A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words

Stanley Forman was born in 1945.  Since then, public schools were integrated, American engaged in the Vietnam, Korean, Gulf, Afghani, and Iraq wars.  We have seen the first Black president elected to office, we have mourned the loss of pop sensation Michael Jackson, and we have withstood natural and manmade disasters.  Change is a constant.

As many artists do, Mr. Forman commented on political happenings through his work: photography.  His photography has earned him two Pulitzer Prizes and has enriched America's art scene.  Photographs allow time to stand still; Forman has successfully managed to not only capture a time, but a feeling.

In his photograph "Soiling Old Glory," Forman captured these scenes: 

• America's bussing policy, in which black and white students are taken on busses out of their neighborhoods to attend different schools.  This policy came into effect after "Seperate but Equal" was ruled unconstututional.  Public schools were required to integrate, even if it involved making students attend school far away from their homes, to meet racial quotas.
• Intolerance.  In 1976, when "Soiling Old Glory" was taken, racial tension was high.  The Civil Rights Act of 1965, enacted under President Linden Johnson, was still in its implimentation stage.  (Please refer to page 64 of this report to see how prevelent Civil Rights issues were in American Government)

Forman successfully captured a history and emotion in his picture.  I have not come across a photo so thought provoking as this one in a long time.  All things considered, I am only a teenager, but my teenage mind can still appreciate great art.  It was recognized as such in 1977, when "Soiling Old Glory" won the Pulitzer Prize for Photography. 

My rEflection

Change: nickels and pennies, spring to summer, childhood to adulthood, blog post to blog post.  The latter is newly added to my definition of "change."  Despite its late addition, changes in blog posts prove just as relevant as the veteran definitions.

The topics of my posts share a common theme: me.  It may seem conceded, but what better can an author comment on more truthfully than themselves?  My passion for the subjects I write on, I hope, shows.  My post with the most comments, Shana Tova, connects to my religious freedom.  It allowed me to transition to a national news story; blogging makes clear to me my own connectedness to the larger world.  "A Different Kind of Lashes,"* my favorite and most recent post, shares some personal information.  However, I do not feel violated because my issues connect with those of other people, as depicted in America the Beautiful.  To quote:

People feel compelled to alter themselves to achieve a conjured "perfect."  I myself am guilty of this.  I consider myself a "slave" to the beauty industry.

This post allows me to connect further with Frederick Douglass, as at times we both feel trapped and hindered.  Blogging, whether for leisure or work, does not connect people directly.  Blogging allows authors to realize their similarities with and differences from the world around them.  Readers may feel the same or different, or even feel a connection to the author.

School, in theory, prepares students for the life they will face in the coming years.  People will face just that: people.  Just because I, for example, did not suffer directly in result to threats of Koran burnings, does not mean I am not involved.  Blogging has allowed me to self-reflect with lose structure, so that I can recognize that the world is separated not by oceans but by closed minds.  I may not be able to change other people right away, but I can open my own mind and get be one person closer to global understanding.

*http://americanstudies89.blogspot.com/2010/10/different-kind-of-lashes.html

A Different Kind of "Lashes"

In class, we have been reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, a short book written by a former slave and published in 1845.  It depicts the hardships of back breaking labor and heart breaking attitudes of Maryland plantations.  He tells of how he and his mother knew not much of one another, of the lashes he received, and the hope to overcome oppression.

In another class, the Fit Female, we watched a documentary that seems to parallel slavery in a (less severe way).  The slaves depicted in "Freddie D" suffer through hardships unimaginable by America's standards today.  In America The Beautiful, of which I watched the first half in the Fit Female, director Darryl Roberts brings to light America's obsession with beauty.  In a way, we are slaves to mirrors. 

Gerren Taylor, who wants to become a supermodel, is documented.  She is almost six feet tall, has smooth skin, is very thin, plyable hair, and a fresh face.  She can be found on runways in LA, magazines across the country, all that model stuff.  When the documentary was made and recording her "teen dream" job, she was 12 YEARS OLD.  I was taken aback when I found out she was so young; my first impression was that she was in her early twenties and finding her way in the fashion industry.  Yes, she was finding her way in the fashion industry, but only when her spelling tests allowed?  I guess it seems normal to her, but to the average viewer it is quite surprising.  Mr. Roberts made a clear point: America rewards beauty to an almost gross extent.

We all are familiar with the extent people go to look a certain way; Americans spend $40 billion a year on diet and weight loss products.  On cosmetics: $7 billion a year.  According to the YWCA, almost 10 million Americans suffer from eating disorders.  People feel compelled to alter themselves to achieve a conjured "perfect."  I myself am guilty of this.  I consider myself a "slave" to the beauty industry.

I do not go to a book store without first looking at the fashion magazines.  Hours of my life have been spent watching America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, even Jersey Shore promotes a corrolation between GTL (gym-tan-laundry) and attracting the opposite sex.  Oh, yeah!  Sex!  That's a whole different topic...

My firend once told me she spends $60 on her foundation; "I'm fat" is no uncommon phrase; celebrities endorse thinness by being thin, wearing clothes only thin people can wear, and endorsing weight loss products.  Heidi Klum eats Light'N'Fit yogurt, Kim Kardashian uses QuickTrim weight loss supplements. 

It is a sad reality that we, as a country, are obsessed with exterior beauty.  Is it slavery?  I think so, in a way.  We go to painful extremes, some people dedicate their livlihoods to it (models, actors, advertisers); perfection has become a master.  I hope we can all be free soon.

Word, Yo

We live in a world where new words emerge on an almost daily basis.  For example, I have heard people say "It's chill" probably more than I've heard the words "how are you?" or "good morning."  Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines "chill" as "adj : moderately cold."  According to the dictionary, this often occuring conversation would make no sense...

Person 1: "Hey man, sorry I didn't text you about Saturday."
Person 2: "It's chill.  We can hang next weekend."

By dictionary standards, Person 2 is needs a jacket, but is content to make plans at a later date.  We teenagers, and probably a lot of adults, would know Person 2 actually means that there are no hard feelings, that Person 1 need not worry, etc.  

The word "chill" proves how loose the terms of our language are.  Even though it's intended use does not always match up with its interpreted use, "chill" as an adjective is totally acceptable.  Where does that definition come from?  Certainly not Mr. Webster.  Mob mentality?  (If 100 people use it a certain way, than I can use it the same way)  I think so.  It is easier for a "mob mentality" to arise when people are in constant communication; the Internet lets the world know what someone is thinking.  Facebook comes to my mind.  If I set my status to "What a chill day- first the beach, then the movies, then home for some quality time with the fam." *Disclaimer: I do not actually talk like this!* then my 300 something "friends" would know that the word chill can be used as a synonym for "good."

The Internet makes the world smaller, and ideas become known in an instant.  Does the dictionary give us an accurate depiction of conversation?  Unless it is updated constantly, have regional versions, and have versions for different age groups, I don't think it can.  Populations are defined in different terms now, and that necessitates different resources.  We can no longer rely on "standards" when they vary so much from person to person, group to group, status to status.