Grand Finale

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Reflection Letter

Hello my name is Rachelle Dott and this is my second quarter at Everett Community College. I have lived in Washington pretty much all my life. I lived in Bothell until I was thirteen then moved to Arlington which is where I currently reside. When I met my husband, he was living and going to school in California. So, after we got married I got to live in San Francisco for about year. California was such a great learning experience for me as I was away from my family and friends. It was extremely difficult at first but after awhile it was nice to just be by ourselves. Fortunately our adventure away from home didn’t end there. We then moved to Spokane while he went to school for a little over a year. Now here we are back on the West side and happy to be home. I plan on continuing my education at Everett Community College and eventually transferring to a University.

During this quarter, I learned a lot about identity, community, and tradition. Before this class I had never really thought about them too much. I have always just accepted them for what they were. The discussion boards really helped me think outside the box. My most memorable one was from Intermission One movie talk on “Akeelah and the Bee”. During that discussion I learned that a lot of people who have talents feel like outsiders because of what the people who are considered “insiders” do and say. I realized that this happens more often than we think and that is causes the “outsiders” to feel ashamed of their talents. I was able to reflect on some of my own experiences when I would have been considered and outsider or an insider. For example, when I was in middle school I loved The Beatles. I was clearly one of the only ones at my school who did. People would come up to me and drill me as to why I loved them so much. Then they would go to their friends and snicker about me.

As you will soon see, I have chosen four pieces of my work from English 101 Diversity. The first piece I chose demonstrates my critical thinking skills. This happens to be our last paper on tradition and it’s titled “Very Sexy”. The second piece I chose was from my first paper called “Paper Talk”. I chose this for my skills at revision and re-seeing my work. My third piece illustrates my awareness of audience and voice. For this I chose one of my posts from our discussion boards from Intermission One. The movie being discussed is Akeelah and the Bee. My last piece you will see is one of my favorite writings and that is why I chose it for our writer’s choice. This is from one of our timed writings from Intermission two. The movie being discussed is Lone Star.

Overall I feel I made some nice improvements with my writing in this class. It was interesting to go through some of my old writings and compare them to my more recent writings. I hope you enjoy reading my E-Portfolio as much as I enjoyed putting it together.

Critical Thinking Skills Introduction

For my critical thinking piece I chose my tradition paper “Very Sexy”. This paper discusses how tradition is being taken over by pop culture. My example of tradition is Victoria’s Secret and how their ads have changed the way women are portrayed in advertisement. In this paper I did a good job with analysis. For example in paragraph five I gave several examples of the effects these ads have on men and women which in turn helped prove my thesis. Being a good analytical writer is important because it helps the reader get a better idea of what the writer is trying to say. Without good analysis the paper would be hard follow and not have as much of an impact on the reader.

Critical Thinking Skills

Rachelle A. Dott
Professors Smith and Wells-Edwards
English 101D OL
26 May 2009

Very Sexy

Very sexy is a term that at one point would make people feel uncomfortable hearing or seeing it on television ads or on poster ads in our local mall. Today however, those words mean very little. Advertisement is constantly pushing sex in societies face whether it is through actors, socialites, or pop stars. For example, Britney Spears displays sex while singing, performing and on album covers. The media keeps forcing her into our lives trying to convince us that she is a perfect example of what is sexy. In Adam Sternbergh’s essay Britney Spears: The Pop Tart In Winter, “She is tragically over exposed” (372). Just like Britney, we are constantly over exposed to Victoria’s Secret ads. We have all seen the Victoria’s Secret ads on television where a young, tall, and extremely underweight model is wearing the newest lingerie moving around in a seductive manner. Traditional lingerie ads were less revealing, not geared towards sex, and had healthy looking women as their models. Unfortunately, Victoria’s Secret ads have ceased that tradition by changing way women are traditionally portrayed in advertisement(s).

In the 1950’s, traditional lingerie ads showed women as being sexy but in moderation. They showed women in their bra and underwear, which were not very revealing and the mood of the ads were happy go lucky. They usually showed the women with no background or smiling next to a car or by a pool. The models were at a normal healthy weight with a curvy figure. The ads were more about the product rather then the women modeling the product. They went in to great detail about what the model was wearing and why it was a great product. Sadly, this tradition is rapidly fading away as Victoria’s Secret ads are becoming such a huge part of pop culture.

In today’s ads, Victoria’s Secret displays models in skimpy lingerie that are so skinny it leaves the viewer wondering when she had her last meal. Even in Victoria’s Secret stores, the manikin models are so skinny that the bra and underwear do not fit properly. There are huge gapes between the manikin and the clothing. The ads rarely describe the product being advertised and why it’s so good. It’s more about seduction with the model which in turn may leave some viewers thinking that is what they will look like if they purchase the product. The mood of the advertisement is completely different than what it used to be. Today we see a model in dim lighting lying on the bed in a sexual manner as if she can’t control herself versus the traditional smiling women happy to be modeling the lingerie.

Traditionally women have been portrayed in advertisements as sexy but modest. The ads were for selling lingerie, and just that. Victoria’s Secret has been aggressively pushing and testing this tradition for years. The ads are becoming more risqué, more often, and even larger. Magazine ads will show models in thongs with guarder straps. When you walk into a Victoria’s Secret store, behind the register there is a huge blown up image of a women in lingerie that takes up the entire wall. Rarely can we watch an evening of television or read a magazine with out hearing or seeing the word “Victoria’s Secret”.

The loss of the traditional of advertising women modestly has had a negative effect on men and women in today’s society. When women see these ads with skinny models and their “perfect” bodies displaying what sexy is they get low self esteem. They see these ads and think that the model is what sexy is and in order to be sexy that’s what they need to look like. They start to think to themselves that in order to be sexy and beautiful, they need to be skinny and wear thongs or show more skin. This can cause eating disorders and produce self hatred. Men see these ads and think that’s what a women should look like. This can also cause premature sexual activity in young men and women. They see the models displaying sex and they think this is what is desired and acceptable. What men and women don’t understand is that these models are unrealistic. They are airbrushed and digitally altered and in person probably look nothing like the women in the ad.

Although these are many negatives to Victoria’s Secret ads and how it has changed our traditional image of a woman, there is also a positive. Women love to feel important and sexy not only for themselves, but for their significant other as well. Victoria’s Secret ads display women as powerful and confident in their own skin. This can create the same feeling for women who wear Victoria’s Secret lingerie. It can help boost self confidence and love for ones self.

Victoria’s Secret has been pushing how women are traditionally portrayed in advertisements for many years. With their push for sex and what they consider to be a beautiful woman, society’s idea of what beautiful is has been greatly altered since the 1950’s. Men and women of all ages have been pushed to reconsider what beauty is. We no longer see the normal healthy model with a clean smile on her face. As time goes by, traditions can change for better or for worse. We all need to take a second look at Victoria’s Secret ads and understand that the new tradition they have started is having a negative impact on the men and women in today’s society.

Skills at Revision and Re-seeing My Work Introduction

To demonstrate my skills at revision and reseeing my work I chose my first paper “Family Ties”. This assignment was to “display form, focus, and organization.” They were to be “well organized, have an arguable thesis, concrete and specific examples and illustrations, incorporate text readings, and proofread for grammatical and mechanical error.” I chose the first paragraph to revise because it was a long paper, but most importantly it holds my thesis statement. Without a strong thesis statement it can confuse the reader and leave them trying to put pieces together.

In my original paper, my first paragraph doesn’t lead the reader to my thesis. My thesis statement just came out of nowhere. This was the first thing I had to work on. I also had some grammatical and mechanical errors that needed correction. You will see that in the last sentence, my thesis statement, after the word “experiences”. I also deleted quite a few sentences that didn’t need to be included.

Skills at Revision and Re-seeing My Work Correction

Family Ties

Identity is a group of characteristics and opinions that make us all individuals. Through out our youth and into adulthood, we watch our families make decisions, work, act and react to different situations. Whether good or bad, it is these memories that drive us to make decisions through out our lives. Rarely do we make a choice that is not based on some form of previous experience from our families. Our identity is who we are. It governs our actions and reactions. Life is a long string of events, responses, and outcomes. We learn our identity from many sources and experiences, but the one we learn the most from is our family.

Skills at Revision and Re-seeing My Work

Family Ties

What is identity? Identity is a group of characteristics and opinions that make us all individuals. It is not something that is given to us or genetically passed down in any way. It is strictly an accumulation of experiences over time that we have developed feelings about. It is these memories that drive us to make decisions in our every day life. Rarely do we make a choice that is not based on some form of previous experience. Thus, the choices we make are a pure reflection of our identity. It is much like the trait of integrity. We either have it or we don’t. There is no amount of “sometimes” involved. Our identity is who we are. It governs our actions and reactions. According to the motivational audio program, “The Success Principles” by Jack Canfield, there is a simple equation that explains this. E+R=O. Event+Response=Outcome. To explain identity, there is only one variable in this equation that we have control over, the R. Our response to any given situation is what displays our identity. This is who we are. After all, life is a long string of events, responses, and outcomes. We learn our identity from many sources and experiences but the one we learn the most from is our family.