IWA #5: MY FASHION "CRIME"

In today’s society Fashion has become one of the most important aspects of our lives. Fashion has evolved into something than is less about personal identity and more about representation of a specific social, cultural, or historical setting. Fashion has become a rule of our society and culture. It has become something that regulates and limits people from actively being included or excluded from a specific class of people.

There was a time in my fashion life were I committed a “crime” against my families set of values and beliefs about what looks and is appropriate. Coming from an all Persian family, my parents have grown up in a culture where fashion and image was highly valued. They always wanted me to dress high class, well put together, and clean cut everywhere I went. They wanted this because I somewhat represented them and how they brought me up. They wanted me to dress according to how they dressed. My parents seem to value more of the image they wanted to present than the image I want to portray. For example, whenever my parents and I were out to a get together, my dad would tell me to dress just like him; button up shirt with slacks even though there may have been people there dressed casually. They further restricted me by sending me to a private Christian school all throughout K-8^th grade. The school was named Los Gatos Christian and they had a dress code as well. So I was pretty much regulated by my parents and my school. I decided to commit my fashion “crime” when I graduated from middle school onto high school. I wanted to break away from my parents’ values and norms of fashion. I did not want to go to a private high school as they encouraged me to go. I badly wanted to go to a public school where I could be more independent and less confined to a specific stereotypical image. I chose to take this path in my life and education because I thought it would somewhat teach me more about the real world where there is a larger diversity of people and cultures than predominantly white Christians. My parents ended up agreeing with my going to public school because of this point I made. At the start of my freshman year I became more aware of how I wanted to present myself. I wanted to start wearing baggy street wear type clothing brands like the other kids were wearing instead of that high class image my parents always wanted me to portray. My new attire and wardrobe was rejected by my parents, particularly my dad. My experience was very similar to the Mexican kids in the Zoot Soot Riots since I was judged on my appearances and was thereby more pressured to influence people's judgments based on my appearance. Overall, I became a different person with a mind diseased by the tendency to coordinate my image with the latest "gangster" related fashion styles considered as "cool" by my peers. From the case of the Mexican Americans that were involved in violence, a negative connotation can be given to the dress code I was following. Although stereotypical, it can either be said that those wearing such clothing are associated with violence or that those associated with acts of violence and lack of control wear such clothing. If the popular perspective is that of the former, my wearing such clothing would surely not be beneficial to how I am commonly judged regardless of me attempting to be more accepted by my peers by ways of a fashion statement. In either case, given such newsworthy incidences of crime and violence by those wearing such clothing, the connection between those wearing such clothing and those involved in criminal activity comes to mind independent of whether the judge is discriminatory or not. Henceforth, once I became better aware of the true meaning and implications of the dress code and image I was following and since I certainly was not involved in crime, I decided to change my habits and follow an appearance that better represents my personal preferences and who I really am rather than what I believe will cause others to better accept me for whatever reason. 

IWA #4:

          The “Ill Doctrine” is a video blog by an artist named Jay Smooth. Jay Smooth is also the founder of New York’s longest running hip-hop radio show, the WBAI’s Underground Railroad. Jay takes what he knows about real life and hip-hop and uses it to explain specific issues in current society. The topics he discusses throughout his videos and content focus on media, politics, and race related issues. He brings out the true meaning behind the standard stereotypes we see today in society so that people could become more responsible and aware of what they say. He challenges these issues and topics by questioning them with a broader point of view in order to come up with realistic solutions that he feels are just. Jay Smooth is considered an artist through his work by the method and style he confronts society’s “norms”.

          The first work I watched on the Ill Doctrine was Jay Smooth’s video “Why I’m Afraid of Christine O’Donnell”. This video was focusing on how one should not trust a politician or anyone for that matter that says they are “you”. In this video Jay Smooth is discussing how Christine O’Donnell, a politician who ran for US senate made a television ad saying that “I do what you do and I am you”. This struck Jay Smooth to make an argument off this statement because each individual has their own qualifications based on their career. Jay further discussed how everyone does not have the qualifications to become senator concluding how this statement does not apply to everyone which makes it essentially a poor sales pitch. He thought how Christine O’Donnell was trying to get the attention of her supporters or viewers by expressing her relation with people were wrong. Jay pointed out that Christine O’Donnell should not want to relate herself to the people because she should have higher qualifications than the average Joe. People want senators and politicians in Washington that have a work ethic, discipline, and hygiene to help solve the nation’s problem.

          The second video I watched on this blog was “T-Pain and the Know Nothing Know it Alls”. Jay Smooth tries to explain that “if you do not know something, do not pretend as though you do” he was focusing on politics in this video. Jay explained in detail how arrogant T-Pain (a famous rap artist) was being about his ignorance when he said he did not care about politics but later made it seem as though he did. His statement was “I don’t give a sh*t about politics cause no matter who is in office your life is no different”. Jay was arguing if T-Pain does not care about politics he clearly does not know much about it and should not make such a statement. He was trying to make the point that people should be honest with themselves and accept when they don’t know something. Making it seem as though you know everything makes an individual look more stupid. Through this video Jay was trying to teach that regardless if you are a celebrity or an average person you should still be aware of what you say and should not contradict yourself.

IWA #3 - The Valley Fair Mall Universe

         
          The Valley Fair mall class assignment was an enjoyable learning experience. It gave me a new perspective of the mall world and how Valley Fair can cause problems for the San Jose community. This project helped me look beyond the standard stereotypical view of the mall as just a place to shop, socialize, and be entertained. We mainly had to walk around observe and answer a set of questions relating the architecture, society, culture, food, and structure of the Valley Fair universe. Our main objective was to discover how all these aspects can together impact the visitors of the mall. We did this through observing the mall as a whole and by visiting three stores of our interest. The three I visited were Lacoste, Solstice, and Sports Authority. I understood that each boutique/store was somehow including and excluding a group of people through size, age, race, gender, or income. Lacoste in particular was mainly trying to attract a younger audience with their music, young models, and posters displaying bright athletic, fashion forward type clothes. The brand was created and named after a famous French tennis player René Lacoste. He chose the crocodile as his brand logo because he was nicknamed “Le Crocodile” by his peers for his tenacious personality out on the court. The main people being actively excluded from this store are old people and people with average to low income.

          The Valley Fair mall holds many positive possibilities for its consumers and people from the San Jose community. It is known to be a great place for public gatherings for its beautiful atmosphere, variety of stores and food eateries that can fit most needs or budgets. It is a great place to bring family and children as there are many stores and activities for both children and adults. Some of the more popular children stores throughout the mall are Lego, Build-A-Bear Workshop, and The Disney Store. There is also a playground area and gaming stores for children and young adults. The mall is a place that combines a variety of items from clothing to shoes, jewelry, beauty supplies, electronics, etc. and food all into one building. The idea of combining all these necessities and demands into one structure has made it an ideal place to go to save people both time and money in terms of transportation. Furthermore, the constant sense of security and comfort that the mall brings to its visitors aside from being open late and well light has made it a safer and more pleasurable place for people to go for shopping and daily tasks.

          Looking back at observations of the mall’s architecture and class discussions, the true world that the makers of Valley Fair were trying to create can be realized. However, regardless of common perception, the mall is not really a place where everyone iss treated equally. The architecture and lighting represented in the mall are eluding a sense of fantasy through tall columns, high ceilings, and marble floors much like the Greek temples of the ancient times. I came to realize that the structure of Valley Fair mall encourages segregation and exclusion by saying that you can judge a person based off stereotypical points of view. (i.e. based off looks, the way people are dressed, whether or not they’re a millionaire, etc.) Nevertheless, this is wrong because you cannot judge people based on appearances. People accept this way of thinking because it is how the majority live their lives. I could see this segregation separated by organization of stores throughout the mall. It sees that white high class females are the ideal consumers of the mall and the first floor is luxurious and spacious with restaurants, marble floorings, and expensive designer boutiques to appeal to these high class white females. The second floor is casual with carpet flooring, tighter walking spaces, a food court, and more affordable stores. It is mainly focusing on the middle to low income population which mostly consists of youth, Asians, and Hispanics. According to San Jose statistics, only 41% of the population have’ an income of $100,000 or more. Since the majority of the mall is mainly focusing on white female consumers, it can be said that Asian and Hispanic populations are being discriminated against. Overall, the mall’s structure is one of the major problems that are creating discrimination by size, age, race, gender, or income.

          Some solutions we should consider to prevent this form of segregation and inequality from occurring in our community is to change the structure of U.S. society. More specifically, we should not create malls with conditions that favor certain social groups over others. In other words, malls should be designed to promote more racial and ethnic diversity by featuring stores suited for the statistical average income and racial groups of the city. Furthermore, they should not be made so luxurious that only the minority could afford to enjoy its services. All businesses should treat their customers and visitors equally regardless of their appearance, race, age, and sex so that there would be less resistance to consumers enjoying malls. Stores should have a wider variety of models from different races for more distributed racial representation so as to allow a wider range of people to feel included. This strategy may even improve advertising, sales, and profit for a majority of vendors.

IWA#2 - Red Pill or Blue?... Which Path to Choose?

        The Matrix is a film filled with many symbolic religious and philosophical undertones that represent the nature of reality and our human desire to learn more about the truth of our existence. The main character portrayed in this film is a man named Thomas Anderson. He is a man who lives two lives, one as a software programmer and the other as a hacker with an alias name Neo. He was tracked by another well known hacker of his time named Morpheus who believed Neo was the One that the Oracle prophesized would save the last human city (Zion). Morpheus was searching for the One all his life and once he found Neo, he gave him the chance to choose a path. Morpheus offers Neo a red pill and blue pill to choose from that will either allow him to learn the truth about mankind or return to the life he had, respectively. In other words, the red pill symbolizes risk, doubt, and questioning to find the true reality while the blue pill symbolizes a world based on habit, comfort, and ignorance, which if overdone can eventually lead to one’s own destruction.

        In present day society, it can commonly be seen that most people willingly accept material appearances. Much like in the opening of the film, Neo was always accepting of what he saw and expected to wake up from it. It got to a point where he could not differentiate the“real world” from the “dream world” and that is what led him to Morpheus to find out what the Matrix is. One of the main things Neo learned from his journey is to not trust reality based on appearances because they can deceive you. If I were Neo or the One being given this opportunity by Morpheus, I would choose to take the red pill because I would want to be in control of my life to get to know my true nature. I would not want my purpose in life to be predetermined by the machines or society in our case. More importantly, I would choose this path because I would want to see the world as it really is to gain true knowledge and wisdom, which is the greatest virtue of all. While discovering the truth in the world, I may have to face the harshest and worst realities and I would accept this for the truth is not always pleasing. Regardless, I would become more conscious through my understanding of the world around me, allowing me to make changes and improve in order to make the world a better place and help save the people of Zion.

        Throughout human history, most of us have not questioned the beliefs we have about the world or who we really are. This has caused us to become so fixed to current views and beliefs of society that we have limited our potential in a world full of boundaries, rules, and limitations.This can also be seen in Morpheus’s saying to Neo, "You have to understand that many people are not ready to be unplugged, and many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it." I have come to the conclusion that I would choose the red pill not only because I would want to find the truth in life but because I would also have Morpheus’s guidance. His guidance would be essential to help sustain me so that I do not become corrupted by the system. In contrast, the blue pill may be easier because living a life of ignorance is bliss. Essentially, if the truth is unknown, or you believe that you know the truth, what is there to question or worry about? Many people tend to worry about the social pressure of “fitting in,” which is immensely strong in most cultures.

        So if life seems so satisfying and care free with the blue pill, why even think of taking the red pill? Why search for the truth when it is not always pleasant and the journey to it so difficult? To justify the red pill, I would personally reject this way of life because it would be an ignorant existence. There needs to be much greater meaning to life than simple existence. Without meaning, life is only being experienced by object like humans rather than being truly “lived.”At one point in the film, Trinity tells Neo, "The Matrix cannot tell you who you are." This further sends the message that the material appearance of society (as represented by the Matrix) cannot reflect an individual’s true being. I believe people should discover who they really are and not allow society to define that for them.

IWA # 1- Kwame Anthony Appaih and The Idea of Cosmopolitanism

The movie, Examined Life by Astra Taylor, is a documentary about eight philosophers discussing their views on life and the current issues that revolve around these views. They tried to explain their outlooks and opinions on life in the best way possible so that their viewers can understand them. I managed to watch five out of the eight philosophers and the one that stood out to me the most was Kwame Anthony Appaih and his philosophy on cosmopolitanism and the idea of being a "world citizen."

In the film, Kwame first starts off discussing how our responsibility toward one another has expanded and grown throughout the course of time. This idea has made me realize the impact we have on each other’s lives both directly and indirectly. We directly affect each other in the sense that individuals can talk to each other in person and indirectly through email etc. Internet is an example of the impact of human activities and their inter-relationships with each other.
As I researched about being a more responsible citizen, I found that people must be more cautious about their actions so that they can partially understand their consequences. A question we should ask ourselves is how we can be considerate, sincere, truthful, etc. to others as an individual and not just look at our own self interest. My research has really opened my mind to better understand the importance of being responsible as a citizen since we are all interconnected. I then came to the conclusion that we as individuals must not just look at our own priorities while ignoring the other issues that are at stake.

Kwame explained cosmopolitanism for the recognition of a responsible citizen revealing that it is ok for individuals to be different. He further explains the roots of the major problems between individuals, groups, and nations as they try to force their beliefs and ideas upon others. For example, Kwame described the two different ways he was brought up with a mother from Gala and father from England. He explained his responsibility towards his nephews and nieces as it was part of his culture in Gala comparing it to England, where the father is usually responsible for the kids instead of the uncle. From this example, we can see that even though his parents were from two complete different cultures and backgrounds, they still managed to accept their differences and did not impose their ideas or beliefs upon each other. According to Cosmopolitan, great diversityin values results in differences between individuals while they share, what some call, “moral values” as human beings.I believe that if every person steps out into the world with a more open mind there probably would not be as many problems as there are in the world today. In other words, if individuals do not put their biases and ethical values ahead of others, there would not be as many conflicts as there are today.

Overall, I have gained a better understanding of the idea of cosmopolitanism and our interrelations with each other. Kwame's philosophy helped me better value the ideas of being a responsible citizen. His ideas have encouraged me to question how we can impact one another with our own behaviors and beliefs. I came to the understanding that I should become a "world citizen.” Hence, as a “world citizen,” I would not only base my actions and ideas on myself, my family, and my nation but also consider the causes of all humankind with an open mind as I impact others directly and indirectly.

IAT Experience & Results

The first Implicit Association Test topic I chose was the Gender-Career test. I chose this topic in particular because I believe both male and female should have equal responsibility for family and career. Though I was curious to see how accurate my results would turn out. The test first started off by asking a series of personal questions regarding my background, education, religion, and my parents’ occupations. Then the test turned into a two part timed questionnaire in which we had to determine male or female names with career or family occupations. The time limitation made me quite stressed towards the end as the test kept switching around the topics. This caused me to somewhat lose my coordination making me press the wrong keys even when I had the right answer in my head. My result turned out to predict that my unconscious believes that I moderately prefer males with careers and females with family occupations. I came to the conclusion that I must have gotten this result due to my exposure to my Persian culture in my family as I remembered myself finding it easier for me to relate male with the career and female with family on the test.

The second topic I chose was the “Young - Old' IAT”. I chose this as my second topic because I care for both young and old people and I don’t really have a preference of one over the other. I believe that they both have their own qualities. In other words, most young people are energetic and optimistic while the old are mostly wise and experienced. This test asked a series of questions about my family occupations, the way I was raised, and who my caregiver was, etc. Then there was another timed portion in which I had to distinguish some given words and pictures from young or old to good or bad. One thing I noticed while taking this test was that I had faster progress and I was more at ease than my previous test since this was my second time. My end result was that I have little to no automatic preference between Old and Young and that was what I believed.

Overall I found the IAT very interesting even though I felt a little rushed do to my short of time. I was amazed to find out that the test still managed to reveal some truths about my inner thoughts and beliefs. I feel this test can say a lot about ones unconscious preference. I look forward to possibly taking another IAT in the near future.

Scavenger Hunt

              

         1. The Creative Minds Class Blog

              2. Person Sleeping in Library

                            3. Bus Stop

4. Euphrat Museum of Art            5. Pepsi/Coke bottle in Bookstore       6. Student wearing Converse         7. Person who has seen Tron in 3D      I think the Scavenger Hunt was a great opportunity for students to express themselves and to get to know each other. It was a way for students to realize their strengths and weaknesses. When our group first started off we did not have a set plan on how to go about completing the tasks on the list. Having only 35 minutes for completing the hunt, we felt rushed. However we were sure that we wanted to find as many items on the list as possible in order to get a spot in the class. We took action by running and randomly choosing any item on the list that seemed familiar to us. As we ran, we thought that we should probably change our technique in order to save time and find as many places as possible. We began thinking more literally, finding the closest places first and the farthest places last. We also tried to observe and imitate what other groups were doing in order to better improve our technique. For example, we noticed one group was asking a random person to pretend to be sleeping so they could take a picture of him. While observing others, we noticed the alternative ways groups were coming up with solutions to complete their tasks. This technique seemed somewhat like cheating though it really helped. After seeing this we tried to become more open-minded and not so literal about completing our tasks. This idea saved us a great deal of time. The experience of asking a random person to fake sleep for our class activity was somewhat funny and awkward at the same time. As our hunt continued and our time became scarce, we began to face some problems. One of our main problems was that we did not plan our hunt thoroughly in advance (i.e. 10 minutes before the hunt began) to take advantage of every location as much as possible. Hence, we, for example, had to go back to the library for a second time. In the end, we realized that we could have used the Internet to find most of the items on the list, avoiding having to run around campus to find everything. However, it was still a fun and memorable experience. If I had the chance to do this hunt again, I would definitely try to be less literal in my approach. I would try to think more open mindedly and creatively since that was probably the main objective of the hunt. I would think of alternative solutions and manage my time more wisely, using the Internet as my main source for finding most of the items. From this experience, I can conclude that the scavenger hunt reveals a lot about creativity, individuals, and society. This scavenger hunt taught me a lot about my strengths and weaknesses. I realized that I was too worried about losing credit if I took risks, keeping me from putting much thought into planning. I later realized that risk taking was part of what the instructor was looking for. She intended for students to take risks and be creative by making decisions out of the ordinary. On the contrary, my train of thought constrained my group members and I from thinking outside the box. We tried thinking more traditionally and completed the tasks in a more straight forward fashion. A scavenger hunt can also reveal a lot about an individual. It can also push a group of people out of there comfort zone allowing them to express themselves more spontaneously without any restriction. It can help individuals to get to know one another and that can be one of the most important things when being in a class. The hunt’s main purpose is to bring a group of people together from different backgrounds and cultures to work together with one goal. This goal represents what the underlying character of society should be. When a diverse group of individuals can effectively collaborate to reach a common goal, there is a growing sense of community that can universally contribute to society’s efficiency. In my opinion, the scavenger hunt was one of the best ways to start the course in that it was an opportunity for students to quickly connect, opening possibilities for more constructive interaction throughout the course.