Introductory Blog Post – In-Depth Blog Post #1

For my In-Depth project this year, I will be learning how to Hip-Hop dance. My goal for the end of this project is to perform a 90-second hip-hop dance routine. I want to learn certain strategies and techniques require to train my body and become a successful dancer.

Dance has always been something I’m interested in. I love expressing myself through movements and creative interpretation, and moving my body in sync with musical beats is something I find very stress-relieving and fun. However, I’ve never had the time or motivation to take dance classes. Being part of Musical Theatre means I get to learn and practice singing, acting, and dancing, but learning the hip-hop on its own requires a whole other dedication.

Thankfully, I will be able to be coached one-on-one with my mentor, Kailey Huang. Kailey has been practicing dance for 10 years and is the dance captain in Gleneagle’s Musical Theatre program. She takes frequent dance classes and knows a lot about the art of hip-hop dancing. Our first meeting took place in the Gleneagle MPR stage from 6:00 pm to 6:30 pm. Gyu min and I met with Kailey and asked her questions about hip-hop dance and what she could teach us to improve, and we captured it on video to use as a reference. She started by stating that hip-hop was different than other dances like Ballet and Tap because it is less about skill and more about interpretation and practice. We were told that she wouldn’t be able to teach us too much about the dance itself, but more about skills we would need to warm up for the type of dance we would be doing. She would also be teaching us some basic moves and techniques that hip-hop dances typically use, different styles that fall under the umbrella of hip-hop, and what to look for when creating a dance. She also gave us a few tips to start with, such as hip-hop dances usually use moves to hit the background beats that are off of the main rhythm, to emphasize the smaller parts and bring them out in the sound. After our interview, Kailey said we can start preparing by looking up short hip-hop dance routines and observing what beats they hit their moves on and also to start thinking about what song we would like our final dance to be with. Next week we will begin to learn some warm-ups and small snippets of dance routines for practice.

Some videos I watched for research:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLsqawB5vQs&list=LLcTJVcXxYTXlq4_P7Rl0kWw&index=7&t=0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9bo9KQROLg&list=LLcTJVcXxYTXlq4_P7Rl0kWw&index=8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC7iMA2CoQk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6hSLZkI7GY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkhK2XJLJis

Annotated Bibliography

Works Cited

Collman, Ashley. Marilyn the Riveter: New photos show Norma Jean working at a military factory during the height of World War II. 27 July 2013. Website. 18 October 2019. <https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2380152/Marilyn-Monroe-photos-young-Norma-Jean-working-WWII-factory.html>.

Denny Jackson, Ed Stephan. Marilyn Monroe Biography. n.d. Website. 19 October 2019. <https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000054/bio>.

Editors, Biography.com. The Biography.com website. 2 April 2014. Website. 19 October 2019. <https://www.biography.com/actor/marilyn-monroe#citation>.

Biography.com was a very useful source in my research, and it includes a good amount of information about Marilyn Monroe and her life behind the camera. The information is concise and separated into categories which make information easy to find. I mostly used this website to get information about her childhood and life before Hollywood. Biography.com also includes links to separate articles on events in Marilyn’s life.

Howard, Martin. Marilyn, her life in pictures. New York: Chartwell Books, INC., 2013. Book.

Marilyn, her life in pictures, is a really great source of info on Marilyn Monroe. It is filled with stories, interviews, and of course, images on Marilyn Monroe. I used it as a prop in my Learning Center to show a timeline of her films and major events. I found the timeline pages very handy in planning out the order of my eminent speech.

Kashner, Sam. Marilyn and Her Monsters. 5 October 2010. Website. 19 October 2019. <https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2010/11/marilyn-monroe-201011>.

Marilyn and Her Monsters is a great article to touch on Marilyn’s struggles behind the scenes. It mainly focuses on her mental health and damaging events that were not very well known to the public. The article provides great insight to her personal life, relationships, and challenges she faced throughout her Hollywood career. I found this very useful in learning more about her determination, and what she had to face to get where she wanted to be.

Marilyn Monroe and Adoption. n.d. Website. 19 October 2019. <https://adoption.com/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe_and_Adoption>.

Sam. Annotated Bibliography – Eminent 2016 // Marilyn Monroe. 18 November 2016. Website. 19 October 2019. <http://samantha.talons43.ca/2016/11/18/annotated-bibliography-eminent-2016-marilyn-monroe/>.

Tommer, Shlomo. Marilyn Monroe. 2009. Website. 19 October 2019. <https://www.celebrities-galore.com/celebrities/marilyn-monroe/home/>.

I used this website to learn more about Marilyn’s personality and thinking style. I used the information on here as a tool to further understand her thinking behind her decisions, and how she eminent as a person. It was also handy to make connections with her and finding out personality traits that I could relate to personally. I would recommend this website to people who want to find out more about her mindset, lifestyle, strengths, and weaknesses.

Wikipedia. Marilyn Monroe. 2019. Website. 18 October 2019. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Monroe>.

Wikipedia was a very handy site for finding out general information about Marilyn’s life. I used this source to map out the timeline of my speech and find general details about her films and accomplishments. Wikipedia has a lot of information on it, so I only used it to check the information I needed instead of reading through the whole thing. I would recommend a Wikipedia page for researching anything just as another source to check information, but not to primarily get information from.

Wild, Chris. Marilyn on the beach. n.d. Website. 18 October 2019. <https://mashable.com/2015/03/01/marilyn-monroe-child/#_0l2pzYUukqV>.

 

Marilyn Monroe – Eminent Blog Post

“I only know I want to be wonderful.”

What draws me to Marilyn Monroe is her perseverance and progressive attitude. Right away, I made a connection with her passion for acting and singing. Not a lot of celebrities leave more of an impact than their entertainment and performance, however, but Marilyn Monroe accomplished so much more in her short life. She stood up for female and racial rights, took risks and made statements in self-expression, and spoke out about sensitive topics that changed society’s views. Marilyn and I both have a passion for acting and singing. I admire her for her successful career in Hollywood, and I look up to her for inspiration in that area. We both share qualities of determination and open-mindedness. If I have a goal set in mind that I am passionate about, I become extremely driven to complete it, and Marilyn’s determined qualities are what led her to create such a change in the film industry, fashion, and societal norms. This, as well as her open mindset towards sexuality, race, feminism, and natural beauty.


My own goals in TALONS include becoming independent and growing internally, expressing myself confidently, acting selflessly and helping others, and leaving a positive impact by the end. Marilyn demonstrates these qualities perfectly and I look up to her as inspiration for completing my own goals. 

Marilyn Monroe has a traumatic childhood, and later became one of the biggest stars of all time. I would not be able to relate to either of those things, but I will address these in my speech by describing the existing records of what her past was like, and how she describes it herself. She was very self-expressive and known for showing off her personal style which has been copied and inspired many times over the years. She brought awareness to embracing your true body and showing it off. This would eventually lead to the movement of adding plus-sizes to women’s clothes. Additionally, Monroe is remembered for a multitude of things, from her iconic impression in the Hollywood industry to her outwards opinions and actions towards social justice. In a time when racism was at large, she stood up to unfair treatment towards black women and changed lives with her high status and fame. She also stood up for feminism in the film industry, when constantly being pushed to play insensitive roles, she refused and started her own production company. Marilyn’s legacy lives on whenever a woman produces, directs, or influences a film.
At first, Marilyn was very shy and struggled with her mental issues and traumatic past.  She was not close to her family and was abused and neglected as a child. However, she decided to take the risk and begin her modelling and acting career after being taken under the wing by her agent. She still struggled with her internal problems every day, but she put herself out and faced her fears, and with time grew stronger and more successful. 

For my next steps in research, I want to learn more about Marilyn Monroe’s struggles in her past life, conflicts she went through during her Hollywood career.

Digital Footprint Assignment

1. How might your digital footprint affect your future opportunities? Give at least two examples.

Anyone with access to the internet can access your digital footprint, so if you were to post embarrassing or personal information online, someone important could access that in the future and use it against you. For example, someone at a job or school you are applying for could discover something about you that you wouldn’t want them to know just from your information online. You could also accidentally expose too much personal information to strangers or people that might want to hurt you, such as your location or the fact that you are alone. What you post online could end up in the wrong hands and you may end up in a situation where you are forced to do something to keep that information safe.

2. Describe at least three strategies that you can use to keep your digital footprint appropriate and safe.

It is always important to be aware of what you post, whenever and wherever you post. Always T.H.I.N.K before publishing something, and even then try to post personal information to only family and friends. You can secure your accounts by never sharing your passwords, and using a different password for each account instead of the same one for all accounts. Do not post anything you may regret later in the future, such as embarrassing photos, videos, or information.

3. If you could go back in time, is there anything you would do differently online? Think of what type of advice you would pass on to your younger self or other students. How could you go about explaining it to them?

If I could go back in time I would prevent myself from texting certain information to my friends. Even saying something as simple as ‘I’m home alone’ gives hackers insight on you and puts you at risk. I would take back sharing very important or personal information online that I should have shared in person instead, simply because it would have been more meaningful to the person. Social media takes away from social interaction, and my advice to younger generations would be to take a break and go talk to someone in person. Making connections in real life is much more powerful than bonding online. Though social media can be a great bridge and communication device, we often overuse it for more than it was meant for. Be careful online, and always think ahead.