Benjamin Eppel, Period 6, 9/30/22

 What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

My whole family is Jewish. Lots of my friends are Jewish as well as I live in a heavily Jewish populated area. This means that for most of my life, I have usually been surrounded by Jewish people and have never really experienced first hand any actual oppression, and neither really has anybody that lives around me. 

This however, is not a representation for lots of the world especially nowadays. Jewish people have been oppressed for centuries, from being enslaved in Egypt to the Holocaust. (Those are just some major points in time.) But over the last few years, the rise in antisemetic crime has risen very significantly hitting an all time record high in 2021 with 2717 counts of crimes related to anti semitism. This was a 34% increase from the year before! This is something that I sadly am not surprised with as I started to get harassed online by multiple people, some of which I even knew for my beliefs and was receiving death threats from strangers. This has happened to many people and there seems to have been nothing done to prevent it, and in some places, has even been encouraged. 

There needs to be a change in the way things run. There have been so many shootings of synagogues and murders of Jews simply because people are racist. These things have got to stop and have really made me and I am sure others are very scared sometimes to do something as simple as wear my Star of David as I am scared that I could be attacked. But to put it simply, people have got to start to acknowledge the problem and deal with it because people will not stop.

Allison Gandlin Pd. 7, Modern Mythology 2023

 Modern Mythology 2023- Socio-political Consciousness

I consider myself a product of liberal culture. The kind that is floating around, attempting

to prey on young impressionable minds that have been raised on morals like the Golden Rule

and cartoons advocating for boys and girls to be kind and make them believe everyone

deserves the benefit of the doubt and everyone deserves to be treated equally. As much as I

say I believe in this, it is also dangerous. It is unsafe to disagree. It is unsafe to have exceptions.

Some call this ‘cancel culture’ but I prefer to label it as strict conformity to one’s beliefs, a type of

stubbornness that stems from the defensiveness of all who follow, scared to be embarrassed on

an everlasting online platform. So they outwardly return the ‘attacks’ they feel are pointed at

them and what they claim to support. Everything is on the record and everything is

remembered. In my opinion, there are exceptions to equity and hierarchy and power. I have not

a thought and an emotion but many feelings and emotions towards all three.

Before I begin to state my critiques I must acknowledge my own biases, I am a white

teenage female. I have grown up in America, given the opportunity to play sports, choose what I

want to do with my time and my life. I have parents who have been able to give me comfort and,

for the most part, in a healthy way. I have a home and my own room and go to a public high

school where I have friends and can wear what I want. Frankly, what I ‘want to wear’ adheres to

what most patriarchal systems have deemed ‘appropriate dressing’ so I have been able to

choose what I want to wear, while others may not have been able to do so in the same

community. My family emigrated from Russia so I consider myself as accepting of many

cultures since I have seen firsthand what unacceptance and judgment looks like. I am average

weight for my average height and may or may not have “blonde privilege” depending on your

thoughts on “pretty privilege” and whatnot. More likely than not, I will comment on gender

studies as that is the part of me that is the minority and I apologize for the possible lack of

acknowledgement of other situations that I may take for granted.

First, inequity. In order to criticize it we must ask the question: What does it mean? The

Oxford definition of inequity is as follows: “lack of fairness or justice.” Immediately, there is a

negative connotation. “Fairness” or “justice” refers to something that adheres to society's rules

or standards. Societies standards have been heavily influenced by social media and people that

have power over what others may deem artistic influence. This may include the movie industry,

the fashion industry and overall, people who are in a position of power and influence like

celebrities. Everything we know and believe and have created opinions on has been created in

our own subconscious based on outside stimuli that have evoked either positive or negative

emotions. Therefore, things that are deemed ‘inequitable behavior’ or unjust situations stem

from outward appearances/ behaviors. For instance, race, gender, disability/ neurodivergence,

or beauty. Each can be approached in a different manner. When it comes to race it is the most

clear and obvious issue we claim to experience in America, I am unsure of cultures in other

areas of the world so I shall comment on what I know. We develop stereotypes of the different

types of people we meet. Let’s backtrack for a second. Rewind to the root of power. America,

as everyone always says, was built on a variety of people from everywhere, essentially. This

means even people that are born in America who are considered citizens of America, have an

outward appearance that can pinpoint them to some other culture that isn’t associated with the

founders of America, aka white studious men. Right then, our values and standards have been

created. Education is a value, hard work, determination, growth, and justice is necessary to live

in an efficient society.... for white men. Because surely they have been capable and will

continue to be!

Obviously this has proven to be bogus but it really says a lot about human nature and

brings up a lot of questions. First, how have white men proven to be capable over other

humans? We can attribute this to location, religion, and other things. There is a whole book

about this thing and the question of how certain cultures ‘developed faster’, it’s called Guns,

Germs, and Steel, great read. I highly recommend. We can’t exactly get into that right now but

obviously we look back on these assumptions and morally reject them. Other races can be just

as capable! They just never had opportunities; they were always limited. Women can obviously

do what men can do!

Yet...I find myself sometimes doubting this belief system we have created. I have a very

scientific mind. Trying to always make sense of everything. And believe me I had a difficult time

processing the concept of God. But I also understand or actually, I believe, that in order for there

to be an outcome, there must be a cause. To apply this, in order for someone to simply think

something, anything, something else has to have happened to trigger that thought. This could

be an action, reaction, another thought or dream, event, colors, noises, temperature, anything.

In this case, I ask, what happened to make people think that certain races or genders are

inferior to others? Does oppression and percieved superiority stem from threat? Does the one

who has control feel insecure and threatened by differences? If someone is performing well and

is different from me, do I feel that I am not performing as well because I am not the same as

them? OR is it because I, a woman, who is cursed with more variety in hormones that distract

and dictate my emotions, am weaker and less focused. Less logical than a man who simply

wakes up and expects his hormones to fluctuate the same every day? OR flip it, does having

more variety in emotions and my body give me an advantage. Do I learn to take control of my

emotions at an early age and therefore, can focus much better than a man who is more

impulsive with his actions? Too many questions and too many unknowns. While this is more

psychological than anything else, that is where all of these concepts come from, our minds. And

that is the smallest thing that we have no clue how to handle or learn about.

WARNING: EXTRA BIAS

As a woman, or budding woman, I am terrified of this concept of is it me or is it them

because I know I will have to compete for my respect with a bunch of egos and insecurities of

men who have accepted their capabilities while I doubt mine. ESPECIALLY in a male-dominated

career field like STEM, engineering, and architecture. Luckily I have had a lot of practice in

another male-dominated field, athletics. ESPECIALLY football. I have to physically compete with

my peers who have the advantage in size and strength and building strength while I have the

advantage of experience and domain-specific skills and knowledge. But still I doubt which

overpowers the other. Have you ever heard the question, which matters more in a fight, strength

or intelligence? Many have answered intelligence, in favor of the ninjas who have mastered the

art of using your surroundings and size against you. But when will it be the latter? I would love

to know before I am faced with a situation where I doubt the preparation of my physique (aka

power in general) when my mind has been shined and polished over and over again.

I believe I self criticize very well, I love to think and thinking eventually reflects on

yourself and who you are as a person. It is evident that I have taken into account multiple

perspectives, however I am unable to go in depth with every single one. I am still human and

will ultimately look through a lens that I can relate to. It is funny, I have fallen victim to the

stubbornness I somewhat referenced earlier where I am not able to relate and so I disregard

and don’t attempt to think and possibly learn about different struggles. The only difference is I

am not assuming one struggle or one situation is better than the other. I recognize my privilege

that society’s values have given me.

Ashley Lam, Period 2, 9/30/22

Ashley Lam

Period 2

9/30/2022

Modern Mythology 2022

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

    In class, we read Ms. Fusaro’s 2020 poem and discussed the key elements of what was

mentioned and what each specific topic was truly about. I specifically liked how Ms. Fusaro

highlighted the horrors of how hard 2020 was for her as well as for the world around her. Talking

about how schools fell remote for all kids around America, how the black lives matter movement

took off in New York and across America, and how certain deaths have changed lives in the

very homes of several people made me remember the hardships we all endured during

quarantine: both small and large. Towards the end of the poem, Ms. Fusaro discusses more

personal problems that she has endured during the Nightmare Year. It made me reflect deeply

on how others were affected on a more personal level while also honing into all the unresolved

conflicts I dealt with throughout the year. Day into night, night into day, I sat in class holding my

heart in my hand as I was holding back tears hearing what Ms. Fusaro’s family had to endure, all

while she was pregnant. It made me reflect on the hardships with people and people I have lost

throughout quarantine, opening up my heart to all the wounds that are still scarred. It made me

appreciate the people I still have in my life and the realization that the Nightmare Year is over.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that

learning influences your critical perception.

    In English class, we recently learned about different critical theories that a reader reads

a story/text in. I became intrigued with the critical race theory, which was prominent throughout

Ms. Fusaro’s 2020 poem. In the beginning of her poem, she heavily touched on the murder of

George Floyd and the rippling effects that occurred after. The poem touched on police brutality

and the unfair treatment that they afflicted on New York’s citizens. This relates to the critical

race theory because the murder of George Floyd was an eye opener to how the police system

is corrupt. After the George Floyd murder, multiple black murders made by police were brought

into light, enraging the public. Protests, anger, and everyday students were taking a stand,

realizing our political, justice, and government system all had a form of systematic racism.

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

    After reading through the poem, learning new critical theory lenses, and applying

everything towards my own personal life, I can view things in a bigger picture rather than

problems that only affect me. It has made me continue to fight for what is right and stand up for

myself as well as others. One time, I saw these men physically attack this black female for

having a different religious opinion, and without hesitation I rushed over to help her. This was right after 2020, when things were slowly coming back to normal. I made sure she was okay and

continued to argue with these grown men and fight for what I believed was correct. Now

learning about these new theories, I can help people and myself in a more deeper way, as I will

never stop fighting against racism and the horrors people have to do deal with simply because

of their race.

Hinson Dong, Period 6, 9/29/22

Hinson Dong, Period 6, 9/29/22, Modern Mythology Blog 2023, 

Literacy and Learning

    Given the book during the summer, it was pretty surprising to be reading Cinderella

again and I wasn’t really expecting much. This fiction fairy tale was pretty familiar to me as I

have watched the Disney version and read one of the versions before. However, that was years

ago since I still had the understanding and the thought that these fairy tales are “meant for

children.” After reading the versions of Cinderella, I realized that these Cinderella stories are

much more different in terms of the addition to many cultures and their versions of Cinderella. It

is much more different than the original type of Cinderella which I considered to be meant for

children. After learning about the criticisms during class, I saw that these versions are

interpreted differently throughout the perspective of different age groups. Seeing that one can

apply Marxist criticism, gender criticism, or psychoanalytic criticism on a fairy tale like this. What

was once a story that inspired and taught children is now something seen differently by an adult.

For fairy tales now, I can see that. Maybe one that has seen something as a kid may not have

as much experience as a person that’s more grown up and would be able to criticize the story

line. For example, we may see Cinderella as a story that has a happy ending at the end just like

a normal plot for a fairy tale. But now we can see it as why does Cinderella depend on another

in order to live that happily ever after. Why is there always a prince, or a god mother, or a

forgiving ending? These are now seen by me and I can see now where this can be interpreted

differently by one in another age group. I think that this can be applied to another. As something

that I’ve read as a kid can be interpreted differently by an older individual.

    Also applied to other fairy tales such as one that we read in class “Where The Wild

Things Are,” which was one of the stories I read a while back to come and see another

perspective of this story. This perspective of an older me was way much more different than me

years ago. As a teenager, I can now see that this story shows the kid in the wrong and how he

opens up due to his imagination. Now I’m able to see that fairy tales are not just “meant for kids”

as we are able to interpret these fairy tales differently and see the more stereotypical problems

of it. I think this can apply to life by saying, “some stuff can be seen in different perspectives.”

Jake Cobovic, Period 6, 9/28/22

Socio-political Consciousness

- What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

- How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

    I, and my whole family, are Muslim. You would never be able to tell unless you already knew. None of the women in my family wear hijabs. None of us pray all five times a day. None of us regularly go to the mosque either. So to me, Islam is mostly just fasting during Ramadan, celebrating during Eid, and praying before I go to sleep. 

    I bring this up because Mahsa Amini was murdered by the police in Iran on September 16th for not wearing her hijab properly. The tragedy and ensuing protests have once again brought the treatment of women under Islam back into the spotlight. For years, I’ve always brushed off these criticisms with my own personal viewpoints: “Well, in my experience, Muslims women are able to do what they want.”, “Well, that’s not how I choose to interpret the Quran.”. However, Mahsa’s murder hasn’t left me with any room to make excuses. Her killers have read the same Quran and believe in the same God as me. How could they come to the conclusion that they are doing the “moral” thing?

    Thinking about Mahsa’s murder left me in a religious dilemma. Countries like Iran follow Islam to it’s most literal and exact interpretation. Normally, I would agree that when it comes to rules, we should follow them as they were written. However, I can’t believe that these laws were made to be followed literally when they end up in the deaths of innocent women and gay men whose only crime was existing. 

    Over my life, I’ve formed my own interpretation of what Islam means to me. I personally can’t believe that things like owning a dog or not believing in Islam are one-way tickets to Hell. But in the wake of Mahsa’s murder, I’ve begun to doubt if what I believe in even is Islam anymore. Sure, I fast and don’t eat pork, but if I only choose to believe in certain parts of the Quran, why even base my beliefs off of it? It has left me to consider what it means to be Muslim, and if I still am one.

Sophia Feng, Period 7, 9/29/22

Sophia Feng

Period 7

9/29/22

Modern Mythology 2023

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

    Recently in class, we have been discussing the different versions of Cinderella, including Donkeyskin, Lin Lan, The Three Gowns, etc. Originally, I have only read the Brothers Grimm version where Cinderella is able to complete her stepmother’s tasks with the help of her animal friends. Her stepsisters also try to fit into Cinderella’s shoe by cutting off a toe and part of a heel. As a child, I loved reading different versions of fairytales because of the different cruel punishments for the villains of the story. For example, in Brothers Grimms Snow White, the stepmother ends up dancing away in hot, red iron shoes until she fell dead. Some other versions were more disturbing, but it was interesting because of how people thought of different punishments worthy of their evil actions. Thus, reading the versions of Cinderella allowed me to see even more perspectives due to cultural and storytelling differences. 

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.

    It was interesting to read and search for critical theories in fairytales, specifically in Cinderella. Despite already looking at certain stories, such as Goldilocks with these theories, it was refreshing to see how we could apply thoughts and perspectives that we already had to an academic curriculum. Growing up, I interpreted Goldilocks as the actual villain in the story because she was the one intruding on another family’s home and stealing their things. However, by listening to different interpretations allowed me to understand Goldilocks in a Marxist Criticism theory. It was different and new because it changed how I viewed Goldilocks originally. 

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

Critical theory is not only seen in stories, it’s also found in movies, films, moments in history, etc. It’s in the world around us because it has to do with how people interpret something with their own bias or knowledge about a certain subject. For example, I was watching a TikTok where someone explained Ratatouille from a Marxist perspective. With the knowledge that they knew about class structures and racism, they were able to provide a theory where the rats symbolize colored people and the humans symbolize white people. Remy stood out because he had the resources to expand his talent for cooking, while the other rats didn’t have that opportunity. 

Karen Khvan, Period 2, 9/28/2022

Literacy & Learning

• Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.
• Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how that learning influences your critical perception.
• How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

The main pieces of fiction we had covered in class so far were the different types of Cinderella

stories. Cinderella is a classic tale- in fact, I think it was the first fairy tale I remember being told.

Reading the different renditions was fascinating because you could see the key similarities and

stark contrasts simultaneously. The basic plot went as follows: Cinderella was abused by a family

member, Cinderella runs away and finds a spouse, then lives happily ever after. Although each

version had its own twists and turns, the consistency felt reliable. The structure of the story is

just the foundations- the additions that the author makes is their own and comes from home. A

story that really stood out was the story of Lin Lan. While it had the “happy ending” plot, it also

contained many different themes and deviations from the Cinderella that was presented to me

as being “normal.”


One thing that being in class has shown me is the definition of folklore and how this is a perfect

example. In fact, I could see this pattern in my own life- I remember my grandpa swinging me

on a hammock in Belarus as he told me a different type of Cinderella, one that incorporated

things that are culturally important to us. Culture plays an incredible role in the cultivation of

these tales. Each text was unique, even if it was almost verbatim in structure and themes to the

others. Learning about folkloric perspectives has taught me that it isn’t just the authors coming

up with the stories- they’re all influenced by their environment and the people that they’re

surrounded by. Similarly, analyzing the stories through perspectives had a great impact on the

characters and authors. For instance, if you examine Lin Lan through a feminist perspective, you

could say that she was a strong woman who knew that she deserved the best when she was

picking out her future spouse. When examining the same story through a marxist perspective,

however, you could argue that she was being a picky snob who should be thankful that people

were willing to help her escape from her horrible past. While I always considered perspective, it

was never truly analyzed past a reader-text relationship. This, mixed with the culture the story

came from, can truly help you learn more about the state of the world that the time of the story.

Learning about perspective has helped me realize how narrow minded I had been towards texts

previously. Now, in my own reading endeavors, I am trying my best to pick out different

perspectives in order to try to get to know both the characters and the authors better.

Perspective is a guessing game- you never know if things are left in intentionally by the author,

or are a shadow of their own desires and goals. Understanding the perspective of things can help

you understand the author's reasoning. If they wrote a text during the great depression, you

would get a much different marxist perspective then if it was written in modern day. These

drastic changes help show how far society has come, all throughout the analysis of something

that may have not been put in intentionally.

Tara Lago, Period 6, 10/4/22

 Tara Lago, Period 6, 8/04/22, Modern Mythology 2023

Socio-Political Consciousness

Whenever someone asks me for film recommendations, I always suggest Whisper of the Heart, A Monster Calls, Me, Earl, and a Dying Girl, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Dead Poets Society. See a pattern? I’ll give a hint: men. Every single one of these films was directed by men. They each have at least one main male character. In fact, the few female leads in half of these movies only forward the plot as love interests. 

I ignored this blatant inequality because these movies were the quintessence of brilliance: witty, cinematic, moving. But in movies that I disliked, I was quick to scrutinize their unprogressive feminism. I complained loudly about the scenes where they failed the Bechdel Test or where the jokes were about objectifying women while ignoring the same problems in my beloved movies. 

I was, in short, an outstanding hypocrite. 

And I didn’t realize it until I watched This Changes Everything. Mind you, the documentary has its own set of flaws, like being directed by a man when it’s about the absence of women in the film industry (ironic, right?) Nonetheless, it enlightened me to the unequal representation of women behind the scenes and on the screen and the efforts to change that. In the late 1970s, a group of female directors—“The Original Six”—sued the big film studios of the time for workplace discrimination (Syme). By analyzing the amount of women who held directing positions over the past 30 years, they found that less than one percent of director jobs were assigned to women (Smukler, 262-271). 

They took this evidence to court and lost. 

In 2004, actor Geena Davis founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the first organization to research and advocate for gender equality and inclusion in family entertainment media. Despite years of thorough research and pressure placed on studios to do better, progress has been slow. In a study published in 2019, female characters in children’s films still make up only 32.8% of leads (Geena Davis Institute, 5-6). The percentages of leading characters for LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and people of color are even lower (Geena Davis Institute, 5-6). A study conducted by a separate institution found that in 2021-2022, women made up less than half of directors, writers, executive producers, producers, editors, and cinematographers for indie domestic features and documentaries (Lauzen, 7). 

These statistics were a wake-up call. I finally understood why I never liked a film based on the characters alone and why I rarely related to the people featured on screen. None of the leads are Filipino-American girls. None of them are teens whose coming-of-age story is about the value of platonic love. None of them are about creative writers trying to navigate academia and medicine. 

None of them are me. 

And for a long time, I thought that was fine. I discovered and embraced my identity on my own, so I didn’t need representation in the media. I was internalizing the overly-emphasized “rugged individualism” trope and accepting the absence of representation as a badge of honor. In reality, it’s a mark of shame, shame toward the continuous gatekeeping of the film industry, shame that diverse creative voices are silenced before they have a chance to sing.

Now, I mourn the lost potential of female directors in the past and present. I mourn the quintessences of brilliance that could have been created by women if not for the ironhold men have had in the film industry. I mourn for the children and adults who never see themselves as lead characters in movies, who don’t realize that they are more than their stereotypes or their invisibility.

But because of this documentary, I am empowered. “The Original Six” and Geena Davis’s institute may have more losses than wins, but that hasn’t stopped them. And it won’t stop me. I will share the information I learned from this documentary with others. I will actively look and support movies directed, produced, written, and shot by women. I will use the consumer leverage I possess for good so that girls, similar and different from me, can all watch a movie and see a sliver of who they are or who they could become. 

Works Cited 

Dunbar, Denise. “This Changes Everything’ is an important yet flawed story of sexism in Hollywood.” Alexandria Times, Alexandria Times, 14, Nov. 2019, https://alextimes.com/2019/11/this-changes-everything-review/.

Giaccardi, Soraya, Heldman, Caroline, Rebecca Cooper, Nathan Cooper-Jones, Meredith Conroy, Patricia Esparza, Ian Breckenridge-Jackson, Linzi Juliano, Ninochka McTaggart, Hannah Phillips, and Rita Seabrook. “Jane 2019 Report.” The Geena Davis Institute for Gender in Media, 2019. 

Lauzen, Martha. M. “Indie Women: Behind-the-Scenes Employment of Women in U.S. Independent Film, 2021-22.” Indie Women Report, Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, 2022, https://womenintvfilm.sdsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2021-22-Indie-Women-Report-1.pdf.

Smukler, Maya Montañez. "Chapter 4: Radicalizing the Directors Guild of America". Liberating Hollywood: Women Directors and the Feminist Reform of 1970s. Rutgers U.P., New Brunswick, 2019, pp. 262–271.

Syme, Rachel. “Meet Hollywood's Original Six.” Pacific Standard, Pacific Standard, 26 Feb. 2016, https://psmag.com/social-justice/the-original-six-and-history-hollywood-sexism.

This Changes Everything. Directed by Town Donahue. Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, Artemis Rising Foundation, David Yurman and Lyft Entertainment, 2018. Netflix, https://www.netflix.com/title/81110773.

Theodore Fan, Period 7, 9/23/22, Modern Mythology 2023

 

Shunned for her superior beauty, and the useless protection from a -6 foot father, Cinderella was locked deep underground in her family's cottage basement. The only friends she’d known were the rats during story time, the cockroaches that helped her find warmth and the ants that snuck her food. The stepmother was the meanest of the meanest, trapping Cinderella in the basement with nothing but a dog whistle to cry for help. She would prance around like the Queen of England only she looked 100 years older than her despite an age of 35. The only food she would give Cinderella was a bone from the T-bone steak that she ate every day. “High in fat, high in happiness” she always said, her bellowing booms of laughter shaking the house. Her stepsisters were the ugliest of the ugliest, with twisted razor sharp vine-like hair and snot that smells like donkey. Despite their attempts to be the most graceful in the land, they would spend night after night, crying and combing their twisted vine-growth hair into submission. The hairs of the comb would fall down through the cracks of the floor slowly drifting into the basement where Cinderella lay. She would use the hair to make dolls for the rats to play with, and the snot as food for the cockroaches. Anyone would go insane in such a rock-bottom  environment if it weren’t for the blessing of the night. 

At night when all was silent but the house, the roaring snores of Cinderella’s stepsisters and stepmother would be just the thunderous booms needed to escape the house. It was a little ritual you could say where Cinderella got to go to the pond outside to wash herself, and bathe in the glory of nature. The boundless freedom of doing anything she wanted. She could climb the trees, feel the wind in her hair, and look towards the moon, dreaming she could be there. The daily bones she gained from her stepmother would be used to feed a pet wolf she so dearly loved. Abandoned by his parents, the wolf and Cinderella would find each other as family. She would whistle the whistle of the dog and the wolf would come straight away to greet his family. Life wasn’t great but Cinderella felt content as is. Yet there was always a creeping feeling on her, that she wanted more to do in life. Her ambition being as boundless as the universe itself. 

The great prince Tree had a ball for all the world to see, the only problem was that you must come in groups of three. The dust and dirt would rain in the basement as Cinderella could feel her stepsister and stepmother scurrying around the house, preparing for the ball of a lifetime, cooing and “eeeking” at each other's gowns. Oh how Cinderella begged her stepmother to go but the stepmother was as stubborn as her size, saying “that even if you could take four, it only rhymes with three.” With a goal of passion and want in place, there was no stopping her pace, as Cinderella snuck out once again, greeting her pet wolf on the way. Despite the sounds of thunder growing past what she knew to hear, Cinderella treaded on as it rained through the night. The thunder roared louder and louder as Cinderella fled to get a gown with the last earnings of her father. She glanced around the shop and got a plain looking dress. It turned into the prettiest dress there ever was to see. She continued to try on dress after dress as each looked fairer than the last. On Cinderella, every dress was the prettiest dress. Even with the mud and dirt and dust, Cinderella’s beauty shone through like a star in the sky. The owner of the shop said how Cinderella’s light brighten her day as she gave the dresses to her for free.

Everything was going perfect! As she snuck back into the house, the lightning finally crashed down on her. There her stepmother stood, soaked in rain and mud as the lightning revealed Cinderella’s dust prints on the floor, her mud prints past the house and towards the town. Her stepmother saw the beautiful gowns on Cinderella and seeing their awe and beauty, took them for herself. Cinderella cried and screamed for the very first time, begging her stepmother to let her go to the ball. The stepmother responded “even if four rhymed with three, the dress would be too hideous for anyone to see!” The stepmother laughed as she threw down a dress made for Cinderella. The first gift her stepmother ever gave her. Until the lightning once again struck down, illuminating the room as the dress was made out of wolf fur, the dog whistle dangling around the neck of the dress. Cinderella bawled and weeped, but no one could hear anything as the storm raged louder and louder. 

As Cinderella was thrown back into the basement, she clasped the dog whistle in her hands weeping and mourning into the night. Her only company were the rats, the ants and the cockroaches. But then the dog whistle spoke, it was the wolf. He heard her cries of agony and pain and was determined to ascertain vengeance. To grant Cinderella the wish she wanted most. Cinderella, one who was so compassionate and kind, who endured the depths of hell and was tempted with the fruit of the devil. She grasped the whistle and wished for a gown of unimaginable beauty, an escort brighter than the stars and a veil more mystifying and glamorous than all in the world. The wolf whistle shone bright as the moon as the mice, cockroaches, and ants transformed into civilized servants, a royal carriage and beautiful strong horses. The wolf skin became a dress as bright as the moonlight, its dazzling glow reflecting the stars. Despite not wishing for it, the basement of the cottage teleported outside the house and became a tower taller than all could see. A tower with no way down but a little window to peek out of. The wolf warned that the powers fade at dawn as the connection they had was during the night, the only thing that would remain unchanged was the dress and the tower. With a brisk pace, Cinderella and her entourage made their way to the ball.

As soon as she entered the ball, all eyes were on Cinderella. The people, unable to look away at something as mysterious as the moon. The stepmother and stepsisters  were captivated, the people were captivated, but the most captivated of all was the great prince Tree. The two stars of the show danced into the night, seemingly becoming the sun as all the eyes staring became the planets. As dawn approached, the mysterious Cinderella began to panic. As the great prince Tree looked to take off the veil, he received a kick in the acorns instead as Cinderella fled the scene. The great prince Tree ran after her but all he could grab was her veil.  Cinderella fled the scene as the magic started to fade, the great carriage made of cockroaches became only cockroaches, the servants becoming rats and the horses becoming ants. Cinderella made it all the way home and fled up her tower as it magically opened up for her. 

The great prince Tree was shocked and defeated as much as the eye could see. All who tried the veil made it turn into a vicious skunk that smelled like snotty donkey. The great prince tree vowed he would find the one who fit the veil. His ambition was higher than all could see. 

As he tried townsfolk after townsfolk nothing would deter his unwavering confidence that he would find the one. When he finally got to Cinderella’s old household, it was obvious that the veil would not fit their heads but the prince tried it nonetheless. When the prince placed the veil on the stepmother's head, the racoon shriveled and died of old age. When the veil was placed upon the stepsister’s head, it started shrieking in agony, tearing the stepsisters hair off until they were balder than their combs. As much as they tried to hide it, nothing could stop the great prince Tree from seeing the tower taller than all could see. Despite no way up, the prince climbed the tower for three days and three nights. Finally at the top he placed the veil upon the maiden so fair and they lived happily ever after. 

Kylie Kam, Period 2, 9/23/22

Kylie Kam
Period 2
9/23/22
Modern Mythology 2023

Atomic Habits & Growth

• At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set for yourself?
• How and why did you come to craft these standards?
• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?
• How do you assess yourself? What adjustments do you make? How often?

At the beginning of senior year I thought it was a good time to set specific standards that I will try to follow throughout the school year. These standards were crafted from my problems that I experienced as a student during my past years in high school. I created these standards in the hope that I can become a better student. An important standard I have set is that I will try to stay on top of all of my classes. I am the person that procrastinates too much and does things at the last moment. For example, I said I was going to finish my college essay during the summer, but I still have not finished it. Since I did not finish it, now I have to complete that on top of all the homework I am getting in school. Also, after I get home from school, I tend to not start working on my homework right away, even though I know I should. I sit down in front of my desk to do homework but get easily distracted by my phone. In the previous years of high school, the result of procrastinating is I finish my homework late and I don’t get as much sleep so I want to improve on that. That leads to the other standard I had set for myself. I want to be able to have a better sleep schedule to help me improve my academic performance. Sometimes I don’t get enough sleep because of my poor time management with my homework and other times it’s scrolling through social media on my phone. If I don’t get enough sleep, I wake up with low energy, find it really hard to stay focused in school, and find myself more easily irritated. This is something I have been struggling with since my freshman year. I want to be able to change that before I go to college so that I can manage my time better in college.

I am slowly making some adjustments to achieve these standards since it is just the start of the school year. As the school year progresses, I hope to see more improvements based on the standards I set for myself. So far to start fixing my procrastination problem, every day when I come home from school, I try to start my homework right away. I don’t lounge on my bed and scroll through social media. I put my phone somewhere else so I am not distracted by it and set manageable time goals of when I should finish a certain assignment. By setting the time goals, it motivates me to finish in the allotted time. Without the time goals, I feel a lack of motivation to finish it by a certain time. By finishing my homework quickly and efficiently, I have more time to sleep. Also, I stop using my phone half an hour before I go to sleep so it doesn’t affect my sleep. Instead, I try to do something calming, like read a book for a bit before I go to sleep. It helps me to relieve stress and it's better than scrolling on my phone. But I am not consistent with my sleep schedule. I tend to go to sleep later on the weekends and it is messing up the schedule I created for the weekdays. So I need to work on staying consistent throughout the week. Working to achieve these standards that I set for myself will definitely help me in the long run.

 

 

 

Kenny Chui, Period 6, 9/23/22

 SocioPolitical Conscious

1. What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

Inequity is definitely caused by the environment and decisions of people. It is an aspect of luck in a sense because they had the chance of being born and growing up in a specific environment that would shape the way they live, think, and behave unless forcibly changed. Even when social class changes, the fact that they were born in a lower class as well as the memories gained from being in that lower class remain. Then it is the decisions that utilize that luck. Furthermore, those decisions may be influenced just the same. For example, someone with experience handling emotions will be able to keep calm in intense situations, while someone else that never got to practice keeping calm may lash out with a temper, and even that results in differences based on the reaction of people around them. 

Without a doubt, inequity is due to the infinite amount of variables in peoples’ lives from way before they were born, and have effects for long after they die. In my opinion, best way to get out of the cycle, though imperfect, is to make as many conscious decisions as possible to achieve your goals, whether it be fame, power, wealth, peace, or simply comfort. Sometimes you have to go against your nature and think before relying on intuition in order to get into and avoid situations, all the while utilizing what you know, experienced, and are capable of.

2. How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

I always accept information without taking it completely. 

By compiling information, I can compare it to what I know, and then discern if the information is to be believed or not. I think that by doing this, I can better understand others’ perspectives, whilst not taking all information and trusting it without discernment. Because I know that people can have drastically different minds, I concluded that there are too many variables to expect certain behavior from people. The only constant you can control is yourself and your reactions.

Especially by knowing that others think differently, I can expect and not feel attacked by criticism, because I know that words are a complex interaction. Maybe their intent was different than their words? Maybe their words didn’t come out clearly and I could have misheard. Especially due to those things, I don’t take things personally in order to take the information as objectively as possible.

I am very introspective. Whenever I have a big event or conflict, I think about the actions of others and myself as objectively as possible, but I analyze myself the most. Because no one is perfect, especially myself, I have to be prepared to accept change.

Arie Ioselevich, Period 2, 9/22/22

Arie Ioselevich
Period 2
September 22, 2022

Atomic Habits & Growth

At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set  for yourself? 

• How and why did you come to craft these standards? 
• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?
• How do you assess yourself?  What adjustments do you make? How often?

Currently,  I am a senior at Staten Island Technical High School. In all honesty, I wasn’t very much involved with this school at all. I never attempted to make friends, join any sport teams, or really even put any effort into my grades. This is probably why I never really liked highschool. I always felt as if I didn’t fit in because of my lack of studying and not being part of a school team. The thing is, I’m actually quite good at swimming and I would have probably won a state title had I done highschool swimming. On the outside it seems as if I’m not a team player, but the truth is I simply didn’t have the extra time or energy to do high school swimming. Now that I am a senior and I have some more time on my plate, I think it’s best to set some goals to better myself and create good lifelong habits.

Since freshman year, a lot of people have been telling me the same things–that I should join the high school swim team, and that I should try harder in school. Hence, the following standards I have set for myself; I am going to join the high school swim team and be a leader there; I am going to spend an extra 30 minutes a day doing school related things; I am going to get to know my classmates better; I am going to graduate knowing I did all that I could to make the best of my senior year. In order to achieve those standards I have to know how to get to them. The swim team coach is one of my club teammates' aunts. I am going to ask her to get me in touch with her aunt so that I can join the team. I am going to be a leader here by correcting the technique and attitude of my teammates and by leading our relays to city championship titles. I will spend an extra 30 minutes a day doing school related things by setting aside the first 30 minutes when I get home from practice. I will do my homework, study for tests, and go over notes from all my classes. In order to get to know my classmates better, I will introduce myself in all of my classes, ask about their day, and attempt to talk/work with them on collaborative assignments. If I do all of these things, then I will graduate knowing that I made the best of my senior year.

Because of the nature of my standards, I do not feel it fit to personally assess myself. I will ask my friend Justin to keep me in check, and give me the push that I need when necessary. I will have him check in with me once a week in order to hold me accountable. This is a really big change because I am very individual/reserved, so doing this will also put me out of my comfort zone.

Fiona Chen, Period 7, 9/22/2022

Fiona Chen

Period 7

9/22/2022

Modern Mythology 2023

Atomic Habits & Growth

At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set for yourself? 

How and why did you come to craft these standards? 

How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?

How do you assess yourself?  What adjustments do you make? How often?

The main standard(s) I have set for myself is to fix my glaring issue of procrastination. I’ve always struggled with this issue, and I think it started to become prevalent towards the end of middle school. Breaking the cycle of procrastination comes with smaller standards or goals itself, such as holding myself accountable, managing/using my time wisely and setting priorities. I should keep in mind which deadline is sooner, how long an assignment might take and what test I need to study for. Studying is also something I should work on. Instead of studying several days prior, I tended to cram it in the night before. It would be more beneficial for me to resolve these habits now rather than constantly thinking that I can start fresh in the new semester or school year. Another standard that I’ve set for myself is becoming a little more comfortable with public speaking. Even though I did not initially plan to be in this class, I believe it turned out for the better as the workload is heavier and there will also be multiple presentations in this course; I can use these to almost prove that if I maintain my grades throughout the year, I’d have been closer to reaching the standards if not already. 

Although these standards have been floating around in my mind for a considerable while, I’ve somehow put off reaching the standard at the same time. I became more than aware of the importance of them a few months into my junior year. I started getting distracted a lot, more than I should be. One missing or late assignment started to build up into multiple across different classes. Instead of keeping in mind what assignments are due next, I burdened myself with remembering which ones I had to make up. My grades hit an all time low even though maintaining grades had been something said to me repeatedly over the years. I want to stick to my standards from this point forward so it’ll be better for me in terms of my mental and physical well-being. 

    A habit is something built over a prolonged period of time, so I can start by taking small steps. For instance, setting a time for when I should be done with all my work, instead of depending on the midnight deadline. I don’t exactly have to finish a project 4-5 days early. Instead, beginning brainstorming for project ideas the day of can already be a big step. This way, I’ll get more used to starting earlier and in turn form a routine. Ways I can assess myself include my grades, level of preparedness for tests and projects, and lastly, how much sleep I’m getting. Over time, adjustments can be made to how I am sorting my time if I ever feel that I’m running out of time for certain tasks. A clear indicator of when I have more to work on are the days that I’m staying up late because of an assignment I could have done earlier.

Carolee Chen, Period 7, 9/21/2022

 

Carolee Chen 

Period 7

9/21/2022

Modern Mythology 2022

Literacy & Learning

Write about your thoughts regarding any of the fiction or nonfiction covered in class.

In class, we have read and discussed over nine different versions of the Cinderella story. Previously, I had already read the Grimm’s Brother’s version in middle school and thought that was the only twisted version of the Disney movie I had once grown up with and adored. The fact that the princess did not have a happy ending was foreign, but intriguing. After reading the Grimm's version, I had always loved and appreciated the creativity, gore, and talent that goes into creating such contorted versions from seemingly charming stories and vice versa. I thought that the Grimm’s version was already extreme, but after reading the nine versions of Cinderella, I was pleasantly shocked. Not only were the versions more extreme and even dove into the topic of incest, I loved how different aspects of culture each version originated from were also intertwined. After reading the Cinderella versions assigned, I also read a few versions of other children's fairy tales and was amazed at its artistry.

Reflect on any new information you have learned in English class by considering how

that learning influences your critical perception.

During our discussion, Ms Fusaro mentioned the idea of the “feminist lens”, a critical perception of how woman are characterized and perceived in comparison to men in literature. It is obvious that during the time periods these stories were written, society was very misogynistic and women had no power. However, it is still fascinating as it is infuriating to see that the “evil” stepmother character was blamed in every single version. Even though the father blatantly participates in incestuous desires with his own daughter, somehow it is the woman who was characterized as selfish for money and power. After being introduced to this feminist perspective of critical analysis, I have realized just how far the extent of misogyny stands. The degradation of women can be directly compared throughout all kinds of literature and historical events, including the biblical story of Adam and Eve and the Salem Witch Trials. Time and time again, women have been pronounced as inherently evil, hence the character the “Evil Stepmother” and the “Evil Queen” in Snow White. 

How is what you’re learning applied to any other classes/the world around you?

After learning about the “feminist lens” and seeing how thousands of female characters throughout literature are sadly disrespected, this just inspires me to continue fighting and advocating for women’s rights. Reading and discussing the maltreatment of a women’s image in class reminded me of last year in AP Language & Composition class when we were instructed to do a two-months long research project on policies we felt needed to be changed in society. I chose to write about the policies of reproductive care and coincidentally, I had to present my arguments for better women’s reproductive rights during the week Roe v. Wade was overturned. In the event of Roe v. Wade’s overturning, it was almost all men who voted it is the government’s right to choose when a woman is ready to have a child or not. Somehow, it was still men and the corruption of the government that had decided for an entire population’s reproductive health decision. Even in our society that is supposedly progressive, misogyny still cannot be escaped. Even if these stories were written more than 200 years ago, the underlying pattern of misogyny continues to manifest itself. After leaning about the “feminist lens”, I will not only read literature and female characters in a different way, but continue to fight for women’s rights in society right now.

Tyrone Chen, Period 6, 9/21/2022

 Atomic Habits & Growth

• At this current point in time, what specific standards have you set for yourself? 

• How and why did you come to craft these standards? 

• How do you demonstrate resilience towards achieving these standards?

• How do you assess yourself?  What adjustments do you make? How often?

As I am entering my senior year of high school, there are lots of things that I have to worry about, so it is imperative that I set standards or goals for myself. The standard things that every senior has to worry about: SAT, college essays, and the AP classes some people choose to take. Like many other seniors I made my first commitment to senior year at the end of junior year with the choosing of our schedules. Opting for AP courses, this is already one of the standards that I set for myself: to do well in these AP classes. In addition to this goal, the most important standard that I’ve set for myself this year is to not procrastinate. 

This has been the biggest problem for me in my entire high school career thus far. The nights I’ve spent cramming, holding off homework, projects, essays, and studying all to the very last night or even the lunch period before class. I do not ever want to experience those times again. That is exactly why I plan to end procrastination in my life once and for all. I think this is a major point of self improvement for myself and for my future as if I learn to end this bad habit now, it will be much easier for me in the long run. 

I understand that I cannot just end this habit overnight, so I’ve been making myself start small. From finishing the chemistry homework due in 3 days, to starting projects early, and even finishing this blog 2 days before the due date, I’ve been starting my goals small. This is also how I plan to measure my progress, through the amount of work I delegate towards each day. If I feel it is in spontaneous bursts, then I know that I have reverted back to my old ways. I plan to make starting and finishing work early a habit for me so it feels natural. Just like running, as you start to do it more you will get more and more used to it and soon it will feel like second nature. Since the beginning of the school year, I would say that I have been pretty resilient to this goal having had more time for myself as well as reducing my stress due to this new habit. I could 100% get used to this feeling. 

The habit of procrastinating is a big one for me and I can assess the progress I’ve made by reflecting on how stressed I am. If there is at least one day worth of time for assignments that I had plenty of time for, I know that I am on track to accomplish my goal. Soon I hope to be able to complete assignments with even days to spare and have time to edit and revise it. In addition, I hope to be able to actually create study sheets and properly study for tests using the study tips I learned in Ms.Brandon’s class of long term studying. By studying a little bit everyday, you can retain the knowledge even better than cramming. As the school year progresses, I will make adjustments to this schedule by trying to finish assignments well ahead of time. Only time will tell how much time I need to adjust but I have faith that I can fix this detrimental habit of mine. 

Anna Fora, Period 2, 9/21/22

Anna Fora

Modern Mythology 2023

Period 2

9/21/22

Literacy & Learning

One of the biggest tasks I have faced so far in the school year was reading all the different types of Cinderella fairy tales (ATU 510A and B) around the world. When first assigned to read the vast amount of stories, my mind instantly searched for ways to explain the similarities between thousands of miles. From taking APUSH, I pondered how cultures exchanged stories on different trade routes and, in turn, how the stems of stories grew. From my understanding of psychology, I brushed off the similarities as creativity limitations in the human mind. I gave the coincidences thoughtless consideration.

Now through the forming lens of a folklorist, I understand that fairytales aren't as superficial. They have structures and rules that characterize them as either folklore, fairytale, mythology, fantasy or more. Fairytales always start with "Once upon a time…" and good always triumphs over evil in the end. Such an emphasis on these "magical" rules is much different from analyzing typical literature where there are no rules. In the literature I read before mythology, people wrote simply about what was on their minds or recorded events in time. And in a sense, my perception of analyzing literature was loose and unadorned too. When reading, I did not search for connections to other writing styles or structures. I could not appreciate the beauty in how authors built their sentences and stories. By sharpening my perspective, I can critically analyze fairytales and complex ideas around me much better.

For example, Cinderella wasn't just a story passed down the Silk Road where the Tang Dynasty's Yeh-Shen inspired Brothers Grimm. It's a tale of fairy godmothers advising our heroine on how to overcome trials to beat her evil stepmother and find her happily ever after. I've even started to see this same structure in some of my favorite stories. Coraline depicts an 11-year-old girl who escapes her boring neglectful life into a world full of adventure, good food, endless toys and love from her Other parents. Later in the book, she faces the trial of saving her real parents from her Other Mother, who only wants to eat her soul and trap her in the Other World. Initially, I was interested in the hardship that a tween girl had to undertake and overcome. Now I find my brain breaking down the story and thinking, "Is this a fairytale?"

Of course, I still love to search for the tragedy and unfair twists of fate in tales and folklore. However, I cannot rely only on this fascination and my APUSH knowledge to give me a fleshed-out analysis of mythology. Nor can I use it as an excuse that I indeed investigated the complexities of writing or the human mind. As I move onward in this class and learn more about how to see the world from a folkloristic perspective, I'm eager to encounter the philosophical and psychological ideas around me from another angle.