When dealing with video protests, its always interesting to see how effective they are or what strategies it seems they go for. In class, the Will.I.am-Obama video stuck out to me because you usually don't see music videos like that during presidential campaigns. It wasn't a parody, and it wasn't taking shots. The diversity of the celebrities was also really appealing because you understand how different people, that you wouldn't normally see together, unite for a single cause. The video seemed to have a goal of gaining support for Obama and highlighting Obama's own personal ideas. The main idea was of course, 'yes we can'.
In contrast to the Obama video, I was less enthusiastic about the Jesus Camp film. For starters, I had a little trouble determining what the video was trying to do. Did the makers want Jesus Camp to be viewed negatively or positively? There were times when it seemed they were intentionally depicted as bad, and then at other times it seemed the depiction was aimed to gain support. Nonetheless, I can understand why people would be against the individuals portrayed in the film. They make some bold claims and present some pretty extreme ways of thinking. For me, I don't agree with alot of what they teach and practice, but I don't have anything negative to say about the people themselves. They believe what they believe, and many were taught the same thing their whole lives. It's really weird for me to see the smallest of children being conditioned to these beliefs at such an early age. Kids are very impressionable and will believe what their parents or other adults tell them. Many of them were crying, speaking in tongues, etc. Its just hard for me to believe that all of them fully understood what was going on. In fact, I could tell by some of the blank stares and wandering eyes during various 'sermons' and 'religious occurrences'. They should be given the chance to develop more and grow. Overall, I'm looking forward to seeing how the film ends.
(shout out to Churches of Christ everywhere) ; )
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
How do I write?
The writing process for me starts with knowing exactly what it is I am going to write about. I plan a little in my head on how it will be structured, such as what my main points will be and maybe what order I should put them in. I find that I don't use the outline or brainstorm methods, but rather, I just write. Brainstorming and outlining has helped me in the past and I think it is something I should do more, even when I think I have everything figured out in my head. Outlines give me a better guide as to what I need to focus on, and when I need to focus on it. Sometimes I find myself going off on tangents and have to re-focus to stay on the main idea.
With that said, I think the reason I don't use outlining as much is because I feel more comfortable free writing. New ideas pop into my head all of the time when I write and it allows me to just flow with it instead of constantly checking if I have satisfied the contents of my outline. This helps me and hurts me in some ways. Sometimes when I write and write and its all flowing, I may lose my sense of structure. Structure is important with college papers (as I have learned). Nonetheless, this process helps me in the sense that I can get all of my ideas out more easily and my voice can come across more in the paper.
The hardest parts of writing for me would be writing about a topic that I don't like. Ever since grade school, I hated when the teacher gave topics that were uninteresting or even worse, that I knew nothing about. Free write will always be my personal favorite because I can choose something that I feel good about writing.
As far as the environment, the best conditions for me depend on what kind of writing I am doing. If it is a 7 page research paper that counts a lot towards my grade, I will definitely be more stressed and require few distractions. The harder the paper or the more uninteresting it is, the more mind wandering I do. I usually take small breaks in between by watching a little t.v. or surfing the net. Music while I write can be helpful but it has to soft. I sometimes find myself concentrating more on the songs than writing.
With that said, I think the reason I don't use outlining as much is because I feel more comfortable free writing. New ideas pop into my head all of the time when I write and it allows me to just flow with it instead of constantly checking if I have satisfied the contents of my outline. This helps me and hurts me in some ways. Sometimes when I write and write and its all flowing, I may lose my sense of structure. Structure is important with college papers (as I have learned). Nonetheless, this process helps me in the sense that I can get all of my ideas out more easily and my voice can come across more in the paper.
The hardest parts of writing for me would be writing about a topic that I don't like. Ever since grade school, I hated when the teacher gave topics that were uninteresting or even worse, that I knew nothing about. Free write will always be my personal favorite because I can choose something that I feel good about writing.
As far as the environment, the best conditions for me depend on what kind of writing I am doing. If it is a 7 page research paper that counts a lot towards my grade, I will definitely be more stressed and require few distractions. The harder the paper or the more uninteresting it is, the more mind wandering I do. I usually take small breaks in between by watching a little t.v. or surfing the net. Music while I write can be helpful but it has to soft. I sometimes find myself concentrating more on the songs than writing.
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