Questionnaire

Age?
36.

Sex?
Female.

What is your degree subject (both if joint)?
English and Film.

Does ‘Being Bad’ relate well to the other modules you are taking?
Not really.

If so, how? And if not, why not?
Can't see the relevance to the two other subjects I'm taking.

Have you found ‘Being Bad’ too demanding, too easy, or at an appropriate level?
Appropriate level.

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

Are there any topics not included in the module that you would like to see included?
Not really.

Do you think that the format for classes has worked well?
I think if it had been in a classroom there would've been less scope for the students to be disruptive.

What did you think of the module team?
Some leaders really held your interest,others were a bit blah.

Do you think it would have been better to have had more:
Small group discussions?
Yes.
Discussion and debate among the class as a whole?
No.
Information and talk from lecturers?
Not sure.

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 a useful way of approaching the topics covered in the module?
Sometimes.

Do you think that interdisciplinary modules are a good idea?
For some people,yes.

Do you think you have benefited from the interdisciplinary approach taken in the module?
Not really.

Would you like to see more modules that cover this kind of subject matter?
No.

Are you planning to take the follow-up module PH2004 ‘It Shouldn’t Be Allowed’ at level 2?
Probably not.

Would you recommend ‘Being Bad’ to a friend?
If there weren't arseholes in the class spoiling it for people,yes.

Do you think that the 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?)?
No,two short ones were fine

What have you learned from the module?
Patience!

What parts of the module have you found most useful and why?
Writing the essays.

What parts do you think were a waste of time and why?
Telling people to shut up,they just carried on regardless.

Are there any other comments you wish to make regarding ‘Being Bad’?
Nope,I just hope the twats at the back who talked throughout and stormed out on the religious module get a big,hairy F for their trouble.
This page has been reformatted by WOLF.

Bad Books?

This blog asks-'Should books have a suitability warning?'.D.V.Ds and computer games have an age restriction rating on them,even some cds have parental guidance stickers on them,should this be applied to books or at most have a contents warning on them?We know certain types of music have been blamed for sparking massacres in U.S high schools and that films such as 'Clockwork Orange' were banned for many years because it was thought it may cause copycat scenarios but what about influential books?

'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D Salinger has been cited as an influence on both Mark Chapman-who shot and killed John Lennon and John Hinkley who tried to assasinate president Ronald Regan.The 'hero' of the book is a disillusioned young man,fed up with the fakers around him,he seems to be at the point of boiling over into some incredible rage.

http://www.rkpuma.com/catcher.htm

The people who took this book to heart and committed those two crimes obviously had some mental problems but can a book push someone over the edge?I've just read the book 'The Dice Man' by Luke Rhinehart.It is a fictional tale of a psychiatrist who decides to live his life by the throw of a dice.He lists random options and lets the dice choose.Most of the lists are pretty innocuous but as time goes on,the lists become more incredible-such as whether to murder his son and how he should kill someone.Is it just a matter of time before someone unbalanced decides to live out his life in this manner?and should books of this ilk carry a warning?

Too religious

To be honest the lecture on Thursday didn't affect me at all.I'm not religious so the lecturer saying the prayer at the start of the lesson was just words to me,maybe it affected those who are religious but as far as I'm concerned most religion is what you're brought up on and when you reach adulthood(well,when some of us do)you make your own choice and not the indoctorines your parents have forced on you.Some people use religion to be righteous about things they don't agree on,these people can say 'ooh,well the (insert holy book) says it's wrong'but who lives wholly by their religion?

http://www.geocities.com/bororissa/rel.html

Hallucinogenic Drugs

This blog is about the 'psychedelic' drugs that Gerry talked about in the lecture.I'd be interested to see how the music,art and literature of the 60s would have been without the introduction of 'mind-altering'drugs.There were many pioneers of the 60s but it seemed like creativity really took off when the mind was opened to new experiences.Here is a list of really great albums from that period and some newer ones which have soaked up the influence.

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/musicaytodos/have_yourself_a_merry_little_psychedelic_trip/

And can I add that although some really great music came out of that period,for every great visionary there were some who went into that mind trip and came out as casualties of the acid scene-ie:Syd Barrat,Peter Green,Rocky Ericsson and Arthur Lee.

Bad comedians

I find it very hard to categorise what would be deemed as an offensive comedian.I grew up in the 70s watching programmes like the Comedians which was full of men who told jokes about the 'mother-in-law'or the 'Irish'.These men had worked on the Northern,working men's club circuit and knew what appealed to a mass audience.Times have changed and I think we'd view these comedians as being old fashioned and a bit rascist,but I don't think they caused a problem.Just because you don't see people on the T.V now telling these types of jokes doesn't mean to say they don't exist in society.Someone,somewhere is always going to get offended by any joke but that doesn't stop it being funny to some people.
http://www.jokefile.co.uk/sick/index.html

This is my comment on
http://li3y88.blogspot.com/
I totally agree with you!!If you find a comedian offensive,don't go and see them!!simple as.If you want something fairly innocuous,I suggest watching something like 'My Family',just don't expect to laugh.

Tattoos

I found the lecture on body modification fascinating.Obviously people can do what they want to their own bodies but when does it reach that point where obsession kicks in?In the past people would have tattoos done as part of their story or heritage,now people seem to be doing it either because of the rush of adrenalin that hits you when the body reacts to pain or because they get off on the reaction from other people.Now the whole world and his dog has some sort of tattoo the shock value is lessened, so people now have to go for extreme modification.I'm not against tattoos,I have one myself which I had done in a fit of pique and although I don't regret it,I wish I'd have designed the image rather than going for the stock Ying and Yang symbol-as if I'm balanced!!Oh,the irony.Please,please think about what your doing and have a look at this web-site to get the facts about it.Cheers-

http://www.tattooinfo.net/Scripts/default.asp

This is my comment on -

http://jeni-f.blogspot.com/

Hello.I would like to think the whole idea of foot binding and female castration is something that is resigned to the horrible annuls of history but I do think it goes on still in remote areas of the world but how can you explain to a tribe that it is wrong without coming over like some Victorian missionary?Hopefully knowledge will bring enpowerment and stop these barbaric acts.Thanks-Rachel.

Bandits

It is very easy to fall into the trap of romanticising the bandit,after all,he is the one kicking out against authority,taking back what the 'man' has taken from him and usually dies young at the hands of the 'good guys' thus securing immortality in the criminal world.But is it right to hold these people in such high esteem?The story of Bonnie and Clyde makes it seem that these were star-crossed lovers,only stealing because necessity made them do it,staying loyal to each other because of love.This is the way numerous books and films have portrayed the couple.That Bonnie was interested in the arts and wrote poetry adds even more to the image of doomed love,but Bonnie and Clyde were robbing in an era of Great Depression in the U.S and many people were on the bread line and did not resort to outlaw tactics.I think the fictionalising of such characters and making their acts seem heroic can cause a lot of damage to a society who hold them up as such exciting examples.

http://www.fbi.gov/libref/historic/famcases/clyde/clyde.htm

Here is my comment on-

http://thebalancedcrab.blogspot.com/

I think todays 'Gangsters' are held in high esteem by some younger members of the public.The 'Bad Boy' image is something they can latch onto to make themselves look hard,but these gangsters usually have dodgy backgrounds-look at Tupac Shukur,he was jailed for a serious sexual assault but that doesn't tend to get mentioned when the record company is releasing his twentieth posthumous album!!

Bad Cinema

Hi.Everyone seems to have an opinion about this film!!Yep,it is pretty shocking but I do think it is a reflection of what teenagers may be getting up to,it may be difficult to think of them in that way but with Britain being the leaders in Europe with teenage pregancies,I think it may be time to face facts.America seems to have a strange way with dealing with teenagers having sexual relationships-they tend to lean heavily on the religious aspect,with many girls avowing their virginity until they get married.This is all well and good for a person with strong religious values but don't most teenagers rebel against this sort of indoctorine in the end?I saw a really sad episode of 'Sex and the City' when Sam overhears a group of 13 year old girls discussing what they will 'do' with their boyfriends.When Sam explains she thinks this is inappropriate,the girls say this is the only way to get boys to like you.I feel this might be a big factor in why girls feel so pressurised.There is always going to be guys who exploit insecure girls to get what they want.

Anyway-here's a few web sites to compare American teenagers to British ones-

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Abstinence/cda0304.cfm

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/teenagers/mg18524891.300-teenagers-special-going-all-the-way.html

Here is my comment on Linda's site-

http://songbird-beingbad.blogspot.com/

I totally agree with Lida.I think this film should be shown to teenagers to warn them off the dangers of un-safe sex.I know if I'd have seen it it would have put me off for life!!

Stalking

Hi.I find the subject of stalking a very tricky subject.It's not as black and white as Smoking or Infidelity.There seems to be many levels of what is classed 'stalking'.After all,who hasn't taken a keen interest on what their 'ex' is up to?I know when I split up with my boyfriend I desperately wanted to check his text messages for signs of a new relationship,but the swine had put a code lock on it!The thought of following him from work also cropped up but I realised this is totally unacceptable,mad behaviour and thankfullywas able to stop myself but I do think it can easily get out of control.It's a slippery slope from being curious to being obsessive.
This ia a report on a guy who managed to get access to his girlfriend's mobile phone and checked up on her.She knew about it but it's still creepy!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/feb/01/news.g2

This is my comment on-
http://sereenabbb.blogspot.com/

I do think it is mainly our fault as to why celebrities get stalked by the paparazzi.If we didn't buy magazines such as 'Hello' or 'OK' then the 'paps' wouldn't go to such desperate measures to get a photo of Amy's or Britneys new melt down.We have to ask ourselves why we are so sucked into this celebrity life.It's generally accepted that the photographers following Lady Diana in Paris in 1997 were the cause of her death.Will the paparazzi's hunger for a 'good copy' make tragedies like this an occupational hazard?

Infidelity

It is my feeling that infidelity has more of an impact on women than on men.Even in these days of enlightenment it still seems to be the man who strays in order to assert his right not to be tied down to one woman.That's not to say women don't act that way but it seems to be a lot rarer and when the woman is found out to be having an affair,the guilt and upset she feels seems to be more than when a man gets caught.How many times have we heard of a famous man being forgiven and taken back by the wife after she finds out he has had an affair?Now,try and think how many women are welcomed back into the arms of a betrayed husband?Difficult isn't it?Anyway,here's a link which explains a bit more into the imbalance of affairs.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Infidelity-Why-Women-Cheat&id=262930

Here is my comment on-

http://li3y88.blogspot.com/

I know what you mean about infidelity-it is wrong and if there is a problem in the relationship,it should be sorted out rather than resorting to an affair but sometimes these things happen,regardless of how much you love the person you are betraying.Sometimes events just take over and as the lies get deeper,the more hurt you will cause your partner.

Masturbation

Hi.It's been very hard to find a link based on such a 'touchy' ha!ha! subject.This one seems clean enough though.

http://www.coolnurse.com/masturbation.htm

Yes,yes masturbation is very good for the body,good for the soul and can probably cure arthritis in the hand but what I object to is the people who get their rocks off doing it in public.No one wants to see that-if they do-why not form a group.Take it out of the phone boxes and into the homes!

Here's my comment on-

http://ejtblog.blogspot.com/

Hiya.I do think men are more open about it.Someone I knew used to get a group of male friends round and put porn on-first one to crack one off was the loser!I don't want to think about what their punishment was!!

Shoplifting

Hi.Found this link on the Times web-site-

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article2923540.ece

It is suggesting that shoplifting is the 'new high' for the middle classes,these are people who can afford the goods they steal easily but prefer the danger of doing something 'naughty'.God,is there any more reason to bring back hanging!Strange that these people rarely get caught and prosecuted.Maybe it's all to do with the lifestlye and look?

My response to Christopher-

http://pants87.blogspot.com/

Yep,I totally agree.Working in retail I know what it's like.You turn your back for 10 seconds and half a shelf of Impulse has gone.But who hasn't bought things which you know are slightly dodgy?Is buying copies of c.ds/dvds any worse?It's all costing someone money.

Smoking

We all know why we shouldn't smoke and the health risks are clear as a mountain stream but I find it really strange that a new generation will grow up never knowing what the social aspects of smoking are.I miss smoking in pubs,it seemed to be part of the foggy structure which held us all together.Yes,my clothes no longer have to be hung outside to get rid of the ghastly smell of Silk Cut and I no longer feel guilty about my friends going home smelling like roadies from Guns and Roses but I miss smoking.Could there not be an anti-social corner where all us who are being bad wallow in our own crapulence and live without fear of the deafening sound of tutting?

Here's a link for all those who will be counted-

http://www.forestonline.org/output/Page1.asp

This is my comment on r3615's blog-

Well,in my experience some people have dry skin,rotting teeth and smelly breath even without touching a fag!!As a smoker I am very aware of the health risks and yes,I know that it's an addiction but I don't regret starting smoking.I feel it's part of me and if I can put up with other people's pecadilloes they can put up with me.

Re:Field Trip

I think we should find out where Russell Brand lives and stalk him for a bit!