Reflection #2

I thought this week's lectures and discussion were very interesting and I really learned a lot. It was interesting to see where our nations obsession with buying stuff came from. Our society clearly is still concerned and obsessed with having the biggest and best things just to simply have them and show them off. It seems as if this all started in the 50's and later on with the onset of the cold war. Also, I didn't even know that the cold war was a "war" over which country had the best products. Still to this day we seem to have this competition with other countries over having the best cars and technology.
I also thought the video about Detroit was really interesting. I knew that whites fled out of Detroit and settled in metro Detroits suburbs, but I didn't know they were actually encouraged by the government and helped out by being able to purchase homes there, while African Americans were deterred from leaving the city. Growing up in metro Detroit I have seen where these different races have settled and how they have traveled from city to city following others. It is interesting to see how this all started and why and when people started moving out of Detroit.
Lastly, I travel down I-75 all the time and I had no idea the background behind the highway. I'm glad I know the story behind it now and what the city and surrounding areas had to go through when it was being built.

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

Cohen concludes her “Prologue” to A Consumers' Republic with: “I hope that readers, aware of how my life has conformed to the large patterns set out in this book, will begin to contemplate how their own lives may also have been shaped by these economic, political, social, and cultural structures that reigned over the second half of the twentieth century and still are with us in many ways today… If we all are citizens and we all are consumers, how we choose to mix the two reveals a great deal about who we are as individual Americans as well as about the virtue of the America we live in at any particular moment in time” (15).

Please watch the video (see below) while thinking about the following questions:

(1) During discussion section we addressed different consumer ideologies. According to Annie Leonard, what is the current relationship between citizenship, consumerism, and nationalism? Is this an extension of the “consumers’ republic,” or something entirely different?

(2) How is our current government responding to our economic crisis?

(3) Is it un-American or un-patriotic to resist consumerism? Think of examples in your own life or around you (i.e. in the media).

(4) Any comments on the gender or racial logics addressed (or not addressed) in this film? Can you make connections to Cohen’s arguments?

(5) Any comments on the solutions Annie Leonard proposes?



You may also propose additional discussion topics/questions. And please feel free to comment on other student’s comments to this post as well.
-Isabel

Queen For A Decade? Discussion Q's (first post didn't work)

1) Minority groups, mainly African Americans and women in America, utilized their identity during the late thirties through WWII, in what ways did the White patriarchal ideal resist or change due to the protests and boycotts?

2) How did advertising and marketing work to reinforce the prescribed societal roles (especially on women) during WWII and post WWII? What implications did this create for future movements (Civil Rights, 2nd wave of Feminism) to destabilize patriarchal societal gender roles?

3) Did the consumer identity for citizens aid in creating or adding to an American national identity? If so, in what ways?

4) In what ways did the GI bill impact American post-war national identity, and how did it affect progress of an egalitarian American society?

5) How did the debate over extensions of price control divide down gender and racial lines? How were each side and their opponents depicted, and how does this relate to the destabilization of women's civic authority since the onset of WWII (pp. 134-135)?

Consumer's Republic Response

Reading "A Consumer's Republic" was an interesting and extremely relevant read to the state of our economy today. The history of consumerism and its impact on women, African Americans, working-class populations, American businesses, and so on is extremely important to understand so that when we have our own income, insurance, budget, and independent life, we can make smart decisions about our consumption and our savings. Since this book is placed in historical context that discusses government decisions, protests and boycotts, as well as the advertising of the time, it is interesting to see how mass consumption and the U.S. economy's patterns are similarly re-created today. What I found the most interesting were how women and African-Americans utilized their identity as a consumer to make a voice for themselves in the white male patriarchal social and economic climate between 1920 and the 1950s. Although the struggles for civil liberties, consumer protection, product regulation, non-discriminatory work opportunities, and public voice did not necessarily end, it is apparent, especially within the African-American population at the time, that their activism as consumer's allowed the group to propel forward into demanding civil rights. Similar to this, women attained strength as a public voice that possibly helped create better organization and attention for the 2nd wave of feminism that went through the 1970s.  One final point that i wanted to address was how the government policies and organizations that aided in consumption and economic change was vital to Cohen's book, but I also enjoyed how she addressed how the broader national changes affected the individual based on gender, race, and class. Oftentimes this can be overlooked, but being able to understand how the nation as a whole and individuals of the nation were impacted allows for a more holistic understanding of consumerism and the issues that arise from it. 

March 19th-Queen for a Decade? Discussion Q's

Redlining: Institutionalized Racism

The video that we watched in Lecture this week regarding the red lining that occurred across the Unites States was eye-opening to me not only because the film discussed the history of the freeway I-75, located in my hometown of Detroit, MI; but also because I still see the very real effects of this red lining in my community and many others around the Detroit area. As a native Detroiter, I have been exposed to the areas of extreme poverty that envelope my city--from abandoned homes to littered parks, I have become accustomed to seeing my hometown in this sad condition. After viewing the video, however, it is clear that there were actually systematic policies that led to Detroit's current crisis as whites were rewarded for moving to the suburbs and blacks were deterred from purchasing homes in white communities. 

As the video stated, many whites did not want to live amongst black neighbors because they feared that the property value of all the houses in that neighborhood would decrease. Thus, the federal government found a way to keep white future home-owners happy and free from the "problem" that the African-Americans posed. The government began making it nearly impossible for blacks to purchase homes in "green lined" areas (which were generally white homogenous areas) by restricting their ability to get loans and move into areas that did not want them. This is terribly sad as, although many African-Americans fought in the war and should have benefitted from the GI Bill, they continued to experience institutionalized marginalization and discrimination.

Another thing that the video explained was the complete destruction of the thriving black communities in Detroit in the 20s and 30s, Black Bottom and Paradise Valley. It is probably no accident that the freeway that allowed whites easy access to the downtown Detroit area to enjoy a bit of the city (I-75), simultaneously destroyed communities in which blacks were able to prosper. Of course, the bulldozing of a white neighborhood would be abominable, thus, this decision to get rid of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley demonstrates the constant attempts of the federal government to divide and segregate race and class.

Additionally, it is amazing, almost scary, to me how often I use I-75 to run errands, visit friends or just to hang out downtown. I never would have imagined that such an integral part of my daily life holds with it such deep-rooted implications. I can definitely, as Professor Hass stated, now understand these historical underpinnings and be a more educated and more knowledgeable individual for that. Needless to say, I am glad I saw the video and cannot help but be aware of Detroit's history from now on. It was a worthwhile and much-appreciated lesson.

Reflection #3

I really enjoyed today’s lecture on consumerism and the cold war. I liked how professor Hass kept stressing the idea of “buying stuff.” It seems that since the consumerism era of the 1950’s, American’s have been obsessed with having a mass collection of junk. We are constantly encouraged to buy things we do not need, and still manage to feel a sense of patriotism every time we reach into our pockets.
Unfortunately, with today’s economic crisis, we have lost this sense of spending. We have begun to question our real need for the items we purchase. We have not however lost this 1950’s ideal of “keeping up with the Jones’s.” This American ideology I find most fascinating. In connection with our lecture on shame and my last reflection, American’s will go as far as possible to maintain an image of a spender. Although they may be in debt, American’s refuse to let their neighbors and friends see that they have lost the ability to spend.
I personally believe this can be explained in 2 ways. 1 reason is the same we previously discussed. We as Americans are too proud to admit that we failed, and our sense of shame causes us to hide our financial difficulties. My second reason, is that the ideal American is one with a credit card and cash in hand. We think of malls, and Walmarts and Costcos where Americans are accumulating large quantities of junk they don’t need. Though some call it disgusting, and others extreme, most of us call it American and for that reason we have no choice but to continue spending in order to maintain our “American” identity.

Reflection #2

I thought that this weeks readings were all great in shedding light on events that have happened in the US's history, even those events that don't always seem to get recognized.

The biggest example of this was the Okihiro article about the Japanese-American interment camps. I find it very interesting that a majority of them still wanted to show that they were American by erecting fences and carrying on with American traditions such as 4th of July parades. It was also interesting that the US government went into the camps and asked for recruits for the military. If I was in that situation I don't think I would be too willing to serve in a capacity, such as the military, for a country that had just uprooted my family, and placed me in a barbwire enclosure or in a "renovated" horse stable with no privacy. It just seems absurd.

Ernie's correspondents, I found to be also interesting on how he had illustrated the war for the people back at home. Though hes accounts were watered down and definitely not really geared toward telling the people at home exactly what was happening in the war itself, but more of like here's a story about how your son is doing and some of the things that he sees. Stories to try and keep morale up about the war, and I feel this is the reason why he came to hate the soldiers and the war itself. He didn't hate the soldiers themselves but just the idea and the situation that they had to do and go thru.

Reflection 3

Thinking about WWII as Ernie's War and a unifying period in American history, I found Professor Hass's comment in discussion to be a novel perspective. She said that her grandparents of Italian and Irish descent were married and it was considered a "mixed" marriage and their children were considered "mixed".  I have rarely considered the racial hierarchy/tension between Italian immigrants and Irish immigrants mostly because this would never be seen as a problem today. However, in studying the culture before and during the war, I believe this story holds great value in understanding the war as a unifying force. WWII was in a sense an americanization process, bringing ethnicities together on the common ground of patriotism. Also, with a strong understanding of an enemy, it was fertile soil for American breeding. 

I also consider the perspective of the immigrants- much like discussion question 2 from Ernie's War. Although I recognize that there was (probably) some tension between loyalty given to ancestral countries and America, there may have also been a strong desire to assimilate to American culture. This is a different view that we usually discuss. We often talk about America's desire to assimilate 'newcomers' but I would assume that families immigrating to America would also have a desire to assimilate to their new country. Maybe this is something that most people have already considered already, but I found it an interesting, new point of view brought on by Professor Hass's contribution to our discussion yesterday. 

Handout Questions for Class on 3/12

Ernie's War

1. Do you think that our perception of future wars would have changed if they had been reported in the same way that Pyle reported WWII (as opposed to newscasters and video footage)? How so?

2. Given European Americans’ background how do you think that they felt having to fight in Europe, some in their home countries. How about German Americans? Do you think that there was any immigrant population in the United States that did not feel conflicted?

3. Pyle uses this knowledge of what is important to his readers to pick his topics and to more intimately connect the readers to the individual soldiers, rather than just the abstract concepts that they represent. Where do you see evidence of this in his writing and how is it effective? How does he bring out a sense of patriotism and duty in his readers through his writing?

4. What do you think that this added complexity means in the context of America’s thoughts at the time about the war? Does it reflect a tension that the soldiers and citizens at home felt too?

An American Story

1. Considering that Americans were fighting to liberate concentration camps in Europe, how did they not see the hypocrisy in sending their own citizens to internment camps based on ethnic differences?

2. How did the media use its influence to misinform Americans about the experience of Japanese-Americans in internment camps? How much is the media driven by government motives?

3. Given that FDR was already thinking about internment camps as early as 1936, do you think that they would have happened eventually? Was Pearl Harbor just an excuse for a previous agenda?

4. The many groups oppressed by white Americans throughout our history have responded in different ways to their persecution. As we saw in Killing Custer, the Native Americans chose to fight back against the government. However, many of the Japanese-Americans taken to internment camps seemed to take their situation in stride and make the best of it using humor and beautification. Why do you think they chose this reaction? Was it more effective than resistance?

The Riddle of the Zoot

1. Do you think that Malcolm would have developed this ideals anyway, had his youth not been spent in an urban, hipster environment?

2. Given the similar racial messages and cultural experiences that tied both youth populations to the suits that they wore, why do you think that in general many Mexican Americans men enlisted in WWII, while most African American men avoided it?

3. How are the balances of power reflected in the zoot suit, both from the “white” perspective and from the standpoint of the African and Mexican Americans wearing the zoot suit?

4. How does this resistance fit into the era of the citizen soldier and how do you think that it helped or hurt Black “progress” on racial hierarchy? What do you think these Black readers felt towards Pyle’s columns?

The Great Depression and Today

I found that our current economic times give more meaning to how the Great Depression may have felt. The media describes how many people lose their jobs everyday and how many sectors of our economy have declined. It was interesting to talk about the Great Depression and the shame that people felt in discussion, because we see and may feel those same feelings in our current times. The shame during both times was due to the fact that people could not provide for their families and it is difficult for us to deal with that because we have a culture that believes one should be able to provide for one's family. I also feel that there is a parallel between the Great Depression and now because we tend to feel that as Americans, we should be able to find jobs to secure our necessities. People were shocked at the economics of the Great Depression as people are shocked now because we think that America and its people are supposed to be successful. It troubles us when our ideas of America are not consistent with the realities of our economic situations.

Reflection, Great Depression discussion in Section

I found the discussion about the great depression in section this week very interesting. I had recently been thinking about the similarities between that time in American history and the crisis we are experiencing now, and the effects on average Americans in both situations.
During the Great Depression, more Americans were faced with unemployment, and like we said there was a general sense of "shame" associated with hardship. Today, our crisis stems from derivative securities based off of mortgages, that is the banking system. The situation now is substantially more complex than a simple "run on the banks" as experienced in 29'. Today, with the global interconnectedness of our financial system, an implosion of complex securities has rippled across the globe. For the average American, it is difficult to fully understand the situation that has brought this sever recession about.

There also is a completely different outlook on the situation today. To me, it seems as if there is almost a sense of entitlement for help, rather than shame. Regardless of the cause, a recovery will require Americans to come together and allow the economy to begin to repair itself. That being said, perhaps a bit of a sense of shame wouldn't be bad for us right now. It is also very interesting to hear varying opinions on this crisis, as well as the course we should take to attempt to correct it. While we can only look forward from here, it is my hope that we learned something from this time, and as we proceed forward we will act more cautiously knowing how bad things really can get.

Reflection- photo analyzation

I think analyzing photographs is a very interesting process. I've taken art classes, so I've looked at works of art to analyze their components and speculate about the intentions the artist had in creating the art. In a handmade work of art, things such as line, shape, space, hue, etc. are things the artist does, usually intentionally.
When we were watching the film about Dorothea Lange in lecture, I thought it was very unusual how the photographs were referred to as 'made'. Before looking at Lange's photographs, I considered photography to be a simple snapshot of whatever is in front of the camera. The way Lange is depicted as an artist implies that her photographs were manipulated to look the way she wanted them to. This is possible, considering that a photographer chooses the angle to shoot from and can manipulate things in the area of interest to make them look a certain way.
However, there are things a photographer cannot control in a photograph, and some objects in the picture seem to have a deeper meaning, as if the image was destined to be captured in that certain moment to purposely convey a point of view or a story to the viewer.

Reflection #2

I find the most compelling aspect of Dorothea Lange's photography to be her sympathy. At a time of rising emphasis on individualism and  progress, Lange admirably highlights those captured by poverty and crushed by industrialization. As the clip we watched in class pointed out, Lange photographed the people that society had kicked out. She gave an account of the people that didn't (or couldn't) keep up with the developing decade. However, instead of blaming the individual, she empathized with their sufferings and published their pain. Lange offered a different interpretation of the social order in the United States. She rejected racial hierarchy and presented the grief of all races, rejecting the idea of white supremacy. Lange liberated the idea of individualism: she captured failures, not successes and showed pain instead of joy. She exposed the consequences of an independent lifestyle and showed (in great detail) the nation’s need for justice and civil rights.

At a time of unacknowledged depression, Lange photographed the world honestly. I think it’s admirable and selfless and entirely commendable that she dedicated many years of her life to fighting for the people who couldn’t fight for themselves. 

Reflection #3

Today in discussion we did the photo activity where we analyzed two pictures and tried to interpret what the image conveyed. I found this very interesting because I have never analyzed a photo before. Some of the ideas that we came up with as a class never occurred to me, and made me realize that there is a lot more to photography than I thought. I remember someone saying that the worker in one of the photos was the focus of the picture, and represented a bigger idea because his identity was hidden. I would have never looked at it in this way and initially just saw a guy working. Some of the other ideas that were mentioned included the symmetry of the picture representing the order of the time, the tool the worker was holding representing the industrial period, and the photo as a whole representing a since of patriotism because of the mens efforts in the war. All these ideas really opened my eyes to how much a picture can really tell you.
This week we also talked a lot about Dorothea Lange and her methods as a photographer. She tried to capture the actions of her subjects to convey her message. I also found it interesting how her initial photo was only taken so that her subjects would be comfortable, and then she tried to get more candid photos. I find her pictures interesting and after today’s discussion I see her photos in a whole new way. I think she did a great job in showing the poverty conditions during the Great Depression and I believe that her message got across to her viewers. I thought that this week’s discussion was very helpful and I will use what I learned in my paper.