Zine Justification

As far as my own contribution to the group zine, I did the page front and back for a total of four individual pages as well as printing out and helping design the cover and back page and printing out comic strips for inside the front and back covers. I had two main written contributions. One of my written contributions was a piece on how super heroes can be viewed as mainstream because when children grow up, almost every child wants to be a super hero. Children grow up imagining their super hero name and costume and thinking about what powers they would have and how they would help people. I also wrote a piece on how super heroes can be underground because of the comic books they are in not being as popular, but how that gives them the unique ability to make various social criticisms as well as letting the artist be more creative. That is the longer of the two pieces and, because I could not fit it all on one page, it is on two. I also had a page that was more visual. It contained a male and a female super hero as well as the word Pow in typical comic book style and a quote from Martian Manhunter about justice.

The process of creating those was a little difficult at first because I was not entirely sure what I wanted to do, but after that it was easier. Creating my piece about the children wanting to be super heroes came to me when I found cute pictures online of children wanting to be super heroes and realized that what child does not want to be a super hero at some point in their life. I came up with the piece about how super heroes can be underground because I started to think about how there are so many different super heroes out there that no one had ever heard of and how those are just as important to the genre of super heroes as the mainstream ones that popularized it. The visuals were just what I thought that a stereotypical super hero would look like and the word Pow because that is present in just about every super hero comic book that I can think of. It is just one of those visuals that you think of when you think of super heroes.

As for why I created these pieces, each has a different purpose. The one about the children was to show just how much the mainstream super heroes had an impact on popular culture. People today can walk down the street and see people wearing super hero shirts, advertisements for the next best super hero movie, or even people dressed as super heroes. Children are seemingly always pretending like they are a super hero by dressing like one or acting like one. This piece shows that, although super heroes may not have started mainstream, they evolved into one of the biggest pieces of popular culture. In contrast to the piece about how super heroes are somewhat mainstream, I also did one about how there are also many different super heroes out there that are still underground. The underground super heroes are more of a showcase of artistic ability and social criticism than their more popular counterparts but this essential in the forward progress of the super hero genre. Without the underground super heroes, there would be no real way for the mainstream super heroes to evolve, and this evolution is essential in keeping the genre fresh and exciting. As for the visuals, I wanted to give the audience an idea of the stereotypical super hero and what goes along with that. The male and female super heroes looked strong and quick, which is what almost every super hero seems to be portrayed as. As far as the word Pow, it can be seen in almost every super hero comic I can think of and is essential to the whole super hero culture.

My pieces fit in with the group idea because it illustrated how super heroes can be both mainstream and underground. Both the piece about the children and the piece about the underground comics prove how much the super hero genre can be mainstream and underground and that was the goal of our group zine. However, it also fits in with the overall class theme because as I started to do my writings, I realized that although people may view super heroes as underground, they are actually fairly mainstream. This realization should be evident in the different writings.

As far as my performance, I think visually it was good for how much I lack any artistic or creative ability, but my writing was just alright. I have been feeling a little off of my writing game lately and this is evident in my different pieces. I am happy with how the different pages look though and I think, although they could be a little less plain, overall they look rather appealing. If I had to make another zine, I would make sure that I did it on a subject that I was more knowledgeable on and I would probably try not to do the majority of it in study hall, or if I did, remember all of my materials so that I could complete it in a timely manner.

Superhero Theme Justification

The superhero theme fits perfectly into the context of this class. We did an entire Watchmen unit that had to do mainly with superheroes. There are many different lenses that go with superheroes and their comics. The different lenses we covered in class that could be used to analyze the superheroes include, the feminist/masculine lens, the racial lens, the power lens, and the underground/mainstream lens. Each of these can give a deeper description of what to expect from them and the message they are trying to get across. They all provide a unique perspective and provide different details. The class encourages us to look at things in a different way in order to understand it and that is what these lenses help us do.
This class also covered the different genres that a book or movie could be put into. Superhero comics can represent a variety of different genres too. They could fit into the science fiction genre, since they contain characters with abnormal abilities, they can take place in settings real people can't be and the characters look different from how normal people would look. The whole superhero franchise has it's own sub genre that is completely its own. They all contain characters fighting evil or a villain, protecting their community, and helping their fellow peacekeepers. Overall, the main theme of a superhero comic tends to be similar. The big theme of the class was whether a media item can be classified as mainstream or underground. Comics about superheroes could be considered as both underground and mainstream. Superheroes can have a big following in the mainstream, but the content itself would probably be considered more underground. The movie adaptations could be considered mainstream since it has a large audience. More people know about superheroes because of their movies, not so much by their comics. The comics contain elements that are more underground than the movies and contain a lot more detail. There is a smaller audience for the comic books, since it is more for readers, and the movies are more for everyone else.  This also really ties into our title of the zines, "Not really underground, actually fairly mainstream" because superheroes have become more mainstream lately. Ultimately, superheroes is a rather broad topic, allowing us to cover almost everything that we have gone over in class and that is why we have chosen this topic.

Response to Jocelyn's Blog Post

I am choosing to write about my own thing this week and stray away from our optional prompt. Sorry guys but this week’s blog will about my obsession will pigs.

• Well I am really glad that I am not the only one who did not write about the prompt. Let me just say that your pictures are adorable and I feel very informed now about pigs. I think you have found yourself a nice little hobby. 

Response to Liam's Post

Although YouTube involves very little reading because it is almost exclusively video watching, I am including it in this list because of the sheer amount of time I spend on YouTube on a daily basis.

• I am glad that I am not the only one who is on youtube a fair amount. It is really addicting for some reason and I really have to make sure that I keep track of time when I am watching videos because some times I don't and next thing you know it is like two hours later. Youtube is definitely a big part of my media intake as well.

Student Athletes

Beep. Beep. Beep. It's 5:25 time to wake up and workout. Next is breakfast and then off to class. First two rows. Then lunch and practice. Finally, dinner, study hall, and then off to bed. Can't forget about curfew check. Wake up the next say and do it all over again.

Well that is my typical day, filled with the obstacles and joys of being a student athlete. There are countless mental and physical challenges, but for some reason we keep going back for more. Maybe it is the feeling that you get when you think that you cannot physically do any more and you get through it because of your team.Maybe it is those crazy times with your team or all all of times that you laugh so hard that you cry that out weigh those days that you are the captain of the struggle bus. Whatever the motivation, you simply have to love playing your sport. I know I have a lot more respect for student athletes now that I am one. You begin to realize how difficult it really is when you live the life day in and day out and no matter what sport, you respect how much hard work everyone has to put in.

I honestly could not imagine being on any other team but the softball team. We are like one big family. We may have some differences, but at the end of the day we all genuinely care about each other. There are countless inside jokes and random conversations that we have had. I even have a little "family," complete with family dinners and all. It is always great to know that you have that support system to get you through the day. The freshmen class dinners at Taos are always a great way to vent about your day and talk with people who can sympathize with you. Even my mentor is always there whenever I need someone to talk to. I could not imagine not living with my teammates, random dancing and all. The part I really love about our team is the team values: Education, Faith, Respect, Relentlessness, and Family. After all, we are here to get our education, we have to have faith in each other, a mutual respect for one another, relentlessness in all that we do, and at the end of the day we are a family. I also love that we give our best effort. It is really emphasized that we need to learn lessons for life, not just softball, and that can only benefit us. We may have a decent amount of rules and standards of behavior to uphold, but at the end of the day I could not imagine doing anything else.

Although the struggles that a student athlete may face are constant and challenging, you do it for those moments that you are so glad you have your team. You do it because you love the game. You do it because you just could not imagine yourself doing anything else. No matter the sport, student athletes at this level work extremely hard and I have a totally different view now when I watch any college sporting events.

Response to Jocelyn's Blog Post

 But being with my grandmother in the hospital on a daily basis inspired me and gave me an idea of what nurses did. It showed me that they can do their job and still enjoy doing it twenty years down the road.

I think that this is an awesome story about how you decided you want to become a nurse. It was very important for me as well to help people and still love what I was doing. Nursing does seem like one of those jobs that you can work forever and still love your job so that is awesome.

Those Who Can, Teach

For as long as I can remember, I have never really wanted to be anything but an elementary school teacher. Since my aunt is a kindergarten teacher and my mom is a substitute teacher, it is what I am surrounded with. For some reason, when I was little, I looked up to teachers. I wanted to be like that. They seemed to know everything and always wanted us to be our very best. As I started to get older, I realized how much I could really see myself being a teacher. I could see myself helping all of the little students as they worked on the new materials. I had found what I truly wanted to do.

Let's be honest here, I am never going to get rich being a teacher. People that teach, however, do not do it for the money or the fame, they do it for the knowledge that they are making a positive impact in the lives of the youth. Teachers live to see that light go on in the minds of their students when they finally understand something or make a discovery that they have never thought of before. It is the best feeling in the world knowing that you have made a difference. I took a class my senior year in high school called Careers in Education and it just strengthened my desire to become a teacher. I got to go into my aunt's little kindergarten class and they were just a bright spot in my day. There were some rough patches, but it was an amazing experience. The students got so excited to see me and everyday I walked in to "Miss Morgan!" or "She's here!". One time I even got a standing ovation when I walked in. Anyways, I got so much real life experience that made me really realize that although it would be hard at times, I still wanted to be a teacher. How can you be sad when you are with kids all day? 

Teaching is just so rewarding. I want to have a job where I can really make a difference in lives, not just sit at a desk all day, even if it does make good money. The great thing about teaching is that you get weekends, holidays, and summers off. Also, I do not have to worry about working any crazy hours or random days. Who could argue with that schedule? A teacher also gets to make their own lesson plans and decide how they want to teach. There is definitely never a dull moment when you are teaching, especially when the kids are that little. I really cannot think of a job that I would rather do than be a teacher. It is so rewarding and the feeling you get when the student finally gets it is awesome. I can think of no other major more exciting and rewarding than elementary education. 

Response to Madison's post

The only thing that is bad about that strategy is that I have to re-type it on the computer, but it still saves me more time in the long run.  When I am writing I just write anything that comes to mind, because if I get stuck trying to think of the perfect words or sentences to use it takes up a lot of time. 

I think that this is a good way to help you with the editing process because as you type the paper it can also help you revise. I also tend to write down anything that comes to mind when I am writing on paper so the retyping could be very helpful.

Response to Liam's Post

I tend to use repetitive words and restate ideas; so the majority of my revising actually boils down to cutting content out and selecting more effective vocabulary. But I also check to make sure my ideas are coherent and the flow of the writing makes sense. I typically only reread/revise my writing only once or twice.

I am glad that I am not the only one who does this. This sounds exactly like what I experience when I am writing. A lot of the words I use to tend to get repetitive so it is important for me to go back and make sure that I did not repeat myself too much.

Writing Process

The writing process is unique to every individual. My writing process is not usually well thought out. I just kinda go with what comes to me. Generally, this is because I am in a time crunch for the piece that I am writing and do not have long enough to come up with an in depth draft. This tend to be a problem because I have been told that I sometimes try to write myself into answers instead of having a clear focus from the beginning, so I have been working on trying to get better about this. I generally have an idea of what I am going to write in each paragraph and what points that I am trying to make, but they are not usually written down or expressed in any particular order. Honestly, I usually still follow the whole first sentence of the essay is theme and the last one of the introduction is the thesis, but that is a force of habit. As far as the revising process, I am bad and do not usually revise papers, especially if they are not a large part of my grade and I am short on time. I sometimes reread for grammatical errors, but unless they are super important, the revision process is almost nonexistent. Now that I am in college and I have more time to review things I generally will look over them, but before it was a rare occurrence.
Well, when I compare my writing process to those mentioned in the PDF I think I would definitely fit into the student writer category. The experienced writers take large amounts of time planning and revising, which I do not do. In my future writing projects I will definitely try and focus more on the entire process and put more time and effort into my work. The more I start to sound like an experienced writer the better. This has really made me think more about how much I plan and look over my paper. Instead of just throwing it together and thinking that it sounds alright, I can review and revise it and know that it achieves what it was intended to. My usual writing process sound like it would be much more scatterbrained than if I were to plan properly. Basically, it has made clear that I would rather be in the experienced writers group than the student writers group so I should start doing the proper things in order to help me get there.
The PDF does sound familiar. I have been told time and time again that it is important to make an outline, proofread, and revise our writings. I have never really thought about waiting a few days after you write your first draft to revise it but now it makes total sense. The writings always seem so much better right after you are done writing it than they do a few days later. This PDF really drives home the fact that revision is important and, although I have been taught a lot of this my whole life, the PDF makes the differences a lot more clear than they usually are.

Watchmen: Mainstream or Unpopular/Indie?

Watchmen would probably be considered more mainstream as far as I am concerned. I am in no way referring to the fact that it is a comic book, but rather, the content itself. To be honest, I had never even heard of Watchmen until this class, but upon reading it, there are many different mainstream themes running through it. Every novel I have ever read has some sort of criticism of society. One just kind of starts to expect that from novels. Also, the characters seem somewhat typical. The characters that kind of make you wonder what exactly drives them to make some of the choices they make usually had a difficult childhood. Take Rorschach for example, he is a loner and has and obvious temper and that seems to stem from his childhood trauma. Most of the characters just seem unoriginal as far as the way they are within the group. Sure, they all have their own personalities, but they seem to go along with a lot of other super hero movies. There usually seems to be one abnormal person that through some scientific misstep is super human. Usually there is a guy who just seems a little off. There is always a leader of the group who usually tends to have cool gadgets. There is also seemingly always one woman that is able to fight with the best of them. If you were analyzing this from the feminist lens, it would be pretty obvious that a male wrote Watchmen. There is only one woman that is still a part of the group and for some reason a decent amount of the scenes that involve the women are regarding their love interests or past exploits with men. Most of the women in the entire novel are also portrayed as emotional. The cab driver and her partner, Gloria (Mal's wife), Laurie, and several others end up flipping out on their significant others because they do not feel like they were given as much attention or that all of their needs were. Basically, women are presented as emotional. Sure, there are several unstable characters but those are presented with a crazy back story that gives them an excuse to do so. The women are also given some sort of back story to why they are mad, but it does not really make it seem like that big of a deal. It is also interesting that they have the concept of the teenagers who are following somewhat rebellious ways, just like in the Hebdige piece. The teenagers seem to be straying away from what is traditionally considered correct. There are some different plot twists that are unexpected, but that just makes it interesting. Watchmen does make an effort to try and be unique, but upon further analysis, it really is not that different at all.

Watchmen Style Blog Post

If one were to only go off of the fact that Watchmen is a comic book, you would probably think that was written simply for pleasure and contains no real meaning. This is far from the truth. In fact, Watchmen makes a great deal of social criticisms in everything from the storyline, to the art, to the way the entire story is put together. There are many Cold War related references in the storyline, but also predominately in the comic pictures themselves. There are countless newspaper headings about the atomic bombs, and just the war in general, that contribute to the overall point that Moore is trying to make. The style plays a huge role in the overall impact and meaning of Watchmen, but the actual comic pictures themselves plays perhaps the largest role. So many social criticisms and points can be made simply by the comic pictures themselves that it is super interesting to see what they have to say. It is a way to make a point subliminally but effectively and that is one of the best parts of Watchmen. The fact that Moore, in his interview, believes that his comics cannot be recreated in other forms of media well because of the comic pictures themselves simply proves how effective they are. The comic pictures are an extremely important part of what Watchmen is trying to achieve and without them it would not be nearly as good. The comic pictures themselves are rather enjoyable to look at. They have a generally appealing color scheme and are extremely well drawn. The emotions that the characters portray conveys most of the story to the audience without even having to say anything. They give a really realistic representation of how people would act and that makes the audience feel like they are truly there and therefore they are able to connect and become truly invested in the comic novel. Seeing pictures of the different heroes in their costumes gives the audience a much better understanding of what exactly they look like. If it were a regular novel and it were to simply describe what the different characters looked like it would not be nearly as effective. The characters would seem like some distant beings instead of something that seems so real because of the way it is presented. The way in which the comic pictures themselves are presented in Watchmen allows Moore's story to come to life in a way that would otherwise not be possible.

As far as Professor K's example, it is limited in the fact that it is mostly about is money. Comic books were about a lot more than money when they were being written. They were for entertainment, and often times even political criticism, but they do not seem like they would be as simple as they were made to seem.

Response to Yesenia's Post

" I do not use highlighters or different colored pens while I write I find it very time consuming to switch back and forth from pen to pen.  I guess after class I could go back and highlight the important stuff but I don’t. I guess I just really like plain and boring bland notes (I’m lame I know) but I really just don’t see the need for highlighters just so long as you keep you notes neat and organized than I think you’ll be fine."

I am the same way when it comes to note taking. I like for my notes to look clean and be as simple as possible. It is a lot easier for me to underline or star important things than it is for me to keep switching back and forth between a different pens and highlighters.

Annotation Blog Post

Oh lovely annotations! In these rather complex PDFs we have been reading, they are extremely helpful in being able to understand what exactly the author is saying. The authors are can get verbose at times, bordering on pretentious, and it makes a huge difference having the annotations. They can get a little distracting at times I must admit, but they really drive home the key concepts. If you see an annotation somewhere you know that that piece that is annotated must contain some sort of significance so it allows you to really know what parts to focus in on. The annotations also clear up so much. Sometimes the author is really not making too much sense and the various annotations allow you to clear up most of the questions you may have. Honestly, I do not know how I would have made it through some of those PDFs without the annotations. They also really tie everything together. Sometimes what we do in class and read for homework does not connect right away so it is good that the annotations do that. They also assure me that I am not the only one who thought Wuthering Heights was awful.
As far as annotating what I read, I am not a huge fan. I know that it is super helpful and it does help you sum up and really think about what you read but I still do not like it that much. Sure, it is great for small passages but as far as entire books go, I find it extremely monotonous. My background is in AP English and with all of those complex passages that we had to read and write essays on, annotating was a must. If you did not annotate, you would usually miss some of the points the author was trying to make, as well as the all so important techniques that you had to point out. Basically, annotating was essential on the AP test, but I still find it excessive for books. For starters, if you have to write some sort of paper on a novel, it is usually general and looking for theme as opposed to super specific and detailed. Also, if you are reading a book, as I am not an avid reader, you usually just want to go through it and get the information as opposed to really sit there and spend tons of time annotating. Therefore, because of my many years of reading rather boring and long AP books, I am not a super fan of annotating. I do think that it is helpful, but again, because of my experiences in the past, I tend to find it more of a hinderance than a help in long novels. Although annotating is beneficial in shorter and more complex passages, such as the PDFs, I generally tend to not like it for longer novels.

Government Shut Down Blog Post

Let me just start off by saying that I think it is ridiculous that the military of all things does not get paid. Also, some of my best friends are at the Air Force and Naval Academies and everything was just made that much more complicated because they do not have a lot of services and some of their classes were even postponed for the shut down.

So where does the public go from here? Clearly the evidence shows that the general consensus is that people are opposed to the shut down. For starters, people should get a real grasp on what exactly is going on. Often times, people try to speak their minds on issues that they really do not know much about. Point and case, the Jimmy Kimmel video. Everyone seemed so opinionated when the fact of the matter is that they really did not know the facts. I do not know who exactly was polled in the different polls that have been floating around, but assuming that they were taken the correct way, the general population seems to know what they want, correct information or not. However, to be perfectly honest, it seems like the government does not really care what the general population has to say. They seem to be so wrapped up in their own agenda or the agenda of their party that they have forgotten that they were elected by the people and for the people. If the people that oppose this all made their opinions known through mediums other than simply polls, there would be a lot better chance of making a change than just staying quiet and grumbling to themselves. There is power in numbers people! Imagine if everyone that is opposed to the shutdown mailed, emailed, or just found some way to get to their representative, how much of a difference that might make. Anything is better than inaction when it comes to such a large scale issue such as a government shut down. People need to band together if they really want change. We can start by getting the idea of letting our representatives know in large numbers out there. If society organizes and makes a solid plan, the task becomes easier and more attainable. At this point, anything that people can do to get their well educated opinions out there can only be positive. We are in this situation already so it probably cannot get much worse. Social media can also be another way of getting the public's opinion across. It is so widely used that eventually someone in Congress is bound to see it. The people that are opposed to this shutdown, which seems to be a decent amount of the country, just need to make an effort to get their point across, regardless of what that effort is. If people think it will help things then they should go for it. At the end of the day, it is the public's decision on whether or not they want to speak up and try to get what they want.

Response to Yesenia's Post

My presentation is going to be on the television show Duck Dynasty. I did not put it as on of me topics because I completely forgot about it; but I am a huge fan of the show.

I did not think that analyzing the show would be hard since it is a reality TV show. Thinking of the show as more than…

-I was also with you on the idea that it would not be that hard because it is a reality show, but at the same time, there are no planned lenses so it might be a little more interesting. I am also doing my presentation on Duck Dynasty so it should be interesting to see the similarities and differences.

Presentation and Process Blog Post

This presentation was not super hard, but it was not super easy either. It was a little bit challenging to actually choose which lens would be the best to analyze the show, as well as organizing my thoughts and editing them down into what can only be three minutes. The fact that we have been discussing the different lenses in class does help a lot. The problem is the time restraint. Three minutes does not seem like that much time to analyze the show extremely in depth, so choosing what exactly to include is pretty interesting. I am also trying to include a video so making sure that will work is also a little bit nerve racking. The actual analysis of the show, however, is very much aided by the fact that we have analyzed so many different things in class. I did find it difficult to be objective about a show that I really like, as opposed to a piece that to be perfectly honest had no real relevance to my daily life, other than the fact that I needed to learn about it. The thing about knowing, and liking, a show so much was the fact that it was easier to pull ideas and lenses from the show because I am so familiar with it. It is rough sometimes in class to try and analyze things when you do not really know what exactly the author is trying to say, although it is helpful to have your classmates to bounce ideas off of. The good thing about it not really being a huge group ordeal though is that your ideas can really shine through and you really have to think about the lens as opposed to letting your classmates answer for you. Essentially, it creates more of a critical and deeper thinking process. The whole objective part, however, was rather challenging. Since I really like the show, it is hard to try to point out some of the flaws, especially because they do not really jump out at you. This meant that I had to really focus on what was happening and why it was happening, as opposed to just laughing the entire time. I did do a fair amount of changing and revision in my mind so that when I went to actually do the assignment I had a general idea of what exactly I wanted. As for the different pieces of media I included, it did take me a good amount of time to pick exactly what I thought would represent the show the best as well as what was best for what I was trying to prove. Overall, this presentation was at about the difficulty level that I was expecting when it was first assigned. It was very helpful in allowing me to obtain a better understanding of not only my show, but certain aspects of society as well.

Firefly Female Characters

The female characters in Firefly do represent both of what Cracked was saying and what Joss Whedon were saying. Although there are both what are considered "stronger" and "weaker" women in Firefly, I think that most of the female characters are stronger, just as Whedon said in his speech. They all possess some level of strength inside of them. All of the women seem to know what they want and they go after it. It takes a strong woman to survive in a spaceship day in and day out, let alone to thrive in that situation like all of the women do. Sure the show is written from the male perspective and there is a male lead, but the way that they seem to value the women on the ship is what really makes Whedon's speech convincing. Also, many of the different websites seem to always want to criticize people, making the Cracked article seem less reliable. Ultimately, it is the characters themselves that tell the real story. Zoe is  a strong and independent woman that does not seem like she would let anyone harm her, or what she holds dear. She may not fit the mold as what is classified as "feminine," but she could probably kill anyone that told her that. Zoe is extremely calm under pressure and is a very capable fighter.  Kaylee may genuinely love everyone on the ship and seem to be the innocent and wholesome one, but she is still incredibly strong. It would be difficult for anyone to live on a spaceship and do as good of a job with mechanics as she does without being strong and independent. Inara is simply a business savvy woman. She knows exactly what is best for her business and how to keep it successful. She knows just how to "play the game" so to speak in order to get just what she wants and continue to life the lifestyle that she choses. River Tam is also strong in the sense that, although she has had so many different things done on her brain, she still continues on. Yes, she did seem weak and dependent on her brother Simon in the beginning, but then the audience learns that she, in fact, is strong and independent. She found out a way to get decoded messages to her brother while she was in the facility, as well as being able to resist some of the Alliance's control on her brain. Even Saffron is presented as a strong and independent woman. She does play the part of a weak wife, but later on the audience learns of that scam and she is seen as one of the most quick thinking, albeit evil, women on the entire show. Joss Whedon was on to something when he said that he modeled the show after his strong and independent mother, and his father and grandfather that valued that in a woman. These female characters seem to know exactly what they want and how to achieve it. They are portrayed as smart, witty, perfectly capable, and just down right tough.

Mini Blog Post (My Favorites from Pop Culture)

Duck Dynasty: This show is just straight up hilarious. They are always up to some crazy adventure and it is a great show when you just want a good laugh, especially Uncle Si.

 The Big Bang Theory:This is another great example of an extremely funny show. The characters are so extreme and stereotypical in a lot of their actions that it is just great, not to mention, you learn a fair amount of random facts.

 Harry Potter: This movie is a classic and, even though the series is over, it continues to remain my favorite movie series. I pretty much grew up with this movie and the mix of intense battles, difficult choices, and lasting friendships makes it incredible.

That's My Kind of Night (Luke Bryan): Every time this song comes on, no matter where we are, everyone just breaks out singing and dancing because it is so exciting and energetic . My suite mate plays this song at least five times a day and it has quickly become one of our favorite songs.

Beneath Your Beautiful (Labrinth feat. Emili Sande): For some reason I am obsessed with this song. It is slow enough to really feel the emotion and catchy enough to sing along, making is one of my personal favorites.

Firefly Genre Post

It is quite evident that Firefly does not have one distinct genre. Rather, it is in a category that is all its own. Firefly seems to reflect what was popular on television at the time it was produced and not adhere to a specific genre. Firefly does possess several elements of science fiction, western shows, and cultural aspects, but none of those can accurately sum up exactly what Firefly is. Firefly is so unique because of the fact that it is a mixture of all of these genres and that is what it was believed that the audience wanted to see. There are no aliens. It is not entirely western. Culture is just one aspect. The main focus is on character development and interaction which is what audiences tend to really enjoy. The fact that there is no specific genre illustrates that the producers and the network of this show were trying to appeal to a larger audience, not just science fiction fans or fans of westerns. Firefly was on Fox and, therefore, ratings and viewers had a large role in how a show was portrayed. It is also an important aspect of the show to point out human follies. The episode "Our Mrs. Reynolds" showcases just how sexually driven society is and how much that can impair judgement. Not only does it illuminate greed, violence, and corruption, but the main characters are outlaws! Firefly is rather complex in what it is trying to accomplish and therefore is difficult to put into any one genre. Essentially, Fox tried to give people what they wanted to see in a television show. They tried to make it as entertaining as possible, while appealing to the largest audience possible. It is this, however, that seemingly led to its downfall. No one group identifies strongly with it, making it difficult to keep everyone engaged. On a major network like Fox, that is a huge problem.

Firefly is experiencing what many old shows are going through. There are still some intense fans, some have even so far as creating cults, and those fans are the ones that really want to see the show brought back. The more casual viewers do not really seem to care that much that Firefly is not on the air anymore, even telling people to calm down about it and that it has been cancelled for years. If it were loved by so many people, it would have been brought back, even if it did not come back on Fox. There is just some dedicated followers that are making a huge deal about bringing it back. That happens for every series. Some people get hooked, while others do not, and if not enough people tune in, then it gets cancelled. That is just how the industry works. Ultimately, although some people do have an intense following, television is all about ratings and viewers, and Firefly just did not achieve that standard.

Nerdburger Blog Post, Prompt 1

Nerdburger is an extremely effective communicator in this video. Not only does she get her points across, but she is enthusiastic and informative while doing that. She utilizes fun and exciting colors and narrations to keep the audience actively engaged throughout the entire video. There is never a dull moment. Even when Nerdburger is talking about the comic books and you have never really read a comic book in your life, you still feel like you know so much about comic books because of all of the information she is providing. The information is presented in such a way that makes it easy to  comprehend and makes you look forward to learning more. Nerdburger is just so excited to tell you about these comics that it makes you excited to learn about them too. It is also great that she includes the different individual comics from the books that she is talking about so if you have never read that comic, you still feel like you know what is going on. The fact that Nerdburger includes some of the history of the comics is also effective because, once again, it ties everything together and gives the audience a better overall idea of why she is making some of these comments and thus, how one should interpret some of the information that is being presented. It is also interesting that Nerdburger is so lively and animated herself. All of the vibrant colors surrounding her, and even her light blue hair, make the whole thing seem almost animated as well. The audience knows from the beginning that the video will be about comic books just by the setting of the video. Also, the fact that so many aspects of current pop culture are included keeps it light and helps appeal to many different audiences. The various pop culture references also help her really convey exactly what she is trying to say. The reference to Fifty Shades of Grey about "She-Hulk" helps the audience fully grasp what the comic is like, in a way that just commenting on it really could not. The pop culture references also add a level of humor that should be expected when dealing with such a fun thing such as comic books. There is also a level of seriousness  though that Nerdburger does display. For example, when she is talking about the "Batgirl and Robin" comic, she gets into the deeper issues such as how Batgirl continued on despite what people are saying about her size. Nerdburger then seems to connect it to her own life, allowing the audience to do the same. She points out the real meanings of the comics, therefore helping the audience really feel inspired and connected to what she is talking about. How informative Nerdburger is and how much she really thinks about what she is reading is just good writing. The liveliness and some of her comments, however, display how good of a blogger she is.

My expectations from this class include:
1) To gain a better understanding of the different methods of the various bloggers in order to become a more effective communicator.
2) To truly understand and appreciate what underground/indie/ etc. is and what role that plays in society.
3) To learn new things that I have never really thought of before, as well as gaining new perspectives on how to look at various things.

I found this picture online and I would definitely classify it as underground/indie/non-mainstream. It is just too out there to be considered anything else. It is a mixture of so many different aspects of art and culture but none of it is super mainstream. It seems like it is trying to make a point of the various societal infatuations by putting them in a setting that is so out there and almost satirical that really makes the audience think about the true meaning of the piece. Parts such as the man in the super hero uniform and the lady that is an alien display different interests of the respective areas. Those details by themselves would not make this picture non-mainstream, but the combination of all the different details is what makes it so out there. First off, it is not too frequently that one would find both super heroes and aliens portrayed in the same piece. It is truly the little details that make this picture so non-mainstream. The details such as the man's tattoo that says "Born to Lose," the bandaid, and the woman in a not so conservative outfit are definitely not something you see everyday. Most people would not even think of a tattoo that says "Born to Lose." It is also interesting that the artist decided to give the man in the super hero costume a bandaid and stitches because super heroes are generally thought of as invincible. The cigarette also adds another level of oddness because super heroes are generally thought to be wholesome and good. The woman in some rather revealing clothing is also a little off-putting because usually a comic does not display that side of society. Ultimately, this piece is just too odd to be considered anything but non-mainstream.

Hi Everyone! I am a Freshman here at New Mexico State and am currently playing softball. My intended major is Elementary Education because Those Who Can, Teach. I am from Lemoore, CA which is located in Central California. I am a huge Chicago Cubs fan and I love almost anything that is chocolate. My favorite color is red and my favorite subject is History, although I like English too. I am super new to this whole social media thing so please bear with me :) Other than that, I am excited to be here and make new friends!