Jack's American Studies

Simple wants, simple needs, simple greeds

2009-07-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

Simple wants, simple needs, simple greed. Food, clothing, water, shelter. Better food, better clothing, better water, better shelter. Wolfgang Puck, Abercrombie, Figi, Mansions. People start with needs. What you need to survive. What you need to live on. Then once their survival is secure, one begins to move toward wants. They can afford better food, perhaps go out every once in a while. Their clothes become a bit more spiffy and commercialized. Water stays about the same, buying the occasional Ice Mountain or Dasani. Finally they can afford a nicer place. Leave the slum that they lived in and move into a respectable living environment. Then comes greed. You fill your cabinets and fridge with high price high quality, organic, vitamin filled, 20% less calorie, real sugared food. Going out becomes more consistent. Chipotle, Olive garden, and Boston market become a simple lunch. Then high priced grilled up to perfection steak houses, and Mexican cuisine that taste so fresh they said it was caught five minutes ago restaurants become more constant for dinner. Regular water turns into mountain spring, purified, purified again, vitamin filled, fresh, cold, 5 dollars a bottle water that I guess just tastes that much better. Who needs a house when you can have a mansion. A kitchen with ever cooking tool one would ever need and more, a living room with the finest flat screen plasma, blue ray television one can buy and a couch that doesn’t look too good, but the amount you paid for it says otherwise. And then you have a room for your shoes. Gotta have the room for your shoes, it’s a must. It’s all a must. You don’t just want it, you need it. Now your need, has become your greed.

2009-06-01T08:55:00.000-07:00

Abraham Lincoln is one of the most influential and revered American presidents. Although, what does Lincoln symbolize? I believe that he represents the progression of racial equality. As we discussed during Lincoln day, even though his aim during the Civil War was directed toward uniting the south with the union, he also banished slavery and sparked a new age where men are given equal opportunities. The country has grown and altered and 200 years after Lincoln’s birth the first African America was made president. Abraham Lincoln stands for racial development and succession that has taken place in the United States.

connections and comparisons

2009-04-02T08:30:00.001-07:00

Today in class, we all talked about how people are able to make connections in what they see and the importance of it. Max Rice said that he could make comparisons between miscellaneous things such as a white board and the Jonas Brothers. The connection he made was that they are both white and untalented. I agree with what he said, however I don't believe that his statement was a legit comparison. In order to have a good connection, it is essential that they both relate to each other in a deeper way than just small physical and superficial views. It's ridiculous to relate ipods and chickens, simply because the two are white.

2009-03-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

2009-03-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

2009-03-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

A life without Myths

2009-02-19T05:41:00.000-08:00

As our American studies class has gone into the topic of myths and the reality of certain myths, I came to ask myself, what would life be like without any myths. Would Clint Eastwood turn into a gun shy ranger, or would Rosa Parks turn into just another radical agitator just making a statement. I find that myths of done a lot more good for this country than people think. How would a teacher tell the story of Honest Abe or the Boston Massacre to 7 year old without these mythologies. I personally like myths more than the real stories because it gives this special ring to the story that if you were to tell it only using facts, it just wouldn't have that inner meaning to it. It reminds me of watching myth busters. They solve all of these myths that are either urban legends or things that are seen in movies. It's interesting to watch but after most of the segments, I kinda wish I hadn't watched it because it's a bit disappointing to see that certain things either can't or never had happened.

Is wrong that far from right

2009-02-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

i think that Americans have gotten themselves all mixed up in their own view of what is against the law, and what is immoral or unethical. If you look up words like, unjust, immoral, unethical, unconstitutional, or even wrong, they all either mean the same thing, use each other in their meanings, or come pretty darn close to any of the other words definitions. The only two words that I find that really should have similar meanings are immoral and unethical. Ethics deal more with what you personally think is right and wrong, immoral seems to be a collaboration of ethics that most people seem to agree with. While I was talking to my family and different friends of mine, whenever something came up that involves breaking the law, most people immediately say that its immoral. There are plenty of small laws out there that people break everyday, sometimes with out even knowing it. does that make them bad people? i think people today should draw a fine line between the two, because think if our law system was taken away, would are morals go along with it?

If the Economy was in the Palm of Your Hand...Would You Make a Fist?

2009-01-11T20:56:00.000-08:00

I have always thought about what I would say if someone came up to me and asked, “Well, what would you do about the economy.” There’s no way to answer that in simple terms. It would probably take me the whole day just to get a word out. But after thinking for a while and having some time to juggle the question around, I have come up with an answer. It may not make sense. It may be the complete wrong answer, but to me it doesn’t seem too crazy. Where was the US right before WWI? How did Hitler take Germany post WWI and create one of the biggest super powers of the world? Now before I say it, this is just a small little idea that I had come up with. A possible answer. Our nation would revolve around militarism. I would put much more money, supplies, and manpower into the Iraq war and in the fight against terror in Afghanistan. The government would buy from businesses that sell goods such as leather, metal, foods, energy, and any other supplies that might be needed in war. This would create a large amount of spending by the government and the money would go to domestic businesses, which would help our economy. I would also open government owed factories and hire workers to make war goods such as guns, ammo, and tanks. This would certainly help the growing unemployment rate facing America today. The car Businesses would also benefit by creating armored vehicles for the war, who knows. Farm owners and food processing plants would also make money by selling their food to the government for the troops. With all of this money going into our nation, other businesses would prosper because of the vast amount of jobs that would open up so people would have more money to spend. Think of all of the possible businesses that would be able to sell their goods to the government to support the war. At the same time though, I would put quite a bit of money into commercials and propaganda ads to have more people sign up for the military. Lastly, this would also help foreign trade because of the vast amount being made in America and the large amount of supplies that may still be needed from other countries. Now, I do realize that this is a very one-sided argument and that there is lots of room for error. But, it is a possibility that could help get our country out of such tough times. But on the other hand, it could create outrage among the nation because of the expansion of the war and cripple our economy even more. But I would hope not.

The key to a sucessful nation

2008-10-22T12:12:00.000-07:00

There are many different theory's about why certain civilizations do better than others. I believe that the key to a successful nation is the both location and resources. Take a native group of people. The main job for the people is to gather food. Food is of the highest importance in their eyes. So, every day, the men would go out hunting and the women may go collect food from crops. Simple. imagine though if in their area, they had an extremely high amount of food. By having more food, the tribe doesn't spend as much time getting food. So, what happens then is the population goes up because of the vast amount of food. Once there are a lot of people, that is when progress starts happening because there is no need for every person has to get food. So people start having new jobs like making weapons or creating tools for people to use. As the population becomes bigger and people start making new things, the basis for a thriving civilization comes into play. Technology. So by that point countless number of people are making new things. It is easy to see what happens next after that. So, what I'm saying is that the reason for groups of people being more advanced then others, starts with the amount of resources their nation had when it was created.

The presidential debate

2008-10-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

The presidential debate between McCain and Obama hasn’t been one of the best debates I’ve seen this year. Both candidates seemed to have a little trouble answering each question and dealing with the other candidate. The one who seemed to be off the most was McCain. He was able to answer most the questions, although whenever he tried to confront Obama, it seemed as if he was attacking him and in a way really just seemed like a grumpy old man. Obama was a bit better. I thought that Obama didn’t answer his questions quite as well as McCain. However, when Obama started arguing with John, he won every time. One of the reasons Barack won every time was because he was able to stay cool while speaking and he had an reaction to every attack McCain made toward him. One thing I highly enjoyed about the debate was the questions asked. Most debate I hear questions that are important, but are too interesting. That defiantly wasn’t the case for this debate. One of my favorite questions asked was about how both candidates had commercials attacking each other, and the question was talking about that. One of the reasons I like that question so much is because it was so straight forward. Pretty much they were saying, would you say what you have said on your commercials to the candidates face. Now, I think that is such a juicy question to ask, because the candidates wanted to both seem innocent in a way, but this question defiantly called them out. I would also say that they both answered it relatively well.So, who won? It’s hard for me to say. I want to answer the question, although I do like Obama better than McCain, so while watching the debate, I had a bias the whole time. So, this time I’m giving into my bias, and I’ll say that Obama won. McCain seemed so on edge and jittery the whole time. So whenever he talked, it seems less sincere then if he was calm. It seemed that Obama kept his cool the whole time, which was unbelievably important. This whole campaign, he has been that way; it truly seems to be working.

The idea of "honor"

2008-10-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

The idea of someone having honor goes back more the 2000 years. Basically, in ancient Japan, what each persons goal was, was to have a good life filled with honor. Meaning, that you have a good job, a respectable family, and that you follow orders. The main person who gave these orders was a shogun. A shogun is a military chief, who ruled over a large amount of land and was mainly the "king" of a part of Japan. One of the shoguns main tools, was the idea of honor. However, what really is honor. The dictionary definition says that it is a source of credit and respect. That may be true, but the way that honor was used was completely different to what most people think. I believe that honor was just a way to keep everyone in line. So lets say what if you don't have a respectable job, then you have no honor.They do this so they make sure you have a good job, but merely so they can ensure they can tax that person and get money. Also, it works in the legal system. If you were to break the law back then, people didn't say it was against the law, they would say that it is very dishonorable. Another way that the shogun used honor was in battle. When warriors were caught, it was honorable to kill yourself. The only reason that the shogun said it was honorable, was because he didn't want his captured men to turn to the other side, so to make sure of that, he would have them kill themselves. And shoguns back then weren't honorable at all. They were mostly all just greedy men who wanted more land. If they were ever in battle, they would never kill themselves. They would most likely try to buy their way out, but if that didn't work, they would most defiantly join the other side. So in all, I would say honor, is really just a ton of bull crap that leaders used to their advantages.

Afro Samurai

2008-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

If you already don't know what Afro Samurai is, it is a short animated tv series that is based on a samurai trying to  defeat the warrior who killed his father. This series is known to be an  anachronism, which means that you'll find something out of place in time. So in afro samurai's case, the show takes place in the future but you still see old school weapons and rituals used. Personally, I think that the show Afro Samurai, is one of the coolest videos you can see today. What makes Afro Samurai so amazing is two things. First, the fighting in the movie is outstanding. It's filled with intense gory fighting seens that you and find almost no where else. Secondly, the way that the plot is structured. It's crazy simple. Take any two entities that oppose each other, such as good and evil. Then take one of mans primal instincts, fighting. Fighting is a way to put things into human tangible form. It's basic tribal instincts. You don't see animals ever argue, you see them fight. Then, take different ideologies and embody certain concepts and you see it transformed into martial arts. In different fights, you'll see someone with a lot of hate and rage, fight much more aggressively and rip people apart. Then take someone who is at peace, and is balanced, you'd see them either not attack as much and be more defensive or wait until the other person attacks and used the persons momentum and anger against them. Once you have these to different opponents, they would fight, and then the winner is superior. That is how people have matched up throughout history, and that is exactly what you see in Afro Samurai, except, instead of seeing good and evil, you see two different traits. Greed and vengeance. So, throughout the movie, you have Afro Samurai, who wants to take vengeance on the man who was driven by greed to obtain the number one headband that the samurai's dad obtained. Then, the rest of the characters also represent greed because all they want is the number two head band that the afro samurai has, because without the number two headband, your not allowed to fight the number one. And the one with the number one headband, is known as a god. That's why so many people are out for afro samurai, so they can take it, kill the number one, and become a god (Thus the greed aspect). To have something so amazing centered around something so simple is mind blowing. That is why I love the show Afro Samurai so much, and why I think it that people should defiantly look into it.

Is it really "Our" land?

2008-10-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been thinking about how America came to be. I thought about what I learned in grade school, how the nice little pilgrims came to America, made friends with the Indians, and then all of a sudden, the Indians attacked the colonists so the colonists fought back and won America. This was my view up to about 8th grade. When I first heard that America was first the Natives land, and that we stole it, I wasn't to fond of the Idea. I liked to think that the way we came about owning this land was justified in a sense. And I still wish that was the case, however, it is true that our nation was pretty much founded by our ancestors robbing the Native Americans land right out from under them. So, if a native American came and knocked on my door, and showed me proof that my land, was really his land that I stole ... who would have the true right to it? I would like to think it's me, but I'm really not sure how I would back myself up.

Hmmm, what do you think? Do you have a right to the land you live on?

Good Grades, Good Money

2008-09-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

“Earn an A? Here’s $50”

Chicago Tribune

One article that I thought was very interesting that I found was in the Chicago Tribune was “Earn an A? Here’s $50” by Carlos Sadovi. It’s talks about how over 5,000 students at 20 different schools in Chicago will receive money for their good grades. What will happen is that every 5 weeks, students will be tested in Math, English, Social Studies, science and Physical education. When a student receives an A, they get $50, a B is $35, and a C is $20. The students get paid half of it upfront and then the second half when they graduate. That means, a student would be able to make up to $4,000 by the end of their sophomore year. Chicago Public School official agree with the tradition and say it will do much good.

I believe that this new system will benefit the students in the Chicago public schools dramatically. For many students, the idea of getting good grades and then going off to college seems like a long shot. I think that now, kids will set short term goals get good grades, thus getting money. Then by the end of senior year, they will look back and see their good grades and then may use the money they receive after graduation to go to college. I also like this because the money is coming from donations, and not from taxpayers.

2008-09-03T07:30:00.001-07:00

Updated
Some may say different, but the three most enjoyable and interesting movies made within the last 20 years include Pulp Fiction, Sin City, and Fight Club. Each movie demonstrates impressive acting, profound directing, and has incredible plot outline, that few other movies can compare to. One aspect of movies I feel that people have forgotten about is that movies should either have a type of artful approach to the making of the movie, or try to send a message within the movie. Take Fight Club for example. The movie illustrates how materialistic people are in todays world are, and what it meaning to be free from judgment and how the government wants you to act. An example of this in the movie was when the main character, Tyler Durden, comes back to his apartment building, seeing his place ablaze because of an accident that had occurred there. While living in his apartment, Tyler clung to catalog adds, constantly buying new sets of matching furniture and kitchen ware. Later in the movie he realizes that he had done it himself, as he was in one of his split personalities and consciousness. He does this to himself as a way of being free and escaping from the artificial reality that people live in. Tragically, young people today merely focus on dazzling special effects and a hyperactive visual style instead of acknowledging the message or artfulness of the movie.

-Also, one of my favorite movies I forgot to mention was Kill Bill vol. 1