Project Web: Homework #2 - Part One & Two

Project Web: Homework Assignment - Part One

    The responsibilities I was assigned in my group was finding out the history and development of Google, and researching the groundwork behind the site. I had to find out how Google developed, how it started and its complete background. In creating a product, individuals and or companies often encounter difficulties, so it was important that I made reference to the difficulties Google’s co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page encountered in developing the website.

    After researching the birth of Google, I had to research how exactly the media form works and why its consequently efficacious. In this case, Google’s foundation is built around its search engine and the results it provides its users, so I researched that dutifully. Another important point I researched was the privacy privileges of Google, and how much control over content/usage the user has.

    The process I used in going about this project was researching all the information I needed, and then I printed out all my sources. The reason I printed everything out was in order to make it easier to compare my information to make sure I had solid facts. Next. I went on to highlight and underline important lines. After that, I wrote out everything in a kind of essay form and finished. I wasn’t exactly done yet, I went on to post my findings on the group created website, and added some videos and photos with citations that went along with my information. Ultimately, I think I fulfilled what was asked of me and went ahead and provided more.

    My colleagues and I functioned quite healthy as a group. Each group member knew his or her assigned responsibilities. Some people might have finished a bit before others, but in the end, everything flowed relatively smooth. Putting together a website in a few days can be hard, but my group tried to make it easy and succeeded.

Project Web: Homework Assignment - Part One

    Writing a digital piece of media that was longer and more complex than a blog post, text, tweet, or Facebook post, was quite challenging, because there were many sections to cover, and formulating and formatting everything was kind of a drag. Especially with creating a website because there’s a plethora of items to add in order for it seem credible. Creating this website really showed me how easy it is to go online and post a multiplicity of information, whether it being true or false.

    In planning and creating a website, I learned that the digital process is perhaps much simpler, because it doesn’t necessarily have to be academic. In other words, I felt more free to say what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it. My information was of course factual, but as I was putting the website together it felt like it flowed, as oppose to a watered down version of what I wanted to include. Though I concede that the digital writing process is easier, I still insist that there are some similarities between creating a website and crafting an essay on paper. One of the most notable similarities I noticed was that ahead of time I knew this work was going to be ‘published,’ so I made sure I added credibility and tried to sound as professional as possible. Since a few people were going to view it, I wanted them to believe I knew what I was talking about. My writing process was different in a writing a piece of digital media versus traditional paper. One of the main differences as I stated above was the way in which my words just simply felt more fluid.

    Personally, I didn’t really enjoy writing collaboratively. Once people start cutting, snipping and moving paragraph around, I get quite anxious,  mainly because I tend to be such a safe writer that I sometimes don’t trust myself to make big changes. In other words, my writing process isn’t usually messy, and when I move things around, I feel like I’m taking a step back, which perhaps isn’t a healthy philosophy to have as a writer. Ultimately, what this project taught me abut my writing process, and myself as a writer was to experiment and be freer with my words, but still keeping in mind to support my claims.

    I think I’ve changed as a writer as the result of creating digital media simply because I know how it feels to write freely. Occasionally when I write essays on paper for class they’re usually a standard format of writing, but over the Web, I as a user have more leeway on stating specific claims or ideas; or at least it feels that way. In the end, creating a website and crafting an essay on paper can show you a complete opposite side of you as writer that perhaps you thought didn’t exist.

Reflective Essay

Christian Vargas on Writing

    At the beginning of the semester I thought of myself as a rather proficient writer. I was relatively confident in my writing skills, having already taken one semester of college level English. Unlike last semester, I knew what I was walking into, and this time around I didn’t walk into the course feeling intimidated, and anxious. From the very beginning, I was deeply aware that there were still some things I needed to learn and have reiterated, such as the importance of a well structured introduction and thesis. This second semester of English 114B well-appointed the fundamental principles of a well structured thesis. In short, my first semester of college level English was quite interesting, and since English and writing have always been some of my favorite subjects throughout my years of education, I was undoubtedly looking forward to undergoing the second semester.

    This semester I was expecting or hoping to explore more exercises that involved creativity, similar to past assignments in English 114A. My hopes and expectations were definitely met through Project Web, Project Space, and Project Text. Within these projects, I was given the liberty to create a descriptive and educational website about Google, explore how Ralphs supermarket uses particular methods and tactics to get you shop, and analyze dense literary works such as Watchmen. Personally, I find it terribly vital and significant for a literary piece to be constructed in a form that gives the writer a voice, a personality, and I feel that these three projects demonstrated that.

    Reflecting on this second semester, I learned a wide variety of disciplinary applications in writing I didn’t notice last semester, such as never beginning a paragraph with a quote to introduce a new source. To get your paper off to a great start, you should try to have a first sentence that engages your reader with your ideas. Think of your first sentence as a hook that draws your reader in. As you researched your topic, you probably discovered many interesting anecdotes and quotes, but these should be used to back up your claim and not simply just to make your claim. An engaging introduction should introduce your ideas as well, not just someone else’s. In short, I learned this semester that its little things like this that create a strong beginning.

    This semester, techniques in avoiding “hit-and-run” quotations were also reiterated, which are situations in which the writer fails to introduce the quotation appropriately or explain why he or she finds it worth quoting. The writer simply abandons the quotation in his or her rush to zoom on to another point, because of this, the reader is undeniably entrenched in an arduous situation, because the lack of tools and explanation. It makes it completely incomprehensible for the reader to not only understand what you are trying to say, but also what the author you are quoting is arguing. Neglecting quoted words doesn’t explain how the author’s words connect with anything you have to say. Undeniably, a writing application like this is awfully imperative in the Art of writing; I’m glad I had the opportunity this semester to master the principle.

    Another application that I didn’t necessarily learn, but was reminded of it’s importance,
was having a solid introduction and conclusion. Throughout the course Professor J. reiterated the
lesson with each of our writing assignments, similar to last semester. The introduction is the most read section of any paper or document, so it holds countless significance.  Mainly because it usually determines your reader's attitude towards the whole work, and if it is boring your reader might not pay proper attention to the rest of your essay. As for the conclusion, it should make your essay complete and leave the final impression on your reader. One thing I will never forget about a conclusion is how it should not contradict or deviate significantly from the main idea of your essay. A strong conclusion is essential, because it’s what your reader remembers last.

    As a writer, I now feel confident in writing solid thesis statements. I’ve become skilled at writing a rich thesis statement, and setting a vibrant tone in the framework of the entirety of my papers. A thesis statement is considered critical because it captures the whole argument in just a single sentence. It’s also important because it informs the reader of your purpose in writing the paper, and the direction you plan on taking. Last semester I felt like I still needed a bit of improvement on writing thesis statements, luckily this semester really enhanced my ability on writing a concrete thesis.

    I plan on continuing to improve as a writer through my upcoming years in college and in my future occupation, by understanding how writing is a form of communication. In the real world, academic writings that consists of a well articulated framework is essential for your career. In short, utilizing writing in my personal life will enable me to accomplish my goals in my chosen career. In the end, English 114B not only helped me understand these points, but broadened my horizons of the literary world.

Project Text: Homework Three - Annotated Bibliography

Gibney, Christian. “Profile of a Hero: Rorschach.” University of Connecticut. 23 April 2012. Web. <freshmanenglish.uconn.edu/students/10.Gibney.pdf>.

In this essay, Gibney explores the scale of who chooses our heroes, who watches our heroes, and who watches the Watchmen. While he acknowledges that we choose our heroes, he expresses how heroes fight for justice and will risk their lives to protect all of those that justice protects, the good people in our society. He also emphasizes that a hero will do the unpopular task in order to make sure good prevails. Clearly, his idea of a hero, is someone who is willing to risk the opinion of the public eye in order to preserve righteousness. Gibney gets his point across by analyzing Watchmen’s Rorschach, a man with a mysterious ink-blot mask and even more mysterious persona, who represents justice in its purest form and will go to any length to make sure that it is carried out. Ultimately, yielding the idea that anyone can be heroic and all it takes is an idea and a will to fight; which he claims Rorschach embodies.

    Although his primary focus for writing is to expose how Rorschach could be considered a hero, he also cites several other sources. Gibney also places the debate about controversial heroes over the course of history, and the many public figures that have been scrutinized for heroic actions that some have deemed controversial. He cites several characters throughout history, such as Charles Darwin, President Harry Truman, and gangster John Dillinger. Although those characters are really bizarre and exceedingly diverse, all of these characters, in his view, share a common characteristic concerning their heroic lore: “the controversy surrounding the decisions they have made continues to resonate throughout society.” In short, Gibney concludes the characters he cited, are not just people who just went out and encapsulated “good,” but instead went out and made a change in the world armed with only their minds.

Hughes, Jamie A. "“ ‘Who Watches the Watchmen?’: Ideology and ‘Real World’ Superheroes " The Journal of Popular Culture 39.4 (2006): 546-57. Print.

In this journal, Hughes explores how the word “superhero” conjures up a very specific image in the minds of many readers: the archetypal visions of “the good guy.” She acknowledges that superheroes like Batman and Superman, despite their various powers and realms, have one thing in common, they are “good guys.” Contrary to that, she explores how the Watchmen characters are the complete opposite of these heroes. Superman, Batman, Flash, and the rest of the traditional good guys become superheroes for some central responsibility. As oppose to those heroes, there’s the unusual Watchmen characters who choose not to do it for much more routine reasons such as money and power, but rather to promote their own ideology.

    In chorus, in the graphic novel, it is easy to see how Moore and Gibbons have created superheroes who are nothing more than individuals caught up in an ideology. These characters are viewed as half-crazed people who care little for society, and just for their ideology. Hughes maps out how the characters are not up to some grand scheme, but rather just regular people trying to fight for something. She concludes that we are all subject to the same power, which is that of ideology.

Project Text: Homework Two - Book Review (A Landmark Graphic-Novel)

Review of Watchmen

Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons: Watchmen
New York, NY: DC Comics (2008) $39.99 (hardback) ISBN: 9781401219260

    The graphic novel Watchmen, created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons, with its rich language, its dense and interwoven themes, and its relationship between words and images, serve to question our notions of what is heroic. Watchmen is a magnificent crime fiction, action, drama and mystery tale of dark times, told by some of the darkest characters in storytelling. Being a graphic novel, it includes incredible amounts of detail in every tiny panel, so the readers can choreograph every little thing. The graphic-novel begins with warm and cheerful colors and throughout the story is gradually made darker to give the story a dark and bleak feeling. Keep in mind that this graphic novel is meant for mature audiences and is filled with complex themes and issues. That said, both children and adults could gain some knowledge by talking about the many ethical issues raised by the actions and circumstances of the characters. In short, the story is set in 1985 and accounts the alternative history of the United States where the U.S. moves alarmingly closer to nuclear war with the Soviet Union. Within this world exists regular individuals who, by motive or chance, decide to wear costumes, fight crime in New York City, and try to eliminate the catastrophes that could strike the city. However, some of these characters, like Rorschach and the Comedian, often appear more violent than the criminals they battle, ultimately, positively equipping readers with a correlating idea of what constitutes justice, and whether a vigilante can really represent justice and an emblematic 'hero.'

    For readers unfamiliar with Watchmen, the story takes place in a world where
Nixon is still president and the Soviet Union invades Afghanistan, which sets the Soviets and the Americans on the verge of nuclear war. Contrary to that, the masked vigilante Rorschach, wanted by the police for his murder of several criminals, investigates the killing of another former vigilante, the Comedian. In chorus, Rorschach makes it his duty to warn several other fellow retired masked heroes that their lives may be in danger. Amongst these masked heroes are, the Nite Owl, Silk Specter, Dr. Manhattan, and Ozymandias. Unsurprisingly, the former superheroes do not take Rorschach’s warnings seriously.

    Thus, making the story take even more of a twist, because soon after this, an assassination attempt is made against Dr. Manhattan’s life, the novel’s only actual super-powered being and America’s main nuclear preventative. After this, Dr. Manhattan decides to leave Earth for Mars after being suspected of causing cancer of his old friends. Around this time Rorschach is set up for the murder of a retired villain and ends up getting arrested and incarcerated. Thus, making him powerless, but still persistent on halting the havoc that could strike the world. Also, around this time, the conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union mounts and nuclear war becomes more of a noticeable possibility. As a result of this, Nite Owl and Silk Specter decide to persist with Rorschach’s investigation and bust him out of prison. As a consequence, all three trace the web of conspiracy of the superhero killer to its center. Its also important to note that Dr. Manhattan, being able to see the past, present and future, could have stopped the world from nuclear holocaust, but didn’t. By the end, the characters learn of Ozymandius’ plan to prevent nuclear war and create the world in his ideal way; therefore causing him to try to take out the Watchmen.

    With this background information, one can decide upon whether a vigilante, such as Rorschach, can really represent justice and an emblematic “hero,“ despite how he often appears more violent than the criminals he battles. Rorschach isn’t simply just a character that is mentally ill, morally uncompromising, and filled with immoral behavior as he might often be portrayed. He’s more of an unanticipated hero, in the way in which he pursues his goals. Generally, a hero is a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal. In my view, Rorschach adequately lives up to this definition. Although, he is imperfect in a sense of him being so strongly idealistic to uphold truth and justice. Rorschach is the person who does not walk way from confrontation or the mystery of who is killing the Watchmen, and continues to find out, despite the circumstances.

     Rorschach isn’t exactly anyone’s primary definition of a true hero, but he is a guy who would sacrifice the whole world if it meant punishing the actions of one wicked man, Ozymandius. Towards the end, Rorschach is killed after finding out the truth about the global catastrophes suffered by New York, and refusing to keep silent about the truth. He nearly begs to be killed by Dr. Manhattan to prevent the truth being exposed by himself. Although, some might consider him mentally ill and morally uncompromising, he still does whatever it takes to stop the world from utter chaos. In the long run, Rorschach brings salvation to the idea that anyone or anything, despite their background, can constitute justice, under any circumstance.

    In terms of creativity, dense ideas, artwork, or commercial standing, it is almost impossible to overstate the importance of Watchmen and it’s questioning of our notions of what is heroic. Throughout the story, the idea of what makes a hero yields many important questions people should consider. Why would a normal man choose to put on a mask and fight crime without the support of the police or superhuman abilities? What happens to a normal man who can rewrite reality but has no human connection to the reality in which we live? Does doing whatever it takes to save your loved ones make you a monster? All those questions, and more, are asked and explored within Watchmen. Ultimately, all these questions correlate an idea of what constitutes justice, and if a vigilante can really represent justice and a representative “hero.” Thus, positively giving readers a better idea of who and what can really represent justice, before they make an overriding assumption about others.

Project Space: Homework Two – The Mall, Hegemony, and Ideology

    Working class people have habitually accepted the ideological view of the world presented over and over to them by the ruling class, because they aren’t aware of the phenomenon. It's sad to think that the world suffers from this kind of homogeneous Mall Syndrome, where peoples’ desires are exploited and marketed for profit, and accepted because of unawareness. The capitalist class maintains power over the working class by using hidden methods and tactics, which ultimately, makes the working class unaware and “blind” of what’s occurring behind the scenes.

    This in chorus, conveys how we as a society are unaware consumers, causing us to unknowingly accept the ideology of owners dominating over the working class, and the hegemonic control it creates. Antonio Gramsci, notorious for his exposure of the concept of hegemony, described it as one group ruling over the other with the consensus of the controlled group (Lears NP). As I understand Gramsci, capitalists are able to rule because they make the system seem natural, constant, and predictable; all while it so steadily reproduces itself. Ultimately, because the capitalist economic system requires expanding consumption to survive, a culture is created where a group of intellectuals, assist the capitalist with the perpetuation of maintaining the working classes’ behavior. In the context of a shopping mall, the intellectuals are the people designing and developing the lucrative schemes of control, one example, could be the individuals who create music playlists for Abercrombie & Fitch. Essentially, they have developed naturally together with the ruling class and toil for the benefit of the ruling class. They can also take the form of store managers, teachers and professors, lawyers, etc. Conclusively, the intellectuals help bind the effects of hegemony together and help it function, while keeping the working class oblivious.

    Capitalists have hegemony because working class people are unaware of it. One must only look at any mall to see the ideology of hegemonic control in action, in which the capitalist and intellectuals collaborate. For instance, The Mall’s economy has, for the most part, prospered as its citizens buy more and more things, so it’s vital to keep citizens there as long as possible. In order to do this, the capitalist create a territory that explores the desires of individuals and their establishments. For instance, if I went to The Mall to buy a pair of shoes, but then wanted to leave because I was hungry or perhaps thirsty, the Mall’s food court would be there to the rescue, purposely tricking me into spending more money and alienating me to stay longer. In this sense, shopping malls could feel alienating, because shoppers are tossed into a space occupied with numerous stores, which are trying to get them to buy their products, and it’s quite difficult to silence desire, and the capitalists know that.

    Another example of how capitalists and intellectuals perpetuate the function of hegemony through the shopping mall is the deliberate placement of particular stores. For instance, purposely placing the big named stores, such as Macy’s or Sears, in the front of The Mall to capture and reel people in without difficulty. It’s sort of like writing a story, you start of with a hook (larger company stores out in front), and then you move on to the body paragraphs (smaller stores and food court in the middle) and ultimately end with a conclusion (virtually a complete round trip around the Mall’s establishments). This scheme is fundamentally articulated through the idea of consumption. If I like one store, why not stay in The Mall longer and go into another store? This is what the ruling class is after, the placement of institutes where the working class will continue spending, which is completely reflected in The Mall.

        Whatever motivates a person to visit the Mall, whether it’s the company of others or shopping opportunities, people should be aware of the unconstructive services the Mall offers. For instance, if someone decides to express love for a person by finding them the perfect gift, whether it’s for a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or Valentine’s Day – the idea of “Oh, I can buy a gift at the Mall,” will perhaps, most definitely, come to mind. When this occurs, the gift shopper ends up going to the Mall and buying a gift not only for their friend or family member but also for him or herself, because they perhaps got a great deal. From personal experience, my family members run to stores (not literally), when someone they know gets a great deal, whether it’s a clearance item or not. Its purposely set up, its not a mistake. Contrary to that, I know people go to the Mall out of convenience. My point is that people, just need to be more aware of their surroundings and the premeditated strategies of the shopping centers they’re visiting.

        In the end, the whole world suffers from the homogeneous Mall Syndrome, because of owners and intellectuals who intentionally perpetuate the desires of the dominant group. Working class people habitually accept the ideological view of the world presented over and over to them by the ruling class, which ultimately allows hegemony to perpetuate. The dominant group, general citizens, need to be aware of hegemony and it’s power. That said, it is hard to turn hegemony on its head, but that’s doesn’t mean we have to accept it and its alienation, because if we do, the cycle will just regenerate, and create a hostile environment.

Works Cited

Mastroiann, Dominic. "Hegemony in Antonio Gramsci." English.emory.edu. Emory University,     Fall 2002. Web. 29 Feb. 2012. http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/hegemony.html>.

Williams, Raymond. Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. Revised Edition. New     York: Oxford UP, 1985. 144-145. Print.

Lears, T.J. Jackson. “The Concept of Cultural Hegemony: Problems and Possibilites.” The     American Historical Review. Vol. 90, No. 3 (Jun 1985). 567-593. JSTOR. Web. 29 Feb     2012. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1860957>.