Speechless after watching "Ask a Slave," Why? (Unit 6 Blog)
Why are they things we don't feel qualified to talk about? Even though I've studied issues regarding discrimination, sometimes I don't feel qualified to talk about things.
The exception here would be women's rights. I think that goes without having to go into politics. I do feel qualified to talk about women's rights as well as education.
Recently for Unit 6, I was able to get a head start and watch "Ask a Slave." This short show allows the audience to ask questions about slavery to Lizzie Mae, an actress who plays the fiction character of Mae as President George and Martha Washington's house slave. The comedy show incorporates humorous lines, but also hard truths about racism.
I enjoyed the show greatly but had a had time putting my thoughts into words after her show. It wasn't because I didn't like it, I just was shocked at some of the people's questions to her. I was also at a loss of words because even though I have studied slavery, racism and slavery is something I don't feel qualified to talk about. Just because I have studied it, doesn't mean I know how that feels -- I don't.
I know this turned kind of serious, but I think it is important to evaluate why that is?
Is there anything you don't feel qualified to talk about? Why is that true for you? Or are you comfortable and feel qualified to talk about everything as long as you study it?
There is no wring answer. I just noticed that after I laughed, gasped, and clapped at "Ask a Slave," I also noticed that it was hard for me to come to terms with the text and thought it was worth discussing.
As I was watching Ali Wong’s stand up show I was
impressed…and shocked… by a lot of
things. But her 80’s and 90’s pop culture references had me going down memory
lane and I’ve enjoyed reading so many of your posts about your favorite things
so I thought I’d share some goodies from my YA years.
When I was young, we used to go to the local pizza shop in,
what was then a small town in Northern Virginia, to hang out and play arcade
games, one of them being Pac Man. The game table they had looked something like
this:
I remember looking forward to those Friday nights with the
family or riding bikes halfway across town with friends on those hot summer
evenings, our legs sweaty and sticking together when we got to the pizza shop
because we were wearing shorts and because, well… no thigh gap.
That brings me to my next memory of my YA years. Culottes.
Yes, these were a thing. In fact, I think my Mom made most of mine with a McCall’s
pattern packet like this one.
The scariest thing here is not that they were in but that I think they’re back
in. You’re Welcome.
We didn't have computers or cell phones when I was young, so we passed the downtime reading or watching movies. One could often find me with my nose in a book, some of my YA favorite books were Sweet Valley High, The Babysitter's Club and my favorite classics Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie.
I know The Goonies was a popular movie at that time, but I never enjoyed it much. I did like, however, The Neverending Story, Top Gun, Bettlejuice, Can't Buy Me Love and some oldies like Grease and The Sound of Music.
Thanks for letting me share, it was a fun trip down memory lane!
For Reflection 5, I revised my
paper about the SNL Palin Rap by Amy Poehler. My original paper was mess. It
had no clear thesis and did not flow from one point to the other. However, I
stopped to take a break and watched the rap skit again. Even though she was
still pregnant, I thought to myself "Wow, she was already a cool
mom!". Then after watching some of the Netflix comedies this week, I
realized a lot of them are also mothers. Such as Tig Notaro, Amy Wong, and
Wanda Sykes! That got me brainstorming about what exactly I wanted to write for
the Unit 5 Blog. Then it just clicked. I wanted to write about cool moms on
tv!
We already knew Amy Poehler was a
cool mom even back in Mean Girls (2004)! I absolutely loved her and this movie. I loved her Barbie-like
fashion and young spirit! Hilarious movie. Even though she did not have a prominent
role, it's definitely one we cannot forget!
Another
cool mom or "groovy" as they used to say, is Kitty Foreman! I hope
some of you are That 70's Show fans. I didn't
start watching this show until my freshman year of college and I love it.
Honestly, Kitty and Red are probably my favorite characters. They're both
comical in their own way. Kitty has such a bubbly personability and is so comical. She's one rockin' mom and we simply cannot ignore her unforgettable laugh! Seriously, can you not
hear this gif?
Meredith Grey: Single mom, 3 kids, been through hell back, and a full-time doctor with serious dance moves. Whew, can we say Super Cool Mom! I think Meredith's so funny! She has a no nonsense attitude that is very comical to me.
These
sure are some cool mama's! I know I've left out a lot! Let me know some
television moms that you love. Is it their sense of humor? Laugh? Or just their
overall personality?
I started this off with Amy, so I shall end with Amy. Plus this is
such an iconic scene!
For my fourth response paper, which I also chose to revise for my fifth response paper, I discussed self-deprecating humor in relation to Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special Nanette.
Source: Netflix.
This is a topic that's becoming increasingly fascinating to me, because I never considered self-deprecating humor a bad thing. It seems like a natural part of my generation's taste for dark humor. It's always felt normal to approach myself with a sort of cynicism, and while I recognize that a feeling of self-worth is important to strive towards, I also thought it was valuable to laugh at myself. Everything I saw in the media seemed to point towards that, too.
It's good to know one's hotness level, right? Source: Reza Farazmand, Poorly Drawn Lines.
Comics and memes are full of self-deprecating humor and jokes about depression, and so I felt that it was normal. I recognized that there were serious issues underlying all of these jokes, but I didn't think that there was anything wrong with the jokes themselves. Jokes are a good way to cope with tough issues. I haven't fully changed my mind about that, but I am starting to think more about how we treat ourselves in humor.
Gadsby told her audience that her use of her traumatic experiences as a source of comedy has kept her from growing. She said, “comedy has suspended me in a perpetual state
of adolescence” (39:45–39:50). She was only dwelling on the trauma, abusing it for the sake of other people's laughter. She was using humor and putting herself down “in order to speak, in order to seek
permission... to speak” (18:05–18:10). By buying into the idea that because she was a lesbian, because she was in a marginalized group, she had to seek permission. She had to be able to entertain people if she wanted to be worth listening to.
At this point, some people might feel a bit of a disconnect from her argument. After all, I'm not a lesbian. I'm a woman, but not everyone reading this is. But don't we all do this anyway? I can't name how many times I've broached a difficult subject with a joke. I try my best to laugh at myself when I'm crying to make it seem like, to the people around me, I'm not doing that bad. Sorry, just let a few tears slip! They'll dry up in a minute. Pay them no mind. See, I'm laughing already, that means it's okay. We have been conditioned to believe that our emotions are only worth being given attention when other people can enjoy them. Even when it comes to other, “high brow” forms of creativity and art, Gadsby exclaims as she describes her encounter with an audience member, “‘What do you honsetly think, mate?’ I said. ‘That
creativity means you must suffer? That is the burden of creativity? Just so you
can enjoy it?’” (35:00–35:20). Too many people think that any form of expression has to have some value that other people can consume, rather than just being for its own sake. Comedy, while it may be “low brow,” is still a form of creativity the same way that art is. It's an expression of the self, and when we abuse ourselves for the sake of others, it hurts.
Most people have issues that we deal with through comedy, and I'm not about to say that's a bad thing. Sometimes laughing at ourselves is the best way to accept ourselves when we really aren't capable of doing so otherwise. Like all things, though, it needs to be taken in small doses. We need to be aware of the line between using comedy to cope with something, like depression, coming out, or a traumatic experience, and when we're using comedy to avoid coping. And when the jokes stop being for ourselves, and start being for the crowd, that's when it's time to stop.
Wanda Sykes is a great stand up comedian. She makes her audience feel her
slogan-pretty language. Skykes’ stand up is filled with interesting slogans
tackling certain issues. The first place I remember seeing Sykes was on the HBO
comedy series “Curb Your Enthusiasm” starring Seinfeld” creator Larry David.
Her character on “Curb” was predominately there to make Larry look bad in
all the stereotypically half racist ways that progressive liberals can trap
themselves in. She was always pointing out to Larry these little things that he
was doing that were inherently racist that he was unaware of. She gave him the “crook-eye”
when he faltered in some socio-politically incorrect way. It made for good
laughs but it also made for better commentary about mildly racist behavior
being called out rightfully. The point was her presence provided a social block
for Larry as the audience is supposed to enjoy and cringe when Larry strands up
for himself and puts his foot all the down into his mouth until his heel is
burned by stomach acid.
Sykes’ character was used to confront minor issues that stuck out to black
people as more than a minor deal. Any racism is intolerable but the minor stuff
is a less noticeable symptom of larger more obvious racism. “Curb” sought to
make light of this while informing people that “just because you agree MLK was
a great man doesn’t mean you’re not unconsciously racist or race bias.”
Not having a black friend isn’t a crime but as Sykes say in her special, “Not
Normal” “You
need a black friend.” She says this to get the point across that white people
are absent of a prevalent perspective in America. The perspective of a harder
and harsher existence based in subconscious distrust and frustration to admit unconscious
racial bias. While Sykes doesn’t go after the police, with the exception of one
joke, she does go after doctors. Sykes claims that black people are given less
powerful drugs than white people on purpose. This was such an interesting
commentary to bare witness to. This is the kind of thing I could never be made
aware of without Sykes.
Another thing Sykes tackled was racism in America. Such quotes as “when we’re
attacked we stop the BS and unite.” This is in reference to the Russian hacking
of the 2016 presidential election. Sykes voices her frustration with Trumps inability
to respond to such an attack. She wishes he could’ve stood up for America, but
then again the whole Mueller investigation is about Trump colluding with
Russia. So where is the motivation for trump to go after the Russians? If they
hacked the election for him then it doesn’t exist.
Another line that struck a cord in me was “Racism, we’ve got to deal with
it, it’s going to be the demise of our country.” It’s stupid to say she’s right
but she really really is. Police shooting a black security guard who was after
the same criminal the police were is travesty of justice. These things spell
major major major malfunction in the way this country seizes on justice. Then again
is the harping on one issue really the best way to come into logical contact
with socio-political issues? No. But when something terrible goes down the
people need to know about it. The trick is not to dwell on it unless that
dwelling is motivation to makes positive change. Complaining is one thing but
action is another. When is there going to be progressive action taken to rectify
the racial injustices plaguing this nation? Hopefully sooner than later.
After reading Harris' chapter on Revising, which had a lot to do with getting inspired, and watching Tig Notaro's comedy show Happy to Be Here, I've had a few thoughts. First, as Harris showed us, inspiration can come from anywhere. Second, as Tig Notaro made clear in Happy to Be Here, just because something is silly and enjoyable, doesn't make it bad. I thought I'd use this post as a chance to talk about the silly little that things prove weirdly inspiring and enjoyable to me - and because summer is the season of guilty pleasures, I thought I'd talk about some texts that are, for me, truly evocative of summer.
For me, inspiration is linked with enjoyment. I am inspired by the things that I enjoy. How very human, I guess. Often, these are texts that I find funny or romantic, or wistful or timeless, especially in the summertime. If I had to pick one action that defined summer, it might be laying on the beach drinking a beer and reading a book. Here is one of my summer reading faves.
This trilogy by Jenny Han, which starts out with the book The Summer I Turned Pretty, is forever what I want to read on the beach. These books are exactly as juicy and indulgent as the titles make them appear, filled with skinny dipping, bonfires, tanning oil and sun tea. Jenny Han's series is also very touching, filled with first love and the explosive (or implosive) aftermath of losing a loved one. These are cemented in YA fiction, but I can't seem to outgrow them. Maybe that's why they inspire me; they make me want to write something that someone won't be able to bring themselves to outgrow.
Since Harris (and Dr. H!) tell us that texts can be many things, another text I would like to examine is this album.
I love the beach. And I love The Beach Boys. And by this time you have probably decided from my blog posts that you either think I'm really cheesy or that I'm classic, like a nice white wine. So, good luck convincing me that The Beach Boys isn't the only thing you should be blasting out of your boombox under that umbrella this summer. You can probably picture it now: sandwiches in the cooler, the men filling up trash bag after trash bag with empties, mom telling anyone who will listen that tomorrow is a red flag day.
If this song doesn't at least make you smile, I don't know what to do with you.
For me, listening to "California Girls" or "Wouldn't It Be Nice" or "Little Deuce Coupe" is like drinking lemonade through a really wide straw and getting as much sweetness as you want. The Beach Boys inspire me to have a good day, and only good things (including good writing) happen on good days, like the ones when you get 100,000 new freckles and you swear your tan lines will be there till next year. Can you tell I need a vacation?
Lastly, and because I was reminded how much I love it by writing about it in a comment, I give you the ultimate summer movie to end all summer movies.
Dirty Dancing is just the best, period. The plot includes the ultimate summer vacation, hot dance moves, a talent show, great fashion, hot music, a crime, more than one scandal, tons of abs, and some lessons about integrity, as well as a nice commentary on socioeconomic status as a barrier between potential lovers, abortion politics, changing family dynamics, and the ultimate f-u to The Fountainhead (sorry Ayn Rand, we never liked you anyway).
This is how Dirty Dancing makes me feel.
Maybe you did find this post silly, or trivial, or not academic. And that's okay. But what I'm trying to get at here is that just as we often find the creative process mysterious, the reasons why certain texts just make our souls happy are often mysterious as well. We spend an awful lot of time trying to be more serious or more professional or more writerly. I think we should spend more time trying to be honest. What honestly inspires you? What makes your soul happy?
Now judging by the title of my blog, you either really want to scroll past this post, or you really want to comment on it.
This post will explore why songs are catchy and I will talk about why I think "Old Town Road" falls into the catchy category.
I recently completed my Response 5 Paper in which I deiced to remodel my Response Paper 4. My Response Paper 4 was an unorganized version of why I think Old Town Road is catchy.
I turned it into an interesting argument. My thesis was the following statement:
"I think the song is catchy because of all the attention it has received and the issues it has faced with race, categorizing, and the catchy beat it plays. It also has the timing that causes the listener to begin the song, and as they start to catch on, it ends which leads to listening again and again. Lil Nas X did something interesting with mixing the genres when he produced the song, and Billy Ray added a new element months later. The song is constantly changing, being remixed, and being given attention – no matter the version. The songs catchiness extends by adding humor in the lyrics. The artists, Lil Nas X and Cyrus obviously did something successful in the making of this song that crosses both the lines of country and hip-hop. " The song, which I do admit I don't hate is something that has quickly made its way into a category of meme humor. This also adds to its popularity and catchiness, I argue in my paper. It has been so interesting to me to analyze why in the world something so funny and simple would be played on the radio every other 5 songs. I chose this topic for my blog and my recent papers because I have truly never thought about why songs are so catchy. I have always talked about it, but never put my thoughts on paper. It helped me to learn a lot about what we are drawn to, what sticks, and why in terms of pop culture and music. What do you think? Even if you hate the song due to it being overplayed -- why do you think it is catchy? Is there a song that constantly gets stuck in your head? Is it the lyrics, the beat, or maybe the artist that makes it so catchy?
