Last Paper

This is just some framework. I'm still working on the why as far as why Nirvana was important and identifiable with the youth of the generation. But I feel the more I write, the more i'll find.

The band Nirvana created a cultural movement with teens and young adults in the early 1990’s. This movement was largely brought about not only from Nirvana’s breakthrough hit “Smells Like Teen Spirit” but also by Nirvana’s image and public persona. The band was able to connect with a generation that seemed to be misguided and misunderstood. Generation X as they were consistently referred to seemed to not have an identity according to past standards. Perhaps the identity took shape in another form. Not in the form of a war culture that consumed much of Generation X’s parents lives. But a culture that was based in music and expression. Nirvana proved to be one such expression that many of the so called lost of this generation could identify with.
To understand how Nirvana was able to gain such a influence among much of the young culture, the early 1990’s must be looked at more in depth. The early 90’s were a time of change within the United States. It was a time of post war in that of the Persian Gulf War. A new president took office in that of Bill Clinton. And a generation that had once been consumed with a dominant 1980’s culture was now beginning to shift into a period of new identity. However, the 1990’s were different than decades of the past. This decade was now a decade in which the United States had no real significant ‘shaper’ to define the era. The early generations experienced the Industrial Revolution, World War I, and The Great Depression which largely shaped the economic makeup and thus shaped the social climate. The 40’s through the 80’s largely were dominated with war as World War II, The Korean War, Vietnam and the Cold War proved dominant shapers in cultural identity for most of America. And yet at the turn of the 90’s, this new generation lacked such a shaping trend that seemingly defined their era for them. For the first time in a long time, this new generation was allowed to create its identity.
With this new found freedom of choice, it was only natural that this new generation of youth would be labeled. Generation X as it was named was a generation that was often described as misguided and apathetic. And for the most part, this description was accurate if one were to go by popular culture. The depiction of youth of the era was wide ranging. In some instances the depictions were clean and well mannered. But in others, the youth were shown in depressive states often on drugs whether they be prescription or not. The varying culture representations often lead to a skewed view of what defined a typical teen of the 90’s.
With so many different views of what the typical teen was to have looked or acted like, it became hard to find defining figures for this generation. However, the band Nirvana was able to become a powerful figure even with the many different representations. The youth of the era were able to identify with Nirvana. This was the result of many different aspects of the band. The music with its lyrics and tones. The images of the band and representation through the media. And the real life problems and issues of the band, particularly that of the lead singer Kurt Cobain.

Paper 4 post

I've tried to get most of the basic ideas down. I've still got to build up a third point but I can't really synthesize it just yet. Also, the main body of this essay is just bare bones, I'll add more detail with the dialogue interactions to further my point of change.

Tim O’Brien’s personal account of the Vietnam War in his book “If I Die in a Combat Zone” serves a greater purpose in that of personalizing the war. His vivid imagery, scenarios, and his gradual decline as what he used to perceive as a rational human being is evident within the book. O’Brien links this decline with the acceptance of fear of the war as well as what constitutes courage. O’Brien’s changes throughout the book parallel so many perceptions of the Vietnam War. The war changed so many of the lives that fought in the war from experienced soldiers of past wars to the youth of the day. O’Brien writes from his experience as a fresh college graduate introduced into the war. And like so many others around him, he too changes.

O’Brien's personal convictions change dramatically during the war. He paints a picture of an ideal Midwest childhood and a college background that paints the picture of so many ideal American men. He possesses a good background with a strong presence of military service evident within his father and his mother. It seems destiny had already made plans for O’Brien to follow in his family footsteps. Yet O’Brien possesses a keen intellect that he makes a point to prove that it separates him from the everyday All American male. It is as if O’Brien recognizes another spectrum of personality that most Vietnam history seems to forget. The personality of a humanist. O’Brien makes a compelling case that he doesn’t believe in the Vietnam War, that all life is valuable to an extent. This sentiment surely was shared by many who served their country in Vietnam and it is a sentiment that deserves more critical insight. However, this belief is challenged from the very day that O’Brien becomes a member of the United States Army. His accounts of the dialogue are extremely powerful in showing the process of a much practiced method used by the military. With constant scrutiny and harassment for being an outsider, O’Brien soon realizes that it is much easier to go with the grain than against. His attitude that he is better than all of the men in the training facility soon reserves itself. This method is what shapes the American belief of the army. The hard nosed drill sergeant and the no nonsense attitude shared by all of the higher ranked officers seems to break each and every person that steps into the basic training facility. It seems basic training also becomes the stepping stone of O’Brien to become a conditioned soldier. Here, he meets what he believes to be evil in the flesh in his drill instructor Blyton. It is also here that he learns that “fear of weakness. Fear that to avoid war is to avoid manhood.”(pg. 38) is the common mantra. And it is with this cattle mentality, as he mentions early on, that O’Brien begins to really question his beliefs. Once he enters the combat zones, war begins to shape his ideas. He gradually becomes desensitized and it becomes all to evident within his writing. He talks of savagery in battle and serious injuries as if they are regular occurrences. His time as a radio operator no longer permitted him to put names and faces too all of the victims. Just a number and a area location for a dust off. It seems that within war, there was no time to truly think. Not in the middle of battles. Only in retrospect does anything make sense for O’Brien. These experiences show the truth of the matter of Vietnam. While O’Brien is a sane man, the insane nature of war shapes him into a grunt. This transition is what most who criticized the war at the time would consider a war junky attitude. For O’Brien, his understanding is that people don’t naturally become the so called heartless baby killers who wasted civilians because they simply want to. They had no choice. They became war itself.
O’Brien’s environment shaped his progression as well. This is such a pivotal part of O’Brien’s experience as this is often the reason for why so many changed in Vietnam. First, O’Brien describes life at Fort Lewis at the base of Mount Rainier. Here, O’Brien tried to keep his rebellious attitude towards the army and it’s practices. Yet, like the mountain itself, this seemed too tall of a task. The mountain almost seems to symbolize the strong resolve and unwavering belief of the army. Their beliefs are time tested and weathered but still as strong as stone itself. Here, O’Brien learns the first lesson of acquiesce. He begins to adopt the army and it’s policies. Like O’Brien’s situation, much of the young population going through basic felt the same way. Most were already put into a fear inducing situation that allowed the military to mold it’s soldiers the way it saw fit. This is the start of what O’Brien considers courage. The ideas of self sacrifice and to lead the charge without thinking begin to grow in the minds of the FNG’s as O’Brien would say. But as time would go on, and O’Brien makes his way to Vietnam, the idea of courage would take on a whole new meaning. Once in Vietnam, O’Brien paints the picture of a world in a constant state of madness. Artillery fire is often met with a barbecue. In a time of panic, the state of mind for most experienced soldiers is often that of a manageable calm. This world seems to have been created by war but also by the people as well. O’Brien seemingly goes through this transition whether he wants to or not. The constant pace of movement and routine village sweeps keep him from really contemplating why he was even in the war to begin with. It is within the dense forests and random clearings that O’Brien learns to detach from the world. This world has one rule, survive. And everything in this world operates on a new language. It is here that O’Brien learns that nicknames suffice for identity. It seems to lessen the impact of a fallen comrade to the company. Here, Vietnamese people are not known by their names but rather their looks, characteristics and the simple term of gook.

Paper 3 draft

This draft is really really rough. I'm getting lost in what I consider Roosevelt's identity of America as a youthful optimistic nation that is portrayed in the photos from the CCC. I keep branching into his government practice more than his optimism. I plan on incorporating Susman as a lead off paragraph before the Roosevelt paragraph if i'm allowed to. And the ending will be critical analysis of the two CCC photos of the young men and how they represent Roosevelts ideas as a tangible form. I would have more but I keep hitting a block and rewriting it over and over trying to get a hold of an idea to roll with.

The 1930’s. A pivotal moment in United States history. The great depression, the dust bowl and the new definition of an American identity. As Warren Susman argues, the United States made a transition from the desire to expand westward to the question of what constitutes an American in the 30’s. Franklin Delano Roosevelt created the ideal American in his various speeches, constantly identifying the American people as hardworking men and women with an unwavering resolve to weather the dark times. However, even with the beauty of words, Art itself showed the ideal American. The photography from the 30’s showed the embodiment of Roosevelt’s claims and fashioned the American identity.
During his Commonwealth Club Address, Franklin Delano Roosevelt spoke of a clear shift of ideals in American society. Gone were the days of westward expansion to solve the financial problems with big spending projects for railroads and new cities. Self reliance was now the key to keeping America afloat in rocky times. His speech laid out the groundwork for a mass scale effort to utilize the ever present factories of the Iron Age as well as use the abundant natural resources. All of this under the guidance of government. A new government that supported the people rather than controlled them.. Jobs were created with incentives for businesses. National spending projects were created to sustain those who were ailing in a time of depression. Opponents of Roosevelt’s solutions would argue that the type of government he was running stole the self gratification from the men and women throughout the country. But Roosevelt would argue that the identity that America had used for a century and a half would no longer be the answer. Instead, the government would play the role of helper and allow American men and women to work their way out of the depression. The sense of independence once found in Manifest Destiny could now be found in a honest days labor. This new direction created a optimistic and youthful nation for Roosevelt. But more importantly, it allowed ownership in the type of work that needed to be done to recover from the depression. As Roosevelt would state in his Commonwealth Club Address, “Our government formal and informal, political and economic, owes to every one an avenue to possess himself of a portion of that plenty sufficient for his needs, through his own work.”
Photography allowed a candid look of what Roosevelt believed to be the youthful America.

Paper post

This is a really really rough draft of the beginning of the paper. I plan on incorporating a lot of argument from Locke as well as try to use more of Douglas as a historical reference. It has a tendency to go on a tangent but like Katie says, gotta write to eventually find the argument.

Obama fact or myth?

Over the course of the campaign and during the last few days, it has become apparent that Obama the man and Obama the perceived are two different things. Using the personal evidence I gathered as well as other accounts from around the class, It has shown that the media is largely responsible for this creation of Obama. The iconic material and imagery alone has sparked a revolution and owning something Obama is a type of status symbol now. 

Obama Nation

This latest assignment to profile the American public in the form of tourists was surprisingly tough. By no means was it hard to find the tourists. We as locals here know them well. The ones with maps in their hands, bewildered looks of confusion and the yearning to ask the burning question "Where is the metro?" It's right behind you I mostly reply. I give grace in these situations, I was once just as confused about the area and still to this day I don't know all there is to know about DC and it's hidden gems. But in reality, the concern was to see how Obama has been integrated into the culture outside of DC. I tried to tackle this task with photographs since for one, it allows me to capture evidence, secondly I'm already documenting this occasion with photos since I like to take photos, and third, it trains my eye to look for tourists in touristy types of things. I think I found an ample amount of tourists in their full on Obama garb soaking it in. They roared and they cheered at every mention of Obama. Yet I fully doubt that most of the populace would have known anything of worth on Obama's political stance, politics, history or his ability as a leader.  I certainly don't but I do try to keep informed other than just a ticker on CNN telling me that "Obama preaches Freedom." As I looked around, I confirmed many of the beliefs I had before Obama even won the presidency. Obama has become a marketable Icon to many people. It has become popular to adorn yourself with Obama material as well as to even say you're an Obama supporter. For simply stating that fact alone carries with it a meaning that you're liberal, progressive, open minded, and ready for change. Culture has been shaped to embody this notion for us. The media has played the most pivotal role by bringing Obama to millions of families everyday with cable, the internet has spurned a giant with Obama's online campaigns. For the first time in a long time, the people felt a part of the campaign. They could voice their opinions on blogs much like this one. They could petition. They could collaborate on political canvassing techniques. Obama became not only a product of popular media, but he became tangible media. Something that existed, that gives hope that anything can be done. However, listening to Obama's speeches for the first time, I too became a tourist. I was at the mercy of his microphone belting out his powerful words and I felt the electricity throughout the crowd as people felt hope. A feeling that we haven't felt in a long time. Obama is a man yet he has become a symbol as well. A duality of human nature or rather a duality of culture nature. On one hand, he makes decisions and lives the life of a normal man in a position of great power. Yet he has created a persona than can endure the criticism, the hardship, and the troubles that lay ahead. A shield if you will. Our culture has bolstered this shield and allowed us to create our own image of Obama that cannot be tarnished in our minds.