For this assignment, I interviewed my friend, C, my teacher, M, and my aunt B. When I completed all interviews, I realized that I only interviewed females which made me think about the gender roles and how I subconsciously went to women for an interview about prom. I was also recently talking to my friend about what I wanted my wedding to be like and I remember saying "It's my wedding. The groom doesn't really have an opinion," which I think is more or less how teenage girls think about prom. But back to my interviews, I started with simple questions, like, "Did you go?" "Did you bring a date?" "Was there an after prom?" These questions were directed towards M and B since they'd already been to a prom. For C, I put the questions in future tense asking what she thought was going to happen, etc.
My interview with C started as such: "Why do you want to go to prom?" Her answer was a simple "you know, you have to. If you don't go, it's bad." This statement made me think about how we as a society spend so much time preparing and "dolling" ourselves up for prom because of mob mentality when really, everyone thinks they have to because everyone else is. It's a catch 22. The interview went on to discuss the style options and planning the ideal event. She described it to be a lot like a ball in which there is nothing but dancing and she said "I just want to have a really good time." Which is something I think we all want no matter what. So why is there a stereotype that most proms end up sucking? Is it because we make such high expectations that we can't possibly live up to it? Or is it because we realize as the event unfolds, that it's really not fun to put oneself through so much prep for a couple lousy dances? Either way, we shared the same outlook on our ideal proms and we are both very exited when it's finally our turn (no matter how this unit affects my opinion).
Friday, May 27, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Homework #57: Initial Thoughts on Prom
I am a puppet. When it comes to prom, I am completely controlled by the dominant social practices of our country when it comes to this special event. I have waited for it for a long time and as it draws closer in my final year of high school, I will grow even more excited. Since 9th grade, I have looked at dresses and tried on dresses knowing full well they wouldn't still be in stock by the time prom came around. However, it's a whole lot of fun to get a bunch of prom dresses and twirl around in them. When the event finally arrives, I'm sure it won't live up to my Hollywood-influenced expectations, but I still plan on having a great time and remembering it for years afterwards.
I think prom in general is more of a night for girls. Stereotypically, girls prepare more and longer in advance than boys do. It's also a night for them to feel like a princess at a ball, be waited on hand and foot by their date. In movies at least, the boy drives the girl, gets her drinks, brings a corsage, and pays for dinner before or during the event. I think that for my own prom, I wouldn't expect that much for any boy in my grade to do such things, but if I were to have a date, it would feel nice to have a little courtesy. It feels good to feel special sometimes.
In thoughts of preparation, girls also tend to be more aware of how they look, especially on the night they've waited for for so long. Therefore, it's custom for girls to spend at least 2 hours getting ready for the night. These things include shower, hair, make-up, shaving (and possible waxing), and jewelry. I fully plan on spending a whole day being pampered and styled in a spa-like setting the day before prom in order to be relaxed and ready to have a good time.
I am a puppet and I'm proud of it.
Questions:
When did prom become a system of hierarchy for teens?
Why do people decide to change their looks and personalities for prom night and what about prom makes it the ideal place to change?
What sparked/created the custom/ritual of prom and why do people consider it a rite of passage for every teenager in America?
I think prom in general is more of a night for girls. Stereotypically, girls prepare more and longer in advance than boys do. It's also a night for them to feel like a princess at a ball, be waited on hand and foot by their date. In movies at least, the boy drives the girl, gets her drinks, brings a corsage, and pays for dinner before or during the event. I think that for my own prom, I wouldn't expect that much for any boy in my grade to do such things, but if I were to have a date, it would feel nice to have a little courtesy. It feels good to feel special sometimes.
In thoughts of preparation, girls also tend to be more aware of how they look, especially on the night they've waited for for so long. Therefore, it's custom for girls to spend at least 2 hours getting ready for the night. These things include shower, hair, make-up, shaving (and possible waxing), and jewelry. I fully plan on spending a whole day being pampered and styled in a spa-like setting the day before prom in order to be relaxed and ready to have a good time.
I am a puppet and I'm proud of it.
Questions:
When did prom become a system of hierarchy for teens?
Why do people decide to change their looks and personalities for prom night and what about prom makes it the ideal place to change?
What sparked/created the custom/ritual of prom and why do people consider it a rite of passage for every teenager in America?
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Homework #55: Culminating Project
For this project, I investigated how I want my body to be taken care of after my death. After reading Grave Matters, I found a lot of interesting ways to be taken care of and my favorite was the Memorial Reefs. These are large artificial cement balls with large holes in them for coral and other sea life to grow on and live off of. The way it works is that the ashes are mixed into the cement and the family has the option of writing an engraved message on the reef ball. When looking into this, I found the organization that was mentioned in Grave Matters. Their name is Eternal Reefs. It was started by two grad students who used to go diving and saw how badly the reefs were being taken care of. When I looked into how I wanted my own remains to be cared for, I started with their website. It was actually a very informative site that had a lot of useful information about how my body. My first question was the pricing. I wanted it to be as cheap as possible but still be able to have what I want. The cheapest reef ball is a communal one where there are lots of different ashes mixed together. However, I am quite selfish and want to be alone (to have one all to myself) so the next cheapest is at $3,995 which includes the handling of the cremated remains once they receive them, the incorporation of the remains into the concrete, the casting of the Memorial Reef, the transportation of the Memorial Reef to the project site, the final placement and dedication, a GPS survey to record the specific longitude and latitude of the Memorial Reef, a bronze Plaque with inscription, and two Memorial Certificates. It might seem like a lot of money, but it includes a whole lot of work by the group. The next thing I did was look into the process. I looked into the different locations my reef ball could be located. The different locations also came with different deadline dates so I had to pretend I was already dead which was a little creepy. All of the drop-off points were in Florida so I chose Miami as the place for me. There was a table full of lots of different towns/cities in Florida with a bunch of different dates so I went with the soonest one in Miami. This experience was wierd for me since I had to pretend that I was already dead.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Homework #54: Independent Research B
When I first thought about this assignment, I felt that I wasn't going to be able to complete it because I do not have a belief system. I do not have a religion or a god or any system really. I just have thoughts and ideas about what could happen. However, in order to complete this assignment, I had to find something. So I chose the closest religion I could to my own beliefs (though not very close at all). This religion is Buddhism.
I went with Buddhism because I happen to believe in reincarnation. Over the course of my after-life Buddhism research I found that the common thought about reincarnation is typically wrong in the case of Buddhists. It doesn't mean a personality being reborn over and over again, it has more to do with one's karma over time. Karma is a type of cause and effect. In Buddhist culture, one's karma builds up over a lifetime and determines how the person will start off in the next life (Vairacchedika 32). To put it simply, it's as if you are lighting a row of candles each one being lit by the previous one. Each candle has a connection to the previous one, but it is still a different flame. This is not exactly how I believe it to work, but it is close to how I logically think the after death would happen.
I went with Buddhism because I happen to believe in reincarnation. Over the course of my after-life Buddhism research I found that the common thought about reincarnation is typically wrong in the case of Buddhists. It doesn't mean a personality being reborn over and over again, it has more to do with one's karma over time. Karma is a type of cause and effect. In Buddhist culture, one's karma builds up over a lifetime and determines how the person will start off in the next life (Vairacchedika 32). To put it simply, it's as if you are lighting a row of candles each one being lit by the previous one. Each candle has a connection to the previous one, but it is still a different flame. This is not exactly how I believe it to work, but it is close to how I logically think the after death would happen.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Homework #53: Independent Research A and Interview
A stereotypical interview includes a memorial service that is generally sad and filled with grief. However, in Ghanaian culture, this is not the case. Ghanaian funerals are more like giant blowout parties that bring in everyone from the neighborhood regardless of whether or not they knew the deceased. It's a time of celebration and everyone is invited.
When most people think about their belongings after they die, they usually think about their physical possessions like money, clothes, books. What people don't really think about are their Facebook profiles or their twitter accounts. These are all things that will exist after you don't and they are all ways of showing who you were as a person for the world to see.
I chose these articles because they weren't on the general topic of caring for the dead. in fact, they were the abnormal of what people generally think about in terms of care of the dead. I found it interesting that instead of grieving and mourning, the Ghanaians celebrate and bring in people from all over the community as a way of dealing with the loss. It seems like a great way to grieve for a person; to let everyone in town know that someone has recently been lost and that you aren't going to let that person go in sadness. I also feel that no one really takes into account their profiles online or their blogs or their web albums as online memorials of who they are once they've died. It's fascinating to think that those will live on longer than any of us will.
For the interview, I did not have the time to set one up but when I get the chance, I will post it here.
When most people think about their belongings after they die, they usually think about their physical possessions like money, clothes, books. What people don't really think about are their Facebook profiles or their twitter accounts. These are all things that will exist after you don't and they are all ways of showing who you were as a person for the world to see.
I chose these articles because they weren't on the general topic of caring for the dead. in fact, they were the abnormal of what people generally think about in terms of care of the dead. I found it interesting that instead of grieving and mourning, the Ghanaians celebrate and bring in people from all over the community as a way of dealing with the loss. It seems like a great way to grieve for a person; to let everyone in town know that someone has recently been lost and that you aren't going to let that person go in sadness. I also feel that no one really takes into account their profiles online or their blogs or their web albums as online memorials of who they are once they've died. It's fascinating to think that those will live on longer than any of us will.
For the interview, I did not have the time to set one up but when I get the chance, I will post it here.
homework #52: Third Part of COTD Book
Harris, Mark. Grave Matters. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2007. 69-125. Print.
Some of the least expensive and most personal way of caring for the dead are building one's own plain coffin out of pine or buying one for no more than $400, having one's own family graveyard on their property, or having a natural burial which prohibits any metal casket or embalming and is covered with vegetation or a natural form of earth.
"With its straightforward arrangement, family focus, low cost, and basic handmade casket at the center." (126)
"The home burial also means he and other families don't have to use (and pay for) the burial vaults most cemeteries require or abide by their rules." (144)
"These native field stones...are more than the mere product of local geology; they're grave markers, and below each one a body or its ashes lies buried."
This last section was not as interesting as the middle in my opinion because it discussed options that while cheaper and more efficient, were commonly practiced by many. This book is structurally similar to Omnivore's Dilemma from the Food unit because both are set up in a way the feed only information and still seem to give off a one-sided opinion of the industry each author is discussing.
Some of the least expensive and most personal way of caring for the dead are building one's own plain coffin out of pine or buying one for no more than $400, having one's own family graveyard on their property, or having a natural burial which prohibits any metal casket or embalming and is covered with vegetation or a natural form of earth.
"With its straightforward arrangement, family focus, low cost, and basic handmade casket at the center." (126)
"The home burial also means he and other families don't have to use (and pay for) the burial vaults most cemeteries require or abide by their rules." (144)
"These native field stones...are more than the mere product of local geology; they're grave markers, and below each one a body or its ashes lies buried."
This last section was not as interesting as the middle in my opinion because it discussed options that while cheaper and more efficient, were commonly practiced by many. This book is structurally similar to Omnivore's Dilemma from the Food unit because both are set up in a way the feed only information and still seem to give off a one-sided opinion of the industry each author is discussing.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Homework #51: Second Part of COTD Book
Harris, Mark. Grave Matters. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2007. 69-125. Print.
As opposed to the "conventional" way of caring for the dead, one can also scatter ashes at sea, create an artificial reef out of the ashes, or have a home funeral. These are all cheaper ways of giving those who have died the same amount of love and respect.
"Jerry sprinkles the petals from a dozen red and white roses over the ashes... they're mainly intended to serve as a kind of blind."
"Don and George, both decked out in T-shirts and baseball caps bearing the eternal reefs logo,... stand in the yard."
"Alison's schoolmates, teachers, babysitters, friends--several hundred people in all--came into this room to say goodbye."
I thoroughly enjoyed this part more than the first because it described what I thought were much more meaningful topics. These topics were also ones that aren't practiced as dominantly in our society. The first one, burials at sea, brought families out on boats and gave them a chance to be a part of letting go with peace of mind. One of the members said the water also helped a lot. The second type was reef memorials. This one is my favorite be ause it allows family members to put the ashes of their loved ones into something that will inevitably create new life. That is how I want my ashes to be cared for when I die. The third was a home funeral. This let people care for the dead themselves as well as let hundreds of people come and pay their respects for a longer period of time without having to pay a significant price.
As opposed to the "conventional" way of caring for the dead, one can also scatter ashes at sea, create an artificial reef out of the ashes, or have a home funeral. These are all cheaper ways of giving those who have died the same amount of love and respect.
"Jerry sprinkles the petals from a dozen red and white roses over the ashes... they're mainly intended to serve as a kind of blind."
"Don and George, both decked out in T-shirts and baseball caps bearing the eternal reefs logo,... stand in the yard."
"Alison's schoolmates, teachers, babysitters, friends--several hundred people in all--came into this room to say goodbye."
I thoroughly enjoyed this part more than the first because it described what I thought were much more meaningful topics. These topics were also ones that aren't practiced as dominantly in our society. The first one, burials at sea, brought families out on boats and gave them a chance to be a part of letting go with peace of mind. One of the members said the water also helped a lot. The second type was reef memorials. This one is my favorite be ause it allows family members to put the ashes of their loved ones into something that will inevitably create new life. That is how I want my ashes to be cared for when I die. The third was a home funeral. This let people care for the dead themselves as well as let hundreds of people come and pay their respects for a longer period of time without having to pay a significant price.
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