Finishing Up

1. Self-Evaluation

This semester helped me learn a lot about not only writing, but also myself as a writer. I came into this course thinking of myself as an average writer, with nothing special about my writing capabilities. I quickly learned that I was pretty good writer through the grades that I earned on my first few papers. In the past, I was taught that it was not proper to use personal pronouns and contractions in formal works. This semester, I was taught that the style of the paper all depends on who your audience is. You don't have to use big words in every piece. If your audience is your best friend, then the paper doesn't have to be formal at all. These things will help me become an even better writer as I continue to work on my skills. From this course, I also learned a lot about my school and what goes on here. If I had not taken this class, I most likely would not have attended any art or cultural events. I would have been missing out on a huge part of this wonderful university. These events showed me that I actually enjoyed the arts, contradicting what I previously believed. If it were not for this course, I would have ignored all the cultural events that are offered here at Penn State, not only the ones this year, but also the ones to come in the future. 

2. Blog Response Round-Up

- http://thebigpengtheory.blogspot.com/2012/02/hi-anyone-who-happens-to-stumble-onto.html#comment-form

- http://meeten3.blogspot.com/2012/02/for-first-time.html#comment-form

- http://voiceoflaurenrhoden.blogspot.com/2012/04/fairy-tale-new-years-eve.html#comment-form

3. SRTE Evaluations

- I completed my SRTEs!

Cultural Event #2: Essence of Joy

On April 15, a 20th anniversary concert was held by the Essence of Joy at the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center. Essence of Joy is a choir focusing on African and African American traditions. I would not have known of this event if it wasn't for my friend from high school. She is a part of this choir and invited me to go see them perform. I thought that I would go to support her, but I'd go with another friend in order to not be completely bored. I have never been to a choir concert like this before, other than mine from back in elementary school, so I didn't really know what to expect, other than boredom.

Did this event live up to my expectations? Well I expected boredom, so no, it did not live up to my expectations at all. This concert was so much fun. With each song that they sung, the choir was really getting into the music. Just from watching the students in the choir, I could tell how much fun they were having through the smiles on their faces and the enthusiasm that was radiating off of them. Not only was the choir having fun, the audience was too. In each song, the audience would be clapping their hands to the beat, showing how catchy the songs were.

My favorite part about this event was when they sang "I Smile!" This song was an upbeat song that involved a lot of action in the choir. During the chorus, the left side of the choir and the right side would both face each other and take turns singing "you look so much better when you smile." For the last line of the chorus, both sides would face the audience and tell us and we look so much better when we smile. This song couldn't help but make me smile because you could tell that the choir was having so much fun while singing.

Going into this experience, I expected to leave during intermission because I would be bored. I couldn't have been any more wrong. This was a great experience and I would love to attend another one of these in the future. I highly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity!

"May the odds be ever in your favor"

Who says murder is against the law? Obviously not the Capitol in the newest hit movie, “The Hunger Games”. This movie was based off of the first book in a series of three by Suzanne Collins. These books take place in the future, in a place called Panem, modern day North America. This story line captures the emotions of viewers as they watch 24 innocent children forced to fight to the death. But this movie has much more to it than just blood and gore. A love story begins to unfold as the games are about to begin, but is it real? Or is it just an act to help these two “lovebirds” win? You be the judge.

Like most movies that derive from books, there is a ton of pressure on the producer in order to make the film as accurate as possible. If too many details are changed, the fans may not enjoy the movie, giving it a bad review. This movie, however, was extremely similar to the novel, as cuts were only made in order to squeeze this detailed story into a movie less than two and a half hours. Only a few alterations were made, including the death of one tribute and the exclusion of a character. These are both minor details that don’t make much difference, and are changed in order to avoid lengthy background stories. And let’s be honest, no one likes lengthy background stories.

The novel that this film was inspired by was written in first person, through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen, a young 16-year-old who bravely volunteered herself into the games, in order to save her younger sister. Since Katniss has no communication with anyone outside of the games, giving the producer some room to be creative. While the games are in progress, the producer decides to show the reactions of the citizens, which are unknown in the book. The producer also creates a character named, Seneca Crane, who was only referred to as the “Gamemaker” in the novel. This creation of a character and the omniscient point of view both add to the effectiveness of the film.

“The Hunger Games” has action, romance, and even a few good laughs. If you ask me, I’d say, “Let the seventy-fourth Hunger Games begin! And may the odds be ever in your favor!”

Art Event #1: Mary E. Rolling Reading Series

I never considered poetry to be one of my interests. I always viewed it as boring and, for lack of a better word... "girly." These opinions were developed through common stereotypes about poetry, which were communicated to me through friends, and also portrayed through some television shows. I guess you could say that I never really gave it a chance. I just believed everything I heard. When I learned about poetry in school, I just went through the motions and did what I had to do. I didn't look for a deeper meaning in the poems, and I never really learned what it was all about. Whenever I thought of poetry, I thought of a few lines, each ending with rhyming words. 

This poetry reading opened my eyes to the truth about poetry. I didn't really know what to expect as Nicole Cooley and Julia Spicher Kasdorf were introduced and approached the podium. All it took was one poem in order for me to realize that I couldn't have been any more wrong. These poems didn't contain rhyming words, but they told stories. They told stories that were described vividly enough to make me feel as if I was there when it was happening. Some poems contained humor, stating "your milkshakes bring all the boys," talking about a diner. Some poems used dialogue along with imagery to help the listener picture what is happening. All of these aspects were present in each poem, but the topics varied. They varied from stories about childhood, stories about a particular place, or even stories about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

This event helped me understand the truth about poetry. It allowed me to see the meaning behind it, the reasons that it is written, and helped me understand that pretty much all of the stereotypes about it are false. I was very pleased with this experience, and I would definitely be interested in attending another one of these events, along with other art events that I usually tend to avoid.

First the Worst; Second the Best

A few days ago, I listened to a podcast recorded in 2009 about Penn State University being the "#1 Party School." The podcast was about two interviewers that visited Happy Valley on a typical football weekend. They interviewed a number of different people, including drunk students downtown, downtown homeowners, student and family tailgaters, and even a bartender. As I listened to these interviews, different feelings emerged at different points.

At first, I was mad at the first group of students being interviewed. I thought they were acting extremely idiotic because not only did they pull out a stop sign, but they were proud about it and bragged to the interviewers. As I went on listening to the stories about other students, it made me wonder whether these are the only students they are seeing, or if they are only reporting the extreme cases. Yeah, I'm sure there are some students that pee in public, vandalize public property, and break into houses due to their drunken state of mind, but that doesn't mean that this was happening to every student that they saw. These reports led me to believe that the interviewers only included the extreme stories in order to persuade the audience that Penn State is a terrible place. These stories about vandalizing public and private property make both ethos and pathos due to their lack of "doing the right thing" and helping homeowners relate to those in State College.

A lot of the stories told on this show seemed very familiar to me. A lot of them were accurate of Penn Staters, such as singing "Sweet Caroline" on the CATA Buses and the joyful tailgaters. Although I have never seen anybody urinate in public, light furniture on fire, or remove stop signs, I would not be surprised to hear of it. I just don't think that they are as common as they are made to seem. And these aren't occurrences that only happen at Penn State. Multiple times throughout the podcast, the one female interviewer stated that she was like this in college or even thought the same way as some of these students. This shows that Penn State is not the only school that is like this. These same occurrences happen at other universities across the country, but all the attention is focussed on Penn State because its own students voted it to be the "#1 Party School."

Personally, when I look at the party scene at Penn State, I don't believe that it is out of control. I think that Penn State is just like any other college. College students just want to have fun. Sure, they may do stupid things when they are having fun, but that's not only Penn State students. I believe that this report was accurate, but it did not compare Penn State to any other schools, which makes the report biased, in my opinion. In my opinion, Penn State should be defined by loyalty, unity, and devotion to the institution, rather than by its parties. I love Penn State, and the opinion of an outsider will not change my attitude toward the great institution.

Where to Draw the Line

When I think of art, the first things that pops into my mind are paintings, drawings, and sculptures. I don't know why this is what I first think of, but I guess I just naturally associate these things with "art."In reality, the subject of art is much more broad than these few things. Music is art. Dancing is art. Fashion is art. Even buildings and furniture are art. Realizing the artistic features in all of these things helps me figure out what I believe needs to be present in order for something to be considered art. Art can be anything, from fabric to paint to a ball of clay. The one element that is needed in every single piece of art.................. is CREATIVITY. If there is no creativity, then everything would be boring and show nothing. With creativity, emotions are expressed and meaning can be depicted in every piece of art. Art is used by people in order to express themselves, and without creativity, it is hard to show how you are truly feeling.

One piece of art that really catches my eye might not be considered art to most people. When I first saw this piece, I wasn't sure what to think because I've never seen anything like it before. The piece that I'm talking about is Boise State's football field. Most would say that a football field isn't art, but this field isn't like the others. Instead of having the traditional green field with white lines, Boise State uses a royal blue as the color of their field and a bright orange for both of their end zones. This field is a piece of art, in my mind, because it is not like the others. It stands out. It's creative. This field intrigues me mainly because of its creativity, and because the fact that others may not even consider it to be a piece of art.

Eye-Catching

This oil painting was created by Benny Andrews and titled "Cotton Choppers" in 1965. This painting is centered around an African-American man standing, with poor posture, surrounded by a dirt field with scattered spots of vegetation. The man is wearing jean overalls and a dirty white t-shirt, holding a hoe in his left hand. Also in the field are two other workers and a lonesome tree that seems to be struggling to live. The dirt field stretches to the horizon, where it meets the light blue sky.

This piece was created in 1965, which was a few years after the abolition of segregation. Benny Andrews, born in 1930, experienced this fight for equality first hand. Although slavery was outlawed for awhile, African-Americans were still treated unfairly by being forced to use different bathrooms, water fountains, restaurants, and public transportation. In his pieces, he often uses memories from his childhood in order for them to leave a lasting imprint. Living through this time period definitely gives Andrews credibility in this field.

This piece has a very depressing feel to it despite its use of multiple bright colors in the scenery. These bright colors cause the shadowy workers to stick out to the observer, helping them feel the physical and emotional pain being felt by the workers. This pain and suffering is also shown through the poor posture of the man wearing overalls. This shows that he is fatigued to the point that standing is starting to become a chore. The woman to the right of him is facing us, holding either her hand or her wrist, allowing us to believe that either her hands hurt from all of her work or she has suffered from an injury. This is also reiterating the idea of pain and suffering in the piece. Along with their pain and suffering, the workers are lacking energy and seem to be lifeless. In the painting, the lack of life and energy is not only shown through the workers, but also through the scenery. The arid ground fails to show many signs of life here, but it also shows the extent of the work for these people. The ground stretches to the edge of the horizon, seeming to never end. This illustrates the immense workload given to these workers and reveals a sense of hopelessness. The vegetation sprouting from the arid ground is quite scarce. Other than the thin rows of cotton plants, the only other vegetation present is the skinny, bare tree standing in the background. This lack of vegetation refers to the lack of life and energy in the workers. Overall, this depressing piece shows the struggles and feelings associated with slavery, and illustrates why this horrible past has been put to an end.

I believe that this piece is illustrating all of the pain and misery felt by the African-American slaves prior to and during the civil war. His use of imagery strongly shows this claim and persuades the observer into thinking this way about the topic.

This was my first time in the Palmer Museum of Art. To be honest, I expected to walk in, find a piece that I could write about, and then walk right back out. The first gallery did not really interest me at all, so I continued in order to find a piece that interested me. After being in the gallery upstairs for a little, I finally was able to analyze each painting, looking deeper than the surface. I was no longer in a rush to leave anymore. The artwork had drawn me in. I was never one to be interested in art museums or any other related activities, but this visit had changed my opinion. I can definitely imagine myself going back again.