Essay 3 Rough Draft

***If anyone has any tips on how to improve my paper, it would be GREATLY appreciated! I really struggled with this paper and my conclusion paragraph really sucks. But I don't know how to make it come full circle. Thank you guys!! :)

Ashley Lewis

Instructor Thomas

English 101: Pop Culture Essay

2 November 2012

Words within the Flesh

            It is not often that you turn on the radio and there is a band singing about anorexia. But for the band, Silverchair, they did just that. The song that I am analyzing is “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)” by Silverchair. This song is about Daniel Johns, the lead singer of Silverchair, and his own battle with anorexia. He shows his audience the painful truth behind anorexia with haunting lyrics and strong beats that keep the listeners captivated.

            In the very opening of the song, Johns sings, “Please die, Ana.” Even though he is so addicted to the disease, he still hates it with a fiery passion and wants it to go away. Another line of the song that gives us an inside look on how anorexics think is, “In my head the flesh seems thicker/Sandpaper tears corrode the film.” Not many people realize what an anorexic has to go through every day, but Johns does a good job at painting his audience a picture of how people think who are suffering from the disease. He sings that “Ana” is his “obsession” and how he “loves [her] to the bones.” He also sings that “Ana wrecks your life/Like an anorexia life.” He is showing his audience that this disease is like a person that he is addicted to and he cannot get enough of it. At the same time, he knows that it is destroying his life and possibly killing him.

            At the time of the Australian band, Silverchair’s debut in 1995 with their album, Frogstomp, Daniel Johns, bassist Chris Joannou, and drummer Ben Gillies were only a mere fifteen years old. They got to tour the word with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who are like grown up kids. Critics often snubbed Silverchair as “Nirvana in Diapers,” but only because Daniel Johns had hair like Nirvana’s lead singer. Johns said he did not cut his hair because he did not “want to give critics the satisfaction.” These boys were in it for the music and they did not care what anyone had to say to them.

            In 1999, Silverchair released “Ana’s Song (Open Fire),” which revealed the lead singer’s on-going battle with anorexia nervosa. In an interview in Rolling Stone magazine with Blair Fischer, Johns said, “I’ve been told that it’s when you feel like you’ve lost control of your life and you start really controlling anything you can control and it just so happens to be the one thing that no one can tell you what to do.” He even goes on to explain “I wasn’t eating and it went on for about six months to a year.”

            Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder in which an individual starves themselves and has an irrational fear of gaining weight, as well as a distorted body image of themselves. Usually, anorexia nervosa only affects adolescent women. But, as it turns out, GQ magazine stated that “20% of anorexics are men.” Just like women want to be like a beautiful, skinny model, men want to be good-looking and have nice, chiseled abs like male models in Calvin Klein boxers.

            For Daniel Johns, I believe that writing “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)” not only helped him reveal to his fans that he had anorexia nervosa, but it also was a way for him to cope with it. Even though professional help is the overall way to help overcome this disease, writing music is a good way help adolescents deal with it. Katrina McFerran wrote an article about a study that was done to see if song-writing in music therapy was effective. Fifteen adolescents with anorexia nervosa submitted seventeen songs and from those lyrics, six themes were pulled from the songs. When young people pen their thoughts onto paper, it helps them get out all of their emotions and whatever is on their mind. Some topics may be too personal for them to talk about, but being able to put it into a song is easier for people. I believe that this helped Daniel Johns and from this, he created a hit song that still affects people today.

            Silverchair’s music is usually under the genre “alternative.” Alternative is another form of rock music, which I think makes a big difference in “Ana’s Song (Open Fire).” The use of guitars and drums gives the song a darker feel to it, since the subject matter is pretty dark. Johns’ voice sounds almost pained since he is putting his darkest secret out on the table for everyone to see. But at the same time, he sounds hopeful because he knows there is help out there and he desperately wants to get better.

            “Ana’s Song (Open Fire)” is a powerful song that sheds light on a serious issue. Johns’ bravery to come out about his battle with anorexia nervosa in song inspires others to do the same. This song will always be a classic in the eyes of many people.

Works Cited

“Alternative rock.” Wikipedia 27 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

“Anorexia Nervosa.” Wikipedia 27 Oct. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

Fischer, Blair. “Silverchair Frontman Reveals Battle with Anorexia.” Rolling Stone 10 June           1999: 1. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

Hendrickson, Matt. “Silverchair Let Their Freak Flag Fly.” Rolling Stone 753 (1997): 17.               Academic Search Complete. EBSCO Host. University of South Carolina Upstate. Web.                    19 Oct. 2012.

McFerran, Katrina, Felicity Baker, George Patton, Susan Sawyer. “A Retrospective Lyrical          Analysis of Songs Written by Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa.” European Eating             Disorders Review 14.6 (2006): 397-403. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO Host.   University of   South Carolina Upstate. Web. 19 Oct. 2012.

Penn, Nathaniel. “20% of Anorexics Are Men.” GQ September 2012: 5. Web. 22 Oct. 2012.

Silverchair. “Ana’s Song (Open Fire).” Neon Ballroom. Sony Music Productions, 1999. Digital     Download.

 

Reflection on Essay #2

One thing is for sure, this paper was VERY DIFFERENT from the first paper. The first essay came very easily to me because it came from a special place in my heart. But with the second essay, it was a little new for me having to do summary and analysis. I really struggled with this paper. I had a rough time coming up with a thesis for my paper. Honestly, I think the one that's on my final draft still wasn't good enough. Another thing that tripped me up was analysis. I never realized how in-depth you had to be when it came to analysis. But, something that really helped was my conference with Mrs. Thomas. Being able to sit with her one-on-one and have her tell me what was good and what I needed to work on helped me a lot. And I really did enjoy the chapter I worked on, which was Chapter 5, The Bipolar Epidemic and the Chameleon Effect. It was a very interesting chapter to write about because I was able to relate with some of the examples in the chapter and then write about it in my paper. I followed MLA style and did all of my formatting correctly. Overall, this paper was a pain to write, but I did learn from it and I can use what I learned for my next essay and any other papers I have to do in my college career.

Essay #3 Song Choice :)

"Ana's Song (Open Fire)" by Silverchair
Please die Ana
For as long as you're here we're not
You make the sound of laughter
and sharpened nails seem softer
And I need you now somehow
And I need you now somehow

Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you

Imagine pageant
In my head the flesh seems thicker
Sandpaper tears corrode the film

And I need you now somehow
And I need you now somehow

Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you

And you're my obsession
I love you to the bones
And Ana wrecks your life
Like an Anorexia life

Open fire on the needs designed
On my knees for you
Open fire on my knees desires
What I need from you
Open fire on the needs designed
Open fire on my knees desires
On my knees for you

So, I chose this song because it's about the lead singer's battle with anorexia. The interesting part is that he's a guy and you don't hear about guys dealing with anorexia often. But other than that, I don't know much about this band or their other music, but I'm excited to find out. I only know about this song and the meaning behind it because my 10th grade Comp/Research teacher played the song for my class and told us the meaning behind it. From that point on, I was hooked. I thought this song would make a really good paper talking about his struggles with the disease and anorexia in general.

Summary and Analysis Rough Draft

Ashley Lewis

Instructor Thomas

English 101: Summary and Analysis

12 October 2012

Summary and Analysis of Sway

            Have you ever wondered why people are so quick to label others based on appearances or first impressions? Do we really pick up on traits that are assigned to us by other people, without even realizing it? Ori and Rom Brafman try to prove this in their book, Sway, in Chapter 5, which is titled, The Bipolar Epidemic and the Chameleon Effect.

            In The Bipolar Epidemic and the Chameleon Effect, the Brafman brothers talk about the sway, diagnosis bias. They argue that when it comes to diagnosing, people usually rely on random information. But, when we are diagnosed, we take on the traits ascribed to us, making the diagnosis reinforced. This can happen to almost anyone, including well-seasoned doctors, “bipolar” children, Israeli soldiers, adventurous hikers, and even normal women waiting for a phone call.

            While reading this chapter, I was able to follow each story pretty well. They flowed from one story to another, which was easy to understand. The Brafman brothers were able to tie the previous story to the next story and so on, which made the stories connected in some way. Each paragraph was the same length, which did not take away from the stories. The authors were able to give all the information that they needed to and it still made sense.

An example that I found the most interesting was the phone call between the women and the men. Fifty-one women had signed up for a study on communications. They just figured that they would be chit-chatting with a random man, who knew nothing about them. Little did they know, the men had also signed up for a communication study and they were given a bio and picture of the women they were about to speak with. The bios about each woman were true, but the picture was not. Some men were given pictures of very attractive women, while some men got pictures of more average looking women. Of course, every man is going to look at the picture more than the actual bio of the woman. After looking over both items, they were given an “Impression Formation Questionnaire.” Despite what the bios said about the women, the men had already formed their opinion. Men who saw pictures of attractive ladies, “expected to interact with sociable, poised, humorous, and socially adept women” (102). But the men that ended up with less attractive ladies, “thought the women would be unsociable, awkward, serious, and socially inept” (102). The conversations started and the women engaged in normal chitchat. But that was not the real experiment.

            The real experiment was playing back the women’s side of the conversation to twelve totally random people that knew nothing about the biases the men had. Surprisingly, those people caught on to what was going on. After listening to the recordings, “[The twelve people] attributed the same traits to the women based on their voices alone that the men had attributed to them based on their (fake) photos” (103).

            The Brafman brothers describe this as the “chameleon effect,” which is “when we brand or label people, they take on the characteristics of the diagnosis” (100). To break it down even more, “[the] mirroring of expectations is known as the Pygmalion effect (describing how we take on positive traits assigned to us by someone else) and the Golem effect (describing how we take on negative traits)” (100). So in the case of the women, when the men interacted with the “beautiful” women, they caught on to that and in turn, sounded beautiful. It is interesting to see how people put the “chameleon effect” into play.

            When I read that example, it automatically made me think of a situation my high school English teacher told our class about. He had signed up for Match.com and he started to talk to a woman that lived in Charleston. Apparently, she looked very beautiful in her profile picture. The two of them talked online and even talked on the phone. From what he saw on the woman’s profile, he thought that she was attractive and very sociable. The only difference between the Brafmans’ example and my teacher is that he actually got to meet the girl. He ended up going down to Charleston to go on a real date with her and when she opened the door, he was not pleased at all. He recalls the whole experience as, “hanging out with the whale at Charleston Harbor.” But, the two stories still have the same concept them and I was able to point that out.

            The Brafman brothers did an excellent job proving that diagnosis bias really does exist. Reading The Bipolar Epidemic and the Chameleon Effect really made me think about my actions and other people’s actions, which was the whole point of the chapter and the entire book, as well. Before, I never thought anything of “sways”, but now, I notice all the little things that people say and do and I automatically think of diagnosis bias. After reading this chapter, the Brafman brothers have made me a believer of the diagnosis bias.

           

Someone Help! Please?!

Ok, I missed class today and I missed the class discussion, which I'm assuming was mostly about the summary and analysis paper. Hopefully someone can tell me what I missed because it will help me out a lot. And I know the first draft is due Friday, but I have no idea what to do. I've looked at the example papers to get some sort of idea as to what to do, but to be honest, I'm lost. I don't really know how to start my paper and I really don't know how to come up with 4 pages! If anyone has any suggestions or pointers on how to do this, it would be greatly appreciated!

Preface Event #1

Dear Preface Planning Committee,

            I attended the Preface event, “Breaking up is hard to do: A closer look at intimate relationships” and Frances Jarratt-Hortis was the speaker of the night. The event was on September 20, 2012 from 6 PM to 7 PM. Frances Jarratt-Hortis talked about being in love and being in relationships as college students. We watched a few YouTube videos about being in a relationship while in college. She also asked the audience a lot of questions and did a poll with our answers. I thought the event was perfect for college students who are in relationships.

            The event was definitely a lot more different than I thought it was going to be. I pictured a speaker giving a lecture and giving us statistics on college romances. But that was not really the case. She was very active with the audience, asking us questions about our own relationships and letting us answer honestly. It was a very fun environment, which I really liked a lot. Love and relationships are something every college student is bound to run into at some point in their lives, so I believe that this event really benefited people.

            The only thing I wish the speaker had done was give more facts. Out of everything we talked about, she only gave us a few facts about relationships. She told us that 75% of college couples do not even get married; she gave us the warning signs of a toxic relationship, and some other little things. Everything else we talked about were just opinions, which is great because it is good to hear other people’s opinions and what they believe. But I think some more facts would have been really good.

            I found at least one connection with the event and Sway. In Chapter 4, the Brafman brothers talk about the diagnosis bias and how it affects lovesick college students that are in a new relationship. The students ignored the warning signs in their partner and chose to continue in the relationship, thinking that it would work out in the end. We all believe that nothing like that would ever happen to us. Most likely, it will happen to a majority of college students, maybe even me.

            I’m really glad I attended this event because I feel that it was very beneficial for me. As a college freshman, I’m going to be experiencing new things. I’m 99% sure that at some point or another, I will meet a guy and fall head over heels in love with him. Now, I feel better prepared to go into a relationship, knowing what I want and what will be a deal breaker for me. Also, I know the signs of an unhealthy relationship and know that I need to get out of it. Overall, this was a very interesting event and I feel good about attending it. Other than more facts, I would not change a thing about the event.