Thursday 27 May 2010
Contemporary America
Final blog post is to locate one website which typifies contemporary America. It was difficult to find a website which typifies contemporary America, so I chose CNN website for my blog.
CNN is a news channel and was the first network to provide 24 hour television. I think CNN website shows contemporary America to the viewers to tell the news about America and also from all over the world. Viewers can learn contemporary America by reading news from different kind of issues such as business, sport, entertainment.
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Contemporary America
When first looking for a good site to choice I found a lot of them fairly boring then i stumbled across this one because of the name Chomsky which i have heard of through friends who really enjoyed reading his stuff and when reading this guys review of the interview i found it very hard to swallow what Chomsky was saying. however he did raise some good points and i found it very interesting i have not watched the video yet but i am sure it is also good.
I think this website shows a contemporary America because it shows maybe how paranoid some of the people are, the fear people feel and other aspects of decline and that people don't have the faith in America they once had. 10 or so years ago someone would not be speaking of America in this way. there would be no need. no one would question the American way and its future
I also can not remember what i said earlier when i was talking about it in the group. so i hope that will go towards this blog task.
I did really enjoy reading this and i found Chomsky's re-Marks very interesting how he compared modern America to a country state it was in 80 years ago and has inspired me to read more of his work in the near future
Contemporary American
Contemporary America.
I chose recover.gov as a website that I feel represents contemporary America. The website was set up by the government to show the American people, and the rest of the world how they were planning to rebuild America. It is a way of showing people that the recovery act is working, and where exactly that money is going. I believe this type of website was set up by the Obama administration as not only a new way of communicating with the American people, but also to regain their trust which was lost during the Bush administration.
The website shows the Recovery bill in its entirety. It also shortly summarises what the act plans to do, such as create new jobs and invest in long-term economic growth. I believe this website shows contemporary America as I feel it shows how the new America government are trying to work with the people, and trying to unite Americans, instead of turning them against their government. Interacting with the American people in this was also shows how the government are taking a more modern approach to reach more people.
Contemporary America
This blog task proved to be hard as most of the websites were about Religion and Race. However I have chosen this website because it shows contemporary America from 1945 to the present time, I also noticed that it contains the rest of the american history on there but the contemporary is what we are focusing on.
The site shows 54 articles of contemporary America including that of the 9/11, I felt this was a good site because shows what america planned after the effects of the 9/11 it also shows how soft power has branded America and how some earlier events have helped to make the contemporary America such as the presidential timeline and different wars that America has struggled through but survived.
I feel that this site typifies contemporary America because of its wide search of the recent events and it shows that the federal agencies want to teach and educate new Americans.
Monday 24 May 2010
Contemporary America
This website, for me, most typifies Contemporary America as it is a website detailing Americanisation. It talks of all the products that have been spread across the world, such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola. It has some powerful images of the brands which are instantly recognisable which shows the amount of soft power that America has as they are recognised all over the world. It also talks about an 'American Dream Park' in Shanghai, which is an amusement park which copies the typical American culture and food.
It also illustrates the bad points of Americanisation, saying that the globalisation of American products could be the reason for hatred towards America, and possibly the reason for the terrorist attacks on 9/11.
At the end of the article it asks the question of when, if ever, will the Americanisation of the world end? I think this article typifies America as it emphasises the iconic products that are the epitome of American culture which are universally recognisable.
Thursday 20 May 2010
American Declinism
When I goggled American Declinism I found a blog entitled The Rational Optimist. I found this page particularly interesting because of the optimistic view it took on the decline of America. The writer declares “Declinism” as a favourite theme for pessimists. It looks in depth at Americas debt and their GDP. It debates that despite the fact that Americas military budget is equal to all other nations combined, it is only 5% of the nations GDP. However, it does consider that with the GDP being around $14 trillion, the spending the government is obligated to do comes to around $50 trillion at the very least. This makes the idea that America can still live in luxury with this debt unbelievable.
The piece is summed up in an interesting way.
“as long as the US still remains fantastically productive, with the energies and creativity of its people continuing to churn out a cornucopia of saleable things, and with technological advancement continuing to enhance our output even more, we will not starve. Not only will we go on enjoying a high standard of living, it will likely get even better.”
It seems as though the writer does not see it important for America to be the top superpower, but just for it to be able to provide an acceptable living standard for its citizens and produce enough products for the country to get by comfortably. I find this to be an interesting view as it shows that some Americans do not feel that it is important to them that America is the top superpower.
Declining Declinism
I enjoyed this article because instead of all the other articles i read online this one was different in a sense that it is not all doom and gloom and it is not the end of America. "its best days are behind it" one historian said but as history as shown this sort of economy landscape has happened more than once before and America has pulled its way through and people can not predict the future in the 60's has the cold war a ivy league historian said that declinism was happening then. This was before the huge Internet boom which helped out the economy.
This article makes it seem that even though it is going through a rough time at the moment America with get through this and come out the other side. still the one last remaining super power.
"Don't believe the historians and economists who say America's best days are behind us." is the title to the article which shows this piece of work is different from others. it covers allot of the main issues that have come together to create this declinism. such as war. the debt.
Daniel Gross the writer of this article makes it seem that any day now America will pick it's self up and launch its self into "an unprecedented era of growth, prosperity, and rising asset prices."
American Declinism
For this week topic, from the google research about American Declinism, I chose an article by David Kampf. In this article he says that even though it is fashionable to speak of America's fall and the rise of other countries, America will remain the world's default power for years to come.
According to Josef Joffe, he says 'The history of declinism shows that doom arrives in cycles, and what comes and goes, logically, does not a trend make'. The US economy is worth three times as much as Japan, which is the world's second largest economy and about the rising powers which is about China, he says that China still has a way to dethrone the US. He also says at the end of this article, 'as the 21st century unfolds, the United States will be younger and more dynamic than its competitors'.
The Default Power and American Declinism
The reason that I have chosen this website is because it offers an insight on the fact that America knew it was on a decline, although it was on a steady progress of roughly every ten years and then it was predicted by many different people that America would decline rapidly due to over expansion and abroad this mainly started by the end of te Bush administration, as the facts show we can see this to be true also there would be a power shift from the United States to Asia. There is reference that America is experienceing the same problems that started the fall of Rome.
Even though this powershift is true it can still be said that America out ranks other powers in different ways such as its military and income and there is also signs that it also has the highest education pass rate.
American Psyche - Election
I found this blog task slightly difficult because many of the articles did not make any sense to me, but then I found this one article that I think I may have made some sense into it. The task was to locate an article and see whether it is relevent to his fiction or to the contempory America and that we should comment on the vision of the USA it offers.
The reason that I chose this article was because it talks about the elections even though it does not link with my presentation, I feel that it offers a view on contempory American life, while reading the article I noticed that many of the signs that are there are insults to other people, from this I got the idea that some people do not elect on the things that they offer but rather the name that they carry. Also it links in with Saunders idea of irrationality within an exaggerated form, the signs could show how the candidates would be if they got elected.
This comment also offers a negetive vision on America as in this exaggerated form shows american leaders as they truly are.
Wednesday 19 May 2010
American Psyche Written In Advance
Google search on "American Declinism"
Tuesday 18 May 2010
American Declinism
This article is on the decline of America and tells us of the figures of its economy that America has at the moment, saying it has an economy of $13.13 trillion dollars, which is 20% of the global output. The article is trying to defend the idea that America is in decline. It's trying to give examples of how America is still coping and not in decline, after starting off outlining the history of declinism, for example the Imperial Overstretch of the country and that Hurricane Katrina exposed a weak country.
The article also focuses on Americanisation and Globalisation of products around the world. The author emphasises that it is impossible for America to be in such steep decline as everyone says it is when globalisation is doing so well. He gives figures of how many stores have been Americanised around the world, such as he says there are 30,000 McDonald's restaurants not in America, and that 70% of Coca-Cola drinkers aren't from North America. This shows that America is still doing well, and is spreading its Soft Power throughout the world, despite it being in decline. Therefore its gathering all this money from other countries, which contributes to stopping America from declining.
George Saunders
I chose the article about Christmas from 'American Psyche' series from The Guardian. I couldn't find any relevant article about story Christmas from 'In Persuasion Nation' which I am going to do a presentation, so I chose this which I thought interesting and can consider to contemporary America.
George starts his sentence which says America will be Christmas from late July. When I first came to England I saw people buying Christmas presents in the late October and thought it is really first, but in America it starts from late July which surprise me.
I think its not just America but nowadays people's thinking of Christmas had been changed.
As George says, in the past Christmas was filled with people freezing to death in their fields. However, in contemporary, everyone looks healthy and has presents in their hands. People nowadays make Christmas nostalgic with many illuminations which I think exaggerated.
Thursday 13 May 2010
George Saunders
Tuesday 11 May 2010
George Saunders - Advertising
I found this article by George Saunders on advertising which links with the short story 'My Flamboyant Grandson' which is what my presentation is on. In this article Saunders talks about the techniques of advertising and how they persuade you to buy the products they are trying to sell.
One of the examples he uses is of a stapler advert. If you show a man buying a stapler with 9 supermodels around him, then the message is buy this stapler and you will be attractive to supermodels. He also gives many other examples of this technique.
He concludes his article by saying "My point is advertisements are a big lie. I'm going to break free from the false seductiveness of that ad and live in the real world." This links to 'My Flamboyant Grandson' as he writes of how fake America is in it. Every time the Grandfather goes into a public space he is forced to watch adverts which try to persuade him to buy their products and in his article it is much the same in real life as advertising companies are still trying to make you buy things through falsely persuading you into believing the product will do something or cure something which in reality, it probably wont do.
Thursday 6 May 2010
Remembering 9/11
I choose this video because i thought it was very powerful with the video clips of the planes flying in to the buildings and with the buildings falling down then with the still images of the distress on peoples face and the emotions they are feelings. I found this video very moving and i found it very hard to watch it all the way through because of the disturbing images of the moments the planes went soaring into the world trade center. still after 9 years gone i still feel my stomach turning when seeing the clips another aspect of this video which gripped me was the use of music aswell. very powerful classical music to set the mood and tempo of the video. also the video has still images of biblical messages on it
The first still image you still is of an American firefighter standing on the rumble that once stood the towers standing alone in a very Salome image then the next image is of the street below with rumble scattered around the streets and people in despair with the American flag still blowing and flowing in the wind. This video is very patriotic and encourages emotion out of the person watching the tribute video.
The video shows the buildings falling from different angels and different news stations and i think showing the same scenes from different television stations.
The Video tribute i think is very hard hitting and emotional and makes me remember the day when it happened and seeing the clips for the first time 9 years ago.
9/11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj-GkDJpr2Y&feature=related
I found many videos from Youtube about 9/11, and I chose this which is for the 5th anniversary memorial video for World Trade Centre towers. This is a video which shows World Trade Centre and people who were near there. It shows when the plane hitted the building, collapsed, a lot of paper falling down, people running and panic, and New York covered with a huge cloud of dust. The last image putting up the flag is showing tribute to the sadness of the terrible attack and also not to forget.
Don't forget the 9/11 - Tribute
I have chosen this video for the tribute of the 9/11 because of the images that are shown throughout the video, they are not all about the attack some of them are childrens innocence and others are what firefighters used to do before that day. One that was striking was an image of the american eagle crying for its country that it is so proud of. The images consisted also of the before and after effects so that we could see the effect that it had on the American community. Another reason that I chose this video was because it is a tribute to 9/11 and the song that is behind it is called Heaven, using the lyrics with a girl singing it we can hear that she is still waiting for her dad to come home even though he's not. It also asks not to forget about the 9/11 even though this day is very traumatic and upsetting, they could find that if they forget this then they will lose that memory of what America used to be like.
I do not really remember 9/11 however watching this tribute with the lyrics and the pictures made it very hard for me not to feel emotion towards the Americans by wondering how many Americans have had their lives changed by this and the devestation that it caused.
Wednesday 5 May 2010
9/11 Tribute
9/11
Monday 3 May 2010
Faith within America
But the idea of America is that it always gets the newest things first and lot of fad's to come out of America to the rest of the world one example of this is new religions have come out of this and is often eaten up by celebrates then other people follow them.
http://www.scientology.org/
Scientology, the website it self looks like a website for a holiday resort and they also have an advert that runs upon clicking on the link, i for one have not witnessed a advert for religion....
this religion has taken a lot of people to believe it in and some A list celebrities believe in it too some of the more known for it are Tom cruse and John Travolta.
But however it is acepectable in America this sort of behavior its the land of the free and not only is religion is apart of the American identity but also freedom of choice and the vast amounts of different religious path's you can choice from. i do not think one religion can be chosen to represent America even though most people would say Christianity i think the all the different religions make up the Identity of American.
The one that has created the most stir is scientology which has hit America in a big way and they now have churches in the UK aswell
Sunday 2 May 2010
Tribute to 9/11.
When typing 9/11 on YouTube, so many different videos come up. Some tributes, some footage of news reports from the day, and some talking about the conspiracy theories behind the attacks. I chose this 4 minute tribute video because out of the many I watched, it was the only one I can across that had no music. It simply shows a montage of photos of the twin towers. Some photos used are from before the attacks. One image that particularly caught my attention was one of the New York skylines before the attack, with the American flag faintly in the background, and in the far corner is the bald headed eagle, a significant symbol of America. The video shows images of the heroic fire fighters who risked their lives to save others, even when there was little hope left. Another significant image that is shown about a minute into the video, is one that I used in my very first blog post. It is one of 3 fire fighters raising the American flag at ground zero. I think this is a positive image of a negative thing. It shows that in awful times of disaster, Americans are still extremely patriotic, and come together when their nation is being attacked. Towards the end of the video we see patriotic images remembering 9/11, ones that people have made, including one from a non American who writes “pardon my English”.
I chose this video because it reflects on all parts of the attacks on the twin towers, including the aftermath, and also shows how it united many Americans. I believe that this video’s silence leaves time to reflect, and takes nothing away from the images, making it thoughtful and significant.
Thursday 29 April 2010
Kabbalah
I found a website on Kabbalah, a religion that was a fad amongst celebrities a few years ago. Its most famous follower is Madonna, who is known for wearing a piece of red string around her wrist which is the sign of a follower. It is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the mythical aspect of Judaism. The website claims that in order to study Kabbalah you do not have to change your faith; it is more about the well being and finding happiness.
The website states,
"Kabbalah is an ancient yet entirely new paradigm for living. It teaches that all of the branches of our lives—health, relationships, business—emanate from the same trunk and the same root. It’s the technology of how the universe works at the core level. It’s a whole new way of looking at the world that can connect you to the kind of permanent fulfillment you may be seeking.
The bottom line in Kabbalah is - the proof is in the pudding. The knowledge kabbalah.com imparts, the information we provide for you, and the tools we share must have practical results in your life, results you can feel"
Kabbalah centers are found in over 50 locations across the US. They are describes as places with a supportive community where followers can learn in an environment that allows them to grow spiritually.
There has been much controversy about Kabbalah, as many people say it is more of a fashion statement than an actual belief. It is also been called a money making con due to the high prices of the courses at Kabbalah centers, as well as myths that stars such as Madonna would only drink “Kabbalah” water that was sold through the centers.
The Snake Handlers
I found this article while looking for religions in America and I thought it would be interesting to look at, the snake handlers are only a small group and try to take the bible to a literal sense and it mentions that other churches do also but tend to skip certain bits when it becomes to literal for them. Snake handling was dwindling down however they mention that the only reason that it still survives is becuase of the powerfull families that keep it alive.
It is also mentioned that unless you think you are anointed by a holy ghost then they should stay away, giving the sense of the american identity that only chosen people can become members of the church as long as they are willing to accept the punishments that God gives them and take it as obidience. it is also not a religion that is really publicised though the media as deaths and injuries have occured from the practices. However it is said that they do not handle snakes all the time and without that they look just like a pentecoastal group.
Tuesday 27 April 2010
Religion and Faith
I found this website called 'Christian and American', and it is clear straight away from the title that it is putting together two things that are important to Americans, religion and national identity. It represents faith and American identity well as the site had topics and issues to do with their faith, then in a separate column issues to do with American culture and politics. But also how the two combine, for example one issue is Obama's plan for his abortion agenda, and the fact that there are 5 Christians in the Supreme Court who will determine the decision, so it discusses the issue in terms of faith and American identity and politics together. The website has the American flag as the background of the title showing that they are proud of their country and that they think Christianity should be the primary religion associated with America. The site says that its aim to to present the American news from a Christian point of view, showing that Christianity is important to Americans.
Religious and interest groups (Amish)
Thursday 25 March 2010
Crash
This film covers the racial prejudice problem against different races of whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, and Iranians.
I agreed with Ebert view than with Foundas. Ebert says that this film is a considerable movie and I think so too. However I have not been to Los Angeles so I am not sure if everything are like the film or not.
I liked the two police part that one behave like a racist to the other racial citizens but taking care of his father, and one is having doubts in his partner's behaviour and fed up being with the partner but when he shot black man accidentally he throw black man's dead body and left. I had a doubt between the contradiction with these two police's actions, but I also able to understand both of their action as well.
"Crash" review
Review of Crash
Crash
however even though i do not think that the film should be film of the year i also disargee that the film is worst of the year. the film is very good at drawing people in and for the viewer to get feelings for the characters. its just its attempted to suggest that all these stories relate to each other through "crashing" it seems like all the characters are placed in these situations a sort of domino effect.
Tuesday 23 March 2010
'Crash' Review
Friday 19 March 2010
Present Native American Tribes
The first website i found was this one for the united tribes in Carolina. from the very top of the website you can tell that these tribes have been doing what ever it takes to keep there head up above water it terms of surviving in today's America. You can see from the top the projects and activities such as the film festival they have been holding for the past 10 years. however while appealing to tourists like much other tribes websites i have found this website provides allot of information about there hertiage and history. Carolina Indians seem very loyal to the blood and there land and it mentions how they have been on that land since 300 A.D.
Another aspect of the website if you click the link for volunteers it takes you to a page where you cant apply for jobs there rather they ask for you to donate money to the tribe.
However seeming what all the Indians tribes have been through since the first settlers and what the American government did to there decedents at the bottom of the page it says "Thank you for your support and God bless you and God bless America!" which i found interesting.
www.narragansett-tribe.org
The other website i found seemed a bit more orientated around progressing the tribe and bringing it into the modern making money and becoming a business but it also seems to be trying to keep its heritage maybe to cover up there ways which would be viewed as very different from what the ancestors where like but in today's world there is no room for the nomadic Indians that once lived on the American soil. They have kept this hertiage with traditional Native American music playing in the background while you view the website also on the homepage there is a slide show if you go on to the directory link it shows you all members of the tribe and you can tell by the names how the whole tribe has been Americanised with all very western names. The web page does provide a small section about the tribes history however it is not much seeming these people are meant to be proud of there hertiage. maybe they feel it has held them back in life?
Thursday 18 March 2010
Two Native American Nations
Native American tribes
This website is about Jicarilla Apache nation. It is located in the northern New Mexico. They were migrated from Canada sometime between A.D. 1300 and 1500.
'Jicarilla' came from Spanish word which means little basket maker. The website says that Jicarillas are flexible and adaptable people by the nature and by circumstance. Today, they become important participants in the economic growth of northern New Mexico and the American Southwest.
http://www.mohawktribe.com/default.htm
Next website is about Mohawk tribes. Mohawk tribes are original people of New York state. They are known as Kanien'kehake which means people of the flint. They also reffered to as the Haudenosaunee which means people of the longhouse because they lived in a long rectangulae house. It can lived in up to sixty people.
Navajo and Blackfeet Tribes.
The first website I found was for the Navajo tribes. The title of the site is “Welcome to the Navajo nation government!” I found it interesting how the natives refer to themselves as nations apposed to minorities. It talks of their fight to sustain a viable economy to help their population which has come to around 250,000 people. The government was originally set up in 1923 to deal with the increasing desire for the Navajo land to be leased to oil companies for exploration. The site is full of interesting facts about the Navajo tribe, such as their language was used to create a secret code when in battle with the Japanese.
It keeps people informed of the events of the Navajo government, as well as upcoming events in the government. There also interestingly is a section titled jobs, which has links to services in the reserves.
http://www.blackfeetnation.com
The second website I found was for the Blackfeet tribe. What I found particularly interesting about this site was a quote on the top of the page which says, “The Blackfeet are, perhaps, the most powerful tribe of Indians on the continent.” The site has a section specifically for tribal members, which has different current issues on it. There is also a section about their government, which was created under the 1934 Indian Reorganisation Act. It contains amendments made to the constitution that are relevant to the tribe.
This website looks a lot more in dept at the tribe’s history, with resources such as a timeline and a page titled interesting facts. It states that the Blackfeet tribe are one of six nations out of 564 that still live on their ancestral land.
Two Native American Tribes
The site I have chosen is the site for the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the first quote that I came across was "The Seminole Tribe of Florida is a Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, the only tribe in America who never signed a peace treaty." They seem to take pride in the fact that they are the only tribe that did not sign the treaty. While looking through the site there are links that lead you to finding out about their culture and their history. The history consists of a time scale but dates have been picked out showing different times which were important to the tribe. For the present day situation the website consists of different links for a numerous set of activities, they present many shows and viewings so it could be seen that the tribes survival has depended on the tourist faction.
http://www.shawnee-tribe.com/
The other site that I found was for the Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, while looking through this site I found that the site was more formal than the Seminole site, it consists of different links looking at different aspects of the Shawnee community. For the history view the Shawnee tribe it is placed in order with pictures to accompany, it does not have a timeline like Seminole tribe and it is very detailed viewings. Also for the present situation it is mentioned what is happening to improve the Shawnee community tribe such as the recycling and composting project. It could be said that the Shawnee tribe is more informative about the tribe and could be seen as not trying to reach a full tourist attention
Wednesday 17 March 2010
Native Americans
This website shows the Cherokee Tribe's history. It says how their tribe has always been the most advanced, and it was a spirit of survival and perseverance that kept them strong in the past and today. It explains how they were 'removed' by the White Settlers who found gold in 1830's and how many died on the 1000 mile journey to Oklahoma or Indian Territory. After the Trail of Tears it says they soon rebuilt a democracy with schools, churches and newspapers. It says it's the second largest Indian Tribe and today its the leader in education, housing and economic development. In the 21st century it became self-governed and has its own courts and judicial systems and it is a success. The Cherokee Tribe portray their history and present day situation in a positive way and are proud of their success.
http://www.chickasaw.net/history_culture/index_670.htm
This is the official Chickasaw website, it shows a 'proud history as fierce warriors' and it says that they are the 'unconquered and unconquerable nation' and call themselves the 'Spartans of the Mississippi'. All these show how strong and proud a nation they were and still are. They lived in 'highly sophisticated town houses' with their own laws and religion. They also were 'removed' and relocated to Oklahoma where they broke from the Choctaw Tribe to become independent. The Chickasaw's allied with the South in the Civil War and raised troops to fight with the Confederacy. Today many are successful farmers and ranchers and they built some of the first schools and businesses in Indian territory. In 1983 they got a new Chickasaw Constitution and are thriving as a result of this.
Thursday 11 March 2010
Pro and Against Illegal Immigration
The other website I have chosen shows a list of all the anti illegal immigration groups in America today and for example of some of the web pages that website can take you to I have chosen the mothers against illegal aliens which and the top depicts and typical looking mother holding her baby against the American flag as the background. This shows what they think they are doing is patriotic. The website goes on to show a few videos about the matter. Another website is the group called weneedafencse which views the illegal immigrants in a very negative light talking about how they are costing the tax payers billions. Similar to the borderangels website this page also has a box which allows you to donate money to there 'mission'. Also the website gives into detail about the 'problem' and also on a separate page about what the solution will be. and place to leave comments and also put in blog posts which means that this web page has created a community around its self.
http://www.borderangels.org/
http://migranttrail.wordpress.com/anti-illegal-immigration-organizations/ (http://www.mothersagainstillegalaliens.org/?cat=3) (http://www.weneedafence.com/)
Wednesday 10 March 2010
South West Border Immigration
I have chosen this site for my Pro because it talks about research that political scientists have done which has come to the conclusion that Hispanic immigration is not a threat to American Identity. It explains how this is true by describing within their research the Latino culture are adapting to the American way of life. I did notice however that someone left a remark on their page telling them that they should all grow up.
http://www.topix.com/forum/news/immigration/T3EIFQMM3MT7DDP8
Im not sure if we can use this for the Anti but Ichose this because it is real Americans arguing with some Mexicans about the fact that they are basically sick of looking after Mexicans. While reading this forum I found that there was a lot of anger and insults directed to Mexicans, many about Latino birth rates and about how Mexico is strict about their policy of illegal immigrants but how they turn the other way when it is one of their own people sneaking into America.
Tuesday 9 March 2010
Hispanic Immigration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nhb5gU0aQqs&feature=related
This is a video Glenn Beck talking about the Law that was passed in Arizona making it illegal for businesses to hire illegal Hispanic immigrants. It is clear that Glenn Beck is against Hispanic immigration and he is happy with the law as he wants America to stay American and not become Spanish. He tells Hispanics to get their own country in order and "stop leeching off ours" and he says that they are "bleeding us dry". He says that Mexico said that it wouldn't be able to handle the amount of people in school, jobs and hospitals if they were deported back to Mexico, he says America can't handle that either. He criticises the Hispanics for making statements to the press over this issue in Spanish.
Pro-Hispanic Immigration
http://today.ttu.edu/2009/03/hispanic-immigration-facts-versus-fallacies-clarifying-americas-opportunity/
This website talks about two Professors from Texas who have written a book about the misconceptions of Hispanic immigration. They state for it is good that immigrants are willing to work the low paid jobs in order to work their way up to the higher paid job, achieving their American Dream. It says that 42 million Hispanics represent $3 trillion in economic activity showing that they are essential for making money for America. They say that the immigrants are willing to risk their life for the better opportunity of living in America, and the country should be flattered by this. However, they do say that Hispanics should learn English as it is the language of their country.
South- West Border immigration issues
Thursday 4 March 2010
Hurricane Katrina's influence on the American American community.
The website I chose provides facts on the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I thought this website was significant and more helpful than others I had found as it made a point of comparing the statistics of African Americans that were affected to the other races affected. It also emphasised the fact that three of the states that were worst hit – Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi – were some of the most poverty stricken states in America. It compares the poverty rate of these states with that of the US. The US has a poverty rate of 13%, where as Mississippi has a poverty rate of 21.6%.
It also states that one in three of the victims of Hurricane Katrina were African American. This point is contrasted with the fact that one in every eight Americans are African American.
Hurricane Katrina
I chose a BBC website about Hurricane Katrina. It is about New Orleans which two-thirds of its residents are black. Also more than a quarter live in poverty.
This place was 10 times to national murder rate and 21% of households has no access to a car. This article was posted just after the Hurricane Katrina attacked.
The anger of African-Americans who lives in New Orleans were that just this place was left behind when others escaping. Also, one says that 'television is creating a sympathetic image of white people fleeing, and black people caught up in a shoplifting orgy.'
Hurricane Katrina and African Americans
This American news article from CBSNEWS is based around the idea of the views of white American towards African American after the disaster of Hurricane Katrina. The first line that shows these feelings is 'CBS Radio News reports that New Orleans City Councilman Oliver Thomas said people are too afraid of black people to go in and save them’. This statement only shows one stereotype as it is saying that all African Americans at the time in New Orleans where to scary to go in and save which could have been true so some of the African Americans that that articles then goes on to say where ‘rumoured of shootings and riots and making people afraid to take in people who are being portrayed as thugs and thieves. ‘ This view of the African American people should not be put on all African American people as these actions being described where not preformed by all but only by sum. The rest of the article goes on to say that the help for the people that where hit by the hurricane was so slow in coming maybe becomes a large amount of the people in need where poor and black. But then there is the side of members of president bush’s party like secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who is said to have downplayed the situation by saying "That Americans would somehow in a color-affected way decide who to help and who not to help, I, I just don't believe it," she said. "The African-American community has obviously been very heavily affected. But people are doing what they can for Americans. Nobody wants to see any American suffer." Which show a different said of the argument that it was not because the people in need where black but because people would and did decided for themselves but not based on the colour of someone’s skin if they would help or not and how quickly they would.
The Devestating Effects of Hurricane Katrina on African Americans
I have chosen this site for my discussion because it mentions about the higher education of many African Americans and the devestating effects that hurricane Katrina had on this and also effecting the African Americans as a whole. It mentions that racism is very strong in Lousianna and New Orleans as there is a quote strongly referred to this.
"This became most apparent when three days after the hurricane, armed police from the predominantly white blue-collar community of Gretna prevented a large group of black pedestrians who were stranded in New Orleans from crossing a bridge into their city. "We were concerned about life and property," said Gretna mayor Ronnie C. Harris. "It was quite evident that a criminal element was contained in a crowd of probably mainly decent people."
This also shocked me as it said probably mainly decent people. Another thing and perhaps a very crucial issue that could have provoked African American communities is that of a rumour that the dikes were breached by white people. It is very strong that even though they are considered American and were eventually helped issues can still be seen within America's nation.
Wednesday 3 March 2010
Hurricane Katrina
This is an article on the impact of Hurricane Katrina and the racist undertones in the way it was handled by the US Government. It says how in the hardest hit areas of New Orleans 98% of people who lived there were Black. The Government's slow reaction was also seen in Hurricane Floyd in North Carolina, where there's a predominant Black community. This signifies that "the value of Black and working class life is subordinate to capitalist property and profits." The article shows the difference in wording in race when applied to the taking of food in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. They said that Black people "looted" and White people were "finders". The police were ordered to stop looking for survivors to stop the lawlessness. This suggests that stopping Black people from looting in order to get food to survive is more important than finding survivors, which wouldn't happen if the community was White. It also says how the slow evacuation was blamed on the Black people, as they said they refused to leave their homes, when it was actually because of poverty, unemployment and low wages that were the reasons they couldn't leave, showing the racist attitudes of the media and Government.
Tuesday 2 March 2010
"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People" Hurricane Katrina Issues
I found this issue and task very enjoyable this week the issues because i remember when the natural disaster first happened i remember the massive amount of controversy surrounding the events which seemed to sparked off during the fund raiser with Mike Myers and Kanye West said out of the blue that "George Bush doesn't care about black people". which people started to believe with the lack of help sent out to help the victims there. i have picked this website to show how this opinion how now spread and people started to believe this. the website i have picked is called things black people don't like and George bush is listed in here because of this and the video is amusing to watch as well because the other faces involved with the fund raiser were not expected it and the reaction of Mike Myers and Chris Tucker is very entertaining to watch. On the website there is allot about the issue and there are also people placing there opinions and thoughts on the page which is another interesting read.
Wednesday 24 February 2010
K12 immigration
I chose this website because it seems like a informal and useful website , the website has sub categories which gives brief explanations then go on to give links to other websites to give the reader more information about what they are looking up.
This website is dedicated to Irish immigration which a one point was the back bone of the American population when people were starting to come across. the website has pictures to help give details about the Irish and there hertiage. this website contains allot of information about the Irish and there are certain styles which are used which show it is designed for younger children. They standout bright font against a darkish background also the size of the font and the sub categories are short paragraphs to get across to the younger generation.
It also gives tasks that you can do by yourself or in a group to test wheat her the information has been taken in or not this website is good for teaching kids and is very insightful.
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Immigration in Schools.
I have chosen this website as it begins by explaining how immigration is affecting students of America today. It states that, “The angst and emotion involved in the conflict are spilling over into schools and classrooms as students stage walkouts and engage in shouting matches.”
The website has a series of links to websites useful for the curriculum for the subject of immigration, as well as useful points for students to work on, as well as how to deal with the controversy and debate of this emotionally charged issue.
I found this website particulary interesting as it allows you to look into the subject further and also recognises that it is important for students to learn about current affairs that are affecting them and that they may feel quite passionate about.
Immigration
I chose this website. This website links to many websites from different kind of sources about the history of American immigration for students.
This website also have an activity to do after understanding about immigrant like answering the question, writing an emigrant story, ask own family about their history, creating a immigration timeline, making an immigration procedures list, and so on.
The good point of this website is that shows the website by student for student. There are many website linked at this website so that student can search from here about immigration easily and save their time.
Monday 22 February 2010
Immigration K-12
I have chosen this website because it shows the lesson plans and activities for Ellis Island and then it also has different activities for kids. I thought this was very good showing the history if America because for one of the activities called America: Land of Opportunity, the kids can help the immigrants find jobs making America strong and answering questions allow the children to see how the immigrants help. It also has teachers lesson plans in which we can see what teachers use as their sources and activities, showing different sites that are linked to different sites of immigration.
It shows immigration to be a big part of American history as there is much detail that has been put into this site with all the links and activities, it is as though people do not want their children to forget from where they may have come from and remember their heritage and for others it could be seen as a reminder that the immigrants helped to make America great.
K-12 and how it presents immigration
Immigration
This website is from a High School in America. It starts by outlining the statistics of immigration from the 1770's to the present day, and moves on to showing the shifts in where the immigrants come from. It then goes on to criticising America's policy on immigration saying it's brought many problems, such as language barriers, hostilities between ethnic groups and their inability to assimilate quick enough to American culture. It says how in the economic downturn Americans can't be expected to find employment for all the immigrants when some Americans themselves don't even have jobs. The website calls for a change in policy asking whether America should change to a 'closed-door policy' and limit the number of immigrants coming into the country. It is clear from this site that there are fears of immigrants coming and taking jobs at this difficult time where unemployment is at 10% in America. However, teaching this to school children could cause hostilities between ethnic groups as it could persuade Americans that immigrants are taking their jobs and money, causing tensions amongst Americans and the immigrants.
Tuesday 16 February 2010
Women through the decades.
I chose an abstract from an article for my item on women in the 1980s. I found this particularly interesting as it suggests that the “backlash” towards feminism in the 1980s was not as dominant as it has been portrayed to be. This theory arose after examining data from the Opinion Research Center’s General Social Survey. The data showed that amongst men as well as women, there was a significant increase in pro-feminist views of the wife and mother roles.
http://www.unification.net/misc/21-women.html
For my item on women I this century, I found a speech entitled “Role of Women in the 21st Century” by Josette S. Shiner, an editor of the Washington Times. Shiner begins her speech by talking about the bond women have, and the significant part they play in the human race. This thoughtfully represents women in their more historical role of the mother. She continues by talking about women in the 21st century, and the message women of power are putting across. It is seen as one of anger and how to compete with men. Shiner doesn’t believe this should be the way forward; she puts across the idea that women should embrace their womanhood and femininity, and use it to their advantage, and to the world’s advantages instead of trying to be more like men. I think the points she puts across are important, as women seem to be gaining more power, women such as Hillary Clinton. Her ideas that women shouldn’t have to act like men to get to the top should be taken onboard.
Women in work (1980's and Present day)
This image is from the American television show called Extrem Home Makeover where they go to different states to help families in need and build them new house in around 3 days. I have picked this particular image as i thought in was an interesting representation of a women in a male dominated proffesion. This is as the woman in the pink tool belt Paige hemmis is part of the carpentry side of them team which is normal seen as a male industry. This image shows that times have moved on and that women can been seen to work along side men in an industrial job and have been seen to be able to work at the same high standard. If you have seen the show it can be said that yes she has been accepted into a male indudtary but she is mostly seen making the little girl in the families rooms and not the boys or the partens which are mostly given to the male members of the team. I think that this image shows how women have succeded but not on a large scal and not without being seen to still have some feminime ways for example paiges signature pink toolbelt boots and t shirt.
http://feministing.com/imageStorage/womenworkers.JPG
This image is of two american women working on a form of transport which has been seen to be a style of work that a man should do and not a women as she was said to be to sweet, emotional and not strong enough to undertake this style of work. But this image shows a different representaion, which is that women are not these stereotypes but are just as capable as men. That they can handle hard long hours and hard labouring work and getting dirty if the need to. This image shows women and men that women can still be women and work, that they can look, dress and act like women and still carry out the same tasks as men and to the same standard or even to a higher standard.
Boys To Men: Media Messages About Masculinity
Boys in America in the present time only have this image of men and how they should be and strive to be. This image shows them that the way to sort out a probrlm is to get angry and violent and then it will be solve. But this ideas that they are been shown are not the right onces as theycould be what is said to be leading so many young men the crime, as they no longer have a majority influence from thier farthers and coachs. The influence, advie, and live skills boys use to learn form their farther and coaches has been lost and replaced with the representations they see and learn from video games, television shows, movies and music. These froms of media can be seen to make young American men feel trapped "Our culture puts boys in a gender straitjacket, channeling their full range of healthy emotions into narrow forms of expression, often aggressive ones. Media legitimates these constraints at a time when we desperately need to reinvent manhood in America." Dr. William Pollack.
http://www.mediate.com/articles/children.cfm
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5456456_womens-rights-presentday-america.html - For my website I chose this one which sum's up womens rights in America today which men would of had for century's it goes over such simple things which men take heavily for granted these sorts of rights given to women are still fairely recent and there are still prejdice views from men to women in the workplace and there is still discrimination in the workplace today. Women that are pregnant would be denied promotions because of it because it is viewed as a hinderence with days off work so it would not be good for the company however a woman can not lose her job over being pregnant.
Monday 15 February 2010
Women In the Workplace
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.vancouversun.com/1798502.bin%3Fsize%3D620x400&imgrefurl=http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html%3Fid%3D1798262%26sponsor%3D&usg=__-_IE01ylIlgQeDJ_hKAKQmoMcTM=&h=400&w=620&sz=39&hl=en&start=10&itbs=1&tbnid=6Uz7zmhlk8DoJM:&tbnh=88&tbnw=136&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwomen%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bworkplace%2B1980%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den
For my first article I came across an article from Vancouver Sun and it is a article of female dock workers and the sexual harrasment that is involved. To begin with dock working would have orginally been a man's workplace, somewhere where they could have probably relaxed and a place that would have made them feel more masculine, however since the introduction of women into the workforce there has been the constant rivialry between men and women an the result of sexual harrassment.
"We're doing everything we can do to tell these guys they can't behave like that any more," Smith said. He said foremen are given sensitivity training and graffiti is painted over as soon as it's spotted.
From this quote we can see the immediate effect that women would have had on the workplace, it is as if they are saying men are not allowed to be masculine anymore they have to go through sensitivity training diminshing their manhood.
For my 1980's article I looked at a womens history timeline.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/1980.shtml
I noticed that when I moved the timeline to the 80's there are a lot of cases in which women are becoming the first women to do a task. for example Vigdis Finnbogadottir becomes the president of Iceland and Baroness Young becomes the first woman to lead the House of Lords. Through this massive boom of women gaining workplacements, it is easy to see why maculinity would have been diminished and how women gain places within society.
Women and Work
I found this image of the women astronauts in America who were training in 1980. These women were the first six women to train to go into space. In 1983 one of them became the first American woman to go into space. I thought this picture showed that even though lots of women were discriminated against in 1980's there were some which went against the norm and did jobs that were typically male jobs, such as being an astronaut. This could be used to argue against the idea that women can't do powerful or masculine jobs as it shows that they are just as capable, and do the jobs just as well as men can.
http://www.womenemployed.org/index.php?id=19
This is a website set up to build awareness about the problem of low-wage jobs in America for women. It states how 60% of low-wage workers are women, and a third of jobs for women are low-wage jobs. It shows how its not because of lack of education as it says that 40% of people in low-wage work have a high-school diploma. This website has a vision to ensure every woman who works full time earns enough to afford the basics and support their family. This would start to reduce the inequality that is still seen between men and women in the workplace.
Sunday 14 February 2010
Masculinity in America
When looking for an article that expresses about the contemptory issues within American Culture, it is very hard to find the right sort of site to inform you. However I found this site called PEP web which is a digital archive of classic psychoanalytic texts and I found a small review of From Hero to Robot by Ralph A. Luce, Jr. It deals with the changing relationships of the 20th century sexes and gives reasons for why this is, it mentions that since these changes we can see the rise of women and the diminishing power of the father figures. It also mentions the issues of growing up and establishing identies and notes that in particiular young boys because of sexual confusion within todays societies.
It cuts off half-way because of suscribing for the particular archives but it mentions about boys whose primary influence is their mothers. It could be seen that when a boys primary influence is their mother this could make them more feminine therefore diminishing the power of masculinity whereas boys raised by their fathers would become more masculine.