Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Blog 9

Most of the time when we hear the word “Hero” we imagine a strong guy, good looking and with a good moral. The media plays an important role in the community because through the media we know who that hero is. However, what is the message that the movie accidental hero portrays? The movie also shows how a low class man save many lives. Both character Bernie Laplante and John Bubber has different qualities but also they have something in common as well.

Bernie Laplante, an irresponsible father who do not even know his son age. The judge found him guilty of selling stolen goods, he belongs to a low class society. On his way home Laplante's car broke down in the middle of the street, it was raining and suddenly the plane crashed near him and he saved a bunch of people. On the other hand John Bubber, a homeless guy, thinks how he can help others. For instance, he asked Laplante to give the shoe to a person who has one leg. Both characters, Laplante and Bubber has different qualities.

I believe that Bubber has the heroic qualities even though he did not committed the act. He visits the hospitals to inspire children to live and he ask the people to help homeless. Those qualities make a person a “hero”, I agree when Bubber says that a hero is a symbol of good personality that everyone has. That is true, it does not matter whether you are poor or reach or whether you belong to a low class society, if you help others [like Bubber does in the movie] then you are a hero. Something I like about Bernie Laplante is that he does not care whether he receive the credit. For example, Laplante made a deal with Bubber, Laplante asked him to pretend to be the hero and help him economically because Bubber was rich. Laplante is a simple person who does not like to be a public image. To be a hero is not necessarily to be a good looking person or strong like superman. In the other hand, Laplante was totally different. Laplamte admited he is not a good person but at the end of the movie he advice his son to go to college. In other words, Laplante is not that ignorant.


The media plays an important role in the society. For instance, in the movie when the journalist asked the rescued passenger about the unknown person who saved them, they said that he was like an angel. Immediately the media entitled the issue as “the angel of flight 104” they name “the angel” to make an impact and to make a reaction toward that incident. The media also can be rude the way they tell the news. For instance, at the beginning of the movie a man jumped from a sixty feet high building and the journalist asked the cameraman “did you get that?”. In my opinion, the media is like a two edge sword, it can make a person a celebrity like Bubber and also can make a person miserable like the man how jumped from the roof of the building. That is why Laplante said to his son “you should no believe what you see on television not if you are smart”.

The movie hero has a meaningful message. The movie shows the good qualities that human beings have [ when Laplante saved a bunch of people]. The movie also portrays the role of the media and how journalists can make a person like bubber who was a homeless into a rich celebrity and the miserable life of the man who suicided when he jump from the building. That could happen in real life and that is why I consider the movie “hero” a good movie

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

blog: 8

I would now like you to return to your blog 8 entry and discuss a situation when you have been seen as the other--when your sex, race, habits, tastes etc. have clearly made somebody react negatively toward you and turn you into "the other" for them. Discuss the experience in detail and what you thought about the person as well as about yourself after this experience.

I would have been seen as the other and my friends would have a negative reaction toward me I think my thoughts would be negative as well. For instance, if they do not like my behavior or they look at me with disapproving all the time that would make me feel bad. My thought would be negative toward that person.

Blog 8; "the other"

a) give a description of your "other."

my description of my "other" would be doing drugs. I do not imagine myself doing drugs.

b) explain what it is about it that makes you feel such opposition to it

what makes me feel such opposition to it is that some of my friends think that drugs is a "refuge", when they have problems they use drugs. the way I see it is that drugs destroys your body, and causes death. I do not agree with my friends that drugs is a "refuge".

c) discuss what has happened or would happen in situations where you have to interact with someone who belongs to "the other" as you define it. You should make sure that you do not write something offensive to members of that group, but at the same time if you keep good manners you should express your ideas openly

one day one of my friends invited me drug and I refuse the invitation. I do not like it but I do respect their view points toward drugs.

Monday, October 18, 2010

blog 7 outline

Thesis: Back in the 1950s Malcolm X made an impact in all medias such as television documentaries, radio stations, and newspapers.
Topic sentence:
In television documentaries, for instance the producer Mike Wallace talks about how Black Muslims were becoming independent. In the documentary Elijah Muhammad was called “hate-teacher”.
"the hate that hate produced." ourmediachannelofcreativity. Web. 19 Oct 2010.

While Malcolm X was in the radio station, he explained the difference between “separation” and “segregation”. He stated that “separation” is something volunteer, for the good of both (which is what Muhammad was doing). Muhammad was trying to separate Black from White's control.
Little, Malcolm. "the autobiography of malcolm x". june 1973. new york: the random house publishing group, 1964. 283. Print.


In terms of newspapers, Malcolm's title “the hate that hate produce” caused a public reaction toward black Muslims. Therefore Malcolm says that “In America for centuries it had been just fine as long as the victimized, brutalized and exploited black people had been grinning and begging and 'Yessa, Massa'”.

X,malcolm. "the autobiography of malcolm x". june 1973. new york: the random house publishing group, 1964. 274. Print.

Monday, October 11, 2010

blog 6: hero [?]

Most of the time when we hear the word “Hero” we imagine a strong guy, good looking and with a good moral. The media plays an important role in the community because through the media we know who that hero is. However, The movie accidental hero shows how a low class man save many lives. Both character Bernie Laplante and John Bubber has different qualities but they have something in common at the same time.

Bernie Laplante, an irresponsible father who do not even know his son age. The judge found him guilty of selling stolen goods, he belongs to a low class society. On his way home Laplante's car broke down in the middle of the street, it was raining and suddenly the plane crashed near him and he saved a bunch of people. On of the passenger was a journalist who was saved by Laplante, while saving her, he took her purse. Once he helped the passenger he disappeared.

Laplante explained to John Bubber what happened last night. Bubber, a homeless who is only thinking how to be helpful to others noticed that Laplante had one shoe and asked him to give the shoe to a person who only has one leg. I believe that Bubber has the heroic qualities even though he did not committed the act. He visits the hospitals to inspire children to live and he ask the people to help homeless. Those qualities make a person a “hero”, I agree when Bubber said that a hero is a symbol of good personality that everyone has. That is true, it does not matter whether you are poor or reach or whether you belong to a low class society, if you help others [like Bubber does in the movie] then you are a hero. Something I like about Bernie Laplante is that he does not care whether he receive the credit because he save a bunch of people. Laplante is a simple person who does not like to be a public image.

Laplante, a uneducated person who does not care to “send you to hell” do not have a hero qualities, however, he saved a lot of people that were inside the plain that was about to be consumed by the fire. He was not good looking guy, he was not strong like “superman or spider-man” but the act that he committed made him a real hero. Bubber, a homeless guy who is very sensitive and always thinks about others has the hero qualities. The media makes Bubber famous. The way the media talks about Bubber causes a good public reaction. For example, when the journalist asked the rescued passenger about the unknown person who saved them, they said that he was like an angel. The media then called that hero “the angel of flight 104”. on the other hand, the media can be rude the way they tells the news, for instance when the guy jump from a sixty feet high, the journalist asked the cameraman “did you get that?”. The media is like a two edge sword, it can make a person famous and also can make a person miserable like the guy who killed himself.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

blog 5 [plan for media paper]

My topic is Malcolm x. I think that Malcolm x made an impact in the evolution of mass media, that is why I consider that topic important. Malcolm did something very important in terms to the contribution to the development of the mass media, he established the newspaper "Muhammad Speaks" which had a national circulation 600,000, the most widely read black-owned newspaper in the country.

Also, for this blog you should explain, in your own terms, how you understand the concepts of "reason" and "evidence" as well as the term "argument" (it is not what most think). We will go over what you write in class.

reason: a thought or a consideration.

evidence: to prove something

argument: to argue.

blog 4

Reflect on the following questions, do some pre-writing/invention on them and then post your thoughts as a new post on your blog. This will be completed in class but can be edited further out of class, as is the case with all in-class entries.


1) What have you learned about writing academic texts so far? Anything from ideas of audience to invention techniques to thesis and topic sentences can be discussed here. Do not simply repeat whatever notes you took in class--the point is for your thoughts on what we did in class: Did these concepts connect with things you already knew and how did you make these connections? If something was unfamiliar, how did you approach it? What is still puzzling to you about these writing concepts? What are you not sure of regarding them?

I've learned in terms of academic text that it is important to keep in mind what the audiences are interested in. For example, if I am going to write an essay, the topic should catch the audiences attention. Thesis statement, plays an important role in writing because it is the main idea. I've heard about thesis statement before, but this time I have a better understanding about writing academically.

What did you think of the interaction with ENA 099? Does such interaction make blogging more meaningful for you or not? How was writing to someone not in class different from making comments on classmates' blogs? Did trying to critique someone else's summary make you more confident that you know the criteria for a good summary?

At the beginning I did not like the interaction with ENA 099 but definitely it helped me somehow.Therefore, I change my mind and the interaction became meaningful for me. Writing for someone who was not in my class was a good experience because even though that person was in another class, he was studying the same text as me "the allegory of the cave".

Area of reflection of your choice: What else would you like to share with all of us?

Working with other and posting comments on their essays is interesting and the interaction with others is helpful.

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Blog 3: The matrix [analysis]

The first question that came to my mind when I first started watching the movie “the matrix” was: What is matrix? And I asked myself several times: what is the meaning of the movie [the matrix]? I always have consider “the matrix” as a action/science fiction movie, however, the movie the matrix goes beyond, it has a strong meaning and has something in common with Plato's example: “the allegory of the cave”. Many people do not like the matrix because they do not understand what is the message.

According to the text The matrix as metaphysics [the science fiction and philosophy book pp. 33] the matrix presents a version of an old philosophical fable “the brain in a vat”. What does the fable tell? well, the philosophy refers that there is a disembodied brain in a vat, however, the brain is connected to a big computer simulation of a world. The disembodied brain is being studied inside the laboratory. The scientist is studying the disembodied brain because he believes that it can receive the same amount of inputs that a normal embodied brain receives. For instance, the [disembodied] brain that is connected to the computer might think that it is sonny outside or might think that it is walking on the beach. So, What is the matrix? The matrix is the false believes caused by the computer simulation. For example, the disembodied brain thinks it is walking on the beach, when in fact, it is inside the laboratory.

The movie has something quite different from the philosophy “the brain in a vat”. You may ask yourself, what is the difference? Well, the philosophy says that the brain is in a vat, however, in the movie the matrix, Neo's brain is in his body. Like an disembodied brain, Neo has false beliefs. For example, he thinks he has hair, he thinks he lives in a city and he thinks that it is 1999, in reality he has no hair and the year it is around 2100 and when Morpheus shows Neo the world as it is, he sees that the world has been destroyed, every time Neo sees the truth he feels strange. In other words Neo was living in a illusion. In effect, Neo is a brain in a vat even though his brain is in his body.

The matrix has a comparison “reality v. illusion”. For instance Neo thinks he lives in a city, in fact, the world has been darkened by war. The matrix has something in common with Plato's allegory “the allegory of the cave”. Plato gives and illustration about how people prefer to live in ignorance rather knowing the truth. He says “ if one of the prisoners are released and disabused of their error. At first, when any of them is liberated and compelled suddenly to stand up and turn his neck around and walk and look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains” [excerpt from the republic pp25]. Plato means that if the prisoner is released and get out of the cave [ignorance] and sees the world as it is, the prisoner would feel pain because the truth might be hard to accept because he is used to live in ignorance [inside the cave]. The same thing happens to Neo [the matrix], at the beginning when Morpheous tries to explain to Neo the reality, he does not want to accept the truth, he refuses to be helped. However, at the end of the movie Neo accepted the reality.

In conclusion, the movie the matrix has a strong meaning that many people do not realize. Like I said before, the matrix is a version of the fable “The brain in a vat”, a computer simulation that sends certain amount of inputs to the disembodied brain. Therefore, the brain starts to have false believes, like Neo in the movie, He thinks it is 1999 however the year is around 2100. Even though that at the beginning of the movie Neo did not want to get helped, at the end he accepted the reality, the world as it is.