Three Topic Choices

The first choice I am considering for my essay is exploring the affect that the negative portrayal of black women has on growing black females. Should I choose this topic, my essay would revolve around the stereotyping and hypersexualization of black women in todays media. Young black girls look to the media for role models and all they see are scantily clad models chasing after washed up rappers and scantily clad models shaking their behinds in music videos for washed up rappers. This imagery causes body image and self esteem issues amongst young black females.

The second choice I am considering is reality television. The lack of reality in reality television gives young adults false expectations about the real world. Television shows like the hills, which, let's be honest, is about 20% reality, show young adults spending money with no apparent income, or getting fabulous jobs with little to no education. What they fail to show is $100,000 paycheck they receive per episode. Also, they show these young adults fighting over boys and spreading harsh rumors but what they fail to show is the producers in the background cooking up plot scenarios.

The third and final angle I am considering is violence in rap music. Rap music is blamed for so much in this day and age. Many people believe that the violent lyrics in some rap music is accountable for violence in teen America. I disagree completely with that notion and my essay would describe why it is unfair to blame this genre of music on real world problems.

"O"- The Remake of a Classic

Throw Shakespeare in a modern context, make the setting a private high school and give it an edgy hip hop soundtrack and you've got "O", the most contreversial movie of 2001. "O", a remake of the classic play "Othello" originally written by shakespeare, follows a group of teenagers through a twisted plot of jealusy, deciet and, as with any good tragedy, death.

Odin James, played by Mekhi Phifer, is our modern day Othello. A basketball star and the upper class, private school's token negro, Odin finds himself head over heels in love with Desi, the deans beautiful daughter. It starts out as your classic boy meets girl scenario, until we meet Hugo. Hugo, the son of the coach of the basketball team, becomes insanely jealus because his father favors Odin, his star player. Playing off of the emotions of equally desperate, less intellegent classmates, Hugo manages to string together a plot so shocking and evil, it leaves three of his peers dead.

Never just your average thriller, "O" is laced with social commentary about race. The only reason Odin attends the mostly white private school is his athletic ability, like Biggie Smalls once said if your young and black "either you sell rock or you got a wicked jump shot." In this case, it was a wicked jump shot that made Odin James the star of his team and one of the most popular guys in school, that is until he had a violent outburst during a practice, then he was just another nigger to the same people who had been his best friends.

In the end Odin kills Desi, then himself. In the final, gripping scene, Odin delivers a powerful monologue asking everyone to remember that what he did, what he was about to do, had nothing to do with his race or where he came from (even though you know that's the way they'll tell it anyway).

This movie is a bold retelling of a classic theme. Jealusy really is a powerful drug and it can make you do things that you never dreamed you were capable of.

Gym Class Bully

Believe it or not the purpose of this ad probes no deeper than a sorry attempt to get you to purchase a gym membership. Look closely, past the scantily clad nuns and the totally inappropriate mockery of the Catholic Church, and you may find yourself lusting after a hotter body… right?

Well, not exactly. In my opinion, the ad does little more than manage to singly handedly piss off a lot of people. For example, people who chose to devote their lives to making the world a better place. In this ad you can see that these nuns are experiencing impure desires, three of them gawk at a fully naked man while flashing a little leg while a fourth nun peeks shamelessly into the room. It is a wide known fact that nuns are celibate and I believe that the ad is extremely controversial because it pokes fun at one of the noblest professions known to mankind.

Furthermore, aren’t we all getting a little tired of making fun of nuns? Honestly, has there ever been a group of people that deserved it least? I feel like this ad has definitely gone too far. I am not catholic, I don’t even consider myself a religious person but I do respect the religious beliefs of others. I am all about a good laugh but not at the cost of shamelessly mocking something that so many people hold dearly.

Practicing safe 'Net: Social Networking Sites and the Blame Game

When it comes to the safety of our children, or sometimes the lack thereof, it seems that we are always looking for someone to blame. If we aren’t blaming television, it’s the movie industry and if not the movies then it’s that darned rap music. Now we are all looking to social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook to make sure our children are well protected. However, I cannot help but wonder: when it comes to protecting our children online, who among us really holds the responsibility?

I won’t attempt to argue with the fact that Myspace is crawling with sexual predators and even I must admit that it is next to impossible to tell simply by looking at a profile if the person you are speaking to really is who they say they are. Furthermore, although I certainly believe that social networking sites should do everything in their power to keep the sites predator free, the real responsibility falls squarely and solely, in my opinion, on the shoulders of parents.

Social networking sites are safer than many, if not all, social settings in the real world. In reality, there is always a possibility of danger, even if you do everything in your power to remain safe, even with adequate supervision. However, online, this possibility can be totally eliminated. I believe this is the point that the Author of “Myspace Not Responsible for Predators,” is trying to stress, parents need to take responsibility for making sure their children are practicing safe net. With adequate supervision and the appropriate safety measures, social networking sites are perfectly safe places to communicate with friends and loved ones.

I was not very sheltered as a child, hoewever, one thing my mother made sure I always had plenty of was common sense. If we teach our children right from wrong, and arm them with the tools they need to protect themselves online and in the real world, we would be able to finally stop this silly blame game.

Make It Work

In my whole life I have never been just handed anything, then again who among us has? When in life are you ever given everything you need to succeed? I believe that Tim Gunn says it best whenever he stands in front of all the wannabe fashion designers clutching their last bit of fabric with only 20 minutes to turn it into something fabulous. "Make it work," he says, and they alsways do. Isn't this exactly the way life works? It certainly is for me.

In life we are always short on one of two things, time and materials, sometimes we are short on both. Either way, you have to make it work. I live on my own and when thee bills are due and the materials are short, the materials being in this case money, you have to make it work!

Whenever life throws obstacles in your path, or presents you with challenges as they do on Project Runway, You've got to make it work.

You just have to because in life there are no second chances or do overs, you simply play the hand that you are given and hope against all odds that you can turn it into something fabulous.

Make it Work!