Reflection

Writing my Final Project proved to be an extremely educational experience although it was trying. I have never given myself the time to actually write a paper, leave it, and then come back to it- much less several months. Time allows the initial idea to reach deeper conclusions. Had I tried to write the paper in a couple of days I would not have been able to wrap my head around it, after realizing I bit off a load of abstract ideas concerning gender, consumerism, masculinity, incest, desire, repression, structuralism, and post-structuralism which was not my initial intent. However, it was something I was interested and I felt like by the end of my project I did understand the underlying tensions of the films in cahoots. The hardest part for me, though, was finally tying everything into one pretty package. A paper as long as mine was very tiresome to read and so trying to edit it was even more tiresome. I could have used another week of editing. At some point, I found myself so sick of the project that my brain was fried and I couldn’t look at the thing for several days when I knew I should have. I found out a lot about my subject and the crisis of masculinity and its role in repression and desire. I also enjoyed looking at the ways The American family has evolved since the 1950s to be more liberal and how consumerism has increased exponentially. I really enjoyed learning more about quote integration and how to actually use it as evidence rather than a placeholder. Hopefully, my skills will improve and I will not procrastinate papers so that I can bring them to a higher level of understanding in all of my classes. It showed me that I write best when I’m thinking: alright, what Do I need to tell my reader next to explain this to them.