IF A STORY MOVES YOU, ACT ON IT
https://www.ted.com/talks/sisonke_msimang_if_a_story_moves_you_act_on_it/transcript
The title of this TED talk is quit misleading. Sisonke Msimang, the speaker, discusses three reasons on why stories are not as magical as they seem, and why they often get in the way of real action. The first reason she discusses is the way stories can create illusions of solidarity. People hear and read stories that create an illusion that they actually did what they read or that they are some how making an impact by listening to someone else's life. Unfortunately, by just sitting and reading or hearing isn't actually taking action, and many people fall into this trap. The second compelling argument deals with the protagonist and antagonist. Most people are drawn to the protagonist, due to them usually being the likable character, and in most cases the hero. Yet, the antagonist is the person you disregard, and throw under the bus because their morals or actions don't agree with what you believe. The antagonist stands for the things in life we don't want to confront or acknowledge. Msimang at this point in her talk told a story of her childhood about a kid stealing her bike, and then getting chased down and forced to apologize. She related this story to how she had too, for the first time in her life, stand and listen to the boy give an apology, when she knew the boy hated her and her statues, and how it was a hard lesson to learn that the messages we don't want to hear are the ones we need to hear most. Lastly, Msimang stated that stories are not always good because people normally forget to look at the bigger picture. She goes on to give a few examples of how people forget to link the narratives to meaning. In conclusion to her speech, she lists off a few ways society could make the world a better place, in the realm of storytelling. Although, she believes storytelling has a lot of faults, she believes some of it can still be good.
Sisonke Msimang was able to get her point across through humor and personal stories. By using a form of pathos, Msimang is able to lighten up the mood of her talk. She begins her speech with some humor to drag the audience in, "...and it's the perfect talk. It's the talk that I would have given
if I had been famous first." This gave way to laughter, leading her audience to listen in on what she was saying. She keeps with the humor through out her speech. It was found mostly in her stories, "So my bike was stolen while I was riding it...". Since she was able to make people laugh, she was able to connect with them and having a connection is one way to get people to like you and care about what you are saying. So, by using humor she could get her point across and have people take real notice and consideration. Another tool Msimang used to get her point across was logos. It's difficult to tell someone what they're doing has no real significance, but it's easier to tell them with facts. One specific example, was closer to the end, when she began to discuss the ways in which people have begun to trust stories instead of the media. she quotes, " only 10 percent
of young adults under the age of 30 'place a lot of trust in the media'". Msimang believes this to be bad, because people should rely on credible facts that come from the media. Following this statement she goes on to say, "From my years as a social justice activist, I know very well that we need
credible facts from media institutions combined with the powerful voices
of storytellers. That's what pushes the needle forward
in terms of social justice." This is a form of ethos, and it is another tool she used to persuade people on her views. By telling people of her life and how it relates to her topic, can convince someone that she is credible to discuss what she's talking about.
I chose this TED talk because I saw another video of her talking on TED talks called "Mad at Mandela" and the way she spoke and what she talked about moved me and I thought she was very convincing. Although this was a totally different discussion she was still able to drag me into what she was talking about, and once she was done giving her speech I understood why stories aren't as magical as they seem. Unfortunately, I'm quick to believe a lot of what people say without hard evidence, and I love fiction, but after listening to Msimang I should really start paying attention to the things that get overlooked. If you're reading this blog I highly recommend listening to it.
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Hyde & Jekyll
Part One:
Excerpts
Chapter 1 & Chapter 3
What does Mr. Hyde look like? what exactly is wrong with Mr. Hyde's appearance? To figure this out you have to put in some thought. When Enfield describes Hyde to Mr. Utterson (the lawyer) he leaves out any of the usual physical traits most stories begin with, like blue eyes, black hair, large nose, etc.. Instead of the common characteristics, he leads with, "There is something wrong with his appearance, something displeasing, something down-right detestable"(page 8). As Enfield cannot explicitly name any physical faults in Mr. Hyde's appearance, the reader is left to their own imagination, which leads to one of a dark, horrific monstrous man, that cares for no one but himself. The strong negative connotations of phrases like "down-right detestable" and "he gives a strong feeling of deformity" make the reader believe this. Later on, after taking in Mr. Enfield's account and the will Jekyll told Utterson to hold onto, Utterson came to the conclusion that, "out of the shifting, insubstantial mists that had so long baffled his eye, there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a fiend" (page 9). It seems throughout this chapter that Mr. Hyde was being described off of what he sounded like and the actions he made, and through these the reader can get a good sense of who this man really was.
On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll is perceived as someone of good, and the reader can see that he is the opposite of Mr. Hyde. In this excerpt a description of Dr. Jekyll is given, he is characterized as, "...a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a stylish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness..." (14). This description contrasts what the reader would perceive Mr. Hyde as, and it shows that Mr. Jekyll is respected, as well as liked by many. This description also provides physical characteristics of Mr. Jekyll, making him seem realer than Mr. Hyde because the reader can actually imagine a face. The use of simpler descriptive diction such as "large", where words like imposing or substantial would likely have been applied to Hyde, makes Jekyll into a gentler and nicer character. The development of ideas on Jekyll's character that we readers engage in, is the presence of dramatic irony. Everyone knows that Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll are the dual personalities of one man, but the positive diction used to describe his appearance and how others regard him, give the reader underlying knowledge that some parts of Mr. Jekyll are in fact evil. This makes the reader not fully like Mr. Jekyll even though everyone else mentioned In the book as said they did.
Part Two:
The two poems I created that are the voices of Jekyll and Hyde, are the descriptions of the two, which I wrote about above. I based the poems off of the struggle between good and evil, and how no matter how much you want of one, the other will always try to break free. Although both of them are aware of who they are and want to stay in that body, there is a constant struggle with the other part. Both poems give the reader a feel for what both of the characters are feeling and thinking.
Dr. Jekyll
I am the good part
the part that is loved
I am caring, with kindness to give
A doctor who cares for life
A man with a hidden secret
A thought
A whisper
Yelling to set him free. Yet,
havoc is what he desires
STOP. I will not.
I will stay above the dark my friend
I need help, for I am a man now
But not for long.
Mr. Hyde
I am the bad part
the part that is hated
I am monstrous, with knives for words
I am a doctor who longs for death
A man with a hidden secret
A cry
or maybe it's a crack in my mind
Yelling for me to turn. Yet,
this is me, I cannot. Will not. Change
YES. I will not
Fall into the abyss my friend
for you burden me with a conscious
But not for long.
Excerpts
Chapter 1 & Chapter 3
What does Mr. Hyde look like? what exactly is wrong with Mr. Hyde's appearance? To figure this out you have to put in some thought. When Enfield describes Hyde to Mr. Utterson (the lawyer) he leaves out any of the usual physical traits most stories begin with, like blue eyes, black hair, large nose, etc.. Instead of the common characteristics, he leads with, "There is something wrong with his appearance, something displeasing, something down-right detestable"(page 8). As Enfield cannot explicitly name any physical faults in Mr. Hyde's appearance, the reader is left to their own imagination, which leads to one of a dark, horrific monstrous man, that cares for no one but himself. The strong negative connotations of phrases like "down-right detestable" and "he gives a strong feeling of deformity" make the reader believe this. Later on, after taking in Mr. Enfield's account and the will Jekyll told Utterson to hold onto, Utterson came to the conclusion that, "out of the shifting, insubstantial mists that had so long baffled his eye, there leaped up the sudden, definite presentment of a fiend" (page 9). It seems throughout this chapter that Mr. Hyde was being described off of what he sounded like and the actions he made, and through these the reader can get a good sense of who this man really was.
On the other hand, Dr. Jekyll is perceived as someone of good, and the reader can see that he is the opposite of Mr. Hyde. In this excerpt a description of Dr. Jekyll is given, he is characterized as, "...a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a stylish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness..." (14). This description contrasts what the reader would perceive Mr. Hyde as, and it shows that Mr. Jekyll is respected, as well as liked by many. This description also provides physical characteristics of Mr. Jekyll, making him seem realer than Mr. Hyde because the reader can actually imagine a face. The use of simpler descriptive diction such as "large", where words like imposing or substantial would likely have been applied to Hyde, makes Jekyll into a gentler and nicer character. The development of ideas on Jekyll's character that we readers engage in, is the presence of dramatic irony. Everyone knows that Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll are the dual personalities of one man, but the positive diction used to describe his appearance and how others regard him, give the reader underlying knowledge that some parts of Mr. Jekyll are in fact evil. This makes the reader not fully like Mr. Jekyll even though everyone else mentioned In the book as said they did.
Part Two:
The two poems I created that are the voices of Jekyll and Hyde, are the descriptions of the two, which I wrote about above. I based the poems off of the struggle between good and evil, and how no matter how much you want of one, the other will always try to break free. Although both of them are aware of who they are and want to stay in that body, there is a constant struggle with the other part. Both poems give the reader a feel for what both of the characters are feeling and thinking.
Dr. Jekyll
I am the good part
the part that is loved
I am caring, with kindness to give
A doctor who cares for life
A man with a hidden secret
A thought
A whisper
Yelling to set him free. Yet,
havoc is what he desires
STOP. I will not.
I will stay above the dark my friend
I need help, for I am a man now
But not for long.
Mr. Hyde
I am the bad part
the part that is hated
I am monstrous, with knives for words
I am a doctor who longs for death
A man with a hidden secret
A cry
or maybe it's a crack in my mind
Yelling for me to turn. Yet,
this is me, I cannot. Will not. Change
YES. I will not
Fall into the abyss my friend
for you burden me with a conscious
But not for long.
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