Since before we left for break, our group researched and continued to work on our project more and more. During this time, I did a few bits of researching, while Robbie and I worked on both the script and the storyboard these past couple of days. Carllee, Robbie, and I went to the one button studio on Wednesday to work on the voiceover and recording parts for our video. Although Morgan did the research, I researched a few things while writing the script just to have more background and to add onto our topic as a whole. This research included, watching multiple videos and reading articles from multiple news outlets to answer and elaborate on how milk is a public controversy. We as a group deemed it necessary to go into the ethics side of things while also touching on the nutritional benefits and how milk takes a toll on our bodies. While researching, I got both sides of the argument, big diary obviously supporting the drinking of milk while organizations like PETA emphasize the entire process of how we get cows milk and pushes us to stop drinking cow milk and go vegan.

Time will definitely be an issue in this project. When we went to the one button studio, we found our video to be a bit longer than originally anticipated. However, this can easily be fixed by editing, cutting weak information out, and even speeding some things up. Worse comes to worse, we could always speak a bit faster to ensure we get all of our information said and videos shown in the final product. Another thing I found difficulty with was having the controversy seem less one sided. Although, we highlighted both sides and backed it up with the credible information we found, I still think we have more anti-milk sentiments than pro-milk ones.

For my 5th and final passion post for the semester, I decided to talk about none other than Tony Stark, or also known as, Iron Man! Tony Stark has grown to become one of the most popular fictional characters of our generation after making his debut in 2008 in Iron Man which kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tony Stark was created in 1963 by Stan Lee and was shown to be a wealthy American businessman, philanthropist, and genius. Stark was a product of the Cold War, Lee created him to mirror the industrial side of things in the Cold War. Stark’s real life counterpart was a man named Howard Hughes who was a scientist that developed new weapons technology in a world of high tensions.

In both the comics and film, Stark’s story begins with him being captured by a group of terrorists. Stark finds himself injured with shrapnel in his chest following the attack, but his fellow prisoner, Ho Yinsen creates a magnetic chest plate to prevent the shrapnel from reaching his chest and ultimately killing him. Stark and Yinsen later move to create a power armor to help them escape the terrorists. Yinsen unfortunately doesn’t escape alive due to him sacrificing himself for Stark. Tony then seeks revenge on the terrorists and is eventually saved by American forces and taken home. When he gets back to the United States, he realizes that the shrapnel in his chest cannot be removed without killing him so he creates a newer and improved “arc reactor” to keep him alive.

In the films, Tony Stark’s company “Stark Industries”, similar to the comics, revolutionized weapons of mass destruction, and eventually selling them off around the world. After Stark flees from the terrorists, he begins to realize that Stark Industries role in the world must change.

Each film from the Iron Man trilogy circles around the idea of terrorism and weapons if mass destruction. In the first film, Stark does everything in his power to reform his company’s role in the world since they previously made and sold weapons for decades prior. In the second film, Tony has a competitor named Justin Hammer that is also an arms dealer and wants to do anything to take Tony down. In the third film, Stark’s past catches up to him when multiple terrorist attacks are orchestrated by one of Tony’s old colleagues. The ideas of both terrorism and weapons of mass destruction are big topics in our political climate and the movies parallel our society really well when it comes to these topics.

In the comics, they explore many Cold War themes. Tony Stark is based off of a defense contractor named Howard Hughes, who developed new weapons technology for the United States and was both a prime example for American individualism and fame. Stark found himself in issues with government supervision of his work, loyalty, and entrepreneurial autonomy in the early days of the comics. Tony Stark’s transformation into Iron Man acts as a way to him reclaiming his autonomy.

Billionares and Student Loans are two public controversy topics that’ll be great to cover.

Should billionares exist and should they be taxed more? This is a relatively new topic in our political climate. Democratic Presidential candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren push for the idea that billionares should be taxed more because it’s a “moral and economic outrage”. This controversy will be one that’ll be heavily touched upon in the upcoming Presidential Election in 2020 and it’ll be an interesting one. Examining and looking more into this controversy will be interesting due to the many viewpoints society has on this topic. Another interesting topic is student loan debt in the US. Many college students, present and past, relied on student loans to pay for their education. The student loan debt amount in the United States is currently around $1.5 trillion. With the amount of college costs increasing, this amount is expected to rise significantly in the near future. Many people found the problem to be more than just the increase of college costs but in the entire system as a whole with room for improvement in their repayment plans. I think this topic would be really interesting to cover due to all of us currently being college students and some of us having to repay loan debt within the next 5-10 years.

Although they might not be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (yet) they’re still quite popular. The X-Men are a group of superheroes that were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963. This group of superheroes differ from other popular groups in Marvel like the Fantastic Four and The Avengers due to their abilities being powered by the “X-Gene”. Because they are known as “mutants” they fight for equality in a world where anti-mutant bigotry is prevalent. They are guided by Professor Charles Xavier (Professor X), who is a powerful telepathic mutant who’s abilities are controlling and reading minds. The X-Men’s archenemies are another very powerful mutant named Magneto, who’s abilities are to manipulate and control metal and magnetic fields, and the Brotherhood of Mutants.

Although both the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants are a group of mutants, they have differing views on the world when it comes to human-mutant relations. The X-Men works and strives for equality and peace between both mutants and humans while Brotherhood of Mutants believes in a more aggressive approach when it comes to human-mutant relations. Despite their differences, they both work together from time to time.

Stan Lee was a firm believer of having comic books reflecting the world we live in. As I previously mentioned, the X-Men were created in 1963, which was right in the heart of the American Civil Rights movement. Lee used two of the most popular civil rights activists as inspiration. Professor X was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Magneto was inspired by Malcolm X. In other Marvel comics, you see heroes fighting criminals and such, while the X-Men fight against oppression and bigotry. Professor X (The X-Men) took a peaceful approach when it came to human-mutant relations while Magneto (Brotherhood of Mutants) took a more defensive stance against these problems. It could be inferred that Magneto is the villain in the X-Men comics however Stan Lee says, “I did not think of Magneto as a bad guy. He was just trying to strike back at the people who were so bigoted and racist. He was trying to defend mutants, and because society was not treating them fairly, he decided to teach society a lesson. He was a danger of course, but I never thought of him as a villain.”

Another interesting thing about the X-Men is that they’re very representative, which was uncommon in comics, especially in the 1960s. There’s Wolverine is Canadian, Storm is Kenyan, Colossus is Russian, Thunderbird is Native American, Kitty Pride is Jewish, Sunfire is Japanese, and Magneto was a Holocaust survivor. I personally have lots of respect for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby due to this. The X-Men can be as somewhat as revolutionary. The creators based this group of heroes on the Civil Rights Movement which speaks volumes because although many comics were sometimes political, Marvel went the extra mile. Representation, and inclusion is a staple in society and the fact that Marvel shed some light on these topics really is something amazing.

 

For my TED Talk, I will start off by explaining that bipartisanship is an essential part of democracy. It’s been a staple of our great nation since the beginning of the first political parties. For the past few decades, bipartisanship has significantly decreased, and the division between both the Democrats and Republicans has been widening since. Before the shift, both Democrat and Republican politicians, although fighting for their own goals, still supported and was open to finding middle ground with the opposing party. After the shift, both parties struggle to find common ground due to disdain toward one another and the radicalization of both parties.

My main points will include when this occurred, what other factors accelerated the shift, and how it affects us today.

One defining moment for my paradigm shift was the 1994 midterm elections. The 1994 midterm elections was the election following the 1992 Presidential Election in which led to the victory of President Bill Clinton. In 1994, Newt Gingrich and other Republican leaders came up with their plan to gain majority in Congress, which was called “A Contract with America”. Along with this plan, the Republicans also introduced scorched earth politics to us, which was a series of personal attacks and a “win at all costs” mentality. They were proven successful when they gained majority and now had control of both chambers of Congress. Newt Gingrich then became Speaker of the House and attempted to make the rest of Bill Clinton’s Presidency hell for him and the Democrats. I also want to explain how the media effected the 1994 midterms and added to the split. In the early 1990s, talk radio became insanely popular and one of the most popular radio hosts at the time was named Rush Limbaugh. Rush Limbaugh was a conservative and was not afraid to show it and was a pushing force for the victory of the Republicans in the 1994 midterm elections. The effects of scorched politics and the “win at all costs” mentality forever changed US politics by bringing an increase to partisanship in the US. This can be seen today through the obvious resentment between our current President, Donald Trump, and top Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi.

After finally deciding on a topic for my paradigm shift assignments, I found a great amount of my paradigm shift topic very interesting. Of course when it comes to paradigm shifts, it’s important to acknowledge and understand its source and/or cause.

In politics, change obviously plays a huge part in its importance. Throughout the history of our country, more specifically in the last 30 years, we see a dramatic change in the dynamic in both the House of Representatives and even the Senate. I find it interesting and important to shed light on how drastic partisanship has decreased in Congress, which you can see visually in a infographic released by Business Insider in 2015.

Another big part of the paradigm shift that I find interesting is the Why? When it comes to my topic, you start to notice that many factors played in the decrease in partisanship. It’s safe to assume to say that the Republican Revolution of 1994 that was led by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, was a huge turning point in American politics. The Republican Revolution of 1994 was at the time for midterm elections following President Bill Clinton’s victory in the 1992 Presidential Election over President George H.W. Bush. Newt Gingrich and several of his Republican colleagues made a “Contract with America” which highlighted every goal that they wanted to accomplish if they won majority in Congress. During this election, this is one of the first times in American politics that we saw scorched earth politics with personal attacks and the “win no matter what” mentality. Since then, this mentality has been a staple of elections.

I also would like to point out current day politics. The United States under the Trump Administration has been extremely divisive to say the least. It’s important to understand and shed light on the shift’s effects are present day.

For my third passion post, I will be talking about Captain America! Captain America has become a popular and beloved character over the years after appearing in comics in 1941 and after making his debut on the big screen in 2011. Captain America quickly became one of the most iconic comic book characters ever due to his boy scout personality and patriotic values. When Captain America debuted in 1941, he was seen to be fighting the Axis Powers in his adventures, which is expected since he made his debut in the middle of World War II. After the war, the Captain America comics were discontinued but were eventually revived in 1964. 

Captain America’s outfit’s primary inspiration is the American flag, which includes red gloves and boots, a primary blue suit, with a big white star on his chest and stripes on his stomach area. Cap’s iconic indestructible shield also has stripes and a star on it as well. As you can probably tell, no one loves America as much as Captain America.

However, “Captain America” is just an alter ego. Steve Rogers was a young, small man from Brooklyn, New York that joined the US military. Steve Rogers was also really frail and sickly-looking and was eventually injected by an experimental serum that made him peak human perfection that improved every physical aspect of his body, and therefore, Captain America was born. The serum was called the “Super Soldier Serum” and it also aided the Allied Powers in their fight against the Axis Powers during World War II. After Rogers became Captain America and fought along side the Allied Powers, Cap was suspended in ice and was revived decades later in the present day. After reemerging from being “asleep” in the ice for years, he struggled adjusting to present day norms, but despite that, his golden personality and loyalty to others kept him (and presumably others) afloat and Steve eventually went on to continue to fight for what he believed in with The Avengers.

Captain America became a huge symbol for Patriotism and American values. Not only is his costume a huge symbol but his personality and character are as well. Throughout the existence of Captain America, we often see him putting his country before himself. We also see him being kind to everyone and treating everyone equal despite the differences that they have. Captain America’s debut during World War II could be seen as a sign of propaganda due to the time period he first appeared in. Captain America’s comics in the 1940s main purpose was not only for entertainment but to spread and promote patriotism since we were at war at the time. War propaganda was also extremely popular at the time so having a comic book super hero that’s main attribute was patriotism was a very interesting move. One of the most popular Captain America comics portrays Captain America punching Hitler in the face, although this comic debuted at the height of World War II, it remains popular to this very day.

In Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Rogers fights along side the Allied Powers to defeat the Axis Powers & HYDRA. The film itself revolves around war and fighting and throughout the film, you see Rogers constantly putting his life on the line for his country and for others. For instance, before he received the Super Soldier Serum, he jumps onto a grenade that he thinks is going to explode in order to protect the other soldiers that are around him. By the end of Captain America: Civil War (2016), Rogers is a fugitive of the United States but still continues to fight for what he believes in and on the side of the United States well into Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Captain America’s golden personality and attitude also influences his relationships with others and his decisions. Over time, Cap is seen as a natural born leader and overall kind and respectable person, which are traits that are and always have been heavily valued in society.

 

Joke of the week: “Wanna hear a funny joke about paper? Ah nevermind… its pretty TEARable.”

In my previous blog post, I was originally considering the shift from Creationism to Evolution and the shift of the importance of the advocacy of climate change. After a few days of thinking, I’ve decided to write about bipartisanship in our current political system ahead of the primaries in a few months and the 2020 Presidential Election next November.

Political parties in the United States have a habit of always changing and challenging each other over time due to critical elections, new ideas, and divisive topics. Today, Democrats and Republicans alike are borderline radical and stand their ground on their beliefs. Over the last decade, bipartisanship significantly decreased due to disdain that has grown continuously over the past few decades. Ever since the birth of our nation in 1776, there has always been a distinct separation of ideas, which eventually led to the emergence of political parties. Despite the diversity of ideas, the political parties had always proved to find common ground between their ideas. Based on the graph above, there was a lack of resistance for the shift away from bipartisanship, which is a direct consequence of the radicalization of Democrat and Republican beliefs. Resistance for bipartisanship nowadays is not a top priority for either of the parties, both parties have an “I’m always right” mindset which negatively effects the country as a whole because Congress can’t get much passed. Bipartisanship significantly decreased in the 1980s and the 1990s and has gotten worse since then, which could be seen in the graph. As I mentioned before, the radicalization of ideas and disdain each party had for one another grew significantly over time, some might even say that it started because of the Civil Rights Era (a liberal era) and/or the Reagan Presidency (a conservative era).

Bipartisanship, or lack thereof, has shown to negatively effect the people of the United States. Congress constantly goes back and forth and are very strong on their opinions, which leads to the slowing of legislation getting passed. The majority party in both chambers (The House of Representatives and the Senate) have more of a “I’m 100% right and their 100% wrong” which ultimately leads to the decrease of the parties to find common ground on certain issues. This also leads to the constant slander against each other and led to the creation of the hostile and toxic political climate that we’re currently in.

Paradigm shifts are known as a significant change within a society-shared assumption. My two ideas for my paradigm shifts are the modern evolutionary theory and climate change.

Evolution came about in the mid/late 1800s by being a theory discovered by Charles Darwin. Evolution was seen as an alternative to Creationism and was quite unpopular at first. Since its discovery in the 1850s, more and more experiments and discoveries supported and continues to support the overall idea of evolution. Because of this, the theory of evolution became more popular due to its believability that stems from technology advancement and experiments that support they theory. The theory of evolution is not only believed/supported by scientists and the scientific community but also has the support of the Catholic Church. Pope Francis came out in support of evolution in 2014 by stating, “Evolution in nature is not inconsistent with the notion of creation, because evolution requires the creation of beings that evolve.” The shift from creationism to evolution comes from the overwhelming support for the theory of evolution that has drastically increased since its discovery 150 years ago.

One of the biggest topics in modern society is the idea of climate change. The advocacy for climate change in the United States began in the 1990s and has drastically increased since then and the importance and the protection of our environment has increased as well. Many people around the world see climate change as a ticking time bomb that we can prevent from exploding. Advocates are currently and have been pushing for society to be more environmental friendly because there are things we can change in order to prevent climate change from getting to a point where we simply cannot help prevent it. For example, reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that comes from our cars by either walking or carpooling. This shift occurred because after climate change was recognized to be a huge problem, society began to see the effects such as, droughts, Arctic ice caps melting, and sea levels rising.

Black Panther was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966 amidst the Civil Rights Era. As you would probably assume, he was one of the few black characters in popular comic books. Black Panther has been known by Marvel Comic fans for years but prior to 2016, he hasn’t yet appeared in the MCU. In the Spring of 2016, Captain America: Civil War was released and was film that introduced a few new characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or MCU). One of the characters being Prince T’Challa or who is also known as, Black Panther. T’Challa’s chemistry with the other characters and when he took on the Black Panther persona really drew people in. After T’Challa was introduced into the MCU, people were wondering when the next time he was going to be featured, and then Marvel Studios announced that Black Panther will get a solo movie.

The excitement from fans when it was announced that Black Panther was getting his own movie grew as time got closer and closer to the release date. Another factor that made Black Panther popular was the fact that it was going to be the first MCU film to have a black lead and a majority black cast. This drew tons of support from the black community because it’s not everyday that we see a black majority cast in a popular movie franchise. At times, black people sometimes feel as if they aren’t as represented on the movie scale. It was also known that this film would take place in the fictional African country of Wakanda, which is a technology advanced country that is centuries ahead of the rest of world due to Vibranium which is the strongest metal on the planet. Having Wakanda being featured as a technology advanced African country was a breath of fresh air for many people because the media consistently portrays Africa as extremely underdeveloped. As expected, tons of support also comes with some criticism. A group of people, the same group of people that later on criticized Captain Marvel, criticized Black Panther for following the “SWJ agenda”.

Black Panther was seen as a pretty big milestone for not only the black community but for everyone as a whole. It’s not common for popular movies and TV shows to have a black lead and even a majority black cast. It can be said that Black Panther is even seen as inspirational, it shows people (mainly little kids) that no matter what you look like, anyone can be a hero. Growing up, I didn’t have many characters to look at and say “oh wow they look just like me!” Now, I see how my younger cousins see Black Panther and how happy they are to have a popular hero that looks like them.