The picture of me seen above was taken last year at a friend’s birthday party. Instead of altering this image, I decided to crop my head out of the photo and use it to alter another photo.By placing my head on top of Vladimir Puten, I made it seem like I actually met President Bush. I thought it would be funny to have a picture like this because President Bush will always be remembered for all of his shortcomings as president. By having a picture of us together it seems as if I was a big Bush supporter, and I endorse a lot of the things he has done in the past. However, when you look at the photo closely, it becomes obvious that the image is false. I have no ties to President Bush nor have I ever been anywhere near the vicinity of the man. Notice how the different lighting on both of our faces gives away the fact that my head was digitally added on top. To alter the image further, I took the second image, made it black and white, placed it within the borders of a Polaroid, and made it seem like it was pinned to my bulletin board. By drawing less attention to the photo and making it harder to see, it becomes harder to tell if it’s fake. By adding on layers like I did in this example, it becomes apparent how someone very skilled could fabricate any image they want.
Fame, fortune, platinum records.
It's every boys dream.
True story.
Somebody asked me one time.
Travie, you high.
You look high.
****, yeah I'm high.
Let's go.
The world is yours, so play the role.
Blow the dust off this record and put the needle down slow.
Our veins are cold, but we'll never grow old.
Let's have a toast, and raise our drinks.
No hearts on our sleeves, just eagles on our cuff links.
It's such a rush to know you love me so much.
We'll do whatever you want to.
Girl I'll make a movie star of you.
You know that I could,
If you let me be your Hollywood.
We'll get high, and hide.
We all lust to the glamorous,
white girl so fine.
Going up on the downtown line.
We'll get high, and hide.
We all lust to the glamorous,
white girl so fine.
Going up on the downtown line.
Take your razor, break down my line.
Put your nose to the speaker.
Now breathe in, breathe in.
Clean up your nose, and face the crowd.
Then kiss your mirror cause we're all stars now.
Isn't it fun how music makes your lips numb?
We'll do whatever you want to.
Girl I'll make a movie star of you.
You know that I could,
If you let me be your Hollywood.
We'll get high, and hide.
We all lust to the glamorous,
white girl so fine.
Going up on the downtown line.
We'll get high, and hide.
We all lust to the glamorous,
white girl so fine.
Going up on the downtown line.
Take your razor, break down my line.
Put your nose to the speaker.
Now breathe in, breathe in.
We'll get high, and hide.
We all lust to the glamorous,
white girl so fine.
Going up on the downtown line.
We'll get high, and hide.
We all lust to the glamorous,
white girl so fine.
Going up on the downtown line.
Breathe in.
Breathe in.
Breathe in.
Breathe in
Gym Class Heroes is an American band from Geneva, New York that blends modern rock with hip hop. You may know them for their hit song "Cupid's Chokehold" which reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gym Class Heroes is not known for having deep metaphors in their songs, for example, the song "Cupid's Chokehold" has a very simplistic meaning and has no other deeper message. However, the song I’m going to be discussing, “Viva La White Girl,” is a song that actually makes great use of metaphors, even though they aren’t that hard to decipher. This song actually stirred up some controversy when it was released because of people who were unable to see the metaphors in the lyrics. On the surface level, the words are about fame, fortune and the drugs that always seem to follow. Many people were put off at such lines such as “Clean up your nose, and face the crowd. Then kiss the mirror cause were all-stars now.” At first glance it appears that the band is endorsing the usage of cocaine as a part of being music stars. However, the lead singer Travis McCoy cleverly uses cocaine as a metaphor for the music he feels flowing through his veins. The metaphor is very simple, but is used to make a meaningful, clever and catchy song. Surfing around the web, it is actually surprising how many people overlook the whole meaning of the song. There are hints everywhere such as: “Take your razor, break down my line. Put your nose to the speaker. Now breathe in, breathe in.” By saying “Put your nose to the speaker,” the metaphor for music becomes quite obvious. Additionally, in the chorus McCoy repeatedly references a “white girl so fine.” White is a common term that refers to cocaine, but in this song cocaine is a metaphor, so the glamorous white girl we are lost to is music. The chorus ends up meaning that sometimes music makes you successful and you get “high”, other times you fail and you “hide” from the public eye, but we still keep on making music regardless. Music is a mistress who you can’t turn your back on. There are many songs out there that make better, deeper usage of metaphors; however “Viva La White Girl” will always stand out to me because I find music very important to life. It has its ups and downs, but no matter what you can never truly lose hold of it. My favorite line from the song is, “Blow the dust off this record and put the needle down slow. Our veins our cold, but we’ll never grow old,” which means: even if music ceases to be a part of your life, you can always find a way to rediscover it.
In April 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick shook the scientific world with the double-helical model for the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. This image shows Watson (left) and Crick admiring their DNA model, which they built from tin and wire. Over the past 50 years, their model has evolved from a mere hypothesis to an icon of modern Biology. DNA, the substance of inheritance, is the most celebrated molecule of our time. The discovery of the structure of DNA is has enabled scientists to learn everything that we know today about genetics. Without this discovery, the fields of medicine, biotechnology, and many other areas would not be what they are now. Over the years, this image has transcended what it originally was: a simple photograph of the discovery of DNA structure; now it has grown to encompass much more.
Depending on your level of education, this picture may represent different things. To the uneducated, it may simply represent science. People have come to associate ball and stick molecule diagrams with science in general and thus recognize this picture as a photo of a big scientific discovery. To someone who went to school this might more specifically represent the fields of biology and genetics. DNA is one of the most important concepts you learn about when you learn biology in high school and it is very likely that this picture appeared in your textbook. This photo has become a metonym for genetics, the study of inheritance. When I look at this picture, instantly the concepts of Mendelian genetics, basic chromosomal inheritance, and basic molecular inheritance come to mind. The double helix sketch on the back wall in the picture is also incredibly iconic. Movies like “Spiderman” and “The Incredible Hulk” have used images of DNA in gene splicing sequences to show how their respective superheroes inherited their powers. Even though there is no real scientific basis to these sequences, because of pictures like the Watson and Crick photo, the audience instantly understands what the movie is trying to convey. As we continue to discover and learn more about the world we live in, the details of this discovery may eventually fade, however this image will certainly outlive the written word, and persist to represent science, discovery and learning.
Images can be a powerful tool for preserving memories. However when such images are mass produced and used as a representation of crucial events in history, a selective memory is formed where certain images and other information are deemed more important than others. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag claims, "All memory is individual, unreproducible-it dies with each person. What is called collective memory is not a remembering but a stipulating: that this is important, and this is the story and how it happened, with the pictures that lock the story in our minds" (86). What Sontag is saying, is that what we consider as collective memory or history is only a representation of what actually happened. The original memories, consisting of more than just images and words, are irreproducible feelings and thoughts that have been lost to the passage of time. What we are left with is a shallow retelling of a story. For example, think back to American history class. What comes to mind when you think of Washington crossing the Delaware? For most people, what immediately comes to mind is the famous image of Washington with his leg up on the bow of a small rowing boat crossing the river. For some people, the information from a textbook and "facts" about that event also come to mind. However, all of this history that has been passed down generation to generation is just a portrayal of what actually happened. As time passes and more history is accumulated, less and less of the information will be deemed important and our collective memory of American history will change.
Clint Eastwood's historical fiction, Letters from Iwo Jima, is another great example of Sontag's thought. The movie is a representation of the famous battle on the island of Iwo Jima from the Japanese perspective. It was pieced together from the writings and memoirs of people that were actually there. However, the movie can never be anywhere near a true story of what actually happened. Somewhere along the way someone had to sort through all the information and deem what was important and unimportant. Letters from Iwo Jima actually serves to dictate what our collective memory of the battle is. If aliens from a distant planet were to learn about our culture and history, our representation of "the other" in this movie would be a reality to them. After seeing the movie I have formed my own memories of what happened at Iwo Jima. As I live my life, interact with people, and talk about the movie, my memories of this film will affect how others remember the event and thus shape our collective memory.
There is no solution to collective memory, nor do I see it as a problem; it simply exists. As world ages certain events will be deemed important, and others will be forgotten. It doesn't mean that the forgotten events are not important in other ways, but there is only so much we can collectively remember. I feel it is best that certain things are lost to the passage of time; just as people die so do memories. By the time these memories finally die they are so distorted from their original form they are practically waiting for the plug to be pulled.
Argument: My profile picture shows that I am a “Good Jew” and regularly practice Judaism.
Claim 1: The picture shows that I enjoy going to Jewish events and recently went to one, however I actually haven’t done anything Jewish in over a year.
Support:
From first glance at this photo and the caption, one would infer that all three of the people in the picture are Jewish and are attending an event, possibly a recent holiday such as Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur. The caption, “pretending to be good Jews” implies that we don’t usually go to a lot of Jewish events, but we decided to go to this one because it was important. We are all smiling, have our arms around each other and appear to be having a great time. However, the truth of the picture is that my parents wanted us to go to services but none of us wanted to go. Instead of just not going, we went to Hillel on Rosh Hashanah and had the lobby receptionist take a picture of us, hence the caption “pretending to be good Jews.”
Claim 2: The picture implies that my friend on the right is Jewish even though he is actually Catholic
Support:
My friend Zach on the right is the only person in the picture wearing a Kippah, which is usually the tell-tale sign of a Jewish person. Ironically, he is the only person in the picture who is not Jewish. He simply just happened to be with us when we went to go take the picture. Even though you can’t tell, I am actually wearing a Kippah in the picture too, however because of the color of the Kippah and the angle of the photo, the Kippah isn’t visible.
So you’re probably wondering, “Why go through all this trouble for a stupid picture?” My answer is simple: “Lying is the most fun [you] can have without taking [your] clothes off” (Casanova, Facebook full of facades and lies). I wanted to make my mother happy that I went to services, so we thought of this funny idea and decided to go for it. The lie ended up turning the picture into a great story.
I chose to do this narrative the way I did to give the feeling of a long journey. As you read, there are pictures in the background that flow into each other to create a very linear feel to the story. Everything in the background directly relates to what is being said in the written text to help the reader visualize the whole adventure. I used actual pictures of the restaurant and food because they were available and most important to the story; however everything else was just images that could be related to the story. I used images such as the man traveling down the road to instill the feeling of hopelessness that I felt when we were lost. Then in contrast I used an image of a far off distant light to show the feeling of retribution we felt when we finally found our way. The pictures of the dog, the family, and the van are not the actual ones from my life, but they help the reader get a picture of the initial warm family setting that I was in before we get lost. I also used a comical picture of an angry man to show my frustration at the whole situation. Just saying I was angry doesn’t have the same emphasis that the picture adds.
The second narrative reads completely different than the first one. From only the images you can barely guess at the order of events that happened. You would probably only be able to infer that I went on a trip, got in a car crash, and wound up at Shorty’s. However, once you add the written text and arrange the pictures behind it, it paints a much more detailed account of the events.
