Journal 8

Honestly, the number of readings that we have in this class is pretty large in this class alone, and i have no doubt that there's still plenty more that we'll see. One piece of reading that I'll be looking at is from "The Politics Of Design" book, which has some info that I've already seen and looked, but a lot of which I haven't yet. I'll mainly be focusing on a certain part of the book titled "Language and Typography", since it's the most is unread by the class, and myself, for the most part. Some parts will be familiar, some of it not so much.

A part of this whole chapter that really caught my eye and also confused me is the chapter titled "Celebrity Guide to Politics with Taylor Swift", which is one interesting title. I, among many others, don't really see the initial political weight that Taylor Swift could care, considering that she's simply seen as a pop star. However, for most of her career, thats all I've ever really associated with her, since i can't say i had s real grasp about politics and the world around me. For instance, the specific example they used involves her T.S. 1989 tour and shirt been thought of referencing Tianamen Square. Personal, looking at it now, it seems more of a coincidence than a purposely planned act. However, it's impact was still felt, as the name of the tour and items sporting the 'T.S. 1989' were removed. The other 2 examples the chapter uses are a bit on par with the first one, involving Katy Perry and Cameron Diaz with Taiwan and Peru respectfully. Though I will say, in Katy Perry's case, it definitely seems more intentional then the other two, where she wore a sundress and had a tiwananes flage with her while preforming. Obviously, this cause a lot of spark and discussion, positive from the Taiwanese people, who praised and supported here actions and performances, and negative from the Chinese government, who deleted any sodt of media coverage within the country.

One other topic that discussed within this chapter is the difference and conflict between simplified and traditional Chinese. The history as to why there's 2 slightly different versions of the same language is complex, and while the short chapter does a good generalization of what major changes between the two are, i still can't help but feel like I'm not getting the full picture from what the writer is telling me. It also doesn't help that the character example in the book look very similar, though im sure that's the case for most, if not all, of the characters. overall the different subjects in this section of the book, this is the one that confused me the most, due to my own lack of understanding.

There are plenty of other topics, section, and even chapters within 'Language and Typography' that I could talk about endless, but I felt these one's were the most interesting to talk about.