Acrophobia

The article I chose to summarize was Deconstructing Acrophobia: Physiological and Psychological Precursors to Developing a Fear of Heights Carlos M. Coelho, Ph.D and Guy Wallis, Ph.D. I wanted to research about fear of heights, or acrophobia, because of the documentary I watched, Man on Wire. The documentary was about a man who willing walked a tight rope between the Twin Towers in New York. He was completely unafraid of the height he would be walking at, so it made me more curious about people who have a fear of heights.

I have a fear of heights myself, so I was interested in learning about others who share my fear. The article by Coelho and Wallis was the first one I clicked on and it immediately caught my attention. The article studied the factors that could lead a person to developing a fear of heights. I continued reading because I wanted to see if I agreed with what they were saying. And, I did. Two of the factors they were studying was vision and balance. When I'm at a height that makes me anxious my vision gets blurry and I feel unsteady. I can't see the ground beneath me so I have no clue how high up I am plus I think of scenarios of me falling to my death. So, yeah. My imagination is a very vivid place. Anyway, back on topic. I agreed with everything the scientists said and they provided factual evidence so I couldn't argue with them. Including data tables makes it pretty hard to say they made everything up. Plus they used big words so I knew I could trust them.

The Reality of Reality TV

Reality TV has become a permanent fixture in popular culture.  Either you love it or you hate it, you can't deny the fact that our society has become obsessed.  Our obsession has grown to the point where a good portion of the television shows on right now are reality shows.  Networks know we watch them so they keep making them.  One of the most popular reality shows on TV right now is The Bachelor franchise (yes, franchise because this one show has multiple spin-off series i.e The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, etc.).  And I'll admit it, I watch every single one of the shows involved in that franchise.  They're completely ridiculous and frustrating, but I love them so much.  As I'm watching these shows, I'm questioning how "real" they actually are.

The question of how "real" it actually is starts with the premise of the shows.  The Bachelor is about one man dating 30 women in the hopes of finding his wife.  The Bachelorette is basically the same except the gender roles are switched.  And my personal favorite, Bachelor in Paradise, is when all the unstable cast aways from previous seasons all go to Mexico in the hopes of, you guessed it, finding love.  Most the couples that do find "love" on the show, don't last in the real world.  The majority break up a few months into their relationship and only a handful of the couples actually make it down the aisle.  The point is, the shows track record for successful relationships is terrible. The latest couples from the franchise who happen to still be together are in engagement limbo.  They're either going to get married or appear on People magazine with a rip down the middle.  The question is now why doesn't it work out?

The contestants are in the Bachelor "bubble" for 2 months with no contact to the real world.  Their phones are taken away so all they can do is focus on the "relationships".  The dates these people go on are out of a fairytale.  They go on extravagant dates in planes and boats with random hot tubs put in the middle of nowhere.  The point is, these are not the type of dates one has in the real world.  When they get out of the "bubble", it is a shock to their system when all they have is each other and Netflix.  When that time comes, the "winner" may realize they fell in love with the fairytale as opposed to the person.  That's just my thoughts on the matter.  I'm not a relationship expert, but I am a TV expert.  I know a good show when I see it and this franchise is full of good shows.  It's like watching a slow moving train wreck and I can't look away.  I have fallen way too deep into the Bachelor hole so even if its not as real as it wants people to think it is, I'm still going to sit on the couch every Monday and watch the Bachelor (but not until May because the season ended... WHYYY!).

Ambiguity

Ambiguity is the quality of being open to more than one interpretation of something.  It usually leads to doubtfulness and uncertainty since it has a different meaning to different people.

In the documentary Urbanized, director Gary Hustwit shows ambiguity by showcasing Bogota's interpretation of a "perfect city."  The documentary features a tour of the city given by the mayor of Bogota.  The city features a bike lane that is separated from the main road by cars in the mud.  The safety of pedestrians on bikes is a priority for Bogota and it is a feature that adds to their interpretation of a perfect city.  This is an example of ambiguity because not every city as the same definition of what a perfect city is like.  For some people a bike lane could be an important feature in their definition, but for others it is not.      

Freewrite Reflection

I learned that as I writer I tend to use a lot of "fluff."  In all of my high school classes they teach us the typical 5 paragraph essay that needs to be a certain amount of pages.  When you have that kind of page requirement, they taught us to drag out what we have to say and add a lot of detail that does nothing for the overall purpose of the essay.  I also tend to try to find a creative way to start each paper I have to write.  In my previous writing classes, I was taught the importance of a good attention getter that makes the reader want to keep reading.  I always liked to start with a quote and then find a way to connect that to my topic in the introduction.  For the microtheme, I had to let go of all of that.  I had to get to the point right away because this didn't require a fancy attention getter.  I also couldn't add as much "fluff" as I tend to.  I usually drag the topic of one of my body paragraphs until there is nothing left to say about it.  For this assignment, I had be speculative and add only the necessary information.  I couldn't drag something on and on like I was taught to do.

What I learned about myself is that I try to avoid picking sides as much as possible.  If it's a topic that I have a clear stance on then I don't have a problem with sharing my opinion.  But if it's something that I don't have a clear stance on, then I try to see from all points of view.  Yes, I'm the cliche person who always says, "I'm Switzerland."  I do care what others think and I tend to be a people pleaser.  I try to please as many people as possible because I don't like to offend anyone especially when it's an argument between some of my friends.  I like to remain in the middle so I don't offend anyone.

By writing this microtheme, I learned something about the nature of truth.  Everyone has their own opinions and points of view on an issue, so whatever they believe in that is their truth.  That is the thing they believe with all their hearts to be the absolute right thing.  Everyone has their own truth which makes it unique to them.  People might share similar opinions up to an extend, but then they will disagree as the discuss it in further detail.  A person's truth can not be changed.  They know in their heart and mind that it is the truth because they believe it to be true.          

Microtheme Revision

Original

Revision

A revision strategy I learned is to edit anything that sounds like a traditional essay.  Delete wordiness and words that aren't found in your day to day vocabulary (i.e. plethora).  I also need to make sure I restate the problematic question when I explain the causes/consequences.  

Microtheme reflection

Having never written a microtheme before, I feel pretty good about my draft.  I chose to write about the problematic question of why people still smoke given everything we know about the dangers.  Growing up around smokers gave me a lot of personal experiences that I could draw from while writing.  I have watched my family members smoke all of my life and then I had to watch as they lost their lives because of it.  I saw first hand what smoking does and I'm still confused as to why people continue to do it.  In my introduction I give some background on how my personal experiences have shaped my opinion on the matter and I feel like that's one of the things that is working in my microtheme.  I could make it more concise, but I feel like its a good starting point.

It really became more challenging as I got into the 2nd paragraph.  I had to get in to the mind set of someone who smokes and ask the question of why they do it.  I like to think I have the ability to emphasize with people in order to understand their points of view, but continuing to smoke is the one thing I have a hard time understanding.  Instead of trying to get into their mind sets I decided to think more about the different circumstances a person could be in that would lead them to smoke.  Another challenge was having to let go of everything I was previously taught about writing.  I was taught to always use an "attention getter" to make the reader interested, but with this I had to get straight to the point.  It is also not the traditional essay where I use big words to sound smarter ( don't lie, we all do it ).   Big words is just another way to bead around the bush and you can't do that when writing a microtheme.  You only have one page to get everything you want in there so you have to get to the point quickly.  

Documentary as a Rhetorical Tool

I'll be honest... Documentaries were never my favorite films to watch.  I never knew why exactly.   Maybe it was because the ones I saw had horrible effects that I just couldn't get past.  Or maybe it was because I never saw one that was interesting enough for me to want to keep watching it.  And then I watched Blackfish (2013).  It completely changed my way of looking at the documentary genre.  Not did it have a message that I strongly believe in, but it was also compelling to watch.  And then I realized that I do like documentaries when it is the right one.

Going into the documentary project, I followed the same guidelines.  I looked for one with a premise that intrigued me instead of one with the shortest run time.  The film I chose, Man on Wire, not only helped cement my appreciation of the genre, it also improved my rhetorical writing abilities.  In my previous writing classes, I was always encouraged to bring myself and my opinions into my writing.  This project taught me how separate myself from my writing.  I was able to be bring the focus off of me and bring focus to what the film does.  This was the first time I had to be objective in writing and it was a challenge I embraced.  It helped me grow in terms of my writing and I feel it is a challenge everyone should face in their writing careers.