Reading Jack’s Solomon’s “Masters Of Desire” was only the beginning of my semiotic experience as I was quickly learned to read gender behavior, race, but most of all elitism in America. My blogs reflect some of the issues signs convey but one particular reading from the course affects me in ways that doesn’t appear in my blogs. Reading Goewey’s “Careful, You May Run Out of Planet” gives me a critical and sometimes judgmental eye when driving down the Interstate 5. Driving down the Interstate 5 has almost become a game in how many female SUV drivers I can spot. Since reading Goewey’s article, driving the roads has never been the same. One of my blogs explores status symbols within snowboarding but on my trip I realized my compact vehicle wouldn’t make any future trips. I searched for vehicles that would suit my needs but it almost always resulted in an SUV. I became skeptical in my reasons for wanting an SUV because of “Careful, You May Run Out of Planet”. Would I be falling into the female stereotype of the SUV? I’m not trying to symbolically display a physically powerful vehicle really… because the places I travel require the need of four-wheel drive. Ultimately, an SUV doesn’t hinder my reasons because even a truck would suffice. My blogs explored status symbols and even as I research my needs for a four-wheel drive I am constantly reminded of the signs I would convey.
Revising my blog posts made me realize how difficult it is to discuss a point with clarity within maximum word constraints of 220 words. The revision process has taught me concision and clarity that I once lacked in my writing. Blog post 2 had many concepts such as masculinity, gender roles, and elitism so I needed to focus on one idea. After peer reviews, many agreed that the post followed masculine gender roles in my elite atmosphere. Taking in advice from my peers, I changed my post from elitism in baseball to gender codes and watched the post flow naturally. Semiotic teachings has taught me logic reasoning that I wouldn’t have learning in any other class and the revision process has taught me clarity and concision that contributes to my writings in other classes as well.
One of my best blogs was my trip to Snow Summit at Big Bear Mountain, CA. I think it’s my best post because I had a strong example that supported my claim of status symbols. While at Snow Summit, I noticed many people with a popular brand of snowboards. I knew the brand wasn’t cheap so when I began my post I researched that particular brand. I found several jaw dropping price ranges for several items. Before the detail became overloaded I then discussed possible reasons behind why people would pay outrageous prices for a snowboard. My first post was juggling two concepts but after some revision, I believe it uses the concept of the Democracy of Goods though the use of status symbols. This particular post was one of the easiest drafts to produce since I had many memorable details and field observations. I found this was one event that I planned ahead of time to evaluate differently with a semiotic eye. Producing field notes was much easier since I had observed the event with a semiotic eye therefore the draft was easier to compose. Semiotics will always be that one class that spoiled an innocent view of consumerist American values, but semiotic reasoning will always affect the logic of my writing.
Blog Post 1: Individualist Art
Blog Post 2: Gender Codes in Baseball Fans
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