Squid Game

Squid Game is a Korean drama series released on Netflix in 2021 and became one of the most popular shows of all time very quickly. This series is about a group of people who are struggling financially and decide to accept an invitation to compete in several games in exchange for prize money.

I finished this series this past weekend and I really enjoyed it. After watching the show I was able to make some connections between Squid Game and Parasite. Both the tv show and the movie focus on socioeconomic status, capitalism and what that looks like in our current society.

Similar to Parasite, a non literary work we studied in class, the cartoons we looked at also focused on a similar topic. An example of this is the Chappette political cartoons, because this theme is a common trend on only in the works we have looked at in class but also a common topic generally, I think this is a great global issue to consider for the IO.

A literary work that could potentially work with any of the non literary works we’ve looked at in class with the theme of socioeconomic status is We Need New Names. There are several instances in that novel where socioeconomic status is looked at. An example of this includes the beginning of the novel when the kids go from Paradise to Budapest to eat guavas and they meet that girl. This same theme is hinted at throughout the novel when Darling moves to America and is working for a rich family and compares herself and her life to Kate’s. This is definitely an IO idea I trying to build on if possible.

Gender Roles in Advertising (pt 2)

Jack Daly – The Real Man Catalogue

These photographs generally criticise society’s outlook on males with issues such as toxic masculinity, homophobia, expectations in terms of emotions and etc.

How do the photographs adhere to and deviate from print advertising conventions?

Photographs follow some similar conventions to advertisements in terms of having a subject and writing, however they do not have the purpose. The writing in print advertisements has the purpose of selling the product while the writing in photographs is more for satirical and dramatic effect. Therefore, although the look remains the same in both text types, the actual deviation of purpose changes the effect they have.

How might viewing these photographs change a person’s ideas about gender roles and/or the way gender roles are used to advertise products? 

These photographs are very explicit and literal with what they say, creating humour and criticising certain aspects of society. The satirical nature of the text on the photographs shows how absurd gender roles and stereotypes are in a more literal sense rather than being discreet. This blatantly shows to the audience how gender stereotypes are used in advertisement and how that supports and encourages wrongful stereotypes and ideas.

How useful are classification of texts according to form, text type and period? How do they contribute to the understanding of communication and development?

By classifying text according to form, text type and period, it can be seen why certain things are done the way they are. This is useful as it allows for a deeper understanding of the overall message the text may be trying to portray and makes it easier to analyse the text type as prior knowledge can be also applied.

IO CONNECTIONS

~ global issues relating to gender roles and its place in society, potentially comparing between males and females ~

• Frankenstein
  • Victor’s role in the story vs Clerval’s more nurturing personality
  • the monster wanting a female companion and Frankenstein being scared of the companion being independent and having her own opinions, thoughts and will.
• The World’s Wife
  • Little Red Cap
  • Mrs Midas?
• We Need New Names
  • Patriarchal society – Darling’s father leaves for work, once he gets ill he isn’t able to do much
  • Darling’s uncle in the US and his son – they tend to sit around while her aunt does cooking

Gender Roles in Advertising

Eli Rezkallah Photography In a Parallel Universe

How do the photographs offer multiple perspectives of gender roles?

The photographs offer a new perspective by reversing the stereotypical gender roles commonly seen (e.g. women needing to cook and clean, being emotional, etc). Through doing this, viewers are able to see the perspective from the 50s of women carrying very domestic roles, they are also shown a modern approach to the same sorts of actions. By putting these two perspectives side by side, another perspective is offered as it shows how in any way, gender roles are wrong and ridiculous.

How do Rezkallah’s photographs reference print adverts from 1950s America?

He takes the advertisements from the 50s which seem to target a specific demographic of individuals within an ‘average’ household with a husband and wife, fitting the females into domestic roles and men into more powerful roles. Rezkhallah takes these advertisements and recreates them in real life switching the gender of the people photographing them. Through this transformation, Rezkhallah challenges gender roles through humour.

Does knowledge of conventions of form, text type and rhetorical devices allow for a better and deeper understanding of a text?

I think that knowledge of literary conventions does allow for a better and deeper understanding of a text as it allows for the readers to look more closely at why things have been done in the text they way they have. This allows for the readers to be more aware and intentional while looking at the text to find underlying messages which may not be as obvious at first glance.

{potential} IO CONNECTIONS

~ global issues relating to gender roles and its place in society ~

• Frankenstein
  • Elizabeth’s passive role in the story
  • Safie’s life story
  • the monster wanting a female companion and Frankenstein being scared of the companion being independent and having her own opinions, thoughts and will.
• The World’s Wife
  • Penelope
  • Thetis
  • Little Red Cap?
• We Need New Names
  • Patriarchal society – Darling’s father leaves for work
  • young girls discuss the mannerisms of women throughout the novel

IO Reflection

Today I gave my first ever L&L oral on “Frankenstein”. I can definitely say that as this was my first time giving an oral, I don’t think I did that well. I had the necessary parts in my oral but wasn’t able to go into as much as depth as I would have liked to or should have because I didn’t have time. We discussed this in class but by if I had put number lines in my extract, I think I could’ve saved time and actually analysed and evaluated choices a little better. What I need to work on, besides more practicing, is creating a persuasive argument in my oral. If I continuously keep that in mind while preparing for the oral, I think I’ll be able to do better.

Individual Oral

Introduction presentation 

Key things to remember:

• everything must tie back to the global issue
• determine a  general area of global issue as well as concepts to tie in the presentation
• using subject-specific terminology (when referring to stylistic, authorial choices)
• concise explanations of texts themselves so that there is more time for evaluation
• balance while talking about both texts 
• refer to entire body of work for both texts 

very good IO example: https://philpot.education/mod/page/view.php?id=81  (38/40)

Comments on Practice Individual Oral of “Parasite”

Criterion A = 7

Good understanding of how this global issue is presented in the scene. Some reference to the scene that came before (the way the storm impacted the Kim family) → you could have also mentioned how this scene contrasts with the previous one in order to juxtapose the way the storm affects different classes.

 

The GI statement was quite long, and I would recommend using a much shorter, easier to say/remember statement next time!

 

Appropriate choice of scene and stills to highlight your points about the global issue.

Criterion B = 7

Mis-en-scene: Mrs Park in front of Mr Kim and usually in the centre. Physical difference represents the wealth gap.

 

Acting: Mrs Park laughing, smiling, careless, comfortable, happy. Pays no attention to those workers around her. Mr Kim tired, exhausted, slouched, looks unhappy. Wealthy are ignorant of the struggles of the poor.

 

Good analysis of how Boon uses particular film techniques to communicate ideas about wealth inequality in this scene.

 

Criterion D = 8

Clear, accurate and effective language. Good, accurate use of film terminology.

 

I am relatively happy with this. It had occurred to me as well that my GI statement was quite long. Moving forward, I will make sure to have a more concise statement. I also think I overall just want to work a bit more on doing thorough analysis and evaluation of technique sinces that is a skill required for Paper 1 and something I have room to grow in.

Global Issues in ‘Parasite’; for Assessments

1) Wealth inequality (politics, power and justice):

The ignorance of rich people when it comes to life struggles like having enough money to eat.

2)  Wealth inequality (science, technology and environment):

The ignorance of rich people when it comes to the environment and the vulnerability of different classes to climate change.

3) Cultural Appropriation (culture, identity and communities):

Cultures are often misinterpreted and appropriated, especially marginalized or smaller cultures that have been treated badly or looked down on with pity.

4) Glamourizing the United States (culture, identity and communities):

The US is put on a pedestal from the outside world and perspective.

5) Education inequality (beliefs, values and education):

Wealth and social class play a role in the amount of education an individual can get despite their intelligence and talent. This leads to a cycle of poverty.

These are 5 issues I definitely could consider using for my Individual Oral if I can find them in literary texts.

Global Issue in "We Need New Names" & "Embarrassment of Riches"

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo is a novel that follows the journey of a young Zimbabwean girl, Darling, through her childhood in Zimbabwe and America after she emigrates there to live with her aunt in hopes of a better life and captures her experiences and struggles.

“Embarrassment of Riches” by George Monbiot is an essay that talks about  how the people who become rich are only because of the poor and how a lot of the environmental issues present in our current world is because of the actions of the rich. Monbiot raises some negative traits about people who are rich and mentions his thought on the idea that money brings happiness.

Field of Inquiry: Politics, Power & Justice

Broad Global Issue: Wealth gap

From “Embarrassment of Riches”:

“…Even when they mean well, the ultrarich cannot help trashing the living world.

The disastrous effects of spending power are compounded by the psychological impacts of being wealthy. Plenty of studies show that the richer you are, the less you are able to connect with other people. Wealth suppresses empathy. One paper reveals that drivers in expensive cars are less likely to stop for people using pedestrian crossings than drivers in cheap cars. Another revealed that rich people were less able than poorer people to feel compassion towards children with cancer. Though they are disproportionately responsible for our environmental crises, the rich will be hurt least and last by planetary disaster, while the poor are hurt first and worst. The richer people are, the research suggests, the less such knowledge is likely to trouble them.

Another issue is that wealth limits the perspectives of even the best-intentioned people.”

From “We Need New Names”:

Pg 265 and Pg 268-269

 

In WNNN, the pages mentioned above contain the interaction and conversations between Kate, Darling and Eliot. In these pages, Darling\’s poverty even after moving to America is seen and it also shows the contrast of her life and Eliot and Kate’s life. We see what seems to be Eliot’s wealth and how it seems to talk away his ability to feel for Darling (like Monbiot mentions the richer you are, the less you\’re able to connect with people) as he misses his drink cap and leaves it where it is for Darling to pick up. He also wants to go hunt in Africa and wants to learn Darling’s language (which shows Monbiot\’s point of the rich can\’t help but thrash the world for their own good). Darling also mentions how Eliot has been all over Africa but has only ever seen the animals and parks which also supports Monbiot’s ideas being presented about rich people not being able to connect with others. In addition to that, although Darling invalidates Kate\’s struggles thinking her struggles have been significantly worse, the readers also see that Kate doesn’t really sympathize with Darling either.

Refined Global Issue: the unnoticed impact of wealth gap on the rich and the poor