Gender Identity

I think that the media, television, and the news influence our gender identity in a major way. I think that they influence our gender identity because in the media they always depict men and women the same way. No matter what news source it is coming from they always picture the “American” man as tough, and athletic. They always picture the “American” woman as an emotional person who is very into fashion and social life. I think that when citizens see these videos and images in the news it puts them in the mindset that if they want to be a man or woman they have to act like the people in the news. Sources like People Magazine thrive on gender identity because their magazine features all of the celebrities that people in the country want to be like. I think that this depiction of men and women in the media can hurt our country because it may make people feel like they can’t act like they truly want to while they are in public. I think that if the media were to cut back on the men and women stereotypes people may start acting differently in society, maybe men will show more emotion, and maybe women will be less emotional. But no matter what, in the end there are always going to be stereotypes in society so we just have to learn to live with them and express ourselves in our own ways.

Michael Moore Video

I do not think Michael Moore was too critical toward George W. Bush. Mr. Bush did not do anything when the first plane crashed into the twin towers at 9:00 AM on September 11, 2001. What he was doing when the plane had crashed was reading to a public school during all of this. People knew and they did not say anything to Bush while he was reading. I did not like Bush very much when he was in office; all he was doing when he was in office was going on vacations over and over. He was in the white house then later he was on vacation for 3 weeks. In the movie he had gotten interviewed and someone asked what he does when he goes on vacation, he could not respond to that, he was stuttering, not knowing what to say. I feel like Mr. Moore did not take this movie to the next level, he had to be the one to show everyone, and wake them up, to know what Mr. George W. Bush had done while in the oval office.

Michael Moore video

I first want to start off saying that I am a moderate conservative. I did support bush when he was in office as president. Now, I didn’t support every little thing he did, but overall it think that he did a good job in office. What most people don’t understand is how stressful the job running a whole country is. It wears down on you physically, mentally, and emotionally. I think that Michael Moore took this documentary/video essay he made way too far. I think that he was basically trying to destroy George W bush’s career in office and he was trying to make the public despise him and all other republicans that were running for office. I think that Moore portrayed the events of 9/11 and how George bush handled them wrong to the public. He said that bush was just reading to children even though he knew that national icons were being attacked. I am positive that even though George bush wasn’t in New York he was trying to handle the situation as best as he could. Moore’s video is an uncalled for attack on the former president.

A Misunderstanding or a Misrepresentation?

Despite being a very liberal liberal, I did enjoy seeing the most recent GOP president defamed on the Big Screen. First off, I'm not fan of our Ex President Bush, I did not agree with his platform and his way of operating the White House. However, producer Michael Moore took his anti Bush campaign a little too far. Running a country is a very stressful job, and it is taxing on anyone who takes up the job. President Bush had the courage to take up the job and he deserves a lot of respect for doing so. Michael Moore shows George W. Bush no respect. He pays no attention to the work that Bush actually accomplished, instead only focusing on his failures. Michael Moore isn't displaying his discontent of Bush's presidency, He is attempting to destroy Bush's career. Michael Moore presents no logical argument for Bush's failures, he instead seeks to present Bush in a very moronic and situational light. "For seven whole minutes, Bush read My Pet Goat to the children" and many such quotes litter Michael's film. Michael focuses on situational news clips that by themselves make Bush look bad, but Michael deliberatly leaves out the larger picture of Bush's presidency because the larger picture reveals Bush to be a competant president. Bush wasn't just vacationing in the South, he was working. Bush is also correct in saying that work doesn't need to be conducted soley in the White House. Michael's Ad Hominim attack on Bush is disrespectful and innaccurate. Michael disregards the challenges of the job and the fact that sometimes mistakes are made. Where Michael could have filmed a movie that logically and accurately showed the failures of the Bush administration, he instead chose a disrespectful attack on Bush's character, which had no impact on 9/11/01

The years to come...

I agree with Lucas and Sydney. I think that the only way that people are going to be able to become successful in the future will to be familiar with technology. If social networking websites are already booming in today’s world, think of how prevalent they will be in the future. In order to be successful in the job field you choose to have in the future, whether it is in the medical field, the business field, or the teaching field you will need to know how to use a computer to the fullest of its ability. The world will not stop progressing in terms of technology so it is essential that we keep up with it and educate ourselves about it. In the future I believe that computers will be able to run almost anything in the job field, this will help out nation succeed even more because we will be able to be more efficient and advanced. I think that if technology does not keep advancing yearly our nation could be headed toward a downfall, that is how important technology is in our lives.

The Years to Come...

     In order to be successful in the years to come, everyone will need to be familiar with technology. Particularly communications media. Systems such as twitter, facebook, and skype are easy ways to communicate with people all over the globe, and they won't be dying off any time soon. Businesses use facebook and twitter to advertise and give information, classrooms can use skype to communicate across the country. Technology is becoming more prevelant in today's society and in order to succeed, everyone will need to be adept in the use of technology. We live in the era of information, where computers control almost everything. The skills of the mechanical age are becoming less useful in today's world. People don't need to work on assembly lines anymore, they need to be able to run the computers that manage the assembly lines. People need to be able to troubleshoot their computers and know how to fix rudimentary problems. Our generation is certainly adept in the field of technology. Most teenagers know more about computers than their parents, and a good portion of teenagers have built their own computers. Outside of being taught how to type and run the Microsoft Office programs, most of the knowledge to run and fix technology comes from experience. Reading the wikipedia page on how to program a certain function is the way of learning. Sooner or later, everyone will need to be able to understand their computers, because they are becoming the backbone of our world.

10 Years Later

I had always stayed away from 9/11. I was too young to remember it when it happened, and since then I never really looked into it. I know what happened, and I'm aware of the communication failures that led to this disaster, but I never watched a program about it. I didn't watch the commemorations yesterday, on the 10th anniversary. I guess I never wanted to get involved with it, or think about it. I was perfectly content going on with my everyday life. I had other concerns: School, friends, that new videogame coming out. This may be because I was 7 years old, but I'm sure that others older than me felt the same way. No one wants to stay focused on disasters and depressinge events for long periods of time, and as tragic as 9/11 was, it is no different.
As for changes since 9/11, I wouldn't say there has been a huge culture change. Comedy remains the same, music remains the same. There may have been a rise in patriotic media for several weeks or months after the disaster, but there has been no cultural change that has lasted these 10 years other than security. I can no longer go to Canada without a passport. I must remove my shoes when I go through airport security. The elderly and the youth of our nation are subject to pat downs, and there's no need to go into the controversy behind that. Our security has been drastically improved. Such a tragic would surely spark such change, but why was such a tragic event necesarry to cause change? Why did 3,000 people have to die for airports to develop efficient security measures? Why was an attack on the world's superpower necesarry to get people to do their jobs properly?