychotic medication. When we had found this out, my family and I found her and rushed my nephew to the hospital. At the hospital, a toxicology screen revealed that not only was there medication in his system, but my nephew somehow also had large amounts of acetone in his blood. Luckily, my sister eventually lost her parental rights and my nephew is safe at home with his grandparents. Because of this experience, I came to a realization about myself. I believe you need to be protective of those important to you, because you can’t trust everyone. I now don’t trust people that I’ve known my whole life, but I know that the change in me is for the better.

After taking a short break, I've realized that writing this makes me understand more about myself. I didn't need to fictionalize any of my experience like Hampl because it was still fresh in my memory. Certain aspects of the story were too personal to include into the writing, but it in no way deems it fictitious. It is just not a full truth. It wasn't a matter of thinking of something to write about, but more of sorting through the different experiences in my life that have changed different things about me. I guess the language used above is casual with some professionalism added in. I wanted to make this writing seem familiar to me, but still feel as though it is important and holds context within who I am.