• Log In
  • Log In
Science Leadership Academy @ Center City
Science Leadership Academy @ Center City Learn · Create · Lead
  • Students
    • Mission and Vision
  • Parents
  • Community
    • Mission and Vision
  • Calendar

Quran Riddick Public Feed

Quran Riddick Capstone

Posted by Quran Riddick in Capstone · Menasion · Wed on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 at 2:43 pm
​For my capstone, I wanted to put my money where my mouth was. Just talking about making a change to friends and giving them my ideas was just to little I could do. Connecting racial inequality to my favorite sports seemed to show perfect timing as many stars that play the game are using their organization’s spotlight to create awareness. My first thought was I needed to create something that could be accessible to the public in and outside of my school. This would allow me to have a wide audience and a diversity of perspectives. This is my reasoning for choosing to make a website. However, I just didn’t want to create another typical website. My ultimate goal for my website was to be informational, yet energetic and interesting. Tell stories, give visual content, and much more to allow my members to be informed on an issue that has been affecting the world for centuries. To top it off, I put time into creating my slogan. SPEAK, SHOUT, & SHOW or #SSS! While working on this project throughout the year, I was educated more on the steps taken by the great men and women back in time who fought for the rights I am appreciative to have now that unfortunately they didn’t possess. I hope everyone can learn a thing or two from viewing my website. #SSS!!

Website Link: https://qriddick.wixsite.com/socialchangeinsports

Bibliography:

PBS, Public Broadcasting Service,”WHYY”  www.pbs.org/kenburns/jackie-robinson/.

After reading and watching some videos on this source, I came to a conclusion that

can be a reliable source because this can be a good example going off my essential

question. I can use certain quotes from Jackie Robinson and this educate me deeply

on what’s exactly he had to deal with as a black man in a white man’s sport and even

deeper than that, a white man’s world. This source provides sort of a timeline as well

which will contribute to my website’s organization and when I’m comparing what

happened back in time compared to modern times.


The Soccer World Goes to South Africa: Sport and the Making of Modern Africa | Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective,

www.origins.osu.edu/article/soccer-world-goes-south-africa-sport-and-making-modern-africa.


This source is a great example of how sports creates awareness and social change is

big in sports. Because of the celebrities having so much popularity and attention

surrounding them it makes their comments on issues greater as a wider audience

listens in. There are movements made throughout the sports which I can include on

my section of how to continue improvements and the change from before to now.

This website talks about poverty, inequality, and goes into detail about the many

issues that surround sports in society, even to this day. This source is reliable because

it gives me examples of movements now and before which is important for my topic.


Fierro, Nick. “Newsmaker: Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia Eagle and Social Activist.”  Themorningcall.com, 27 Oct. 2017, www.mcall.com/sports/football/eagles/mc-spt-newsmakes-eagles-malcolm-jenkins-20171028-story.html.


Because I follow the Philadelphia Eagles so much, I am very much aware of what the players do off the field too in the sense of creating awareness. Recently, we have been involved in separation and disagreements because of our new president. Because of how big social media has gotten, many NFL players have used this foundation to use their freedom of speech rights to dwell in on what’s being going on socially and politically throughout the country. As an African American, he’s doing something was rare back in time as stepping up as an advocate for change. He’s been protesting the national anthem as well as a protest of social justice and it’s working as it’s gotten the attention of players, fans, and even the president.  


History.com Staff. “Jackie Robinson.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/black-history/jackie-robinson#.


Jackie Robinson being the first African American major league baseball player played

a huge role in not only sports, but the world period. This was a example of how a

minority was as good if not better than the majority, which in this case white people.

Racism played a huge role during the time he was at his peak in his baseball career.

His presence on the field created movements, awareness, and the inequality everyone

tended to live by during this time. This source is reliable because it provides me with

all the information on him so I could put my feet in his shoes and get his perspectives

on the environment he was living in.


JReidESPN. “How Colin Kaepernick Became a Cause for Activists, Civil Rights Groups and Others.” The Undefeated, The Undefeated, 22 Aug. 2017, www.theundefeated.com/features/how-colin-kaepernick-became-a-cause-for-activists-civil-rights-groups/.


Colin Kaepernick alongside of Malcolm Jenkins is another famous football player

that’s used his rights to create awareness on the social injustice for minorities.

However, Colin Kaepernick has a bigger foundation as he was the first one to take a

knee or sit during the national anthem. Unlike Malcolm Jenkins, Colin received more

heat. Some speculate it even lost him his quarterback position and is the reason he

can’t get a job opportunity now. Owners don’t want to deal with the negative

responses from their audience. The fear that the decision will cost them money but

lack of attention and there will be conflicted protests. This will be a good story to

include in my blog section of my website.


NationalGeographic. “Sports Gender Controversy - Bonus Scene | Gender Revolution.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Feb. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFFPcIcAUUs.


I found that website touched on the topic of international sports which gives me

another point of view of my topic. This source is important for my capstone because

it’s talks about another point of view on unfairness in sports. There has been many

cases when a girl is built or performs similar to

a male, her rewards are up for debate as she may be cheating, or a male that’s has an

unfair advantage playing in a women’s sports. Sometimes, it’s understandable as

people have been caught hiding behind their real gender for the glories behind

winning. But there have been other instances where women have been questioned for

being “too good” in their sport.   


“Progress and Inequality: Women's Sports and the Gender Gap.” CEHD Vision 2020, 3 Jan. 2018, cehdvision2020.umn.edu/blog/progress-inequality-womens-sports-gender-gap/.


This source is reliable because this will be the section where I include how things is

progressing in women sports, yet there is still room to improve. It speaks on the

discrimination in sports, specifically with being officials or females having coaching

jobs. It’s rare. Now that I think about it, this is one of my feminist aspects I can touch

on. The idea of a woman doing a “man’s” job, especially in a sport that’s mostly

played by men. This source allows me to touch on how females are looked at

compared to how male players are looked upon.    


Rubin, Mike. “Muhammad Ali: 4 Ways He Changed America.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 5 June 2016, www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/muhammad-ali-4-ways-he-changed-america-20160605.


During Muhammad Ali career, he became the people champ because he wasn’t afraid to use his voice and his hands back in time. Comparing this Jenkins and Colin, back in time it wasn’t rare for black stars to go against and create controversy. This was and still is one of the main difference of not only sports celebrities but the world now compared to them back in time. Freedom of speech for minority groups weren’t taken seriously or even listened but now minority groups have bigger representation. He created a reputation of cocky and better than many, which many people hated but also made people pay attention to his every move. This is where he used his popularity to create awareness on the issue of inequality and how he dealt with being black and great.


Walters, John. “A Lawsuit from the U.S. Women's Soccer Team Reveals Deeper Issues with Gender Equity in Sports.” Newsweek, 2 June 2016, www.newsweek.com/womens-soccer-suit-underscores-sports-gender-pay-gap-443137.


One major problem in sports when it comes to the difference of men and women in

sports is the pay rate. Some argue that there is the unfairness when it comes to the

WNBA and NBA for example. Women put as much effort and dedication into the

sport as men and attract as much attention as guys sometimes, compared to men they

are being paid change. In this source it talks about in this soccer tournament the

women were being paid much less than the men even though the girl’s game were

more competitive than the men’s competition. The men were even receiving extra pay

because of their performance and not the women.


guyjohn59. “Muhammad Ali - Racial Integration.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 July 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqiWFLsgVi4.


Touching back on Ali’s classic cockiness, it gave him the attention he needed to speak

on racial inequality. This source is reliable because I can include this video on my

website and use his quotes to prove me inquiry question to be true of sports being an

way of expressing social change. This source helped me get Muhammad Ali’s

perspective of the racism and inequality in sports and in the world during this time and

I can compare it to famous sports players like Malcolm Jenkins and Colin Kaepernick,

and this is where I can include the differences of responses from the people who have

the same goal and are advocates of social justice, yet in completely different times.


Be the first to comment.

Feminist Film Review

Posted by Quran Riddick in Intersectional Feminism · Menasion · e1 Band on Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 4:26 pm

The test I am creating is diving into the extras in movies and determining how do they impact the inequality or issue in the movie particulartly in a relationship. Are they around trying to help, or are they around allowing the physical and verbal abuse happen because of the main character’s position. I am calling this test the Outsider’s Reaction Test. If a film passes this test(needed at least a complete ⅔ rating) then the film has shown the outsiders involved did what they could to help the victim who is most likely loss in his/her abusive relationship. If the film fails(under a ⅔ rating) then this shows that the outsiders/extras in the film kept quiet and saw but didn’t react to their friend, associate, or another human being period being involved in a unfair, abusive relationship. I will dive into why (if the film fails) the extras decided to keep quiet instead of helping out a person of need.


The test requirements are...

  1. The gender of who is being abused has people of the opposite gender trying to help out.

  2. The gender of who is being abused has people of the same gender trying to help out.

  3. The abusive relationship impacts the victim’s  family and friend relationships.


Movie #1: What’s Love Got To Do With It

This movie surrounds the interesting life of Tina Turner from when she was a little girl raised by her grandmother to her rise to stardom with soon to be husband Ike Turner. Ike and Tina Turner became a hit, making top songs such as Proud Mary and Fool In Love. Everything seemed great, they were at the peak of both careers, making good money, and seemed to be happily married. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case. Ike begin to use drugs which was quite popular in the music industry back in time after having so much success and wealth. This was reportedly the cases where Ike Turner would go on rages and argue to a point with Tina that he resulted to use his strength to physically overpower her. Beating her multiple times, and it was reported that it got so bad that it wasn’t behind close doors anymore, he would abuse her verbally and physically in front of their friends. Tina promised Ike she wouldn’t leave in the beginning of their relationship when he explained to her how so many people that benefited from him would walk away after some time. Tina, in love with Ike felt bad and never wanted to repeat such actions to hurt him again and she stated in an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show that she stayed for so long because of that promise she made to him. She wanted to help Ike, yet she was just keeping herself in a situation to get hurt. This movie places males above women, as Ike took over Tina life as they got into a relationship and formed the iconic music group of Ike and Tina. Also, in this movie Ike keeps an entourage around him, most are his security or bandmates. It is obvious in the movie that everyone, including her sisters, friends knew about Ike Turner violent ways towards Tina Turner. Of course many friends wanted her to get away but there were many on Ike side that didn’t really put in effort to stop the pain emotionally and physically he was causing Tina.


Outsider’s Reaction Test(My Test) What’s Love Got To Do With It Rating

  1. The gender of who is being abused has people of the opposite gender trying to help out. Rate:0

  2. The gender of who is being abused has people of the same gender trying to help out. Rate:1

  3. The abusive relationship impacts other family and friends relationships:½

Total: 1.5/3 FAILED

After rewatching Tina Turner’s biopic, I feel this film failed my test because of Ike’s power and control over his entourage. His position was the leader, he made people famous and received the respect because of it. Also, he was a violent man. Nobody wanted to deal with him on that level when he’s cutting them a check that helped them pay their bills. Their decision was just to mind their business as their loyalty began with Ike, not Tina. In Ike’s life, with his fame women came and went, they weren’t going to risk their relationship with Ike over females that was Ike’s business, which I don’t agree with but I can understand.



Bechdel Test: This test asks a work of fiction features at least two woman that converse about something other than a man or surrounding what that man does and impacts the movie. This test comes from the idea that women in movies majority of the times are shown by their relations with a male character in the movie.


The Bechdel Test requirements are…

  1. The movie has to have at least two women in it.

  2. Who talk to each other.

  3. Conversation is about something other than a man

This test exists because it creates awareness on not the amount of roles of women in movies but the stories behind them in the movie. For example, in Tina Turner this movie would be nothing without Ike coming into her life. Her conversations with his sister, mother, friends, and more were mostly over Ike Turner and how things were getting worse in their lives behind the fame.


Mako Mori Tests: This test was brought about in 2013 by chalia on Tumblr user who questioned feminist critiques of the depiction of women in movies, in this situation it was the movie Pacific Rim. The goal of this test is to determine what is truly a strong woman in film.


The Mako Mori Test is a media test which analyzes films in the following ways…

  1. At least one female character

  2. Who gets her own narrative arc;

  3. That is not about supporting a man’s story


This test exists because it begins the search for strong women in films and making sure they have an impactful role in a movie without the surrounding of a man. It changes the conversation on a “strong woman” in a film by making movies create a backstory for a woman based off of her life and even make men apart of the film because of their relationship to her instead of the typical vice versa.       


Movie #2: Pretty Woman

Pretty Woman is a movie starring a prostitute and wealthy businessman falling in love with each other, creating a relationship that the outside looks at as unhealthy and unlikely. They both live in what looks like to be different worlds, more respectful and proud achievements for Edward and for Vivian she is known hooker who has a backstory of men who were attracted to the sexual experience she made available to them for money. Edward hires Vivan to stay with him for a weekend, the two gets closer and this is when the number one rule of prostitution is broken, never share a kiss as this shows a sign that there is love besides romantically. Obviously because of there two different lifestyles, there are a lot of differences and barriers for them to work through just to get through what was only suppose to the weekend.


The Bechdel Test requirements are…

  1. The movie has to have at least two women in it. Rate: 1

  2. Who talk to each other. Rate:1

  3. Conversation is about something other than a man Rate:0

Total: ⅔ PASSED


The Mako Mori Test is a media test which analyzes films in the following ways…

  1. At least one female character Rate:1

  2. Who gets her own narrative arc; 1

  3. That is not about supporting a man’s story 1

3/3 PASSED


Pretty Woman passes both the Becdel and Mako Mori test requiremnts in my eyes because the movie is based off of BOTH Edward and Vivian life. Now of course, Edward brings Vivian into another world by hiring her to be his woman for the weekend, but it’s her backstory that creates the bumps and diversity of lifestyles in the story. Basically, Vivan’s role is as big as Edward role in the Pretty “Woman”. The movie cannot be created completely without Edward and Vivian. Pretty Woman passes the Mako Mori Test more than Bechdel Test however. Even though Vivian has her own backstory and purpose in the beginning, once Edward comes into her life, Vivian falls into trying to change herself to suit his lifestyle but she has to do this as this is what she was paid to do. She’s attractive and lights up the room with her beauty, this is her purpose of the weekend with Edward.



Be the first to comment.

The Evolution of the Black Woman’s World

Posted by Quran Riddick in Intersectional Feminism · Menasion · e1 Band on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 12:09 am
Link to Article/Informational Piece
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yHyLB-1Oz2gIYtjoXhZul3gr2LbQmAHVZEtrV-NCwic/edit?usp=sharing 

Link to Worksheet/Quiz
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K-Zui2zwbM_JqbRF17GLp-UpTNc6WCAEuE-Gkeee750/edit?usp=sharing
Be the first to comment.

Searching For Love: Human & Alien Edition

Posted by Quran Riddick in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on Monday, June 5, 2017 at 9:20 pm
Click Here For Science Fiction Story
2 Comments

An Experience Or An Excuse

Posted by Quran Riddick in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 8:46 pm

There are many experiences from birth to a teenager that a person will go through that will build themselves as they will get older. These experiences are a guidance to a variety of roads that will give a certain path and it’s up to that individual to make the decision that’s best for them and their future. One of the trials that the youth are impacted by regularly is, “peer pressure”. Peer pressure is the influence from members of one’s peer group, usually the influence being negative. This is claimed to happen to many teenagers as they become accessible to more freedom from their parents and they begin to crave a larger desire to be around their peers. Teenagers are curious and sometimes this curiosity leads to them trying negative actions such as; smoking, drinking, and even having sex when not ready with their peers of course as they decide to go through these experiences together. For teenagers that have a more positive mindset, doing such things are often claimed to have happened because of peer pressure since people who are associated with them expect them to not fall for these types of mistakes. However, this brings the counterargument that peer pressure is just an excuse for a teenager to make a mistake and receive sympathy for their wrong choices. Which brings up the question, is peer pressure a real thing or can it be resisted and labeled as an excuse? The answer to this question is it can be resisted and mistakes by one should be owned up too.

It is true that most teens or a person at any age desires to be accepted. For teens, this pressure comes into play a lot throughout the school year. It’s important for teens to be accepted into a group that likes them for themselves. Without this happening, one can become depressed and feel abandoned in school as they feel like they are not wanted by the ‘cool kids’ or feel as they aren’t good enough to be involved in a group of entertaining friends. This is where teens tend to do whatever they possibly can to fill that emptiness inside from not feeling wanted by their peers which leads to decisions being made without thought. This is where the pressure supposedly lives, the decision making of the teen. However, the youth at some point in their young lifetime are educated on the difference of being a follower and a leader. Also, how doing drugs and other negative actions similar are bad and can lead down a path of destruction. It’s up to that person the teenager to listen and understand how doing things like drugs, drinking, and even dares that can put their life at risk, is something they should work to stay away from. Putting the blame of their actions on another is weak and in reality can be a downfall because if they continue to make mistakes at a higher scale, judges in courtrooms will not take in “peer pressure” being an excuse for committing a crime. Parents stressed this a lot to their children, how it’s easy to mess up or slip up. As long as the parent is pressuring this on their teen, the peers shouldn’t be an issue or at least not enough to not receive necessary consequences for one’s negative actions. Living and learning does not involve making excuses and allowing a teenager to rely on the fact that another teen making the same mistake makes their actions less unacceptable. In a CNN survey, it stated that 17% of high schoolers are caught drinking, smoking, during the school day with peers. Also, in another CNN survey, 75% of high schoolers say that they are encouraged to party with marijuana or alcohol when they see images of their peers doing so. Reflecting upon the second survey of the two, it can be reasonably assumed that the high schoolers will not be surprised to see smokes and drinks at the party. In fact, in most scenarios it’s highly spoken about before going to the party, “who’s bringing what and who’s doing what?” Essentially, this makes it the teenager fault of being aware of their surroundings and allowing themselves to be persuaded into doing something illegal or something their not suppose to be doing.

When it comes to the idea of peer pressure it’s mostly looked upon as all negative but that’s not always true. There is a such thing as positive peer pressure. This is a peer that will help one do something they should be doing. Encouraging one to do right and keep up the good work. For example, positive peer pressure can consists of consistent completion of homework, exercising, and more. In a teen’s perspective there is a better chance of getting this type of encouragement from parents or guardians. Parenting can definitely impact a teenager’s decision making when it comes to situations involving themselves and their peers. The parents must be the people they want their children to become which will display how the teenagers should behave in a way that is in their best interest. In reality, teenager don’t want to take responsibility for things they do which is why they blame the people nearest to them which is their peers. If one tell their peer to jump off a bridge, most teens have an absolute NO in this case. So when one tell a peer to smoke with them, the teen will either not smoke or smoke based on what values and lines they have set in their mind, not on what their friends are telling them is “cool” or not.

If teenagers stop to think about it, they would realize that peer pressure is an excuse for them to make mistakes and they it’s important to be a leader by understanding they are in control of their actions and making the best choices for their future. However, if one does decide to be a follower and make negative choices, be prepared to own up and face the consequences instead of placing the blame on a peer.

Throughout the year, I have wrote many 2Fers that touched on many different topics. However, out of all I strongly believe this 2Fer was the best. Because I touched on a topic that impacts almost every human person at some point in their life whether as a teen or even as an adult, I felt this 2Fer was way more powerful than the others. With this being said, also in this 2Fer I was able to correct many of my mistakes I made in previous 2Fers to make this written wise a lot improved! In conclusion, I can say my ups and downs in my previous 2Fers contributed to this 2Fer in my opinion being my strongest of all.



Works Cited:

  • Zeiger, Stacy. "Statistics on Peer Pressure." LoveToKnow. LoveToKnow Corp, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017. <http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Statistics_on_Peer_Pressure>.

  • "Teens and Peer Pressure." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 27 Apr. 2017. <http://www.webmd.com/parenting/teen-abuse-cough-medicine-9/peer-pressure>.

Be the first to comment.

The "Power" Of Love

Posted by Quran Riddick in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 9:10 pm

The “Power” Of Love

Comparing The Taming of the Shrew Play to the movie “Pretty Woman”


In the movie “Pretty Woman” the two main characters are Edward Lewis and Vivian Ward. Vivian was a really attractive young lady, however she wasn’t able to pursue her big dreams and goals because of many bad decisions she had made, with the addition of falling in love with the wrong type of boy. She worked as a prostitute with her roommate and best friend, Kit, on Hollywood Boulevard. While doing her job, she ran into a wealthy businessman named Edward. Edward is a second generation business tycoon and has became really successful because of it. He also happens to look at relationships as a headache. His previous relationships hadn’t lasted too long and his former partners benefited more from the relationship than he did because of the fact he is wealthy. Edward’s former wife currently lives in one of in his big “ex-condos” as he calls it and a former girlfriend is living, and supposedly moving out of, one of his apartments. Edward and Vivian obviously live two different lifestyles, however connect because of many similarities as individuals throughout such two separate styles of living.


Essentially, the modern film, Pretty Woman, and Shakespearean play, The Taming of the Shrew, both present the idea that ultimately men always have a more powerful “say” in a relationship compared to a woman and the only way for the woman to have some sort of equality is to obtain her own weight in the relationship, meaning having her own money, good career, and such.  


"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua, If wealthily, then happily in Padua."


(Act 1, Scene 2, Line 76-77)



Petruchio has an interest in marrying Katherine, who’s father Baptista, is working hard to find a man for his daughter to marry. Katherine is described as quick tempered, prone to violence, and really against anyone who has a desire to marry her. However, Baptista wants Katherine as the older daughter to get married before her younger, more desired sister Bianca. Petruchio is quick witted, eccentric, and really boisterous. He has a desire to marry Katherine as she meets his expectations of a wife, she is really wealthy because of her father. On the other hand, Baptista treats his daughter marriages as business as he presents his daughter’s “love” for the highest bid. Basically the man who can promise his daughters the most money and best lifestyle.

In a relationship, society has made it seem as though it’s only about love. And the honest truth is that they are often not, and many failed relationships reflects this enduring belief. The effect of everyday life comes into play in a relationship and if there are big differences or disagreements it can definitely impact the love and happiness in a relationship. In the quote above, Petruchio made it clear the happiness with a woman was established for him by her having money. As a man, it’s embedded in Petruchio mind to rule with an iron fist and fulfill his duties as a husband, by taking care of his “wealthy wife” even though because she has money and everything should be available for her to not need assistance from anyone. Money in marriage brings Petruchio happiness, this is obviously the case for every man but this is a great, yet realistic example of how categories of life can impact two individuals who fall in “love” with each other and want to share a life together.


When it comes to money and love in a relationship with the man having a powerful status because of it, Pretty Woman shows this as well in a few scenes. Here is one of them below.


Screenshot 2017-04-21 at 4.29.27 AM.png


In this scene, Edward pays for Vivian to stay with him for the rest of the week, basically acting as a lady friend for important business meetings and such. However, because of how she acts and dresses which is the total opposite of the people Edward hangs around(people of more money and class) he gives her money to basically be someone she isn’t or that’s really in her but she doesn’t know how to bring it out by buying more presentable clothes like a new dress instead of the short skirt she wears at work. Vivian can’t deny her appreciation for this man giving her all this attention, time, and money as she is used to men approaching her only wanting one thing. Because of this her standards are low when it comes to relationships. Comparing this to Taming of the Shrew, both show how good or bad money can really be in a relationship. Of course it’s not all about the money in both cases, more so not with Pretty Woman however the promises of one giving a lot hard-earned money to someone else expecting nothing in return besides possibly sex is something that down the road can be the rise or fall of that relationship. It raises the question of what would happen if money were to run out or, usually since the man is the breadwinner, (especially during these times 1590s for Taming of the Shrew and late 1900s for Pretty Woman) the question of the woman being a golddigger comes about. Both relationships between Petruchio and Katherine and Edward and Vivian are surrounded by the greed of money for at least one of the partners, it creates an imbalance and sometimes a relationship isn’t strong enough to work through the disparity.


“I will be master of what is mine own. She is my goods, my chattels; she is my house, My household stuff, my field, my barn, My horse, my ox, my ass, my anything. And here she stands, touch her whoever dare”

(Act 3, Scene 2, Line 235-239)

Throughout The Taming of the Shrew, the play heavily gives the perception of how men are obligated to play a big role in their relationship. The expectations of a boyfriend’s role is showed more as the breadwinner, dominant partner, and influenced the direction of the relationship more compared to the woman involved. In this scene of the play, Petruchio explains when he becomes the husband of Katherine, his dominance in the marriage will be shown. He has the belief that women have little to no legal rights of their own and everything will go through the dominant partner(being himself) in the relationship. This scenario compares with society in the recent years and how mankind has made it acceptable for relationships to be like this. The attitude of a man has to have as a boyfriend or husband is a protector and a person who is going to take care of his woman. If the man doesn’t have this mentality and pride to pursue the expectation of being the “man” in the house, he is looked at as feeble. In a male’s perspective, for a female to look at him in a respectful way it’s mandatory for the man to understand how powerful he is without being controlling.


“A woman doesn’t want a weak guy, she wants a prince charming to save her like she’s a princess” These are words that Vivian told Edward when they were talking about dream relationships.    


Screenshot 2017-04-23 at 1.19.00 PM.png

Previous to this scene in Pretty Woman taking place both Edward and Vivian admitted to each other they had deeper feelings even though that wasn’t included in the plan. The plan was Edward paid Vivian three thousand dollars to be his beautiful woman friend to bring to business meetings and such. For Vivian, this wasn’t anything new as she have been paid by men on multiple occasions to perform acts as that was her job as a prostitute. However, the job of a prostitute is to never fall for one guy since her job consists of her being with plenty men. When Edward and Vivian both expressed their feelings, Vivian told him the prince charming quote meaning she wanted a guy that could be there for her, not only just put her financially in a better position as she was as a worker on Hollywood Boulevard. Because of consistent work, Edward didn’t think he could make the time on a daily to play the family man which resulted into the Vivian thinking her happiness in the future of the couple would never truly be met. Vivian knew because of Edward’s desire to work all the time he could never be her prince charming and the dream guy she always wanted. On the other hand Edward just wanted to get Vivian off the streets to pursue a relationship with her. That was enough for him but Vivian needed more. Comparing this to the Shrew play and society, this brings the point that the male’s role and decisions can impact a relationship more than a females because of the man having more power and expectations in the relationship.


When it comes to courtship/dating Pretty Woman and The Taming of the Shrew presented the idea that the status of a man in a relationship has a bit of a high ranking compared to his lady’s status. Both pieces gives off the perception that the male is the dominant partner as he is the protector, provider, and most importantly the decision maker who will take responsibility of the outcome because he is the strength of the partnership. Even in this day and age, this is the case with many relationships where if the man isn’t the breadwinner(most case scenarios money is power) it makes him look weak, but on the other hand is acceptable if the woman isn’t the breadwinner. The power a man possesses as the dominant partner holds great responsibility that women are capable of but shouldn’t be in control of when there’s a man involved, and in many cases giving men a higher position in the relationship.



2 Comments

Adapting To A Difficult Change

Posted by Quran Riddick in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on Sunday, January 8, 2017 at 2:31 pm

The day is September 8th, 2014. I arise at 6:00 in the morning to prepare for another day of school, however this time it’s my first day of high school. The eagerness to start this new step in my life that I had throughout the summer was gone because of the increasing nervousness every minute closer to 8:15, when school officially starts. I’m ready to get through the rough times of now attending a new school with new people surrounding me everywhere I’d turn, or at least I thought I was on this day. Coming to SLA on the first day I looked around and saw the most obvious difference between my old school and now current school. Besides the fact there was no rule of wearing uniforms, the diversity was shocking. I walk down one hall and I see white students, I walk down another hall and I see Hispanics, and walked into the cafeteria on the first floor of the school and stop to look. I see everyone. Right here is where I feel I learned my first lesson of change, expect EVERYTHING to be different and out of one’s comfort zone.

*Flashback to the world I grew to feel most comfortable in…

Growing up I attended Kearny Elementary/Middle School from Kindergarten to Eighth grade. Residing across from the community the school was apart of made it easier for me to establish a name and a picture to that name throughout the school and neighborhood. With this being said, I was able to quickly make friends and be apart of my own group or team of people who were good friends of mine. Teachers at Kearny watched me grow from a little boy to a young adult, and obviously I became accustomed to being around certain teachers as well as certain peers. Peers, that were more so African American. Being around mostly my own race growing up, I sort of fell into a comfort zone where I only talked to people that acted like me. My thinking growing up was “that’s probably only my race”. The way we talked to each other. “What’s up bro”, “yo bro”, “what’s the move today” I only seem to hear from people throughout the African American race, the people who were similar to me. There were no more than two white students in my grade or that was around my age to be considered a peer to me, and because of them acting and even talking different it created a barrier between white students and my friends and I. “Why is he so uptight”, “why is he so weird” is the question we were so quick to ask and judge upon. Even when we were forced to interact because of table discussions there was this blatant awkwardness between both sides. Everything between us was different which made it really uncomfortable for us and them as well.

Many people might say “You can’t judge a book by it’s cover, you have to try to adapt to the change and new environment.” Specifically this because my mother is the one who told me this. As I listened and took this advice, the beginning of a new change was here in full effect and I felt I had to first figure out how to stop running from it because no matter what, this problem was going to catch up to me as the SLA school year continued. It’s easy to just say I will change or become more of this, but when the situation comes along where the opportunity appears to attempt whatever it is one needs to do, it’s easy to become stagnant. The enthusiasm and care to seriously adapt to that new thing is loss because at the end it is common for one to dislike change. Stick to what I’m used to right now was the mindset I had and when I’m willing and ready to adjust I’ll put the effort into doing so or at least hope to do so. Change is in any form costly because it involves time and effort to adapt to a new reality. Because of this I thought I was acting rationally by resisting change. I knew that I wasn’t the only student going through the same uncomfortable change, probably most of the incoming Freshman felt the same way.

Communication in a relationship is key no matter how deep the relationship is. Communication acts as the judge, jury, and executioner who has the final say on whether the relationship lives or dies. Learning how to talk to different types of people is important as well and coming to SLA for me it was critical for me to master. “Why is he so quiet”, “Why doesn’t he like to interact”. These are things I would hear a few times out the day a lot between the first two weeks of high school. The feeling when I heard these things to me was first a funny one. I used to chuckle when I heard this because the transformation from me being a somewhat talkative person to feeling like one of the most laid back student in the school was amazing. Also, it was hysterical to realize how one of the most hushed personality student in the class could still receive as much attention. At my old school, I received the attention but I was more involved with my environment. I was confident to approach anyone at my old school and communicate to them about anything, something I clearly had to learn all over again coming to SLA since I literally only knew one person from my old school that attended SLA. There was an obvious difference between how I acted, my mood, and my comfortability speaking to my old friend I been really close friends since 1st grade and my new classmates I only knew since a week ago. I was around a like minded person for sure. Coming into SLA, I had a tendency to speak with a lot of slang which comes from being around and interacting with my fellow race. There is a stereotype of black people being more illiterate compared to whites when speaking because of the constant use of slang or profanity and was another reason for it being easier to speak to my friends or at least peers that have a better chance of understanding what I’m saying and can relate to the exactly what I’m saying. Especially in a school like SLA, you can be judged for that especially when there are a lot of students coming from different environments when attending their previous schools.

This change in environment was definitely tricky and made me face an obstacle that was harder than expected. However, the changing reality contributed to my ability to present myself to other races in a more comfortable way. Also, I feel as though I came to an understanding that change is nothing more than a learning experience that I will continue to go through throughout my existence however will approach me in different scenarios. Mary Anne Bell from The Things They Carried relates to going through a change and seeking ways to adapt to it like I did with the curiosity of how difficult this change in environment from Kearny to SLA would be. Still to this day SLA helps me with having the confidence to be able to speak to peers outside of my race, personality, and the people I’ve grown accustomed to interacting with which is a great thing to be the best of both worlds in my opinion. Having the capability to be professional when needed and understand the slang that is widely used throughout all races but more so popular in the African American race.


3 Comments

Same Race Vs. Mixed Race Relationships

Posted by Quran Riddick in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 11:53 am

In the United States, same race relationships have been more common than interracial relationships. The reason for this is the limits people set themselves at by being hesitant to be involved seriously with another from a different race. It's all about comfort in a relationship, having things in common. Growing up it's a better chance to relate to people of the same race rather than another race because many people find comfort and reliability in partners who share physical characteristics as well as cultural and racial backgrounds.

Because of the intensity regarding black and white history, society has made interracial relationships focused more on these two races rather than others. The evil era of slavery and racism is what really separates these two races and makes black people feel intimidated to date a white person, Being comfortable is key in a relationship. It gives off a state of belief and ease that everything in the relationship will work out for the good.  has showed it’s easier to be around like minded individuals. For most people, it’s easier to communicate and be around people who have many similarities and most of the time them people are the same race. Every race comes from different backgrounds and sometimes different beliefs plays a big factor on the ability for people from different races to unite.

Location plays a factor on same race relationships being more common than interracial relationships too. Indeed everyone is raised differently depending on the lifestyle one can afford to live, however lots of races have a tendency to live fairly close to one another. For example, African Americans are minority and many grow up similar by being raised in a more ghetto neighborhood surrounded by poverty. Many blacks believe that only the African American race understands the struggle and that’s what relates the many people throughout the race. This is apart of the reason for the continuous awareness of the Black Lives Matter Movement with black people feeling their race aren’t getting the  equal amount of respect compared to white people. With this being said, black people along with other races can tend to limit themselves to only date people throughout their race because of the belief that only their race understands where they come from and can have a better chance to have a long, successful, relationship.

Researchers at the University of Birmingham found that socio-economic status significantly affects someone's choice with regards of relationships. Socio-economic status consists of one’s income, education, social class, profession and more. These researchers at University of Birmingham also did a survey that showed white people have a lower chance to find a partner outside their race because of their advanced social status compared to other races. There are more white people involved in essential aspects of the world such as politics, presidential candidates, and more compared to other races like African Americans and Asian Americans. In 2008, Jennifer Bratter and Rosalind King used the National Survey of Family Growth to investigate the likelihood of divorce for interracial couples compared to same race couples. The comparisons across different marriages showed that interracial couples have higher rates of divorce. Furthermore, these statistics showed that white/black marriages are twice as likely to divorce compared to white/white couples and white/asian marriages are 59% more likely to divorce compared to white/white marriages. The core reason for this stems from people’s contentedness of being with the same race and the inability to develop the needed when involved in an interracial relationship which makes it difficult for an interracial couple to last.

If couples and researchers stopped to think about it, they would realize that same race relationships are more common compared to interracial relationships not only because of being raised closely to people of the same race, but also the lack of desire and ability to develop comfort with another race, and because of prior history that may have separated the many different races. The barriers are not just psychological -- they are geographic and economic as well.

Works Cited:

Gladstone, Sarah. ""Swirling" vs. Same Race Relationships." Ravishly. Ravishly Organization, 23 Apr. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.ravishly.com/2015/09/07/swirling-vs-same-race-relationships-%E2%80%94-will-we-ever-reach-post-race-america>.


Wang, Wendy. "Interracial Marriage: Who Is ‘marrying Out’?" Pew Research Center RSS. FactTank, 12 June 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2016. <http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/06/12/interracial-marriage-who-is-marrying-out/>.


2 Comments

Reader Profile: Jamal Hampton

Posted by Quran Riddick in English 3 · Pahomov · B Band on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at 12:50 pm
FullSizeRender
FullSizeRender

Jamal’s happy place in reading is when he receives a new book. He becomes intrigued from the fresh start of a new book. With all the positives that come along with reading, there are some negatives when it comes to reading for Jamal. If there is a chapter that isn’t as interesting to him he can begin to read words without really comprehending them which is one of his weak spots.

If Jamal’s life was a book he stated the title would be “Out of Control Life of Jamal”. The book he is currently reading now is “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. Reading autobiographies on important men and women that were a big influence on the world is books Jamal loves to read. Maze Runner is the book that Jamal feels he relates to the most!

Be the first to comment.

ILP Blog Post

Posted by Quran Riddick in Ilp - 10Th Grade - Menasion - Wed on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 7:03 pm
So far in ILP, I am getting used to being a positive role model for the younger kids that I am around when at my old school. I am a big helper with a organization that is called “PlayWorks”. PlayWorks is an organization that sends PlayWork workers to different school throughout who helps with the active part of the children’s day. Letting the kids get a break from class and come outside and have fun. Play games, laugh, run around but most importantly learn how to do all that in a mature manner. Helping the kids play safe is the key. A lot of the children I work with look up to me since I’m older. They watch how I act and I see some even try to copy the things I do so I have to make sure I set a positive image for the younger kids to follow. Also, many of them remember me because I use to attend this school throughout K-8, also I have many family and friends that live around the neighborhood. It’s been a great experience volunteering at my old school and I look forward to go have fun with my old family at Kearny every Wednesday!
Be the first to comment.

El Diseñador Ricardo, Miguel, y Rosa

Posted by Quran Riddick in Spanish 2 - Bey - E on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 11:09 am
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/193r-KW250ccLIjtarTsc6fhVDMV0Nf0LfoRw3hYt3xY/edit?usp=sharing
Be the first to comment.

La Entrevista-Ricardo, Isabel y Maria

Posted by Quran Riddick in Spanish 2 - Bey - E on Thursday, January 21, 2016 at 11:28 pm
mind mapping software
My network company and internet service provider is Comcast. My internet is wireless and I have a modem. The modem is connected to my house and through my wall to the cable boxes in my house. I plug up the modem and then my wifi is connected. It shows up as Home-5D42 and needs a password or network key to access the internet. All my gadgets are setup to my internet service. I have my laptop, Imac, Ipad, phones, game systems and more. While going through this process, I learned how the wires from the modem go through the wall and into the back of my cable box. It's was interesting how they did it. If I had something to tell another is the significance of network provider or company. Make sure you pick a good company that will run your internet. With good speed and the ability to even work when it is connected to different sources.
Be the first to comment.
RSS
Science Leadership Academy @ Center City · Location: 1482 Green St · Shipping: 550 N. Broad St Suite 202 · Philadelphia, PA 19130 · (215) 400-7830 (phone)
×

Log In