On plagiarism

During the class discussion on Wednesday, I was extremely afraid for my life... Or my grade.  I kept thinking of how the posts that I had made could have been poorly paraphrased, and therefore plagiarized.  I had watched the movie I was giving the synopsis for, and referred online to make sure I didn't miss any important things worth mentioning, but I was afraid that what I was doing could be bad looking back on it.  As for the blame, of course it goes to me, but I can blame other things too.  First of all, I agree with the classes discussion on improper learning of plagiarism in schools, CSU especially.  Even in CO150, the extent of plagiarism discussed was, "don't do it, you'll get expelled."  I had no idea that a poorly paraphrased section could be plagiarism, even if you cite the source.  I knew that copy/pasting was a huge no-no, but I was definitely not doing that.
The blame can also be passed on to the inexperience with the assignment.  I have never written for or about Wikipedia because most of my teachers and professors scared me away from those kinds of websites.  The format was very strange, and the only real reference I had to build on was Wikipedia itself.  So, of course, while looking at Wikipedia for format suggestions, I read what it had to say.  Although I didn't plagiarize the page, it was still difficult, and I can see why the class struggled with this. 
I am very happy, however, that the entire class is not going to fail this assignment.  Although it was rough at parts, and scary on Wednesday, I enjoyed the assignment.

Character context- Beavis and Butthead

During the 200 episode spanning, Beavis and Butthead, the two boys expressed their interesting points of view on many music videos and musical artists of the day.  Most of the shows consisted of nothing but them sitting on the couch, sometimes eating stale nachos, and watching MTV.  MTV is also the network that they were playing the episode of Beavis and Butthead.  They would sit there for the entire episode, while the audience not only saw the music video, but also heard the boys talking about it, and seeing their facial reactions to certain songs.  These things combined to see what the boys thought of the music video, as well as the creators of the show. 

            Beavis and Butthead generally had the same taste in music, rarely disagreeing with each other.  They liked hard rock and heavy metal, while hating hair bands and European bands.  They liked gangsta rap and explosions, while hating new wave and electronic music.  Their funny comments throughout the video’s would often stick with the person watching, especially because they were funny.  The characters are voiced by Mike Judge, and whether or not these comments are how he actually feels or if he is just trying to be funny, they made an impact on artists of the day.  Because of the show’s popularity, the videos that the boys praised have been seen to increase in sale.  Many artists would watch the show to see how well their music is being received.

            Beavis and Butthead also did a lot to steer where music was heading.  In the nineties, they were tired of always hearing bad hair bands, and would always criticize them by saying, “this song really sucks” or “This pisses me off!”  On the flip side, it was also common for them to encounter a heavy metal song and completely love it, saying “This is awesome!”  Beavis and Butthead represented that age of people.  What they liked, people liked.  What they didn’t like, eighties hair bands for example, were laid to rest. 

The Album is Dead

In DJ Spooky's interview in Designing Media, the main topic of conversation was the change in ways music is being used by society.  He covers the movement from albums, to CD's, to iPods.  He remarks that the CD and album days are ending, even making  a CD displaying his prediction of the death of CD's.  He talks about how music is changing back to vinyl because it can be changed to fit what he wants, splicing it and changing it's speed.  This reflects the overarching message of music and media becoming more user controlled and changeable.  Every person with an iPod can make their own playlist rather than have a whole CD by one artist.  With iTunes giving the option of downloading one song by an artist at a time, the users are in control of everything they listen to, and now everyone is their own DJ. Media has gone from owning single track vinyl albums, to a compilation of songs by an artist on a CD, to digital playlists, to the user controlling even the songs they have and changing it to fit their personality.  You can't change a CD and slow it down, splice it, or anything you can do on an album. 
If I had to summarize what DJ Spooky was saying in just one sentence, I would say that people's desire to be in control of their music is growing, and that media is changing in order to fit this desire. 

I am a reader who...

I am a reader who makes predictions.
I am a reader who uses background knowledge.
I am a reader who connects my reading to other readings.
I am a reader who looks for deeper meaning.
I am a reader who connects the characters to my life.
I am a reader who tries to completely understand the reading.
I am a reader who takes hours of the day to sit and read.
I am a reader who looks for social context.
I am a reader who reads to be educated.
I am a reader who enjoys it.

I am a reader who would be more leaning to the right of the Behaviorist to Community based literacy scale.  I wouldn't say I'm Social constructivist over community based, but I find myself falling into the middle. I like to read for my individual knowledge, to become knowledgeable, but I also read in order to learn what is needed to live in society.  I hate not knowing a great book when everyone is talking about it, movies being made out of it, so I feel like I must read that book in order to understand the cultural context related to community based literacy. 

I really enjoy connecting the characters to people or myself in my own life, all while connecting the story itself to my life and society as it is today.  Some of the best stories make me realize some issues with society, and bring forward more questions I have as an individual against societal context.  I begin to examine the collaborative knowledge that our society holds, and although I sometimes challenge them, I must first understand them.  Social constructiveness look for society context throughout, and not as much individual knowledge.

I believe both community based literacy and social constructivism are needed, but that may just be because I am in between the two.  I would like to be an individual in my reading, but I also must understand society and cultural context presented to me in my readings in order to completely understand those readings.  Picking up on references to myself or my culture enriches any reading.

What is reading?

If I were to be asked what reading was at a younger age, I would have given the simple answer of making words out of the symbols on a page, but this definition is far from completely true.  Merriam Webster has several definitions for reading, ranging from deciphering symbols on a page using sight or touch, to interpreting or receiving information.  This definition is literal, and for the most part, right.  Reading, to me is the ability to take in what is in front of you, or from what is going on around you, and using previous knowledge to interpret it and understand it.  For example, when reading a book, the symbols on a page would be completely foreign if a different alphabet was used, but if it is in a language you understand, you can take those symbols and form words and decipher the meaning each sentence holds.  If a word or letter used is not understood, the reading of that book would be completely misconstrued.  Reading is more than just books though.  In order to function in today's society, a person must be able to read others expressions or emotions based upon mannerisms or facial expressions in order to know what that person is feeling.  Reading another person will dictate whether or not they laugh at your joke, or punch you in the face.  A police officer must read a situation in a crime scene to understand what is going on with the victim and the offender.  If an officer walks into a gas station that is being held up and doesn't properly read the situation, not only does he fail to do his job, but someone may be shot as well.  The examples can keep going, but the bottom line is that reading transcends all we do in life.  Assessing a situation, learning from a book, or interacting with almost anything in front of you.  The ability to translate and interpret what you are reading is an extremely important skill needed to survive.