Two Can Play

Trevor Rhone's Two Can Play deals a lot with gender roles and chauvinism. Jim and Gloria are a dysfunctional couple that throughout the play deal with their marital issues. Jim thinks he has to be treated by Gloria as if he was the chief of the house. For example, he wants her to prepare him food all the time and to do everything around the house. Gloria, on the other hand, does not want to be the housewife Jim wants her to be. Jim is also very disrespectful towards Gloria. He is always calling her a 'bitch' and is always ordering her around. Gender roles in the play are very clear. Jim is one of those guys who is mean to his wife and that thinks that she haves to do everything he tells her to. Gloria does not always let him get away with his ways. She often does not do what he tells her to do, like fixing him a meal. Jim also thinks that woman can't do certain things, but at the same time sees no wrong in him doing it, like masturbating. He gets very surprised and befuddled when Gloria admits that she masturbates. The thing is that Jim does it too. He does not think much of it when he does it. When Gloria says that she does it, then it is wrong because she is a woman. It's pretty much like in the present. A man can be with many women all he wants because he is a man, but if a woman does it, then she is a slut. Think about it, there is no man word for slut.

Reflection

This blog has provided an outlet to express myself in a creative way and my performance is demonstrated in my work. The art of writing is a positive, creative project that serves for all purpose. This process helps you achieve a state of density that cannot be achieved any other way. It drains all your thoughts and feelings from your mind in order to plaster them onto paper so your work is, by all means, a piece of yourself that can transcend time. By writing we not only comment on a specific written work or movie but we may also express our feelings towards the matter and reflect upon it. The act of writing in a public fashion seemed a bit terrifying at first but it is actually very liberating. I understand that this activity has served in my development and has made me more conscious of my writing. I have noticed that by exposing me on a regular basis to the art of writing, it becomes more fluent. Suddenly I can gather most of my thoughts with less effort and my deepness becomes more obvious. The analysis of the movie and of the play made me discern that by writing I can comprehend better. It has also given me a different approach toward studying and towards life. 

The 60’s Finale

Most of the issues addressed during the first part of the movie continue throughout the same. Racism is one of the main issues touched during the film and it continues up until this decade. Even though there are laws that are against it, it has not disappeared. Like much of the movie we may see these hateful acts towards people with ethnicities that are contrary to your own. This selfless act towards humanity ends up in war and in most cases tragedies. Another important issue addressed was discrimination. The discrimination is evident in some key scenes. For example, gay men were not accepted in the army. Up until this day there are hate crimes that appear in the media. There is very little investigation as a result of these particular crimes and the media brushes away this news by more “important” matters. The gender roles associated with The 60’s shows that women were classified as inferior in comparison to the men but during this particular decade they demand to be heard. The decades have passed and many professional women with high positions still feel the need to prove their authority and intellectual height among their co workers and even society. By being a woman you are expected to behave a certain way, look a certain way and achieve certain goals. A large population of men still feels this way and act as if their power overshadows that of women. By comparing The 60’s to the present you might see different styles, make up, and hairdos but the issues remain. People are still fighting for peace and a war between brothers continues.

The 60’s Part Two

In the continuation of the 60's we notice that there is a huge war that has erupted, a war against Vietnam, a war between races and a war between genders. The United States was going through a difficult situation in which most people were fighting. The disunion was very much present and the political activists were involved in the marches against the war which is clearly portrayed by Michael’s character and his act of peaceful protest. During a particular protest he achieves the safety of the other activists by offering a slogan and placing a flower in a soldier’s gun. This iconic scene in the movie and history radiates substance and symbolism. Another important factor in the film is the “white versus black”. The racial dilemma results in an outburst in which Reverend Willie ends up shot by a police officer and this motivates his son to integrate in the hippie movement and later on in the Black Panther Party. In the other hand, Katie was going through a tough situation because she had no money for her baby's well being and so resorts to a stripper job. Women were degraded and a stripper was a toy that had no value. Discontent by the treatment, Katie decides to leave and the audience is then exposed to a heart breaking scene in which Katie was robbed and wondering the streets with her child with no help or hope.

Blog Reflexion

Blogging has never been part of my hobbies like many of the young people that use the internet so frequently. Almost everybody had a blog account and of all people, me, the one that loves to write all the time, never took the time to make a blog. I had never considered blogging as a true alternative for my writing. Being unexperienced in this field I did not know what to expect when the teacher presented the blog project. I truly enjoy writing and the closets to blogging I had ever come, was publishing some of my best short writings on Facebook as notes.

As close as Facebook notes can come to actual blogging, it is no the same. The difference lies in the reach or propagation factor that comes for blogging. When writing notes on Facebook my audience is limited to my friends, while blogging extends my writing to almost everyone surfing the web. This had me a little intimidated in the beginning. Thinking about my ideals and feelings being so nakedly exposed on the internet had me nervous. However after doing the first few entries, I realized blogging was a very powerful tool for self expression.

This project really expanded my horizons for writing because I had heard of blogging but I had never tried it. Experiencing just how easy my writing can be exposed to everybody, opened my eyes to new possibilities. Starting my own blog was the first thing that came to mind after this experience. Also having to write reflections on The 60's movie had me thinking I could somehow write critiques on movies or write analysis on the different themes that are brought forth in movies. I also had the idea of writing in a different direction and style. Given the fact that most of my writing is mostly artistically centered, I figured I could change my style or use it to creatively include some analytic and critically centered visions for expressing my thoughts on the different social situations that are happening in my country.

Writing

Writing projects are often the big thing when it comes to the academic setting—whether it’s as simple as writing a definition on a quiz sheet or as elaborate as a research article or a graduate studies thesis. As duties of the academic doings, writing assignments can seem to be boring to many. Maybe it’s because one doesn’t find out how to make it entertaining, important or special in some other way; but when one tries, wonderful things can happen.

This blog page here is intended both as a class project as well as an experience of personal growth. By using some class content, such as a movie, a play, an essay, a poem or a research article, we have the opportunity to use them as guidelines for the expression of our opinions. Later on, once we get used to doing this with reading material presented to us, we can use this practice for things we might like more in some other way, provided that we weren’t writing about them in the first place. Depending on our view towards this kind of assignments, one can either conform to a bare minimum to avoid a failing score, or we can do something of superb standards by expanding on what we’re writing, and thus, on what we’re saying.

No matter how tedious this might seem at times, I at least pursued writing about the class topics in a profound way; seeking minute details and creating deep connections to the reality I live. I’d say this is most evident in our writings on the movie “The 60’s”. At first, when I first had the movie presented to me, I wasn’t quite connected with it. I at least don’t consider my writing about the first part we saw of the movie/mini series to be particularly special. Afterwards, when the time to write about the third part came, readers can notice how I expanded so greatly on at least one part of that blog entry: out of commenting on the end of “The 60’s” and relating the entire film with the Puerto Rican setting of the 2000’s, I actually explored more than what I anticipated about the Puerto Rican situation.

Considering I have an array of aspirations, ranging from politics, to civil engineering and even cartography, I’d say that they all have, even if to a small extent, a rather significant portion of communication; most notably in the case of politics and civil engineering (at least in my case). Writing a blog is an excellent exercise to polish the communication skills, as well as to polish them for communication itself. How, then, can ideas for the better administration of Puerto Rico, ideas for development and proper use of resources, as well as the act of communicating the geographic setting one has, are to be developed, if I don’t participate in their development by stating them? They simply can’t, or at least can’t be presented, developed and polished; without people interested in having them known. Communicating them widely is often necessary, something that blogs can do very well. Becoming familiar with blog posting may not seem like much, even if it seems it has little use. In a future, maybe really close or not so much, I may find myself writing on several blogs, as well as communicating ideas on other media, for the sake of presenting, developing and polishing them.

Some Thoughts About “The 60s”: Third Part and Contrast-Comparison With the 2000s in Puerto Rico

At the very end of the movie, the social conflicts themselves remain unsolved, not unlike the personal situations of the main characters. Starting with Katie, she now accepts and enjoys her motherhood, despite the terrible times she lived with the lack of care present in the hippie community and the different settings in which she tried to survive. Her dad, Bill, also had to accept her motherhood; unfortunately, though, she still has bad feelings towards him, as he wasn’t supporting and helping her during the critical stages of such time in life.

In the case of Emmeth, he has learned how the struggle for the civil rights concerning racial equality cannot be based on visceral hatred, for this leads to more clashes and violence, similar to the one being rejected in the first place. It is this violence the very same one that took away the life of his father. With this lesson learned, and his purpose in life redefined, he continued more actively in the community aid programs, specifically the community breakfasts program.

In the later stages of the movie, the struggles Bryan and Michael face become intermingled, as Bryan becomes a hippie upon realizing the horrors associated to the war in which he served. When he shared his experience with the concert camp in which Michael participated, he bursted in tears due to the profound affliction recalling what he did, contrasted to what the real intentions for his actions in the war were (those of the high commands of the armed forces). Michael, on his quest to promote critical thinking and anti-war opinions, was rather successful: aside from his brother Bryan, he was able to persuade his mother, Mary. At first, Mary had silenced her opinions in order to not come into conflict with her husband; but with Michael’s encouragement, Mary finally decided to express herself, and make her husband know her opinion on the Vietnam War, as well as her right to think that way. Once more, Bill had to modernize and accept the changes he was living.

Michael did have other struggles of his own, this time those in his relationship with Sarah. After various incidents with the other boy, Kenny, Sarah realized how he was selfish and chauvinistic. She also realized how his ways of being interfered with the very same interest that sparked his infatuation with him, following the more extremist lines of the anti-war movement. She left him and went back to Michael, someone who did allow her to have a voice and who genuinely cared for her.

Having all of this said, it is still important to consider how the social conflicts here, as a whole, are still unresolved. Despite the personal resolution of these conflicts, their social roots still remained around. The Vietnam War did not end until the mid 1970s, forcibly, due to the great pressures from the popular protests. The racial equality/civil rights movement was still full of turmoil, for major anti-racism riots still occurred in the next three decades. The anti-war protests had a later resurgence, as later uncalled-for wars also appeared later on.

When one looks at the Puerto Rico of the decade between 2001 and 2010, one can notice how these conflicts are still unresolved. Some have evolved into other conflicts as some of their aspects come closer to resolution, others have ceased to be so apparent, but still continue to be present, and there are a few more that have become worse.

Starting with the military aspect, an important conflict was that of the U. S. Navy practices on the grounds of the island-municipality of Vieques. It is true that the practices were scheduled to end sometime during this decade, but after the death of a supervisor of a bombing field, due to one of those very same bombs, many people had realized the damage that has been done during several decades of military practices degrading the lives of the denizens of Vieques. This led to massive protests, mainly in the form of civil disobedience and marches, to demand the closing of this and other U. S. military facilities in Puerto Rico. By May, 2003, the struggle had pushed successfully to conclude the practices, and also usher in the closing of several of the bases.

Due to Puerto Rico’s colonial condition towards the U. S. A. it also has to partake in the wars the USA’s military authorities and forces become involved with. During this just-past decade, the USA starts the ‘war on terror’, by invading Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003). Like the Vietnam War, much of the population under governments of the NATO considers these wars to be uncalled for, and have protested against them. Here in Puerto Rico, organizations such as “Madres Contra la Guerra” (Mothers Against War, which groups mothers of Puerto Ricans serving in the USA’s Armed Forces) have been celebrating a variety of protests against these. It is also noteworthy to include some very recent events, namely the quasi-war led by the NATO allies with their air forces, in order to stop the massacre led by Libyan dictator Qadhafi. This might as well become a third war for the USA, and thus spark more protests.

Regarding the gender struggles, the feminine empowering is still unconcluded. Nowadays many women are still at disadvantage with respect towards their masculine counterparts. Labor discrimination, in the form of lower wages and a work environment structured in such a way that proper motherhood is impossible, is one of the bigger parts of this problem. This has been evident due to the protests against government agencies and large corporations, sometimes against academic as well as religious institutions, always citing lack of consideration, as well as systemized discrimination, towards women and their needs. In addition to the discrimination, there is also the violence widely performed against women in many contexts, mainly in the family settings. In many places, as well as practically all of the different sectors of society, gender violence, also known as domestic violence, is a terribly common problem in Puerto Rican society. Even if there is a law against domestic violence in all of its forms, the problem is still unaddressed properly, even if some advancement has been made. Paradoxically, the statistics of the most recent years have shown an increase of domestic violence, mainly the gender violence, manifesting as murders at its worst.

Even so, the gender struggle has reached another stage: with a greater conscience about social justice, more formerly unattended conflicts become apparent; as is with the discrimination faced by the LGBT community. Similarly to the gender violence faced by women, the LGBT community has increasingly become victim of lethal violence, and faces a harsher discrimination in the labor and social situations due to their sexual orientation. Recently, the Legislature of Puerto Rico has been controversially dealing with amending laws concerning domestic violence as well as the Civil Code of Puerto Rico. Many people have sought to amend these laws in such ways that they do protect and provide for the LGBT community, while the conservative groups throughout the society have sought to officialize the discrimination against these groups.

Finally, the racial struggle—while many in Puerto Rico consider this to be surpassed, in fact it is not. Racial discrimination still remains present, although in more subtle ways. It is present in jokes, insults, politics, xenophobia and the segregation in social groups. Things like discriminating against the community of Dominican immigrants (mostly black), the different ‘black’ communities of Puerto Rico (if one considers the racial profile of Puerto Rico’s population, one cannot say that almost all of the population is ‘white’, for it is almost entirely of mixed races), which are often poor and marginalized, the crippling pessimism taught in order for these communities to internalize a lower position in society. Unlike the other struggles, this one is one that has low visibility in Puerto Rico.
Overall, Puerto Rico is yet to solve many of these conflicts, especially since some are either long-lived or have even worsened over time. But, unlike what’s seen on “The 60s”, there is too little activism present at this time to push the change in Puerto Rican society.

Writing Down the Bones: Why Do I Write

For one of my writing down the bones activity, my theme was "Why Do I Write".

This particular activity motivates us to meditate on the reasons for which we write. The author mentions the fact that our motives and intentions really affect what we write and how we write it. This is precisely why it encourages us to do this exercise. Evaluating our motives for writing consists of getting ourselves into an introspective point of view in which reflect on those emotions and feelings that circle our heads when the time for writing comes. According to the author, it is very important to have our minds focused on our reasons for writing because those motives that thrive us toward it are what give sense and meaning to our work. Also, when our reasons are clear, our direction is more assertive and our message goes to a deeper extent into our writing. Writing in depth will result in more substance and therefore our writing will carry not just significant content but also revolve around a profound mood and feeling that will be connected to our selves.

The exercise proposes for us to brainstorm a list of reasons why we write, regardless of how simple or meaningless some may seem. Mentioning a few examples, a reason for writing could be because you are stressed, because you're having trouble communication with someone, because you had a bad day, etc. After stating in your mind several reasons, the exercise tells us to pick one of them as the epicenter of our writing. It even suggests selecting more than one and combine them to try different things. Regardless of how you do it, the purpose of the exercise is to canalize different thoughts, ideas, emotions, experiences and situations, into reasons for our writing. Having our reasons rooted in our minds will give us a chance to write and later on look back on what we wrote with a sense of awareness of our motives at the time. Understanding your motives will help you bring forth a message that you can re-read and find time after time. Even if time goes by and we read something we wrote long ago, we can be able to interpret our feelings at the time of our writing, helping us to better our understanding of our ideas and our writing process.