Socialization

Advertisements are one of the most influential things in everyday life. Watching the video of "Killing Us Softly" reminded me of how affected girls are with this. Everyday we are bombarded with images on how we should look, act, and dress. Girls and women are pushed to look like models to be socially accepted. Girls are bullied and made to feel ugly when they are size 10 and up or when they are not the "perfect size". What most women do not realize is that it is not real. Women or men, no matter how they look, are never perfect. It is all altered by makeup, or digital effects. I was watching both videos when I realized that, this past week i have been learning about just that in my Multimedia class: how to digitally alter and "fix" pictures. It is so easy to be brainwashed by everything advertisements sell. Even boys go through it. To be able to be accepted as a "man" they need to do everything that the "man box" lists for them. Because we humans are social creatures, we also want to be accepted into society, even if that means hurting ourselves in the process.

The Milgram Experiment

The Milgram Experiment, done in 1961, ended with shocking results. It showed how far people would go to obey authority or some one who was in power. 12 volunteers were given the role of "teacher". First they met Nick, the "learner", then after seeing nick being strapped to the chair, they received instructions from the Professor. He even gave the "teachers" a small shock to feel how it would work. As the questions began, and the voltage went higher and higher, some of the "teachers" became uncomfortable. They would ask the professor if they could stop, but all he said was that it was "essential" for them to continue with the experiment. Even Philip, who in the end, stopped in the middle saying that he could not continue, had faltered at one point because the professor said that "The experiment requires that you continue... Please go on." The pressure of the authority plus the feel of responsibility led them to continue, even though most of them knew and felt it was wrong. "Do we have to do this?" "Did we kill him?" Those we questions placed by the people, and yet because the professor said to continue, they obeyed him. 9 out of the 12 "teachers" went all the way to the end: 450 volts. Micheal makes a point of how he had met people who have committed horrible acts of crime, he's seen so much violence around him, but what shocked him above all of that was to see that normal, law abiding people, like him and us, could apparently inflict horrible torture on others. Its crazy to see how people can convince themselves that in a certain circumstance, violence is ok and justifiable, for the sake of science of some "good". The people in power can also end up abusing this responsibility, because they know that they will be obeyed no matter what the cost. Like Micheal said Violence isn't just an act that other people do, it's not some evil force that is out there. It is something that is in each and everyone of us. How far would people from our time go if they had a chance?

Social Control

"The Meaning of Social Control" is an article that makes you think twice about your own society. After reading it over, I realized there are many ways our society is controlled. Politics is one example. Other peoples ideas and opinions are forced upon you at times. Some people get aggressive, yelling at you or trying to impose their own ideas. It reminded me of a small indecent that recently occurred. While I was babysitting for a family the topic of the Presidential election came up, and the youngest girl, in her childlike manner, told me that if i don't vote for her parents party, i cant babysit for them anymore. This caught me by surprise. After that, when the father got home, He asked me who I was likely to vote for and i simply told him i was not sure yet. Out of fear of loosing their jobs or their stability, people feel pressured into not voicing their own opinions. This is one example of how our society is controlled in a subliminal way.

Rituals of the Nacirema

The body rituals of the Nacirema opened an entire new world for me. It was a bit shocking to see how they treated their bodies for the sake of what they believed. Anything the medicine-men or holy-mouth-men said, the people would immediately do it believing that it was the right thing to do. Its hard to believe that they would enlarge holes in their teeth to put magical materials into it, or gouge out other teeth for that substance. The special woman's rites included having to bake their heads in small ovens for an hour! I cant even imagine how they would go through with that. It was amazing to see how different our cultures are, and even though their rituals are completely weird and gruesome to me, it was interesting to see that, for people part of that culture, it is perfectly normal for them.

Quiet Rage: The Stanford Experiment

To start off, quiet frankly, this video disturbed me a bit. When it began, I tried to understand the concept or goal that the professor was going to. I couldn't see why they would actually put normal people (young men to be exact) through that ordeal for so long. Even though normal prisons at that time were run in the same manner, I thought it was still wrong to put people who knowingly did nothing wrong to deserve that type of treatment. Yes, they did agree to it before the whole process began, and yes, they did get payed, but after a while it got a bit out of control. I know that i wouldn't have been able to go through the ordeal, whether it was to be the guard or the prisoner. Then another thought crossed my mind. Why was it that it was only young men in this experiment? I still have yet to answer my own question. I also realized that the student who was watching the whole process from an office with the professor was female, and she had the same opinion about it as I do. She gave the idea of ending the experiment early, stating that it was wrong to put them through it for so long. Over all, it was an interesting experiment, and even though it seemed wrong to do, it taught an important lesson.

First glimpse...

Who am I, you ask? Good question. I would like to let you know, first hand, that I'm shy and not very good with words. I'm the creative type, with a crazy imagination and a love for life itself. Music, art and movies are an important part of my life. I come from a pretty tight-knit family; one brother and 3 older sisters, and we couldn't be more different. My family and faith are a huge influence in my life. My brother, who is married and has 4 boys with another kid on the way, was like a second father to me while i was growing up. Almost every holiday and birthday our family would get together in someone's house; our grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, sometimes even our pets were brought along. This is a big part of what defines who i am and what i have become. One of my goals in life is to one day become a Film/art director. Someday maybe I'll win an Oscar for best picture of the year. That would be crazy. But for now I stick to getting my degree.