Change

If I could change anything about our society, it would definitely have to be the way people tend to believe that anyone has more or less rights than the person standing beside them. We are all humans born onto this planet, everyone deserves the same rights. People are so blinded by their beliefs that they forget what it really means to be a human. No one deserves any lesser treatment because of their gender, racial background, religion, or sexuality. People need to realize that discrimination is what’s holding our society behind. It really irritates me when I hear people use their religious beliefs as excuses to back up their discrimination. There are billions of people in the world and there’s no way anyone should expect everyone else to abide by the rules of a single religion. No one is born “better” than anyone else. We are just one race of human beings living together on planet Earth and we need to start behaving in that manner.

RR #3: Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co

Christopher Avalos

Professor Knapp

English 1A

14 April 2013

            America may well be the biggest influence in the world for popular culture. All over the world, adults, teens, and children alike are watching American movies, wearing American branded clothing and listening to American music. In Todd Gitlin’s article “Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co,” he describes how American media has spread throughout the world.

            Gitlin writes about Hollywood and how it has been “the global culture capital” (825). He makes a lot of sense with that because, as most people know, Hollywood brings actors from every corner of the globe to perform in these American films. It is easy to note that entertainment is one of America’s top exports. Gitlin states that in 1999, entertainment was the top export at $80 billion worth (825).

            While we may pride ourselves in being completely “American,” there is no such thing because of the “melting pot” that is the United States. Our culture is largely influenced by European and African cultures. We mix and match things we like and make it our own. This is a prime example to why other countries are eating up American media as easily as they are. While other countries’ attempts at media are perhaps very popular in that country, most have failed to be hit the mainstream in America or other countries around the world.

            An interesting observation I made a few years back was when I visited Mexico, I noticed the teenagers and young adults wearing brands such as Aeropostale and Hollister. I have tied this to the article because it shows how, in fact, American brands are being spread more and more throughout the whole world. This may not be a significant observation on its own, but if you tie in the American media and how it is spreading, you are able to notice how easily American culture is being accepted all over the world.

Gitlin describes American popular culture as “the closest approximation today to a global lingua franca, drawing the urban and young in particular into a common cultural zone where they share some dreams of freedom, wealth, comfort, innocence, and power – and perhaps most of all, youth as a state of mind”(826). I completely agree with Gitlin, his point is strong and makes a lot of sense. If everyone is watching the same tv shows, listening to the same music, and wearing the same clothes, then we are more united than we think. We may not be united by nationality but by a universal medium, being the human mind. Some student in Tokyo may not have the exact same interests as I, but with this globalized media, I know that the student has similar thoughts of American virtues as I do.

MLA Information

Christopher Avalos

Professor Knapp

English 1A

31 March 2013

1.     Briney, Amanda. "Geography Of Iraq." About.com Geography. About.com, 2013. Web. 10Mar. 2013.<http://geography.about.com/od/iraqmaps/a/Geography-Of-Iraq.htm>.

2.     Fox,Robin. "The Kindness of Strangers." Society 44.6 (2007): 164-70. Print.

3.     "History of Iran." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 June 2013. Web. 09Mar. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iran>.

4.     "IRAN." Map of Iran. Woolwine-Moen Group, n.d. Web. 09 Mar. 2013.<http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/ir.htm>.

5.     "Iraq-GEOGRAPHY." Iraq-GEOGRAPHY. Mongabay, 2010.Web. 09 Mar. 2013.<http://www.mongabay.com/history/iraq/iraq-geography.html>.

The sources I used for this research were mostly internet articles. I also used the printed article that came with the topics. According to the University Library website, one should follow these general guidelines for MLA:

Spacing

In MLA style, the works-cited page is double spaced, with the same spacing within and between citations.

Order

Citations beginning with names and those beginning with titles are to be alphabetized together. Numbers in titles are treated as though they have been spelled out. For names, alphabetize based on the letters that come before the comma separating the last name from the first, and disregard any spaces or other punctuation in the last name. For titles, ignore articles such as "a" and "the" (and equivalents in other languages) for alphabetization purposes.

What to include

The title "Works Cited" indicates that the list you provide contains only the works you actually cite in your paper. If you wish to also include in your list works that you consult but do not cite, give your page the broader title "Works Consulted."

This information was helpful to me but some parts of the citation process are still giving me trouble. I always have a reference to look at when citing sources. Library 10 directly coincides with this material however I feel that the method of online coursework takes a little longer for me because I sometimes need further explanation and detail.