Black Boy: Why is Wright really hungry?

Wright's son Richard shows resentment toward white families who have food, since his father left his mother Ella. Richard shows resentment openly, while his father Wright is not able to do so. Richard soon associates hunger with bitter hatred toward his father. This shows me that Wright hungers for something more than food. Could his hunger be for the ability to show the resentment that his son shows? I think that it is. I think that Wright is a complex character, especially since he was the one who was encouraging his son Richard to keep quiet about racial issues. I think Wright is also hungry for the freedom to freely express his feelings. So ultimately, I feel that his hunger will lead on paths that will eventually lead him to his own affirmation. So his hunger is not for affirmation, but for the things that will lead him there.

Do I need to go to school?

John Taylor Gatto made it very clear that a lot of people who are homeschooled are very smart. Basically he was saying that it was not necessary to go to school, and I agree with the idea that people could teach themselves. This is a good idea, but only if people are very disciplined in their studies. The whole issue with this is that some people need a social atmosphere to learn in. In most ways it is better to get many perspectives, which is hard to obtain while in a homeschooling environment. I have been homeschooled for a year, as most of you know, and am totally opposed to the idea. I think that a child should soicalize, and that going to school is an absolute necessity. Although I think at times school is not necessary, and am inclined to agree with him on this topic, it is for the simple fact that I was homeschooled that I also disagree with him.

Do I really value my education

I thought that Mann's argument about how the public school system was effective, but I highly disagree with him. In public schools there are programs that are built to prevent kids from getting behind in their schoolwork. The simple fact that we even need programs like these is the perfect example of this. We shouldn't need programs liek this if our public school systems are already effective. I say all of this because as of right now, going to a private high school, has opened my eyes. When I went to a public school I believed my parents were always right and followed their conservative views. Althoguh I try to maintain thos views, I feel as though I don't want to be labeled as conservative or liberal, but rather moderate. This is an example of how I persoanlly felt as though I did not value my non-acedemic education. When i am at University we learn life skills, and are able to think outside the box and form our own opnions, which is what I think most schools should be like. It is for this reason that I value my education at University High School, and feel as though I am not just learning academics, but I am learning more about myself everyday. So yes I truly value my non-academic education at this point in my life.

Rheoric out on the town cont.

The second day of presentations brought forth a lot of similar articles that I have seen myself. A lot of these ads were set in the Fashion Mall. The Victoria's Secret window display sticks out in my mind, since there was a lot of controversy over this. i like how the presenter, Mallory, brought up the point that the Pink Display used to be where the manikins in underwear are now. This is the part of the store that you see first, and this how they get their customers in the store. I thought that the presentations looked kind of similar, since they were mostly from malls, or websites, but overall I think that we can say that we see rhetoric every time we walk into a store.

Rheoric out on the town

Today in class there were a lot of interesting advertisements that really showed how rhetoric is used in our everyday lives. I really like Tony's advertsiment with the non-alcoholic beer. No girl could possibly look that attractive while she is pregnant unless she diest and works out like crazy, which would be bad for the baby in the first place. Then on the side, you see that it is a non-alcohlic beer, and that it will not hurt the baby. Another good picture was one by Kendal Lewis, and how the Village of Westclay creates that old town feeling. This is interestng since every time I drive into Westclay, I feel like I'm in the Stepford Wives movie. The creators of neighborhoods like these all want us to feel like we have a perfect little house, in a perfect neighborhood, with a little city hall int eh center of thsi neighborhood. This is not a bad thing since they are literally selling you a lifestyle. There were a lot of other good presentations that stuck out in my mind, these were the two that really made me think the most though.

Class commercials

I really enjoyed the class commercials that I saw today, they were all very creative, and most of them made me want to buy their product. I saw a wide variety of products, from bubble gum to cars, all were interesting ideas. I think that my commercial was the Bubblicious commercial. It had a Breakfast Club theme, and that connected them to their high school audience. This was very good. I also liked the hat commercial that Tony did. It was presented in a very creative way, and it got the name of the store in your head. I personally would not buy a hat, just because someone tells me to, but if I did I would go to this store. All of the commercials looked very nice, and were well done, they all appealed to their audience.

Pottery Barn Style

I personally used to go into Pottery Barn a lot, and loved the products that they sell. When I read the article in the Fast Company Magazine, I remembered this store very well. I like how this article mentions designers like Celia Dejada, who actually sell their products in the store. I like how she says that people have to have lives in order to design. This tells me that she knows the customer she is trying to appeal to, and knows what she has to do to make a product that they will buy. her reasoning for this is so that some of the creativity is not lost. She says that it is not matter of what you make for workaholics, which I personally don't get.
I knew that Target was a major competitor against stores like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and other stores, but I had no clue that it was a big competitor for Pottery Barn. When I look closely, I can see why they are big competitors. They are both able to appeal to teens and adults, and they are also able to appeal to just about anyone. I have yet to see a PBTeen store, but I have read the magazine, and there is quite a large selection to choose from. Pottery Barn is a very small store, with a large variety of customers.

Store Influences

The many stores that we frequent in our everyday trip to our local mall practically pull us into buying their products. I see many teens going into Abercrombie and Hollister, and although I think that it is quite stereotypical, I find myself going into these stores to shop. When in stores as influential as these, it is the environment that makes me keep coming back. Could it be the blasting music, or the half-dresses manikins, or the overpowering scent of their fragrance as you walk throughout the store? I think it is a combination of both. The ironic thing is that all the people who you see working there look like models, and this says to me that they really want you to buy their entire season line, and that they want you to come back. This could also be a reason why they make their employees spend almost their entire salary on clothes.
Another store that I find myself going back to over and over again is Target. I have gone to so many locations, and still prefer going there rather than going to Wal-Mart. I like the overall atmosphere that the store creates, good prices, samples, and good service. They are not bombarding you with so many services, that are at low prices. They offer the basics, after all, i don't go shopping to get a root canal, or get my eyes checked out, I go there to get my shopping done. This is why I like Target, they are found in almost every location, and are very inviting.

Super-Bowl Commercials

I really liked the commercials that we aired on last night's Super-Bowl. I must say that I thought the commercials last year were significantly better though. I really liked the commercials for Budweiswer. The Clydesdale Hank, was very cute, and it was interesting how they made it look the Rocky movies. It was a very good commercial and had a good effect on the audience. I thought this was an inventive commercial. I also thought that the Sobe commercial with the little dancing lizards was cute, but kind of random. One of my favorite commercials was the Fed-Ex commercial with the carrier pigeons, and the huge pigeons. The car commercials were very interesting, and made me think about the cars they were selling, and achieved their goal of getting us to listen to their commercial.

Class debate: 2 ways a woman can get hurt

wednesdays class debate brought up a lot of opinions, including my own. The first thing I noticed was that guys were immediately taking offense to the whole issue of the ways guys are portrayed in the advertisements. I can definitely see how the guys in the class would think these ads are offensive, but at the same time, this article was focusing mainly on the issues that these ads bring up for women, not men. I like how some people in the class actually seemed offended by these ads, because I felt a little offended by them as well, but I think that the author would not have been able to get her point across without using such extreme ads. I agree with the author, but I want to disagree with her extreme ideas.
Also, on another note, I think that companies will still continue to push the limits on sexual tension portrayed in the media. The limits will always be pushed, whether it's showing ankles or shoulders. I do agree with the statement that Maggie Dooley said that we should at least be talking about issues like these and if we are able to do this, then we can at least try to improve this issue.