Acting Out Culture Post 11

Prompt: On Monday we analyzed Cinderella and Snow White. For this week I want you to choose a fairy tale/fable/parable to analyze in your blog. You should do the following: 1) Summarize the fairy tale, 2) List all the themes you can see, & 3) Analyze one to two of the themes and discuss how you see them effecting the larger audience and yourself.This should be a longer blog since it takes up 3 blog entries.


I think that The Lion King is a very powerful movie. It tells a story about a lion named Simba and his journeys through life. After being born, he grows up with another cub named Nala. They are the best of friends and have crazy adventures together. Simbas father, Mufasa, is the leader of the pride and is Simba's biggest role model. One day, Simba's evil uncle, Scar, takes him down to a valley where the wildebeast stampede is going to come. He then sends for Mufasa to come save Simba because Scar wanted to kill Mufasa so that he could rule all of the land. Scar's plan worked and he blamed the death on Simba so he was then banished. After a little while in exile, Simba is found by two other animals. One was a meercat named Timon and the other was a warthog named Pumba. Simba is then taken into the friendship and is taught how to survive on his own. After having grown up and become an adult, he runs into Nala one day and they catch up. Simba finds out that his uncla has ruined the Prideland and that he needs to come back to get the throne. Simba was reluctant and after having "seen" his dad in the water and in the sky because of the witch doctor/baboon, Rafiki, he decides he will go back. With the help of Timon, Pumba, Rafiki, Nala, and all of the other lions, Simba is able to defeat Scar and his group of hyenas.

There are quite a few themes in this movie. Friendship, perserverance, responsibility, love, and adolescence are the ones that I am able to point out the quickest. I think friendship is definitly one of the biggest themes. All of Simba's friends were able to help him throughout the movie. They risked their lives at the end to help him gain what was rightfully his. I think that many people in the aufience relate to that and it helps teach younger children to always be tehre for their friends. It is kind of like the saying "giving the shirt off my back". If someone says that about another person, they think really highly of their friend. I think that responsibility is also a very important theme from the movie. The movie is aimed at younger children and it teaches them that you must do what is right and what you have to do in order to make your own life better and to improve the lives of others. When Simba was convinced to go back to the Prideland to defend what was rightfully his and to make the lives of others better, that showed alot of responbility.

The movie, The Lion King, has many good themes and a great story line. It is one of my favorite childhood stories and I plan on my children growing up watching it. I still enjoy it to this day.

Acting Out Culture Post 10

Prompt:Today we practiced exploding the moment. For today's blog I want you to pick one sentence from your personal narrative and explode the moment. Remember to use descriptive details; bring the moment alive for the reader.

Orginal Sentence: Over the next couple of days, we went to the range and made sure everything was fine with the equipment, practiced, and then we came back to the resort and spent the rest of the day just hanging around, napping, and swimming.

Revised: For the next two days, we would go to the range in the morning to check on our equipment and to get some good practice time in. I had heard so many horror stories of international travel and equipment issues. A girl from the United States team actually had to go for three days without her own equipment and without her own clothes. I was really excited that none of my things had been lost or damaged en route to the tournament. After we did everything that had to be done for the day at they range, the team would go back to the resort and disburse into our own little social groups for the afternoon. We ate lunch and then would go swimming, tanning, napping, or just spend time in each others rooms talking and enjoying ourselves.

Acting Out Culture post 9

Prompt: If you had to choose between yesterday and tomorrow, which would you pick and why?

If I had to choose between yesterday and tomorrow, I would chose tomorrow. I have already lived yesterday and know what it held which was nothing to special. I want to look towards the future. Plus, tomorrow is one day closer to the weekend! ...and it means that I have gotten more homework done already. :)

acting out culture. post 8

Prompt: It has been eight years since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Thoughts?This is a very open ended free write. You can discuss what you remember about that day, if you lost any loved ones in the tragedy, if you feel the country is safer now than it was pre-9/11, etc. The main goal is just to remember that day, the lives that were lost, and the ways in which those of us who survived have carried on. The rest is up to you.

On September 11, 2001, I was in the 4th grade at North Harlem Elementary. I had stayed inside from recess to do some stuff for 4-H and to hang out with some friends. We were sitting in Ms. Kamariotis' class and she had the news on. I remember not knowing what the Twin Towers were but I could tell that they were something very important with a lot of people in them and that those people were suffering and dying. I was so scared that the next place that would be hit was my little classroom in Harlem, Ga. I remember yelling at some kids because they were laughing about it and making jokes. That afternoon, I got off the bus and realized that I had forgotten my key to the house so I went next door and watched the news with my neighbor and her boyfriend. Over the next few weeks, I wore red, white, and blue alot, emptied out my piggie bank for families who had lost their loved ones, and made a really pretty American flag sign for our front door. There are alot of little details that I remember from that day but the main thing was there were many people who lost their lives in the wreckage and while trying to pull people out of it. It was probably one of the most tragic days in my life so far and I hope something like it never happens again. I knew a family and the mom's brother was one of the firefighters who lost his life that day so that is when it really hit home to me. September 11th is a day that many people will remember and I hope everyone pays their respects to it.

Acting Out culture post 7

Prompt: M&M Candies "Melt in your mouth, not in your hands." Miller Lite "Tastes great, less filling." Describe yourself (or your writing) with a catchy slogan in ten words or fewer.



You Can't Top A Samantha

Acting Out culture post 6

Prompt: I would like you to reflect on the essay you just wrote (1st Draft of Personal Narrative). What was your writing process like? Did you find the assignment difficult? Why or why not? How did you end up deciding on a topic? What specific questions or concerns do you have about the draft? ....etc.

My process was fairly simple. I decided on a topic that I knew very well and that I knew would be interesting. I then decided what kind of format I wanted to write this in; journal, five-pargraph essay, or story form.


I thought that they assignment was kind a good one. There was not a lot of research or other things that had to be done for it. It was just sit down and write about an experience of our own and I liked that.

My only concern is, did I write for a purpose, and if so, does the sentences transistion well?

Acting out culture post 5

Prompt: Now that you have written a letter with Dr. Leland as your audience, I would like you to write a similar letter but with your peers as the audience. What sort of persuasive arguments will they want to hear that are similar or different from the evidence you provided for Dr. Leland? How will you need to change your approach in order to accommodate this new audience?

Dear Fellow Students of Georgia College & State University,

I would like to tell you all why I think that we should have Luke Bryan as the artist for the school-sponsored concert on front lawn. As many of you already know, Luke Bryan is a country musician who writes a lot of really upbeat, fun songs and some of his songs even have to do with college. He has one song that is written about sorority girls specifically. Bryans concerts are exciting and fun and most of his songs are really relative to our lives as college students and young adults. I have personally been to one of his concerts and it was alot of fun. There were tons of university students and they were all having a great time. If you would support me in my request to have Luke Bryan as our guest performer, I doubt that you would be dissapointed.\

Thanks,
Samantha

Acting Out culture post 4

Prompt: We have been reading and discussing issues of audience. Audience is crucial when deciding how to write on any given topic. This being said, let's pretend that Georgia College and State University has found a large sum of extra money in the school budget and Dr. Leland (President of GCSU) has asked students to submit letters of recommendation for a popular musician (or musical group)** to perform on the GCSU campus next Spring. I would like you to write a persuasive letter in which you are trying to convince her that your choice is the best choice for GCSU. Keep in mind your audience(Dr. Leland & other administrators). What type of information and evidence will they find most compelling? How can you clearly state why your choice is the best and how it will be a positive experience for GCSU students? What might they value? **You may substitute muscicians for political figures, actresses/actors, writers, artists, etc.


Dear Dr. Leland,

I would first off like to thank you for designating this extra money to go towards an activity for students to enjoy. We really appreciate this. With that said, I would like to recommend our act be country musician Luke Bryan. Bryan is orginally from Georgia himself and is a young act that many other students would enjoy. His music is fun, upbeat, clean, and very relative to our lives as college students. He has songs about sororities, fraternaties, being in and falling out of love, life, and of course, growing up in the country where he learned lessons that have changed his life. Bryan is a positive role model and has performed for charities such as the Kicks 99 Million Pennies for Kids Guitar Pull in Augusta, GA. All-in-all, I think that Luke Bryan would be an excellent choice for the artist that will play for Georgia College & State Universitys students and that many, if not most, of the students would enjoy his show.

Thank you,
Samantha Pruitte

Acting Out Culture Post 3

Prompt: Please take a look at the questions at the end of the essay "Two Cheers for Materialism" (AOC, 38) by Twitchell. Please respond to Question 5.



Q: In defending consumerism, in his larger work, Lead Us Into Temptation, Twitchell makes the following claim "We live through things. We create ourselves through things. And we change ourselves by changing our things." Describe an experience from your life that you think reflects, atleast to some degree, the arguement Twitchell advances here. What example from your life can you find in which a thing you owned fulfilled this promise? As you look back on this example now, does it seem to warrant the conclusion Twitchell draws? How or how not?

I think that the claim is very true. I shoot archery on a world competition level and as I have grown older and become better at the sport, I have gained better equipment and therefore I have become a better archer because the things I have are more accurate than what I had when I was younger. I think that Twitchells claim is supported by my example because had I never gotten new and better equipment then I would have never been able to compete on a world level and never had made a name for myself in the archery world.

Acting out culture post 2

Prompt: You, in all your magnificent power, have the ability to banish (to Pluto for instance) one person from the earth. Free write on who you would you banish and why. Dead or alive. (and use your imagination...don't go for the easy answers--ex: Hitler)

If I could banish one person from this earth (or send them to Pluto), it would be the founder of PETA. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an extremist group that does not understand what could and would happen if they managed to suceed with their excessive ideas.

I personally enjoy eating meat. There is a great amount of protein in it and it tastes great. PETA wants to take away all of the meat factories and wants every one to go vegetarian. Maybe it is because I live in Georgia and I have seen the damage that an excess of animals such as deer have done to farms and to cars, but I do not think that it would be beneficial for everyone to become a vegetarian and to stop hunting. PETA is also against the euthanizing of animals. I think that if anything, this is unfair to some animals such as domestic ones who are chronically sick or strays who will not be able to find a good home. Declawing cats is something that they stand against but I find that unfair to the cats that live outside and use their claws to defend themselves and to catch their prey. PETA also doesn't believe in caging birds or chaining up dogs. I think it is for the protection of the animals that these things are done. The birds could easily fly up into the fans or a dog could run in the road and get hit by car: both scenarios could kill or disable the animals. I think they should be able to get out at times but not on a permanent status.

Zoos are also another thing that PETA works against even though many zoos are the reason that some species are still alive and surviving. Take the panda for instance, if it were not for the zoos that captured them at a young age and took them in, they more than likely would have died out. PETA says that they are against predator-reinduction programs but if the animals are never reintroduced into the wild, where will they go? The zoos? Oh yea, but PETA wants to close those down. There would be no such thing as help for these animals and they would only be hurt.

Don't get me wrong, PETA has some good intentions and I agree with some of the things they are against such as awful conditions in factories and genetic modifications. That is not fair to the animals and I would be okay with paying a little more money at the grocery store to know that the animals were well taken care of but I do not have the same philosphies as PETA. The organization acts so excessively and has such extreme beliefs that most of the policies and practices it would enforce would be more harmful then helpful.

Acting out culture post 1 [normal]

Prompt:Take a moment to reflect on the experiences of your own life. What are the particular ideas/values/attitudes that invite us to accept certain aspects of society as normal? You can pull examples from various media outlets, literature, clubs/organizations, etc. The main focus should be on thinking about how we are approached and persuaded to buy into an idea of normal.

I think that normal is a term that helps describe the conditions that we are brought up to believe. We are taught from an early age how we are supposed to act in various conditions and situations. I was brought up under the value that I am not supposed to smoke cigarettes or do drugs because they are harmful for you and can be illegal and that is normal for me. For others though, they were raised in a situtation where they saw these things on a daily basis and therefore, is something that is normal for them. On the subject of drugs and cigarettes, we are constantly surrounded by media that is condoning or refuting their usage. It is very normal to see an anti-drug or anti-smoking commercial but then again, we often see advertisements for cigarettes and legalizing marijuana on the internet. Those advertisements have had an affect on society and what is normal because they change people's standards and the accepted actions.