While obtaining data for the data analysis assignment, I realized that Marvel’s Avengers series is full of murder. Upon greater inspection, those movies are notably violent considering their fan base consists of many young people. The violence of these films really makes you think about morals and what it takes to hurt others, and what actions are acceptable if they are performed for the better interest of the most people.
For example, when killing Thanos in Endgame, Thor says “I went for the head,” (Endgame) and cuts his head off with an ax. For context, he makes this somewhat disturbing statement because when Thanos snapped half of the world out of existence, he told Thor that he should have gone for the head when hitting him with his ax.
Of course, the difference between a superhero and a villain on the subject of murdering someone is their intent, and that is what I think about often. Murder may never be fair or just, but sometimes it is the only option to save the world. Villains like to murder for fun, while superheroes murder out of necessity. What makes the murder in the case of a superhero still morally correct is their purpose, which is easy to understand.
The moral of the story is that breaking the law, which I will be researching in my paper this quarter, can often be seen in not only a justifiable light but a morally good one. But, murderers with fancy names are still murderers; they’re just looked up to by more people.
Today is the day… Inauguration day! We did it – we defeated the tyrant, using our bravery and perseverance to fight for… another old man. At least he is nice. Joe Biden is probably the best thing to happen to America in the past 10 months; so, I will connect the inauguration to Mad Max: Fury Road and the defeat of tyranny.
The world we currently live in could honestly be compared to the apocalyptic wasteland; as Angharad screams “Then who killed the world” as she pushes Nux to his death, I can’t help but think of our own earth. Just yesterday, we had a president who abused his power and a country ravaged by a pandemic, millions dead from a virus that should’ve been defeated from the second it began. Today, many parts of our situation remain the unfortunately the same, but this historical day leaves us with hope on the horizon.
Just like in Mad Max, we didn’t get this easy – we had to fight tooth and nail to make such an achievement. While not many of us were tied to the front of a war machine with a metal muzzle attached to our faces, we were oppressed in different ways; we had to march and scream and struggle in order to not be stepped on and knelt on and shot and killed. Don’t get me wrong, our country is still overwhelmed by problems almost too big to solve; but we can be content now that a better, more compassionate, more peaceful person is our commander.
As close as he got, it won’t be Donald Trump who killed the world.
For this week’s blog post, I decided to combine my minute paper and my class discussion because both were very intriguing to me.
In Kristi Coulter’s article, “Giving Up Alcohol Opened My Eyes to the Infuriating Truth About Why Women Drink”, she analyzes the presence of alcohol in daily life and the nuances of its consumption that are dominating everything – from yoga and cooking classes to workplaces – and the idea that this has impeded the success of women.
I agree with Coulter, especially because I have experienced these alcoholic undertones throughout my life and especially now. I recently moved into an apartment right next to my university, and finally having a “college life” associates me with substances like alcohol that the article talks about. Much like the modern lives of women, college is inundated with alcoholic nuances and a general idea that life can only be fun when you’re under the influence; this is especially relevant in a time like this, where a pandemic is running rampant and stress levels are through the roof. And I don’t think it’s really anyone’s fault, but a corrupt, century-old system that has taught us that, as students, we simply need to avoid substances at all costs and just be sad and anxiety-ridden rather than provide us with solutions to the very problems that make us feel this way.
This article has allowed me to really reflect on my experience in the past week since I moved here; since I recently had surgery and can’t partake in certain ~college experiences~, I have really been allowed to sit back and watch the lives of my friends who depend on substances in order to be happy or “have a good time”. I remember that many of my peers in high school had the same mentality, and honestly, the only person who encouraged me to see partying in a different light, rather than condone constant substance consumption – the same way this article did – was my best friend who had family experiences with alcoholism. It’s really frustrating that, sometimes, the only people who aren’t heavy drinkers or drug users are the ones who were traumatized by it.
My school has, of course, provided us students with resources to prevent the use/overuse of alcohol and/or drugs, and while an online course may not prevent every single student from becoming addicted to certain substances, they are extremely helpful with bringing awareness to the effects of alcohol and drugs that students like to pretend don’t exist. I also like that rather than just telling us to avoid alcohol and/or drugs entirely, these courses taught us how to use these substances responsibly. So many parents miss the mark when educating their kids about substances because they see substance use as a case for punishment rather than education. My parents never punished me for these types of things because they knew it was destined to happen; however, I believe that their trust in my common sense and intelligence is what has made me more responsible when it comes to substance use.
It also doesn’t help that our parents drink so much. The suburban, predominantly white, high-middle class houses that we live in are decorated with quote signs demonstrating the need for alcohol in order to deal with annoying children and pets and lives and patronizing husbands. Much like Coulter’s article explained, the fun of life has been so drained that alcohol is a necessity in order for people to be satisfied. Is it so difficult to have dinner and talk with your friends without three glasses of wine to go with it? Especially in college, students feel such a need to drink and do drugs because they think it is essential and that everyone else is doing it. Like Coulter says: “There’s always one person who can’t deal if someone isn’t drinking.” People who choose not to drink are constantly bombarded with questions and a need for justification rather than the acceptance of a simple “I don’t want to”. People are so accustomed to substance use that they think there must be some crazy reason for not wanting to drink. I wish that my friends could just be happy without hurting themselves.
These types of memes are part of the problem and are much like the decorative signs in suburban, white homes; they promote the mentality that alcohol must be consumed in order to have a better life.
In the end, drinking or doing drugs doesn’t make you a bad or irresponsible person, even if you misuse them; the constant presence of these substances in our lives – and the use of them by the adults we look up to – makes the use of such substances just that much more inevitable. At the same time, encouraging therapy might be a good thing, too.
If I’m honest, hearing that we had a quarter-long research project in CTW 2 made my brain seize up a little – I’m not a huge fan of reading articles and having to answer questions that I don’t already have a good amount of knowledge about. However, after this week’s readings, I realize that I am actually very excited about this research paper and can’t wait to explore possible topics.
I will begin by explaining my quick change of heart; first of all, in The Craft of Research, Chapter 1, I realized that I actually LOVE to do research, and I do it every single day: “We all do that kind of research every day, and though we rarely write it up, we rely on those who write up theirs…” (Craft, 10). I research true crime, the lives of actors, and Coronavirus vaccines; I research cat breeds, exercises for toned muscles, and cake recipes. Now that I’m thinking about it, just yesterday I consulted Google during a debate with my mother (she won, as she is a veterinarian) about what color our Siamese cat is, and if he is a purebred (he isn’t). Knowing that research includes the simplest questions – whether I just want to know the age of an actor in a movie that I’m watching or I’m curious about what table salt is made of – makes constructing a research paper seem much less tormenting.
I will add that research papers are not something I have produced a lot throughout my education experience, most of my writing being argumentative; I’m so accustomed to having to prove a certain point that I’ve almost lost my ability to view alternative perspectives when I write. So, I am excited to use this paper as an opportunity to broaden my knowledge of a subject that I am passionate about; what that is, I’m not sure yet. I will find out soon.
