Category: Assignments

I interviewed six people, three from my generation and three from the older generation. I asked them the following question: Would you approve of a law saying “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” if congress were considering it? 

The younger generation:

Anndee Greenlee:

The first person I talked to was my friend Anndee, a nineteen-year-old at the University of Texas Tech. When I asked her if she would approve of the law, she said yes automatically. When I asked if she thought it was excessive, she said no because “everyone has a right to speak their mind”. When I asked her if she recognized the law as the first amendment, she said she did. This checks out because I and Anndee were in the same 8th-grade history class and had it drilled into our heads by an amazing teacher who recognized its importance. 

Jake Elliott:

The next person I interviewed was my brother, Jake Elliott who is a junior at the University of Oklahoma. When I asked him if he would approve of the law, he said “yeah probably”. Well, actually he told me, “Isn’t that just the first amendment?” but I digress. I asked him if he thought it was excessive in any way and he said no. He stated that “it was something to be defended”. I then asked if he recognized the law as the first amendment, and he said that he did in fact recognize it.

Trevor Whal:

Next, I interviewed Trevor Whal, who is a member of the NORTC and a junior at the University of Oklahoma. When asked if he would approve of the law he said, “Ma’am isn’t that just the first amendment?”. I asked him to tell me his thoughts on it anyway and he said that he definitely approved of it. When I asked him if he thought it was excessive in any way or offered too much freedom, he said “not at all”. He then added that if he had to pick someone that it gave too much freedom to it would be the press, due to the fact that they have the ability to just publish false information, but he also said that he understands that it is their right to do so. I asked him if he was aware that this was the first amendment and he was yes, that he was definitely aware of that. 

Next, the older generation:

Shon Elliott:

Shon Elliott is my father. I asked him if he would approve of the following law and he said “hell yeah brother”. This a very in-character response from the man that raised me. I asked him if he thought it was excessive in any way or allowed for too much freedom. To this, he said, “No I don’t. That is the reason we have the right to say what we want to say”. I asked him if he was aware that this was the first amendment and he told me that he was aware. 

LaDonna Elliott: 

LaDonna Elliott is my mother and one of the smartest women I have ever met. When I asked her about the law and how she would feel about it. She told me that she approved of it without a doubt. I asked her if she thought any of it was excessive or allowed for too much freedom. She said, “No I don’t. We should have the right to freedom”. I then asked her if she was aware that this was the first amendment to which she informed me that she was indeed aware. She then added that “The first amendment is something that gives us Americans a right that we often take for granted. We have the right to freedom of speech and to say the things we want and to disagree with the government. We’re lucky to live somewhere that allows that”.

Debby Rhines:

Debby Rhines is my mom’s sorority sister and someone I look up to very much. I asked her if she would approve of the law if congress were to pass it. To this, she said that she definitely approved of it. She said that “it was necessary”. I asked her if any of it seemed excessive to her in any way. She told me no, and that it was again a necessity. I asked her if she was aware that this was the first amendment and she told me that she was aware of that fact. 

Analysis:

As I interviewed these people, I was not shocked at all to find that the younger generation recognized the law just as much as the older generation. I also noticed that everyone agreed with the first amendment, another thing that didn’t surprise me. One thing that I did find interesting was just how passionate everyone seemed to be about it. No matter who I asked, their support of the law was clear and evident. 

Interpretation:

Everyone I talked to was in support of the first amendment. Their reasons all boiled down to the same theme of “because it’s important”. They all believed that freedoms of speech, assembly, the press, religion, and petition were all a necessity for our lives as citizens of the United States. 

Evaluation:

Some people may be shocked at the fact that the younger generation recognizes the law just as well as the older generation, but I’m not. My generation has never known a world of peace. We were born into a post-9/11 society and since then it’s been one thing after another. We are very aware of the importance of our rights and the extreme importance of our first amendment rights. I was impressed by just how passionate everyone seemed about the first amendment. In today’s world, there tends to be a bad habit of being uncaring towards our rights as Americans, so it was nice to see that people do indeed care. 

Engagement: 

The recent national survey on students’ opinions of the first amendment is a bit concerning. To hear that some think that the first amendment goes, “too far in the rights it guarantees” makes me wonder if people from other countries would feel the same way. In countries where people are killed for speaking their minds, would they agree that our counties laws go too far? 

I had an assignment for class to use ten images to create a story. The assignment in question gave me an excuse to explore one of my absolute favorite places on campus, which would be the Library. The following slides show my exploration of one of the most comforting places on earth.

For this post I will be responding to question #4 at the end of chapter one in my textbook for this class. The question essentially asks if I have a form of media that is a guilty pleasure of mine, and what my embarrassment of the media tells about how certain subcultures evaluate media.

I’m pretty comfortable talking about the things I’m passionate about. For example, you ask me my opinions on my favorite book series or OU football, and I’ll talk to you about it for hours. However, there is a form of media that I love that I always hesitate to bring up, and that is the media of animation. I’m talking shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender and Haikyuu and movies such as Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises. I absolutely adore those shows and movies but when asked to talk about my favorite’s in those categories, I freeze and wonder if I should be honest, especially as I get older. If we’re being completely honest, my embarrassment probably stems from middle school when everyone was more concerned with trying to look cool than actually enjoy the things they genuinely loved. But why do I still feel that hint of embarrassment now that I’m no longer a scared middle school girl? Here’s the conclusion I’ve come to: People don’t take animation seriously in the media. Furthermore, people don’t think animated mediums can be serious. Too many people hear “animation” and think of shows like Sponge Bob or Fairly Odd Parents, which are both definitely focused more on humor than telling a story. These are considered kids shows, so more serious shows like Cowboy Bebop or movies like Princess Mononoke, both of which deal with serious heavy topics, get roped in. Animation is seen by certain people as not serious so fans of the genre are embarrassed to bring it up in serious conversations. I think that this is something that needs to change as we as a society advance forward. We need to accept that animation can do just as well, if not better at times, at telling a story and handling serious and intense topics.

“What questions drive your interest in media?” Wow, that’s a loaded question, but definitely one that’s worth answering (grade dependent or not). After some thought, I think my answer would have to be be a simple “Why?”. To me, “Why?” is the question that makes the creative wheels in my head start to turn. I see an advertisement and I really like it, why do I like it? I really connect with a movie I watched, why? The cover of an album speaks to me, why does it speak to me? The question of “Why?” forces me to think about the media that I consume and how it affects me. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve finished a book and just sat there unpacking the things I loved and why I loved them. As for questions that I’m hopping to find the answers to regarding the media world, I like to think I’m a somewhat creative and imaginative person, so I would like to learn how to better use media to bring about change and share that imagination with the world. I know how much of an impact that different forms of media, like the movie posters, books, and album covers I mentioned before, have had on me. That impact can bring about change and inspire others, I want to play a role in that like how they played a role in my life. Media has made me want to pursue a major in advertising and helped spark my interest in graphic design which has become a major part of my life. At the end of the day, I want to create, understand why I create, and learn how to inspire others to create.