Monthly Archives: February 2022

I personally am into two different genres of music: rap and country. This specific wild song is a rap song though. The song is titled “Crazy Story” by King Von. King Von, former name Dayvon Daquon Bennet, is a rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He is affiliated with the gang O Block based out of Chicago. He was born and raised in the Chicago “hood,” yet he died in Atlanta, Georgia in a shootout when he was only 26 years old. This song was released only 2 years before King Von was shot and killed. 

This song is a true story about one of his friends who was attempting to rob someone and ended up shooting him. King Von tells the story from his friend’s point of view. The wildest part about the song is that it is actually true and goes into precise detail. He lays out the plan in his lyrics that this girl is going to meet up with the victim and lure him to the spot where the robbery is going to take place. The audience can tell he is rich because Von says that “he got bricks plus his neck is icy and it match his wrist.” This means he has a lot of money and a lot of diamond jewelry. She goes into his car to distract him, and the robber “sneak up, crouching like a tiger.” He then rose to the window, and “hit one in his arm, hit one in his thigh.” This means he shot both his arm and leg. This story is truly wild because of the precise detail of the plan and the actual crime.

-Major Wheless

Posted by FIFA’s official Youtube account, the highlight reel of soccer player Abby Wambach, a past striker of the US Women’s National Team, demonstrates the “wildness” of women’s soccer and the dynamic of the game. In the video, Wambach can be seen scoring goals during the Women’s World Cup with not only her feet, but also her head. The pure athleticism needed to maneuver and jump higher than a crowd of defenders while making contact with a ball shot at 70 mph reflects the “vicious” competitiveness women’s soccer players have.

The sport itself is played across both genders and has the same set of rules- 2 teams of 11 are challenged to score against their opposition while also defending their goal and being aware of penalties/fouls. In the Women’s World Cup, a globally televised soccer tournament, the players consist of women from 32 countries, “communicating” their excellence at the sport through athleticism and teamwork. Although the crowd of soccer fans spectating, whether in the stadium or watching from a streaming device, consists of all generations and genders, a target audience of women’s soccer is the population of young girls watching who play or would like to play the sport. Even though the rules of the game are identical across genders, women who play soccer are commonly perceived as less capable, skilled, and athletic compared to their male counterparts. Statistics-wise, lesser advertisement, endorsements, and public interest makes it difficult for this perception of women’s soccer to be countered. Accordingly, female professional soccer players take on the responsibility of showcasing their talents and encouraging young girls to do the same. Playing soccer up until the age of 16, I myself idolized players like Abby Wambach and would sit in awe while watching the USWNT play. After carefully studying the playing styles and fitness of female players, I believe the downplay of women’s soccer is unjust. The physicality and tricks of the sport contribute to the standard definition of “wildness”, whereas the aspect of women showing elevated athleticism is “wild” by breaking expectations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwlnU-yo89I

Vivian Nguyen

A “wild” song I decided to comment about is called “Young, Wild and Free” by Wiz Khalifa, Snoop Dogg, and features Bruno Mars. This song is considered to be Pop-rap and was released in 2011. The song was successful and was in the top ten in several categories, including being number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. To add, it was nominated in the Grammy awards in 2013 and received most performed song award in Pop Music Awards. The single also became popular in France, Switzerland, Australia, and many more. The song talks about drinking, smoking, and partying.

One lyric that stands out goes as:

“We’re just having fun
We don’t care who sees

so what we go out

that’s how it’s supposed to be

living young, wild, and free.”

Typically, “wild” is described as something relating to the wilderness, however, they use “wild” as a means of freedom. Drinking, smoking, and partying is viewed as irresponsible and is illegal at the age of 17. However, I believe they use “wild” as going against society and its rules and to be “free”. Being free means to enjoy yourself and not worrying about the repercussions of your actions. The song describes these actions as “wild” because society views it as such, but they see it as having fun. The song is about being young and “having fun” by partying. It is living out your “teenage years” by having fun because that’s the way it “should” be.

On a different note, I remember hearing this song when it got popular and loving it. I didn’t know what the song was about, but it made me feel good and alive. Hearing it now gives me a “nostalgic feeling” of being younger and being free, even though I wasn’t partying or doing anything.  Now listening to it at my age, I can understand the meaning behind it. I can relate to feeling “wild” and crazy after having fun and being stress-free.

The video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wa5B22KAkEk

-Jaileen Gutierrez

The specific sports branch I am going to focus on is American Football. Despite what some may think, there are leagues for both men and women. The goal of football is to score the most points through field goals or touchdowns of the oval-shaped ball called “football.” There are eleven players per side that have different positions, and depending on that, they work together to ultimately win the game. While both genders play this sport, there are some crucial differences. Women play on a field that is half the size of the typical men’s football field, they use a smaller ball due to the stereotype that women have smaller hands than men, and women are dressed more provocative and showy compared to men. While both men and women are playing the same sport, men’s football has gained more fan attention and awareness. Men’s football is mainly focused on the skill, speed, and overall athlete abilities while women’s football leagues tend to show off more of the “sexy” side. 

Through both of these videos, it is obvious both men and women show intensity and the want to win, but there are many different gender dynamics happening within both leagues. Men tend to be more aggressive and violent compared to women, celebrations after touchdowns are different, and men tend to show more speed and skill compared to women teams. Also, it is understood by the pure number ratio of fans coming to games that men’s football is more popular and tend to “sell out” more compared to women’s games where seats are often empty. I believe football is not considered wild, but the type of player, the way they play, and the way they can interact and make fans in the stands react can make a football game seem wild regardless of gender. Both the links to female football highlights and male football highlights are listed below: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxYW4n_cy30

~Audrey Wines

Gymnastics is a sport that displays strong coordination, physical agility, and flexibility of the people involved. This modern sport is divided between men and women, requiring them to compete with varying exercises. For women, gymnastics typically involves the floor, the vaulting horse, the balance beam, and uneven bars. For men, gymnastics typically involves the floor, rings, pommel horse, horizontal bars, and parallel bars. The players in this sport are the gymnasts, competing either on the individual level or in groups of teams. The communicators in this sport are the personal coaches that choreograph the gymnasts’ routines, select music for their floor exercises, as well as observe and spot the athletes as they preform their routines on the different apparatuses.

The internal gender dynamics of gymnastics are first seen within the audience. Women’s gymnastics is much more popular than men’s because there is more than twice as much people watching it. As a result, there is also a much higher level of participation in women’s gymnastics compared to men’s, making this sport predominately female. There aren’t many rules in gymnastics as there are in other sports. If the gymnast messes up their routine, falls, or looses balance, they get a certain amount of points deducted. This could eliminate them from moving onto the next level in the competition. My personal views on the interplay of sports and gender is that I love how the gymnastics industry is still mainly run by powerful and strong women. When most popular sports are male-dominated, it’s nice to see some female representation thats lets us have “our own thing” to be proud of, like Simone Biles winning a total of 32 Olympic and World Championship medals. Wildness in this sport means small female gymnasts are defying the laws of gravity by flying up so high in the air and doing multiple flips simultaneously. 

Katsiaryna Aliashkevich

Rugby is a team, contact sport that started in England and is played by both men and women. Many people in America see it akin to American football given the tackling and more contact oriented nature of the sport, however, it is a completely separate entity. Oftentimes, heavy contact sports are mostly played by men. For example, American football and the NFL is a huge organization whose players are composed of men. This is why, as someone who has grown up watching American football, it is quite impressive to see women playing rugby with the same intensity and even more strength than an American football player. In the matches, you can see the agility, speed, and power in the movements and tackles and the true brutal nature of the sport. There is a lot less protective gear than one would expect given the style. The audience is most likely of both genders as with any major sport, but has more male spectators. Women’s rugby like many women’s sports is often underappreciated and underlooked. There is less funding and less turnout despite a team’s success. The violence and power in the sport display unconventional gender dynamics as women are traditionally expected to be calmer and more graceful. I believe that one’s gender should not limit or affect the sports or the behavior they choose to engage in. Conventional behaviors that fit gender norms can be quite restrictive and can possibly hinder the potential of an individual. It was very cool to watch various clips of women’s rugby and see these traditional expectations be demolished. The concept of wild is depicted in this sport simply due to the sheer violence with the tackles and the amazing athleticism of each woman on the team.

Basketball is a team sport composed of two teams, with 5 players each. It is played in a court and the goal is to defend your hoop while trying to shoot in the opponent’s hoop. These rules apply to both women’s basketball and men’s basketball. However, in women’s basketball, there are some differences. For example, the size of the women’s basketball is one inch smaller than the men’s basketball. The reason for this is because women’s hands are generally smaller than men and having a smaller ball is easier. Another difference is that the women’s three-point line is closer to the basket than men’s. In most games, men tend to score more and are typically taller, so the three-point line is farther. Both women’s basketball and men’s basketball have been around for the same time. However, men’s basketball, or specially, the NBA, has grown to become more popular.

In both of these videos, we can see the intensity between the teams. I decided to show both men’s and women’s basketball to show the difference. Although the sport is played the same in both genders, they have different gender dynamics. Men’s basketball is more popular and is considered to be better than women’s. To add, players are more violent and creative. Watching the two games, the audience can tell the difference in skill and technique. Men are able to dunk more than women and typically score more. They also learn more ball skills and tricks and display it during games. Violent outburst does happen in women’s basketball but is more common in men’s. They can get aggressive and serious during a game and show more intensity. Both genders are able to play basketball, but men’s basketball acquires more audience and fame. Typically, basketball isn’t seemed as a “wild” sport, but men’s basketball is more aggressive and intense and can sometimes be viewed as such.

Jaileen Gutierrez

A film that I consider wild is Midsommar, which was released recently in July, 2019. The director of this film was Ari Aster, he was also the director of another popular horror film, Hereditary. Some popular cast members in Midsommar were Florence Pugh, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, Isabelle Grill, Björn Andrésen, William Jackson Harper, and Vilhelm Blomgren. The theme of this movie is essentially a woman’s emotional journey towards leaving a toxic relationship as well as the severe importance of tradition in certain cultures. To give a synopsis of Midsommar, a couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural town’s celebration of the mid-summer festival. What begins as an ideal retreat quickly evolves into a violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.

A specific scene from Midsommar that best reflects the film’s wildness would have to be the graphic ritual suicide scene in the middle of the movie. In this scene an elderly man and woman voluntarily threw themselves off a cliff onto stones. Although this bloody ritual completely terrified the tourists, it was a conventional custom for the natives. Rather than let themselves become a burden to the community, the elders would throw themselves off the cliff as a sacrifice. I thought this film was wild because it went so in-depth into the savage cultural practices of an Amish cult in Sweden. This is just one the the many wild scenes in this film because in our western society this kind of ritual would be considered horrific since we tend to throw our elders into nursing homes instead of off cliffs. 

Katsiaryna Aliashkevich

The dictionary defines the word “wild” as something that resides or grows in the nature. A “wild” environment is said to be uncultivated or uninhabited. An animal is considered “wild” if it is not domesticated and lives in the previously described wild region. Another dictionary explains that wild things are produced without any help from people. Being “wild” is described as being in a free state of natural existence. Since the term “wild” means uncontrolled, it can also be used to refer to something violent, extreme, or unusual. Things that are considered wild typically lack restraints and are left in their instinctive state. In addition, a “wild” idea could be described as something irrational or unrealistic.

Personally, I have always considered something wild to be free in a sense. Free from society’s standards and expectations, free to do as the natural feelings desire. Wild animals, for example, tend to roam wherever their epigenetic traits lead them. While domesticated animals are tied to their owner and the designated living space the owner has provided for them. I interpret “the wild” as being a natural environment far away from cities, towns, and civilization in general. The word “wild” could also describe people that tend to be carefree or unhinged, they are generally more impulsive and engage in risky behavior. As an adjective, wild can also illustrate situations that are chaotic and uncontrolled. People often describe going to the club or a concert as a “wild night out”. However, the most mundane people will still call themselves “wild”, so this word has its own definition for everyone at the end of the day.

Katsiaryna Aliashkevich