Chapter 3

As Wright describes his mother’s paralysis his youth was being taken away from him. He used to be a happy-go-lucky kid, and now he is going to have to fulfill the responsibilities of an adult and take care of the family. Wright is dumbfounded by his mother’s paralysis because he has always counted on his mother to supply for the family, and now he is going to have to contribute and provide for the family. He went through a lot of emotional pain and he stated, “I went through the days with a stunned consciousness, unable to believe what had happened.” For his whole life his mother had provided for the family, and Wright was in a state of emotional shock and can’t quite understand what will happen in the future. At one point in chapter three he talks about how he wanted to focus on one day at a time because he doesn’t know if it will be his mother’s last. Wright had really come away from his mother’s paralysis as a bigger more responsible person, and with a new understanding of life and faith.

Chapter 2

Richard Wright had grown up to dislike Jews, and that they were “Christ killers.” As Wright stated, “to hold an attitude of antagonism or distrust toward Jews was bred in us from childhood” (62). Wright never really understood why he would make fun of Jews, because it became such a standard opinion throughout his life.

His hate for Jews relates to the way African Americans were treated at the time. Whites were also taught from an early age to treat African Americans badly. Then the prejudice and dislike continues from generation to generation and many do not have the knowledge to know any better. Essentially these racial groups were scapegoating each other because each racial group thought the other one was inferior.

Richard had been discriminated against all of his life, his home life wasn’t great, and was never really formally educated. He was a smart boy, and was curious that he had to dislike the Jews. He saw that there was a large detachment between each racial group, but didn’t understand why it existed. However, he accepted it because that is what he grew up learning. He seems to question the world around him, but never fully gets the answers he deserves and just accepts it.

Hunger

Physical hunger is not the only hunger apparent in Richard Wright’s life. What seems to have driven Wright’s quest might be described as the multiple dimensions of hunger. It seems that both the absence of food and of his father have become interchangeable in Wright’s mind. When Wright reflected back on his childhood he stated, “As the days slid past the image of my father became associated with my pangs of hunger, and whenever I felt hunger I though of him with a deep biological bitterness” (16). This was not just focused against the father, but against the whole society. Wright was really longing for a better life, and this was hard to accomplish especially knowing that during the early twentieth century there was a lot of inequality between blacks and whites and his home life was a struggle as well.

Wright also has an educational and emotional hunger and he wants to be like the other boys going to school and reading. Educational hunger is one that I think Wright has the hardest time facing because he is a smart boy, but because of the Jim Crow Laws he is not really encouraged to learn. Furthermore, emotional hunger represses Richard’s life because he seems to desire attention, but doesn’t get it in his home environment and doesn’t really know how to associate well with others because of it. Whether it is physical, emotional, or educational hunger each of these affects his life significantly.

Against School

John Taylor Gatto believes that school is not really needed. However, he was not opposed to the idea of education. He was against the idea of forced schooling where a student has to attend six classes or so a day, goes for nine months of the year and for five days a week. School in his opinion, was not there just to educate, but there to have children to conform and be alike. Moreover, the students are really restricted to move ahead because there isn’t much room built in for progressing. Gatto also believes that, “we must wake up to what our schools really are: laboratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the habits and attitudes that corporate society demands. Mandatory education serves children only incidentally; its main purpose is to turn them into servants” (159)

Conceptually I agree with him, but our personal responsibilities including work prohibit us from putting the time and effort into necessary education at home. I do not believe that higher education makes children conform and be alike. On the contrary, I think that higher education inspires freethinking and multiple opportunities to succeed in our society.

'Nonacademic Education'

I absolutely value my ‘nonacademic’ education because it teaches what school can’t always such as morals, religion and the ability to take care for ourselves in the real world. Our ‘nonacademic’ education comes from friends, family, and everyday life experiences. These lessons and experiences are important in shaping our personalities and affect how we make our decisions. It makes me who I am and also affects my academic performance as well. Depending on what career we choose as adults, some of the stuff we spent years studying won’t actually be applied. However, the manners that our parents taught us and our fundamental values will be more important. In the future I plan to pursue a career in the medical field, and it will be important for me to know how to communicate with my patients and fellow doctors. Without the skills learned from my academic education I would be able to perform these duties.

Presentations

There were many creative presentations that were given today. A lot of the stuff presented had meanings that we would not notice just driving by, or in our everyday life. One of the photos that stood out to me was Seth’s photo of McDonalds’ new and improved interior to make it feel like a more comfortable place to hang out. Starbucks is in somewhat of a competition in coffee with McDonalds, and I liked that Seth drew the connection that maybe it was trying to be more like its competition Starbucks with the lounge seating and fireplace. It really showed a personal environment that one wouldn’t normal associate with McDonalds. It is obvious that McDonalds is trying to catch up to its competition and grow more in popularity.

Another photo that I thought exemplified rhetoric was Kwame’s photo of the Wheaties Fuel Cereal. He had mentioned that the intense stare attracted sports fans to buy the cereal and would bring them to the level of the athletes shown on the box. He mentioned that the dark colors attract the audience right to the box, and the words fuel stand out which shows the viewer would hope to get a lot on energy. There were also other pictures of athletes on the back so that if someone doesn’t like the main athlete shown, their favorite one might be on the back.

Framing Class, Vicarious Living, and Conspicuous Consumption

In Diana Kendall’s article, she discusses how the media shapes public opinions about the upper; middle, working, and lower class are perceived. The media depicts each class a different way, which gives the audience a somewhat skewed opinion of each social class. The media does not differentiate between what is real and what is made up so it encourages people to, “emulate the upper classes and shun the working class and the poor” (335).

I agree with Diana Kendall in that the media does have a powerful influence on our society and does it in a promising and desirable way. The media does portray that anyone no matter what social class can buy the products seen on T.V. The American Dream has been altered by the media, maybe not with bad intentions, but does it through the distortion of reality. The media tells us what we should wear, drive or even emulate. It is sad because we have the privilege to receive a good education, and are able to think critically, yet we still allow the media to influence us and almost think for us. The lower class and working class will be drawn in to the media’s advertising and think that they too can obtain what more “privileged” people have. Advertising does cause increased credit card debt because of the appeal. However, I do believe that it is up to the consumer to make a conscious decision about what they want to purchase. Therefore the working class and lower class citizens don’t have to choose to spend all their money on something they don’t need. Advertising does everything to make money and draw in the consumer, but people should be more responsible with their money and not blame advertising companies for their debt.

Under the Sign of the Mickey Mouse and Co

In Gitlin’s piece, “Under the Sign of the Mickey Mouse & Co.,” he talked about how the streams of rhetoric pour out of America and affect other cultures. America’s pop culture influences the entire world, and draws the “urban and young into a common cultural zone where dreams of freedom, wealth, comforting, innocence, and power—and perhaps most of all, youth as a state of mind” (826). Things like Mickey Mouse and Coke are recognized everywhere and are often enjoyed. Gitlin also gave the example of how in the champagne cellar of Piper-Heidsieck the tour was dedicated to Marie Antoinette, yet it focuses on celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood, both American icons. Other cultures often resent America’s influence on their culture calling it American imperialism, but “the images are not even faintly force-fed by American corporate, political, or military power” (827).

I agree that the American culture is taking a more dominant affect on other cultures, and that many countries are upset that their culture is essentially being lost. However, if countries are going to continue to complain about the American culture, they need to be the ones to do something about it and stop promoting our products. Moreover, the loss of culture is never a good thing either, but this is where you get into the idea of melting pot, and how to keep individual characteristics.

Media Icon

In recent years Sarah Palin has become somewhat of a media icon. She was the first republican woman to run for vice president in 2008 and that gave her a lot of attention. During the campaign, Palin evoked a more strongly divided response than Joe Biden among voters and continually evokes strong division and emotion. It is a mystery as to why she evokes such responses, but she does. Sarah Palin could post something on facebook and the very next day the national media has picked up on what she has said. Many people, regardless of political affiliations like Sarah Palin because she is essentially representing the “common man.” She is not afraid to speak out about controversial issues that are brought about in the media. Recently she has published the book, Going Rogue, and it has been hard to keep the book on the shelf and her book tour has been so packed that not everyone can actually get in to see her. Her popularity is continually growing, and people want the same glasses she has, and style their hair the way she does. Sarah Palin is revered and liked because of her family values and way of life. Many people like that she rises above the stereotypical political figure.

Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt

According to Kilbourne, it is dangerous to depict men and women as sex objects because it, “dehumanizes and objectifies people, especially women, and because it fetishizes products--which dooms us to disappointment since products never can fulfill our sexual desires or meet our emotional needs.” (417) Now more than ever we are being bombarded with commercials for all the latest products, and not always done in the most appropriate manner. Kilbourne believed that the objectification of women was more troubling because there was a link with violence. She talked about how there is no danger for most men, but objectified women are always at risk. Many of these advertisements do not directly cause violence, but contribute to it. Kilbourne believed that advertisements are dangerous for women because it makes it much easier for men to feel justified when causing harm to women. She implied that women are generally depicted as weaker than men; therefore they were more susceptible to violence such as rape or abuse.

I agree with Kilbourne in that it is not uncommon anymore of find sex tied into advertisements and these advertisements are often seen on a daily basis. Advertising often gives us the notion that we can essentially recreate ourselves by purchasing the right product. The irony of Kilbourne’s idea is that these advertisements might appeal to the male consumer, but it also appeals to the female consumer making her believe that the ideal woman looks and acts in the ways that a man would want her.