Influence Influence Influence

 Influence Influence Influence

    The images people consume every day have major effects on their opinions. Even if the image is distorted, sadly it will still be consumed for how it’s presented. The saying “perception is reality” is real when it comes to the consumption of the media. African Americans have been heavily portrayed negatively in the media in the past, but it has significantly grown to differ. What’s most important though is how African Americans ultimately represent themselves out in the world.  Image is one of the most significant parts of African American culture as it represents who we are as a people, our traditions, and our unity.

    The image certainly represents African American people as a whole and what they represent. Images can be distorted through the media and different experiences. James Baldwin wrote in A Letter to My Nephew, “Other people cannot see what I see whenever I look into your father’s face, for behind your father’s face as it’s today are all those other faces which were his (Baldwin).” Baldwin is explaining how other people don’t view his brother as the little boy he once was, they only view him as a distorted image of the black man. Since he watched him grow he knows how truly innocent his brother is, but the world doesn’t. People know not to stereotype and “many of them indeed know better, but as you will discover, people find it very difficult to act on what they know (Baldwin).” The ignorance people choose to have created diversity between us. 

    Image is a piece that represents the traditions of African American culture. The traditions practiced bring the people together and allow fellowship. James Baldwin wrote in A Letter to My Nephew, “When I say maybe slaves held spades tournaments on the anti-cruise ships bound for the colonies” concluding that the slaves could have used the game to take their mind off of their situation (Baldwin). This is a use of sarcasm by Baldwin but the message he’s trying to articulate is that the game of spades was used to bring people of African American culture together. The spades game became a symbol for the culture as a whole as it was most popular amongst them. 

    

https://images.app.goo.gl/Bd9hfihwmaVtYnFcA

Image is also most important to signify unity amongst African American culture. Unity must be portrayed in culture for many reasons. Terrance Hayes wrote in We Should Make a Documentary About Spades “I know you are not my enemy. You say there are no enemies in spades. Spades is a game our enemies do not play” explaining the value the game has to African Americans. The game makes the two teams compete against each other but the players know in the real world who their real enemies are. The fight to show the unity of the culture stems back from slavery times. It shows strength and produces hope within the community.  When playing spades “the object of the game is to communicate invisibly with your teammate” so this builds trust. This trust-building ultimately brings the people together.  

   

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/Rs1HYGBWu3eLFY8z6

    The images and ideas people receive in their minds eventually influence their view of the world. True views must be put out to portray the true image of our culture. Images of African American culture are paramount to represent who we are as a people, the traditions we use, and the unification of us as a whole.

Reflective Essay - Expository

    When I first started writing the expository essay for ENGL 1101, I expected to not procrastinate and to turn it in early. I love writing and doing so calms my mind but I waited until the last minute to complete my essay. My experiences during this writing process have been pretty easy, the only thing was making time to complete it. Now I think I’m going to be more involved and care more about my reading and writing. 

     I learned how deeply the content of expository essays connects with the piece's audience. This makes the reader understand it more clearly. It breaks down the scope and exposes it to the core so it is easily digested by the reader. In the future, I can apply what I learn to my real life by not stereotyping people based on my assumptions. People of different cultures are raised differently and may seem a certain way based on what I see in the media, but I have to give people time to show me their character.

  I have learned that you can’t write in the sense of “I” when writing for an academic audience. It’s important to not write in this sense and to keep it subjective so the audience can receive it in a general way. I learned this by listening to my professor Mrs. Seal. In the future, I can apply it to my other essays by remembering the correct way to write for my audience. 

    I have learned how to compartmentalize the material when writing as an inquiry—gathering the material and then figuring out how to organize it for the audience. This makes it easier for them to receive it and essentially understand it better. I can use writing inquiry in the future by continuing to seek information to make my writing more complete.

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. “A Letter to My Nephew.” Progressive.org, 27 Feb. 2019, progressive.org/magazine/letter-nephew.

Poets.org - Academy of American Poets. “We Should Make a Documentary About Spades.” Academy of American Poets, poets.org/poem/we-should-make-documentary-about-spades. Accessed 14 Sept. 2022.