Barnga

1.) Chaos
2.) I just expected a normal card game
3.) I didn't realize anything was wrong until the end when people were looking confused and were making different shapes for the suits with their hands.
4.) Since I didn't realize that anything was wrong until the end, I just played the game like normal with the rules I knew.
5.) It was difficult to communicate. I was frustrated, that's for sure. I didn't get mad until other people started getting mad and confused at what was happening. But I was oblivious.
6.) No, I don't think it's appropriate for a culture. I think for the game itself you can call it "a game - or sort of". But I don't think culture is a game. It can be confusing and frustrating, but not a game?
7.) A universal language and currency would be very beneficial for this world. It would make things easier and more peaceful.
8.) It teaches us that all cultures are different and that we don't understand each other because we can't properly communicate with each other. 

Freaks and Geeks

1.)What are the groups and what functions do they serve? Are there negative influences from any of the groups (dysfunctions)?  There are two different groups in this show. The freaks and the geeks, as the title might suggest. They both serve as main roles in the episodes. The freaks are your stereotypical bullies. They push the geeks around make them feel belittled. The geeks are also very go with the flow and they follow the rules because they try to avoid trouble.

2.)Who has power in the episode? How or why do they have power? How do they use it? The freaks definitely have the power in this episode. The have the power because they're "stronger" and "cooler". They use their power in negative manners. They try to persuade the other kids to do bad things throughout the episode, like smoking and skipping school.

3.)What are the important symbols in the episode? Note that the symbols might be an object, but also might be an idea, an event or something else. How do the characters act based on the symbols they find important?  The drum set was the biggest symbol in the whole thing. He seemed so ecstatic when he was talking about makeshift drum set and cow bells. He just wanted Lindsay to find her true happiness in the world. I find it ironic that they ditched school after a movie that was talking about their future in professions. 

4.) Can you relate any of these theories to your own life? How can the things you do be interpreted through one of these theories? For example why do you wear what you wear or why are you going to college or why do you stress yourself out to get "good" grades?  I can relate to these things in my own life, yes. I see this in my siblings and through the younger kids in school. I am who I am because I want to be it. I compete against myself, that's for sure. But my role models have also helped me shape myself throughout the years as well.

Radical Experiment

The video we watched in sociology was an interesting one to say the least. At first it was kind of confusing and hard to follow, but eventually it started to make sense. He used a lot of big and confusing words, which made it difficult to understand. His first analogy of the United States being controlled because of our coal really got me confused. At first, I didn't know what he was leading to. But as he went on and explained that that's how some other countries feel, then it started to make sense. The real eye opener for me, however, was not the coal analogy, but when he said to imagine being an Arab-Muslim. That is when it really hit me. The people from Iraq have such a different point of view than we do. The sentence "One country's terrorist is another country's freedom fighter", really got me. They don't see it the same way we do. Their propaganda portrays it in a totally different manner than what we are actually trying to do. I wish they actually knew what we were trying to do. It makes me wonder how much is lost in translation when it comes to our communication and portrayal to them. The whole idea of his speech was to show that in order to start to understand sociology, we need to understand others. And in order to understand others, we need to show empathy. Empathy is putting yourself in someone else's shoes and looking at thing from that person's perspective. Everyone's perspective is different on everything. For instance, I wasn't too triggered from watching this video. But I do know that some people were rubbed the wrong way from this video. It's all about perspective. The thing I think our class agreed on, however, was that we are glad to be living in America. It might not be perfect, but at least it's not as bad as some countries. I know I often times get frustrated with my siblings, or my parents. But I know that if I slow down think if I were in the same position as them, I understand where they are coming from. And last but not least, I see myself fitting into the big picture of society because I am a positive role model. If I can even get one little girl or boy to look up to me, and for me to change their life in a positive way, then I will have done something worth living for.