Documentary Topic: Suggestion and Points of View

Documentary

Topic Suggestion: Stereotypes (About and within Punahou)

First point of view: Stereotypes are extremely relevant in life: racism, sexism, and other prejudices are all based in them. But stereotypes and groupings are especially frequent in high schools. People are defined as jocks, geeks, sluts, and so on, and it is very common to have a negative impression of a peer before speaking to—or even meeting—them. At Punahou, stereotypes are especially prevalent because of how people view Punahou students. The image of the stereotypical spoiled, rich, snobby Punahou student is wide-spread and has affected most, if not all, of us. Most stereotypes are negative, and as such, have a very negative effect on those they are focused on. Everyone has experienced what it feels like to be stereotyped—whether it is a joke about race, or your car being keyed because of the Punahou bumper sticker on the back. Stereotypes and generalities can be very harmful, and should be avoided.

Second point of view: In Hawaii, stereotypes don’t really exist. We don’t have problems with racism, hate crimes, or sexism, and this is a direct result of the fact that stereotypes—in Hawaii, at least—aren’t around anymore. Obviously, some people still hold prejudices, but for the most part, stereotyping has died out.

Third point of view: All stereotypes are based in fact, and are therefore generally accurate. If you pay attention to stereotypes, you’ll be safer than people who don’t. You’ll know—just by looking at someone—if they’re dangerous, weak, smart, rich, and so on. Knowing stereotypes can really help you decide who to talk to and how to talk to them.


There perspectives are all relevant to the documentary because they represent three very different kinds of thinking. Without each of them (and others not represented here), the documentary would be incomplete, and possibly biased. Different perspectives also bring up the question of how people with different ways of thinking (i.e., the person who believes stereotypes are good and the person who believes that stereotypes are bad) would interact with each other in regards to the topic of stereotypes. Would people with different views on stereotypes be able to get along? Would they be able to come to an agreement about stereotypes, and differences between people? There points and questions could also be explored in the documentary.

The Map Room

Paper for Cycle Two

This is mainly a description exercise for me… because I suck at description. So sorry, but no dialogue here. I might continue it, but I’m not sure.

The Map Room

Years ago, there used to be an out-of the way building in downtown Memphis that housed a niche—a sort of gathering place—that writers, scholars, students, and the occasional professor would gravitate to. Not many people were aware of the place, but those who did find there way there tended to go back again.

The place was called the Map Room. Walking in, you would see a mahogany bar stretching across the back of the room. Behind it, an enormous map of Europe before the wars spread across the wall. The door leading to the basement stairs was positioned in the only blank piece of wall on that side of the room. More maps covered the other five walls—the room was not an ordinary square, but a sort of asymmetrical hexagon. In the far left corner were couches, chairs, coffee tables, and bookshelves that covered any space that maps did not. Lamps and coasters were scattered everywhere, and two lazily clicking ceiling fans took the place of the delinquent air conditioning system in the summertime. At night, the small windows high up on the walls barely showed the dim lamplight that stayed on late into the night as regulars stayed as long as they could—which often meant as long as they wanted to stay. During the winter, people would congregate in the basement, where the oldest maps lay in atlases and albums and were framed on the walls. There was a cabinet entirely devoted to sextants and charts and other navigating tools. When its doors were opened, it was easy to imagine the smell of salty ocean air.

The Map Room was easy to fall in love with, and more than one couple had fallen in love in it. It was an old-fashioned place, with an air of nautical navigation, of musty books waiting to be read, of endless opportunity to explore and no end of time to explore in. It was a kind of sanctuary—walking into it was like walking into a different time, a pocket of time that—despite the ceiling fans and telephone and electricity—seemed not to have changed for a very long time. It was very much separate from the rest of the city, and once you entered, it was easy to forget everything but that which was in the room. Making conversation was easy, and the conversations would often last for hours, sometimes with long, comfortable and contented pauses between. For those who went there, the Map Room meant peace.

The Map Room is gone now—as are many old-fashioned things. A mall stands in its place, and the maps are scattered between storage boxes, the old regulars of the demolished place, the former owner, and buyers that came to the auction. The mall is much more popular than the Map Room ever was, but the timelessness has been lost.

Seven Ways of Looking at Music

First post for my Sophomore year: a poem, written in the style of Wallace Stevens' 'Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird'.

Seven Ways of Looking at Music

I

Black on white is not animated, but

the sound that comes from black on white

can be breathtaking.

II

Music left unplayed

is a wasted opportunity

to live.

III

A, F, G, E, C...

They are

they can be

So much more than letters.

IV

Both are beautiful: the potential that is in a beginning

And the thrill of making a perfect finish;

An empty staff

And a Symphony.

V

First there is panic as we seem to suddenly forget

what we have spent months perfecting,

though the music is in front of us.

But when our fingers find familiar keys,

we remember.

VI

The silence just before we begin

the anticipation

Can be more thrilling than the music.

VII

When I look at the notes, I see more than music:
I see memories.