Progress?

I see a man sleeping on a bench; a building covered in graffiti, and a poster of President Obama with the word ‘progress’ on it. I think it is a symbol of America trying to progress by eliminating poverty with the help and change of Obama, although it shows a lack of progress because many Americans are still living in poverty today. Poverty has always been a problem in the US and I wonder if Obama can stop the cycle and eliminate poverty? This area is similar to the description of the valley of ashes in the Great Gatsby.

Great Gatsby

This past week in American Studies class we have been talking about the Great Gatsby. We have been focusing on certain ideas that have come up frequently while reading the book. My group was assigned eyes. The ideas of eyes are everywhere in Fitzgerald’s book. First, we noticed that mostly the eyes were used the cover or blind a character from someone or something. We also found that sometimes eyes were used to value material possessions and to prevent someone from seeing, like blinds. Not only were eyes used to blind characters, but also the eyes of doctor T.J. Eckelburg look down upon and protect the ashen valley in New York. The concept of eyes is very interesting in the Great Gatsby.

Marker Of Class

Yesterday in American Studies class we discussed markers of class while looking at different train stations on the west line for the Metra. Mr. O’Connor also brought up a great point about the bulletin board in our second floor rotunda by all of the administrative offices. This board talks about NT alum although only those who are famous and celebrities. This is definitely a marker of class because of its location. It is right by where all the parents come in to register and speak with administrators so they will walk past the board and see all of the famous people who have graduated from NT and how maybe their child will become famous someday, too. This board communicates the schools values as well. Instead of choosing to talk about a college professor or author who has graduated from NT they are choosing celebrities. This board is a marker of class and how NT view’s their graduates.

American Flag

The past couple days in class we have discussed the American flag. After asking my parents what the flag means to them, they responded by saying that the flag represents the pride and accomplishments of this country. I agree with this statement, however now that I have been looking around for flags, I have noticed many things. I have been noticing where flags are placed and on which houses. My house does not currently have a flag up however, it is not that my family isn’t patriotic, but we just don’t have a flag up. I decided to walk around my neighborhood and try to find an idea for which houses or schools have flags up and why. First I drove down the street to Faith, Hope and Charity church/school and found no flag insight, however when I continued to drive to North Shore Country Day School, they had three flags up, two school flags flying underneath the American Flag. Since both of these schools are private teaching institutions, I think that there is a religious component showed here. As I continued to drive along the back streets of Winnetka, I found many houses with and with out flags. I noticed on the more secluded, one-way streets almost no houses had flags, however on busy, cross town streets almost every other house had a flag. I think that houses on busy streets are viewed more often so homeowners feel a need to display their pride in their country through the flag and to be socially acceptable. Flags are not only used for houses, I have seen flags everywhere this week from trophies and billboards to plates and clothing.

This flag is front and center on this house on a busy street. It is larger than most other flags on the street.
This flag is the first thing that you see in this picture. It draws you in to look more deeply at the house.
This house has old-American architecture and shows the flag front and center.

This flag is right by the front door. This shows how the family wants freinds and others to view them as patriotic.

This house represents American values with the white picket fence and flag in the front of the house.

This house has the white-wash, blue shutters look along with flowering plants in the front year that goes with the American pride from the flag. This house could maybe be on a poster for how 'perfect' America is.

Final Junior Theme

The dreaded Junior Theme is coming to a close! Thank goodness! After many weeks of researching and writing I have finally finished my Junior Theme. I have written and re-written many aspects of my paper and I am finally happy with what I have. I will be editing the last part of my paper this weekend and then turning it in. I am so happy that we are finished and I am completely thrilled to be done with this assignment.

Junior Theme #4: Intro

This is my current Introduction.

“In many ways, today is the best time in history to be a girl,” concludes Dr. Stephen Hinshaw in his 2009 book, The Triple Bind. From a historical perspective, it is hard to imagine a time of greater freedom and opportunity for American girls than at the close of the twentieth century. By 2005, 57% of the bachelor’s degrees were earned by women. (TTB 14) High school girls could qualify for athletic scholarships and aspire to play professional sports. (14) Record numbers of women worked in professional jobs in science, medicine, law, business, journalism, communications, entertainment, academia and politics. (15) Young girls saw women featured in the media as writers, editors, news anchors and political commentators not just as actresses and models. In two income households, 25% of wives now earned more than their husbands. (TTB pgs. 14-15) At a time in history when teenage girls should be excited about their many new opportunities, too many 21st century adolescents find themselves in a crisis of confidence and overwhelmed by the emotional fall-out from the new economic and social changes of the last century: widespread consumerism, loss of community and the growing influence of the media. Dr. Hinshaw makes a convincing argument that our girls’ mental and physical health is in real jeopardy. (TTB) He reports that now “at least one-fourth of all U. S. teenage girls are suffering from self-mutilation, eating disorders, significant depression, or serious consideration of suicide-or are perpetrating acts of physical violence”, and that many of the rest are struggling undiagnosed with “hatred of their bodies, obsessive dieting, sexual confusion, and the persistent sense that they are not good enough”.(TTB pg. 5) The pressures coming from our popular culture make living in a girl’s body today much more complicated and stressful than it was a century ago even though her body has not changed. Ms. Robyn Wiegman, a professor of Women’s Studies at Duke University believes that we must “historicize” and study “capitalism and consumerism” in order to understand why modern girls are so obsessed with being unnaturally thin. Our consumer culture is fueled by harmful advertising messages that exploit our girl’s social anxieties, need for approval and independence. This leads girls to treat their bodies as objects, their relationships as trivial and consumer products as their only real source of happiness. It is no wonder that today’s teens are at a greater risk for a negative self-image, unfulfilling relationships and low self-esteem which make it harder to grow into a happy, healthy and successful adult.

Please let me know what I did well and what I should work on!

Junior Theme #3

We are currently in the library for the double period today working on our Junior Themes. I have read all of my sources and cited them in noodle-bib; however I am still a little unclear on what my thesis will be. I have sent out emails and will email my interview questions to my interviewees later today. I am hoping that the questions I send to my interviewees will help me formulate a thesis. Currently I am planning on talking about how culture and society affect how a girl views her body image depending on the time period she grows up in. My focus will be on the 21st century where the body image is unobtainable thin. Does anyone have any ideas for a possible thesis statement?

Junior Theme #2

After researching my topic very thoroughly this week I think that I have gathered all of my information for my Junior Theme. I have read multiple articles as well as two books and I think that I finally understand my topic critically. The two books that I have read are The Body Project, by Joan Jacobs Brumberg and Am I Thin Enough Yet? by Sharlene Hesse-Biber. I have also sent both authors emails asking about an interview, however I have not heard back yet. With an introduction due on Monday, this weekend I will be outlining all of my quotes/facts/statistics and drafting my intro with my current why question being: why is the current physical ideal for women dangerously thin? I am planning on talking about the history of women’s body image by examining all of the social, cultural and popular aspects during a specific time period. Let me know if you have any other ideas!

Junior Theme #1

This past week in American Studies we were assigned the dreaded Junior Theme. The age-old myth of Junior Theme is crazy and Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Bolos are trying a different approach to break the myth. At first when the paper was assigned I immediately wanted to do something with science and genetic engineering in order to create a ‘perfect society’. After talking to Mr. Bolos I changed my topic totally to how the media influences women to be perfect. Then I talked to Mr. O’Connor and I fine-tuned my topic even more. He helped me to create this why question: Why is the current physical ideal of women dangerously thin? I really like this topic and after I rejected so many of my previous topics it is nice to finally have a topic to research that I am interested in. I think that I am going to talk about how the ‘ideal’ model and celebrity are too thin. This is causing many American women to want to look exactly like this when in reality almost no one is born with the physical traits to look like the models. This is foundation for plastic surgery and eating disorders. If anyone has any other ideas, let me know!

$1.8 Million Dollar Dog Collar

This past week while I was on Spring Break I was watching some T.V. There was a show on the worlds most expensive…they showed most expensive drink, bath, massage, car, hotel, dog collar and many other things that celebrities and millionaires are spending on. It shocked me that someone would spend over a million dollars for a diamond studded dog collar or a back massage with diamonds. Many of the most expensive drinks would come with a gem or jewel in the bottom running the bill up to thousands of dollars. It is crazy that somebody would spend so much money on such trivial things, especially when we are in a recession. This got me thinking about how celebrities can spend massive amounts of money on one little thing while the rest of America is barely holding on during this long recession. It made me wonder about Mr. Bolos’ question, “can you be free if you are not economically free?” Can you? Celebrities are “free” but what about the rest of American citizens who are struggling economically? Are they free, too?

Role Models

Last week I was listening to a radio show in the car with my mom while they were talking about Rihanna and Chris Brown. The radio show hosts said that Rihanna had decided to get back together with her boyfriend, Chris, after he had hit her. They brought up a good point about celebrities being role models, and I immediately thought of the class discussions about Michael Phelps and Michael Vick. We had talked about how children and teenagers look up to celebrity role models and what happens when they set bad examples. All of these things got me thinking about role models and celebrities. Should famous people be conscience about their actions because many people look up to them? What do you think?

Propaganda Posters in Schools

Today in class we discussed how our school’s ‘visual environment’ of posters and signs represent our student’s successes. This also relates to the World War II propaganda posters that we analyzed today as well. After leaving AIS class today I was walking down the stairs and I noticed for the first time all of the signs. I especially took note of the Boy’s swimming and diving state meet results posted on the second floor. It really struck me that after breaking state and national records the results were posted. We talked earlier today in class about how New Trier is so competitive that getting 2nd place in state is something to be upset over when in reality it is a major accomplishment. Posting the results of the meet show how accomplished the students are at New Trier. Swimming is not the only sport to be recognized through posters around the school. In fact, almost every sport will get a sign/banner that recognizes their athletic achievements. Having all these visual successes throughout the school promote propaganda that makes other want to achieve a high level of success so that their team/sport can be recognized on a banner as well. AIS has taught me to be a critical thinker and to take note of my surroundings, however, why is today the first time that I am noticing all of the signs around school? Did anyone notice any other types of signs/posters today?

Airplane Industry

For a few years the airline industry didn’t have one crash. Recently this all changed. First the United flight had an emergency crash landing in the Hudson River and another plane crashed into a suburban home in Buffalo, New York. However, with the first crash nobody was injured or killed, but the second crash was completely fatal. The third crash was just this past weekend on Friday night. A small plane was flying in central Louisiana when it landed in a heavily wooded forest. All three people aboard the plane were killed. Why are so many planes crashing all of a sudden? After years without any problems in the air, there have now been three crashes within the first two months of 2009. Do you think that with the global financial crisis the airlines are not spending the money do check everything completely before take-off?

Oscars!

Every year on a Sunday in February the Academy Awards are on. This night is a yearly tradition and millions of Americans watch the show. The academy gives out Oscars for best picture, director, screenplay, best actor and actress in both a leading and supporting role, as well as many others. Held at the Kodak Theater, stars walk down the red carpet and through the doors for an awesome night. This year the nominees for the best picture are: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Frost Nixon, Milk, The Reader and Slumdog Millionaire. Which movie do you think will win? Which movie do you think will win the most awards?

Social Darwinism in 2009?

I was thinking a lot this weekend about the economy and the markets for 2009 after I heard on the news about Microsoft and their inability to produce and sell new smart phone software in the markets. Microsoft has been upgrading their computer software continuously for the past couple of years however the software for their smart phones has not been as successful. They are having a lot of trouble constantly producing and managing the new smart phone technologies especially when competitors like the Apple iPhone and other BlackBerry palm pilots are continuously creating new and improved software for their phones. What will happen if Microsoft cannot compete with these companies anymore? If Microsoft ends up not continuing with their line of smart phone software, then the possibility of Social Darwinism will apply. Having a monopoly in this industry would be extremely bad for the economy and the consumers in the market this year. Consolidation of companies in the same industry leads to monopolies, which can create one mega store in an industry where the company can sell products with no diversity, a single view point and increase prices. With the economic crisis continuing in 2009, what do you think will happen with Microsoft? Do you think the ideas of Social Darwinism could play a role in all this?

Crisis Continues

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both fell this last week, which makes it the fourth straight week in January that the markets have decreased. The global financial crisis looks to be continuing. The January markets have decreased so much that it seems like this year is going to be just like the last. What do you think? Will February bring a new economy? With our new president, Barrack Obama, many think and hope that the economic crisis will start to clear up. Obama is currently working on an economic stimulus plan as well as many bailout plans. Do you think that this new plan will help our economy?

Bon Voyage Blagojevich

This past week, Illinois senator, Rod Blagojevich was removed from his position. The vote was unanimous for the removal of the former senator. Not only was the senator removed by an impeachment trial, but also he is not allowed to hold public office in the state again. The senator's name is being taken off of toll road signs as well. The newly appointed senator, Pat Quinn, will have a lot on his plate when he takes over for Blagojevich. He will be starting during a financial crisis and Illinois is also months behind on their payments. Illinois has been known for its corrupt politics previously, however there is a new hope that with Quinn, Illinois will be able to turn itself around. Recently, I went downtown to the second city comedy club. It was a great show and there were many jokes aimed at Blagojevich and how corrupt Illinois is. I am hoping that Quinn will change Illinois so that the state isn’t at the center of political jokes around the country. What do you think will happen? Can Quinn help Illinois?

Water Crisis

This past week in class we watched American Future: American Plenty. It is a documentary about how the world’s supply of fresh water is running low because of global warming and mainly overuse. Many Americans use much more water than needed and this is adding to the global water crisis. Currently, one in five people do not have access to fresh water, and in many countries there isn’t any available fresh water. This once plentiful resource is running out. The picture above represents places in the world where water was once plentiful and now is running low. When resources run low, conflict and wars breakout. Fighting wars over water access is not something the world needs in its future. What do you think will happen if the supply of fresh water keeps decreasing?

March The Mart

Today I worked the fundraiser, March The Mart. It is a walk from the 18th floor to the 2nd floor of the Merchandise Mart in Chicago to raise money for Special Olympics. I helped walkers stay on the right pathways and volunteered my time to help a great cause. It was so much fun, and very interesting! It was a little time consuming preparing for the big day, although it was very worthwhile in the end. I would really recommend anyone who wants to work with Special Olympics or walk next year to do March the Mart. It was very enjoyable!

'First' Dog for the 'First' Family

The Obama family is moving into the White House in just over a week! Although many big events are all happening at once the first family still found time to search for the first dog. The search has been narrowed down to two different breeds: a Portuguese water dog and a Labradoodle. Although the president elect has a lot to deal with currently, with the inauguration and the move, he still has made time to look for a new family pet for his daughters. Recently, the New Yorker magazine had a picture of Obama interviewing a dog. It is supposed to be different dogs competing to become the first pet. I think that it is funny because he is trying to form his cabinet and team by conducting interviews while in the picture it shows him interviewing a dog. What do you think about this cartoon?

Billion Dollar Bailouts? I Thought We Were In A Recession!

I went to New York City for the first time over winter break! It was so much fun being able to walk around and see many famous buildings and avenues. While my family and I were walking around the city, I noticed that people were shopping and spending money left and right. For a county that is in a recession, not many people are cutting back and spending less. This surprised me even more when I saw newspaper articles on the street dealing with the auto industry bailout plans. Congress is giving General Motors and Chrysler a few months and $13 plus billion dollars to rescue the failing auto industry. Not only is congress giving the companies money now, but also in a few months more money will be available for them to use. The auto industry will either flourish from the emergency bailout money or will continue to fail throughout 2009. I think that auto industry in the United States will benefit shortly from the bailout money before having to make more job and factory cuts and close down more dealerships. This is because for most of 2009 the U.S. will be in a recession and consumers will not be spending as much as before. I believe that giving only one industry bailout money while our country is in a recession and in debt already is only going to make the global financial crisis worse.