Final Meta-Post

It's hard to believe that the school year is coming to a close. This year, I have produced many a blog post, and it is really cool to see my progress as a writer and a blogger. More importantly, I believe that my ability to connect what goes on in the classroom to American culture is much stronger than it was at the beginning of the year.

Particularly, I feel that my post organization has bettered throughout the year. I usually have so many thoughts running through my head that I just type everything I am thinking without showing empathy for my reader. My latest blog posts have been considerably more organized and broken up from point to point so that readers of my blog have a chance to take in everything I write and make a meaningful response. One thing that I would like to have done more was to reply to the comments made on my posts. I think that blogs are meaningless without enough communication from both the reader and the writer.

I personally think that my post titled, Class Markers in the US, was my strongest post this quarter because I was able to connect a classroom discussion to a personal experience better than any other post I made.

As for my future as a blogger, my American Studies experience has lead me in a good direction and I hope that I will continue to grow as a blogger!

Spend like it's 1929

The other day in class we looked at some advertisements from the 1920's. We noticed that they were remarkably similar to advertisements today because they are economy oriented. One particular quote from Henry Ford showed how focused many companies in the 20's were on boosting the economy. The Ford automobile slogan was "Buy a Ford, Spend the Difference," which was not only convincing consumers to purchase Ford cars, but convincing them to spend money in general.

Today, our economy is obviously not doing too well, and experts predict that the most effective way to boost our economy is for the American people to spend more money. This mentality is very similar to what we saw in the 1920s.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/13/obamas-push-for-spending-to-boost-economy-gets-mixed-reaction/

This article discusses Obama's push for spending and the mixed reaction it has received by the public.
Do you agree with Obama? Should we spend more money to help fix our economy?

Watching Movies

The other day in class we talked about how our class watched Citizen Kane. Our teachers noticed that, for the most part, there was constant chatter among classmates while the movie was playing. I noticed this too, and I certainly participated in the chatter. We decided that the reason we conversed during the movie was because of the way films are "viewed" today. Today, movies are accessible on TV, the internet, iPods, and in theaters. Because we are surrounded by movies in the media, they have become less sacred to our generation. Some people in the class mentioned that when they watch movies at home, they prefer to work on something else because it would waste too much time to devote their entire attention on just the movie. Watching movies, in a sense, has become a lot like watching television; you don't have to watch it all in one sitting or with complete silence. Because movies are so accessible, they can be watched anywhere while doing anything. When you go to the theater, there is an entirely different atmosphere. The crowd watching SHOULD be quiet, and devoting their attention to the movie. For me, I like to watch movies with this atmosphere, and I would never watch a movie like TV. I like to enjoy films with silence and a blanket. Does the way you watch a movie matter?

On a side note, we also talked about how we listen to music. Some people said that they only listen to music with their full attention, and never in the background or as ambiance. Funny thing is, I've been listening to this the entire time that I wrote this blog post...

Class markers in the US

What defines social class in America? In class, a lot of us thought that income, way of life, and happiness are all markers of class. We see in the Great Gatsby that money is a huge marker of class. Those who live in the Eggs of New York, like Gatsby, live in huge houses and attend fancy parties. There is no doubt in my mind that money is the biggest marker of class in the US. The graph to the right shows that while the upper class is very small, about 5% of the US, they make up a large sum of the entire United States GDP.

A playful resident of the Jonquil Residence

I disagree, however, with the point that states happiness is a class marker in the US. While there are no graphs which measure happiness, I believe happiness is unrelated to class. Last October, I volunteered at a low income residence in Rogers Park called the Jonquil Residence. There, I cleaned and weatherized windows for the winter, and repaired a small roof outside in the courtyard of the residence. I knew that the people living at the residence were low income because of their living conditions, which for some was a 12' by 12' room, and their income, which was considerably low. However, when I worked there, laughter filled the hallways, and each resident greeted me with a smile when we passed each other. At the end of the day, I received many thanks from the residents. I believe one can live happily without much money, but living a certain way, or in a certain class, is only possible with the right amount of money.

If you are interested, here is another take on the correlation of social class and happiness. The author analyzes a Charles Dickens book called Great Expectations:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5777692/social_class_and_happiness_any_correlation.html

Thursday=Doomsday

Or so it seems for the academically declined. So far, my paper is looking good. I have plenty of info, a plethora of sources, a fully conducted interview, a peer interview, and part of an annotated bibliography. It sure feels good to have most of the work for "the Theme" out of the way. Yet, I still feel like this week is racing by because of the pressure to have a FULL DRAFT completed by Thursday. I hope I am not the only one who feels this way when I say, "I need more time!" However, no matter what the deadline of the finished draft is, I would probably think the same way. I fully realize that we have been provided with ample time to finish our papers, but it always helps to have a schedule to help us prioritize our work. Either way, I wish everyone good luck to finish their themes!

The Theme Cont.

As I sit in the library, I find it difficult to narrow down my research. I have a plethora of resources, ranging from books in the library to scholarly journals online. That being said, I still feel my research is incomplete as of today. I realize that one can never have too many sources, but that surely does not make me feel any better.

One thing that might help others who feel their research has become repetitive is to leave out their main topic. For example, all of my early research has contained : "global warming". Now, since my "why" question relates to the media's influence on global warming, I have decided to only search: "media influence". I think if you are having trouble finding new evidence, try varying your search terms.

Junior Theme...ugh

This week we started the dreaded junior theme. Our mission is to ask a specific "why question" about a controversial topic in the United States. While I did have a variety of topics in mind, one kind of stood out to me.     I don't want to state my "why question," because odds are it isn't 100% true to what my final question will be, and I will likely blog about my topic in future blogs. However, I do want to address some ideas that I had that I am not planning on writing a 5 to 7 page paper on.

My current question largely involves the US media and how it influences people's views on global warming, and when I thought deeper about how much the media influences us, a few more topics came to my mind. For one, a question I asked myself was: "Why are electronic/hip-hop/rap songs SO popular right now? Why are they played all over the radio?" These questions led me to even more inquiries: "Is it because people actually prefer this kind of music, or are these artists given more opportunities than artists of other genres? If so, why? What else does the media have such an influence on?" Now, I really would like to find the answers to these questions, but it would be ridiculous to try to fit all of these questions into a short-ish paper.

But that's what I like about the Junior Theme; we are forced to ask questions we would normally never ask.With the Junior Theme project, you really have to be thorough in your research and the topic-narrowing process. There are so many questions to answer, but with only a few pages to answer them, you have to focus on just a few questions.

Product Placement

Last week we were talking a lot about television. One topic that was briefly discussed was product placement in TV shows and movies. Product placement is when companies will pay money to have their product be either used or seen in the frame of a show in some way. Here are some examples. (don't miss my favorite of the bunch starting at 4 minutes and 52 seconds!)

While "Wayne's World" mocks the usage of product placement, it is quite easy to overlook all of the products that are advertised in a single TV show. After our class discussion, I even started noticing it in music videos. Last week, while browsing YouTube, I saw a new Dr. Dre song with Eminem. To watch the video, check out this link: I need a doctor

1:10- dre gets in a Ferrari
4:15- you can see a tablet with the HP logo
5:01- a G Shock watch is at the center of the screen,
5:34-the tablet again
while reasonable because it is his own company, at
5:56- there is a computer with the "beats by dre" logo,
6:00- the camera zooms in on his K Swiss shoes,
6:41- Gatorade      

With all of this blatant advertisement, can you even take this video seriously? Does the advertisement abridge the serious tone of the song? Try to search for advertisements for yourself and see if it either:
A- disrupts the mood of a TV show or song
or
B- has an affect on you (do you feel obligated to purchase or use these items?

More Rights...

Now that our reconstruction projects have been presented, I wanted to discuss something we talked about in class last week. But first, I want to tie in the reconstruction project: One problem that came up in almost everyone's project was the issue of Freedmen's rights. It took way too long for Blacks to have full rights in the United States even though amendments were passed that abolished slavery and gave the African Americans more rights. Since the end of the civil war, Blacks and then Women have gained equal rights in the US. So, now that everyone has equal rights, there won't be anymore protests, right?

The thing is, many people believe they don't have equal rights. In the past few years, a political topic that is constantly debated is Gay rights. For one, it has not been legal for a man to marry a man anywhere in the United States until the year 2004. (not to mention that gay marriage has only been legalized in one state.)


The country has made shifts from African American rights, to womens rights, and now protests for equal rights for gays. Why has our country only until NOW decided that equal rights for gays is something that should be discussed? This is a tough question, so if anyone thinks they might have an idea please post a response.

To see a brief history of gay rights movements in the US, this timeline is really helpful!

Also, if you have time, read this article that discusses the comparison of blacks, women, and gays. It is quite interesting to see how people react when these comparisons are made...

Split Personality

Pablo Picasso Self-Portrait

Last week in AS we had a discussion about how Pablo Picasso was, and still is, considered one of the greatest artists of all time. Another thing that was mentioned, however, was that he beat his wife. I cannot remember for sure, but I think we discussed this because of the new "21st Century reading" of the poem, My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke. After reading this poem, our class had, as many other modern English classes have, decided that this poem was about child abuse. The terms "child abuse" and "dysfunctional family" had no meaning back in the 1800s (Huckleberry Finn's era), because these kinds of social issues were not as freely discussed as they are today. While I know a lot about Pablo Picasso and his art, I never knew about him beating his wife. Because beating your wife was not a social topic that was thrown around the news and media of Picasso's time, it never was apparent to me and presumably many others how odd this man really was. In today's culture, it is a different story.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the name "Tiger Woods"? If you had asked me two years ago, I would have probably responded: "the best golf player of all time." If you had asked me today, my reply would probably look a little more like this: "Don't you mean 'Cheetah' Woods? Hehehe..." Both Tiger Woods and Pablo Picasso have two sides to their personality: a famous and popular side, and a dark and hurtful side, yet not everyone thinks poorly of Picasso. Because of the time period, Tiger and Pablo have been treated differently. Who will you remember more: Cheetah or Tiger?

HOOK

I was recently watching some of my favorite videos on youtube when I came across my favorite song by Blues Traveler. For the first time, I listened to the message of the song, and it reminded me of what we discussed a few weeks ago in AS. Can you find it in this song?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdz5kCaCRFM

Intimidation Tactics

This week in class we were discussing some issues that were apparent during the reconstruction era of the United States. (this was the period where the southern states were to be admitted back into the Union after the Civil War). One topic we discussed was intimidation tactics that Planters used to make sure former African American slaves could not become independent and from having full rights as a US citizen. One of the things that they did was to make sure that the former slaves voted for people that the planters wanted them to vote for. This reminded me of something that happens still today such as the Taliban election threats Members of the Taliban would use physical intimidation to force voters to re-elect Saddam Hussein. They would also make pre-marked election forms. After the elections, Saddam had received a unanimous decision by the hundreds of thousands of voters.
What is the point of having an election if people are forced to make selections?

Wave your flag...

During AS this week we talked about how when you visit southern states, you will still see some confederate flags. We wondered whether this means that people in the South believe in slavery or if it means something else. Another thing that I noticed was that there are a lot of things in the media and pop culture. Here are some examples of the confederate flag seen in today's culture:

ABOVE: General Lee from Dukes of Hazard

LEFT: Lynyrd Skynyrd logo

BOTTOM RIGHT: just your average southern motorcyclist




So why do people still wave the flag of the confederate army? One writer waves the confederate flag in honor of southern heritage. Check out this opinion here. Do you buy this answer? Is it OK for people to still honor this flag?

Lady vs. Woman

What is the difference between a lady and a woman? Is it the same as the difference between a gentleman and a man? And what is the difference between those two? Last week in class, we were trying to consider the difference between a lady and a woman. Before you read any further into this blog, check out the many connotations of the word "lady" at this website. The writer of this page suggests that the word "lady" is used to describe a "woman" of refined behavior or speech. Then why is it called the "ladies" room? Is there something dainty or delicate about using the bathroom that I am missing? But that is beside the point. My question is this: Is there a set role that a female must fit in order to be called a lady instead of a woman? And which is better? There are a lot of opinions and situations regarding this topic, so what is yours?

The F-Word

Finals. Sometimes I think the word should be censored. F*nals. There you go. I'm sorry if I offended anyone with such vulgar language, but this topic must be discussed for the good of society. To some, this word causes more pain and suffering than most other words in the English language. But WHY? Don't students realize that finals are only a small fraction of their final grade? Also, finals are usually easier than most tests you take during the regular school year because they can only cover the essentials of each section of a course. Even though most of us realize this, we can't help but stress out before finals. What's more terrifying than THE BIG TEST TO SEE IF YOU LEARNED ANYTHING??

But now that our first semester finals are finished, there is such a relief. While all students are not satisfied with their grades, we get a fresh start this semester. This emotional ride is almost like the graph of the "redemptive arc" we have talked about throughout the year, except this story has two dips of unhappiness instead of one! (2 sets of finals per year). But in the end, we will always reach the eternal happiness.....
summer

Blog to the Future: Part Two

After another quarter of the school year has passed, it is time to take another look at the progress of my blogs. First, I would like to mention that I have not been blogging regularly, and I am disappointed in myself for doing so. I understand now that I should blog even if I don't have anything controversial to talk about. Blogging is a chance for me to improve my writing skills, and that will not happen if I choose not to blog. However, this wouldn't be much of an analysis if I never dissected the few posts I did make.
Despite the lack of posts, I believe that my latest blogs have greatly improved from the ones from the first quarter. With each post, I took a lot of time to create a stance on an issue, back it up with evidence from class or from my own experiences, then leave it up to the reader to take their own stance. In addition, I believe that my posts have become more "reader friendly". I have learned to emphasize the points I want readers to see by making the text bold, underlined, and enlarged. It is a lot easier to read a post that is visually appealing than just forty straight lines of words. The best example showing improvement in these two areas is in my latest blog, Mous, Anon Y. However, my blogs have not been perfect. A lot of the time when I blog, I have a lot of different ideas that I want to explain in one post. I will mention one thing then skip to another. What I need to work on the most is organizing my posts so that I take a cleat stance and I don't confuse the reader.

Now that this quarter is drawing to an end, I am going to make a vow. My mission is to blog AT LEAST the minimum requirement, and to make sure each of those posts are made with care and accuracy. I am looking forward to my future blogs and the progress I will make. To sum up my words with more expertise and enthusiasm, TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!!
-Buzz Lightyear

Mous, Anon Y.

Anon Y. Mous depicted here at age **.

Whenever I visit YouTube, I tend to get carried away reading the comments of the videos. Despite half of them mentioning Justin Bieber, I eventually find some really intriguing responses to the videos. Before I go any further, I would like to mention that I LOVE to comment on YouTube, especially when it involves an ongoing argument. On YouTube, I am free to use any kind of language and write exactly how I feel on each subject I encounter without fear of being punished or slandered in my personal life. While my fellow "YouTubers" may disagree with my comment, (and they do so without restrictions as well) I am safe from any real danger or repercussions that my comments might have caused if I said conveyed them publicly. And with that safety, I can express myself as honestly as I can. Even when I write on this blog, I understand that I will be judged by my classmates for what I say, so I better write something that will appeal to everyone, or at least most.

Bruce Wayne

When internet safety is such a prominent issue in today's news and culture, the idea of having to list your name with a comment seems irrational. The whole point of having "usernames" instead of using our real names is so that our identities remain safe, just like Batman. Batman cannot defend Gotham City if every villain knew who he was during the day! How would he be able to live both roles/lives independently and safely? How can our words be truthful and meaningful if we must reveal our identities to all who read our comments? Also, what difference does it make to the world if Alfonso Goldenrod posts a comment than if Jedidiah O'Clarkson made that comment? What I am really trying to understand from this issue: Why does my name matter?

Believe it or not people often times take advantage of being anonymous. Shocker, right? One claim against anonymous posting is that people will abuse that privilege in order to attack another person online. This bullying and teasing online is why many believe one MUST show their name with each post. Does this issue matter enough to be a reason to eliminate our ability to stay anonymous?

I am not the only one debating this issue. To find out more, check out this link and listen to the podcast.

My additional questions to the reader:

Does this issue fall under free speech rights?
Why or why not should we have to give our real names on comments we leave on the internet?

Another Huck Finn Opinion

This week in class, and in the news, there has been a lot of talk about Huckleberry Finn and whether the word "nigger" should be removed/replaced. There have been a lot of opinions floating around, and even Family Guy poked fun at the censorship of the N-word. Publishing companies wish to remove this word in order to cover up a "shameful" part of our history. They also believe that the removal of this word will encourage younger readers to pick up this book.
Many people believe this censorship is a negative change; with the removal of such words, we lose a part of the United States history, be it shameful or not. I believe that the excessive use of the N-word is necessary for the reader to fully understand those times. If and when racial slurs and stereotypes are censored, we miss a part of the original story's intentions.

But censorship has not been limited to Huckleberry Finn. I have witnessed numerous incidents of censorship of the "racially offensive."  Just a few days ago, I was watching "O Brother Where Art Thou," and was enjoying my favorite scene: The brothers singing A Man of Constant Sorrow. After the scene, one of the brothers walks up to a presumably rich, white man and tells him how he made money singing a song. I remember from when I first saw the film that the man calls him a "dumb cracker," but when I saw it on TLC, they replaced that phrase with "dumb cow." I see how the term "cracker" is offensive, but with the censored version, I was left with a different interpretation of the character's personality.

While the latter example is not nearly as extreme, there is still a case to be made to keep it uncensored. Have you noticed any censorships lately?

Inception: city layouts

If anyone remembers a discussion we had in class near the beginning of the year about the layout of the streets of Chicago, over break I discovered a fascinating connection! While visiting Orlando, Florida, I noticed many things relating to the town/city itself. First off, I noticed that there were many crashes on the side of the road and I noticed a firetruck/police car every 15 minutes of driving, if not more. Next, I noticed the curving and winding nature of the roads themselves. Finally, I considered the types of drivers in Orlando and I came to a conclusion:

The reason that there are so many crashes in Orlando is that the layout of the streets are very confusing and difficult to navigate, and that the types of drivers in Orlando are either old people or confused tourists. 

Think about it? Who lives in Florida? Old retirees! When are you most likely to crash a car? When you are not confident or when you are confused! How can you worsen your chances? Terrible street layout designs!

I haven't done any research on the topic other than my own observations, so if anyone would like to disagree with my thesis please do. Like we discussed in class a few months ago, Chicago has such a good street layout. The grid design is genius and I encourage cities of the future to use them! It wasn't until I started typing up this blog that I realized that there is yet another connection to this issue!

Does anyone remember the hit blockbuster: Inception? While the main focus of the movie has relatively nothing to do with this, I would like to recollect a specific moment from the movie: The main character, Cobb (Leo), tested Juno's architectural skills by having her draw up a maze very quickly that is difficult to navigate through. When she started, her mazes were too easy because of their rectangular design. As soon as she drew a circle maze, Cobb could not complete the maze fast enough. Do you see my point?