Attack the Rack (Black Friday)

My Favorite Word

I have been on a bit of a shopping spree over Thanksgiving break, but I have found comfort in the fact that I am certainly not alone. Black Friday is the name given to the day after Thanksgiving; it is a day of sales and bargains galore for dedicated shoppers, and marks the beginning of the holiday shopping madness. After reading an article I found in Mr. B's quick links on www.anamericanstudies.com, I was able to make a little more sense of why people are willing to lose sleep just to save some bucks. The article highlights a few different reasons for why people love shopping on Black Friday, including: "the crowds make us happy", "we love the hunt", and "it's about togetherness". The first and third reasons seem a bit peculiar to me, but I can relate to the idea that "we love the hunt."

I would like to offer another probable explanation of why Black Friday is as crazy as it is: saving money is an emotional boost. I was raised with the advice that when possible, buy on sale and/or use a coupon. Nowadays, I rarely get the same satisfaction buying something full price as when I have bought it and saved money. Today at Bed Bath & Beyond, I managed to save $20 by using eight 20% coupons, and boy did I walk out of there feeling good. (Tip: Bed Bath & Beyond is one of the best places for bargain lovers. They send out a trillion coupons and do not check expiration dates.) My friend was sharing with me a few stories about her Black Friday shopping marathon that began at 10 p.m. on Thursday and went until 7 a.m. on Friday. Each story was preceded by "and guess how much I saved".

Whether or not cost is an issue for a shopper, everyone would rather buy something on sale for $60 than buy something originally marked as $60. This may seem a bit obvious, but what is much less obvious is that this makes perfectly good sense for a reason: Americans always want the best version of something, and the product being on sale or being able to use a coupon to buy the item allows someone to buy a better version of a product than they would have otherwise been able to. So, the next time you start hating on Black Friday, just think of it as a happy American tradition -- those who partake in the bargain hunting certainly do "Shoppers planned extensively for Black Friday — as they would for a holiday meal — and relish the day in part because it allows them to spend time with close friends and family" (Khazan).

War On Terror- 9/11

President Bush’s State of the Union Address, September 20, 2011 (the following are some direct quotes that you may find useful in writing your paper):

• On September the 11th, enemies of freedom committed an act of war against our country.
• Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
• They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other.
• Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen.
• we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism
• We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans.
• These measures are essential. But the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows.

Is All Art Propaganda?

A little while ago in class, we were talking about different art that was used as propaganda, when one of our teachers posed this question that really made me think: is all art propaganda? My initial thought was of course not- maybe some is but not all because my favorite artists would never create propaganda. I decided to do a little more research before committing myself. According to dictionary.com, propaganda is "information, ideas, or   rumors deliberately spread widely to help  or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc." My interpretation of that definition is that propaganda is anything that has an intent to help or harm. So if propaganda is something that has a goal, then wouldn't you hope that all art is propaganda, because shouldn't all good art try to communicate a message? Maybe a better question to pose would have been: is propaganda in the form of art a bad thing? 

One of my all-time favorite paintings is Picasso's Guernica, perhaps because I have studied it in Spanish class so many times, or maybe because I appreciate the originality of it. I would definitely call this painting propaganda- it's trying to express  "the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians." (Wikipedia). How upfront, in your face propaganda is that?!? Yet, so many people, me included, love this painting. When I look at this painting I see the destruction of the innocent people, but I interpret this painting in my own way, which must be different from how Picasso felt about the issue. Picasso is not telling us how to feel about the bombing of Guernica, but rather showing how he feels about it. 

I think that all artists have a message they want to convey, but viewers can chose how to interpret the message.  Similarly, propaganda may seek to convey a message, but people are free to interpret the message however they want.  In my opinion, all good art is propaganda, and propaganda is not necessarily a bad thing when it gets people thinking. 

Billie Joe Armstrong

Mr. O'Connor recently published a post on our class blog about his hero, Pete Seeger. One of my favorite rockers is Billie Joe Armstrong, the lead singer and songwriter of Green Day. Billie Joe has been writing songs about what has been going on in America, and speaking, or rather singing out against the government when he disagrees with its actions. I can see many parallels between Billie Joe and Pete. Both men understand that music is an effective means of communication, and they both use their ability to write songs as a way of helping the public think about something the government has done. Billie Joe has said about Green Day: "We're not a political band. We don't want to tell people what to do or what to think. We just want to tell them to think." Billie Joe cannot stand ignorant people; yet he doesn't just sit around complaining about them, he tries to inspire them by writing songs like "American Idiot". In "American Idiot", he sings, "Don't want to be an American Idiot/ One nation controlled by the media". 

The Defiant One

I think that he is admirable because he takes a lot of risks writing about America's problems. Billie Joe does not sing about something he knows will bring in money, like a song about partying, but rather about a message he wants to get across. Few people are willing to risk a steady income even if they are fighting for causes that they are passionate about. Billie Joe is one of those few. 

On Wednesday, my American studies class took an excursion to see the play "Clybourne Park". The play is about racial tension and a family who is trying to sell their house in their white neighborhood.  However, the family trying to buy the house is black, and the community does not want a black family to move into their neighborhood (it is 1959). Although the family trying to sell the house was not at first in favor of a black family moving in, they later become insistent that the black family buys it and not anyone else. The family trying to sell the house wants to educate their neighbors about how ignorant they are about being unwilling to let a black family into their neighborhood.  However, the neighbors are unwilling to listen. But, just like Billie Joe, the white family's defiance of the status quo paid off, and in the end the black family was allowed to move into the neighborhood. When have you defied something that has ended up really paying off?