Counterintuitive Spring 2023

Practice Opening 1:
The human is a complex being; quick to endorse individuality though slow to embrace unity. Around our projected ideals, we build nations, some of which may become empires through expansion and colonialism. Although the state certainly gives its citizens a sense of national identity, at the same time it polarizes the citizens of other states. However, they affect those with no state to call home most; an increasing number of migrants who through political turmoil or natural disaster become refugees. Political borders may give many a home, yet simultaneously these fabrications of space leave millions in political limbo with no place to call home, aside camps with deplorable conditions.

Practice opening 2:
While many are proud of their nationality, it would appear that such pride is dangerous to any type of unity. What I call subconscious jingoism, is a belief held in many proud citizens minds that they live in the greatest country on Earth, and any other person of another country is inferior. While no one will, of course, come out and admit this in daily conversation, or perhaps even actively think it. Where it rests in a subconscious image we have of our own country, because we were indoctrinated to have such a viewpoint. It is certainly an ideal visible in the population of super-powers such as the US. Ignorance is what creates these divisions among humans, and for any sense of unity to arise we must remove any pride we may have in our nations, and instead be proud of our planet.

Content Description:
-Civil Unrest in Africa
-Emergence of Political Camps
-Dismissal of Undocumented Workers
-Increasing Refugee Population

Civil Unrest In Africa:

The continent of Africa, now home to over 55 countries, was once the land of European colonialism. During the time of imperialism, Africa was taken piece by piece by leading nations in Europe. However, when it was realized that this was immoral and most of Africa was given independence, the lines to divide nations were drawn without much concern for local populations. Many opposing tribes were thus lumped together by imaginary lines, creating much civil unrest throughout the continent. The nations of Nigeria and Cameroon (British and German colonies respectfully) are in debate over ownership of an oil rich peninsula. The only validation they have though for any type of ownership are the maps drawn by 17th century imperialists. All over Africa, separatist groups are rising to oppose the political view of Africa which has created turmoil for decades.

Emergence of Political Camps:

With a growing population of refugee (people with no home to call their own), it becomes an issue of where to put these displaced people. The brutal reality is that no nation seems to want to give these destitute people any place to call home. Rather, political camps are set up in order to shelter undocumented migrants, thus putting them in political limbo. Here, they don’t have the same rights citizens of nations do, and are almost always desperate for essentials such as food and water. However, the issue is why these camps are the go to tool for migrants. The answer is that governments use camps in “..attempts to protect and purify the sociopolitical body.” What they are actually doing here is keeping the undesirables out of common life, in exchange for enhancing the public in their view. The US does this to, the US/Mexico border patrol is an active force in keeping our public the same.

Dismissal of Undocumented Workers:

Undocumented migrants coming into the US from south of the border are often marginalized by the greater half of the American people. There lives are of little concern to us, and in fact most of us would be quite happy keeping them out. Although, it is not only in our active actions that we dismiss an entire group of people. Sometimes, it is the things we do unknowingly that really separate these people. The topic of interest would be the discarded belongings of undocumented migrants crossing the US/Mexico border. Often times, there items are referred to as deserted trash. However this would appear to further push these migrants into obscurity. The paper says, “…the articulation of migrant belongings as ‘trash’ involves a normalizing process in which the bodily comportment of migrants is deemed inappropriate.” When one simply refers to another person’s belongings as trash without much though, it certainly is reflective of their overall image of said persons belongings.

Increasing Refugee Population:

All over the world, refugees are leaving their home countries in effect of political turmoil, and are desperately seeking asylum from anyone who is willing or not willing to offer it. In the case of many Syrians, “…papers or no papers, your life as a refugee genuinely starts: on foot, in the attitude of powerlessness.” Already it is apparent how destitute these groups of people are, and the true horror is the increasing amount of refugees around the world. According to the Migration Policy Institute, Afghanistan alone created over 2,000,000 refugees, sending these people scattered across the globe in an attempt to find a new home. However, most of these migrants never find a true new home, and either perish in exodus or remain in a political camp where they are left out of the public eye.

Working Hypothesis:

1. Political borders splinter and isolate humans more than unify and involve them, because of visible civil unrest in post-colonial nations, emergence of political camps, and increasing refugee populations.

2. National pride is a subconscious tool of separation among groups of humans, and will always create divisions among them.

Topics for smaller papers:
-Americans viewpoint of refugees in other continents
-Ethics of migration and political intervention
-Nations that welcome the most refugees
-National pride in leading nations

Current State: I have a radical belief that political borders marking nations do more harm than good. This is an area of interest for me, as I am a geography major and largely considered with the ethics of humanitarianism. The state of many displaced people across the planet is a topic of much debate over the years, and there is plenty of information pertaining to the topic available. I am excited to further investigate this matter, and feel that I have a fairly strong thesis that may be able to use some workshopping.

6A: “Table saws cause more injuries than any other woodworking tool. Although SawStop safety technology has been around for more than ten years, not all table saw manufacturers have adopted it. In fact, the world’s largest tool manufacturers rejected it. Now these manufacturers are facing dozens of lawsuits brought forth by people whose injuries could have been prevented had SawStop or similar safety mechanisms been in place.”

6B:
First: The claim that is made in the statement is that lawyers have the opportunity to call out saw manufacturers if they feel they are not doing the proper safety requirements for the saw. They will most likely win the case and earn themselves and their clients money.

Second: The second claim is that saw injuries could easily be prevented with companies just followed the correct procedures.

6C:
First: The claim states that saw manufacturers have failed to adapt to safety measures that are required by law and some saw manufactures have even rejected the safety measures. This would be easy for a lawyer to distinguish this in a court case to point out the flaws in the manufactures and win the case.

Second: If SawStop was included in some of the saws then people wouldn’t be getting their fingers cut off.

6D:
First: Manufactures of saw companies will seem to not get along with lawyers because lawyers are pointing out all of their flaws of their saws.

Second: People who have had their fingers cut off by saws, will most likely seek these lawyers to help get their payback on manufactures.

Natural vs. Non-Natural Hair in the African American Community

Content Descriptions:

• The Beginning of the Movement
• A Naturalist Super Hero : Erykah Badu
• The Invention of the Superheros Kryptonite: Relaxer
• The Villains : Non – Naturalist
• Men’s Point of View
• Being Natural 20 years ago vs. Present Time

Practice Opening 1

In the African American Community there is a division between the women. Whether to wear your hair natural or to wear your hair non-natural. Natural seems to be the winning side. Wearing your hair natural is a political statement and from the beginning of the movement which started in the late 1800s it has always been about self acceptance for the  black woman and pride in herself. A very famous Natural Advocate is Erykah Badu the music artist, she feels as though it is healthier to be natural, and why should she subside to the barbie doll look of Hollywood, when she can be herself in her natural state. Of course every super hero has its kryptonite, for the naturalists that happens to be relaxer which was invented by Madame CJ Walker. The Villains aka the Non-Naturalists have reasoning unto why they choose not to go natural, although it damages their hair, the non-naturalists still choose to wear weaves and get relaxers and chemicals put in their scalps. Men have a role in this movement , to whether they agree with how his wife accommodates her hairstyles. Now more than ever the Natural Movement is at an all time high in women wearing their hair natural, because it seems to be more accepted than it was 20 years ago.

Practice Opening 2

You gotta fight!, For your right!, to be Natural!! A huge political standpoint is happening right now within the African American female society. To choose to be Natural or Non-Natural. This argument is huge, celebrities like Erykah Badu are involved serving as a leader in the movement. From the start of the movement in the late 1800s, this issue has grown in the African American Community, from the creation of relaxer by Madame CJ Walker to the industrialization of chemical hair products period. A lot of Non- Naturalist have so many reasons to wearing their hair as they do, one of them being so they can fit the European standards and look acceptable to our society. African American males seem to be agreeing equally with how their wives choose to up-do their hairstyles, some like them natural, some like them non-natural, and some just do not care. Times are changing for the movement, now in present days Natural hair has a much more powerful standpoint in the political argument then they did 20 years ago when the Non- Naturalist were on the winning side. As we continue on with my research you will see how time, looks, and thoughts are a huge part of the movement.

The Beginning of the Movement

http://www.bustle.com/articles/27404-the-history-of-natural-black-hair-plus-how-2014s-afro-has-a-whole-new-meaning

The Natural Hair Movement has been a movement for decades now and up until the 1920s was not recognized as a movement. Being apart of this rejuvenating, powerful spiritual journey gave the black women strength and power as a human being. It made them realize that it was okay to be black and not fit the non-natural look. African American women all over were picking up on this natural look, not knowing how big of a movement was ahead for the future.

Choosing to wear your hair natural was apart of The Black Power Movement, one of the prime targets of this movement was the straightening of colored peoples hair. To be Natural was to be Black, to have pride in your own race, be proud of the skin that you are in, not wanting to be like another race because that is how society wants it. The afro was a major symbol for the Naturalist and the Black Power Movement, it was considered a posing threat to society.

A Naturalist Super Hero : Erykah Badu

http://curlology.blogspot.com/2011/11/erykah-badu-super-natural.html

The Queen of Neo Soul herself is a prime leader in The Natural Hair Movement. Being a music artist from Hollywood, you would think she would go with the celebrity look straightened relaxed hair, or weave, but no she chooses to be a Naturalists. Erykah Badu has embraced her natural look when pop culture has not. She feels as though this look is healthier for her mind, body, and soul. Why should she choose which way to wear her hair one way or the other. Her hair embodies who she is as a human being.

Being apart of this division of the African american women has shown her shed rather be a person with “a natural mind and processed head than a processed mind and natural head.” Erykah states in her interview that “Being natural is really fresh but every once in the while, super natural!” Reasons such as previously stated is why she is a huge staple in this Natural Hair Movement.

The Invention of the Superheros Kryptonite: Relaxer

Click to access hair_rela_ch3.pdf

Every Super Hero has its weakness for The Naturalists is Relaxer. This chemical balanced product was invented in the 1920s by an African American women named Madame CJ Walker. She was embarrassed of how her hair looked, she wanted it to look pretty and like the “white folk” so she came up with a product first to help her hair grow and then a product to relax the black hair and tame it. So that the African american women could be acceptable looking in society.

Before you know it Madame CJ Walker had started creating more products for your hair to be more un-natural as possible. Another staple in this powerful movement.

 The Villains : Non – Naturalist

https://www.quora.com/African-Americans/Why-do-so-many-African-American-women-wear-weaves-wigs-or-dyed-hair

Of course, What kind of Super Hero has no Villain? The non- naturalists are the weave, braid, chemical relaxing wearers that choose to be everything other than natural. These are the women who want to fit into society not only as themselves, but be able to be themselves but look as if they are apart of another race. So they can mirror “the European standard of beauty.”

Natural hair is looked at as inappropriate and socially unacceptable. Long straight hair is beautiful and elegant, why wear your own hair when you can buy Brazilian, Malaysian, Chinese hair to sew into your scalp? That is the non-naturalist point of view.

 Men’s Point of View

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2009/09/perceptions-of-natural-hair-the-black-male-perspective/

A lot of black men are involved in this empowerment for the black women. African American men seem to vary in what they like their women to wear on their heads. Some are for the natural, some are for the non-natural, a lot truly do not care. The men that do care have many options on why they want their wives hair to look a certain way.

Men that choose the natural look for his women, loves and respects his wife. He wants his wife to be true to herself, and let her know that he loves her for her not for whatever other reason. The men that choose the non-natural look for their wives usually love their wives but want them to look a certain way in order to be able to be in the presence of the black male. This is sad because this destroys the worth of a lot of black women, it makes them think they have to look a certain way in order to have any man, and that is not the case.

Being Natural 20 years ago vs. Present Time

http://www.curlcentric.com/i-hate-the-natural-hair-movement/

A women took us on her personal natural hair movement from 1996 to 2015. Her reasoning for bringing us with her is because she wanted to show how Natural hair was judged in the 90s , and how now in the 2000s is embraced highly in the black community. Back in the 90s black women were so harsh upon other black women who chose to wear the natural look, and in a course of 20 years it amazes me how they embrace the natural look. I don’t want to dive to deep into this article because of how great her journey is but I will explain upon later writings.

Thus Far…

I feel as though my research is reflecting on how I feel about the Natural Hair movement. And it is clear I am taking the Natural Hair side. i love this topic because there is  so much to write and talk about, this is a huge political topic and has a lot of standpoints I can stick by in my research.

Working Hypothesis

In the media, whether it be music, movies, or television, women are not portrayed fairly. They are portrayed very one-sided and from the “man’s” perspective. Women in the media must always slim and slender bodies with enhanced assets but in reality, not every woman looks like that. Women are being projected as what people feel like the “average” woman should look like. But what is true, is that no woman has to look like anything. If a woman happens to be overweight than that should be fine. That woman should not have to have a problem with getting far in her career.

Working Hypothesis 2

Every source of media is certainly not objected to the idea of women having different body types. There are several campaigns that have been launched within the last year or two that have promoted various body types to be accepted by the average person in the form of commercials and/or clothing. Those campaigns include Dove, Lane Bryant, and brands like Target who appreciate plus sizes.

http://www.lanebryant.com/content.jsp?pageName=redefine-sexy

http://www.racked.com/2015/3/9/8175025/ava-viv-target-plus-size

Topic For Smaller Papers

What can commonly be confused in my argument is the definition of a woman that is portrayed as “skinny” versus a woman that is portrayed as “overweight”. The way the media shows a woman is smaller than average. Research shows that today, the average woman wears a dress size of about 12-14. If you went to watch a clothing commercial for most stores that piece of information would seem false. Why would it seem false? Because women are not portrayed as how they should be in the media. When a designer makes sample pieces they are typically made in sizes 0-2. I feel as though that is the first problem with why women are wrongly portrayed. Anything over a size 2 is considered “overweight” when it comes to the entertainment business.

http://www.racked.com/2015/3/9/8175025/ava-viv-target-plus-size

The most casual relationship essential to my research would be the relationship between women and playboy or other men’s magazines. There is hardly ever a woman that is more proportioned in these magazines, while they are more proportioned than the “average” female you still don’t see a variety of body types. There hasn’t been any evidence to prove that men believe there is only one body type described as pleasurable, however, I feel that if I were to survey men on this topic I would receive that answer.

It certainly is not everyday that a woman is portrayed that way. And also, there are some women in the industry that have gotten far in their careers without looking like the average woman”. As a female who is not built how most men want a woman to be built, I am not against the idea that there are some people who don’t believe that women need to look a certain way in order to be successful. There had to be people on Jennifer Hudson’s success team when she first came into the industry, as well as Megan Trainor, Adelle, Jasmine Sullivan, Melissa McCarthy, and many others. The people on their success team recognized them for their talents not their looks.

Current State of the Research Paper

So far, I feel as though I’ve done a lot of research and thinking about my topic and I am proud of my progress. My opinions haven’t changed, however, I did find an argument that went against my topic but I’ve included that. I anticipate my final outcome to have multiple views on my topic that supports my argument and will hopefully allow my readers to understand that what is portrayed is not correct or fair.

Content Description:

• Marketing of Horror
• Consumerism of Horror
• The Desire for Fear
• Fear Psychology
• The Health benefits of Fear
• Health risks of horror

Practice Opening:

Fear is often linked with horrific events and unfortunate circumstances of which reasonable individuals would actively avoid. However, fear without consequence is a consumer product. People actively pursue and pay for the sensation of fear through media such as film, video games, books, and haunted hay rides. While there is definitely a masochist demographic, there are other, perfectly mundane, reasons for viewing, and the desire to view, such content.

Practice Opening 2:

In the modern first world culture the harsh rules of nature no longer apply for human beings no longer need to worry about being hunted or killed by a predator. However, it is still ingrained in our psychology that this should be a part of our life. We experience so many emotions and struggles passively, but some might argue we aren’t fully human until we experience them all. So how is it we can trigger this part of our psychology without putting ourselves in danger? Horror media suffices.

Hypothesis 1:

Horror isn’t a hazardous product like cigarettes; it is a health supplement that could lead to a better life.

Hypothesis 2:

To omit fear from your life, is to deny a part of your humanity.

Topics for Smaller Papers:

• Simple analysis of the psychology of fear
• What makes a good horror film?
• Does horror cause desensitization? Is there a point to being sensitive to fear?
• Where is fear in everyday life?
• Differences between worrying and fear

Current State of the Research:

Researching this topic and all the subtopics related is proving to be very convoluted and it is difficult to tell when my current line of research is being tangential or not. This is because this topic is rather broad and vague and encompasses so many fields and media from marketing and psychology, to film and art. However this is good news, for by the time I wrap my head and the paper around all of this I will gain a vast amount of knowledge across multiple fields, and hopefully my readers will too.

Working Proposal 1:

The goto approach to dealing with drug and alcohol addiction has always been rehabilitation of some sort. Its intuitive design of edging addicts away from their narcotic crutch makes logical sense, and is thus adopted by most of the world. As with everything, however, it is not the only way to deal with the issue. Recently, cities like Vancouver have begun to introduce a significantly different tactic in helping addicts of drugs, specifically heroin. Instead of attempting to lean the individuals off of the drug, they are challenging another front by actually supplying the addicts with drugs for free. Not only will this help curb the drug-related crimes in the area, but it will allow addicts to focus on leading a more productive life while not worrying about how they’ll get their next fix.

Working Proposal 2:

Vancouver, along with a slew of European nations before them, have begun to treat drugs with drugs. And no over the counter medicine is involved here; they’re giving heroin addicts heroin in an effort to combat some of the adverse effects of having addicts in their area, such as drug crime rates being higher than they’d like. They have adopted this in favor of traditional rehabilitation, which does not have a one hundred percent success rate like this claims to have, albeit with radically different results. In seeking to be different, cities like these have also opted to reap the rewards and consequences of this new approach.

Content Description:

• Classic Stance on Rehabilitation
• Ease of Counterintuitivity
• Success of Rehabilitation
• More to come

Working Hypothesis 1:

Sometimes traditional rehabilitation, or getting addicts clean, is not always the simplest way to solve a drug problem. Supplying them could potentially lead to a more effective, albeit nontraditional solution.

Working Hypothesis 2:

Vancouver, along with numerous other European countries, have recently been battling drug addiction in their city streets by giving the addicts what they want most: their drugs.

Topics for Smaller Papers:

• What determines successful rehabilitation?
• The long term effects of supplying drug addicts with drugs
• Reasons for “traditional” rehab being preferred

Current State of Research Paper:

Yes, I’m certainly aware the paper needs more work, specifically more detail has to be delivered on each of the content elements. My intentions lie with writing a paper describing the counterintuitivity and how it functions and interacts with society, not necessarily taking a side anywhere. If this approach is not ideal then you can just say so, and I’ll change it up a bit.

Here is the Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdYvWGvGXFM

0:01

A young couple around their mid-twenties, are out in a forest area. Both are dressed in relaxing comfy fall weather clothes, so the weather might be a little chilly but not too cold and it is nice and sunny outside. The indication that it is fall, because plaid clothing is usually the fashion statement of the fall season when it is chilly but not cold enough to where you need a heavy jacket more or less you would need a light plaid jacket or light long sleeve shirt. The female is on her cell phone maybe trying to get a connection, maybe just looking through her social media accounts. Her facial expression looks as if she could care less about this camping experience. The male is looking at the female as if he wants help from her, or he is a little frustrated with her because she is just standing there not helping him. His frustration that he is frustrated seems to not bother the young women. A fire is either beginning to be prepared to be started or a fire has just gotten put out, indicating the bucket to the right of the males leg. It also looks as if they are packing up to leave the tent site or maybe they just unpacked and are just arriving.

0:03

The male is not looking at his female companion, or sister, or maybe just a friend anymore. His face is directed towards the fire pit right below him. The focus is on him now, the female is out of the picture at this frame of the video. There appears to be a look of disappointment that the fire maybe is not starting, or he could be sad that him and his lady friend have to leave this lovely weekend they might of or might not had, or he is just upset that he had to put the fire out because it symbolized that the great weekend he just had , has come to and end. Which indicates the packing or unpacking of the tent behind them and the luggage. So could they have been on a camping trip? It is a possibility.

0:06

Something has seemed to distracted the female from her smartphone device. She is now looking down either at her male friend or the fire pit. Maybe she sees that her friend is upset that he had to put the fire out, or her friend is elated that the fire is beginning to pick up. There could be something else on the ground that has caught her eye, maybe a furry animal, or a crawly critter, her expression is unknown to me.

0:07

The camera is focused back on the male now, and he seems to be a little elated that the fire is going out finally, or because his hand is resting over the pit, he maybe feeling for the heat of the fire if it is picking up or cooling down, but you can tell that the video clip is focused on the fire somehow, someway, because the fire pit seems to be the main focus in most of the video.

0:09

The male is standing up and looking satisfied because the fire has either picked up or the fire has gone out. Now he can finally finish some other task that he may have to do. There is a tall furry object or creature standing next to him that the male has yet to realize.

0:10

The furry tall creature/object has caught the males eye and he has turned his head to see  what is standing next to him. He does not look scared but he looks confused and in utter shock.

0:12

The creature/object is still unidentified to the viewers eyes. It seems to have grabbed the male to hug him or strangle him. By the looks of the males face, which is confused/ comforted the creature/object is hugging him.

0:14

The creature/object is revealed to the viewers eyes and it is a bear standing on two feet and his name might be smokey or that might be the name of the forest they are in, the bear is wearing pants and a hat , looking like a sate park ranger. The bear is continuing to hug the male and the bear and the male seem to be in a comforted mood. Maybe the bear is congratulating the man for not making a mess while he stayed in the forest or not starting a fire or even putting out the fire safely.

0:15

The camera is focused back on the female, she seems in a sate of she has no idea what is happening. Her mind cannot wrap around the idea of this bear on two feet hugging her friend. Maybe she is scared and is beginning to call 911 or maybe she is taking a photo for her phone or her social media accounts.

0:18

The bear and the male or looking at each other eye to eye now and have stopped hugging. the bear seems to be maybe giving him a pat on the back for a good job or telling him verbally that you did a great deed to our forest and he is welcome to come back and stay anytime. The males face seems to be understanding the bear and they are both in agreement.

0:20

The bear is maybe leaving the male to go somewhere else or maybe he is going over to the female to talk to her or hug her. Maybe the bear is just finished congratulating the male and is moving on to another campsite to congratulate another family.

0:21-0:24

The male and female are side by side and are maybe conversing about what just happen, they look calm but still in some sort of shock.

0:25-0:26

The female is showing the picture that she took in her phone to the male or maybe someone is calling her phone and wants to speak to the male.

0:27

The camera is facing the backs of the two friends/lovers and you can now see the bear walking away from the campsite, maybe they are saying goodbye and or thank you as the bear walks away from them.

0:28

The bear maybe hears them and says you are welcome but does not look back, and the friends/lovers seem to be happy that they did such a good job maybe cleaning up the campsite or putting the fire out safely.