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Second runner up for my favorite emoji? The sad/ pure face! This emoji perfectly captures certain feelings and puts it into an emoji you can attach to your text messages. I use this emoji often, whether it be to show someone that I am sad, I think something is wholesome or pure, etc. An example where I would use this would be if my friend sends me a memory from when we were at school. I miss that so I would send back ” aw, miss you (this emoji)”. This emoji is very effective and has the right energy to it. I use this one daily and it definitely one of my favorites!

This week I am going to write about a random topic, but hopefully it peaks your interest. What is my favorite emoji right now? The BLING emoji! Not only does this emoji radiate good feelings, it also adds a sort of emphasize to your text messages. It turns a simple sentence into a joke. If I were to write “yes”, it may come off as harsh or just bland. But, if I write “yes” with this emoji attached, the person reading it will automatically think of that word differently. Overall, this emoji is very useful, and I am glad that they added it to the emoji keyboard.

Another one of my favorite applications right now on my phone is Instagram. There are a world of possibilities with this app. This app deals with not only video like Tiktok, one can post pictures and share influences with others. Something I like about this app is that they took away likes so only you can see them. This is good because they are trying to eliminate the pressure to get enough likes to fit in. No longer will people feel judged for how many likes they get on their posts. I think there are pros and cons to this app, but it is clear they are trying their best to have a positive influence on society and remove labels, which is very nice to see. I definitely recommend getting this app as well!

As of now, one of the apps getting me through the week is Tiktok. Truthfully, I think I have an addiction to watching them. I can spend hours scrolling through laughing at videos people make. This application ranges from videos of people dancing to songs like this American Boy remix on Soundcloud, or Dua Lipa’s new song, Blow Your Mind. Many people have gotten famous off this app, including Charli D’amelio, a fifteen year old from Norwalk,Connecticut which is about thirty minutes from me. This is definitely really cool considering it shows that people all over the world can become famous if they try hard enough! I highly recommend downloading this app if you are bored during this quarantine. It will change your life!

Today, there was a thunderstorm where I live in Connecticut. This prevented me from going on my run, but I still was able to do a mini high intensity workout inside. I like my space as much as the next person, but it is getting to a point where I think not only myself, but many others miss being social. At first corona was a joke, but it has been proven to be very serious. If you click on this link, it will bring you to a remix that someone made on sound cloud from the famous rapper, Cardi B, talking about the Coronavirus. To keep from going stir-crazy, I did a workout, then joined a zoom call with a couple of my friends and we watched Netflix together. The show we all started is called All-American, and it is addicting to watch due to all the cliff-hangers. Even though we cannot see each other in person, it is nice that we can all interact still over the phone. I hope this virus ends soon and that everyone is staying safe! Remember to practice social- distancing!

Link to Zoom Download if you want to try it with your friends or family: https://zoom.us/download

On Monday, April 21st, 2020, I followed the continuous cycle of being bored and finding new ways to fill my time. After doing some homework before finals approach, I went outside to get exercise in and go for a run. When I am running, I like to listen to music, which switches depending on my mood. If I want to feel an energy boost, I will put on something like Follow God by Kanye West, and if I want something calmer, I turn on Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson or maybe Bloom by Surfaces. While on my run yesterday, I discovered a new path next to my house. When I followed the path, it led me to the middle of the woods and eventually to a large pond. It is definitely one of the cooler places I have seen and it is hidden which makes it even better. This will probably become part of my everyday run as it gives a bit of change to this never-ending madness. I am excited to explore the rest of it and see where I end up!

The song I am reviewing is called Unforgettable by Nat King Cole. This song was produced in the 50’s and I actually really enjoyed listening to this. If you want a song that is mellow and jazzy, I recommend listening to this. It reminded me of an old time, where people would go ballroom dancing with the person they loved. It made me feel calm and nostalgic. Overall, this is a really good song, definitely listen to it!

A song I highly recommend to listen to is called Take It Easy by Surfaces. I was drawn to this artist because they remind me of artists like Jack Johnson, John Mayer, and Bob Marley. This song radiates good vibes and automatically boosts your mood. When I listen to this song, I feel relaxed, like I am at the beach with friends during the summer. In my opinion, it is like a modern Bob Marley song. Overall, definitely check this song out if you want to feel happy.

After watching the Mickey Mouse Monopoly on Kanopy, I noticed they utilized an interesting technique to keep watchers engaged, myself included. I believe the purpose of this film was to bring awareness to the fact that Disney is not as wholesome as they appear to be. There are actually many problems the company has, such as incorporating demeaning and demoralizing stereotypes into their movies, like attaching all Latino characters to chihuahuas, or placing all women into a feminine role, where they should bow down to men, such as when Jasmine in Aladdin, uses her body to distract and seduce Jafar. In this film, the editing was, for the most part, consistent. A scene that stood out to me was when the author, Dr. Henry Giroux, gave explanation behind all of his claims which he then wrote about in his novel, The Mouse that Roared. Once he made an impactful statement, the camera angles would change. For example, when he made a point that society is not really living in a democracy because America is controlled by corporate power and greed, it switched from his face to his hands typing on a keyboard. This is due to the fact that if it stays in one spot for too long, the audience will start to lose interest. The interviews are an essential part of the film, but they can be boring, so the way in which the film is edited is effective in capturing the viewers attention. This kind of editing was seen all throughout the film. The order would be interviews, important points, and eventually different angles or scenes. Before showing clips of Disney movies, it would be silent when the people were talking. This type of audio gave the film a serious tone, which evoked a concerned, but interested emotion in the viewers, because they are now wondering why it is presented this way. As this film was more informative, it never really deviated from this style of editing, or tone. It gave the audience a sense of urgency to this issue within the corporate industry. So, in terms of editing techniques, I think Mickey Mouse Monopoly was successful in their attempt to grab the attention of its viewers to realize that there is another side to Disney that people do not recognize, but should as it is harmful to the children who watch Disney movies over and over again. Disney has dominated our world with its light-hearted image, and has claimed King status over many companies, hurting an abundance of people in the process.

Click here for a clip exposing racism seen within Disney films.

The film I watched was the Mickey Mouse Monopoly on Kanopy. I actually really enjoyed this film. It brought many ideas up I had never considered and brought my attention to this perspective of what the Disney company is trying to portray to its viewers about cultures, gender, class, race, etc. For example, one scene described how racist Aladdin was, introducing the stereotype that Arabs are all criminals and barbaric. They then proved to show with a firsthand account from an Arab man who went to talk with the people involved with the film, and the man they talked to did not care. He actually yelled at them for drumming up unnecessary negative press to make them look bad. After meeting with the people at Disney, the only change made with the film was a few words in the songs, but they still kept a lyric about the Middle East being a cruel place , stating that “its barbaric, but hey it’s home” in Arabian Nights. I liked how this film kept the viewer intrigued because when they would make a claim about Disney, they would back it up by switching to a scene in the movie that showed their points. Disney displayed these in not just human characters, but animals as well. They showed how Disney incorporated all kinds of stereotypes into their movies, going from The Lady and the Tramp with the Siamese cats having the stereotypical Asian features, such as slanted eyes, to The Jungle Book, where African Americans were shown as monkeys. They even mentioned how Native Americans felt offended by the portrayal of Indians in the films like Peter Pan and Pocahontas. Disney attached stereotypes like certain dances, head dresses, and riding on horses to Native Americans, which in turn became imprinted in the brains of children who watched these movies when, in reality, it is not an accurate representation of their culture. In addition, the stereotype of women being weak and fragile was seen in movies like the Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, where they cannot fend for themselves and have to be saved by a man. Mickey Mouse Monopoly exposed the harsh, underlying, issues of Disney as a corporation that has an immense amount of power globally, so much so, that people will not only not question this authority, but will defend it without knowing what goes on behind the curtains. Overall, for an older film, I think the editors did a great job at keeping the watcher engaged throughout the movie, which has carried on to this day.

Here is a clip from the film, discussing the impact of Disney and its messages that shape the minds of children all over the world