Walmart death on Black Friday

During black Friday if u watched the news you would have known about the scandel that left a guy dead, several injured and even a baby being lost. Early in the morning a Walmart in Long Island was being opened by a 34 yr old temporary maintenanace employer. During this time around 200 people were eager to go in. They broke the door off its hindges and knocked over this guy. It seemed as though noone noticed that this guy had fallen and they all just stampeded over him. He ended up being killed when noone would dare to stop and help. This is a bad image being put out for Americans. It shows us that many people would much rather save a couple bucks than help a man get up and probably save a life. I dont blame these people but i think this was extemely wrong. It might have been fear to be stuck down just like him or maybe people didnt even notice what was going on but there still should have been some awareness. I think walmart should have had more backup knowing that on a day like that many people would be arriving. Also they shouldnt have even thought about forming a human chain, this was a very dumb idea. Overall i think that this situation was one that will bring notice to the safety of people during black friday

Election Day

November 4, 2008 was a day that many people will not forget. It was a day that proved America was taking a big step forward to hopefully changing the way we are. When i woke up that day i could feel the tension in the air. The excitment could be seen on everyones faces. Walking down the street with my mom that day all we saw were people with "Obama '08" t-shirts on and many people chanting Obamas name. That day you could tell that people really wanted this change. Alot of people went out to vote and no matter how big the lines were people were still very friendly. They would hold eachothers spots and go out for coffee, start conversations things of that sort. At around 3:00 pm i went with my mom to the voting polls. To my suprise the line had nly about 3 people and we were in in less than 5 minutes. Once inside i was allowed tobe wth my mom while she voted. I pulled the lever and she picked her vote, for Obama ofcourse. Once we were out we went hom and waited anxiously until the new president was announced. At 11:00 pm i was woken up with people screeming and clapping and instantly i knew Obama had won. It was a day that gave America hope for a new future.

Black Friday

Black Friday is the day right after Thanksgiving. It is a day known for the packed malls, long lines and people waiting since early hours of the morning. During that day, like may people, i went shopping with my family. Unlike others i was not wating in line since the early morning, we decided to go shopping at around noon. I think this was a better idea beacuse there were still many objects at the stores. The lines were long but not very, and depending how popular the store was they were not that packed. The most packed stores where Macy's and Aeropostale. These were impossible to even get into and people were still pushing their way through. I dont think people should be criticized on this day , if they are willing to get up super early and they know the concecuences of these actions then they should be left with that. People all believe different things and i dont think these ideas should be forced upon them. I wil say though, that black friday brings the really bad side of many people.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day when families come togeather and give thanks for the many things they are blessed with. During this holiday familes eat, enjoy themselves, the company they are with, and talk about the things going in their lives and around the world.My Thanksgiving day was spent pretty much this way, the whole family came togeather that to enjoy themselves and catchup. I noticed that many of the conversatons that started related to many of the dominant corporate culture messages that have been discussed in class. When my family first arrived one the first questions being asked to all the kids was " how are you doing in school so far?" I realized that this is a question that is asked in any ocation, showing me that people believe your education is very important. Corporate culture often emphasizes the fact that kids should get an education. Thanksgiving was also a day which brings out the best for some people. If you watched t.v or talked to some people you saw that many people tried to help others who were less fortunate. The went to shelters,gave out food, did anything possible to make peoples thanksgiving a happy one. Another big topic that was brought up alot was the ecomony topic, as well as gossiping. Overall my thanksgiving didnt really bring up any corporate culture messages that were that important. It was a good day that i was able to enjoy with my family.

Cultures View on Living a Good Life -- Draft

Many times we ask ourselves "what makes my life meaningful?" and "what actually is a meaningful life?" After asking myself these questions i realised that evryone has their own meaning and understanding of what a good and meaningful life is, it is different for us all. A meaningful life In order to know what makes my life meaningful i ask myself, "what do i care about?" "what is very important to me?" The answer to these questions make my life meaningful. Things such as friends and family are very meaningful. They help us, watch us during good and bad time, their there for us nomatter what. These people are aroun dus constantly, which makes it easier for them to mean something to us, we relate to them. A meaningful life doesnt mean you have to have materialistic things, that is the leats important thing that makes our life meaningful. It is only a way to show people we are there, and we want them to know that. A meaningfull ife should contain things that make you happy , not things that people, t.v or movies make you belive will make you happy, even though this is hard to follor. The things around us affect our views of a meaningful and happy life in a very big way.

Comments on Assigment 4

Gavin - I think the connection you made between kanye sayin "good life" and then mentioning urban areas such as Atlanta, L.A etc. was very interesting. The idea of all of them having these places in commen makes it interesting to see what parts and how the culture makes them reatble to one another.

Ellen - What i liked about your analysis is the fact that you brought up the idea about it being like commercials . You made me notice that her lyrics seemed to be different versions of the slogans for the lipgloss. I also really liked the that you analyze deeply into lil mama having a "confused look on her face as in telling us "how unrealistic it is that a lip gloss will change your life."

Rachel - I thin you did a good job at analyzing the videos message. The fact that its saying materialistic things arent important, unlike the other two videos. You showed us that the artist doesnt hide what the true meaning is. They te us straight up "All you need is love."

What is the song basically saying about how to live a good life? Paraphrase the main idea
The song i chose Lipgloss by Lil Mama basically says that in order to live a good life you need to be popular. In order to become popular though, it says you need money, good looks and expensive things. Getting praised by not only your classmates but also your authorities makes your life good as well. The video stresses that materialistic things are the way to go. They make people envy you and want to be just like you. The more praise of this sort that you get ,the better your life is.

What lyrics particularly speak to that perspective? Use quotes as evidence.

"I just I want to be apart of the cool crowd, I just feel like I don't have what it takes" Lil mama starts of the video with this line. She is talking about not having the look to be in the popular crowd. She also says "Mac Lorial yep cuz I'm worth it " shows us that she is saying i get these expensive name bands because I'm worth it, i have the money to buy it so i will. "... the girls don't speak Rollin they eyes They lip gloss cheap " also shows us the idea of money being very important, it also brings up the ideas of having attention from the opposite sex. The attention from guys makes her hated, so she is being talked about and that makes her popular.

How do the video images support, re-orient, or challenge the dominant theme of the lyrics?

The video most of the time proves the idea of materialistic being important. Every time someone transformed popular it was symbolized by brighter clothes, better looks such as no glasses, hair pulled down by the dean, things of that sort.

What else do you notice that's interesting? Look for internal contradictions, aspects of the message that resonate with other messages from the pop culture, points that connect to your own perspective, etc. Analyze squared

I noticed that at the end of the video her mom contradicts the whole video by saying ' it was you all along" i found this interesting because that was not the message sent throughout the video but then it appears at the end and all Lil mama says is " i know but...wow" I also found interesting how Lil mama doesn't really show us anything interesting about herself except that she has expensive materialistic things.

Meaning of Life Interviews

I interviewed my mother, father, sister and three strangers on how they live their lives meaningfully, what makes them meaningful ,what they thought wisdom is, and if they considered themselves wise. My parents pretty much agreed on all things except how wise they were. My mom and dad thought family was one of the most meaningful aspects of their lives. My dad said" Family makes us who we are, they support us and help us" my mom added "We care for each other ,we expect love from each other. Family is close, and its something to cherish. We see them everyday and they know us better than anyone else does." My eleven-year-old sister stated that family were people who she can trust more than anyothers. All the strangers agreed that family was meaningful aswell, one of them saying "My family will always be there for me, i know that, without them i dont know if i coud have made it in life."

The three stangers all agreed that friends as almost as important as family. One said "if you cant trust famiy, you always have friends, they fill up the space the other leaves empty." Another did say though that even though friends are meaningful they have their bad sides. She said that friends can break you with the jelousy and rumors they bring to your life, and that was unnecessary. When i brought that up to other people they agreed. They all stated that rumors are unmeaningful and a waste in their lives. My little sister and parents all agreed as well. My sister said " Rumors can hurt you, alot, people dont see that and they dont realize how wasteful it is" My mom added " People obsessed with what others say about them live meaninglessly, they probably just rely on the material aswell."
When asked about wisdom and its definitions all the people agreed that widom is the knowledge you have, and the experience. The younger peope all stated " the older you are the wiser you are believed to be." One erson said "older people have seen more, been through so much more, that maes them wiser. The younger people also said they didnt belive they were wise just yet and that they still gad a long way to go. My dad said he believed he was wise, not ver wise, but wise enough. He said" Im a 7 maybe even and 8" when asked why he went back to what others said " ive seen alot, been through alot as well." On the other hand my mom didnt thin she was very wise, though other believe her to be. She said " wisdom is knowledge and i still have much to learn."

Kate--> I really liked the fact that you said the meaningful things in your life bring you happiness and have a good purpose. I also liked how you described the fact that not having many friends isnt important if the small amount you have cares for you.

Juliette--> I liked how your video included things you enjoyed in your life whil;e still having a good balance of your family and friends.

Ellen--> I liked how yopur video focused on your sister,showing that she is a very important part of your life. I also liked how you added the Greek song to show us about where your from.

John Li--> I like how your video was filmed of your family, such as your twin playing the guitar and your family having dinner. I also liked how you organized it.


Insight- I noticed that in most of the peoples videos the pattern that they followed to figure out what was to be added was that of happiness and meaning to their lives. They chose things that they enjoyed,love and cared for. I also noticed how many people chose to add meaningful things,focusing on the positive aspects of their lives not the negative.

In order for me to know what in my life is truly meaningful or not i ask myself
what is very important to me ? The answer to this was my family and friends so that is why i chose to make my video based on them.The importance of things in my life makes them meaningful. how much i care, do these things make me stronger and happier? This is the criteria i used 2 choose what would go in my video.
I found that the pattern of most of the meaningful things in my life is that it has to do with people that surround me. These people are around me constantly, they are relatable, which makes it easier for them to mean something to me. I noticed that many material products aren't meaningful to me. I think this is because they dont affect my life in such a string way ike people do. People have the power to make you feel special and needed while material things make u feel nice, they arent reatable so it makes it hard for them to affect your life in a strong way.
I belive my video is an honest description of me to some extent, if i was able to add more it would be even more honest. My video shows the important people in my life but it doesnt show the things i do in my everyday life. I think my life is interesting and fun and i enjoy it so much, but i dont know what people think of it. To some point it doesnt matter to me, because i know i live my life the way i ant to live it.
I think my life is meaningful in both perspectives. On the outside perspective it may seem a bit duller though. I spend alot of time with a small grouo of friends and some people see that as being boring but i kno these people are always gonna be there for me when i need them and thats all that matters, i also spend alot of time with my mom which from an outside view can seem dull but she gives me great advice when i need it the most so she is one of the most meaningful parts of my life. From the inside perspective of corse my life is meaningful. There are some things people dont think ar meaningful but they mean so much to me.
The questions that are still on my mind are why some people believe there lives arent meaningful? i think everyones lives are meaningful, they just need time to sit and realize it. Also i ask myself if anyones life is ompletly meaningful? is it possible to not have somthing that isnt completly meaningful?

This video includes pictures of the people that make my life meaningful. Some friends from and out of school, my cousins who always know how to have a good time, my mom and other family members.Friends and family are the most important things in life because they are the people that help and watch me grow as a person. My family is always there for me when i need them and i know i can always count on them for anything, my friends they just make life better, they make it fun and they always know how to make any situation into a funny one. The video just shows us all in situation where we were having fun and enjoying ourselves. Also an education is important so i added pictures of my skool notebooks, without a good education you cant really be someone great in life. All parts of my video are meaingful and make my life meaningful. If i was able to i would have liked to include more videos of things that i enjoy doing that make my life worth living. I chose not to include meaningless things in my video.