SumBlog 11

I found the film Solar Mamas we watched in class this week very interesting. This film definitely displayed some global inequality and touched on the modernization theory. I was very surprised at how little education the female women of Jordan get. This film made me feel so fortunate for everything I have and the ability for me as a female to get as much education I want. This video showed how little the individuals of the Jordan community had. Their houses consisted of tent like objects with very little owned inside each of them. Although I wasn’t surprised with the low quality housing I was surprised with the fact that those individuals (noticed especially with the father) had a cell phone. They seemed so far behind but yet were slightly advanced.

At first I was confused with the fact that only women were going to work with the solar power and become more educated. They were expected to leave their family for six months which didn’t seem accepted by members of the community. The husband made it clear that his wife was supposed to respect him, follow his rules and be the care taker of the family. However, it didn’t take long for those roles to change. The women were going off to become educated in order to bring back the knowledge to their community. It finally made sense that the women were the ones becoming educated because if it were the men there may be a chance of them not sticking to and continuing to apply what they learned. If the men became more knowledgeable they may take their knowledge elsewhere.

I was shocked at how modernized their work was. Although solar power has been around for a while it is still a more recent and upcoming phenomenon. It was surprising to see how Western practices were starting to be used. As I have previously mentioned, it was surprising to see how their houses were so not modernized but yet using advanced methods such as solar power in their homes. This just makes me wonder how many products are produced in poorer countries only to be used more frequently in wealthier countries.

 

As I was searching the internet I came across an interesting article (posted below).

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/amid-setbacks-the-solar-mamas-are-undeterred

This article was written in 2013 but discussed where the solar mamas are after the video was finished. It was unfortunate to see how the solar panels were installed in the village but there no longer was funding for the project.

SumBlog #10

In class today we briefly touched on the concept of racial profiling. However, that concept was discussed more in depth in our readings. I decided to write about this topic because it fits in with the topic of fear, which we discussed more in class today. Our readings for today discussed how minorities may be racially profiled against by authority such as police. We discussed how certain groups may be targets for no apparent reason. The reading discussed how Latino’s were targeted out in the streets by other citizens or by policemen. I found it very hard to believe how certain minority families don’t even let their children play alone outside. I was surprised by this because as we have also talked in class today I must have had “blinders” on. Since I am not a minority and don’t personally experience things such as racial profiling it almost appears as though racism doesn’t exist. I know it does but because I haven’t experienced racism it shocks me when I hear such things. I may only realize serious problems based on what is portrayed in the media and focusing on only one aspect (which again is like having blinders on).

I was born and raised in a city that doesn’t have a lot of racial diversity so when I was growing up I was able to play outside and looking back now took it for granted. I never witnessed a minority being racially profiled against either so it is hard for me to realize how much it may actually happen. As I have previously mentioned racism still does occur today because I hear stories and learn about it/situations almost daily. I found a video clip from a television series called “What would you do?”

 http://youtu.be/hhM7Gzlt3sU

 This clip shows how racial profiling still occurs in many cities. Minority individuals may not only be targeted by the policemen or other citizens but racial profiling can occur in so many other situations, such as the example of the store. I found it very hard to believe the amount of individuals who witnessed the experiment but didn’t say anything or intervene in the situation. Witnesses may not intervene because they may experience some fear. But can you imagine the amount of fear the individuals who are being racially profiled against have? It is sad to think that minorities can’t be themselves or partake in certain events without having fear. The color of your skin shouldn’t matter. No group should have to feel fear almost every day with any activity they partake in. They also shouldn’t feel as if they are constantly being targeted. That video clip helps to show how little other individuals may intervene in situations like that. However, after becoming aware of how many don’t help it makes me want to help next time I do experience a situation where racial profiling occurs.

SumBlog 9

In class on Wednesday we discussed many powerful topics. After discussing the song ‘Blurred Lines’ it made me think about other types of music videos and lyrics. It also made me realize how many songs are out there in which have such a negative message. One individual who has seem to be getting a lot of fame lately is Miley Cyrus. She was very involved in the song Blurred Lines when it was sang on the MTV Music Awards in 2013. In fact it may have been that song and performance that made her become so noticeable again.

http://youtu.be/6OpHVV1FMR8

I find it mind blowing to believe that Miley had a show that was aired on the Disney channel – Hannah Montana, which portrayed her as a positive role model. People/adolescence who were fans of that television looked up to her and that is how she started to get an audience. I understand the fact that people change as they get older but what I don’t understand is how someone can continue to act so risky when she knows she may have a younger audience. Her younger audience may still look up to her, idolize her and they may want to be just like her. It makes me wonder if songs and behaviors such as hers and other artists are causing younger children to have inappropriate behaviors.

It is very common now days to see and hear different types of music and videos on the internet, radio and television who may not edit as much as they used too. I have heard many very young children singing along with songs that may not even be appropriate for that age, even though they may not truly understand the meaning behind the lyrics. It may not take long for a child to hear a word that they may not know and ask others about it, possibly teaching the child the true meaning. Children might also believe it is okay to dress or partake in risky behaviors because songs encourage it. I know everyone is entitled to free speech however, I feel that there needs to be some type of improvement when it comes to lyrics and videos that can be easily accessed for younger children/adolescence. I believe that what children see and hear at a very young age does reflect on their behavior.

 

 

 

SumBlog 8

In class on Monday we played Sociopoly. This game helped show how serious and difficult it may be to be poor or even a minority. Each group started out with a different initial amount of money and were paid a different salary each time they passed go. That reflected how other minorities may make less money than Caucasians. It also showed that certain jobs pay less and maybe not even enough to get by. There were a couple of other teams who owned some properties before the game even started. Owning properties before the start of the game was a huge advantage because those individuals were able to collect rent/money within the first round of the game. There were five teams who played this game. There were two teams who had a good amount of money, two other teams who had some money and the last team had very little money. The team that had the least amount of money got eliminated from the game within the very first roll because they landed on some property that the richest team had and wasn’t able to afford the rent. This was very hard to see because it made me realize how difficult it may be to get anywhere with very little money. As the game went on the other four teams continued to play however, the other two teams who had less money didn’t buy hardly any properties. They simply did whatever they could to get around the board multiple times to collect their salary and avoid paying the richest teams. The top two teams continued to buy properties and collect rent from any team who landed on their spaces. This also showed me that the rich continue to get richer. I say that because the richest team bought most of the properties and houses/hotels. In buying the houses/hotels more money would be due if a team landed on that square and the richest team would continue to make more money. It was frustrating to see how the richest team continued to buy all the property and build houses/hotels on them until no other teams could afford to pay them. When the teams with the lower amount of money chose not to buy properties the bank would auction the properties off starting at $10. If no one bid on the property it was always the richest team who would buy the property for $10 and add more houses/hotels. It started to make me realize that the rich team was very greedy. Who would have guessed that playing a modified version of Monopoly would make me realize how difficult it may be to get by every day on the very little those individuals may have. It is one thing to read about the minority and lower socioeconomic status individuals in a book but it made it more clear when actually playing the game and putting it into perspective. Playing this game was very heartbreaking and made me even more thankful for everything I own.