Questionnaire

Age?
20

Sex?
Female

What is your degree subject?
Health Studies

Does 'Being Bad' relate well to other modules you are taking?
Not really.

If so, how? And if not, why not?
Because my modules revolve around health promotion and biomedical science.

Have you found 'Being Bad' too demanding, too easy, or to an appropriate level?
An appropriate level.

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

Are there any topics that you would like to see included?
Not really.

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

What did you think of the module team?
Helpful and friendly

Do you think it would have been better to have more;

• Small group discussions? No
• Discussion and debate among the class as a whole? Yes
• Information and talk from lecturers? No

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 is a useful way of approaching the topics covered in the module? Yes

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

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

Would you like to see more subjects cover this type of subject matter? Yes

Are you planning to take the follow up module PH2004 'It shouldn't be allowed' at level 2? No

Would you recommend 'Being Bad' to a friend? Yes

Do you think that Blogs (web logs) were a good idea? Yes

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

What have you learned from the module?How to create weblogs, the origin of body modification, the existence of the film kids etc.

What parts of the module have you found most useful and why? The information on smoking and why people do it, because i have to critically analyse these sorts of things for some of my other modules.

What parts do you think were a waste of time and why? Nothing, I liked it all.

Are there any other comments you wish to make regarding the module? The idea of a field trip is a really good idea.

Reflection

Looking back over the module "Being Bad", i realised that i really enjoyed its content.

The lectures were informative and entertaining, and the assessments made you think and research, but from my opinion were not too taxing.

I would recommend this module to anyone to enrol on next year.

Comments 4

After reading Anneka's blog on bad cinema, i completely agree with her point of view. I agree as far as Larry Clark, the director, must have had some 'issues' to come up with a film with it's content, but i think it is a little harsh to recommend that people should not watch the film if they are easily lead. Because it may give them a wide awakening to what could happen if people are careless and for lack of a better word 'easy'.

I would recommend that everyone should watch the film or find out what it is about a sit may deter people from pursuing the same course in life as either Telly or Casper had.

http://anneka-anneka.blogspot.com/2007/04/bad-cinema-2.html

Comments 3

After reading and thinking about Suman's blog on betrayal, i decided that i agreed with her point of view.

I agree in what she says about the greater the trust that you had put in the other person then the greater the impact that their betrayal has on you. This is pertinent in many themes in many genres. I believe that most people will be of the same opinion and would not betray someone on purpose.

Take a look at Suman's blog and see what you think.

http://suman-skh.blogspot.com/2007/04/betrayal.html

comments 2

After reading Asifa's blog on body modification, i realised that i agreed with her opinionson the subject. I agree that the lecture was interesting, informative and in parts shocking.

The questions that Asifa raised in her blog also srung to my mind aswell such as;
1, has too much tattoos lots its original meaning because of the people taking things way too far.2, why people will go throw that and know that it’s not going to stay for life.3, why people go throw so much pain just to look good whereby they can do different things that are painless.

Take a look at Asifa's blog and see if you agree aswell.

http://asifasblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/body-modification.html

Comments 1

After reading Claire’s blog – Claire’s blog – I completely agree with her viewpoint on body modification. I too do not understand why people would want to file their own teeth, or have their genitals pierced. To break free of their barriers of society seems to me to be the only reason as to why people would want to put their body through that.

Maybe it is because tattoos are more widely accepted, than some types of body modification, that I do not mind tattoos. Take a look at Claire’s blog and see what you think! If you think body modification is ‘bad’ or not.

http://clairecp4.blogspot.com/2007/03/body-modification.html

Money

Is money a bad thing? Is money the root of all evil? When you ask someone if they think money is a bad thing, they would probably answer no. But when you look deeper you may see that this is not as such a straight forward question as first percieved. Some people will do anything for money e.g. rob shops/garages, assault people in the street etc. so it could be argued that money is bad.

In could be argued that money can buy happiness e.g it gives you the ability to purchase expencive new cars, big houses even football teams. But are people with all of this money really happy? Money can put a great deal of pressure on people to conform to the expectations of others in their social class, and this can have serious reprocushions e.g. in the case of Robbie Williams, whose highly paid lifestyle funded his habits that put him in rehab.

So i put this question to you; Is money a bad thing?

http://www.calicocat.com/2004/05/is-money-root-of-all-evil.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Is-Money-Evil?&id=90474

http://www.funlol.com/funpages/moneyisevil.html

Bad Cinema

"A movie about kids, but not for kids"

-www.imdb.com

Larry Clark's 1995 movie 'kids' produced some shocked reactions from members of the group, when we watched it in week 9. For the students who had not seen the film before, including myself, I do not think that the contents were what they were expecting.

Clark's documentary-esc film portrays the life of "Telly" in a very blunt manner. The hard hitting realisation of Telly's one tracked mind provides the audience with an insight into his life and that of his friends aswell. Revolving around a community of sex, drugs and violence, 'Kids' is meant to provide parents with an idea of what their children get up to.

I personally feel that Clark's representation of a teenage society in America is a little superficial and a little too graphic for parents to believe that, that is what their children/teenagers do.

Clark's film does have good intentions, to promote awareness of sexually transmitted infections (STI's) and the dangerous effects that taking drugs can have. However I believe the way in which it was done was taken to far and so resulted a little unrealistic.

http://www.filmmonthly.com/Video/Articles/Kids/Kids.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_(film)

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kids/

Scarification

Scarification is a means of permanently marking the skin by cutting alone, without the use of pigments. The scars may be made lighter or darker than your original skin tone and may raise up (Keloid scaring). There are many ways to produce a scar but the cut must always penetrate the dermis if a scar is to be produced. The result depends as much on your skin as the method used. Black skin in particular is very good at producing pronounced keloid scars and this is a popular alternative to tattooing for people with very dark skin, for whom a tattoo might not show up very well. Picking a cut can help in the production of keloid scarring but is not always necessary. It is helpful to be familiar with the way your skin heals before you embark on any scarification if you want to get the effect you desire.

One method of producing scars is using a tattoo machine without pigment in such a way that it causes a scar to form. It is generally easier to produce curved scars this way than with a scalpel.

www.amonline.net.au/bodyart/scarring/

www.primitiveorigins.co.uk/newpage56.htm

Piercing

Body piercing usually refers to the piercing of part of the human body for the purpose of wearing jewellery in the opening crested.

The word "piercing" can refer to the act or practice of body piercing, or to a specific pierced opening in the body. Some people practice piercing for religious or other cultural reasons, while many individuals, particularly in the modern West, choose to be pierced for spiritual, ornamental or sexual reasons.

Evidence suggests that body piercing has been practiced by people all over the world from ancient times. Mummified bodies with piercing have been discovered, including the oldest mummified body discovered to date, that of Otzi the iceman, which was found in an Valentina Trujillon glacier. This mummy had an ear piercing 7-11mm diameter.

Most common types of body piercing: ear, nose, tongue, lip, eyebrow, naval, genital.

http://www.bodyjewelleryshop.com/body_piercing_information/location_types/

www.pierceit.co.uk/

Tattooing

A tattoo is a mark made by inserting pigment into the skin; in technical terms, tattooing is dermal pigmentation.

The word tattoo comes from the Tanitian "tatu" which means "to mark something".

It's arguably claimed that tattooing has existed since 12,000 BC. The purpose of tattooing varies from culture to culture and its place on the timeline. But there are commonalities that prevail from the earliest known tattoos to those being done on students.

In recorded history, the earliest tattoo's can be found in Egypt during the time of the construction of the pyramids (It undoubtedly started much earlier). When the Egyptians expanded their empire, the art of tattooing spread aswell.

In 1961 there was an outbreak of hepatitis and tattooing was sent reeling on its heels. Though most tattoos had sterilization machines, few used them. Newspapers reported stories of blood poisoning, hepatitis and other diseases. The general population held tattoo parlours in disrepute. In the late 60's, the attitude towards tattooing changed.

Today, tattooing is making a strong come-back. It's more popular and accepted than it ever has been. All classes of people seek the best tattoo artists. This rise in popularity has placed tattooists in the category of "fine artist". The tattooist has gained a respect not seen for 100 years. Current artists combine the tradition of tattooing with their personal style creating unique and phenomenal body art. With the addition of new inks, tattooing has certainly reached a plateau.

www.ultimate-tattoo-guide.com

http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistant-tattoos.htm

http://www.tattoos-by-design.co.uk/

Ned Kelly

Ned Kelly won the hearts of the common people of his own time and for more than a century on (Glen Rowen Cobb & Co. pty ltd).

At the time, mid 19th Century there was growing resentment of an authority that was corrupt, along with a poorly designed government legistation to protect the poor all influenced Kelly's attitudes.

At the early age of 15 Kelly and his family were forced to resort to stealing, amongst other things, so as to survive. In 1869 Kelly was sentanced to 6 months hard labour for assault and indecent behaviour. 3 weeks after his release Ned was arrested again for recieving a stolen horse, although he was unaware that the horse ws stolen, he was given 3 years hard labour. On his return from prison Kelly discovered all but one of his 32 horses had been stolen by the local constabulary. It didn't take long for Kelly, along with relatives and associates, to carry out large reprisals against those who they believed were persecuting them.

In april 1878 Constable Alexander Fitzpatrick visited the Kelly home and assaulted Kate Kelly, this required the intervention of the family to come to her aid, and Fitzpatrick swore an attempted murder charge against them all. This consequantly led to the murder of 3 police men sent to arrest the Kelly brothers, and as a result implicating 2 of their friends. Kelly's gang robbed 2 banks which gave them £4,400, and the manufacture of suits of armour to be worn by members of the gang.

On june 27th 1880 the Kelly gang bailed up at Glenrowan, cut the telegraph wires and forced the railway workers to rip up the line. During the day more than 60 hostages were taken whilst waiting for the arrival of the police's special train. When the train stopped at the station, a bitter gun battle broke out. In the 9 1/2 hours that followed, the building was burnt to the ground, 3 gang members were killed, and a badly wounded Ned Kelly was arrested.

Kelly was quickly patched up, tried and sentances to death. Kelly was hanged at 10.00am on 11th november 1880, where he became an Australian legend, and his name gained immortality.

Please add your opinions on wether you feel Ned Ke;;y was an 'outlaw' or a 'bandit', or neither.

Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were children of a Nationwide economic depression. Both Bonnie and Clyde came from humble beginnings, Barrow was born to a family of Sharecroppers, thus his father was dirt poor. As a young man he became a small time thief and robbed a petrol station, he served 2 years for armed robbery and was released on good behaviour in 1931. Parker was born in 1910 in Rowena, Texas and later moved to West Dallas. In 1931 she worked in a cafe before beginning her career in crime.

Bonnie and Clyde met in January 1930 in Texas, at that time 19 year old Bonnie was married to an imprisoned murderer, Clyde was aged 21 and was unmarried. Clyde was later arrested for burglary and imprisoned. Using a gun, smuggled to him by Bonnie, Clyde escaped was recaptured and sent back to prison. In February 1932 Clyde was paroled, rejoined Bonnie and resumed his life of crime.


Clyde sometimes killed in cold blood and always tried to justify the murders as if he had a right to pull the trigger. Bonnie and Clyde shot their way out of police loops and claimed that the "laws" they killed just happened to get in the way between their fiery outcry and the rest of the Century. Their killings were not personal, they contended.

At the time they were killed in 1934, Bonnie and Clyde were believed to have committed 13 murders, several robberies, burglaries and kidnapping. Bonnie and Clyde aided in the 'liberation' of 5 prisoners including the notorious Raymond Hamilton, who was serving sentences totaling more than 200 years.

Before dawn on May 23rd 1934, a posse of armed police laid in waiting for Bonnie and Clyde to arrive at party, as Bonnie and Clyde attempted to drive away, the officers opened fire and killed them. Bonnie and Clyde died instantly.

Above is an image of the actual car that Bonnie and Clyde were in when they were killed.

What are your thoughts and feelings on Bonnie and Clyde? Were they cold blooded killers or did they become victims of the addiction of law breaking?

http://www.bugsysclub.com/club/community/info_bonnieandclyde.htm

http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/bonnie/1.html

Jesse James - 'An Outlaw with a Conscience?'

This Westernised Robin Hood's reign of terror lasted 12 years from 1870-1882 and as a result many people lost their lives.

James' views were shaped by the 1861-1865 civil war, in which he fought for the Confederates which were the people who were highly sophisticated, well educated and pro-slavery.

At 16 years old James joined a 'Gorilla unit' who named themselves the Bushwackers and were involved in 'political cleansing' i.e. they went from house to house killing men who were pro-Union, not Confederate. The Bushwackers killed Union prisoners and unarmed civillians.

Post Civil war the Confederates merged with the Conservetive Unionists and James became their hero. He robbed banks owned by Radical Unionists (their bitter opponents), thus winning votes from members of his party. James linked his 'gang' with politics, He wrote letters to the press stating that they were the victims and had no choice but to strike against the injustice, but the fact is that James robbed for his own benefit.

Jesse James became a legend in his own time, but why?

John Newman-Edwards used his newspaper to praise Jesse James, he claimed James was 'A hero of the people who had been repressed'. Jesse James became a heroic figure for those who opposed Republican Government.

A new film due for release in 2007 entitled 'The Assassination of Jesse James' stars Brad Pitt portraying the time surrounding the private life and public exploits of America's most notorious outlaw.

Do you agree with Newman-Edward's views? Please leave your comments on your thoughts and views on Jesse James.

http://www.jessejames.org/

http://www.ci.st-joseph.mo.us/history/jessejames.cfm

Originating in 14th Century Literature, he robbed from the rich to give to the poor. The 'Legend' of Robin Hood has persisted for generations however it is likely that Robin Hood never actually existed.

Robin hood has been portrayed by many people in many films and television shows over the years by actors including; Errol Flynn,

Kevin Costner,

and more recently by Jonas Armstrong in the BBC's adaptation.

Robin Hood is often referred to as the 'poor man's hero', and exists in many cultures. But what is it that makes his 'legend' or 'story' persist?

http://www.robinhood.ltd.uk/robinhood/index.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/robinhood/

Please add your own comments on Robin Hood, e.g. what makes you like/dislike him?

Bandits and Outlaws

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term "Bandit" as 'a violent robber or outlaw belonging to a gang'. The term "outlaw" is defined as 'a fugitive from the law'. But if this is the Case then why do people have a tendency to justify outlaws and bandits as heroic figures?
Many people justify their actions by them being forced into a life of crime due to situations beyond their control.

Eric Hobsbawm (author of 'Bandits' 1969) distinguished between 'bandits' and 'social bandits'.
Social bandits appeared to the poor as popular people, otherwise know as 'Champions of the poor'. Social bandits are peasants who had resisted the powers of their masters, they had 'fled the bonds of serfdom'. These social bandits did not steal from their own immediate poor, as they needed their support, the bandits were generous to their own. Thus they used the money that they stole from neighbouring villages to pay for purchases from their own villagers. These bandits had no political programme, they are merely symptoms of a situation, their objective was individual alleviation not class liberation. However they were not champions of the poor as they would repress the peasants for the right price - thus these social bandits fall into a criminal underworld, crossing the line to becoming a criminal.

Masturbation

The term Masturbation, originated in 1766 refers to sexual stimulation, usually of one's own genitals and often to the point of orgasm, which is performed manually, by other types of bodily contact (except for sexual intercourse), by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods.

Do you consider masturbation a bad thing?

Infidelity

What does the term infidelity mean to you?

Do you consider infidelity to be a 'bad' thing?

To me the term infedelity means to be unfaithful to your partner, whether you are married or not. It is the breaking of trust by someone who seeks attention due to their own low self-esteem issues.

I believe that infidelity is always classed as a 'bad' thing and can never be justified due to the effects it produces and the consequences it usualy always leads to. I believe that acts of infidelity/adultery are the acts of selfish people who do not care about the person they are cheating on. I do not see why people cannot just finish a relationship before having sex with someone else. Infidelity is a cowardly act as the adulterer is too scared to end the relationship so they choose to cheat instead.

http://www.infidelity.com/

Please add your comments about your thoughts on infidelity.

Prostitution

Prostitution!

After viewing a couple of scenes from "Breakfast from Tiffany's", 1961, Paramount we considered the topic of prostitution.

Is it prostitution to take money from someone who's expecting sex, but then to not supply it?

Prostitution is defined as 'the act of having sexual intercourse, or performing other sexual acts explicitly for material compensation—normally money' so Audrey Hepburn is not prostituting herself, nor can her actions be classed as prostitution.

If it's not prostitution then is it more or less socially respectable?

It's more respectable in the sense that Hepburn is not actually prostituting herself, but it is less respectable as Hepburn has entered into an agreement and not adhered to it. Hepburn's actions could be seen as stealing.

If it is prostitution, then how much is a reasonable charge?

I personally believe that no price is acceptable, as those who do are really putting a price on what they are worth by selling themselves for a flat free.

Shoplifling, Prostitution and Stalking

Shoplifting!

After watching a clip of Family Guy 'Breaking out is hard to do', 2005, Fox, we discussed the questions:-

Is Shoplifting any different to any type of theft?

One could say that shoplifting is not targeting an individual as such, no one is getting hurt by the act as someone may do with theft, however at the end of the day theft is theft, a criminal act that should not be tolerated.

Why do people who can afford to buy things shoplift them instead?

For the rush that they get whilst commiting the act, some people feed on the adrenaline they obtain from the experience.

To some people shoplifting may become a force of habit due to the excitement that the thief encounters, possibly the thrill that they may get caught.

Some people may shoplift because they can, because they can get away with it, they will steal.

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke!

In week two of the module we discussed the prevalent issue of smoking. Being a health studies student I was well aware of the health implications that the habit of smoking presents, so seeing another angle towards smoking was quite refreshing.

We discussed the issues as to why people smoke, and what keeps them smoking. We also discussed the reasons why 35% of the 20-34 year old category of age group was the highest group of smokers in the UK. I think that some students in the lecture theatre ware a little shocked that 1/5 of all UK deaths are smoking-related diseases.

It was not just our views that were considered but that of certain celebrities as well including the 'Top Gear' presenter Jeremy Clarkson who stated
"For every £1 that smokers cost the N.H.S., smokers give it £3.60" (Jeremy Clarkson, Sunday Times, 18/11/2001).

We talked about the use of acronyms and how apt they are to the smoking foundations that they represent.

FOREST - Freedom Organisation for the Right to Enjoy Smoking.

FOREST home page

ASH - Action on Smoking and Health.

Ash home page

Our field trip

After taking a majority vote of my accompanying health students enrolled on this course with me, we have come to the conclusion that our field trip should be to Kefalonia in Greece, due to the fact that we have all been working extremely hard this year and well really, we just deserve it.