Blog #6

The argument of Minogue relies on two metaphors. First, the university is a life form and therefore affected by such evolutionary forces as competition and survival mechanisms. This first claim is related to the first metaphor which is "The life form know as higher education was hatched in a monastic cocoon in the tenth century". This metaphor refers to the fact that higher education is an outcome of the world's evolution. Like a in ecology, Higher education adapted itself to changes in order to assure its continuity. Second, higher education is a commodity and so is driven by market forces such as profit and supply and demand. One of the most important metaphors that refers to this is claim, is surely "Suppliers of higher education simply have to dip their nets in the water to catch students". Minogue uses this metaphor to show how that it is not easy to get a chance and benefit of higher education, because of growing populations and the smaller number of available seats.By the first metaphor in the text "The life form know as higher education was hatched in a monastic cocoon in the tenth century", the writer uses the metaphor of value to prove that the universities will become obsolete. Universities will surely end up by being useless one day, just like the butterfly that dies after several weeks of coming out of the cocoon. It is reasonable to analyse education with the language of evolution and economics for many reasons. first, today higher education is like a product you buy, and it is not available for all the people. So, the market of education is surely driven by the law of supply and demand. Finally, evolution shows that everything all product and generally everything in the world follows a cycle of evolution more known as the cycle of life. One of the crucial step in this evolution is maturity when the product  reaches its pick of evolution, and right after that it starts degrading until becoming obsolete.

Blog #4

Photography is surely one of the most used ways to present and compare differences. There is many different ways to express differences using photography, and this vary between photographers. By comparing Nikki S. Lee's work and Carlton Davis work, we will see in what consist those differences.

First, let's start with Nikki S. Lee's work. In her picture "The Ohio Project (7)", Lee presents the difference of roles between the two sexes in the southern heritage society. The photographer uses a large background that involves many house objects like tables, and allows to see all the room. One of the most important points in Lee's techniques is to gather the two sexes in the same picture. Lights are a very important component of a picture, and Lee opts for the room lights. This image illustrates difference as a social construct in the way that man has a protective role in the family as we can see the man in the picture holding a gun in his hands.
Second, let's see Carlton Davis work. In his picture "Stanley Nelson", Davis shows the difference between individuals of the same race. Unlike Lee who presents her work using a large background, Davis introduce his work by using a portrait. The artist here concentrates on facial expressions like the smile, and uses colors to give meaning such as the the black background or white clothes. Davis selects a light that shows only the character's face, while Lee uses the room light. This picture illustrates difference as a social construct in the way that people are differ by races, and even differ in the same race.

Photography is the common way used by Nikki S. Lee and Carlton Davis to express differences in the society, however each of the artists select a different technique to present his work. Lee focuses on the elements of the environment where people live, unlike Davis who goes for facial expressions.

Blog #3

          There is no doubt that the generation I is led by many social media tools, and Facebook is the most important tool. The primary goal of Facebook is to keep people connected together although the real existing distance between them. However, today the use of Facebook is shifting as it is encouraging the development of narcissism and egocentricity.
First, Facebook encourages the development of narcissism. Today, most of  Facebook users tend to give a different image of themselves. Surely there is nothing wrong with being different, but the problem is that people give only a perfect picture of themselves. Few are the people who accept to appear in a picture that does not show them in their best look. Further more, Facebook users choose to set their profiles in a way that makes them come across as active and interesting persons. Rachel Gaynes gives a good example in her article "Facebook takes narcissism to a new level" as she says "But the whole concept really is a transparent concept of self-promotion"
          Second, Facebook Encourages the development of egocentricity. A big majority of Facebook users are increasing their egocentricity by the day even if they are not egocentric by nature. Facebook make things easier to say behind the public screen than in real life, as a result people do not miss a chance to express themselves. Thus, some kind of egocentricity emerged, and consists on showing every small detail of the individual's daily life, just like people who take themselves for the center of the world. Rachel Gaynes illustrates this in her article "Facebook takes narcissism to a new level" when she says "The concept of being social has adapted, now requiring that a person be eternally connected and no longer differentiate between personal and public information."
          To conclude, Facebook is surely the most popular media social tool, but also one of the major elements that are developing narcissism and egocentricity in today's world. 

Blog #2

My mother is surely the most important person in my life, not only because she gave me a place in life, but also because she is the only person that can understand me without having to talk. The day I left home to make my way in life, she gave me a book called "School of Life". Usually I am not interested in reading books, but this book is an exception because my mother wrote it herself. The first time I touched that book, I immediately felt it's importance. The pages feel old and fragile, they smell like old pages. What surprises me the most, is that every time I touch those pages, I get the same feeling. The book has a brown color from the outside, and white pages inside. The first page starts with "If this book belongs to you today, you are the most important person in my life". I think this sentence brings me unique feelings of pride and happiness. My mother has always been a mysterious person, and she never told me what the book was about. I figured out by myself later that she is the writer, and she kept the book updated from her teenage until the day she gave me it. "School of Life" contains many advices and my mother experiences. Social life is the most covered subject in this book, and some of the best advices I can give as an example from this book are "Let the people live the way they want to live, and they will love you." and "Silence is the best way to answer jerks, silence is a powerful weapon." I carry this book wherever I go because I know that it covers steps of life, such as teenage period, college, and marriage. I am never far from crying when I read theses hand written pages, and it's not because my mother wrote them. The truth is that my mother sacrificed all her life for her children and I thought that her sacrifices would stop the day I would leave home, but I find myself connected with my mother's thoughts when I am with her book. One day, my mother will pass away like we will all do, and this book is going to remind me that I had the perfect mother. Another day, I will give this book to one of my children, and maybe he will love me for this. At the end, "School of Life" represents all my mother sacrifices for me and my future children. I still can't realize this, but one day I will and I will be crying.

Blog #1

1st part.

The Fernandez family enjoys a good life. I can see that all the family members are smiling, and the little girl is holding flowers in her hands. The blue flowers represent peace, while the pink ones have a meaning of happiness. The main color in the picture is certainly the red, as we can see it on the walls and the table. The red color communicates energy and love. 

The Fernandez family has a comfortable life. Food is one of the highest priorities of humans and it does not seem to be a problem for this family when I remark its abundance. I can count eight bottles of water per week for three adults and two children, which is sufficient.The Fernandez family not only enjoys food quantity, but also food quality. The family has the choice to choose between tomato sauce and Ketchup tomato sauce, and we can read "highest rate" written on the pizza packet. One of the most important details I can notice is surely the full smile that adults are using. A full smile communicates feelings of pride, and satisfaction and this is due to the fact that parents accomplished their duty toward their children.

Looking to this picture in another context such as an advertisement, would make me feel that those products are the main reason for a successful family life. In other words, those products are the clue for a happy and peaceful life.

2nd part.

Most of images of the ordinary we find in a popular magazine are images reflecting a perfect ordinary. We find objects designed to satisfy a specific need, for example clothes or alcohol. Those images are usually showing the object by giving it a bigger part of the picture than other elements, or by showing a model using that object. I also notice that special lights effects are used most of the time. The aim here  is that readers believe that they can be as attractive as the model using the object, or have an exciting life like the one the model seems to experience.

There is more than one  way to present a picture, and those ways depend of the picture's purpose determined by the artist. Magazine's methods to present pictures are different with those used by Menzel in his picture "The Aboubakar Family of Chad".

First, lets begin with emotions in pictures. Most of pictures found in magazines present joyful emotions, while the picture taken by Menzel shows instant emotions. For example we can see that some characters are smiling, and others are not.

Second, lets take a look at picture's angle. Menzel's picture is taken from a basic angle, unlike magazine's picture that uses a different angle. The magazine picture uses a special angel that makes the main character look taller than the skyscrapers.

Finally, lights effects are different. Light is a very important element in a picture, and light in magazine picture differs from the one in Menzel's picture. Menzel opts for a natural day light, in the other hand magazine chooses an artificial light.
Methods that Menzel uses to present his picture are different from the ones used by magazine. Those differences are noticeable when we look deeper to emotions, picture's angle, and lights effects. Surely there is a difference between the two worlds, however some similarities exist such as the outdoor scene choice.