Read, Then be Happy

During the first iteration of my intermedia project, I attempted to create an atmosphere similar to that of "story-time" we all experienced in elementary school.  My "point" may have been lost in what could be call the poetics of my presentation, but I created the empty books and blank reading track in order to create a space in which it was possible for each and every reader to actualize his or her own possible children's book.  Each reader was reading and hearing the book he or she wanted to read and hear.  This 'represented' the school of readers to which I belong and which I advocate strongly: readers who read for pleasure, for the effect the text may have on them and they on the text; readers who, with a children's book's worth of experience and knowledge, interact with a text through that which they bring to it as well as what they find within it.  They ask themselves, "Why are you reading this?" and struggle to provide themselves with an answer.

An opposing school of readers consists of those who have wrongly incorporated competition into the practice of reading (Bertrand Russell, see previous post).  These readers read to able to say that they have read.  Or, more simply, these readers skip the reading step all together and just cite books they have "read;" for reading=knowledge.  By reading books, these readers perceive themselves gaining prestige, intelligence, and insight, when, in reality, nothing is being gained.  They as themselves, "Why are you reading this?" and know, for they have been taught the answer.  To convey this ideology, I will recreate the experience created in the first iteration but alter the way I present the text and guide the reading.  No more fun.  We read because it makes us better.  We must be cultured.  We must be smart.  We will read and we will be happy.

Abby Armstrong

Ethnography Performance Concept

My issue originally is America’s current health.

My stance was that America’s health is unacceptable. I discussed how sad, and unacceptable it is because these health problems can simply and easily, be avoided simply by lifestyle changes. For example, just by leading a healthier lifestyle, losing an extra few pounds (if need be), not smoking, eating healthier, exercising, etc.

I said that America’s culture is to blame for this health crisis. Also that it is not entirely up to America’s government but instead a culture change needs to happen. More aggressive efforts by the people could absolutely revamp America’s culture into a healthier one.

A different perspective could be changing the reason behind why America’s health is in such a poor state. For example, I originally pointed the finger at America’s culture. I blamed the people and said America’s population needs to revamp America’s culture. So, instead of blaming it on the culture I could blame it on the government. I could say that there aren’t strict enough regulations against fast food restaurants or strong enough programs/campaigns that promote healthy living and exercising.

For media, I could critique one of the current advertisements out there for healthy living (like a commercial or short video). I could show print campaigns and maybe pass them around to the class to see. Maybe I could even create an advertisement or campaign myself that represents the aggressiveness that the current campaigns lack. Additionally in regards to talking about stricter governmental regulation, I could give examples of the current regulations and what needs to be changed to make them more efficient. Maybe I could pass this around to the class?

Change of Perspective and Media

My issue dealt with the advancement and changes happening within the news media. There was a time when the news only reached society through the work of the news reporter. As of today, we now have a plethora of news outlets to choose from to inform on all that is going on around us. Personally, I know I see most of the news reports on my Facebook feed. I only know a small number of those who are still faithful to their one TV news station. I also wanted to bring up the concepts and values the news once encouraged amongst their reporters. I wanted to focus my stance on the issue with my first performance by stepping into the shoes of a news reporter. I attempted to dive into their thoughts on the matter and the loss of interest they are beginning to face when there are more convenient ways of getting the news. In a way I guess I wanted to show some sympathy for the news reporter.

The other stance on the issue I could take deals with the public viewer. I could discuss how those out there feel that the news reporter has lost their significance with providing the breaking news story. There are also those who don’t trust the biasness of some television news stations, such as FOX news. With a performance, I could change my media by showing clips of news reports or showing more examples of the media industry not revealing the full story. 

(Short) Assignment for Thursday 10.24

Now that you've read about what Pelias/Shaffer had to say about storytelling and myth and listened to a real-life depiction of this issue from the RadioLab podcast, I'd like you to think about how these concepts relate to your re-framing of your Intermedia/Ethnography issue.

For Thursday please post 3-5 sentences describing how the process of coming up with a new perspective for your issue relates to the content of the "Yellow Rain" podcast and/or Ch. 4 of Pelias/Shaffer. Some issues to consider when posting:

• How does culture shape people's perceptions/opinion on the issue?
• How has your own personal experience(s) shaped your perception of the issue?
• What is the difference between Truth and Fact in this case?
• Does your process of coming up with an alternative perspective on your issue resonate more with the Hopper Method or the Personal Narrative Method? To reiterate from the reading:
• Hopper Method - objective is to replicate the storytelling as closely as possible to the original
• Personal Narrative - the objective is to be as authentic as possible to the performer’s own interpretation of the event

Ethnography Concept

My topic for the intermedia project was the abandonment of animals in the U.S.  There are many reasons why owners abandon their pets everyday but there must be a resolution for all of these animals that are being walked away from. Additionally, there is not enough room in shelters for the animals that have been abandoned or animals that are simply born there. I believe it should be illegal to abandon one’s pet. If an owner cannot afford their pet any for financial or medical reasons, there should be a place where these animals can go throughout the United States that is not necessarily a shelter, because most animals in shelters are being put to rest. A way to reduce the number of animals abandoned might be to set up more adoption programs p around the United States that work to place animals in foster and ultimately permanent homes with less time in shelters.

A different perspective on my issue might be from the point of view of the people who work in these shelters, because they are dealing with this issue first hand.  Although it is possible that this perspective is similar to mine, it would be interesting to compare their view and hear how strongly they feel about this subject. Since many shelters are considered to have poor conditions for the animals living there, out of fairness, I think it would be important to take a look at another perspective and interesting to see what it might be like working in a shelter. It might be surprising to learn that there are many shelters where abandoned animals are receive good care. It would be ideal to interview someone working at one but as an alternative I could try to find a YouTube interview of an employee of an animal shelter.

I don’t believe it is faire to blame this issue on a cultural standpoint; however I can blame the government. There are not enough legal restrictions against animal abandonment, which makes pet owners feel as though they can abandon their pets without consequences. By incorporating and interview of an employee of a shelter or an owner or employee at a pet store would offer an alternative perspective through a different media that could enhance my performance. I would like to combine the perspective of my first performance with the perspective of someone who is directly involved in working with abandoned animals to encourage the audience to consider this issue and question what is the truth concerning this issue. 

My topic of the last assignment is about why couldn’t we prevent the earthquake from happening and minimize the lost. Also, the point of this topic is what role does the government play in the earthquake. I choose to stand by the public side and said that government did not did a good job on preventing the earthquake for two reasons: 1. they do not want to lost money if the earthquake does not happen. 2. the government officials of the Seismological Bureau is doing nothing everyday and just wasting money and waiting for retire.

I think another point of this topic should be it is not the goverment's fault on predicting the earthquake. First of all, even some powerful country with high-tech could not predict the earthquake correctly. secondly, after the earthquake happens, the army arrive there soon and help a lot of people to servive. In my opinion, the army really did a great job in the earthquake, however, this could not be the reason of the mistake they made. The safty of the people's life should always be the most important thing in the country, even there is only one percent oppertunity that earthquake will happen, they should let people move to a safty place before that.

So, if I am working on the new point, I will find a video of those people who were saved by the army in the earthquake, and let you know their felt. Also, I will find some pictures about the life of those people after they were saved by the army.

About songs

         My presentation states that the songs in the old days are better than today’s songs. It’s just my personal idea, about the good qualities of a song. I believe that good songs need to be real, meaningful like a good story and use less repeating words. I also state that the audiences focus more on other things than the music itself; it makes songs today like fast food.

         Of course there are lots of others opinion about this issue. If you ask ten thousand people about what good songs are, you may get ten thousand different answers. Some people think that today’s songs use a lot of new technology which makes those songs better. And there are more people think today’s singer also got some good songs. I have to admit those points. Indeed technology makes music sounds better than the old days. More and more new type of music came out. And also because of the increasing pressure of workday life, it’s not a mistake that people just want to dance and choose not find the deep meaning for a song. In nowadays background, music is more like a product than a work of art, and I can’t blame on the world. That’s the way it should be.

         No matter how I tried, the music won’t go back. The world is continuing and no one could stop it. I guess what I want is hoping that the sound of the old time continue to create good songs forever. However, it’s impossible.