Blog 33

My topic for the commonplace is conformity in college. This topic is relevant in many aspects of life and is an important issue to understand.  Throughout your college career, you will feel pressure to do well in school and act like “everyone else.”  You do not want to be left out and a lot of students feel pressure to be popular.  This may mean buying designer clothes or trying to buy the latest technology.  Advertisers may use this knowledge to try to take advantage of students and get them to buy things they normally would not.  But students also feel pressure from their parents to pursue certain careers and choose a school that their parents like.  Until a teenager becomes an adult, they will continue to face pressures from their parents and other adults.  But even after they become an adult, they can still feel pressure from their peers or friends.  Throughout your life you will continue facing the pressure to conform to society and you will have to make decisions on what to do.  At times it may not be bad to conform, but it can also cause you to lose your personality and individuality.  It is important to understand the affects of conforming to society and what the results may be.  By understanding why people do it, you can determine whether or not it would be beneficial or not to act like everyone else.  This makes the topic relevant.  It is important to study this idea and made good decisions throughout college.

Blog 32

Unlike this blog that I am writing at 2 am, my topic for my commonplace project is timely.  This topic is timely since college students, or any student in general, may be pressured to conform to society.  Parents want their students to perform well in school and they may force their children to choose a school or major they do not actually want to do.  These students may choose these majors just to fulfill their parent’s expectations and not for themselves.  Although this can be beneficial, it may also cause the student to be unhappy during school.  Parents are trying to look out for their children, but it is important for students to think for themselves.  This is a problem that many students face today.  Their parents may have high expectations for them and may force them to do something that they normally would not do.  Also, while students are in school, they may feel pressured to conform and act like the popular students at school.  This may include buying new designer clothes or the latest technology.  If they feel like everyone else is doing it, they do not want to feel left out or unpopular.  This is a major problem of colleges today.  Kids try to conform to society rather than act in a unique and distinctive way.  They are afraid to be themselves because they feel like they may be the outcast or the outsider.  This topic will always be timely.  Students will always be pressured into doing things that they do not want to do and they will end up conforming to society since they are afraid to be themselves. 

Blog 31

For my commonplace idea, I am going to write about conformity in college and the pressure that students face every day.  I wanted to talk about the either the expectations of students or the pressure they feel to be like “everyone else.”  Some parents have high expectations and standards that they set for their children.  They may try to influence their children into making decisions that they do not actually want.  This may include the college or major that a student chooses.  Some kids may choose a certain school because they feel pressured by their parents to choose a school that their parents think is appropriate.  Even if they do not truly like this school, they may decide to go to it just to fulfill the expectations of their parents.  This can lead to a student having an unenjoyable time in college and can lead to them dropping out of school.  But, I was also thinking about writing about how students try to conform to society.  People want to be part of the latest trends and own the newest things.  Each day you may see someone wearing the latest designer clothes or owning the latest gadget.  You feel pressured to buy similar things in order to feel like you are up to date and not left out.  It would be interesting to talk about how students deal with this pressure and what decisions they end up making.  Personally, I know some people who do not care about the latest trends, but I also know people who try to keep up to date. 

Blog 30

I read the article, “Fat and Happy?” by Jennifer Gallat.  This article describes the problem of obesity in our country and some of the causes.  Even though obesity is one of the fastest growing problems in our country, it is also the number one preventable cause of death.  By changing our eating habits and by becoming more active, it is possible to control obesity and help manage it.  One of the main causes of obesity is the way you grow up as a child.  Studies have shown that the more familiar a child is to a certain food, the more likely they will be to eat it as they grow up.  So, if children are eating unhealthy foods as they grow up, they will be more likely to continue to eat these unhealthy foods.  Parents can help prevent this by encouraging their children to eat better foods and have a healthier lifestyle.  Another way to prevent obesity is for children to be more active.  Children should be encouraged to play sports and play outside rather than sitting inside watching television.  But unfortunately, some elementary schools are also getting rid of gym classes and recess.  Recess and gym class may be the only time that children are active.  By taking these away, some children may not exercise at all during the day.  Another problem of obesity is the affects it has on your body later in life.  Obesity is one of the major causes of diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.  By adjusting your lifestyle, it is possible to prevent health problems in the future and which will allow you to live a longer and healthier life.  People should be more motivated to want to live a healthier life.

Blog 29

For this blog, I read the article “You Are Being Lied To Again: Baseball’s New Drug” by Donnie Thomas.  This article goes on to describe the use of steroids and HGH in major league baseball.  In the world today, many athletes are trying to find the next thing that can give them an edge or an advantage over the rest of their opponents.  Many players resorted to taking steroids in order to build muscle and be stronger than their competition.  But recently the MLB has imposed severe fines and punishments for any players convicted of using performance enhancing drugs.  I believe that steroids are a form of cheating and should not be used in professional sports.  If a player is taking drugs in order to perform better, it diminishes their achievements and ruins the game.  A homerun is not nearly as impressive when a player takes steroids to get stronger.  Steroids are just a way to decrease the amount of work that you have to do and make things easier.  It is more satisfying to work hard in order to accomplish your goals rather than take the easy way out.  But now the MLB has another problem.  Instead of using steroids, players are starting to use HGH.  HGH is a human growth hormone and it has similar effects as steroids.  Currently, the MLB does not have many tests to determine whether a player is using the substance or not.  Until the MLB can control and test for all the different performance enhancing drugs athletes can use, players will continue to use them in order to gain an advantage.

Blog 28

The article from Commonplace that I read was titled, “Going Green: Just Another Act?”  This article was written by Kimberly Schmahl and it discussed the issues of celebrities going green.  To “go green” means to live eco-friendly lifestyles and try to control the amount of waste you produce.  Many celebrities claim to be eco-friendly and try to help the environment.  But this article discusses whether or not this claim is true.  Many celebrities are encouraged by the EMA to be environmentally friendly in anticipation that their fans will also try to be.  Many fans are influenced by celebrities and try to follow their actions.  So if celebrities are going green, their fans may do the same thing.  But what sacrifices do celebrities have to make to be environmentally friendly?  In the article, it discusses how actors are buying Hybrid Lexus cars or organic designer dresses.  This is not much of a sacrifice.  Most Americans cannot afford to buy these things and it is an unrealistic approach.  This article also goes on to describes how Bono paid to have his hat flown back to London on first class.  Even though some of these celebrities are claiming that they are trying to help the environment, they are really not doing that much.  But even if they are not doing much, I think it is at least good that they are making some effort.  Even if they have not completely changed their lifestyles, they have made some effort to at least make a little difference.  Everyone can contribute in their own way and everyone has a different approach to living environmentally friendly.

Blog 27

Throughout the years, stereotypes have been a common aspect of our culture and are still present in society today.  People are put in to groups and judged based on personal traits and characteristics.  Although not all stereotypes are bad, it is not always a good indicator to use to understand someone. Not all stereotypes are true and everyone acts in a different way.   If you start to generalize groups of people, some of them may take offense to these ideas.  This may include generalizations that include racial or biased beliefs.  Stereotypes that contain racial or personal opinions can be considered offensive and are usually not accurate.  But people use stereotypes as a way to generalize and make assumptions about specific groups or certain people.  They are a way for people to make simplifications without taking the time to get to know someone.  Even in a professional field, such as law enforcement, stereotypes are present.  Whether it is intentional or not, most people use stereotypes in one form or the other.  Through the show Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Joss Whedon portrays stereotypes in a way that is uncommon and in a way contradictory to our common belief.  This episode shows how some people do not conform to their stereotype and they may act in a unique way. In the episode, Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer were the two characters that exemplified this feature.  Both of these characters acted in a way that was unpredictable and unexpected.  These characters proved that stereotypes can be inaccurate and a bad indicator to use to judge someone.

Blog 26

Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog demonstrates how stereotypes are present in society and used by many different people.  But stereotyping can cause you to see the world in a distorted way and cause you to be narrow-minded.  Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer were proof that not every person acts in a predictable and conventional way.  In the episode, Captain Hammer ended up being a rude and selfish person.  Even though he was supposed to be the hero of the story, he did not act like one.  On the other hand, Dr. Horrible showed compassion and love. He was supposed to be the villain, but he was reluctant to be evil and seemed to actually be a good person.  These two characters demonstrate that people can have unique personalities that are unpredictable.  Stereotypes about certain groups and cultures are not always true and there is usually more to them.  But at times, it can be hard to prevent and control stereotyping.  In order to prevent stereotypes and try to minimize them as much as possible, it is necessary to control the cause of the problems.  One of these problems is the media and the content that the media publishes.  The media tries to publish the most interesting and shocking story in order to get more viewers.  If you read or watch something that contains stereotypes, it is easy for you to start to believe them and consider them true.  Knowing this, it is important to try to prevent the media from publishing articles that are biased and subjective. But, there are also other factors that you need to take into account when you are dealing with stereotypes.

Blog 25

Even in a professional field, such as law enforcement, stereotypes are present.  Officers use evidence and information about an offender to determine their behavior and their actions.  They need to understand how someone will act in order to predict their behavior.  Although this may not be considered a negative effect of stereotyping, it is still a form a stereotyping.  They are basing their decisions on the preconceptions they may have.  But at the same time, officers may start using their own personal judgments when determining the innocence of an offender. Whether it is intentional or not, police may use personal bias in their line of work.  This bias may cause them to make assumptions about a group of people before they actually find evidence and jump to conclusions.  Although their intentions may be good, it can cause some groups to feel discriminated.  In the article Racial Profiling in the Police Subculture, the author says, “Over a long period of time, negative experiences such as racial profiling can lead to specific ethnic groups’ losing confidence in the police” (Chan 75).  Although racial profiling can be beneficial at times, it usually creates more problems.  When a group is discriminated and singled out, they begin to feel as though they are being targeted and stop believing in the police.  If a group loses confidence in the police, they will begin to disregard authority and lose respect for them.  Police officers would have a much harder time controlling a community that does not respect them.  This area could then become disorderly, which could affect the rest of the community as well.  Criminal profiling is an effective law enforcement tactic, but it should not include racial or stereotypical opinions.

Blog 24

Stereotypes are used every day for both legitimate reasons and due to people’s own personal bias.  Although Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer both showed that stereotypes are not always true, stereotypes can be used as an effective way to get information about a specific person.  People often act in a predictable way and repeat many of their everyday routines.  Police officers use criminal profiling as a method of understanding an offender and determining their behavior.  By examining their typical behavior, they can get an idea of where they might be or what they might do next.  With criminal profiling, it is assumed that all offenders will commit crimes in a similar manner.  If offenders do not behave rationally, it is almost impossible to predict their behavior.  But at the same time, police officers may use their own personal opinions when determining the innocence of a criminal.  Some officers may use racial profiling as a means of determining the innocence of an offender.  In both cases, they are using stereotypes, but in one situation they are using evidence while in the other situation they are using personal judgment.  Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog shows that the actual hero and villain are not always who you would expect.  If a police officer uses unfair or stereotypical opinions, they could be considered the villain, while the offender could be considered the innocent one.  At times, the hero may actually use deceptive actions in order to accomplish their goal or objective.  But using deceptive acts causes a hero to look more like a villain.

Blog 23

This scene demonstrated the idea that Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer did not conform to their stereotypes.  Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible were supposed the typical hero and villain, but they did not act accordingly.  A typical hero is supposed to be brave, unselfish, and valiant.  On the other hand, villains are supposed to be mad and mundane.  Throughout the entire episode, we start to see that both of these characters start to act in a way contradictory to what we would have initially thought.  At the end of this episode, Captain Hammer uses the press conference to explain to everyone how good he is and to brag about himself.  This is not the typical way a hero will act.  Also at the end of the episode, he ran away when he was hurt and felt pain for the first time.  These series of events show how Captain Hammer was actually a selfish person who only cared about himself and was a coward.  This final scene also shows a different side of Dr. Horrible.  At the end of the episode Dr. Horrible is grief stricken and depressed over the loss of Penny.  He cared about Penny and he did not want to do anything to hurt her.  Even though he was supposed to be a villain, he seemed to be hesitant to do anything evil.  Throughout the episode, Dr. Horrible shows that it is possible for a villain to actually be good at heart and not completely immoral.  These examples demonstrate how stereotypes are not always true.  Both Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible acted in an unpredictable way and they both  had a unique personality.

Blog 22: Scene

The end of the episode for Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog takes place at an opening of a new homeless center in the city.  Captain Hammer is there to give a speech to the homeless about encouragement and was there to motivate them.  Even though this event was supposed to be about the new shelter, Captain Hammer made the speech about himself and he talked about how good he was.  But during his speech, Dr. Horrible comes in and freezes Captain Hammer with his freeze ray.  He frightens the audience and explains to them, “I bring you pain, the kind you can’t suffer quietly.”  He is going to kill Captain Hammer with his death ray and accomplish his goals of becoming an evil villain.  But just as he is about to do it, his freeze ray quits working and Captain Hammer is able to move again.  Before he knows it, he is lying on the ground and Captain Hammer is pointing the death ray at him.  But when Captain Hammer fires the gun, it malfunctions and sends Captain Hammer flying.  Captain Hammer runs away after feeling pain for the first time, but Dr. Horrible notices that something happened to Penny.  Penny was killed by the flying shrapnel and Dr. Horrible knew it was his fault.   Dr. Horrible is now a member of the Evil League of Evil, but he is not truly happy.  He is grief stricken over the loss of Penny and he is lost without her.  Dr. Horrible accomplished his goal, but he does not feel anything.  It was not worth killing the one person he loved in order to complete his goal.

Blog 21

Throughout the years, movies and other shows have started to make the villain seem like the innocent and honest character of a story.  As stories have evolved, the writers of these stories are trying to surprise the audience and make them second guess their beliefs.  Writers want their characters to be dynamic and have an interesting personality that cannot be predicted.  Writers can make a plot more unique by making the character act contradictory to your beliefs.  This can be seen in many new films such as The Dark Knight or Star Wars.  As Jeff Jenson describes in the article, Heroes and Villains, “Bonnie and Clyde, The Godfather,  and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest turned criminals into heroes and justified the flip-flop by painting the Powers That Be as hypocritical, corrupt, and controlling” (Jenson 32).  Villains started to become heroes when the actual heroes started to become corrupt and dishonest.  When the viewer saw that the people who were actually supposed to be good were starting to change, they realized that maybe the villain was not so wrong after all.  If the hero was becoming corrupt, it is possible that the villain could actually be becoming honest.  It almost seems as if the role of the hero and villain has changed.  Heroes started using deceptive acts in order to accomplish their goals, while the villains had justifiable actions.  Heroes are supposed to be the characters that prevent evil and control the peace.  But in some shows, they have resorted to drastic measures in order to accomplish this.

Blog 20

Criminal profiling can be an effective way of determining how a criminal will behave and predicting their actions.  It is possible to use clues and information about an offender in order to figure out more information about them.  But at times, stereotypes can affect your judgment and cause you to make inferences that may not be true.  In the article, Racial Profiling in the Police Subculture, the author describes how racial profiling is used by the police and what the affects are. In the article it explains, “What critics label as racially motivated practices, police view as sound, work-related criminal profiling” (Chan 76).  It is possible that police may use racial profiling without realizing it.  With criminal profiling, it is assumed that all offenders will commit crimes in a similar manner.  If offenders do not behave rationally, it is almost impossible to predict their behavior.  But, basing someone’s actions on their race is not a legitimate form of criminal profiling.  It is believed that some police officers use racial profiling as a means of determining a suspect’s innocence.  They may assume that since they are from a certain race that they are more likely to be guilty.  You need to understand how someone will act in order to predict their behavior.  Although this may not be considered a negative effect of stereotyping, it is still a form a stereotyping.  You are basing your decisions on the preconceptions you have.  But, you cannot assume someone did something simply based on their culture or ethnicity.  This is not a sound judgment and does not incorporate any investigation.

Blog 19

In order to prevent stereotypes and try to minimize them as much as possible, it is necessary to control the cause of the problem.  One of these problems is the media and the content that the media publishes.  The media tries to publish the most interesting and shocking story in order to get more viewers.  In the article, On Stereotypes, Media And Redressing Gendered Social Inequality, the author discusses this problem and ways to help prevent it.  If the media publishes something that is biased or subjective, it could influence the perception of whoever sees it.  If you read or watch something that contains stereotypes, it is easy for you to start to believe them and consider them true.  Knowing this, it is important to try to prevent the media from publishing articles that are biased and subjective. But, there are also other factors that you need to take into account when you are dealing with stereotypes.  In the article, it described one of these factors, “Perhaps the most dangerous quality of stereotypes is that they never fully disappear and can be revived in the service of old myths” (Hermes 184).  Although you can work hard to change someone’s perception of a particular group or culture, it is easy for these people to go back to their old beliefs.  But at the same time, stereotypes can help make a group stronger and more determined.  If a group feels as if they are being treated unfairly, they may work harder to prove everyone wrong.  Negative stereotypes can cause someone to be more motivated and determined to accomplish their goals.

Blog 18

In the beginning, heroes were considered brave and valiant, while villains were supposed to mad and mundane.  But over time, the difference between heroes and villains has become less and at times it seems as though there is no difference between them.  In the article, “Heroes and Villains,” Jeff Jenson discusses the evolution of heroes and villains and what their role is today.  As time has progressed, it seems as though heroes can be considered the criminal, while the villain could be the hero.  In this article, the author says, “Was he correct in arguing that "good" and "evil" are meaningless concepts?” (Jenson 31).  Heroes have become darker and some of their actions are twisted.  Even if you are doing something that is for the best, your approach makes a difference and your actions should be justifiable.  It is hard to consider a hero a good person, if their actions are selfish and inconsiderate.  But on the other hand, stereotypes about villains are not always true.  Villains are considered to be corrupted and dishonest, but as the article explains, this assumption is not always true.  It is possible for a villain to actually be good at heart and not completely immoral.  These concepts can be seen by Dr. Horrible and Captain Hammer.  Although Captain Hammer was supposed to be the hero, in the episode he was portrayed as a rude and selfish person.  This description is contradictory to our typical beliefs about heroes.  On the other hand, Dr. Horrible was supposed to be the villain, but he showed that he actually had some compassion and was capable of doing something good. 

Blog 17

       Stereotypes can be seen in everyday life and in real world situations.  Even in a professional field, such as law enforcement, stereotypes are present.  Stereotypes can cloud your judgment and cause you to see things in a different perspective.  In this article, Janet Chan gives a professional perspective of racial profiling used by the police. Racial profiling is an issue that most police forces have to deal with.  Whether it is intentional or not, police may use personal bias in their line of work.  This bias may cause them to make assumptions about a group of people before they actually find evidence and jump to conclusions.  Although their intentions may be good, it can cause some groups to feel discriminated.  In the article Racial Profiling in the Police Subculture, the author says, “Over a long period of time, negative experiences such as racial profiling can lead to specific ethnic groups’ losing confidence in the police” (Chan 75).  Although racial profiling can be beneficial at times, it usually creates more problems.  When a group is discriminated and singled out, they begin to feel as though they are being targeted and stop believing in the police.  If a group loses confidence in the police, they will begin to disregard authority and lose respect for them.  Police officers would have a much harder time controlling a community that does not respect them.  This area could then become disorderly, which could affect the rest of the community as well.  Sound criminal profiling can be effective method in law enforcement, but it should not include racial and stereotypical opinions.

Blog 15

Hermes, Joke. “ON STEREOTYPES, MEDIA AND REDRESSING GENDERED SOCIAL INEQUALITY” Contemporary Readings in Law & Social Justice, 2011, Vol. 2 Issue 2, p181-187. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

This article was about stereotyping and ways to address this problem.  In the article it describes that to address this problem, you need to alter the media and media content.  In order to start correcting the problem, you need to fix one of the sources for stereotyping.  If the media publishes something that is biased or subjective, it could influence the perception of whoever sees it.  If you read or watch something that contains stereotypes, it is easy for you to start to believe them and consider them true.  This article also talks about the fact that stereotypes can actually help make a group stronger.  For example, this article described how stereotypes about gender have actually helped women become stronger.  This article explained that this can actually be an incentive and cause people to work harder in order to prove that this misconception is wrong.

Another important concept from this article is the idea that although you can diminish the affects of a stereotype, it is very easy for them to resurface and start appearing again.  This article gave an example of how an incident with a Surinamese-Dutch footballer in the Netherlands brought up old rumors of how black men are irresponsible and out of control.  The media uses stereotypes as a shortcut and as a way to address a wide range of audiences.  If they report something that is “interesting” or “scandalous” they are more likely to catch the interest of more people.

Blog 14

Jensen, Jeff.  “Heroes and Villains.” Entertainment Weekly, 4/3/2009, Issue 1041, p30-33. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

This article was over the concept of good vs. evil.  This reading gives insight about the evolution of heroes and villains and also explains the characteristics of each feature.  In American culture, the roles of each of these personalities have changed.  One of the first heroes was James Bond.  He exemplified the classical hero characteristics, which were cool, edgy, and saving the day.  On the other hand, some of the traditional villains were Michael Myers and Freddy Krueger.  These villains were all mad and mundane, random yet explainable.  Although they were evil, they had some purpose behind their actions.  But throughout the years, the line between good and evil has become less distinguishable and less noticeable.  Heroes have become darker and some of their actions are twisted.  Even if you are doing something that is for the best, your approach makes a difference and your actions should be justifiable.

The quote I found the most relatable to my topic was, “Are "good" and "evil" are meaningless concepts?”  This statement seems relatable to Dr. Horrible and the show Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.  Even though Dr. Horrible is portrayed as a villain, it is hard to determine whether or not he is actually evil.  Similar to the idea of a “hero” doing something bad, Dr. Horrible demonstrated that he was actually capable of doing something good.  In the show, he admitted that he was in love with Penny and was grief stricken over her death.  Unlike the typical stereotype of a villain, Dr. Horrible exemplified the new age of villainy, which at times is not all that different from heroism.

Blog 12

Alison, Laurence; Goodwill, Alasdair; Almond, Louise; Van den Heuvel, Claudia; Winter, Jan “Pragmatic solutions to offender profiling and behavioral investigative advice.” Legal & Criminological Psychology, Feb2010, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p115-132. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

I did not originally pick this article, but this piece of writing was also about criminal profiling.  This article goes on to explain the different types of criminal profiling and why it is an effective way to understand the behavior of criminals.  In the reading, it said there were three approaches to criminal profiling: a criminal investigative approach, a clinical practitioner approach, and a scientific statistical approach.  Each of these three techniques are similar, but they each require a different set of skills.  The criminal investigative approach was developed by the FBI and it is the process of using all available knowledge along with knowledge they have obtained from investigation to get information on an offender.  The clinical practitioner approach did not have much information.  But, it had the same concept of using experience knowledge and intuition to form conclusions at a crime scene.  The third approach involves using analysis to infer an offender’s characteristics and physiological behavior.  This technique is similar to stereotyping, in the sense that you are predicting someone’s behavior based on what they should do.

With criminal profiling, it is assumed that all offenders will commit crimes in a similar manner.  If offenders do not behave rationally, it is almost impossible to predict their behavior.  You need to understand how someone will act to predict someone’s behavior.  Although this may not be considered a negative effect of stereotyping, it is still a form a stereotyping.  You are basing your decisions on the preconceptions you have.

Blog 11

Chan, Janet. “Racial Profiling and Police Subculture.” Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Jan2011, Vol. 53 Issue 1, p75-78. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

This article was about the use of racial profiling by the police and whether or not it can be proved.  This article goes on to explain how racial profiling can cause an ethnic group to begin to lose confidence in the police.  If a group feels as though they are being treated unfairly, then they will not believe in the law.  In the article, it describes ‘While prejudice involves conscious intent, cognitive bias and stereotyping can be unconscious biases based on false assumptions about the criminality of ethnic groups.”  This quote is explaining that even though prejudice might be used with cautious intentions, bias and stereotyping can affect your choices.  Bias and stereotyping clouds your judgment and prevents you from making clear decisions.

This article goes on to explain a specific case, the Satzewich and Shaffir case, which explains racial profiling can be best understood in the police world, where they use this tactic as a part of their work.  This case “Provides evidence that police officers in their study saw profiling as integral to police work and admitted that the racial appearance of the citizen was one factor among others that they took into account when deciding whether to intervene.”  Whether or not officers intentionally do it, racial profiling is a major issue in police work.  It is hard to look at someone and not judge them. Although this tactic can be helpful at times, it usually causes misjudgment and causes groups to lose faith in the law.

Blog 10

For my ARP paper, I am going to discuss how Joss Whedon portrays stereotypes in both a common way and a way contradictory to our beliefs. In this episode, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, Captain Hammer is depicted as a typical male superhero, while Dr. Horrible has a personality that contradicts his persona.  Captain Hammer is a typical hero who is both strong and brave.  On the other hand, Dr. Horrible is supposed to be an evil villain, but he seems hesitant to do anything bad and ends up falling in love.  Captain Hammer fits the typical stereotypes, while Dr. Horrible has his own unique personality.  For this research, I am going to research stereotypes that are associated with our society today and how some stereotypes expect us to act in certain ways.  For one source, I wanted to look into criminal profiling.  Criminal profiling is a common tactic used by law in order to find a suspect.  Professionals study a person and learn about their behavior in order to profile an offender.  I was also thinking about discussing how people feel obligated to fulfill the expectations of others.  Similar to stereotypes, people may do things they would not normally do just to conform to society.

Resources:

Forbes, Chad E. “Retraining Attitudes and Stereotypes to Affect Motivation and Cognitive Capacity Under Stereotype Threat.” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, Nov2010: p740-754. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

Townsend, Jean; Godfrey, Mary; Denby, Tracy. “Heroines, villains and victims: older people's perceptions of others.”Ageing & Society, Nov2006, Vol. 26 Issue 6, p883-900. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

Klapp, Orrin E. ”HEROES, VILLAINS AND FOOLS, AS AGENTS OF SOCIAL CONTROL.” American Sociological Review, Feb54, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p56-62. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

Devery, Christopher. “Criminal Profiling and Criminal Investigation.” Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, Nov2010, Vol. 26 Issue 4, p393-409. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

Chan, Janet. “Racial Profiling and Police Subculture.” Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, Jan2011, Vol. 53 Issue 1, p75-78. Web. 7 Apr. 2011

Blog 9: Prospectus

I chose to write my prospectus about a theme from the show Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.  After watching this episode, I realized Joss Whedon created a character that has ambitions of becoming a legendary villain, but has a personality that contradicts this persona.  Unlike the other characters that fit their stereotype, Dr. Horrible was unique and did not have a distinct personality that fit his character.  This can be shown by the sacrifices made in order to accomplish his goals.  To become an evil villain, he had to do something evil enough to make it into the Evil League of Evil.  But unfortunately, he seems reluctant and hesitant to do anything bad.  He starts to fall in love with a girl from the Laundromat and you start to feel as if his goals are starting to change.  Even though he becomes an evil villain in the end, he seems troubled over the loss of Penny and he does not seem truly happy.  He did not want to hurt the one he loved to become something he did not seem to want to be.

Stereotypes can be seen everywhere and in all aspects of life.  Whether it be stereotypes based on gender or based on race.  In the episode, Captain Hammer is based upon the typical male superhero while Dr. Horrible is not based on the typical male villain.  Captain Hammer is strong, confident, and brave, but Dr. Horrible is an unproductive and unsuccessful villain.  This show made me wonder, do some people feel obligated to fulfill the expectations of others?  What are the sacrifices associated with personal choices?

Blog 8: "High School is Hell"

The article “High School is Hell” discusses the idea of how the metaphors used in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are comparable to the issues faced by teens today.  To describe these issues, the author might say, "High School is Hell!" "My boyfriend is a monster!" or "I feel invisible!"   These metaphors are similar to the problems faced by teens in high school and the issues associated with everyday life.  This concept makes the story believable and allows the audience to make a connection to the characters in the show.  Every person who has been through high school can understand what Buffy is going through and this makes the show realistic.

This article goes on to describe the different relations and the evolution of the metaphor.  I found the last section about the evolution of the metaphor the most interesting and the most relatable to my life.  It was intriguing to see that the metaphors for each season were based on each year of Buffy’s high school career.  The first season is based on the idea of finding your identity and it progresses until the third season which is about the end of the world.  This progression goes through Buffy’s entire journey through high school.  During your first year, you are just trying to find yourself and see where you belong.  But after you complete high school, it is comparable to “the end of the world.”  Graduation is a point in your life where many things change and you gain more responsibilities.  Although it may be a little extreme to say it is the end of the world, it is a major milestone in your life.

Blog 7: Dollhouse Episode 4

Betrayal was an important theme of the fourth episode of the Dollhouse series.  In this episode, Echo is hired to break into a vault and steal a piece of artwork.  While her team was taking the piece, one of the group members took the piece and locked the rest of the team in the vault.  Echo and the other two group members were stuck in the vault with no way out.  Unfortunately, just when Echo was about to find a way to escape, she received a phone call from Boyd and her memory was erased.  She no longer had her ability and she was completely helpless.  Later in the show we realize that this was caused by Alpha and he was the one responsible for it.  But after watching this scene, it is interesting to see how money is usually a main cause of betrayal.  This man wanted to take the piece for himself and sell it so he could have all the money.  He didn’t care about anyone except himself.

Another important concept of this episode was fear.  Once they realized Alpha was responsible for wiping out Echo’s memory, they were worried about what else Alpha was capable of.  If he was able to hack their security system, what would he do next?  Before this happened, some of the workers thought Alpha was dead.  So, they were surprised to figure out that he was actually living.  Fear is a powerful motivator.  When people are afraid, they are more willing to work together and cooperate for a common goal.

Blog 6: Dollhouse episode 3

I watched the third episode of the Dollhouse series.  In my opinion, it was not the most exciting episode, but it added a few twists to the story.  In this episode, Echo is hired to look over a singer named Rayna and become her backup singer.  She is sent there to watch over Rayna and protect her from a fan who is attempting to kill her.  But at the same time, we learn more about Agent Ballard and his progress while investigating the Dollhouse.  Apparently the man who he gets information from is actually a doll from the Dollhouse.

This episode describes the idea of how an obsession can go too far.  In the story, an obsessed fan of Rayna wants to kill her.  Rayna feels like she is trapped by her career and actually wants to die.  When Echo saved her during a performance, Rayna is upset and says she wanted to give the audience a show they would remember.  But at the end of the show, we realize this man really does not want to kill her.  He was just willing to kill someone because they wanted to die.  It is interesting to see how far some people will go in an attempt to help someone.

This show also demonstrates how events can change your perspective on life.  At the end of the show, when Rayna was defenseless and when her life was threatened, she changes her mind.  She realized that she really did not want to die and valued her life after all.  Echo was able to show her that her life had meaning and she did not need to die. 

Blog 5: Dollhouse episode 2

For this blog, I watched the second episode of the Dollhouse series.  This episode started to explain the problems that the business has had and some of the history of Boyd Langton, the person in charge of watching over Echo.  The show goes on to explain how one of the dolls, Alpha, rebelled against the facility and ended up killing all of the other dolls except for Echo.  This also explains why Langton was hired.  Alpha killed the man who was originally looking over Echo and he also injured the doctor.

This episode examines the idea of betrayal.  In the show, a man paid to have Echo programmed to be his date for the day.  Everything seems to be going well as they spend the day kayaking and rock climbing.  But, the day gets more intense when this man tells Echo she has a five minute head start before he would come after her and try to kill her.  This catches Echo off guard and she runs away in an attempt to save her life.  Before this incident, everything seemed to be going fine and they both seemed to be having a good time.  This man did not care for Echo at all, and was even more concerned about his money than her life.  Earlier in the show when Echo pretended to fall when rock climbing, he was not concerned about her life, but was worried about having to pay for her.  This man was psychotic and should have never been able to hire Echo in the first place.  It is also interesting how Echo seems to be remembering some of her memories.  She is not like the other dolls and it will be interesting to see how this affects the show.

Blog 4

For this blog, I watched the first episode of the Dollhouse series.  This episode showed the motivations and incentives behind human actions.  In this series, people hire “dolls” to perform tasks that they need completed.  These dolls have had their memories cleared and are programmed to complete any task that a customer might need.  In this episode, a doll named Echo is programmed to spend time with a man and is later programmed to handle a hostage situation.

“No one has everything they want.  You get what you want, you want something else.”   This is a quote from the agent who is investigating the Dollhouse and is trying to find clues of its existence.  This quote is his justification for his actions and the reason he thinks the Dollhouse is real.  People always want more, even those who seem to have everything.  I believe this is one of the basic concepts of our culture and an important principle in economics.  People are never satisfied and there is always something else they want or need.  This business is able to offer people the opportunity to have almost anything they could ever want.  But I think it is interesting to think about the people who volunteered to be the dolls.  These people gave up their bodies and you do not know why these people chose to be there.  It will be interesting to see if the show goes on to explain how the Dollhouse chooses people to have their memories erased and what is the history behind it.  I believe that these people need some kind of incentive to become one of the “dolls” for the Dollhouse.  It could be an attempt to erase their past or an effort to try to forget something they have done.