Meta - Post: Take 2

Endings are always a good time for reflection, and so as the school year wraps up another reflection is in order. I have made quite a few changes since the beginning of the year, for example the qualities of my titles has definitely gotten better as the year progressed. But the more intriguing changes I've made are in the content of my blogs and the connections I make from class to larger themes. Although the goal of these blogs was to relate class or everyday happening to "greater American themes", I honestly don't think I fully mastered that until about midway through 3rd quarter. 

It all began with a blog post titled "Today's Society Pill Poppin'", which was about how "White Noise" characters were dependent on a drug called Dylar and how it relates to the over-diagnosis problem with present day America. This blog included a quote from an in-class text, a link to a colleague's blog, a connection between something we learned in class to a present day phenomenon (plus it was commented on by Doc O'C!). 

After that post I'd like to say that my posts became radically more interesting however they were a bit watery because they were mostly stretched attempts at connecting my Junior Theme (on illegal immigrants in the agriculture industry) to various American or in-class themes. But one post that stood out to me was a post titled "Happy Farms", although this one did not include a comment from Doc O'C, it drew a contrast between how the food industry is perceived in the media. It including statistics and drew a parallel between illegal immigration and inhumane treatments of farm animals. I really liked this post because it included things that are current such as "Food Inc.", "Happy Farms", and "Farmville" and related it to things like my Junior Theme. All of these topics worked well together and they brought new interesting ideas to light. 

My posts really started to become tantalizing again in May, all of those posts were inspired by things I saw and things that were around me and that is what I think made certain post stronger than others.The fact that I kept the "American Studies Mindset" while conducting everyday things and was able to connect those things to "Greater American Themes" is what made certain blogs stronger. In "Don't we all want to be 'Oggsford' men?" I linked a sign I saw (and photographed) to the "Great Gatsby" and the theme of education playing a factor in status. This is evidence of me looking at things more critically and these are the types of blogs that end up being stronger than others. Overall I have progressed throughout the year in that I have been able to look at everyday things more critically, evidence by the last couple blogs of the year. 

******MY FAVORITE POST OF THE SEMESTER IS "DON'T WE ALL WANT TO BE 'OGGSFORD' MEN?" ***********************

Only one chance for first impressions

In my Journalism class today we were talking about laying out for the "Senior Destinations" issue, this issue is an issue that essentially lists all of the seniors and which colleges they will attend in the fall. This concept caught my attention because the "Senior Destinations" issue is just a way for kids and parents to show off about where they got into and where they are going.

Wrapping up my third year at New Trier, I have come to realize that there are so many different titles that New Trier uses that seem unnecessary.  By this I am referring to why gym class is called "Kinetic Wellness" class. Or why New Trier calls the language department the "Modern and Classical Language Department" or why the multipurpose room's formal name is the "Audio Visual EPI Center". All of these names and practices that New Trier carries out are a representation of the self-important feeling and need to show of that clouds New Trier.

However on a larger scale, I think America in general feels the same way. Wedding invitations are worded as an annoucement from the parents to show of the marriage of thier child and this overall are often made up to sounds "showier" than they actually are. In "White Noise" by Don DeLillo, DeLillo satirizes this aspect of American culture by naming the locations in his book things like "The Airport Marriot, the Downtown Travelodge, the Sheraton Inn, and Conference Center" (15). All of these locations are plain and named because they accurately describe the location, they are not showy or made up to be more than what it is. The names at New Trier and the names that we see in and around or community are a construction made to increase the face value of a location, thing, or entity. Since so much is based off of names, as my colleague Elise wrote in her blog, we try and increase general interest in our names by making them showier and more important than they actually might be.

What effect do you think showier names have on people?

Convenient Belief

I came across the above clip while watching the show "Make it or Break it" and it really reminded me of the discussion we had in class about "White Noise" by Don DeLillo. I'm specifically referencing the section of the book when the Jack talks to the nun about believing. The nun tells Jack, "The others who spend thier lives believing that we belieeve...To abandon such beliefs completely, the human race would die. That is why we are here. A tiny minority. To embody old beliefs" (303). 

This relates to the "Make it or Break it" videos because when Payson, the blonde in the blue jacket, says "I know that Otis is a silly good luck charm but he's something to believe in". Both the video and the excerpt from "White Noise" are examples of how even though people know that their beliefs aren't real or true they still want to believe in them. They may not fully believe in religion or good luck but convincing themselves to believe in that is better than not believing. I think that this trait is uniquely American because in most other countries religion and superstition are not really in question and people fully believe in that, but in America religion is not as prevalent and most only choose to believe when they are in need, which is the case in both the video and the excerpt. Even though about 75% of Americans affiliate themselves with a branch of Christianity the average weekly church attendance has declined. This suggests that even though people affiliate with different religious groups they don't truly believe by attending church and keeping up with a consistent belief. It supports the idea that people only believe when they need to, which in my opinion, is truly American.

Why do you think that people only believe when they need it? What other themes can this trend be applied to?

I'm Still A Guy

So I was inspired to write a blog analyzing this song, I'm Still A Guy by Brad Paisley, after seeing it on a colleague of mine, Natalie. I saw it on her blog, where she connected it to "White Noise" a book that we read in class. Natalie analyzed the song by drawing a parallel to the stereotypical aggression shown in both the song and a passage in "White Noise".

However I wanted to look at the lines "With all of these men lining up to get neutered. It's hip now to be feminized. I don't highlight my hair I've sitll got a pair yeah honey, I'm still a guy." I think that it is so interesting that Paisley chose to use the word "feminized" to describe men that are getting highlights. The phrase "men lining up to get neutered" is suggesting that today men are loosing their masculinity and not to get highlights and turn to more feminine things. This song over all is suggesting that the gender stereotypes are still alive and should be more enforced.

I think that this relates to the "Newsweek" piece that we saw in class the other day. The objectification of the women in the picture and the sexiness of her pose illustrate that the idea perception of  women is primarily based on sexiness and submissiveness. The  "Newsweek"  piece also shows that gender stereotypes, although subtle, are very much a prominent part of our society and  continue fuel many of the "sexist" trends in America.

Why do you think that these gender stereotypes continue to survive despite the changing times and trends? What do you think will stop these gender stereotypes?