#7 People Like US

This assignment consisted of watching this movie, "People Like Us", and summarizing it. For this post I am going to add more then just a summary of the film, I am going to give you my opinion on some of the parts I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with in the film. Lets get started...

This film has to do with class and how society looks at certain things having to do with class differently based on different things like looks or family. One of the major things that the film keeps going back to and reflecting on is how the way you look and the way you act and carry yourself is a major part in determining if you fit in the high class. Having money is not the only factor in you being high class. Also another thing that kept being mentioned in the film is how the class system is like high school and how people are constantly dreaming, stretching, and striving to be in the upper class and to fit in among them. Another point in the film was when this young man said that he was, "bar diving", and said it was fun to get away and have fun because it seemed like the people in the bar always have fun and enjoy themselves. It amazes me how he said that but he didn't take into consideration the fact that if he would still feel like that if he lived like that all the time. 

Now cones the good part my opinion! I agree with the fact that the way the class system functions is like high school. I agrree with this because I can relate to a certain extent. In high school I would go out and break my curfew because I wanted to seem cool and like I belonged among all my friends. One thing I didn't like about this film is how it portrays the idea of having to buy these ugly tacky things just to make it seem like they have a lot of money. I don't like this because I believe in simplicity. It doesn't have a curtain doesn't have to have sheer jewels and cost $500.00 to be classy and sophisticated. Part of that I think has to do with conspicuous consumption. I can't begin to comprehend it. For instance, when I was growing up I used to buy my jeans for $15-$20.00 with nice designs on the pockets and everyone would compliment me for them and they would be astonished at how much they would cost, and I was content with my jeans and then I would look at the jeans that cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars with all the extra design and prints, and say to myself, why would anyone want to spend so much money for that. Another thing I didn't like was how the two ladies in the car in the Hampton's were being snippy at the fact that the community was starting to become a bit multicultural. Just because people act differently from what you are use to doesn't mean you have to turn your nose up and act like you don't stink.

I enjoyed watching this film, I think it was an eye opener on class. If you haven't watched it yet watch it and maybe you'll get a better understanding of the things I have mentioned in this post. 

Thanks for reading and be safe. :)

"Killing Us Softly" < > or = Socialization!

For this week’s blog I had to watch a video entitled, “Killing Us Softly”, which is a video of a women who has taken a lot of advertisements that us as people don’t really pay any attention to and has unpacked them to show what they are depicting and how it has shaped our socialization. She starts off by telling you what she was doing before she came across an add that she knew had a subliminal message and how after that she started collecting more adds, pinning tem to her refrigerator, and unpacking them with her friends. When I say unpacking, I mean diving deeper and reading between the lines to unmask the true meaning of the message being advertised in ads.

She goes on to show all these different ads about women and how women are made out to be objects. Besides socialization she also talks about dehumanization and how it is always around us. Another thing she mentions is that men are not as dehumanized as women and when men are being depicted or portrayed in a certain way in an advertisement it is not as harsh as when it is done to women. I agree with a lot of the things that she is saying. She has very good valid points. We are always joking about how sex sells and how the sex industry is growing but we fail to realize that it is always happening around us. She explains this point really well and she makes sense. I enjoyed watching this because I do think that socialization stereotypes are perception of what are dominant norms, values, and beliefs are. She shows a lot of great ads and she does a very good job of relating them to how it dehumanizes women and the U.S. for that matter. For example, one of the ads was a woman advertising a perfume called fetish and she says that the ad is saying that even when a women says no, it is not important what they say because they don’t matter.

This video relates to the chapter on socialization because it helps explain that even though socialization is dynamic in social structure, it has had a static element to it. It talks about some of the agents of socialization like school. The ad about the boy standing tall and acting tough next to the shorter girl smiling innocently definitely relates to school and how it is another major agent of socialization. This video obviously relates to media and how the media is, in my opinion the biggest advocate for dehumanization.

If you are still having some difficulty believing this then here are some pictures that I found of boys and girls being socialized and/or dehumanized.

 This image is a before and after ad for Hydroxycut. It is depicting the stereotype of men who use this product end up looking like what men are suppose to look like by using this little boy.

So this is an for hair dye and this is dehumanizing women and referring to them as animals and it is also showing that the less gray hair you have as a man the more number of women you will be attracted to you.

My Action Observed and the Social Structure

During this past week I have had to observe parents picking up their children and taking them home from an Early Head Start Program. For those of you who may not know what Early Head Start (EHS) is, it is a program that is closely similar to a daycare. Since my son goes to EHS I decided to observe what parents do when the time comes to pick up their child. Since this is a reoccurring behavior in my social structure.

You must be thinking that this is probably going to be boring because nothing really happens when you are picking up your child. If you are thinking that then you are mistaken. I thought the same thing too but it turned out I was wrong as well.

So I observed that the first thing a couple of parents were doing was getting their strollers. Then they would call their child to them, wash the child’s hands and put on the child’s shoes. After that they would take their child’s coat/jacket from their cubby and then they put it on their child and put their child, all dressed in the stroller. This whole process sounds smother then it actually is and went because it is multiple parents trying to do this at once not just one at a time. They often get in the way of other parents with their big bulky strollers and cause traffic. I also noticed that the parents that do this are mostly the Chinese and or Asian parents because the Spanish parents put their child’s coat and shoes on and takes their stroller and leaves the classroom. They don’t stand in the way and block the path for the rest of the parents and children.

This action adds to the overall social structure because if parents did not go pick their children then other people like the teachers would not get to go home right away, to see their own families. The action also adds to the social structure because it keeps things flowing smoothly in the classroom. Besides this action adding to the social structure, it also adds to the overall social hierarchy. It adds to the social hierarchy because it constitutes a good sense of responsibility for the people in power who implemented the right to go and pick up ones child from EHS. If you are always late to go pick up your child, the people in power are going to think that you are not responsible and they might further investigate the reason why. If the situation becomes more extreme with more than one parent not picking up their child on time then the social hierarchy might change the rule and make it so the child get put on a school bus and gets dropped off at your house. The consequences of not having this action apart of the social structure are not that rigid. Some of those consequences include stress because you don’t know what your child is doing or has done throughout the day or less of an anxiety of having to be caught up in the traffic of bulky strollers and rude parents. Another consequence that you might see if this action were not a part of the social structure would be intensity of involvement. Parents would be more willing and wanting to go pick up their children so they can be more involved. The consequence of intensity to be involved may cause conflict because the hierarchies will argue that the action causes too many problems or issues between other parents and maybe even other children.

The social hierarchies involved are the teachers, the principal, and the part of the government that makes the rules for children and child welfare. These hierarchies tie into culture because they set the ideologies and norms for what we do with our children and how we get them ready to go home. However, not every parent that goes to pick up child believes the same thing that the hierarchies believe in so it becomes an issue of culture war.

Thanks for reading and stay safe. 

A Letter to Apple's CEO

To Timothy D. Cook,

Hello my name is Raven Velez, and I am writing to you because I have a bone to pick with you and your corporation. Believe it or not, I feel that your products have totally changed the social structure. Creating and changing the social structure is linked to action, and by you taking action and creating the Apple iProducts, you have completely changed the social structure. Society nowadays, has no appreciation for a certain things anymore because of your iProducts. For instance, before all the advancement due to Apple, people in society had a great appreciation for a comic book. It was one of the best feelings in the world when you would go to the comic book store pick up the latest issue of your favorite, "Captain America", comic. However now people can just tap on a screen a few times and they have their comic. Don't even get me started on the effect this is having on the generation of kids today. In my generation there were no touch screen phones that you could play games all day, there was only board games and you couldn't download those and play them all day because there were chores that had to be done. By you creating these iPhones, iPods, and iPads you have made it easier for the kids in society to be disconnected with their parents, sibling, and even longtime friends. You are even encouraging crime by creating these products. All you hear about when the new iPhone comes out are people getting threatened, robbed, or killed for there iPhones, some even as they came out the stores. Also another example of how Apple is changing social structure is how simple it is to use them. My 3 year old nephew can use an iPad but he still doesn't know how to use the potty yet. He didn't learn how to use the potty but, he learned how to use an iPad! This is happening with almost all the children in society. It shouldn't be like that. Children should be focused on kid joys like the park or lunch instead; they want to be focused on coloring on the iPad with their finger. 

Like I stated earlier, your iProducts have changed the social structure. Please stop making these products? If you keep on doing so think about what is to come of society in 5 or 10 years. Will mothers have to talk to their children through a phone thinner than a piece of paper instead of sitting down and having a nice family dinner with them? Take all this into account as you design the next generation of iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Changing the social structure can have great affects but, I don't think you are contributing to the greatness aspect of change. Please consider what I am saying and contact me if you have anything to say. I am anxious to see what you think of this letter.

Thank You


Raven Velez
raven526@gmail.com

My Photo Voice Project

Hey Guys!!!!! So here is my photo voice project, take a look and tell me what you think.

Current Events!

In class we were told to read an excerpt about a book named, Teenage Wasteland", by Donna Gaines. This excerpt was about the 4 Bergenfield, New Jersey teens who were found on March 11, 1987 deceased in a Camaro. Upon further investigation this tragedy was believed to be a quadruple suicide pact. Now at that time teen suicide was at an all time high. 

Today teen suicide is still an issue in sociey but, there is a much bigger issue that is causing our teens to commit suicide or consider it. That issue ladies and gentlemen is, Bullying. Now at one point bullying was a norme in society amongst teens and children in schools. Now in today's society it is causing such an uprising due to the fact that so many teens are trying to hurt themselves or take their own life just because they are getting bullied. 

From my personal experience i too was the victim of bullying and I understood that it was something that all kids go through. You were always told that one you get to a certain grade in school you would get bullied and that it wasn't going to be anything serious just some kid who would be bigger then you would push you around for a little while just to see how tough you were and one that was done with and you moved on then you maybe for a short time become a bully yourself. 

However! In the society of today the kids are become more cruel in the way that they bully other kids. Children now are more cold, callus, and cruel. It is this same cruelty that is making the victims of bullying so upset and depressed that it is leading to suicide. 

Since this is becoming a rising issue in today's society there are many different organization to help withthe issue of bullying. For example World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has this organization called Be A STAR. This organization entails the superstars of WWE, that alot of children look up too by the way, going to the schools and holding events to deal with the topic of bullying. 

Also bullying is not just in the schools, in case you are wondering, it is outside of the schools, in the home possibly, in the media, and even on the internet. Cyber bullying is also another harsh cruel form of bullying. Bullying in any form is not ok! If you are a victim you can in some cases end up becoming a predator. If you are bullied there can be a lot of catastrophic results. Take a look at the Sanyhook shooting or Columbine. Those kids were victims at one point and then, what happened they became predators. 

This is a serious issue in today's society and it is increasing. It is definitely not alright to bully someone to the point where they feel they want to take their own life. Hope this helped shed some light on the issue of bullying and remember we are not in the 80's or the early 90's bullying is not ok!

Be happy and be safe :).   

Assignment WHO

Who am I?
I am a young lady who is determined and not deterred by obstacles that may be put in my way. I know that almost everybody says the same thing about themselves but, the only thing is I am not everybody. I have been thrown curve balls since I can remember. I am visually impaired and I am constantly taking a swing at a change up in my life. Things are not just handed to me, I have to fight for what I want. So aside from that aspect of myself I am also very fun, outgoing, and sweet. I believe that you should live in the moment because life is short and you only live once. However what defines me as a person is the fact that I have a very optimistic look on life. No matter what I am going through I always find a way to look at the glass half full instead of half empty.

My goals in life are; to be the best Mom that I can be to my son and hope that one day he will call me his roll model. To finish school, and eventually get a job helping children that are struggling with abuse in their lives. I feel that my purpose in life is to help abused children and make a difference in their lives in some way.

I would say the biggest influence in my life is my aunt. She has made an impact in my life in so many ways. She has shaped me into the young lady that I am today. She put me on the right path and helped me realize that everything happens for a reason and you just have to get up and take it as it comes. I love her and I thank god that she was there to help me when I needed her. Another big influence in my life is my son. Even though he is young he has influenced me to be strong for him and that even if we have nothing we will always have each other. I love him unconditionally

So an event in history that has shaped my life and the way I think was when Megan's Law was created and how sex offenders have to register their address and make themselves known. This has changed my thinking because not everyone that is a registered sex offender, a sex offender. They are deemed sex offenders because of other circumstances that are happening in there life. Also it changed the way I think because of the ignorance that is shown when someone is registered a sex offender and you know exactly where they live. Now what I mean by that is people act like they are an infected species and they treat these people differently and sometimes inhumanly. Now I am not saying that out guard should be down less but, just because someone is a registered sex offender and you know where they live that doesn't gibe you the right to try and play vigilante.

NOTE: I am NOT saying what the people that are sex offenders do is right but we should keep in mind that the ones who are out and incarcerated were deemed fit to live in society and they are still people.

Can I see my own biography being influenced by something that happened in history? Right now the true answer to that is not at this time but, maybe later on in the future. I am still young I still have an iota of years a head of me so maybe later on the answer will change.

I hope this post was interesting, I tried. Be happy! :)