Reflection on assignment 3

Completing assignment 3 was the most interesting assignment we had to complete all year. I really liked how I was able to focus on something I love which is music. Also, being able to focus on my favorite artist was even better because it made me want to write the paper and make it the best that it could be. It was a little hard putting everything together in one paper because there was so much I could have written about. Also, I did not know who else to compare his album to because the 90s had its share of gangster rappers. I also like how much time was given for the assignment, given that it is the end of the semester, I have been very busy with other assignments as well but given the time we have had I was able to complete the assignment and put a lot of effort into. For future reference, I would keep this assignment and keep everything the same. It was also perfect timing because at a recent music festival, Tupac was the subject of much controversy even though he is dead. He was brought back to life as a hologram and was able to perform amongst old friends like Snoop Dog. I was able to add this to my argument because you do not just bring back a mediocre rapper, you bring back a great and talented one. This also showed that his music is still relevant in todays world, I was very happy to be able to complete this assignment and I think this class has showed me how to manage my time properly and how to have a great paper. I have gotten that I need to have as many people review my work as possible because that can only make it better. 

Thesis Statement for Assignment 3

Through his raw and truthful lyrics about the so called “thug lifestyle” the songs on All Eyes On Me successfully combat racial and political dilemmas to reach out to the public through the use of gangster rap. 

Research Sources

Gabrielle Williams

Ms. Downer

English 102

4 April 2012

Secondary Sources

1. 

The Wild, Wild West: Images of California in Contemporary Rap Music

Heather J. Mayne

California History , Vol. 79, No. 1, Literature and the Arts in California and the Pacific Northwest (Spring, 2000), pp. 70-75

<http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/stable/25591580?&Search=yes&searchText=Tupac&searchText=Shakur&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DTupac%2BShakur%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3DTupac%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&prevSearch=&item=4&ttl=259&returnArticleService=showFullText>

This article mentions Tupac's album and describes how some of the songs portray California life. I will use this to talk about how his album describes life in California through his eyes. 

2.

Slouching toward Bork: The Culture Wars and Self-Criticism in Hip-Hop Music

Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar

Journal of Black Studies , Vol. 30, No. 2 (Nov., 1999), pp. 164-183

Published by: Sage Publications, Inc.

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2645846

This article critiques Tupacs album. I will use this to talk about negative views on his album.

3.

Rap's Unruly Body: The Postmodern Performance of Black Male Identity on the American Stage

Annette J. Saddik

TDR (1988-) , Vol. 47, No. 4 (Winter, 2003), pp. 110-127

Published by: The MIT Press

Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4488512

This article describes Tupacs album and offers positive feedback. I will use this for supporting my argument. 

4.

Neal, M. A. (2003), Tupac's Book Shelf: “All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for a Modern Folk Hero,” W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, Harvard University, April 17, 2003. Journal of Popular Music Studies, 15: 208–212. 

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1533-1598.2003.00007.x/full

This talks about how his album made him a modern hero in the rap world. I will use this for strengthening my argument. 

5.

Only God Can Judge Me”: Tupac Shakur, the Legal System, and Lyrical Subversion By

Josh Nisker

http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol14is2/nisker.pdf?q=tupa

This article talks about Tupacs legal struggle while making the album and how it influenced some of the songs. I will use this as background and for strengthening my argument. 

6.

The Making of All Eyez On Me

XXL Magazine

http://www.scribd.com/doc/126280/The-Making-of-All-Eyez-on-Me

This article goes in depth talking to other artists on the album. It goes through each song as they were making it. I will use this as background. 

Gangster Rap

I am really interested in the rap/ hip-hop genre of music. My favorite rapper is Tupac and even though he is dead and gone I feel his music still helps to change lives and help get people through rough times in their life. The album feature many relevant rap artists that also had a lot to say about the times. He is still one of the most talked about rappers of all time and has been named the *6th greatest artist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine. The album was produced by Death Row records which was owned by Suge Knight. It was his best selling album, with many singles making it to the Billboard Hot 100. It sold 566,00 copies in the first week that it was released. It also won the 1997 Soul Train Rap album of the year. It was 5x platinum just after two months and was later certified as 9x platinum in the United States. It was one of the most talked about albums mentioned by many credible music magazines such as: Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, Q Magazine, Musician, Rap Pages, and NME. Also many of the songs from this album were put on Tupac’s greatest hits album after he passed away. Other gangster rap albums of the time were OG: Original Gangster by Ice-T, The Chronic by Dr. Dre, Pretator by Ice Cube and other albums by his friend turned enemy Biggie Smalls. My basic claim would be Tupac’s All Eyez On Me is a good gangster rap album. A more developed thesis for my paper could possibly be Through his raw and truthful lyrics about the so called “thug lifestyle” the songs on All Eyes On Me successfully engage social and political dilemmas to reach out to through the use of gangster rap. 

Writing Assignment 2

Writing assignment 2 was a lot easier than writing assignment 1. Not because of content but because we were actually allowed to write about something that interested us rather than write about something that we do not care about at all. It also was a learning experience for me. I knew that I wanted to know more about drugs and how they play a role in professional sports but I probably never would have took the time to actually look more into the topic. This paper required a lot of research but it was all helpful. At first I was a little confused on why we wrote our thesis before we had any part of our paper due but then when it came time to write my paper it made it a lot easier. Because the thesis basically lays out what you are going to discuss in the paper I knew exactly what to say and when to say it. In your future classes I would continue to use the format you did because not only did it help with the layout but it also helped with he sources we had to put in our paper. Hopefully, my paper was as interesting to read as it was to write. I was informed of many things I did not know before hand, like the influential people that supported cocaine before its effects were known. I like how you left the topic pretty much open for our choosing. Out of all the research papers I have completed in school I think I got the most out of this one because I was finally polished enough to wear I could put the information I found together in the appropriate way and I was able to argue without attacking the opposing side. Overall, this was a good assignment to have.  

Counter Argument Paragraph

In my opinion testing for cocaine use in high-intensity sports should be increased and required in order to prevent growing rates of use amongst college athletes, establish a “performance enhancer” free league, and increase the health/well being of athletes at all levels, but there are some people that would disagree. Authors such as Goodwin, Morris, and Murray have completed a significant amount of research on cocaine use in sports. They do agree that cocaine is a problem, but their opinion on testing is quite opposite. Goodwin takes a more bold stance stating that "cocaine is not the problem, it is behavior." By focusing on behavior Goodwin overlooks the deeper problem of the effects cocaine have on a persons behavior. As for the others, they know cocaine is bad but they would rather not waste money on testing when they say cocaine will still be around. I'm of two minds about the subject. On one hand, I agree that it will take awhile before we even see any progress being made. On the other hand, I'm not sure if not testing would be a solution. 

Responding to Articles from the Bibliography

The topic of my paper is cocaine use in sports. I found one of the articles that I will use for background to be very interesting because it focused mainly on cocaine and its origins. Cocaine comes from the coca plant that is native to the eastern slopes of the Andes. The leading producer is Colombia, which is currently producing 80 percent of the world’s cocaine. Cocaine increases the levels of dopamine, which is associated with pleasure and movement. The excess amount of dopamine is responsible for cocaines effects. Long term effects include loss sense of smell; nosebleeds; problems with swallowing; hoarseness; and a runny nose. The stimulating effects of the drug increase breathing which increases oxygen intake. This allowed the native workers to perform their duties in thin air at high altitudes, and in time science figured out how to maximize strength and the effect of the drug in the coca leaves. I found it interesting that Sigmund Freud, a famous psychologist, was an advocate for the drug in the beginning. He thought it could cure depression and sexual impotence. Also, John Pemberton used cocaine as the main ingredient in Coca Cola in 1886. Other famous people that promoted the drug were Thomas Edison and Sarah Bernhart. Because the drug was positively promoted it was accepted by the general public as well. People began noticing strange behavior in people that abused cocaine for long periods of time. Coming down from the drug causes depression for the person and they can become desperate for the drug and will do just about anything to get it. Once the dangers of cocaine became known prohibition set in and it was outlawed in 1920 by the passing of The Dangerous Drug Act of 1920. And here we are today with the drug still creating problems especially in sports. 

Research related to Writing Assignment 2

1. This article from the New York Times is helpful because it is a current example of cocaine in sports. I would use this as evidence.
Receiver Denies Selling Drugs to Fellow Players
The Associated Press
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/sports/football/nfl-football-roundup.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

2. This is an article I found with the database JSTOR, it offers an opposing view on cocaine in sports.
Banning Drugs in Sports: A Skeptical View
Norman Frost
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3563105

3. Another article found using JSTOR
The Coercive Power of Drugs in Sports
Thomas H. Murray
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3561718




4. Central Nervous System Stimulants and Sports Practice
Multiple Authors 
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=10&sid=9240b5f9-24b2-48a8-8485-a191801f28e4%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=21601834


5. Views of Sports; To What Are Athletes Entitled? Not to Cocaine
Silias L. Warner 
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=10&sid=9240b5f9-24b2-48a8-8485-a191801f28e4%40sessionmgr15&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=30559986

Writing Assignment 2- Topic Proposal

http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/03/sports/in-sports-cocaine-s-here-to-stay.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

I wanted to write my paper on something that interests me, like sports. Drug use in sports has been heavily publicized over the years but with one main drug as the problem, steroids. In my paper, I would like to focus on that same issue but with a different drug, cocaine. Cocaine is a (CNS) stimulant to the central nervous system. It typically comes in a white powder form and is snorted through the nose or rubbed on the mouth and lips. Other central nervous system drugs include amphetamine and caffeine.This recreational drug in particular has recently been the new drug of choice in athletes because when the high is present in the body, the athletes feels a sense of increased performance and decreased fatigue. It has also been said that in small doses it can increase a persons tolerance to intense exercise. The effects are actually the opposite, but that does not change the fact that use of this drug is on the rise. As of right now cocaine is banned in professional and school sports teams. In the past public sports figures like Walter Davis, of the Phoenix Suns, Tony Collins of the New England Patriots, and Dwight Gooden of the Nets have all been in headlines and entered rehabilitation centers for cocaine use. In a recent survey done by the NCAA mens lacrosse players abuse cocaine the most. The survey found that 9.7% of lacrosse players used cocaine compared to 3.8% of ice-hockey players and wrestlers, and football players were at 2.3% and basketball players were among the least with 1.2%. Many athletes are testes through urine samples. Cocaine is usually present for up to 5 days after use. In my paper, my central question would be Should illegal drugs in sports be taken more seriously, or something along the lines of testing athletes more for these types of drugs. 

Rhetorical Analysis Reflection

I enjoyed this assignment because in my everyday life when I watch movies I critique the movies I watch. This assignment allowed me to use my critiquing skills with my academic background knowledge. The biggest challenge I had writing the rhetorical analysis was critiquing one element even though my overall statement was that the rhetoric was strong. I found it hard because I thought I was contradicting myself because if the movie was a strong piece of rhetoric then why would one element be weak? I found it to be a challenge to find the actual purpose of the movie and then relate the rhetorical elements back to it but in the end I think I did okay. Another challenge I faced while writing this paper was I was not interested in my movie. When I watched it the first time I fell asleep, and I had to re-watch it. I should have changed mine to something that I had more interest in like Food Inc. but I stuck with my movies so I had to deal with the challenges that came with my movie. Overall, the assignment was easy to understand and the directions were clear. I also liked that from the beginning we had choices. You gave us 4 movie choices as opposed to jus giving the class as a whole one movie to critique. I also liked the peer review we had with classmate who picked the same movies as us because it gave me a different viewpoint on the movie. In the future I would teach this the same way. I felt like the pace was good and we took steps to get to our final draft. The individual conferences are helpful and offer insight into what you really was out of this paper. This assignment is a good way to start the semester off. 

Essay Introduction

The economic crash of 2008 took the nation by surprise. It caused the greatest fear since 1929 when the Great Depression began. But why exactly did it crash? The documentary Inside Job seeks to answer that question. Through extensive interviews of financial insiders, politicians, journalists and academics the audience is able to see a side to the business world, that had never been exposed before. Despite insufficient use of pathos in its discussion of the economic crash of 2008, Inside job employs a very forceful and incisive use of logos and ethos through its reliance on testimony and statistics.

Inside Job

After watching Inside Job, I was a little disappointed. I picked this documentary because   I thought it would be a mystery and it would focus more on the criminal activity that took placeI feel like it was meant to be a big crime story but the way it was conveyed was poor. Although I thought the documentary as a whole was poor, the rhetoric was good. The main goal was to expose the truth about the economic crash in 2008. To explain this they used statistics and authorities as the main source of evidence. Interview's with top executives were shown to express their side of what happened since in the real world pretty much every one was against them. Other authorities included were financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics. I also think it was a successful piece of rhetoric because it looked at the economy on a global scale. It was filmed in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China. I thought this was cool because when something happens in the United States or vice versus, it affects other countries as well. The audience was for adults who went through all of the experiences of the crash of 2008. People who lost jobs, people who lost their homes would want to watch this movie to get an answer as to why they lost everything. As for me, I was not directly affected and maybe that is why I thought it was boring. To catch peoples attention they used a famous actor named Matt Damon to tell the story, but I do not think it helped. Overall, it failed to entertain but the rhetoric was there. I wouldn't recommend this any one my age because of the reasons I stated above. I thought maxed out was a better documentary for my generation.

Education destroys Creativity

The TED Talks video on how education killed creativity was presented effectively. The speaker used humor to convey the message to the audience,while also appealing to ethos and pathos. Ethos appeals to emotion. Fear and inspiration were to feelings he tried to get the audience to think about. He stuck fear by speaking about the unpredictability of the future. He stated that kids beginning school this year will be retiring in 2065. His argument was that we do not even know what will be happening in 5 years so how are we supposed to educate them or prepare them for 60 years from now. He made the audience think about their childhood and appealed to the fact that adults tell you what you can do and what you cannot. I bet a lot of people in the audience wanted to be a musician, artist, or dancer and were told they could not because that would not help them later in life. His final argument was quite the opposite he used inspiration. He told the story of the women who choreographed cats and Phantom of the Opera. When she was in school she was told that she had a learning disorder and was about to be taken out of school until someone told her mother that she was a dancer. She was happy to be in a dance school because there were people like her that could not sit still and she excelled and became a multi-millionaire. So basically if kids were placed in classes that let them explore their creativity the world would be a more productive place. Another way he appeals to his audience is by appealing to his character. He uses his own life experiences to present examples. For example he talks bad about university professors but he states that he was one so that is how he knows what they do wrong. Also when appealing to the audiences emotions he talks about his own child and how he wants him to be educated in the public school system.