Author: jc8017

The danger of a single story is a relevant topic today and the future. The irony is that while today we have the internet and an abundance of information in our finger tips, the fact that people still stick to the single story is astonishing. This issue stems from information that is presented to us on the internet. Certain narratives can be constructed in such a way that influences the way we perceive a certain subject. In today’s age, the net and other news outlets often construct the same single story for every subject. For the viewer, this single narrative is easy to accept it because it has been heard before. Many of these news outlets know this and spoon feed the viewers what they want to hear. Being able to look at a subject in a different light is difficult. However, as society progress into the 21^st century, we must understand the narratives presented to us. We must understand that we can’t always accept the information given to us. We have to process it, learn of more stories of the same subject, and always inquire about the truthfulness of such information.

            Adichie presents an interesting case of why she wanted to become a writer. Partly, she wanted to create stories for her home country rather than have single narrative that Africans are all starving. This is her way of fighting the single story. In her TED talk, she not only lectures her audience of the danger of the single story but also provokes people to tell their own stories as a way prevent the single-story problem. Everyone should tell their own story, to provide different perspectives in order to create multi-story narrative.  

Initially, our idea was to create a collage of sounds of Shanghai. However, as we began to record sounds for that idea, we impulsively recorded simple sounds that did not relate to our topic at all. It was that we had this idea that we could take these simple sounds and piece them together to create a composition. Then, we had the idea of creating a sound board. This idea is challenging at first because we didn’t know how to piece the sounds we collected. We ended up using javascript to create a repetitive beat to piece together the sounds. Our website will include a board where a variable beat will be played every second. The user will be able to put certain beats on certain tiles in order to create a unique composition.

            The sounds that we collected all originated from hitting simple objects from around the AB. For example, we used a simple clap and snap in our composition. Additionally, we took the sound of opening the trash can in the 8^th AB as a simple sound. Once we collected those sounds, we went on Audacity and manipulated it by taking certain sections of those sounds. The outcome is a beat that can be used on the sound bard. Nan manipulated most of the sounds while I helped record the sounds

            The coding was the most challenging portion of our project. We had to code a system where the sound will played in a rhythmic pattern. The design we proposed is a beat will be played every second. The user can change it so that up 10 beats can be played every second. Within those beats, the user can select those simple sounds to implement in their composition. The outcome of such sounds can very rhythmic and catchy.

Cultural appropriation has been a problem for many artists. While it is notable that these artists are trying to incorporate different cultures or styles in their own works of art, others may feel this incorporation as a blatant insult on certain cultures. The claim that a certain act or incorporation of a culture other than your own is considered cultural appropriation is a grey area. By formal definition, cultural appropriation is simply a dominate cultural group borrowing or using elements from a minority cultural group. The implications of the borrowing are very clear. This borrowing is portrayed as mockery or insult towards the minority culture. Usually, this dilutes the original culture as the dominate culture tries to take certain elements of the minority culture.

            Culture appropriation is similar to the debate of ownership of intellectual property. A person can own a certain intellectual property. Likewise, a group of people can own a cultural identity. When another cultural group, usually a dominate one, comes and borrows or use elements of another minority group, it is perceived as stealing one’s identity. For many, this mindset is one of the reasons why people are against cultural appropriation. The idea that certain cultural elements belong to certain groups is natural. Just like how intellectual property belongs a to one person, culture belongs to a certain group.

Copyright can be a delicate subject in today’s society. The proliferation of the internet has enabled many content creators to use content from other artists. While some this infringes on copyright laws, Lethem argues the opposite. While not explicitly stated, he takes a stance to resists the copyright laws set in America.

He first starts out his essay with examples of how notable works in the past have been influenced by other works of literature. This implies that no idea stems from one self but rather an influence of other people’s work. The implication of this idea is that no idea is completely original. Artists must be influenced by others in order to progress or create new pieces of work. Picasso once said that “Good artists borrow, great artists steal”. If this notion of influence is true, then no one truly owns their content. Lethem in fact alludes to this by mentioning how Walt Disney’s content stems from The Brothers Grim. Yet, the irony is that the company aggressively pushed for copyright on their content as if they owned it. The ownership of the content has been used simply for-profit reasons. While the idea in this essay isn’t new, it does remind people of the controversy of the copyright laws in America.

For both podcasts, the use of music sets the tone and mood of the story. The soundtrack provides a relaxing mood for both shows. This effect allows the audience to be completely comfortable with the show’s topic. While music was only played in the intro of the podcast, it is important to get the audience immersed in the podcast.

            Another interesting aspect is the interchange the between the narrator and the actual people talking to the narrator. In the Serial Episode 1, the narrator was doing a investigation of the death of a 17 year old high school girl. Her ex-boyfriend was charged guilty of her death and was sentenced to a very long time. The narrator goes around asking other people about the situation of her death and the important people that are central to this story. While she does collect audio samples of the people related to the ex-boyfriend, she sometimes interludes and provides guidance of the samples. For example, when she interviewed several of the boyfriend’s friends, it turns out that they changed their story multiple times before being convinced of a single narrative. In this instance, she provides the narration of when they contradict themselves. Thus, this narration is important as it a guide for the audience to know the situation of the plot.

            The nuances in voice of the audio are very important. Since these podcasts only feature people’s voices, it is difficult to determine what type of attitude or mood they are in. The only factor is the tone of the voice itself. Homecoming is a thriller that only has speech as their medium of communication. To generate a immersive feeling, the voice of each of the actors must be exaggerated to communicate their emotions. This aspect is important allows the audience to know how the actors are feeling.