Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Gender Representation in Politics

     As of today, America has come a long way in how gender, race, and diversity are expressed in politics such as the congress and other state representatives. Although, we still see a large gap in the representation of women to men. Today we see 20 women, and 80 men on the US Senate. This is still an incredibly large gap for being in a country of "equality". Although it might be known that men do comprise of more of the population in the politics world; I feel as if it is necessary to keep in mind that certain bills may be voted on differently by the genders. 
     When it comes to critical topics of abortions and women's health. It is critical to make sure that the ones who are affected by the acts, are the ones voting on it. Having a perspective from a woman on directly related topics, bills, and other laws trying to pass would make the potential laws more suitable to society. And ensure that the laws are affecting the ones who relate to it in a positive manner. 
     Now in a senate where the women are only comprising 20% of the population, often makes it very hard to see the point of view from both genders equally. This topic is something we should be concerned about, because laws will struggle to see true justice when comprising of the misrepresentation of genders. This prevents the Unit4ed States from reaching full potential of enhancing the quality of life. In an odd sense, this misrepresentation of gender may seek to enhance the quality of life of males in the United States, more than females.
    
Overall it would be enlightening to see more equality in the voices that are speaking for our country. This would allow America to reach the equilibrium of genders.

Monday, October 30, 2017

12 Years a Slave


12 Years a Slave is about a New Yorker named Solomon, who was kidnapped and dragged all the way down to New Orleans and forced to work as a slave for a plantation. We follow Solomon through his journey and suffering. 
In this movie the actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, does an incredible job of showing passion through his character. His constant struggle and relentless attitude brings his character, Solomon, to live; as we follow his journey. His acting is brilliant through the torture of being drugged, shackled in a basement, and waking up a slave. This film brings in strong emotions as we see Solomon pleading, saying that he is a free man from New York with his family. We then watch as Solomon is beaten and beaten by his new owners.
I feel although some people who watch this movie cannot entirely relate to a black man becoming a slave. Most can relate to his normal citizen life in New York, and are able to picture the pain of being ripped away from your life and forced to live a life in cruelty.
Yet, we see relief when Solomon meets a Canadian carpenter who helps plan an escape for Solomon. This is when the movie takes a turn, and that we see there is some hope to the character we have been following and invested with the whole movie. This is the part where the audience will sit on the edge of their seats, awaiting to see an escape, if possible, for the main character; and potentially the other slaves.
Overall, 12 Years a Slave is an excellent film that appeals to emotion, and sympathy as we watch the character who grows on us be tortured, and skimmed away of his citizenship with a  blink of an eye. The acting enhances the movie even more, and I would highly recommend this movie to anyone.


Monday, October 16, 2017

Hidden Figures


         Defying Odds   

         Hidden Figures was a strong film about a black woman in the 60’s working for NASA, driving a mission to send the first man into space in the United States. The main character Katherine, is played extremely well. I felt the film to be incredibly moving and powerful. Throughout the film, it was easy to sit there and cringe at the disrespect that the “computers” got-(who were the black women working in distress). While the film had its moment of glory. For example, when Mr. Harrison started hitting down the “colored bathroom” sign. Then proceeding to claim there will no longer be any colored bathrooms at NASA. Another moment of glory was when the shuttle was in space, and Katherine helped confirm the coordinates and was shut out of the control room. As she started walking away, Mr. Harrison yelled for her to come back and therefore being a part of the mission.
              Overall, I felt the film well represented the frustration and struggle of living as a black woman during this time. It inspires me even more that it is based off a true story. And that these characters were real women who changed history, on an event that we didn’t even know about. My personal opinion drove me to feel frustrated, yet excited during this film. I felt the anger and joy for the suppressed women in this film just by watching their struggle. 
              It was wonderful seeing women who has changed history for African Americans and also the female community. These women changed history by driving the mission of sending our nations first man to the stars. Without these intelligent colored women, that barrier never would have been broken. Hidden Figures was an excellent film, that I would strongly recommend to anyone looking for an enjoyable and inspiring story to watch.

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

TedTalk

Defying Deaf

      In the Ted Talk video Deaf in the Military, Keith Nolan describes his journey of being rejected, fighting back, and now succeeding in the Military as a deaf man. He talks about how he was rejected and proceeded to complete his bachelors in Deaf Education, and eventually finding a way to join through ROTC program. Although he is not able to go to the next level of ROTC, because one of the requirements is a physical exam; which includes a hearing test. He has attempted to get the hearing test waved, but the rules state that if you are deaf you cannot join. Throughout the video, he talks about how deaf people are capable to serve many combat and non-combat roles in the Military. He puts up the argument why can't deaf people be accepted into the military?
      I believe Keith Nolan is defying all odds by being the first deaf man in his battalion to go through the ROTC program. Through trust through his commanders, Keith found himself succeeding in the program by slowly being accepted. It was very inspiring to hear his story of overcoming and being involved in something that is bigger than himself. Although, he can not enlist in the military, and is currently stuck at his state of a cadet. Even though he was provided with interpreters who are dedicated to him and the military. Keith makes some interesting viewpoints when he talks about how possible it is for disabled people to do certain jobs in the military. Keith hopes to change the rules in the military and I hope to see that happen. Not only is he a top cadet, but also works harder than anyone else, not letting his disability stop him. Being in the military myself, I would love to see people who are capable of overcoming their disabilities as my battle buddies. With someone like Keith serving our country, we would have a more advanced, and well diverse military. Bringing in strengths that we never thought could be possible.
       Overall, the military needs to consider a new approach when recruiting soldiers. We are at a time of conflict, and bringing in as many soldiers as possible is something that would enhance our power. So I believe it is time to stop looking at disabilities as disabling a person. Instead we need to look at those disabilities as a new approach.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Believing Game

Safety First

Equality does not always match up to physical capability. Men's hockey has become an

overwhelming and dangerous sport between the body checks, with an aggressive system. When it

comes to the issue on females not being able to body check, the answer is a simple biological

approach. Females do not have the natural strength that any male has; therefore, making it an

incredibly high risk factor when confronting a risky body slam against the boards. Women are

designed in a way where their hips are more fragile, and their muscles cannot handle the intense force

of a full on body slam. This does not make all women incapable of it, but it does include the vast

majority of female hockey players. Instead, women's hockey should continue to focus on systematic

plays to excel in the sport. Women's hockey has been consistent with surpassing men's hockey on

their capability to compete at a complex strategy level, versus the aggressive approach of the game of

hockey.