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Jake, Shaan, and I first decided that we wanted to raise awareness to the worlds water crisis but then realized we should narrow down our topic to make it more relatable. We came to a conclusion that choosing the Flint, Michigan water problem would bring a familiar feeling to students because it is within the United States and not some country overseas that students may not even know the location of. We believed that by choosing a topic close to home, we could get students to see that these kind of things are not just problems that exist far away and therefore the students would be more likely to help people that the can relate to. We started last week by making a Twitter account because we felt that it was the best way to get through to the most people. We concluded that using Instagram would spread our cause to the most people initially but would die out quicker and become less looked at as time goes on. With Twitter we figured that with the use of the retweet button, we could get our message out not only to our followers but also to our followers followers, therefore exponentially growing the amount of people seeing what is happening in Flint. I do not feel like this worked out very well but not because of the wrong decisions by us. Our posts did not reach very many people but I believe that with more time we could have grown our account to a very decent size and at the same time growing awareness.

For the other way of spreading awareness about Flint, we decided to put up multiple posters in different Dorms. We did this so that people would not just see it once and instantly forget about it but they would see it a few times a day when going to or from their dorm room. We believe that because the students see it a few times a day they will retain the information on the posters better and may even want to look up more of the details of the crisis. I really hope that because of our posters we influenced a few students to want to help the disaster that is happening in our own country but we cannot be sure because we were not always there to see who was intrigued by the posters.

If we were able to change even one mind or even educate one student on what has happened in Flint, then I feel like this project was a success. I did not initially think that I would have much stake in this project but I feel that through my research that I have done, my eyes have been opened not only to the injustice in Flint but also to the societal flaws that is constantly separating the citizens of the United States more and more each and every day. Hopefully, starting this project will get people of all races, cultures, political parties, and ideals to get together and create a country where everyone helps each other without prejudice.

In the dystopian novel, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, the standout and main protagonist of the story is with no contest the silent, caring, and protective Katniss Everdeen. However, the real hero of the hunger games is actually Peeta Mellark whose sacrifice and kindness show that brains and brawn are not the only things that are needed in the arena. He should be considered the main hero of the book because throughout the entirety of the games he remains calm and only thinks about the well being of Katniss rather than himself. When he first gets chosen at the reaping, he walks up without any emotion. He does not show the fear that is within him and throughout the games he does not let his emotions get in the way of protecting the only thing he has left, Katniss. While Katniss focuses on making sure she is the winner, Peeta on the other hand would willingly lay down his life for her as we see in the end when he drops his weapon so she can easily put him down. Also, Peeta tends to get to know people even though they have nothing to offer him. He also counters Katniss’ emotional outbursts with his calm practicality. When Peeta gets captured by the capital at the end of the book, Katniss realizes that he was a crutch that she had leaned on throughout the recent events and that she could not have done it without him. All these reasons prove that Peeta is the main hero of the first book.

Suzanne Collins, in her book The Hunger Games, juxtaposes the politics of the country of Panem with the modern day United States of America. In her book she explicitly touches on political, social, and cultural issues like unauthorized surveillance, class structure and poverty, and the use of media to control the masses. First off, makes comparisons with the Capitol and the NSA. The NSA uses CCTV, webcams, and other modern technology to spy on its citizens, the Capitol uses new technology as well specifically their design and use of Jabberjays that pick up noises and videos of people throughout the twelve districts. This is an absurd invasion of privacy and if the government is working correctly then it should not be worried about people rebelling. The second comparison that Collins makes deals with poverty and different advantages of regions. District 12 is one of the poorest districts in the country whereas District 1 is the richest. When getting ready for the Hunger Games, kids in District 1 have been training since their early childhoods because they did not have to work to help feed their families like their counterparts in District 12. This gives a great advantage to some kids over others just like in America where kids coming from certain regions have to overcome an extreme amount of obstacles to get to where they want to be in life. The last comparison that Collins makes between America and Panem is the use of media to control and corrupt the masses. The government picks and chooses what it shows on the screens to lead the people to the governments point of view. Even when the Districts start to rebel in the later books, the government shows its people that they are winning even when they are losing territory. Major news channels in the USA tend to tailor their news broadcasts to make people think that their view is correct even if that means giving false news.

 

In the story “The Knight of the Cart”, there is no question that Sir Lancelot is the heroic figure. However, he makes a few decisions that are less than wholesome and less than that of a hero. When the Woman approaches him to welcome Lancelot into her home and sleep with her, he initially chooses the right thing and says he should continue on his way instead. He eventually gives in to her offer and finds himself in a bad place. A true hero would have stuck to his word and found another place to sleep or continued on the quest. Even when Lancelot sees the armed men raping the women who invited him in he hesitates and debates in his head whether or not to save her. He questions himself on if he could defeat the armed men even though he is one of the best fighters in the land. He finally jumps in and saves her before its too late but his hesitance proves that he is not a flawless hero, he is a normal human being that questions his own actions and gives in to the temptations of life. These little lapses of heroism show us that even heroes have flaws and that nobody can be perfect. In the end he does the right thing and everything works out but if they did not and Lancelot just walked away in the first place would he still be hailed as a hero?

 

If he had chosen a different path in his life would he still be considered a hero or would he be a normal man like you or me?

When I read the article “A Practical Guide To Joseph Campbell’s ‘The Hero With a Thousand Faces’” by Christopher Vogler, I realized that this hero circle concept is used in almost every country and every region around the world and has been for some time. The significance of this is that we are all more alike than we think we are. Since all the stories and tales have similar components, cultures that seem to contrast each other are more similar than they seem. Stories can connect different cultures and once they break through the language barrier, they can let outsiders see into an unknown world and further understand how others live their lives. This can also apply to history, such as the many renditions of Beowulf or the first heroes journey, The Epic of Gilgamesh. These texts provide an insight into the past and proves that people throughout history were more relatable than the majority realizes. Stories like these can and should be used to bond people and cultures.

   

When I first saw the stages of the hero’s journey, I immediately thought of Bilbo Baggins in the book “The Hobbit”. In his book, J.R.R. Tolkien follows the hero’s journey almost exactly. The story starts in the Shire and he is called to adventure by the thirteen dwarves and a wise old wizard named Gandalf. He reluctantly leaves his home and continues on his way with many different tasks and trials including run-ins with trolls, elves, goblins, Smeagol and of course a greedy dragon. During the battle of the five armies, he is knocked out and literally resurrects when he takes of the ring. He then returns to his hometown a changed man and also a lot richer because of the gold he was awarded.

As more players in the NFL protest against the national anthem by taking a knee, people in support of them as well as those opposing them continue to share their opinions with a lot of passion and a lot of caps lock. However, the reason that they are able to share their response to such a provoking issue is because of the same law that allows the football players to express their ideals by taking a knee. This law is the first amendment and in no way should it ever be taken away or restricted because it is an essential right to be able to protest as well as share ideas without the fear of retaliation. These men certainly have the right to stand up for themselves and I believe in their cause but I also see a twinge of disrespect to the men and women past and present that have risked and sacrificed their lives, families, and well being to protect and defend the United States. When these football players kneel for the flag, they may not be seeing all the soldiers, police officers, and first responders who have come home with that flag draped over their coffin. As long as the players come out and say that no disrespect is meant to the men and women who serve this country then I think the protest would be a productive and peaceful means to overcome the adversity that minorities face in America today. This protest to racism can do great things for this country as long as we do not let it divide us even more than we are now.

I found this great video on the protests that hits the topic from almost every angle.

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