Eye Got This

Eye contact, yeah it can be pretty awkward. Most occasions staring at people is not only uncomfortable for them, it just makes things weird for you. There are so many scenarios when eye contact is just not okay. Looking at someone in the bathroom in the next urinal over, keeping your eyes open while kissing someone, or perhaps just having a conversation with someone who doesn’t seem to remember how to blink! However, the one time where eye contact is absolutely necessary, is the time most of us (myself in particular) don’t do it! During my presentation I undoubtedly improved on making eye contact, but there were still inconsistencies. At one point I peered backand forth from my audience to my slide show about six times back to back, giving off the impression of nervousness. I had absolutely no words on my slide show that I could possibly be looking at, so constantly glancing at it just gave off the idea that I was uncomfortable with the eye contact. However, I’m still happy that I improved and didn’t need any notes to get me through the presentation.

I think “How to Give a Killer Presentation” had the most profound effect on my preparation for my presentation. I had never given a presentation, speech, or even a talk for that matter without notes, and the idea of doing that was very scary to me at first. Then I calmed down and tried to remember all the tips that I’d been learning in class for months. The thing that stood out to me the most and what I felt I could excel at was telling a story with my presentation. I like stories, everyone likes stories. Telling them can be so easy especially when I’m personally connected to or involved in them. This tip not only led me to be able to talk through my presentation as a journey without any notes, it also allowed for a much more engaging presentation overall. I found this tip extremely helpful, because it made me so much more comfortable and confident with the material, which then affected all of my presentation skills in a positive way. I was able to utilize a conversational tone and talk through the important content I wanted to address.

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Rap Battle of the Ages

Sometimes talking, is just boring. Boring for the speaker, boring for the listener, and detrimental to the message being sent. So how do you dress up, and make what you want to say sexy enough for the world to want to listen? You rap it or perhaps sing it. Hip Hop/ rap is much more than just music genre, they are essentially a culture utilized to send a message from a particular artist in a unique format.

So how has rap changed, and subsequently how has this change affected the message of rap culture? This is obviously very contingent on the context of where the rap is coming from, and it may also depend on differing kairotic moments that influence to the individual artists. Hip Hop as displayed in the nineties provided a powerful platform to speak out on social issues, while also providing meaningful entertainment. Rap music was a direct reflection of the minority community's feelings of joblessness, disempowerment, and injustice, while also empowering social awareness.

Music is a direct reflection of trends and ideologies in a contemporary format, that actually is heard by millions of impressionable teens. So, in analyzing these trends of a specific musical genre we can infer, from its relationship, about the changing social norms and ideologies of individual time periods.

My thesis would be: The evolution of the rap industry is a reflection of a generational shift in social ideology, and this shift has not only changed how we view social life in the US, it has changed the very message of rap culture. I really want to analyze lyrically what has changed with each generation's major artists, and how this reflects the contextual social atmosphere. There are still messages hidden in contemporary rap, but they are vastly different from the roots of the culture. This paradigm shift not only demonstrates a shift in a music genre, but more broadly a shift in an ideological message being sent to perhaps a much broader audience.

Work Cited 

    “The Evolution of Rap.” Harvard Political Review The Evolution of Rap Comments, harvardpolitics.com/covers/evolution-rap/.

     Romano, Kathleen Odenthal. “How Hip-Hop Music Has Influenced American Culture and Society.” Spinditty, Spinditty, 20 Apr. 2016, spinditty.com/genres/Hip-Hops-Influence-on-America.

Shifting Gears, Paradigm Style

Rap culture in America stems from the 1970s, and has evolved ever since. “Gangster” rap is viewed as the original rap culture, and subsequently it was born in urban areas in the US. Rap was and is much more than just a music genre for gangsters. Historically it was a representation of the social atmosphere rappers and more broadly minority social groups lived in, so the lyrics reflect issues regarding societal hardships they faced in their daily lives. This paradigm shift has not been a fluid evolutionary change, but more so a specific transition from a gangster style rap to a generation of new lyrical representations. Pre-2005 rap can be easily distinguished from contemporary rap. Everything from the definition of mainstream hip-hop to the lyrical representations within the genre have changed over time.

For many, this paradigm shift has no significance, especially for those who aren't even fans of hip hop. However, the evolution of hip hop is a direct representation of the evolution of social problems and even triumphs in our country. Not only has the audience of the genre become more complex and broad, the thematic meaning of the songs themselves have changed as well.

My second idea would be that of the decreasing privacy with regards to social media. Former generations have never faced this type of problem with regards to privacy. It takes very little knowledge of current technology to know a person before you even meet them. Multiple social media platforms release your information permanently, and once your information is public you really have no control over it.

Not only is this a personal risk, but it’s also a security risk for entire countries. No one could have ever guessed that an entire US election would face de-legitimization claims, because of hacking from other governments. These hacks influenced voting for the US presidency. The internet and social media is a fluid and changing concept that isn’t slowing down, so we have to adapt and ensure privacy is adequately protected.

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Who Cares?

Passion, breeds passion. How do you expect people to connect with, or furthermore, care about what you’re saying if you’re not passionate? Without your emotional investment the audience will be lost in boredom. Why should your audience care if you don’t seem to? This is something I feel the class seemed to excel at overall, I found myself invested personally into what people were talking about, even if the subject of the speech was something I had no interest in prior. Without passion the content doesn’t live up to its full expectation, and it fails to effectively penetrate the minds of the audience. Passion can change the entire outlook of a speech despite content.

Passion may mean different things to different people, but there are common themes. Tone of voice, Eye contact, and even examples of personal investment are aspects that indicate passion. There are reasons why passionate leaders have rallied the masses to their cause, whether it be righteous or evil. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini are two historical fascist dictators that perpetrated crimes against humanity, but how could they achieve this without rallying the masses?

These leaders used the correct tone of voice for the correct audiences and social situations. They didn’t read off note cards, which effectively gave the idea that their speeches were coming right from the hearts. Finally, they spoke of struggle as if they were among the audience and connected with them on a more personal level. They connected with the audience by establishing their ethos as someone understanding of the people, then continues to use pathos to ignite passion into the audience.

Although used for a negative cause, these speakers utilized the pillars of passion to successfully persuade and ignite the masses.

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To Good to be True?

Jean Twenge’s article, “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation” reflects the most immediately applicable article previously covered during class. Not only does this powerful article serve as a warning to our own generation, it also eerily relates to the average life of Millennials today. Throughout reading this article I not only immediately recognized the more textual use of devices utilized by the author, I also used contextual experience as a citizen living in an evolving society to connect with this piece.

The textual side of this piece would constitute the use of commonplace, as well as the appeals to emotion, logic and the author’s own character. Cell phone usage may be the most standard topic of this generation, as technology in general has been a controversy. Undoubtedly, technology has allowed for major development, but can too much of a good thing be a bad thing? This is directly reflected in the text. Although, cell phones were created and continue to be innovated to help a more connected global community, they seem to be the very thing disconnecting us from our surroundings. Not only are we missing the very precious moments of life because of a screen, we are also becoming more depressed as individuals. This depression stems from the idea that instead of actually connecting us with the world, we as humans feel we are missing out on what we watch on our screens. Perhaps we should focus more on the life happening directly around us instead of the one displayed through our phone screens.

Similarly, the context that can be brought in while reading this article is also particularly useful. I’m sure everyone in class has their own personal stories of cellular devices taking over. Personally, I remember waiting about five hours in an Apple Store with my mom, holding up my family vacation, because a few days before I dropped my phone in a pool. I literally couldn't see myself going a week without my phone, so I made my family wait! Looking back on it, I wish I would have left it broken, so I could thoroughly enjoy the precious moments and memories of a vacation with my family. That’s what I think is most important to take away from this article. Analyzing it, means self reflecting and analyzing your own personal life with technology.

Time to Pop the Bubble

On August 14, 2016, Colin Kaepernick the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers kneeled for the National Anthem. The anthem of the United States of America, viewed by many as one of the most important symbols of American liberty, second only to the flag. This is one of the most civic artifacts I could think of. At my school every morning we would stand for the anthem at attention, but for some of my classmates I feel as though this process was more habitual than civic. During the song few really thought about the words uttered within the historic lyrics.

The anthem really has been something the younger generation treats as a standard procedure. Not much attention was payed to our nation's anthem until a sports star decided not to stand for it. At first it went unnoticed for a few games, and then it was assumed to be an injury or an accident. Then he was asked why he had not been standing for two straight games. His response was simple, he was protesting the oppression of people of color especially with regards to police brutality.This immediately polarized the nation and a huge debate broke out across the country.

For many, this demonstration was very disrespectful. It was disrespectful to our values, disrespectful to our history, and above all disrespectful to the brave men and women who sacrifice their lives to protect our civil liberties. However, during all the debate and all of the criticism, the quote I remember most was from a unanimous servicemen. He or she was asked how they felt about the protest, and the response was unique. They said they “were more worried about those who didn’t truly understand what he was sacrificing for”, meaning that all of those who were of the opinion that Kaepernick shouldn’t have spoken up, didn't understand a fundamental part of American society. Free speech, which is exactly what Kaepernick exercised thanks to the years of sacrifice .

In my speech I want to analyze the civicness of the Kaepernick protest with reference to the National Anthem, and weigh the results of this current event.

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The Perfect Landscape of Communication

What if I told you, I knew men and women more powerful than the politicians in our elected offices. What if I told you that the words of a few could move mountains in regards to social and political activism. This power is highly sought after in an ever changing global climate, with polarization and violence becoming more and more common. The power I speak of comes from sport.

Political activist Nelson Mandela once said "Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers". Race relations is merely one problem that has taken root in contemporary debate, and many athletes have chosen to take a firm stance and speak their minds on the issue. Global icons like Lebron James, and Colin Kaepernick have spoken out in their own personal ways, but they have received varying forms of feedback.

Sports capture the emotions of millions day in and day out, and some of the most idolized individuals in the world are professional athletes. Yet, some people believe that these individuals shouldn't speak up on controversial topics. This is not only a confusing statement, but it's also troubling. It seems that there are people in society that believe athletes should remain athletes, and serve as pure entertainment for the viewers, but that goes against the very principles of our nation. These are human beings, with an extraordinary opportunity to touch the hearts and minds of millions who look up to them, and I believe it should be encouraged for them to speak out.

My opinion is not shared universally, and even the individual leagues and organizations these athletes are apart of differ slightly in their own opinions. Of course they don't bluntly come out and say they don't want their athletes to speak, but the subtle way they lead and treat their athletes can be investigated and interpreted.

I have a passion for sports, and I'm very interested in the relationship of sports and how they affect civic life. The goal of this blog will be to select current events in sport and interpret and analyze them.  I hope to affect change in my own way through this blog, by sharing the stories of sport and its power.

Photo courtesy of the Akron Beacon Journal