Mia's yadigg

Mia Johnson

Period 3

                                                                The Martians

                “Oh my god, what was that noise!?”

“I don’t know , it came from the backyard lets check it out” said my little brother Tommy.

We walked outside to the backyard and saw a little bag, and it was moving. We were so scared, I thought someone had left a baby or something. However , it was nothing of the sort. Once I opened it, it was two aliens. We looked with a look of terror and astonishment, but they were peaceful. We took them out of the bag and brought them in the house and we all started to talk. They told us about how they got here and about their plant, so they wanted to know about earth. We had a lot to tell them.

My response to their inquiry was pretty simple, I told them that America wasn’t a good place like most people would think. It’s full of corruption, wars, and injustice.  They had no clue what most of those words meant so I showed them a move called “New Jack City”, it was a prime example of all the things I’d been talking about. It shows how cops use their powers in such ways they shouldn’t, they abuse them to pick on people. The cops in the movie target backs and other minorities and just bully and kill them because they can. I told them that things aren’t still that bad here but they haven’t completely changed. There is still plenty of prejudice and injustice in race. Then I told them about the recent Trayvon Martin incident, a young black male who was just minding his own business walking to the store and was shot and killed by a white neighborhood watchman, and the man never even was penalized. There is so much unfairness in this world.

                My brothers response was a bit different though, he said that America is full of idiots and Americans are dumb. He said that if Americans were smarter and thought more than the world would be a better place. He started talking about a tv show called “The Simpsons”, he started talking about the show because there’s a character in it named Homer Simpson; he’s a fat, lazy, dumb person. In the show Homer is always just acting stupid and sometimes does bad things to people, but he always comes out on the top. He has a big house, beautiful wife, nice job, three kids: what some would call The American Dream.  This is unfair because in America those who don’t deserve it at all receive some of the highest positions of authority and they succeed in life.

                Then lastly to give them an overall perspective of the world me and Tommy both came to a consensus and said that the book 1984, it entails how corrupt and deceptive this world it.  In the book it shows of a world where no one ever has any privacy and Big Brother is always watching, that’s actually a reality just in the real world they don’t make it as obvious. The tap our phones and trace us and invade our privacy on levels you couldn’t think of. You never know if you’re being watched or not, no one ever knows when it’s okay to act how they want.

                So basically we just told them how we really felt about America, no sugar coding or holding back. We might’ve inadvertently made it sound like a horrible place, but at the end of the day it isn’t a great one.  

Angelo Williams Blog

                                                                                                Angelo Williams

                                                                                                Creative Writing

                                                                                               

Crash! There is a loud bang in the parking lot of the Target department store. The time is about 4 A.M. The location is just outside the west side of Chicago in Cicero Illinois.  There is no man in sight as so it appears.  Suddenly out of the chaos and smoke an old black man walks through the debris. He is dressed in janitor attire, which consists of a gray jump suit with a nametag on it. His name is Billy Bo Bo. He looks like he has been through a lot and seen a lot.  His thick gray mustache is dirty and dripping with sweat. The man walks onto the scene and see’s a horseshoe shaped spaceship. 

The spaceship crashing made a huge crater in the parking lot. If any cars where in the parking lot at that time they would’ve have easily been crushed. The man approaches the space ship slowly and carefully. He tip toes and has a curios look on his face. He pokes the spaceship, which is the size of about 3 tractor trucks and pokes it with his broomstick. “What the hell is going on in my dear town?” says the man.  All of a sudden the door of the spaceship opens.  Out come three alien creatures from another world. They are shaped like TV’s with limbs. As they walk down the path to meet the old man one of them tips over. Another one of them helps his associate up. The old man watches in awe as he does not believe his eyes. The sound of the aliens walking is similar to the sound of someone’s hand being squished in jelly. “Take me to your leader old man”  “hahaha no im just kidding” says the lead alien. The old man faints and waked back up. 

“Tell me and my bros about the oh so wonderful United States of America.”  Says the lead alien. The old man laughs “wonderful?” says the man sarcastically.  “There is nothing wonderful about this rotten ass country.”  “See from the outside looking in every one thinks this is the land of  opportunity and that the streets are paved with gold”  “From the outside looking in every one thinks there is an opportunity to succeed for everyone who wants it” “This is not the truth at all” Take this book for example it is called ‘Boss’ this book profiles the life and political career of  infamous Chicago mayor Richard J Daley. Richard Daley ran and endorsed corruption racism and segregation. He won elections by landslides and got all the bills he proposed that would benefit him.  During his mayor years no one would oppose him and only his people were elected to office Chicago is one corrupt city. 

The aliens look confused “I umm thought you lived in a democracy?”  said the leader. Well we do but democracy is corrupt and the system had changed dramatically from what the intentions were for it to be.  America eats on the people who are at the bottom of the food chain those people do not really have a voice said the old man. In Upton Sinclair’s the Jungle it shows why this is true. The book shows how greedy the business bosses are and all the cost they pay to gain higher wages. They put the safety of the workers in jeopardy by making them work long hours and not giving them reasonable benefits. In this factory workers are cut on the regular basis and not giving much attention. The alien gasps and says you mean they sacrifice human life to make money? That’s correct says the old man. Money rules all in our country. People can make it up the social ladder but it rarely happened or doesn’t last for long. 

Also in America if it doesn’t vilify the black male Hollywood doesn’t want it. Tyler Perry movies are movies, which America loves to show to its people. His movies show black males as beating violent and reckless physically and emotionally. That idea Sticks with the viewers as they can not separate entertainment from reality. Now look at me do I look like a mean nasty person? Asked the old man. Well aliens get out of here people you fall into this trap. The Aliens dipped into outer space to never return

American Martian; Taylor, Sean, KJ, and Kierra

We all went over Taylor’s house to watch the marathon of Power Rangers.                                                        

                                               

Then came a loud bang from outside from the backyard.

“What the heck was that” Taylor said looking out the window. “I don’t know but I’ll go check it out” Sean said while grabbing the gun on the wall.                    

      

As Sean walked out to go see what had happened he found himself wondering in a foggy green mist. Once everything cleared he saw a tall alien.

                 

Sean then shot the gun at the Martian but instead of the bullet entering the Martian’s head in which he aimed for it stop six inches away from the Martian. The Martian reached out, grabbed the bullet and threw it to the ground. Sean stared at the Martian and couldn’t believe his eyes and at that moment his pants became wet. “What are you here for? Are you here to take over mankind?” Sean said in a panicky voice “No, I wanted to come here to learn about America.” The Martian exclaimed. Sean became very frightened and turned on his heels and ran inside to everybody. “Ummm…guys we have a problem there is a Martian and-““Sean what happened to your pants?” Kierra said cutting him off “NEVERMIND THAT!!!!! WE HAVE A REAL PROBLEM ON OUR HANDS!!!!!!”He said quickly while shaking with fear “O.K. let’s go see what’s going on outside, since Sean ran in here like a 2 year old baby!!” “Oh shut up Kierra if you saw what I saw you would have done the same thing.” “Actually I would see what he wants before I run in here and cry to your momma!!!” “GUYS!!!! CALM DOWN!!!” Taylor interrupts. “What did he say he wanted?” “He said he was here to learn about America.”                                         

               

“Then why in the world didn’t you tell him what he wanted to know?” asked KJ “Note to self never send a man, better a boy, to do a woman’s job….they screw up every time!!!!” yelled Kierra in pure irritation. As Kierra walked outside to the backyard slamming the door behind her and when she screamed in amazement….”ET!!!! Sean was afraid of ET!!! He must have not had a childhood!!!!” Taylor walked over to Kierra’s side with KJ following close behind her. “OM to the freaking G I can’t believe it’s you ET I am so surprised it’s you!!!!!!” Taylor yelled screaming and smiling with a huge grin full of teeth. KJ was the happiest of all and ran to ET and steered him into the house and onto the couch “I can’t believe it’s you, would like coffee or anything like that” I said. “Well I have come here to learn the essence of your planet” the Martian said. We explained to him what we thought and in the end he left understanding and returned. We continued watching the marathon to night.

Eduardo Lozano

I once had an encounter with aliens that was both brief and mysterious...

...It beings like this...

"A large bright light enveloped my tiny back yard where i spent my childhood, and after a moment there emerged 2 little green men with a large light bulb heads and solid black eyes."

 Their friendly demeanor cannot hide their impromptu invasion into my childhood, but...

"They probably could have chosen a better target if they wanted to annihilate the human race"

 I'd probably be as done as this target, their superior technology could make quick work out of me if they so pleased.

"Halt Earthling, we have come in peace...We simply wanted to ask you about the country of America"

"Why would you ask me?"

"We selected you out of the more than 300 million Americans... randomly"

Certainly they could have chosen the president or some other person more important and smarter than me, not just pick me out like as if I were a random number...

These aliens are idiots

"...If you had to describe America in one word what would it be?"

"America is Cynical"

"America has to be the leader in the world when it has a terrible education and healthcare systems... We also have the largest carbon footprint per capita of any nation"

  America has a lot of problems but it also has a lot of freedoms and liberties as well...

"The Colbert report satirizes the political right in calling attention to the ridiculousness of politics and everyday events"

 The man has the deepest persona, that simply astounds me whenever he does his show. He manages to both offend and humor me at the same time.

"...The Simpsons... is one of the longest running series on television and is quite popular here"

  This show pokes fun at nearly everything with a darker sense of humor that fits today's image of America. The changes that the show has over gone are interesting to say the least, but the voice actors have been the same for a very long time.

"Adventure time...the ridiculousness of the setting and characters speaks for itself it does not capture the cynical spirit as well as the other two"

 This is one of the new generation of cartoon shows for kids and the characters face dilemmas that are solved through warped logic that is presented with comedic effect.

"That's enough... we don;t need such a negative view of America"

Without another word they lifted off...

"Hmm I should probably watch some TV"

  I still don't know why the aliens visited me, but at least they didn't destroy the Earth...

Ariana M, Brandi G, Kwynn R

 I stood in my backyard cooking my food and a whirl of wind swirled around me; I turned and saw a tiny speck flying towards me. It landed in my hand; until it started growing I had been holding it. It began to grow bigger and bigger. I dropped it out of my hand in the grass and it continued to grow it grew the size of my car. It slowly opened up and out came two green figures. “What are you?” I asked. “We are Martians we come from light-years away”, said the Martian. “Well, what have you come for?” I asked. “We have come to learn about America and its way of life here” the Martian said. “Sure” I said taking my food off the grill. The two Martians following me into the house. Have a seat I said pointing to the couch. “What are your names?” I asked. “I am Unk” said the first Martian. “And I am Chak” the other Martian said. “Well Chak, Unk let me tell you about America”. A long time ago from the earliest of time Women ruled the world, they were allowed to do everything; votes, equal pay, receive an education, they were equal amongst men. America is the land of the free and home of the brave. So they say. Back when slavery occurred, whites fought and fought for the freedom of the African Americans who were enslaved. They beat them and whipped them to try and prove their love to them. They were determined to have equality. Today, America is accepting to whatever a person has to offer; same sex- marriage (in every state), being obese is the new look. Gangbangers are paid to kill each other because the planet is overcrowded, so the police really don’t act on their activities. They’re afraid for their lives. America is beautiful, clean, safe, fun, and welcoming. That’s what a government official might tell you, but not me my Martian friends I won’t lie to you, but I must inform you everything I have just told you is a lie. America is harsh, judgmental, and unsafe, it’s the complete opposite of what I have told you; women aren’t paid the same as men, in the beginning they couldn’t even vote let alone voice their opinions. Majorities of their cities are polluted. Before you go I must give you ( the Libido for the ugly, Body Image, and The hunger Games) read these, these will help, but my friend Kwynn can tell you more so visit her she’s right next door. “Ok, Goodbye” they said heading to kwynn’s 

I woke up to a startling sound

A sound so profound

3 little green martians from out of town

Landed in MY backyard.

“They look like clowns! “  I shrieked.

Over my mouth, my hand, I keeped

Until all 3,  green and bleek

Walked towards my door looking mystique

Knock.Knock.Knock

I reached for my glock

In my drawer, in the kitchen

Knock. Knock. Knock.

But it was missin

Then I saw slime that glistened

As it oozed under the door, kissin

The “Welcome Home” mat

“Difficult was that” said one martian as it slurped into green form

“Agree do I” said the second

The 3^rd smiled with its Jordan 6 on it’s head.

“Name Zurlock, this is Zurlod, and this is Trey.”

“Nice to meet you” keeping my hand at bay, looking at the greeniest goo

Zurlock gave me dap, and that was…awkward.

There was 3 martians in my house.

Not even a mouse, could say that was untrue

“Tell me something, umm, is the land of the red white and blue?”

Zurlok asked.

“Land of dreams, Themes, and smiley things?” Zurlod asked

“Home of the brave and where White Castles is craved?”

Trey asked while his stomach rumbled.

My tounge was jumbled, I almost fumbled

This martians came to my house to want to know about America!

This caused a huge amount of hysteria

In my mind

However, on the outside, I looked fine

I went to the den, and then

Grabbed 3 movies

“Higher Learning”, “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “ Driving Miss Daisy”

I came back, feeling hazy and replied

“ Welcome to America. The land of red, white and blue. Where racism is true, and people are judged on the outside rather than their insides.

Because in America, appearance is a priority, education is a minority and ignorance is the majority.

There is no pride, it has died with JFK MLK and Michael J

All we have now to lean on with HOPE is Obama

He is what we call nowadays “dope”

I apologize sincerely for the misconceptions you believed

About dreams

And money that grows on trees

But we are actually in a depression

Financially and emotionally

That is why we are number one for obesity and diabetes

Anyways, here is the catch

America is founded on racism and will never be united

Or a “ United States of America”

I have 3 movies for  you “ Higher Learning”, “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “ Antwonne Fisher”

These movies portray average American citizens

And their experience through racism.”

“Believe not this I can’t. “ said Zurlock.

“Smh” said Trey

I responded with a “ Hey, ya know…it be like that sometimes…take these movies and go to my friend Brandi’s house

She will show  you another view of America!”

I gave the three clowns without any frown the address of Brandi’s house

And off they went, without making dents, with their UFO

And out of my back yard.

This morning I woke up to find a spaceship in my backyard. I couldn't believe it. I never thought that Aliens existed but there they were right in my backyard. When I asked why they had come here, they said that my friend kwynn sent them to me.

"She said you could give us better insight to what America is like," they replied.

"Well I guess I can help you out, I don't know what Kwyn told you but I'm going to give you the truth of America," I said.

"Well there have been movies that predict how the world will end," I said.

The first movie prediction was 2012. It was supposed to predict exactly when the world will end. America will be the first part of the world to go.

The second movie prediction was Armageddon. It’s showed all types of natural disasters and violence that is actually happening in reality.

"And that's not even the best part," I said.

The last movie prediction that came out about the ending of the world was The Day the Earth Stood Still. At the end of the movie, the Earth stops. It's frozen over with a large sheet of ice and Earth is just silently rotating in the atmosphere.

"Well I think we've learned all we need to know, thanks for the insight," they said.

"Wait you're leaving so soon," I cried.

"Oh, yes we don't want to go down with you Americans, goodbye," They said.

And like that they were gone.

Kyna Nicholas, Lia Miller, Tierra Tucker

FOX News-
ATTENTION! Just in, there has been what seems like an upstream o extraterrestrial activity happening on earth. It seems that these Aliens have landed in America. These Aliens, described with green translucent skin, tentacles, and glowing eyes, claim to have come to earth in order to learn more about American culture. Fox News has uncovered stories from 3 people who claim to have talked to the aliens.

KYNA: (A middle aged woman from Chicago, Illlinois)

I was in the kitchen making me a plate ofbuttered noodles when all of a sudden my house shook. I look out the window and see what appears to be a gigantic piece of metal implanted in my lawn. I drop my noodles without even realizing it, that was on my grandmothers plate, which also went shattering to the floor.  I quickly ran outside.

 Before I knew it I was saying

                “What the hell are you doing?!”

                The creature that sat in front of me was green with bright eyes and tentacles.

“You know what…I’m calling the police” I quickly run back in the house and grab the telephone and come back out. “Do you hear me? I’M CALLING THE POLICE! AND I’M GONNA SUE YOU…AND I’M GONNA GET MY MONEY FOR THIS. FOR YOU…FOR YOU DESTROYING MY YARD!!!”

                “For what… pshhhhhhhhhhhhhh Gosh. Needy Greedy.”

                “Your in America…” I start to dial the phone. “What do you expect.  Everyone over here is greedy.  That’s our middle name! “

TIERRA: (An old woman, in her 90s, from Atlanta, Georgia)

“Do you wanna know what I’sa thinks of America ?” I said.

“Yes, that would be correct.” Mumbles the alien.

“Well from my 93 years of living in this here country, I’sa had seen it all… But mostly what I’sa have seen is the strife of my people and the struggles we had in this’a here country. I witnessed first hand what our people done been through. Because I’sa was right there pickin’ cotton,  I’sa was right there getting whipped, I’sa was right there getting’ mistreated by them red necks, and I’sa had to prove myself to them and fight for my rights and what I’sa believe in! “

*rubbing their chin* “wow, very interesting, but may we ask what this idea of strife is? “

America has a mass history of African-American strife. Throughout our history of America we have witnessed many tribulations within our African American heritage which has shaped our culture today. Two prime examples I would like to depict throughout my overview of America from part and more recent are “Roots” and the “Great Debaters” movies.  These two artistic pieces represent my concept of America because both pieces do a swell job at illustrating the African-American strife, African-American struggle, and a common theme of how they overcame and paved the way for not only African-Americans but all minorities in America. And created a tremendous change overall.

“That sounds very intriguing as well. May you further explain how these concepts represent America as a whole ?” states Alien A1.

“Yes’m , I would be’sa very honored to share with you my rationale.” I state.

… “Well it all began in “Roots” when Kunta Kinte was abducted from his African village, sold into slavery, and taken to America. He made several escape attempts until he was finally caught and maimed. He married Bell, his plantation's cook, and they has a daughter, Kizzy, who was eventually sold away from them. Kizzy had a son by her new master, and the boy grew up to become Chicken George, a legendary cock fighter who leads his family into freedom. Throughout the series, the family observed notable events in U.S. history, such as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, slave uprisings, and emancipation.

And another here example I has’a for yall here today is found in the film “The Help”, where African-American strife was strongly depicted especially in the scene where the African-American maid was not allowed to use the caucasion home owners restroom. It caused a huge descrepency in the film where the maid was fired and it showed how mis-treated and the inequality the African-Americans were.

The last example I’sa had is “The Great Debaters.” The film depicts the Wiley Debate team beating Harvard College in the 1930s. They did not debate Harvard, however. The debate depicted in the film instead mirrored the match up between Wiley and the University of Southern California, who at the time were the reigning debating champions. Wiley College did indeed win this matchup. According to my close friend Robert Eisele: "In that era, there was much at stake when a black college debated any white school, particularly one with the stature of Harvard. They used Harvard to demonstrate the heights they achieved. The film omits another reality: even though they beat the reigning champions, the Great Debaters were not allowed to call themselves victors because they were not truly considered to belong to the debate society; blacks were not admitted until after World War II.

            So throughout all of these movies they shared a common theme of  African-American strife and sufferage. But in the end it shows how African Americans over came their trials and tribulations and made a difference, change, and overall improvement to the African American culture as a whole. 

LIA: (A hip teenager from Los Angeles, California)

Yes, the aliens came to me last week, they told me that they wanted to know about modern American culture from a modern American teenager. I told them that in my opinion, you can learn a lot about American culture from watching television. 

“Explain” said the tentacled Aliens aliens.

 “Well, for example, in this age the closest thing we have to royalty in America is…”

“Wait”, they said “Is it Barrack Obama and his family? Isn’t the president considered your American monarchy?”

 “No, not exactly” I said. “See, if you watch American TV, you’ll find that our royalty is more like the Kardashian family. The Kardashian’s are probably one of the richest families in America right now, and there show is a hit.”

 The aliens rummaged through the images in my brain like a photo album until they found a scene from “Keeping up With the Kardashians” that I watched last week.

 "Wow" Said the aliens, "Is it really possible to make currency by doing absolutely nothing in America?"

 "Yup", i said, "We call that the entertainment industry."

"Show us more" they said, "How do commoners function in America?"

"You mean ordinary people?"

“Yes that would be the correct term" the mind reading aliens exclaimed.

  "Ok, check this out" I said as I remembered a scene from The Simpsons. I pictured a scene where Homer is strangling Bart, which made me laugh.

 "Wait" they said, are all American fathers abusive and dumb?"

 "No" I chuckled, "Only the bad ones".

 "This show appears very entertaining" they said “We can see that even though they are a dysfunctional family, they still love each other."

 "Precisely" I replied.

The aliens sighed, "Enough with this. May we see an example of the American plight?"

 "Ok, let’s see" I remembered watching an episode of the Oprah show where this woman was given a brand new house because she was homeless with 4 children.

 "Who is this Oprah?" the aliens asked.

 "She’s like the most powerful woman on earth."

 "Oh, so she can do magic?"

 "Yea, it’s called using the magic of money. Here in America money equals power."

 The aliens gave a confused glare "So when you American suffer, Oprah will come to give you things?"

 "Well, not exactly" I said, “She only gives some people things but there is a lot of poor people in America like the one in this episode, because of the economy."

"Your American culture seems very superficial, where is the substance?" the aliens asked irritated

 "Well" I said, "It’s not that superficial, that’s just what’s on TV.

 A lot of us are just focused on the superficial main stream pop culture that we see on TV, but that doesn’t make all Americans superficial. I know America is much more than that, we just loose site of who we really are sometimes, which are free, proud people."

 "Oh," said the aliens, "Now we understand". 

Then they loaded back onto there huge mother-ship that looked like a metal meteorite and vanished like a beam of light fading into the darkness.

Kendale Johnson

Last night the strangest thing happened. Two Martians landed in my back yard and asked me to describe America to them.

That said, “We believe the only true way to understand a civilization or society is to ask those at the bottom.”

"I’m not at the bottom–I’m middle class" as all Americans love to say–but then I realized what they really meant.

“ Being a person of color, due to the melanin in my skin, American is a gray area to me. I am never sure how my day will go because I am not viewed or treated as a full citizen. 

In the Constitution, my people were written in as fraction of a whole person–three-fifths to be exact. Being a minority, freedom is only an idea.”

Emmett Till Murder

Never Go Back South

Or To Neighborhoods "You Don't Belong In"

Murders Will Get Off On Bail

Never Go Anyway. It's Not Safe

(The cops were acquitted of all charges.)

 America Is A Contradiction

Don't Believe In The Horatio Alger Myth