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