Non-Intigrated Quotes

Here's a paragraph from my paper:

The external sabotage of the relationship comes from other girls most of the time. Jealously is a major concept in high school relationships, and it has ruined many before they even get started. As stated in aggression and adaptation: the bright side to bad behavior, “social aggression among some girls may emerge as a function of increased feelings of competitiveness towards other girls-particularly for the attention of males- during the transition to heterosexual relationships in adolescence”(Hawley 160). Jealousy can also have a sort of “domino effect”; meaning that if one girl ruins a relationship between two other people, the girl in the relationship that was ruined will most likely want to seek revenge. “Their competitive strategies in this regard include the humiliation of other girls, the collection of boys who admire and worship them, and managing their image with others so as to be perceived as successful in the social realm” (163). This can be an endless cycle with no clear winner.

Problems with My Paper

One of the problems I'm having with my paper is just the introduction. Yesterday in class I came up with part of an introduction that said, "Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great portrayal of the typical high school relationship. The episode, "When She Went Bad", shows the viewer, by using metaphors such as vampires, all the different kinds of tihngs that ruin high school relationships such as the one between Xander and Willow." I want to talk about internal and external conflicts in my paper but I'm not quite sure how to add that in to the introduction.

Another problem that I'm having is length. I'm not sure how to make my paper 7-8 pages long without repeating myself and adding irrelevant information. I think if I find another source and add it into my paper it might help a little bit with this issue. I haven't had much time to revise my paper yet, but once I work on it more I think most of my other problems will be solved.

Axe

This was the first Axe ad that I looked at. It shows a man and a woman on top of a wedding cake with several women trying to climb up to the top. The man is wearing the Axe and every other girl wants him even though he is married. This ad, I believe, is sending a negative message to the public. Although the point of the ad is to say that Axe will attract women, it is saying that no one is off limits. People could look at this the wrong way and be turned off by this ad. Married men should not be included like they are in this ad. I believe that in a way this could be promoting adultry because not only is the man married, but all the women that are climbing the wedding cake are in white dresses. This shows that they are also married. I believe this ad could turn off married men to the product because they do not want that kind of attention from girls other than their wives.



This is the next Axe add that I looked at. I believe this is a better ad than the first one that I looked at for this product. It uses the can of Axe and a story where they took a bunch of words out of it and wrapped them around the can. The words that they used to put up next to the can were names of many different girls. By wrapping the names around teh can of Axe they are associating all of them with the can of Axe. It's saying that if you use the product all of those girls would be attracted to you. The names being wrapped around the can represents all of the girls being "wrapped around your finger", as the saying goes. This could be saying that girls would do anything for a guy wearing Axe. This is a good add because it uses this picture and incorporates the words with it.

The World's Greatest

The song The World's Greatest, by R Kelly, is probably one of my favorite songs. I had never even heard the song before about April of this past year, but once I heard it once, I was hooked. Seeing as I was about to graduate at this time, it really seemed to apply to my life. With lyrics like, "Im that star up in the sky, I'm that mountain peak up high, Hey I made it, I'm the world's greatest" it really seemed to be about my life. Graduating from high school is a big accomplishment and a huge step in life. The song also applies to the next step that we take in life, whether its college, the armed forces, or starting in the work force, the lyrics, "I'm that little bit of hope, when my back's against the ropes" are very motivational. I think that these lyrics apply to the people that you have in your life. They can give you hope and strength when you're going through hard times, like adjusting to something brand new, like college. I can really relate to this song because I am going through a new experience like this. I'm in a brand new place, with all new people and I'm trying to adjust to everything. This song makes me remember that when I'm going through hard times I can't give up and that people are always there to help me through those times.

The Princess Screamed Once

I think that it is very interesting that in this episode Buffy assumes that she is the hero. When Giles says that the monsters were killed when the princess screamed once, Buffy automatically wrote, "How do I get my voice back?" (Wilcox 148). She knows that because she is the slayer, this is her responsibility. I really like that the girl is always the hero in this series, and this episode reinforces that even more. By saying that the princess defeats the monsters, it is empowering girls. The only thing that I think would be even more interesting is if there were other girls that could possibly be the princess. This would show that one girl does not always have to save the world. It would send the message that it could be any girl, and not just a vampire slayer. Basically, I think it would send the message that you don't have to do something big to save the world.

Is It Art?

I think it is very interesting how old television shows that the younger generation would never watch can have so much affect on the newer television shows. The Yellow Submarine has a very similar plot to the episode of "Hush" in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The only difference is that the monster in The Yellow Submarine is something called a blue meanie instead of a vampire. Another difference is how it was made. In Buffy, they use airbrush and a warping program to make the effects seem real and almost somewhat believable. The Yellow Submarine on the other hand, "can at times be weak as it relates to animation, with too many stills and many grainy, jumpy movements" (Moeller 100). So the only difference between these two shows seem to be the change of characters and the newer effects. I think its very interesting that those two things can make this episode appeal to the younger generation of viewers.

Grimm Realities

The article, Grimm Realities, focuses on the vulnerability of children. The article shows how in three different episodes, children were being killed. All of the episodes centered around fairytales. This seems like a strange thing to center the episode around because we think of fairytales as stories with happy endings for the children. In these episodes teenagers were, "left isolated and vulnerable to forces beyond their control " (Bridges 99). Even though the episodes were not all about little kids, it shows how teenagers are still kids. In the episode "Killed by Death" Buffy was shown as a kid again. I liked how this episode showed Buffy as a kid, because I think everyone feels very vulnerable when they are sick. Everyone wants to be taken care of when they are sick just like they were when they were little kids.

Hush

I thought that the one of the most important scenes in the episode "Hush" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was when Buffy and Riley both showed up to fight the Gentlemen and saw each other. Both of them had been lying to each other because they both live double lives. Buffy is the vampire slayer, while Riley works for a secret government program made to fight demons. The relationship between the two of them had not progressed very far because they were both keeping things from the other. Neither of them could tell the other the truth, despite the fact that they both really wanted to. They had a deep connection that you can feel in the opening scene of this episode, but it led nowhere for the two of them. In this scene the two fought the Gentlemen side by side and realized that they both had been keeping secrets from each other. At the end of this episode the two sit down to discuss what had just happened. I think that now that they know about the other's secret they can move forward in their relationship. This goes to show that relationships are based on honesty, and that you can't have a working relationship when someone is hiding something about themself.

Free Writing 2

In a high school setting, relationships are everywhere. Whether they are bonds of friendship or romantic bonds, they are all complicated, and they always seem to be changing. The show Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great portrayal of your typical high school relationship. Xander and Willow are hanging out and are about to share their first kiss; a vampire appears and tries to kill them, and then Buffy shows up out of no where and slays vampire. Sounds like a typical high school relationship, right? Well, almost. Think of it this way, Xander and Willow are actually two best friends, the vampire is the rest of the world and a few unconscious thoughts, and Buffy is their best friend. No one knows it, but Xander and Willow have this thing for each other. Xander is finally about to make the first move that he has been so nervous to make, when all of a sudden this vampire appears and ruins the moment. Xander and Willow try and act like nothing was happening after Buffy shows up and slays the vampire. The only difference between this scene and high school is that it's not really a real vampire.

The vampire is just the metaphor used in the show. The vampire can represent a million different things when we look at high school relationships. First, there are all the unconscious thoughts that both the boy and girl have going in to a relationship, or even when asking the other out for the first time. They're always wondering, "does she like me?", "will this work out?", "what if he says no?", and many other questions to that effect. Not only are both of them thinking about the others reaction, but also what everyone else will think. Will they approve? What will they say? All of these things are going through a teenagers mind and sometimes they're just not sure what to do, which leads me to the next thing that this vampire can represent, sabotage of the relationship. I believe there can be internal and external sabotage in a relationship. Internal sabotage occurs when the teen gives in to peer pressure. They don't want to be the new object of gossip at school, so they make sure that the relationship never develops into anything more than innocent flirting. The external sabotage of the relationship comes from other girls most of the time. Jealously is a major concept in high school relationships, and it has ruined many before they even get started. As stated in aggression and adaption: the bright side to bad behavior, "social aggression among some girls may emerge as a function of increased feelings of competitiveness towards other girls-particularly for the attention of males- during the transition to heterosexual relationships in adolescence."

As you can see, the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer really is a true portrayal of a high school relationship. The metaphors used can be related back to everyday life in high school. See, there really are vampires ruining relationships in high school.

Works Cited

Hawley, Patricia. Little, Todd. Rodkin, Philip. Aggression and adaption: the bright side to bad behavior. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence erlbaum associates, 2007.

Free Writing 1

In a high school setting, relationships are everywhere. Whether they are bonds of friendship or romantic bonds, they are all complicated, and they always seem to be changing. The show Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a great portrayal of your typical high school relationship. Xander and Willow are hanging out and are about to share their first kiss; a vampire appears and tries to kill them, and then Buffy shows up out of no where and slays vampire. Sounds like a typical high school relationship, right? Well, almost. Think of it this way, Xander and Willow are actually two best friends, the vampire is the rest of the world and a few unconscious thoughts, and Buffy is their best friend. No one knows it, but Xander and Willow have this thing for each other. Xander is finally about to make the first move that he has been so nervous to make, when all of a sudden this vampire appears and ruins the moment. Xander and Willow try and act like nothing was happening after Buffy shows up and slays the vampire. The only difference between this scene and high school is that it's not really a real vampire.
The vampire is just the metaphor used in the show. The vampire can represent a million different things when we look at high school relationships. First, there are all the unconscious thoughts that both the boy and girl have going in to a relationship, or even when asking the other out for the first time. They're always wondering, "does she like me?", "will this work out?", "what if he says no?", and many other questions to that effect. Not only are both of them thinking about the others reaction, but also what everyone else will think. Will they approve? What will they say? All of these things are going through a teenagers mind and sometimes they're just not sure what to do, which leads me to the next thing that this vampire can represent, sabotage of the relationship. I believe there can be internal and external sabotage in a relationship. Internal sabotage occurs when the teen gives in to peer pressure. They don't want to be the new object of gossip at school, so they make sure that the relationship never develops into anything more than innocent flirting. The external sabotage of the relationship comes from other girls most of the time. Jealously is a major concept in high school relationships, and it has ruined many before they even get started.
As you can see, the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer really is a true portrayal of a high school relationship. The metaphors used can be related back to everyday life in high school. See, there really are vampires ruining relationships in high school.

The Nobel Peace Prize

I was shocked when it was first announced that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I would have to say that I was not the only person who was caught a little off guard by this decision. After discussing it with several people I decided this would be an interesting topic to blog on in order to see what everyone else thought about this. I decided to do a little research on the topic and found some even more interesting things about it.

First, nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize had to be postmarked by February 1, 2009. This was only 12 days after Obama took office! How can you nominate someone who has yet to make an impact on anything in our country, let alone the world? The next thing that caused this to be a shock, was that Obama was not even mentioned in the front runners for this award. Both of these things make me stop and wonder about the decision that was made. I also found the committee's reasons for choosing Obama surprising. The committee said it honored Obama for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future." Jagland said the decision was "unanimous" and came with ease.

Not only was I shocked, but Obama himself was shocked when he found out that he had won the award. Obama is the 4th president, and 3rd sitting president to win this award, but the fact that it came so early in his term makes me question the committee's decision.

My Desk

The place that I seem to spend most of my time seemed like the best thing to write about. My desk is very cluttered, but that's just the way I like things. I like being surrounded by pictures. There are so many pictures on my desk, but they all remind me of home. My desk represent all the things that I like. I have an Ohio State notepad because I'm at Ohio State and I'm a huge football fan. The One Tree Hill Poster is on my desk because that is probably my favorite show to watch. I also have some books on my desk that I brought just to read for fun, if I ever get around to reading them. I also have a pink K representing my name and one of my favorite colors. The next item on my desk is my desk lamp. Not only is this a lamp, but it also hold things like pens, pencils and scissors. I also have a printer on my desk, but it serves no purpose at the moment because no one can seem to get it to work. Finally, I have my computer. This is the most important thing on my desk just because it is so useful. I can do lots of things on it.

Even with all the decorations on my desk, it still serves a purpose. Actually, I believe my desk serves a few purposes. The first being studying. Most of the time, I prefer just to sit at my desk and study because most of my homework requires the internet. Another purpose served by my desk is to entertain. Although I should by studying, most of the time I end up surfing the web and checking my facebook page. This is probably how my desk is used most of the time. The last reason that I like my desk so much is that it feels like home. My room was always covered in pictures, so my desk is the closet thing to that. My desk makes my dorm feel more like home.

Primary Source 2

For my second primary source option I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "The Witch". In this episode, we learn about the pressure that parents can put on their children. In this case, Amy's mother wants her to become a cheerleader just like she was. Her mother was trying to live through her daughter which we see a lot in high school by parents. Her mother went so far as to switch bodies with her daughter through witchcraft to live out her high school career again. After she switched bodies, she tried to kill to get on the cheerleading squad. This is an example of high school today. Teens are so pressured that they would do almost anything to be accepted. This is true in almost every high school. I think this would be an ok subject to write a paper on, but I would have to expand on this topic a lot.

Primary Source 1

For my first source option I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer: "When She was Bad". This episode seemed to focus on relationships. There were relationships between Xander and Willow, Xander and Buffy, Buffy and Angel and finally the relationship between the three friends, Willow, Xander and Buffy. The relationship between Xander and Willow was more hidden than any of the others. It seemed that they had a love/hate, relationship. In the first scene we see these two about to kiss when all of the sudden a vampire comes along and ruins their moment. Later in the episode we have almost the same situation between Xander and Willlow and nothing like that happens between the two of them. The next relationship is between Buffy and Xander. This relationship is very obvious, because Xander is so attracted to Buffy, yet Buffy has absolutely no interest in Xander. The only time that this relationship seems to change is when Buffy and Angel's relationship comes into play. Buffy and Angel obviously have a thing for each other, but Buffy is angry at Angel and wants to make him jealous. This is when Buffy and Xander's relationship changes. She comes onto him at the club in front of Angel to prove to Angel that she really has moved on. This scene makes it obvious that Buffy is not over Angel yet. All of this conflict between Buffy and Angel causes a lot of tension for everyone. Willow becomes very angry at Buffy for leading Xander on like that, and also because she has hidden feelings for Xander. This puts a strain on the relationship between Buffy, Xander and Willow. There's also a lot more to their relationships in this episode, but I'm trying to decide if this is a good topic to write about for my paper. Anyone have any thoughts on this topic?

"But she was naked"

The article "But she was naked" was very interesting. I had never thought about how much of a role seduction can play in some things. Seduction seems to be a very prominent theme in Firefly. It is used both positively and negatively in this series. We can see the affects it has on the characters in the different episodes. It makes women very powerful. Be seducing men, women can seem to get whatever they want out of them. In the last episode I watched, it was used to sabotage the ship and hurt the crew. The new Mrs. Reynolds fooled everyone into believing that she was just an innocent girl. This is just an example of the things that seduction can do.

Our Mrs. Reynolds

The episode of Firefly, "Our Mrs. Reynolds", had many interesting scenes with implicit meanings, but I want to take a closer look at the bedroom scene. In this scene, Mr. Reynolds walks into his bedroom to find his new wife lying in bed completely naked. They had just married and Mr. Reynolds had no intention of keeping her as his wife and had told her such; yet, you have this young, innocent girl lying in his bed. This seems a little odd, even if she is just trying to please her new husband. What is the point of giving herself to this man if she will no longer be with him in just a few short days? Shouldn't she wait til she arrives at her destination to find a new husband who wants to be with her? These were the first things that I thought of when this was happening. A girl like this should have been terrified, but instead she seemed very eager, almost too eager. When Mr. Reynolds told her that it was morrally wrong and that he wouldn't do it, she became even more aggressive. She got up out of the bed and went over to Mr. Reynolds and was trying to persuade him. Mr. Reynolds finally gave in and started kissing his new wife. This is when the scene gets even more interesting; while kissing her, Mr. Reynolds steps back, says "that was interesting", and falls to the ground. His new wife had just poisoned him with her lips. This part is very ironic; just when Mr. Reynolds gives in to his new wife and goes against his morals, he gets poisoned. Could the writer possibly be trying to tell the viewer something here?