When asked what an important part of culture is, one might say the language, the music, or the history. While all of these are indeed necessary elements to a culture, they lack the ability to be easily shared with others. Music has the capability of being shared with everyone, however, messages and meanings within the words of the songs can be lost due to language barriers. On the other hand, food does not require language or words to be understood. Food is one of the most important aspects of a culture because of how it represents that culture and its traditions.

Within a culture, food can represent its history. Amy Choi, an author at TED, wrote, “American cuisine is shaped by the natural wealth of the country. Having never faced agricultural hardship, Americans had the luxury of not relying on rotating crops…” Often, traditions that have carried on into modern times started because of food availability and the method of preparing it. Cultural dishes that are still made now were influenced by what the world was like when it first came into creation. For example, many dishes in the Jewish culture are based on where people lived and what food became available during specific times. During the Diaspora, when the Jews were being forced to move around a lot, they had to assimilate into the cultures of the areas they lived in. This resulted in many of those cultural dishes being shaped and incorporated into Jewish tradition. What started as a necessity to live became part of the culture and got passed down through the generations.

Food can also display status and respect. In many cultures, the type of food and way it is prepared is a symbol of one’s status. In an article written by PMC, it is stated, “Food also plays an important role with respect to an individual’s place in society. As Counihan observed, ‘One’s place in the social system is revealed by what, how much, and with whom one eats.’” Expensive foods are commonly used to display one’s wealth and status in society. Because of this, food is used to show one’s respect to another person. Expensive food, or food someone usually would not eat, would often be prepared in order to honor guests. Another way to show respect is how food is positioned on the table. In Chinese culture, when eating fish, the head is positioned towards the most respected member at the table and should not be moved from that location. Similarly, only after the most respected member has started eating can everyone else also begin.

One of the most important sides of food in culture is the symbolism. Food can have different meanings based on what it is made of and how it is prepared and presented. An article by Guansheng Ma at ScienceDirect says, “Food has many symbolic meanings; it not only expresses but also establishes the relationship between people and their environment as well as between people and what they believe.” A good example of this is the Jewish holiday, Passover, where almost everything in the meal represents something. The meal itself is a ceremony of remembrance to what happened to the Jews before and after they fled Egypt. A staple food of the holiday is matzah, an unleavened bread, which the Jews eat to remember their hasty exodus out of Egypt. During a Seder, this is typically eaten with horseradish and charoset to represent the bitterness of slavery and the mortar Jews used to build while enslaved. Another example of symbolism is found in foods eaten during Chinese New Year. When celebrating the New Year, the type of food and how it is prepared symbolizes the desires for that year. Dishes such as fish and dumplings represent prosperity and wealth, and are considered to foresee an auspicious year.    

In every culture, food means more than just nourishment. It can hold the culture’s history, struggles, and hopes within one dish. However, it does not have to be constrained to just those in the culture. When people who are not part of a certain culture eat a traditional dish, they get to experience a piece of that culture and possibly gain a newfound appreciation for the people and their history.  

Works Cited

Choi, Amy. "What Americans Can Learn From Other Food Cultures." ideas.ted.com. N. p., 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2018. https://ideas.ted.com/what-americans-can-learn-from-other-food-cultures/

Ma, Guansheng. "Food, Eating Behavior, And Culture In Chinese Society." Journal of Ethnic Foods 2.4 (2015): 195-199. Web. 23 Apr. 2018.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618115000657

Nordström, Karin et al. "Food And Health: Individual, Cultural, Or Scientific Matters?." Genes & Nutrition 8.4 (2013): 357-363. Web. 23 Apr. 2018.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3689889/

Kyianna Thomas

2fer # 7

4/23/18

Rap Vs. Actions

Rap is a genre of music that expresses its passion through  struggle. Artist today more than likely talk about how they have been through a lot. This type of music is listened to so much because of the  relateable lyrics and how overplayed it is on the radio for teens today. This is also the reason why rap gives off an negative vibe from children today. The most popular artists talk about violence, drugs, sex, and their struggles. Rap music has one of the strongest influences on younger generations because it’s  impressionable and struggle to differentiate between the utilization of trends for entertainment and actually participating in trends that can be harmful.

Teens today listen music that could influence the way they act when in danger. According to Nakia Jackson from Livestrong it states, “ Rap lyrics may discuss violence as a part of an exciting and dangerous lifestyle, but some songs condemn violence and even propose solutions.” This quotes shows that lyrics in a song could possible affect the way a child behaves. This is because the lyrics that artist use could are about where the artist grew up. The phrase “ dangerous lifestyle, but some songs condemn violence” shows that there are songs that a made that condemns violence which is listened to why the younger generations of children. This could affect how their lives are lived because some of these artist are role models for kids today. But what the artist actually never realizes is that the words they say are the actions that the younger children are taking to follow in their footsteps.

Rap music has been an issue in students’ everyday life, such as school, their emotions and the way they act towards adults. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics it states, “Research on popular music has explored its effects on schoolwork, social interactions, mood and affect, and particularly behavior. The effect that popular music has on children's and adolescents' behavior and emotions is of paramount concern. Lyrics have become more explicit in their references to drugs, sex, and violence over the years, particularly in certain genres.” This quote shows how the most recent and popular music affects students in their everyday lives, such as when a kids decides to make a bad decision. This could be a reason as to why students express their non-care  for school or anything, due to artist lyrics. This could also be because they don’t care about the actions. The lyrics of the songs are becoming problematic to why kids are using reckless language. The phrase “Lyrics have become more explicit in their references to drugs, sex, and violence” shows how music impacts what kids are doing in life today. It's not only the lyrics but the videos and the messages the artist tries to get across to the world impacts the behavior that goes on. Kids today think if this artist can do it and get away with it away can’t they do it too.

Rap music has given kids today a voice that can be heard in many ways. This genre of music speaks loud for it self because of how rap music started. Rap influence people to do different thing each day some could be positive but because of how the music is written by the artist it makes kids do things so differently. Rap influences younger kids because of how the music is portrayed by the role models they look up too.

Work Cited:

Council on Communications. “Impact of Music, Music Lyrics, and Music Videos on Children and Youth.” Pediatrics, American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2009, www.pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1488.

Jackson, Nakia. “What Influence and Effects Does Rap Music Have on Teens Today?”LIVESTRONG.COM, Leaf Group, 13 June 2017, www.livestrong.com/article/1005065-influence-effects-rap-music-teens-today/.

Overhyped Much

Coachella a world renowned desert festival known for its aesthetic and the celebrity buzz. Since the beginning of spring the world is focused on branding one of the largest and well known music festivals. But the reality is it is not known for its content and musical focus but rather the celebrities that go and their posts about it that revolve around drawing in the public with more than 99,000 people that attend per night during the three day weekend. Coachella is overhyped and popular based off of Celebrity buzz which is based off the name they hold.

Coachella is known for being one of the most popular music festivals in the U.S. It is advertised on all forms of social media and media. Not only by celebrities but by other socials. On Dashtwo’s site it states “One of the single biggest music events on the West Coast is upon us. Coachella sold 198,000 tickets last year – and that’s not including the thousands upon thousands of people who left LA to attend the hippest of Coachella parties for the weekend. A lot of celebrities will tweet it, they Instagram it. It goes viral. It’s a great social media tool.” In other words a lot of celebrities and socials are paid to advertise the festival to draw in more attention to the festival the more attention that it is given the more increased amount of ticket sales there are. So in the statement above it clearly states how once the celebrities start to tweet and instagram about Coachella it goes viral. Celebrities present a major influence on how popular Coachella gets and the buzz it gets. Since they not only are featured by magazines when they go but they too are getting more attention. So this draws in more fans who want to go in hope of meeting the celebrity they want to meet.

Not only do the celebrities themselves promote Coachella and make it as successful and popular as it is, but big companies and branded magazines as well. Some of the most popular magazines include: Harper's Bazaar, Elle Magazine, Peoples Magazine, Seventeen Magazine and Cosmopolitan Magazine which are very well known and advertised magazines that feature Coachella Celebrities. They include an entire section in their issues about which celebrities will be attending Coachella in order to draw in more of the attention from the public. The title of Elle Magazine’s cover is “All the Celebrities at 2018 Coachella” then there are multiple pages on the celebrities that are at Coachella currently and this is not only drawing the public in for the festival currently but the upcoming ones in the next years to come. So the public is more infatuated to come in the upcoming years in hopes of meeting certain  celebrities.

Coachella is sponsored by not only world renowned celebrities but youtube personals that are being sponsored by big companies to go to Coachella. This is so that Coachella receives more publicity and fans to attend based off of the Youtubers large fan base. In a recent video uploaded by the ACE family that has a fan base of over 7 million followers they were endorsing or presenting coachella tickets and where to get them cheaper. They explained how they partnered themselves with a ticket company called SeatGeek where Coachella tickets will be cheaper if people use the code provided in the description box below their video posted. They also explained how they too will be at Coachella, meaning that their fans will have the opportunity to meet them by going to this event. In other words, companies are sponsoring youtubers as well for their fame and fan base in order to increase ticket sales. They do this by drawing in the attention of public by appealing to the public that not only will the youtubers themselves will be there but the tickets will be sold for a cheaper price if the given code is used. Moreso, Even youtubers are used for their large fan base in order to endorse Coachella to draw more attention and people.  

Coachella is an overhyped event that is endorsed by celebrities and other well known persons. Other name brand companies that are based off of Celebrity Influence play a big role in making Coachella what it is. Since without them meaning the celebrities and the branded magazines a large number of the people who attend Coachella would not. Many of the people that do attend, attend in hope of seeing their favorite celebrity or someone they admire.

Works Cited

Odiamar, Danielle. “Coachella's Most Star-Studded Parties.” ELLE, ELLE, 11 Oct. 2017, www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/news/g28148/coachella-2016-parties-celebrities-fashion/.

It’s a Myth and a Legend  

Should we believe in myths and legends? -- Many people believe in myths because of a constant reminder of them from their environments. When an individual believes in a myth, they are actually psychologically affected. Myths come from a variety of cultures throughout the world. The belief in myths occurs through stories told to others whether it be true or not. The truth relies on how much an individual believes in the myths. People believe in myths and legends through their own cognition because each individual’s cognition is grown through their own process.

Something to consider when certain people are telling you certain stories (myths), is that in their mind they are held to have a cognitive dissonance. What that does is that it allows the mind of a person to remove a conflictingconlficting matter and instead continues to replace it with cognitive corporationcoorperation. For example, if someone is constantly telling you a story about how the boogie man monster does really exist, in their childhood, they may have heard the story of the boogie man so many times that it stuck to them and holds a place in their cognitive mind. With that in their cognitive mind, when someone else tries to replace their thought and tell them that the boogie man does not exist, they would remove that idea and instead keep their idea of yes it does exist. An article from How Stuff Works by Julia Layton states, “We all want to feel comfortable with our thoughts and actions, and it's a whole lot harder to change than it is to stay the same. We can see cognitive-dissonance theory at work in everyday life.” It’s true that when an individual  learns something totally new that they have never heard of in their entire lifetime, it’s hard for them to process it. BecauseBecasue they are human and that issue falls in place with every human, they are more or so likely to believe in the myths that have been told to them rather than myths that are totally new to their existence.

Myths are something that many people believe in. However there are different myths that people believe in. For that reason, when people believe in myths, they are believing in things that are always being told to them. An individual’s memory is basically a constant renovative story-telling device that exists within them. No one would actually be able to tell what is true and what is not, it depends on the person themselves if they believe in certain things or not. There is something called neuromyth, this is a type of myth in neroscience. Neuromyth results in overthinking the things that people learn to end up misunderstanding these things that they learn. When they are constantly told to believe in certain things, they make up these “connections” and misunderstands the whole point of the truth. Memory is what builds the person’s cognitive mind. With the cognitive mind, a person would automatically acknowledge things that they have faced or been through. Whereas they would not process something they have been told for the first time because they have no cognitive memory of it. Psychology Today states in their article, “Research indicates that remembering a bunch of new, unrelated elements is difficult. But if the elements are part of a structured story, they are more easily remembered.” What this article is saying is that the fact that parts of new things that we experience are the same parts we have already built into our cognitive minds makes us remember this new experience more. With that, different people believe in different myths because their cognitive minds are built different from the moment they came out of the womb.

Only certain people believe in myths because only certain people grow up from the moment they have been born to whatever age they are now, their cognitive schemas have been building within their own minds. ZSR Library exposes a case study performed by Mary Diane Cantrell, which where she states, “For others, believing in a particular legend is an emotional response. Legends can feed into the fears, anxieties , and biases a person may feel toward the subject matter or society in general thus providing them with emotional gratification.” With that said, an individual’s personal state of mind using their cognitive schema is what continues society’s beliefs in myths and legends. “-- believing in a particular legend is an emotional response” what this means is the fact that an individual’s own cognitive mind compels them into believing in the legend. Since everyone’s cognitive minds are not the same at all, only certain people with certain cognitive schemas can compel themselves into continuing to believe in the legend or myth. Looking at beliefs for myths and legends though a psychological lens, people with common disorders are more likely to feed into things like myths and legends. Cantrell states in her case study that “Legends can feed into the fears, anxieties, and biases a person may feel toward the subject matter…” By coming to that conclusion, it is clear that when an individual is affected by some sort of disorder, like anxiety, they are emotionally unstable which generates their cognitive mind to feed into things like legends and myths that are told by anyone and everyone.

If people stopped to think about it, they would realize that they only believe in the stories that they are told because of how common it is told to them. Whether these stories have the same concepts or are exactly the same stories. For the majority of the people in the world, myths are a big factor of their lives because it’s what build their cognitive minds which is what they use to think about anything they experience in life. People can experience that growing up in a certain neighborhood and then moving to the complete opposite side of where they were, they would face different problems and would try to stick to their original cognitive minds no matter how different they seem to the rest of the community. Depending on how long they make their stay, they would eventually grow into a different cognitive mindset to eventually feel comfortable with their new home.

Work Cited  

Layton, Julia. “Why Do People Believe Things That Science Has Proved Untrue?” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 8 Mar. 2018, science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/why-people-believe-things-science-proved-untrue.htm.

Cantrell, and Mary. “ZSR Library.” Urban Legends: Why Do People Believe Them?, Wake Forest University, 5 May 2010, wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/handle/10339/14790.  

Lindemann, Katherine. “Many People Believe Myths about How the Brain Works.” ResearchGate, 9 Mar. 2018, www.researchgate.net/blog/post/many-people-believe-myths-about-how-the-brain-works.

“What Mythology Reveals about the Mind.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cui-bono/201704/what-mythology-reveals-about-the-mind.

Why do people believe? Why do they have faith if they are going to lose track and sight of what they once had? The answer is simple and is located in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “What has been will be again, what has been doing will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” This verse is saying that whatever happens to something that was good, than it’ll come again.  It is often believed that high school students are more known for losing their faith, compared to college. This is an inappropriate accusation because it provides false information. Statistics and studies have shown that it is more common for students who leave for college to also leave track of their religious beliefs.

Statistics from Christianity Today (CT), proves that 34% of teens and highschool students drop their faith. It is believed that the rate is so low because they are surrounded by encouraging people who also believe the same things they do. However, the college rate for dropping their belief systems is greater, averaging at about 70%. This rate is much higher because this is the time in a young adult’s life where they start to venture out of their parents wings and start living independently.

High school, internships, jobs and parents don’t prepare kids enough for the journey that they are about to take. School prepares you for the workload that you are about to experience like, exams and benchmarks. Internships and jobs prepare you for responsibility and parents prepare you with the understanding and concept of living independently. Sadly though, these four things fail to teach young adults the importance of not losing yourself and who you are to others especially God or Gods.  

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding (CPYU) is an organization who notes that 65% of students who graduate from high school and enroll for college drop out or leave their church. It is believed that students walk away because they are launched into the world facing new situations and temptations that they have never come face-to-face before.

Though it is predicted that the only reason that students tend to lose their faith is because of the new atmosphere they have moved to. Yes, this is an important aspect of the situation, it is not the only and main reason. A very knowledgeable point was made in One News Now, there they stated that students and young adults don’t make it a priority, implying that they don’t make it important or a priority to keep their faith.

If a student were asked, “Why did you lose your faith. What happened and what caused it?”  More often than not they would answer that it wasn’t intentional, but also it is important to point out that it was intensical to not lose their faith in the first place. A lot if  not all of college students get overwhelmed and tend to forget about certain things, like religious backgrounds and old friends.

Losing faith is common in all age groups, parents, kids, grandparents and adolescents. But, research show that it is more common for college aged students (ages 18-24) to drop or walk away from their faith. It can be a sour sight to see for that was part of who someone was, thankfully though, colleges have been noticing the drop of religious backgrounds. College took initiative to fix the problem and created support groups for different religions so they can feel more at home and not have to change who they once were.

Although some students who didn’t lose their faith in college might think that the topic of losing faith is irrelevant and unnecessary.It is important to remember that the  influence goes beyond them and can affect other students.

Citations:

Melleby, Derek. “Why Students Abandon Their Faith: Lessons From William Wilberforce.” CPYU, 13 June 2014, cpyu.org/resource/why-students-abandon-their-faith-lessons-from-william-wilberforce/.

Wermund, Benjamin, et al. “Losing Faith in Higher Education.” POLITICO, Pro Education, 11 May 2017, www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-education/2017/05/losing-faith-in-higher-education-220254.

Stetzer, Ed. “Dropouts and Disciples: How Many Students Are Really Leaving the Church?” The Exchange | A Blog by Ed Stetzer, 14 May 2014, 2:00, www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2014/may/dropouts-and-disciples-how-many-students-are-really-leaving.html.

“BibleGateway.” Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV - - Bible Gateway, www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes 1:9&version=NIV.

“OneNewsNow.com - Your News Right Now.” OneNewsNow.com - Your News Right Now, www.onenewsnow.com/.

At this point in the film viewers know that for a living Tuck works for the CIA. But, as the movie continues forward he ends up facing his ex-wife after visiting his son at karate. In the scene, you are given a small piece of important information that he is known as a travel agent. In the film viewers are able to tell that his previous family is very sour about the idea of him being a “travel agent”.

The context of and the reasoning of hiding their identity might be different in the film and play but either way each character both play apart in being dishonest about who they are to someone they care about. The two characters, Tuck and Lucentio both lied about their profession to a  women they love. Which in the end, Tuck ends up with his ex-wife again later finding out his true identity and same thing with Lucentio. Eventually in the play, he reveals his true self to Bianca and still was able to win her over.

Later on the script Lucentio runs into a problem.

Hortensio: Sir, you say well, and well you do conceive. And since you do profess to be a suitor, you must, as we do gratify this gentleman, to whom we all rest generally beholding.

(Act 1, Scene 2, 277-280)

Here is the scene when all three suitors for Bianca meet up and create the plan to marry off Katherine, the older sister. The men convince Petruchio to marry the women and he claims that he will do it because of the wealth and the money that is being offered with the commitment of the marriage.

In comparing the circumstances at hand the audience can see that the men combined from both Taming of the Shrew and This Means War that they all have different motives in the beginning and while at first they didn’t stop to think how it might affect the relationships with the female character in the film and play.

In the scene, best friends Tuck and FDR, reveal to each other that the person they are dating/seeing happen to be the same person. Through a quick transaction of words it is understood that the men will continue to date the women under three conditions, she doesn’t know that they are friends, they stay out of each other way and “no hanky-panky”.

In comparing the book to the film though there isn’t necessarily an agreement placed upon the three suitors when it came to Bianca. Though the men did agree on the idea that let the best and most fit person for her win there wasn’t any rules held against them. In the film the men did happen to agree upon those three things but throughout the film you will notice that they didn’t acknowledge them and tried any way possible to win Lauren over, even if it meant lying to her.

Hortensio (as Litio) : Madam, my instruments in tune.

Bianca: Let’s hear. Oh fie, the treble jars!

Lucentio (as Cambio) :Spit in the hole, man, and tune again.

(Act 3, Scene 1, 39-43)

In the scene, the reader can identify that the game of trying to win Bianca has begun. Laid out for the reader is the idea that Hortensio and Lucentio is disguised as other characters as if they were both school masters. Lucentio is trying to convey how he feels towards Bianca and how much her presence pleases him but Hortensio is getting in the way bring the musical instrument that he doesn't know how to play or tune properly, interfering with Lucentio’s shot at trying to win the lady.

Though neither of the characters is scene playing a gamut in the movie. A scene is portrayed of FDR showing Lauren another type of art; paintings.

In the scene FDR took Lauren out for a date to see an exclusive exhibit on Gustav Klimts. To impress the girl, FDR had an earpiece with someone from his agency relaying information to him about each painting. Eventually though, the connection was interrupted by Tuck and he starred relaying false information to FDR to screw up his date and get between Lauren and him.

Reading the end and seeing the credits roll up the screen the audience can come to the assumption that relationships are important to society. It is often portrayed that in relationships it is often about control over whom, and Taming of the Shrew was a great example for that. But, in the movie This Means War, it shows that instead of control, relationships are more about honesty. For a healthy relationship won’t work unless you are true with yourself and the person your trying to be with.