"Muhammad Ali" by Matt Szatkowski

Mohammad Ali

1960 Rome Olympics gave birth to one of the most influential and controversial athletes ever to grace the sport of boxing. Known as “The Greatest”, Muhammad Ali brought unprecedented speed and grace to the sport. With his wit, flamboyant charm, and in your face attitude, he forever became one of the most recognizable men on the earth. As a successful self promoter, his psychological tactics in and out of the ring are legendary. His natural athleticism and sheer boxing skill, however, were his keys to such long lasting success. There is much more to Muhammad Ali than his boxing career, though. When he wasn’t in the ring racking up one of the most impressive win records that boxing has seen, he was helping to shape a new era in black pride, and even taking part in the anti war movement of the 1960’s.

Ali’s story begins in Louisville, Kentucky. The young Cassius Clay and a friend were at the Columbia Auditorium when his bike was stolen from him. Ali was so angry that he wanted to “whoop” whoever took his bike from him. Officer Joe Martin told Clay, “You better learn to box first.” That he did. Within weeks young Cassius won his first bout. He knew right away that boxing was his calling.

Dedicating himself entirely to boxing, Ali never worked. Boxing was his life. Ali’s hard work paid off; he stacked up six Kentucky Golden Gloves championships, two National Golden Gloves championships, and two National AAU titles before his 18th birthday. Only months after turning 18, Clay won the Olympic gold medal in Rome. Once home, he really started to make a name for himself with his unorthodox style. Ali used his long reach as an advantage, becoming a “headhunter.” He rarely threw body shots, defying boxing logic. He seemed to float across the ring as he danced around his opponents. He soon became known for his “Ali Shuffle”, a maneuver in which he shuffled his feet to distract his opponent just before punching them.

Ali soon became known for his mouth. He used it so much that he earned the nickname “The Louisville Lip.”He would call opponents out, claiming to be “The Greatest.” Ali would go as far as predicting the rounds. In a time where boxing managers did all the talking, he made sure to talk for himself.

It was during for his title bout against the heavyweight champion, Sonny Liston, that Ali was introduced to Nation of Islam spokesperson, Malcolm X. After bonding with Cassius, Malcolm brought him into the Nation of Islam. After upsetting Liston, Ali publically announced that he was a member of the Nation of Islam and that his name was Cassius X. The nation was in an uproar. Cassius X later became Muhammad Ali, and thus began a new era in black pride.

In a time where the nation was trying to combat racial inequalities, Ali looked for change. His new name was very controversial, so much so that many magazines and newspapers would not even acknowledge him by his new name. Ali, as a well-known and well-liked black figure, influenced many others to stand up for what they believed in, just as he did. He sent a message of black pride, power, and resistance against white dominance. His message grew stronger, helping to sculpt America into the diverse nation of today.

Ali continued in his dominance of the boxing world throughout the next three years. He accomplished a triumphant victory over Liston in their rematch, defeated Patterson, and destroyed Cleveland Williams. He seemed unstoppable. The great champion that he was the greatest, and the world was starting to agree.

Ali was not done surprising the nation. On April 28, 1967, he refused induction into the United States Army. Ali had previously said, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong… They never called me nigger” This was at a time when most Americans still supported the war in Southeast Asia. Ali cited his religious beliefs, stating “We are not supposed to take part in no wars of any unbelievers.” Ali was stripped of his title, fined ten thousand dollars, and sentenced to five years in prison.

Ali’s willingness to lose his title, and suffer the consequences that followed his refusal to join the Army was inspirational. Having refused induction into the U.S. Army, he also stood for the proposition that “unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.” As black activist Julian Bond later observed, “When a figure as heroic and beloved as Muhammad Ali stood up and said, ‘No, I won’t go’, it reverberated throughout the whole society. 3
In 1982, Ali discovered he had Parkinson’s disease. Despite the disability, he remains a beloved and active public figure. He was recently voted into Forbes Celebrity 100. He came in at number 13, just behind Donald Trump. He also received a Spirit of America Award calling him the most recognized American in the world.

To this day, Ali is remembered for his great athletic achievements. Beyond the boxing titles that he captured, he will always be remembered for his strong presence in the black pride movements, and antiwar protests of the 60’s. “The greatest” earned his nickname with sweat, blood, and dedication to his beliefs.

words sited
1 “African American History.” About.com. 6 Dec 2007

2 “The Greatest of All Time.” http://www.ali.com. 6 Dec 2007
http://www.ali.com/greatest/
3 “Muhammad Ali” http://britanica.com/. 6 Dec 2007
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9005713/muhammad-ali
4 “Muhammad Ali.” http://wikipedia.org/.6 Dec 2007

How Technology is Changing Human Interaction

The television has come a long way over the past eighty-four years. The inventor of the television has been a feud over Farnsworth and Zworykin. The men both were experimenting with the development of television since 1923. They both put in an application to patent the iconoscope, the forerunner of the picture tube. The first television broadcast made available was in London in 1936. In the year 1945, there were fewer than seven thousand working television sets in the country and only nine stations on the air; three in New York, two each in Chicago and Los Angeles, and one each in Philadelphia and Schenectady, New York.

The television communicates with people from all over the world. The television gives us advertisements that help the media industry promote products that are made available to the public. The television allows people to get the news on what is going on in the world. It provides us with local news and world wide news. Before the television many people were informed by radio or letters. Television makes the news spread faster and easier. People use the television for everyday communications. They communicate by listing school closing and even local events in the area. You are able to keep up on terrorist outrages to soap operas, from obesity to politics.


Technology via television is changing human interaction from what we knew in the past. As the world becomes more advanced with technology, the more time we have to spend doing something else. There are many stations on television that keep us from interacting face to face with people, such as; cooking channels, shopping network, and exercise shows. Exercise shows on television, allow the viewer to get the same work out that they would in a gym or with a personal trainer. Although the work out instructor was not face to face, communication to the consumer was still present. Technology is affecting face to face interaction with people all over the world. There are television stations that make it possible to shop from home. They show you the product on television, you call in the order and it is at your door in just a few days. Television shows even prevents children from going outside to play. Instead of interacting with children in the neighborhood, their eyes are focused on a specific television show. During elections, voters are able to watch debates from home. They are able to select the candidate they prefer, without even shaking their hand. Voters get to know the candidates well and what improvements they promise to make if elected.


The many designs and uses of the telephone, whether stationary or mobile, has also influenced the way humans interact. The technological aspect of phones today has stretched farther than anyone in the past could imagine. The beginning of the phone itself came out in December 28, 1871. At the time telegraphs were very popular. Thomas Edison started to work on improving the telegraph until he came up with other ideas for communications. There are still questions on who first came out with the idea of the electric telephone itself. Alexander Bell, Thomas Edison, and Elisha Gray had different patents for the telephone and the improvements or upgrades for the earliest phones used. Thomas Edison was credited for paving the way to Bell's success. The early phones had seven wires, one for the knife switch, one for each telegraph key, one for the bell, one for the push button, and two for speaking. The phones had three separate pieces beginning in the 1890's. The transmitter was on a candlestick like stand and the bell, induction coil, battery and magneto, were in a separate bell box. After the 1930's, the phone was changing. Instead of three separate pieces, the phone was being transformed to two units: one for the components and the other for the receiver. The phone transmissions were powered by batteries located at central offices. Local batteries were used at first, but the costs were rising on having them constantly serviced. Some phones that were not battery operated had a hand crank that would send a high voltage signal to ring the bells on the line of the other telephones. In the beginning of the 20th century, Bell came out with a new physical style of phone, the Bell Model 102. This phone was the most popular and the longest lasting style of phone used.

Telephone transmissions were modified in the early 1960's. The phone carriers went to a t1 carrier system. At this time phones had touch tone which replaced the dial. Analog systems still existed, but digital technology was starting and was going to be well on its way. SONET and fiber optic transmissions, which began around 1980, were making digital technology possible and was improving the way people communicated. Many new phone companies and new ideas were developing as well.


Along with the changing technology, came new telephone companies that offer cell phones. Today's payphones are becoming extinct because of the high demand and usage of cell phones. Most cellphones connect to a network of cell sites. The base stations for mobile phones were invented in 1947 by engineers at AT&T. They were constantly upgraded well into the 1960's. Motorola is believed to be the inventor of the first cell phone that didn't require the phone to be stationed in an automobile. The first call was made on April 3, 1973, by Motorola's manager, Martin Cooper. Automatic cellular networks came about in the early to mid 1980's. This started the boom in cellular usage that we know today. Over the years the components of the cell phone were made smaller so that the phones were more handy than the bulky phones of the past. Today the society is living among the third generation of the cell phones, and with video and other data services, human communications is on the brink of the fourth generation of cell phones to come. Today cell phone usage is more popular than the home phone. The Nokia Corporation is the world's largest manufacturer of the cell phones. Today, the cell phone is the key component to human interaction with the numerous capabilities the phone has. People can communicate globally by internet, texting, calling, and walkie-talkie.

The advancement of video games has had a definite impact on how we as humans interact with each other. With gaming systems being able to log onto the internet for multi-play operation it would not be uncommon for two people from different states or country’s for that matter to be playing against each other. And now with the Nintendo Wii that is adding a whole new aspect to the gaming world by incorporating physical interaction into the mix. The need to leave home and meet people or participate in sports has become a thing of the past. Instead of having a conversation with a stranger you can save the planet from aliens or win the World Series from the comfort of your own home. The invention of car navigation and road side assistance like Onstar has also affected the way we communicate with each other. in the old days if you were lost or were going somewhere that was unfamiliar you would ask for directions from someone now all you have to do is type your destination in to the keypad and the on board navigation system tells you where you are going.

The Internet gained a public face in the 1990's. On August 6, 1991 CERN publicised the new World Wide Web project. Two years after British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee had began creating HTML, HTTP and the first few web pages at CERN.

The Internet is one of the largest used networks to communicate with other people all over the world. Over the last ten years the internet has come a long way. It helps people connect with others in different parts of the world. Internet users have many options on how they would like to connect with others. The internet gives us the opportunity to e-mail. Once an e-mail is sent it is immediately available in the recipient’s mailbox. Anyone with internet access can also communicate by chatting. Chatting allows you to contact others on there computer screen and are able to type back to you in the matter of seconds. The internet also allows us to use certain web sites, which make it possible to text message from your computer to the person’s cell phone.

E-mail has revolutionized the way we work and play. Communication between people through the Internet has made our day to day communication a thing of the past. Most business transactions are complete without even seeing a face or hearing a voice. Companies now are forcing employees to actually go and talk with other co-workers instead of e-mailing them. The fear is that humans are forgetting how to interact with each other and that asking them to put down technology for a day and go back before the days of e-mail. Not just e-mail but text messaging has also changed the way we communicate. Why call someone when you can just type a shortened message of what you want to say in your phone. Instead of having a conversation with one person you can have two or three conversations going on at the same time. In today’s world you can build a car, order a pizza, and schedule a surgery all without talking to one person. Technology has had a definite impact on our culture and if it continues our society will eventually not talk face to face at all and all communication will be done electronically.

Tv presentation by Heather Linden

Full House

The television series, "Full House," made it's debut on September 22, 1987 on ABC. The show was broad casted on Tuesday nights, at 8:00 p.m., until it was moved to the Friday night line up on TGIF with three other shows. The series was originally to be called, "House of Comics," with Bob Saget, John Stamous, and Dave Coulier as the three bachelor comedians living under one roof. ABC wanted a family oriented sitcom and the producers added three girls to the script. The producers renamed the sitcom, "Full House." The story line consisted of Danny Tanner being a widowed husband, losing his wife due to a car accident. Danny counts on the support of his brother-in-law, Jesse Cochran and his best friend form college, Joey Gladstone, to help him raise his three daughters. The characters of the show included sports newscaster Bob Saget as Danny Tanner, wanna be rock star John Stamous as Jesse Cochran, stand-up comic Dave Coulier as Joey Gladstone, oldest sister Candace Cameron as D.J., middle sister Jodie Sweetin as Stephanie, and the youngest sister Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen as Michelle. The role of Michelle was shared by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen because of their age and the California state law of how many hours small children could work in a week. The credits listed the girls as one child because the producers did not want the audience to know the role was played by twins. By age six, one of the girls was chosen to play the role because they were becoming noticeably different. By season eight, Mary-Kate and Ashley were listed separately in the credits to receive separate billing. During season one, Jesse Cochran's name was changed to Jesse Catsopolis to reflect his Greek heritage. Audiences payed no mind to the change because they thought Jesse Cochran was a stage name for his band, "Jesse and the Rippers." Andrea Barber was also another character when the show started. Her name was not added to the credits until season five, even though she had the reoccurring role as Kimmy Gibler from season one. She was noted for being the annoying next door neighbor, her horrible fashion sense, and stinky feet. Lori Loughlin as Rebecca Donaldson, came to the show in season two. She was chosen to be Danny Tanner's co-host since he became host of the talk show, "Wake up San Fransisco." Lori was also to be Danny's potential love interest and star on the show for only six episodes. The producers gave her a permanent role as the co-host and made her Jesse's love interest instead. During season four, Becky became Jesse's wife and during season five gave birth to their twin boys. This introduced two new characters Blake and Dylan Tuomy-Wilhoit as Nicky and Alex.

The series opened with the theme song, "Everywhere You Look," performed by Jesse Frederick and co-written with Bennett Salvay. The theme song reflected the importance of home, and with family there, you always have someone to turn to. Full House's setting is in San Fransisco and the characters were shown in different areas of that city, even though the show was filmed in Los Angeles. The home in the opening trailer was located on Broderick Street in San Fransisco, minutes away from the actual set.

When the first season of Full House aired, the show did not reach immediate popularity. The show was new and many critics could not catch onto the fast pace of the show. They felt the show was too "cute" and felt audiences would ignore how the three men dealt with the situation of raising children. Jesse was a man who concentrated on his music, being a heart throb to women, and had no experience with children. Joey payed attention to being a comedian and entertained the children. Danny was a neat freak and concentrated on dirt. During the 30 minute episode, problems arose, were dealt with, and solved in that time frame. Critics thought the adult audience would not relate to that type of problem solving, since problems do not disappear so easily in real life. Surprisingly to the critics, the show was gaining popularity at the start of the second season. Children of all ages could relate to the young actors and actresses disobeying their parents and learning a valuable lesson at the end of the episode. Parents, in turn, could relate to the show and experiences with raising children and the problems they face in doing so in everyday life.

The popularity and success of the show was based on different aspects. The series had a total of 194 episodes that aired between 1987 and 1995. The show reflected the culture of the times, with the men sporting mullet hair styles and the women with either long or big hair. Full House also impacted the culture with the show packed with catch phrases that children used like Stephanie's, "How Rude," or D.J.'s, "Whoa Baby," to name a few. Even though Full House aired in the 90's the show kept it's 80's feel. The other aspects of the show included important morals and family values. Rosemary Markson, V.P. of television marketing, reflects this in her following statements. "One of the things that makes Full House so popular is that the show offers great family values. Season five continues the theme of family, as the adults adjust to the growing clan and continue to face the challenges before them with humor and, most importantly, with love. Year after year, Full House remains the kind of quality programming that the whole family can enjoy." In the second commentary, V.P. Rosemary Markson of television marketing, comments on the seventh season. "We think Full House is such an enormous hit with consumers because the show has a way of making viewers feel they are a part of the Tanner household. We become involved with the character's daily lives, their joys, disappointments, struggles, and achievements. Plus kids of all ages can find someone on the show to relate to." The many awards and nominations also reflect how successful the show was and still is. Full House, between 1988 and 1994, was nominated eight times for the young artist award. The show won four of those awards. Between 1992 and 1995, Full House won the ASCAP Film and TV Music award four times for top television series. From 1991 to 1994, the show received four BMI and Tv Awards. Full House was also nominated in 1994 and 1955 for the Kid's Choice Awards. They won that award in 1995. In 2004 and 2007, Full House was nominated for the TV Land Award. Full House picked up that award in 2007.

The show's last telecast was May 23, 1995. Today in 2007, Full House is still a popular television show in the households via syndication. The series continues to attract new young viewers and the viewers who grew up with the Tanners. The series remains in syndication across the globe for all cultures and generations to be part of the important morals and family values. Most importantly, all viewers can be part of the "Full House" experience.

Works Cited: Markson, Rosemary, WHV Vice President, Tv MarketinG

http:/www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/House/6385

Full House Awards

http:/www.imdb.com/title/tt0092359/awards

http://www.johnstamos.net/

http://www.tv.com/full-house/show/1026/summary.html

http://www.tv.com/bob-saget/person/9965/summary.html

http://www.starpulse.com/Actresses/Olsen,_Mary_Kate_and_Ashley/

http://www.tv.com/dave-coulier/person/45214/summary.html

Commercial Advertisement

By Michael Farrell

Superman VS. Seinfeld

This commercial uses famous figures, humor, and authenticity to grab the attention of its audience. If for the small chance someone did not recognize Jerry Seinfeld, from the hit T.V. series, “Seinfeld”, there is not a person on planet Earth or Krypton for that matter who would not know the “Man of Steel” himself Superman. Using the story line from the comic they set the events in downtown Metropolis which is the home of Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego. The style of automobile that was driving around and the attire of the employees and customers in the grocery store added to the realism of the commercial. The all famous golden globe with the words “Daily Planet” written across it gives credibility to the skit and what Superman adventure would be complete without Lois Lane, Clark Kent’s wife, having to be rescued.



But wait, something is different, Superman cannot help Lois this time, he is powerless, the Man of Tomorrow, who is faster than a speeding bullet, must rely on Jerry, an ordinary guy, to save the day. One of the claims made in this commercial is that even though you may not be Superman you can still be a hero if you have an American Express card. Only a real Superman fan would have picked up on some of the settle things but everyone could appreciate the humor. Though Superman is idolized mostly by men the use of Lois’s character adds to the women’s’ demographic as well. What girl hasn’t once in her life pictured being rescued by Superman or for that matter what guy hasn’t fantasized about flying in to save a damsel in distress. The Superman character was originated in 1938 and though some changes have occurred throughout the years he has always stood for truth, justice, and the good of all mankind. With credit card companies already being held in a bad light with the public they thought it might be good idea to put that kind of American symbol in their advertisements.


Jerry’s character whose television show aired for ten years has a very large fan base with the over 30 age group so whoever Superman’s character did not appeal to Seinfeld’s did. Had a young child watched this ad without knowing anything about credit cards or American Express would have asked what Superman was doing on TV and inevitably been told that it was a commercial for a credit card. Putting that image in a child’s mind at such a young age is a good way to get a customer for life. The main selling feature of the ad is the humor aspect of it. Watching the cartoon character of Superman walking along side Jerry as if they were just a couple of guys hanging out is very funny. The spin move performed by Jerry in the grocery store also ads to the commercial’s humor. With the credit card industry being such a competitive market companies must find creative ways to push their product. Though Superman is a fictitious icon in American society his presence in this advertisement is very real and compelling.

REFERENCES

http://www.supermanhomepage.com/news.php

https://home.americanexpress.com/home/mt_personal.shtml?

Transamerica by Rachel Arms

Transamerica is about a transgender woman that goes by the name Bree. Bree was born Stanley and throughout his life transformed into a woman. In the film Bree is waiting for the approval of her therapist to go on with a complete sex change. The therapist, however; will not allow it until Bree goes to meet her son, Toby, which she never knew she had. Once Bree goes to New York to bail her son out of prison, she pretended to be a church woman from California, in fear of telling Toby that she is really his father.

Bree and Toby start to travel cross country together to California. When driving back to California, Bree stops by Toby’s step-fathers home in hopes of leaving him there. During their time there Bree is informed that Toby’s mother has committed suicide and left him with a sexually abusive step-father. So Bree allows Toby to continue to travel with her.

During the road trip they do many father-son activities. They went camping, they rough housed, they drank together, and Bree even let Toby drive part way. At times Bree acts as if she is Toby’s mother by telling him to eat his vegetables and even saving his toy monkey from his step-father’s garage.

Throughout their week long car trip, Toby and Bree become close to one another. Bree starts to care about Toby in a parent-child relationship. Toby also comes to care for Bree, but in a different perspective. Toby, a young man that was molested by his step-father and prostituted for drug money, comes on sexually to Bree. Toby, unaware that he is hitting on his own biological father, is disappointed when Bree turns him down. Toby is showing Bree he cares in the only way he knows how. Toby being abused by a trusted father figure in his life gives him a screwed up image of how people show that they care for one another.

Some think that if a child is brought up by a homosexual or a transgender that the child automatically is raised to be gay. In this film it shows how the biological transgender father had no part of his son’s life growing up but the child still preformed sexual acts on men which questions his sexuality. It shows that his step-father, who is a molester, is the one that makes Toby sexually confused.

When Bree tells Toby that she really is not a woman from the church and that she is, in fact, his biological father, Toby runs away. Once again Toby is let down by someone he began to trust.

Once getting to California Toby beings to play role in a gay pornography film. Toby loves sex but also finds a productive use for it. Toby prostitutes and makes films performing sexual acts for money, means of survival. Toby comes off as sexually confused but could possibly be a straight man using sexual experiments for money.

Bree was played by a woman being a man who wants to be a woman (Felicity Huffman). They chose a woman rather than a man for the role because many people have more sympathy for women rather than men. They woman playing the role would give more emotion and let the audience know how the struggle of the life of a transgender is.

This film was made to allow people in the lives of transgender people. This film allows the audience to help understand the struggles of transsexual going through the transformation from one sex to another.


REFRENCES

http://movies.about.com/od/transamerica/a/transamrc120105.htm

http://www.musicomh.com/films/transamerica_0306.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transamerica_(film)