********************First Textual Analysis Response

Hello Class,

In The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, by Jennifer 8. Lee, she talks about how one piece of information—lottery wins across our country linked to fortune cookie fortunes—inspired her to investigate her personal Chinese-American heritage.  Her in-depth look at her personal Chinese American heritage, as well as investigation on many aspects of this culture drive her book. 

FIRST TEXT ANALYSIS RESPONSE

Pick one line (sentence) from Chapter 5, or from your assigned blurb, that really stands out to you and makes you think about ONE of the following topics: Culture, Identity, or Family.

In a blog response, do the following:

1) Enter in the title of the post, : Culture, Identity, or Family– depending on which topic you have chosen.

2) Within the actual post, respond to the topic by re-stating your quoted line, and giving a detailed explanation of how you understand this line represents the general topic.

In this response, you must also spend only one brief paragraph summarizing the story to provide context for the quoted line (4 sentences), and then interpret the line in terms of what it says about culture, identity, or family)? (This should be another couple of paragraphs, at least 7-10 sentences. This is the bulk of your blog post. Make connections to yourself, and share your opinions. Always ask why you feel the way you do about the lines.) 

What do you learn from and/or feel about the line in our book?  How does this connect to yourself, what we've seen in the gallery, the film Beautiful Losers, or what you've talked about in your essays? 

After you are finished posting we will hear a few of your posts in class. 

Drama Mama to Comedy Queen

     

          I always saw myself as a dramatic person, always being cast as the dramatic character. When I was first introduced to comedy, I thought it was enjoyable to watch but never thought I could do it myself. When I took my first improv class, just to try it out, people said I was pretty funny! Which gave me the confidence to consider it more than just entertainment.

         Beyond just taking classes, I moved on to being a part of a comedy troupe, "The Hooligans". That's where I really found my belonging and culture. Finding people with such similar beliefs was weird at first. Believing in the same Kristen Wiig God and laughing in our Groundlings Theatre Church. On friday nights, our comedy troupe would all go out to our favorite comedy club and eat our traditional pizza dish and discuss the show we just saw. This is a tradition I always looked forward too.

        I'm glad I started out as a dramatic person, because otherwise I may have never found comedy the way I did. The people I have met in my culture are some of my closest friends and I am so thankful for that. It's comforting and brings me happiness to know I belong to this comedy culture.

Urban Culture

Sabrina Brown                                                                                                Brown

ICW

Sep 16,2013

                                                Culture

Culture to me is a category of hobbies and characteristics that a group of people has in common.  I identify myself as being linked to the urban culture. The music I listen to, the grammar I use, the movies I love, the places I go, are characterized into the urban culture. They way I was raised also plays a role in the culture I identify with.

Music plays a huge role in the culture you identify with. For example, I listen to a lot of rap music. Not just mainstream rap that you hear on the radio though. In Chicago there are a lot of young underground rappers. Being an underground rapper you do not go that far beyond where you are popular. When I am at a party that is the music that is being played and the mainstream radio hits. When I am in the car with my friends that is the music we play. Not only Chicago music, a lot of underground rappers from different places. When I listen to someone’s iPod we have the similar songs. I think music is one of the most powerful and influential things in our society. That is why it plays such a huge role in the urban culture.

I feel that movies are also a factor that plays into culture. Movies like, Love and Basketball, Poetic Justice, Juice, and Blue Hill Avenue to name a few. We like the same movies because we have the same interest.

Where you live and your surroundings are characteristics of your culture you identify with. Urban culture is usually more in the lower income areas around the world. That does not mean that someone in a rich neighborhood cannot be apart of the urban culture. Defining what culture you are apart of is mostly about what interest you and what you can relate to.

Being Born into VS Adapting a Culture ~Deaf Culture

Culture is being able to identify yourself, and look back on your heritage, ancestry. It is about learning about traditions that has been passed down for generations and will continue for the future generations. Culture could be seen in a religious aspect, style of clothing, usage of language, and what nationality. Culture itself is about having a long lasting relationship with individuals in the community, and being able to relate with one another. Another way to look at culture is, being able to have a relationship with the past, to get a better understanding with the present and possibly the future.

            There are many who are born into their cultures, and then there are some who decide on what they would like their culture to be. For an example; Parents who are from another country other than the United States, moves to the U.S. and begin a family. And once their children become of age, they are taught the way of how their parents live, and see the world through their perspective, or through the perspective of the community in which the parents grew up in.  Another example would be Mexican-American children who were/ are born into a family from Mexico and have to learn both languages (Spanish and English), their first language being Spanish and English being their second language.

Then, there are those individuals who make the decision to adapt to another culture other than their own in which they were born into. An example of adapting a culture or many cultures is I; I have adapted to more than one culture and believe they are beneficial in a way where I get a better understanding of the world. With these cultures, they have shaped my perspective on life and mostly society itself.  The one culture in which I would be talking about is the Deaf culture; this culture has opened my view on how the “Hearing” is viewed in the eyes of the Deaf.  It also widens my perspective on society as a whole, as well as making the comparisons and contrasts between the two cultures.

Due to my major and past experiences with encountering with the Deaf community through high school, I had made the decision to get involved with Deaf people. I have learned the ways of how to communicate, to understand the history of how both the language and community started, then learning how Deaf people see themselves and those who are not Deaf. With this knowledge, I feel as if this culture is my own because of how I can relate to those who are Deaf, even though I am not Deaf. I can relate in aspects of the difficulties that they face in everyday life of the “Hearing”, and how people think. The one thing that I can honestly say is that in the Deaf culture there is pride of being Deaf , strong long term relationships with one another and very welcoming, as well as there is no judgment in nationality either. Whereas in the “Hearing”, there is judgment, not so welcoming but that depends on the individual as well as there is no prides in who were are because the pride has a lot to do with nationality. In making this choice in adapting this culture, I have so much to learn and I am proud to have considered this as my own. 

Rollerblading Culture

Rollerblading Culture

What's culture? In my opinion I think culture is a set of rules or beliefs that one must obey or learn. Everyone has at least one culture or subculture that they're apart of. I'm part of many cultures, but the one I'm going to blog to you today is about the rollerblading culture. It also can be called inline skating, but I usually call it rollerblading. I'm in love with the rollerblading culture. I came apart of it in fourth grade. It's a fun hobby to do and also a good work out for your calves. You learn all new types of tricks to do in the roller rink or outside. It's not really all that athletic which some people think, you actually have fun skating and doing tricks. You can wear a helmet,  shoulder pads, knee pads or any other safety item you need to be safe. Unlike me and the others who are used to rollerblading, don't wear all that. Some only rollerblade in the rink and some do it outside at skate parks, the streets, pathways and sidewalks. Sometimes, there's different groups depending on the level of how good of a rollerblade person you are. Plus, you make some good friends in this culture and meet new people. There might be a few people who think they are better inline skaters than you and your friends, but who cares. It's just a fun activity to do with friends, family, siblings and etc. One thing we all have in common is the passion we have for rollerblading. It's like we form a bond for life with our rollerskates. They're apart of us. What we wear most of the time, it kind of identical to what skateboarders wear. We usually wear skinny jeans or shorts and a t-shirt or hoodie. Most rollerbladers are really not into the fashion sense, and just usually wear what we feel like wearing. We mostly wear skinny jeans or pants or leggings, because it's easier to rollerbalde in and fit much better. Some still wear jeans that cover their rollerblades, it's whatever makes you comfortable to skate. When it comes to music, we listen to any type of music. It doesn't matter what music you listen to, as long as you can feel the energy and skate to it. Rollerblading culture is really fun and everyone is always welcome to join us. 

Definition of Culture

            When I hear the word culture instantly my mind takes me on a journey to my heritage, my roots, the places I have been throughout my life. My definition of culture would have to be place, religion, food, inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge just to name a few culture can be and or mean a lot of things. I also believe that culture can be the way we communicate with others and the way we pronounce things with a certain dialect. There is the way we raise children in the household, can be a part of culture. The actual meaning of culture is the complete choice of learned human behavior patterns.

            I believe culture is made up of knowledge, belief, art, law, morals and any skills and habits learned as a member of society. Society has a lot to do with culture, because without it you wouldn’t form other ideas and aspects of life. Depending on the society and your culture you deal with what’s right and wrong, like moral values. What could be wrong to one culture could be the complete opposite for another. For example, sex before marriage could be one of them; and could generate a lot of controversy.

            Overall, the day I was born I adapted to a culture. I came out of the womb not knowing anything but as soon as I got a little older and could start understanding, I realized I could speak English instead of Spanish. When I got older I was already accustomed to doing things the way my mother taught me and I wouldn’t dare try to do it any other way. If I would find myself trying to do differently; there would always be a little piece of my culture in twined in it.

Hip-Hop Culture

I feel like I've been born into the hip-hop culture. All my life it's been apart of me , whether its rap or R&B . I love the whole lifestyle of hip-hop. The music, artist, the shows, there whole way of life. It has influenced the way I live my life. It can easily become something that rubs off on you. Being apart of hip-hip and being an artist , choreographer, and director, seems so cool. Growing up seeing so many artist enter this great and wild industry of hip-hop. The more I see so many different artist doing it, made me think to myself. Why am I not? Why am I just sitting back watching all these artist? I can do this. I have it in me to become apart of hip-hop, to become a artist, a writer , producer, a BIG STAR. So as I would watch more & more and music videos, interviews, and reality shows. 'the life' 'the money' , it all looks so good. From everytime there's an award sho. Everyone is in the hottest designed clothes, the brightest jewelry, and with most beautiful women you could ever see. It looks like heaven all over me. Just me growing up being surrounded by all of this just inspiration that makes me apart of the great culture of hip-hop.

Hip-Hop Culture

Hip-Hop Culture is a very diverse culture when it comes to race as of today. hip-hop culture originated in Africa from different tribes. When it comes to hip-hop culture from the past I really don't have full knowledge but I know some things. I am more informative on current Hip-Hop culture today, it is a culture that tends to accept anybody no matter what religion or race you are and where you come from. I believe that the hip-hop culture chose me and I am happy it did.

I'm apart of the dance culture in general but pacifically the hip-hop culture. I remember seeing my dad who was also part of the hip-hop culture popping and locking when I was just a little girl. My father back in his day was one of those individuals who you saw dancing on the cardboard box on the corner of the street with his big stereo next to him. When I tell most people about my dad they always figure he was African American but he is not, he is Puerto Rican. He was one of the few people who was of a different race dancing in New Jersey at his high school.

I believe that my dad has been a big part in my inspiration for dancing hip-hop because he has been there and loved it just as much as I do now. This culture is made for anybody and that is what I love most about it and you get to dress casual and comfortably unlike most dance genres. A reason why I love this culture so much is that you don't have to be a certain weight or sizes if you wanted to dance professionally, you can just be you and don't have to worry about "fitting in". This is part of my culture as a whole and I am proud to say that I am apart of the hip-hop culture. 

Welcome to ICW and to Your Class Blog

Hello Class,

Welcome to our class blog.  We are going to spend time discussing the book, talking about our lives, and voicing our ideas here in written form.

For your first blog post, I want you to think about what culture you belong to, and describe your connection to it, focusing on how you participate in this culture.  In The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, Jennifer 8. Lee talks about her connection to Chinese American culture.  Is culture something that you are born into, or choose?  What is your personal definition of culture. 

We may be part of many different cultures.  Do you feel connected with the student culture at Columbia? A certain art culture? Hip-hop culture? Skateboarding culture? Yoga culture?  How so?  How ingrained, important, or influential is this one culture to you?

Take some time to share what culture you find yourself playing a role in.  Describe it fully.  Remember that many of your classmates may not know what this culture is like.  Explain about it from your prospective. 

This entry should be three or more paragraphs. 

Happy blogging!