I believe the President is a position to set the tone for the American people. Yes, the person makes lots of decisions that affect many American people, but they are to be a face of America, some one presentable and representative of us to the rest of the world. This is why I was excited about Obama coming in to replace Dubyah. I don’t doubt W’s integrity or sense of wanting to do good for the American people. I believe that he felt like he was doing many of the right things for us. I do believe, though, he was an embarrassment for the nation in the global media. This seems to have more to do with his accent and his speech, and the reputations that each carry with them, than his ultimate ethos of looking at the world. He would randomly make up words, slur his speech, say “Amurica” instead of “America,” which all built this image of himself that seemed to be uneducated and unknowledgeable. His charisma was lacking.
That is why I was anxious for some one new to come in, and, despite his “lack of experience,” I am happy Obama is in office. He is someone that many people can identify with and look up to. He’s educated, passionate, and, chiefly in my book, eloquent. A respectable representative to the rest of the world who wants to seek out understanding and peace with other nations and not call them names is a good guy in my book. The President’s most powerful tool has to be her or his speech, tone, and grammar. People will listen to what the President have to say and make their judgments based on that, be it the American public, the state of the nation, or the interactions going on in the world. The role a leader is to be a figurehead for us all to look up to and to represent our country tastefully to the rest of the world.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
# 19 – A Global Economic Crisis
Our day in Detroit was something else. With remnants of all the empty parking lots and shopping centers from our first day in Memphis, Detroit seemed to be the hardest hit area of this global economic crisis. Everyone knows that the town has been dying for twenty years or so now. The sheer volume of boarded up homes and businesses was enough to let me know that something was up with the economy. Meeting with the officials in Rossford and talking with certain people involved in different aspects of the automobile industry demonstrated how widespread this economic hit of the recent bankruptcies actually was. Tons of people are out of jobs, people that have worked for years and years are finding themselves completely empty-handed.
As much as this tragedy represents and downturn in the global economy, we see things like the Heidelberg Project that remind us of beauty coming from rundown places. I’m not advocating a vague, meaningless sense of hope in the future, but I am insisting that there is something to be said about the human spirit in the wake of crisis. Taking old vacuum cleaners, shopping carts, doors, and cars and creating artistic expression out of them tells us that we used to live without all of this crap that we apparently need nowadays. These objects have lost their ability to be used and thus their value in their original terms. Their lack of need gives way for a new need and new creativities. The building structures reminded me of the rundown areas of New Orleans, of certain parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn, of Long Beach… and East Nashville.
As much as this tragedy represents and downturn in the global economy, we see things like the Heidelberg Project that remind us of beauty coming from rundown places. I’m not advocating a vague, meaningless sense of hope in the future, but I am insisting that there is something to be said about the human spirit in the wake of crisis. Taking old vacuum cleaners, shopping carts, doors, and cars and creating artistic expression out of them tells us that we used to live without all of this crap that we apparently need nowadays. These objects have lost their ability to be used and thus their value in their original terms. Their lack of need gives way for a new need and new creativities. The building structures reminded me of the rundown areas of New Orleans, of certain parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn, of Long Beach… and East Nashville.
# 18 – “Promote the General Welfare”
This line of the Preamble sets out one of the goals of the government that is, after all, for the people. I’ve seen this take shape in many forms. The first I can think of is providing economic benefits for those that are out and out in terms of their finances. This can be by providing low-income housing, government support checks, food stamps, and other forms of helping people to gain their necessities and get their feet off the ground.
I think the line goes much deeper than this, though. I see it as the government truly working for what is best for all of its people. This is a pretty tough gig as we have grown so much larger as a country. The more people you have, the more opinions, the more needs, and the tougher to please. Promoting the general welfare involves everyone having a voice in the land of argumentation. We see with stories of the Navajo Nation that the government falls short in many ways. However, the goal really seems to be here for everyone to get a slice of the pie, for everyone to progress together. A government outlined to serve its peoples common interest and not itself is a rather beautiful idea, a rather revolutionary one for the time. I return back to the central part of this welfare being the freedom to speak one’s mind and to persuade others to join their cause towards creating a better future.
I’ve seen it at work in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Chicago for the LGBT Movement. I’ve seen it at work, even though it was disturbing, in Portland and Chicago for certain sects of Evangelical Christianity. I saw it in Boston, Charleston, and Williamsburg as people celebrate the past and attempt to keep it alive. The act of free speech being available from the beginning ensures, despite all of the inequalities that exist, that progress towards the general welfare can be made.
I think the line goes much deeper than this, though. I see it as the government truly working for what is best for all of its people. This is a pretty tough gig as we have grown so much larger as a country. The more people you have, the more opinions, the more needs, and the tougher to please. Promoting the general welfare involves everyone having a voice in the land of argumentation. We see with stories of the Navajo Nation that the government falls short in many ways. However, the goal really seems to be here for everyone to get a slice of the pie, for everyone to progress together. A government outlined to serve its peoples common interest and not itself is a rather beautiful idea, a rather revolutionary one for the time. I return back to the central part of this welfare being the freedom to speak one’s mind and to persuade others to join their cause towards creating a better future.
I’ve seen it at work in Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Chicago for the LGBT Movement. I’ve seen it at work, even though it was disturbing, in Portland and Chicago for certain sects of Evangelical Christianity. I saw it in Boston, Charleston, and Williamsburg as people celebrate the past and attempt to keep it alive. The act of free speech being available from the beginning ensures, despite all of the inequalities that exist, that progress towards the general welfare can be made.
# 17 – Wilderness on this trip
I have seen the wilderness on this trip a few times. Probably the best example I can remember is driving in South Dakota from the Mt. Rushmore area to Crazy Horse and the Lacota Reservation at Pine Ridge. We took a long, winding drive through a large park area and saw a large number of wildlife all around at different times. We ended up being about three or four feet from a huge buffalo, just hanging out eating right next to the road. We also saw a few different groups of deer and wild birds. At the same time, we could see nothing but miles of trees on either side of us. The wilderness resembling this isolation and freedom, like the city in a different form, showed us that there is a lot more going on that we encounter on a daily basis. As we are brushing our teeth in the morning and driving to work, around the bend there can be buffalo walking along feeding with their little ones, little birds hatching from eggs in the tree outside the kitchen window, and ants building a colony just outside the front door. It seems we have been able to pave over the wilderness, to reshape it, to redefine it, but in reality it still exists all around us.
I started out in thinking about this wilderness as some place far, far away from an urban landscape, suburb, or building. This is true, though. The deserts of Arizona and fields of Kansas and the mountains of Colorado do have the sense of wilderness, of animal worlds going on and maintaining themselves outside of much human interaction. But, thinking deeper, I feel like this really happens everywhere, thus mentioning the birds and ants outside (and sometimes inside) our homes. Defining wilderness to me is, like I said, a cycle of animal and plant lives that have the capability of surviving on their own, without human interaction, even though they may encounter us from time to time. That is why I say the wild is all around us. The systems keep going long after we have gone and without a need for us, really.
I started out in thinking about this wilderness as some place far, far away from an urban landscape, suburb, or building. This is true, though. The deserts of Arizona and fields of Kansas and the mountains of Colorado do have the sense of wilderness, of animal worlds going on and maintaining themselves outside of much human interaction. But, thinking deeper, I feel like this really happens everywhere, thus mentioning the birds and ants outside (and sometimes inside) our homes. Defining wilderness to me is, like I said, a cycle of animal and plant lives that have the capability of surviving on their own, without human interaction, even though they may encounter us from time to time. That is why I say the wild is all around us. The systems keep going long after we have gone and without a need for us, really.
# 16 – Dissent in the American Life
One of the most organized times of simultaneous protest and celebration I believe I saw was in Chicago’s Boystown on the eve of Pridefest. A few other students and I ventured over there after having dinner our second evening in Chicago in an attempt to be there and celebrate a bit. The event itself was not an organized protest in the common way you would think of it, though there was a parade going on the next day. Instead, there was really a celebration for everyone around as a form of protest to a country that will not give him or her equal rights. While riding on the L train and walking down a few streets, I picked up random conversations with people as I went, hearing pieces of different biographies, many of whom drove six hours or more to get to Chicago that night.
We all know of the hot topic in America that is the prospect of gay marriage, which has a multitude of different reactions from people, often depending on what area you are in or who you are really talking to. This topic often causes people to pick sides and, thus, causes dissent. I feel like the best thing for communities to do when under fire from mainstream culture is to, well, celebrate with one another. There is work to be done and much is being done to further the cause of LGBT rights. The celebration going on is simultaneously a means for the group to enjoy themselves and a means of protest. It was an incredible experience to go to a few house parties in the Boystown area and to further understand that we all are one in furthering the fight for human rights.
We all know of the hot topic in America that is the prospect of gay marriage, which has a multitude of different reactions from people, often depending on what area you are in or who you are really talking to. This topic often causes people to pick sides and, thus, causes dissent. I feel like the best thing for communities to do when under fire from mainstream culture is to, well, celebrate with one another. There is work to be done and much is being done to further the cause of LGBT rights. The celebration going on is simultaneously a means for the group to enjoy themselves and a means of protest. It was an incredible experience to go to a few house parties in the Boystown area and to further understand that we all are one in furthering the fight for human rights.
# 15 – Art in Chicago
We did not have a chance to see “American Windows” in Chicago, but I did get a chance to take a moment at the Art Institute in front of the famous Gaugin piece on urban isolation in early 20th century France. The painting had a long series of assorted figures in a park overlooking a river, all of the people shown as really nondescript and more as shapes. Many of them all had different variations of the same sort of dress, with the same sort of weak toned colors. All were facing the same direction as well, not necessarily one another. This demonstrated sort of the isolation that characterizes the modern world and the urban landscape in particular. As people encounter more and more other people in the streets, on the Internet, and on the phone, the response, as many urban theorists point out, is to be more reserved, more isolated, a bit more independent. This sometimes comes off as being smug or not caring about others, but really I feel like it’s just necessary and a means of comfort with the self, relieving yourself of the small town expectation of chit chatting with every passerby, often out of only that expectation and not actual caring about that person.
I also hopped downstairs to the photography exhibit and saw a few original documentary pieces from some of my heroes of early documentary work. Many of them visually described the urban landscape of the 1920s, picking up on some of these same themes of western isolation of one’s personal life. They also dealt with the estrangement one finds in the horrors of child labor and immigrant tenements. Altogether, there was this theme weaving about of the world began to change forever. Not necessarily for the worse or the better, but it had definitely changed. The building structures we see have become more important and more involved in our lives. And there are more of them. Media (books, television, etc.) we are interacting with nearly every conscious moment of the day. The human mind has expanded and changed for forever with these introductions, possibly in a sense of impending isolation. That seems to be the point of these artists.
I also hopped downstairs to the photography exhibit and saw a few original documentary pieces from some of my heroes of early documentary work. Many of them visually described the urban landscape of the 1920s, picking up on some of these same themes of western isolation of one’s personal life. They also dealt with the estrangement one finds in the horrors of child labor and immigrant tenements. Altogether, there was this theme weaving about of the world began to change forever. Not necessarily for the worse or the better, but it had definitely changed. The building structures we see have become more important and more involved in our lives. And there are more of them. Media (books, television, etc.) we are interacting with nearly every conscious moment of the day. The human mind has expanded and changed for forever with these introductions, possibly in a sense of impending isolation. That seems to be the point of these artists.
# 14 – Encountering capitalism on our trip
Let me see here. I need to discuss a time on our trip where I have encountered capitalism. I’d have to say that we encountered this beast nearly every single day. It was lessened a bit as we were in the national parks, since we were hanging out more in nature. The exception here is at the Grand Canyon, where we ran into a grocery store to get some food. However, about the half of the store was laden with anything and everything you could imagine having the Grand Canyon logo on it. From caps to shot glasses to DVDs to junior park ranger vests, nearly anything you want to show that you have been there was available for you to buy.
This leads me into how I have encountered capitalism on my travels in America. In an earlier blog on Disneyland and Los Angeles, I mentioned Baudrillard’s talk of hyperreality in light of our “consumer society,” with, well, a gift shop at every corner. The thing is this is true. We started Day 1 in Nashville by looking through the Ryman Auditorium, with its Elvis garb, as well as a slue of print and tourist stores all around Broadway. We saw this in Memphis at Graceland, the Clinton Library in Little Rock, the UFO Museum in Roswell, and the Statue of Liberty in New York. The commoditization of the landmarks in the form of miniatures and shot glasses was enough to show us the face of capitalism. Even in the Washington, D.C. Metro stations, there were advertisements for a nearby water park containing statues of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington with floaties and sunscreen on their noses mingling with happy little white kids pummeling down a waterslide. We experienced capitalism in a multitude of ways, but it was chiefly shown in the gift shops we encountered in nearly every place.
This leads me into how I have encountered capitalism on my travels in America. In an earlier blog on Disneyland and Los Angeles, I mentioned Baudrillard’s talk of hyperreality in light of our “consumer society,” with, well, a gift shop at every corner. The thing is this is true. We started Day 1 in Nashville by looking through the Ryman Auditorium, with its Elvis garb, as well as a slue of print and tourist stores all around Broadway. We saw this in Memphis at Graceland, the Clinton Library in Little Rock, the UFO Museum in Roswell, and the Statue of Liberty in New York. The commoditization of the landmarks in the form of miniatures and shot glasses was enough to show us the face of capitalism. Even in the Washington, D.C. Metro stations, there were advertisements for a nearby water park containing statues of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington with floaties and sunscreen on their noses mingling with happy little white kids pummeling down a waterslide. We experienced capitalism in a multitude of ways, but it was chiefly shown in the gift shops we encountered in nearly every place.
# 13 – The American Frontier
I think what Jackson is saying here in regards to the American frontier is that the land between the Atlantic and the Pacific has been settled for some time now. Transport and communication from coast to coast has become much easier and satisfactory. No longer did we have just horse mail carriers but the coming telegraph and telephone. The westward movement has finally come to a close. Now we must disperse ourselves between the coasts that have been settled many places between. The furthering “out there” of the West can no longer be substantiated. There is nowhere else left to explore. Nothing we haven’t contained, conquered, spanned across.
The thing here is for us, at that point in history, to not lose our sense of purpose and progress. There had long been this fascination with moving westward to make a new life. As I said, the coasts were beginning to grow closer together. Nothing would be or could be the same. By the time of his writing, the Civil War had ended just a few years before and his fears might have been that we were succumbing to fighting each other without a unifying goal of progress to bring us together. We had conquered the frontier, nature in many ways, but we had not actually been able to conquer our fatal human nature of war and false altruism.
The thing here is for us, at that point in history, to not lose our sense of purpose and progress. There had long been this fascination with moving westward to make a new life. As I said, the coasts were beginning to grow closer together. Nothing would be or could be the same. By the time of his writing, the Civil War had ended just a few years before and his fears might have been that we were succumbing to fighting each other without a unifying goal of progress to bring us together. We had conquered the frontier, nature in many ways, but we had not actually been able to conquer our fatal human nature of war and false altruism.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
# 12 – America’s National Parks
After visiting both the
I grew up going to Smoky Mountains National Park, as well as a slue of other state parks, during every spring, summer, and fall as my parents always wanted me to gain an appreciation for the outdoors and not just sit around and watch television (which I often did – perhaps it was their means of intervention!). They have meant different things to me from time to time. They have meant biking around during the summer, the wind flowing by my face as I rode around with new and old friends. They have meant summer recreational baseball games while camping. They have meant romantic getaway hikes with my girlfriend during high school. They have meant time for solitary camping and photography work, complete with journaling and lots of reflection, away from any phone signal or Internet. With this multiplicity of uses, they have certain charms to me in many certain ways. So it is with the American public – different uses for the many different types of people that live within our borders. A great idea indeed.
#11 – California – What’s up with that?
# 10 – A Meal about America
During our last day of the trip, we ate at this purely vegan restaurant for lunch in St. Augustine. Besides being overpriced, the space of the restaurant catered to every Bourgeois Bohemian bone in my body. The outside was decorated in lush greens and blues, almost a watercolor of those purity tones on the walls, complete with quotes of preservation and loving the earth. The table was laden with pure rock salt straight from Tibet. The water jug was brought to our table sitting on top of an “ionizing” pad that was supposed to infuse the drink with all these body-cleansing elements. The menu was covered with artsy descriptions of organic foods from all over the world, from the purifying vinaigrette salad dressing to nine-bean fair trade burgers, which is exactly what I went with.
Many people ordered six-dollar strawberry smoothies with protein and energy boosts. I started off with the water and moved into my salad of lettuce, corn, tomatoes, and carrots and that vinaigrette dressing. I also moved into the nine-bean burger with more lettuce and tomatoes, bringing my tab to over fifteen dollars.
This represents a couple things about our culture. While all this food is great for your body, I noticed that the only people in the restaurant were white, upper-middle class artsy types with REI rain jackets and the works. It was somewhat tasty in my opinion, but I was also hungry again two hours later. What this meal seems to show is that whole bread argument from the film “People Like Us,” where your class positioning affects nearly everything you do, from the food you eat to car you drive to your ethos and perspectives on life. The difficult thing a lot of the time is for the people involved in these more expensive food movements to understand that every one cannot afford the way they are eating, whether or not it is better for your body. Thus, in parts of the Bronx, there are twenty liquor stores to every grocery store, and that grocery store will most likely have none, if any, organic food, or even real wheat bread. In our culture of consumption, we are relegated to our certain spaces because of our income, certain restaurants, certain markets, certain shopping areas, certain parks, etc. What is difficult is for even this food to not become another element of our status and reputation that we present to others, which I feel like it has become in our American society.
# 9 – Paving Paradise and Putting up a Parking Lot
I’d have to say that I will pick the largest section of pavement probably in the country –
Another place that this quote makes me think of is the drive down the
# 8 – Religious Expression
We encountered a lot of signs of religious expression on this trip, from evangelical Soviets in
At first, I was pretty amused, because, well, no one was stopping, obviously. I was reminded, as I often am, of the Rob Bell video “Bullhorn.”
Being a former Christian from the rural Southeast, when I see people throwing the words of hell around at passersby, I get angry in less than a second, being one of the three things that make me lose my cool in no time. I walked up to the guy with the bullhorn, who was in the middle of the phrase, “Hell is what awaits you. You must repent or you will burn in hell for the rest of eternity.” I asked him how this was working out for him, if any one was stopping to listen. He said the had heard a lot of name-calling and profanity but no one was stopping to accept Jesus as their “lord and savior.” He then, as fate would have it, asked me if I was a Christian. I said that I was not, to which he asked why. I replied, “Well, because of people like you. This is not the way you spread a message.”
Just about this time, a heavyset biker-looking guy comes over to me and begins to intercede in our conversation. By this time, Rashina had urged me for the tenth time to walk the hell away, citing that the conversation was useless and these guys are just jokes. I entertained him in conversation for a second and he also asked me the question of am I a Christian. I replied No yet again, and then he proceeded to tell me that my parents were perverts and heretics, and that they are to blame for me not being a Christian, as he thudded his Bible left and right in my face. I told him he was obnoxious, and that again, the reason I am not a Christian is because of people like him. I told him that Jesus was not proud of his behavior and that he, in all actuality, might be the one on a one-way path to hang out with Satan. I told him that the Christian God was about love, to which he told me to pull out any verse in the Bible that ever mentioned God was a loving God. The conversation was getting useless and I was incredibly heated (by that time he was yelling about an inch away from my face), Rashina and I took off, not without a slight jab by me letting him know that I would see him in hell.
The reason I believe this perturbs me so much is because the game is an end-journey that seems to be more about control and a pat-on-your-own-back (the playground mentality). I’ve heard enough from the pulpit about the atrocious sins of the world and how so much of it is on its way to the bad place. I admit that when I was a Christian, this just fed my insecurities in staying within the confines of my comfort zone. Judgment is comfortable, after all.
I want to leave this blog with a story from Donald Miller – At Reed College, rated as the most godless place of higher education in the country, there were a small group of Christian students. Miller and a friend decided to audit some classes and start a group meeting weekly or so with the Christians on campus, to which about four came out. During the annual festival usually containing lots of nudity and drugs, they set up a “confession booth” in the middle. After a couple of hours of no one coming in, finally one guy did, asking, “So am I supposed to confess my sins here?” Miller was there and replied, “No.” What followed was Miller, as a Christian, confessing the sins of the Christian church and asking the guy’s forgiveness for the Crusades, for Televangelism, for being very excluding, for all the hate that has come out of the Church, etc. The rest of the festival there was at least a thirty-person line in waiting for the confession booth and a means of understanding began to be created between the small Christian community and the outside, mainstream community of Reed College. The trick here is humility. Perhaps, the church should follow Miller’s example.
# 7 – The Grand Canyon
There are quite a few people that daily, weekly, monthly, annually seem to flock to the Grand Canyon. Droves and droves of vans and tour buses pay the twenty-dollar entrance fee every day, and many will choose to sleep in the hotels on the property. Somehow, it seems that the area became one of the archetypal stops on the great American road trip. It was originally, and still is, celebrated for its physical and aesthetic beauty, especially in its enormity. I think another reason that it became such a tourist hot spot is its location in the west, where families from the east can do this sort of “westward expansion” pilgrimage of sorts as a seeming ode to the early settlers of the US. After a while of it becoming a national park and many visitors coming, it gained an infamous reputation where you almost have to go for any sort of road trip. I’m sure movies like National Lampoon’s Family Vacation helps and advertisements for the Hover Round, the mechanical chair that takes Vernice and Joy all the way from their nursing homes to the side of the cliffs of the Grand Canyon.
# 6 – What does Lincoln mean to me/America?
With Sarah Vowell’s narrative of the tales and connections surrounding Abraham Lincoln, his life, his actions, and his assassination, I have to say that I have not though too much about what Abraham Lincoln means to me. I have heard two sides to his story of why, in his most important and legendary action, freed the slaves. The first is the most his presidential portrait being painted as saintly figure with strong personal convictions of the immorality of slavery, a view Vowell seems to have of him. Another perspective that I have heard is that he did so out of political reasons in efforts to strengthen ties to certain people and gain a better public image. This way of looking at him as always seemed to taint my view of him, but, all things aside, he did sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Whatever his motivations, the action was good and for the betterment of the country. So, to me, if I was to meet him, I would thank him for what he did and hear his thoughts on what exactly a true life lived really is.
In terms of how the country views him, I believe most people, history books, etc. take the first view I spoke of: Saint Lincoln. It reminds of James Loewen’s Lies Across America, where one historical landmark claims it is where both Lincoln was born and the home that he built with his bare hands, a rather odd and flat out wrong tourist trap. But where there is money to be made there will be Lincoln places to visit and icons to sell.
Lincoln seems to stand as a sort of symbol of valor, wisdom, and goodness for many Americans that actually give him a thought. I feel that our loyalties are not really to those in the past anyway, so it is not this deep sense of reverence experienced through the emotions that comes over the body when one thinks of the former President. Plainly, I think we respect him for what he did and then move on smoothly about our lives. I am not saying this in cynicism but in honesty and truth. Lincoln the President, the icon, the legend, the saint, and the commodity all connect with the current American in as many ways as the multiplicity of his forms.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
# 5 – Civil Disobedience
I’ve seen quite a few things that make me want to commit an act of civil disobedience, though honestly, I have to look within myself to make sure I don’t just want the disobedience, but to actually fight for that cause. Since the time and popularity of the hippies, there has been this interesting fad of rebelliousness, individuality. You find it when American Eagle ads tell you to express yourself as an individual (by wearing their clothes), when a journal for sale at Starbucks tells you to express your thoughts to the world for the day in order to make it a better place, or when a band wants you to join them in giving a middle finger and chanting obscenities towards the recently gone Dubyah at a music festival.
The one cause that I feel the most passionate about in terms of participating in civil disobedience is the issue of gay marriage in America. It’s been such a hot button, one where nearly everyone has an opinion. The action of civil disobedience I am not sure what I would do, but I do feel like action is necessary. What I think is speaking with my friends who would oppose it and ask them further about their relationships, attractions, etc., as well as legal rights. The conversation I had in San Francisco with the man at the sushi restaurant was great in that he felt like it was right for straight people to also get involved in this movement to further civil liberties. I feel like this is something I need to speak up about and help the cause while it is still going on. I don’t want to look back and reflect upon a passive voice, but one that challenged ideas.
In the Little Rock Nine Museum, one of the Nine mentioned that it was not the few hundred students who were openly hating them that made matters worse, but it was the few supportive students who kept quiet that really killed their spirits. The call there is for civil disobedience despite the disapproval of authorities, of families, or even friends. The difference here is that I’m not really risking getting beaten up or killed, but I am only risking the misjudgment of some people who I really don’t care about in the first place. The risk is honestly less for me than it was for those white students who voiced their support at Central High School, but I’d like to think I would stick to this cause even further.
On a final note, on my recent flight to Amsterdam, I watched the movie Milk with Sean Penn, and it was the first movie in my entire life that has ever brought me to tears. It was very powerful. And it’s not odd timing that Focus Features released a movie like this at the time they did. They’re best at being social critics through beautiful movies. And this one was definitely a success. Go see it!
The one cause that I feel the most passionate about in terms of participating in civil disobedience is the issue of gay marriage in America. It’s been such a hot button, one where nearly everyone has an opinion. The action of civil disobedience I am not sure what I would do, but I do feel like action is necessary. What I think is speaking with my friends who would oppose it and ask them further about their relationships, attractions, etc., as well as legal rights. The conversation I had in San Francisco with the man at the sushi restaurant was great in that he felt like it was right for straight people to also get involved in this movement to further civil liberties. I feel like this is something I need to speak up about and help the cause while it is still going on. I don’t want to look back and reflect upon a passive voice, but one that challenged ideas.
In the Little Rock Nine Museum, one of the Nine mentioned that it was not the few hundred students who were openly hating them that made matters worse, but it was the few supportive students who kept quiet that really killed their spirits. The call there is for civil disobedience despite the disapproval of authorities, of families, or even friends. The difference here is that I’m not really risking getting beaten up or killed, but I am only risking the misjudgment of some people who I really don’t care about in the first place. The risk is honestly less for me than it was for those white students who voiced their support at Central High School, but I’d like to think I would stick to this cause even further.
On a final note, on my recent flight to Amsterdam, I watched the movie Milk with Sean Penn, and it was the first movie in my entire life that has ever brought me to tears. It was very powerful. And it’s not odd timing that Focus Features released a movie like this at the time they did. They’re best at being social critics through beautiful movies. And this one was definitely a success. Go see it!
# 4 – A Song of the Trip
So, the song of the trip for a few of us has to be the Black Eyed Peas song “Boom Boom Pow.” There’s really nothing to the lyrics that has any sort of meaning about the trip, it’s just that we always seem to dance like crazy when the song comes on. On a couple different occasions, Rashina and Cory have been split up in different cars while driving around one of the cities. I’ve been on both sides of the coin, where we will get a text from Rashina with only a radio station number, to which we switch to it and are exploded with the sounds of the song. Really, we heard it in the car one day while driving, and none of us had danced in a while, and so that became our theme song without us really knowing it. It was fantastic. Really this song kind of demonstrates our incredible wanting for dancing all throughout the trip.
The song itself was only a song for part of the group. Not really everyone joined in, which is the essence of what Whitman is saying in his poem. Not everyone had to. Many other people’s songs were really in speaking about life, about pop culture, about religion, about the trip, about friendships…and this ran the gamut of the class. All of us were pretty different and had different interests, each singing different songs and granting different perspectives. A grand American experiment.
The song itself was only a song for part of the group. Not really everyone joined in, which is the essence of what Whitman is saying in his poem. Not everyone had to. Many other people’s songs were really in speaking about life, about pop culture, about religion, about the trip, about friendships…and this ran the gamut of the class. All of us were pretty different and had different interests, each singing different songs and granting different perspectives. A grand American experiment.
# 3 – Americans’ relationships to celebrities
It seems, at this very second, that many celebrities are celebrated so much more after they die. Take Elvis for instance. At Graceland, you fail to see mention of his drug habits or the tragic story of how he died, but you do hear of Elvis the lover, the musician, the philanthropist, who bought about a dozen Cadillacs for different friends and family members. In the same instance, at the Clinton Library in Little Rock, even though Clinton is still alive, you hear of all the glories of his presidency, the human rights goals attained during his time, and plenty of funny stories of the greatness of his and Hillary’s relationship. You hear nothing of scandal, nothing of Lewinsky, nothing of impeachment. The same is with Michael Jackson… the saint, the pop god, not the one who has been the butt of jokes for years concerning child molestation.
It seems there’s this odd pressure to look back in only joy on certain times in our lives and other’s lives. We can’t express regret really. It’s unfashionable… and undesirable. We feel bad saying anything negative at a funeral, so it doesn’t happen. It’s like what Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard says in his song “Styrofoam plates” in reference to a bad father who passed away… “Just because he was a bastard in life don’t mean he wasn’t a bastard in death.”
Getting back to celebrities in America, it seems that we have a multiplicity of opinions, in general, when we judge their actions in the world while they are alive. However, there seems to really be one prevailing opinion when they die – heroification. It’s great to celebrate someone’s contributions to the world but probably another to deify them.
It seems there’s this odd pressure to look back in only joy on certain times in our lives and other’s lives. We can’t express regret really. It’s unfashionable… and undesirable. We feel bad saying anything negative at a funeral, so it doesn’t happen. It’s like what Death Cab for Cutie singer Ben Gibbard says in his song “Styrofoam plates” in reference to a bad father who passed away… “Just because he was a bastard in life don’t mean he wasn’t a bastard in death.”
Getting back to celebrities in America, it seems that we have a multiplicity of opinions, in general, when we judge their actions in the world while they are alive. However, there seems to really be one prevailing opinion when they die – heroification. It’s great to celebrate someone’s contributions to the world but probably another to deify them.
# 2 – Fineman’s Argument of the Role of Faith
In Fineman’s book Thirteen American Arguments, he writes a chapter called the Role of Faith, which details some of the messy situations of faith, politics, and social change in the last hundred or so years. He starts off with our native Tennessee, in light of the Scopes Monkey Trial, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and the stronghold of the Southern Baptist Convention, and shows how it birthed the political career of Bill Frist, a politician who has had to do a lot of pleasing of many camps on relations and roles of faith in the culture. In the recent years, since Jerry Falwell and other evangelicals started bringing politics into the center stage of their faith practices, and vice versa, even more dichotomies have been created, such as single-issue politics (Democrats=pro-abortion=unchristian) where sides are taken on the basis of one “moral” issue. Somehow the Republican party became joined with the Christian right, G-d him/her/itself apparently became a Republican, and holy war on culture began to be waged.
This makes us think of what role faith has in shaping our culture. I will use two examples from our travels to illustrate this argument going on today. In Salt Lake City, most of the population claim to be Mormons, which has tremendous implications on local and state laws, the arguments and politicians that reside in that area, and the types of communities that are formed. When we went to the LGBT Film Festival in Salt Lake City, many community members claim to have been openly discriminated against when looking or jobs and by police. This is interesting in light of the LDS Church giving somewhere between 11 to 13 million dollars towards the gay marriage vote of Proposition 8 in the state of California, against the legalization of gay marriage.
Another example comes from our experience at a town market in Portland, Oregon, where a group of young Christians were singing worship songs on an elevated walkway area in efforts to share their faith with the rest of the group. Rashina, Cory, and I asked them if we could ask them a few questions, leaning toward what it means to be an American, etc. They told us quickly without us really having to ask. It turns out they were all from the former Soviet Union and had moved to Portland within the last fifteen years after experiencing much religious discrimination in their home country. The youth minister told me repeatedly that the American people had lost their way, that this country was founded by Christians, and that every early American president was a Christian, and that God wanted to take this country back for Christianity. As nice as all this sounds (and as good as it is to argue about this), the reality is that this really is not true. Somewhere along the way, this man was sold a false story of the founding of America, which affects very much how he resides and conducts himself in this country. His plan, his mission, is to take the Bible to the larger picture and to bring God back to the people of this country.
It’s easy for people to get squeamish, as I often do, to this sort of chatter. I know I did in Chicago when I was told by a very, very hairy man that the reason I am not a Christian is because my parents were perverts and that God is not a loving God, as he shoved the Book in my face, asking me to pull out verses and prove to him God meant love to disparate communities and not hellfire and brimstone. Thus, we have the sandbox mentality, the brick wall mentality of keeping people out, of making ourselves feel better. I mean sociologists aren’t free of this either. In a sense, we all, as citizens, and all, as sociologists, are a bit evangelical. We feel we have keen ideas of equality and hope that we wish to spread to all people, to aid the ones in the gutter, and to create success stories. We have conferences just as every other community, create plans of action, and express hope for a progressive future.
Altruism. What unites us. In and out of our arguments. We all, generally, seem to want what is best for ourselves, our community, and our country. This is why we argue and this is why we keep this machine going. It’s rather brilliant actually.
This makes us think of what role faith has in shaping our culture. I will use two examples from our travels to illustrate this argument going on today. In Salt Lake City, most of the population claim to be Mormons, which has tremendous implications on local and state laws, the arguments and politicians that reside in that area, and the types of communities that are formed. When we went to the LGBT Film Festival in Salt Lake City, many community members claim to have been openly discriminated against when looking or jobs and by police. This is interesting in light of the LDS Church giving somewhere between 11 to 13 million dollars towards the gay marriage vote of Proposition 8 in the state of California, against the legalization of gay marriage.
Another example comes from our experience at a town market in Portland, Oregon, where a group of young Christians were singing worship songs on an elevated walkway area in efforts to share their faith with the rest of the group. Rashina, Cory, and I asked them if we could ask them a few questions, leaning toward what it means to be an American, etc. They told us quickly without us really having to ask. It turns out they were all from the former Soviet Union and had moved to Portland within the last fifteen years after experiencing much religious discrimination in their home country. The youth minister told me repeatedly that the American people had lost their way, that this country was founded by Christians, and that every early American president was a Christian, and that God wanted to take this country back for Christianity. As nice as all this sounds (and as good as it is to argue about this), the reality is that this really is not true. Somewhere along the way, this man was sold a false story of the founding of America, which affects very much how he resides and conducts himself in this country. His plan, his mission, is to take the Bible to the larger picture and to bring God back to the people of this country.
It’s easy for people to get squeamish, as I often do, to this sort of chatter. I know I did in Chicago when I was told by a very, very hairy man that the reason I am not a Christian is because my parents were perverts and that God is not a loving God, as he shoved the Book in my face, asking me to pull out verses and prove to him God meant love to disparate communities and not hellfire and brimstone. Thus, we have the sandbox mentality, the brick wall mentality of keeping people out, of making ourselves feel better. I mean sociologists aren’t free of this either. In a sense, we all, as citizens, and all, as sociologists, are a bit evangelical. We feel we have keen ideas of equality and hope that we wish to spread to all people, to aid the ones in the gutter, and to create success stories. We have conferences just as every other community, create plans of action, and express hope for a progressive future.
Altruism. What unites us. In and out of our arguments. We all, generally, seem to want what is best for ourselves, our community, and our country. This is why we argue and this is why we keep this machine going. It’s rather brilliant actually.
#1-Nashville
# 1 – Nashville
I saw quite a few things in Nashville that surprised me. It was rather ridiculous, actually. I had never really noticed the amount of crap in the shops down on Broadway. We passed some flag shops (chiefly rebel flags) and went into some other Nashville tourist shops. Many of the items present to represent the city of Nashville, the state of Tennessee, and the South in general were mainly in reference to country music, overalls, buckteeth, and whiskey. It makes me think of the random tourist who arrives in Nashville (from a hometown of, say, Akron, Ohio, Portland, Oregon, or upstate New York) wearing spurs, a cowboy hat, and a giant belt buckle inscribed with some symbol of Southern pride. If you think this is preposterous, well, haha, it is, but it honestly happens about every other week in town.
One of the main aspects of this class is to look at the image a city (whether by the Chamber of Commerce or elsewhere) presents of itself and sells to consumers (e.g, tourists). What we find in Nashville is what sells to tourists as opposed to what Nashville is in actuality. I remember running into a guy from rural Oregon who bought 3 bairs of snakeskin boots for about $600 and thought he was getting a steal. Emphatically, he was kicking his heels around, proud of his investment, with the overtones of Heineken pouring off his presence.
The reason I am seeing this now is that the space of the locals and the tourists are so clearly defined in Nashville, as with many major cities. There are places in Nashville that tourists simply do not go to, unless they have friends in town, like most of East Nashville, anything in Hillsboro Village other than Pancake Pantry, and Elliston Place (with the exception of Exit-In). With this difference of space, there is a lack of sharing and a lack of knowledge for both parties, creating rifts in the relationships between locals and tourists. Locals can see Nashvillians as either dumb rednecks or perhaps exotic musicians, where we can see tourists as ignorant and as a means to make money. Neither of these assessments of the other are adequate, in my opinion. This, however, seems to be one of the negative effects of mass tourism and commoditization of local culture. Where the locals often benefit financially, they are crippled in culture-sharing and mutual understanding.
I saw quite a few things in Nashville that surprised me. It was rather ridiculous, actually. I had never really noticed the amount of crap in the shops down on Broadway. We passed some flag shops (chiefly rebel flags) and went into some other Nashville tourist shops. Many of the items present to represent the city of Nashville, the state of Tennessee, and the South in general were mainly in reference to country music, overalls, buckteeth, and whiskey. It makes me think of the random tourist who arrives in Nashville (from a hometown of, say, Akron, Ohio, Portland, Oregon, or upstate New York) wearing spurs, a cowboy hat, and a giant belt buckle inscribed with some symbol of Southern pride. If you think this is preposterous, well, haha, it is, but it honestly happens about every other week in town.
One of the main aspects of this class is to look at the image a city (whether by the Chamber of Commerce or elsewhere) presents of itself and sells to consumers (e.g, tourists). What we find in Nashville is what sells to tourists as opposed to what Nashville is in actuality. I remember running into a guy from rural Oregon who bought 3 bairs of snakeskin boots for about $600 and thought he was getting a steal. Emphatically, he was kicking his heels around, proud of his investment, with the overtones of Heineken pouring off his presence.
The reason I am seeing this now is that the space of the locals and the tourists are so clearly defined in Nashville, as with many major cities. There are places in Nashville that tourists simply do not go to, unless they have friends in town, like most of East Nashville, anything in Hillsboro Village other than Pancake Pantry, and Elliston Place (with the exception of Exit-In). With this difference of space, there is a lack of sharing and a lack of knowledge for both parties, creating rifts in the relationships between locals and tourists. Locals can see Nashvillians as either dumb rednecks or perhaps exotic musicians, where we can see tourists as ignorant and as a means to make money. Neither of these assessments of the other are adequate, in my opinion. This, however, seems to be one of the negative effects of mass tourism and commoditization of local culture. Where the locals often benefit financially, they are crippled in culture-sharing and mutual understanding.
Crescent City
A peaceful day in the Redwood Forest, absolutely.
As our cars inched their way amidst the sea of gigantic redwood trees, I could not help but feel a sense of refreshment, some semblance of natural serenity.
The mind I possess can not let me own this moment without some ounce of analysis. Yes, the 19th century poets, the Walt Whitmans, painted a poetic picture of nature as a place to return to the self and to gain insight, peace, and wisdom. Romantic and true in some points.
At the same time, some one years ago decided to mark off this certain area as a national park, build these roads, these trails, through their own forest to let me have access to these trees, and these perceived slices of solitude.
In an organizational manner, the poets and the state have unknowingly worked together to create and facilitate these places – dare I say, opiates – of society.
I’m fighting my cynicism and learning to know that I, growing up a mere thirty-minute drive from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, thoroughly enjoy these natural places to go – for bonding with a friend or a relative, for learning more about myself, or for romantic getaways with a girlfriend. Yes, these experiences are packaged, in different colors and with different bows than Vegas and Disneyland, but my [our] humanity is no less in tact. There’s really no way to escape this consumer society we find ourselves in, even at the places that meant for us to escape it.
So, the question is: do we decide to completely withdraw from this society, or do we decide to tailor this already-forward-moving consumption machine to create some different, more spiritual, transcendent, and emotive spaces? As enticing as the former option seems to me (and to a lot of cults), the most practical, possibly the most meaningful option is the latter: to change a system, one must become a part of that system. The middle ground of postmodern conversation, favored by Habermas, seems to be the best table where we can sit.
The world does not need another hippie living in a tree, yelling at politicians, to promote ecological responsibility. The world does not need another talking head, whether on Fox News or MSNBC, spouting propagandist bullshit about the war in Iraq, Proposition 8, or the Presidency. The only people affected by these speakers seem to be the ones who already agree with them in the first place: the talking head, the politician, the pastor, the hippie, the student.
So, what do we need? My answer is someone to revamp some of the systems. How Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of rabbis in Judaism let the new President shed light not only on the endorsements, awards, and bright records of those in his office, but also their lies, inadequacies, and privileging…. A Christian, like Donald Miller, to apologize for the Crusades, for the holy wars of politics, and for not showing true love to the homosexual community.
As the sun was setting in Crescent City, a burnt orange tinged my eyes and painted my clothes while I bathed in heavy wind. Atop a rock face, with a great friend at my side, I turned into a mountain goat for a number of minutes and hopped around from rock to rock, in ecstasy of the environment, the moment, and the breeze.
Perhaps G-d speaks through the wind, only to say nothing audibly but give you a feeling that life is something to cherish, to embrace, and to contemplate. The wonder in itself is enough for me to be content.
Ecstasy. Thought. Prayer. All from the Wind.
As our cars inched their way amidst the sea of gigantic redwood trees, I could not help but feel a sense of refreshment, some semblance of natural serenity.
The mind I possess can not let me own this moment without some ounce of analysis. Yes, the 19th century poets, the Walt Whitmans, painted a poetic picture of nature as a place to return to the self and to gain insight, peace, and wisdom. Romantic and true in some points.
At the same time, some one years ago decided to mark off this certain area as a national park, build these roads, these trails, through their own forest to let me have access to these trees, and these perceived slices of solitude.
In an organizational manner, the poets and the state have unknowingly worked together to create and facilitate these places – dare I say, opiates – of society.
I’m fighting my cynicism and learning to know that I, growing up a mere thirty-minute drive from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, thoroughly enjoy these natural places to go – for bonding with a friend or a relative, for learning more about myself, or for romantic getaways with a girlfriend. Yes, these experiences are packaged, in different colors and with different bows than Vegas and Disneyland, but my [our] humanity is no less in tact. There’s really no way to escape this consumer society we find ourselves in, even at the places that meant for us to escape it.
So, the question is: do we decide to completely withdraw from this society, or do we decide to tailor this already-forward-moving consumption machine to create some different, more spiritual, transcendent, and emotive spaces? As enticing as the former option seems to me (and to a lot of cults), the most practical, possibly the most meaningful option is the latter: to change a system, one must become a part of that system. The middle ground of postmodern conversation, favored by Habermas, seems to be the best table where we can sit.
The world does not need another hippie living in a tree, yelling at politicians, to promote ecological responsibility. The world does not need another talking head, whether on Fox News or MSNBC, spouting propagandist bullshit about the war in Iraq, Proposition 8, or the Presidency. The only people affected by these speakers seem to be the ones who already agree with them in the first place: the talking head, the politician, the pastor, the hippie, the student.
So, what do we need? My answer is someone to revamp some of the systems. How Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of rabbis in Judaism let the new President shed light not only on the endorsements, awards, and bright records of those in his office, but also their lies, inadequacies, and privileging…. A Christian, like Donald Miller, to apologize for the Crusades, for the holy wars of politics, and for not showing true love to the homosexual community.
As the sun was setting in Crescent City, a burnt orange tinged my eyes and painted my clothes while I bathed in heavy wind. Atop a rock face, with a great friend at my side, I turned into a mountain goat for a number of minutes and hopped around from rock to rock, in ecstasy of the environment, the moment, and the breeze.
Perhaps G-d speaks through the wind, only to say nothing audibly but give you a feeling that life is something to cherish, to embrace, and to contemplate. The wonder in itself is enough for me to be content.
Ecstasy. Thought. Prayer. All from the Wind.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Vegas!
Las Vegas
We started the day off in Las Vegas meeting with a senior member of their tourism board, part of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For about an hour, we discussed how the government goes about selling its city to tourists, the numerous successes of their marketing and branding campaigns, and the effects of the economy on Las Vegas’s tourists and locals. We learned a lot, from their annual cost of advertising to the fact that they are 2nd only to Google in the successes of their branding, especially with “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” After the meeting, our host showed us around many parts of the convention center, where a beauty/cosmetics show was going on. An older guy with about a 2-inch gap of no-hair on his arm tried to sell me some Nair. Tons of people everywhere were getting makeovers, testing out eyeliners, and sifting through mounds and mounds of diet pills, hosiery, and blush.
From here, we ate some lunch and ventured over to old Las Vegas, where many of the original casinos and current local hangouts are around. In the near vicinity to this strip away from The Strip, is your general assortment of things you find in nearly every major city – your liquor stores, quick cash marts, and parking garages. Since this is where not a ton of tourists usually go, the prostitute phone numbers reside in five-box sets, with your own assortment to choose from – petite teens or luscious Latinas – much different from the more personal touch of the [often] immigrant populations wearing shirts that read “GIRLS TO YOU IN 20 MINUTES” who flip cards from hand to hand and try to give them to you, quickly bursting your modern American personal bubble, literally and symbolically. Even if someone was interested, I could apply Goffman’s backstage and front stage illustration or even Cooley’s looking glass self to show that, even if someone was interested, chances are they would not take a card in the middle of a crowded street – rather they would find an alley, a porn store, the Internet, or a strip club.
The rest of the evening was spent walking the strip, enjoying the sites and sounds of the area as much as we could, learning that we really did not even need to visit New York any more, after visiting the Strip’s famed hotel. Matter of fact, we no longer need to go to Paris, or even Venice. Thank you Vegas – nay, Walt Disney – for making this dream come true. I say this in sarcasm with a hint of understanding to realize that not everyone will make it to these places. It just makes me doubt a bit about what we’re trying to do as people, giving a bit more weight to Baudrillard’s idea of a permanent Disneyland and a consumer society. Disney had much altruism in wanting to bring the corners of the world to the local, the American people, as a means of education, entertainment, family bonding, and, well, to make a profit (perhaps not in that order of importance, but who knows?).
Applying Baudrillard’s theme of hyperreality, of design and humanity in all the inanimate objects, policies, and means of conducting ourselves that we look to for guidance, stability, control, and meaning, this place is an obvious comparison. That’s the beauty of the juxtaposition of the day’s events – meeting one of the head thinktanks in producing exactly what it is that Las Vegas, well, is, experiencing the heart and matter of his production, beautifully laid out for us to enjoy, romanticize, and deify. I saw an elderly couple cuddling alongside the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, a situation I can look at one of two ways (or really a hybrid, which I prefer): a) the cog in a machine, the deaf, dumb, and blind consumer with a romantic moment produced time and time again by the Hollywood and Hallmark; b) a couple enjoying their time together and sharing a moment through which they can grow closer in their relationship. I’m going to go with a mixture – yes, this fountain cuddle moment produced for their (and our) consumption, but their humanity is still intact…including the ability to love.
We started the day off in Las Vegas meeting with a senior member of their tourism board, part of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For about an hour, we discussed how the government goes about selling its city to tourists, the numerous successes of their marketing and branding campaigns, and the effects of the economy on Las Vegas’s tourists and locals. We learned a lot, from their annual cost of advertising to the fact that they are 2nd only to Google in the successes of their branding, especially with “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” After the meeting, our host showed us around many parts of the convention center, where a beauty/cosmetics show was going on. An older guy with about a 2-inch gap of no-hair on his arm tried to sell me some Nair. Tons of people everywhere were getting makeovers, testing out eyeliners, and sifting through mounds and mounds of diet pills, hosiery, and blush.
From here, we ate some lunch and ventured over to old Las Vegas, where many of the original casinos and current local hangouts are around. In the near vicinity to this strip away from The Strip, is your general assortment of things you find in nearly every major city – your liquor stores, quick cash marts, and parking garages. Since this is where not a ton of tourists usually go, the prostitute phone numbers reside in five-box sets, with your own assortment to choose from – petite teens or luscious Latinas – much different from the more personal touch of the [often] immigrant populations wearing shirts that read “GIRLS TO YOU IN 20 MINUTES” who flip cards from hand to hand and try to give them to you, quickly bursting your modern American personal bubble, literally and symbolically. Even if someone was interested, I could apply Goffman’s backstage and front stage illustration or even Cooley’s looking glass self to show that, even if someone was interested, chances are they would not take a card in the middle of a crowded street – rather they would find an alley, a porn store, the Internet, or a strip club.
The rest of the evening was spent walking the strip, enjoying the sites and sounds of the area as much as we could, learning that we really did not even need to visit New York any more, after visiting the Strip’s famed hotel. Matter of fact, we no longer need to go to Paris, or even Venice. Thank you Vegas – nay, Walt Disney – for making this dream come true. I say this in sarcasm with a hint of understanding to realize that not everyone will make it to these places. It just makes me doubt a bit about what we’re trying to do as people, giving a bit more weight to Baudrillard’s idea of a permanent Disneyland and a consumer society. Disney had much altruism in wanting to bring the corners of the world to the local, the American people, as a means of education, entertainment, family bonding, and, well, to make a profit (perhaps not in that order of importance, but who knows?).
Applying Baudrillard’s theme of hyperreality, of design and humanity in all the inanimate objects, policies, and means of conducting ourselves that we look to for guidance, stability, control, and meaning, this place is an obvious comparison. That’s the beauty of the juxtaposition of the day’s events – meeting one of the head thinktanks in producing exactly what it is that Las Vegas, well, is, experiencing the heart and matter of his production, beautifully laid out for us to enjoy, romanticize, and deify. I saw an elderly couple cuddling alongside the dancing fountains of the Bellagio, a situation I can look at one of two ways (or really a hybrid, which I prefer): a) the cog in a machine, the deaf, dumb, and blind consumer with a romantic moment produced time and time again by the Hollywood and Hallmark; b) a couple enjoying their time together and sharing a moment through which they can grow closer in their relationship. I’m going to go with a mixture – yes, this fountain cuddle moment produced for their (and our) consumption, but their humanity is still intact…including the ability to love.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)