Log #7

2017.05.23

Log #7

McQueen's most celebrated catwalk show was his 2001 Spring/Summer collection "VOSS". The title, the name of a Norwegian town renowned as a wildlife habitat, suggested the collection would celebrate nature. With VOSS, McQueen wanted to make his audience question the notion of conventional beauty. Bodices, skirts and dresses were made out of razor-clam, mussel and oyster shells.

Figure 1. A razor clam.

"My friend George and I were walking on the beach in Norfolk, and there were thousands of razor-clam shells. They were so beautiful, I thought I had to do something with them. So, we decided to make a dress out of them. . . . The shells had outlived their usefulness on the beach, so we put them to another use on a dress. Then Erin O'Conner (the model) came out and trashed the dress, so their usefulness was over once again. Kind of like fashion, really."

Figure 2. Razor-clam-shell gown, VOSS, spring/summer 2001.

What I saw from this razor-clam-shell gown was that McQueen could discover beauty in almost everything. I mean EVERYTHING. "Beauty can come from the strangest of places, even the most disgusting of places. It's the ugly things I notice more, because other people tend to ignore the ugly things," he said. To me it is such an essential ability that an artist or a designer should embrace and run with. As a saying from the Russian artist Auguste Rodin goes, "Beauty is everywhere. It is not that she is lacking to our eye, but our eyes which fail to perceive her." Also the teamwork played a significant role in the execution of the dress. I firmly believed that McQueen and his team must have good communication with each other because if there were any quarrel, it would have shown in the works. Being a fashion designer equals being a team player. Most importantly, with his magical techniques, McQueen seemed to be able to play with the unconventional materials without losing their substances effortlessly.

References (in APA 6.0 format)

Bolton, A. (2011). Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/

Lewis, T. (2015). Why we're all still mad about Alexander McQueen. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/feb/08/why-mad-again-about-alexander-mcqueen-nick-waplington-savage-beauty

Wilson, E. (2009). McQueen Leaves Fashion in Ruins. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/12/fashion/12MCQUEEN.html?_r=0

Alexander McQueen: Savage beauty, dark nature. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2011/05/alexander_mcqueen

The Beautiful People. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2521

Encyclopedia of Collections: Voss. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.vam.ac.uk/museumofsavagebeauty/rel/encyclopedia-of-collections-voss/#related-objects

Log #6

2017.05.09

Log #6

This week I read something related to my personalized project: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. Art and fashion have always been where my passion lies in, and it cannot be truer especially when they combine each other.

I do not know if you have ever heard this guy before. Maybe you have seen his works without knowing that they were by Alexander McQueen. I would like to give you a brief introduction to this great fashion designer just in case you know nothing about him at all. I remembered that Prof. Lee has once said in class, "All the geniuses in the world are adept at just one field. Just one." McQueen was a genius in fashion.

(Alexander McQueen)

Alexander McQueen was a British fashion designer. When he was little, he announced his intention to become a fashion designer. In order to achieve what he had set out to do, he served his apprentice with many experienced tailors, which earned him a reputation as an expert in creating impeccably tailored looks in later years.

McQueen was titled "the hooligan of English fashion" for his controversial works like the low-rise "Bumsters" trousers in his 1996 "Taxi Driver" fashion show.

("Bumsters" skirt)

In 1999, McQueen, as the chief designer at Givenchy, completed one of his most famous runway shows previewing Spring/Summer 1999, where the model in a strapless white dress being rotated slowly on a revolving section of the catwalk while being sprayed with paint by two robotic guns.

(Dress no. 13, Spring/Summer 1999)

(Model in No. 13 being sprayed with paint by two robotic guns)

McQueen committed suicide in 2010 at the age of 40. McQueen died nine days after his mother Joyce had died from cancer at the age of 75. McQueen's long-term assistant Sarah Burton was named as the new creative director of Alexander McQueen in May 2010.

McQueen's last appearance on a fashion show was in "Plato's Atlantis". McQueen was an avid scuba diver and used his passion as a source of inspiration in his designs. The inspiration for this Spring/Summer 2010 collection were nature and the post-human movement depicted by sea-reptile prints. The collection, named after Plato's island that sunk in the sea, addressed Darwin's evolution theories along with current global warming concerns. It forecasted a future in which humans had to evolve from earth to water to survive.

(McQueen's signature Armadillo shoe in "Plato's Atlantis")

McQueen has been credited with bringing drama, extravagance, and unconventionality to the runway. His achievements earned him four British Designer of the Year awards, as well as the CFDA's International Designer of the Year award in 2003. Not only did McQueen collaborate with some big brands in other fields like MAC, but he also dressed many celebrities like Lady Gaga.

This week I  focus only on who Alexander McQueen was. I will share quotes by McQueen, more details about the representative looks that I emotionally connected to, and  how McQueen and his works inspired me to realize my passion next time.

References (in APA 6.0 format)

Bolton, A. (2011). Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/

Concept Map

Log #5

2017.04.25

Log #5

This week I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. In this log I will focus on two themes: illiteracy and sudden release. I will also share my favorite quotes.

(Book cover)

I did not commiserate with Hanna Schmitz, not at all. As an illiterate, she should have known what to do and what not to do all the same. Illiteracy does not mean ignorance. Needs must when the devil drives. Maybe the helpless Hanna was forced to burn those female Jewish prisoners to death in a locked church during a bombing raid with the other defendants. Maybe not. However, there was no denying that she was responsible for that. Even if it was not her intention, her indifference and silence made her a murderer, didn’t they? To me, there is no much difference between the ones who kill and the ones who assist in killing. Another mistake Hanna had made was struggling to keep the fact that she herself was an illiterate in the dark mitigated the other murderers’ punishments. I was speechless. Bad karma came right after Hanna. She paid for it. She was sentenced to life in prison and spent 18 whole years in the prison. But then again, I believe that each and every one of us is the most special being in the universe. We are here because we have a place to fill. I know it was kind of contradictory, but I could understand Hanna at the same time. Honestly speaking, I think we are all Hanna. We all have something hidden from everyone else that we do not want anyone to know. Hanna Schmitz reminded me of my mother. My mother is half-illiterate. She has started to make a living after she graduated from an elementary school. So what? She is the breadwinner in my family. She is the greatest person in my life, and I never feel ashamed that she cannot read and write but listen and speak.

(Hanna Schmitz)

"BROOKS WAS HERE" As for sudden freedom, Hanna reminded me of Brooks Hatlen, the prison librarian and one of the oldest convicts at Shawshank, in the drama film The Shawshank Redemption. The biggest similarity between Hanna and Brooks was that they ended the rest of their lives by hanging themselves. They had been behind bars for such a long time that they were institutionalized. They were terrified of adjusting to the astonishing changes in the outside world. Although it is not a good idea to say so, but their endings were surprisingly effective to me as a viewer.

("BROOKS WAS HERE")

Last come the quotes that I would like to share with you.

“There's no need to talk about it, because the truth of what one says lies in what one does.”

You don’t have to say much about yourself because what you have done have explained almost everything of you. I recall a story in the Confucian Analects:

(The story from the Confucian Analects)

The message behind the story is that you should not only listen to what one says but also observe what one does.

“I asked her about life, and it was as if she rummaged around in a dusty chest to get me the answers.”

I like this quote because of its word usage. It is written beautifully. Here, the word chest has double meaning. A chest can be a box with a lid, but it can also be the front of the trunk from the neck to the ab. The quote gave me a feeling that Hanna’s chest was full of dust –her guilt over the incident, her being overwhelmed by the sudden release, and most importantly, her fear of what Michael thought of her. With Michael’s help, Hanna learnt so many things in the jail that she must want to tell Michael something, but she did not know how to start and where to begin. As you can see from the picture below, Hanna, who had not seen Michael for many, many years, looked at him with a heavy heart and a pair of eyes filled with a load of secrets.

(The quote scene)

References

The Reader borrowed from the NTUST Library

明倫月刊-論語簡說

Log #4

2017.03.28

Log #4

The second chapter of Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking gave me a solider and yet more vivid point of view towards misleading mass media by providing four factual instances that took place in America, including Was There Really a Martian Panic in 1938?, The Roswell ‘’Flying Saucer’’ Crash of 1947, The Mad Gasser of Mattoon, and New England’s Great Airship Hoax.

Mass media is such a powerful force in society that we need critical thinking. So powerful is it that the authors suggest that these cases can be set to recur. I instantly recall the heartbreaking MRT knife attack in my log 1. Most of the coverages stressed the cold-blooded murderer Cheng Chieh’s ‘big’ dream and his execution. It was pointed out that those pieces of news made Cheng Chieh as a ‘role model’ for the people who had a similar mind to his. Thus many people did not take MRT as usual. Cheng Chieh was not an imaginary criminal of press creation. However, in my opinion, mass media ought to put emphasis on cause and effect more than cruelty. In this way, the viewers’ focus are shifted. Take the deadly tour bus crash in February. Tour bus safety, low-price package tours, and bus construction were what we should know, not what the perished ate for their last meal. It was not important, and it rubbed salt into the wound of those who lost their kith and kin.

Plot summary of The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

The case began on September 1, 1944, with Aline Kearney, who felt sick and paralyzed, smelling a sweet odor. The Mattoon’s major paper Daily Journal-Gazette reported the incident with a headline, ‘’Anesthetic Prowler on Loose.’’ Two subheads under the headline added, ‘’Mrs. Kearney and Daughter First Victims’’ and ‘’Both Recover; Robber Fails to Get into Home.’’ For the next week, more and more gassings were reported. The other newspapers started to pick up on the story by September 6. By September 14, gassing reports had stopped for good. There were at least three dozen reported victims in total. No prowler was ever identified or arrested, and there was no medical substantiation of a gas being used.

(The headline and subheads of the Mattoon mad gasser incident)

I was being not only a receiver but a critical thinker while reading. The authors pointed finger at the Daily Journal-Gazette for it practically created the entire gasser scare. I disagree. As it mentions, her husband rushed home about 12:30 A.M. after hearing about the incident, he said he saw a prowler at the bedroom. What Mr. Kearney remarked on the incident was the why of the headline and subheads, which was the only part that confused me.

(Mad gasser at the window)

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon reminded me of butterfly effect, a concept that I learnt from a 2004 psychological thriller movie The Butterfly Effect. A hurricane can be influenced by flapping of the wings of a distant butterfly several weeks earlier. Butterfly effect is the theoretical concept that small initial causes can have large unforeseen consequences over time.

(The Butterfly Effect movie poster)

I also did further reading, and I found something on Wikipedia. In fact, there are three explanations about the Mattoon mad gasser incident: mass hysteria, industrial pollution, and an actual assailant. The last two were NOT told in the book at all. On September 12, local Chief of Police C. E. Cole announced that the sickly sweet odor reported may have been toxic waste or pollution released by nearby industrial plants. As for an actual assailant, it was concluded that some of the gasser incidents were the work of an actual attacker due to the copycat effect, a criminal act that is modeled or inspired by a previous crime that has been reported in the media or described in fiction. For this reason, I challenge the authors’ not giving readers a whole picture.

In sum, the press creation of an imaginary criminal resulted in collective panic. The more ‘victims’ triggered by the fear of gas man there were, the more similar incidents were reported. It turned out to be a vicious circle. From my perspective, both Mr. Kearney and especially the Daily Journal-Gazette were very responsible for the entire gasser scare. Reading the chapter made me feel like the genius detective Conan investigating one murder after another. To think critically, I asked myself questions while reading. It was the authors’ purpose for writing this book: Helping us develop our own perspectives and even find fault with those of theirs.

(Detective Conan)

References

Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking

Borrowed from the NTU Library

The 'phantom anesthetist' of Mattoon: a field study of mass hysteria

A Noxious Assailant – The Mad Gasser of Mattoon | Oddly Historical

THE MAD GASSER OF MATTOON

Mad Gasser of Mattoon

Copycat crime

Mass hysteria

Log #3

2017.03.21

Log #3

This weekend I watched the movie Collateral Beauty. It was the kind of movie that brought me to tears. Reading the plot summary, I made up my mind to watch the movie. The leading role, Howard, writes letters to death, time, and love. I am crazy about the concept of writing letters not to human beings but to abstract things. That was creative and yet innovative. Even though I watched it with Chinese subtitles, the use of language was so beautiful that I want to share with you two of my favorite lines, which are so profoundly meaningful in two different ways that they can actually be used as gifts and give away as gifts to those in need: The people who are lost in searching of the true meaning of life, just like Howard, who lost his six-year-old beloved daughter Olivia. In the following two paragraphs I would like to share the two lines, my reflection on them, and who I want to send the "gifts" to.

"What is your why?"

Howard said the line when he was trying to boost the morale of his employees three years before his daughter died of a deadly cerebral disease called "CBM" for short. It reminded me the saying: Everything happens for a reason. We ought to be conscious of not merely what we are doing but what the outcome can be. I want to present this line to everyone because all of us need this consciousness.

"Death is so much more vital than time. Death gives time its value."

The line comes from Brigitte, who played "Death" in the movie. Things that you cannot sell and buy are priceless. Time, from my perspective, is probably one of the most precious things in the world, it really is, however, seldom do we treasure time. That is, we do not make the most of our time for the most part. Death thus gives time its value. This line reminds me of the article Three Days to See by Helen Keller. Only the time when we know the deadline of the things such as sight and life, which are important or even indispensable to us, do we start to complain how short the time is and feel regret for what we should or should not have done. In other words, we take things for granted. I also recall the scene in which Brigitte told Simon, who developed multiple myeloma (a cancer of plasma cell), that he was not dying right. He should tell his families the truth so that they could have the chance to say goodbye to him. I totally agree. Those who are important to you should be prepared for the loss of you before they really lose you. I consider this conversation between Brigitte and Simon to be one of the most tearful scenes. (I type the conversation below!) As it turns out, the line appears to be right at first glance. However, as a matter of fact, death does not give time its value. To me, it is the men who use their time wisely that give time its value. This line is especially for the ones who tend to waste time being a phubber. People are supposed to spend more time with their families, best friends, and lover rather than caring what others are doing and what others think about themselves. I cannot think of anything worse than phubbing without a stop and anything better than keeping significant others company and having a good time with them.

The conversation between Brigitte and Simon

Brigitte: '' You live well live right. But my friend, you are not dying right.''

Simon: ''Are you going to tell me how to die?''

Brigitte: ''Have you told your family yet?''

(Simon shaking his head)

Brigitte: ''You're not helping them."
Brigitte: "You're just denying them what is right for you there."
Simon: ''Yeah. What's that? Pain? Atrophy? Disease?''
Brigitte: ''Yes. Yes. All of it. And the chance to say goodbye.''

Basically, this movie gives us a picture of dealing with bereavement. I was trying to put myself into Howard’s shoe throughout the entire movie. How would I react if I lost my parents? Who or what would I write to if I were going to write letters as Howard did? People always say that a man changes after undergoing a "catastrophe". If I were Howard, I would probably feel exactly the same way and live like a zombie plus a hater as Howard did. As for the second question, I think I would wrote to happiness. The word happiness just jumped into my head when I asked myself this question. What is my why? (I quote the first line!) Because I know I would undoubtedly be devastated by my parents’ death. I would not be able to feel happiness. Writing letters to happiness helped me record the feeling. By doing something pleasant like giving someone a hand, I wrote a letter. I could even keep a happiness diary to remind me what happiness was all about. In this way, I would not immerse myself into the sorrowfulness of bereavement.

I highly recommend you to watch this movie. I like movies that make people think. It provokes you to ponder over death, time, and love: How these three things that you cannot see, hear, and touch connect you and the others in your life.

Log #2

2017.03.14

Log#2

In my previous log, I shared how social media mislead us as to mental illness. This week I read a book chapter as well as online articles. Some elaborate on either the popular social platforms or critical thinking, while the others discuss both.

The online article that I would like to share with (recommend) you is Social media subverts critical thinking by Jason Brooks on The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, a student-operated newspaper at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. (I also read other articles, but this one is absolutely my favorite among all.) As you can tell from the title, the author thinks that social media subverts our ability to think critically. He supports his ideas with virus-like retweeting on Twitter and zombilizing liking on Facebook. I want to focus solely on the latter because I am a Facebook user.

As Jason suggests, we stop ourselves from taking the opportunity to think by liking on Facebook. The reason? For most of the time (when we are being phubbers), too many of us replace comments, discussion, and even debates with liking, period. (I guess that is why the elder always say technology does no good to the young generations.) Instead, we care how many likes a post get, press “like” to agree, disagree with the “mad” emoji button, decide whether to read a post or not by the number of likes, judge people based on a biased headline or a single story, and become close-minded when we subscribe what to and not to see. (According to A thought exercise on social media and critical thinking and A Year of Critical Thinking in a Distracted World, most of us use social media to connect to like-minded people instead of learning about the rest, and that is, we cocoon ourselves in our existing and unchallenged view of world, including social, political, economic, cultural, and religious biases.)

From this article, I learn that we should strike a balance between liking and commenting. In addition to liking, we should not forget to voice our personal opinions as fully as possible by simply making a comment below a post. I like the author of The Impact of Social Media on Critical Thinking saying, “But when I trust someone so much that I fail to use my own critical thinking ability, I have failed myself.” While you are producing written words, you are thinking in the meantime. Through reading, then understanding, and finally yet importantly, thinking (critically), we don’t simply blind-trust in any social media sources, and by keeping these three steps a habit, we can free ourselves from the misleading ones, ultimately.

I borrow Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking by Robert E. Bartholomew and Benjamin Radford from the NTU Library. The book chapter Why Develop a Critical Eye? expounds on two parts: Critical thinking basics and Critical thinking and every day. Provided by the two psychologists, Carole Wade and Carol Tavris, eight essential guidelines involved in the process of critical thinking are introduced. (I list them below so you can take a look.) I think it is much easier for us to learn how to think critically hence improve our thinking knowing these eight. On the other side, critical thinking is for every soul and every day, as the Psychologist Dennis Coon defines critical thinking as “an ability to evaluate, compare, analyze, critique, and synthesize information.” By saying this, I really like the authors always bringing real-life supporting details into their discussion. They take advertising, medicines made from endangered animals, and common superstition of AIDS in Africa as their examples in order to tell us that critical thinking is for everyday life.

(Book cover. Source: goodreads.com)

Critical thinking basics (p.15—p.17)

1.      Ask questions; be willing to wonder.

2.      Define the problem.

3.      Examine the evidence.

4.      Analyze assumptions and biases.

5.      Avoid emotional reasoning.

6.      Don’t oversimplify

7.      Consider other interpretations.

8.      Tolerate uncertainty.

References

Hoaxes, Myths, and Manias: Why We Need Critical Thinking
Borrowed from the NTU Library

15 Amazing ways social media is changing the world

https://www.businessesgrow.com/2016/04/11/social-media-is-changing-the-world/

A thought exercise on social media and critical thinking

https://www.businessesgrow.com/2016/09/05/social-media-and-critical-thinking/

A Year of Critical Thinking in a Distracted World

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harlan-loeb/critical-thinking-social-media_b_4528125.html

Impact of retweeting on Twitter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media#Impact_of_retweeting_on_Twitter

Social media make critical thinking critical

http://www.duperrin.com/english/2013/06/28/social-media-critical-thinking/

Social media subverts critical thinking

http://dailycollegian.com/2012/10/17/social-media-subverts-critical-thinking/

The Impact of Social Media on Critical Thinking

http://critical-thinkers.com/2010/04/the-impact-of-social-media-on-critical-thinking/

Log #1

2017.03.07

Log #1

The topic of my team’s project is misleading media. This week I read a paper and several articles on the Internet which I have listed them in the references section at the end of my log. These reading materials really make me ponder on how serious this social issue has been and the impact it has been making on everyone. Yes, each and every of us. In other words, misleading media are ubiquitous.

The paper that I read for this week is The portrayal of mental illness on prime-time television by Donald L. Diefenbach, a professor of mass communication at UNC Asheville. Let me skip to the result of his study. According to Diefenbach (1997), the television characters with mentally illness are found to be nearly 10 times more violent than the general television characters, and 10 to 20 times more violent (during a two week sample) than the mentally ill in the U.S. population (over the course of an entire year). How shocking is this. His findings immediately remind me of the iconic supervillain Joker in the DC comics Batman.

(Joker. Source: more-sky.com)

In terms of the characterization, Joker was originally an unpopular comedian, but once upon the time he got involved in a robbery because he was desperate to make a fortune for his expecting wife. Caught red-handed, he fell into chemical waste during his escape from Batman, emerging with bleached pale skin, bloody-red lips, green hair and his signature permanent grin. This archenemy of Batman is portrayed as a sociopath who kills for his own amusement. There are more. With his traumatic childhood, Freddy Krueger, notably recognizable by his red and green striped sweater, bladed gloves, and the severe burns to his face, displayed sociopathic behavior at a young age and was thus teased by his classmates. Even Batman, the popular mortal superhero with no superpower, is one of the fictional victims of misleading media. He is incapable of connecting with people and maintaining a long-term relationship, which suggests that he has Schizoid Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder.

(Batman. Source: pinterest.com)

What is the impact this phenomenon can have? First, I think the mental disorders of these fictional characters are depicted in a way that makes the viewers, especially the young who are not mentally developed, are installed the stereotypes of mental illness: Being numb to others’ feelings, being merciless crime-makers, and being unsociable, and so forth. The viewers may be unfriendly to the mentally ill and stay as far away from them as possible. Chances are that they go hard on themselves and do crazy things. Misled by media, we could make the scenario in the cartoons come true. It is definitely not an easy task to judge whether mental disorders are good or bad. It depends on the angles you look at them. Some people who live with mental illness appear to be of great attentiveness and have excellent performance in certain fields, such as Christian Wolff in the movie The Accountant. He is very sensitive to numbers and figures, and he is autistic. What I want to convey is that only a few of the beneficial traits of mental illness are presented in these types of media, and on the other hand, mental illness is often taken as an excuse of why the bad guys are bad guys and how cruel and violent they act.

Crime making is associated with mental illness by the mass media in reality. Take the heartbreaking MRT knife attack. On May, 21^th, 2016, four people are dead and 22 injured after a knife attack occurred on the Taipei MRT system. It was the 21-year-old Cheng Chieh that carried out the crime. The media were saying, ‘Does he have any mental disorders?’ and ‘He is mentally ill, isn’t he?’ On the same evening the coverages related the murder to mental illness. They said he lost his mind at that time. Nevertheless, it was later proved that he was conscious then. See? The mass media was misleading us once again.

(Source: 有話好說)

To make a long story (really) short, Diefenbach (1997) highlights the media’s negative effects on mental illness. I firmly believe my examples, including the fictional characters and the news, echo with his study. The mentally ill on television are much more violent than not only other television characters but also the mentally ill in the real world. With the ever-changing nature of technology, not only the ways but also the pace we obtain information has advanced. It is an era of social media and information explosion. Misleading media are omnipresent. As a result, in my next log I would like to share what we are able to do regarding this social issue.

References

The portrayal of mental illness on prime-time television

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcop.20142/pdf

Batman Wiki

http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Batman_Wiki

Freddy Krueger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freddy_Krueger

10 Psychological Disorders of Batman, the Superhero

http://www.wonderslist.com/10-psychological-disorders-of-batman/

Formosa News

http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/Read.aspx?sno=D8530CCB50501B922633523A1C031F72