media portfolio #4

This image represents what Harris was refering to when he explained where we get our skin colors from.In this article Harris explains the reason's behind our skin color. He says that we get our color from particles called melanin. Now with melanin "it protects the upper levels of the skin from being damaged by the sun's ultraviolet rays"(harris 7). Harris says that we as humans dont have the right of hair that most mammals have to act as sunscreen. Not having all the hair we need exposes us to lots of bad radiation hazards. The more melanin found in the body the darker the skin is and the lower the chances are for cancer and sunburn. Harris describes the process in this manner. First the sun falls on the skin and it turns into vitamin D. Our blood carries that to the intestines and it then plays a big role in the absorption of calcium. Calcium is very important for a strong body and strong bones. Different foods can give vitamin D and help with the skin. Now at different latitudes particularly the middle one the skin changes colors with the seasons. The temperature in some areas can dictate how the skin will appear. He basically states that Black as well as White is beautiful for multiple reasons. There are many factors that contribute to the pigmentation of the skin. In this picture are different women that come from seperate of the world. The black woman is from down south where the sun is out a little more than where the white woman are from. With the mexican woman she is also out in the sun more than the other white woman are. Due to the increased exposure to the sun their skin has more of a tan to it than the other woman in the picture.

I do agree with Harris on this particular article he wrote. When you live in certain parts of the world your skin is going to reflect that. When I have seen people from places like Africa, Jamaica, Alabama, Mississippi, etc. their skin is alot darker than someone from Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, etc. Their are a select few from each of these places that have the opposite happen to them and their skin but for the most part skin color reflects where you come from.

media portfolio #3

This is a demonstration of the kind of things Johnson talks about in chapter 6.In this chapter Johnson starts off by explaining that inorder for us to do something about power and priviledge we would have to talk about it and that's to risky even for those who actually have priviledge. He says that we live in a world that allows us to think that the social world begins and ends with individuals. It's like it's a collection of people and everthing that happens begins with what those people think, and feel. He explains that everything bad in the world is seen as someone's fault, that's why talking about priviledge steps on so many people's toes. We think in an individualistic way. Priviledge has nothing to do with the individual it has to do with the society. Johnson says in order to the "paralysis" we have to realize that the individualistic way is wrong and that the social world has alot more to deal with than just individuals. He says that social life happens only when people participate in social systems. The only way to understand it is to understand the relation between people and social systems. We develope a sense of personal identities and through those we see how they position us in relation to other people and in terms of inequality of power. The main goal is to encourage dominant groups to feel like they have entitlement in relation to the subordinate groups. Although people know they have other options they stick to certain things because they are afraid to try something new. Johnson says that we have to pay attention to the relationship between humans and the social life. People change from one social situation to the next. It's not enough to look at the person's thoughts, and feelings, intentions, and personalities for the very reason that people act different in different social situations. Most people participate in social systems and think they aren't apart of the consequences. As long as we all participate in the social systems we are all apart of the consequences good or bad. We can choose though how we are involved. We can choose to be part of the problem or we can choose to be part of the solution. He tells us how power and priviledge are two things that no one likes to talk about. It scares those who are in the positions because it's not something that is discussed that often. The one's who are lucky enough to be classified in these catagories don't think anything needs to be changed because they don't want to ruin their chances at staying in their positions. They look at those who aren't priviledged or don't have power as if they are less than them. It's almost in a way of them being outsiders. This picture is exatly like chapter 6. Tourists are taking pictures of the local people in the town as if they are savages or outsiders. If you really look at it the tourists are the one's who are priviledged or in power. They look down on the tourists that kind of shows pitty. Even though they may feel that way I'm pretty sure they won't do anything to help improve the conditions that they saw the local town people living in all because they don't want to mess up what they have.

media portfolio #2

This image reminds me of the discussion we had in class about the post card hangings. Seeing things like this make me rethink the "goodness" of our country. In class like we discussed these lynchings or hangings as some people call them were considered to be like a national holiday. Families would gather around to witness the punishment of an unsuspecting black person. Although slavery had ended years before there was still no equality for black people. I wanted to include a picture like this because it brought back the same feelings I had when I saw similar images in class. The feelings of hatred, anger, disappointment, sadness, etc. I feel bad for the people who took part in this because they are ignorant to the fact that we should be treated equal. This is a reminder to me of the kind of world we really live in.

media portfolio #1

This particular picture reminds me of Johnson chapter 3. In this passage Johnson's main point was that Capitalism is the main cause of racism.
He explains that the main goal of Capitalism and Capitalists is to turn money into more money. Capitalists buy everything needed to produce services and goods all to make more and more money. He says that Capitalists hire workers and pay them in exchange for their work. Because capitalists don't actually produce anything themselves in order to make a living they charge more for the product than they pay the workers so they can come out on top. Johnson basically explains that the workers really have no other choice than to work for less than the amount they produce. The factories and places they are working are owned by capitalists so either way it goes they would be working for one capitalist or another. They can work for the capitalists or not work at all. Capitalists are always trying to find ways for workers to produce more goods for less or the same price so they can again make more money. This is why now more and more technology is being used. Capitalism produces high levels of inequality for the households in America. He says this is happening because of the class system that focuses on gaps in the income and the power between the households on top and the households on the bottom. Johnson let us know that after the Civil War and blacks were free they were still held in bondage in a new way that kept them in debt. Even the Chinese were in bondage building the railroads in extremely harsh conditions. Capitalists went so far as to go to Africa, Asia, and the Americas to get workers that would work for cheap labor. To justify this, whites came up with an idea of "whiteness" that defined thier priviledge and how it elevated over all that wasnt included in it. Capitalists have not only used low wages to control black employee's but white employee's also. They also create the scenario that controls a worker that if they try to request higher wages they will lose their jobs and they need those jobs. Capitalism also makes use of gender inequality. For example they use the fact that in the past people have devalued women and that gives them an excuse to pay them less. Johnson says that capitalism is a great example as to why people can belong to a priviledged category and not feel priviledged. He says that the complexity of the matrix of priviledge shows that work for change needs to focus on us and how we think of ourselves in relation to inequalities of power. Basically the more money the better no matter how it affects the people doing all the work to make it happen.

This a picture that pretty much shows exactly what Johnson was talking about. The workers are in a less than flattering work area doing what they are required to do. It's a great illustration of the situations that Johnson discussed.