Theatrical Prison

What makes this field site a good field site in studying this culture?
The prisoners are openly willing to show someone else into their world. They are willing to show off all of the hardwork that they are doing. It is also a confined place so you can see the same people week after week. You can see how the same people interact with each other


What observations does the author make that is useful in talking about this subculture?
That the prisoners are really in touch with the characters that they are portraying. It's like everyone of the prisoners have some type of deep connection with their charcter. Also he tells how the prisoners put so much of their emotion into the play. He shows that they are truly happy to be doing what they are doing, and not just doing this project to have some free time out of their cell.


What are the norms and values of this subculture?
A value that I really saw was that the inmates gave their work their all. They made sure that everytime there was a rehearsal that they gave 150 % in everything. They wanted to show to the others that they just weren't sitting around wasting time and doing nothing.


What interview techniques work well to help understand this subculture?
I liked how the interviewer talked more than about the what they were doing. He was asking them personal questions to really get a good understanding about how they felt being a part of the subculture. He also asked them good questions like what motivates them to do their best. He really asked questions that made you get to know the people instead of just telling about the play.

Topic: Bankhead Living





Sources:


Works Cited


Bowman-Littler, Wendy. "The Boys of Bankhead Courts." Atlanta Business Chronicle. 12 July 1996. 13 Mar. 2008 . \


Harris, T. "Donald L Howell Pwky Redevelopment Plan." 13 Mar. 2008 .
Williams, Michelle. "A Long Weekend." Time. 4 Nov. 1974. 13 Mar. 2008 .


http://youtube.com/watch?v=jLYzg1w2hKE



Reflection:







I believe that the video from youtube provided me with the most information about the bankhead subculture. I believe this because the video included interviews with people who actually live that life. I mean this video showed what the people of Bankhead really live like. The video could have been better though, because if they would have included children then you would have known what the children of bankhead go through on a day by day basis. The video also showed the overall rawness of the whole situation at hand. The video also did not try to hide anything that was going on in the area. It showed what really happens in this subculture.

Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole

The author of the article that i used, "What Hip Hop Has Done To Black Women", was written by the highly acclaimed Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole. To make sure that the author of my article was as credible as they claimed she was I first entered her name into Google Scholar and then a more scholarly search, Galileo. I also went to Ebony, the magazine in which I found the initial article in, and look her up on their website. I also wanted to know what made them pick this particular women ti write this article. After I found out who she was then I looked over some of the articles about the first African American president of Spelmen College, I realized that she was a very credible source to use in the writing of my paper. I also found out about how she grew up and all of her accomplishments which made argument in the paper even more credible.
What made me look in the places that I looked was the fact that the places I looked were considered credible in themselves. Thus, the information that I received from these cites had to have at least a certain amount of truth to them to make it into these particular databases. I think that since my author had made since large victories in her life then she would be included in some of the larger databases that have a larger scale that they use to judge whether or not the article should be included in their website.
There were more advantages then disadvantages in the way I went about finding my information about my author. Since I knew that the websites that I used had to have a certain level of creditability, I knew that the chances of the information being shaky was slim to none. I also found the same information in multiple locations, therefore the information also had to be correct.

Peer Review Reflection

Even though I didn't attend class, I believe I got something out of my peer review that I conducted with a fellow classmate after class. He pointed out some very important things that I had looked over and would have left wrong.
I believe that if I would have attended the peer review in class than I would have gotten more views and examples than I got from just the one person that I peer reviewed. I believe that I should have also received more than one person's point of view on my paper. That way if someone who reviewed my paper and missed something, than someone else could have picked up a flaw that they just happened to miss and correct that mistake.
Also, it is good to have multiple views on the situation that way you could change your paper in multiple ways.Also, if I would have looked at more papers than I did I could have gotten some more ideals to add to my paper. That way I could have been ready for some possible counter arguments that would have arisen.

Logical Fallacies

The type of logical fallacy that i found was ad hominem. I believe that this occurred when they introduced the new preppy guy to the feminist group on the campus. They didn't tell about the issues that the feminist were addressing, but they were more concerned about making the feminist look more masculine than what they really are. They are too busy focusing on their physical appearance than what they had to talk about.

Death Of An Innocent

Could a person like McCandless really exist in a society, where happiness is described by how much money you have. I personally believe that someone like McCandless could be apart of today's society, because he wasn't looking for money to make him happy. He was fine and happy with himself just roaming through different places in North America.

McCandless didn't let regular beliefs influence how happy he was, or what he wanted to do in life. He read a story that he found interesting, and then he lived the lifestyle that he wanted to live out.He read a story about a man who lived out his life backpacking and he liked the idea of going out and doing that, he pursued that ideal of life all the way to the end of his life.

Today in society and even in the past it's like the people of America didn't believe you to be happy and successful unless you have money and a job that the mass of everyday people find prestigious, but is seemed as if McCandless didn't really care to live up to the American Dream.

McCandless started off with the right tools to start off a lifestyle that the average American would find the best life to live. McCandless had a degree from Emory University, one of the top medical school, which was kind of like an automatic approval for a job in the medical field. I mean Emory's not a Harvard or a Yale, but if you get a medical degree from this university it's like having something that's close to it. If McCandless really wanted to he could have easily went out into the world and got him a job, not just because of his educational credentials but because he was also a very charismatic person too. McCandless seemed like the "it" person when he was high school. He was a very well rounded person, who no one expected to come to such an end.

In the end I believe that McCandless became too reliant on himself, because of the end he came to. He should have accepted some help and information from those who tried to come and assist him. I mean he acted as if accepting just a tad bit of help from someone or something just would have killed his whole career as a backpacker. I mean he even left behind his map the most valuable thing that he needed to know where he was. If he would have just remembered to bring along a map on his last adventure than I believe that he would still be here alive. He could have also brought along more food than what he brought along therefore in the case of an accident that could have happened, which did, he would have had more food in case he was left stranded.
All in all, I believe that people like McCandless could still exist in today's society. People like McCandless exist only when someone truly wants to be happy by their own standards. If they find being a certain way makes them happy and then they go out and do it than that's what makes them happy, then they are being like McCandless.

AIDS Campaign By Bennington's

Benetton's posted this particular billboard about 18 years ago in 1990. The advertisement depicts an AIDS victim in his last moments of his life surrounded by his crying family. I believe that this particular picture was used by Benetton's because it showed a different view of the AIDS epidemic. During the early 90's, and to this day, AIDS wasn't really accepted by the general public. It's like if you were an AIDS victim that you were nasty and that you slept around with everyone and people really had a bad perception of you. I believe that Benetton's advertised this particular picture to show that people had compassion for AIDS victims. By posting this advertisement Benetton's meant to bring more business to themselves by showing that they were more people friendly. They were showing that they cared about the struggles that people were going through in the real world. If people feel as if they can relate to something than they are more willing to patronize with it. They were probably thinking along the lines of, "Oh, Benetton's care about the lives of the ordinary people." People are more willing to buy products from people who are thinking of those less fortunate. The people at the head of the Benetton's advertisement board thought that if they put this picture up that it would appeal to people's compassionate side.
So, what was Benetton's real motive for posting this advertisement. Was it really to show the struggles of those less fortunate than them, or was it all just a plan to raise their company's profit. Many can argue that the Benetton's ad campaign was to raise awareness about some of the most difficult problems in America, but was that truly their motive for this whole campaign. Did the people who made the ads for Benetton's really care about the well being of the general people? Now, many can argue that the true reason that Benetton's ran this particular campaign was to raise their sells. During this particular time period, it was a very good way of bringing a more steady flow of money to the
business. It was Benetton's personal way of saying that they care for the people, so come and spend your money here. Did Benetton's really care about AIDS patients throughout American? If they did then why didn't they do anything in order to help the patients who needed help in the hospitals, or why didn't they give away a portion of their earning to help AIDS research. They also could have sent out food and water to the victims who were abandoned by their families that needed food and water. All in all this campaign was really just a means for Benetton's to get more money from the people. This was a very manipulative way for Benetton's to bring more people to their business. I also think it was a good plan to get more people to buy their goods, even though they went about it in the wrong way.