Pastiche: Cryptocurrencies

Opinion Column Link: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stay-away-from-bitcoin-its-complete-garbage-2017-06-15

Column Summary: In this Opinion post, Brett Arends criticizes the uprising popularity of cryptocurrencies, namely Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum, claiming that their primary uses are for online gambling and money laundering. This use of strong negative vocabulary coupled with his technique of incorporating an image of a garbage dump and a dialogue that displays the confusion of cryptocurrency users highlights his hateful attitude towards these cryptocurrencies. As a result, his bias is identified early on, evidence for which is provided throughout his column.
Looking at the dialogue that he uses to emphasize his point: cryptocurrency users and fans often dont understand what they are talking about, he uses irony in the comment “You don’t understand!” wherein he attempts to show his audience the naivety and ignorance of these fans and users. Moreover, the dialogue is between the “fan” and more importantly “you” where he forces his ideology onto his audience by putting them on the spot as against these “fans.”

He then chooses to split his arguments into 3 main sections. In the first, he debates how valid the point is that cryptocurrencies are immune to inflation while highlighting that they fluctuate immensely and can “fall 30% in a week.” In the second section, he goes on to emphasize his point that cryptocurrencies fluctuate a lot using the simple example of potato purchasing which instills a deeper sense of fear in his audience. Finally, in the third section he argues that just like global currencies, cryptocurrencies are also subject to competition with the exception that due to their fast-growing paces and competitive natures, they are subject to even more fluctuations and uncertainty.

Text Recreation: Pastiche

Opinion: Invest in cryptocurrencies – the future of global currency

Published: November 25, 2017 2:11 p.m. GST

Why Cryptocurrencies? Faster Transactions, Secure and NO!! Government Intervention

In a period that has come to be known as the Information-Age, most of everything has to do with some form of digital processing and recording. This has opened up a world of faster communication and faster action. Everything is now digital, from carrying out your daily grocery shopping to the planning of the next Mission to Mars. So, wouldn’t you have expected a new currency that is solely digital and has no physical value or representation? Well, in fact, these so called digital currencies are called “cryptocurrencies” and have been around for the past decade. Almost everyone who is technologically-savvy is aware of these cryptocurrencies and if you manage to bump into one of these people, im pretty sure you’re conversation would be something like this:

You: Why do you choose cryptocurrencies over established global currencies? What makes you think that Bitcoin is going to be a bigger than something like the US$ already is?

Techie: It’s definitely going to be bigger than any national currency and that’s because everything is online. I can buy and sell things online quicker and can even go for vacations without worrying about exchanging my money.

You: Well, I can buy things online almost as easily as you claim you can with Paypal, so what’s all the fuss about with cryptocurrencies?

Techie: I haven’t even got to the best parts yet. With cryptocurrencies, there is absolutely no government inflation and hence these currencies are almost immune to inflations, something that the central bank could easily adjust with Fiscal and Monetary policies. Furthermore, The transfer of money value is instantaneous without any loss. This means that I could leave Abu Dhabi and move to London tomorrow and have all my finances waiting there before I arrive.

You: Woah, so its completely decentralized with no head control? That’s amazing.

Techie: Yep, everything is run and adjusted by the user. Revolutionary.

Its REALLY!! Secure

In what ways could Wallace’s theory about education be applicable to the writing of Alice Munro?

David Foster Wallace’s theory on education was that education shouldn’t solely focus on abundance of knowledge but also or more so focus on simple awareness; he adds in his speech that college injects over-intellectualized stuff in our consciousness. Another intriguing aspect of his theory was that true freedom is achieved when attention, awareness, discipline, effort, caring and sacrifice for others are all involved. In his speech, he referred a person who is able to practice as being ‘well-adjusted’.

This can be applied to the written pieces of Alice Munro whose stories include awakenings of a female character whether it is in terms of her true identity-like in Boys and Girls-or of her surroundings-like in Moons Jupiter. A commonality of the 6 books is that the female narrator experiences a turning point either by observing a certain event second handedly or undergoing the event first-handedly; the narrator feeds to the realization by being a ‘well-adjusted’ person just as David had mentioned in his speech. For example, in Moons and Jupiter, the female narrator-mom- understands her absent children and sick dad although it is done very inexpressively,

Another important notion David brought up in his theory of education was the ‘reality’ and how self-centered mindset cannot persist and shouldn’t persist, but rather having a mindset that is more comprehensive. By comprehensive, I am referring to a mindset that is broad and understanding enough to think for others; this is called, ‘Shared Humanity’.

In Munro’s short stories, we commonly have a gist of shared humanity in a way that the female does break out of their self-centered mindsets. The largest outbreak seems to appear in Passion where the female narrator seduces her brother in law. Although it may be easily argued that the narrator’s self-centered mindset worsened later after the dramatic event where Neil and the narrator almost have a sexual relationship, but after that event her guilt escalates and even more after she receives a thousand dollar note, freeing up the follow up of the story’s ending for readers’ own imaginations. However, as a reader myself I imagine a follow-up where the female narrator matures and determine to care more for others-a typical coming of age

Paper 2 Outline

Prompt: With reference to Things Fall Apart, discuss how an understanding of gender influences how the text may be understood.

Thesis: To a reader with a contemporary Western understanding of gender, the  rigidly established gender roles both by the Igbo society and Okonkwo, and his relationship with secondary characters i then interpreted as profound hatred. 

Topic sentence 1: Through the precise decoration of the Igbo society in the first part of the book, the readers are presented a story and setting that challenged their former thoughts on Africa. Through this candid decoration and presentation, the readers are almost disgusted by the gender inequality. 
Topic sentence 2: Through the use of such places such as Mbanta, Chinua Achbe also emphasizes that women were also valued, and that gender inequalities within the book were merely anomalies
Topic sentence 3:Through the use of Igbo proverbs and other evidences of orality, Achebe demonstrates the difference in Okonkwo's and the Igbo ideals of gender despite the evidence of rigid gender roles in both. 

Thesis practice

Promt: The personal history of an author can have a significant influence on the way meaning is constructed in his/her writing. Comment on specific instances of such influence in Things Fall Apart.

Thesis

Chinua Achebe, a Christian but also an Igbo-originated writer presents a text highlighting the complexity and duality of his identity and also the Igbo society. This presentation of complexity and duality servers as a backbone for how the Igbo civilization fell apart. 

Topic sentence 1: The author's style of writing is a reflection of the duality of Chinua Achebe as both a Christian-western influenced person- and also an Igbo.
Topic sentence 2: The introduction of the irrational Igbo customs suggest as to why the members of the society so readily accepted the Western ways. 
Topic sentence 3:  Okonkwo's inflexibility juxtaposes with the Igbo duality, which may insinuate the flaws and the eventual fall of Igbo society. 

Thesis statement

Prompt: With reference to Things Fall Apart, show how sub-plots or secondary characters contribute to the reader’s understanding and appreciation of the work as a whole.


The thorough characterization of Unoka, Nwoye and Enzima exists to underscore the inconsistencies and contradictions of the Ibo society, constructing the idea that the Ibo society was not a perfect one. This idea is the overarching theme which presents the flaws that have existed within the Igbo society and how those flaws were a chance for the western people.

Okonkwo

1. What is the significance of Okonkwo’s character? 

Okonkwo continuously strives to achieve success and condemns laziness. He displays hyper-masculinity as well as extreme inflexibility. He has solely one vision of what it means to be a man. Okonkwo's character is significant in that he is a tragic hero archetype, displaying hubris, peripeteia, hamartia, and anagorisis. 
Also, some of his values are reflective of Ibo values. For example, his obsession with titles and recognition is reflective of the hierarchal nature of the Ibo society.  
He represents the old. He is the one holding on to the old values, as evidenced by how he tries to get the tribesmen to drive away the Western influences. Therefore, he is symbolic of the old ways of Ibo life. 
His life falling apart is emblematic of how the Ibo society fell apart, town by town, while the Ibo people themselves weren't fully realizing. 
As a tragic hero archetype, he meets his tragic end. The last hold-on to the old is gone, and so is the old way of life, and the new reality called Nigeria emerges. 

2. What is the purpose of Okonkwo’s character within the text? 

One would be to contribute to the themes as mentioned in the answer to the next question. 
Another is already discussed in the first question, which is to work as a symbol. 

3. How does Okonkwo’s character contribute to themes or meaning

Okonkwo's character contributes to the theme of gender. His inflexible nature exposes the social structure of the Ibo society based on gender to an exaggerated and extreme extent. He calls out on men without titles for being a woman, and is pained by the fact that Enzima is a daughter. It is arguable that this is reflective on the Ibo society as it did have some gender roles. Even in agriculture, there were female crops and male crops. There were female sins, and male sins. Okonkwo's character further highlights this theme of gender already prevalent in the novel. 
Also, his tenacious and inflexible nature leads to adding to the theme of the clash between old and new. 

TRAGIC HERO

We are all very familiar with the Achebe's choice of selecting a protagonist an anti-hero, but we are not very familiar with why Achebe had done this and what effects this has on us as readers in terms of its cultural context. 

To understand this in a deeper level and more easily, let's consider what would have happened if Achebe characterized Okonkwo as an antithesis of his original personality. If Okonkow was of benign and friendly nature, he would have been identical to other members in his clan, very obedient and compliant to changes. Then, Achebe would have not been able to explicitly unravel the destruction and disorder the 'Westerns' have brought, but would have highlighted the upside they have brought such as what Achebe describes in his Interview: 'A more efficient form of life'. However, by delineating Okonkwo as rather a very hostile, easily outraged, and resistant to what he dislikes, Achebe is able to achieve what a benign and gentle Okonkwo would not have. That is, emphasizing the abrupt obliteration that has been put upon the people, the way they think, governmental system, and root of their culture. 

To go into the possible reason why Achebe employed the tragic hero archetype on a more profound level, it is crucial to peruse the characteristics of a tragic hero. A common tragic hero has a hamartia, a tragic flaw or flaws, and in case of Achebe it is inability to be in harmony with his surroundings. Next, tragic heroes undergo perepeteia, a turning point of their fortune and fate, and a course of perepeteia reveals a tragic hero's hamartia. Likewise, when Okonkwo finds out that his land, Umofia, is a city of Christianity followers-this scene being the parapeteia-he is unable to control his anger and be in harmony with the new custom of his village-his inability to control emotion and be in harmony being the hamartias. However, near the end of the story, Achebe deliberately evokes pity and shame for Okonkwo among the audience by illustrating a scene where a number of white officers deride Okonkwo after his lamentable death . If Okonkwo was protagonist who hasn't gone through peripeteia, without hamartias and of good nature, Achebe wouldn't have been able to employ this scene because there would be no need for the white officers to pillory Okonkwo's death. 

SPEECH

Good evening ladies and gentlemen of The Royal Colonial Institute, 

I feel honored to be here as a representative of many missionaries in Africa, and I, as once a missionary in Western-Africa, am here to inform you with how my life was back there. 

There were many great people, although some were very hostile and unwelcoming my existence and Christianity. However, they were willing to give me a small portion of land which they considered evil and unsafe, a burial ground for those who have done misdeed. With the support of Our graceful God, I was able to survive there and was able to prove the very love of our God. Their Gods, or I should say supreme beings, had the name, Chukwu, who, from what I have been told, is relentless, vicious, and materialistic. Then, I had spread the 'Good News' to the Ibo people not as means of colonization,but as means of doing what our foremost Queen and our foremost God have told me to do. The result was favorable: many Ibo people were attracted by this and joined Christianity. Majority of them were outcasts, who have been thrown away from the mainland, but there was this one intelligent and benign child named Nwoye, a son of brave and man-like Okonkwo, who came into my eyes than any other converters. She explained to me about the beauty and valuable cultures and traditions of Igbo. The harmony with nature, the harmony with music, the harmony with people were beyond gorgeous

Yet, these cultures and traditions are being destroyed and crumbled into pieces.by colonizers and of them include us, the British Empire, the appointed and blessed citizens of God. Destroying the harmony with nature, destroying the harmony with music, destroying the harmony with people, and lastly, destroying the beauty of their culture into fragments are not the reasons why God dispatched us to Africa.  

Now, for those who do not appreciate my words and do not appreciate the pulchritude of the Igbo culture, I do want to use this opportunity to open up your eyes. Well, let us not forget that these are humans just like we are, and they are of kind nature. They believe it is a 'must' to be united as a community. Although the village is divided into clans who are not always favorable to each other, they do not forget the importance of union. Occasionally, the whole village gather around to enjoy celebrations and I can't emphasize more how splendid and unforgettable they were. The food people shared across individuals, families, and clans was filled with genuine love. The yams I had eaten was a true resemblance of masculinity and spirituality. The Kola nuts I was offered to break was worth more than just nuts but was rather a symbol of their sincerity and reverence.

However, it would be certainly a lie if I say the journey was only full of felicity. Honestly, there were more fatiguing times than pleasurable times, but I can tell you this, what made me tired was not the Igbo people, but it was us, the colonizers. I strived to resist the British colonizers from enforcing a new governmental system and a new way of living. Instead, they shunned me with cold sight and did everything in their way. Things started to fall apart rapidly. Commissioners replaced village leaders, Jails were built, various goods were imported, and all of these contributed to the downfall of the Igbo culture. Yes, these may have helped them live better lives, but No, these have made them forget the very value of their lives. What do you say, ladies and gentlemen of the Royal Colonial Institute? 

It is not late to turn back. Perhaps, it is the best time to turn back. We have done right things in the past. It is now time to do another.  

Achebe's Interview

1) What was the most meaningful takeaway from today’s discussion relating to the cultural or literary context of Achebe’s work? 


2) Select a specific quote from the interview or a general idea from the discussion and write a brief reflection.
My meaningful takeaway from today's discussion along with the reading we had to was Chinua Achebe's honest but also detailed insight on his literature. I personally liked his critical view on relationship between power,  and literature. In the middle of his interview, where he is questioned and responses:



Questioner: You're talking about a shift, so there would be more of a balance of power between cultures and there is now?

Chinua Achebe Well, not a shift in the structure of power. I'm not thinking simply of political power. The shift in power will create stories, but also stories will create a shift in power. So one feeds the other. And the world will be a richer place for that

This section was one of favorites but was also one of the hardest to comprehend. Specifically, this quote, "The shift in power will create stories, but also stories will create a shift in power" was the most difficult one. 

It wasn't too hard to understand the first part, "The shift in power will create stories", as there were many examples we see everyday. For example, we are more familiar with western tales such as 'Cinderella', 'Sleeping Beauty', or 'Beauty and the beast' whereas we are less familiar with stories outside that box such as the story within 'Things fall apart', 'The singing tortoise' It is very likely that we would have never known if we hadn't read the book. This is primarily because these western countries had more power in many aspects, including economic, political, technological, social asepcts. To sum up all this, they had more power thus more stories well-known to the world, because they brought these tales when they were colonizing other countries. To give an example that I am highly familiar with is 'Ddokkebi' a goblin-like legendary creature from South Korean folktales that is known to be both helpful and harmful to humans. According to research, this 'Ddokkebi' wasn't originally "created' in Korea but was passed by Japanese colonizers. Like these examples, we can easily see that the number of stories spread and well-known in this world aligns with the power a country has. 

Well, the second part of the quote wasn't as easy as the first part. I couldn't quite understand how stories cause a shift in power. Whilte thinking, it struck me how language functions as a form of resistance like how I learned in class. Likewise, Chinua Achebe was a pioneer who first published a book about African cultures, traditions, and a very critical view on the western colonizers. In the book,  he uses imagery to allow the readers to actually have a similar feel for the loss those African local people had to go through. For instance, he effectively illustrates the irony of the Christian missionaries, especially Reverend, and how they sought resources and power instead of true faith and converts. Although, Chinua Achebe was subject to harsh and bitter views from the western community, he was successful in leading many other writers from African ethnic backgrounds to write more about their traditions, and cultures. AS a result of this chain of movements, this world has become a place where there seems to be a better 'balance of power'-like Chinua Achebe describes. Furthermore, I think that technology has also contributed to this achieving this 'balance of power'. Thanks to technology, specifically the internet, almost everyone nowadays is able to voice out his or her opinion and almost everyone is able to see each one another's opinion without barely any restrictions. I think this is what Chinua Achebe refers as 'a Richer Place' in the interview. 

IOC

  

https://youtu.be/VbCuTx_l3LM

Act 3 Scene 3 Coriolanus’s Banishment

SIC.

For that he has                                                                                                     1

(As much as in him lies) from time to time

Envied against the people, seeking means

To pluck away their power, as now at last

Given hostile strokes, and that not in the presence

Of dreaded justice, but on the ministers         5

That doth distribute it—in the name a’ th’ people,

And in the power of us the tribunes, we,

Even from this instant, banish him our city,

In peril of precipitation

From off the rock Tarpeian, never more       10

To enter our Rome gates. I’ th’ people’s name,

I say it shall be so.

ALL PLEBEIANS.

It shall be so, it shall be so. Let him away!

He’s banish’d, and it shall be so.

COM.

Hear me, my masters, and my common friends—        15

SIC.

He’s sentenc’d; no more hearing.

COM.

Let me speak.

I have been consul, and can show for Rome

Her enemies’ marks upon me. I do love

My country’s good with a respect more tender,                 20

More holy and profound, than mine own life,

My dear wive’s estimate, her womb’s increase

And treasure of my loins; then if I would

Speak that—

SIC.

We know your drift. Speak what?                               25

BRU.

There’s no more to be said, but he is banish’d

As enemy to the people and his country.

It shall be so.

ALL PLEBEIANS.

It shall be so, it shall be so.

COR.

You common cry of curs, whose breath I hate                   30

As reek a’ th’ rotten fens, whose loves I prize

As the dead carcasses of unburied men

That do corrupt my air—I banish you!

And here remain with your uncertainty!

Let every feeble rumor shake your hearts!               35

Your enemies, with nodding of their plumes,

Fan you into despair! Have the power still

To banish your defenders, till at length

Your ignorance (which finds not till it feels,

Making but reservation of yourselves,              40

Still your own foes) deliver you as most

Abated captives to some nation

That won you without blows! Despising,

For you, the city, thus I turn my back;

There is a world elsewhere.                          45

CORIOLANUS: ACT 1

To start off, Coriolanus was a play written by Shakespeare during the Elizabethan Era. Because Latin and Greek formed the basis of education at that time, many people, including Shakespeare himself, learned about Roman times in depth. Moreover, Shakespeare's audiences were familiar with classical literature of Latin and Greek. Typically, classical literature had a heroic, and almost divine figure, the protagonist, and an antagonist on the opposite side, who was often the rival, Likewise, Shakespeare set Coriolanus as the protagonist, and characterizes him as a typical heroic figure throughout Chapter 1.

 Also, Shakespeare doesn't forget to reveal Coriolanus's Achilles' heel, and that is his hatred of the plebeians. This is evident in Act 1 Scene 1 where Coriolanus (Martius) scowls at the plebeians describing them as useless beings. This scene, in particular, is where Coriolanus's political views are presented. From looking at his disgust of the "lower-class people', it shows that Coriolanus highly believes in hierarchy and meritocracy. However, it is evident that almost everyone in Rome has changed and started to value more of democracy and equality. Hence, Shakespeare is conveying and foreshadowing a friction later in the play between Coriolanus and the others, specifically the plebeians, due to their contradicting political ideologies.

Secondly, Shakespeare hints another weakness of Coriolanus, but in an indirect way. In Act 3 where 3 ladies, Volumnia, Virgilia, Valeria converse, Coriolanus's excessive love for his mom and wife is represented. It is almost expressed as if Coriolanus has attended at wars for the pride of his mom. This high dependency on others reveals his unsuitable nature as a consul; this foreshadows his failure as being a consul later in the play.

Next, in Act 1, there are 2 big settings: One in the city (Capitol) and the other in the battlefield. It is notable that Coriolanus's nature is deliberately characterized differently in these 2 settings. In the city, his nature is depicted as being nasty, condemnatory, vile whereas in the battlefield, he is depicted as bold, praiseworthy and most importantly, a good leader. This clear contradiction of Coriolanus's nature in 2 different places implies and foreshadows Coriolanus's downfall as being a consul, a high position in the capitol, but his more adequacy as a soldier in battlefields.

Another possible purpose of Shakespeare's characterization of Coriolanus in Act 1 might be his attempt to catch his audiences attention, considering that it is a play, through its fast escalation. Unlike other classical literature, this play has an uncommon structure, where the climax happens relatively earlier in the play: The battle between Rome and Volsces from Act 1 scene 4 - 9. 

Blog post- Bell Hooks

Today, I am going to relate one of the quotes from Bell Hooks and relate to a specific text.

The quote I have chosen is:
 For in the incorrect usage of words, in the incorrect placement of words, was a spirit of rebellion that claimed language as a site of resistance. Using English in a way that ruptured standard usage and meaning, so that white folks could often not understand black speech, made English into more than the oppressor’s language

Among many kinds of texts that are written in AAVE by African-Americans, poems, in particular, employ the AAVE language very effectively. Likewise, I have chosen a poem by Langston Hughes, an African-American poet who was born in the Jazz era of America. 

     Mother to Son

Well, son, I’ll tell you:

Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.

It’s had tacks in it,

And splinters,

And boards torn up,

And places with no carpet on the floor—

Bare.

But all the time

I’se been a-climbin’ on,

And reachin’ landin’s,

And turnin’ corners,

And sometimes goin’ in the dark

Where there ain’t been no light.

So boy, don’t you turn back.

Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.

Don’t you fall now—

For I’se still goin’, honey,

I’se still climbin’,

And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair

In the poem above, there is a sense of rebellion here and there. Although the sense of rebellion is not overtly apparent in the what the text conveys, it is visible in how the language is used and how the poem is deliberately structured. 

First, there are some grammatical variations throughout the poem. On the second line of the poem, "Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.", the use of 'ain't' instead of 'hasn't' is a typical style of the AAVE. Furthermore, the use of 'I'se' is extraordinary and is something that isn't used in the common English. With its meaning of 'I shall', it makes the common English speakers not from the AAVE context question the meaning of it, successfully acting as a resistance. Also, in every past participle verbs, the letter 'g' at the end is omitted, once again breaking the rules of the common English grammar. 

Second, the overall structure of this poem is not similar to those poems by non-AAVE-speaking poets that existed in the same era. To begin, it violates the basic characteristic of a poem by omitting stanzas. Unlike poems that have rhythmical patterns such as having the same number of syllables in every lines, there seems to be no rhythmical pattern in this poem, which reflects its function as a resistance effectively. However, this structure is deliberately established. The whole theme of this poem is a message from Langston's mom to her son, Langston, about how life has been hard for her and how he should live to overcome those hardships. When seen from a lens of that era, the hardship Langston mom refers to her difficulty of adapting to the American society. 

Mascalero Apache

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwkASudzhU8

Speaking in Tongue Blog Post

  


On a TIME magazine, that was published in 1997, an article was published to raise awareness about the gradual loss of languages throughout the world. Surprisingly, according to the magazine, there are approximately 6,500 different languages, and one language is being disappeared every 2 weeks. 

   Along with this, he quotes that any language is as divine and endless a mystery as a living organism. It is very apparent that language is being compared to a living organism with its characteristics of being divine and endless. However, I want to ask you. Are living organisms divine, meaning that they don't die? Clearly not. But, when they die, they are decomposed and are broken into simpler matters, being absorbed into the soil. Likewise, I believe that the author is trying to convey a message that despite the death of many languages, they are assimilated into something that lasts forever, and that is culture and tradition.

    Moreover, the author further compares language as a mystery. I believe that the author is trying to deliver that language, like its characteristics of living organisms, doesn’t know what external forces are awaiting it. The author also implies that languages can be easily damaged by external forces like living organisms are by poachers. An example he gives is the Russians, who were the poachers in this case, and the people of Nentsi, being the living organisms. The people of Nentsi were forced to give up their language and were brutally treated to imbibe the Russian language; not a long after, the language of Nentsi evaporated on Earth, but luckily, the culture and tradition of it are still at present. 

Do you believe that today’s YouTube stars are being exploited or empowered?

3-Do you believe that today’s YouTube stars are being exploited or empowered? Write a short persuasive piece that shares your opinion. 


      With the emergence of Globalization and advancement in technology, the importance of the internet has grown, becoming a necessity in today's generation. Along with this, the importance of Youtube, a website where anyone can upload videos and make profit out of their number of views and likes for their videos, has grown bigger. Up to today, there are almost 1.3 billion creators, whose job is to make Youtube videos on their channels, all around the world, 5 billion videos being watched on a single day, and the monetary value of Youtube is has grown exponentially. Now, do you think that Youtube stars are just being exploited to increase Youtube's revenue and to negatively influence the social norm, or being empowered to give them opportunities to fight against this evilness? In my opinion, I believe that Youtube creators, especially those with more fame, are being empowered with the help of Youtube due to several reasons, and I will go over them in my essay. 

      First, it is true that the competition in order to actually generate some profit from making video is highly intense; it is true that many people decide to choose ways that ensure a number of views. These ways, in common, follow a trend which our society has shaped into:A trend that involves high levels of  vulgarity, indecency, materialism, and even sexuality. I can't disagree that the number of these videos are overflowing and will still overflow in the future; however,I want to put a spotlight on Youtube stars who decided to avoided using these "ensuring" methods but still managed to acquire fame equivalent to or even more than stars who used these methods. For example, Nigahiga, a channel created by a single person but controlled by a few, is a great example of how Youtube stars can be empowered. By making satirical, yet highly appropriate videos that criticize the inappropriate norms our society has created, Nigahiga is empowered as a figure of justice. Like this, with the empowerment of few Youtube creators, such as Nigahiga, our society hasn't been prone to abrupt changes. 

    Secondly, I also think that Youtubers can create an abrupt social change and that is because I believe that Youtube stars have the authority that is equivalent to that of celebrities. The power to change the entire society. For instance, Tyler, a Youtube star with almost 8 million views, was able to gradually change the views against homosexuality of his viewers and was able to convince many people to agree with homosexuality. Later on, his single voice aroused different voices from different people who had the same opinion. Tyler's voiced led to a chain: Starting from him to his subscribers, to different celebrities, and even to some government officials. Now look at America and other countries: They all officially allowed gay marriage. I personally think that Tyler was at the heart of this revolutionary movement. Like this, Youtubers are empowered and given a huge authority that could change a whole society. 

    In conclusion, Youtube stars are empowered to have a massive effect on the society. Like the Nigahiga, some youtubers have the authority to prevent the society from changing, whereas some stars like Tyler Oakley have the authority to generate change in the society. However, empowerment comes with authority, which also comes with high responsibility.