For the final media portfolio I wanted to focus on the labor work and how difficult it was. Last week we read Takaki’s chapter 10 that partially focused on the sugar cane plantation work that was done by the Japanese Americans and other indigenous workers. Takaki explains how the physical labor was tough, and this can only remind one of the first two weeks of the class when we learned the labor endured by the Africans- blacks being slaved by the whites. He says that "in the winter, temperatures went down to 20 below in the mountains (268.)" Also he states that in the summer "temperatures could reach 120 degrees (268)." So I decided to search for a picture of the sugar cane fields and see for myself what it looked like to work with sugar cane.
When one thinks of sugar they most likely think small granules which don’t seem to be physically challenging to work with. But then after taking a look at this image one can see that the sugar cane process isn’t as easy as one may think. These stalks that had to be cut down and carried were over 10 ft. tall and were deceivingly heavy. Not to mention the extremely hot climate of Hawaii. With all that being said, it is important for us to not forget about the blood and sweat and tears that were shed for us to be were we are at today. Not just from slavery and from concentration camps, but from harassment, discrimination, and war. All of the stories that were told so far in this summer class have left me with many unforgettable images in my mind. And all of these images remind me how lucky I am in this day in age, for most of the suffering already endured decades and centuries ago. America was not put together in a “pretty” looking manor. The Americans here wanted to protect what they had, and many other people wanted in on the American Dream which lead to all of these struggles. These tough times must be acknowledged and once again was the reason I chose a picture that showed the extreme times that so many went through on the plantations in Hawaii.
Here is the url to look at the image: http://216.177.7.126/HAWAII/cane.jpg
Friday, July 27, 2007
Concentration Camps
This week’s media item relates to our reading last week about the concentration camps and the Japanese Americans that consumed them. I found an image by searching “Japanese concentration camps” on the internet. I chose to search this because the treatment of the Japanese Americans in these camps is a debatable topic that many compare to slavery.
The picture itself states “Evacuees stay 10 ft. away from fence”. Then under those words is Japanese writing that most likely says the same thing. Also, the picture has barbed wire which represents that danger of getting close to the fence. So just by looking at this sign with no prior knowledge about the camp experiences, one can tell that it was not a happy life for these people. And as we have learned from last weeks readings, we know that their living conditions were brutal and similar to slavery. The Japanese remained tough however and endured what they had to. Takaki described the conditions in chapter 10 as "crowded and unsanitary (262)." The way these people responded when in these harsh conditions showed a lot about their culture and how they were brought up. The Japanese came to America in search of great successes and prosperity for their families, and with that in mind they were able to get through the worst of times.
Here is the link to view this image: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1998/09/JPNAM.GIF
The picture itself states “Evacuees stay 10 ft. away from fence”. Then under those words is Japanese writing that most likely says the same thing. Also, the picture has barbed wire which represents that danger of getting close to the fence. So just by looking at this sign with no prior knowledge about the camp experiences, one can tell that it was not a happy life for these people. And as we have learned from last weeks readings, we know that their living conditions were brutal and similar to slavery. The Japanese remained tough however and endured what they had to. Takaki described the conditions in chapter 10 as "crowded and unsanitary (262)." The way these people responded when in these harsh conditions showed a lot about their culture and how they were brought up. The Japanese came to America in search of great successes and prosperity for their families, and with that in mind they were able to get through the worst of times.
Here is the link to view this image: http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1998/09/JPNAM.GIF
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Richard Wright
This media item I searched for because I was moved by this man’s stories in last weeks readings. His name is Richard Wright and he went through many difficult experiences dealing with racism. Last week we read numerous stories in his life where he encountered near death experiences simply because he was black, and a white man thought it would be fun to bully this kid. So, his stories led me to search for his name on the Internet and I found a memorial in his name located in Natchez, Mississippi.
The memorial has a few sentences about him, but the words I want to focus on are these five: His lifelong quest for freedom. In our readings we learned about the rough childhood Richard had, always getting mistreated by whites as he grew up. Also, he witnessed many sick things happen to his friends as well as helpless black women. It took Richard a while to learn that the whites mistreated blacks, but he seemed to be too young to understand why racism existed. This image relates to our class material because it goes with the stories we read about Richard Wright. He proved that he was a fighter and a strong believer in equality, and that is why he has this memorial in his name-because he cared and fought for the rights of all Africans in the U.S. Many blacks were scared to stand up and speak their mind, afraid of getting killed by the whites. But men like Richard and Booker T. Washington helped the movement in getting whites and blacks over the racial hump, and into living in a more equal world.
The memorial can be seen by copying and pasting this url.
http://www.shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/writers/Wrightsign2.jpg
These type of experiences that Richard Wright went through are not uncommon in today's world either which is very sad to say. Growing up I saw fights that were between whites and blacks. The worst thing I saw was one colored kid getting jumped by a few white kids. These white kids obviously were not raised very well, otherwise they would not be getting in fights based on skin color. Once again, the biggest issue for us Americans is what are we going to focus on. Are parents going to pass these negative ideas onto their kids such as "whites are superior to blacks" or "men are superior to women"? It it commonly said that the children are the future, yet if we do not instill morally sound ethnic and racial beliefs to our children, then how will this country change? I can only pray that when i have kids things will change. I hope that my kids can look past skin color and gender and focus on the individual. We are all Americans and need to focus on that.
The memorial has a few sentences about him, but the words I want to focus on are these five: His lifelong quest for freedom. In our readings we learned about the rough childhood Richard had, always getting mistreated by whites as he grew up. Also, he witnessed many sick things happen to his friends as well as helpless black women. It took Richard a while to learn that the whites mistreated blacks, but he seemed to be too young to understand why racism existed. This image relates to our class material because it goes with the stories we read about Richard Wright. He proved that he was a fighter and a strong believer in equality, and that is why he has this memorial in his name-because he cared and fought for the rights of all Africans in the U.S. Many blacks were scared to stand up and speak their mind, afraid of getting killed by the whites. But men like Richard and Booker T. Washington helped the movement in getting whites and blacks over the racial hump, and into living in a more equal world.
The memorial can be seen by copying and pasting this url.
http://www.shs.starkville.k12.ms.us/mswm/MSWritersAndMusicians/writers/Wrightsign2.jpg
These type of experiences that Richard Wright went through are not uncommon in today's world either which is very sad to say. Growing up I saw fights that were between whites and blacks. The worst thing I saw was one colored kid getting jumped by a few white kids. These white kids obviously were not raised very well, otherwise they would not be getting in fights based on skin color. Once again, the biggest issue for us Americans is what are we going to focus on. Are parents going to pass these negative ideas onto their kids such as "whites are superior to blacks" or "men are superior to women"? It it commonly said that the children are the future, yet if we do not instill morally sound ethnic and racial beliefs to our children, then how will this country change? I can only pray that when i have kids things will change. I hope that my kids can look past skin color and gender and focus on the individual. We are all Americans and need to focus on that.
Civil War Map
The media item that I selected for this week is a map of the United States from 1861-1865. These were the years of the Civil War, and this map is unique because it shows all the states and whether they were a free or slave state. I came upon this map by simply typing in “Civil War” on the msn search engine. This map is great because it also shows were junctions for slave trade occurred, along with exactly what states abolished slavery in 1862. This map of the U.S. is very detailed and shares a lot of the same information we have come across in last weeks readings.
The major point I would like to discuss about this map and how it relates to our course material is the landmarks of the victories by either the confederates or the union. Zinn’s chapter 9, particularly the second half of it (emancipation without freedom), talks about the Civil War and the struggle not just between whites and blacks, but between the north and the south. This map shows the thirteen major battle sites of the Civil War, and the outcomes of each battle. Looking at the map one can see that the Union won 8 of the 13, whereas the Confederates only won 5. Also, one can see that all but one of the Confederates victories came along the east close, near the Atlantic Ocean. And finally this map shows were each side had a “stronghold”, and it was no surprise to see that the Confederates had many of them farther south. It was in the deeper south that more white plantation owners were protesting against the abolition of slavery; they were the most racist whites in the U.S.
Copy and paste the url to check out this in depth map of the Civil War yourself.
http://www.heartland.it/_lib/_ill/map_civil_war.jpg
The major point I would like to discuss about this map and how it relates to our course material is the landmarks of the victories by either the confederates or the union. Zinn’s chapter 9, particularly the second half of it (emancipation without freedom), talks about the Civil War and the struggle not just between whites and blacks, but between the north and the south. This map shows the thirteen major battle sites of the Civil War, and the outcomes of each battle. Looking at the map one can see that the Union won 8 of the 13, whereas the Confederates only won 5. Also, one can see that all but one of the Confederates victories came along the east close, near the Atlantic Ocean. And finally this map shows were each side had a “stronghold”, and it was no surprise to see that the Confederates had many of them farther south. It was in the deeper south that more white plantation owners were protesting against the abolition of slavery; they were the most racist whites in the U.S.
Copy and paste the url to check out this in depth map of the Civil War yourself.
http://www.heartland.it/_lib/_ill/map_civil_war.jpg
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Jefferson Comic
The last section of Takiki’s chapter 3 is entitled “The Wolf by the Ears”, and it discussed much about Thomas Jefferson and the type of man he was. This reminded me of the media piece I did on Christopher Columbus and inspired me to do another, but this time on Jefferson. This media item is a cartoon that I found and the image of Jefferson and the quote underneath him is what I am going to focus on.
The short comic states under the image of Jefferson's head: “Thomas Jefferson! Why that hypocrite owned slaves!!” This practically summarizes Takiki’s final section in chapter 3 where he does much bashing of Jefferson and how he himself owned close to 200 slaves when he protested that “all me are created equal”. A news flash for Jefferson, slavery does not equal equality! Also, Takiki goes on and explains how Jefferson was very unsure when he spoke about the issue of slavery, one minute defending blacks and thier rights, and the next criticizing them and their entire race. These actions of Jefferson’s are a good reason why many consider him an inconsistent, hypocritical president of the past. This comic also has another part to it about Ralph Nader that can be ignored. But overall I think this comic was a great find and connects well with Takiki’s chapter 3 “The Giddy Multitude”.
Sorry but I still can not get the image onto my post so please direct yourself to this link and check out the quick comic.
http://www.wagtoons.com/images/1998_1106_jefferson-slaveowner.gif
The short comic states under the image of Jefferson's head: “Thomas Jefferson! Why that hypocrite owned slaves!!” This practically summarizes Takiki’s final section in chapter 3 where he does much bashing of Jefferson and how he himself owned close to 200 slaves when he protested that “all me are created equal”. A news flash for Jefferson, slavery does not equal equality! Also, Takiki goes on and explains how Jefferson was very unsure when he spoke about the issue of slavery, one minute defending blacks and thier rights, and the next criticizing them and their entire race. These actions of Jefferson’s are a good reason why many consider him an inconsistent, hypocritical president of the past. This comic also has another part to it about Ralph Nader that can be ignored. But overall I think this comic was a great find and connects well with Takiki’s chapter 3 “The Giddy Multitude”.
Sorry but I still can not get the image onto my post so please direct yourself to this link and check out the quick comic.
http://www.wagtoons.com/images/1998_1106_jefferson-slaveowner.gif
Was There a Purpose to Slavery?
This media item I found came from me searching the keyword slavery. After watching “The Story We Tell”, I now have a new interpretation of how slavery started and the intentions behind it, thus I wanted to continue looking for more sources about early slavery in the U.S. I came upon this website that is titled “The Purpose of Slavery” and I found some connections to the video.
To begin, this website starts off by explaining that one justification for slavery comes from the bible. This was not mentioned at all in the video. In fact, the video’s main argument why some whites found slavery acceptable was because “scientifically” the blacks we made to be slaves. This argument was weak and not well supported. The whites tried to come up with anything they could so they could justifiably keep slaves but they came up empty. However, this website does mention that blacks were a preferred slave over whites because they tended to have more physical endurance. Also, this website mentions the second reason for slavery was greed. This is obvious and does not justify a legitimate purpose of slavery. So overall this website has some things to compare as well as some things to contrast with the video “The Story We Tell”. With few legit reasons for slavery, too bad it had to last for so long. I think that this website is a great follow up to the video and also offers more reasoning behind some white people’s validation for black slavery.
Copy and paste this link to check out the website about the purpose of slavery and see for yourself how it compares and contrasts to the video.
http://www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/slavery/erica.html
To begin, this website starts off by explaining that one justification for slavery comes from the bible. This was not mentioned at all in the video. In fact, the video’s main argument why some whites found slavery acceptable was because “scientifically” the blacks we made to be slaves. This argument was weak and not well supported. The whites tried to come up with anything they could so they could justifiably keep slaves but they came up empty. However, this website does mention that blacks were a preferred slave over whites because they tended to have more physical endurance. Also, this website mentions the second reason for slavery was greed. This is obvious and does not justify a legitimate purpose of slavery. So overall this website has some things to compare as well as some things to contrast with the video “The Story We Tell”. With few legit reasons for slavery, too bad it had to last for so long. I think that this website is a great follow up to the video and also offers more reasoning behind some white people’s validation for black slavery.
Copy and paste this link to check out the website about the purpose of slavery and see for yourself how it compares and contrasts to the video.
http://www.umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/slavery/erica.html
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Racism or Not?
The second media item for this week I wanted to relate to Johnson’s chapter 8 on “getting off the hook”. This chapter talked about different ways people avoid, ignore, or deflect racism in today’s world and why this is a problem. So I found a picture after searching “racism” on the internet that ties back in with one of Johnson’s main points. This is a picture of four tiny animals that all have something clearly in common. Most people can see the trend and think nothing of it, and then others can see the trend and share the same belief as the phrase below the picture.
The first main point that Johnson talks about in chapter 8 is deny and minimize. He gives the example of how people say that racism used to be a problem but it is not anymore. This kind of racism denial is just like a smoke screen where people make nothing of a comment or action and pretend nothing really was seen nor heard. So with the picture I found I think that the words under the image act as a rebuttal to someone who has just thrown up the old “smoke screen”. It is a response saying “umm… yeah this picture symbolizes something else.” Many may find this picture to be cute and harmless but others find it to be offensive because of a hidden message about racism that could be implied. You be the judge and check it out yourself.
Use this link to view the picture: http://xff.xanga.com/a4ba74e42843078023162/z52906629.jpg
The first main point that Johnson talks about in chapter 8 is deny and minimize. He gives the example of how people say that racism used to be a problem but it is not anymore. This kind of racism denial is just like a smoke screen where people make nothing of a comment or action and pretend nothing really was seen nor heard. So with the picture I found I think that the words under the image act as a rebuttal to someone who has just thrown up the old “smoke screen”. It is a response saying “umm… yeah this picture symbolizes something else.” Many may find this picture to be cute and harmless but others find it to be offensive because of a hidden message about racism that could be implied. You be the judge and check it out yourself.
Use this link to view the picture: http://xff.xanga.com/a4ba74e42843078023162/z52906629.jpg
Capitalsim Comic
For this week’s media portfolio assignment I chose to search for an item related to capitalism since it was such a major component of Johnson’s discussion in chapter 3. What I found was a cool cartoon from cartoonstock.com that I think sums up the idea of capitalism and how it is an economic system in which big industries are important and have much power.
The interesting thing about capitalism is that there is much inequality occurring in this type of economic system. Johnson lists numerous negative things associated with it in chapter 3 such as gender and racial inequality, class divisions, and clear privilege and oppression grouping. This idea that capitalism is mainly benefiting the already powerful is illustrated in this comic. The man in his corporate office, who happens to be a white male, is speaking to his son and letting him know about what service his company provides. Then in the background you can see also what his company provides to the environment which helps generate business as well. Check out the comic and you will see for yourself how it relates to capitalism and last week’s readings. I tried to get the image on the blog but I was unsuccessful.
So the comic can be found at this website: http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban14l.jpg
The interesting thing about capitalism is that there is much inequality occurring in this type of economic system. Johnson lists numerous negative things associated with it in chapter 3 such as gender and racial inequality, class divisions, and clear privilege and oppression grouping. This idea that capitalism is mainly benefiting the already powerful is illustrated in this comic. The man in his corporate office, who happens to be a white male, is speaking to his son and letting him know about what service his company provides. Then in the background you can see also what his company provides to the environment which helps generate business as well. Check out the comic and you will see for yourself how it relates to capitalism and last week’s readings. I tried to get the image on the blog but I was unsuccessful.
So the comic can be found at this website: http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban14l.jpg
Friday, June 29, 2007
Columbus cartoon
For this media item I decided to search for something about Christopher Columbus. I wanted to find a video on him because Zinn’s paper really had me questioning his journey. Many of Zinn’s remarks about who Columbus was as a person and the real story about American history were new to me so I wanted to learn more. I found a cool 5 minute video on youtube about Columbus from the Mel-O-Toons production company.
To begin, this video was old school and also a cartoon video. With that in mind, this video was probably meant more for kids although I found it to be great and I’m 20. Anyway, the relevance of this video being a cartoon is that this video contradicted much of the hard truth that Zinn shared in his article. First, a main distinction was surprising to me. In Zinn’s article he talked about how Columbus was on his way to Asia in search for gold while this cartoon said he was looking for India. That is a pretty big error for one of them to make and I’m no history buff so I don’t know who to believe. Also, Zinn questioned the integrity of Columbus while this fun loving video with sweet music made him look like a hero.
Furthermore, I love the end of the video when the narrator says “on that day in 1492 when Columbus first spotted America”. I found this to be very funny since Zinn has recently persuaded me otherwise, and that Rodrigo was the one that spotted the land and Columbus just took the credit. And finally the video had to point out that the Europeans had white skin and when Columbus and his men came to an already vacant America they found people with darker skin. Let me guess, the people who made that video where American. They just had to throw that in there. We Americans must not notice how much we focus on skin color and race, but boy it sure seems like a lot when you look at it from the outside.
This cartoon was great and fit in perfectly with what I was trying to get out of this media assignment. It also helped further confuse me about the history of this country. Was he looking for Asia or India? Anyway, I think that this video also answers the DQ about what we should share with our youth. Obviously this cartoon is intended for the youth and like we teach or young today about Columbus, none of it has to do with Zinn’s opinions-the violence, greed, and lies. None of the killed Indians, quest for money, or dishonesty about who first spotted America. I now do think that Columbus wasn’t as great and genuine person, but if you asked me 10 years ago I would have told you differently.
Here is the website link to check out this great 5 minute cartoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuvRFZ4Mxbo
To begin, this video was old school and also a cartoon video. With that in mind, this video was probably meant more for kids although I found it to be great and I’m 20. Anyway, the relevance of this video being a cartoon is that this video contradicted much of the hard truth that Zinn shared in his article. First, a main distinction was surprising to me. In Zinn’s article he talked about how Columbus was on his way to Asia in search for gold while this cartoon said he was looking for India. That is a pretty big error for one of them to make and I’m no history buff so I don’t know who to believe. Also, Zinn questioned the integrity of Columbus while this fun loving video with sweet music made him look like a hero.
Furthermore, I love the end of the video when the narrator says “on that day in 1492 when Columbus first spotted America”. I found this to be very funny since Zinn has recently persuaded me otherwise, and that Rodrigo was the one that spotted the land and Columbus just took the credit. And finally the video had to point out that the Europeans had white skin and when Columbus and his men came to an already vacant America they found people with darker skin. Let me guess, the people who made that video where American. They just had to throw that in there. We Americans must not notice how much we focus on skin color and race, but boy it sure seems like a lot when you look at it from the outside.
This cartoon was great and fit in perfectly with what I was trying to get out of this media assignment. It also helped further confuse me about the history of this country. Was he looking for Asia or India? Anyway, I think that this video also answers the DQ about what we should share with our youth. Obviously this cartoon is intended for the youth and like we teach or young today about Columbus, none of it has to do with Zinn’s opinions-the violence, greed, and lies. None of the killed Indians, quest for money, or dishonesty about who first spotted America. I now do think that Columbus wasn’t as great and genuine person, but if you asked me 10 years ago I would have told you differently.
Here is the website link to check out this great 5 minute cartoon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuvRFZ4Mxbo
White Privilege
The media item that I chose for this entry was found in the Ethnic Newswatch resource through the on-line BGSU library system. The title of this newspaper article is “White Privilege” and the author is Robert Jensen. After completing the first week in this class I thought that the idea of privilege was significant so I decided to search for a media piece with this topic in mind. The search brought me to this article that was written in 1999 and published in a Nashville, Tennessee newspaper. Another reason why I selected this article is because I like what Jensen had to share about his own personal experiences with privilege and that made me look back at my life and think about any times I might have experienced it as well.
Jensen opens his article by speaking with a young student from the University of Texas about affirmative action. Jensen supports this and this kid does not. Jensen argues the idea that if we live in a world of unearned white privilege, then why does affirmative action exist to “levels the playing field”? In other words, if the whites show privilege to other whites only then why is there affirmative action. Obviously every law or rule made in this country is not strictly for the white race or this country would only be all whites. Who would want to live in a country where everything or everyone is against you?
Continuing on, Jensen associates white privilege with racism. He talks about his entire life and how he always has been surrounded by mostly white people and about how maybe he got away with some things because he was white. So he brings up a very interesting question. Would a black or Hispanic person been treated the same why if they were in my position? Well, if he was experiencing privilege because he was white then no. What this means is that these people who would have oppressed the black or Hispanic in a certain situation would have been being racist against the non-privileged race. He admits then that he has received many benefits for being white and comments that the white race should not be afraid to say that they have gained from white privilege. Overall, Jensen’s writings reminded me very much of the ideas that Johnson was trying to get across.
I personally believe that privilege is not something that all cultures and societies deal with. It seems like America and the white privilege is far worse that any other country or race out there. I just wonder what specifically about Americans makes us care so much about being different. What’s so bad about it? It could be that we carry the label as the best country in the world and we are so cocky and greedy that we are scared of others being successful. When I thought about my life and if I experienced white privilege nothing came to the top of my head. Then I realized that my life is much different then Jensen’s because I have lived around my non-white societies before. So if I did live farther south or in more white neighborhoods then I can see myself as having to face situations like that before.
Here is the website link to the article “White Privilege”.
http://0proquest.umi.com.maurice.bgsu.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=495734521&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1183141084&clientId=3340
Jensen opens his article by speaking with a young student from the University of Texas about affirmative action. Jensen supports this and this kid does not. Jensen argues the idea that if we live in a world of unearned white privilege, then why does affirmative action exist to “levels the playing field”? In other words, if the whites show privilege to other whites only then why is there affirmative action. Obviously every law or rule made in this country is not strictly for the white race or this country would only be all whites. Who would want to live in a country where everything or everyone is against you?
Continuing on, Jensen associates white privilege with racism. He talks about his entire life and how he always has been surrounded by mostly white people and about how maybe he got away with some things because he was white. So he brings up a very interesting question. Would a black or Hispanic person been treated the same why if they were in my position? Well, if he was experiencing privilege because he was white then no. What this means is that these people who would have oppressed the black or Hispanic in a certain situation would have been being racist against the non-privileged race. He admits then that he has received many benefits for being white and comments that the white race should not be afraid to say that they have gained from white privilege. Overall, Jensen’s writings reminded me very much of the ideas that Johnson was trying to get across.
I personally believe that privilege is not something that all cultures and societies deal with. It seems like America and the white privilege is far worse that any other country or race out there. I just wonder what specifically about Americans makes us care so much about being different. What’s so bad about it? It could be that we carry the label as the best country in the world and we are so cocky and greedy that we are scared of others being successful. When I thought about my life and if I experienced white privilege nothing came to the top of my head. Then I realized that my life is much different then Jensen’s because I have lived around my non-white societies before. So if I did live farther south or in more white neighborhoods then I can see myself as having to face situations like that before.
Here is the website link to the article “White Privilege”.
http://0proquest.umi.com.maurice.bgsu.edu/pqdweb?index=2&did=495734521&SrchMode=1&sid=1&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1183141084&clientId=3340
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