Cultural Text: SNL

When I think about culture, I think about the things that interest us, make us cry, make us happy and make us laugh.  I find it fascinating that we all different from each other, but that we can have so many things in common.  We look at our society today and we all have similar problems, worries, goals and interests.  I think about television and how through satire, it seems that we can all relate in one way or another.

Saturday Night Live is THE BEST example.  I am not a devout watcher, but when I do watch it, I cannot help but laugh, poke fun at myself and just say "I so know what they mean!"  I feel like we can all relate to what they are laughing at or joking about.  It blows my mind that at the end of busy week at work or school, we as a nation can get together and tune into a single show that will make us laugh at what happened during the week.

Saturday Night Live consists of sketch comedy and satire.  They take any issue or current pop culture and poke fun at it.  The show consists of many comedians and American Stars.  When it came out in the 70s, when this show first aired, there were so many things going on.  The country was changing, revolting and warring.  People were going against each other and the government and it seemed like there just needed to be an outlet.  I feel that Saturday Night Live enabled people to stop what they were doing for a moment and just laugh!

This show IS culture.  It takes everything that we as a nation calls our culture and makes fun of it.  It takes what is currently popular and makes us wonder, "why the hell we enjoy that so much?!"  It can also take things that we were so worried about during that week and make us feel a little more at ease.
We go to watch this show to wind down, take a breath and laugh.  Almost anyone who watches can relate and understand that sometimes, you just need to take a step back and laugh at your own culture and way of life.

Project Topics

1.  Veggie City: Being a Vegetarian in Chicago
I want to find out more about being a vegetarian in a big city and being part of the vegetarian community.  Are there some kind of support groups?  Is there a major area where mostly vegetarian's hang out?  Where are the major places to eat?  I want to explore the community and find out any challenges as well as successes of being a vegetarian.

2.  The Whole World's a Stage:  Theatre Life in Chicago
I want to explore the life on stage in Chicago.  I want to visit different theaters and theatre companies and get an idea of the inner workings.  I am an aspiring actor, so I want to know what it takes to get there.  I want to find out more about being an actor here in Chicago as opposed to New York or LA.

3.  Being Green in a Big City
In a huge city, it may be challenging to live a lifestyle that is not harming the environment.  I want to look at what Chicago is doing as a city to go green.  I want to see how far people go to keep their busy lifestyles green.

Assignment I

    My name is Samantha Jai Henderson. I am named after my grandfather, Samuel James Henderson, who passed away just a little while before I was born. I was born on the 26th day of September in the year 1992 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am a person who strongly believes in peace, love and freedom.  I have a tattoo on my back along my spine that says “peace love freedom” in Kanji, a Japanese script.  I try my best to be the change I want to see in the world and I hope to one day make a difference.

    In my spare time, I like to do crafts, bake and just think about impossible things.  I like having time to myself, but my biggest fear is being alone.  I like to have friends or family close by just so that I know there is someone around me who cares.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a very independent girl, but when it comes to actually being by myself, I hate it.

    In my spare time, I also love to watch movies. I enjoy several different genres like romance, comedy, horror, mystery, adventure and cartoon. My favorite actors are Will Smith and Johnny Depp. They inspire me to do my best despite what anyone else thinks of me. They have so much fun in what they do and they are always willing to go the extra mile to put on a good performance. They inspire me greatly to become an amazing performer like them.

    In my pursuit to become an actor, I felt that I needed to learn so much more about my craft. I chose to attend Columbia College so that I could learn in an environment that was open and not constrained to the idea of being “the perfect actor.”  At Columbia, I am given the freedom to express and grow in a way that fits me perfectly.  I get to learn at my own pace and I don’t feel a pressure of having to be perfect in everything I do.  I am encouraged to give 100% in anything and everything.

    With that being said, I feel that by performing and acting, I can express myself in any way possible. I feel that by acting, I can truly get my point across to a listener or viewer. I feel that if I were to express a concern or feeling about a subject, the only way I can really do it is by performing.  I can really get into what I feel by acting, thus showing my viewer exactly what I mean to express.

    By being in this writing and rhetoric course, I hope to learn more ways of expression. I hope to explore different mediums and experiment with other things I may not be so comfortable with. I also hope to learn some things that could help me as a performer, maybe by listening or reading different stories and gaining ideas, or seeing someone else perform in the class. I am concerned, however, about being able to express myself fully in another medium.  I have gotten so comfortable with my own medium that changing to another one could affect my results. On a lighter note, I AM excited about this course and the opportunities it holds.