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gordonzheng · 2 years

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Project 3: Multimodal Close Reading

Writing self-exploration Gordon zheng

Ms. Pooni 11/29/21

After hours album -

Throughout the album, The Weeknd talks about the life he lives in. He is surrounded by money, fame, and of course heartbreak. He has all the money in the world and yet he is lonely. He then copes with drugs and materialistic items.

Blinding lights music video/lyrics

Scene - https://youtu.be/4NRXx6U8ABQ?t=155 (2:35-4:00)

Explanation -

In this music video, he is obviously surrounded by “blinding lights”. This represents the life he is living and all that comes with it. All the paparazzi cameras, the clubs, and the cities he is in. during the scene he is speeding off in the car and eventually crashes and then quickly cuts to him being arrested. The car represents the fast life he is living, and the crash and being jumped are all the bad decisions he made catching up to him. He is surrounded by fame and wealth yet when he runs away he is alone. He laughs to himself realizing who he is and who he has become.

Heartless music video/lyrics

Scene - https://youtu.be/1DpH-icPpl0?t=10 (0:10-1:18)

Explanation -

During this time the Weeknd has recently had a breakup. In this video, he is on a drug-fueled adventure. Because of his break up he basically coping with his sadness and returning to the man he used to be. He says: “...'Cause I'm heartless, And I'm back to my ways 'cause I'm heartless, All this money and this pain got me heartless…”. In the scene, he is at a casino drinking, smoking, and gambling.

Snowchild music video/lyrics

Scene - https://youtu.be/G0JKdFjWkLA?t=11 (0:11-0:50)

Explanation-

The music video for snow child is very interesting. First of all the video is animated in a cartoon/anime style. The weeknd referenced all his previous works in the music video. It included very first mixtape and studio album that started his career. This shows his growth as a person and also as a artist long with his career. The lyrics in the video support this too. He talks about his childhood growing up in the cold city of toronto. The name of the song might be a reference to this. He talks about being homeless and his involvement in the streets. One example was when he talked about his friends being incarcerated and him taking care of their families.

Save your tears music video/lyrics

Scene- https://youtu.be/XXYlFuWEuKI (0:00-0:40)

Explanation-

In this song the weeknd is talking about a past relationship and the struggles of it. Many people say this song is about hella hadid. It alks about them seeing each other in the club and the girl leaving while sobbing. The music video itself doesn’t really match up to the lyrics or song. But it references how many people in Los Angeles have plastic surgery with the over sized lips and weird botched face shape.

Sites

1. https://genius.com/albums/The-weeknd/After-hours

2. NICKS, ERIN. Weeknd : R&b Megastar. ESSENTIAL LIBRARY, 2021.

3. Gagne, Tammy. The Weeknd. Mitchell Lane, 2018. INSERT-MISSING-DATABASE-NAME, INSERT-MISSING-URL. Accessed 30 Nov. 2021.

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gordonzheng · 2 years

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Writing self-exploration Gordon zheng

Ms. Pooni 11/8/21

Literacy narrative

I believe growing up Asian or specifically Chinese is much different than other ethnicities. Parents have certain standards, beliefs, and values they want you to look up to. Their beliefs also differ vastly from the ones in America. But in the end, they just want the best for you. I understand why my parents are like this.

My parents came to America with almost nothing. They sacrificed a lot to get to where they are now. My grandpa was a peasant farmer. He was the first in my family to come to America. After that, it was my dad, then the rest. They didn’t know a speck of English and had to learn quickly. It was probably tough for them but they must’ve done something right.

I remember a certain story my father told me. He was about my age. He had just come to America. He was in New York City. At the time he had to travel to Pennsylvania to work at a relative’s restaurant. He had to take a bus to get there. He told me that he fell asleep. When he woke up he had no idea where he was. He knew no English and did not have a cellphone. If I was in his shoes I would have freaked out. I don’t quite remember the rest of the story but i am glad i didn’t go through that as a kid.

My parents always want me to excel in school. They always signed me up for piano lessons, SAT tutors, and even mandarin school. I guess they want their children to be able to do something they weren’t able to do.

I feel like Americans are much more independent than Asian families. Once they are grown up and have a job they don’t interact with their parents too much. In Asian families, we often still talk to our parents regularly. Also respecting elders is important. This has to do with Confucianism and the beliefs behind it. This is one of the reasons why many foreign parents are very authoritative.

But Im glad was i raised this way. My parents just want the best from me and me to be safe. My parents are strict but it’s alright. I still get to have my fun with my friends. When i was younger i always got what i wanted. Whether it was toys, videos games or food. I was very well off. I am also glad my parents got me involved in our traditions. Every Chinese new year we make dumplings and watch the Chinese new year parade. I’m glad I’m Chinese I’m glad I’m different from other people.

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