Song lyrics and stereotypes

Cater 2 you

Destiny's Child

Baby I see you working hard
I want to let you know I'm proud
Let you know that I admire what you do
The more if I need to reassure you, my life would
Be purposeless without you (yeah)
If I want it (got it)
When I ask you (you provide it)
You inspire me to be better
You challenge me for the better
Sit back and let me pour out my love letter

Let me help you
Take off your shoes
Untie your shoestrings
Take off your cufflinks (yeah)
What you want to eat boo (yeah)
Let me feed you
Let me run your bathwater
Whatever your desire, I'll supply ya
Sing you a song
Turn my game on
I'll brush your hair
Help you put your do rag on
Want a foot rub (yeah)
You want a manicure
Baby I'm yours I want to cater to you boy

[Chorus]
Let me cater to you
Cause baby this is your day
Do anything for my man
Baby you blow me away
I got your slippers, your dinner, your dessert and so much more
Anything you want just let me cater to you
Inspire me from the heart
Can't nothing tear us apart
You're all I want in a man;
I put my life in your hands
I got your slippers, your dinner
Your dessert and so much more
Anything you want, I want to cater to you

Baby I'm happy you're home
Let me hold you in my arms
I just want to take the stress away from you
Making sure that I'm doing my part (oh)
Boy is there something you need me to do (oh)
If you want it (I got it)
Say the word I (I will try it)
I know whatever I'm not fulfilling (oh)
No other woman is willing (oh)
I'm going to fulfill you mind, body and spirit

I promise you (promise you)
I'll keep myself up (oh)
Remain the same chick, you fell in love with(yeah)
I'll keep it tight, I'll keep my figure right
I'll keep my hair fixed, keep rocking the hottest outfits
When you come home late tap me on my shoulder
I'll roll over
Baby I heard you, I'm here to serve you
(I'm lovin' it, I'm lovin' it)
If it's love you need, to give it is my joy
All I want to do is cater to you boy

[Chorus]

I want to give you my life, my strength
My will to be here
That's the least I can do
Let me cater to you
Through the good (good)
The bad (through the bad)
The ups and downs (ups and downs)
I'll still be here for you
Let me cater to you
Cause you're beautiful(you're beautiful)
I love the way you are (you are)
Fulfill your every desire (desire)
Your wish is my command (command)
I want to cater to my man
Your heart (your heart)
So pure your love shines through (shines through)
The darkness we'll get through (so much)
So much of me is you (is you)
I want to cater to my man

[Chorus]

The song portrays the stereotype that women are supposed to cater men in every possible aspect and trough the good and the bad. This can be seen in the following verses: 

"Let me cater to you

Through the good (good)

The bad (through the bad)"

In the song, women also feel that is their duty to do this:

"Making sure that I'm doing my part (oh)"

They also need to stay fit to make his man happy, representing another stereotype. This is present in the following verses of the song: 

"Remain the same chick, you fell in love with(yeah)

I'll keep it tight, I'll keep my figure right

I'll keep my hair fixed, keep rocking the hottest outfits"

For men to take into account women, they always have to be well dressed and good looking. And in order that their relationship lasts, she has to stay as pretty as when they first met.

The song also talks about women's life revolving around men, and that without them, their life would be meaningless.

"I want to give you my life, my strength

My will to be here

(...)

So much of me is you (is you)"

Going to a deeper analysis the song, by assuring that women do everything that men needs, they are indirectly saying that men are useless and that they need a woman besides them to survive. 

Written task: blog

Hey my followers!

Today I will talk about the Internet, social networks and language used in it. 

The other day I read on-line a newspaper article form 1995 (a bit old, I know), talking about some problems or issues that the Internet was supposed to bring to our society. And I have to say that some of the issues presented in the text remain till today, such as the fact that teachers are increasingly supporting their classes with new technologies, the developing "cyber business" (which, as said I the text, it is not yet completely reliable) or some other things that the author does not say but came up to my mind later: what is happening nowadays with all this chatting apps, is that they are causing that we don't phone each other or get together to talk anymore. This is making us to isolate from the world around us, spending more and more time on our phones and in the Internet. However, this also has an impact on our language, how we use it and the way we communicate.

Now, let's focus on the language used on the Internet and social networks. We as teenagers choose this way to communicate with each other instead of calling or talking face to face, and we don't always use words for doing this. Now we can express our thoughts and ideas by using emojis (those funny little faces that express different moods and things), acronyms (like LOL) or abbreviations. Also, with the rise of these expressions and social media we don't feel the need (and sometimes as in Twitter and its 140 characters, we are not able) to fully explain and elaborate an idea, tending to be more brief, concise and getting to our point faster. Consequently, we have replaced traditional language and changed the way we communicate. This has brought some trouble to students, since they still need to do homework (such as essays) and tests for school. Not being used to developing ideas, kids these days have difficulties to write long essays or works, and if they do, they are full of grammatical errors and typing mistakes.

Likewise, I would like to tell that I consider age an important factor too when discussing this matter. Teenagers and young people in general tend to use this type of "language" because they might consider that it's easier and faster to use. Older people on the other hand, weren't born surrounded by technology, so they don't have the same ease as we do to use computers, iPods or mobile phones. As a consequence, they don't understand what those signs, abbreviations and drawings (I mean emojis) are, so they found that it's not easy to use them. 

While we spend more time than ever on our phones and social media, the evolution of language has been easier and faster than ever. This is possible thanks to the opportunity to instantly interact with the big audiences offered by this type of sites. There is no longer the need to publish a new word in an important magazine, newspaper or be someone influent in the academic world, as long as you have a significant amount of on-line followers. An example of this would be the use of the word "troll".  This word it's no longer a creature that belongs to the Scandinavian culture. Instead, this word is now used to designate a person who provoke and mock the rest.

Going back to the newspaper article, the author says that the Internet and technology are replacing "human contact", considering this as a bad thing and that we should worry about it. And I think he is completely right. He says one phrase that I consider important :"computers and networks isolate us from one another". Does it ring any bells? Now, let's remember that this article was written in 1995, almost 20 years ago, and even though he was right, Nowadays Internet, and particularly social networks, have made that we isolate form the world around us leaving "important aspects of human interactions relentlessly devalued". And this my friends, has caused that language and the ways we communicate with each other to change. It's all connected: while we spend more of our time on-line (and I repeat this one more time: isolating ourselves from the world), we find new ways of talking and interacting among us, therefore varying the type of language we use to fulfil this goal.

So, is there a solution for this? Yes and no. There is a solution to the problem that we are spending too much time on our phones: quit them. I know it's hard, but try to put them away every now and then, maybe try to talk to someone face to face (or am I going too far?). On the other hand, evolution of the language is not an easy thing to stop, so there is no much to do. 

What about you? Do you think that we are isolating from the world? And what about the language we will use in the future?

Thank you for reading!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rationale

The text I wrote is directly related to what we saw in class, because I spoke about mass media, more specifically about the Internet and social media and language used in it. I also made references to the evolution of the ways we communicate, and how this is related to social media. 
I chose this type of text (blog) because of two reasons: it was more informal than the speech, for example, so it was more appropriate for addressing my target audience; and by being less formal, it was easier for me to develop my idea, as I do not need to worry about the way I'm writing. Besides, it allowed me to use sarcasm which is attractive to my target audience. That said, my target audience are teenagers and young people as they spend a lot of time on-line. An example of this would be the following, "We as teenagers", where I assume that the person who is reading is a teenager.
The type of language I used is informal, because as I said before, my intended audience are teenagers and they wouldn't like to read a very formal text. This type of language is more appealing to them. One example of this is the phrase "Does it ring any bells?"

Letter correction

Dear Ms X, 

Each morning, over the paste six years, I have been happy to see my students walk through the classroom door. It feels so natural to me to be a primary school teacher. However for the past few months I have been longing for and thinking about a new personal challenge in the field of primary education. As I am very much intrigued by different cultures and languages, I have decided look for a position at an international school.

Your school attracted my attention because it is a relatively young school, where I could be part of a pioneering and ambitious team. I also like the fact it is a Dutch subsidised school with competitive fees, open to a variety of students. Furthermore, I value the experience of living in Amsterdam, and I appreciate how your school uses the multicultural atmosphere of the city into the school. I really think this city, and also the Dutch culture have much to offer.

Initially I am interested in teaching groups 3-8. To me, children of these ages are still very spontaneous, eager to learn and able to communicate and discuss well. In view of my university education, teaching in a secondary school might be a future job possibility to me. 

I am an open minded person, I have good social and handle pressure easily. Group management, organising and planning is natural to me. I graduated from an outstanding technical university and worked for several years as a consulting engineer and groupleader in the field of logistics and general management. This is how I developed my rational, analytical and coordinating skills. Then I decided to follow my heart and passion and become a primary school teacher.

I believe I would add value to your organisation with my skills and enthusiasm. I would appreciate the opportunity to be interviewed, so we can discuss more about the job and the possibility of working together. 

Yours sincerely,

Candidate Y

ThinkLink

http://www.thinglink.com/scene/581917702541541378

Rhetoric activity

These are the rhetorical figures that I found on the text:

Ethos: "(...)young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled."

Pathos: "We are, and always will be, the United States of America" 

Logos: "It was built by working men and women (...) had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause"

Repetition: "(...) who still doubts that America (...), who still wonders if the dream (...), who still questions the power of our democracy (...)" 

Polysyndeton: "(...) to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve" 

Parallelism: "(...) the backyards of Des Moins and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston."

Antithesis and juxtaposition: "(...) the bitter cold and scorching heat (...)"

Varied sentence length: "Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term (...) that we will get there" 

Figurative speech: "(...) a collections of red states and blue states." 

Hypophora: "It's the answer told by lines that (...)"

Upraisisng video

1.- The whole video tries to reflect that idea, because it always show images of a destroyed city. The part when one of the members of the band hits the window, or when the group of "people" is burning a pile of things help to give the idea of chaos and revolution. The letter of the song also helps to develop the idea of revolution and chaos: "Rise up and take the power back/ It's time the fat cats had a heart attack".

2.-  The lyric speaker is very confident, as he calls to reveal against the "fat cats". He do not show fear at any moment.

Fill in the gaps

Young jewish, death, from the nazis, she died age 15 in, studious and intelligent, a passion for, came to power, and outgoing girl, notebook for her, about her dreams, to go to a, shared the small, the hideout and, a mass grave, still unknown, widely read.