Is Everything Cropped?

This week in American Studies, as we were looking at two versions of the same award-winning photograph, we discussed which one is "truer".

Here is version one:

Here is version two:

So, which version tells the truth about what is going on at the time? Some may argue that it is version one, because that one shows the what is going on outside of the main focus of the scene. Others may argue that it is version two, because this one shows, in detail, the scene that the photographer was trying to show. 

In my opinion, neither of these of very "truthful". In order to fully understand a scene like the one depicted in this photo, you not only have to know what is going on at the time of the photo, but what events preceded it and what the effects of it were. Otherwise, although it seems like we are getting the full picture, we are only getting a snapshot (haha, pun) of what was really happening. 

So it seems as if every piece of news we encounter in our life is cropped in some way. Somethings have been cut out, and some have been placed in for a certain reason. Whether because the news source is bias or because they simply did not have enough room in their story to put certain pieces of information in. Just something to think about.

A Little Reflection

As I sit and read all of my past posts, there are a few things that come to mind. First, because I have been a regular blogger for quite some time before starting this one, the format of my blog posts usually stays fairly consistent. In addition, the topics that I blog about are all about what we have discussed in class. However, one thing that I noticed was that the posts that were the most interesting and informative were the ones that included quotes or links.

What I think is my best post is the post titled "The Biology of Race". In this post I took the time to research the question of whether race is truly biological, or simply made up. I looked at many websites, and picked out the few best quotes I could find. I then compared and contrasted my findings to the statements the movie we were currently watching in class had made. I also look at my findings from multiple angles. "[The previous quote] both strengthens and disproves the movie's statement about race, depending on how you look at [it]." I then go into more detail about both sides of the argument. It is important to show both sides of an argument, so the reader can judge for themselves what they think is right, based on the evidence you gave them. I have not done this in all of my posts, however.

In my most recent post, "Why is the Confederate Flag Still Flying?", I was very proud of myself for making an argument about how the Confederate flag is a symbol of pride, not slavery. However, I forgot to look at the other point of view; how different groups of people perceive a symbol like the Confederate flag, and go into detail. Instead, I just provide my opinion, which in this case I do not feel is right. I feel that it is important to show and examine both sides of an argument, something that I will try to do not only on this blog but throughout my life.

My posting started out pretty simple, and then got my exciting once I started adding links, videos, and quotes. This is one way in which my blogging has improved. I have used media to get my reader's attention and inform them of my topic so I don't have to in writing! There are times when I cannot find a good website or video to link on my blog, but I have really been trying to find one for every single blog post. They make the posts not only more informative, but make them seem more friendly.

I am quite proud of my blogging this quarter, and I cannot wait to see what other tricks I can throw into my posts as I learn more about how to use Blogger!

Why is the Confederate Flag Still Flying?

I'm going to begin with having you watch a video. As you watch, try to see if you can notice anything...interesting about it.



The first thing that I noticed about this video was the fact that there is a Confederate flag flying behind Skynyrd as they play one of the most widely recognized songs in rock n' roll history. But didn't the Civil War end, like, 112 years before this concert, and 109 years before the song was even released? Yes. If slavery is abolished and the racism that plagued our country then isn't as prevalent now, why would Skynyrd throw a Confederate flag behind their stage?

This question came up this week during American Studies. We talked about how even though the Civil War is long over, people in the South still proudly wave Confederate flags and put on their houses in the same way that we would put Chicago Bears flags on our houses. We had a long discussion about why this could be. Does it mean that these people are racist? Do they want to bring slavery back into our country?

The answer to both of these questions is no. Just because you fly a Confederate flag does not mean that you are racist. Instead, it is a symbol of pride. The men of Lynyrd Skynyrd are proud to be Southerners, as are anyone else who flies one of these flags. It is part of the heritage of the South to have a close-knit community. You were proud of where you came from. I believe that this is what the Confederate flag represents present day. After the Civil War, the South was left completely in ruins, and the flag represents Southern pride in that sense that you know where you came from and support it. You don't necessarily support all of the ideals, but you are proud just to be from the South.

While the Confederate flag has a very negative connotation, just the same way that the Nazi flag has a negative connotation, people may not have the extremist beliefs that are associated with these symbols. However, if an African-American happens to see the Confederate flag, they may think that it represents racism. If a Jewish person happens to see a Nazi flag, they make think it represents anti-semitism. For the reasons I stated before, this is not necessarily true.

So this is just something to think about. I'll admit that when I first saw that Skynyrd video my first thought was that they were racist. However, when I thought a little deeper, I thought that may not be the case.

This World Is a'Changing

As we talked about slavery in class, and more specifically laws about slavery, we began to talk about why certain things were. For example, one law that we talked about was how slaves cannot carry weapons. This was clearly put into place because at one point a slave was caught carrying a weapon. I soon began to think of things that I encounter in my everyday life and why they are a certain way.

First, I was driving and began to think of why someone decided that one can make a right turn on a red light at many intersections. It doesn't seem like something that one would just come with off the top of their head. One logical explanation is that when a car is stopped at an intersection but no cars are coming the opposite way, it seems like a waste of gas. Plus, a right turn isn't crossing any lanes of traffic, so it seems quite safe. Someone, somewhere, must have complained, and the idea soon spread. 

Although this is only one example, everything is constantly changing. These changes are to make things easier, safer or more efficient. It will be very interesting to see how our society changes in the upcoming years!

Don't Make Me a Target

Ok yes, the title is a reference to a song by Spoon (from their classic album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga), but this is not a post about music. This is a post about advertising. More specifically, ads that target you. I'm sure you've seen them, on the sidebars of your Facebook page and even your email account, there are advertisements that seem to be perfectly fitted for you.

No matter what sport you play, instrument you play, or group you participate in, websites have a way of knowing exactly what you do. It's kind of scary actually. For me, I can open an email from Guitar Center and the top of my page immediately shows an ad about buying a new guitar. On Facebook, almost every ad I see is for new music. While it can be beneficial, because I am usually interested in the advertisements, it is just a little bit creepy.

The Biology of Race

One major theme in American Studies this week has been the topic of race. We watched the documentary Race: The Power Of an Illusion, which discussed common beliefs about race. I decided to research this topic a little more in order to write a blog post for this week. I decided to look more at the biology of race and whether different races were biologically different. 

The first website I came upon was cartage.org, in which the article discussed skin color. An interesting point brought up was that the only reason that different skin colors developed was because of location. 

"In subtropical areas...the people living there develop extremely dark pigmentation.  In southern Asia...people’s skin darken[ed] to a lesser degree...As you move further north into the Arctic region, the sun becomes stronger and the glare off the snow mix to create a people more similar to the Asian people ( Dunn 318-320)."

This is very interesting because it makes the point that in the same was that animals in different regions develop differences in order to adapt, humans develop these slight differences. It is interesting to think that we classify different people just based on where their ancestors lived. 


Another interesting point was brought up by Joseph L. Graves Jr, in his "What We Know and What We Don't Know: Human Genetic Variation and the Social Construction of Race." He states in his conclusion:

"Human genetic variation is real. It is best described by isolation by distance, meaning that individuals who have ancestry in particular geographic regions are more likely to share genes than those from disparate regions. The overall amount of measured human genetic variation, however, is very small, yet this does not mean that it cannot be categorized."

This both strengthens and disproves the movie's statement about race, depending on how you look at the quote. The movie made a point that while there are genetic variations between people, they are not strictly between races. So I could have just as much variation with my white friend than I do with somebody in Japan. This quote says that while there is variation between races, it is because of, once again, location.

There are many different ways to define race, and it is very interesting to see how people categorize people by something like skin color: something that only came about because of location. It doesn't make much sense to me, and it makes me wonder why we have had this system of race for hundreds of years.