Monday, May 13, 2013

Final Words of Wisdom



I don’t have them, to be honest at 33 years old and finally graduating with a BA, who am I to walk into any classroom and tell anyone how they should do anything and approach life?  Interestingly enough however, I believe I can.  There comes a point that we all reach, a specific age and point in time where one feels they are simply running out of time; I have reached that point, and each day passed is a day lost.  I am unsure of which classroom I will be walking into as an educator, either at the secondary level, community college, or if all goes well, even the university level.  Regardless of which, I have already conceived an agenda, academically based of course. 
In preparation for the credential and student teaching aspect of the educational program, multiple literacies and methods of engagement are what most come to mind.  The very act of differentiating instruction including media by web, blog, video, audio, art, newsprint, magazine, and all various forms are not only mean to further drive those that are fully motivated but also to reach those that are not; those that are apathetic due to environment of family dynamics.  The purpose of including multiple texts, including world texts from various cultures and time periods is meant to do the very same.  Broadening the literary canon does not deter from the importance or recognition of the classics.  By including works from other time periods and cultures, you as an educator again, are able to further develop students who are motivated, and introduce them and broaden their perspectives, while also reaching, engaging and also motivating those that otherwise would sit in the back of the room and draw.  The very essence of including various works of various walks of life is to expose students to the struggles that most cultures share, even if the culture is different.  This is because fundamentally, as humans, we share the same desires: love, family, safety, stability.    
Then of course there are the cultural and socio-economic and political implications of texts, which interestingly the school districts at the secondary level caution educators from engaging in.  Therefore there is a very fine line of engaging with literacy and what effects students as they become responsible members of society, and also some level of conformity while depriving them of the learned responsibility to engage in their economic and political culture.  If the student’s school has old text books, why not write the superintendent, if the neighborhood needs crosswalks or stop signs installed—why not write street services or city hall; if their education is threatened by the mishandling of a state budget, why not activate them in a productive and academic manner by engaging with their state senate?  Are these not matter that effect them directly, and do they not learn to be reactive instead of proactive in the very political sphere, which them imbeds a sense of apathy since these same students feel incapable of impacting their society.       
Indeed it is our responsibility as educators to reach every student through multiple literacies and differentiated instruction, it is our further responsibility to expose them to multiple genres and global texts in order fro them to recognize that every culture has basic  inter-cultural concerns that transcend ethnicity, religion, class and so on.  It is our responsibility as educators most of all, to develop students’ personal voice, to develop the confidence in themselves; that although it is a singular voice, it commands knowledge and authority as a participating member of this society, and not family, friend or politician can deny them this power. 
Educators do not teach, they reveal inner strength and they inspire.
Please view @ 5:37


  
 

World Text Analysis Essay - Final Draft


Antony Garcia
English 495 ESM
Professor Wexler
May 12, 2013
The Solution to all Global Political Problems:
Engaging the Film Slumdog Millionaire



The above cited photograph is found in multiple variations across the internet; its popularity is signified by a society in which instability, global “wage repression” and an excessive “concentration of wealth in the upper classes,” are possibly the only certainties  (Harvey).    
The art produced in our contemporary society, in all different forms, are seared with these undertones of instability and at times offer a potential solution, or at the minimum some form of hope for a better future.  The film Slumdog Millionaire is one of the works produced by society in a volatile time; the work highlights the struggle to find love against a backdrop of conflicts with religion, crime, security, scarcity and other such themes.  Although the work is brilliant, and a commendable piece, and while contrasting the intelligence of life experiences against indoctrinized education, Slumdog Millionaire contradicts the very undertone of values it questions and perpetuates the beliefs of those who rely on fortune and chance, thereby placating the masses and ensuring the status quo. 
            Slumdog Millionaire follows the story line of Jamal, Salim and Latika as they grow up, orphaned, facing hardships which are specific to certain regions of India and yet both global and universal as they represent common conflicts of man against society.  Jamal is introduced as a man who has become a millionaire (rupees); but has been kidnapped and tortured by the local police because they are certain of his guilt, as one of the interrogators questioned prior to electrocuting him into unconsciousness “just tell me how you cheated” (Boyle).  Herein the main theme of resistance is highlighted, that of organized education against the validity of life experiences.  One of Jamal’s interrogators argues with the other, “Professors, doctors, lawyers never get beyond…million (rupees) what the hell can a Slumdog know?” (Boyle).  Again, Jamal’s intelligence and ability are questioned because he was born and raised in abject poverty found in the “slums” of the city, and is therefore incapable of higher intelligence, knowledge and reason.  The film suggests through various flashbacks of life experiences can have as much value as “proper” education and thus a solution to these conflicts can be found. 
The additional subplots and conflicts found in the film serve to highlight and further establish the importance of the primary conflict.  One scene emphasizes conflicts of religion and the scarcity of urban space.  Jamal and Salim become orphans during a scene in which their part of the slum is overrun by religious fanatics “they’re Muslims, get them!” (Boyle).  Men, women, and children are beaten while the slum is destroyed and set ablaze.  Religious freedom, safety, the sanctity and security of the home (or personal space) are all threatened.   

In later scenes, Latika is separated from Jamal and Salim when they are picked up and forced to become part of a crime ring which forces children to beg on the street, at times the criminals purposefully mutilate children in order to obtain more money.  Latika left behind, is trained to become a kind of Indi-Geisha, ultimately planned for prostitution.  Although each of these conflicts are problems culturally specific to areas of India, they are also very much universal problems and concerns found in any country, developed or not.  Each conflict, in some form are problems stemming or compounded by the lack of money.  Yet the film explicitly suggests that more money (as well as capitalist development as propounded by Salim) is the solution to these very problems, “look down there (referring to new urban and commercial development) that used to be our slum…[Mumbai a new economic center] and I am in the center of the center” (Boyle).
It is within the forum of the game show where life experience and proper education are set against one another.  Jamal personifies and embodies life experiences while the host represents proper education.  Jamal establishes his intellectual authority and right to be a competitor in the game due to his knowledge.  The game serves as a metaphor, the forum itself is relevant to the game of life and the success of those able to participate in institutionalized education; those not able to do so thus acquire knowledge through life experiences.   Despite this debate in the game show forum, each side of acquired knowledge is respected, possibly even equally respected as Jamal succeeds question by question.      

Although Slumdog Millionaire highlights the importance of life experience and equates if not negates that all emphasis should rest on organized or indoctrinized education, the film itself, unfortunately, contradicts and undermines its own purpose, essentially offering a social and political “bait and switch.”  While establishing a forum of debate between education and life experience and recognizing that each is the foundation of knowledge and reason, necessary to everyday life and survival, the film then ignores the forum and explicitly offers only one solution for all of these social problems: winning a game of chance.  Arguably, Jameson’s perspective of Thomas More’s Utopia, can easily be attributed to Slumdog Millionaire since both “[fail] to identify and fundamental agency for radical change” (41).  According to the film, only by winning a game and amassing money, can humanity find true love, safety, security, a home and a future.  After this “bait and switch” of social issues, despite the main points and plot of the film, the work concludes with Jamal, winning the game show and thus he is able to afford the luxury of financial security and is able to rescue his love from a life of fear, oppression and prostitution, “emancipation has a price” (Martin).   

In the finale, the film contradicts itself entirely.  While creating the essential conflict of institutionalized education against life experiences, the ending does not promote either of these intelligences nor does it offer some kind of solution to the very real universal problems explicitly found in the film and the struggle of everyday conflicts of man against society.  Although the work clearly promotes financial security as a remedy to each social problem, the work’s plausible solution is that of relying on chance to save the characters from the reality of these difficulties.  Therefore it promotes a blind faith, there is no hope in attempting to prepare for hardships or attempting to navigate “finance [as a] novel means of domination” (Martin).  Slumdog Millionaire perpetuates religious and capitalist ideologies that it first attempts to undermine, but finally embraces, as Jameson observes “not the slightest prospect of reform, let alone revolution in real life” (44).  Our only choice is to play the lottery in the hopes of cashing in and creating our own utopia.







  


  
 
Works Cited

Slumdog Millionaire. Dir. Danny Boyle. Perf. Dev Patel, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor.

Celador Films, 2008. DVD

Jameson, Frederic. “The Politics of Utopia.” New Left Review.  2004. Web.

Martin, Randy. “Where Did the Future Go?” Logosonline. Logos 5.1, 2006. Web.




Sunday, May 5, 2013

World Text Analysis Essay - FIRST DRAFT


Good evening classmates,
As before I am posting my first draft in raw format; that is, should I have my class to teach, I would want to show them different methods of the first stages of writing.  Outlining, brainstorming, free writing, graphing, or one of my favorites, “the Shitty First Draft.”  Again, essays like “The Shitty First Draft” are looked down upon at the high school level, and yet again, perhaps this is why I just don’t fit well for high school education.  Regardless of the class that I may end up teaching, I would like to be honest with my class and show them, not tell them, my own difficulties and successes in finishing a decent paper.  Therefore, below you will find my “Shitty First Draft,” along with a few captions that may be out of order and not all utilized in the final text.  But for now, most of my ideas are out, and now I just have to fit down a few times and redraft until I am happy…and also, throw in my sources and well. 







"Shitty First Draft"
The above cited photograph is popularly found in various version across the internet, it’s popularity is signified by a society in which uncertantiy and instability are possibly the only certainties.  The art produced in our contemporary society in all different forms of media, are seared with these undertones of instability and at times offer a potentially solution, or at the minimum some form of hope for a better future.  The film Slumdog Millionaire is one of the works produced by society in a volatile time; the work highlights the struggle to find love against a backdrop of conflicts with relgion, capitalism, crime, security, scarcity and other such themes.  Although the work is brilliant, and a commendable piece, while contrasting the intelligence of life experiences against indoctinized education, Slumdog Milliionare contradicts the very undertone of values it questions and perpetuates the belifes of those who rely on forturen and chance, thereby placting the masses and ensuring the status quo. 
            Slum dog millionaire follows the story line of Jamal, Salim and Latika as they grow up orphaned in various cities throuought India.  Although some hardships are very much specific to certain regions of India, the kinds of struggles they face are part of larger themes that man struggles against in different cultures and societies, therefore these issues are both global and universal. The film itself first introduces Jamal as a man who has won 20 million rupees; but has been kidnapped and undergone torture by the local police because of suspected cheating.  Herein the main subplot or theme of resistence is found, that of indoctrinized education against the validity of life experiences.  “Professors, doctors, lawyers never get beyond 60 million what the hell can a slumdog know?”  Again, Jamal’s intelligence and ability are questioned because he was born and raised in abject poverty found in the “slums” of the city; however as the film suggests through various “vignettes,” life experience has as much value as “proper” education.  Although this problem of proper education is critical in India, it is not simply an issue in that country alone, thereby the issue is universial as opppsed to specific to Inida. 
            The additional subconflicts found in the film serve to highlight the primary conflict as they higthen its affect.   One scene emphasizes conflicts of religion and the scarcity of urban space.  Indeed it is during this scene that Jamal and Salim becom orphans, when their part of the slum is overrun by reglious fanatics who yell out “they’re muslims, get them!”  Men, women and children are beaten while the slum is destroyed and set ablaze.  Latika herself is separated from Jamal and Salim when the three of them are picked up and forced to become part of a crime ring which forces children to beg on the street, at times purposefully mutilate the children in order to obtain more money; she herself is then planned to be forced into prostitution.  Although each of these are specific problems to the cultural specific areas of India, they are also very much universal problems and concerns amongst any country, developed or not.  Each of course is also in it’s own way a problems stemming or compounded by capitalism. 





Education is promoted as a necessity to combat the implications and difficulties of living in a capitalist society is its expansion in imperialist form across the world.  Although Slum Dog Millionaire highlights the importance of life exepirence and equates if not negates that not all emphasis should rest on organized or indoctrinized education, the film itself, unfortunately, contradicts and undesmines its own purpose.  The film establishes TWEVLE key points which work to point out how an individual with a “lower” education can know just as mjuch as someone with “higher” education.  These instances cover in money, religion, arts, ETC. and yet each time the person from the slums has the knowledge.  However, despite the main points and polot of the film, the work concludes with the main character Jamal, winning Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and thus he is able to afford the luxury of financial security and is able to resuce his lifelong love from a life of fear and prostitution.   Yet this is the very problem of the film, there is no solution suggested or offered—quite the opposite.  The film does no promote education either in the life experience or organized sense, nor does it offer some kind of solution to the very real universal problems explicitly found in the film and the struggle of everyday conflicts, the work’s solution is that of relying on chance and fortune to save the characters from the reality of these difficulties.  It therefore promotes a blind faith in what many consider a one in a million chance, in other words, there is no hope in attempting to prepare for the hardships of life, the characters in life must rely on blind faith and fortune to save them from a difficulty existence.  In fact, the film perpetuates religious and capitalist ideologies that some are born into a wealth life, or chance bestows on them a successful existence or that God has chosen an easier life for them than most, because destiny has decided that “it was written.”






It has been argued that religion, education, comsuerism, consumption, constitutions and other such infasturctures are in fact systems of control which placate and occupy the masses so as not to engage in talk of revolution and lead to class rebellion.  Although artistically appealing, Slum Dog Millionaire takes on this very nature of placating the masses. 


            Artistically and esthetically pleasing, Slum Dog Millionaire is recognized worldwide as a powerful film speaking not just to the American dream but fundamentally to a natural-instintual dream of pursing a happy life with a partner, a home and children.  However, despite the acclaim of the audience must not lose sight of the improbable utopian implications the film represents, aside from the capitalist placations of winning the lottery, by extension a system of suppression and control. 

It has a sense of hopelessness, a colonization or imperialistic approach of hope, money saves all, it will find love, buy safety and security, replacing the density of the slum replaceable with the loan density of the American and what is therefore the answer to subjugation by extreme poverty or extreme debt through finance by capitalism; winning the lottery?
 
Mid page 46 “It is that utopia is somehow negative; and that is is 

Utopia is contrary to human nature?
It is not contrary but an implausible goal that human natur strives for, yet not taken seriously.  An impossibility that as Jameson 44 indcates “in the mind –and perhaps fr that reason—all kinds of institutional variouation and re-combinations seem thinkiabe”  But again, Jameson 44 indicates that no such agency has “appeared on the horizon that offers the slifghhtest chane ofr hopf of modifying that staus quo.”