Anti-Social Media the Role of Technology in Creating Superficial Ties Free Essays

string(38) " of intimacy with our online friends\." ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN CREATING SUPERFICIAL TIES INTRODUCTION: The general topic that I would like to explore is communication and relationships through social media. In particular I am interested in the way that social media affects the way that we create or maintain relationships and different identities, and if this alienates us from human understanding in relationships. This topic is connected to the concepts of online communication and personal relationships, the concept of self-disclosure and the construction of identity (Duck McMahon, 2012). We will write a custom essay sample on Anti-Social Media: the Role of Technology in Creating Superficial Ties or any similar topic only for you Order Now Is the bite-sized world of social media leading to bite-sized and unsubstantial personal relationships? This was a question I asked myself recently when looking at some of my own relationships — friendship, romantic, professional, and family alike. Social media plays a role in many of those relationships these days, and what I noticed is that it isn’t always for the better. The main academic articles I will reference are written by; Pavica Sheldon (M. M. C. , Louisiana State University), a graduate teaching assistant and Ph. D. tudent in the Department of Communication Studies at Louisiana State University, Xin-An Lu, an Associate Professor in The Department of Human Communication Studies at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania, USA, and Sally Dunlop, a professor at University of Australia, school of public health, and her two co-authors, Eian More and Daniel Romer, both professors at the University of Pennsylvania. This paper will first outline the main points of th e aforementioned articles. I will then draw upon their themes to help answer my research questions, and I will conclude with the derivations that can be drawn. THEORY REVIEW: In the Rocky Mountain Communication Review, Sheldon (2009) looks at the motivations for the use of social media, Facebook in particular, and the difference in use between genders. She examines 260 university students across four common factors for logging onto Facebook; relationship maintenance, passing time, entertainment, and virtual community. She finds through these parameters that â€Å"Females used Facebook to maintain their relationships, to be entertained, and to pass time. Males, on the other hand, used Facebook to develop new relationships† (Sheldon 54). Specifically, she found through her focus groups that those who frequent the social networking site more are doing so out of loneliness (Sheldon 55). This links directly with Xin-An Lu’s paper published in Proteus 27 (2011). Lu takes a much broader approach; looking at the affects of social media on the creation of identity and the modern formation of non-geographical communities. Lu argues that online community helps to reduce and remove social restraints and gives the user the ability to experiment with different identities, coming together based on shared and meaning (Lu 53). However, these new text-based relationships may not have existed before and we cannot use them to replace face-to-face interactions as they are ‘media-poor’, which is defined by Lu as â€Å"possess[ing] less immediate feedback, fewer cues and channels, and weakened personalization and language variety† (Lu 52), because â€Å"relationships formed in this environment may be weak, superficial, and impoverished, as compared with those formed in [face-to-face] communication† (Lu 52). We must be wary as we read through this review of the comparisons of studies conducted years apart with different conclusions, and we must remember that technology advances at such a rate that should be taken into account when looking at conclusions of past scholars. Finally, Dunlop, More and Romer discuss the positive aspects for having an enlarged network of support, especially for adolescents who have been exposed to, or are thinking of suicide, stating that â€Å"social networking sites may provide both greater exposure to such information and also greater social support to those who obtain this information† (Dunlop et al. 078). This article, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, suggests that online forums, which are often anonymous and have no connection back to the user, are â€Å"more strongly related to increases in [suicide] ideation† (Dunlop et al. 1078) than social networking sites. Nevertheless, the study shows that social networking sites increase exposure to stories of other suicides, and increased exposure causes increased suicide ideation, and increased curiosity to research and find forums and blogs. This is important to an article discussing youth and the internet, as new innovations are taking place at an alarming rate, and there are new ways to communicate and receive information every day. This article is succinct and fact based, studying the different uses for the internet and social networking sites, and identity creation and anonymity on the World Wide Web. DISCUSSION: Communication is more than just the exchange of words, it involves a transaction between two people that results in a shared meaning and understanding (Duck and McMahon 82). This greater level of communication involves more than the sending or exchanging of symbols, but more the negotiation of the shared meaning between people based on their personal connections. A key element to creating this understanding is engaged listening which allows the listener to move beyond the words said for a greater understanding of the overall message. Usually, this involves the richness of face-to-face interaction. Online communications lack this richness due to the lack of incorporation of non-verbal communications, such as facial expressions and tone of voice, with the words being said (Duck and McMahon 228). The ease with which online communications become asynchronous cause concern for the development of understanding of social cues that are present in face to face interactions that hinder those who use the failsafe of online interaction to save face and to compensate for their own perceived shortcomings. Duck and McMahan state that online media has significantly increased the number of significant ties that people maintain, while the number of core ties remains the same. We can become so seduced by the ease of connecting with others online that we begin to think that these relationships are more intense, more committed and more complete than they really are. We run the risk of alienating the people who populate our daily lives in pursuit of intimacy with our online friends. You read "Anti-Social Media: the Role of Technology in Creating Superficial Ties" in category "Papers" Another downside of social media relationships is that we are potentially subject to emotional contagion effects, as illustrated in research by John Cacioppo, a researcher at the University of Chicago. His studies show that loneliness is transmitted via social networks. Cacioppo’s findings suggest that if a direct connection of yours is lonely, you are 52% more likely to be lonely; if the connection is a friend of a friend, 25% more lonely, if the connection is 3 degrees out (a friend of a friend of a friend), it’s 15%. While this research looked at offline social networks, it may have some implications for online social networking as well. If someone in your online social network is angry, lonely, or hostile, and takes it out on you, you are more likely to transmit this mood yourself. This means that even though you may never have met this person or interacted with them in real life, their â€Å"bad behaviour† can still influence yours. I have personally noted people interacting in mean and critical ways that, I imagine, they would find more difficult to do in real life. This is a problem, because any kind of negativity and bad manners has the possibility to multiply exponentially. The Internet is an amazing tool. Even as it is shrinking the world and brought us closer together, it is threatening to push us further apart. Like any useful tool, to make technology serve us well requires the exercise of good judgment. For whatever reason, the restraints that stop most of us from blurting out things in public we know we should not seem far weaker when our mode of communication is typing. Unfortunately, typed messages often wound even more gravely, while electronic messages of remorse have little power to heal (Lickerman). Perhaps we just do not think such messages have the same power to harm as when we say them in person. Perhaps in the heat of the moment without a physical presence to hold us back, we just do not care. Whatever the reason, it is clearly far easier for us to be meaner to one another online. CONCLUSION: Social networking websites provide tools by which people can communicate, share information, and create new relationships. With the popularity of social networking websites on the rise, our social interaction is effected in multiple ways as we adapt to our increasingly technological world. The way that web 2. 0 users interact and talk to each other has changed and continues to change. These users now socialize through the Internet and it takes away from the in person socialization that has been around forever. Social networking websites effect our social interaction by changing the way we interact face-to-face, how we receive information, and the dynamics of our social groups and friendships. Communicating through the Internet and social networking websites is quite different than communicating in person. When users communicate through these websites, they use things like IM and chatting as well as status or Twitter updates to talk to friends and express themselves. Chatting online is quick and easy and allows you to connect to an almost unlimited amount of people from all over the Earth. Although the Internet connects millions of people and allows them to chat, it changes the traditional in person conversation that is important to our social lives and friendships. This change to our social interaction is not necessarily positive or negative. The change expands the different outlets through which we can communicate and as long as we remember the importance of face-to-face contact in our social lives, we can find a healthy balance between the two. These social networking websites also affect the way we receive information and news. The sites open up different portals through which we get information and create a more diverse news outlet. Rather than reading the newspaper or hearing the news on TV, we rely on our â€Å"friends† on the sites to give us updates on the world around us. Through Facebook or Myspace statuses, posts, comments, etc. , web 2. 0 users find new information that is most likely relevant to them. These new diverse outlets lead to users discussing world news or other information on the sites and can remove the need to discuss these events in person. Another way that web 2. 0 sites affect the way we socially interact with one another is by changing the dynamics of our social groups and friendships. Social networking sites create a new model of social interaction and friendships. As people’s social circles grow, the ties of the online friendships are not always as strong as in person close friendships. Although these sites can alter the dynamics of friendships in that way, it also creates lots of new friendships and increases our social interaction. The many effects of social networking websites on our social interaction with one another can be both positive and negative, all that is sure is that there is a definite effect. We must embrace the increasing use of web 2. 0 sites and the different roles they play in our social lives. There is not really a need to focus on the positive or negative effects of these sites because whether the effects are good or bad depends upon the things in society that you value, and that is different for most every person. These sites will most likely continue to grow in popularity and continue to alter the way we socialize with one another and we must embrace it. SOURCES: Duck, Steve McMahon, David T. The Basics Of Communication: A Relational Perspective. Los Angeles: Sage 2012. Print Dunlop, S. , More, E. , Romer, D. (2011). Where do youth learn about suicides on the Internet, and what influence does this have on suicidal ideation? Journal o Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 52:10 pp 1073-1080. Landau, Elizabeth. â€Å"Loneliness Spreads In Social Networks. † CNN. 4 December 2009. Turner Broadcasting System Inc. 1 March 2012. . Lickerman, Alex. â€Å"The Effect Of Technology On Relationships. † Psychology Today. 8 June 2010. Sussex Publishers, LLC. 1 March 2012. . Lu, X. (2011) Social Networking and Virtual Community. Proteus 27, 1, 51-55 Sheldon, P. (2009). Maintain or Develop New Relationships? Gender Differences in Facebook Use. Rocky Mountain Communication Review. 6-1, 51-56. 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Frankenstein Social Construct free essay sample

Although written in the 19th century, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein has many themes that are still relevant today. Frankenstein, though it was sparked as a simple nightmare, is depicted as a social commentary. The rules of society remain the same, despite the two hundred year difference in time. The norms were being changed over time, yet they remained to those who decided to reject the social changes. Those people are rejected from society, and hold immense hatred because of the said rejection, and that hatred morphs their person. As this happens in the novel, Frankenstein turns into the monster everyone claimed him to be. With rejection, bitterness is sure to ensue, especially as human nature makes humans very sociable creatures. Shelley makes other social remarks concerning human nature, religion vs. science, and creation that are still holding strong through the years and remain true today. As previously mentioned, the townspeople treated Adam (the name the Frankenstein monster gave himself) in such a way because he had resembled a nightmare-riddled monster, and thought they could treat him as such because his looks justified it. He looked like a monster, therefore he did not have a soul. It is something classified as dogma or a social belief: people will accept as such without a second thought. As this is human nature, one will only act a certain way towards another from their personal appearance, in example: If the person looks weak, they will be treated as such. In another example, if a young man comes across feminine in the very least way, he is branded as a homosexual and is treated as such. People do not try to expand their minds and accept others, this being one of the major distinguishing and disgusting part of. With a society that has a mixture of everything and anything, saying that something is not exactly â€Å"normal† is just a distortion, as not one person could truly know what â€Å"normal† would be like in a society. But not only is the monster in Frankenstein judged for his looks, he is also judged for coarse manner of speech and his generally unrefined character. He manages to dwell in extreme natural temperatures, and exists on a different diet. Being superior to the average human in every way except appearance, Adam is a super human. On human standards, the Adam is not attractive or even acceptable, he is considered to be deformed and is outcasted. As is correct in the given time period, the monster is persecuted on how he looks and is constantly hunted down or harassed. Appearance is one of the fastest ways to see a societal difference, be it skin colour or hair colour. Social exclusions do not just limit themselves to being based on appearance only, though. Not only was human nature depicted in Frankenstein, but creation was as well. Victor is depicted as a god-like figure to Frankenstein, as the man is his creator and appreciates him as such. Also, Frankenstein feels that he has been abandoned and turns resentful and ruthless. Victor, being his creator/parental figure and rejected him so readily, gave Adam the motives, the want to cause pain to people because he could. This is a comment on how some feel abandoned by their godlike figures or parents in one way or another. By being surrounded by a strong disapproving society, who believes that whatever God created should be marveled at in wonder and not poked, prodded, or measured in any way, It is believed that everything their God created is perfect in every way, regardless of mishap or disfiguration. Judging by the definition of creation, and the fact that Frankenstein did not have the same creator as normal society, Frankenstein is different, and obviously then ostracised. But creation is not just limited to bringing a new life into the world, but something composers, artists and writers do as well. Creation is truly a burden to carry, or can be the thought that inspires one to pursue creation. It is almost like an illness that cannot be corrected or cured. Creation is a beautiful sickness, and yet a destructive one at the same time. This sickness is the same sickness that had created breathtaking symphonies by Bach and Beethoven, and also was the same sickness that lead Anne Sexton and Kurt Cobain to their early deaths. This sickness is born again as the monster; he is also infected by it. Victor worked madly to complete his creation, the monster, only to realize what he wanted did not turn out as he planned it. He tortured the monster and the monster fled, where the monster could do the same to others as his creator did to him. It is the same concept of a parent teaching their offspring, or of a God passing down beliefs to his followers. In Frankenstein, Victor had lost his faith. With that loss of faith in religion, he pursued the science aspect, and was then despised and then rejected for it. With the large variety religion has, Victor chose to abandon them all and push for the more probable aspect of things. He pursued to push nature to its limit in a way that is frowned upon by most religious followers, although science deems that to be okay. Religion and science have always been up against one another, both sides determined to prove that they are correct. Religion has many branches, with Christianity being one very significant aspect. Christians tell the world that God is the one who had created the earth and everything that lives there, although Science tells us that it was the Big Bang which created the earth. This is a huge battle between science and religion. Christians also say that God created man and from that the population today was created. However, science will argue that it is evolution that sparked the creation of man, and that everything was once something simpler before, and it grew smarter and stronger and became what it is today. Both religion and science disagree with one another. While religion is based on of faith and has no proof aside of text and interpretation, science is based on proof of theories solely. Although the two have differences that are never going to be resolved within the next century, they can manage to cooperate with each others’ difficulties. But there are also major instances where a resolution would not be exactly what is needed. Science has proven that there is, in fact, a gene that homosexuals have that make them homosexual, and are indeed born with it. Religion, Christianity in particular, believe that it is a disease and can simply be forgiven once the said â€Å"victim† has pleaded for forgiveness and can be â€Å"cured†. Religion seeks justification and science seeks answers. With religion’s ideology and need for uniform social understanding, people will blindly act without seeking to understand the whole situation. With pure â€Å"seeking of truth† people will not stop to wonder if it is a good or bad situation, and if it is something that needs to be sought out. People who are purely scientific will ignore what is not present in the evidence, no matter how obvious it may appear. They will ignore things that they cannot observe to be â€Å"true†. People who base their lives on what they â€Å"know† or have been told do not seek to understand precisely why is it how it is, and potentially stray from their path of righteousness, despite being faced with evidence that discredits their belief. The perfect compromise between the two based on the evidence is that one must both follow their own heart, their own intuition and what one has been taught, yet one also must seek new truths and be willing to adapt. Frankenstein is a novel holds a plethora of themes of human nature; the moral and immoral, creation, and religion versus science. These three major themes then are still major to today, and are constantly being used as examples in modern society and psychological affairs. This is why Frankenstein is such a timeless piece and can always relate to the current times. As a classic, is distinguishes a certain period in time where these things were relevant, and sent a shock throughout society, something that we now appreciate and use when teaching. Creation is a valued as a sickness that plagues a man’s mind with either beauty or destruction, the same sickness that had plagued Victor’s mind while creating Adam. Human nature pushed Adam to harm others and fear for his own life countless times. Religion versus science is a never ending battle between the two, even to this day. The classic novel, Frankenstein, has many themes that are absolutely timeless and still relevant today, which is what makes it so valuable, and allows others to learn from it and understand the social psychology behind the story and how it still applies to the times now.

Fashion what is it free essay sample

I think we all can agree that clothing is an essential part of our lives Right? Fashion plays a very important part of your life. Fashion is not just for the rich and the famous! fashion can describe a person in many ways. your gender, your religion and culture you are from It allows other to judge you based on your ,mood, colors you wear, what you eat ,what you drive, what your occupation is and fashion looks at where you live. as a result your social circle is Judge by the aquatints around you fashion in todays world is for acceptance! fashion allows a person or business to express a point of view. Today we are judge by colors that we wear the brand of your ward drobe. fashion acceptance is not just in the! In america it in most countries and culture here in america the women and men are able to wear what pleases them for other people link in India women can not expose their legs or arms men dont wear shorts because its disrespect. We will write a custom essay sample on Fashion what is it or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page after researching fashion i have grown understand how fashion is referenced in our lives. I personally think that fashion is all around us our moods can change do to color, weather, someone else opinion, men and women struggle for fashion acceptance in many ways,And above all fashion describes you and your style for the world to understand who what where and why about you. We should do our best to realize that fashion has been judged for many centuries and we as a whole still look to be acceptance from the company we keep. fashion on the other hand reflects a since of balance an belonging in ones life. No mater where you live fashion controls your thoughts about yourself. in closing what is fashion? YOU research is from the following Modern India StudyMode.com. 10 2012. 2012. 10 2012 .Fashion Letter (Informal) StudyMode.com. 03 2001. 2001. 03 2001 . Fashion Letter (Informal) StudyMode.com. 03 2001. 2001. 03 2001 .

muckrakers essays

muckrakers essays Muckraking was a powerful journalistic force, whose supporters made it become so. Muckraking was the practice of writers and critics exposing corrupt politicians and business practices. President Theodore Roosevelt made the term "muck-raker" popular. He once said The man with the muck-rake, the man who could look no way but downward with the muck-rake in his hands; who was offered a celestial crown for his muckrake, but who would neither look up nor regard the crown he was offered, but continued to rake himself the filth of the floor. Some, like Roosevelt viewed methods of muckrakers such as Ida Tarbell, Ray S. Baker, Lincoln Steffens, and Upton Sinclair as these types of people. Others saw these muckraking methods as perfectly acceptable for fighting against the industrial powerhouses. Either way, these muckrakers worked hard to arouse sentiment in the hearts of the public (Reiger 1). Muckraking actually began long before the years of 1900-1902, when the muckraking movement is credited to have begun. Jesus was probably the first muckraker. Years later, Martin Luther exposed the corruptness of the Catholic Church. Also, early Abolitionist worksStowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin and Helper's The Impending Crisis used muckraking to get a point across. However, events during the 1890s most directly paved the way for the critiques and exposures of existing conditions. This period was able to reach a limited upper class and the muckrakers were able to expand appeal to the average middle class citizen (Reiger 49-50). One reason for the outspread of muckraking was the explosion of journalism. From 1870-1909 the number of daily newspapers circulated boomed from 574 to 2,600 and the number of subscribers from 2,800,000 to 24,800,000. With this increase, newspaper owners and editors needed new bait to reel in its subscribers. The newspaper editors wanted to replace ordinary town gossip with gossip about the latest events of the city. Therefor...

Pg 225 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pg 225 - Assignment Example This aims at persuading and convincing potential buyers to try the products thus derive the anticipated utility from that. To this respect the Company uses diverse paths to reach these people in the most appropriate ways. For example, It has currently been investing heavily in digital advertising through billboards that ensures that as many people as possible are reached via this medium. Great loyalty and confidence towards the company’s products are derived from this type of advertising since the message portrayed is elaborate enough to warrant persuasion. This paper purposes to develop an advertising campaign for the digital network and explain how it will be used to bring change that is envisaged. Through this digital advertising campaign the Company is intending to reach more people and convince them to purchase. It’s aiming at informing them more about the product and its characteristics as the only solution to anyone’s thirst problems as well as making the product available to the market thus increasing sales and revenue. This campaign targets mostly those in towns and big cities who are also able to synthesize digital information at a considerable speed. The most appropriate medium to use is LED screens that can be strategically positioned where visibility to all is guaranteed. Bright colors that spell out the tag line and images clearly for all to see are the most viable ones to use. The sales cycle also ought to be considered at this stage. The frequency at which the message flashes past the screen must be increased so that the continued repetition can assure attention and even interest amongst potential buyers. We have to determine the customers’ p erspective towards the products. How does the customer feel in relation to product satisfaction? Can the information displayed in the screen trigger a purchase decision? These are quite important in the development

Perl Harbor(Japanese-American Relationship) Research Paper

Perl Harbor(Japanese-American Relationship) - Research Paper Example A similar reaction of racism towards a group of people can be seen from the events of September 11, 2001. Because the terrorists were from the Middle East, many Middle Eastern Americans have been singled out by other Americans and treated poorly. The attack by the Japanese on the American naval base Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, will forever be known as â€Å"a day that will live in infamy.† The decision by the Japanese to attack the United States on their own soil has often been referred to as â€Å"awakening a sleeping giant.† This attack prompted the United States to declare war with Japan. The Japanese-American relationship went from somewhat peaceful to in a state of war almost overnight. The only response the United States could have had was to declare war on Japan. The book Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford provides a fictional, personal account of the strained relationship between the Japanese and Americans at the beginning of World War I I. In the book, a young Henry Lee becomes friends with a Japanese American girl named Keiko Okabe. He is from China but she was born in the United States. After the events of Pearl Harbor, the setting of the book in Seattle has grown anti-Japanese. Keiko and her family are sent to an internment camp because they are Japanese in origin. The fictional novel shows the widespread panic by Americans toward other Japanese Americans during this time period. After America declared war on Japan, Americans started to lose trust in their Japanese immigrant friends and neighbors. The solution was to force the Japanese immigrants into internment camps in order to prevent any spies from assisting Japan. This solution was the result of fear, misinformation, and overall ignorance from the American people and government. Two months after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an order that forced Japanese Americans to move to internment camps (Peterson 16). Betwee n 1942 and 1945, an estimated 117,000 Japanese Americans lived in these camps. After an estimated 3,500 Americans died during Pearl Harbor, and America declared war immediately on Japan in response (Tunnell 1). In his book about Japanese internment camps, Tunnell explains the reaction by Americans to their friends and neighbors who happened to be Japanese: â€Å"Fiery patriotic propaganda against Japan filled newspapers and radio broadcasts, and many Americans were overcome by an irrational hatred of anything Japanese- including fellow Americans who wore Japanese faces (1).† America has many immigrants, and in 1941 there were many immigrants who had come to America from Japan. The problem was that they â€Å"looked like the enemy† (Tunnell 2). Racism towards Japanese Americans prior to the attacks on Pearl Harbor was not uncommon: In the Pacific States, they were not even allowed to own land or marry outside their race- in a country established by immigrants, no less! It was not uncommon to see billboards during the 1920’s, 1930’s, and early 1940’s on the West Coast that read ‘Japs, don’t let the sun shine on you here. Keep moving,’ or ‘Japs keep moving. This is a white man’s neighborhood. (Tunnell 3) Many Americans were unexplainably racist to Japanese immigrants prior to the events of Pearl Harbor. The term â€Å"Japs† was a derogatory term for the Japanese people. Then, when Japan attacked Pearl

Latino film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Latino film - Essay Example In later scenes, to cope with the hardships and growing hostility from her husband, she ends up throwing her husband out of her home. Even after this rough and hard decision, she still had to manage her life with the growing wave of revolution around her. The movie revolves around the typical life of a Cuban woman who had to deal with all the hardships and struggle despite being the fragile part of the society without any support from her husband and family. Many people underestimate the power of women during the times of war and revolution. During the wave of feminist movement in 1960 women played their roles as efficient workers and home makers at the same time. On the other hand, comparing the movie with another Hollywood’s revolutionary film, Salt of the Earth, triggered the critics to look into a different direction for its content and subject. The latter movie holds the same revolutionary wave with women in the leading roles as it has been depicted in Portrait of Teresa. The character of Esperanza was supported by showcasing the rapidly growing women’s movement. The character of Esperanza is shown coping with the troubles of unionism, leftists and at the same time, the emerging wave of feminism. In both the movies a strong wave of feminism can be felt. However, in the Portrait of Teresa, the movie revolved around the struggles of one woman whereas in Salt of the Earth, the subject of the movie projects the struggle of Esperanza with her sisters. But their struggle for sexual equality is the central idea that has been projected in both the movies. Women have been portrayed as the strongest gender as compared to men despite social barriers and minimum exposure to the world outside. Both the characters had to bear the same strenuous household responsibilities and later with their keen participation in the movement, they had to bear the disapproval of their involvement in the movement from their husbands. The theme of both the movies revolves ar ound one thought - how to survive the struggle for your rights in a subjugated society filled with gender discrimination and bias. Both of the women are tied to fulfill their gender roles assigned to them by their societal traditions with little room to be accepted as anything other than a typical homemaker. Teresa’s resentment over inequality and growing anger over her husband’s ill treatment clearly project the time when women were gaining empowerment and awareness of the unfair living conditions and treatment. Similarly, in Salt of the Earth, Esperanza holds the same state of mind, when she was greatly undermined by her husband’s judgmental statement and strikes back in a bitter tone, â€Å"Have your strike. I’ll have my baby, but no hospital will take me, because I’ll be a striker’s wife. The store will cut off our credit, and the kids will go hungry . . . and then they’ll come and take away the radio† (Salt of the Earth, p .10). Even at this point, her husband scorns her while chastising for fear of losing the radio and being more self-concerned. Women are emotionally vulnerable but deep down inside they tend to project the stronger side of their personality, especially in times of stress. All in all, the movie Portrait of Teresa is a poignant movie which depicts the contradictions which exist in the male dominated Cuban society, no matter how much the Cuban Revolution and its ideals have attempted to bring women to the