Age - 19

Sex - Male

What is your degree subject (both if joint) - Film studies and media and communication studies

Does ‘Being Bad’ relate well to the other modules you are taking? Yes

If so, how? And if not, why not? especially to film studies, as we can sometimes refer to films when talking about topics.

Have you found ‘Being Bad’ too demanding, too easy, or at an appropriate level?

Appropriate level

Do you think the list of topics covered on the module was appropriate?

yes

Are there any topics not included in the module that you would like to see included?

pirate dvd's

Do you think that the format for classes has worked well?

yes

What did you think of the module team?

very good, funny as well

Do you think it would have been better to have had more:

Small group discussions? not really because the way it is now,entitles the rest of the class to listen to peoples opinions

Discussion and debate among the class as a whole? yes

Information and talk from lecturers? i think they played their part in order to make it successful

The approach taken in the module is interdisciplinary (drawing on perspectives from English Literature, Film Studies, Creative Writing, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Media Studies and Politics): do you think this a useful way of approaching the topics covered in the module? yes in a way because it shows we can talk about the subjects freely and we don't have to be too disciplined as it is 'being bad'

Do you think that interdisciplinary modules are a good idea? yes

Do you think you have benefited from the interdisciplinary approach taken in the module?

definately

Would you like to see more modules that cover this kind of subject matter?

yes, in the future

Are you planning to take the follow-up module PH2004 ‘It Shouldn’t Be Allowed’ at level 2?

definately, interested because i enjoyed this

Would you recommend ‘Being Bad’ to a friend?

yes i already have done to a couple

Do you think that the blogs (web logs) were a good idea?

yes because it keeps you informes about the subject, and what you have discussed previously

What did you think of the other assessments (e.g. would it be better to have one longer assessment rather than two shorter ones?)? yes i think a longer one would be better

What have you learned from the module? different kinds of bad behaviour, some that i never thought were bad but are percieved as bad in some way

What parts of the module have you found most useful and why?

Bad cinema module, i believe kids was the perfect film to screen, as it shows everything what it eans to be bad

What parts do you think were a waste of time and why?

not much, i think everything was useful in some way or another

Are there any other comments you wish to make regarding ‘Being Bad’? Great Module, really given me an insight into what it means to be bad

Paediphillia

I believe this is wrong in all ways, i just can't get it through my head of how it exists?? it's just completely sick for someone to eye up another person in a sexual nature when the person is half or even over half their age. Maybe there are reasons as to why some people do it, but it doesn't make it right by any means. Maybe they may have suffered some sort of paedophillia when they were younger, and as a result it would be hard for them to forget, so they would just do to others what was done to them. Maybe it acts as a pain relief to the person to try and forget, but still it is unacceptable, and i believe the punishments for Paedo's and rapists must change, a life sentence wouldn't even be enough, they don't deserve to see the world even from behind bars, the world would be a much better place without them so bring back death penalties for dirty narrow minded rapists and paedophiles. Nowadays kids can be dragged into this, due to the internet. With a host of chat rooms available now kids like to have a bit of fun, and enter them, not knowing who they are chatting to. A simple online chat turns into a friendship, then they meet and that's where it starts. So the internet has partly to blame for this as access into such chat rooms is just so easy now, anybody can do it, and i believe they should have am age restriction and all the other little details just to make it a litlle bit safer. A little idea of how they operate online, is shown in the website below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1454357.stm

Pirate DVD's

I thought i would bring this topic up as it is central to what is happening nowadays in society, and you know what i absoloutly hate it. I really don't understand how people make a business out of it? why would anyone want a pirate dvd, which has probably been recorded in cinema and then passed on to sell. I believe that it attracts buyers, for one reason, and that is PRICE. People nowadays just can't be bothered to go into stores and buy legitimate dvd's due to their inflating prices, so they decide , why not just buy it from (??) because it's cheaper. One of my hobbies is to watch dvd's and i'm always adding to my collections, but it just irritates me when i watch a copy, because it just takes the whole feel of the film away, why watch a film where the sound and picture quality are absoloutly wack??what people don't understand is the more they buy the more money they waste, where in that money you can get a few good originals and just sit back and enjoy!!

Prostitution

Prostitution is deemed as a bad thing, but have you ever wondered why people do it?? Men are willing to pay over the odds just to have sex with someone, and women do it for the money.
Although it is illegal in this country, they still take the risk to earn some extra cash. Personally i believe women tend to sell there bodies due to personal problems, maybe up bringing or mainly for personal plasure knowing they will get something out of it at the end. But can it really be seen as a bad thing to do, considering it is legal in Amsterdam. Many tourists go over to the Red Light District just to satisfy their needs. In what started out as a wrong and immorale thing to do, has all of a sudden transferred into a business..interesting eh?
Below is a website showing the coordinated prostitution strategy and responses to paying the price:
I watched a programme the other day on tele, and it showed prostitutes in India and how they go about their business, at first i was disgusted in the way one woman sais that she takes her 4 year old daughter with her when she goes to do her job, reason being she feels safe after it is all done, and sometimes people give her extra money just because of her young daughter. The reason why this shocked me is because, firstly she dragged her little girl with her, who doesb't have a clue about anything, and secondly she used her daughter as an excuse to earn extra rupees.


http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/ProstitutionStrategy.pdf?view=Binary

Response to Jason's Blog

Having read through Jason's blog i think it is of a very good standard, he deeply goes into each topic and poses some good questions to the readers. I especially like his entry on racism, using the perfect example of the falling out of the year, between Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty. Racism cannot be tolerated in any way or form, it is just wrong, and their should be something done about it, because in todays multi-cultural society it is essential for people from all backgrounds to get on, in order to make the world a better place to live.

Nasty Comedians

Can there be such a thing as 'Nasty' comedians?? There are 2 critical ways in which they can be seen as bad: Comedians are reactionary, meaning they reinforce prejudices, also they are subversive and tend to challenge the government. Comedians tend to use and perpetuate stereotypes, for example many like to 'take the piss', as a resultbtey believe jokes have no opinions, once the audience accept that a joke is a structured dialogue and has no official meaning, we can understand it is not meaningful. An example that can be used as a bad/nasty comedian is, to a certain extent Eddie Murphy. In his stand up comedy 'Eddie Murphy RAW' there are many situations where Eddie makes 'silly' comments and 'takes the piss' out of ethnic origins, however because the audience already know what to expect, they take it as a joke, point being, some may actually find it offensive, but its all down to personal view. if you believe you can take jokes, and a joke is just a joke at the end of it, then there is nothing nasty about it.
The website below shows videos of some 'nasty' comedians, so if your in the mood for some rude, abbraisive jokes look no further:

http://www.ifilm.com/tag/joke?sortBy=&page=3&numPerPage=15

Comment on Nicky's Blog

Having read through Nicky's blog i found the 'lies with integrity' very interesting to read. The example that she used that she use to work in a care home and lied to a cancer patient to make them feel better is agreeable. If i were in her shoes i would do the same, i mean you have to undertand how hard it is for a carer in the first place, they have to look after so many sick patients and their job is to try and make them feel better, because they believe that you are their saviour as you are treating them.
And lastly i definately agree with Nicky's field trip, it would be a fantastic oppurtunity to see why marijuana actually is legal over there and not here?
Below is a fact sheet about marijuana and its effects if anyone is interested:

http://www.well.com/user/woa/fspot.htm


http://www.nicky-being-bad.blogspot.com/

Response To Lisa's Blog

In response to Lisa's question in her masturbation entry, should we be more upfront in the way we talk about masturbation?? i believe it is a personal matter and will always be an amusing subject to talk about. People masturbate for personal pleasure, and if we were more upfront about it, it would no longer be personal. I just think the topic can be treated in different ways, with different aged groups. For example if you are a in your early teens you will certainly feel more embarassed about it because it would be new, from the age of 12, 13 and 14, and they would certainly keep it to themselves. But as you become grown up maybe in the work environment, you will feel more able to talk about it, maybe because of the level of maturity between you and others. I believe if we were more upfront in the way we talk about masturbation, we would be hearing the word everywhere, and it may show a lack of respect to the rest of the society such as the elders.

http://lisawblog.blogspot.com/

Tattoos and Body Peircing

I think this is down to personal opinion, i don't think having a tattoo is a bad thing, personally i would love to have a tattoo but as its against my religion, its a no-go. Tattoos are done for many different reasons, could be to show ur love for another, for religion, sub-cultured groups - punk rock, it could even be a quote out of a novel, its basically for your self-esteem, where would you have one if you could?? it gives people a natural buzz, and something they refer to time and time again. I belive that Tattoos can be seen as a bad thing when they are associated with someting or someone, for example gangs. In places like Washington DC, Brazil people are recognised through their tattoos by police, and this is when it can be seen as a danger to society, because you have to stay away from people like that.

Again Body Peircing can be depicted as a bad thing, however people tend to do it for themselves, because they want to. Peircings in the ears and belle buttons can be seen as natural nowadays. However as society has moved on peircings have become more extreme, just look at the picture below: (YUCK!!!)) this kind of extremeism i believe is bad, because its just so unnessecary. Why would someone want to peirce their whole face?? has life really treated them that bad? the picture on the right can definately be seen as unnacceptable?why do some people do this? is it to be different?should this kind of stuff be legal??
Looking on getting a tattoo, find out the ins and outs of having one:

http://tattoo.about.com/

Response to Salma's Blog

I definately agree that lying is wrong, but sometimes in certain circumstances it has to be done, i have come to realise that as i've grown up. As an example, my mum and dad are divorced now, and they have been for many years now, at the time all this was taking place i was only a kid, so my mum chose not to tell me about it so i could still concentrate at school and so on. Although my mum lied to me, it was for a good cause, it was for my personal academic success. Looking back if she had told me the truth, i don't think would be able to handle it, because it is a very sensitive thing at that age, so to a point i disagree with salma, because sometimes their are exceptions to the it.

http://salmabi.blogspot.com/

Bandits and Outlaws

This was one of my favourite lectures, as it showed me that being a bandit is not always deemed to be bad thing, sometimes you have to do what is right for the rest of the society. According to Eric Hobsbawm the bad guy becomes the good guy when they become champions of the weak. A good example of this is Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Although it was classified as 'stealing' he wasn't seen as a bad person because he was doing it for a good cause. On the other hand Bonnie and Clyde were the
opposite to that of Robin Hood, they were more 'blatent' in what they did. They went out with one thing on their mind, and that was to make 'raises' and not give a damn about it after. For Bonnie and Clyde though, to steal was what got them through day by day, they were so clever in the way they did it and the way they changed their appearances each and everytime they went out to do a hitch. In comparison Bonnie and Clyde would definately be the more 'dangerous' bandits ' as they did it for personal pleasure where Robin Hood had the poor to worry about. Below is a detailed synopsis/review of of Bonnie and Clyde, just to give u a little idea of what theywere about:

www.filmsite.org/bonn.html

Response to Claire's Blog

After reading Claire's blog i believe her entries discuss each topic very well, i agree with her on quite a few of the things, such as her comments on whether 'Money' is a bad thing?? I don't believe money is a bad thing, but the way in people can get money can be bad. Society is split into two, the rich and the poor, the rich have always got money so they will have their flash cars, and be going on their flash holidays, but for the poor its a different lifetyle. you have to strive for money and thats why some people choose different ways of getting it, rather than having a job, they could be distributing drugs or maybe even bank fraud, anything to get them that little bit in their pocket. So personally i believe money is a good thing but if it was being distributed in the right way, the world would be a much better place.
http://clairemcevoy2000-babygirlsblog.blogspot.com/

Comment on Rachel's Blog

Personally, i think your blog is very good, it for one certainly made me think, the way you pose the questions i think is brilliant, i especially liked your blog on 'terrorism'. I definately agree with you on bringing the 'death penalty' back for dangerous terrorists. At the end of the day i don't have no symphathy for people like this, i think its a shame on a muslim, and its unfair as they then get labelled into this category, you've just got to think, how many innocent people already have lost their lives, it's just not on, and the government have got to come up with an appropriate punishment, rather than a life sentence, because that way if they are doing a life sentence, they can still breathe, still move, still do things. Why should they get the right when loads of innocent people lost the right to live?

http://rachel-rachelbeingbad.blogspot.com/

Response to Kal's Question: Being too Religious

How can you be offended by a prayer??

In response to kal's question i understand what you are saying, however people can feel offended in different ways, although it didn't occur to me, i still showed my respects by being silent within this process, however in the muslim culture, we are use to being clean and having a quick wash if we are to pat respects to anything, in this sense i believe it was offensive to me as i am use to associating myself with religion when i am clean, and that is what i am thinking about.

http://kal20.blogspot.com/

Bad Cinema

In this session we were relating to a piece of 'bad cinema' and as a reult the film chosen to screen was Larry Clarke's famous 'Kids' (1995). This film had many shocking elements to it, clearly the director sent out a message about the mis use of drugs, by kids as young as 10 and also the idea of HIV, as the mid 90's was a key time in which this took place. This film in places definately got me thinking, about the younger generation, even nowadays, it is the younger people that are being targeted and influenced by underage sex and drugs, as they are obscene to it because of their age, they will have a natural excitement thrill, because it is a new thing. I believe more than anything this sends out a message to parents who have young children, just so their can be aware of the society and give their kids the right advice.

Gambling

I believe that gambling is a massive risk in todays society. Although people do it for the 'buzz' or to win some quick money, it has many downfalls to it. Gambling is an addicition which is hard to get rid of, one day you can be be rich and the next day broke, thats how it fluctuates. It also makes an individual 'greedy', for example: if you are at the poker table and you are £400 up, you will think to yourself, shall i take it?? but then the other side tells you to carry on, making you believe you can win more, and that's where your downfall begins. Personally i know quite a bit about gambling, but thats only because my cousin has a massive addiction to it. He basically bets on all the football being played within the country, goes casino, uses machines, and i think it is absoloutly ridiculous the amount of times he has lost money. At times he has been up by so much, but he's never had the decency to walk away, when i ask him why does he do this?? he says because the buzz of it is just irresistable when you are up by so much' i mean he's won a fair few times, and maybe you will feel like you have won the lottery a few times, but in time it will catch up wiv you and be your downfall, so be careful!!

www.888.com

Being too Religious

This lecture was one of definate interest to me, although i don't consider myself a religios person, i am in touch with my religion and do prey from time to time, and know the basics of my religion. This lecture started off in some bizzare fashion, as everyone entered and immediately then, the lecturer started with a religious prey, in which evryone was silent for the duration. I was somewhat baffled by this, as i had never experienced this before going into a lesson. I felt a little out of place as well as it was more for people that follow christianity, however religion is about respect, and at that point i paid respects even though it didn't occur to me. Being 'too religious' can be deemed as a bad thing in todays society, as there have been many many links between that and acts of terror in the muslim society. Recently on panorama, they showed the complete investigation behind the july 7th bombers, and one of the members of the group was described as a 'young, smart boy with a lot of talent' by his former teacher. During this interview she was shocked at how this guy had changed, and she believed that he must've been attracted to a religious group, in which his mind was brain washed and i believe that this can be a reason as to why many young british muslims are behind this terrorism. The website shows some of the effects of being too religious: http://www.meteck.org/causesTerrorism.html

Infidelity

I believe that Infidelity is wrong, personally i have never cheated, but i have only ever been in one serious relationship. However u find in todays society cheating has become common, many couples argue due to one of them cheating on the other. The way i see it is, why go into a relationship when you know you will not be able to hold it together and be faithful?? At this moment in time i don't feel i'm ready for a long term relationship maybe because there is a chance of me 'cheating'. There are certain levels of cheating though, for example if you have been going out with someone for a week, then u go out and kiss another person, i probably wouldn't classify that as cheating because the 'intended' relationship is still young. But on the other hand, if you are a married with kids, and you are going out 'getting off' with another person, that is WRONG!!! and thats what we see nowadays whether it be in films, or even real life situations. Why would you get married, settle and have a family and then go cheat on not only ur wife but your kids??

Below is a website which shows, the different meanings of adultery in different countries and also shows what the history, of what penalties were given out for 'cheats.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery

Masturbation

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Smoking

Smoking has become a common thing to do within society over many years. Although it has many downsides to it, men and women have different reasons for starting. Some may do it do fit within a certain group, and see themselves as flash and cool. Women on the other hand are associated with smoking to make them seductive and sexual. The image on the left is of a recent film that was released, and my reason for choosing this is just to show how smoking has progressed, as it completely goes against the message we see everyday with a red line through it.

Smoking in gangster films is now seen as one of the common features of gangster genre, and this maybe has an influence on the society, as they may tend to think ' it's cool to smoke, i will look like a gangster' and many youngsters nowadays do have that mentality of smoking to try and look cool and 'wannabe' gangsters.

As we know from July of this year smoking will be banned in all clubs, bars and restaurants. I believe this is a massive way in a bid to try and decrease the number of deaths in this country, and also gives everyone else the oppurtunity to quit whilst they are still young. For people that go out clubbing, smoking is an integral part of clubbing, however with this ban looming around the corner it will be interesting to see how the society will react to this ban, will it work? lets wait and find out...to finish this post, i have added a link on to this which explains the effects of smoking and a table of the rate of deaths from 2002:

http://www.ash.org.uk/html/factsheets/html/fact02.html

Things we did knowing they were wrong:

Being Bad (session 1)

This was a straight forward introduction to start the module off. the highlight of this session was when the lecturer asked all students to write something bad they have done in the past on a piece of paper. Although this could've been seen as a personal thing at the start, all students were very much relaxed about it, the piece of paper was chosen randomnly from the box and there were some bad responses and some that wern't so bad, however i believe this was a good way to start off the module as it gave everyone a feel of what to expect in the coming weeks.

As for a field trip, i think it would be interesting to go to a young offenders home, reason being is because we will get the feel of what it means to be 'bad'. Also it will give us an insight into why young people do things that they do, are their reasons behind it, or are they just simply bad because they don't want to fit into society??