Reflection on McKibbens The Post Human Condition - Essay Example

? 11 Topics Journal Journal Topic Reflection on McKibben’s The Post Human condition In the article, ‘The Post Human Condition’, McKibbens presents a convincing argument regarding the increasing scope of technology and more specifically genetic engineering. The article raises grave concerns and some of these I have been forced to acknowledge before I even read this article. I believe that Voice Box and Flute do not really complicate McKibben’s argument but rather it allows the readers and viewers to put the argument in perspective. McKibben argues that technology has taken away the charm of the old life. It has made everything too automated and engineered that real objects lose their original identity (McKibben). The Voice Box and Flute further proof this point. Sarah Green, by using the technology, lost her identity as she became part machine. The concerns of McKibben are very convincing. I believe this so because I am a strong believer in fate and God’s will. If God programmed a person to be blind, it was meant to be so. It was because God had intentioned this person to discover the Braille language. Similarly, Sarah Green developed the voice box because her voice was failing and she was desperate not to lose it. If such conditions do not occur, humans would not be tested to discover their true potential and human race may be robbed off important discoveries. If our parents began doing the function of God, we may lose out on important discoveries and insights. It would ultimately lead to children with similar intellects and similar physical beauty. The diversity, we so look forward to, would be lost somewhere in between. Journal Topic 2: They Say, I Say The social networking site Facebook tends to be synonymous with materialism and narcissism in some people’s mind. They see such websites as a community of users promoting their own selves by publically posting photos, emotions, thoughts and major life decisions. However, certain users of the website have also brought forward more productive use of the website such as promoting small businesses, opening forums of discussion and asking people to raise their voice against certain issues. On the contrary, there are only a small percentage of people involved in such activities. For the truth is that Facebook does promote a culture of self- obsession. In this paragraph, then, after considering both sides of the argument it is held true that Facebook promotes a culture of materialism and narcissism. (Graff and Birkenstein, 14) Topic 3: Response to a Valedictorian’s Speech In the speech of high school valedictorian, one controversial issue has been the fact that high school does not provide adequate ground for the future challenges posed by higher education. On the other hand, some of my colleagues argue that high school is for having fun and once we enter college life, we would be bound to take life seriously. On the other hand, Harrigan and Davies contend that seventeen years of education is a must for every student. They even maintain that students have to relearn everything at college that they learnt at high school (Harrigan and Davies). My own view is high school does prepare us for challenges of college life but we as students are not serious and capable enough to grasp the implications of what is being taught to us (Graff and Birkenstein, 26-27). When it comes to the topic of education, most of us readily agree that practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge have different uses and often schools focus too much on theoretical knowledge that they fail to equip their students with the confidence in approaching higher education. Where this argument usually ends, however, is the question of whether practical knowledge at the level of high school is right for the students. Whereas some are convinced that practical knowledge is a must others maintain that giving practical knowledge should be held off till the students have a strong theoretical base (Graff and Birkenstein, 27). Even though I acknowledge and praise the argument put forth by the school valedictorian, I believe that high school education is the first step of the ladder. It provides the groundwork for further knowledge to be built upon. I further insist that high school education provides certain grounds of preparation of college level as we are asked to give presentations, form teams, present assignment and other tasks that may seem inconsequential at first but serve their own purpose. Topic 4: Response to Ad This ad promotes the luxury brand, Dolce and Gabana. It mainly depicts a lifestyle with focus on the clothing of the company. It shows one female among four men. The woman is shown to be oppressed while the male are shown as dominating creature. It tells the story of the machismo of men when they wear good clothing. It also shows that women are objects of sexual pleasure and they can increase their sexiness by donning luxury clothing by Dolce and Gabana. The ad works by reestablishing the stereotypes of males and females in our present society. The males in the society are shown as dominating with machismo while the females are portrayed as sexual beings. The portrayal of female as a sexual being in this particular ad is shown through the attire of the woman that is meant to draw eyes on her physical beauty. Her pose further accentuates the thought as she projects her hips towards the man who is pinning her down. The red lipstick is further added to highlight the sexuality of the woman. The males in this ad are portrayed as dominant beings. This is shown primarily through the models in the foreground while the male pins the woman down and is shown as wearing only jeans. The muscles in the male models’ body are improved in appearance in order to further give off the look. Furthermore, all males in the ad look down at the female. I find this ad very offensive towards the females. It degrades females as just objects of sexual interest. The female has not personality; her need in the ad is only to increase the manliness of the males in the ad. This ad is quite like other ads developed by the fashion industry where women are just shown as sexual objects rather than as beings equal to men in all walks of life. Topic 5: Response on Cover of People’s Magazine This particular cover, like any other advertisement or cover employs certain signs and beliefs to give off a certain meaning. In this cover, two celebrities namely Elton John and David Furnish are shown as a gay couple showing off their baby, Zachary. The cover shows that fatherhood is a position that all men should be proud of. It shows both the men as happy, exuberant and proud. For all the fans of these celebrities, it gives off a sign that they should be proud to be fathers. In terms of masculinity, it does not reinforce the already available stereotypes. It shows two gay men enjoying a happy life with their new baby. Masculinity here is not present as gays are not considered to be the most masculine men. They rather oppose the concept of masculinity. In our society, gay marriage is still a taboo subject to a great extent. Though the society is expecting gay couples, it is not yet ready for them to flaunt their homosexuality to the whole world. But through celebs couples like these, gay people would gain confidence in their homosexuality. This cover promotes the belief that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of. One should not hide their sexual preference because they have a right to their own happiness as well. On the topic of race, this cover also disregards the preconceived notions. The two couples belong to two different races but despite their origins, they are enjoying a happy life. Topic 6: National Anthem This is a representation of the national Anthem of China. The National Anthem of China calls forth the labor force of the country to form forward and form a Great Wall. It warns the people that if they do not defend their country, they would be left defenseless and vulnerable. This image projects the view that the men are standing side by side so that they form a Great Wall. As they stand united, they are a strong force against any invader trying to attack them. They have formed a wall against the enemy states. Topic 7: Reel Bad Arabs Aladdin is an animated film aimed primarily at children. Do you agree that we should take the images and representations of a film like this seriously? Why or why not? Animated films are primarily meant for the children and since they are meant for the children, it should be understood that children take the images of such films seriously. When they watch a stereotypical image of the Arab as the bad man, they began developing a very narrow view of this race. This is further reinforced throughout their lives with movies that they watch as they grow old. Movies such as Black Sunday, The Sheikh and the Son of Sheikh are examples of such movies. The question is not whether we should take these films seriously but rather the impact they leave on the young and the old mind both. These films unconsciously generate an image of the Arab world which is not so likeable. Since I have friends belonging to the Arab race, I believe that such images of the Arabs do not do justice to their race. We should take these images seriously and criticize them for their narrow approach towards the Arab world. What images come to your mind when you think of Arab men, women, and children? Are those images different after having seen this film? Why or why not? Even when I was child I had a subconscious image of the Arab people. I imagined them as black men in white robes speaking loudly and quickly. I imagined the men as hefty and broad shouldered with beards and moustaches and with a red and white scarf over their head. For the women, I imagined them as faceless being; all similar in their black robes and suppressed voices. Surprisingly, I did not have any strong image of the Arab children. When thinking of the Arab world, I always imagined men and women but no children. When I watched the film, I realized the perspective I had was too many and fed to me directly through movies and cartoons that I have watched till far. This movie opened my eyes to accept the fact that Arabs are people like us; they also have their good characters and their bad characters. The images presented in the film show the Arab people in general and not just the bad Arab people. Do you believe that films have the power to reinforce or challenge stereotypes and group animosities? Why or why not? I strongly believe that films have the power to reinforce or challenge stereotypes and group animosities. I believe this to be so because of my own example. The image of the Arab world that I had developed was mainly because of films and partly because of the media. I had very little contact with the Arab people from childhood. Only when I began by university life did I come in contact with Arab people. In my initial meetings with them, I was very cautious in dealing with them. Even they were antagonist to my attitude. This was partly because of the portrayal of us by their media and also because of how we treat them; that is in a cautious manner. Topic 8: Kincard and Girl with Burning Question 1. The specific components of Kincaid’s style include short phrases with no background but the tone of the story and its title makes it very easy to understand what the story is all about. The story is mysterious because Kincaid does not introduce any characters but their conversation or rather the advice of the mother to the daughter. The story is sweet because this is what every mother does and this makes the story quite relatable. The ending innocent question by the daughter regarding the freshness of the bread further makes the story sweet. Kincaid conveys so much because he understands his readers and the fact that almost all mother are the same; giving off free advice to their daughters and even sons. 2. I think the mother is very strict; while she understands her daughter, she assumes the worst. Her thinking is negative only because she fears that her daughter may not become a true lady. I think the daughter is being dominated by the mother and she may become rebellious given the fact that the mother fails to take in the emotions of her daughter and is super imposing her rules and advices without considering her daughter. The mother-daughter relationship, is thus, not very strong but rather the mother has a dominating nature and is not the confidant of her daughter. The relationship is not so sweet. 3. The central conflict that I see in the story is that the daughter does not listen closely to the advice of her mother; rather she takes her advice as monologues that continue on and on. 4. If the words are not a dialogue but an interior monologue, this would mean that the daughter considers her mother to be a drag. She thinks her mother is too domineering and that the daughter has a rebellious streak that may or may not be apparent to the mother. 5. I think the mother wants the daughter to follow her footsteps to become a good wife. While she is practical about the duties of a mother and a wife, she is also superstitious about certain things. 6. It is quite impossible to imagine this story as a advice from a father to a son. This is because women are expected to perform different functions as opposed to men. I am not saying that this is good or bad but rather the roles and functions of men and women even till date have not completely crossed lines with each other. Even though women are becoming equal to men, the advice of the mother in this story is something that one cannot imagine the father giving to the son. 1. Wallace constructs sentences where he juxtaposes the everyday life with that of a serious accident in the family. He writes his sentences as if writing something ordinary or every day; with emotions that seem out of place in the setting. The family is going through a tragedy but the style that Wallace adopts does not lend any importance to this tragedy. 2. The Daddy hanging the door is perhaps the factor that lends the particular style to the whole narrative. It lends a feeling of eerie; as if the entire scene is happening in a bubble. While the actual incident is occurring in a rapid pace, the use of the door makes the narrative go at a very slow place. Symbolically, it serves the function of any task that may seem a priority if not for a major event in life. For example, hanging the door may have been a really important task for the father but rather it was not so important when placed in comparison with his son’s accident. 3. In my opinion, Wallace leaves out the accident from the narrative because the story was not about the accident but rather about what happens in the aftermath. If Wallace had focused on the accident, the focus of the story would have shifted to that. He wanted to portray how a family reacts to any accident; it does not matter whether it is getting burnt or getting hurt in any other way. 4. I think the narrator here is being sympathetic. This is because he understands that having a child transforms you in a way that is not possible unless you have had a child. 5. I think the writer here means that the toddler’s private parts are burnt beyond recovery. His life would thus be incomplete as he would not be able to mate in his youth. This is perhaps why Wallace used the term untenanted; meaning empty and vacant. He would possibly be alone for the rest of his life considering he would not be able to have sex. The toddler here is definitely alive. The death here is metaphoric since perhaps his whole life, the toddler’s life would be burdened with the aftereffects of this accident. 6. I think by using this particular title, Wallace is trying to give an ode to all the burned children who suffered similar accident in such circumstances. He is presenting an abstract idea of how pain may never be evident on the first glance but is rather killing a person inside without anyone being aware of it. 7. I think it is worthwhile reading. I have two reasons for this. Firstly, the narrative style of the story gives inspiration to the readers and potential readers about a whole new style of reading. The story is also worthwhile reading in terms of its content. It gives the moral that one should consider an accident in perspective rather than working in haste. Topic 9: Poetry is Everywhere Dog Missing Black Labrador Keep Calm And Enjoy A Beer Great Offer Buy One Get One Free Open Happiness Bug me on Twitter Cool Ferrari Hot Babes Topic 10: Evil as a Construct I, to a great extent, agree with Katz’s argument where he asserts that horrendous deeds may be performed while persons address themselves to fairly innocuous, immediate problems. Here Katz presents the view that we, as ordinary people, may be performing evil tasks that may not appear to be wrong in the short run but when we detach ourselves from the task, we realize that we have been wrong. I believe that this to be right because I can easily put myself in the same situation. Though many of my friends believe me to be a good and honest person but even I have been involved in tasks that were wrong. I did not realize it when I was doing these tasks but now when I review these deeds, I realize that I had done wrong. Obviously, what I had done does not compare in any way to the actions performed by the guards at Abu Gharib but I realize that my situation was quite different from theirs. They were placed under more stressful situations that I was and given the same condition, I myself would conduct such evil. My mother, on the other hand, continues to argue that some people are born evil while some are inherently good. For example, she considers her friends to be good while she considers her in-laws to be inherently evil. I object by saying that her in-laws have their own friends that consider them as good. She further claims that even those friends are evil. In the end, I always come to the conclusion that you cannot argue with your mother. And Yet Analysis: How many perspectives do you engage? I have engaged three perspectives: Katz’s, my own and my mother’s What other perspectives might you include? I could have included a neutral perspective How do you distinguish your views from the others views that you summarized? I distinguished them by using appropriate verbs such as asserts, claims, argues etc. Do you use clear voice-signaling phrases? Yes, I believe I have used clear voice-signaling phrases. What options are available to you for clarifying who is saying what? I have the option of addressing the people by their names and presenting a clear argument by opposing each claim. Which options are best suited for this particular text? I option best suited is by counter arguing against each claim of my mother. Topic 11: My Intellectual Journey I believe that I learnt a lot from this course till far. Any course that I would have chosen would have allowed me to broaden my horizon and improve my knowledge. However, in this course, I was not just able to open up my eyes to a new form of knowledge but also learnt new perspectives and opinions. Some people argue that writing is an art that comes naturally. It is a talent that you are born with and cannot acquire. Initially, I believed that this concept was true. Though, I loved to write, I had issues in completing a coherent piece of article. I thought that I was not meant to be a writer. But this course allowed me to prove myself and others of my same opinion wrong. I think now that I can write and write in an excellent manner. Another aspect that I was able to improve upon in this course was to explore different forms of writing. Writing is not just about expressing your ideas in words. It is an art where you decide the right medium. When artists construct a piece of art, they chose a medium that they think would suit that art form. They chose between oil paints, water paints etc. similarly writers also have different forms of mediums. They can chose between descriptive, ironic, narrative, argumentative etc. depending upon the message that the piece of writing is intended to convey. In this writing course, we were also able to explore different viewpoints. At times, we are exposed to a single perspective and strongly believe in this perspective. As a writer, I believe it is imperative for the writer to think beyond his circle. He needs to consider others’ viewpoint in order to present a convincing piece of writing. He needs to incorporate in his writing the viewpoint of the antagonist. This often makes the writing more convincing and more appealing for the viewer. An example of this is the documentary ‘Reel Bad Arabs.’ This documentary allowed us to consider that Arabs that we imagine them to be are fed to us as stereotypes developed by the media. As writers, we need to explore new perspectives and defy the present stereotypes. This particular documentary also forced me to challenge my preconceived notions about other people within the society. This writing course also made me challenge myself. When I began writing, I was more comfortable with writing prose. I never explored the medium of poetry. Poetry was something I was shy about. I was scared that my poetry would sound childish when I try to make words rhyme in the end. This course however led me to explore my talent of poetry. Even though I still may not have mastered the art of poetry but at least I tried. And when I tried, I realized that I was not that bad and given time, I may be able to improve upon my work. I also realized that it is not necessary for lines to rhyme. They are different rhyming structures that I learnt. Even though, I have not tried them myself but I got good background knowledge about this aspect of creative writing. Overall, this course was a treat for me; not just in terms of improving my writing talent but also in terms of exploring fresh perspectives, opinions, ideas and thought processes. I think everyone should take this course even if they do not want to pursue writing as their career. This is because writing is something that we all need to excel at; irrespective of our career choice. Works Cited Graff, Gerald, and Birkenstein, Cathy, They Say I Say: The Moves That Matter in Persuasive Writing, New York: W. W. Norton & Company Incorporated, 2007 Harrigan, James and Davies, Antony, Public Schools are not doing their jobs, US News, 2012, Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/economic-intelligence/2012/08/28/public-high-schools-are-not-doing-their-jobs McKibben, Bill. "The Posthuman Condition." Harper's Magazine, 306.1835 (2003): 15 Read More