IOC Practice

Below is the link to my practice IOC:

https://soundcloud.com/zaid-35/ioc-practice

My most meaningful takeaway

Today in class we had a group discussion about two different texts we read over the winter break; How to tame a wild tongue and Woman Warrior. After discussing the two different texts in groups, we were asked to identify what was our most meaningful takeaway from this activity.
For me, there was a quote that really stuck with me, and that was from the first story which was 'How to tame a wild tongue.' The quote was in the fourth paragraph: "Who is to say that robbing people of its language is less violent than war?"
I completely agree with this quote since it states that robbing someone of their language isn't just a normal crime, but they compare it with war which tells us that its a much bigger issue. The message of the quote is to basically let us know that when you take away someones language, you are also stripping them from their culture and identity as well. Once the person is stripped from his language he then has no power.
My most meaningful takeaway from the story and text 'Woman warrior' was how the Chinese girls were really quiet and unable to communicate enough when they were forced and placed in American schools; they only spoke when they were really required to by their teachers. But then, when they were placed back into the Chinese system and schools, they were different people, and were able to communicate more with their peers and teachers. This relates back to the topic of language and power and how mother tongue and language can really affect power.

Paper 1 commentary: Text 2

This text is an article which is on the internet and was written by Oxfam International, raising awareness, and trying to spread the message about the food crisis countries in the West and Africa may face. The article includes different ways Oxfam International is trying to solve the issue and get this message out to as many people as possible so they are aware. The article tries showing how Oxfam is dealing with the issue.

There is no specific target audience aimed at from this article in my opinion, but could be aimed at rich people and it could be something that they might consider helping out in such an issue, as it won't be difficult for them; or even people that have had recent experiences or knowledge about the issue. The purpose of the article is to let Oxfam send out the message and show the actions and steps that they are taking, and try convincing anyone to help out by any means possible as much as they can. They also might be trying to convince people to donate to such an issue and help out, since they do accept donations.

A sad tone and mood is used through the whole article which of course is also a way to persuade since you use emotion. They give you some sad statistics showing what people in the Sahel region will face if the problem is not resolved very soon. The structure of the text also emphasizes on the sad tone as the first paragraph of the article starts off with some negative numbers and statistics about the case, then later introduces the problem, and finally gives some hope on solutions.

This article clearly uses Ethos, Pathos, and Logos throughout the text. Ethos is used since we know that this article is written by a trustworthy organization named Oxfam. Pathos is also used constantly throughout the article as it plays with our emotions. They try convincing us to donate and help by making us feel bad and even making us fear the worst. Logos is used in the beginning as they throw some saddening statistics out that show us what might happen if people don't take action soon.

Finally, the Sahel region is under risk and facing a huge disaster if no action is taken, and twelve million people could be dead once again like in 2005, and 2008.

Pop Culture blog post

Meghan Trainor is an American singer, songwriter, and producer. Her career began in 2010 and is still ongoing. She became famous after her performance in 2014 debut single "all about that bass" which topped the US hot billboard 100 for eight consecutive weeks; and other countries such as Canada, Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. In this blog post I will be critically analyzing the implicit message and meaning of the music video of the song "all about that bass".

The main idea of the music video is to show the viewer that it doesn't matter if you are fat, and should not be ashamed of your body. We know that since we can see that in the video there is a fat looking, confident man dancing all the time, showing that he doesn't care about his body and what people think of it at all. A symbol of that in the music video is that all of the dancers and characters are fat to try and convince people that you shouldn't be ashamed of your body. Here is some lyrics in the song that goes back to my point that they shouldn't care what people think about their body: "My mama told me don't worry about your size, she says boys like a little more booty to hold at night".

The main message of the video is showing the viewers that nowadays, fat people are not accepted in society and made fun of all the time, by most people in society. It shows us in the music video that the skinny lady is looking over like she doesn't accept the fact that they are gat, but they just ignore and continue dancing. 

All about that bass is a song to promote the idea of body positivity and that your beautiful no matter matter your size or shape. The song is trying to show fat people not to be affected by those people in society that do not want to accept you and always judge you all the time. It's also trying to show those people that judge, to accept those people in society.

FOA Reflection

My partner and I completed our first further oral activity around the topic of stereotypes and racism targeting african american people in advertisements; and the main question: "What does advertising reveal to us about society". We presented a bunch of advertisements we felt was related to the topic and included strong examples of racism. I chose five different advertisements from different companies, and they were all around mid to late 1900's. I had a basic structure to help me analyze my advertisements efficiently. Purpose, Intended audience, Language/slogans used. I really felt that my work was well structured and organized which led to a decent presentation. Once i had completed with my presentation I started to realize the parts I could've and should've improved on more. I thought that I should have memorized my script better, which will of course have led to a much better presentation, and also not needing to hold up my script while presenting. I really think that my first FOA was a good one, but could definently be improved for next time, and all it takes is time organization and hard work. I learnt a lot from this FOA and i concluded my presentation by answering the main question by basically stating that racism and stereotyping is less nowadays and has improved from before for example 50 years ago, and most people do not accept it.

Should wearing school uniforms be a requirement for students?

YES:

Many teachers believe that students who wear uniforms perform better academically in school, and have high grades. A study done in 1998 shows that students with uniforms usually have a higher academic achievements than those who don't; this is because students who are free to dress casually are distracted, and focused more on the wardrobe rather than their studies.
Some experts believe that school uniforms improve the social outcomes in a school environment. Children are often made fun of, and bullied by other children in school because of the way they dress and what they dress. Many school children use clothing to express, and define themselves.
The use of school uniforms is more affordable for families because there is not as much pressure to buy expensive and luxurious clothing for their children. School uniforms are made to last, and are also made to be washed frequently. Once the uniform is bought, there is no need to spend lots of money on other clothing.

NO:

Many teachers and experts argue that the requirement for students to dress in uniforms stifles their self expression. Self expression is an extremely important aspect in any child's development, and uniforms can stop that from happening.
There are also some arguments that different types of clothing are more comfortable for some people. Many children and teenagers are more comfortable to a specific type of clothing than others. Children obviously need to be/feel comfortable in order maximize learning, and this could bring the most out of the students.
Self expression and self identification as a teenager helps prepare them make their transition into an adult. By forcing the school students to wear uniforms, this limits their ability to express in this manner, which may possibly delay that transition into adulthood.

WT1 Draft

Rationale

My written task one will be completed in the form of an interview. The interview will be with a great and famous hip-hop artist named Shawn Corey Carter; known as (Jay Z). Jay Z speaks about previous experiences and adversities he faced in his life growing up in an extremely violent and poor African American community and family; He uses African American Vernacular English (AAVE) to express that in his music. I decided to base my written task on an interview since I had previous experiences completing this text type, and was looking forward to enhancing that previous interview even more. I also thought that an interview would be a good way to throw some questions at Jay Z, about his personal life and how he relates back to it in the lyrics of his music, and also about the use of language in his music. The intended audience is the poor people of the African American community he grew up with in order to gain motivation and encouragement from his music. I chose them to be my intended audience because I wanted them to see how Jay Z feels about the way he grew up in his violent community, and to get some advice from him. Another intended audience may be people that have a great interest in hip-hop/rap music since they can understand Jay Z’s meaning and message he is trying to send out in his music.

Written Task 1: Jay Z interview

With over 75 million records sold globally, and 19 Grammy Awards for his songs, Shawn Corey Carter or known as Jay Z, has surely secured his place as one of the best rappers we have ever seen. Below is an interview with Jay Z about his personal life, music, and language.

Interviewer: Hello and welcome to our show, it’s a pleasure to have you here with us today!

Jay Z: Thank you, it’s my pleasure to be here today

Interviewer: Great, I’ll start by asking you how your career began? And what made you so famous and the person you are today?

Jay Z: Well, I started rapping when I was at a very young age, because I enjoyed it and considered it to be a hobby to myself, and also to express my feelings and escape from the poverty I lived with, and the violence that surrounded my community. I kept on performing and writing raps when I could, and eventually by time this is where I reached. I never thought in my entire lifetime that I would get to where I am today; and what can I say? it's a dream come true.

Interviewer: I believe much of your music touch on past experiences and adversities in your life. Am I right on that?

Jay Z: Yes, that’s absolutely correct

Interviewer Why is that? And can you share some examples of that?

Jay Z: Yes, Definitely. I'm sure you can tell that most of the songs I write are about past experiences I have faced in my life. I used music to express and share my adversities and struggles that I have faced during my personal life. For example one of my rap songs speaks about the unfortunate death of my nephew; as he passed away in a car accident using the car I gave him as a present. I don't know why, but I really feel guilty for this so I wrote a song to express the extreme pain I was and still am going through at the moment. Another example would be my other rap song, which tells the story of the cruel life of my father and uncle. In this song, I express to the audience the poverty I lived with when I was a child, and the violence that surrounded the place I lived in, including my family who continuously used drugs. I eventually got into using drugs, and this really affected our entire family and the relationship between my father and myself. My father later on decided to leave our family, which really affected me in a negative way. So yeah, many and most of my songs talk about past experiences in my life; mainly adversities faced.

Interviewer: What is one moral you have always lived by?

Jay Z: I have always believed that if you want to aim high and achieve your goals and success, hard work is required. I mean, I obviously wouldn't be in this position right now if it wasn't with all my hard work and commitment to what I'm doing. If you have a clear objective and work hard, then anything is possible.

Interviewer: When you make your music, what do you think of? Who do you think of? And what motivates you to write your music?

Well, when I write my music I think of my family, and the poor, and my fans. I think of the poor back in my hometown since that was who I once was. I urge all my fans back home not to commit to the same mistakes I made back those day like getting into drugs and violence. I particularly think of my father whom I extremely miss after he left our family as I said. Those people definitely motivate and encourage me to continue doing what I do best.

Interviewer: Do you think that your music impacts your audience and the society? If so, how?

Jay Z: Yes, I do believe that my music does impact my audience in different ways such as the use of rhyme when writing my songs. The use of rhyme allows the audience to engage more with the song they’re listening to, which also helps them understand what I’m writing about. I also use the language I grew up with and the language used in my culture, which is African American Vernacular English, in order to attract the Black audience. In my lyrics I also talk about how hard work leads to success.

Interviewer: What is your opinion on African American Vernacular English?

As I said, it is the language I learnt and grew up with. I use it in my music to define who I am, and what culture I come from, and to attract all the Black audience and friends back home. I also believe that this is the perfect language used for rap.

 Interviewer: What would be some advice you can give to the younger rappers?

Jay Z: Well I mentioned it before, and I’ll mention it again, hard work is a must if you want to be successful at not only rapping, but also anything in life. I would also convince you kids to not be shy to express your experiences and feelings in your songs. Also, never let the haters negatively affect you because there is always those people out there will judge you. Good luck to all of you, and I'm sure with a bit of hard work all of you will be successful!

Interviewer: That brings us to the end of this interview; do you have any final words? For the fans perhaps?

Jay Z: A shout out to all my fans around the world, love you all. Thank you, it was a pleasure being here, I really enjoyed it.