Everybody is living based on a cultural map, a map that directs us to live in different ways. Without these cultural maps, most of us will not be able to identify ourselves or know what to do with our lives. These maps often times are from our origin, roots of our ancestors, and some might have been modified by our current parents also. We born to pick up these maps quickly and naturally, they are not always obvious but are clear enough for us to realize that they are definitely shaping us in different ways. The possibility that we are going to end up with could be seem in terms of the groups that we are focus on, mostly, our race, gender, and class. By identifying ourselves into different groups, we do not only feel comfortable and cool about it, often times it is hard to change these cultural maps that we have been stuck in. Maybe I shouldn’t used the word “stuck”, but “used to” since most of us like the groups that we are in or identified with since the moment we are born.
Such as the Black people as described in the article "A Poverty of the Mind" by Orlando Patterson and the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks, both texts portray the image of black people do not value education, but "turns to crime and drug abuse" or even not be able to get a job. These texts describe certain group (box)'s way of living as skipping school and play pool, and these are their perception of coolness. While the White kids learn how to study and go to college, the Black kids give up and just live on their lives reflecting their life style of living cool. Their perspective on this issue was that "we're not stupid", which shows how not going to school or value to be educated is definitely showing how one culture’s understanding of cool could affect the outcomes of that group. Moreover, it reveals how different cultures, race, gender, group, etc., will have different ways of living style and the way they see themselves is always "cool". However, this does not mean White kids don't skip school, or take drugs and live in their way of cool. All groups (box) has their own way of living (cultural maps), and these maps are just like the game "Plinko", it leads all of us to different places, which is why it often times lead people to have different social class in the society as a whole.
Like the essential question that the article discussed, why is that? According to the article, it suggests that the Black kids are living in a culture of "cool pose"; they are "too gratified to give up". Perhaps to other cultures (White, Chinese), skipping school and not being able to succeed is a perspective of shame. But to the Black people, not being able to go to college is simply not something that they feel shame of. They can seek for the sense of pride in themselves, and that way of living is never lame to them. Put the Black people aside, not only just them specifically, all of us are living in a culture of "cool pose". We all have certain way to live our lives depending on the cultural maps, and whatever "box" that we identify ourselves in, simply lead us to different places, (rich, poor, middle class, and all different kinds of possibilities). It seems like these boxes are shaping our lives with no freedom, but it turns out that we all like these boxes that we are in, because they reflects our way of living cool. When people have the tendency to switch to another box, it requires certain amount of difficulties to achieve that and examples of failure reflects how lame of one person. But successful transitions to another culture of cool often times reveal “the shame of the opposite” just like the hair article that we read by Synnot Anthony claimed.
Regarding on my own life experiences, I do see my own cultural maps and maps of the others. These maps shape the way I perform myself to the group or “box” that I am in and they do lead my way to decide some major choices in my life, which will definitely reveal what I lose and win since they limit the options often times. Such as my current hair style (long, representing a role of femininity), it certainly has a reason why my hair is in that way. When I was little from K-6 in china, my hair is always short, short to a point that I am unable to have pony tails or anything like that like most of my female classmates. I wanted to be a boy since I was young, and I do perform that through my hair style and the way I dressed and the people I hung out with. (Although in china uniform is required and I am being forced to wear dresses, I know deep inside pants is definitely a better comfort, I don’t know how that happened). Most of the feedbacks from the audience are a question mark of whether I am a boy or a girl. I didn’t think too deep at that time about my own identities, other than to conform. (I’m pretty sure that my long hair has to do with the amount of criticism from the primary school in the U.S., and yes, when people don’t fully get your performance to identify who you are, it really challenge my “face”)
Such as the Black people as described in the article "A Poverty of the Mind" by Orlando Patterson and the poem "We Real Cool" by Gwendolyn Brooks, both texts portray the image of black people do not value education, but "turns to crime and drug abuse" or even not be able to get a job. These texts describe certain group (box)'s way of living as skipping school and play pool, and these are their perception of coolness. While the White kids learn how to study and go to college, the Black kids give up and just live on their lives reflecting their life style of living cool. Their perspective on this issue was that "we're not stupid", which shows how not going to school or value to be educated is definitely showing how one culture’s understanding of cool could affect the outcomes of that group. Moreover, it reveals how different cultures, race, gender, group, etc., will have different ways of living style and the way they see themselves is always "cool". However, this does not mean White kids don't skip school, or take drugs and live in their way of cool. All groups (box) has their own way of living (cultural maps), and these maps are just like the game "Plinko", it leads all of us to different places, which is why it often times lead people to have different social class in the society as a whole.
Like the essential question that the article discussed, why is that? According to the article, it suggests that the Black kids are living in a culture of "cool pose"; they are "too gratified to give up". Perhaps to other cultures (White, Chinese), skipping school and not being able to succeed is a perspective of shame. But to the Black people, not being able to go to college is simply not something that they feel shame of. They can seek for the sense of pride in themselves, and that way of living is never lame to them. Put the Black people aside, not only just them specifically, all of us are living in a culture of "cool pose". We all have certain way to live our lives depending on the cultural maps, and whatever "box" that we identify ourselves in, simply lead us to different places, (rich, poor, middle class, and all different kinds of possibilities). It seems like these boxes are shaping our lives with no freedom, but it turns out that we all like these boxes that we are in, because they reflects our way of living cool. When people have the tendency to switch to another box, it requires certain amount of difficulties to achieve that and examples of failure reflects how lame of one person. But successful transitions to another culture of cool often times reveal “the shame of the opposite” just like the hair article that we read by Synnot Anthony claimed.
Regarding on my own life experiences, I do see my own cultural maps and maps of the others. These maps shape the way I perform myself to the group or “box” that I am in and they do lead my way to decide some major choices in my life, which will definitely reveal what I lose and win since they limit the options often times. Such as my current hair style (long, representing a role of femininity), it certainly has a reason why my hair is in that way. When I was little from K-6 in china, my hair is always short, short to a point that I am unable to have pony tails or anything like that like most of my female classmates. I wanted to be a boy since I was young, and I do perform that through my hair style and the way I dressed and the people I hung out with. (Although in china uniform is required and I am being forced to wear dresses, I know deep inside pants is definitely a better comfort, I don’t know how that happened). Most of the feedbacks from the audience are a question mark of whether I am a boy or a girl. I didn’t think too deep at that time about my own identities, other than to conform. (I’m pretty sure that my long hair has to do with the amount of criticism from the primary school in the U.S., and yes, when people don’t fully get your performance to identify who you are, it really challenge my “face”)
But now I think back, my old box; it didn’t bother me that much compared to the box that I am in right now (long hair). But is such a big confusion as I was thinking recently, what am I performing at that period of time, and what response do I want to get from the audience. I wanted to look like a boy being tough, but I do not want to be identified as a boy because I am a girl. (Maybe I am not aware of going against the norm at that time, but I am sure I did going against it [t-shirt and pants can be a look of a girl also, not necessary a dress and long pony tails]) Perhaps I do want a change, but as I mentioned before, is hard to change the cultural maps that you are “stuck” in for a long time.
Looking back at it, I start to see a pattern in my own life and how my family or the group that I was in, in general has shaped me as a whole. My grandma always wanted me to be a boy the moment my mom was pregnant even though she already has a grandson (my older brother). My own interpretation was that my mom doesn’t mind but did intended to shape me as a boy so my grandma would not complained, and has less excuse to trash my mom. Since I didn’t really bother, I did not really fight back at that time even though I felt like a mix (short hair, but a dress). But it is obvious enough that my interpretation is right because my sister has long hair from little to now, and is obvious that my mom do wanted a 100% girly daughter (my little sister). I guessed I changed because of the complements that my sister always get and I guessed I changed because of the way people pointed at me and said behind my back that I was a boy. It’s been hard at that time to have short hair, but now as in china, most school required girls to have short hair to the length of the neck or to kick out of school. Also, it seems that short hair for a girl is not as abnormal as it used to be anymore. I think “the shame in one culture is glory in another” might be true in many cases, but not always because the box and the line between groups could be more complicated than that, is diluted.
Looking back at it, I start to see a pattern in my own life and how my family or the group that I was in, in general has shaped me as a whole. My grandma always wanted me to be a boy the moment my mom was pregnant even though she already has a grandson (my older brother). My own interpretation was that my mom doesn’t mind but did intended to shape me as a boy so my grandma would not complained, and has less excuse to trash my mom. Since I didn’t really bother, I did not really fight back at that time even though I felt like a mix (short hair, but a dress). But it is obvious enough that my interpretation is right because my sister has long hair from little to now, and is obvious that my mom do wanted a 100% girly daughter (my little sister). I guessed I changed because of the complements that my sister always get and I guessed I changed because of the way people pointed at me and said behind my back that I was a boy. It’s been hard at that time to have short hair, but now as in china, most school required girls to have short hair to the length of the neck or to kick out of school. Also, it seems that short hair for a girl is not as abnormal as it used to be anymore. I think “the shame in one culture is glory in another” might be true in many cases, but not always because the box and the line between groups could be more complicated than that, is diluted.
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