blog 9 the truman show

My life compared to Truman's and would I trade it? Something I would not do.

   Some people would look at Truman's and his life like the best place in the world. No violence, everybody loves each other, but it was never real everything was an act and you never got to see peoples' true colors, how they feel or if they truly care. Life was never about what Truman wanted or what he wanted to hear, it was all about what he needed. So although my life compared to Truman's is more violent, people do not love as much as in Truman's world, I am getting the true feelings from the people. And although, at times it can be harsh, sad and hard to deal with I know it is real. That is why I would never trade my life for the one Truman has. I rather deal with hard life that is a reality than to live a lie.

Blog Entry 8

   After analyzing the class readings and watching "The Truman Show" I think social media can be very influential. For example, everybody that was watching the show had an idea that Truman was living the perfect life: the American dream, office job, big house with white fence, your typical cliché. People were glued to their televisions watching as much of the show as they could, they were attracted to everything that the show was advertising. The way show was portraying Truman's life made people want that type of life and the show became part of their lives. Although the people felt like being part of the show because it was presented as if it was real, in reality it was only a script and Truman was only a puppet subject and his world was a lie.

   In the article "I know the truth" by Jeffrey Kluger, author talks about how the media can influence peoples' opinion and alter perceptions. One of the examples was media informing the public that Muslims were planning to build a Mosque right next to the fallen towers of 9/11. But as the article reveals, this was not the correct information. Going deeper into the story and gathering more facts truth is that what they were trying to build was a Muslim center for the people with offices, gym and after school programs. The media portrays Muslims like as if they were all terrorist when it is only certain individuals that feel hatred towards America. But because of the information that media relates to people is how the public thinks. Not always information released is correct, but there are few people who bother to check the facts.

   Media is unavoidable, it is everywhere: TV, internet, buses, trains, billboards and even our smart phones. At times the media fools us into believing that we need things and valuing things that are not really important in our lives. For example if you do not have the latest phone people would look at you as if there was something wrong with you, when in reality just ask yourself do you really need a smart phone with the internet. The media changes our perception on how we look at things. A lot of things that we decide to purchase are not necessary things that we need but things that we were convinced we need.

   A lot of people I know view Muslims very differently after 9/11.

In the airports when people see a Middle Eastern person they get automatically more alerted, even I was caught up in the media frenzy at the beginning because of the media portrayal of them after the 9/11. 

In the end it is media that makes people behave and think the way they do. Not a lot of people are willing or able to research the facts for themselves and decide what is the truth. Sometimes we are too lazy to look for the truth, or we simply do not want to know the truth because we know it might be inconvenient. So we just take the easy path and believe whatever we are told to believe.

blog 7

In terms of writing skills I have learned couple of things how to become a better writer. The three important things I have learned so far in this class: first, was the break down of a summary that is only supported by the major details not the minor and there is no opinion. Second, was the breakdown of a thesis, which starts with a topic, then comes the claim, and the last part is the argument. The final third is the breakdown of an essay that starts with an opening statement / thesis / main idea, then the body which can include major or minor details and lastly the conclusion which is the restatement of the main idea.

Before I started this class I did not know how to write a thesis. Throughout the course of this class I have learned the components of a thesis, and one of the assignments was to write a thesis, which I did. This proves that I learned how to write a thesis, because if I did not learn I would not be able to complete my assignment.

So far everything that I have learned about basic writing is clear, I just need more practice to improve the flow of the words in my writing.

Overall, I do feel more confident when it comes to the understanding of my basic writing skills. Before I started the class I did not feel as confident about my writing skills as I do now.

Although, I feel more confident in my writing skills I know that I have to work on my grammar, spelling, and my vocabulary. But with more practice on everything I learned 

blog entry 6

    Jeffrey Kluger explains how people receive information matters because that alters their perception. People often tend to base their opinion only on rumors. And once presented with contradicting facts they are still not willing to change their opinion.

    Jeffrey Kluger gives an example about the ongoing dispute over the  mosque at Ground Zero in downtown Manhattan, which is not really a mosque, and it will not be build on Ground Zero, but few blocks down. The problem is that delivery of the information to the public decides how people perceive things and once presented to them people often tend to base their opinion whether it is a rumor or not, even when people do take the time to learn the facts, the efforts often does no good.


    In the study by R.Kelly Garrett and Erik Nisbet, research was conducted involving 750 people who reported being familiar with and believing at least one of the gossips about the proposed Islamic cultural center. What they found most troubling was that even if people do take time to learn new facts they are still not willing to change their opinion. People simply do not like to be told that they are wrong. Studies show that when presented with data that contradicts false beliefs, people tend to cling to their biased beliefs even more.

In the end it is all up to us to decided what we do with the information presented to us, but it is also up to us that if we are hearing another side of the story we should look into it more before we make our final decision.

Blog 5

1. Significant Idea: People’s belief system can be easily manipulated with insinuating pictures or inflammatory quotes.

2. Claim: Delivery of the information to the public decides how people perceive things.

3. Reasons: Once there is perception of things it is really hard to change peoples’ opinion. Even if people do take time to learn new facts they are still not willing to change their opinion. People simply do not like to be told that they are wrong. Studies show that when presented with data that contradicts false beliefs, people tend to cling to their biased beliefs even more.

4. Combined Thesis: How people receive information matters because that alters their perception. People often tend to base their opinion only on rumors. And once presented with contradicting facts they are still not willing to change their opinion.

By writing a thesis statement I learned how to bring my point across in a way that it is clear and understandable. Organizing my writing around a thesis statement will make me a better writer because, I will be able to present the most important parts to the reader and deliver a clear message.