Ted Talks - Mckenna Pope: Want to be an Activist? Start with your Toys

I watched Makenna Pope speak about Easy-Bake Oven’s. The first thing she did was acknowledged what her speculators would use against her, her age. Her audience was mostly children, more able to relate to a fourteen-year-old girl. Pope connected how changing something as simple as the colors a company makes a toy can affect a generation’s thought on gender association and gender roles in our society. She connected this on a personal level with a story of how her little brother wanted to cook but was growing less confident because of the gender specific marketing done by Hasbro (the Easy-Bake Oven makers.) She also kept her body language open and flowing, never seeming stiff or uncomfortable, ultimately projecting confidence. This sense of certainty was projected through every part of Pope’s speech, from changing her pitch to using her arms and her even pacing (although a little fast for me.) Speaking about the challenges she faced, like rude comments and attacks on her activism, as well as how they affected her, gave her credibility toward her cause, and made Pope look like less of a child in my eyes. The one thing I found that was ineffective in her speech was how she presented her examples, by reading off a little piece of paper that was tucked into her belt. While she dressed in a professional but approachable manner, I found this method of sharing the verbal attacks on her impersonal. It seemed that if these comments hurt, she should know what they said or be able to memorize them without the distraction of having to pull it out and read off a scrap of paper. Overall, Makenna Pope was effective in connecting her speech to her audience and explaining how her activism played a larger role in change in our society.

http://www.ted.com/talks/mckenna_pope_want_to_be_an_activist_start_with_your_toys.html

"Detroit vs. Everybody"

As I began to read “Detroit vs. Everybody” I felt so unaware of the challenges the city faced. As Rembert Browne continued his tale and showed pictures of the overturned cars and busses, my own feeling of ignorance shocked me. Obviously, the devastating upheaval was not real in Detroit, but in many cases it is. There is a bubble of judgments that are associated with certain places, Detroit being one of them. These conclusions are not a result of any evidence or fact but misconceptions that are associated with a place or time because it’s what we once heard.

         I could relate because of my own experience this past summer visiting Paris. Everyone warned about being pick-pocketed and the lingering gypsies that stay by most of the tourist attractions. I never once thought to look anything up; rather I simply followed everyone’s advice and paranoia. I was so caught up in watching my bags, I believe I missed out on some of the essence of Paris. Furthermore, I was surprised that there was more than The Louvre Museum and the Eiffel Tower. These landmarks that Paris is so well known for are similar to the car industry and poverty that Detroit is associated with. The point being there is more than meets the eye, however our predispositions sometimes cloud even the truth.

         Detroit has no black and white, but as human beings we feel better if we can put things in categories, and the longer they have a label the harder it is for us to change our thoughts on the subject. Browne depicted how even his attempt at being open-minded was soon murky with judgments surrounding Detroit, and this is normal. The only solution is to wipe away the grime we associate with it and give Detroit a new name. Through media and other forms of awareness we control how a younger generation will think of Detroit, and every place with a bad reputation for that matter.

Before I began reading the article “My Bodies of the Year,” I thought it would be a piece criticizing the rich and famous for what they put their bodies through. I was surprised when Wesley Morris began telling a story of ill health and pain. He continued his path of unexpected thoughts when he didn’t detail the whole story, but rather used it as an anecdote to prove a point. Morris wasn’t bitter about the life that these people had, while his mother lay so sick. He simply noted the differences in our bodies and how our culture responds to them. This was confusing to me at first. I couldn’t tell if he was passively writing off the “Hollywood body,” or praising its beauty. It seemed it was the drastic change that our bodies can handle was what Morris thought was the true beauty.

I felt differently about the extremes that Matthew McConaughey put his body through. The human body is not designed to handle such variations; while his role (and ultimately his body) gave him the conviction to be his character, I don’t find beauty in what he did. McConaughey’s confidence is commendable, however his actions are not. From a very young age the media shapes what we should see as beautiful, placing shiny magazines with bright colors all around (not to mention the stick thin models.) The same can be said for females in the industry, however exposed skin I think has a different meaning. There is vulnerability to it. Katy Perry speaks of the increase nudity and “everyone’s so naked,” but I don’t just see the physical parts of the body, rather why they are dressed that way. Granted, there are some who just want the shock factor, but I think there is something very genuine in the style now, especially when it comes to bare skin. This isn’t to say that only wearing heels in a music video is what I’m describing, but then again that’s not what you see when you walk down the street.

Whether we like it or not, the body is vital to our culture. From the curves it possesses to the posture we hold, every detail speaks about us as an individual. Morris is captivated by the changes our bodies go through, and how those little differences affected us as a person and how we are interpreted. Our ability to survive near starvation, to cancer, to even obesity, illustrates the great variance our body can withstand. All in all, how we carry ourselves, to how fit we are creates a roadmap of our passions, morals, and abilities all because of our bodies.