When the levees broke

When the levees broke was an impressive piece of film. It reminded me of a good documentary with the only difference being there were so many people documenting their experience. It was like a hundred documentaries in one. I learned alot about the victims of Hurricane Katrina and i also learned alot about the US government. I also learned that George Bush doesnt care about black people, and that George Bush's mom, the former first lady, is not very smart. I agree with many of the victims of the hurricanes that The US Government didnt do what they should have done for these people in times of need.

What it Means to be a refugee?

Dictionary.com defines the term refugee as aomeone who flees for safety to a foreign country. For instance, the holocaust survivors were refugees if they escaped the war and cam to America. Citizens of New Orleans were NOT refugees. The media, in my opinion, is stupid for broadcasting news shows that refer to the citizens of New Orleans as refugees. That is a very degrading statement. It is indirectly saying that the residents of New Orleans who fled from the Hurricane were so poor that they werent even American. I agree with everyone of the citizens who were mad because of the fact that they were referred to as refugees. I completely think George Bush is also an idiot because he also referred to all those people as refugees. The citizens of New Orleans had every right to be angry with the comparison of them to refugees.

Reading blog posting

Sam Margulies
7/14/08
Eng 1101
The Texture of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis
The article talks about Marjane’s experiences growing up in the Islamic revolution. The article, written by Hillary Chute, was actually an overview of the Book Persepolis which was written by Marjane Satrapi. In the opening of the article, Hillary talks about the protagonists of the story being a child. This child is Marjane. She brings up the conflict of women in Iran being forced to wear veils over their head. It also talks about Marjane’s uncle, Anoosh, who was a Marxist. He was allowed one visitor before his execution and he requested to see Marjane. During his last conversation with Marjane, he tells her to never forget. That seems to be the main point of her entire book, because her message was that she never did forget. In the book she shows us the visual and discursive processes of “never forgetting”. She also shows us the historical traditions of Avant-garde by having all of the comics in the book presented in black and white. The book shows us that women where and still are harassed and tortured by male chauvinists through graphic comics throughout. By reading this book, I have gained more knowledge about how women are treated in many Middle-Eastern countries. And I will never ever forget. Just like Marjane.

Memoir Question

Hearing about the stories of some survivors of Hurricane Katrina has helped me alot with writing my own memoir. Its like ive heard examples of other peoples memoirs. It has showed me how to tell my own story. Instead of reciting the events that happened that day, I now use examples to tell what happened that day. Instead of telling a memory, I am now telling a story.

7/2 Readings

For the 7/2 readings, I read about a World War 2 veteran who wrote memoirs while he was on duty in the South Pacific, A girl who comes home and finds out that her sister who is only 17 years old is pregnant, and a story about the Beatles appointment with a record producer, told from the perspective of John Lennon. The last two readings were wrote by students from FSU. The World War 2 veteran was surprised that the stories that he wrote, which involved no research or hard work at all (just writings about what happened to him each day) could be published and become popular reading materials. The story about the pregnant girl I found intriguing because it was told from the perspective of her sister and how hard she had to work, even though she was the "good girl" in the family. And i liked the last one especially because it didn’t really explain that it was the Beatles because it was told in first person. The first person was John Lennon and I didn’t realize until half way through the story that the story was about the Beatles. It recapped the events up to the tragic death of John Lennon.

6/30 Readings-Reaction, Summary and Questions

In the reading "Is writing a memoir therapuetic?", I learned that writing memoirs can indeed be therapuetic. They say that writing allows us to "reach inside our minds for words to help us make sense of life." Many people find this activity a good excercise for our brain. I must say that i don't completely agree with the statement that writing can be therapeutic. Although I would agree that using your imagination in other ways besides just writing can be therapuetic. Now when I say that, it is completely my personal preference. Everyone likes different things and has different opinions. Some people enjoy making up stories rather than writing memoirs. Some people like story telling to let there enthusiasm and imagination go wild. Others like Antoinette and Iriel Franklin prefer talking about past memories to gain support and get that "Therapuetic Feeling". In the NPR listening link Antoinette and Iriel talk about there memories and experiences in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina rather than writing them down in a journal or something. In my opinion, this sort of action is more therapuetic than writing your memories because when writing you are sort of isolated from the rest of the world and its just you, the paper, and your pen. While talking with others about your experiences and memories, you not only can reach into your imagination for some brain activity, but also, you can gain support from the people you are talking with. But, we must remember everyone is different and some people prefer to be by themselves to get that "therapuetic sensation."

I would, however, like to know how long after Hurricane Katrina did the interview between Antoinette and her niece take place.

I also would like to know if Jerry Waxler, when he is done writing in his journal, just closes the book and never reads the journals or does he read his journals for more Therapuetic pleasure?

Also does Jerry ever talk to anybody about any of his journal writings and memoirs, or is confidential?