The various articles in Impossible were highly impactful to me. For starters, I resonated a lot with Danusha Goska’s “Political Paralysis” piece because I find myself looking in the mirror and asking, “How could someone like me make a difference?” Indeed, I agree with Goska that our society has commodified the value and meaning of virtue by tying it to materialistic and elitist things that the majority of the population may always vie for. Yet, most might never attain the diverse systems that work against certain groups in our global society. Also, I like how Goska changed the question from “How could someone like me make a difference?” to “What can I do today to make the world a bit of a better place than it was yesterday?” The simple things in life can go a long way for people. For instance, remembering someone’s name and waving/speaking to them when you see them around campus helps diminish Richmond’s pervasive social disconnection problem.

On another note, Howard Zinn’s “The Optimism of Uncertainty” made a really great point about the fragility that people in positions of power have. I actually connected this idea to the TV drama Reign. In one episode, Queen Catherine scolds Queen Mary for not yielding to the nobles’ demands at court. She tells Mary that as royals, their true power comes from the nobles’ and other groups of people such as the servant class – obedience to their authority. Without it, they could very well be murdered, so it is in both of their best interests to keep the nobles and the people happy at all costs. Moreover, I think that if society could rally behind this idea more, we could prompt an “unexpected” good change in history that could make the world a much better place than it is today.

I’m glad that I had the chance to re-watch the music videos of both “Formation” and “This is America.” Now that I am more critical of the things I watch, I saw a few arguments or references to events in history that each video makes. For instance, in “Formation,” one argument that Beyoncé makes is that women can be the “breadwinners” of their household and treat their significant other with luxuries- i.e., taking them out to pricey restaurants or allowing them to shop for name-brand clothing items. This argument is in response to how – at least, in America – our gender norms and roles of masculinity and femininity condition us to think that men are generally the “breadwinners” in the relationship who are then expected and responsible for keeping their women happy by giving them money to spend on things they desire. Similarly, in “This is America,” when he shoots the church members singing in the choir, my mind immediately leaped to the 2015 shooting that took place at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. In the article that analyzed this specific scene of the music video, I believe that the purpose of that scene was to argue that historically, churches were a sacred and safe place for Black Americans to find shelter in. Now, they have been desecrated and can no longer offer the last veil of protection Black Americans had against the ills of racism and discrimination, especially when the two are present in police brutality.

On another note, I do feel that if both videos were marketed to the larger American society, then some messages will get lost in translation. If not for the articles we had to help unpack what went on in these music videos and my lived experiences of being Black in America, I do not think that I would have gained the insights I mentioned earlier. With this in mind, how can works of pop culture communicate complex messages without most audiences missing the point and just viewing the work as mere entertainment? Even while thinking that most Black Americans will understand the messages in both videos, I recognize that despite my low-income background, I am privileged – to an extent – because I attend an elite university, which has afforded me substantial academic opportunities than my peers back home who attend less elite and underfunded educational institutions. In other words, while I may be in a position to understand the complexities of what happens in both music videos, my peers may not have the academic tools, such as being literate or evaluating complex arguments and their inferences, to deduce their own conclusion of things rather than accepting works of pop culture at face value.

Since I’ve had Dr. Bezio before, I am familiar with the steps involved in close reading. In applying these steps to works of pop culture, it is quite fascinating to see how many messages are being conveyed to us, members of the intended audience. What’s more, our brains automatically process the information and arguments works of pop culture contain. So, I can see why parental figures, educators, and even our peers caution us to not accept things at face value because if we do, we risk accepting things that might actually be contrary to what we believe in. From our discussion on systems and how one might deconstruct them, I feel that the steps of close reading can help society determine the best way to eliminate harmful systems and replace them with systems that do more harm than good.

One thing that I found intriguing from the podcast was the discussion of women in the 19th century. The occupations these women could earn were mainly in the domestic sphere of life, such as working at a textile factory and making sure that the household’s needs were taken care of. Of course, this was the opposite of men’s jobs that dealt more with manual labor and, given their status as men, allowed them to be the “breadwinners” of their family. As a result, I feel that this “starting point” for women has impacted why, in the 21st century, women typically choose lower-wage and/or domestic jobs than higher-wage jobs. Besides the argument that lower-wage jobs generally provide women with more flexibility to perform their household duties than higher-wage occupations, I wonder that if women in the 18th century had more opportunities to be the “breadwinners” of their families, would modern-day society still grapple with the gender pay gap or the reality that most women do not enter fields they are qualified for because of their sex and status in society in relation to males?

I found it very fitting that we cover the theme of leadership studies and the significance of works of popular culture given our campus environment. More than this, though, the readings and podcast provided me with additional tools to critically evaluate the messages both leaders and popular culture communicate to the larger society. From the Harvey reading, they identified and explained the seven fundamental questions groups and leaders must confront and answer to be insightful (starts on page 205). In reflecting on our Giving Games project, I remember seeing the answers to most of these questions on most charities’ websites. To an extent, as these questions become more ingrained into our global society’s culture, we can re-examine leadership, and the relationships leaders have with their followers. For instance, most of us grew up in households where we were told to defer authority- authority generally being men who held the most power in a group context. This also means that if we had any issues with how an individual in a high authoritative position was acting, we must keep those concerns to ourselves, or else we could face harsh reprimands or severe consequences. For all people who do not hold high authoritative positions in a group context, this means that we have internalized that our voice- our opinions, attitudes, and belief- and our identity as human beings is somehow unworthy of being recognized and addressed by leaders- this is especially true for communities of color. This inevitably keeps unfit leaders in positions of authority while marring the power each human being has when they speak out against systems of oppression and inequality.

So, I agree with Dr. Bezio that representation matters. While this question was not mentioned in the readings nor the podcast, I feel that it should be plainly stated: How can we, as the up and coming generation, influence popular culture today? Even though most of us are not- yet- qualified executives or civically engaged entrepreneurs, I feel that we all can start making a change in the spheres of our lives that we are the “experts” in. Whether that be speaking up and out more during our interactions with peers about the various -isms that plague our society or posting social media content that reflects messages meant to deconstruct systems of oppression and inequality, I believe that we all can start making a difference in the lives of others this very moment. This is not to say that change will happen overnight, but this is to say one thing: just because we’re young and at the moment, inexperienced in some elements of life, does not mean we have to wait to effect social change and justice.

I really appreciated Dr. Bezio’s Podcast #9 because it reminded me of my Slavery & Freedom class I took last semester. In that class, my professor taught my peers and me how to reinterpret history by critically reading and analyzing primary and secondary sources for what wasn’t said. In other words, this is colloquially known as the silences in history that predominantly people of minority demographics write about yet are “silenced” by dominant groups who want to maintain power and authority in a society. Even now, as a Jepson student, I still find myself engaging in Historiography because while it is important to understand what a particular author was trying to convey to a certain audience during a particular time period, it is equally important to investigate the relevant context surrounding that author’s background and the background of their audience to see how historical events shaped literature and what consequences have modern-day society grappled with as a result of those events.

A popular example of this would be the focus of my research paper, which has a normative claim that American society should not continue to pride itself on extending independence to all Americans on the Fourth of July when a large segment of the United States population- namely, enslaved Africans, women, and indigenous peoples- could not claim such liberties and rights that may have been outlined by the Declaration of Independence, but was really only meant to benefit property-owning, white American men. Moreover, in studying how the celebration of the Fourth of July as America’s sole day of independence has led to negative consequences for certain groups in the U.S., I’ve found that a majority of Americans- Black Americans- are advocating for Juneteenth to be federally recognized as a national day of Independence. And this is significant because of the constant forms of oppression and inequality Black Americans face on this campus and in the larger realm of society that continuously reduce us to second-class citizenship.

http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1972/russia-response 

After watching the various Presidential Campaign Commercials for 1972, I found the “Tanya” commercial from McGovern’s Campaign to be intriguing as it relates to what we do in Critical Thinking! This commercial starts by recounting what President Nixon said about Tanya in his speech at the Republican Convention. Essentially, President Nixon told the audience how Tanya, a Russian child, witnessed her family die during the siege of Leningrad, which happened during WWII. President Nixon quotes from Tanya’s diary how distraught she felt when she realized she had no more family because of armed conflict in Russia. President Nixon even said to the Republic Convention: “Let us think of Tanya and all the other Tanyas everywhere as we proudly meet our responsibility for leadership.” What follows from this is the narrator stating how since President Nixon’s term in office, roughly a quarter of 165,000 South Vietnamese children- or “Tanyas” who are under the age of 12- have been killed by American bombs despite America’s efforts to save the South Vietnamese people from North Vietnam. McGovern’s campaign commercial ends by saying, “As we vote November 7th, let us think of Tanya and all the other defenseless children of this world.”

I feel that the strategy employed in this campaign was very effective. Given that the Nixon Administration limited the flow of information being transferred from Vietnam to the States, he could control the war effort’s narrative without many rebuttals since society tends to never question those in high authoritative positions- for instance, Presidents and professors. With McGovern’s campaign, it can be argued that the campaign might not have convinced the majority of Americans to vote for him, but the campaign commercial did give those Americans a reasonable cause to not vote for Nixon. Generally speaking, human beings do not like when people say one thing yet commit an action contrary to the thing they said as this is a reflection of who they truly are as a human being, let alone as a leader. In other words, this reminds me of how an entire “If X, Then Y” statement is false when the X statement is true, yet the Y thing is false.

Both the reading and podcast caused me to view current systemic issues in our world differently. I had never fully confronted the notion that even our society’s “experts,” such as government officials, educators, and the like, are prone to not making the best decisions to improve society’s overall welfare in the long run. Nonetheless, I believe that we- younger generations- have been conditioned to solve problems that might arise in the short-term than the long-term. For instance, in college, some students solve the problem of not feeling overwhelmed by their many assignments by consuming caffeine or other stimulants and staying up for hours on end without proper rest. In fact, this type of behavior is rewarded and lauded by other students as it is evidence of one’s ambition, grit, and determination. While the short-term benefits of this action would result in a major dopamine and serotonin boost for the individual, they do not always realize how staying up late cost them the longevity they needed to not feel “burnt out” so early on in a semester or cost them the opportunities they could have had to connect with others. This is not even to mention the consequences this would have on an individual’s mental health or the root causes of the issue at hand, which principally centers on how America’s higher education system does not normalize putting oneself well-being over academic and professional accolades. I know now that the aforementioned system is only part of a much larger socio-cultural system that needs serious re-evaluation: America’s toxic workaholic culture.

I say all this to say that I agree with Dr. Bezio and Dorner that we need to adopt a more holistic approach to solving systemic issues. Ideally, I feel that we all would need to take a second to reflect and analyze what things have worked for our society in the past and why before we start asking ourselves how we can build a better future. On top of this, I feel that it’s equally important to involve multiple stakeholders who are excluded from the Western world’s definition of expertise- being a skilled worker who holds prestigious degrees and has accolades attributed to one’s name. As most of us should know by now, diversity, equity, and inclusivity have positive consequences for our global society in both the short and long-term as people’s intersectional identities are the key to unraveling our world’s most complex problems that affect complex populations.

Growing up, I was- and still am- fascinated by things that moved. In particular, things that could transport people from place to place, such as cars, trains, airplanes, ships, and so on. Once I earned my driver’s license, I yearned to have a vehicle of my own so that I could be more independent and really enjoy the “full high school experience” I’m sure we all heard about when talking with our friends about their vehicles and the places they could go with them. Besides this, my family has adopted a rule when it comes to car buying: “Either you buy a Toyota or a Honda, but don’t dare buy a Nissan.” While I won’t get into the reasons why my family and I comply with that rule, I will say that every time a Toyota or Honda ad appeared on the television, it had my family’s undivided attention.

In this Honda CR-V ad, what I like most about it is the emphasis it places on safety. Throughout the ad, Honda reinforces multiple times how the vehicle can keep you centered in your lane without you having to manually do so. On that note, they are also reeling audience members, like myself, because this is a technological innovation associated with driving! If I, the driver, have to worry less about whether or not I’m centered in my lane when, say, I check to see why my younger sisters are thrashing about in the backseat, then I can assume that my family’s overall safety in the vehicle is solid no matter what life might bring about. Beyond this, the alluring factor of technological innovation is highlighted by the blue colors and upbeat music playing in the background, which, in a way, takes you from reality and into this dream state Honda wants you to be in while watching their ad. In essence, Honda’s message of “The Power of Dreams” is supported by many ad elements that have convinced customers to purchase this vehicle for its dependable safety features and technological innovation that other car brands hadn’t reached the surface of yet. Plus, their purchase of a CR-V is like an investment in their dreams.

Recently, I was reading through the Collegian’s Weekly Newsletter when I stumbled upon this graph. As someone passionate about strengthening pathways to and through college for Black students, this graph triggered ambivalent feelings in me. On the one hand, I like this graph because it confirmed one major thing for me. The graph confirmed that predominantly white institutions, like UR, must do better at supporting their Black student population, given that fewer Black students are attending UR and other higher educational institutions in general. Whether this is because of obstacles to access, such as affordability, or because our nation has yet to provide a more adequate education for all students from all backgrounds and identities, work needs to be done. And it needs to be done now.

On another note, I am curious about one particular detail of this graph. Even though it says that the graph represents domestic UR undergraduates who identify as Black and/or African American, I am curious to know the disaggregation of the sample used for this graph. More specifically, what did the researcher intend by the word “domestic?” For me, I interpret the results of this graph to represent the number of UR undergraduates who identify as Black and/or African American and who live reside in one of the fifty states in America. To that end, is it possible that UR undergraduates who identify as Black/African American yet do not reside in the United States are included in this graph? Questions like these definitely made evaluating statistics and graphs a bit more complicated yet necessary if one is making decisions that could have long-term consequences for our society.

The graph and the Collegian article that references it can be found here: https://www.thecollegianur.com/article/2021/03/percentage-of-black-students-at-ur-decreased-in-past-decade?ct=content_open&cv=cbox_featured

Listening to Podcast Episode 4 on “The Numbers Game” had an impact on my interactions with statistics. Currently, I’m enrolled in a Business Statistics course here at UR, where over the course of this semester, my peers and I have to work in groups to present three written and oral presentations on a research topic of our choice. My group decided to research the following question: During the COVID-19 pandemic, have some age groups in the United States been experiencing depression more frequently than other age groups in the U.S.? To effectively answer our research question, we retrieved reported data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey conducted over thirteen days. Participants in this survey were part of the United States population. They self-reported various demographic information and their frequency of feeling down, depressed, or hopeless over the thirteen days that the study was conducted.

My group used relative frequency to test if 18 to 29 year-olds are more likely to experience depression more frequently than 40 to 49 year-olds and 60 to 69. We learned that if a person is between the ages of 18 to 29, there is a 71% chance that they experience depression more frequently than 40 to 49 year-olds and 60 to 69 year-olds. Knowing what I now know about statistics, I am highly skeptical of the people who self-reported not experiencing depression at all, specifically if these persons were older in age. From my viewpoint, older people generally do not admit that they are experiencing health issues even if their concession could save their lives. Whether this is because of their pride, upbringing in history, or other relevant factors, I wonder if, in reality, 40 to 49 year-olds or 60 to 69 year-olds experience depression more frequently than 18 to 29 year-olds.