Extra Credit Emblem

Upon looking back at my previous blog posts I realized that television and videos played a big part of my childhood. I talked earlier about how my you tube videos were a main cause in my reason for switching schools. This change made me who I am today, and I have no idea where I would be if I had staying in private school. The show Scooby-Doo also was a changing point in my life because that was one of the first shows where I learned the adult undertone jokes within the show that I glossed over when I was younger. "Alright gang, lets split up." "Hey Scoob, Do you want a Scooby snack?"

Check-in #3

Throughout this course and this final assignment I learned the influence the Gothic culture has over a lot of what we see. There is a lot of things that are considered Gothic and have dark undertones. This class has taught me to be more aware of those Gothic influences and their effect on literature, art and our general environment. Literature can be dark, for example, the passage from Flight to Canada was Gothic because it depicted a man who escaped from slavery and returned to kill his master. There are many Gothic pieces of art the depict massive blood shed and tortured souls. Even in our everyday life we face the Gothic. There are murders, untimely deaths, robberies and many more injustices that happen on a daily basis in our lives. It took me a while to realize that everything around us is Gothic in some way. However, over time, and throught this class I was able to spot more instances of Gothic around me.

Prompt

Thesis: I will be covering the negative effects of bullying in America's youth. I will explain the short and long term effects it can have on children.

Practical: By having parents and other adults to jump in when they see bullying could prevent some instances from occurring. By making it harder for bullies to harm others through rules and consequences, can help reduce bullying on children.

Research: Research into why bullies act the way the are, could help the children realize that they are being abusive. By finding out why bullies act so mean towards other could help stop the fighting from the source.

Multimedia: Anti-bullying commercials can help show bullies what negative effects they have on those that they push around. Any public way to show hoe detrimental it can be to have a bully could be a good way to spread the word.

Check in #2 Memo

To: Mikayla Beaudrie

From: William Rand

Date: July 27, 2014

Subject: Check in #2

Hello Professor, I just wanted to check with you and say that I am working on getting my sources and am refining my thesis. I have been using that University of Florida library database that you showed us in class. Ozzy Osbourne was a fun choice for my final paper and am glad that I was able to chose him.

Blog Post #3

The show Scooby-Doo was one of my childhood favorites growing up. I loved the goofy situations that would always get into. However, when I grew up I soon realized the show I loved was filled with adult humor. Shaggy was obviously a degenerate who smoked marijuana. The show Scooby-Doo was not the only childhood humor that has secret humor for adults. I look at childhood shows now and am able to see and hear jokes that a younger me would not recognized, but now I hear them and wonder how they were and still are able to get away with mature humor.  The Simpsons is also a prime example of various levels of humor. As I grew older I became more aware of the more adult humor, parodies and references they were making. Watching television shows seemed so innocent back then and now I am constantly aware of the subtle references in almost all shows and it was weird when I first started making these connections. I can still look back and find of the old shows entertaining and fun to go back down memory lane, but  now I am able to pick up jokes that were strategically put in the show for adults. I am curious if they put the jokes in the show for our parents or for when we become older and gives the viewer a different perspective when they grow older. The choice to put adults into shows designed for a younger crowd is maybe put in so when children force their older siblings or parents to watch, they can get some humor as well.

Check in #1

I intend to do the number 2. music production on the musician Ozzy Osbourne. I plan to accomplish this assignment by researching his beginnings to how he has ended up today. I chose this path because I love music and there are few people with a more Gothic image than Ozzy.

Blog Post #2

When I was middle school I learned that I should be more careful with what I should post on the internet. I was posting videos of my friends doing  various thing around my house and the school yard that mainly involved parkour and flips. While I just saw it as a fun way to pass the time with a couple of friends, my principle saw it much differently. Since I was at a private school we had uniforms with our school's name on it and this was seen as a big no-no. I thought that the videos were innocent and was just having a fun time, not thinking of consequences there would be. The principle took action brought me in with my parents to discuss the treachery that I has caused the school. I was forced to not attend school for a week where make up work was not an option and was forced to take down my videos. This was a crucial time for me because this was one of the first time I was able to be creative on my own terms and was shot down for something I thought was an innocent mistake. I felt as though my spirit had been crushed by someone who just wanted to crush a boy's dreams, but I now see some of the justifications she may have had. But because of my principle, the next year, my parents stated that I was going to go to an entirely new school because my parents were through with their autocracy. I was put into a situation where I didn't know anybody and that one choice to make videos changed my life path into something completely different.