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Avi Cantor

English 11

Ms. Pahomov

23 April 2018

Are Hip-Hop Producers Undervalued?

Producers in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre are the architects of the sounds that are heard in rap today. These musicians work behind the scenes to create a melody for the music that paints a picture of what the artist is talking about. Without a strong or fitting instrumental, the message of a given song deteriorates, ultimately becoming obsolete. But do rap fans even know who producers are and what they do? Due to the fact that these unsung heroes aren’t vocally at the forefront of a given song, many people don’t even know who producers are or what makes them such an integral part of the genre. The lack of credit given to rap producers causes the rap industry to put artists before producers when it comes to notoriety. This message limits fans ability to truly understand the music they’re listening to and allows record labels to take advantage of producers financially.

In April of 2018, a survey was conducted in Ms. Pahomov’s 11th grade English class with avid rap fans that focused on the recognition of producer “tags” and if the given student knew what the job of a producer was. Of the ten students who participated in the survey, six knew what a producer was and could describe at least partially what the job of a producer was. Of 40 producer tags,--all of which were/are big-name producers like Metro Boomin, DJ Khaled, and RONNY J--the average amount that a given student recognized was 19.5. Further, all ten participants new at least one of each of the 40 producers collaborators. This lack of knowledge pertaining to the very people who are making the hit songs that have stormed the nation is flat out wrong. These statistics show how uneducated and unexposed the teenage fans of rap music are to the people who are building the foundations to their favorite songs. This lack of knowledge creeps into the minds of the management of record labels, making it easier to take advantage of these producers.

This past year, TM88, a member of the production powerhouse 808 Mafia, tweeted that he hadn’t been paid by Atlantic Records for his work on rapper Lil Uzi Vert’s breakout hit “XO TOUR Llif3”, despite the report that the song had raked in approximately $4.5 million for the label. However, TM88 is far from the only producer to speak out on shady business deals and lack of payment. Producers like E. Dan, DJ Burn One, and Illmind, among others have spoken out about missing payment from labels and rappers alike. These shady payment deals result in the producers getting paid much less than the artists that they work with. One example of this phenomenon is Atlanta producer and architect of the “trap music” sound Mike Will Made-It.

Despite a successful and lengthy career spanning well over a decade, the producer’s net worth is estimated to be $10 Million, according to celebritynetworth.com. This may seem like a lot of money, but compared to the artists he’s worked with, this number is meager at best. Over ten of his collaborators have net worths that surpass his despite similar career lengths and accolades. The music industry’s inability to recognize its producers allows those producers to get paid much less than their vocal counterparts.

If rap fans were to realize how little they understand about the music they’re listening to, they’d realize that they’re actively limiting themselves from finding music that they like. Producers that have one hit song may have several others and may have relationships with some of the most popular artists in the world. For example, “trap music” producer Zaytoven has worked with everyone from Lil Pump to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie to Wiz Khalifa. If someone who’s a fan of Lil Pump decides to look at who Zaytoven has collaborated with and finds that they like other music he’s made, they’ve just opened themselves up to a whole new path for discovering music. By shutting out the idea that producers are an integral part of Hip-Hop, fans are shutting out a possibility to access music that they’d like.

This is my best 2Fer because I try to be as precise with my evidence as possible. I've struggled with this before and I think that I was effectively concise in this essay.

Works Cited:

Cantor, Avi M. “Interview Data.” Google, Google, 17 Apr. 2018, docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1A_uA0C1wHT37vBSujYU80-dtSaXnKJ5Cs_ogrq8kJo4/edit#gid=0.

“Rae Sremmurd.” Celebrity Net Worth, www.celebritynetworth.com/dl/rae-sremmurd/.

Justin Stewart

Ms. Pahomov

English 3

18 April 2018

                                    Technology: The world’s ruler

Technology has been around since the late 1950s. It can be things such as Computers, Tablets, or smartphones. Technology is something that everyone uses everyday. It basically runs today’s society. People use Technology for their job, school, or just for their entertainment. It’s been known as the world’s venom to not just adults, but to teenagers as well. Technology can have a negative effect on a person’s life.

Social media is a possible reason why Technology can have a negative effect on a person’s life, Specifically a teenagers. Teens are the main group of people that use social media. People  usually download social media apps on their smartphones such as Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Parents believe that social media is toxic to their child’s brain. People think that social media can affect their child’s development into adulthood. Technology can affect the child’s education due to lack of sleep. Technology is what encourages a teen to stay awake for a long time. This causes them to be tired during school and keeps them from performing to the best of their abilities.

Social media is not just physically harmful but mentally harmful as well. Cyberbullying is a major issue that affects people mentally. Cyberbullying is bullying but it is done through Technology. Cyberbullying can happen to anyone, but when people think of the word Cyberbullying, people automatically assume that it means a teen is getting bullied online. But it can happen to adults too. Some examples of Cyberbullying is someone posting something embarrassing about another person like a video of that person being physically bullied or someone posting personal information on social media without the person’s consent. Bullies tend to do this to ruin someone’s social life and real world life. Unfortunately, this can lead to depression and can ultimately lead to suicide. Suicide is a big issue among teens in the United states. According to the Megan Meier Foundation, Approximately 34% of the students report experiencing cyberbullying during their lifetime and About 15% of the students admitted to cyberbullying another student in their lifetime.

Social media can cause lack of privacy. This makes Social media a little too Social. An example of a social media app that can become a lack of privacy is Facebook. Facebook is the most open social media app. This means that anyone can go on a person’s Facebook page without them even knowing. The person can also message the person by texting them through the direct message feature called Facebook messenger. Unlike Instagram and Snapchat, Facebook doesn’t have the feature to prevent someone from going onto the person’s page without the person’s consent.

When People stop and think about it, they realize that social media can have a negative effect on a person’s life both Physically and mentally. Social media can be an unsafe place to share your information. Some people share their location on Social media which can be very dangerous.

Kimberly Gucciardi-Kriegh

4-23-18

Changes in schools are typically seen or assumed to be an improvement, but that is not true in most cases. Change is typically involves the school district and state. But, in some ways, keeping the schools the same hurts even more than the changes do. Underfunding schools is not only detrimental because it can negatively impact the curriculum but it can cause them not to change at all, which can be worse.

One of the biggest and most known problems in schools is when schools arts programs are cut, such as, drama, art, and band. In a study conducted by Americans for the Arts, “Students who take four years of arts and music classes average almost 100 points higher on their SAT scores than students who take only one-half year or less.” Keeping creative classes in schools not only improves students time in high school or middle school, it sets them up for success getting into college and getting a job. Continuing these classes not only give students a place to escape from stress and personal problems and helps them discover their passions, but gives them more opportunities for career success. This confirms that changing the curriculum can seriously hurt the students academically.

Meanwhile, the opposite can be said, that not changing the curriculum can hurt students much more. Textbooks hurt students due to the outdated information and giving students no real life skills, they are just memorizing or reading facts. In the state of Nevada, the school district spent 3.8 million dollars to get the schools new textbooks during the 2018 and 2019 school year. This is a school that recognizes teaching children outdated information that is incorrect and no longer relevant hurts students more than it helps them. This shows a way that updating the curriculum can benefit students.

Another way that updating the curriculum helps students is providing them with better classes. In 2005, The School District of Philadelphia made a graduation requirement that all students need to take African American History class. This happened because in 1967 over 40,000 students walked out of school to advocate for this class. The inclusion of this class changed students lives by providing the necessary and crucial learning of the history of an unrepresented group. Without this change in ciciculum, most students in the city would not have learned about these amazing people.

Even though students, teachers, and staff look at change in schools to be typically bad, which it can be, it can also be good. Underfunding schools creates a significant change in curriculum for the worst, but, this can mean it staying the same, which hurts students too.

This was my best possible 2Fer because I reflected upon all the things I wrote in my reflective essay. I tried my best to stay focus and connected to my thesis. Something new I tried was to format my thesis differently and make it so I was able to show two sides of one story.

Sources-

“10 Arts Education Fast Facts.” Americans for the Arts, 6 Nov. 2013, 11:00AM, www.americansforthearts.org/by-topic/arts-education/10-arts-education-fast-facts.

Toliver, Rachel. “‘What Are the Children Who Grow Up to Become Police Officers Learning in School?".” The New Republic, 28 Sept. 2014, newrepublic.com/article/119593/surprising-lessons-philadelphias-african-american-history-course.

Gross, Sam. “WCSD Approves $3.8 Million to Replace Outdated Language, Math Textbooks.” Reno Gazette Journal, Reno Gazette-Journal, 31 Jan. 2018, 7:09PM, www.rgj.com/story/news/education/2018/01/30/wcsd-approves-3-8-million-replace-outdated-language-math-textbooks/1081301001/.

Equal rights for women have been changing for over decades. These laws are there to protect the rights of men and women. In the early 1900s, women were given small opportunities aside to feel equal to men. Men have more opportunities than women because they seem more superior. Then again, women are more beneficial to these laws because it supports the many women who don’t have rights which makes these women oppressed. By doing this, it takes away from a woman’s quality and perseverance. Despite having the same legal rights as men, women are still disadvantaged in comparison. The disadvantages included, gender price discrimination, psychological discrimination and many more that are equally unjust.  

The cost of female sanitary items and female undergarments has been a very controversial topic. This included the many harms of gender taxing against women of all ages. The Pink Tax is extra money that women have to pay towards their hygiene products and sanitary items. According to an article from Yahoo Finance, a Consumer Report included “women’s products cost more to manufacture, used different formulations or were assigned higher prices by retailers”. That doesn’t give retailing companies the right to make female product cost more because the manufacturing rate, it just makes them targeter trying to get extra money in their pockets. Some products that have the same manufacture and production process, are found from retailing companies for both men and women. Degree deodorant at Walmart was $3.88 for women, $2.47 for men. Deodorant which is  a requirement for healthy hygiene is used by everyone and cost more for females because of the packaging, for it to look more appealing to women to buy. Walgreens has a 3-pack of Gillette razors at $11.99 for women and $10.99 for men. Once again razors, something that everyone uses cost more for women but serves the same purposes as it does for men.Women get paid less than men and are still at harm to afford female necessities.

From a psychological view, Male dominance in environments like workforce are a improper maldistribution of power compared to women. This act of male dominance indicates sexual harassment not as a sexual act but males taking control. These men have the upper hand and persuade women with promotions and raises because they have access. As reported by psychologist John Pryor on psychology today, “factors that make men likely to harass women in the workplaces, are desires to dominate women and endorsement of stereotypic views of male sex-role norms”. Men in the workplace are naturally competitive due to high levels of testosterone and become power hungry. Men are stereotypically enhanced to be powerful which takes away from men being humble. Then women have to work twice as hard, because men are competing to be what’s best. Men are less empathetic over what a woman fights to get which gets in the way of what they desire, to be on top.

Writer Joseph Conrad once said “Being a woman is terribly difficult task, since it consists principally in dealing with men.” Men have always had the upper hand since the begging of time which makes them already at the top. Women, who have been given little opportunities and some rights, have to be above these stereotypes. This creates a space where gender discrimination is revealed and how men are mentally involved when given access to power. Women, who are less powerful, will most likely be acknowledge if involves a man’ satisfaction. Women should take a stand to equity, because their valves are as important as men who are at the top.

This may be my best possible 2fer because I completed this more individually. I usually get more support from my teachers and peers that help with the process of completing my essay, but I worked by myself. I put more effort into my work knowing that my previous 2fers had mistakes that I made commonly.  Now that I have knowledge based on the guidance that I received from my previous 2fers, I know now that what I need to put my best work forward is challenging myself more to work on my own.

Sources:

“Gender-Based Pricing: Why It Costs More to Be a Woman.” Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo!, 12 Jan. 2015, finance.yahoo.com/news/the-extra-cost-of-being-a-woman-214445601.html.  

“....Because It Costs More to Be a Woman.” The Pink Tax - Gender Price Discrimination, pink.tax/.

Lowen, Linda. “Why Powerful Men Sexually Harass Women.” ThoughtCo,

Limited Edition Ideas

Exclusive deals have been a business technique since the beginning of material production. The idea of having something of in limited print or items that are only available for a limited time has drawn collectors and people who want to stand out. When a limited edition or a rare item from a person’s favorite brand more people are who are in favor of that brand are more likely to buy something that is limited edition than buying something they can normally obtain. Buying limited edition items is a good marketing campaign when businesses have a lot to offer.

Not only business are liable for using this technique though in 2015 the famed Wu tang clan released a secret album called “Once Upon A Time In Shaolin”. Rapper RZA said in a interview with Forbes magazine “We’re about to sell an album like nobody else sold it before,” he called it an exclusive collectors item that RZA said in a tweet “"We’re making a single-sale collector’s item. This is like somebody having the scepter of an Egyptian king.”. The winning bid for the album went for 2 million dollars, although it came out successful, Wu tang rapper Cilvaringz was worried and called this a gamble that could totally flop if not done correctly. Around 343 people bidded to have the one and only Wu tang album.

On January 18th 2018 famed rapper Tyler the Creator announced his collaboration with the company converse to make limited edition shoes in a tweet that solely said "GOLF le FLEUR jan 18” The likes of that tweet ended up being in 97.8k and the retweets were 17,684. The shoes went for $100 but had a resale value of $200. This drew in many people who were attracted to the shoe brand and also the rapper. They were sold on Tyler the Creators website Golf and were sold out in less than 20 minutes.  The reason why his shoes sold out so quickly was because the amount of clout Tyler had and also because they were named limited edition so once they were sold out there was no way to know if they were going to sell them again. The profit Tyler and converse made from this collaboration was one of the most popular vans bought in the company's history.

Back in 2013 Stone throw records had a 10th anniversary special vinyl for one of history's best beat maker/music sampler. They had a limited edition vinyl based on the original drawing of J Dilla's idea for the album cover. When the album donuts originally came out on his birthday February 7th 2006. The 10th anniversary came out in 2013 remembering his death on February 17th which was  and celebrating his album 10th anniversary. Back in 2013 the album was almost immediately sold out by J Dilla fans who bought the vinyl. Die hard fans have said this is a “must have” for all J Dilla fans. Stone Throw Records said that “The album is ten years old now. Many new people have discovered the album and the work of our favorite producer along the way. Some still ask for the drawing cover, and we're happy to oblige.” From this quote the reader can gather than the history and legacy of J Dilla is being used as a memory for his fans but also is being used to make money off a limited edition vinyl record which in the long run makes more money.

From music, clothes, and vinyls there are many different limited edition items that usually make a spike in sales. With businesses coming up with this practice and using it to make money has been commonplace in the business world. Stores such as Supreme have limited edition items each week making there resale value very high and it attracts a very young clinetell to buy there items. In the end the limited edition items usually can greatly influence people to buy the producers things, it also can make is so that the person who does buy those items have the ability to resell the limited edition items because of the rarity.

Works Cited

Greenburg, Zack O'Malley. “Why Wu-Tang Will Release Just One Copy Of Its Secret Album.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Nov. 2014, www.forbes.com/sites/zackomalleygreenburg/2014/03/26/why-wu-tang-will-release-just-one-copy-of-its-secret-album/.

Jones, Riley. “Tyler, the Creator Is Releasing Three Limited-Edition Converse Shoes This Month.” Footwear News, Footwear News, 4 Jan. 2018, footwearnews.com/2018/focus/athletic-outdoor/tyler-the-creator-new-limited-edition-converse-golf-le-fleur-shoes-474624/.

“J Dilla - Donuts, 10th Anniversary Vinyl | Stones Throw Records.” Stones Throw, www.stonesthrow.com/news/2016/02/dilla-donuts-10th-anniversary-vinyl.

“Why Your Business Needs a Limited Edition Strategy.” Luth Research, 30 Nov. 2016, luthresearch.com/business-needs-limited-edition-strategy/.

Who makes advertisements? Is it companies?Is it celebrities? Is advertisements made by popular demand? An advertisement is a piece of marketing that companies or industries show to invite people to buy their products or to voice a message. Companies owned and operated by white people are usually companies that aren’t expected to use black people on their advertisements. There is actually a myth that black owned and operated businesses gain more money when people don’t know that they are black businesses. There is a demand for diversity in business and advertisements because people are growing more aware of what race means.

Only 19% of ads that people see in their daily lives show minority groups. The world is mostly made of minority groups yet they are only shown less than a quarter of the time. People want to see themselves. Why is at that white people see more of themselves yet their is less of them? Queen Latifah a rapper, brand ambassador and actress is one artists trying to bring diversity to advertisements In 2006, Covergirl asked Queen Latifah to be a brand ambassador for Covergirl. Queen Latifah took Covergirls offer and started their first ever  line of makeup exclusively for minority groups called, Queen Collection. Queen Latifah isn’t the only celebrity realizing that white companies need to change their advertising techniques. Marketing Week, did a piece on new research coming out about companies not having minority groups in their ads. The statistic were so crazy that Marketing Week also did different videos and showed their audience the reproductions of the lack of minority groups in advertisement.

The Chicago Tribune did a cut throat piece on black owned businesses and their hidden secret, their owned by black people with all white employees. Of course black owned businesses never lied, if asked if they were the owner they told people the truth. Most black owned businesses see the difference between themselves talking to their white counterparts and white people seeing someone of the same race as them. Racisms isn’t just something people acknowledge and move on from. Racism is hindering black owned businesses. Research done by the Chicago Tribune saw that 55% of black people with household incomes more than $50,000 wanted more black owned businesses. In the study they also found that white people saw black owned businesses as selling products only for black people. Assistant Professor from Chicago State University says doesn’t see any advantage. There isn’t any advantage because as Parker (who is the former operator of a website that promoted black-owned businesses) put it, eventually black CEOs come out as the CEO’s.

People claim their nationality, ethnicity or race all the time. More than ever knowing who someones is demands on things such as their race. People buy things from big and small companies all the time. It would be nice to see minority groups in this advertisements done by big white companies. It would also be good to know if the store you are buying from is black owned. Knowing who you are reflects how you act, so why not know that the stories you love also like you.  Businesses and advertisements aren’t any different because they both want maximum profit off of their customers. Diversity in business and advertising would benefit companies with money. Showing of black owned or black commercials are good. Diversity is great.

Works Cited

1. Jackson, Cheryl V. “When Building Your Business Means Hiding That It's Black-Owned.” Chicagotribune.com, 17 Apr. 2017, www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/ct-black-entrepreneurs-downplay-ownership-bsi-20160414-story.html.

2. Rogers, Charlotte, et al. “Just 19% of People in Ads Are from Minority Groups.” Marketing Week, 30 Jan. 2017, www.marketingweek.com/2016/12/06/lloyds-diversity-report/.

3. Martyswant. “Queen Latifah on the Importance of Showcasing Women of Color in Advertising.” – Adweek, Adweek, 26 Apr. 2017, www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/queen-latifah-on-the-importance-of-showcasing-women-of-color-in-advertising/.

Alan Li

Ms. Pahomov

English 3

19 April 2018

Gathering Players in a Never-Ending Quest

Before Everquest was created, there were games like Dungeons and Dragons and Adventure that captivated people who were interested in roleplaying as fantasy characters. Unlike most massively multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs today, those games relied heavily on text messages detailing what was happening in the game in order for players to play the game, which is probably bizarre to many people today when looking back to games produced in the 1980s. It was the 1990s where users were able to start playing MMORPGs that are three-dimensional. Unlike other games of the genre at the time, Everquest offered near to impossible quests users would have to complete in order to traverse the world of Norrath—the setting where Everquest takes place in. Although the difficulty of Everquest ended up detracting many people from playing the game, Daybreak Game Company—the company that owns the rights to Everquest—has helped influence the MMORPG genre and can arguably be the most influential MMORPG so far. The impact Everquest had compared to other role-playing games can because of the difficulty level encouraging members of the community to form stronger bonds with one another.

Everquest was able to build stronger bonds between players trying to explore a difficult environment to play on by allowing them to communicate with each other through quests. For many role-playing games today such as TERA and World of Warcraft, users are able to have an easier time completing quests compared to Everquest due to quest logs appearing on the user’s screen that tells him or her what to do and where to go next, which would lead to players being able to traverse through the game without having to interact with any other person in the game. In Everquest, there were no quest logs that would be able to help players with their journey so users would have to look up tutorials written by other players in order fulfill quests in the game. Steven Messner, who is an editor working for PC Gamer, states in an article, “At the time, grinding seemed exciting. It forced you to play with strangers in order to kill tough monsters, and was the only real method to level up your character. By existing in such a harsh world, Everquest inspired strong relationships forged not by the joy of surviving, but of growing together.” From the quote, by noting how players would grow together in the game, it shows how users would be able to make lifelong friends in a stressful environment, which gives users support that cannot be found in other games of the genre. Due to players having to rely on each other for a long time in order to progress through the game, it led to players building friendships and camaraderie in a way that would be impossible to form in any other MMORPG due to its challenging nature.

Along with challenges that built stronger bonds between members of the community, it allowed these players to find the motivation to play the game. Because of the overwhelming difficulties players would have to endure, users would have to be motivated in order to continue the game. In other online games like World of Warcraft, since users are given quests that are easier to complete compared to quests in Everquest, users are able to complete the quests in the game earlier, which would lead to them no longer having any motivation to playing the game due to not having any more objectives. Senior Editor Mike Fahey of Kotaku—a company that talks about video games—notes in a Kotaku article, “The original EverQuest changed the way I interacted with people. By giving me a well-defined role to play, the game made me feel like an important part of any adventuring party, which did wonders for my confidence and self-esteem.” Based on the quote, when he states how he has a well-defined role, it could be interpreted that he is not just talking about his character in the game; he is also talking about his purpose. With comrades having to rely on each other and having that sense of determination to succeed in the game, Everquest gave many users purpose to playing a game that would deter many people who have little to no experience playing the game.

In spite of there being more MMORPG games users can now play other than Everquest, when it came to building a community of dedicated users, Everquest helped facilitate that through difficulties in the game. Besides being one of the first games in the MMORPG genre to be three-dimensional, Everquest helped introduce many users to many mechanics today such as quests, dungeons, and bosses, which can be found in MMORPGs that came after it like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. However, despite those games being more popular than Everquest, Everquest is still played by many despite its age. To end on a final note, when talking about the success the staff team had with Everquest, Brad McQuaid, who is one of the creators of Everquest, once stated in a GameSpot interview, “While they're very proud of their first creation, they feel a need deep down to keep going, upward and onward.” From this, it shows the struggle, determination, and effort the staff team had that could be reminiscent to their player base when it came to developing the game since it was one of the first game of its kind.

Works Cited

Messner, Steven. “A Brief History of MMO Games.” Pcgamer, PC Gamer THE GLOBAL

AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES, 28 July 2017,

www.pcgamer.com/a-brief-history-of-mmo-games/.

Fahey, Mike. “Happy 15th Anniversary, EverQuest.” Kotaku Australia, Kotaku Australia, 17

Mar. 2014, www.kotaku.com.au/2014/03/happy-15th-anniversary-everquest/.

Walker, Trey. “Brad McQuaid Interview.” GameSpot, Gamespot, 11 Jan. 2002,

www.gamespot.com/articles/brad-mcquaid-interview/1100-2838404/.

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/

Lauren Nicolella

April 17th, 2018

English 3

Ms. Pahomov

Another Reason to Love Animals

Domesticated animals have always been a large interest of not only children, but adults as well. Whether it is a dog, cat hamster or even a ferret, they are another vital member of a family that is deserving of love and endless cuddles. The options are truly endless and all animals provide a very large mental and physical factor to families around the world. By having a pet in a household, it is benefitting one’s mental health by keeping them occupied and gives a sense of relief because of a distraction being placed on them.

Anxiety and depression are one of the largest mental health issues that many people have to face on the daily. Although these are not easy to overcome, there are ways to help an individual solely based on adopting a pet. According to the American Psychiatric Association, animals help a range of those who have mental illnesses. “These specially trained therapy dogs help people with a variety of mental health conditions, including, dementia and Alzheimer’s, depression, PTSD, and autism. Therapy sessions typically include a therapist and the dog and its handler and they often work together through a series of sessions.” By having a pet, it allows people to be active, therefore taking their mind off of what had been stressing them out. Dogs are being trained to become therapy and service dogs, giving access to be in a hospital, which is one of the main places they are being brought to in order to provide some source of help. By having these certified pets in places like hospitals and simply a home with a family, they are slowly contributing relief to those who face struggles every day.

Many scientific studies, research, and surveys have been conducted in order to test if the possibilities are true and actually effective to those who adopt a pet. Steve Feldman from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America has researched a concept he calls “the pet effect,” which is explained through some statistics taken from a survey. “Any pet owner will tell you that living with a pet comes with many benefits, including constant companionship, love and affection. Not only are people happier in the presence of animals, they’re also healthier. In a survey of pet owners, 74% of pet owners reported mental health improvements from pet ownership, and 75% of pet owners reported a friend’s or family member’s mental health has improved from pet ownership.” By owning an animal, responsibilities are given and expected among a family and individual as well. Creating a new routine and being a part of caring for a new furry member of a family can create a distraction from the previous amount of mental issues that were preventing daily actions to be able to happen. Even with smaller pets like hamsters or guinea pigs, they require more maintenance than a more domestic animal like a cat or a dog, and that close animal interaction helps with relieving fear and anxiety.

Although adopting a pet may not be a solution for everyone dealing with a mental health issue, it is a great alternative and worth a try if there is an available option to do so. By having a companion constantly around, it could make up for the absence of another human and discard many negative thoughts and overwhelming feelings someone may feel throughout the day. Animals are a source of therapy and relief, and are able to be accessed easily, as there are always many dogs, cats, hamsters, ferrets, and plenty of other pets that are available and are willing to look for a friend as well.

This was my best possible 2Fer because I feel that I did a lot more research that also had an impact on me and others. The topic I chose allowed me to be genuinely curious about what I was going to be writing about, since animals are a huge part of my life and I have noticed some changes of when they are around and how I have changed mentally throughout this school year. A main goal I tried to stick to was making sure that my points were not going too all over the place, since I have a tendency to skew away from what I originally presented in my thesis statement. Finally, I have been able to work on my analytical essay skills and I feel that this definitely involved the most percents and statistics to help back up my argument, as well as follow up points that lead into the topic.

Works Cited:

• Therapy Dogs: Helping Improve Lives of People with Mental Illness, www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2016/12/therapy-dogs-helping-improve-lives-of-people-with-mental-illness.

• Oaklander, Mandy. “Pet Therapy: Science Proves Owning a Pet Is Good for You.” Time, Time, 6 Apr. 2017, time.com/4728315/science-says-pet-good-for-mental-health/.

• “Pets and Mental Health.” Mental Health Foundation, 20 Nov. 2017, www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/pets-and-mental-health.

• “Alleviating Anxiety, Stress and Depression with the Pet Effect.” Alleviating Anxiety, Stress and Depression with the Pet Effect | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/alleviating-anxiety-stress-and-depression-pet.

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.   

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/.