Author Archives: Haichen

Ethical Dilemmas

Posted on by

If you see 20 dollars on your bus seat, what would you do? What if it’s a 100 dollar bill? And would your actions change if it’s a wallet?

Although I probably wouldn’t do anything if it’s a 20 dollar bill, if it’s a wallet, I would ask around to see if anyone lost it. My opinion on this was so strong that I even considered it unethical to keep silent if I see a lost wallet, which might contain valuable IDs and bank cards along with a significant amount of cash. But is this the ethical action?

Some people choose not to ask. They considered something that wasn’t a part of my decision making: what if people lie about their ownership of the money? Can you really trust others?

I was taken aback upon hearing this. This reasoning makes complete sense, and this scenario is more complicated than I imagined. If the owner of the wallet has already left the car, asking around would in the best case be futile and in the worst case be an opportunity for others to lie and get away with the money. Situations like these are ethical dilemmas not because some people fail to understand why certain actions are ethical or unethical, but because there’s no simple right or wrong for those actions. Different actions are backed up by distinct considerations, and those considerations stem from both past experiences and personal values. Someone who encountered a similar situation before would evaluate their actions based on the previous outcome. A positive outcome would be the motivation for repeating the action, whereas a negative one causes people to turn to alternatives.

It turns out, the ethical dilemma above do not involve the hardest choices to make. Although people have different opinions on this, most know exactly what they want to do. Many hard dilemmas involve personal relationships. For instance, you find a close friend’s boyfriend cheating on her, would you let your friend know? Situations like this have huge impacts, and our ethics might conflict with our feelings. Making a choice is hard because the optimal choice doesn’t exist during decision making. All choices are probabilistic, and the “best” actions are all retrospective conclusions that involve information you didn’t have back then.

From this seminar, I learned to be more understanding of others actions. Arriving at hasty judgements of others’ actions is risky in the sense that I might not understand their reasoning. While actions harming others are usually clearly unethical, other actions can be a lot more complex. Even though a definition for ethics is standards that most people agree on, in the end, everyone’s understanding of ethics is unique and ethical dilemmas are dilemmas because of this huge variation that exists in our beliefs.

Posted in Uncategorized

Beware of Overgeneralization

Posted on by

Pruitt-Igoe was once a very promising housing project. Designed by the master architect Minoru Yamasaki, the designer behind the original World Trade Center, Pruitt-Igoe was a manifestation city planners’ vision of providing affordable yet quality housing to the underprivileged. However, the community rapidly deteriorated due to unsanitary conditions and high crime rates, resulting in the project’s complete failure in merely 2 decades. Pruitt-Igoe’s quick demise has given grounds for many scholars to advocate that government control on the market is undesirable. In particular, putting money and efforts into public housing is equivalent to bracing a known failure. While this reasoning might seem sound, the film provides us ample background information to re-evaluate the Pruitt-Igoe situation, and the conclusion is not that simple.

St. Louis was a declining city in the 50s – 70s. Its economy did not rebound from WWII like some other places in the US, and at the same time, it was witnessing an outflow of population. People moved away from the city to the suburbs, driving the population in the 70s down to only half of that in the 50s. Many residents in Pruitt-Igoe also left, which drove the rent up for the remaining population. Soaring rents further fueled dissatisfaction of the poor living condition among the residents, provoking them to vandalize the community and commit crimes, and further worsening the living condition. In the end, Pruitt-Igoe became an unmanageable community free from the control of the police, and eventually a failure.

What if Pruitt-Igoe was built in a different city or at a different time period? The outcome would probably be very different. The true pitfall of this project was that public housing should be built in growing cities with dense populations, not a city like St. Louis at that time that suffers from an economic downturn. Therefore, advocating that no public housing should be built would be an overgeneralized statement. Poverty problems still need to be dealt with, and in my opinion, public housing is a great plan to start with. Future public housing projects should learn from the lesson of Pruitt-Igoe and base their decisions on a more thorough background evaluation.

Do jokes transcend time and culture?

Posted on by

I got to admit, I came into the seminar for some good laughs and potentially some punchlines that I can reuse. What I didn’t expect was that through a discussion on Ancient Greek humor, the seminar makes me realize that humor is an area of study in the academia, not just some spontaneous amusement that is deemed trivial. In particular, I’ve been fascinated by the question of whether jokes can be shared across vastly distinct time periods and cultures.

In the seminar, the professor showed us some ancient Greek humor from people like Cicero. Many of them, surprisingly, are in fact applicable to the current world. It might seem that jokes are indeed shared across vastly distinct time and cultures. However, as a native speaker of Chinese, I find this statement questionable. I believe that sharing across time periods is totally feasible, provided that all the necessary context is preserved. But sharing across cultures is not always easy. In particular, it is important to look at two major categories of jokes, puns and situational jokes, separately. Situational jokes are easy to transfer from one culture to the other, because their humor is based on a deviation from normal expectations. I can give English situational jokes from time to time, using the exact same logic I would’ve used if I was speaking in Chinese. Puns, however, are much harder to grasp for foreigners, and they are even harder to be produced naturally by foreigners. Puns require a broad vocabulary base and regular use of the language so that one can quickly relate two things together. What’s especially different between puns and situational jokes is that puns cannot be brought directly from one language to the other. There are puns in Chinese too, but they are totally different from English ones given that the words are different. Puns in Chinese are not puns in English even if we translate them.

Given these considerations, I would say that jokes do not necessarily transcend time and culture, because they are specific. But humor in a general sense does. Humor exists in every human civilization, and jokes flourish in every language and culture. Speaking the appropriate joke to the appropriate audience is what really matters.

Sad to see Alma go.

Posted on by

It is saddening when a person you love passes away, but it is even more heartbreaking when you had just realized how much you love them. For the past few episodes, Alma, or Ms. Wheatley, has been a person of a somewhat elusive personality. We weren’t quite sure if she loves Beth or if she purely wants a share of her monetary prizes. Alma often asks Beth for favors and she seems to be not that understanding of Beth’s professional pursuits.  The relationship between Beth and Alma has also been opaque, although it seems to be going in a positive direction. However, Episode 4 presents a more “childish” side of Alma, who gets thrilled for adventures (especially Paris), pleads for trips to popular attractions, and is shy to confess about her crush. I was glad to see Alma enjoying her trip at Mexico and having fun with Manuel, and I was pleased to witness Alma’s (first? and last) piano performance in front of a crowd. I could see Alma living a better life and enjoying her every moment. For Beth, this Mexico journey further tightens her bond with Alma. They share romantic secrets and become more like friends. Unfortunately, it is at this moment that Alma passes away very suddenly. Her death seems too sudden to be true — Alma did say that she feels uncomfortable, possibly due to a virus, but her passing still catches me off guard. In addition, Beth’s handling of this situation is way less emotional than what I would’ve expected. She remains completely calm and only asks for a tranquilizer. I’d probably attribute that to her growing up in an orphanage, but I am still curious about the impact this event has on her. Anyways, I am very sad to see Alma go, especially when it’s less than half way through the episode.

Changes. — The Queen’s Gambit Episode 3

Posted on by

Just as viewers are getting used to Beth growing unstoppably as a professional chess player, episode 3 of The Queen’s Gambit brings many changes to the storyline. With the appearance of another child prodigy, Benny Watts, the impression of Beth as a novel, undefeatable chess master is called into question. Benny Watts rivals, or even surpasses, Beth in logical reasoning and is able to see the slightest flaws in chess playing. Beth finally sees that she is not undefeatable and this change in self evaluation should give her the motivation to grow in the following episodes. Next, there is the change in her relationship with Alma. As Beth starts calling Alma “mother”, their relationship has grown somewhat more tight. Beth is able to share chess experiences with Alma, who previously downplayed women’s potential in chess. While it is true that we still don’t know if money is the sole reason Alma supports Beth, going to the chess open together seemingly tightens their bond. Last but not least, there was a spark of romance between Beth and Townes. Townes caresses Beth’s cheek in his room, but gets interrupted by his friend. Arguably, Beth might not really like Townes, as shown by the curt farewell in the last scene, but that brief interaction also marks Beth’s growth.

Posted in Uncategorized

Can’t stop watching The Queen’s Gambit!

Posted on by

I am not someone who gets addicted to Netflix shows easily. In fact, I even deleted my Netflix account because I thought that’s a waste of money as I watch so little. However, watching The Queen’s Gambit with other Rose scholars has made me deeply intrigued by this series, and keeps me coming back for the next episode.

The Queen’s Gambit appealed to me initially with how easy it is to understand the plot and follow along. I am not a chess player, and I know nothing about chess. But despite the fact that the show uses a technical terminology as its name, it is accessible to all. The show has plenty of close-up shots on chess playing, but the director has done a great job in “explaining” the current situation with background music and body/facial expressions. When Beth is thinking hard, suspense music echoes her inner thoughts; if the game is going well, Beth shows a relaxed countenance. This makes it effortless to comprehend the storyline.

The show maintains its appeal with a meticulously organized storyline. In general, the series follows time development, with the exception being the very first scene in episode 1 featuring Beth’s tournament. We witness Beth growing up, from a normal child to a chess master. There are many chess tournaments Beth has to go through to reach the top, but to make it simple, each episode only features one major chess tournament. Episode 1 features Beth’s high school tournament while episode 2 is about the state tournament. From one episode to the next, the level of tournament goes up, reflecting Beth’s grow as a professional chess player. And in the end of each episode, a cliffhanger incentivizes the audience to return while pushing the storyline forward.

With a deeper analysis, it is easy to see that The Queen’s Gambit tries to incorporate 1960s elements to reflects that time period. Vintage cars, newspapers, and timepieces are some examples. While we had a great discussion on themes after watching episode 2, I will refrain from discussing about it here as I don’t want to draw any premature conclusions.

Watching The Queen’s Gambit at Rose events has brought me lots of pleasure and I am so glad that we’ll be able to watch the next episode next week! I can’t wait to see what’s to come.

Let’s Discuss Masculinity

Posted on by

Masculinity is a concept that I didn’t know much of. Although many books exist on gender equality, and I have read a few of them, masculinity remains a somewhat elusive topic. The sparseness of pertinent discussions might be a result of the concept’s inherent ambiguity, and the lack of discussions itself makes the idea of masculinity even harder to grasp, completing this negative feedback loop. The Table Talk on masculinity opened my eyes on what masculinity means, how it is portrayed, and the impact on our society.

The the term “masculinity” as we know today haven’t existed for too long — it dates back to the 80s. However, masculinity affects our behavior without our awareness. The talk emphasized that masculinity can be “toxic”: mens are expected to not show emotions, domestic labor is divided based on gender roles, and some countries even go as far as building gyms to promote national masculinity. This notion connects masculinity with other topics on gender, such as gender discrimination, as masculinity contrasts sharply with femininity.

On a positive note, masculinity leads to bonding between people and protective relationships. Brotherhoods and frats can be thought of as one way how masculinity promotes kinship between people from different biological families. The topic of masculinity needs more research to be better understood, but recognizing its existence and impact is always a critical and essential first step to take.

Cinematography of The Queen’s Gambit

Posted on by

Netflix’s drama miniseries The Queen’s Gambit displays brilliant cinematography that perfectly  compliments the storyline. The entire first episode uses a color palette that looks mild and faded, mimicking the feel of vintage films. Although the series lacks vibrant colors, it is still stunning to behold with beautiful contrasts of light and dark (as in the basement) and clever use of complementary colors (e.g. red hair of Elizabeth and green backgrounds). The artistic effects of its color scheme is augmented by the piano and choral music in the background. Soft piano music allows the audience to focus on visual details while choral music elevates the emotion and draws viewers in. It is especially dramatic that the orchestral music gets louder and louder in the end of the film as Elizabeth falls down in front of the astonished crowd, making viewers wonder what will happen in the next episode. Other cinematography details worth noticing include the zoom-in on chess board and panning as chess pieces move, and smooth transformation of shadows into a chess board on the ceiling. Netflix has become so good at cinematography as shown in shows like Bridgerton that we sometimes take it for granted. But after all, each show is distinct and cinematography still plays a vital role in the production of every show.

World on Wheels

Posted on by

I knew nothing about the roller skating culture in African American communities prior to watching United Skates. Although I enjoy ice skating and have skated in Cornell’s Lynah Rink twice, I am quite unfamiliar with the sport of roller skating. Watching United Skates introduced me to communities linked by a shared passion for skating, and together, they comprise a “World on Wheels,” keeping the culture alive.

In case you don’t know, World on Wheels is actually a roller rink in LA. It is featured in the movie as a family-owned business that has gone through the ups and downs of roller skating over the past few decades. Quoting Los Angeles Times, “World on Wheels was born in 1981 at the height of the roller skating craze.” It was shut down in 2013 due to financial woes, but thanks to collective efforts, it reopened in 2017.

The film caught my attention from the very start with the catchy music and fancy dance moves performed by skaters, and soon it intrigued me with how much roller skating venues matters to the communities they serve. It is a way of expression, people can wear whatever shoe they want to show off their personalities; it is a lifestyle, releasing all the stress accumulated during daytime; and more importantly, it is a culture, roller rinks in different regions popularize different moves, and might play very different music in the background. With hip hop and rap artists going on roller rink tours, roller rinks have become music venues to some extent.

What struck me the most, however, is the determination exhibited by skating lovers. As venues close down one by one, they drive for hours and even fly across the country only to gather for a skating event. Small regional communities become a huge national community. Skaters come from vastly different geographical regions, but they all share the same passion and the same determination to keep skating alive. They have demonstrated with the resurrection of World on Wheels that together, they can maintain that precious cultural heritage.

Sadly, World on Wheels wasn’t safe from the economic downturn in this ongoing pandemic — it has shut down again in 2020 and the its future is uncertain. While it must have been heartbreaking for local skaters to hear, I firmly believe that their determination will prevail again; and with platforms like TikTok popularizing roller skating, roller skating culture will not lose its vitality.

 

Source: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-01-06/world-on-wheels-skating-rink-closed-covid-nipsey-hussle