Orlando's English Blog

 Prompt Response: I really enjoy wearing vaquero clothing and some people may not think that because I dress in hoodies, basketball shorts, and sweatpants. I typically wear vaquero clothes at parties or certain family gatherings. Most people are shocked especially people from school. Other people ask why am I trying to look like from the countryside but country people do not owe a specific style of clothing. A lot of people believe wearing some nice pants, button up, and boots is only for the countryside but that is not the case.  Summary: Today in class we watched a short film called "Stereo". Reflection: The short film really showcased how it would be if gender roles and expectations were reversed. This brings to light how difficult change can be for society especially if something is uncommon. 

 Prompt Response: The movie "Stand and Deliver" is a movie I believe positively represents the Mexican/Chicano culture. Although the movie starts of with the stereotypical cholo teenagers, later on those teenagers become some of the best in their school academically. The students are tasked to pass their exams and through hard work and long nights of studying they achieve their goal. This is shows how hard work can achieve greatness. In the Mexican and Chicano culture though, it shows there is more to life than the street life, always having to hustle, and not reaching higher levels of education. This movie shows how gang life is not the only option and that it is possible to be smart and have more than a basic education.  Summary: Today in class we worked on our projects. Reflection: By working on our projects it gives more time to add detail and go in depth into the films we choose for stereotypes. It also builds experience in team work. 

 Prompt Response: On the first day of school the boy's classmates had already stereotypes him to be sick (having AID's) and even gave him a mask to wear. From then the boy never took off the mask and even tried to stay away from the only boy that tried to be his friend. The boy felt the need to isolate himself and felt ashamed to be different from the other students. In the film the social status was that Africans were sick and common to carry AIDS. The viewer sees this when the boy's friend looks up if Africans carry AIDS. The results show many cases of AIDS in Africa. This could have possibly been shown to the class which led to them thinking the new boy in class must have AID's and the generalizations that Africans carry AID's.  Summary: Today in class we watched a short film "Born With It". Reflection: Watching the short film gives an understanding on how a generalization can cause isolation and can affect self identity. The film was a great example of...

Prompt Response: I am most excited about gaining more independence after graduating. I do know that once I leave their will be much more responsibilities but now I can decide for the most part on how I will handle those responsibilities without general permission from anyone else. I do want to attend college but now I can contribute financially to the bills  as well. This also gives me a purpose throughout the summer so I do not stay home and sit on the couch all day. I also can work more to save up for a car before I enter school again.

 Prompt Response: South Beach Tow made me think people in Miami were either faking their wealth or terrible at parking. This show was definitely a single sided story. Throughout the whole show a towing crew is followed while working. Many of the people they would tow looked very rich or were the average person. Every person though would either be in a no parking zone or be late on car payments. This can make people think Miami is a fake it until you make it city. People would show off money they do not have and rich people would feel entitled to whichever parking spot they would like.  Summary: Today in class we started a new group project.  Reflection: The project is a presentation of a single sided story of a specific group of people. My group chose rural white Americans. 

  Prompt Response: I think filmmakers use stereotypes due to no creativity. A lot of movies follow a similar structure with certain characters being the funny punchline. For example in the Pixels movie there is the main protagonist along side his dorky best friend. This style is repeated again in Dairy of a Wimpy kid. The dorky side character is portrayed to either have glasses, enjoy a weird hobby, or be nerdy looking in general. I do not think this is justifiable for the reason being many other films have had films succeed without the dorky side character. The movie Iron lung has succeeded without the need of the dorky side kick.  Summary: Today in class we kept working on writable. Reflection: By continuing to work in writable I was able to improve my analysis and evaluation skills. I was also able to read more about solutions film writers can take to not have stereotypical characters. 

Prompt Response: When I was in elementary a movie called "Teen Beach Movie" came out and one of the characters Tanner, was portrayed as the dumb pretty boy. Throughout the whole film when Tanner would appear the camera would give him the wind effect for his hair and also the perfect lighting for his face. His looks were on point but when it came down to his character to make a decision he would be more of a yes man and would agree with the group decision and smile. After watching the movie I would think every good looking guy was not smart. What made it worse is in the sequel Tanner stayed the same for the first half of the movie. By the time the sequel released I knew better and did not think the same about good looking guys.  Summary: Today in class we worked in writable.  Reflection: The writable assignment helped understand the different types of stereotypes that are used in film. The writable assignment also included examples of why stereotypes continue to be used in fil...

 Prompt Response: I typically get a mullet style haircut when I go to my barber. More hair in the back, a taper fade on the sides, and medium length on top. Mullets came back as a recent trend over the past couple of years, especially in the Mexican community. In Mexican culture and media mullets are very common as well. The first time I got a mullet style haircut I loved it after it grew out into a length I preferred. I would take pictures all the time and I felt proud of my haircut.