#blogpostone

Dirty Computer depicts Janelle Monae at her best, giving voice, power, and liberating minorities through expression and critical thought. Within the realm of Dirty Computer, we see dark themes of hierarchy, surveillance states, even dehumanizing individuals in their world by referring to everyone as computers, and performing “deprogramming” and encouraging repression through forced cleansing. Janelle tells the story of Jane 57821, soon to be Mary Apple 54, as they are stuck in captivity having their memories erased and thoughts and emotions suppressed.

Jane 57821 doesn’t know it (after all most of the time they are being held prisoner, given virtually no freedoms) but through the process of the cleansing, the audience is able to live her memories with scenes of her life being depicted through song. “Pynk” was an obvious standout, and one of the more recognizable messages portrayed in her work. With Pynk, there is no reference to their dystopia or the plight of Jane 57821, and instead we receive beautiful messaging on womanhood and sexual liberation. In other tracks, like screwed for example, we don’t get to see much of Jane’s self expression before she is cut off and facing perilous situations, like being chased by police robots. 

The aspect of dehumanization in Janelle’s work is particularly intriguing, and a favorite theme of mine when discussing Afrofuturism. In their memories, we see Jane 57821 in her truest form, spending intimate time with loved ones, attending parties, and living larger than her surveillance state deems appropriate. These clips of life are immediately contrasted with Jane’s cleansing process, where we find her at her lowest and most vulnerable. Individuality is not celebrated, and Jane’s group find themselves targeted more than once. Their policing seems personal, and the choice to have Jane’s love, Mary Apple 53, be the one to perform her cleansing supports that. There is a clear hierarchy in this society, where technology and conformity are celebrated. Citizens are meant to be calm and subservient, and loyal to the system rather than each other. However in Jane’s group, we see a dedicated and loving support system that likely threatened this conforming system, and ultimately made them worth targeting. 

I loved watching the show Euphoria the best out of all of the assigned movies and shows. It’s been something I’ve been wanting to watch for a while so I thought this was the perfect opportunity to binge the whole season. The movies and shows assigned to watch were, Euphoria, The Breakfast Club, Mean Girls, Mid-90’s and KIDS. I know... That’s so fetch, right? Throughout each film, there were tons of astounding characters, some being well known throughout society. Perhaps Regina George rings a bell to anyone? However, despite all of the fantastic characters in each work, I feel as if I identify with Rue from the show Euphoria the most. I feel the most connected to Rue because she is a young teenage girl who has to deal with mental health issues but also the fact that she has fluid sexuality. She likes men, women and just gravitates towards anyone she feels connected to. I'm part of the LGBTQ+ community so the amount of representation I felt in the show was slightly overwhelming. Especially since many older shows and films lack representation so when something arises with more LGBTQ+ representation it makes me happy. I also know how it feels to be in Rue’s shoes, especially with her relationship with Jules in the show. The whole season is a rollercoaster of Rue and Jule’s relationship and as the season progresses Rue finally takes the leap of faith and kisses Jules. **Sorry if I spoiled it for anyone** I’ve been in situations with past relationships where I liked a girl for so long but never could make the move and it was interesting to see Rue’s confidence build and I think her becoming sober helped with that aspect. An article titled The Unicorn Scale written by bi.org it discusses the different sexualities and identities of the characters in the show. It states that Rue, “Rue’s sexuality seems to be unexplored but fluid, she is clearly interested in men, women, and everyone else. Rue’s bisexuality is not shown as the cause or causing her drug addiction, it is simply another facet of who she is. Her nerves seem limited to the normal anxieties we feel for our first love” (The Unicorn Scale: Euphoria) Rue’s character also goes through many ups and downs throughout the season. She struggles with drug addiction and staying sober. She lost her Dad to cancer and had to have her younger sister find her overdosed in her room. Three common themes I’ve noticed in each of these films and shows are one, family dynamic/struggles, sex, and, coming of age moment.

The first theme, family dynamic/struggles is relatable to youth culture because growing up as a young adult or teenager can bring a lot of family issues. For example, in the movie MID90’S the main character Stevie is physically abused by his brother Ian. In one scene, Ian barges through Stevie's room in the middle of the night and punches him repeatedly. There is also no father in the picture and his mother is a single mom. So this could contribute to some of the reasons why Ian abuses Stevie. He could be taking out his anger in the only way he knows how and that’s with violence. I feel that people, especially young men struggle with dealing with their emotions and healthily expressing them. This theme also relates to me because I struggle with family issues and throughout the years it has taken a toll on my mental health. We also see in the movie KIDS the family dynamic and how it affects the main character, Telly. In one scene they show Telly’s mom taking care of the baby in their small city apartment. Telly asks for money and the mom says she doesn’t have any to give. Telly goes out and says he will be back later. The mom is so focused on the baby that she is not paying close attention to her son and what he is doing. This negatively affects Telly because he gets into the wrong group of people. This happens often without young people, it's a form of negligence that can lead people down the wrong path.

Another example is the dynamic between Nate Jacob's and his father in the show Euphoria. From a young age, Nate has been intimidated and scared by his father. In one scene, Nate’s father comes into his room and tells him how he played in the football game. Nate and his father get into a physical altercation and Nate starts to beat his head repeatedly against the floor. The second theme of sex is a big issue in most of these films and tv shows. When viewing and studying youth culture I’ve noticed how sex is a big part of a young person's life. Especially when I was in high school, sex was a majority of what people were talking about and it always mattered who was hooking up with who. I didn’t necessarily care for it and I had my experiences later in my life and at the end of the day, I don’t think it’s worth the hype and stigma around it. There are more things to do and talk about than sex. In the movie KIDS for example the main discussion of the film was sex and how the main character Telly wanted to have sex with virgins because they were seen as pure and innocent and he had the power to take that away from them. In the movie MID90s, the character Stevie has his first sexual experience and it was very real for many young people. In the scene, he starts to shake and get nervous, in an interview conducted and written by Slate Culture, asks Jonah Hill, the director of the Mid90s film, about the scene. Jonah states, “To me, showing it as harsh and as honest as it was back then was the point. You know? The point that this kid is terrified and shaking during his first sexual experience. And we get to see that as the audience. And he only gets happy and excited once he realizes it’s his currency to raise up through the group And that’s a fucked-up lesson that a lot of people now are having to unlearn from this time period And to me, I just wanted to show how that was and let the audience see that for what it is” (Bloomer) When you have your first sexual experience it can be a very nerve-wracking moment and in youth culture, the sexual experience is different for many and I believe it's split between boys and girls. As portrayed in these films for the young men, when they have sex it’s a powerful experience that boosts their confidence when they tell the group of guys they are associated with. For girls, it’s a moment that is more kept to themselves and cherished in a sense.

Being that I identify as a lesbian my experience doesn’t follow the heterosexual story so it’s interesting to me to see how the experience can be for heterosexual people. Lastly the last theme of a coming of age moment. I feel that when you are a young teen there is always this hope that you will have this coming of age moment like in the videos. I feel that Hollywood does a good job of exaggerating what a coming of age moment is for a teen. The film that is a clear example of a coming of age moment is the iconic Breakfast Club. According to the source, Movies, “The Breakfast Club (1985) is perhaps one of the best examples of a classic ‘coming of age’ plot. The film details the lives of five high schoolers stuck in a weekend detention together, only to have the misfit gang bond together despite their differences. This cast of characters are delineated by the conventional roles they fill: the Outcast, the Princess, the Jock, the Basket Case, and the Brain” (Holderbaum) The Breakfast Club shows how highschoolers defeated the stigmas and social scale of highschool. This connects to me a lot because high school was a very difficult time for me. Just like the movie we watched Mean Girls, I was at the bottom of the social ladder because I was different from a lot of people. Being a lesbian, out in highschool isn’t fun especially when you have guys who say “I can change that”. Despite the exaggeration by Hollywood with this big coming of age moment, I believe that my coming of age moment just like the Breakfast club was defeated the social ladder and being a confident, strong, lesbian at the end of my high school career.

The soundtrack of a film, TV series impacts the narrative of a story because it can uplift any emotion or feeling a character is feeling or trying to portray. The soundtrack can make or break a film/show. The soundtrack is a narrative of the story and can bring chills down your spine when watching a film. If a soundtrack is not done well the movie is not as impactive. In the movie the Breakfast club mostly everyone knows the famous song Don’t You and the iconic last scene. If it wasn’t for that song I believe the movie would not have been as famous. The playlist I made called Adolescent experience is a list of 10 songs that define me and myself growing up as a young teen trying to figure herself out. The first song on my playlist is, Electric Feel by MGMT, this song was one of the first songs that I listened to when I got my first iPod. The feeling it gave me felt like I was in an indie film when I would listen to it on long car rides. The second song on my playlist is What You Know by the Two Door Cinema Club. This song helped me with coping with my feeling of being lonely and feeling like I had no one to connect with, especially with being a young teen still stuck in the closet. The third song on my playlist is Little Secrets by Passion Pit. The band Passion Pit was one of the first bands I ever discovered and fell in love with. The fourth song I have in my playlist is 1901 by Phoenix. Anytime I listen to this song it gives me this feeling that I can accomplish anything. The fourth song is All For Us from the show Euphoria and sung by Zendaya and Labrinth. I love this song because it reminds me of the love I carry to many people in my life and how it can be tiring doing things for love all the time. The next song, Work by Rihanna is one of my favorite songs to dance to and it reminds me of a great memory of my middle school best friend Nina and me. The seventh song is Butterflies by Kacey Musgraves, this song is very meaningful to me because it's me and my girlfriend's song and it’s a reminder of the growth I have made within myself and my love life. The eighth song is Cruise by Florida Georgia Line, this was the first country band I started listening to when I was younger and the band reminds me of a very traumatic experience in my life. The ninth song is Man I Feel Like A Woman by Shania Twain. This song strikes a happy memory in my childhood because when all of my siblings were little and would be in my mom's suburban driving down the road we would sing this with her. The last song on my playlist is The Less I Know The Better by Tame Impala. This song just gives me an overall feeling of happiness and it was a song I listened to a lot when I was in a really good spot mentally.

My older sister used to read me books until I was in middle school and I started to read on my own. I reread The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater that she had previously read aloud to me. My love just grew and grew and all I wanted to do was read. This is actually where my exploration with YA began. Tumblr was my second social media platform as a middle schooler (third if you count snapchat). I joined to chat about the books I was reading and discover more with people on the internet. It eventually grew and I started to have my own little library of YA novels and was taking pictures of them to upload with my reviews on my little blog. Eventually around 2016, I started my Bookstagram (instagram about books) and left my little blog behind. I have been to many book conventions and author signings. My library has grown exponentially and needless to say I became an English major. 

My feelings about YAL have changed as I have grown and learned more. I do believe I have biases in just loving most of what I read yet as I kept reading and growing up I learned that it was okay to not like a book. I would often fall into wanting to love every book that everyone else loves.

The article linked below actually is a case of me going with the crowd and feeling how everyone else feels until more is revealed. The article discusses a twitter riot that happened due to an author seeing a comment about one of her books not being good enough for an award. It caused lots of authors to defend this author and even for the award creators to speak out and apologize. A few days later the person who made the comment talked about what was left out of her quote. I like everyone else was originally mad that this person decided this book wasn’t good enough for the award yet “fine for teen girls”. This is the part that got most people upset and other authors chiming in. Twitter was quite the place to be those few days. It was very wild and everyone had something say. It was interesting to see what the University, which hosted the award, said in their apology. The author later deleted her tweet and apologized to the person who made the comment. I was still upset with the wording about why the book wasn’t chosen for the award yet I also felt bad for how much hate this person got from social media. I believe a lot of the anger had to do with the oppression female authors have been going through as well as in terms of the quote, how books about teen girls are not as sought after by awards. I think this is something deep rooted in publishing and a pretty interesting conversation within YAL. 

1. It helps reduce stress - When you exercise, your level of endorphins (”feel good” chemicals) increase which in turn reduces your feelings of worry and/or pain. Stress affects the whole body. When your body feels better, so will your mind. The next time you are feeling stressed out, go to the gym and get a workout in. You will feel ten times better and overall feel less worried and stressed out. 

2. It reduces the risk of diseases - We all know or have heard that there are great benefits from working out when it comes to diseases. Evidently, working out and eating healthy will significantly reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Working out not only reduces cancer, but it also reduces blood pressure, lowers the risk of type II diabetes, and many more diseases.

3. It will boost your self-esteem and confidence - It is easy to have low self-esteem when you don’t feel good about your body, you aren’t happy with your body or how you look. However, when you start to work out and improve your appearance and health, you also improve your self-image. As you start to see results and see your body change, your self-esteem and confidence level will increase. The success of reaching your goals and the sense of achievement will boost your self-esteem and confidence. 

4. It boosts memory and builds intelligence - As you work out, not only does your brain get more oxygen and energy, but it will also boost your memory and help you learn better. Frequently engaging in physical activity will improve your cognitive function by helping your neurons stay in shape, especially in the memory area, the hippocampus. Additionally, regular physical activity will benefit your intellectual skills. The hippocampus benefits greatly as oxygen flows freely to your brain. 

5. It will make you happy - With all the energy you gain from working out, you can’t help but feel happy after you finish that run on the treadmill. Working out improves your mood and most definitely boosts your energy level. If you ever feel sad, tired, or you’re having a bad day, push yourself and go to the gym. You will be surprised how you’ll feel after your workout session, you’ll feel amazing! Exercising regularly can improve your life in so many ways. Make it a habit and you will live a better and happier life. 

NOW GO WORKOUT! :) 

What is Design? In order to design well, one must first understand what design actually is. As a group of amateur designers beginning our specialised learning we all have much to learn about design, what it is and how to do it well.  In order to get us thinking about ‘what is design’, everyone formed a pair and created a definition of design.        “Design is a the planned process of creating artwork with visual meaning.” Groups of four were then formed, and collaboratively made a merged definition.        “Design is a product that is created in order to portray a message through visual elements.” Finally, groups of eight were formed and definitions were refined once again.  The final definition from the group I was a part of was:        “Design is using creative thinking and innovation to construct of create; whether it is an idea or tangible object.  Design is in every aspect of life, portraying a message through both man made and natural components.” Design is more than it seems to be; the finished product never quite encapsulates the time spent pouring over countless design aspects to get it to where it is. It is a process of refining decisions over and over until the desired final result is reached, not just a momentary burst of inspiration resulting in an effective design.  To me, design is all these things and more.  When done well, it is something to be appreciated.  It is something I have always had an interest in, and one day a career.

Who am I as a Designer? What kind of Designer do I want to be? As a designer, I am a beginner.  I am learning; acquiring skills that will help me discover what I am good at and what I enjoy - teaching me what kind of designer I want to be.  I am currently more interested in visual design: layouts, typography, web design and the like.  However, I am keen to learn about interactive design and see what aspects of it I enjoy, moulding what kind of a designer I want to be.  I have collated a few images of various designs I find mirror the kind of designer I want to be.

Important Skills a Designer needs to have • Creative thinking • Ability to make idea’s become reality • Empathy • Ability to maintain a balance between designer’s vision and client’s ‘needs’ • Adaptable • Innovative • Collaboration • Analytical • Flexibility • Creativity • Patience • Persistence • Imagination

I found it really interesting to hear what other people thought were ‘essential skills’ for a designer to have.  The initial three skills I thought of were the ability to think creatively, the ability to work in a collaborative environment and the ability to maintain a balance between what you want as a designer and what your client wants.  I hadn’t thought of designers needing to be empathetic, which was interesting to think of the ways in which it would be needed in a design situation.  As a designer, I believe I am good at making my idea’s become reality, however, I am not very patient.  Overall, this activity highlighted different design skills that I will focus on becoming better at.

Logo Design In the tutorial we were asked to create a tutorial that represents us as a designer.  I decided to base my logo around my initials, as that is who I am.  I began playing around with very geometric, structured typeface’s but thought it looked too angular and harsh to describe me. I decided to play with a different media, getting a Copic Sketch marker to create a hand painted look.  I felt this made my initials seem more personal and relatable.  I then teamed my hand painted initials with a constellation like pattern to symbolise connectivity with clients, collaboration with other designers and reaching out to as far and as best I can.  

Design Sandwich I kept my sandwich simple (and entirely edible) to represent my like of minimal, simple designs.  I chose flavours (pear, sauce, turkey, cheese) that complement each other harmoniously to display I like to research and know what works well together, and what doesn’t, when designing.  Lastly, I included lettuce to symbolise my upcoming knowledge of traditional design concepts (lettuce is a traditional sandwich ingredient), and that why these skills are widely known they are still fresh.

Reference List Antonio, Marco & Valdés, Castillo & Sanchez, Dagoberto Rodriguez. 2013. "Los Carpinteros". Image. Accessed March 11, 2015. http://www.thejealouscurator.com/blog/2013/11/05/im-jealous-of-los-carpinteros/#comments

Cheng, Jennifer. 2011. "Resume". Image. Accessed March 11, 2015. http://cvparade.com/post/9293899145/jennifer-cheng-graphic-designer

Dowling, Jasmine. 2015. "No Rest for the Wicked Print". Image. Accessed March 11, 2015. http://shop.jasminedowling.com/product/no-rest-for-the-wicked-print

Brief Two is all about the Teepee concept. We have to come up with a concept for the furniture and atmosphere for the Teepee.

Blog Post One

I found that group work can be like a see saw, we have to balance our opinions to make sure that everyone has the chance to contribute their thoughts and research. I found that group work can mean that you have to compromise on some of your ideas and thoughts to give the group as a cohesive gathering a mixture of each individuals ideas to happily produce a piece of work that everyone will be happy with.

I rate my own performance and contribution to the presentation in this part of Unit X to be good. I found a lot of images and research that helped us form an idea for the rest of the research. Each of us after our initial meeting to show our initial research, decided to categorise our research posts to help us think of all the possibilities that could occur when the piece of furniture gets produced. We all gathered our research and thoughts and collated them to produce a PowerPoint presentation that Kris Djukic put together for the presentation that we would present to Simone and David.

We wanted our presentation to be a loose and not tightly constructed so that we could express our thoughts of each piece that we placed on it, at the time of the presentation so it wouldn’t feel so mundane and static.