Category: English Language & Literature-IB

This photo of Muhammad Ali taken by Gordon Parks in 1966; it depicts the physical impact of boxing on fighters. Muhammad Ali won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston at age 22 in 1964. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was considered to be “the greatest boxer of all time”. In this photo, we can see that his knuckles are bruised and painful. At an age of 24, he was already suffering. It is “a fact that his trainer, Angelo Dundee, tried to hide from opponents and the public.” This stark close-up of Ali’s raw and calloused knuckles, clenched into fists, emphasizes the physical brutality of the sport, even for an athlete as seemingly invincible as the young Ali.

We often see Muhammad Ali untouched by his opponents while knocking them out. However, we are often not able to see the training and hardship when Ali is outside of the boxing ring. This photo does not show his face, as everyone knows he is a good-looking athlete. Instead, it focuses on his damaged knuckles as a result of endless training and work. This image could also be symbolising the hardship of black people during the time. Broadcaster Bryant Gumbel told Ali biographer Thomas Hauser, “One of the reasons the civil rights movement went forward was that black people were able to overcome their fear. And I honestly believe that, for many black Americans, that came from watching Muhammad Ali. He simply refused to be afraid. And being that way, he gave other people courage.” He represents truth, courage, and strength. He is a legend, a symbol, a force, indomitable and inimitable, he was considered “the greatest cultural icon that sports have ever produced.”

This is a photograph taken by Gordon Parks in 1956. Gordon Parks has taken many fashion photographs and this is one of them taken in New York.

 

(Evening Wraps, New York, 1956)

This is a very romantic image, a couple cuddling on an empty street in New York. The slight fog and light blue sky create a very comfortable and romantic atmosphere and environment. The position of the couple in the image and the vast, empty background with buildings and roads grabs the attention of the audience.

I’d love to know the whole story – where they were the night before and whether they wound up together afterwards.

There are some questions that are worthy to discuss:

1. Do you feel Parks’ race is a factor in his fashion photography?

I agree that Parks’ race is a factor in his fashion photography. By looking at the fashion photographs Parks has taken, we can merely see any black models. The majority of the models are white. In the 20th century, society is generally more accepting of white people than black. Thus, being an African-American himself, I believe Parks’ race is a factor in fashion photography as his photographs might be treated differently by the audience who were mostly white.

2. Is Stockett’s race a factor in her writing?

After reading some articles regarding the public’s criticism of Stockett’s “The Help”. I believe that Stockett’s race does have a factor in her writing. Although she might not be biased towards anyone, nor any race. Her identity as a white woman makes the readers harder to believe that she can understand black lives.

Which do you think is more powerful: Kathryn Stockett’s novel or Gordon Parks’ photographs?

(Left: The Help by Kathryn Stockett, 2009, Right, American Gothic by Gordon Parks, 1942)

I believe that the extent to which text is more powerful depends on various factors due to the differences in nature between these text types.

Photographs and paintings are more effective in conveying the message across to the audience. It’s because we don’t need to know the historical background of the image or the identity of the photographer to be able to interpret the image. Sometimes we will tend to forget the details of photographs but the main message will often get across.

Books often depict the details a lot more. Which means that even after a long time, the message will still get across and be remembered by the readers. Unlike photographs which we tend to forget their details after some time. It takes more time for the audience to fully understand books (reading takes more time) compared to photographs.

Furthermore, photographs can convey their message more effectively in a short period of time. Famous photographs can even be remembered for generations. Whereas books, in general, will not be forgotten, although readers need to take time to understand and interpret the message the author is trying to convey.

To what extent can you tell someone else’s story? Is “The Help” uniquely American?

“Ablene Cooper, a nanny for the Stockett family that allegedly inspired Davis’ character, called her in the portrayal in the novel “embarrassing” and “emotionally upsetting.” Cooper filed a $75,000 lawsuit against the author in 2011, but it was ultimately dismissed by a Mississippi judge.” (USA Today, https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2020/06/08/the-help-isnt-helpful-resource-racism-heres-why/5322569002/) In “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett, Stockett used her own maid Ablene as the character prototype for Aibileen in “The Help”. I believe that one needs to acknowledge others if he/she is telling others’ story. It’s because the knowledge ultimately belongs to other people, as the writer does not own the knowledge. As long as others acknowledge the fact that their story will be used in books/movies, it is then less problematic for the creator, and more reassuring for those people whose stories are used elsewhere.

Is “The Help” uniquely American? One can argue that it is because it used elements specific to the American society such as the mentioning of Martin Luther King during the American Civil Rights Movement, the television series “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”, and Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. Those elements belong specifically to American society and can create a connection to American readers. However, “The Help” is not uniquely American because the issue of racism exists everywhere in the world. By writing this book, Stockett is able to make readers more aware that this issue is serious and is impacting many people’s lives by putting the readers into the perspective of black maid’s lives. Thus, one can argue if  “The Help” is uniquely American, while it is unique when considering literary symbolism and events, it is not when we think of the bigger issue of racism which the book depicts.

Who is the primary audience, what are the cultural values the ad assumes we share, how does the ad work to create a specific effect —besides “to sell things”?

This is an advertisement made by Alcoa Aluminium in 1953, promoting their HyTop twist-off bottle cap.

The primary audience of this audience is targeted towards women. It is viewed as a social stereotype during the 1950s. When women are “dependent” on their husbands to do things they “can’t do”, such as opening a ketchup bottle, they “have to ask someone to open it for them”. The New York Daily News stated that the woman in the advertisement is “clearly stunned and possibly delighted” at being able to open the bottle easily. The Independent claimed that it enforced the stereotype of a woman as an unintelligent housewife.

The first sentence of the article it accompanied stated, “Easily—without a knife blade, a bottle opener, or even a husband!” Which enforced the stereotype even further that women often need external help and that they are unable to do things themselves. Although some women during that time period are protesting against gender discrimination. Many internally accepted the fact that they need men’s help for many things, and that they are “dependent”.

The advertisement uses contrasting colour such as yellow and red to attract readers’ attention to the woman and the bottle. The colour of the lips of the woman is similar to the bottle. Which could establish the connection between women and cooking, “women are here to cook and to cook only” was a common stereotype during that time. Lipstick is also one of the female stereotypes. This advertisement not only spreads that stereotype but also reinforces it to the audience.

The advertisement has been subject to criticism in later reviews and is viewed as a symbol of casual sexism that was prevalent in the United States during the 1950s.

Little Red-Cap Carol Ann Duffy 1999

Using the concepts of intertextuality, reader-response theory, and an appreciation of biographical and historical context, how can one be confident in their interpretation of Carol Ann Duffy poem?”

Original Poem:

At childhood’s end, the houses petered out
Into playing fields, the factory, allotments
Kept, like mistresses, by kneeling married men
The silent railway line, the hermit’s caravan
Till you came at last to the edge of the woods
It was there that I first clapped eyes on the wolf

He stood in a clearing, reading his verse out loud
In his wolfy drawl, a paperback in his hairy paw
Red wine staining his bearded jaw. What big ears
He had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!
In the interval, I made quite sure he spotted me
Sweet sixteen, never been, babe, waif, and bought me a drink

My first. You might ask why. Here’s why. Poetry
The wolf, I knew, would lead me deep into the woods
Away from home, to a dark tangled thorny place
Lit by the eyes of owls. I crawled in his wake
My stockings ripped to shreds, scraps of red from my blazer
Snagged on twig and branch, murder clues. I lost both shoes

But got there, wolf’s lair, better beware. Lesson one that night
Breath of the wolf in my ear was the love poem
I clung till dawn to his thrashing fur, for
What little girl doesn’t dearly love a wolf? 1
Then I slid from between his heavy matted paws
And went in search of a living bird – white dove –
Which flew, straight, from my hands to his open mouth
One bite, dead. How nice, breakfast in bed, he said
Licking his chops. As soon as he slept, I crept to the back
Of the lair, where a whole wall was crimson, gold, aglow with books
Words, words were truly alive on the tongue, in the head
Warm, beating, frantic, winged; music and blood

But then I was young – and it took ten years
In the woods to tell that a mushroom
Stoppers the mouth of a buried corpse, that birds
Are the uttered thought of trees, that a greying wolf
Howls the same old song at the moon, year in, year out
Season after season, same rhyme, same reason. I took an axe

To a willow to see how it wept. I took an axe to a salmon
To see how it leapt. I took an axe to the wolf
As he slept, one chop, scrotum to the throat, and saw
The glistening, virgin white of my grandmother’s bones
I filled his old belly with stones. I stitched him up
Out of the forest, I come with my flowers, singing, all alone.

Interpretation:

Areas to be discussed: Intertextuality, contextuality, the text itself

Intertextuality: This poem has connections to the story Little Red Riding Hood. Aspects such as the wolf, the mentioning of the “grandmother”, the title, and lines such as “What big ears he had! What big eyes he had! What teeth!..” are very similar to what is written in Little Red Riding Hood. There is intertextuality between Little Red-Cap and Little Red Riding Hood. It’s because the stories both have the girl, the wolf, and the interaction between both. At least, when I read this poem the first time, I thought of Little Red Riding Hood. This intertextuality adds a nice touch to the poem. As readers will automatically think of the story of Little Red Riding Hood and compare between the two. I believe this is the intention of the poet. The comparison between the poem and the story will allude to points and arguments the poet tries to convey which I write below in “Contextuality”.

Contextuality: Zooming out to the global scale, this poem corresponds to the feminist movements during the period the poet has lived. This whole poem could be a symbolisation of the second-wave feminism of the 1960s-1980s focused on issues of equality and discrimination/the third-wave feminism movement began the early 1990s. The first few stanzas could be the acknowledgement of the fact that in history, women are the people who are being taken advantages of. And the following stanzas could be telling the readers that women are rising up/need to rise up just like the protagonist in the poem. I find this quite interesting because, in the original story of Little Red Riding Hood, the girl is “saved” by a woodsman. However, in Little Red-Cap, the narrator saved herself. Here, the poet might be alluding to the argument that women do not have to be saved, as well as declaring the independence of women.

The text itself: There is a lot of rhyme between the lines. For example, in lines 8-9, “…in his wolfy drawl, a paperback in his hairy paw, red wine staining his breaded jaw.” create a rhyme. Here, the girl is describing the appearances of the wolf. By using these rhyme structures and descriptions, the poet creates an imagery of the wolf in the readers’ minds. The constant creations of imageries convey the author’s ideas within the poem very well. The poet has also used symbolism such as the white dove – symbolising peace & hope – which “flew, straight, from my hands to his open mouth.” This could mean that fairness between male and female is not achieved, often the idea is just being abused by a male. Which leads to the central claim of the poem, which is to convey the idea of justice and feminism to the readers and society.

Poems are written not to be understood but to be interpreted. One can be confident in their interpretation of any poems as long as they have evidence for why they made those interpretations.

What is love for you? – PABLO, GUARDAMA DEL SEGURA, SPAIN

 

If you feel that he is beside you… and within you, why would you need to look for him? (This is not a challenge, there is no aggression in this question; I simply want you to think about it and elucidate).

In Nick Cave’s response to this question. He mentioned that love is when a person says: “I see you. I recognise you. You are human, as am I.” In his view, love does not have to be complex. In fact, he believes only simplicity can spike love. Love is “to acknowledge with compassion our mutual human capacity for all things, both good and evil.” He acknowledges that all humans have flaws, and love is complex. However, love is not about disliking flaws. Thus, he believes the purest quality of love comes out of the simplest intentions.

I feel the same with Nick Cave. I acknowledge the fact that love is complex. Love is a mix of emotions, behaviours, and beliefs associated with strong feelings of affection, protectiveness, warmth, and respect for another person. It is the complexity and simplicity of love that makes this concept special and unique. While one can argue that without complexity, love can easily collapse. Nevertheless, it is love’s simplicity that brings two people together ultimately.

Love can be on different levels, the love for our parents are not necessarily the same as the love we have to our friends. We might say that we love our parents more than our friends. Nonetheless, they are different things. On the other hand, there is spiritual love and physical love. Physical love needs an object to love. In spiritual love, the feeling comes from inside. In physical love, you are attracted towards a human, you need a base for that attraction, it can be face, character, fame… In spiritual love, it is only possible with spiritual connections. When we reach that level, we feel a sense of belonging.