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A Retrospective

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Throughout this semester, I was able to continue to improve my writing along with researching topics that I was genuinely interested in. For each of the four essays that I wrote, I chose topics that I either connected with or that I genuinely wanted to learn more about, which made the writing process much easier and more fun. I learned a lot about the topics that my essays focused on, but I learned even more about the writing process and how to better my own process and writing. This course encouraged a lot of collaborative work, and while it was something that I was not entirely comfortable with at first, it turned out to be one of the most helpful ways for me to receive feedback and improve my essays. I feel that my classmates gave really great feedback and asked great questions that made me think more deeply about what I was writing, which led to stronger analysis and an overall stronger essay. In terms of the blog, this was not my first time blogging for a class. However, I did enj
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Overview of Sources for Travis Scott's Astroworld Apology

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  Astroworld 2021 occurred a little over a month ago. It is a very recent event, which is why there aren't many scholarly articles and/or journals analyzing what Travis Scott should do in order to take accountability and show respect to those who were affected by the tragic outcome of the music festival. Many of the attendees were teenagers and young adults, so most of the primary accounts of the events that took place in early November were posted to and discussed on social media platforms such as Twitter and TikTok. Therefore, I used a couple of TikTok videos as sources in describing what took place at the festival. I referenced videos in which people are begging Travis and his team to stop the concert and one in which someone who was in attendance describes what she witnessed in terms of security and the people passing out in the crowd. Because most of the details and backlash were being spread on social media, Travis Scott also posted his " apology " vid
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Travis Scott's Astroworld

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Concerts and music festivals have been around for many years. They have always been a way to experience music in a more personal and real way compared to streaming music on digital devices. Furthermore, they provide a way for fans of an artist or genre to connect with each other through the music. While the intention of music concerts and festivals is for attendees to have fun and see many performers on the same stage, they have recently become the center of tragedies. This has been seen at events such as Ariana Grande's Manchester concert in 2017 where a bombing killed 22 people and injured many more, and was most recently seen at Travis Scott's Astroworld. Travis Scott is known for encouraging his fans to push the limits, and his attitude towards Astroworld was no different. Prior to the concert, his now-deleted tweets encouraged people to sneak into the event, and during, he encouraged attendees to "rage" and disobey security present at the event. Because of his tw
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The New York Times's "The Schoolteacher On the Streetcar"

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While Elizabeth Jennings Graham is not a figure often discussed in the media or in schools, there are quite a few articles on her actions as they did have a big impact on segregation in New York City. One of these articles is from the NYC-based newspaper The New York Times . The article "The Schoolteacher On the Streetcar" written by Katharine Greider recounts the events of July 16, 1854 when Elizabeth took a stand against segregation in public transit. 1850's Streetcar This article does a great job of describing Elizabeth Jennings Graham's actions and impact on the legal status of segregation in New York's public transit system. Greider recounts the work that Elizabeth did for her community aside from her protest on the streetcar. In terms of the event that Elizabeth is most known for, Greider introduces Graham's attorney and discusses how he won the case and what that meant for the community. Furthermore, Greider explains a likely reason as to why Rosa Parks
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Who are Claudette Colvin and Elizabeth Jennings Graham?

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The United States has undergone many changes in terms of how Black people are represented in legislation. However, U.S. history, including Black history, continues to be whitewashed, and certain events and figures are completely omitted from the accounts that are described in schools. One of those instances is the extent to which Rosa Parks is highlighted in history classes while other Black women who stood up to segregation in the same way are often overlooked, such as Claudette Colvin and Elizabeth Jennings Graham. Elizabeth Jennings Graham Both Claudete and Elizabeth stood up to segregation in public transit in their respective periods, but they are rarely even mentioned in U.S. history classes. Some may argue that this may be due to the impact that their actions actually had on the civil rights. However, Claudette was one of the few people to actually challenge the legal system when she was arrested and put on trial; and Elizabeth Jennings Graham's trial led to the desegregatio
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Were the 1992 Los Angeles Riots Effective?

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In last week's blog post, I discussed the case that incited the Los Angeles Riots in 1992 and the riots themselves. These riots caused a lot of damage to the city and gained a lot of traction throughout the states. It was a well-known case both in the United States and outside of it. However, there was no real change within the country, state, or city following this demonstration. Throughout this situation, multiple cases of racism within the Los Angeles Police Department came to light, but even with all of that evidence, no changes were made even within the LAPD. It did come as a surprise that no changes happened immediately after this situation. These demonstrations fit into the category of what makes an effective protest. Some key points that make for a protest that will have a lasting impact include a salient demonstration and uniting several causes under one main concern, which this protest did (Resnick). Additionally, the demonstrations lasted five days, which definitely woul
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The 1992 Los Angeles Riots

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In March of 1991, Rodney King was being pursued by LAPD in a high-speed chase. Eventually he was stopped by police, but when he was detained, the police started beating him with their batons. Police brutality is not something new and was definitely not new at the time either. However, Rodney's case was different because the encounter was recorded, and that recording was broadcasted across the United States and even in other countries. Many people were horrified by the actions they were seeing from these police officers, especially because people believed that police were supposed to work for the people, not against them as this situation showed. Four officers were put on trial for their use of force against King However, in 1992, a jury found all four officers not guilty despite the video evidence of the altercation. This acquittal was what ultimately sparked the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Three hours after the acquittal was announced, violence broke out throughout South Central Los A
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How the Smart Asian Stereotype in "Manifest" Can Be Eliminated

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In my previous post, I discussed how Manifest 's Saanvi Bahl embodies the smart Asian stereotype.  Manifest  was recently picked up by Netflix to release a final season. With a new production team, there are opportunities for the stereotypes in the show to be removed, including Saanvi's characterization. Saanvi contributes a lot to the plot of show. However, her contributions all stem from her being a doctor while Ben Stone’s, a white character, contributions are seen as more crucial yet do not stem from his field of work and are more just analyses of his visions. The network should give Saanvi more opportunities in which she can contribute in more ways than just scientific discoveries and in which she can truly express who she is as a person rather than just a doctor. For instance, it is implied in the show that Saanvi is bisexual, if not lesbian, so the production team could zoom in on that part of her life a bit more in order to add depth to her character and add LGBTQ+ repr
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Smart Asian Stereotype in NBC's "Manifest"

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  In the show "Manifest," there are a couple of characters that embody “positive” stereotypes. One of them is Saanvi Bahl, an Indian-American whose entire character is centered around the fact that she is a doctor. Her medical and scientific work contributes significantly to the plot of the show. However, she has no backstory, and whenever she has screen time, she is usually in a lab or doing something related to her research and medicine. Her character is focused around the studious South Asian stereotype as she dedicates all of her on-screen time to her medical research and finding a “cure” to the unusual experiences she and her fellow passengers are having. She even goes as far as testing her research on herself, which lands her in the hospital, almost killing her, which also feeds into the self-sacrificing stereotype. She was prepared to die in order to find a "cure" to the voices and visions the passengers were receiving. The article titled “Why the ‘Smart Asia
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Practice Post

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 Hello! Uploading this to make sure I can post.
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