Rube Goldberg and Satire Project
(still waiting for pictures of satire!!)
Satire Project Reflection
My piece of satire in Humanities is making fun of the Artistic Process and the Mind of an Artist. I wanted to show how difficult it can be to get a piece of work out onto paper. My satire uses Horatian satire, juxtaposition, and sarcasm. I used these satirical devices so that I could take a softer approach to make fun of the artistic process. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was pointing out flaws that needed to be fixed. I want artists to look at my satire and laugh because they can relate. The juxtaposition compares how the artist looks on the outside to how their brain is feeling. Calm vs. Chaotic.
Before I even started thinking about this project, we studied satirical devices and how they are used in political cartoons and such. I learned how to use a euphemism, and how to identify a double entendre. We watched funny parodies and had to identify other satirical devices within them. Learning the meanings of satire was the most important thing to me because I feel like I could be interested in making more political cartoons and those devices are critical.
You can see in my final project that I honed juxtaposition. The way I represented juxtaposition was by really exaggerating the differences between the beginning of my cartoon to the end. The first couple of comic strips are black & white, simple, and kind of boring to look at. I wanted my last comic strip to be the opposite. It’s full of color, shapes, glitter, and even things to read. It’s all over the place so that the reader knows it’s part of the whole joke.
My satire isn’t anywhere serious, but in society, satire is used to point out big issues in the world, in the economy, and even the presidency. The devices in those satires are used to bring out a big problem that the artist believes needs to be addressed. Satire may be more or less effective based on the devices used, the population it is seen by, and how aggressive the artist chooses to be.
Overall, I would give myself a 9/10 in the class of Humanities. I feel that I have been engaged, interested, and involved in class. Sometimes I may forget an assignment for class, but generally I get everything done, and I enjoy it too. I like to listen to my peers, to my teacher, Lori, and I like to talk back. I have done well in Humanities because it is a place where we can talk about issues together and that’s what I excel at. I am good with participation and self-discipline when we are in-person together, but I know I can improve my self-control and motivation when I am behind the screen. It can be hard to get everything done, but in order to be prepared for Lori’s Class, I need to put in more effort when I am at home. I have come up with a tactic to do so; I will be creating and utilizing lists and reminders more, specifically about important due dates for assignments. This technique has helped in the past, so if I get in the groove of it again, I think I can really improve my work ethic.
Before I even started thinking about this project, we studied satirical devices and how they are used in political cartoons and such. I learned how to use a euphemism, and how to identify a double entendre. We watched funny parodies and had to identify other satirical devices within them. Learning the meanings of satire was the most important thing to me because I feel like I could be interested in making more political cartoons and those devices are critical.
You can see in my final project that I honed juxtaposition. The way I represented juxtaposition was by really exaggerating the differences between the beginning of my cartoon to the end. The first couple of comic strips are black & white, simple, and kind of boring to look at. I wanted my last comic strip to be the opposite. It’s full of color, shapes, glitter, and even things to read. It’s all over the place so that the reader knows it’s part of the whole joke.
My satire isn’t anywhere serious, but in society, satire is used to point out big issues in the world, in the economy, and even the presidency. The devices in those satires are used to bring out a big problem that the artist believes needs to be addressed. Satire may be more or less effective based on the devices used, the population it is seen by, and how aggressive the artist chooses to be.
Overall, I would give myself a 9/10 in the class of Humanities. I feel that I have been engaged, interested, and involved in class. Sometimes I may forget an assignment for class, but generally I get everything done, and I enjoy it too. I like to listen to my peers, to my teacher, Lori, and I like to talk back. I have done well in Humanities because it is a place where we can talk about issues together and that’s what I excel at. I am good with participation and self-discipline when we are in-person together, but I know I can improve my self-control and motivation when I am behind the screen. It can be hard to get everything done, but in order to be prepared for Lori’s Class, I need to put in more effort when I am at home. I have come up with a tactic to do so; I will be creating and utilizing lists and reminders more, specifically about important due dates for assignments. This technique has helped in the past, so if I get in the groove of it again, I think I can really improve my work ethic.
Imperialism Project Reflection
This project, our class researched retaliations in Africa pre-colonialism. I chose to research the Aba Women's War, and I completed an Op-Ed and visual art piece. My Op-Ed goes in-depth about the cause and effect of my event, and the visual art piece includes color and symbols that represent the revolt.
At the beginning of writing my Op-Ed, I was feeling insecure about my writing abilities and my structure. But as I continued to work, I started to gain confidence and I realized that I wrote some really professional sentences. For example in my 7th paragraph, I wrote: “Both events began in response to unfair treatment and oppression by a corrupt system that has never failed to represent xenophobic, racist, and misogynistic ideals despite constant retaliation by the minorities and allies all over the world.”. In addition to this sentence, I also included evidence in the form of quotes that I think work perfectly in my paper.
My only issues during this unit were keeping myself motivated and focused, but also transitioning through the paragraphs. I got a lot of feedback from peers and such regarding my structure, but I couldn’t quite get them right until the end, and I’m still a little unsure about the quality of my transitions. In order for me to improve my skills in writing, I plan on reading papers or formats on how to transition between paragraphs.
I learned that I can actually write strongly when I put my mind to it. I struggled at the beginning, but the feedback I received from my teachers and my peers was helpful and pushed me to improve. This is important to me because I not only learned how to receive feedback, but I also learned how to utilize it. I notice that after writing my Op-Ed I have learned how to research and present my evidence accordingly.
The biggest growth that comes to mind is receiving feedback in a professional manner. It’s not because I struggled with it before, but I just never really utilized it until this year. I appreciated the feedback and now I don’t believe that I could write a paper without it. Now, I recognize how helpful feedback is so I want to provide it for my peers next project. Feedback like this, “Harper, this is a really strong draft. You have a clear focus in your comparison, and your argument is generally well sequenced and structured” has been really helpful because it boosts my confidence in my writing abilities and makes me want to achieve a higher understanding of it. My proudest work is this sentence “ Let’s change our ways and help each other spread kindness and love, no matter what race you are, who you choose to love, what gender you identify with, or how much money you have” because it portrays my beliefs in human rights. I believe that everyone is equal and deserves the same rights.
Overall, I would give myself a 9/10. Although I am proud of my work, I know that I didn’t get everything into Lori on time, and I wasn’t always the most focused in class. I feel that I was engaged in class whether it was online or in school, and I generally used my time wisely. To be more specific, I turned my Op-Ed in the day before it was due, which was still in time but I could’ve gotten it done earlier. I plan to motivate myself with discipline in the future, so that I can stay on track and not procrastinate.
My only issues during this unit were keeping myself motivated and focused, but also transitioning through the paragraphs. I got a lot of feedback from peers and such regarding my structure, but I couldn’t quite get them right until the end, and I’m still a little unsure about the quality of my transitions. In order for me to improve my skills in writing, I plan on reading papers or formats on how to transition between paragraphs.
I learned that I can actually write strongly when I put my mind to it. I struggled at the beginning, but the feedback I received from my teachers and my peers was helpful and pushed me to improve. This is important to me because I not only learned how to receive feedback, but I also learned how to utilize it. I notice that after writing my Op-Ed I have learned how to research and present my evidence accordingly.
The biggest growth that comes to mind is receiving feedback in a professional manner. It’s not because I struggled with it before, but I just never really utilized it until this year. I appreciated the feedback and now I don’t believe that I could write a paper without it. Now, I recognize how helpful feedback is so I want to provide it for my peers next project. Feedback like this, “Harper, this is a really strong draft. You have a clear focus in your comparison, and your argument is generally well sequenced and structured” has been really helpful because it boosts my confidence in my writing abilities and makes me want to achieve a higher understanding of it. My proudest work is this sentence “ Let’s change our ways and help each other spread kindness and love, no matter what race you are, who you choose to love, what gender you identify with, or how much money you have” because it portrays my beliefs in human rights. I believe that everyone is equal and deserves the same rights.
Overall, I would give myself a 9/10. Although I am proud of my work, I know that I didn’t get everything into Lori on time, and I wasn’t always the most focused in class. I feel that I was engaged in class whether it was online or in school, and I generally used my time wisely. To be more specific, I turned my Op-Ed in the day before it was due, which was still in time but I could’ve gotten it done earlier. I plan to motivate myself with discipline in the future, so that I can stay on track and not procrastinate.
Visual Art Piece
Sitting on Men and Racism
Colonialism stripped women of their power. In 1929, thousands of women from North-Western Nigeria stepped up to protest their oppressors - European men. These men forced taxation upon the Igbo Tribe which ultimately cut all power from the women and slowly halted the transportation of food and goods into the town. The women of this particular tribe actually ran the trading and goods in the community, so in order for them to feed their families and regain their power, they needed to retaliate.
Evans offers a general background on the women’s war: “In November of 1929, thousands of Igbo women congregated at the Native Administration centers in Calabar and Owerri as well as smaller towns to protest both the warrant chiefs and the taxes on the market women. Using the traditional practice of censoring men through all night song and dance ridicule (often called “sitting on a man”), the women chanted and danced, and in some locations forced warrant chiefs to resign their positions.” Evans, Marissa, “Aba Women’s Riots (November-December 1929)”, Black Past, 27 March 2009.
In November of 1929, an officer was collecting taxes and came upon a woman and her goats. He demanded that she count her goats, in which she replied “Was your mother counted?”. Her response angered him, so he grabbed her by the throat and assaulted her. When the women of her tribe heard about this, they went to his property with palm leaves in their hands, hitting the side of the house while chanting.
This common form of protest in Nigeria is called “sitting” on a man. This event includes chanting, marching, and disruption of a man’s property in order to intimidate him. Sitting really only happens to men when they disrespect or harm a woman in the tribe.
When news of the women’s “riot” reached Europe, it was falsely reported that the women became hostile and killed two men. Officers were sent over and ended up killing 50 women and wounding over 50 more. The blame for this war was pinned on the women, making them appear hostile and barbaric to the population in Great Britain.
This war can be compared to the BLM movement that has been around since 2013. “Black Lives Matter Foundation, Inc is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.” - About Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter.
It’s fair to point out that both events are summarized as minorities (specifically black populations) being dehumanized and discriminated against by white people, but both stories also have smaller things in common. Both events began in response to unfair treatment and oppression by a corrupt system that has never failed to represent xenophobic, racist, and mysogynistic ideals despite contstant retaliation by the minorities and allies all over the world. Breonna Taylor was shot and murdered on March 13th of 2020. She was a black woman working in the medical field, who lived with her boyfriend at the time. Police broke into her house with the suspicion that it was being used for illegal drug trade. Shots were fired, Breonna Taylor was murdered, and no one was prosecuted for her death.
Taylor’s case has yet to be put to rest, because her killer is still walking as a free man. The inaction to her case could lead people to believe things about her that just aren’t true. For example, some people still believe that she deserved it, that she was a drug dealer, and that she was a threat to the officers who invaded her home. False reports are serious, and the truth is the only thing we can count on to be fair and decent humans. The war in Igbo can relate, because the dead women who were shot and killed by officers, were reported to be killers and savages. No one in Europe knew the real story, which allowed history to be repeated.
The Women’s War of Igbo and the BLM movement may not be the same, but to understand the repetition of racism and white supremacy, we need to clearly compare it to events that we are familiar with.
How can you become an ally to not only people of color, but everyone you encounter? Colonialism has shaped our world in many ways, and even stripped people of their power just because Europeans believe that color is inferior. Let’s change our ways and help each other spread kindness and love, no matter what race you are, who you choose to love, what gender you identify with, or how much money you have.
Cites:
“Aba Women’s Riots (November-December 1929)”, Black Past, 27 March 2009.
About Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter.