essay draft #2

Al-Rodhan (2006, pp. 4-5) defines globalisation as a process "that has been impacting communities, cultures, and economies for hundreds of years. It is a result of the transnational and transcultural integration that have occurred globally." This phenomenon is not totally new, but it has occurred for the past few decades, in particular Americanisation. The American culture has successfully spread and influenced other foreign cultures through various platforms, mainly through its film industry. Thus, American values has accumulated, concentrated and transformed the Malay film industry in Southeast Asia (SEA) region, influencing Malaysia films.

Hollywood films are being showcased worldwide and the industry has vast expanded over the years. The high quality of its plot, cinematography and production line has resulted in a constant demand for Hollywood films in the international market. The Malay culture in SEA has been exposed and influenced by the sexual and violent characteristic of Hollywood films. This has resulted in mixed reaction among the Malay community on a moral basis that compromises the acceptance of certain cultural practice or action that contains traits of the American culture, derived from Hollywood films. With sex and violence, two components that are highly associated with American films in general, Malay conservatives showed concern and distress towards these traits that is seen as deteriorating the Malay values, which is shaped by Islamic beliefs. The exposure of American culture is inevitable with the creation of Internet and social media platforms which have enabled Hollywood news and gossips to be known easily and vastly. Various websites that is dedicated to Hollywood news like 'hollywoodlife.com', 'accesshollywood.com' and the likes of video sharing websites such as 'YouTube' has allowed the American film industry to mark its presence more distinctly. Transcultural integration has made American cultures being adopted and adapted after constant exposure through numerous American films. 

A survey conducted has shown that seventy-five percent of Americans felt that television had too much sexually explicit material (Anderson, 2007). Hooberman (2011), a clinical psychologist, states that sex and violence are intertwined, interrelated in some form that makes them a unit. With almost all American films contains some scenes of nudity at some part of the movie, this creates some sexual arousal that grabs audiences to view the film. As such, the Malay film industry of SEA has been bold in its concept and plot. More sexual intimate scenes are now seen in Malay films such as 'Bohsia' and 'Sepet', compared to the films in the olden days in the 1950’s to 1980’s where sex is viewed as a taboo topic. Thus Malay films usually constraint from having sex scenes which are deemed immoral. The concept of including some sex scene in films could be seen as trending. Furthermore, American films that portray violence in sensational outline have influenced Malay film producers to make more gangster theme movies. The rise of ‘KL Gangster', which was one of the first Malaysian-made films to reach the collection point of 10.3 million in local cinemas, is a prominent example (“KL Gangster,” 2013). The plot follows the basic outline of a Hollywood Action movie that has exaggerated scenes of violence. Critics have sparked an outcry of new Malay films that are trending to follow their Hollywood counterpart, contrary to the subtle nature of the Malay culture through the portrayal of violence and sex in the plot.

Various measures have been done to ensure the public viewed filtered content of Malay films that are controversial, such as the setting up of the Film Censorship Board. This board of censorship is responsible for rating each Malay film that is produced. Each movie will be strictly reviewed to ensure appropriate rating with regards to the content of the movie, preventing unnecessary controversies. As such, the rating of 18SG and 18SX informs viewer of some violent and sexual elements respectively (“Film Classification,” 2012). This will create awareness, especially to parents, on deciding the suitability and expected content of films that their children will be exposed to. The Film Censorship Board has been a success, whereby their rating of a Malay movie is reflective of its content. This has force the production team to re-edit their film to suit the guidelines made for suitable viewing. However, this has not hindered some films to refrain from producing sex and violence themed movies. The board of censorship is not able to impose strict restriction to Malay producers to hinder them from producing such movies. Furthermore, the production team needs to think of profit and publicity for each film and they need to produce films that have high interest from the public. Eventually, sex and violence has now developed into a common trait of Malay films in this 21st century.

The Malay culture in SEA has certainly been affected and influenced greatly by American media, which has now produced Malay films that mimicked and moulded from American films. Integration of culture through film is highly influential as the film is a form of culture that is easily received and accepted. We can filter out the negative values with certain acts but inevitably, the liberty of cultural adaptation has produced cultural products of mixed values.

References 

Al-Rodhan, N. (2006, June 19). Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition (pp. 4-5). Retrieved October 7, 2013, from Sustainablehistory Web site: www.sustainablehistory.com/articles/definitions-of-globalization.pdf

Anderson, K. (2007, March 4). Sex and Violence on Television - A Christian Worldview Perspective. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4217947/k.37E8/Sex_and_Violence_on_Television.htm 

Film Classification. (2012). Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Ministry of Home Affairs Web Site: http://www.moha.gov.my/index.php/en/lpf-klasifikasi-filem

Hooberman, J. (2011, May 6). Bloodlust in America: Sex and Violence are Comfortable Bedfellows. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://hypervocal.com/culture/2011/bloodlust-in-america-sex-and-violence-are-comfortable-bedfellows/

KL Gangster. (2013). In Wikipedia online. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KL_Gangster

Essay 1d

Al-Rodhan (2006, pp. 4-5) defines globalisation as a process "that has been impacting communities, cultures, and economies for hundreds of years. It is a result of the transnational and transcultural integration that have occurred globally." This phenomenon is not totally new, but it has occurred for the past few decades, in particular Americanisation. The American culture has successfully spread and influenced other foreign cultures through various platforms, mainly through its film industry. Thus, American values has accumulated, concentrated and transformed the Malay film industry in Southeast Asia (SEA) region, influencing Malaysia films.

Hollywood films are being showcased worldwide and the industry has vast expanded over the years. The high quality of its plot, cinematography and production line has resulted in a constant demand for Hollywood films in the international market. The Malay culture in SEA has been exposed and influenced by the sexual and violent characteristic of Hollywood films. This has resulted in mixed reaction among the Malay community on a moral basis that compromises the acceptance of certain cultural practice or action that contains traits of the American culture, derived from Hollywood films. With sex and violence, two components that are highly associated with American films in general, Malay conservatives showed concern and distress towards these traits that is seen as deteriorating the Malay values, which is shaped by Islamic beliefs. The exposure of American culture is inevitable with the creation of Internet and social media platforms which have enabled Hollywood news and gossips to be known easily and vastly. Various websites that is dedicated to Hollywood news like 'hollywoodlife.com', 'accesshollywood.com' and the likes of video sharing websites such as 'YouTube' has allowed the American film industry to mark its presence more distinctly. Transcultural integration has made American cultures being adopted and adapted after constant exposure through numerous American films. 

A survey conducted has shown that seventy-five percent of Americans felt that television had too much sexually explicit material (Anderson, 2007). Hooberman (2011), a clinical psychologist, states that sex and violence are intertwined, interrelated in some form that makes them a unit. With almost all American films contains some scenes of nudity at some part of the movie, this creates some sexual arousal that grabs audiences to view the film. As such, the Malay film industry of SEA has been bold in its concept and plot. More sexual intimate scenes are now seen in Malay films such as 'Bohsia' and 'Sepet', compared to the films in the olden days in the 1950’s to 1980’s where sex is viewed as a taboo topic. Thus Malay films usually constraint from having sex scenes which are deemed immoral. The concept of including some sex scene in films could be seen as trending. Furthermore, American films that portray violence in sensational outline have influenced Malay film producers to make more gangster theme movies. The rise of ‘KL Gangster', which was one of the first Malaysian-made films to reach the collection point of 10.3 million in local cinemas, is a prominent example (“KL Gangster,” 2013). The plot follows the basic outline of a Hollywood Action movie that has exaggerated scenes of violence. Critics have sparked an outcry of new Malay films that are trending to follow their Hollywood counterpart, contrary to the subtle nature of the Malay culture through the portrayal of violence and sex in the plot.

Various measures have been done to ensure the public viewed filtered content of Malay films that are controversial, such as the setting up of the Film Censorship Board. This board of censorship is responsible for rating each Malay film that is produced. Each movie will be strictly reviewed to ensure appropriate rating with regards to the content of the movie, preventing unnecessary controversies. As such, the rating of 18SG and 18SX informs viewer of some violent and sexual elements respectively (“Film Classification,” 2012). This will create awareness, especially to parents, on deciding the suitability and expected content of films that their children will be exposed to. The Film Censorship Board has been a success, whereby their rating of a Malay movie is reflective of its content. This has force the production team to re-edit their film to suit the guidelines made for suitable viewing. However, this has not hindered some films to refrain from producing sex and violence themed movies. The board of censorship are not able to impose strict restriction to Malay producers to hinder them from producing such movies. Furthermore, the production team needs to think of profit and publicity for each film and they need to produce films that have high interest from the public. Eventually, sex and violence has now developed into a common trait of Malay films in this 21st century.

The Malay culture in SEA has certainly been affected and influenced greatly by American media, which has now produced Malay films that mimicked and moulded from American films. Integration of culture through film is highly influential as the film is a form of culture that is easily received and accepted. We can filter out the negative values with certain acts but inevitably, the liberty of cultural adaptation has produced cultural products of mixed values.

References 

Al-Rodhan, N. (2006, June 19). Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition (pp. 4-5). Retrieved October 7, 2013, from Sustainablehistory Web site: www.sustainablehistory.com/articles/definitions-of-globalization.pdf

Anderson, K. (2007, March 4). Sex and Violence on Television - A Christian Worldview Perspective. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4217947/k.37E8/Sex_and_Violence_on_Television.htm 

Film Classification. (2012). Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Ministry of Home Affairs Web Site: http://www.moha.gov.my/index.php/en/lpf-klasifikasi-filem

Hooberman, J. (2011, May 6). Bloodlust in America: Sex and Violence are Comfortable Bedfellows. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://hypervocal.com/culture/2011/bloodlust-in-america-sex-and-violence-are-comfortable-bedfellows/

KL Gangster. (2013). In Wikipedia online. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KL_Gangster

Full essay~ 1c

Al-Rodhan (2006, pp. 4-5) defines globalisation as a process "that has been impacting communities, cultures, and economies for hundreds of years. It is a result of the transnational and transcultural integration that have occurred globally." This phenomenon is not totally new, but it has occurred for the past few decades, in particular Americanisation. The American culture has successfully spread and influenced other foreign cultures through various platforms, mainly through its film industry. Thus, American values has accumulated, concentrated and transformed the Malay film industry in Southeast Asia (SEA) region, influencing Malaysia films.

Hollywood films are being showcased worldwide and the industry has vast expanded over the years. The high quality of its plot, cinematography and production line has resulted in a constant demand for Hollywood films in the international market. The Malay culture in SEA has been exposed and influenced by the sexual and violent characteristic of Hollywood films. This has resulted in mixed reaction among the Malay community on a moral basis that compromises the acceptance of certain cultural practice or action that contains traits of the American culture, derived from Hollywood films. With sex and violence, two components that are highly associated with American films in general, Malay conservatives showed concern and distress towards these traits that is seen as deteriorating the Malay values, which is shaped by Islamic beliefs. The exposure of American culture is inevitable with the creation of Internet and social media platforms which have enabled Hollywood news and gossips to be known easily and vastly. Various websites that is dedicated to Hollywood news like 'hollywoodlife.com', 'accesshollywood.com' and the likes of video sharing websites such as 'YouTube' has allowed the American film industry to mark its presence more distinctly. Transcultural integration has made American cultures being adopted and adapted after constant exposure through numerous American films. 

A survey conducted has shown that seventy-five percent of Americans felt that television had too much sexually explicit material (Anderson, 2007). Hooberman (2011), a clinical psychologist, states that sex and violence are intertwined, interrelated in some form that makes them a unit. With almost all American films contains some scenes of nudity at some part of the movie, this creates some sexual arousal that grabs audiences to view the film. As such, the Malay film industry of SEA has been bold in its concept and plot. More sexual intimate scenes are now seen in Malay films such as 'Bohsia' and 'Sepet', compared to the films in the olden days in the 1950’s to 1980’s where sex is viewed as a taboo topic. Thus Malay films usually constraint from having sex scenes which are deemed immoral. The concept of including some sex scene in films could be seen as trending. Furthermore, American films that portray violence in sensational outline have influenced Malay film producers to make more gangster theme movies. The rise of ‘KL Gangster', which was one of the first Malaysian-made films to reach the collection point of 10.3 million in local cinemas, is a prominent example (“KL Gangster,” 2013). The plot follows the basic outline of a Hollywood Action movie that has exaggerated scenes of violence. Critics have sparked an outcry of new Malay films that are trending to follow their Hollywood counterpart, contrary to the subtle nature of the Malay culture through the portrayal of violence and sex in the plot.

Various measures have been done to ensure the public viewed filtered content of Malay films that are controversial, such as the setting up of the Film Censorship Board. This board of censorship is responsible for rating each Malay film that is produced. Each movie will be strictly reviewed to ensure appropriate rating with regards to the content of the movie, preventing unnecessary controversies. As such, the rating of 18SG and 18SX informs viewer of some violent and sexual elements respectively (“Film Classification,” 2012). This will create awareness, especially to parents, on deciding the suitability and expected content of films that their children will be exposed to. The Film Censorship Board has been a success, whereby their rating of a Malay movie is reflective of its content. This has force the production team to re-edit their film to suit the guidelines made for suitable viewing. However, this has not hindered some films to refrain from producing sex and violence themed movies. The board of censorship are not able to impose strict restriction to Malay producers to hinder them from producing such movies. Furthermore, the production team needs to think of profit and publicity for each film and they need to produce films that have high interest from the public. Eventually, sex and violence has now developed into a common trait of Malay films in this 21st century.

The Malay culture in SEA has certainly been affected and influenced greatly by American media, which has now produced Malay films that mimicked and moulded from American films. Integration of culture through film is highly influential as the film is a form of culture that is easily received and accepted. We can filter out the negative values with certain acts but inevitably, the liberty of cultural adaptation has produced cultural products of mixed values.

References 

Al-Rodhan, N. (2006, June 19). Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition (pp. 4-5). Retrieved October 7, 2013, from Sustainablehistory Web site: www.sustainablehistory.com/articles/definitions-of-globalization.pdf

Anderson, K. (2007, March 4). Sex and Violence on Television - A Christian Worldview Perspective. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4217947/k.37E8/Sex_and_Violence_on_Television.htm 

Film Classification. (2012). Retrieved October 13, 2013, from Ministry of Home Affairs Web Site: http://www.moha.gov.my/index.php/en/lpf-klasifikasi-filem

Hooberman, J. (2011, May 6). Bloodlust in America: Sex and Violence are Comfortable Bedfellows. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://hypervocal.com/culture/2011/bloodlust-in-america-sex-and-violence-are-comfortable-bedfellows/

KL Gangster. (2013). In Wikipedia online. Retrieved October 12, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KL_Gangster

Full Essay ~ #1a

Globalisation can be defined as the increasing cross-border interaction and integration of various aspects of human activity. Based on this view of globalisation, identify one problematic area of the phenomenon and discuss its influence on contemporary society. What actual or possible means are there to ameliorate the issue you have highlighted?

a.  Description of a situation

Al-Rodhan (2006) defines globalisation as a process "that has been impacting communities, cultures, and economies for hundreds of years. It is a result of the transnational and transcultural integrations that have occurred globally throughout human history." This phenomenon is not totally a new idea, but it has occurred for the past few decades, in particular Americanisation. American has successfully been widespread that it has accumulated, concentrated and to an extent transform foreign culture in Southeast Asia (SEA). 

b.  Identification of a problem

The Malay culture in SEA has been exposed and influenced by the sexual and violent characteristic of American films. This has resulted in a mixed reaction among the Malays of Singapore on a moral basis that compromises the acceptance of certain cultural practice or action that contains traits of the American culture. The exposure of American culture is inevitable with the creation of Internet and social media platforms which have enabled Hollywood news and gossips to be known easily and vastly. Various websites that is dedicated to Hollywood news like 'hollywoodlife.com', 'accesshollywood.com' and the likes of video sharing websites such as 'Youtube' has allowed American film industry to venture into worldwide market. With sex and violence, two components that are highly associated with American films in general, transcultural integration is one main factor made these American culture influencing Malay culture, through adaptation.

A survey conducted has show that seventy-five percent of Americans felt that television had too much sexually explicit material (Anderson, 2007). Joshua Hooberman (2011), a clinical psychologist, states that sex and violence are intertwined, interrelated in some form that makes them a unit, that gets attention and commotion. With almost all American  films contains some scenes of nudity at some part of the movie, this creates some sexual arousal that grabs audiences to view the film. As such, the Malay film industry of SEA has been bold in its concept and plot. More 'sexual intimate' scenes are now seen in Malay films such as 'Bohsia', and 'Sepet'. The concept of including some sex scene in films is trending. Furthermore, American films that portray violence in sensational storyline has influenced Malay film producers to make gangster theme movies. The rise of 'KL Gangster' which was one of the first Malaysian-made films to reach the collection point of 10 million RM in local cinemas, is one prominent example. The storyline follows the basic outline of an Hollywood Action movie, that has exaggerated scenes of violence. Critics has sparked an outcry of these new Malay films are trending to follow the Hollywood, which deteriorates the innocent and subtle nature of the Malay community through violence and sex portrayed in Malay local films.    

 

 c.  Description of a solution

Varies measures has been done to ensure the public viewed filtered content of Malay films that are deem acceptable, such as the setting up of the board of film censorship. This board of censorship is responsible for rating each Malay film that is produced and reviewed, before they hit the cinemas, to prevent public controversies. Thus, each film will be rated to inform the public of the age restriction that is associated with the movie. This will create an awareness, especially to parents, on deciding the films that their children will view. 

d.  Evaluation of the solution

On a general consensus, the board of censorship has been a success, whereby their rating of a Malay movie is reflective of its content. However, on main constraint will be that the Internet has allowed any films to be made available online. Thus, children that are underage to view certain movie are able to view them on online website such as 'Youtube' or 'Dailymotion'. The Malay culture in SEA has certainly been affected and influenced greatly by American media, which has now produced Malay products that mimics some form of America values.

References.

Al-Rodhan, N. (2006, June 19). Definitions of Globalization: A Comprehensive Overview and a Proposed Definition. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from Sustainablehistory Web site: www.sustainablehistory.com/articles/definitions-of-globalization.pdf

Anderson, K. (2007, March 4). Sex and Violence on Television - A Christian Worldview Perspective. Retrieved October 8, 2013, from www.probe.org/site/c.fdKEIMNsEoG/b.4217947/k.37E8/Sex_and_Violence_on_Television.htm

Hooberman, J. (2011, May 6). Bloodlust in America: Sex and Violence are Comfortable Bedfellows. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from http://hypervocal.com/culture/2011/bloodlust-in-america-sex-and-violence-are-comfortable-bedfellows/

Final Draft- Reader's Response to 'Globalization of Culture Through the Media'

In the article ‘Globalization of Culture Through the Media’, Marwan M. Kraidy (2002) explores the different factors that has led to culture hybridization. He points out that the role of media as a major factor has influenced global cultures greatly. The changes transforming world culture was so significant that it prompted a worldwide debate on the issue.

 

Kraidy’s (2002) arguments on how the impact of globalization of the media was interesting as he raised both perspectives of the positives and negatives effect it had on culture. He was critical in his argument by isolating American values as the most influential among other Western values. This is not surprising as the United States (US) was the most influential and powerful nation during the era where globalization started to emerge and widespread (Kraidy 2002).

 

Kraidy’s (2002) perspective on cultural hybridisation explains how globalization and localization are two dynamic factors that interplay, resulting in the creation of hybrid values that is a mixture of traditional and cultural forms. In today’s modern world, we cannot deny the fact that American culture has been adopted in most cultures today. From the diversity of fields of filmography(Hollywood), food, and fashion, just to name some, are some examples of American culture being blend into locals’ culture, creating fusion by-products in an international scale. From fashion branded items such as Calvin Klein apparels or designers’ bags and accessories of Tony Burch (Doran 2012), the global market are trending towards American goods.

 

One of reasons that allowed the American culture be exposed and known to a large audience internationally is due to the Internet and media. It has been recognized that “global media and information technologies have substantially increased contacts between cultures, both in terms of intensity and of the speed with which these two contacts occur” (Kraidy 2002). This statement is highly true when Internet shopping websites are a plenty nowadays like asos.com, where anyone from the world are able to buy American products with just a click of a button. The Internet has revolutionized the way we receive and retrieve information, and online shopping enables individuals to adopt American culture, like fashion, with ease as boundaries are eliminated with globalization.

 

The debate on culture and media is an on-going process, where the complexities of the issue are very much subjective. However, there is no denial of how the media and the Internet have helped to boost the awareness of American culture through online information where it is highly accessible. We need to be aware of the constraint of a hybridized culture, where there is limitation to a certain degree of the acceptance of American values that should not contradict our own culture. The consequences of an imbalanced mixed is inevitable as there is no universal indicator that control individual liberty of choice.         

 

References:

Doran, S. 2012. The Most Searched For American Fashion Brands in the World. [ONLINE] Available at: http://luxurysociety.com/articles/2012/10/the-most-searched-for-american-fashion-brands-in-the-world. [Accessed 18 September 13]

Kraidy, Marwan M. 2002. 'Globalization of Culture Through the Media. [ONLINE] Available at: http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1333&context=asc_papers. [Accessed 18 September 13].

#1 Draft- Reader's Response to 'Globalization of Culture Through the Media'

In the article ‘Globalization of Culture Through the Media’, Marwan M. Kraidy (2002) explores the different factors that has led to culture hybridisation. He pointed out that the role of media as a major factor that influenced global cultures greatly. The changes transforming world culture was so significant that it prompted a worldwide debate on the issue.

 

Kraidy’s (2002) arguments on how the impact of globalization of the media was interesting as he raised both perspectives of the positives and negatives effect it had on culture. He was critical in his argument by isolating American values as the most influential among other Western values. This is not surprising as the United States (US) was the most influential and powerful nation during the era where globalization started to emerge and widespread.

 

Kraidy’s (2002) perspective on cultural hybridisation explains how globalization and localization are 2 dynamic factors that interplay, resulting in the creation of hybrid values that mixed traditional and cultural forms. In today’s modern world, we cannot deny the fact that American culture has been adopted in most cultures today. From the diversity of fields from movies (Hollywood), food, and fashion, just to name some, internationally American values are in some way or another being blend into locals’ culture, creating fusion by-products. From fashion branded items such as Calvin Klein apparels or designers’ bags and accessories of Tony Burch (Doran 2012), the global market are trending towards American goods.

 

One of reasons that allowed the American culture be exposed and known to a large audience internationally is due to the Internet and media. It has been recognised that “global media and information technologies have substantially increased contacts between cultures, both in terms of intensity and of the speed with which these two contacts occur” (Kraidy 2002). This statement is highly true when internet shopping websites are a plenty nowadays like asos.com, where anyone from the world are able to buy American products with just a click of a button. The Internet has revolutionised on how we receive and retrieve information, and online shopping enables individuals to adopt American fashion with ease as boundaries are eliminated with globalization.

 

The debate on culture and media is an on-going process, where the complexities of the issue are very much subjective. However, there is no denial of how the media and the Internet have helped to boost the awareness of American culture through online information where it is highly accessible. We ourselves need to be aware of the constraint of a hybridised culture, where there is limitation to a certain degree of the acceptance of American values that should not contradict our own culture. The consequences of an imbalanced mixed is inevitable as there is no universal indicator that control individual liberty of choice.         

 

References:

Doran, S. 2012. The Most Searched For American Fashion Brands in the World. [ONLINE] Available at: http://luxurysociety.com/articles/2012/10/the-most-searched-for-american-fashion-brands-in-the-world. [Accessed 18 September 13]

Kraidy, Marwan M.. 2002. 'Globalization of Culture Through the Media. [ONLINE] Available at: http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1333&context=asc_papers. [Accessed 18 September 13]. 

Useful Help- variation of words

Response Reading Help: Instead of "Jones says," you can use:

said	concludes	defines
explains	elucidates	repeats
tells us	reports	argues
deduces	analyzes	suggests
warns	advises	investigates
asks	points out	comments
agrees	inimated	implies
hints	proposes	informs
quips	questions	denies
reassures us	demands	declares
remarks	relates	mentions
cautions	reveals	objects
insists	chides	pleads

credits:

taken from http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Write-a-Reading-Response-Essay