Resources Resources

Even though I've been dreading Junior Theme, this week it occurred to me how lucky we are to be able to write such a complex paper and the resources we have to write it. I'll start by pointing out the obvious: we have computers. I don't know about you but I remember when we had a former student stop by during class first semester and tell us that he is teaching in a place where there is only one computer in the entire town. If I had to guess I'd say that we have close to 200 computers and laptops for students to use (but don't quote me on that). It would be pretty hard to write a 5-7 page paper by hand and then revising that paper. 

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 But even with a computer we would need books and that is where the library comes in. Our library is one of the biggest of any schools in the area and I don't remember the number (I'll post it after I ask) but we have a TON of books. While I was trying to find a book to read on my topic I found a good one but we we didn't have it in our school library. Ms. Gressel asked me give her the name of the book and she ordered it for the school library (too bad it won't be in time for me to read it). Just like that it was done. This is a harsh contrast of some of the schools even just 20 miles away. I found this article from a newsletter in the Austin area of Chicago (its a very very poor and dangerous part of the city) and it says that "164 Chicago public schools lack a library " . That is an incredibly high number and could you imagine how we would write or Junior theme without a library or the help of a librarian? And even if a school has a library it is most likely not funded well. The article says that some schools might have a library but not one librarian to work there. and that "Spending on school libraries in high-poverty areas has dropped 25 percent in the past year, from an average of $13,935 in 2009 to $10,378 in 2010."  Now here comes the most shocking part. Ms. Gressel informed me that our library spends $50,000 on databases, ebooks, and online encyclopedias alone. It just goes to show how lucky we are to have the resources we do. If we didn't have them, who knows if we'd be doing Junior Theme.

Junior Theme: Part One

This week in AS we started junior theme. For me it was very very very difficult to pick a topic and it took me 3 days to finally settle on one. Going through all of my potential research topics I realized that there is so much information about current issues that I have no idea about. My list of questions reached almost 25 in total and I'm positive that there were millions of other questions I could have come up with. For a teenager who thinks she know everything (like most other teenagers)I just thought it was almost a wake up call for me to learn more about current issues. I am now really excited to read my fellow classmates' papers.

The topic/ question I decided on was: Why has the number of Americans on prescription drugs increased so much in the past decade? It is a surprisingly interesting topic and it has been really easy to find research. Now my only problem is narrowing it down. There are too many medicines to generalize the use of them because consider Viagra: it has only been around for less then a decade so shouldn't its number be increasing? And do I argue that the increase in number of people on antidepressants has increased because of advertisement or that diagnosis is much better? So at this point I am confused as to which way to start to narrow my topic. And it needs to be done because after all, we can only have 5-7 pages.

Tokenism:An unanswered question

Before our class presentations started Mr. Bolos and Mr. O'Connor posed an interesting question: is tv tokenism a problem? Recently I've been thinking about this and have not come up with a clear answer.

After seeing many people's presentations it was clear that the token black character gets little screen time and is not a developed character. Personally I think it would almost be better if the black character were not in the authority position but instead tv shows gave a more realistic approach and showed the view a deeper side to the black character. I do not want to sound like I am saying that blacks cannot achieve high level positions but did you know that over the course of history that there have been only 8 CEO's of Fortune 500 companies? and only 6 African American senators in history? I feel like tv stations are doing a disservice to stopping racism and stereotypes by portraying so many blacks in unusual positions. TV tokenism in this sense is bad. If a show wants to have a token minority character why not show a hard working mom or a family having trouble adjusting to living in a primarily white suburb? Basically my point is that we should be showing the opposite of the stereotypes not special exceptions. Sure showing a black CEO is great but that doesn't really break down any stereotypes because I don't think that there are any stereotypes about black CEOs. In my opinion it just make me think how rare they actually are.

Faster than the speed of news

It seems like nowadays news comes and goes in the blink of an eye and then is never approached until something major happens again. When I first saw the news about Japan and the devastating earthquake/tsunami I was shocked and then I thought, what is going on in Haiti? 


But anyway, in Japan right now  hundreds have been found dead and authorities expect that close to 1,000 people are missing but the number could definitely rise. Almost all news stations are saying the same things and HERE is an up to date article for the moment. According to many sources this could be one of the costliest natural disasters ever and danger is still looming as nuclear power plants are unstable and there are continuing aftershocks. I pray that Japan emerges ok.


Nevertheless back to my original point. What's happening with disasters like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and what i'm about to focus about: Haiti?


Cholera has infected 252,640 people in Haiti as of today. I has killed 4672. Depending on the source, only 5-20% of the rubble has been cleared. Approximately 1.2 million people are still living in tents. One third of people do not have access to clean water and a quarter do not have access to a toilet (this is especially bad because one way cholera is spread is through feces). Most of these facts came from here and here. So why has this not been one of the centers of attention in the news? Sure there are other things going on in our country but it seems as if there is never a news article about Haiti rolling across my yahoo homepage even though they are still in a dire situation.


I think this speaks to how and what news is delivered to us as Americans. In our society today everything is so quick and fast pace that it would seem logical that what captures our attention has to move quickly also. One, to the next thing, to the next. What is happening with the oil spill cleanup? I'd be surprised if the estimated 5 million barrels of oil was cleaned up already. But the oil spill is long gone to a lot of Americans and the news stations that choose not to report about it. Our attention has run out.


So I'll leave with one final question: how long do you think it will take for the tsunami in Japan to become old news?

Is Beyonce's photo "blackface"?

Recently in the news, Beyonce has been criticized for her pictures in the French fashion magazine L’Officiel Paris.The usually fair skinned singer's skin was painted darker (see the top two photos) which many of her critics say is offensive because it is akin to "blackface". Read more here. What they are referring to is a very racist aspect of American history when whites (and later blacks) used to put on minstrel shows.Minstrel shows were, as wikipedia state, "American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface. Minstrel shows lampooned black people as ignorant, lazy, buffoonish, superstitious, joyous, and musical." Many people are saying that using "blackface" was outright offensive on Beyonce's part. 

On the other side, according to the magazine this photo shoot was "a return to her African roots, as you can see on the picture, on which her face was voluntarily darkened. " According to most celeb news websites like this one, Beyonce was paying tribute to Fela Kuti, a Nigerian musician and human rights activist, whose music she is using as inspiration for her next album.  

Personally I feel like it is hard for me to argue either way. I question whether they are treating blackness as  "fashion" or some sort of accessory. I am also wondering why, if she wanted to pay homage to her African roots, why she didn't actually wear clothes from Africa. As it turns out it was her mom that designed some of the dresses. The other thing that also keeps me from completely liking the photos is that Africans are of varying hues and I feel as if she is reducing a continent into one color. But am I really in the position to say so? I am not an African American and I have no idea how this may or may not be offensive to an African American. I also feel like I am not in the position to criticize Beyonce for paying a tribute to her African roots. So when can someone of one race comment on something related to another? Is this just another racial boundary that hasn't been crossed?

Misrepresented or Unrepresented

Recently in class we've been discussing the portrayal of African Americans in the media which coincidentally comes at the same time as the oscar nominations consisting of not one African American this year. Interestingly while I was looking into this topic I came upon an article talking about the increase of African Americans in commercials but how the portrayals are stereotyping black women. (Click here) The author writes that the stereotypical overweight black woman "typically finds herself in an exchange that is either confrontational or embarrassing. And her best line is often little more than a sassy “Mmmm hmmm.” The article also says that, "over the last 15 years the number of blacks appearing in commercials has been roughly proportional to their share of the American population, about 14 percent." It's good that blacks are no longer underrepresented in terms of population but is it still ok if they are being misrepresented?

What is interesting is that even though African Americans are prevalent in commercials, this year they are extremely underrepresented in the film industry. According to this article (also from NY Times), the Oscar nominated movies are " more racially homogenous — more white — than the 10 films that were up for best picture in 1940". I find this very sad in the fact that we elected a African American president but don't even have ONE African American up for an Oscar.  If we take both commercials and movies together, we are getting a misrepresented and an underrepresented portrayal of African Americans. Of course there are exceptions in both cases and I know I am being very general but have we really progressed in our portrayal of African Americans throughout US history? The latest movies that are in theaters:  I am Number Four- blond actors; Gnomeo and Juliet -white gnomes; and Big Mammas: Like Father, Like Son- African American actors. But interestingly it seems like in Big Mamma: Like Father, Like Son they are only fueling stereotypes.

Where are the overweight people?

In class few weeks ago we watched a clip of a news anchor whose body was in full view opposed to the man she was interviewing who could only be seen from the chest up. It seemed as if the news program was using the anchor for her attractiveness. Something interesting came to mind: do we ever see overweight or unattractive people on tv?

I did a little research on "how to become a news anchor" and found that most websites stated that people in college  go for a undergraduate degree in communications or journalism. Then they work their way up from interning to new reporter to anchor.( see this link). What I found to be particularly peculiar is the fact that almost no website ever stated that a new anchor must be somewhat attractive. Each made it seem like anyone could eventually become one. A recent article states that more than 6 in 10 Americans are overweight or obese. If very few news anchors are overweight (if you were to search "overweight news anchor" into Google no overweight anchors come up), then theoretically couldn't only the 40% of healthy weight people have the chance to become news anchors? This brings me to my biggest question: Why are there few overweight people on tv, besides the shows specifically about overweight people? There are TONS of shows now that are solely about people losing weight and being overweight but it there ever an overweight person on tv where their weight isn't the main focus?

Personally I feel like the only way an overweight person can get on tv is if their weight is the main focus. Shows like "The biggest Loser" "I Used to be Fat" "Too Fat for 15" "Huge" and "Dance Your Ass Off" are all based off of people being overweight. I have yet to see a truly overweight main character on the Disney Channel. Most of the shows on Disney Channel are supposed to be about normal kids, but if 1 out of 3 kids are overweight, how realistic is that? They show kids in high school but why are there few overweight people in the hallway?