intro post – English 1102: Television and Feminism

Fresh Off a Netflix Binge

On September 4, 2018

Hey, y’all! My name is Bailey Moore and I’m from Norcross, GA. I’m a first- year BME student here at GT with a Spanish minor and an anticipated graduation date of 2022 (probably, hopefully, maybe in December #relatable ).

me, still shook that we get to call enjoying TV homework

I was in the IB Diploma Programme in high school which meant a LOT of writing and speeches and more writing. This is my first English course at Tech, so I’m enjoying a little bit of a twist to the old monotonous English classes I dreaded in high school. Can you tell I’m a STEM major? I do, however, enjoy making infographics and doing oral presentations, especially creative ones rather than the long literary analysis speeches I’m used to because I feel interested and engaged myself when I use those methods of communication and I feel that the comfort and confidence of the communicator has a large effect on how the message is communicated. I struggle with nonverbal communication mainly because I haven’t practiced it or really looked into its significance. I am hoping to improve my nonverbal and electronic communication this semester, especially with infographics, body language, and voice tone, because I feel that they could contribute to making me appear more put- together and knowledgeable than I may be.

In reference to the course theme, I have a ton of experience with both TV and Feminism. I watch Netflix more than I’d like to admit and I even have a tattoo on my wrist of the equal sign which I got after the Women’s March here in ATL, but I haven’t previously combined these two passions, so I’m excited to see what the course has to offer. I also tend to watch the same types of shows when I watch. For leisure, I watch laid- back adult comedies like Modern Family, Bob’s Burgers, and The Big Bang Theory, and for Netflix binges, I go for thrilling dramas like Bloodline, Sherlock, and Stranger Things. I hope that this course will show me new types of shows and let me expand my thinking about TV and how it can reflect our culture as an art form.

I guess you could say I’m kinda an expert. heh. (10 points if you understand why I chose Emma Watson for this)

For this semester, I have chosen to review Fresh Off the Boat because I like that it shines a light on immigrants in America and I want to widen my scope of TV viewing to include a wider range of characters. It is about a first- generation Asian- American teenager who is uprooted from Chinatown DC to suburban Orlando with his family as his father chases the American Dream. Although the show is humorous, I also think that immigration is a huge topic in our political climate right now and I’m interested to see what opinion this show will argue. With that said, let’s get binging!!

me, in the car, constantly irritating my friends by singing loudly and not well

Intro to Alexandra Jungreis

By Alexandra Jungreis

On September 4, 2018

In Intro Post

Hi, I’m Alexandra Sarah Jungreis, an 18 year old Chemical Engineering major from Anchorage Alaska (I know. It was 10 hours by plane). I expect to graduate in spring 2022, and I’m expecting to take summer classes in order to accomplish that. So far, my only English experience has been with standard high school classes, which I must say I loved. I greatly enjoy reading and talking about books with complex themes and characters. In terms of communication, I love talking and having oral conversations with others, and writing, though not as much of a favorite as talking, has also been an easy form of communication for me. Where I struggle is non verbal communication. It’s not that I’m unexpressive, rather that I express the wrong emotions. I hope to be able to improve on that skill this semester and diversify my communication skills. In terms of television, I can’t say that I’m an utter fanatic, but I have watched quite a bit. The main reason behind that is that my family often uses television and movies as a way to spend time together. Though it’s not very active, we experience the show together, and then have much to talk about after watching. Other than with my family, I really don’t watch much television. I did used to watch a few shows on my own, but that’s tapered off and reading has become my main form of media consumption. For my show, I have chosen Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, a story about a mentally ill woman who drops everything in her life to follow a man she had a crush on 10 years ago to California. Despite the seemingly retrogressive premise, I chose this show because of its reputation of accurate portrayal of mental illness, as well as the fact that the main character is very unapologetically Jewish. I often find that most Jewish television characters are Jewish in a way that is palatable to Gentile audiences: Most references to their Judaism are framed as jokes, or in the form of common stereotypes that push at but don’t quite cross the line (references to bagels, bar/bat mitzvah parties, curly hair, Jewish mothers, etc.). I’m tired of watching Jewish characters that are meant for Gentiles to laugh at; I’m excited and ready to see a Jewish character that was meant for me to identify with.

Me about to watch a Jewish BAMF rule the screen

A Piece of my Life

By Justin Lau

On September 2, 2018

In Intro Post

Hey guys! My name is Justin Lau and I grew up in a small city called Ellicott City in Maryland. It’s serene, suburban, and about 20 minutes from Baltimore. My declared major for Tech is Computer Engineering and my anticipated year of graduation is 2022.

In general, English has always not been my subject. Throughout high school, I disliked every moment of English because it was so boring: all we did was read required novels I never cared about, learn grammar/writing skills, and discuss nonchalant daily topics. Long story short, I was never particularly good at English, and I never really enjoyed it. However, I was a summer freshman this past semester at Tech and I took English 1101. It was the first English class I actually didn’t mind taking. Professor Tobias-Bates taught the class and I genuinely enjoyed it because there wasn’t overwhelming work, the projects were fun to do, and the topics we discussed in class were easy to talk about. I struggled mainly with argumentative writing and forming clear points in my essays. I often get too caught up in incorporating advanced vocabulary and making my writing sound more “sophisticated” that it can sometimes result in confusion with the flow of the sentence. Despite this, forms of communication I enjoy are utilizing social media to share life moments and my thoughts and talking to people in person, which represent the electronic and oral nodes of communication.

On the other hand, I am a total TV fanatic; I love binge watching Netflix shows and eating unhealthy junk foods that I know are bad for me. However, that was during high school, I have not had much time to keep up with shows and watch in college, but I hope to return to my old ways in this class. The last show I binge-watched was Friends, a true classic.

The TV show I have chosen to review is Fresh Off The Boat because this show seems extremely hilarious, not to mention the main characters of the show are Asians and will face struggles that I can relate to personally because of my parents’ first generation background. I am excited to dive into the lives of Eddie, his parents, and his two brothers, and I can’t wait to update you guys!

A picture of the family that is mainly explored in the show.

English 1102: Television and Feminism

Dr. Casey Alane Wilson • Georgia Institute of Technology

Tag: intro post

Fresh Off a Netflix Binge

Intro to Alexandra Jungreis

A Piece of my Life

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