Blog 16: Revision of CAT #2

            Nicholas Balakar the author of “Imitation of film: Here’s Smoking at You, Kid” featured in the New York Times starts off his article by mentioning a nationwide survey published in one of the issues of “Pediatrics” reports. That report states that children in the ages of ten to fourteen tent to start smoking after seeing actors smoke in a movie (as researchers sat thirty-eight per cent of children who start smoking do it to imitate actors who smoke in a movie).

            According to Dr. James D. Sargent, the lead author on the study and professor od pediatrics at Darmouth Medical School, kids start to watch R-rated movies as early fourth or fifth grade, and R-rated movies are proven to have twice as much smoking than other movies.

            Dr. Sargent’s study interviewed 6,522 children. From 50 randomly picked movie hits from 1998 through 2003 the study subjects were suppose to pick out the movies they had seen. The study team than added the number of times each child was exposed to smoking in a movie. The studies outcome was that children who were exposed to smoking in movies were more than two and a half times more likely to start smoking as those kids who weren’t exposed as much. Dr. Sargent took in consideration that kids from his study might have started smoking before they were exposed to smoking in movies but still he states: “the strength of the finding, and the fact that they replicate almost exactly on earlier regional study, suggest that this association should be taken very seriously”.

            I agree with Dr. Sargent that the findings of his study should be taken very seriously, because with every year that passes kids start smoking earlier and earlier, being not only influenced by movies but also by observing their parents or by being pushed (persuaded) by friends (a way of fitting in).

            Growing up both of my parents smoked cigarettes. They smoked in the living room of our apartment and I really hated that. Every time they smoked they told me to leave the room. I am grateful that they cared for my health but being a kid it annoyed me because I couldn’t watch TV. My sister is two years older than me. I remember one day walking home from school I saw her and her friends standing by bushed at the end of my flat. I was always nosy so I walked up to them to see what they were doing. As it turned out they were smoking cigarettes! I couldn’t believe it. When I confronted my sister about it her response was: “what?! Mom and Dad smoke, so why can’t I?!”

            Dr. Sargent did acknowledge the possibility that kids learn to smoke before they see it in movies. My sister is a perfect example, but I guess if she hadn’t had learned from my parents she probably would have picked it up from rate-R movies.

            Contrary to my sister I learned to smoke from my friends. When I was just starting high school, one of my friends bought cigarettes. I at first said no, because I didn’t want to get in trouble. My friend found other girls to smoke with and I ended up being the one who ever body looked weird at. Even though I had a choice, under pressure of sticking out I finally cave in.

            I think that if the amount of people smoking shown in movies would have been replaced with simple facts, risks of smoking, the number of smoking children would drastically change.

Blog 15 - Part I: Summarizing the Stories and Part II: Responding to a Factory Farming Issue

Part I: Summarizing the Stories

Leo is a pig living in the “Meatrix”. “Meatrix” is “the lie we tell ourselves about where are food comes from”. One day Leo is introduced by “Moopheus” to the real world which is factory farming.  Moopheus explains to Leo how factory farming begun -  ”in the mid 20^th century, greedy agriculture corporations began modifying sustainable family farming to maximize their profits at great cost to both humans and animals”, when in reality factory farming means that animals live in slaughter houses. They are kept very closely together (so close they cannot turn around) to fit as many animals as possible, they almost never see the sunlight, rest on the ground or breathe fresh air. Moopheus continues on by mentioning the effect of such conditions on the animals. This cruelty caused fights and diseases amongst the animals which started the process of for example debeaking chickens and adding antibiotics to keep the animals alive. Moopheus also mentions the massive air and water pollutions from all the excrement, and how small farms have been disappearing due to factory farming corporations.

“The Meatrix: Revolting” starts by Moopheus telling Leo about the progress they have made for the past two years and that people actually started taking notice of what they were eating. Leo and Chickity were very happy about that and Chickity even mentioned that Leo might be “the one”. Moopheus however says that there are many more issues with the Meatrix. They go in to the Meatrix and Leon is very happy with what he sees, until Moopheus tells him to “look trough the illusion of the Meatrix”. Moopheus explains to Leo that because of the conditions cows live in they have to be treated daily with antibiotics to illuminate sickness. Leo than is introduced to agents who give animals an artificial growth hormone – rBGH, which is banned by both the Canadian and European Union. Moopheus than continues by explaining how the mad cow disease can be easily spread by calves being fed blood of dead cows. At the end it comes out that Leo is “the one”. He fights off the agents who still manage to kidnap Moopheus. To Moopheus saving dairy farms is more important than his own life.

“The Meatrix II ½” starts with Chickity and Leo driving up to the factory where agents are keeping Moopheus. One of the Agents talks to Moopheus. He explains that all that matters to the factory is profit, even if the meat had some kind of a disease he says: ”what is a little E Coli between friends?”  The workers work so fast that the manure gets mixed up with the meat. The Agent tries to kill Moopheus but Leo and Chickity save him and three of the escape the factory safely. 

Part II: Responding to a Factory Farming Issue

              

                 In my opinion the most significant issue related to factory farming is adding additives to processed food, because almost all processed food contains additives and even thought there are FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approved additives it does not mean they are entirely safe for our health.

                Additives are divided into three separate categories, such as: “indirect food additives” (packing material – paper, plastic, cardboard), “direct food additives” (preservatives, nutrition supplements flavors and texturizers) and “color additives” (they change color of the processed food).

               Preservatives are the most common additive and they broken down into three groups: apropionic acid (prevents mold in bread), nitrates and nitrites (prevent discoloration in meat) and benzoates (prevent bacterial growth). An article written for the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) states:” it’s almost impossible to eat food without preservatives added by manufacturers “.

               Flavoring is also a very common additive. Its role is to induce the products smell or taste to make it more appealing to the consumer.

Currently there are three thousand additives that have been approved by the FDA which as I mentioned before doesn’t necessarily mean they are completely safe for our consumption. Additives are known to induce allergic reactions; some are linked with asthma, birth defects and even cancer.

As to FDA’s requirements ingredients have to be specified on the products’ label including the additives but often they are listed in general as “spices” or “flavoring”.

 There are however additives such as: sulfites and monosodium glutamate, which have to be listed on the label due to their effect on people’s health.

According to “Sulfites: Safe for Most, Dangerous for Some” article by Ruth Papazian “a person can develop sulfite sensitivity at any point in life, and no one knows what triggers onset or the mechanism by which reactions occur.[”Doctors believe that asthmatic develop difficulty breathing by inhaling sulfite fumes from treated foods,”] notes Dan Atkins, M.D., a pediatrician at the National Jewish Center for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver, Colo. He says that in a severe reaction an overwhelming degree of bronchial construction occurs, causing breathing to stop. This can lead to lack of oxygen reaching the brain, heart, and other organ and tissues and, possibly, a fatal heart rhythm irregularity.”

Monosodium glutamate causes health problems such as: headaches, nausea, weakness, difficulty breathing, drowsiness, rapid heartbeat and chest pains and also like sulfites the product that contains it has to have it specified on its label.

After reading about the negative influence of additives on human health only one question arises – What can we do to avoid additives? The answer is very simply put on the website www.sustainabletable.org, in the article about additives – “You can avoid food additives and health problems they may cause by eating fresh, unprocessed foods grown by local farmers. Since these foods are not transported thousands of miles, they don’t need to be packaged or pumped full of preservatives before reaching you. And since they are whole and unprocessed, they won’t contain colorings or artificial flavors.”

Blog 14: Reflection on Media Unit.

            I find all the exercises we do in class (writing responses using claims, reasons, and evidence in google docs, groups, and forms) very helpful when trying to compose essays.

When I am in class everything seems crystal clear to me which I can’t say is the same way I feel during the practice CAT’s.

I do have a general idea of how my essay should look like, but when it comes to actually putting everything down on a piece of paper my mind goes blank.

What I find the easiest is summarizing. Also fining key ideas in a given passage isn’t troublesome for me. However the part that is difficult for me is giving specific examples for reasons that I mention in my thesis, especially writing whole paragraphs that actually would make sense to the reader. It is very hard for me to form my thoughts in actual clear and meaningful sentences.

Another thing that I find difficult when writing an essay is referring back to the text after I finish writing a summary. 

To be perfectly honest I much more enjoyed watching the movies “The Truman Show” and “The Marix” than writing summaries and responses to them. As well as “The Allegory of the Cave” I find both of them very perplex and I think it will take more time for me to fully understand their symbolic meaning. Although I do find them complicated I think that they are very easy to relate to. So when I get a difficult passege for me to relate to I can always try to use “The Allegory of the Cave”, “The Matrix” and “The Truman Show”.

CAT #2 was not as bad as I thought even though I don’t think I’ll pass. The given passage was really hard for me to relate to. I wrote my summary which I think is pretty clear. I wrote a thesis supported with specific reasons (I think three). Giving examples was the hard part. I couldn’t find a way to refer to the passage when giving my examples.

Since this way my second CAT I am not really worried because I know we will have more practice before the actual CAT.

            To make biggest improvements in my essays I have to stay focused on the topic to which I am responding to and concentrate on elaborating my own ideas (examples).

Blog 13: Revision of CAT #1

              Timothy Sexton, the author of “The Dangers of Reality TV”, starts off his article by stating: “Reality television reinforces several unsound messages that are molding the minds of its young fans”. He continues with pinpointing what reality TV really focuses on, which is: putting stress on the importance of competition, the irrelevance of our abilities, and that education is totally unnecessary. The author explains that in today’s economy competition is the key to success, that is why a lot of industries merge – “There isn’t a business in America that doesn’t want to become a monopoly serving the needs of 100% of consumers”. Sexton then explains that image is most important, and that usually during a competition the contestant with better appearance tends to win. People would rather watch someone attractive without a personality rather than an ugly brainiac. Lastly the author mentions that the education of Reality TV stars is not at all important, since all thy do is humiliate themselves, and by doing so they definitely live a wealthier life than a college graduate.

            I agree with Sexton when he states: “Reality television reinforces several unsound messages that are molding the minds of its young fans”, because reality shows are shallow, uninformative and brainwashing.

            Reality TV shows now a days are shallow. They are about everything and everyone – pregnant sixteen year olds, rich bachelors or self absorbed wives from New Jersey. I stay away from television, since to me it is just a waste of time. Sometimes, but very rarely I happen to watch a movie, but whenever I come across a reality TV show I either change the channel right away or turn the TV off.

            My sister on the other hand who recently became a mother does nothing else in her spare time than watching reality shows. I remember when one time I went to visit her and the baby and “The Jersey Shore” was on. Since I had never seen that show before, believe me when I say I was shocked! All this show consisted off was a bunch of half naked teenagers with fake tans, running around acting like animals (if not worse). Seriously all those kids did was drink, argue and make out. I know that kids of all ages what shows like “The Jersey Shore” and I wonder if their parents really think that by watching such shows their kids get a good example.

            Reality TV targets young people since they are the biggest audience. You would think that because of that TV producers would want kids to learn something from their shows, but in reality it is exactly the opposite. Reality TV shows become more and more childish. Reality TV stars usually come from a rich homes, they have whatever they want and their parents allow them to do everything. Whatever reality TV is showing is exactly what kids are learning from it.

            Instead of putting stress on the importance of education, as Sexton mentions, reality TV is all about competition, so “why go to school and face the difficulties of learning something” when all it takes is getting on a reality show to make lots of money in a short amount of time.

            Reality TV has a very big influence on young people, but not only. However young people are most naïve and tend to believe that whatever they see on TV is true. When I first came to the USA I met this guy – “Johnny Brooklyn”. He was very nice, but there was something strange about him. He spent his whole days walking the street of Greenpoint rapping to himself, but loud enough for others to hear it. I found out from my friends that Johnny’s behavior was influenced by a reality TV show he once saw about his favorite rapper whose name I cannot recall right now. The show was about the rappers entire life and it especially focused around his career. Before he became famous all he did was walk around and rap/sing to himself until one day a famous producer heard him on the street. Johnny Brooklyn was not as lucky. Seven years have passed and I still see him sometimes wondering around Greenpoint rapping.

            In conclusion I find nothing positive about reality TV. It is just a bunch of lies that is being played on TV for people that obviously have no lives. On the onther hand if it weren't for those people, producers of reality TV wouldn't have an audience and that is why they do not focus on education in their shows.

Blog 12: Summary and Response to "Red Pill or Blue Pill?"

“Red Pill or Blue Pill: Is Ignorance Bliss?” article adapted by Dr.X from “The Matrix, Liberal Education, and Other Splinters in the Mind”, by Christine Cornell and Patrick Malcolmson begins with the comparison of two characters - Neo from the movie “The Matrix” and Alice from the books “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking - Glass”.

Coronell and Malcolmson reveal their significant similarities such as: both of them walking “through a mirror”, Neo having the choice of the blue or red pill which resemblances Alice’s magic drink and cake. Their biggest similarity however is, as the authors’ mention, their “confusion” of what is real (Alice when asked by the Caterpillar who she was, answered – “I-I hardly know, sir […]”).

Cornell and Malcomson continue their article by comparing “The Matrix” to the “The Allegory of the Cave” from the book – “The Republic”, by Plato. The authors pinpoint out their key difference. Socrates describes the world outside the Cave as “more beautiful”, whereas Morpheus calls the real world “the desert of real” (dark and ugly). But even though Plato and Wachowski brothers portrait the real world in a totally different way they do agree that – “freedom is not something that most people are going to be inclined towards or be receptive of”.

The authors finish the article by stating that “The Matrix” brings out a very perplex question about us, human beings that is – “Why do we want to know the truth”. They also relate to “Utilitarianism” essay written by a philosopher John Stuart Mill, who says that “If we experience of both the lower and higher pleasures, we will choose those of superior quality rather than mere quantity”.

My answer to the title question – “Is Ignorance Bliss?” is yes – ignorance is bliss. By being ignorant we avoid struggles from experiencing new things and we do not put ourselves in situations in which we would feel uncomfortable or would have to question our beliefs (for example reality).

Both “The Matrix” and “The Allegory of the Cave” show the struggle (of Neo and the prisoner that left the Cave) of what Coronell and Malcomson call “turning around from the world of becoming to the world of being”, which represents the life inside and outside of the Cave for Socrates’ prisoner and for Neo (“The Matrix”) life in and out of the Matrix. The prisoner being imprisoned all his life in a Cave suffers from sharp pains in his neck and eyes since he uses both for the first time. Neo, like the prisoner, from not using his muscles and eyes undergoes a lot of pain.

People struggle with new experiences in every aspect of their lives. From the first day of school, learning, meeting new people, traveling, starting families, etc.

When I was younger I wasn’t really fond of school, especially the part of reading mandatory books. Some books where written in older polish which did not make them easy to read. Clever kid that I was, I figured out a way to spare myself the troubles and confusion. Instead of reading the actual books I read very detailed summaries. Like I said I was young and ignored the fact that I can actually learn something from reading all these Polish classics.

Cypher, one of the characters from “The Matrix”, after learning what the real world is like (“desert of the real”- dark and ugly) desperately wants to go back to living in the Matrix. As Coronell and Malcolmson mention – “reality is not as pleasant as his former illusory life”. Life on the Nebuchadnezzar (the crews ship in the real world) was difficult, but contrary to life in the Matrix – it was true (not an illusion). Cypher regrets wanting to know the truth – “Why, oh why didn’t I take the blue pill…?” If Cypher had been ignorant to the truth from the very beginning he would have stayed in the Matrix. Without knowing the dark and ugly reality he would not have to betray his crew to once again live a life filled with pleasures.

To some ignorance may seem shallow and selfish, but to some it is a perfect way to lead an ideal life. Like in “The Matrix” the truth is not always better than a lie and that is why sometimes we choose to stay ignorant to reality.