I tried to escape from a house to find a home. I kept looking over my shoulder the paranoia was getting to me, suddenly I heard a voice.

“Did you think you could hide forever?” I didn’t but it was worth was a shot.

“I’m your dad and you have to listen to what I tell ya. That’s the way it is. I don’t want you to be a loser like you loser mom’s side of the family. You’re a Jones not a Williams,” The same speech I heard dozens of times before. Of all the places he could be, he was here and found me, just my luck. I do the other thing I’ve ever done my whole life, run. I run because I refuse to be controlled. I refuse to allow someone to be antagonized their whole and put up with it, only to have their abuser wear the victim’s mask. I refuse to allow someone to lie about their former spouse having affair in order to manipulate their family. I refuse to be a Jones.

“Get back here!” he yelled when about ten feet back when I initially bursted into sprint. There’s no turning back. I ran until I didn’t see him anymore, and I kept running after that. I could never be sure I wasn’t just running away from family mistreatment anymore. I was running from the slight part of me that resembles him. I’m running from the man I’m afraid I’ll become. I’m running from the future I fear more than anything. I’m running from a man that’s been running from himself.

“You thought you could outrun me?” He came out of nowhere The anger in his face was enough to start a war itself. He cocked his arm all the way back and right before I’m hit that’s when I awake.

This reoccurring nightmare happened again. Even when he can’t control me I allowed myself to be scarred by him. Although this moment happened years ago I’m only able to remember it on a good day and on a bad day I relive it.

Brendan Hall

English 3

April 23, 2018

The Loneliness of Fame

A common principle displayed in American popular culture is admiration for entertainers. Actors and musicians are usually the most familiar faces seen promoted to consumers and the general public within the United States of America. Aside from the artwork these individuals produce there is also an underlining about the social status they claim. The majority of these celebrities have fans that assume that their life is perfect due to the popularity they have among ordinary people. However, if one were to look further than the surface, they would realize that a lifestyle as such can be dangerous. This is due to the fact that they are expected to be perfect at all times. When a person at a power positional makes a mistake it often haunts them for their entire lives and taints their careers. This further illustrates how entertainers are held to unrealistic standards of expressing emotion due to their profession.

A well known misconception about people in these powerful positions is that once they become powerful their problems disappear. While increasing financial stability can be a major benefit, they are still capable of frequent human emotions such as sadness and loneliness. The material benefits can often be hazardous because they can attract fake friends who take advantage of them and exploit them for wealth. Aside from this it can also create a materialistic mentality where their happiness is dependent on buying expensive things. It becomes a lifestyle where their own self worth is determined based upon what they can afford to buy. A specific example of an entertainer mentioned his troubles with materialism is musician, Tyler, The Creator. A major theme of Tyler’s 2017 album, “Flower Boy” deals with the reality that a life full of luxury was meaningless to him because he still felt a disconnect from his peers. In his own words he stated, “Full tank of the gas but that don’t mean nothing, nothing, without you shotgunning the passenger. I’m the loneliest man alive, but I keep on dancing to throw ‘em off.” What this essentially implies is that having remarkable tangible items is worthless if there is no one to admire them with him. Predicaments such as these prove that mental and emotional fragility happen just as frequently with entertainers, despite the social status and financial excess. In that song Tyler also shows that celebrities faking happiness since it is implied that their life is great by the general public. This is what he was referring to when he mentioned being lonely, but still forcing himself to have a good time because every famous person is imagined as having a perfect. When in reality, Tyler’s status made him have a detachment to those around him due his uncertainty of whether people appreciate his personality, or his popularity.   

Another destructive assumption about famous people is that their extraordinary talent results in extraordinary mental stability. There are few examples of this, but the most notable examples are from Kurt Cobain and Kanye West. Both have been acclaimed for their creative visions and revolutionary minds in music. However, the media and general public seemed to turn their back on the problems these men faced. West had traumatic experiences prior and after becoming a full time rapper. His first traumatic experience was from a nearly fatal car accident that resulted in him being on life support and getting his jaw wired shut. The aftermath of this was  a more ‘on edge’ version of Kanye West due to the stress of that situation. Several years later he confronted an emotional tragedy after his mother passed, to which West blamed the death of his mother on himself by saying, "If I had never moved to L.A. she'd be alive,". Despite this, most of the focus on Kanye West is about his impulsive award show comments, instead of the problems that led to his irrational behavior. Similar things can be said about Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain. In just 27 years he helped push grunge rock into the mainstream while also having personal lyrics in the songs. Although he became a superstar in his 20s he was still not able to escape the pain of his personal demons. A large portion of this had to due with the shallowness of the media that only cared about his talents and not about his emotions. Cobain had a troubled life where he was mostly an outcast by his peers and family. After accomplishing stardom, the emptiness within him caused the tragic death of him taking his own life further proving how stardom can damage a person even more than living an average life.

While fame may seem attractive to average people, they must also understand that position is not for everybody. The stigma of stardom resulting in a perfect life emotionally is naive and has been proven false on several different occasions. It takes a massive amount of bravery for someone to put their lives on display, which can result in vulnerability and resentment just from one mistake. Many people do not know any famous individuals, but usually have opinionated thoughts about them. Unfortunately, it is routine for one to hold entertainers to the same standards as a god when they are just as capable of making mistakes as anyone else.

Why this was my best 2fer possible:

This is my best 2fer possible because I followed the basic guidelines such as: MLA formatting, having 2 pages at 700 words, and no 1st or 2nd person pronouns. This time I included I conclusion paragraph which I sometimes don’t do if I’m already past the minimum word count. However this time I wanted to include a conclusion to make the paper feel more complete. I was also working on not repeating phrases so much because it would make the paper boring. For instance, in the last paragraph I had already said people a few times so I decided to say “one” in order to switch it up.  

Work cited:

“Tyler, The Creator (Ft. Frank Ocean & Steve Lacy) – 911 / Mr. Lonely.” Genius, 30 June 2017, genius.com/Tyler-the-creator-911-mr-lonely-lyrics.   

Social Relationship Status: What “Superbad” and “Taming of The Shrew” tell us about clout chasing

“The Taming of the Shrew” is a Shakespeare written play that depicts a harsh reality of marriages at that time period. It mainly revolves around the marriage between Katherine and Petruchio. They are forced into a marriage where Katherine is expected to be controlled by Petruchio because she is a woman. It can be implied that Petruchio enjoys marriage for the control more than for the love between a man and a woman. The 2007 film Superbad has a similar take on sexual intercourse within the movie. This film mostly revolves around Seth and Evan who are trying to lose their virginity before they finish high school. However, the main reason for Seth’s sexual desires is due to the fact he wants a higher social status.Both “The Taming of the Shrew” and Superbad present worlds   where individuals pursue both sexual experiences and relationships as a way to improve their social status and become more popular.

“Superbad” and “The Taming of the Shrew” both reflect how relationships, specifically romantic ones, can be used for superficial personal satisfaction. In The Taming of the Shrew every male character in the play does not consider women’s thoughts and feelings towards marriage. Those men had an expectation for women to follow all of their orders and marry whoever was assigned to them no matter the cost. Occasionally men from this book would use marriage as a way to show a luxurious lifestyle, or boost their social status. It allowed men of that time period to appear successful towards other men.

Petruchio: “To me she’s married not unto my clothes Could I repair what she will wear in me, As I can change these poor accoutrements.”

(Act 3 Sc. 2 119-121)

This quote “The Taming of the Shrew” when Petruchio dressed in a ridiculous outfit at his wedding with Katherine. Petruchio did this to make a point about how Katherine would marry him no matter what he did in order to boost his own ego. That action also models how Petruchio lacks empathy towards Katherine because he did not restrain from embarrassing her to make himself appear in full control. The movie “Superbad” puts a similar emphasis into sexual intercourse and dating that “The Taming of the Shrew” put into marriage.

“Are you insane?! Look at Jules's dating record, she dated Dan Remmeck who's had a six pack since like kindergarten. Jason Stone who looks like Zack Morris, and Matt Muer he's the sweetest guy! Have you ever stared into his eyes? It was like the first time I heard the Beatles.”

-Seth

One of the main characters Seth implied in the beginning stages that he felt worthless due to the fact that he is a virgin and less sexually desirable to women than his peers. His best friend Evan tried to cheer him up by bringing up his crush Jules and saying that Seth had a chance to get in a relationship with her. At first Seth was discouraged because he noticed how many men Jules dated prior were much more physically and emotionally appealing. However, later in the movie he gets invited to a party by Jules which makes him believe that she has mutual feelings for him. Despite this opportunity Seth only had sex on his mind instead of trying to get in a relationship with Jules. This is similar to the way marriage was viewed in “The Taming of the Shrew”. Instead of being a gesture made by love it was one indulged with selfish intentions to fulfill one’s ego. Seth’s main reason for wanting to have sex with his crush Jules was because he wanted to feel an accomplishment from a task. He initially preferred this over any type of emotional connection and initially only saw her as an opportunity to boost his social status.

Despite the similarities between The Taming of the Shrew and Superbad there are certain drastic differences. The most crucial difference is the overall presence of men in each story. In The Taming of the Shrew just about every male character has the same views towards women as Petruchio Their philosophy was that women should always sacrifice themselves to men, especially in marriage.

“Hortensio: Yea, and to marry her, if her dowry please.”

(Act 1. Sc. 2 186)

This quote shows how women were auctioned off for marriage and treated as a product to men. The lack of remorse for their situation displays how embedded this mentality was within their time period and reflects of most men from that era.

However, in Superbad there are characters to balance out Seth’s lust driven mentality. The most notable character with a different view from Seth was his best friend, Evan. Throughout the film Evan is also pursuing a romantic encounter with a girl named Becca. He has a different mentality towards Seth because he is open towards having sexual intercourse, but he does not let it become his main focus. His main focus was trying to connect to her as a person in order to eventually have a successful relationship with her. At one point in the movie Evan refuses to have sex with Becca because he did not want to take advantage of her while she was intoxicated. This action is gigantically unlike the men from The Taming of the Shrew, as they would often force sex upon their wives and other women throughout the play. Finally, the last way Superbad and The Taming of the Shrew and Superbad differ is because of the character growth, or lack thereof.

At the end of Superbad Seth runs into Jules at a mall after failing to hook up with her at party the previous night. Instead of continuing his immature tendencies he decided to grow as a person and admit his mistakes. Seth apologized to Jules for being shallow towards her and he offered to buy her makeup to cover the black eye he had caused from the party. That moment implied that Seth began to realize there is more to romantic relationship than sex and status symbols. In The Taming of the Shrew Petruchio did not become a less abusive person than the reader was first introduced to in the play. Petruchio remained the twisted person he was from start to finish.

Work cited:

Rogen, Seth, and Evan Goldberg. “Superbad” . Performance by Jonah Hill, and Michael Cera, 2007.

Shakespeare, William. “The Taming of the Shrew”. Dover Publications , 1770.

Brendan Hall

Air Stream

English 3

 November 2, 2017

What’s right or wrong in this world?

Morality means choosing the correction actions. However, when fully delving into the concept ethical behavior many will come to find out that virtue seeking typically leads into more questions than answers. How does the surrounding world impacts moral decisions? This is an essential question due to how moral standards have changed over time. Morality is also heavily based on people’s intentions. Since this is the case, how will the world ever discover an objective measurement to such a subjective based topic? How do people assure that their teachings are accurate and equal to every person? The answer to these questions are that there is no measurement for an answer to exist. Since Morality cannot be objectively measured, moral standards are simply a reflection on what their time period allowed them to do and has not fully evolved.

The idea of morality can best be summarized by socrates, “A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in it and nothing true.” Human history proves this quote to be accurate because morality has changed but never been able to be completely objective in practice. An example of this is the Aztec Empire during the 13th Century. A common ritual practiced by the Aztec Empire was human sacrifice, and some of the rituals of human sacrifice were turned into meals. If one were to fast forward into the 21st Century in the United States they would most likely find the vast majority being against human beings being killed and eaten. . However, many influential restaurants in the United States glorify meat products. It is conceivable to assume that the consumers of these meat products are against human slaughter for food. This is a clear double standard that exists within American society, and is allowed due to the fact it is unpopular to against something normal in that culture. If morality was objective, then human beings would be just as upset at the slaughter of animals for food the same way they are at humans. However, this is an era where humans view themselves as superior to other living beings. This thought process illustrates how morality is a reflection of popular opinion instead of logic and reason.   

Another movement in the history of humankind  that has been mostly frowned upon in first world countries is slavery. Even countries such as the United States, who once had slaves have the majority of people, now deem it cruel and inhumane. Many people living in today’s age even believe that they would have been an abolitionists if they had lived back in that time period.  However, What Americans tend to overlook is the products they receive partially due to international slave labor. According to Yahoo Finance there have been nearly three million Chinese people working slave labor to produce designer handbags and electronics to the United States. The outrage that exists about these unfair circumstances are overshadowed by the excitement for new products in common situations. Despite the overall rejection of slavery that exists within the perimeter of the U.S. there is relatively little change to be seen. The products created by these slave wages still sell incredible numbers. Gucci a company that use these workers, are worth a $12.7 billion dollars (forbes) partially due to negligence from people. A situation such as this displays the lack of objectivity and self awareness that usually exists in morality. This situation further proves that morality cannot ever be objective and it is just a reflection of the moral standards that existed in that time period.

In conclusion, morality is a concept that has puzzled even the greatest people for an entire lifetime. However, most of the deception comes from people that are unaware the deception even exists. Although people who are tolerant of society’s moral tolerance might not think that morality matters much its influence goes beyond right and wrong to human’s ability to live free and the ability to make judgements that produce a functioning society where people are less selfish.This is true because many people are fearful of being considered immoral due to the beliefs that are instilled by peers. If everyone would take a closer inspection they would understand that there is no objective measurement for morality and they are being controlled by hypocritical standards.

Sources:

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, www.iep.utm.edu/objectiv/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017.

"Modern Morality and Ancient Ethics | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy | An encyclopedia of philosophy articles written by professional philosophers.. Web. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/anci-mod/>

"Is Morality Objective? | Issue 115 | Philosophy Now." Philosophy Now | a magazine of ideas. Web. <http://philosophynow.org/issues/115/Is_Morality_Objective >.

"The Moral Instinct - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/magazine/13Psychology-t.html?_r=1&ex=1200805200&en=d401354908b626b1&ei=5070&emc=eta1&oref=slogin >.  

"Are your favorite products created by slave labor? New report indicates it's possible." Yahoo Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News. Web. <http://finance.yahoo.com/news/are-your-favorite-products-created-by-slave-labor--new-report-indicates-it-s-possible-144633547.html>.

Today during class we watched a video about a kid named Jack being bullied. On the video there was an eye emoji which represented the witnesses, if you clicked the eye it would be as if the witnesses acted and helped the victim. When you didn’t click the emoji it showed how sad Jack was when nobody stood up for him when he was being bullied. When you did click the emoji it showed how just a few people standing up for him made him so much happier. This video brings to mind that all it takes to help victims of bullying just one person to stand up for them.  Online I appear as an Australian professional athlete. This would make people think I’m athletic and Australian. The goal of trolls is to give themselves entertainment from bothering because they probably don’t have much going for them in their life. The positive results of online anonymity is that people who sometimes are shy when having a confrontation in person feel more comfortable. A negative result of online anonymity is that people can harass each other without much consequence.