Keeping an Eye on People

In unit 3 of Rhetoric, my class looked at the start of colonies in the new world called America. We looked at the conflicts that started from, the French and British and the conflicts made from the Sons of Liberty and what they stood for. For the action project, we had to find a social issue, and create an artwork that would be a great way to represent it using any kind of medium. The purpose was to inspire people from all over the world to unite (like some of the early American colonists). I chose to make an artistic statement about the issue of domestic violence because I wanted to learn more about the topic. The art medium I chose was a drawing with just a pencil and a piece of paper for the reason that drawing is so simple, but also can be complex in the way you make it. Please enjoy the drawing and what it holds.

NVA "Keeping an Eye on People" (2015) GCE Labs School

What is domestic violence? It is when the person you trust most starts abusing you or a loved one, in the place where you should feel most safe. This issue is very well known to many people, but also not as well known as it should be. What I mean by that is, people know about it - either they have experienced it or they have heard about it. So why is it that so many people aren’t doing something about it? And, why have we actually gotten used to the fact that it happens? Most of the time, people don’t want to interfere because they think it’s none of their business, but should we actually let this happen? I say no - just because it might not be our business, I don’t think that we should continue to stand by and let this keep happening.

In 2 out of 3 female homicide cases, the woman was killed as a result of domestic violence (Safe Horizon: General facts). The only way this can stop growing is when we decide to act on the inside of what is actually happening. But domestic violence isn’t only bad to the person being hit; children who witness these events happening are also changed in some way mentally, and may be victims of abuse as well. Maybe they are experiencing domestic violence first hand, and they repeat the cycle with other people when they grow up. These young victims are seeing bullying happening first hand and they don’t know what they should do, 3 million children see domestic violence every year in their homes (Safe Horizon: Effects on Children). We shouldn’t let that happen at all. But why? Why care? Say you saw someone getting hit on the street by someone, would you help or walk away? Or say you saw your child getting bullied, would you do something?

I think of domestic violence as bullying and it makes it just so much worse when it is coming from someone you love. 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. I am saying for that to stop now and make that number 0 in 4 women, or even men, who do actually get the other side of the bullying (Safe Horizon: Occurrence of Violence).

The reason I chose to sound off on the topic of domestic violence isn’t because I have experienced it or because I needed to talk about something I have experienced. I felt like it was very important to me to pick an issues that I don’t experience with, just so I have more knowledge on it, and have a larger standpoint on the subject. I also feel like then I might have the power to help people or just teach people about domestic violence, as I am doing with my art. I just feel it is important to learn about more issues that don’t fully apply to you, so you can have an understanding and connect more to these issues.

The medium I chose was a drawing because of saying, “A picture carries a thousand words.” , Well I believe a drawing carries a million words because the more emotion a drawing can have more an emotional impact. I also chose to draw, just for the fact that it is the easiest art form for me and i feel that I can clearly get my ideas across in this artistic form.

I drew person’s eye up close because eyes are the window to the soul and domestic violence victims are not only physically hurt, but also spiritually. I drew a tear to show the sadness that is carried when this violence is happening to them. In the eye, you see a reflection of a fist facing towards the victim. To show the realness of how it is for people that experience the abuse they get. Next, on the fist of the person you see the word saying “STOP”because I want this abuse to stop and so does everyone who gets physically and spiritually abused by a loved one. Lastly, I didn’t add any color to my drawing just because I feel like the colors would actually take away from the emotions that I want to represent, such as truth and sadness. I like that this amazing drawing with so much emotion and truth, can really just be made with a pencil and some strong feeling to get a message across.

I would want my artwork to be displayed everywhere - mainly on the internet so it can travel faster, but anywhere where it could make a difference would be great.

References:

"Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts." Safe Horizon. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Jamming to Importance!

In unit 2 of my Rhetoric, we learned about new rhetorical devices, such as hypophora and meiosis. We also looked at the The discovery of America, Christopher Columbus, and the Doctrine of Discovery. Also we looked at the voices that weren't shown a lot during that time, mainly the Natives Americans and what new people took from them. For the action project we had to create a Prezi, where we would take a speech or song that someone made and annotate it and talk about the appeals involved in and the devices in the text. I chose Holiday by Green Day, the song, and I liked it because a song from them is going to be heard by a lot of people, and I like that they made it about such an important topic. Please enjoy!


       

A Good Self Defense Is the Best Offense!

In my new Rhetoric class, we learned about the theory of speech, this containing the difference between content and form. Then we learned about some appeals and devices used in an speech, such as Logos: the stats and real information, Ethos: the credibility of the speaker, and Pathos: the emotions that are shown while speech is given. Then the devices are, simile, metaphor, or allusion. Leading me to the action project, we had to make a speech that includes the three appeals, and some devices, on a topic we are passionate about. The topic that I have chosen is why people should do martial arts, because this is something I do and I am very passionate about it. Some challenges of this project was that at the last minute i switched topics so I had to write a 2 minute speech in a day. What I am proud of is that I actually found a topic that I really care about, because I didn’t like what I had before. Please in enjoy why I think you should do martial arts.

Have you been in a situation where you feel weak, maybe just mentally or physically and you know that you really don’t have a solution in mind? I know that I have, and I could never find a way to feel strong, in anyway. I know that people everywhere come up against this problem. The main solution that I’ve discovered is learning a type of martial art, ranging from boxing to Jiu Jitsu.

Today we have so many problems with everyday life, that leave us feeling vulnerable or weak as individuals, for example :

One: People don’t feel confident all the time. With martial arts you learn to become confident with everything you do. While doing martial arts, and afterwards, you feel new, knowing that you are a better person. And that feeling will always grow, unless you stop. But why stop doing something that can actually benefit you?

Two: You will get respect and you know to give respect more often. In martial arts there will always be someone better or bigger than you. But that just teaches kids and you that it’s good to get respect and give it. This will make us live in a better community of people, where no one is ever trying to be the better person. Today we see people getting in street fights, and for what, what is the point of sending someone to the hospital, or getting sent to the hospital? NOTHING. With martial arts, it will destroy your bad ego and let your good one shine. This all comes back to respect and some self control. If someone is picking on you, or yelling at you, just think, “Oh well, they didn’t have a good day and they aren’t really mad at me.” This applies more to random people. Don’t think that of your parents, or teachers, because you might have a lesson to learn.

Three: It’s a good tool to have if you’re attacked. Many people get mugged and hurt, and have no idea how to defend themselves. Well, with martial arts you have something to defend yourself with. Females and other are more vulnerable to sexual assault, they now will also have a proper way to defend themselves. I know that the Gracie family (Who created Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)  has a program just for women so they can better protect themselves from threatening men.

Four: It gives you a better way to focus and really try hard on what you want to accomplish. Many people today are distracted from everyday entertainment devices, that we will usually not want to work hard. Well with martial arts, since they have a belt system, it gives you something to work hard for. This will teach your mind how to start working harder for things you want done. Not only will it help with everyday tasks, but it will help you focus on you. What I mean by this, is we get very stressed, this will always happen, but with martial arts will help you relieve stress. Either by doing Tai Chi, or just doing boxing and just punching something to get some anger out.

So in the end, martial arts is something you need to do, because the boost of confidence, respect, self defense, and lastly helps our focus. All of these things are something that can really help a person become better and feel new. For people who do it, always remember some things, “We do martial arts so we don’t have to use them.” - Bruce Lee, this is really important to just keep in mind that it’s something for fun and it’s never fun to send someone to the hospital. Also martial arts is a river, it will be calm and happy, and it can be stressful, but keeping it fun and always being adaptable is good thing for life.

References:

Stevens, Eric C. "7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Practice Martial Arts."Breaking Muscle. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

Ghosh, Sushmita. "10 Reasons to Learn Martial Arts - List Dose." List Dose. 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.