Group 1: Eric, Jamie, Michael

Our group picked the full page panel found on page 52. This panel depicts Pedro as he grapples with the unmistakable fact that the disease he carries is no longer just a diagnosis, but a rash of shingles down the right side of his body. He is devastated and in horror at the manifestation, and you can tell by the way his eyes and mouth are drawn. The words on the page also tell us how Pedro feels about what is happening. This panel is a pivotal point in the novel, as it is when Pedro can no longer deny what is happening. The focal point to the panel is Pedro’s face, the background is gone and it is shaded so that the eye is not pulled anywhere else. The fonts are short and dramatic because deep explanation is not necessary. The most dramatic statement is where Pedro simply states, “I have AIDS”. The most symbolic part of the panel is the actual disease depicted on Pedro’s body. It is the disease. Now Pedro cannot deny it, and at the end of the panel, he decides he is going to do something about it.

Group 5: Kelly, Scott, and Andrew

"Pedro and Me" by Judd Winick

We feel the panel from page 156 is depicting the moments immediately following Pedro’s passing. There appears to be a Nurse in the picture turning and walking away from Pedro’s bed with the sheets that were brought to change his bed. It was at this moment the report came that Pedro was gone. Immediately after the news, Pedro’s friends and family gathered around his bed, there were some with their heads hung low in sadness and there was a couple next to his bed that had their arms around one another, appearing to be a comforting gesture amongst each other. Pedro is in a motionless and peaceful position upon his bed and covered by a sheet. We think that this is a pivotal point in the book, not an end but a beginning, we say this because we don’t feel that Pedro was ever afraid of dying; he only feared not being able to spread his personal story and life saving information to many more people. Pedro made his silent and peaceful departure; naturally this is a life event that would be filled with sadness. Furthermore we feel that the size of the panel represents, from Pedro’s point of view, his own death, which was truly insignificant to him. It was without a doubt, his message that was most important to Pedro. In addition there is an absence of text in the panel, because Pedro’s death was silent and it was the type of moment that lasted forever because it was so painful for those who were gathered around him. The darkness surrounding the panel represents the sadness that his friends and family felt, as well as portraying the deep silence of Pedro’s passing. We strongly feel that a new beginning came from the conclusion of Pedro’s life on earth, believing this is when Judd really finds himself and gives his own life significance. Judd finds true love in Pam; he finds his calling and passion in life through Pedro as he “passes the torch” so to speak. Pedro was a gracious, accepting and peaceful person. After Pedro’s passing Judd embodies, through time, his vitality, passion and graciousness in so many aspects of his own life, while continuing Pedro’s life works. Spreading Pedro’s story to touch and educate as many as he can, educating people to remember that HIV+ people are people, they have a name and they have a face, just like the one of Pedro Zamora.

Group 7 - Kara Phillips Joan Thrift Ryan Hassel "Pedro and Me" Panel Page 43

"Pedro and Me" Panel Page 43

In the panel we chose, found on page 43. It’s representing one of the main themes of the book, of Pedro in ability to grieve and deal with his loneliness, after the loss of his mother. Therefore in an attempt to fill the void of the love he’s loss from his mother, he has chosen to get involved in risky sexual behavior. In the panel there are tones of sadness represented as darkness, and the light represents happier tones. Pedro is sitting in a black room with a circle of white light illuminating him. He however is slumped over at his desk, doing homework, school is something he is good at and proud of, which we see as the white. The darkness represents his grief and loneliness this seen through his facial expression in the panel. We find the colors and tones to be a strong symbol in our panel. The wording is straight forward in that it states, Pedro is looking for the love his misses, which lead him to become sexually active at the age of 13. Pedro’s posture gives us the impression of depression due to his loneliness. We also noticed that things were missing from in the picture, that seem should have been there; such as a phone, computer, or even a friend to study with. We feel this was an attempt to show the depth of his loneliness as a result of his grief.

The Family

The thesis of the paper is that Family Guy television show has actual reasoning behind their jokes and skits even if it isn’t the first thing the view sees.

1.There are parodies and jokes about real life issues and shows the creators stance on these issues.

2. It usual isn’t racists or sexiest thats just how the show fits it into the show.

The characters are not role models anyone would want to take after and the sho makes this very evident.

I think Peacocke would agree with Johnson and Rushkoff. They both see the good in television and don’t just see the surface of it. The think and look deep into what the creators are trying to express and make statements on. I think Peacocke would completely agree with them and could find some more reasons the Simpsons are great and why television could make you smarter. I think she would be impresses on the in-depth analysis of old and new television shows are better and how much more complex they have become.

Works Cited:

Peacocke, Antonia. “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious.” They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 257-69. Print.

Rushkoff, Douglas. “Bart Simpson: Prince of Irreverence.” They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Johnson, Steven. “Watching T.V. Makes You Smarter”. New York Magazine (2005). They Say/I Say with Reading. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

George F. Wills

The thesis of George F. Wills’s article is that society is “becoming increasingly desensitized.”( TSIS 295) Will makes the argument that technology has allowed “more sophisticated delivery of stupidity.”( TSIS 294) He infers that with more access to violence society is becoming more desensitized. H e makes a second “argument that the existence of people willing to watch these programs and participate in them doesn’t mean that it’s ok. Wills compares the networks that air these shows like Fear Factor to heroin pushers.
In the story “What’s the matter with kids today” the author Amy Goldwasser says, “kids today don’t read, don’t write, don’t care about anything farther in front of them than their iPods (TSIS 237). George F. Will would agree with this Will thinks that television can be an addiction he compare is to heroin.
In the story “Watching TV makes you smarter” the author Steven Johnson argues that some shows make you think more than others, Johnson goes as far as comparing past shows with modern day shows with a system he calls the sleeper curve (217). Goerge F. Will would not agree with this in “Reality Telivision: Oxymoron” George Will forms a list of different technological devices and says, “This is progress: more sophisticated delivery of stupidity.” (TSIS 294).
Works cited
Goldwasser, Amy. "What's the Matter with Kids Today?" Salon. 2008. Rpt. in They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 236-240. Print.
Johnson, Steven. “Watching T.V. Makes You Smarter”. New York Magazine (2005). They Say/I Say with Reading. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
Will, George F.”Reality Television:Oxymoron”. Washington Post (2001). They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.
By Eric and Michael

Goldwasser

Technology has created a new way that teens and young peolpe in this generation go about communicating and where they get their information for the most part. Goldwasser's thesis, "Teenagers today read and write for fun; it;s a part of their social lives. WE need to start celebrating this unprecidented surge, incorporating it as an educational tool instead of meeting it with punishing pop quizzes and supspicion (239)." This shows that Goldswasser beleives that this new generation of multi-media expressionists have created their own type of motive for reading and writing on they own. Goldwasser goes on to say that the older generation is scared to associate these new mediums as valid because they are not fluent in these social stratuses(238) .
In Johnson's writing I think he comes across as saying the television shows that are on today are very complex in the way they're formatted. Goldwasser would most likely agree with Johnson in that this new generation has created an outlet to express creativity by using the medium of television. In Johnson's writing I think he comes across as saying the television shows that are on today are very complex in the way they're formatted and that these types of shows improve cognition of it's viewers (Johnson 216).

On the other hand Dana Stevens would most likely disagree with these two. She outright says Johnson is crazy for asserting that television makes one smarter(233) . She takes the stance that TV is really neutral when it comes to brain stimulation and goes on to assert TV creates a feild day for adverstising to children. She challenges anyone to not watch TV for one day to see if they get any dumber(Stevens) .






works cited


Goldwasser, Amy. "What's the Matter with Kids Today?" Salon. 2008. Rpt. in They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 236-240. Print.

Johnson, Steven. “Watching T.V. Makes You Smarter”. New York Magazine (2005). They Say/I Say with Reading. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Stevens, Dana. “Thinking Outside the Idiot Box”. Slate (2005). Web. They Say/I Say with Reading. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

The Simpsons

Amber G. and Jared H.

By pretending to be a kids cartoon, the Emmy winning television show The Simpsons, gets away with murder. Using its young Harvard educated staff; the writers have found an arsenal of ways to sneak pop culture into their weekly shows without the audience being aware. The Simpsons mocks other programs that are on TV or have been on TV in the past and also exhibits characters that we can all relate to. There is at least one reenactment per weekly show, primarily from Hitchcock films or big time companies like Budweiser. By mocking them they are almost promoting those companies. The use of the characters is also very important. The writers give each character a specific characteristic that we can all relate to. By doing this they are able to invite us in, as viewers we then are able to compare our own reality to the program. This technique keeps us coming back for more. Although The Simpsons creators claim to have no hidden agenda, the creator in an interview does say something otherwise. “The Simpsons creator, comic strip artist, Matt Groeing, has long understood how to mask his countercultural agenda: I find that you can get away with all sorts of unusual ideas if you present them with a smile on your face (Rushkoff).”
While we try to compare Rushkoff to other authors of the sections we do think that the Rushkoff would agree with the techniques and styles used. Although Family Guy focus’ more on race, sexism and political views; while The Simpsons focus’ more on the “generation gap,” we think that the author would agree that they do carry a similar satire. Rushkoff’s argument about The Simpsons actually applies to Family Guy as well, except in one dimension: Rushkoff writes that The Simpsons’ creators do “not comment on social issues as much as they do on media imagery around a particular social issue. MacFarlane and company seem to do the reverse. Trusting in their viewers’ ability to analyze what they are watching, the creators of Family Guy point out the weaknesses and defects of the U.S. society in a mocking an sometimes intolerant way (Peacocke, 263) In the article Reality Television: Oxymoron, the author does state that “America determined to amuse itself into inanition, is becoming increasingly desensitized. So entertainment seeking a mass audience is ratcheting up the violence, sexuality, and degradation, becoming increasingly coarse and trying to be-its largest challenge-shocking in an unshockable society (Will, 295).” This statement we believe that Rushkoff would also agree with. In a sense she may be from that “baby boomer” generation and also caught in the generation gap.

Works Cited:
Peacocke, Antonia. “Family Guy and Freud: Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious.” They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. 257-69. Print.

Will, George F.”Reality Television:Oxymoron”. Washington Post (2001). They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.

Rushkoff, Douglas. “Bart Simpson: Prince of Irreverence.” They Say/I Say with Readings. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein and Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. Print.