Deviating from the typical, mundane essay assignment, after reading Jane Eyre we were assigned to build a free-form mash-up. To my disbelief, it resulted in a very positive learning experience. It was thought-provoking in its own unique manner, and the team effort in the project actually produced a greater amount of insight into the novel.
The main reason I enjoyed the project so much was the postmodern, 21st century ideals behind it. Why write an essay on something from the 19th century that has absolutely no relation to current events and my life? The reason is, this contemporary project provided a link between Charlotte Brontë and myself. Through searching for quotes and media, I was able to uncover some important information and a deeper though process.
The topic my group chose to work on was individualism. Now, before this project and Jane Eyre, I had hardly a clue as to what individualism meant. So my first step in the mash-up was to find some declaration of what exactly individualism meant. Sophie's World accurately described it as the pursuit to distinguish one self or individual from a group. After finding this, how prominent this theme was in Jane Eyre. When first reading Jane Eyre, it is not very jaw-dropping. But after discovering what individualism was through other sources, I realized how greatly it pertained to Jane Eyre. When Jane is taken in context to the time period when her fictional character was created, I stumbled upon the individualism present in Jane's life story. Her whole life is a series of events in which she goes against the norms of society. She marries a man out of her class, disrespects her master, aspires to greatness contrary to most women of her time, and follows what she believes best.
The next step was to find sources outside the English curriculum. Being so naïve, I didn't expect any benefit to come out of this. I was wrong. I found quotes from the early 20th century, films from the late 20th century, and songs from the 21st century. Through perusing for individualism in each of these, I realized the different types of individualism present from Jane's lifetime all the way up to mine. From rights of a man, to breaking away from racial stereotypes, to simply making your own choice at restaurants, I suddenly understood this underlying theme that encompassed much of the world. By doing this mash-up, I exercised my brain to its full capacity, and explored new depths with much more relevance to my life.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
iMedia: The Instrumental
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=502AJXEGPNw
Lupe Fiasco is one of my favorite artists, but many people underestimate his sophistication and musical talent. In this song "The Instrumental" there is a lot of subtle meaning. I have often listened to this song on replay, each time picking up a new message. Also, because this music falls under the genre of rap/hip-hop, which is very popular amongst the newest generation, I think it has the potential to spread a deep and influential message throughout the world if people take this song to heart.
The first lines of this song are "He just sits, and watches, the people in the boxes. Everything he sees he absorbs and adopts it. He mimicks and mocks it, and he hates the box, but he can't remember how to stop it." I interpreted this song as a direct metaphor for the media, the box being the television. When 'he' mimicks and he mocks it, Lupe is referencing how people often criticize the media, but yet they are hooked to it and cannot get out of this media-dependent reality.
Just like an other brilliant artist or writer, Lupe Fiasco's adroitness in songwriting is portrayed in his lyrics through his clever manipulation of words. In this song the word "box" repeats a lot. The next lines in this song are "So he continues to watch it, hoping that it'll give him something to box with... Ain't got the combination to unlock it. That's why he watches, scared to look away. Cause at that moment, it might show him what to take off the locks with." He uses the word box to literally represent the television and media, but then he also uses it to represent the box that people live in, shielded from their own voice and opinion. Lupe uses 'box' as a verb, and in these lyrics he's saying that people think the media can help them 'box' with their dull, mundane reality. He is criticizing how people look for intrinsic meaning in their life through the media, and because of this the media has intertwined itself with everyday life, only making things worse.
A good example that recurs in my mind every time I hear this song is how big restaurants/fast food chains advertise their foods, and through the media convince people to buy their products. They grow obese and unhealthy, but then they can just turn back to the media to find pills or weight loss supplements to fix all the problems that were originally caused by the media. Ironic, perhaps?
"As the doctors jot it all down, with their pens and pencils, the same ones who took away his voice, and just left his instrumental." In these last lines of the first verse, Lupe is describing how researchers determine how to brainwash people addicted to the media, and they take away those people's "voice", because everything in the media becomes established as fact, and opinions are no longer needed. The reason for the title choice of "The Instrumental" is that an instrumental piece of music has no lyrics, just background music, which is kind of what Lupe thinks our postmodern reality is becoming.
In the first chorus Lupe says "And he never lies, because he never said anything at all." He is critiquing how people are afraid to go out a limb and voice themselves, since they do not want to argue with the modern culture established by the media. In the second chorus he says "You can't tell me just who you are. You buy new clothes just to hide those scars. You built that roof just to hide those stars. Now you can't take it back to the start." Here Lupe is pointing out that without clothes to hide our natural body,and without a house to protect us from nature, we are nothing. He means that if we look purely at ourselves as who we are, and not things we have taken from the media, or our earthly possessions, we are just 'an instrumental'.
The most contradictory thing is that Lupe is criticizing the media, claiming we shouldn't look to the media for answers. But yet his music is becoming more and more a part of mainstream media. The reason I like this song and artist so much is that he acknowledges that the media is brainwashing the public, which sets himself apart from the rest of the media. Whether or not one views this video as insightful, it still has much to tell us about the modern world.
Lupe Fiasco is one of my favorite artists, but many people underestimate his sophistication and musical talent. In this song "The Instrumental" there is a lot of subtle meaning. I have often listened to this song on replay, each time picking up a new message. Also, because this music falls under the genre of rap/hip-hop, which is very popular amongst the newest generation, I think it has the potential to spread a deep and influential message throughout the world if people take this song to heart.
The first lines of this song are "He just sits, and watches, the people in the boxes. Everything he sees he absorbs and adopts it. He mimicks and mocks it, and he hates the box, but he can't remember how to stop it." I interpreted this song as a direct metaphor for the media, the box being the television. When 'he' mimicks and he mocks it, Lupe is referencing how people often criticize the media, but yet they are hooked to it and cannot get out of this media-dependent reality.
Just like an other brilliant artist or writer, Lupe Fiasco's adroitness in songwriting is portrayed in his lyrics through his clever manipulation of words. In this song the word "box" repeats a lot. The next lines in this song are "So he continues to watch it, hoping that it'll give him something to box with... Ain't got the combination to unlock it. That's why he watches, scared to look away. Cause at that moment, it might show him what to take off the locks with." He uses the word box to literally represent the television and media, but then he also uses it to represent the box that people live in, shielded from their own voice and opinion. Lupe uses 'box' as a verb, and in these lyrics he's saying that people think the media can help them 'box' with their dull, mundane reality. He is criticizing how people look for intrinsic meaning in their life through the media, and because of this the media has intertwined itself with everyday life, only making things worse.
A good example that recurs in my mind every time I hear this song is how big restaurants/fast food chains advertise their foods, and through the media convince people to buy their products. They grow obese and unhealthy, but then they can just turn back to the media to find pills or weight loss supplements to fix all the problems that were originally caused by the media. Ironic, perhaps?
"As the doctors jot it all down, with their pens and pencils, the same ones who took away his voice, and just left his instrumental." In these last lines of the first verse, Lupe is describing how researchers determine how to brainwash people addicted to the media, and they take away those people's "voice", because everything in the media becomes established as fact, and opinions are no longer needed. The reason for the title choice of "The Instrumental" is that an instrumental piece of music has no lyrics, just background music, which is kind of what Lupe thinks our postmodern reality is becoming.
In the first chorus Lupe says "And he never lies, because he never said anything at all." He is critiquing how people are afraid to go out a limb and voice themselves, since they do not want to argue with the modern culture established by the media. In the second chorus he says "You can't tell me just who you are. You buy new clothes just to hide those scars. You built that roof just to hide those stars. Now you can't take it back to the start." Here Lupe is pointing out that without clothes to hide our natural body,and without a house to protect us from nature, we are nothing. He means that if we look purely at ourselves as who we are, and not things we have taken from the media, or our earthly possessions, we are just 'an instrumental'.
The most contradictory thing is that Lupe is criticizing the media, claiming we shouldn't look to the media for answers. But yet his music is becoming more and more a part of mainstream media. The reason I like this song and artist so much is that he acknowledges that the media is brainwashing the public, which sets himself apart from the rest of the media. Whether or not one views this video as insightful, it still has much to tell us about the modern world.
Monday, April 11, 2011
360 Degrees: Love
Love is one of the most enigmatic characteristics in the human life. Falling in love and getting married is right next to birth in death in significance of events (as described in "Our Town"). But one of the most controversial questions is, what does falling in love really mean?
People say that opposites attract. Sometimes someone so seemingly perfect for you is not perfect at all. But, especially in more primordial time, people often had arranged marriages and married for status or wealth. King Tut married his own half cousin just so they would keep money in the family! Values change over time, so who should get married is contingent on the time period. But still, falling in love is an unconditional feeling, which we can view from many angles and try to determine general features of two people who will fall in love.
There are two "appearances" of a person: the inner appearance and the outward appearance. Outward appearances include beauty, physical features, and other aesthetic characteristics such as wealth (or how fancy someone dresses). Inward appearances include personality, hobbies, intelligence, emotions, comfortableness, openness, etc.
Many people say "beauty is only skin deep", referencing how one's physical features may be attractive, but on the inside, they are a completely unappealing person. Now people say not to judge a book by it's cover. But looking at it from multiple angles, it is easy to overlook the fact that any initial attraction between two people begins physically. For example, if there is someone who may have a very compatible personality with me, but who I have never met before, if I am not attracted to them physically, I may not have the guts to go and talk to them. Also, many would argue that physical attractions often hold a couple together. Humans are built with an innate urge to physically bond with someone else, and these feelings, no matter how shallow they may be, always exist. So, you see, a physical attraction is necessary for a love relationship.
That doesn't go without saying that an intellectual attraction is needed as well. Most failed relationships, as the general observes in all the celebrity breakups, began with a physical attraction. So then I guess we can conclude that beyond the physical attraction, an intellectual bond truly shows that two people are compatible. That being said, to formulate true love, a balance is required between intellectual and physical attraction.
People say that opposites attract. Sometimes someone so seemingly perfect for you is not perfect at all. But, especially in more primordial time, people often had arranged marriages and married for status or wealth. King Tut married his own half cousin just so they would keep money in the family! Values change over time, so who should get married is contingent on the time period. But still, falling in love is an unconditional feeling, which we can view from many angles and try to determine general features of two people who will fall in love.
There are two "appearances" of a person: the inner appearance and the outward appearance. Outward appearances include beauty, physical features, and other aesthetic characteristics such as wealth (or how fancy someone dresses). Inward appearances include personality, hobbies, intelligence, emotions, comfortableness, openness, etc.
Many people say "beauty is only skin deep", referencing how one's physical features may be attractive, but on the inside, they are a completely unappealing person. Now people say not to judge a book by it's cover. But looking at it from multiple angles, it is easy to overlook the fact that any initial attraction between two people begins physically. For example, if there is someone who may have a very compatible personality with me, but who I have never met before, if I am not attracted to them physically, I may not have the guts to go and talk to them. Also, many would argue that physical attractions often hold a couple together. Humans are built with an innate urge to physically bond with someone else, and these feelings, no matter how shallow they may be, always exist. So, you see, a physical attraction is necessary for a love relationship.
That doesn't go without saying that an intellectual attraction is needed as well. Most failed relationships, as the general observes in all the celebrity breakups, began with a physical attraction. So then I guess we can conclude that beyond the physical attraction, an intellectual bond truly shows that two people are compatible. That being said, to formulate true love, a balance is required between intellectual and physical attraction.
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