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 Monday, August 10, 2015
25 Comments:
My favorite photo that I saw was a photo of what appeared to be a marketplace (farmer's market?) street, filled with wagons, stands, and bystanders sporting bowler hats, among whom mustaches seemed to be popular. The fashion, as well as the quality of the photograph, brings me to believe it was from the 1940s or 50s. The image made me feel almost nostalgic for a time I never experienced, with all the people smiling and browsing in an intimately, tightly packed space. I think this carried on the plausibility of independent farmers making a living by selling their produce themselves into modern day. In a sense, it perfectly embodies the American spirit because it's just a gathering of people taking the opportunity to make it for themselves in a country of opportunity, which is what the American Dream is all about.
I observed a lot through the pictures we viewed today. A lot of them gave me different reactions. They looked a lot of them pictures from the old days, 20's 30's 40's and possibly even the 50's. The pictures made me feel different every time. One would be really cool and then the other's just sad, pictures that I really didn't want to see because they were that terrible. To me it doesn't feel like we viewed them just to see one message, they really could mean a lot of things which really makes trying to figure it out interesting. They shape the American life because some of the pictures showed accomplishments made throughout the time period of the old days. The radio's which were probably a huge deal, the sport of baseball, and then it shows Walt Disney during the 60's. All of which are things that are still a very huge deal in today's world. Well probably not the radio. So those very huge improvements shaped American fabric from American life. Many of those pictures are a huge part of cultural. The bad things are the bad pictures were of a loss today. Showing that bad things can happen. I don't see what improvements the wars or the lost people made. I think all of these things embody the American Spirit because everything that happens in life we can learn from. Good or bad and because of that there is always something to improve on or innovate. Improvements come in everyday about technology and many other things. Everything that happens shapes everything in one way or another. I think that it also creates an implication on American life as well. I think it can help for what it can be to be American because of the message that tragedies still happen in today's world sadly but also shows the improvements and the amazing things that Americans can create to make the world such a better place for everyone. Disney and Baseball shaped the world in ways that aren't even describable. In that way I think it can show us what it means to be American
These images portray the idea of the American dream. A nice big house with a wife who stays at home, watches the kids, and keeps the house in order. But that didn’t come without a price, World War II (1937-1945), which involved hundreds of thousands of soldiers to die especially on D-Day (June 6, 1944), in which most soldiers did not even make it shore. The fight for equality for African Americans and women. Giving them the right to vote, allowing them to go to work, or even use the same bathrooms and benches as those who control the country. The Dust Bowl (1931-1939), where thousand lost their lives trying to make a living, their homes, families, neighbors, and friends. The Stock Market Crash (October 29, 1929), where thousands lost the American Dream and their futures. These pictures all tell the same story; the hopelessness, sorrow, and pain we endured to get where we are today. But what if where are today is not any different than it was 30 years ago?
Those events convinced America to keep striving for the American Dream, but the dream has changed, it has evolved to match the technology and culture of the time. Although, to get there is no different than it was before, because we still put down those who are different than us, for their skin color, ideas, or even gender. America has lost its spirit. It has taken one too many steps backward from what some of the greatest leaders of our time have strived for it to be.
But even in the error of some of America’s ways there have been many other improvements in other aspects of people’s lives. We have gained even greater advancements in technology, which allow us to understand and learn more about this planet the universe. Leisure time has increased dramatically because of technology, allowing us to think and create, so we can become better. Even the health industry has started to gain a better understanding of the human body and it has allowed us to live longer. Even save many lives. American has its good and bad side.
I do think even though we have lost some of what America was and could be we can take it back. We can teach each other to love and give back. Help people to understand that we are not all that different. A change needs to take place. America needs help to become great again because right now it's barely holding its head above water.
Courtney Caviness
Looking at the photos widened my eyes to realize that half of the photos look like the present. One of the photos that really shocked me was the picture of the police officer allowing the dog to attack the African American man. It shocked me that just because of their color they were susceptible to be attacked and it wasn't considered cruel or injustice. It made me very disappointed that we grew up/the way society is today. I will never understand how color can/does define people. From all these events that has happened I believe we as a human race have lost our humanity. Another picture that really got to me was how immigrants were expected to do the "dirty jobs." America was viewed as a promise land to immigrants and they weren't given the chance. During this period of time it was a huge learning process to America. I hope that one day everyone will be equal
This comment has been removed by the author.
Looking at the photos presented in class really caught my attention. One image that stuck out to me was a photograph of a group of women with a sign that stated, " I wish Ma could vote." The women's faces caught my attention, because they looked disappointed in the decision America has made by discriminating and not letting women vote. Its really sad how back then women were more discriminated and had less rights, but it has also made me more thankful today. With out all the female voices, women today still would not have the rights they do.
Looking at these pictures in class helped me see all the tragedies we have had in the world. The tragedies we have now seem to be bigger, but not as known. I would like to see how the tragedies are compared next to each other. The death toll has to be enormous! Imagine if we had all those people still. They would have had kids, they would have kids, and even they would have kids! Now people can go to school together weather they are black or white, and women can vote. Most people think that is great, but we have the few haters. I have to think that there will always be haters, for anything. Somebody always has a different stance on things. This can help us as a country learn what not to do, and what to do!
Most of the pictures that I saw connected directly with today’s society. Pictures regarding women’s rights, how we treat African American people, and the importance of having money in their societies is just as important as the problems we face today. Much like their times, we see people fighting for change. Whether it be the war they were fighting in Vietnam, or the war they are fighting today in Ferguson, the want and the need for change will always be present. That is what America is. Change is what brought and brings people to this country. You can see it in the pictures in class or on the news today. Our country is constantly changing. It’s part of the American spirit. The choice to fight for something you believe in, to fight for something you feel needs to change. What our country has lost though, is the act of listening to the change or adapting to it. It has made reshaping parts of our society hard and seemingly impossible. That is why understanding what the people in these pictures did to change the things they believed in is so important. We can learn from them. We can use the strategies and the ideas they used for our beliefs today. We can connect even more with our past. Maybe we can move past just connecting the times with our problems, but also connecting with our solutions.
The photos in class today really gave me a reality check to what goes on in the world outside of my life and lifetime. The images devestated me because they made me realize what humans are truly cable of and how some people are treated so unfairly because of people who don't deserve to be doing what they're doing. All of these photos don't so much shape American life as much as they shape the changes in American life for the most part. There were however some photos that while tragic similar things still happen in today's society. We have learned lessons from alot and granted certain people certain right but there is still unjust things going on that need to be stopped. Many of these photos, although some were horrific, truly embody the American spirit and help us understand what it means to be an American as they show true freedom and our not always beautiful past. The photos shown were so different but for the most part people seeing these photos wanted to change the wrong things going on and so they take action toward ending that which would end up in the granting of rights or the ending of unequally and the good things they glorified and continued to implicate on society.
All the pictures I saw were old and taken in the 1900s. Some of the photos embody what the culture was in that time period and how they had new technology and medicine. While other photos showed the negative side of the time with racism, women's rights, and war. They captured a moment of history and showed where we came from and how life was in that time period. We can learn from these pictures and what they did but also solve the problems in different and more efficient way than before.
The pictures that I observed were very interesting because I did not realize some of the tragedies that happened less than fifty years ago. Many pictures showed me a new perspective of what happened and made me think about the events in a different way. One picture that really shocked me was the police officer letting his dog bite an African American for no reason. This opened my eyes to how unjust the officers used to be and it also made me realize that this kind of treatment is still going on today. Most of these pictures brought new light to many historical events that I did not completely understand and helped me realize our past is far from perfect.
Through the pictures I observed mass groups of people in different situations in America. Crowds of people fighting for equal rights to struggling from poverty. Most of the pictures made me feel bitter but some also reminded me of accomplishments that have been made in history. These historical events shape what we all have today, the "American Life." From the events America has definitely gained freedom, equality, amazing technology/inventions as well as a certain way to live. But with all of the accomplishments I believe we have lost a lot. For example many have lost the want to help others and the concern of the world as a whole, we aren't as in touch with what is going on around the world, as well as simple things like depth of conversation and interest in many topics. In almost all of the pictures I saw a want to fight for something and I think from gaining so much over time many have lost that want.
There were many strong images that stood out when taking a look at the large variety of historical photos. Some of the most powerful images in my opinion were those displaying the racist history of the United States of America. There is so much hate in the history of this country that we all live in. From slavery to the less extreme but still awful realities of the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s. But this does not necessarily define our nation. The thing about all of these atrocities that took place is that now we have something to look back on and grow from. Being a good citizen can mean something different to each and every one of us, but it should be apparent that showing love and compassion is the most crucial piece to achieving this status. Americans need to love one another in as many ways as possible if we want to be content and cooperative within our communities. Furthermore, we need to show love to people from all around the world. America has such a huge influence on the planet and sadly the people that reside in the country aren't always very good people. The most worrying part about this is that morals and the ability to gain power don't always go hand in hand. There are bad people that make bad things happen for their own benefit today just like there has been all through history. There were many images showing war in the not so distant american past. War is something that can be used to generate a whole lot of revenue for certain people and sometimes I question if that is the most important thing to our world leaders. Is it so far off to say that money is all that matters to some of these politicians? Perhaps even more important than american lives? And would it be even more so far off to say that the real reasons for some of these wars could be highly camouflaged and hidden from the public? Through propaganda and social pressure people can be pressured into going and killing other human beings for what I believe is often a hidden agenda. So, I challenge every American citizen to know what they are fighting for before picking up a weapon. And yes, it is absolutely crucial for us to defend ourselves and our loved ones. That has always been one of the most important things to true patriotic Americans. But sometimes we have to question, is the violence necessary?
The images made me feel many things but two things stuck out, I was either proud to live in a country where this image took place. Or I was ashamed to be associated with a country like that. But everything that we are today that I'm proud of and not so proud of is because of what has happened both in and out of the pictures. As a country, we have gained so much, yet lost some in return. In wars that we've won, we gain respect from countries all around, yet we lose our American brothers and sisters. When dealing with business, we gain almost unimaginable profits, but we sometimes lose the understanding that our workers are human beings too. There are many, many more examples, but these, and many more, are good and bad examples of the American Spirit. Especially in these examples do we understand what being American means, we know that we have a strong military. But we also take so much time debating whether or not it would be worth for the lives of fellow Americans. We know that we have a working economy, but now we have unions and safer working conditions. Off of these, we learn and grow to be a stronger nation as a whole.
Observing these images in class made me remember all the American history i’ve learned over time and realized most of America’s history is inner conflict in society and gaining rights in a free country. Though we know about the parts of history where we as a society became as one, only when mass crisis hit, like one of the photos I saw of fireman and police officers. The way I interpreted it was that it was a picture of ground zero on 9/11. Although it may not be from that at all I still made it have a story. We as a country band together when needed most, shown in a moving picture of several World War Two soldiers surrounding the grave of a fallen soldier. This country has had it’s up’s and down’s in history but we make it through, the picture of The Great Depression when the bank’s crashed. Our country has practically went bankrupt and we still made it through.
The images that I observed really close were the ones with the colored people, the firemen and the police officers carrying the military coffin, and the dancing image of the flapper girls. The way the pictures of the colored people made me feel was just really sad. I don’t think any of that was right just because they were different. The pictures of the firemen and the police officers carrying the military coffin made me feel happy and proud of how we deal and how we show some of our gratitude to not only the country but the military. The way the pictures made me feel of the flapper girl’s dancing was that it made me realize throughout all the sad time in the past a lot of people were able to overcome them and have fun with life, it made me happy. I definitely think that the racism with the colored people has shaped America drastically just because it was a big step to remove slavery and remove most of the racism in the world. The dancing shaped America by just creating dance and that work of art to come far in the future and see the differences between the times of dancing. I believe the military picture with the American flag over the top of the coffin that the firemen and the police officers were carrying really does embody the American spirit because we are taking care of our own and we are proud of everyone who goes and fights for our country. We have gained new dance moves and just getting to know what dancing is and we have gained that everyone is created equal and just because people have different skin color or are different in general doesn’t mean they should be treated differently. I think over the course of time we have just kind of lost track of what it means to be an American and how lucky we are to have the freedom that we actually do because a lot of other countries aren’t that lucky. I definitely think all of the images that were in the classroom all touched us in someway and all helped us understand what it means to be an American.
The pictures in class reminded me of how cruel the world is and can be. History is cruel. It reminded me of how sometimes we fight for something we are trying to avoid.It brought the question of, what are we really fighting for? This world has been through alot and people say history is bound to repeat itself so what will happen the second time through? Have we already reached the point of it repeating? It shows the struggles people go through to make sure other people dont go through the same struggles. It shows courage.Overall these images have brought many questions to my mind about what this world really is and what we are really trying to do
Looking at the pictures on one hand kind of give you a shell shock and on the other hand just show how great at times life was through history while showing home the government at times thought that they had the right idea when really they were just as wrong as the person abusing it. Overall the pictures show me that times have been tough and sometimes never needed to be that hard but yet we made it threw it day by day kept moving forward.
From walking around the class today and looking at the photos I noticed that the lesser parts of American history outweighed better and inovative phases of what we have been through. Yes America has had its fair share of bad times, but so has any other country. Taking the fact that we have not been around as long as other countries also agrees to the fact that we had to get settled first before deciding what to do with ourselves. We were still starting up when cultural rights was taking place in Europe so we did look sloppy compared to other knowing that we were a major player in giving aid to others in need. Overall we are still trying to fix racism and other hatred within our country just like any others.
Polio is a wretched virus caused by drinking impure water. If left untreated— polio can cause meningitis and even flaccid paralysis and eventually death. In 1916, Philip Drinker invented an artificial respirator so that even after polio and paralysis, young victims of this virus could survive for years before the vaccine was developed.
A photo of nurses reading to young victims displays the immense amounts of mercy in medicine. I feel as though some of that has been lost and even in medicine, bedside manner is not so personal, though there are still professionals who provide that level of care, many have lost sensitivity for patients and families. America has become so hardened to pain. Where has the benevolence gone?
On Monday in class we looked at some black-and-white images of many different events and people from the late 1800s and early 1900s. They made me think a lot of different things. Some of the images looked very different and showed what the United States was like back then. They made me think of how much we have changed and improved as a country. Some images made me feel bad and I didn't understand why people were that way back then. Some images showed problems that are still happening today. Some images were about war and conflicts back them. One image that stood out to me was an image with a man walking across an area with several torn down houses and buildings. I think it showed how the time the picture was took was a tough time economically and for our whole country. There are still many problems in America today that we can fix if we put our minds to it. Overall, these images were fascinating and depressing and made me think of what the United States has achieved and what it can improve on.
Out of all these pictures, the one that stood out to me the most was the one with the KKK protest. Its 2015, and although the KKK is no longer a large issue, African Americans are still fighting for their equality and for the death of racism and discrimination. Although some argue that the issue is long gone and that white Americans and African Americans live the same, that is not the situation. If you turn on the news today, there is a very high chance that one of the stories might be on the "issue" of African Americans rallying for the issue of discrimination, police brutality, and injustice to be fixed. You can google pictures of recent protest or movements to bring attention to the issue, and those pictures will look hauntingly similar to this picture taken about 50 years ago. This image opened my eyes on how the United States tries to hide the issues that are ongoing.
Looking through these picture, I observe many sad and bad things. I saw kids working on farms doing hard labor. Now a days kids aren't like that anymore. I've also observe firemen, what seems to be carrying on of their friends/partners who had clearly passed away. Seeing that made me feel bad. I also saw a guy who had been killed at war, and his other men were still in action fighting. I also saw a picture of a guy being attacked by a dog, with the orders of a cop. Seeing that made realize that things today still haven't changed and are still happening.
There were two pictures in specific that drew my attention out of all the pictures I got to, those being the peaceful protest one and the one of the soldiers with the quote, “I am writing in a hurry. I see death coming up the hill.” I researched the peaceful protest one and I learned that peaceful protest were very popular from 1966 to 1999. A peaceful protest is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political non-cooperation, satyagraha(insistence on truth), or other methods, without using violence. I really like the idea of peaceful protests because it shows how corrupt the law is and how horrible of treatment the officers because of the laws being enforced even when the people were acting in peace. Also the other picture quoted, “I am writing in a hurry. I see death coming up the hill.”, was from pulled from an article that was about the Battle of Hamburger Hill during The Vietnam War, also known as Hill 937, which took place May 10-20, 1969. I think reading that quote was kind of a heavy read because personally, I’d hate to “see death coming”, I’d hate to know that death was inevitable. Based on both of these I feel like not much has changed. Many are still fighting laws with peace and in war. Many are still being mistreated for speaking up for what they believe is right.
I saw a photo while walking around the room of four ladies sitting outside a building talking to each other. There was a caption on it that said, "Women were only allowed 15 minute midday larks." Reading that I assumed men got more time to hang out than women and it just reminds me how far we have come towards equality. Women aren't looked at as just possessions anymore; we have the right to vote, have a job, be able to wear what we want, and more. The picture reminded me how unfairly women were treated compared to men and now we are striving towards gender equality and have accomplished a lot over the years.
Post a Comment
<< Home