From School to Personal...

Black Twitter Sets the Stage

Over the years, the community coined “Black Twitter” has achieved notable fame throughout the existence of Twitter itself. In the chapter, “From the Black Hand Side: Twitter as a Cultural Conversation”, Brock mentions that Black Twitter has an aspect of theatricality, which juxtaposes against what the ideal Twitter audience was accommodated for, “white geeks”. In the passage, it touches on how the community members of Black Twitter can be perceived as performing, with the use of semantics, punctuation and more to speak in the “coded language” of this subculture and as a result, spread our message. Our capability of being unapologetically black in 140 characters or less, while sharing our voices has strengthened our cultural identity, one tweet at a time by forcing our issues onto center stage. So with the introduction of the hashtag, which is used to organize replies to a certain topic, it has provided Black Twitter with the director, script and audience for our performance. So with that, we have all the tools we need in order to exhibit our “blackness”.

One very interesting point in the passage was the recognition of white racial ideology and how that “makes racial formation an undeniable cornerstone of technology”. This also ties into W.E.B Dubois idea of double consciousness, where the article dissects one’s black identity being one aspect of consciousness and membership of the black community being the other. This idea plays into how we perform our blackness on other mediums outside of Twitter as well. For example, Tumblr, another social media site which has been utilized to spread innovative ideas and messages, much like the page we use for class. While we all share the commonality of being in a part of the same class, our identities differ, each having a different perspective on life. Like Black Twitter, we have formed a community by using similar hashtags to organize discussion that holds a variety of ideas and opinions. Personally speaking, mediums like Black Twitter and even Black Techne have given me a voice that I never thought I would have acquired, and with that, I am able to contribute to an ongoing conversation. All in all, Black Twitter has set a precedent for a successful online community, uniting people all around the world and giving them a voice, or in other words, a stage to perform on.

Do you think all social media outlets can create this sense of community?

Also, do you think Twitter/Black Twitter has done a good job exhibiting “blackness”?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlT9dAE7oXA (If Black Twitter were a party)

-Olivia Carter

I think it’s also great how other non-Twitter media outlets (notably Yahoo!) often report on Twitter conversations that are happening, many of which pertain to “black Twitter,” for people who don’t have Twitter!

-Corina

Music’s Impact on Memory and Space

The author states through the examples of Ellison’s and Martin’s protagonists in I Like it Like That (1994) and “ Living with Music” (1955) how music can be used to create and recreate spaces through sound “as it is articulated at the interstices of the private and social.” Music can be used to block out outside noise and create a personal space and time for the listener or used publicly to transform a space and the listeners experience for either good or bad. Following Jody Berland’s example Weheliye says that unlike the visual, sound is something that the listener is completely immersed in and that it comes from all the directions from the soft and subtle whispers of someone behind us to the annoying clicking of a pen on the table. Listening to music definitely illuminates Berland’s and Weheliye’s points. The experience of listening to music with headphones versus choosing to play a song on a pair of speakers dramatically changes the experience not just for you, but for other listeners (either directly or indirectly) and the geographic space as a whole. Noting this, sound and sonic space become communal unintentionally at times. Using a specific technology like speakers, choosing what music to play, where, when, and at what volume has the power to completely change a space.

This point really stood out to me because music is such an important aspect in black communal activities such as parties, family reunions, and cookouts. The music played can truly impact the success or failure of an event. For instance, everyone will get up, young and old to dance to the Electric Slide where as if some current hip hop music comes on, you’ll see young people dancing while the old folks exchange disgusted looks or roll their eyes probably in shock of how music has changed since they were younger,remembering the soulful and melodic tunes of their youth. This example goes along with Wehliye’s idea that the intimacy and sociality of sound “highlights the particular manner in which subjects relate to sound in space.” Music ties us to our memories and experience. Even today, hearing a specific song can bring me back to a specific time in my life growing up and all those images flood back into my head. And that again goes along with Weheliye’s quote that, “this quality at once makes the sonic at once more communal because it draws the subject something or someone outside of themselves…in a way that visual items do not.”

In what other ways do you see the intimacy and sociality of sound in black spaces? (Musical or Otherwise)

-Gabrielle Wynn

I do agree with that us individuals have those certain types of songs that we have grown up to and still love and listen to it up to today. In general, playing music can be used for so many other occasions outside of get-togethers or parties. I personally believe that your current mood at a certain time of the day determines what type of music you want to listen to at the time. From the mood you have at that time, it creates that feeling of intimacy of yourself and the music you are listening to and furthermore enter into your own “world.” For example, it’s an obvious distinction from the music you listen to between relaxing one time of the day vs. the music you are listening to when you are at the gym at another part of that day. There are days where we can’t stop listening to one song and there are other days where we just feel like we never want to hear that song ever again. To me, it’s the mood that you have any time of the day that determines when and what I want to listen to whether it’s in my headphones or when I am with friends.

-Daniel Scovotti

You pulled some really great points out of this reading. The intimacy sound creates is especially deep when humans are creating the sound vocally, not playing it on a device. Like when everyone in a room sings the Black National Anthem acapella, that is a deeply intimate social moment that is created solely through singing.

-Mady

I agree that music holds a certain type of ideology for us. Being Black, I do believe music is a part of us. It was used as forms of communication for centuries showing its always had social aspect about it.

#blacktechne #blackmediastudies

I’ve noticed lately that I’ve been more open-minded about music by some black artists based on what we’ve talked about in this class regarding the way that some black people, and some of these black rappers, grow up (for example in the show The Wire, they’re surrounded by violence, so future artists who see that might be more likely to rap about violence).

Black Latinos

Afrolatinos occupy a gray area between racial and ethnic backgrounds that myself and most people have probably never considered. While Dates and Barlow in, “War of Images,” present W.E.B Dubois’s idea that African Americans occupy a strange space in which we must have a double consciousness, Violeta Donawa argues that Afrolatinos have a triple consciousness, as their racial identity is complicated by their mixed Latin and African ancestry. In this space that Afrolatinos occupy, there is a struggle as to whether or not they identify with their Latin heritage, African heritage, or try and reconcile the two into one. Afrolatinos, therefore, do not properly fit into any established mold if they choose to proudly embrace both sides of their heritage, as the black community does not fully identify with them, and neither does the Latino community. Because Afrolatinos fall into this gray area, it is necessary for them to come together in their own space where they can proudly identify with whatever heritage(s) they choose and not be judged because of it. This is where the Black Latin@ collective Facebook group that Violeta Donawa speaks of in her thesis, “THE BLACK LATIN@ COLLECTIVE: IDENTITY NEGOTIATION AMONG BLACK LATIN@S ON FACEBOOK,” comes into play.

For the Afrolatinos involved, this Facebook group served as a safe space that I would compare to black twitter. I draw this comparison because in this Facebook group the Afrolatinos involved could talk about issues that were relevant to them, discuss shared experiences and difficulties, and hash out differing opinions with people who could truly relate to their experiences as an outsider, never fully accepted by either of the ethnic groups that they belong to.

After reading this piece, my eyes were opened to a number of things, one of them being the fact that I utilize the ‘one drop rule’ almost all the time when I am considering somebody who is mixed with multiple races. The one drop rule traces its roots back to slavery, and was created so that mixed race children would inherit the social status of whichever parent belonged to the subordinate social class. I had never thought about this habit of mine, but now that I am aware of the historical context behind it and how it can affect people, I regret ever having done it. I realize that in doing this, I am invalidating a person’s identity in a way by trying to tell them who they are and what culture and race to identify with.

Do you guys think that spaces like this facebook group are necessary? For those of you who share multiple ethnic backgrounds, can you relate to this feeling of multiple consciousness that Donawa talks about? Have any of you ever found yourself practicing this one-drop rule?

The link below is to an interesting article about how some Afrolatinos view and describe themselves in census reports.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/03/01/afro-latino-a-deeply-rooted-identity-among-u-s-hispanics/

- Nate Roper

#blacktechne #blackmediastudies

I think it’s often tough to not use the “one-drop” rule, especially because, more so for a white person I assume, we are confronted with race especially when filling out applications (the “race/ethnicity?” multiple choice question). This question rarely offers multiple identities, and so many people are forced to kind of pick the one they feel most connected to or that they most look like?

Does 1 Race = 1 Culture?

In this article the author talks a bout a group that was formed, Black-Latin@. The group wasn’t exclusive to black Latina(o) members, it was open to everyone who had an interest in the topics being discussed. In the thread they discussed topics pertaining to the black Latina(o) racial group. One thing that struck me was what one of the commenters said. He said he would rather identify as Latino than black Latino because of the mention of black allows people to form an idea that he is part of the African-American culture, which he is not. They also mentioned how it is now becoming popular to distinguish between Black Americans and African Americans. I can identify with the commenter because I go through some of the same problems.

My family is Jamaican, and I am a first generation American. I used to hate, and still really don’t like, when people would say I am African American. I have no ties to African culture, but I also don’t have African American culture that developed in this country over centuries. I only know, and was raised with Jamaican culture. I always thought there should be a distinction for that reason. To me it’s like saying a person from the Ukraine has the same culture and heritage as someone from Spain. That’s not something that would be considered “right” to do. This is why I would like to be considered a Black American. My culture is not assumed, you only know my race. It seems a lot of the time that Black Americans are all assumed to have the same history and cultural background. All our ancestors were taken from Africa and were brought her as slaves and developed a new culture from there. Jamaican history is similar, but the cultures are extremely different. There are so many different traditions, just as Black Latina(o)s are very different from African Americans. Our race has many different components to it and they should not all be crammed into one cultural and racial label.

–Evann Thompson

I’ve always been very curious (but admittedly uneducated) about people who come from Africa to the United States and at which point, if at all, they consider themselves “African Americans.” I also wonder, for those Africans who do not consider themselves “African Americans,” why they don’t and if it is offensive when people assume they are “African American” instead of African (due to differences in culture, as stated in the article).

Blacks Transcending through the Radio Mediascape

In these recent chapters we see blacks rising above limitations set against them when it came to media. Before any appearance of blacks on the radio, blacks were being portrayed by whites in minstrel shows like Amos and Andy. Big unions such as AFM and AFRA promoted segregation of blacks; and we all know separate is not equal. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), found in 1934, was an openly racist group. The FCC overlooked black’s interest in order to not ‘offend’ whites. It was not until 1956 that there was even a single black radio owner. Though agencies tried there hardest to keep blacks and whites separate in media, the inevitable happened. By 1925 jazz was new popular music genre with everybody. It was often performed by blacks even in segregated white only crowds. Starting as only entertainers, black’s eventually got some radio time, one ‘All Negro Hour’ to be exact! In 1929 Jack Cooper hosted an ultimately successful show, playing race music and talking about things relevant to blacks. White owners of radios imitated this surprisingly successful experiment and starred to sponsor more of these black voices. Al Benson was a result of this, where he went on to have guest such as Muddy Waters in term spreading black in the media, helping them with exposure. A quote by L.D. Reddick seemed to suggest that these progressions created expectation. Seeing more blacks in the media caused an expectation for social injustices to be brought addressed by the media. The Pittsburgh Courier’s Robert L. Vann created a petition against Amos and Andy, gathering more than 700,000 signatures. Ambrose Caviler used radio shows such as ‘Americans All’ to show black culture and history in a positive light. These shows he created were very successful, being praised by the First Lady of the time. When laws were passed in the 1970’s causing the FCC to increase minority ownership, we witnessed previously white stations being sold to women and blacks at 25% discounts. This is when we see the emergence of truly black owned stations. I think all these steps were progressive to blacks in media, but which do you guys think was more important?

I think that these instances of Black-owned media finally being appreciated by white people was so important, because it forced them to realize the contributions were worth more than the white-controlled representations of Black Americans that had been dominating.

-Mady Baer

Who composed this post? ~ RR

It’s important to note that black personalities made a name for themselves in the radio “back in the day,” but I think this is also important today now that podcasts are well-used and serve as another similar media for black expression (e.g. the podcast we listened to in class a few weeks ago).

The Oppositional Gaze

Black women have always written little about black female spectatorship towards Hollywood. Most were aware of the cinematic racism and they never went to the movies expecting to see compelling representations of black femaleness. Screen images referred to black women as “bitches” or “nags” in the television show Amos ‘n’ Andy, which most black women resented the way that these images could assault black womanhood, the white representation of blackness were laughed at and at the same time being criticized by blacks. Those who enjoyed cinema had to forget critique, racism and even sexism, in the name of an ‘adoring black female gaze… that could bring pleasure in the midst of negation. For example, Miss Pauline, sitting in the dark must imagine herself transformed, turned in the white women portrayed on screen. After watching the movies, feeling the pleasure, she said, “But it made coming home hard.”

On the other hand most developed an oppositional gaze, encouraging black women not to accept stereotypical representations in film, but rather actively critique them. In addition to spectatorship, this article critiques Hollywood’s portrayal of black women and criticizes the lack of more substantial role opportunities. Black women assumed that white women were also aware of the role of white womanhood. Mulvey’s essay shows how white women had a particular problem in developing an oppositional gaze arising from their love of cinema whereas black women had already chosen not to be identifying with Hollywood films. This black oppositional gaze offers a critical space to replace the binary oppositions of Mulvey, and a new pleasure too –'the pleasure of resistance, of saying “no”: not to “unsophisticated” enjoyment… but to the structures of power which asks us to consume them uncritically’

At the beginning of the chapter they spoked upon how a “gaze” played a major part in blacks culture identity. Whites used “gaze” as a way to maintain power over African Americans. The attempt to repress black people rights to gaze has only produced an overwhelming longing to look. Through “looking at films with an oppositional gaze, Hooks asserts that those voices that are silenced can develop a realm in which critical judgments and assessments can be made. This condition does not punish gazing, but rather praises it as an essential element in being able to transform what is into what can and should be.

-Racquel Williams

It’s true that black actors are often compared to white actors, whereas white actors are rarely compared to one another.

The Oppositional Gaze

-Racquel Williams

I find it true the black women do critique and do not accept the stereotypes of us in films. I also agree with Hooks in that we chose not to identify with these stereotypes because they are dis-enabling.

It’s frustrating that many women (myself included) feel that the male gaze is not gone from any setting, whether a woman on the street, a doctor in the hospital, or a business professional.

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Andriescu Group 1 10sec Edits

The Black Press and Media Perhaps Saved Us All

The Black Press was not just of newspapers, radio podcasts and television networks. It was an ideology, a sense of pride and representation of hope for the black community. They were trying to break free from the stigmas, perpetuated images and discrimination through the usage of newspapers such as Freedom’s Journal, Chicago Defender and the Pittsburgh Courier. Little did I learn in my previous years of high school just how much influence and significance black journalists/writers had on the continuous fight against racism. Individuals such Abbott, Russwurm, Cornish, Bass, and Williams largely contributed to the evolution of the first mass media in African American culture. Eventually, different forms of media emerged (magazines, radio, television, movies) and as white culture persisted to construct and propagate negative images of black people, the black press/media acclimated to the media changes and continued to challenge those representations. Black operated magazines and or movies largely depicted black people as normal and progressive. I recall organizing my father’s work desk and seeing multiple editions of the magazine Black Enterprise. At the time, I did not think much of it and trashed a few booklets because I thought they were taking up space. To my surprise, he got angry at me as I thought to myself, all because I trashed a couple magazines? Here I am now, reading about the immeasurable significance of black press and black media such as this specific magazine plastered on page 108 of the Squires book. What the magazine accomplished was acknowledging the successes of fellow African Americans as well as providing advice, information, resources, and professional relations to African Americas for the purpose of building enterprises or businesses (which were growing fields in the 1970s). Another medium used in African American culture was film and movies. This field was very attractive to black individuals because of “the fame and fortune” aspect of it. Although, there were cases of that, this did not happen for many. Several black females were least likely to be casted due to their dark skin color. It did not help that there were scarcely any black people who owned or operated in film companies at the time and if so, not for long because they were bought out by white companies. This created tension in which light skinned actors/actresses such as Halle Berry were being casted more with better roles than their darker competitors. Thankfully, as time went on, individuals such as Haile Gerima, Charles Burnett, and Julie Dash incorporated more black men and women behind the scenes with the camera and as assistant directors to increase the number of experienced black workers in front and behind the camera. There became more notorious black films with a prevalence of black actors/actresses, and in general, a more black community involvement in media.

I can exceptionally say that I have learned a vast amount of the reasons why black press and media was largely important to the black community. It was their voice, their outlet, and their sword against a war of racism and ignorance.

- Frances Akwuole

Lesson learned: To never trash a Black Enterprise magazine…….

I’m happy that the Black Press is continuing today, but I wish that more white-owned media outlets would feature the same caliber of African Americans.

Weekend Update- Updated or Overplayed?

In Squires chapters 5-7 we learn that throughout the 1930s and the 1940s, prejudicial casting practices were used to send messages that reinforced racist ideology in films. Blaxploitation films began in the early 1970s; these action films starred black actors and focused on their adventures in the ghetto. Buddy films paired white and black main characters, and largely relied on racial differences to create a dynamic.

Much of the media depicting African Americans throughout the 20th century was created as the result of pressure from organizations and legal threats or an attempt to expand revenue. These films, and the media that came before them, had no intention to and largely failed to represent African Americans. Today there are new, cheaper ways of producing content and African American filmmakers are no longer limited to creating solely based off of audience appeal. Squires noted an interesting dichotomy. Although media being produced by black creators has been made more easily accessible as the result of Netflix and the Internet, many of these productions tend to rely on urban stereotypes and largely exclude black women.

I think it is important to recognize and discuss the types of films that were being produced, why they were being produced, and acknowledge that there are examples of these themes still in our media today. Let us take for example the buddy film, which often depicted a leading white male and his black male sidekick. The buddy dynamic still exists today; on the NBC television show Saturday Night Live. Co-hosts of the Weekend Update Michael Che (black) and Colin Jost (white) often rely on their racial differences for much of their material. I’ve linked to a few of their bits relating to race below.

Weekend Update Burger King: https://twitter.com/jdavhill/status/650529174562689024 Jost: “Oh sure, but when I turn black for Halloween I’m setting back race relations.” Che: “I begged you not to do that.”

Weekend Update What You Can Say http://www.hulu.com/watch/695308 Jost: I just feel like I can’t say anything, and you can say everything. Che: There’s things I can’t say, like, “Toodeloo,” or, “Skinny macchiato.” Or, “Thank you for your help, officer.”

Weekend Update Gun Control: http://www.hulu.com/watch/855653 Che: “Which, by the way, if I owned a dozen or so jacked Africans I’d probably want a dozen or so guns too.” *Camera cuts to Jost* Jost: “It’s not supposed to cut to me…” Che: “Oh it is, I told them to do that.”

The segment continues to reveal that while Jost assumes Che doesn’t have a gun, he slips in that he in fact does because he “owns a lot of sneakers”.

In your opinion, are the jokes in these bits problematic? Why were these types of films being produced then? Why are they being produced now? Is it troublesome that our media continues to rely on these themes, or is it just part of the trade?

Since African American creators now have more artistic freedom to produce media, has there been an increase in media that is representative? Is this media making its way into the mainstream?

Jess McDade

I feel like a lot of modern films STILL depict black lives in the ghettos, especially on BET or MTV, networks popular with young people.

randomafro

Beyonce, Formation

I slay!

What do you guys think about Beyoncé’s new video? People on Facebook are calling it the new black power anthem..Some say it’s images of Katrina are troubling and disrespectful..what say you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrCHz1gwzTo

link was broken

I love Beyonce and I love her music (she did a great job last night!), but I don’t like how many times the word “bitch” is used in this track. In my African American Families class last semester, our professor explained to us how the word “bitch” was used as a term for female slaves, as their primary purpose was to be used as producers of more slaves. I know she didn’t think about that, but I don’t think the word adds much extra to her song and therefore we could’ve done without it.

Squires Chapter 5

What really stuck out to me was the portion on William Foster, the Johnson Brothers and Oscar Micheaux, Micheaux in particular. I knew that there were Black actors and actresses but I never gave much thought to Black filmmakers only because I thought the conditions were so oppressive that it wouldn’t be possible (movies are expensive for white people to make, how could Black people afford it? Who would pay to see it, would it be enough to make a profit? etc.).

To know that these people were passionate about their craft, needed to have their art shown and to have all black casts perform their vision is inspiring to me and goes to show that it can be done and it has been done. Also how they chose to make their art critique and protest what was mainstream at the time especially when it could have literally cost them their life is very inspiring as well. Micheaux particularly pulled no punches and got into heavy issues such as class conflict within the Black community and the sexual abuse of Black women at the hands of white men (pg. 104).

It’s amazing to see actors of color in front of the screen but there is also a need for them to be behind it directing, producing, writing, etc. Especially with what is happening with the Oscars failing to nominate one person of color in a major role for a second year in the row, people who are offering criticism are met with suggestions to be patient or stop complaining and make our own movies. If we wait to be represented by white people, things like this happen:

People like to forget or worse, were never taught that there were, and to some degree still is a huge movement whose success depends on our oppression and that any attempt to change the status quo is quickly put down. If we are patient and wait for representation to come to us, as evidenced by the video above, we are subject to be there only to play a stereotypical role.

It is also easy for white actors to not understand the frustration when they have many complex roles to choose from and are even sometimes cast to play people of color (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/01/28/white-man-is-playing-michael-jackson-in-a-tv-movie-i-threw-up/)

Some things to consider maybe: Why was the Black press so important for the success of early Black filmmakers? What examples can you think of that show or have shown complex, rich, and layered content created by people of color?

Pyrmira El

The black press, at its start, was important because it was a way that black people trusted (as opposed to the bias white existing media) to get real-time awareness of what was happening in their communities.

Throughout the reading of Chapter 5, the primary focus was the significant amount of adversity that African Americans had to overcome with many of the films made in the 20th century. The major problem that many of these early films documented on was the “romantic version of the Old South and Slavery” that showed African Americans acting as if they enjoyed serving under their slave master. What really stood out to me when reading this Chapter and what was mentioned in the video in class today was the setting/background and turn out of the film, The Birth of a Nation (1915). I don’t even know where to start with this film because of how messed up it is on many levels especially the approval of President Woodrow Wilson of the film. This is literally the President of the United States that is approving this (I couldn’t believe this at all). It made no sense to me as to why this movie was produced because it only increased racial tensions, protests, violence and it only made the United States a less stable Country. Another topic that was very controversial in the chapter was the idea of scripts/shots that Black actors chose to participate that themselves and others felt weren’t necessarily reflected back to the African American Community in a good way vs. the rewards you get in the end such as money, cars, other luxuries, etc. To me, I feel that any actor of any race out in the film industry will have times where some of the scenes that they are in aren’t really what they want to be in and that some of their fans would think the same way also. However, there are times where it gets taken too far such as The Birth of a Nation depicting the Ku Klux Klan expressing violence towards Black Communities in the South. It just all comes down to if it’s worth all the benefits or not in the end and I feel that this type of issue can apply to any race. Outside of racial issues, their is plenty of stereotypes out there towards groups/individuals that are depicted in film such as religion, ethnicity, sexism and many more that some viewers can have questions for. I want to know how you guys feel about this topic whether you agree with me or not or other ideas that you wanted to add in.

-Daniel Scovotti

There’s an interesting film that HBO made called White Man’s Burden that depicts a white man in a society full of affluent African Americans. It was very controversial when it was released in the 90s.

founder of the Chicago Defender. @eca14 Maybe you could find out more about his wives. I am pretty sure they were also African American.

Sure. It was @gac40 who asked this question in class on Tuesday, but here’s what I’ve researched.

I found that one of his wives was Catherine Lucy Kerr (married in Quebec in 1899), but I can’t find her race. She might have been white, however, as Abbott has commented the following on interracial marriage:

According to Wikipedia, Abbott wrote, "Miscegenation began as soon as the African slaves were introduced into the colonial population and continues unabated to this day.... What's more, the opposition to intermarriage has heightened the interest and solidified the feelings of those who resent the injunction of racial distinction in their private and personal affairs.". Abbott felt that it was unconstitutional for laws to prevent “one’s personal choice in a mate” and that the “decision of two intelligent people to mutual love and self-sacrifice should not be a matter of public concern."

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This article talked about representation of material and non-material things with the use of language. It was really interesting to read because thinking about how people have such complex communicating skills is amazing. We are able to communicate things that are unseen and unheard. I am able to communicate with everyone that I am on the bus going to school and as you read that statement you know exactly what I mean and you are able to visualize me sitting on a bus. Our brains are able to break this statement down to who I am, what a bus is, and what school is. This is extremely amazing because you cannot see me, the bus, or the school but you know exactly what I mean when I say it. When you read that statement and other statements you are deciphering words that people have created to represent material and non-material things. This to me is amazing because being able to communicate complex feelings and thoughts is something that enables us to ultimately connect with other people. We have all had those deep conversations were two or more people explain their thoughts and feelings about nearly everything in life. These conversations make us feel connected to the person we are talking to and it makes us feel a connection with the world. So this feeling of being connected is something that is achieved by simple sounds and symbols that we have created in order to express complex feelings and thoughts. Have you ever been frustrated because there are things you want to say and thoughts that you want to express but just don’t know how? I think that this frustration is mainly because in our society we are able to explain and express nearly everything we think, feel, or see. So when we are finally at the point where we cannot express something it is hard for us to process that reality. Overall this article was really informative and really fun to read.

- Caitlin McIntyre

THANK You Caitlin, Please in the future include a title, maybe some links, or an image or multimedia. Carina and Aisha’s posts from las week were good examples. Please comment and reblog as yourself.

I would be interested in comparing perceptions of representation between societies. For example, how would someone in a society without buses approach the thinking of “a person on a bus?”