Candide

 If I had to choose a book to save, I would definitely save Candide written by Voltaire. If the reader understands the time period in which the book is written, many hidden satirist comments can be found under a thin veil of naïveté. This book contains unrealistic situations that always seem to ensnare the protagonist and his friends that would never actually happen. An example of such a situation is the survival through numerous ordeals that would kill any other person. For its time, Candide turned its world upside down. Voltaire attacks religious structures, both Catholic and Protestant, which are hypocritical along with the political atmosphere throughout Europe and its colonies. As the book travels from Eastern Europe to Spain and to the New World, the reader cannot help but laugh at the senselessness of the characters and events in the book. How religious superstition overcomes common sense and the obvious truth to the reader. Even the dialogue of the book is of satirist tone. Almost of the characters suffer unrealistic negative events that are so far out there, that even the most empathetic reader has to have a little chuckle.  

Halloween

As a kid I went trick or treating, until I was about 13 years old. I always enjoyed the event, but now I can just take candy from my brothers when they go. The best part of Halloween is all of the horror movies that fill every time slot for major television channels. I feel that after Halloween most people and stores already begin their displays for Christmas, which is still two months away and therefore too soon and a nuisance.  On top of that since my last name is Trick, I always get a lot of jokes based on my last name.  Overall, I still enjoy Halloween, just through other outlets other than trick or treating, such as haunted trails and buildings. It’s nice to see how my brothers enjoy Halloween in their own special ways, and it is always interesting to see what they want to dress up as.                                   

Wright State Changes

I am not too sure I would change anything about Wright State. Overall my experiences here have been good. Each instructor is unique and has their own way of teaching, so since that is most likely the main argument for change at a school that can be thrown out here.  As a freshman there is a lot I still don’t know about Wright State in general. Everyone seems nice enough, and I haven’t encountered any huge problems.  Maybe students should have more freedom in the material of a course. I think students in college should have the ability to choose what classes they want to take, and when to do so.

Revisions

My revisions are somewhat different from my original copies, but with changes in wording and sentence structure, instead of the overall ideas behind the paragraphs. Overall, I am satisfied with my midterm portfolio grade. It wasn’t the highest grade it could be, but it wasn’t a C either.  The revision process takes time, which I think is best if it is done in multiple days so you don’t rush through it. The topic assignments are not too challenging, even though they are not the topics I would choose to write about. I feel that our work would be better if we had multiple drafts done instead of just one, allowing more people to give their opinions on our work.

At the Moulin Rouge 1895

Purpose: To capture the style and interaction of Parisian nightlife

Audience: Urban city dwellers

Stance: N/A

Genre: Impressionism Painting

Media/design: Oil on canvas

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was an impressionists artist whom focused on the night life of city folk. The darkness of the background hints at the latest of the night. The focus of the painting is around the interaction of the people at the table in the center of the room as well as a lady in the right corner of the painting.  Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was very interested in interaction within Paris’s cafés. The viewpoint of the painting is from the outside, giving the impression that the viewer is on the outside looking in, observing the scene within. Many of his paintings were advertisements and basic paintings for café walls.

world without television

Since television was created, it has slowly become more intertwined with our society and our culture. Many households have multiple televisions and the average American watches at least over 4 hours of television.  We unwind in front of the T.V., we eat in front of the T.V., and we even sleep with the T.V. running. If the power grid was ever to fail us, (and therefore eliminating our precious television time) I feel Americans would freak out and there would be mass hysteria. People wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. A perfect example would be the film, Grown Ups. In the film several families take a weekend after a tragic loss, to visit a cabin that played an intimate role in the childhoods of the fathers. The comparison between the parent’s generation, (which tended to spend the majority of its time outside) and their offspring highlights younger generation’s dependence on electronics.  In an almost perfect utopia, the children grew bitter and resentful when they lost all forms of electronics. The children were so narrow minded they couldn’t see all the entertainment that was around them. It takes the children several days to adapt and see that they can live without electronics and become more active physically. Grown Ups has tackled the “what if” situation of a world without electronics or television. I believe that if television was to disappear, young people would adapt and venture more outside to interact and explore their environment leading to more independent and perhaps more intelligent younger generations.

ads

Advertising is all around us. Some of the material advertised is not for all ages however, and this trend is a growing concern in a world that is more connected and exposed to media than ever before. Young people are very vulnerable to what the media says they either look like or act. It is said that every American is exposed to over 2000 ads per day. To say that people don’t pay attention to ads would be incorrect in every statement.  When people call for the control of advertisement I would agree, but not in the manner in which they say it should be controlled. Most call for more government control, I would respectfully disagree. I would argue that it is up to society to control itself. Giving more control to the government gives away too much power that should belong to the people. If people want something done, then they should do it themselves and not rely on the government to do everything. Society should control the morality of a nation, not the government. Therefore pressure should be put on the ad companies to alter their ad tactics or only release certain ads where young vulnerable youth are more likely to see them. Enough pressure will cause the companies to change. It’s all up to the people.