Occupation Activity and Others

Well, it would be hard for me to just talk about the occupation activity since I was not fortunate enough to go yet. But I will mention what I saw. For the most part, it does not look any different from the earlier bus activity because the people now are just standing/sitting there and maybe might give a hint of what they do for a living. There really is not much someone can do to show what he/she does without making it look like he/she is trying to show it.

And for some reason on Whizbang it seems impossible for me to always remember what noises go with what motions. If I could just make the body motions, I could dominate in that game.

Occupation Exercise

I agree that the exercise dealing with occupations was difficult. I have never really sat down and watched how different professionals carry themselves. I mean yes there are some things that are noticeable about different occupations but i have never payed attention in great detail. I think there are lots of occupations that would carry themselves the same way. For example a doctor, dentist, or physical therapist probably would carry themselves in the same manner just as any laboring job would also. I think that is what made this exercise so hard for me because there is no set standardized to how a certain occupation carries themselves. So just as everyone has been saying you have to use a stereotype of the profession in order to portray your message.

Stereotyping

Through the career activity, I realized how much stereotyping goes into acting. Depending on the person's career we assumed we knew how they walked, held their posture, fidged, and the seriousness of their facial expressions. Also, a lot of careers could come off as the same so it is sometimes hard to distinguish the role someone is playing. Although most of these stereotypes seem to be end up being true, there are always exceptions. I think that if we were to be acting a certain career role in a play or movie, we would have to do a lot of research and observing in order to accurately portray a specific career role.

I have just read Claire's post and I both agree and disagree with her. I think people do not want their jobs to define them, but I think that what you do for a living says a lot about who you are as a person. It impacts many of your decisions in life. Now I am not saying that everyone fits the stereotype of their job, but I do think that your job impacts a lot of the decisions you make in life. Everything that you do on a daily basis has some impact on the rest of your life, so it could impact the way you carry yourself, the decisions you make, and even the way you interact with others. I have not completed this activity yet, but I think it will be challenging to not show what your job is. I think that the key here is to focus on the details and not get too dramatic.

jobbers

I thought the career bus stop was kinda difficult because I don't think that there is a huge difference between some jobs. I understand that someone who works in an office might move differently than a landscaper or large rock carrier but most people don't really think of themselves in terms of their job. I also agree that we are acting more like the stereotype of what we think a ------ would act like instead of what they actually would act like. Also, if anybody goes to the Saturday the 11th show for the crucible and wants to NOT sit alone, let me know

Stereotypes

I agree that when we do the career exercise we are in a way stereotyping careers/people. But I wish there was a better word that we could use for it because the word "stereotype" has so many negative connotations. It is kind of true that people who do certain things for a living tend to behave in a certain way. Of cours there are many exceptions. And stereotypes don't necessarily have to be a bad thing. Doctors for example are supposed to be very smart people. We have to use our perceptions of how we think certain people behave in order to portray them. That is probably why one of our first assignemtns was to observe people. When we get to the point when we are given more complex characters, then I hope it will feel less like I am acting like a stereotype and more like i am acting like a real person .

Careers

First of all, I thought that the activity we did dealing with the careers at the bus stop was difficult. It is so hard because you cannot really show the people what you are. I also thought that this activity could be a little stereotypical. For example, for the construction worker Claire had to be all big and strong. This got me thinking to my past job experiences. Two summers ago I worked for the service department. I did things such as picking up roadkill and trash, mowing along the highway, weedwacking, checking sewers, and numerous other jobs. I am pretty sure no one would think that I did this job and if someone was to act out a service department worker, I would not be a model of what they look like and act like. It just got me thinking that the way we are portraying these occupations is kind of stereotypical.