American Dream

The American Dream can be defined as taking advantage of an opportunity and working hard to achieve a goal. Typically, that goal is usually to obtain money or materials, but it does not have to be. For me, my American Dream is to be financially secure and able to look after my family. Also, I want to enjoy what I do for a living.

Personally, I want to go to college for Computer Engineering, because I enjoy computers. I also know that it will bring in a lot of income. That way, I can provide for myself and have my family not worry about money.  Many people, like my mother, immigrated to the United States to fulfill their American Dream. This involves being independent and taking care of family members back at home in Senegal. She works hard, braiding hair to not only provide for me and my sisters but also to help out family members in Senegal.

Wealth can typically be defined as someone who has an established family history of having a lot of money. Furthermore, wealth can also be associated with having a network that allows for unlimited opportunities. There are many different kinds of wealth such as having many relationships with those of refined social graces and high economic status. Wealth can also be having “favorable” characteristics which can either be found in race, gender, nationality, or class. These characteristics open the door to more opportunities.

Most Americans strive to be like the wealthy or want to establish connections with them. Also, some people take big risks to obtain money and materials. For example, people work multiple jobs or long hours; some also sell drugs or gamble.  Many Americans strive not to be impoverished. Because of the American Dream, if someone is impoverished, it’s because they didn’t work hard enough. Some people view it as their fault.

In my opinion, wealth is important to have a good quality of life, but we should not overindulge. We should remain humble and conscience of the world around. For example, celebrities have an unlimited amount of wealth and resources, yet many of them have become drug addicts and have committed suicide. This shows that money doesn’t buy happiness.

Impoverished people shouldn’t be completely blamed for their situation. Once someone is impoverished, it is harder for them to move away from that life. There is a system or order of keeping poverty with poverty and wealth with wealth. Internally, people are naturally attracted to people like themselves. However, compared to the rest of the world, impoverished people in the United States have an opportunity or more opportunities than someone in a peripheral country who is also impoverished.

Ultimately, the American Dream is to work hard to achieve a goal even though every American’s  goal is different. America is filled with many different opportunities for each kind of person. There is a place for everyone. Most Americans strive to gain wealth, but we should be mindful to use it well.

Blog Post #5

Freebie!

Ads and the Deadly Sins

By: Rocawear | Spring 2006 | NYC

little picture:

From initial view of the Rocawear advertisement, there is one black man, and three woman of different races all sitting in a private jet. The man in the photo is a famous African American Actor, Derek Luke who also the only one making any engagement with the camera, his body is positioned towards the camera; also he seems to appear more as a Rapper of the time of this as ad (Early 2000's) than an actor. The three woman are all posing purposely posed to ignore the camera, they are wearing Rocawear apparel that is a bit revealing, with short shorts, tight-fitting, and low cut tops. In contrast with Derek Luke who is fully clothed, the only skin of his revealed is his face/neck and hands. And the most prevalent and striking part of the ad is the name and logo at the bottom, Rocawear in large white letters and right underneath the logo is the catchphrase of Rocawear in small white, "We Run the Strip", and the "Strip" could be referring to the Las Vegas Strip, that is also called called "Sin City".

BIG PICTURE:

From further analysis, questions arise like: Why did they only pick one famous person, and he's a man? The directors and designer of this Rocawear advertisement most likely only picked one recognizable person for the ad for him to be the forefront of the advertisement and the other three unknown (to most) women are the background which is also maybe why they were put in revealing clothing to create some sort of sexual appeal which makes up for them not being famous. This concept also emulates the traditional gender positions, with the strong powerful man whose their for business and the women in the back that are just there to sit there and look pretty.

Furthermore, there is also strategic placement of the people and text of the advertisement that correlates with natural eye movement. Most people look from left to right and top to bottom. When viewing this ad, you first look at the people and what they're wearing, and conclude by looking at the logo, name, and catchphrase which is at the very bottom in big and bold so that there is nothing else to look at which leaves the audience with the remembrance of the name and logo, Rocawear.

Audience:

The intended audience and the people in this advertisement actually contrast. The target audience of Rocawear is the urban youth (as said by the founder of Rocawear, Jay Z) which is why Rocawear is so reasonably priced; but the people in the print ad appear to be of a luxurious life, they are in a private jet and one of the woman is wearing a fur coat which don't come cheap. In this advertisement, it can also be said that young African American men seem to be the target of this ad, because of the people chosen, Derek Luke is an actor who has mostly starred in black entertainment films, so mostly the black public would recognize him. Also, many young African American men tend to desire the rapper lifestyle (this comes from the myth that the only way black men can become successful and rich in life is by becoming a rapper or professional athlete) depicted in the ad, that consists of having luxurious items like private jets and many women surrounding them wherever they go.

What's is Mamebassine?

Source: quickmeme.com 

Me on June 9th.

My name is Mame Bassine . I was named after my grandmother, Bassine on my father's side. The first part of my name, "Mame", means grandparent in Wollof/Jollof (my ethnic group) which is commonly used in my culture when naming someone after their grandparent or elder (i.e me being named by my grandmother!). And Mame is basically pronounced as: "Maam". The second part of my name has an even deeper meaning, Bassine is rooted from the Arabic name, "Basma" in the Wollof translation. (Bassine is also a name in many different European countries with a different meaning). This came to the Senemali region when Islam was introduced by the Arabs. In this context, Bassine means smile or friendly/friendship.

As I did further research, some philosophers say that someone with the name, Bassine is one who is just simply honest and fair because that’s the only way they believe something can be achieved. And when I read this, I just said, “that is so Me!”. I related to this so much, this is my mindset all the time, it is influenced by my Islamic religious beliefs and my set morals (which are intertwined many times). Ironically, at the same time, I don't really believe in superstitions or predictions made by philosophers. For me, a name is a name. I believe that what you do with that name you carry is what really defines you.

I have very mixed sentiments about my name, I sometimes like it and sometimes don’t. I “like” my name when I’m out of school. But during school, I have always struggled with my name. It is the name every teacher stops at during roll call or apologizes before they say it because it’s a very hard name to pronounce. Because of this, MIMI was created by my kindergarten teacher, it was also her grandmother's name (It's so easy to pronounce, and if you forget it, just think of yourself!). I am actually kind of envious of my FIVE sisters who ALL have easy names to pronounce, I guess my parents stuck me with the hard name.

In terms of duality, for sure! I have two personalities, Mimi and Mamebassine. Mimi is only at school and now, at work too. At school and work, I'm an introvert, quiet, reserved, and very passive. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that I come from two very different cultures, Senegalese and American. I don't connect so much or as quickly with a lot of my peers, because of my mixed culture, my experiences differ very much theirs which can sometime cause confusion or misunderstanding. In the past, I've kind of left out my Senegalese culture when meeting new people and introduced it later. Out of school, I am a very different person (I guess this is when I'm Mamebassine) I'm outgoing, talkative, borderline extrovert (dare I say!), and funny. My non-school friends are mostly Senegalese and other African people. They understand me more because most of them are like me, first generation Americans. We've have had a lot of the same type of experiences, including the one I mentioned above with name pronunciation. I don't know I'm just really weird lol. 

"Othering" 

  

http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p929219206/h6c0be626#h637941a4

Photographer: Wing Young Huie | University Avenue Project: The Language of Urbanism, A Six Mile Photographic Inquiry (2007-2010) | Saint Paul, Minnesota

Little Picture:

On the surface level, the most eye-catching detail of the photograph is the small black board the young man is holding and the statement, “I feel like a fish swimming around in my thoughts”. Then, of course there is the young white man himself sitting, who seems to look like he is in the lower to middle class; he has rigid hair bangs that cover his eyes , a tightly clenched jaw, he is wearing a casual neutral mediocre tee shirt, There seems to be no emotion on his face, which is an emotion in itself. And, backing away from the foreground, everything else in the photograph is blurry and unfocused. The man is in a room which to me looks like a college dorm or an office space even. To the left of the photograph there is a table in front him with a book on it, a counter with empty containers of food. Moving to the middle of the background, there is what appears to be a small television or computer and a cup on a table. Also, the room has many different papers plastered and hanging loosely on the walls which could be for reminders.

Big Picture:
Diving deeper in the photograph (haha, I’m so punny!), the audience begins to make a connection between the color of the photograph and the emotion of the young man holding the small chalkboard, which are both nonexistent. The photographer, Young Huie may have staged the photo in this manner in order for the audience to pay more attention to the statement on the chalkboard. The statement itself seems to imply that maybe the man may have some kind of mental disorder that has great effects on his cognition such as schizophrenia and in which he cannot control, which is why he feels like a fish when dealing with his thoughts. Furthermore, because of his haircut and body language as well, the man is very much lacking identity. The audience cannot see his eyes, which can often inform a lot about a person. He makes no type of engagement with the camera, the young man is turned away from the camera, as if he wants to hide things about himself from the audience. His hair also implies that he might be of the emo, scene, or Gothic group who are often perceived as antisocial and mentally disturbed.

Connection to the Handmaid’s Tale:
Based on the statement presented on the chalkboard by the man and the many statements of Offred in the Handmaid's Tale, the audience can conclude that the man and Offred are both fish swimming around their thoughts. This may be due to the fact that they are both of groups that experience "othering" because of their societal position. For Offred, she experiences "othering" because she is a handmaid, they are rare, and as individuals, they are treated very poorly (from the perspective of the modern Western reader). And for the man, he may experience "othering" because he is a white male who is not of a high class who probably does live in a neighborhood where POC are the majority, in which he doesn't fit in very well because of it. Also, he might experience "othering" because of his scenic/emo appearance, who are often groups mainstream society tends to heavily isolate and ridicule.