samanthaannc

1.) I don’t have my pictures yet, but one of my cultural artifacts is a Starbucks cup. My friend gave me this inspiration because she has an addiction to Starbucks and sometimes buys more than one a day. This is a great example of our culture because the popularity of this overpriced coffee. Our culture is okay with paying extra for something that’s popular. This connects with my other artifact which was a picture of a pair of jeans. The whole idea connecting these artifacts is that Americans pay for ideas and because something is a fad, not for the quality of the product or paying for the actual face-value of the materials used to make the product.

2.) I decided to use this painting to represent my individuality. It brings together the fact that I love music (both playing it and listening to it) with the fact that I love art and drawing.  The picture shows being creative and a little cluttered by having paint splattered over the piano keys.

1.) A great example of american culture that I was involved in, was a ‘girls’ night’.  My friends and I went out and got a ton of junk food and supplies to do nails and facials, all the girly stuff. And then we watched chick flicks and spent the night doing girly stuff. I’m sure there are some other cultures who do this but it’s definitely popular in America. It goes back to the American stereotype of being lazy, fat, and self-absorbed. We ate a lot, laid around doing nothing productive, and focused on ourselves.

2.) My friends and I typically hang out and play a lot of board games or play pool, which isn’t that unusual except that I think it’s expected of college students to go out and party. So for us, it’s fairly unique. The typical IUP student body culture entails going out at least once on the weekends to go to a party. But with me and my friends, we just stay in and play board games, have a movie night, or go outside and throw a frisbee around.

3.) This past week I got into a discussion with my friends over our music choices. It’s amazing out your music choices can differ from person to person. To me this is a great example of individuality. For example, one of my friends listens to just the popular top 40 music, while my other friend listens to heavy metal, and then yet another person likes country. And while we might like songs in different genres, usually you mainly stick to your own favorite genre. It really shows your personality or contributes to your personality.

1. Three topics Americans think are rude to talk about are: how much money they make, sexual orientation, or their religion. I think it’s rude to talk about how much money you make because it’s considered rude to brag, and if you make a lot of money you might come off as being overly proud of your accomplishments. On the other hand, if you have very little money you might dislike having a conversation about how much you make because you’re ashamed. Because our country is so focused around being the best and having the best it’s shameful to not be one of the people at the top.

2. In Thailand there’s a high respect for the elderly because it is thought that they provided support for you until you got older, and now it is your turn to reciprocate. In the United States however, the elderly are considered a burden most of the time. To impose your healthcare needs onto your children would be considered selfish. The United States values independence and individualism over family relationships, which is what the Buddhist philosophy values.

3. I would say that the angry teenage years that we consider typical are actually our own emphasis on individualism coming through. The only example I have isn’t from my own life, but from my brothers. When my brother was in his early teens, he went through a goth phase. In some other cultures it would seem extremely odd to individualize yourself so strongly, but to us it’s “just a phase.”

1.)  It may have been that my high school was the exception, but we had little to no bullying at our school. In TV/movies though, bullying is a reoccuring theme when the story revolves around high school or even college. TV and movies also tend to emphasize stereotypes. The jocks are portrayed as buff and stupid, the cheerleaders are gorgeous and dim-witted. But in reality, no one fits those stereotypes. Usually the football players might also be in the band, or there’s a cheerleader involved in chess club. I think TV and movies need to create drama and conflict, and the easiest way to do that is to portray characters who you know what their motives and personality are. They need antagonists, like the bullies, or an easily duped character like the slow-minded jock.

2.) The pamphlet talks about time as being a resource. It says we Americans view time as being scarce and to be sure to “use it wisely.” It think this comes from the fact that Americans have been accustomed to the idea of improvement for a long time now. We’ve always tried to be the best, the Space Race being a great example. Our ideals have been about always creating something newer and better, in improving. But to keep creating newer and better we have to be faster too, which is why we’re so obssessed with being on time and getting things done in a timely fashion.

3.) I would say that interruptions are usually thought of in a negative way, but it’s not a huge deal. I think this is because not talking while someone else is talking is a sign of respect, and America is all about equality and respecting everyone. Even as kids we’re yelled at for interrupting our parents if they’re having their own conversation.

4.) “University life has its own cultural norms related to status and hierchy.” It’s interesting to read this pamphlet because I didn’t analyze our interractions before this. I found this quote interesting because it made me think about our different cultural norms related to status and hierchy. An example of this was given to a class of mine by my professor, he told us that when he taught out West the students all addressed him with his first name, but when he teaches here at IUP we all call him by Dr. or Professor. It just made me think about how even across the country different campuses have different ways of addressing professors and other students.

1.) I think the media can work both ways. On one hand, you have all this influence to drastically change your shape to fit the ‘perfect model’. But, in my experience, the ads that influence me are those featuring truly physically fit people. It’s made me want to be in shape and be healthy. I would also say that I’ve been influenced by positive figures in the media. There are strong advocates out there for not caring what others think and loving yourself for who you are, it’s just that usually the positive images don’t overcome the negative ones.

2.) American culture has slightly different standards for men and women. I say slightly because they’re both expected to be skinny, toned, and in shape, but men are supposed to be more muscular. For example, actors have to go through physical workouts to get the body they need for a certain part, and usually if the male isn’t muscular enough someone else will get the role. Or, for women, there’s an expectation to be skinny and toned, but not buff-an example would be female body builders, I’ve heard many people comment on how awful they look.

Macho Men

1.) When I hear “masculine” I think: tough, having confidence, and the no tears mentality. I think the not crying part stems from the fact that men are expected to be strong at all times, and to not let emotions control them. Being tough is fairly obvious, masculine implies being able to protect and defend. Having confidence is thought of as masculine because men are supposedly leaders (sort of like the alpha male mentality), and they have to have confidence to lead.

2.) The media is a huge influence for males to act masculine. This isn’t helpful at all in my opinion. The media portrays masculine as being an outward appearance (not showing emotion/ having muscles). This tells them that they have to look masculine in order to be masculine, causing self-esteem issues for many. Another pressure to act masculine is family. I have a nephew who has been taught to be masculine ever since he was old enough to understand what he was being told. This has been a terrible influence on him, you can tell already that he treats his mother with less respect than his father, all so that his father will be proud of him.

1.) Alienation and isolation can be created when a society is so focused on their appearance. If you’re trying to have a better looking house than your neighbor, you don’t want to become buddies with them because they could find out that your appearance is just that – an appearance. Your facade would be shattered when you become friends and learn that you’re each just the ‘average joe’. The appearance is too important to let it fail so you isolate yourself to keep up with your facade. You could also argue that isolation could be caused by intimidation. When you’re seen with these extravagant purchases, people are intimidated by the image you project and figure that you’re above them, affectively isolating you.

2.) No, I don’t think so. If everyone had more money, the average spender would buy more extravagant things. It would be like stepping it up to the next level, more money so more buying. It would be nice for the lower class of course, but they would then get sucked into the same societal urge to buy, buy, buy.

3.) One big factor that contributes to “competitive consumption” is the media. With all the celebrities on tv, and with shopping networks and such, it encourages you to like what you see and to imitate it. MTV had a show called ‘Cribs’ in which they showed some celebrities’ extravagant houses. When the media parades these fantastic houses and material items in front of you on a daily basis, it’s very hard to think, “I don’t want to be like that.” Another factor that contributes to this “competitive consumption” is the belief that buying things will enhance your status. It’s not all about showing up your neighbor, but about trying to become upper class, or becoming the upper of the upper class.

4.) If a society is fully focused on a sort of “keeping up with the Jones” mentality, it can be very overwhelming. Your concerns are about appearance, making for a very vain society. This has the potential for a trickle-down effect, if you need to have a better looking house, with better appliances with furniture or even your personal appearance, then what are you teaching children? Seems like you’re teaching that it’s what’s on the outside that counts. This can affect everyone’s identity. This reminds me of our class discussion about living through our lives without mirrors, and how we wouldn’t be such a vain society. Well if we didn’t have this “competitive consumption” I imagine it would have the same effect - less focus on appearance and more on true identitiy. The best example I have of “competitive consumption” affecting my friends’ identities would be how a friend of mine comes off as very nosy and intrusive. She always wants to know if something’s new and if it is, where we got it, how much it was, etc. And then before you know it, she’s got one.

1.) I think the catastrophic accident could very likely happen at some point in our lifetimes. Even if these robots start out in companies and the military, they could easily end up creating the domino-effect like in the story. The public reaction, in my opinion, would be extreme and it would be negative. You would probably see the majority of the population very adamant that these robots were then worked on so that such a catastrophic event would never happen again. But, I also think that these robots will be inevitable, even if they cause a catastrophic event. The global competition would cause the same initial reaction as the Space Race, after causing the deaths of many, the public would insist on advancing the technology until such an occurence couldn’t happen again.

2.) As hard as we might try, I have serious doubts that we will be able to create artificial intelligence. Human beings spend their whole lives being taught morals and being socialized, and we still get it wrong sometimes. How do you teach a robot all the possibilities, and exactly what to choose when each situation arises, when we wouldn’t even know in some situations? Do you program a robot to save 3 adults and 1 child? or 5 adults? Is there a mathematical equation for that? We as humans can’t even decide judgement on those who have done morally wrong, we have to have a create a jury of peers who come to a decision together. Using artificial intelligence would definitely change our identities, especially if it turned out that you can program morals and ethics. What does that mean for the human soul? Does it even exist then? We would have to reconsider how we view ourselves entirely.

3.) The positives are obvious, the robots would be able to help out humans in everyday life;  they could be very useful for taking care of the disabled or elderly; artificial intelligence could go where our it’s unsafe for our public service volunteers, possibly saving people from a burning building; these robots would also be capable of swimming to greater depths I’m sure, or surviving more extreme temperatures, which would also assist in saving lives.
The negatives though are interconnected with the positives. Sure, it’s great that machines could go where we humans can’t, but if robots can do it, and do it more efficiently, without pay, then why would you hire a human that requires breaks and gives attitude? Another problem is that artificial intelligence may sound fancy, but it’s still just a computer, and computers break, need upgrades, require batteries, etc. Lastly, (and this has to do with a more science-fiction reality) I could fully trust a person, but I could never fully trust a machine, and I think that has something to do with in-groups and out-groups. Robots will never be in the in-group, and so I’ll never fully trust one.

4.) Just this last semester I dropped my laptop on the floor and cracked the screen completely. Not only was I out 300 bucks, but there was so much on my computer that I needed! I had homework saved, passwords saved, hundreds of pictures, everything was on that computer (and of course, I don’t backup my files). It was more of a hassle having to redownload everything once I got my laptop back, but it taught me that I rely much too heavily on technology.

1.) My first thought was that Mother Teresa was the most admirable, I didn’t even question it. From an early age we’re taught that her name means peace and helping others, and we learn about all the good things she’s done. Then for least admirable I said Bill Gates, mostly because there’s not a whole lot said about him that makes him sound admirable. The only thing I’ve heard about Bill Gates is that he’s the richest man or one of the richest men in the world, but I haven’t heard about any good things he’s done with his money.  And Norman Borlaug? Never heard of him. After hearing the facts my second decision wasn’t quite as clear-cut as my intial reaction. I’m still not willing to say that Mother Teresa isn’t admirable, but now knowing who Borlaug is and that he’s been credited with saving a billion lives I’m willing to say that he’s the most admirable. To use so much of your time and efforts reducing world hunger and saving a billion lives, but then not having your name well known, is to me, quite admirable. He’s obviously not driven by the need to be known as a hero, but by his need to help others. I would say that Bill Gates and Mother Teresa are both equally admirable, they’ve both done great things for the era they work or worked in. My moral thoughts were that you can’t be driven by the need to be well-known for helping. You need to help others because you want to, not because it benefits your own agenda.

2.)  I find Tyra Banks very admirable. She’s always speaking about positive body image, and not letting others get you down. This is so admirable because she’s heavily involved in the Hollywood industry which is so incredibly vain. She may not be stopping world hunger, but she’s a role model to many. Another person I find admirable would be Saint Valentine, he went against the King’s order to not marry. He stood up for what he believed in, which is a very admirable quality. This tells me that I make moral judgements based on the greater good. Obviously it was wrong for Saint Valentine to go against the King’s order, but he did it anyway because he believed in it. It was morally okay in my book.

3.) I believe in a universal morality. Everything that happens in life is silently judged by others or even yourself. Is it wrong to prop your feet up on the table in the library? I’m sure somebody in the room thinks so. I’m sure that our brains are silently analyzing everything we see, but unless it’s deemed immoral it doesn’t become a conscious thought.

4.) The five moralities mentioned were: a sense of fairness; loyalty; deferring to legitimate authorities or respect those with a higher status; purity; and harm. I would say that overall we hold loyalty in great esteem. Whether it’s a gang in Chicago, or a group of close friends, loyalty is an important aspect to belonging. We also hold family loyalty very highly. In my experience when someone mistreats the loyalty of their friends or family it’s a huge disrespect, and pretty soon the whole town is talking about how awful a person has to be to sell out their closest ties.