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The Difference Between Love and Hate Can Be One Word, Or A Video By MatPat

Month: November 2017

The Difference Between Love and Hate Can Be One Word, Or A Video By MatPat

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Post Was Written by 
Zachary Connell, Hunter College

Over time, throughout our world, there have always been trends and jokes that were once extremely popular, and loved by all, but have slowly faded away into obscurity, replaced by the next hot topic. Within that other world titled “The Internet”, however, a new system has emerged. Once something popular has been around for too long, it does not just disappear like it used to, the opinion of it changes. Instead of going away, it just becomes a victim of hate, instead of a bringer of joy. But when, why, and how does this change take place?
To give you an example of what I mean, take the video game Minecraft, which came out in 2010. While I cannot speak for everyone, I certainly played a lot of Minecraft in Middle School, and I know for a fact a large number of children still are playing the game to this day. On the Internet, the popularity for Minecraft had been gone for awhile, but just recently Minecraft has resurfaced, but not because people are playing the game, but because they are making fun of it, and those who do play it. This resurgence in popularity has stemmed largely from poking fun at the game’s younger audience in an ironic way. When the game was still originally popular, it was popular to create parodies of popular songs that have to do with Minecraft. YouTubers like “MineCraft Awesome Parodys” and “GalaxyGoats” have reignited the popularity by making intentionally horrible Minecraft parodies of popular songs, to poke fun at the younger audience that still plays the game, and combined, have over 450 thousand subscribers:


Undertale, another video game, has been another once hot topic to be the subject of ridicule on the net. Unlike Minecraft, whose popularity came about before the internet had gone full throttle, Undertale came out in late 2015, and once was extremely popular on every level of the internet. What are the “levels” of the internet? Well, recently there seem to be at least two distinct levels of pop culture on the internet. The first level consists of websites like Reddit, 4Chan, and some YouTube channels, where most internet trends seem to begin. The second level is… everything else. Undertale was once enjoyed by the users on these “first level” websites, and they brought the small, indie game into the limelight. Once the popularity spread outside the small internet community on the first level, they claimed that the “fandom” had ruined the game, and started a new trend about hating the game instead of liking it.

 The linguistic aspect of this culture is how the people on this first level have labeled their reason to hate the game now instead of like it. It stems from the “fandom” of the game, and how the game became popular with the “normies”. Both of these words have been used the describe the large number of people who, according to the first level users, have taken their trend and ruined it by spreading it to other websites like Facebook, DeviantArt, and Tumblr. The biggest moment that turned Undertale from a popular “meme” to the laughing stock of the internet was just one video posted by Matthew Patrick (AKA MatPat) on his YouTube channel “The Game Theorists”. The video explains how on a trip to see the Pope, he used his meeting to give him a video game: Undertale. While there was not much towards the game because of this, it is symbolic for the game’s spread outside of this first level, and into the public, and eventually, a new trend was born, this one making fun of Undertale rather than celebrating it.

The newest and largest case of internet code switching yet has taken Undertale out of the line of fire, however. Just recently TV Series Rick and Morty has almost out of nowhere to become the latest trend to be hated by these communities on the first level. The internet’s mockery of Rick and Morty, like Undertale, stems from the “fandom” it has created. The internet begun a massive campaign to make fun of both the show and its fans after the show’s fans caused a riot at a McDonald’s on October 9th because they wanted a sauce that was mentioned in the show. This has caused a much larger scale backlash against the show and its fans that has become much more than a trend in the first level. 


 This leads to the potential problem with all of this hate. While jokes here and there are fine, sites like Reddit are growing every day, and this culture is spreading very fast. I believe that all of this only comes from a lack of ability to accept things you do not like. The only reason that people are hating on anything is because they cannot accept what other people might want to do with something that they believe is theirs. I think that to fix the problems the internet has, a good first step would be the try and bridge the growing gap between these two metaphorical “levels” of the internet, and let people like what they want to like without having to face hate for it. 
Questions:
Is this level of negativity bad for the future of the internet?
Should trends be a game of “finders keepers” where the groups who make them keep them?
Is hating on things other people like a good thing, even if those people never see it?

             

The Five LOVE Languages & Communication

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog Is Written By
Lisan Ye

 I feel that in life one will encounter a goal to be happy and loved in a relationship whether it be with a loved one or with oneself. To get in touch with ourselves, we have to come across and face our emotions. 
Emotions are certain feelings that we experience and express through our mind or body. We can express our emotions through the usage of words or express them non-verbally. Non-verbally expressing of emotions includes letting our emotions show through our body, body language or facial expressions. Charles Darwin stated that facial expressions are universal and innate but body language may have different meanings depending on the culture.

Interpersonal intelligence describes the ability to understand the emotions of others by language, perception and reasoning. Ways in which you can tell one’s emotions is to assess their facial expressions, tone of voice, and mood. However, it should be noted that some people are better at recognizing and communicating emotions than others. Although this may pose as a limitation, it does not mean one cannot assess one’s emotions. One can assess another’s emotions through communication.
Some people express their emotions either through their body language or words. I think this depends on the person’s personality – one can be an extravert or introvert and have a preference of whether to bottle emotions up or not. 

Whether you are lacking in interpersonal intelligence or if you are dealing with someone who hides their feelings/emotions,  or if you just want to better your communication in general, you can use the five love languages as a guide to help your situation. Dr. Gary Chapman says that there are five ways in which a person feels or receives love. According to Dr. GaryChapman, the five love languages include: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.


Words of affirmation are considered to be a language to express love by using words. These words are used to declare how one feels towards another. Words of affirmation include verbal compliments or words of appreciation. To me, it seems as though we do not express enough how much one’s efforts are appreciated or that one is doing a great job. 
Acts of service is said to be more valued to people who believe in the idea of actions speaking louder than words. Those who have acts of service as their type of language do not tolerate broken promises well. An example of someone who prefers a love language of acts of service would say, “cut the talk; if you really did love me, you would do something around here”.  Acts of service are things that one does to ease the burden of someone else. It usually means going out of their way to do something for someone. Words are important to everyone since that is how we communicate. Words can hurt or encourage one.
  
Are you one who believes in words over actions or actions over words or do you view them as equally important?
Quality time, physical touch, acts of service and receiving gifts are examples of nonverbal languages. 
Quality time is when one gives undivided attention to their partner. It is also about understanding and listening to the other partner without interrupting. It occurs when experiences, thoughts and feelings are shared between people.
Physical touch is when physical touch speaks the language. Physical touch can be handholding, hugging, kissing, or giving a massage. An act of physical touch goes with the saying about a picture being worth more than 1,000 words; a physical touch is worth more than 1,000 words for those that prefer this love language.  
Receiving giftsis not used as a language to say that one is materialistic. The receiver of the gift might be fulfilled by the thoughtfulness and effort that was put into buying and choosing the gift.



These love language rules do not apply only towards romantic relationships, but instead allow you to understand any type of relationship. 
It is important to understand what others value most. For example, knowing one’s preferred love language can allow success in a business. Business Strategist Marie Forleo says that learning each team member’s preference allowed for a happy team and allowed for motivation and basically a fully functional team. Of course it should be noted that learning love languages wouldn’t allow for all problems to be solve. The cliché term “communication” is key is overused but really does have truth to it.

 If you are interested in what your love language is, you can take the following quiz!




Quiz for those who are single:
Quiz for those who are in a relationship:


What is your love language? Do you think it will be helpful/how will you apply it to your life in the future? Please share your thoughts!





References

The Impact of Immigration on Childhood Development

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog Written By 
Karla Tomala


Many individuals pass through the New York Harbor and The Statue of Liberty comes into view. For many, it represents freedom, freedom of speech, freedom to vote and so on. For immigrants, The Statue of Liberty can represent a safe haven for their family and children. As of 2016, about 60,000 unaccompanied children have crossed the border to get into The United States. These undocumented children migrate to the U.S. because of their need or desire for income while others go to seek a better life for themselves. The obstacles they face in the journey of coming to the U.S can be dangerous as well as traumatizing.
         Immigration is defined as individuals moving into a new foreign country where they do not possess citizenship. The effect of crossing the border as well as adapting to a new environment can take a toll on the child’s development. But many children come to the United States for the sole purpose of living in a different environment. Many of them flee their country because of the toxic environment they were living in. However, adjusting to a new environment can be difficult for a child. 


Children have to learn how to speak English as well as adjusting to the social norms of today’s society. The difficulties they may face such as getting made fun of because of where they come from or how they speak can impact the child. The child may start to have low self-esteem issues as well as self-doubt. Unfortunately, many children do not overcome this and it is because of that more light needs to be shined on the developmental issues immigrant children face.

         There are many situations in which children do not cross the border but instead, the parents leave their child behind to cross the border by themselves. Parents do this so their child can avoid being exposed to the dangers of traveling without legal documents. Unfortunately, leaving a child behind whether it is for good intentions or not, can still have an impact on the child. “Yet researchers have also recognized that parental migration, inherently involves parental absence from the home that can have a negative impact on child outcomes which may outweigh the positive effects of remittance.” (Zimmermann, 2015) Children are innocent minded but as they grow up without the influence of the parents their mindset can easily be turned into a negative one. Children who grow up without one of their parents have set to believe they abandoned them or believe the parent did not want the responsibility of taking care of them. Children’s lack of connection to their parents when they need them can negatively impact their mental health as well as their educational outcomes.




Social Exclusion is defined as the “inability to participate in economic, social and cultural life and in some characteristics, alienation, and distance from mainstream society.” When children migrate to the U.S. there is a possibility they face discrimination, which can eventually lead to suffering from psychological consequences. Settling into a country that is unknown to them, difficulties may arise such as learning how to balance your own culture with the American culture. “Immigrant children are more likely to experience negative mental health symptoms such as suicide attempts, substance abuse and depression which may be the cumulative result of having experienced more racism and discrimination.” (Androff, 2011) In the United States, there are policies that enforce “English Only” education, which can negatively impact children’s education performance as well as their self-esteem. Their inability to speak English can impact their social group, which can lead to social isolation. 

      As they turn into adolescents, there is a necessity of wanting to fit in with the social norms of today’s society. The want can eventually turn into a need, which could eventually control their actions. Their actions include falling into peer pressure and/ or going against their parent’s orders. Actions such as these can impact their development because they are letting others control them rather than taking control of it themselves. Carl Rogers was an American Psychologist and he believed humans have the ability to realize their maximum human potential to which he called self-actualization. Adolescents are on their way to self-actualization but if influenced by the wrong crowd they can easily lose sight of their full potential.

Many children migrate to the United States to break free from their laws back home. In order to understand the mental disorders of immigrant children, there needs to be an understanding of the past trauma as well as their current situation. By not letting children into the United States we are mentally damaging them. 

America is known to be the land of the free, the land of being able to give opportunities to anyone no matter the race, gender or ethnicity. Meanwhile, the treatment undocumented children receive says something entirely different about America. America wants to protect its country by denying access to entry to children who come to settle here because they have a dream.
Sources
Androff, K., David (2011). U.S. Immigration Policy and Immigrant Children’s
         Well-Being: The Impact of Policy Shifts. The Journal of Sociology &
         Social Welfare: Vol. 48: Iss. 1, Article 5
Constant, A., & Zimmermann, K.F. (2015). International handbook on the economics of
         migration. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar

Little Words, Big Rape Culture

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog Was Written by 
JEM

How the everyday words we use contribute to an unfortunate, everyday problem.


“Rape is not a moment, but a language.” – Prof. Pumla Dineo Gqola, author and activist




At the beginning of the #metoo movement, I noticed a number of things that brought me discomfort. First, as is common with American Feminism, women of color were often absent from the conversation. In fact, the fact that “me too” was an idea created and promoted a decade ago by Tarana Burke, a woman of color, and founder of JustBe Inc. The second was a deeper discomfort. One that I had felt before, but one that was threefold. First: I didn’t know how to be a part of this conversation. As a self-declared ally (I still don’t know whether I, or any man can ever truly be a feminist) I wanted to spread the word, again, that this was the experience of women. To remind people that too many (more than 1 in my book) women experience assault, abuse, misogyny, sexual aggression, and fear EVERYDAY. As a victim of sexual assault, however, I also wanted to share my own #metoo. I remember clicking through a few of my friends’ pages, men and women, feminists and victims, to see if anyone had “cleared” men to post about their own experiences yet, or if the subject had been broached. One male friend did, and another female friend told him it was OK. My worry was that I would, despite my best intentions, distract from a conversation about women who were victims of abuse at the hands of men, that this would seem more like a “#mentoo” than a simple show of commonality, solidarity, or shared opposition. I’ve felt this all too often as a male who has experienced sexual assault and who desires to be an ally.





That brings me to my second point of discomfort. Discussions about abuse and gender relations so often take the form of ‘Us v. Them’ where all women are on one side, and all men are on the other. I have been told that my voice is unwelcome simply because I am a man, without regard for my position on the matters being discussed, or the fact that I want to help. I understand that people need safe spaces, and I have always made my best efforts to steer clear of those safe spaces if I am not explicitly invited. I resent being painted as the enemy based on the gender I was assigned in the genetic lottery. There are so many men who wish for things to be different; some of us wish to be a part of the conversation, not just sign holders. We have ideas on bridging the gap, speaking directly to men, and even getting more men to the table, or standing next to women. That becomes difficult when men are taught that they are bad, and are put on the defensive.

“Men should be offended when someone claims that women should prevent rape by not wearing certain things, or not going to certain places, or not acting a certain way. That line of thinking presumes that you are incapable of control. That you are so base and uncivilized that it takes extraordinary effort for you to walk down the street without raping someone. That you require a certain dress code be maintained, that certain behaviors be employed so that maybe today, just maybe, you won’t rape someone. It presumes your natural state is rapist.” – Unknown


The third point of discomfort is related to the second, but is more complicated. It is a question that runs deep for me. How long have I been silenced? As a boy, I remember learning gender roles. Boys wear blue, girls wear pink, girls do home economics, boys do shop class, girls spend time on their looks, boys wear whatever, girls talk about their feelings, and cry, boys “man up”. Most of these didn’t stick with me as I got older. I wear pink, and basically whatever else I feel like unless my wife tells me she’s not leaving the house with me if I wear that. I can build and fix, but I can also cook, sew, and braid hair. I was also amongst the first generation of “metrosexuals” (note the connotations of that word too).  A few things DID stick with me though; things that I think stick with many boys as they get older. 1. Boys don’t cry. This one stuck with me so much that after my grandfather passed away in my arms when I was just 11 years old, I refused to shed a tear. The women all wailed, while the men hid away to avoid showing emotion. I was stoic, and proud of it. I called family members to tell them, I called the ambulance, I covered my grandfather, I slept in his room that night. I had taken the words of my father to heart. “You are a man of the house now” he said, and men don’t cry.



I learned early on that boys don’t talk about feelings, so it would be years before I faced my emotions and realized what bottling them up meant, the additional pain it caused me. I was bullied for being a geek, abused by a babysitter as a child, lost after my grandfather, my most influential and stable male figure, passed away. Then I moved to a new country at 13 to be reunited with my mother who I had been separated from for 5 years. I was a mess, and I wasn’t supposed to talk about it. I must say, these weren’t lessons actively taught to me. My mother encouraged me to speak to her, but she wasn’t a boy. She didn’t get it. America was worse than Jamaica. Being new was hard enough, but I wasn’t in any of the cliques. I was a choirboy and a soprano, I liked purple, and I played tennis. I joined the color guard because a girl I liked convinced me to, and then I was definitely “gay”. I quit two weeks later because I couldn’t stand it. I joined the football team instead. In high school, machismo ruled. I became angry and aggressive, but also really good at hiding my emotions from teachers and my mother. Eventually they all noticed, and I joined martial arts to channel my anger.

All this time, I never learned to express myself fully. I remember when I finally learned that anger was just an explosion of other emotions. It came after a therapist tried to get me to identify a range of emotions by name and facial expression. They all seemed like anger to me. For the first time, at 25 years old, I was learning to use emotional vocabulary. It was like learning a new language. I had to learn to think differently, process my situations, and break down the things I was feeling piece by piece. The process made me angry! As Colin Beavan put it “the fact that we are taught to suppress so much leads to expressing only that which overpowers us—like fear, anger, and aggression.” This was my case for many years. This is the case for many boys, who then become men, who are faced with being the enemy, and unable to express how they feel. This is compounded by adult male fraternity, alcohol, and adulting. THIS IS NOT AN EXCUSE! I say this to point out that, like many other things in our society that lead to pain, strife, and division, there is a fundamental, systematic flaw. The way we raise our men is broken, and making ALL men the enemy only pushes the broken, confused men further into the abyss, and the ones who have managed to climb away from the edge, closer back to it.


“While female sexual empowerment is an important factor in the struggle to end rape, it will not succeed without corresponding shifts in how boys are taught to experience sexuality and gender.” – Brad Perry, Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power & a World Without Rape

It all starts with the language we use; “boys will be boys”, “man up”, “boys don’t cry”, “locker room talk”, “sissy”; these words all enforce a problematic male culture and stereotype. This language is all part of what Jackson Katz calls the “Tough Guise”. To be male is to be tough, rash, aggressive, unfeeling, dominating… bad. Some men try to live up to these stereotypes, other men become victims of them, others still spend their lives trying to shake them. Other language like; “girls play hard to get”, “tipsy”, “smack that a**”, “beat the p***y up”, “c*ck block”, “c*ck tease”, even language we use in seemingly innocuous conversation like “hit me up”, or “shoot me an email”, serve to normalize violence both in our everyday lives and our sexual experiences. It has become customary for us to use violent language. We have literally internalized and assimilated violence into our speech. In turn, society has become desensitized to violence. How can we expect to teach people that violence is bad when we speak violence?





One of the most interesting things that I noticed after the emergence of the #metoo hashtag was that men started using #metoo or other hashtags like #HowIWillChange, #ihave, and #IDidThat, to admit to improprieties, and to pledge to change. While some decry this as distraction, men covering their asses, or men “performative wokeness”, I did see one interesting post from a female friend. In it, she described being in a relationship with a young man who, seemingly due to depression, lost his desire to engage in sexual intercourse with her. Upon bringing her dilemma to her friends, she was repeatedly told things like “Look at you! You’re gorgeous! What guy WOULDN’T want to have sex with you? Something is wrong with him.” Emboldened by these statements, she eventually guilted, and coerced him into sex. She used the #ihave to highlight how sometimes we do things that we don’t realize are sexual assault, or consent violations. This resonated strongly with me. How easy is it for a few simple words to change the way we perceive and act? How much would change if we stopped using language that enforced the “tough guise”, the male-female enmity, and rape culture? I a member of what is know as the “burner community”. We attend events and form a community united by the 10 Principles of Burning Man. In recent years, consent has become a large ongoing conversation and is being considered an unofficial, but equally important 11th Principle. Though many people in the community greet by hugging, we now encourage asking “Can I give you a hug?” before greeting someone. Of course, the consent education goes way beyond this to what we describe as “the enthusiastic yes”. I realized how this kind of education, could change the way we interact daily, and I have tried to introduce this to my daily life in the “default world”.


I hope one day soon, we begin to teach men and women that it is OK to express their fullness. To share in the pain, and join in opposition without distinctions. To both acknowledge our intersectionality, and learn to put them aside for the common good. Until then, I just hope that we learn to have conversations about how to get there by using language of unity instead of division.




#metoo, #HowIWillChange, #ihave, #IDidThat, #toughguise, #burningman, #woke, #mentoo



Is Artificial Intelligence a threat to the way we communicate and interact?

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog Was Written By 
Darren Rangel

#ArtificialLivesMatter

 Will there ever be a time in which we become too dependent on technology for basic human interaction? We already see an increase in social anxiety disorders and a cultural increase in favoritism towards the non-verbal forms of communication (texting, instant messaging, email etc)  Should we be concerned with this seemingly irreversible trend to distance ourselves from ‘real’ human interaction? Can technology one day ‘understand’ and predict the ‘perfect’ response for any given dialogue?  





We are all familiar with Google Translate, but how much do you really know about the underlyings of the software? Did you know that it implements a method known as Deep learning? Deep Learning is a process of imitation which occurs within the data processing of A.I.  The numerous layers of neural networks provides an intricate and extensive method of organization, archival and retrieval. The large amounts of data in these networks is processed and matched with an algorithm which helps the computer learn how to recognize words and sentences.  Google has already implemented this in a great number of its applications and services such as Google Cloud Video and Google Assistant Speech Recognition.



Deep learning is also very closely related to Neural Machine Translation, another form of A.I. that uses patterns to become progressively accurate. This accuracy can be attributed to the millions of documents that have already undergone the translation process by humans. Google computers scan the documents in search for statistically significant patterns. These patterns contribute to the entire correction process of other documents. This in turn makes the computer program highly informative of how humans use language.
            Do you consider Google’s Artificial Intelligence to be a threat or assistance to communication and translation?  In the 2013 Drama film, Her; a man falls in love with his highly sophisticated operating system and begins to prefer it to real people. Will we ever see such a mass preference to technology in our lifetime? Does it already exist?

Looking Ahead

Space Meme, Tim & Eric

A pessimistic thought a day.. keeps the ridiculous away? 
I believe that A.I. will become integrated with humanity in an irreversible manner. In one of my short stories, (I’m not supposed to be talking about this) I explore the pros and cons of a cyborg dependant humanity.  Beyond the physical reliance of tech, there is also the social communicative “disturbance” that occurs when beings are segregated by IQ and other tasty prejudices and influences.  Most of the dependance I focus on is on the industry and consumer.  As a pessimist, I must confess, that the notion of our own technological progression outgrowing us is quite satisfying.


So, this pretty much means that we’ll see an increase in the outlawing of things like manual driving, high risk decision making –  leading to the gradual removal of world leaders.  The integration of the biological and technological is what blurs the line and allows the political landscape to shift over the course of hundreds of years.  In my world, the future human population is dependent on technologies  that keep them alive. People live beyond what they do in today’s reality. Because the government has control of larger corporations that manufacture, let’s say… eye replacements, the population is succumb to upgrading its outdated hardware.  
So, now back to non-fiction 

What kinds of A.I. do we have today & what may we expect in the future.

Hal 9000, 2001 A  Space Odyssey (1968)
Here they are, 4  types of A.I. that we should be conscious of.
1.    REACTIVE  – This is the most basic type of A.I. system which is purely reactive. It does not have the ability to form memories or use such past experiences to influence new decisions. Real world example, meet  “Deep Blue”,  IBM’s  chess playing supercomputer whois known for being the first system to win a chess match against a reigning world champion, mind you. #ArtificalMindsMatter  This is cool because Deep Blue can make predictions and chose optimal movements from among a vast number of possibilities.  These possibilities are not created from a vault of “memory” or experiences. Deep Blue ignores everything before the present moment and makes decisions based on the current state of the chess pieces.  Blue does not rely on an internal concept of reality, it acts on what it perceives.
2.     LIMITED MEMORY –  These machines are in deed capable of looking into the past. Prime example: Self-driving cars, Chatbots. Yeah, I’m looking at you Google.  But how? Through the observation of other cars and identification of specific objects over time, of course! This data is added to the cars A.I. preprogrammed representation of the world. It includes, traffic lights, road curvatures and lane markings.


3.     THEORY OF MIND













These are the ones that initiate Armageddon, oops I meant “ initiate World Peace”. These machines encompass what we think of as “the next, more advanced class” capable of not only forming representations of the world, but also of other facets of life. In psychology this is describes as the Theory of Mind. (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states, desires, beliefs to oneself and others.  We are dealing with a system that may very well be able to develop its own, more proficient lifestyle.  Not only will it be able to determine its own agenda, but also more intricately understand that people and objects in the world have their own emotions and intentions. This has a ton to do with social interaction because it is the introduction of a new entity which in many ways can surpass us. In the future we will probably have to consider the impact smart technology has on a more intimate level. The dynamic of communication could be brought into new territories and that is very exciting.  Real world example: Nah, not yet but we do see them in cinema and literature. (Sonny from iRobot & R2-D2 in Star Wars)


4. SELF AWARENESS

Agent Smith, The Matrix (1999)




 Lastly is the self aware A.I. the “Theory of Mind” elevated to the furthest conscious and internal states of understanding which extend beyond the self. Self aware technology can predict and assume feelings and motives of alternative persons and entities. 
So, what do you think?  
Should we be concerned with tech becoming sentient and making us a human workforce or will we be able to laugh at Siri for centuries to come. 






“Video Game Girls Too Sexy?”

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog Was Written By 
Ian Wong

The media has always been a source of influence for people, and with the increase in popularity among video games, their influence on people and people’s views on things have also increased. This is because, many video games degrade and sexually objectify women. Many times in video games, female characters are often underrepresented, and or oversexualized in contrast to their male counterparts, to attract a male audience. This is clearly evident in the fighting game series “Mortal Kombat”, where female characters are both dramatically oversexualized and underrepresented. 


In many video games, women are depicted wearing very provocative and revealing clothes, which help exaggerate their sex appeal. Video games also convey the message of women being weaker than men, often showing female characters who are much smaller and thinner than their male counterparts. In almost every installment of the fighting game series “Mortal Kombat”, almost every female character has been depicted with large breasts, a small waist, and or wearing extremely revealing and provocative clothing. 


Further adding to how video games misrepresent women, is how video tends to portray women being weak, and helpless, alluding to the idea of women being the “damsel in distress”. In many video games, the default or main character is usually a male, while most of the secondary or supporting characters are female. This is due to the fact that many video game developers want to attract a male audience. Video games in general, tend to have more male characters, and when they have a female character, they tend to play a very insignificant or “nonessential” and “passive” role. This also applies in the Mortal Kombat series. In a few of the Mortal Kombat games, there is a popular stage that you can fight on, which shows two of the female characters chained up as prisoners wearing scantily clad clothing, showing them as nothing more than background decorations. This further adds to the idea of how women in video games are misrepresented and sexually objectified. 

To further add to the idea of women playing weaker/inferior role in video games, more often than not, not only do female characters tend to be weaker, but also tend to be submissive while the male characters are depicted as aggressive and domineering. The Mortal Kombat series clearly illustrates this. In the ninth game of the series, you had to fight your way up a ladder of opponents who increased in difficulty, with the final opponent being an evil emperor who is depicted as a huge, hulking man with a giant metal hammer who conquers other worlds. If you lose to him, it shows him laughing at you as a female slave reluctantly crawls up to his leg and hugs him, showing that idea of a dominant male and submissive female roles. 

With video games being a major outlet for mass media, many more people can be influenced by it. The sexual objectification of women in video games could lead to many negative effects on society. In many studies, when presented with material that idolizes and promotes a thinner body, many women will feel anxious and pressured to try and fit that body type. Mortal Kombat is no exception to this. In many of the Mortal Kombat games, the female characters are depicted wearing revealing clothing that show off their stomach, chest and legs. Combined with their over exaggerated feminine features, they set a rather unrealistic and oversexualized standard for women.
Due to backlash from many feminist movements and communities, in recent times, many video game developers have begun to “de-sexualize” their female characters, or at least make them slightly more realistic. Some video game developers have even decided to stem away from the traditional style of video games by making a female lead character instead of a lead male character. The developers of Mortal Kombat have also decided to implement these changes. . In the latest installment of the series, the game developers made a new female character as the lead character for the game. They depicted her as a leader/fighter, a person who isn’t afraid to take on challenges. Despite this, the character is still sexually objectified. She is depicted wearing skin-tight clothing that help define and exaggerate some of her features. 

Please share your thoughts in the comments

Do you agree that women are misrepresented and over sexualized in video games?
Many gamers and game developers have stated that this isn’t a big issue. Do you agree?What do you think game developers should do to stop misrepresenting women in their games? 


Sources:

Beasley, Berrin, and Tracy Collins Standley. “Shirts vs. skins: Clothing as an indicator of gender role stereotyping in video games.” Mass Communication & Society 5.3 (2002): 279-293. 

Harper, Brit, and Marika Tiggemann. “The Effect Of Thin Ideal Media Images On Women’S Self-Objectification, Mood, And Body Image.” Sex Roles 58.9/10 (2008): 649-657. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Nov. 2015. 

Ivory, James D. “Still a Man’s Game: Gender Representation in Online Reviews of Video Games.” Mass Communication and Society. Department of Communication Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 17 Nov. 2006. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
        

What The Heck is ‘Mansplaining’?

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog Post Written By 
Raven Jared J. 

The mansplaining sensation that’s gripping the nation: how and why does it affect our culture? 

Our story today begins with a personal anecdote that leads to the question you may be asking yourself right now, what the heck is ‘mansplaining’? When I first came across this term (ah how naïve I was) I assumed ‘mansplaining’ was some cute funny way in which men were explaining things. The inner voice of a 1940’s radio show host echoed in my head: “Gather ‘round folks! Give this man a topic and watch him go!” I pictured a brightly colored wheel with topics like “reproduction”, “the female body”, and “where to buy the best artisan cheese board” spinning to land on a segment that some poor man would be struggling to explain. But despite how adorable the word itself sounds, the actual meaning of ‘mansplaining’ and more importantly, the implications of the action, are so different from what I originally assumed. For those of you who may believe that sexism doesn’t exist anymore, well, take a seat and try not to ‘manspread’ while doing so.

 To quote our good friends at Urban Dictionary, ‘mansplaining’ is simply this: “A term used to describe an exaggerated definition of a simple idea given by a man to woman if he feels that she is not educated enough or would not understand the meaning of said word. The idea is generally something that the woman in very familiar with.” A far cry from the sweet little term I thought it was, no? For example, it would be like a man explaining how birth works to a mother with children, or better yet some condescending comment that would suggest that the mother had no idea what childbirth or raising children is like. Bonus points if the man in question has no children. Double word score if the man has never interacted with children or even read a book about birth.


Discovering this term has helped me understand quite a few interactions I have encountered in my 19 years on this planet. Having a word for the way that I have been addressed by my male counterparts, employers, friends and customers, has allowed me to be let in on a kind of secret club; a really big club consisting of pretty much every living woman on the planet. The point is this, the fact that there is a term for this action lets me know as a woman, that I am not alone, and certainly not incompetent as I have been made to feel by those that insist upon commenting on subjects I did not ask for commentary on.
 



Last summer I worked for an irrigation company, (the people who come to install and fix your sprinkler systems) and when I say I was the only female person to work there, I think I was the only female person to work there ever, possibly the only woman working for an irrigation company in my district, maybe even county. What can I say? It is a heavily male dominated business, and something I came to be very aware of. Thankfully, my boss treated me as an equal and entrusted me with the same amount of responsibility as the men I worked beside. The customers however, did not treat me the same way as my male counterparts.

            When I first began working I knew that people may feel strange about seeing a new face in a company that has been serving them for 20+ years, and I brushed off many comments as just that. After working for a few months however, I started training a guy who was a few years younger than me, and had never done any irrigation work before. It was then that I fully realized the way many of the male customers would speak to me differently than the way they would speak to the guy I was training. The men I am referring to would assume that he was in charge; more experienced, and wouldn’t question the things that he would say to them about their sprinklers. When speaking to me, they would assume that not only did I not know what I was doing, but try to give me instruction on how to fix the specific leaks that they had called the professionals in to fix. And when given this unsolicited “advice” it would usually be so wrong I would have to explain as politely as possible that I did in fact know what I was doing, which was almost always followed up with an “are you sure?” a question never posed to the guy I had been training.Here are some actual things that were actually said to me:“How long have you been working here?”“Are you sure you know what you are doing?”“I think you are doing that wrong, you should put this [wrong object] here [wrong place].”“I’ll tell you what the problem is… [Not the problem]”
“It would be a lot better if you would just do this [terrible idea that will flood the yard].”“Well this is what happened [nope] and here is how to fix it [absolutely not]”


Because I am a woman, seeing me digging ditches in their yard, laying pipe or fixing geyser-like leaks, many male customers assumed that I was either unqualified or incompetent, and it became a part of the job that I had to get used to. As much as I loved the work, and proving some customers wrong that I could do this work and do it well, it was something that did bother me. Unfortunately, being ‘mansplained’ to is a part of the job of being a woman you have to get used to.

The way we speak is what shapes our culture, because the way we speak and the way we address each other shapes the way we think. Although on its surface ‘mansplaining’ doesn’t cause any serious harm, it is a sexist way of communication that shapes our culture, and affects not only women, but men too. Linguistically, ‘mansplaining’ is a fascinating subject. It is a popular enough occurrence to have gained a term, and allows people like me to know they are not alone, and that you must gently redirect the comments thrown at you to perhaps change the way a man thinks. I am happy to say that by the end of the summer working that irrigation job, some customers would specifically request to have me come back, and many of the men who were my harshest critics in the beginning learned that just because I was a young woman didn’t mean I couldn’t do a “man’s work”. This isn’t always the case though, and regrettably, it is so hard to change someone’s mind about the way they address women, because to them, they aren’t doing anything wrong. But what does this say about our current society? This term lets us know that sexism is still alive and well, and perhaps isn’t going away anytime soon; but admitting we have a problem is the first way to solving it, so maybe raising awareness can turn something that isn’t malicious (but not necessarily benign) into a way that we can actively change the way we speak, and thus, changing our culture. 

  


Walmart Bucking Our Desire to Shop Online

Posted on by Public Linguist
Blog Written by 
Christina Zarcadoolas

Walmart is trying on a new business strategy.  Not sure if it’s to win consumers or turn them away though. 


According to the WSJ, Walmart has come up with an (inspired) idea – raise the prices of some products available on their online store making them more expensive than the prices they charge when you shop in a “real”  Walmart store. 

OK. I get it. 
Sure, for many people, the prices and selection at Walmart are just what they’re looking for.   
But why assume that working class families aren’t online!  
Nearly all Americans have cell phone (95%) and almost 80% of those phones are SMART PHONES. 
Walmart marketing strategists must know this. 

So does this decision by Walmart come in part, from a misguided decision that their shoppers aren’t really shopping on-line, or don’t want to shop online? 

Let’s evaluate that premise.
Walk into a store to shop?
What are they thinking!

Why, when over 51% of shoppers are now buying online (and trending up), would the world’s biggest retailer, do something seemingly so dinosaurish? 

Why, when Amazon did over $82 billion in online sales compared to $12.5 billion for Walmart, would they do this? 

Do they really think that they can continue to lure overworked, weary shoppers into their cavernous stores, to wander aimlessly through incoherent aisles, picking up all sorts of completely unnecessary items on the way? 


Maybe they have some weird prejudice against ruralites who often live miles from a bricks and mortar Walmart?







Maybe they think we wax nostalgic for the togetherness of their parking lots on a Saturday morning. 






Or yearn for the all-American competitive sport of shopping as we jockey for position on super sale days.





Maybe Walmart is just trying with all their might to keep their cavernous stores open when other retailers and malls are reconceiving their spaces as in-door senior walking malls or skating rinks. 

Aren’t we pretty convinced as consumers that convenience, convenience, convenience is what we’re looking for. 

Shop at Walmart, or any other big store on any regular basis? 

To mis-quote the inimitable Dorothy Parker, from “The Waltz”

“Waltz with you?”  I’d love to waltz with you.  I’d love to have my tonsils out, I’d love to be in a midnight fire at sea. 

I ask you…
Are you really ready to trade in your Amazon PRIME to feel the rush of humanity at your shoulders at Christmas time. 








Lost in Translation: Irasshaimase!　いらつしやいませ！

Posted on by Public Linguist
This Blog is Written by 
Sojourner Morrell    


Going to Tokyo for the first time, one of the first things that is remarkable is the experience of entering a store-any store more likely than not one of the many convenience stores, which are, conveniently enough everywhere. I stepped into a 7 eleven this afternoon and snapped a brief video below.
 In comparison to many stores in Tokyo and throughout Japan, this is a very mild version of the usual greeting “Irasshaimase” that is cried out by store clerks Meaning “welcome to our store.” 

In a more intimate setting as the sole customer entering a store, one might initially feel the urge to respond, however no response is actually expected; a brief introduction to the complex systems of introductions and greetings in Japan. 

Knowing when to respond, when to bow can be overwhelming- I find myself leaving Tokyo bowing at confused cab drivers in NYC- remarkable how quickly we can adapt and take on new cultural customs.
Public greetings which are often cried out in a chorus in stores, restaurants and any public space, are part of a larger phenomenon in Japan of saying things in unison. Before a meal, after a meal for example any group of people will almost also say “Ittedakimasu” or “Gochisosamadeshita” in unison. 


This goes far beyond “bon appetite” which we might chose to say to a friend while enjoying a meal together. In Japan it is said automatically as a group together-a kind of communal appreciating for the food which is being provided.
 Beyond the initial greetings and bowing which are of course so unusual as a newcomer, I cannot write about Japan without mentioning the attitude towards work or ‘shokunin’ meaning literally ‘artisan’ or ‘craftsman’. This term however speaks more to the deep sense of commitment and pride I have observed here in even the most basic, menial form of labor. It is again tied to the sense of group or community. ‘Ottsukarasamadesue’ is what is said again together in a chorus after having finished work-or any kind of effort done together. 

The NYTimes featured an article recently about this unique sense of work ethic. Journalist John Lancaster writes about this aspect of Japanese culture in relation to the financial market and the Japanese economy: 

“That’s a thing you notice in Japan, the deep personal investment people make in their work. The word shokunin, which has no direct translation, sums it up: It means something like “master or mastery of one’s profession, and it captures the way Japanese workers spend every day trying to be better at what they do.”
 In my own experience it is both inspiring and simultaneously frustrating this deep sense of commitment to work and to the greater community. Having grown up in the West, my own orientation is to the individual. In Japan however where even in speech the pronoun is often omitted removing the focus from the subject to the action itself, the individual is secondary. I  may never ever fully embrace this attitude (I am far too selfish and opportunistic),however for a brief moment, experiencing this attitude can be genuinely transformational; a brief glimpse into a unique and fundamentally different way of thinking.
Questions:
How far can we stretch our own perception of the world in absorbing a language and culture so different from our own? 

Does travel actually expand the mind or is it simply a form of cultural escapism-a      distraction from our own, often difficult realty?

ども、ありがとございます

Memes: New form of Communication and Literature?

Posted on by Public Linguist

This Blog Post written by
Rebecca Garcia

Whenever there’s a sibling gathering in my family, our focus is usually on MEMES. We like to show each other new memes we have found to be humorous or amusing and talk about the new ones that have been emerging on social media. We discuss and share memes with the hopes that we all react or feel the same connection to them or just feel like they are worth sharing. Sometimes we say nothing at all and just look at/read each other’s phones. Although some would see this as a meaningless interaction, others would consider this a form of communication and even literature.








Memes are typically known as humorous or abstract photographs, videos, and gifs that can contain pieces of texts on them and are spread rapidly through the internet. The word ‘meme’ derived from a Greek word miméma meaning “that which is imitated”. Memes are popular amongst Millennials and are used daily. They exhort our generations expressions on certain matters or situations that can be relatable. 








Just as language and writing is a form of communication, so are memes. Even though these images incorporate only short written messages, they’re usually understood by the receiver or audience. These short texts in memes are supposed to express the way we talk instead of how we write. As we learned in class, the way we speak is less formal and more processed in chunks. We mirror our speech patterns in memes. Therefore, when we communicate with memes, we are communicating with a graphic form of speech. And just as a person can be the dominate speaker in a normal conversation, this situation can happen with meme sharing as well. One-person initiates communication with someone by showing them a meme through their phone or sending one to someone online. The other person either reacts with laughter, emojis, a sentence, or not at all (we all get left unseen once in a while).

Memes as Great Literature!

Memes are so well universally understood that you can even think of them as form of literature! People who speak different languages, live in different cultures or and live in different physical environments are able to identify universal facial expressions like happiness, sadness, guilt, gratitude, annoyance, and disgust. 
Know Your Meme










In this virtually connected world, memes allow multicultural expression. They make people feel certain emotions and are visually engaging, just as a good book is. When one comes across a meme they relate with or enjoy, they usually save that meme on their phones or laptop to share with others in the future or even look back at it once in a while. Don’t we do the same with literature? you keep a book or magazine that you enjoy reading for later purposes.



Hits Blunt

Some people associate novels/books and with capitalism. According to Ejaz, literature “is formal, measured, and portable. There is a standard version of the text and an author to claim credit and royalties.” To be able to create this form of literature, you need to have some level of education and linguistic skills to make it plausible. However, with memes, you do not need that level of sophistication. You may not need education but you certainly benefit from creativity and innovation. Memes are created by an individual’s thoughts and ideas that can be understood by almost anyone who encounters them. With books and novels, you can categorize and differentiate between fiction and non-fiction literature. However, because memes are created by random thought and do not have a set structure of what is said, it is hard to filter what kinds of memes you come across. The only concept that the meme industry lacks is organization.

Millennials like the concept of memes because they bring humor into our lives, they are quick to understand, ease tensions, and there are so many different memes that a person is bound to relate to a few. 
Memes



Some have gone as far as creating their own terms referring to memes such as meme culture, meme-conomy, and meme-ology.

So, please share your meme experiences.
How much do you use them and how?
How deeply rooted can memes become in our future society?
As some critics say, do you think memes are going to ruin our abilities to write.
Will memes ever die down?







Sources:
Ejjaz, Aneeq. “Are Internet Memes a New Form of Literature?” Quillet. 28 November 2016. http://quillette.com/2016/11/28/are-internet-memes-a-new-form-of-literature/

Brown, Nicola. “What is a Meme and What Does This Obsession Say About the Future of Communication?” Skyword. 6 June 2017.  https://www.skyword.com/contentstandard/creativity/meme-obsession-say-future-communication/

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