#24 Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography

Research Proposal:

Relationships are a part of belonging in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and technology has given easier access for people to connect and participate in non-demanding, online relationships. As a society, the perception of our peers has led to a desensitization of the topic of sex and the idea of promiscuity. Research has proven that adolescent use of technology has led to an increase in sexual behaviors, in everything from the easy access to pornography to the influence of images over social media.  When students are exposed to raunchy images of peers, they are more likely to admit to their own promiscuity In The Influence of Social Networking Photos on Social Norms and Sexual Health Risks, Sean Young explains the images have an a “potential power… to affect health behaviors by altering perceptions of peer norms” . According to The Influence of Technology on Sexual Content in Mass Media in the United States, China, and India, a culture barrier also influences the ideas about the distribution of porn. For example, the United States has almost no limitations when it comes to distribution; while Chinese and Indian governments have made a large attempt to control the media distributed over the internet. In terms of relationships, technology can be seen as having both a positive and negative effects. When the couple is apart, they report that technology is beneficial for communication. However, The Impact of Technology on Couple Relationships states that “The Internet has the potential to blur the boundaries between online social relationships and face-to-face relationships” which can reduce the significance of personal relationships. It is also reported that when significant others are together, it is reported that technology can actually be damaging to a relationship through a lack of interpersonal relationships. The idea of online relationships can directly influence a person’s concept of self and their idea of courtship and intimacy. As it relates to Brave New World, technology has eliminated the need to procreate, and therefore the need for marriage. The wide access to technology to be used for pleasure, such as the feelies, has also increased the sexuality of the society. The World State uses sex as a way to create stability in the society, with the Elementary Sex classes and the Solidarity Service. This concept comes as a huge struggle for John, who still dreams about the ideas of love and marriage that he saw others feeling on the Savage Reservation. His feelings for Lenina cannot be reciprocated due to her hypnopaedic conditioning and the notion that “everyone belongs to everyone else”. The use of media to change perspectives on relationships and sex is becoming more prevalent in today’s society, but also in the World State.

How has technology led to a decrease in monogamous relationships as it relates to sex?

How has technology changed societies view on sex?

Annotated Bibliography:

Adeyemi, Adeyeye. "Influence Of Globalisation On Sexual Behaviours Of Adolescents In Nigeria." Researchgate. N.p., 23 May 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

Dr. Adeyemi studied how in Nigeria, the increasing amount of technology has immensely changed the concept of sex in the past 30 years. Before the globalization of the country, many people in Nigeria had very little notions about sex other than the common belief system passed down through generations and the strong concept of marriage. But with the introduction of television and the internet, the importance of virginity before marriage has dropped immensely. He explains how self image has also led to an increase in sexual behaviors. With Brave New World, the idea of engaging in sexual activity was directly related to a citizen’s duty and their image in the society. Lenina felt pressured to sleep with more than just Henry because she did not want to appear attached.

Collins, Rebecca L., Steven C. Martino, and Rebecca Shaw. "Influence of New Media on Adolescent Sexual Health: Evidence and Opportunities."Influence of New Media on Adolescent Sexual Health: Evidence and Opportunities: Main Page. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Apr. 2011. Web. 23 Mar. 2015.

This source provides detail of how different aspects of the internet has affected adolescents and young adults and their sexual behavior. With the wider scale of the internet, people have easier access to pornography and online chat rooms where they can meet people to engage in sexual activities. Simple things such as seeing sexual references on television can alter an adolescent’s perspective on sex. With this generation having the largest percent of the population online, the risk for being exposed to sexual content is even higher. This relates to Brave New World with the idea of the feelies and the constant access to technology, and applying the concept of sex as something that is now easily accessible through technology.

Cunningham-Engram, Vanessa G., Gary C. Guffey, and Kim C. Smith. "The Influence of Technology on Sexual Content in Mass Media in the United States, China, and India." Intercultural Communication Studies XVII.2 (2009): n. pag. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

This source discusses the increased availability of pornography and sexualized media in high population countries had directly affected the increase in the sexual activities of its citizens. In the United States alone, $13 Billion a year is spent on sexual entertainment. This readily available content again alters the perspective of the viewers and implements the idea of instant gratification, which is a huge topic for discussion in relation to Brave New World. It also displays the difference in cultures on the basis of pornography. In countries like India, they try to limit the amount of porn available on the internet, while the United States has almost no limitations. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages to allowing children to view pornography as the enter puberty. In Brave New World, the children are conditioned at a very young age to view sex as a casual thing.

Leggett, Christina, and Pieter Rossouw. "The Impact of Technology Use on Couple Relationships." Neuropsychotherapist. N.p., 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

This source studied both the positive and negative influences of technology when it came to relationships. It examined the positive effects that technology had, allowing the couple to still engage while they are apart, or various activities that they can engage in together. This help to strengthen a relationship. However, using technology when they were together, but not using the same technology, they reporting having a negative image of their relationship. For example, using a laptop while with a significant other made them feel a disconnect with their partner. This relates to Brave New World because John feels disconnected from Lenina, despite the technology that is around them.

Young, Sean D., and Alexander D. Jordan. "The Influence of Social Networking Photos on Social Norms and Sexual Health Behaviors."Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Pubmed Central, 16 Apr. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.

This source explains various studies on the influence of social media on student ideas of sexuality in peers. When students view peers engaging in promiscuous activities in photos on websites like Facebook or Instagram, they are more likely to admit to their own sexual activities as well as saying they view sex as more socially acceptable. This relates to Brave New World with hypnopaedia and the Solidarity Service, where the ideas of sexual behaviors being socially acceptable are being ingrain in the minds of the people in the World State.

#23 Final Topic Selection

FINAL TOPIC SELECTION:

MY ESSENTIAL QUESTION/QUESTIONS:

How has technology led to a decrease in monogamous relationships as it relates to sex?

How has technology changed societies view on sex?

How are authentic relationships/intimacy developed and maintained in the face of science/technology?

MY FINAL TOPIC SELECTION AND WHY I CHOSE IT/BNW CONNECTION:

Relationships are a part of belonging in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and technology has given easier access for people to connect and participate in non-demanding, online relationships. As a society, the perception of our peers has led to a desensitization of the topic of sex and the idea of promiscuity. Research has proven that adolescent use of technology has led to an increase in sexual behaviors, in everything from the easy access to pornography to the influence of images over social media. When students are exposed to raunchy images of peers, they are more likely to admit to their own promiscuity In The Influence of Social Networking Photos on Social Norms and Sexual Health Risks, Sean Young explains the images have an a “potential power… to affect health behaviors by altering perceptions of peer norms” . In terms of relationships, technology can be seen as having both a positive and negative effects. When the couple is apart, they report that technology is beneficial for communication. However, The Impact of Technology on Couple Relationships states that “The Internet has the potential to blur the boundaries between online social relationships and face-to-face relationships” which can reduce the significance of personal relationships. It is also reported that when significant others are together, it is reported that technology can actually be damaging to a relationship through a lack of interpersonal relationships. The idea of online relationships can directly influence a person’s concept of self and their idea of courtship and intimacy.

This connects to BNW because they do not have monogamous relationships in a world filled with technology; while on the Savage reservation there is a marriage and a belief in the sanctity of a relationship. This is a huge struggle for John, with his feelings for Lenina and her inability to fully understand the love that John has for her because of the hynopædia.

QUOTE FROM TEXT	ICEBERG VIEW OF CULTURE	MASLOW’S HIERARCHY	PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUE (WHERE RELEVANT)
“There was also monogamy and romance…[now] everyone belongs to everyone else” (40)	concept of relationships and intimacy	Part of belonging by allowing everyone to be a part of this
“She thinks of herself that way. She doesn’t mind being meat” (93)	concept of self concept of beauty	Concept of belonging and a lack of self-actualization
“nobody’s supposed to belong to more than one person” (121)	dependency on another person concept on intimacy	belonging and self-esteem
“In silence, and from a long way off, but violently, desperately, hopelessly, he had loved Kiakime” (135)	Concepts of love Societies views on love	John feels a lack of belonging in the Savage Reservation
“In Malpais people get married….They make a promise to live together for always” (191)	Concepts of family Commitment courtship practices	Belonging to another person and family
“Put your arms round me….hug me til you drug me, honey” (193)	courtship practices	idea of self-esteem for Lenina
“ ‘O thou weed, who are so lovely fair and smell’st so sweet that the sense aches at thee. Was this most goodly book made to write ‘whore’ upon?’ “ (195)	concept of modesty concept of love idea of smells	Safety and belonging are harmed as his friend betrays him
Beauty is attractive, and we don’t want people to be attracted by old things” (219)	concept of beauty	idea of self-esteem and constantly searching for a new beauty
I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin” (240)	religious practices concept of self	attempting to reach self actualization

Blog #20: Their Eyes Were Watching God Socratic Discussion #2 "Three Tasks"

Janie marries Killicks
Jody suppresses Janie
Janie kills Teacake

Rumpelstiltskin vs. Their Eyes Were Watching God
Theme: Hiding who we truly are
In TEWWG, Janie is controlled by Jody, when he abuses her emotionally, calling her "no young courtin' gal. You'se a ole woman" (79) to lower her self-esteem, and physically, when he "slapped Janie until she had a ringing sound in her ears" (72). In Rumpelstiltskin, Sexton is saying how our inner demon is "the enemy within...the boss of your dreams." This control leaves both main characters helpless. Also, there is the feature of a paternal figure, the father of the girl in Rumpelstiltskin and Janie's grandmother. Both characters try to do what is best for their children, as the miller boast that she can spin gold out of straw to make her seem more desirable, and the grandmother wanted Janie married so she could "pick from a higher bush" and live a better life than what she was living now.

Hamlet vs. Their Eyes Were Watching God
Theme: Following the orders of the elders
In TEWWG, Janie wishes to follow her grandmother's wish to live a better life than the life she had lived, and in Hamlet, he wnats to follow his father's wish to kill the man who killed him, King Claudius. Both do their best to follow these wishes, however hard it is for them. Janie is forced to remain silent while she is physically and emotionally abused, and Hamlet is forced to pretend that he is crazy until he actually is. Also, Ophelia allowed her dad to spy on Hamlet, compromising her love with Hamlet to fulfill her duties to Polonius. Janie is the same as she marries Logan to please her grandmother, even though she does not feel any love for him.

Blog #19: Their Eyes Were Watching God Socratic Discussion #1 "Say, Mean, Matter" Chart

Blog #18: Hamlet Essay

Blog #17: Hamlet Act V

The song I chose to describe Ophelia's funeral is "When I Die Young" by the Band Perry. The song is from the perspective of a young woman, describing what will happen if she dies at a young age. She says, "I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom," which is fitting for Ophelia because the Priest says that "she is allowed her virgin crants," (5.1.240) meaning that she was only able to receive some of her death rites because she was pure before her death, and white is the symbol of purity. Two of the most powerful lines of the song are "I've never known the lovin' of a man, but it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand," which right before Ophelia lost her sanity, she talked about how she thought Hamlet loved her, but now she knows that she never did, only that it was "Blasted with ecstasy. O, woe is me,"(3.1.174), even though Hamlet confesses in the graveyard that "I loved Ophelia" (5.1.285). In one of her songs, Ophelia talks about being "Larded all with sweet flower," (4.5.43); this is exactly how the refrain of the song says to "lay me down on a bed of roses," which are a symbol of her outer beauty. Gertrude even uses flower imagery to describe Ophelia in her death, in which “fantastic garlands did she make of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples,”(4.7.192-193). In the song, she asks that she can “shine down on my mother,” and Ophelia almost began to view and Gertrude as her mother, and Gertrude felt the same to Ophelia, when she says “I hoped thou shouldst have been my Hamlet’s wife” (5.1.285). This is despite the fact that Gertrude turned her back on Ophelia when she says “I will not speak to her,” (4.3.1) at the beginning of Act 4, scene 3. In the refrain of the song, it explains her wishes to “sink me in the river at dawn,” which has obvious parallels to Ophelia, when Laertes finds out his “sister’s drowned,” (4.7.188). The song has such a quiet sound to it, and is very peaceful, which correlates with the transition “from her melodious lay to muddy death,” (4.7.206) The song also features many portions without music, which can often portray just as much emotion without the actual lyrics, just as Ophelia’s “speech is nothing,” (4.5.9). Nobody believed the words that she has said until after she said, just as the girl in the song says “A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar They're worth so much more after I'm a goner.”

The tone that this song portrays is one that is almost welcome of death, much more like Hamlet’s feelings in the “to be or not to be” soliloquy. She is expecting her death to come early, such as describing how shes “had just enough time” in her life and how her life is short. The songwriter doesn’t seem scared or fearful of death, as most people do. Rather, they are talking about it as if it something casual, as the words are more just plans, rather than thoughts, like when she tells the audience to “send me away with the words of a love song.” The mood however, is definitely sad or depressed. Most people can relate to the death of a loved one, and many times it is a life that ends before it should. The use of painful imagery, such as “the sharp knife of a short life” can relate the story to a death that is not natural. The description of dressing up can have a double meaning in the context of the story. When she says “put on your best boys and I’ll wear my pearls,” she sounds so positive about it, almost as if they are going out on a date, but in reality, she is discussing what to wear to her funeral. The music itself is very sad and quiet, much like music that could be played at a funeral. It is acoustic, and it is only one person singing, not a duet, which implies that it is a ballad about death versus just a pretty song.

"If I Die Young"

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in a river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh, uh oh

Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother

She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors, oh,

And life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no

Ain't even grey, but she buries her baby

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well

I've had just enough time

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well

I've had just enough time

And I'll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom

I'm as green as the ring on my little cold finger,

I've never known the lovin' of a man

But it sure felt nice when he was holdin' my hand,

There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever,

Who would have thought forever could be severed by...

...the sharp knife of a short life, oh well?

I've had just enough time

So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls

What I never did is done

A penny for my thoughts, oh, no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar

They're worth so much more after I'm a goner

And maybe then you'll hear the words I been singin'

Funny when you're dead how people start listenin'

If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Uh oh (uh, oh)

The ballad of a dove (uh, oh)

Go with peace and love

Gather up your tears, keep 'em in your pocket

Save 'em for a time when you're really gonna need 'em, oh

The sharp knife of a short life, oh well

I've had just enough time

So put on your best, boys, and I'll wear my pearls

Blog #15: Hamlet Act 3

Hamlet Act 3:To Be or Not To Be Analysis

In this soliloquy, there is many references to his father’s murder and his uncle’s guilt over the murder. When he discusses the “dread of something after death,” he is referring to his father’s ghost that spoke to him and is stuck in purgatory. He discusses guilt and how “conscience does make cowards of us all,” an image where he is specifically speaking about his uncle, even though he is unaware that Claudius is listening, and how he is coward for not admitting to the murder of King Hamlet. At the beginning of the speech he questions whether it is “nobler in the mind to suffer…or to take arms,” showing his belief in the hierarchy of being. He is unsure of how to act to keep his place as a noble; he wants to strike and kill Claudius, but isn’t sure if he should deal with the matter within himself, no matter how difficult it might be. The speech appeals to the audience with Ethos, describing how the “mortal coil, must give us pause,” justifying how it is morally and humanely right to be given space when dealt an issue. He uses pathos when talking of love, speaking, of course, about Ophelia, for whom he feels “pangs of despised love” when she begins to ignore him.In the speech, sleep is used as a metaphor for death, and dreams are a metaphor for the afterlife. His repetition of the phrase “to die, to sleep” argues that he is ready for death because he has done much grieving over his father. He describes how the “sleep” will “end the heartache and thousand natural shocks,” which is imagery describing the pain and struggle he has dealt with in the past two months.

Mis En Scene Analysis:

In Mel Gibson’s portrayal of Hamlet, he is giving his soliloquy as he is walking around in the catacombs. The scene is very dark, as they are underground, with very bright contrast coming from the light streaming down from the openings above. When Hamlet walks from the shadow into the light, it is a close up shot that is slightly lower, to show the pain in his eyes as he looks up towards the light, which could symbolize heaven as he is talking about death. His costume is dark, but does not exemplify any particular time period, like the Olivier and Hawke version do. He is shown with a full beard, which makes him appear more mature than the other versions.The scene is very monochromatic, showing various shades of brown.The use of setting itself allowed the viewers to better understand the metaphor between sleep in death, which is emphasized when he says the words “To die” and it cuts to a view of the skeletons.The only sounds in the scene are diegetic sounds, like the sound of Hamlet walking, or other slight background noises. When he is still, the background noise is almost completely silent, so the only thing the audience can hear is Hamlet’s speech.

The Mel Gibson version was the most effective portrayal of Hamlet and the emotion behind the soliloquy. It best emphasizes the comparison between sleep and death with the addition of the sarcophagus and the skeletons themselves. The room was silent, without too much to distract from the speech, while still having movement to keep the viewers engaged. Next, The Kenneth Branagh version was effective with the use of mirrors to emphasize that things are not as they appear. The Ethan Hawke version was effective because it emphasized the theme of action versus in action as he was walking down the action movie aisle of Blockbuster, which was a very good modern representation. However, the costuming wasn’t very effective because it did not make him appear as a noble, which is an important part when he discusses “whether ‘tis nobler the mind to suffer,” and the costume does not support his struggle to find his place in the hierarchy of being. Lastly, the Laurence Olivier version was not very effective because the loud suspenseful music was distracting to the speech itself, along with the awkward positioning of the character. The editing cuts often did not make sense, and there was zooming in to an extreme close up where it wasn’t necessary.