Music Video

The music video I chose was Jay-Z's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." The video is made up of mostly medium shots of Jay-Z just doing stuff. He's in the studio recording and later he's in the street with a lot of people just rapping. The longest shot comes towards the end when it turns into heat vision. This is mostly medium shots of him again, and the heat vision lasts for about 50 seconds as it shows him rapping in the street and shows many of the people around him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz_-VaTHpc8

Annotated Bibliography - Keeneland group

Annotated Bibliography

Jimmy Le, Noah Gawthorp, Megan Quillen, Daniel Turman, Daniel Oakley

• ·      Interview(s) with jockey(s).

We will try to interview a jockey and ask him about what horse racing means to him. We would like to hear the importance that horses and horse racing have to him and his opinion on Keeneland. Our documentary hopes to capture the sentiment and passion of Keeneland, so hearing a jockey tell us what it means to him to race horses and come to this particular track would help in portraying that.

• ·      Interview(s) with member(s) of racing office and media team.

Along with jockeys, we will try to interview members of the communications and media team and racing offices. We will ask them similar questions about their opinions and feelings towards Keeneland, as well as what aspects of it drew them to working there. Again, getting such information from people who work within would be helpful and could give us an insight into what Keeneland means. Hearing why someone loved Keeneland so much that they decided to work there could be a good addition to our documentary.

• ·      Interviews with commoners

We will also try to get some interviews with regular people who are simply paying a visit to the tracks. Like the other interviews we will conduct, we will be asking about the emotions and sentiment, if any, that people attach with a visit to Keeneland. Ideally, we would like to get an interview with an older person who has been visiting Keeneland for years and holds a lot of value in an annual trip there. Again, an insight into the everyday person’s life to see why they come to Keeneland would be good for our film.

• ·      Old racing clips from Keeneland

We could potentially use clips of past races and events at Keeneland to incorporate in our film.  It could show the history and pageantry of the track and give viewers an idea of how long Keeneland has been running and how much history has taken place at this track.

The Last Supper

            The death penalty is an extremely controversial and widely discussed topic in the United States. There are those who support it and those who oppose it. The authors of “The Last Meal Project” and “No Seconds” both wanted to chime in on the issue with their takes. However, both authors did so in a very unique and eye-opening way. Both authors used pictures of the last meal of various death row inmates to voice their opinions about the death penalty in the U.S. When viewing either of these sites, you will see plenty of visuals that are used to voice their opinions.

            Both of these visual projects are incredibly powerful. “The Last Meal Project” gives you a picture of the inmate’s face along with what they wanted for their last meal. However, every few pictures is also a fact about the death penalty in the United States, whether it’s how much it’s costing the people, how often it’s used, and other various pieces of information. This piece is effective in asking the question, “Is the death penalty really worth it?” By showing the faces of each inmate, as well as some facts such as “[it] is being reconsidered in 11 states because of its high cost to the state and its ineffectiveness in preventing crime,” we begin to question the validity of the death penalty, and consider the humanity of the people being murdered.

            “No Seconds” makes its case in a similar way, showing detailed images of the last meals of various death row inmates. The images in this project are much more detailed and up close, and you actually get kind of hungry looking at them. This project strikes you when you realize that these people being sentenced to the death penalty aren’t too different from us; they’re still humans. They like food the same way we do, and they enjoy a delicious meal just as much as we do. These detailed images of their last meals gives us a sense and reminds us that even though they have committed awful crimes, they’re still humans, after all.

            Both of the visual projects are presented very well and the authors make very good use of visual representations to express the human qualities of the inmates being sentenced to death. They are reminders to us that these people are still human, regardless of what deeds they’ve done. They say a picture is worth a thousand words; these visual projects beg the question, “How much is a last meal worth?”

Speech Reflection

            There are few things on this Earth that are more difficult to do than to listen to a voice recording of yourself talking or watch a video of yourself giving a speech. It’s often pretty hard to be in control of everything as you’re up there speaking, despite how hard you try. There are simply some things that you will do that you’re completely unaware of until you watch the film. In watching myself present my speech to the class, I was made aware of a couple things that may have possibly hindered my presentation. However, I also found quite a few positives with my presentation and speaking that will keep me confident the next time I need to present something to a group.

            Everyone usually shares one goal as they get ready to go up and present: “Don’t say ‘um’ or ‘uh.’” I am no different; as I prepared myself to go up and present first, I not only wanted to set the bar for the rest of the class, but I also just didn’t want to make myself look stupid. Though it may not necessarily have made me look stupid in front of everyone, I did notice that I said “um” and “uh” quite a few times while I presented, something that I had no idea I was doing. I also stumbled over myself a few times as well. These are things I’ll need to limit and be more in control of next time.

            I did find a lot of positives with my speech though. I think I did a good job with voice inflection, as I changed my tone throughout and did my best to keep everyone engaged. For the most part, it looked like I knew what I was doing up there, and that it wasn’t just some impromptu presentation. Overall, I did about as well as I had hoped for. I gave the speech I wanted to give, and besides the few minor mistakes, I believe I did a pretty good job.

Rise of the NBA Nerd

It’s no secret that the NBA is dominated by black athletes. For decades, these athletes carried with them a sort of culture and image that was unchallenged and untouched. However, over the past few years, this image and culture has begun to shift and change as black superstars are dressing in more “plushness, flamboyance, [and] glamour.” Wesley Morris discusses this shift in his article and the impact it has made on black culture and society. Morris believes this shift in clothing and appearance is a statement by these superstars, saying that it’s okay to be a “nerd,” to be educated, clean, and classy.

Morris is positive about the statement that NBA superstars and famous rappers are making by the way they dress. He talks about Carlton from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and how the way he dressed and acted “gave some black people pause.” A decade ago, dressing in nicer clothes might say that you are educated and cleaned up, and a black man dressed that way would be viewed as a nerd or of the white culture rather than the black culture. However, with black superstars beginning to dress in “cardigans and black frames” and “usher[ing] in the chic of the black nerd,” the cultural thoughts and perceptions about how a black man should look or behave are a thing of the past. Morris sees this movement as a great opportunity for young black people to see these men succeeding and looking the part as well, and hopes that their style will reflect onto the younger black generations and let them know that it’s okay to break the mold and be a “nerd,” if it means success.

I personally believe that the way we dress and how we present ourselves can very much be a statement. How you dress can often speak volumes about who you are. How will people’s thoughts of you differ if you go out in big, baggy, warn out clothes as opposed to a nice, clean outfit? Clothes are a big way of expressing yourself and can be used to make a statement. We’re seeing more and more flamboyant, vibrant, colorful clothing in pop culture nowadays, and I think it’s a statement about who these people are. Wearing an eye-poppingly bright pair of shoes might tell others that you want to stand out. Wearing a nice tie and cardigan says that you’re a man of finer things. I absolutely think that the way you dress yourself can be a statement.