Implications For Today?
Based upon the image gallery of American
movements/inventions/events/ideology/ways of life/ and cultural
phenomenon that you viewed within the classroom, please respond formally
through your blog response to the following questions.
- What did you observe?
- How did the images make you feel?
- How do they shape the fabric of American life?
- What have we gained from these American movements/inventions/events/ideology/ways of life/ and cultural phenomenon?
- What have we lost from these American movements/inventions/events/ideology/ways of life/ and cultural phenomenon?
- Do these embody the American spirit?
- Do these help us understand what it means to be an American?
- What implications do these create?
posted by Greg T at Sunday, August 20, 2017
29 Comments:
Watching the way our society has evolved these past decades have shown what the American dream is all about. African Americans were segregated throughout the 20th century. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers saw something unethical, and stood for what they believed was right. Everyone in America has the right to speak their mind, and to peacefully protest against things in our society that groups might find immoral or unethical. Although this was a particularly shameful and dark part in United States history, it still is our history. We need to remember our past and preserve it, so that we do not repeat it. Walking around the room, there were pictures of segregation, poverty, starvation, and many others. These ideas, while sad, are a reminder of how things used to be, and how grateful we should be that we were able to learn from them, and improve as a society.
The Pictures were all black and white, and i felt like the pictures were depressing.
The pictures depicted a lot of racism and possibly in that time period a lot of depression since WWI and WWII. From these events we have depleted racism and stopped two wars that could have possibly ended the world. We since then have lost peace with several countries and a nuclear arms race has been settling with us and North Korea. These things really show the problems with America, not bring any spirit. These pictures don't really make me feel patriotic either. These pictures really imply that America needs fixing as a country.
I observed many pictures from events in the past from all different walks of life.
Some of these images really moved my while others i didn't have much of a reaction too.
They shape the fabric of american life by adding their own (string) if life with their experiences.
We have gained many things from these movements and ideals, like ways people want to be treated and what mistakes that are not to be made.
We have lost very little but mostly we have lost the old way of life or of doing things that was before those events happened.
Yes, they are the very embodiment of the american spirit of making a life for yourself and doing things as a free person as part of society.
These events help us to understand what it means to be american by using our freedom for the betterment of other and society as a whole.
These create implications of freedom as a whole.
In the images I observed the fact that most of the pictures either showed some form of extreme struggle with poverty, war, racism and more or they showed joyous moments like the first 3D movie. It really made me think we focus so much on the huge things in life as Americans that we skip over the small things that could actually turn out to be huge. We focus on war and money and giving back to other countries but like he said in the video we forget about what we need to do for ourselves and our countries. We feed other countries but we have people and families on our streets that are starving. The images and the video both made me feel inspired we've been through a lot in our past and we still continue everyday to try and better our situation. I think that we live in an Amazing country and that we need to remember all that is good in life but we also need to never forget the past.
We have learned from our hardships. Most of the pictures and some of the song was upsetting. Although, if not for every hardship and thing that has happened in this country, we would not be who we are today. People tend to learn more from struggles and losses than from victories. When bad things happen and have happened we come together and try to improve our country and from that we gain strength. From each hardship we are now more resilient, powerful, and hopeful for things to get better.
I found that the images may not always include specific, important moments, but were often indicative of a mindset or mood surrounding the event. The images gave me both pride in my country’s achievements and gratefulness that I had been born after the larger mistakes and conflicts of America occurred. Our history reminds us of what strategies work well and how to improve on past mistakes. These improvements, lead by concerned citizens, lead to a better country over time. The mistakes we made give us insight into what we want out of our country. While correcting mistakes, we do of course lose some traditions and wisdom which are created during hard times. These images overwhelmingly embody the American spirit; through struggle, Americans have created means of escaping that struggle, often reaching farther and inventing new, incredibly useful methods and items. Viewing these images help us understand what it meant to be an American at the time of their creation, but may not always be related to our current problems. These images imply that we can overcome immense struggle, often coming out on top after it, as long as we don’t give up.
While walking around the room and looking at the photos, it brought me different emotions to my mind. All of the photos were black and white, which gave it that old vibe to it. Some of the photos seemed to be taken place in a battleground like war scenario, and some involving homeless people. The war photos could have been taken place during our World War I and our World War II. Back in those times, everything seemed to be harder. Meaning how there was a Great Depression that forced a lot of people out of their jobs. With all these photos being really dull, it left the photos seeming depressing. It made me feel sad, but also glad that most of America has gotten through a lot of it’s hard times, and we are a more stable society now. These photos are reminding us the hard times our ancestors have fought for us to be in a happier and safer environment.
Do these embody the American spirit?
The pictures we looked at in class completely embody the American spirit. Ever since the United States won independence from Britain in the Revolutionary War we pride ourselves on being the land of the free and the home of the brave. This will stand true until the end of time, but that does not come without consequences. The wars, the struggles, and the hardships we have gone through were not for nothing. We are a nation that grows stronger from the hard times that we have gone through. Countries around the world know who we are and what we stand for. We are a powerful nation and we need to continue to use that power for good. From the end of the Revolutionary War to World War I to the devastating events of 9/11 we have pushed through hardships. We have also been rewarded through our inventions, democracy, and the American Dream. Regardless of where we came from, or where we will go, the pictures from our past are the perfect representation of what we stand for now and will continue in the future.
Many of the pictures showed the emotion in major events in America's past. Most of the emotions shown where sadness, anger, and frustration. This just shows the hardships in America's past. But those hardships have made America into what it is today, without them we would be a totally different country with different values. These hardships shown in the picture just show that without hard times in life you do not get the good times. The moment in the pictures are not the biggest moments in history but the emotion surrounding the images is what really stuck with me. The emotions truly show what America has been through as a country.
The very first observation I made about the pictures we were shown in class was that they were all in black and white. I don't know weather or not that was intentional but I do know that this definitely made an impact. Black and white pictures make people think things are old, and when things are old, they usually become irrelevant to life in the present. As blunt as it sounds, this was my very first reaction to seeing these. Then, after looking at them and discussing them with my friends, I noticed that most of them were about struggle. That made me think about the way America struggled and fought through a lot of things in the past. Everyone has fought for their freedom at one point in time. During the Revolutionary War, white men fought for their freedom. During the Civil War, African fought for their freedom. During World War II, we put Japanese Americans in internment camps and they had to fight for their freedom. Women had to fight for their freedom. Just recently, we've been fighting to give transgenders the same rights. We've also had a lot of times where we didn't have much, like during the Great Depression and we had to depend on each other. Sometimes, that makes us do irrational things because we're worried, like during Vietnam when we were frightened by Communism and we went a little overboard trying to contain it. I think what shapes America is the way we struggle and the way we fight the way out of our struggles. This makes me proud to be an American because we always fight to progress or to become a stronger country. I think struggle is important because it helps you appreciate the good moments.
"Young flappers competing in the Charleston Endurance Contest at New York's Parody Club are given much needed sustenance in mid-step by helpful band members." A flapper is defined as (in the 1920's) a fashionable young woman intent on enjoying herself and flouting conventional standards of behavior. The 1920's, or, "The Roaring Twenties" was a new age for America, the first time where more Americans lived in cities than on farms. This caused a skyrocket in advertising, since more people were bunched up word spread a lot quicker than in the farmlands. This helped jump start "consumerism", a social and economical theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically healthy. We gained an economic boom and a rising number of jobs, but due to it, poverty became more prominent as well. This is an embodiment of the American spirit, because it directly shows how although America is a land of opportunity, it is sometimes very unforgiving. It helps us understand being an American because the risk is still worth it because it's a risk some aren't able to take at all. This does create implications of unequal opportunity because some think being dealt a poor hand isn't fair when in reality it's lucky to even be at the table.
The image gallery had many different time periods from American history but what I observed was that the majority of them had the topic of hardship and grief. You could tell that the point of the photos were to make you feel sympathy for the people in the photos, there were very few happy photos. These pictures do not completely embody the American spirit because it mostly shows the sad moments in American life but that is not the entire American story. What these pictured do help us to understand is that it is not all sunshine and rainbows for Americans there are hardships that have to be overcome.
In the numerous amount of photos displayed to the class, one in particular stood out to me. The image of the twins towers on September 11, 2001. Although I did not witness nor experience the terrifying event that played out in front of millions of Americans and the rest of the world, I continue to live in a post 9/11 world. That day, the world suffered the loss of around 3,000 lives and America would cease to be the same ever again. The impact this event had and has on the world is almost unimaginable. It made the world question how and why this event took place and took away Americans sense of security. As a country we not only grieved together, but we also created a support system throughout America together. Although I did not live before 9/11 and I do not have the ability to compare and contrast how things were before and after, I am not blind to the astounding motivation of the first responders and Americans who embraced each other and worked together as a community to find comfort through their pain. As we continue to live in a world with an abundant amount of struggle and loss, we should remember that we are capable of coming together and changing how we look at these things and how to prevent them from occurring in the first place.
-Maggie G
The images, videos, and discussions we have seen and talked about America was very hard and emotional. While walking around the images all you see is very intense pictures of racism, death, and etc. It was very disturbing to see but it was the reality of America. Unfortunately, these things are still happening in America. But America has definitely improved since then, as in, it is not as bad as it used to be. Still very horrible though. The “American Spirit” is all about freedom and living the dream. Again unfortunately, that was not the case back then. The images do help us understand what it means to be an American because with all the bad that did and still is going on, Americans still unite as one.. There were a couple of images of people standing together and helping one another. Some implications that the images create is that America is not as amazing as some say. Perhaps that America has their issues and etc. Which is very true. These images show the side that no one wants to see but it’s the side that needs to be seen.
Through walking around and seeing the variety of images, it was very easy to observe that negative topics like racism, sexism, etc. frequented. Because of that, the pictures made me feel pretty overwhelmed and surprised seeing how badly people were treated. For example, how women couldn't vote, kids were treated differently because of their color, and so on. Unfortunately, in that time period, Americans were treated unfairly or given less rights just because of the way they looked. A more positive idea the images showed was what it means to be an American. There were many pictures showing soldiers that fought in war and were carrying an American flag. Those who fought/fight in battle to protect our country are very honorable. Because of them, we are able to be Americans. Following along with that topic, being an American means that you represent your country and you should honor it at all costs. Those soldiers are a great example of a true American.
1) In the photo gallery, I observed the controversies, struggles, and triumphs that U.S. citizens have endured.
2) The images made me feel a wide range of feelings, because the images were so diverse. There were sad, mad, and happy emotions in each image.
3) These different images and emotions shape the fabric of American life, because events that have happened in the past have shaped our modern-day lives.
4) We have gained knowledge on a wide variety of subjects about different movements, inventions, and events.
5) From these different events of history people may have lost hope from hardships or lost family.
6) I believe that these historical inventions, ideologies, and events have embodied the American spirit to make us a stronger and braver nation!
7) I believe that through the hardships America has dealt with, it has given us perspective to be thankful for our free nation and not take things for granted.
8) Implications include a nation with grit and strength to keep moving forward!
While walking around the class looking at all the photos and reading about them I noticed a lot of pain and suffering. The pictures of hooverville had a big impact on me because ever since I can remember i have never gone hungry, I have never had a doubt in my mind where i'm gonna sleep. To see these people suffering like this makes me feel lucky for how privileged I am and I need to appreciate it. As to how it shapes america today we still have a lot of poverty in america. From this particular event I don't think we lost much. Yes, there was a lot of pain and suffering but I think though that we learned how to create more jobs and a better life for most people. The pictures where the african americans were being sprayed by hoses might embody the amrcian sprit because we have alot of that still going on today.
After walking and observing the images in class I noticed that most of the images were part of America’s history. The images showed celebrations of new ideas and also historical events of sad but real things that happened. Seeing these pictures made me feel authentic. The images helped me realize the true genuine reality behind America’s history. It showed the excitement that hard work can reveal, and the conflict that America has survived. These historical events shaped the way America is today. On one of the pictures I viewed, there was a JCPenney store. This seemed so odd to see such a big store today so old and small. That picture shows how our past connects to the present. America has taken starter ideas and grown into a world power house. These ideas embody America as a leader in the world and how we like to work our way to become better. They give us hope that America will always have room for improvement.
The American people use entertainment in order to mask the pain that the people elsewhere are hiding. The video that we saw about having pride in our country made me think about how we can not have pride in things that destroy ourselves, pride makes us close minded. These images represent how every culture has been discriminated against but the advancements we have made from that does give us a reason to be proud. We are placing our pride in the wrong places. There is still racism, poverty, pain but the way the news/media confronts it numbs us from even making a difference about it today. During the early days we didn't not have our brains attacked by every media outlet so we could actually do something about the suffering because our minds were not addicted to laziness. The suffering conveys how far we have advanced yet how far we still need to go.
After observing the photos I noticed that all of them are from events that changed America, such as 9/11. The images made me feel sad because they were all from past events that effected America in a sad way. The photos shaped America because without the events that happened in the past America wouldn't be the same, whether they are positive or negative. All the big events in the past have helped us grow and come together as one. I don't think we have lost anything because of these events, if anything we have gained pride, we have come together and became stronger. In general, hard times help someone grow and learn. I think that a lot still goes on in the US that can be good and bad, such as racism. We still experience some racism in America even though it might not be as bad as it was we are all still effected by it. The photos show things that people might not want to see but they all show Americas voice.
The pictures we looked at all conveyed some kind of emotion. There were many sad pictures, that depicted moments of trauma in America, but there were also some that showed great people or comfortable settings. The grim scenes were very dark and brutal, but they contrasted with the hopeful pictures to show a theme of determination. The people have withstood a lot, and it shows how even with all the hardship, they pushed through it. It was very important in our history that these people were determined and tough, even against the odds.
I noticed that the pictures were separated into two categories. Some of them showed what was going on outside the U.S., during the war, and its consequences. And others showed what was going on inside the U.S. at the same time. You would see a huge segregation. In one is a picture of soldiers lying on the ground, one dying, the other fighting for his life. Right next to it was an image about a family or a picture of an ice cream shop. It really put into perspective the bliss a lot of Americans had during war.
Not only do the pictures and video show how America has grown. Struggle is the main focus of these pictures, and how the American people were affected. We, as a country, have overcome many struggles, including war, economic depression, among others. As an American people, we need to advance our civilization, and heal from past mistakes.
After observing the photos in class i noticed that there were a lot of different moods throughout our history. Pictures of people dancing and having a good time but also ones of hatred. All these images are the past and have shaped the way our country is today and show what our country has overcome to be what it is today.
When I looked through the image gallery, I observed that half of the pictures I saw were filled with joy and celebration while the other half showed poverty and war. It was kind of confusing like America is great on one hand, but on the other hand it is a place of tribulation. And watching the video on America really helped me grasp this idea and come up with the conclusion that America contradicts itself. And I think that each picture helped show what it means to be American because there is struggle but also there is freedom and joy. And as the video said, “the ins, the outs, the good, the bad, it’s all America and I’m proud of it”.
I noticed in the different pictures I saw that many of the people looked sad or depressed. This made me feel sympathetic for them because I wanted to try and help them even though I knew I couldn’t. I think that these pictures shape America because we had go through all these trials by trying new things and different ways of life, which allowed us to learn from our mistakes and make our country better. Some of these things that have improved life are making the stock market more secure and increasing our defenses against outside invasions, however we have also lost billions of dollars in the meantime. I think that this is what America is like because we use our mistakes and trials to make our country as great as we can.
I observed many different times during American history; some of which were bad and some of which were very good. Because of this some images made me feel lucky to not have lived during certain times (war, discrimination), and some images made me jealous in a way. These images shape the fabric of American life because they show how America once was and how it has changed over time. I think we have gained knowledge about one another and ourselves during the times these photos were taken. Some of the images embody the American spirit, but some certainly do not, for instance, the pictures showing racism and discrimination. These images certainly help us understand what it means to be American, because these images are what America once was and in some cases still it.
All of these images that we looked at conveyed a feeling of struggle and sadness. Many of these pictures were of protests and gatherings of a lot of people fighting for a cause. These images really represent what we can do to change America when we are together. We have resolved a lot of these issues, such as racism and segregation, but it seems that we have also lost some of the spirit that the people in these pictures had. There doesn't seem to be nearly as many massive protests, or at least enough people passionate enough to join them. I believe that these images greatly represent the American spirit, and help us understand what it means to be an American.
I don’t want to offend anyone but I hate how people nowadays are trying to be politically correct. People try to hide from the fact that there are problems with our country, and they are racist problems. People hate our president because he say things straight. He doesn’t have a filter. That is what we need. We need to get rid of the fear of being able to say what you want to say.
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