Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Will we ever graduate from "The Graduate?"
Probably not. As long as there are men and women with sexual drives there will always be some form of radical romance. The movie is timeless and the myth prevails.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Julia Kristeva-Language is the symbolic mechanism by which the body can signify itself.
We live in a multitasking, multi media society. We have cocoon immunity. Our level of observation is heightened as a result of the amount of expectations and information thrust upon us. We'd have to be unconscious not to have our consciousness altered. We are on representation overload. We are what we eat, we are judged by how we look and we are told how to behave through language. We read so therefore we become. We learn, because we are told, that we must either identify with our mother or our father. Who am I to say, (language again), that this is not true? I would only be creating more open dialogue. I say, so therefore, it is. We are overwhelmed with words. Do as I say not as I do. What happened to our actions speak louder then words? Is this how Sybil or "The Three Faces Of Eve" came about? We are created through time in conjunction with what we are exposed to.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Murphy 1
September 19, 2010
Dr. Wexler
English 313
Sandy Murphy
Ethnography
On Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10A.M. I took a tour of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. The tour was given by Elizabeth Daly. Elizabeth is the Vice President for Development and Communications for Chrysalis. Chrysalis is a nonprofit organization changing lives through jobs. It is dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.
Part I-My observations:
I drove around and looked for parking and finally found the parking lot which has several security gates and only one way in or out. The streets are quiet.
Offices at:
516 South Main Street
Los Angeles, Ca. 90013
The office is very busy. We walked through the front door and there is a desk with a receptionist greeting people and instructing them to sign in. She is wearing a tea shirt, jeans and sneakers. Casual atmosphere. Open environment. No security. No metal detectors. At least 30 people inside the room. People are coming and going constantly. People are very relaxed and comfortable with the surroundings. They seem like they feel at home and there is no pressure to leave. Room is old but clean.
The room is divided up into four areas but it is still one big open space. The areas consist of:
Front desk, with couches,chairs, coffee table. Social sitting area. Cubicles for telephone and computer use (6), separate cubicle area for computer use (10), long table with chairs to fill out paperwork.
Doesn’t feel like a social service agency. Every spot is filled.
Mostly men. Most wearing sweatshirts, tee shirts, jeans or sweat pants. Some wearing caps. One man is sitting in a chair by the front door. He is alone. He is wearing a black zip up sweat jacket, white tee shirt, black jeans, Nike hat, white sneakers. He is intensely looking around and mumbling to himself quietly. He is probably in his early 60’s. 3 men and 1 woman sitting on 2 black leather couches. 1 man reading the Los Angeles Times. They are all talking to each other. Woman wearing blue sweat suit with white tee shirt with sneakers. She is in her 50’s. The man sitting next to her is also wearing sweat clothes. He could possible be her son. He looks like he is in his early 30's. The man reading the newspaper is in his late 60’s and is wearing a well worn but clean suit. The other two men on the other couch are in sweat clothes also and are in their late 50’s.
2 woman in cubicles on phones wearing sweat clothes. One man sitting at computer is wearing black suit pants, a starched white collared shirt, and a tie. He is very well groomed and well dressed and is in his thirties. Most people in the room are 50 and older.
Wall of fame:
Pictures of many people who have gotten jobs. They are all smiling. Mostly men and most in their 50’s.
Resource Wall:
Applications for various things and a Master Application to list your job history, like a resume’.
Man ringing bell. He just got a job. He talks about his background and about the job. Another man rings bell. He talks about both also.
Everyone in room gathers around to listen and claps for each man. It was joyous. Lots of support. Genuine happiness. We all experience his gratification and his sense of dignity.
Money management class:
Board : written needs/wants $1200. The need column has: bills: rent/utilities, transp., clothing. Food: cook/store brands, food that stretches. Wants column: Nothing
5 men: I in his sixties, 2 in their late fifties, 1 in his late 30’s, 1 in his late 20’s
2 women: both in their 40’s. All seem to be enjoying the class. Talking and laughing with each other. All wearing tee shirts, jeans or sweat clothes.
Outside walking around Skid Row:
Main street to Alameda (most densely populated), 5th and Los Angeles, Wall St. and 5th, 6th and Western, San Pedro and 6th- 8 block radius
Streets have very little garbage. They were just washed so they are still wet.
Elizabeth carries a Chrysalis folder. There are 6 of us:
Elizabeth and Jessica-Employees
Sandy (me), Lisa, Janet, Gina and Carol.
Mostly homeless. People approach us and when they see the Chrysalis folder they are positive and talk to us but don’t bother us. Most people walking alone. One man carrying garbage bag w/his stuff. There is a man sitting on the curb with his cane next to him. He is sprawled out watching cars go by. He has bags filled with his things all around him. Woman w/small child walking and singing loudly. Most men wearing baseball caps.
Stores, restaurant, bar open for business. They are empty. Police car w/2 policemen arresting a man in his 20’s. Man possibly selling prescription drugs to another man from a clear plastic zip lock bag.
Police station in a 4 squared block. Built like a fortress.
Several buildings that were hotels are now low income housing.
LAMP building, permanent housing, where the soloist lived. Bldg is pink.
Outdoor toilets-3- which allow usage for 20 minutes. A city maintenance employee is cleaning the toilets.
Walk by San Julian Park. Almost all men. Most sitting around playing checkers. Most 50 or older scattered with younger men. Tables have table cloths and umbrellas. Well dressed man walking out of park. We walk by a guy stoned out of his head in his thirties lying on the ground, in front of the park, giving what looks like crack cocaine to another guy who is also lying on the ground.
A man sitting on a barrel with a woman sitting in his lap. Three shopping carts filled with clothes and various items covered with a tarp behind them and blankets all around them. Further up the street a shopping cart filled with similar stuff and blankets on the ground. Two dogs on the blankets chained to the shopping carts. The dogs are scruffy and thin. Homeless men and women (more men) walking by and petting the dogs. There are no children.
We walk 3 blocks away from Skid Row to a coffee house and the contrast is inconceivable.
There is now a cocoon.
We morph @400 Main Street-In the indoor/outdoor coffee house:
Inside: Small. 15 two- seater tables. Bar area w/ 4 stools to purchase coffee, wine, juice, tea, pastries, milk.
Outside: 6 two seater tables, railing.
Posters and postcards all over the walls and counters and windows advertising art exhibitions, readings, concerts, plays, receptions and fund raisers, Thai Cultural Day. One specific which caught my eye:
Join us in the underworld Sneaky Wietzsche theatrical Exploration and Musical experience for the senses where revelry is sanctioned and curiosity is forever charmed.
Saturday 9P.M.-799 Towne Ave-Downtown
Inside:
Girl sitting alone reading and drinking coffee and eating egg salad. Taking notes from her book, dressed casual, nice. She appears to be a student. She is wearing ear phones.
Guy sitting alone, drinking coffee, reading newspaper. Dressed well. Also appears to be a student. Bopping to the music airing through the speakers of the coffee house. Texting on his cell phone.
Outside:
Two woman, both sitting alone, both casually dressed, but nice, sometimes talking to each other. One woman is sitting with two dogs. They are well groomed and well behaved. At another table two woman drinking coffee and at another table two men eating and talking and going over notes. They are in their thirties.
There is a man standing by the curb, casually leaning on a parking meter, talking on what looks like a blackberry. He is wearing, what looks like a Tommy Bahamas shirt, dress shorts (capri in length), black leather loafers, a watch, and a straw chapeau.
Two couples come inside. They look like parents and children. Males dressed in dress shirts and ties and women wearing dresses. All wearing jewelry. They pull two tables together and order food and drinks.
Part II- My Analysis
Sometimes I am glad that I am “An Other”. Would someone be able to write a romantic comedy or a portrayal about radical romance from what I saw today.I think they could. The relationships on skid row were not traditional or typical but they are still relationships. Who’s to say that it is not a culture within it’s own domain. Maybe some of the people on skid row can cross over. It would be very possible for the people on the bottom (skid row) to flip and become one of the people on the top (coffee shop) given the right circumstances. The organization that took me on the tour gives homeless and disadvantaged people the tools to “make the switch”. Our society, through television, movies, plays and novels is becoming socially conscious and understanding that our culture is split and must be pieced back together or we will ultimately destroy ourselves. The seperation between the two is expansive even though they are in close proximity of each other.
Metaphorically, we went through a morphogenesis when we finished our tour and crossed over to the other side. Our society is constantly crossing over. We suffer from escapism and estrange ourselves from the situation just like Woody Allen does in "Play It Again Sam."
The male domination of man vs. woman had a reverse osmosis for me today. Since there are so many men that monopolize the work force there are more that will suffer the Humpty Dumpty syndrome. Today I saw that when man falls he falls hard and he falls over and over again.
Thank goodness we are finally creating organizations to piece him back together again. According to Rivkin and Ryan from "The Politics of Culture," our society is based on a culture where one class dominates the other. The organization Chrysalis helps people to emancipate and does not emasculate an individual. Our culture has a tendency to encapsulate and ensheathe that which we wish to ignore, but through enlightenment, we are forcing the people from the top to transcend and engage with the people from the bottom. Before, as a result of profit, the upper class engaged and reacted to the actions of "the others" (the lower class) for their own benefit. They needed to use the lower class as a work force. Now, as a result of common ideology, the upper class has embraced the concept of "non-profit." They are allowing the less fortunate to be who they are and not pre-empt what they want them to be by allowing disadvantage people to move in a different direction. The upper class is doing this without looking for personal gain. They can no longer encapsulate this other world to protect their own. They are changing their morphology.
I was a little nervous at the prospect of viewing the facilities. I thought it was going to be dangerous to walk around with a small group of women. My perspective has changed drastically. The effect the homeless people had on me was staggering. Our society suffers isolationism but there is hope as long as there are visionaries who are willing to walk the route.
Works Cited
Barker, Chris, eds. Cultural Studies: Theory & Practice. 3rd edition. London: Sage Publications
Ltd,2008,.Print.
"Play It Again Sam (1972)-IMDb." The Internetmovie Database (IMDb).web.19 Sept.2010.
September 19, 2010
Dr. Wexler
English 313
Sandy Murphy
Ethnography
On Friday, September 17, 2010 at 10A.M. I took a tour of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. The tour was given by Elizabeth Daly. Elizabeth is the Vice President for Development and Communications for Chrysalis. Chrysalis is a nonprofit organization changing lives through jobs. It is dedicated to helping economically disadvantaged and homeless individuals become self-sufficient through employment opportunities.
Part I-My observations:
I drove around and looked for parking and finally found the parking lot which has several security gates and only one way in or out. The streets are quiet.
Offices at:
516 South Main Street
Los Angeles, Ca. 90013
The office is very busy. We walked through the front door and there is a desk with a receptionist greeting people and instructing them to sign in. She is wearing a tea shirt, jeans and sneakers. Casual atmosphere. Open environment. No security. No metal detectors. At least 30 people inside the room. People are coming and going constantly. People are very relaxed and comfortable with the surroundings. They seem like they feel at home and there is no pressure to leave. Room is old but clean.
The room is divided up into four areas but it is still one big open space. The areas consist of:
Front desk, with couches,chairs, coffee table. Social sitting area. Cubicles for telephone and computer use (6), separate cubicle area for computer use (10), long table with chairs to fill out paperwork.
Doesn’t feel like a social service agency. Every spot is filled.
Mostly men. Most wearing sweatshirts, tee shirts, jeans or sweat pants. Some wearing caps. One man is sitting in a chair by the front door. He is alone. He is wearing a black zip up sweat jacket, white tee shirt, black jeans, Nike hat, white sneakers. He is intensely looking around and mumbling to himself quietly. He is probably in his early 60’s. 3 men and 1 woman sitting on 2 black leather couches. 1 man reading the Los Angeles Times. They are all talking to each other. Woman wearing blue sweat suit with white tee shirt with sneakers. She is in her 50’s. The man sitting next to her is also wearing sweat clothes. He could possible be her son. He looks like he is in his early 30's. The man reading the newspaper is in his late 60’s and is wearing a well worn but clean suit. The other two men on the other couch are in sweat clothes also and are in their late 50’s.
2 woman in cubicles on phones wearing sweat clothes. One man sitting at computer is wearing black suit pants, a starched white collared shirt, and a tie. He is very well groomed and well dressed and is in his thirties. Most people in the room are 50 and older.
Wall of fame:
Pictures of many people who have gotten jobs. They are all smiling. Mostly men and most in their 50’s.
Resource Wall:
Applications for various things and a Master Application to list your job history, like a resume’.
Man ringing bell. He just got a job. He talks about his background and about the job. Another man rings bell. He talks about both also.
Everyone in room gathers around to listen and claps for each man. It was joyous. Lots of support. Genuine happiness. We all experience his gratification and his sense of dignity.
Money management class:
Board : written needs/wants $1200. The need column has: bills: rent/utilities, transp., clothing. Food: cook/store brands, food that stretches. Wants column: Nothing
5 men: I in his sixties, 2 in their late fifties, 1 in his late 30’s, 1 in his late 20’s
2 women: both in their 40’s. All seem to be enjoying the class. Talking and laughing with each other. All wearing tee shirts, jeans or sweat clothes.
Outside walking around Skid Row:
Main street to Alameda (most densely populated), 5th and Los Angeles, Wall St. and 5th, 6th and Western, San Pedro and 6th- 8 block radius
Streets have very little garbage. They were just washed so they are still wet.
Elizabeth carries a Chrysalis folder. There are 6 of us:
Elizabeth and Jessica-Employees
Sandy (me), Lisa, Janet, Gina and Carol.
Mostly homeless. People approach us and when they see the Chrysalis folder they are positive and talk to us but don’t bother us. Most people walking alone. One man carrying garbage bag w/his stuff. There is a man sitting on the curb with his cane next to him. He is sprawled out watching cars go by. He has bags filled with his things all around him. Woman w/small child walking and singing loudly. Most men wearing baseball caps.
Stores, restaurant, bar open for business. They are empty. Police car w/2 policemen arresting a man in his 20’s. Man possibly selling prescription drugs to another man from a clear plastic zip lock bag.
Police station in a 4 squared block. Built like a fortress.
Several buildings that were hotels are now low income housing.
LAMP building, permanent housing, where the soloist lived. Bldg is pink.
Outdoor toilets-3- which allow usage for 20 minutes. A city maintenance employee is cleaning the toilets.
Walk by San Julian Park. Almost all men. Most sitting around playing checkers. Most 50 or older scattered with younger men. Tables have table cloths and umbrellas. Well dressed man walking out of park. We walk by a guy stoned out of his head in his thirties lying on the ground, in front of the park, giving what looks like crack cocaine to another guy who is also lying on the ground.
A man sitting on a barrel with a woman sitting in his lap. Three shopping carts filled with clothes and various items covered with a tarp behind them and blankets all around them. Further up the street a shopping cart filled with similar stuff and blankets on the ground. Two dogs on the blankets chained to the shopping carts. The dogs are scruffy and thin. Homeless men and women (more men) walking by and petting the dogs. There are no children.
We walk 3 blocks away from Skid Row to a coffee house and the contrast is inconceivable.
There is now a cocoon.
We morph @400 Main Street-In the indoor/outdoor coffee house:
Inside: Small. 15 two- seater tables. Bar area w/ 4 stools to purchase coffee, wine, juice, tea, pastries, milk.
Outside: 6 two seater tables, railing.
Posters and postcards all over the walls and counters and windows advertising art exhibitions, readings, concerts, plays, receptions and fund raisers, Thai Cultural Day. One specific which caught my eye:
Join us in the underworld Sneaky Wietzsche theatrical Exploration and Musical experience for the senses where revelry is sanctioned and curiosity is forever charmed.
Saturday 9P.M.-799 Towne Ave-Downtown
Inside:
Girl sitting alone reading and drinking coffee and eating egg salad. Taking notes from her book, dressed casual, nice. She appears to be a student. She is wearing ear phones.
Guy sitting alone, drinking coffee, reading newspaper. Dressed well. Also appears to be a student. Bopping to the music airing through the speakers of the coffee house. Texting on his cell phone.
Outside:
Two woman, both sitting alone, both casually dressed, but nice, sometimes talking to each other. One woman is sitting with two dogs. They are well groomed and well behaved. At another table two woman drinking coffee and at another table two men eating and talking and going over notes. They are in their thirties.
There is a man standing by the curb, casually leaning on a parking meter, talking on what looks like a blackberry. He is wearing, what looks like a Tommy Bahamas shirt, dress shorts (capri in length), black leather loafers, a watch, and a straw chapeau.
Two couples come inside. They look like parents and children. Males dressed in dress shirts and ties and women wearing dresses. All wearing jewelry. They pull two tables together and order food and drinks.
Part II- My Analysis
Sometimes I am glad that I am “An Other”. Would someone be able to write a romantic comedy or a portrayal about radical romance from what I saw today.I think they could. The relationships on skid row were not traditional or typical but they are still relationships. Who’s to say that it is not a culture within it’s own domain. Maybe some of the people on skid row can cross over. It would be very possible for the people on the bottom (skid row) to flip and become one of the people on the top (coffee shop) given the right circumstances. The organization that took me on the tour gives homeless and disadvantaged people the tools to “make the switch”. Our society, through television, movies, plays and novels is becoming socially conscious and understanding that our culture is split and must be pieced back together or we will ultimately destroy ourselves. The seperation between the two is expansive even though they are in close proximity of each other.
Metaphorically, we went through a morphogenesis when we finished our tour and crossed over to the other side. Our society is constantly crossing over. We suffer from escapism and estrange ourselves from the situation just like Woody Allen does in "Play It Again Sam."
The male domination of man vs. woman had a reverse osmosis for me today. Since there are so many men that monopolize the work force there are more that will suffer the Humpty Dumpty syndrome. Today I saw that when man falls he falls hard and he falls over and over again.
Thank goodness we are finally creating organizations to piece him back together again. According to Rivkin and Ryan from "The Politics of Culture," our society is based on a culture where one class dominates the other. The organization Chrysalis helps people to emancipate and does not emasculate an individual. Our culture has a tendency to encapsulate and ensheathe that which we wish to ignore, but through enlightenment, we are forcing the people from the top to transcend and engage with the people from the bottom. Before, as a result of profit, the upper class engaged and reacted to the actions of "the others" (the lower class) for their own benefit. They needed to use the lower class as a work force. Now, as a result of common ideology, the upper class has embraced the concept of "non-profit." They are allowing the less fortunate to be who they are and not pre-empt what they want them to be by allowing disadvantage people to move in a different direction. The upper class is doing this without looking for personal gain. They can no longer encapsulate this other world to protect their own. They are changing their morphology.
I was a little nervous at the prospect of viewing the facilities. I thought it was going to be dangerous to walk around with a small group of women. My perspective has changed drastically. The effect the homeless people had on me was staggering. Our society suffers isolationism but there is hope as long as there are visionaries who are willing to walk the route.
Works Cited
Barker, Chris, eds. Cultural Studies: Theory & Practice. 3rd edition. London: Sage Publications
Ltd,2008,.Print.
"Play It Again Sam (1972)-IMDb." The Internetmovie Database (IMDb).web.19 Sept.2010.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
We Consume To Control
There seems to be a pattern developing in popular culture, specifically in the area of the romantic comedy, pertaining to radical romance and reality. The pattern is consumption. We consume to control. In the movie, "Play It Again Sam", with Woody Allen there is a scene where Woody Allen is getting ready for a date and repeatedly aligns himself with consumer products. Our culture makes us believe that if we use certain items we can "get the girl" or "get the guy". One such product at the time the movie was made was a men's after shave called Canoe. The commercial's catch phrase was "Do you Canoe?"
The commercial conjured up images of a man applying Canoe after shave lotion to his face and women coming out of the woodwork chasing him because they had to be with him. The commercial had very strong sexual overtones. The last scene of the commercial was two women hanging on the man's shoulders after he splashed Canoe on his face. The commercial implies that culture is anything that makes us think and then moves us towards change.
The commercial conjured up images of a man applying Canoe after shave lotion to his face and women coming out of the woodwork chasing him because they had to be with him. The commercial had very strong sexual overtones. The last scene of the commercial was two women hanging on the man's shoulders after he splashed Canoe on his face. The commercial implies that culture is anything that makes us think and then moves us towards change.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
In resonse to Simone de Beauvoir's "The Second Sex"-"Another" Can Become "The Other" When Woman is No Other in the End.
The word man is part of woman but there is nothing that is part of man. Wo (is) man. He is incomplete. He is one syllable. To him we must bemoan. He can never carry an- other and he will always be alone. He will never be a part of anything. Woman will always be a part of the whole. Woman holds his extra bone.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Entourage
Or maybe they have: Mad Men
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