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American Culture
America is the land of contradictions: fast-food restaurants with low-carb menus; prefabricated pizza parlors next to organic juice stands; "Trading Spouses" and "Trading Spaces." With an income disparity as large as most third-world nations, the United States has clearly become a land of contrasts. Nowhere was this contrast as clearly visible as in the last presidential election. Perhaps more than any other in recent history, the 2004 results elucidated the currently conflicted character of the nation: America is divided into two camps: the red and the blue. During the election, news stations broadcasted what many citizens already knew: the country is divided, and these divisions characterize American culture. Rural America is almost uniformly politically conservative and Christian, at least according to the ways people in "red" states voted. More homogenous than our urban centers, rural America demonstrates a view of American culture that conflicts sharply from what we…
American culture is the result of different social forces mixed together to create something unique: a society which is based on impermanence and change, always looking to the future for something better. There is always something better, something that will help create the perfect society just around the corner, about to hit the market. Because of this view that the future will be better than the present, Americans are rarely content with what the present has to offer. People are willing to sacrifice what they have now for the promise of a better future. This causes people to become fixated with the future at the expense of the present. In short, American culture is in a constant state of dissatisfaction, always seeking something better and never realizing how good things are right now.
endell Berry, in his 1977 book The Unsettling of America described how he viewed American society. He…
Wendell Berry, in his 1977 book The Unsettling of America described how he viewed American society. He found that American society was the result of a mix of different social forces which have created a society where average Americans are detached from their home, work, and geography so they turn to technology to create a better future. Berry claimed that mankind has made himself the arbiter of all things, and therefore is able to shape the future to his liking. This idea is at the very heart of American culture, from the earliest days Americans have always felt the need to create something new out of what they saw as untamed wilderness. Because the United States of America started from nothing, everything had to be created. This gave birth to two ideals which have become the basis of American society: Americans can built the future and the future will be better than the present.
But these ideals come with an unexpected paradox, because Americans can make a future which is better than the present, no one is satisfied with the way things are, they always want something better, they always long for that next better thing. The future becomes the goal and the present becomes just something Americans have to get through so they reach the future. This creates a certain amount of impermanence in American society. Because the future will be better, whatever needs to be done, however destructive, can be justified in order to create the future. In this way Americans are destroying the future in order to create the future, thereby creating a never ending journey toward a future that is impossible to achieve. American culture risks being in a constant state of transition, never achieving the goal of permanence, but always moving toward a future that is just out of reach.
The result of this paradoxical society is what George Will described in his article Comfort as "social hypochondria:" a society which is completely dissatisfied with the state of their being, even though it is better than anything that has come before. And he is right, Americans are constantly complaining about the inadequacies and injustices of a society that is wealthier and freer than ever before in human history. But because Americans are fixated on the future and how much better it will be, they must find "wrongs" in the present to "fix," no matter how small or insignificant. And Americans are helped along in their hypochondria by the intellectuals, lawyers, politicians, and media who all profit from the wrongs in society that must be "fixed." American society is change, but if Americans do not decide what they want to change into, the future will never be attained. A vague concept of a brighter future cannot be all that America stands for, if Americans are ever to be rooted in their culture they need a focused goal, something concrete which can be attained.
American culture and the consumption (patterns) of American youth in television, film, and other entertainment venues
Mommy I want that!" hen discussing how American culture 'corrupts' children, the first words to come to mind are usually four letter words, or words pertaining to highly sexualized scenarios. Yet the culture of American capitalist cultural consumption is if anything more omnipresent and equally damaging to American children. It has created a legacy of conspicuous consumption of unnecessary consumer products over the course of the past, present, and future of American television and culture. It is likely to continue to affect the minds of children, creating a generation who believes they are what they buy, rather than what they believe -- "Generation Bling! Bling!" As the generation to come after Generations X and Y are often called. Identity is being reduced to a commodity rather than a real culture of art, literacy, and…
Works Cited
Rotunda, Ronald. "The FTC Report on Hollywood Entertainment." The Federalist Society. 2003. http://www.fed-soc.org/Publications/practicegroupnewsletters/PG%20Links/rotunda.htm
Hennessy, Patrick. "Burger Off TV ads: Fighting Flab in Children." May 31, 2004. SMH. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/30/1085855439912.html?from=storylhs
American Culture and the institutionalization of the 'sage' in the American political discourse -- are sages necessary?
According to the philosopher Plato, the ideal form of governance was not a raucous democracy, along the lines of the ancient Athenian state or polis. Nor would the ideal form of government take the guise of a modern republic, where popular sentiment was judiciously filtered through the wisdom of elected officials. Instead, under Plato's system of the rule of the philosopher-sage, the popular will and all disseminated knowledge by the media, would be controlled by oligarchs. Plato advocated not the rule of those not of high birth, but those who knew best, namely a tribe of philosopher kings or sages.
Frank Fischer and Brian Martin, in their recent analysis of the failures of the American political system do not offer as radical a solution as the ancient Greek. However, Frank Fischer's analysis does…
Works Cited
Fischer, Frank. Citizens, Experts and the Environment. Durham: Duke University Press, 2000.
Martin, Brian. Confronting the Experts, 1996.
American Culture and Values
American culture highly regards individuality compared to many other cultures. For this reason, it is more difficult to distinguish the dominant values, beliefs, and traditions of American life, because the lives of Americans differ so much, depending on their race, class and beliefs. Tracy Ore, John Langston Gwaltney and Lillian ubin each add a unique perspective to the values that dominate our culture.
Ore makes an excellent point when she says that Americans categorize each other by race and culture. In many cases, race and culture work closely to create significant distinctions among groups within a larger society.
Often, race plays a part in establishing separate cultural groups. In the United States, people are disturbed when they are unable to classify someone based on their race. If it is unclear what race someone is, they will ask one another, "What are you?" (Ore, p. 1)
According…
References
Gwaltney, John. Drylongso: A Self-Portrait of Black America. New York: The New York Press.
Ore, Tracey E. The Social Construction of Difference and Inequality: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality. New York: Mayfield Publishing Company.
Rubin, Lillian B. Families on the Fault Line. Nee York: Harper Collins.
American Culture and Values
Food advertising is even worse, because while a parent might be able to avoid the toy store, in the grocery store he or she is subject to food masquerading as a toy. The only possible resistance is not taking the child shopping, which forces the parent to deprive the child of a parent-bonding experience where he or she could teach the child about budgeting and nutritional food.
The AAP study also notes that advertisers are aware that children and adolescents are more susceptible to advertisements for unnecessary goods, thus they are more often the targets of product placement ads ("Children, Adolescents, and Advertising,"AAP, 2006). Then, once consumption patterns are established early on in life, they can be difficult to eradicate. "By the time we reach adulthood, unhealthy food practices can be embedded in our subconscious mind and we must work hard to overcome these ingrained behaviors. Since rooting out bad…
Works Cited
Beder, Sharon. '"A Community View', Caring for Children in the Media Age."
Papers from a national conference, edited by John Squires and Tracy Newlands, New College Institute for Values Research. Sydney, 1998, pp. 101-111. "Children, Adolescents, and Advertising." 24 Sept 2007. http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/children.html#RTFToC1
Dora the Explorer Cereal." The Breakfast Bowl. Jun 2006. 24 Sept 2007. http://breakfastbowl.blogspot.com/2006/06/dora-explorer-cereal.html
Martin, a. (2007). "Kellogg to Phase Out Some Food Ads to Children."
Any other expression of love is considered to be abnormal and therefore not legally valid. In the past, interracial marriages were illegal because they did not conform to the national standard of legitimate love. Many of the normative behaviors we take for granted were at one time forbidden: such as women being able to vote or own businesses.
Although minorities have become more visible in American culture recently, a dominant culture is still assumed to be the correct one. Males are by default the norm so that doctors are sometimes called "female doctors." When we see an African-American or a Jewish comedian on television, that person plays up his or her ethnic identity in ways whites are not expected to do because being white is the norm.
A often feel that people like me who are Native American possibly experience the most outsider status of any other ethnic or cultural…
References
Wise, T. (2007). Op-Ed: Assimilation Blues: Immigration and the Dysfunctions of the Dominant Culture. Civil Rights. Retrieved Jan 31, 2009 at http://www.civilrights.org/library/features/op-ed-assimilation-blues.html
Culture and the Ipod
American Culture and the IPod
Apple first introduced the iPod in October 2001, beginning what many would consider an enormous revolution in the music industry. While music had been previously made available on MP3 players, the iPod became the first product that was also linked to computer software designed to help consumers both manage and purchase files. In fact, by the end of 2001, consumers had the option of loading their entire music collection from compact discs into iTunes, and carrying up to 1000 song files on their iPod (Apple, 2011).
The iPod irrevocably changed the way we purchase, store, and listen to music. Prior to 2001, most consumers purchased and stored music on compact disks, but iTunes allowed anyone with a computer and CD drive to transfer all of these music files to their computers. iTunes also enabled users to organize music files, create playlists,…
References
Apple. 2011. The Complete History of the IPod. Web. October 25, 2011.
http://www.apple.com/pr/products/ipodhistory/
Ian Paul. Apple's New iPods: What Critics Are Saying. PC World. 2010. Web. October 25, 2011
http://www.pcworld.com/article/205002/apples_new_ipods_what_the_critics_are_saying.html
American Culture
American society is an amalgamation of diverse cultures, and American cultural norms and behaviors reflect a wide range of beliefs. Cultural standards in the United States can be fairly predictable, however. For example, when two friends greet each other, they will shake hands or hug, depending on the closeness of the friendship and the gender of the persons involved. Generally females are more prone to displays of physical affection in public such as hugging or kissing. Also, casual words of greeting such as, "Hi! How are you doing?" are common when friends greet each other. Strangers who meet for the first time will usually shake hands and smile at each other. Younger people use different slang and body language than their older counterparts but the basic rituals are the same.
In a grocery store check out line, sometimes people will avoid making eye contact or speaking to strangers.…
Our country is very young and may be compared with an adolescent who feels he is powerful and at the same time is unsure of himself because he is still a child. Then there are many immigrants from many countries, and on the whole people here do not remain situated in any one location for any great length of time; they move from place to place rather frequently, thereby not establishing roots and without a feeling of permanence and stability. Also, because of this country's great size and heterogeneous population, resulting in various kinds of customs, habits, and living conditions in general, tension and unrest are bound to grow, and friction and violent reactions, often of a criminal nature, frequently follow. No group is immune to the effects of such sociological phenomena." (p.18)
It is for this reason that while on the one hand our culture is powerful and influential,…
References
David Abrahamsen. The Psychology of Crime. Columbia University Press New York. 1960
Larry L. Naylor: Cultural Diversity in the United States. Bergin & Garvey. Place of Publication: Westport, CT. 1997
Richard Nelson Current: What Is an American? Abraham Lincoln and "Multiculturalism." Marquette University Press. Milwaukee, WI. 1993
It is important to keep progress as an enduring goal for culture and society because it keeps people more aware, more interested, and more interesting. Without goals of progress and technology, people have little to strive for, and that is not good for society or the individual. Progress is more than technology, it is progress in the values of society, and it may be here that progress has undergone change. I believe many aspects of society are no longer based on progress or positive growth, and that is seen in negative areas of society, such as lack of respect for others and the need to make money and achieve over all else.
For the most part, I do agree with many of the impressions and assessments of immigrants and experts. Americans do not understand much of other cultures and societies, and they often make generalizations or "arrogant" assumptions about other…
However, in addition to being part of the Americanization process, this has also sparked hostility and anti-American sentiments as well, for some Canadians who believe Canadian culture is being lost to the United States. Demonstrations in front of American enterprises, boycotts of American iconic products like Coca-Cola, and even vandalizing McDonald's outlets have all been a part of this effort to not succumb to Americanization.
Mechanisms Underlying America's Influence on Canada
There are several mechanisms underlying the Americanization of Canada, and thus affecting its political processes and outcomes. These, Craig, Douglas and Bennett state, are similar to the mechanisms involved in internationalization and globalization of consumption. Increasing foreign travel, to America, is one such mechanism. This increases direct Canadian exposure to American customs, lifestyles and mores. This mechanism has been in place for generations, with the expansion of railway systems being one of the first transportation improvements that facilitated easy…
Works Cited
"Canada: History." Encyclopedia. World News Digest. Facts On File News Services, n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. .
Canadian Industry Statistics (CIS).21 Sept. 2009. Canada Statistics. 11 Nov. 2009 .
Canadian International Merchandise Trade. Nov. 2008. Statistics Canada. 11 Nov. 2009. .
Canadian Tourism Performance 2006. 2007. Canadian Tourism Commission. 11 Nov. 2009 .
How is the white wedding (think of the dress and so much more) constructed in American Culture? What does it mean- what does this wedding symbolize? How does the construction of the wedding differ for men and women? For same sex couples?
The white wedding, and the significance of an elaborate wedding that symbolizes purity, is a relatively recent cultural development, but one which has spawned an entire industry. Even women who have liberated lives covet the image of innocence, of being a princess for a day, as suggested in the essay “The Trouble with Charlotte.” As many problematic products such as makeup and clothing have coopted the language of choice to be marketed to women who might lead independent career-driven lives, but who still long for the traditional symbolism of dependency. Women are sold a white wedding as a special day for themselves, as if the groom’s worthiness did…
Lewis, a. (2007). The American Culture of War. New York: outledge
Lewis offers the reader a wealth of strong research in the book, "The American Culture of War." The bulk of the book is dedicated to offering a critical look at American military policy and practices since 1945 stretching to the choices made in Iraq, up until 2005. In this book, Lewis offers his opinions and concerns about the All Volunteer Force and possible alternatives to this solution. Lewis opens the book by proposing and defining a term known as the "American Way of War" and uses this view as a means of accounting for the strange and bold choices that have been made in military strategy and methods in the last half a century. Lewis offers a historical account of each major and minor war that the U.S. has had involvement in during this time period, and he offers…
References
Lewis, A. (2007). The American Culture of War. New York: Routledge
global society is made up of many different cultures, ethnicities, religions, and languages. All of these differences are makes our world so vastly unique, yet it is also these same differences which unite us into one nation. In order to properly understand and learn from one another, it is often important to note some of these differences and similarities amongst cultures. The United States of America, in particular, is known as a melting pot with immigrants from all of the over the world. In 2008, there were approximately 1.7 million Filipino immigrants in the U.S. (Terrazas and Batalova). This made them the second largest immigrant group in the U.S. after Mexican immigrants (Terrazas and Batalova). With such a large emigrant population, it is crucial to distinguish some of the cultural similarities and differences of these U.S. emigrants, especially Filipino's. Both cultures are similar with regards to the relationships they maintain…
Van Campen, K.S., and Russell, S.T. (2010). Cultural differences in parenting practices: What
Asian-American families can teach us (Frances McClelland Institute for Children,
Youth, and Families ResearchLink, Vol. 2, No. 1). Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona.
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Baumgarten, Linda. (2002). hat Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America: The Colonial illiamsburg Collection. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
Bilhartz, Terry D., and Elliott, Alan C. (2007). Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States, Volume 1. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Crunden, Robert Morse. (1996). A Brief History of American Culture. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe.
Fisher, John Hurt. (2001). "British and American, Continuity and Divergence" in the
Cambridge History of the English Language: English in North America, Eds. Hogg, Blake,
Algeo, Lass, and Burchfield. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Grigg, John a., and Mancall, Peter C. (2008). British Colonial America: People and Perspectives. estport, CT: ABC-CLIO.
Horsman, Reginald. (1981). Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-
Saxonism. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Jandt, Fred Edmund (2007). An Introduction to Intercultural Communication: Identities in a Global Community.…
Works Cited
Baumgarten, Linda. (2002). What Clothes Reveal: The Language of Clothing in Colonial and Federal America: The Colonial Williamsburg Collection. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
Bilhartz, Terry D., and Elliott, Alan C. (2007). Currents in American History: A Brief History of the United States, Volume 1. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
Crunden, Robert Morse. (1996). A Brief History of American Culture. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Ethnography
The 1990's were the bubble years, the dot.com era, or whatever euphemism suits to describe the booming years of Silicon Valley, all Street and Internet businesses. They were years that created millionaires literally overnight. Businesses that began in basements and garages by college kids, suddenly appeared on the trading boards of the Stock Market Exchange. It seemed that anything to do with computers turned to gold. American life became high-tech. Suddenly everyone had cell phones, from professionals to soccer moms and teenagers. And personal computers became a fixture in American homes. The Information Superhighway was up and running and Americans were encouraged, not only by advertisers, but even by the government to travel it. It was "American" to log-on and surf the eb. The computer world was the darling of all Street and the express train to wealth and happiness for the American public. Moreover, it was an era…
Works Cited
Chait, Michael. Dot-com Era Start-Ups Still Feeling Woes. September 20, http://ecommerce.internet.com/news/news/article/0%2C%2C10375_1467101%2C00.html
Oberberck, Steven. Fidelity Executive Looks Back on Dot-Com Crash at Salt
Lake City Lecture. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News; 10/27/2001; Pp.
Kahn, Jeremy. What You Can Learn From the Dot-Com Crash.
Music on American Culture and Values
Over time, music has molded the American culture and its values in a variety of ways. In this text, I will highlight the various ways in which both music and radio have shaped American values and culture. In so doing, I will identify my favorite genre/type of music in an attempt to highlight the impact the music I listen to has had on American culture and social behavior.
How the American Culture and Its Values Has Been Shaped by Music and adio
In the words of Eldridge (2008), "by the close of the 1930s, twenty-eight million households (and seven million cars) boasted at least one radio set, with most tuned-in to a network or local station for an average of five hours a day." In that regard, it would be correct to point out that radio has played a critical role in the growth…
References
Bob & Hanger, J. (2012). The Silent Generation: 1925 -- 1945. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.
Eldridge, D.N. (2008). American Culture in the 1930s. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Keith, M.C. (2008). Radio Cultures: The Sound Medium in American Life. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.
values of American culture. Specifically, it will connect this theme with two or more of the following: American energy consumption and foreign policy. Many writers (American and foreign) have commented on the core values of American culture, using terms like "rugged individualism," "individual freedom," "self-reliance," "pioneer spirit" and "democracy." Do you see a theme here?
AMERICAN CULTURE
Americans have always been noted for their loved of individual freedoms and their self-reliance. This tradition began before the Revolutionary War, when America stood up for her rights as a colony of England. Americans have been called "rugged individualists" who embody a "pioneer spirit" because we demanded our rights then, and we continue to do so today in a wide variety of areas, and all you have to do is turn on the television or read a newspaper to see some of these core values which are exhibited every day in our culture.…
5). While divorce can lead to safety for children and adults caught in violent and abusive relationships, it can also lead to increased violence down the line. Studies indicate that children who grow up in abusive situations often tend to become abusive themselves as adults, and this means that abuse and violence could continue to grow in our culture as these children grow up and continue the ongoing cycle of abuse and violence.
eligion
Another bedrock of American culture is religion, and divorce goes against many religious teachings. The freedom to worship any religion we please is a foundation of the country and our culture, and religious worship tends to go down in divorced families. Fagan and ector continue, "eligious worship, which has been linked to health and happiness as well as longer marriages and better family life, is less prevalent in divorced families" (Fagan, and ector). This means that…
References
Butler, Ian, et al. Divorcing Children: Children's Experience of Their Parents' Divorce. London: Jessica Kingsley, 2003.
Cozort, Larry a. "Is the Tax Court Becoming a Divorce Court? The Answer Could Change How the Innocent Spouse Rules Are Interpreted." Journal of Accountancy 195.2 (2003): 35+.
Doherty, William J., et al. "Why Marriage Matters: Twenty-One Conclusions from the Social Sciences." New York: Institute for American Values, 2002.
Editors. "Divorce Statistics." Divorce Magazine. 2005. 5 Nov. 2008. http://www.divorcemag.com/statistics/statsUS.shtml
Jazz dance is an integral part of American history. The various types of jazz dance all come from a fusion of African and European traditions, which is why jazz dance symbolizes American culture itself. According to Tilton's film Jazz Dance, jazz dance first evolved in the Deep South and spread as far as Europe before returning home to America. Jazz dance is not monolithic, and it is important to recognize the differences between types of dancing such as tap and swing in order to understand the contexts in which the dances were or are used. For example, some dances became popular in theater, while others were more comedic. Jazz dance might not seem to have a political or even an economic dimension, but it certainly does. The impact of jazz dance on American society has been felt on almost every dimension including political, economic, and social realms. In particular, jazz…
References
Hill, Constance Valis. Tap Dancing America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Nalett, Jacqueline "Jazz Dance History." Retrieved online: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&ved=0CEcQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uh.edu%2Fclass%2Ftheatre-and-dance%2F_docs%2Fnalett%2FJACQUELINENALETTJazzDanceHistory2.doc&ei=6F2AUtW0C8aG3AXtpIC4BA&usg=AFQjCNHhplX8I-J6Tc2cChANwl32kdS0oQ&sig2=SCTcAFKh_ZPTxob_htvq6Q&bvm=bv.56146854,d.b2I
Stearns, Marshall and Stearns, Jean. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. Da Capo, 1994.
Tilton, Roger. Jazz Dance. [Feature Film]. 1954. Retrieved online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-DPiVVQJlY
Black Experience in American Culture
This is a paper that analyzes the black experience in American culture as presented by Hughes, Baldwin, Wright and Ellison. It has 20 sources in MLA format.
African-American authors have influenced American culture as they have come forward to present issues that the society would rather have forgotten. Authors such as ichard Wright alph Ellison, Langston Hughes and James Baldwin have come under fire as they have written about the racial and biased experiences throughout their life [Capetti, 2001] and through their narratives they have forged a link between the past, the present (themselves) and their future (the unborn generation).
These literary works are an effort on their part to prove to their nations that regardless of the perceived realities their existence and lives have valuable. The slave past some of these authors have had created a void in their lives that at times left…
Reference:
1] Sundquist, Eric J. who was Langston Hughes? Relevancy: 100; (Commentary) 12-01-1996
2] Buttitta, Anthony. "A Note on Contempo and Langston Hughes." London: Cunard, 1934. 141.
3] Langston Hughes on Scottsboro. College Literature, 10-01-1995, pp. 30(20). Vol. 22
4] Okafor-Newsum, Ikechukwu, of Dreams Deferred, Dead or Alive: African Perspectives on African-American Writers.. Vol. 29, Research in African Literatures, 03-22-1998, pp. 219(12).
Vietnamese American Culture
Cultural Phenomena of Vietnamese American Culture
The assessment of a patient can be critical to the nursing process. The culture phenomena that a nurse may face can be critical to a proper diagnosis in many cases as well as the overall quality of care. One of the most fundamental phenomena is communication, which includes language, but also includes social organizations, time, environmental control, and biological variation. These factors represent distinct phenomena that can be identified and various cultural barriers can be mitigated through training. Although each individual may be different, culture is a powerful force in one's life and can predict many individualistic tendencies.
Social Organization
The social organization in the Vietnamese American culture is different from the mainstream culture in several ways. One is example is that Asian-American patients in mainstream mental health systems have greater premature dropout rates, shorter duration of treatment, fewer positive outcomes,…
Works Cited
Fancher, T., Ton, H., Le Meyer, O., Ho, T., & Paternti, D. (2010). Discussing Depression with Vietnamese American Patients. Journal of Immigrant Minority Health, 263-266.
Hongyun, F., & Laudingham, M. (2012). Mental Health Consequences of International Migration for Vietnamese Americans and the Mediating Effects of Physical Health and Social Networks: Results From a Natural Experiment Approach. Demography, 393-424.
Smith, E., & Pham, C. (1996). Doing business in Vietnam: A cultural guide. Business Horizons', 1-47.
Jonathan Edwards Exemplifies American Culture in "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God"
In his 18th century sermon, "Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God," the puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards make it clear that mere humans enjoy a brief corporeal existence only by virtue of a loving God who benevolently tolerates them. For instance, Edwards states, "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." In this context, American culture in the late 18th century can be regarded as being the result of the cumulative effects of Puritanism on the consciousness of the people who were trying to carve out a meaningful existence in the wilderness. One of the more interesting points made by Edwards, though, is just how fleeting this divine allowance is and how it can be revoked at any time if God so wills…
Works Cited
McMichael, George, and James S. Leonard, eds. Anthology of American Literature. 10th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Longman, 2011. Print. [ISBN: 978-0205779390].
African-American people from a qualitative perspective. The literature review will provide a brief background on African-American people and leading health problems they face along with a brief inclusion of census data to create a general picture of health from the perspective of an African-American person. One African-American man was interviewed. His answers provide a means of generating a construct that will be used to draw conclusions for nursing practice and standard of care development.
African-American People: Literature Review
A website called: 'Dimensions of Culture', examines cultural patterns existent in many African-American communities. Those that recently immigrated from Africa show an even different culture compared to African-Americans that have lived in the United States for generations. One common cultural pattern experienced by African-Americans is the 'Black' Experience, which is diverse, representing a wide array of skin tones and backgrounds. The next is the social structure. The social structure often takes on…
MEDIA (MIS) EPSENTATIONS OF CHINESE-AmericanS
Culture
Media (Mis) epresentations of Chinese-Americans
Media (Mis) epresentations of Chinese-Americans
In the west, representations of people who are outside of the standard or norm, (white, middle & upper class, male) are not represented with accuracy. Chinese-Americans are one such group that doese not often receive an accurate or dynamically real representation of the spectrum of the culture or the people within it. Media representations in the west of Chinese-Americans are limited to a few stereotypes, generally. Some of those stereotypes include that all Chinese people practice and have mastered martial arts, and that all Chinese have exceptional intelligence in mathematics, sciences, and technology. Another media stereotype of the Chinese is that they are all short of stature, particularly poking fun at short men. Chinese men are often stereotypically represented as geeks or nerds -- exceptionally "book smart," but lacking in coolness and social skills.…
References:
Cheng, J., Hsieh, C., Talgo, S. (2012). Media Representations of Asians. University of Michigan, Web, Available from: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/psy457_tizzle/home . 2013 March 04.
Kwak, A. (2004). Asian-Americans in the Television Media: Creating Incentive for Change. Boston College Third World Journal, 24(2), 395 -- 420.
Wo, E. (2012). Beyond the Color Line: Asian-American Representations in the Media. Claremont Colleges Scripps Senior Thesis, Paper 114, Available from: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/114 . 2013 March 06.
These films. Swing Vote (2008), The Queen (2006) ules of Engagement (2000) The Quiet American (2002) and Jarhead (2005) clearly support this hypothesis and build on the idea that art reflects life and life reflects art.
esources
Boggs, C. & Pollard, T. (2006) The Hollywood War Machine: U.S. Militarism and Popular Culture Boulder CO: Paradigm Publishers
Bellah, .N. Madsen, . Sullivan, W.M. Swidler, A. Tipton, S.M. (1991) Good Society
New York: andom House.
Fishman, J.M. Marvin, C. (March 2003) Portrayals of Violence and Group Difference in Newspaper Photographs: Nationalism and Media Journal of Communications
Gianos, P.L. (1999) Politics and Politicians in American Film. New York: Preager Publishing
Giglio, E. (2005) Here's Looking at You: Hollywood, Film & Politics. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Klenotic, J. (2007) Chapter 5 "Staying in the Moment: Hollywood, History, and the Politics of 9/11 Cinema." In Constructing America's War Culture, Conroy T. & Hanson, J.…
Resources
Boggs, C. & Pollard, T. (2006) The Hollywood War Machine: U.S. Militarism and Popular Culture Boulder CO: Paradigm Publishers
Bellah, R.N. Madsen, R. Sullivan, W.M. Swidler, A. Tipton, S.M. (1991) Good Society
New York: Random House.
Fishman, J.M. Marvin, C. (March 2003) Portrayals of Violence and Group Difference in Newspaper Photographs: Nationalism and Media Journal of Communications
criminal justice and American culture. Specifically it will discuss jail time served by Blacks, Hispanics and whites, and the lawyers who prosecute them. The statistics indicate that African-American men, especially between the ages of 25 to 29, are incarcerated at a higher rate than either Hispanics or whites. There are several factors that are associated with these statistics, including where these young men grow up, their income, and their education, among others. There is also the issue of racial profiling. This paper will look at these statistics and attempt to answer the question of why these young men serve more jail time than other American men do.
In most areas of violent and non-violent crime, African-American men are more represented in American prisons than any other race. Some people may feel African-Americans are more prone to crime and violence, but many studies point to several other factors in criminal activity.…
References
Editors. (2009). Demographic characteristics of persons convicted of felonies in State courts, by offense, 2004. Retrieved 21 May 2009 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/html/scscf04/tables/scs04201tab.htm .
Editors. (2009). Homicide trends in the United States. Retrieved 21 May 2009 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm .
Editors. (2009). Mean length of felony sentences imposed in State courts, by offense and race of felons, 2004. Retrieved 21 May 2009 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics Web site: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/html/scscf04/tables/scs04207tab.htm .
Goldman, D.S. (2004). The modern-day literacy test?: Felon disenfranchisement and race discrimination. Stanford Law Review, 57(2), 611+.
It is noticeable, however, that despite illustrating the image of 'good life' among American consumers, it seemed that these ads were catered only to white Americans, which are often depicted as belonging to the elite to middle social classes. Further analysis also showed that apart from the under representation of minorities in these ads, white American women were the 'staple' elements contained in an ad. Although some of the ads appropriately use a woman -- that is, usage of a woman to advertise a food product -- there were also instances in some ads, specifically car ads, wherein women seemed to be objectified. Car ads are classic examples of the objectification of women in advertisements, wherein oftentimes, association between the cars advertised and woman depicted are inevitably linked together, creating the impression that a car is a want that needs to be achieved, in the same way that the consumer…
Heitage Assessment: Indian, Chinese and Ameican Cultues
In using the heitage assessment tool, thee (3) cultues wee consideed and compaed: Indian (autho's cultue), Chinese and Ameican.
Indian
The autho's cultue is highly influenced by ual Indian cultue, as s/he was aised in India until s/he was 25 yeas old. Because of this late influence of Ameican cultue, my Indian cultue has emained stonge within me. This is eflected in the autho's lifestyle, which stictly adheed to taditions and values held impotant by the Indians. Raised a Catholic, the autho is actively involved in the Chuch and paticipates in activities like Bible eading and celebating eligious holidays. The autho's stong Catholic Indian identity is also eflected in he social cicle, which pimaily consisted of Indians shaing the same cultual identity as he and pacticing Catholics.
Howeve, when talking about health maintenance, the autho mixes the influence of Indian cultue with the…
references to documents in history." ICCROM Working Group 'Heritage and Society.' Available at: http://cif.icomos.org/pdf_docs/Documents%20on%20line/Heritage%20definitions.pdf
merican popular culture has also infected our dietary choices although in my case, it has encouraged me to think much more critically about what I put into my body. Ironically, the poor suffer the worst in that regard because fast food restaurants are concentrated in their neighborhoods (
Kasser, 2003). Meanwhile, fast food is much more expensive than quality food and it only perpetuates obesity and diabetes. I have sworn off all merican fast food, largely because of my continual exposure to its effects on those who eat it regularly. I cringe to think that people still eat McDonald's, especially knowing how much fat, sodium, and artificial flavorings are in their imitation of real food. The mass consumption of meat is also destroying the environment. Knowing what I do about fast food has turned me off to it completely and the fact that merican popular culture pushes it so hard…
American popular culture has also infected our dietary choices although in my case, it has encouraged me to think much more critically about what I put into my body. Ironically, the poor suffer the worst in that regard because fast food restaurants are concentrated in their neighborhoods (
Kasser, 2003). Meanwhile, fast food is much more expensive than quality food and it only perpetuates obesity and diabetes. I have sworn off all American fast food, largely because of my continual exposure to its effects on those who eat it regularly. I cringe to think that people still eat McDonald's, especially knowing how much fat, sodium, and artificial flavorings are in their imitation of real food. The mass consumption of meat is also destroying the environment. Knowing what I do about fast food has turned me off to it completely and the fact that American popular culture pushes it so hard has influenced that decision on my part. It is the exact opposite of the way that corporate marketing departments want me to react. Rather than sell me on the latest bun-free chicken burger that uses slabs of pre-fabricated and reconstituted chicken, KFC has only ensured that I will never patronize any of their "restaurants" ever again. American popular dietary culture has actually driven me to make healthy dietary choices. I now make sure to cook my own food and take it with me so that I am never so hungry that I am tempted to set foot into a McDonald's or KFC for any reason.
American retail culture has also turned me off to shopping entirely in much the same way that American fast food culture has influenced my decision-making
gambling/poker and culture. Poker, and gaming in general, permeate our culture today. The World Series of Poker is a huge event when even a decade ago it was barely known on a world scale, and poker players are the new "role models" for many in society. What does this say about our society and culture that reveres people whose only skill may be based on luck and a turn of the cards? It says a lot about our culture and what we worship, and that may be frightening to contemplate.
"The game [poker] exemplifies the worst aspects of capitalism that have made our country so great."
-- Walter Matthau
First, it is necessary to define poker. Poker is a card game, played in casinos for pleasure and hopefully profit. There are many different games of poker, from Texas hold 'em to Seven-card stud. Each game follows a different format, but…
References
Alvarez, A. The Biggest Game in Town. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1983.
Chick, Garry. "Writing Culture Reliably: The Analysis of High-Concordance Codes." Ethnology 39.4 (2000): 365.
Editors. "Gamblers Anonymous." GamblersAnonymous.org. 2009. 24 Oct. 2009.
.
Workers are employed in fisheries, mining, and defense industries while the farmers work in the agricultural collectives. Standards of living are defined by the family background as to the political and ideological heritage. The children of revolutionaries (those who died in the Korean War) are given special educational opportunities at an elite school called the Mangyndae Revolutionary Institute. However, the children and descendants of those who were in collaboration with the Japanese or the "exploiting class" are considered to be 'bad elements' in the society.
North Korea supports equality in aspect of the genders. The employment of women is expected and demanded by the South Korean government and those working with children under the age of four are expected to put the children in permanent nurseries if there is no family to take care of them while the mother works. However, the women are paid less than are men and…
Bibliography
Edgell, Alvin G. (2003) Globalization and Cultural Encounters 2003
International and Third World Studies Journal and Review Vol. XIV 2003 Dept
Political Science Kent State University.
Opondo, Patricia a. (2000) Cultural Policies in Kenya 2000 May 1 Arts
Popular American Culture
The analogy of the tail-wagging-the-dog has never been more prevalent than in the expression of contemporary angst, vision and dreams popularly embraced by American film and music. Where both mediums were once the looking glass through which society could admire its best qualities and endeavor to rise above its worst ones, the passage of time and the resultant re-invention of personal values have transformed them into templates for destructive behaviors predicated on greed, loss of identity and desperation.
SEX
What ever happened to commitment and fidelity? The themes of early movies and songs revolved around the premise that for every woman there was just the right man, a romantic journey of discovery that was as happily anticipatory as the final destination itself was secure and ever-lasting. One needs only to look at America's dismal, 50% divorce rate to question the validity of those early promises, a disenchantment…
Popular Music and Identity
Sound Clash-Popular Music and American Culture
Identifying through music is fantastic and creates social movements. People find music to be liberating, relaxing, and calming. Identifying oneself through music a person is able to have direct experiences in their body. This allows a person to place them self in an imaginary cultural narrative. Popular music has been analyzed as though it is a classical composition, which makes the analysts neglect the improvisational and performative aspects of popular music. Analyzing how audiences respond to popular music and how they identify with this kind of music is vital. This would allow people to better understand how different people identify with certain popular songs. Theodor Adorno viewed popular music as a culture industry, which is designed to appeal to society by creating a false need for entertainment. Simon Frith views popular music as a complex world where that values and…
References
Adorno, Theodor W, and George Simpson. On Popular Music. Institute of Social Research, 1942. Print.
Frith, Simon. "Music and Identity." Questions of cultural identity (1996): 108-27. Print.
Hill, S., and B. Fenner. Media and Cultural Theory. London: Bookboon. Print.
Appendix
American Culture
riters such as Pico Iyer, Richard Pells, and Joseph Nye are in fact correct that the world culture has not and will not be Americanized. These writers are correct in asserting that American culture is ever forceful, but still America remains just one influence in a multicultural world: a manifestation of globalization. ith such a supreme focus on America, it can seem like America is the dominant force; however, this is just a result of a skewed perspective. It is true that other cultures have also spread outwards and that local cultures cannot and will not be destroyed.
The phenomenon of culture shock is direct evidence of the fact that American culture is not as pervasive as many people would like to assert that it is. As centers for study abroad programs in various universities explain, culture shock is a logical reaction to the body and mind in…
Works Cited
Balko, R. (2014). Globalization & Culture. Retrieved from globalpolicy.org: http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/162/27607.html
Chapman.edu. (2013). Culture Shock. Retrieved from Chapman.edu: http://www.chapman.edu/international-studies/center-for-global-education/study-abroad-programs/accepted-students/culture-shock.aspx
Kitamura, H. (2010). Screening Enlightenment. NewYork: Cornell University Press.
American Indian Movement
The poorest people in America are the American Indians and it is also a fact that Indian reservations have unique laws that has made it a nation by itself within the United States. The modern movements focus on the American Indian reservations being empowered by self-determination. This is important for the economic, social and cultural improvement of the American Indians. It was with the Nixon administration that the welfare of the tribes became the focus of the government. The subsequent administrations encouraged the Indians to adapt to a policy of political and economic self-determination. Today many reservations have become economic hubs with tax and regulation havens for investment. Thus as of now the Mescalero and White Mountain Apaches "have become premier private managers of multiple-use forest resource economies." (Legters; Lyden, 1994)
However it must be stated that only during the eagan administration that there were major reports…
References
Bolt, Christine. (1990) "American Indian Policy and American Reform: Case Studies of the Campaign to Assimilate the American Indians" Routledge. Pages: 250, 298
http://books.google.co.in/books?id=75UVAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA298&dq=american+indian+movement&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nj2IT92qCsWJrAeW-anrCg&ved=0CDMQ6AEwADge#v=onepage&q=american%20indian%20movement&f=false
Fritz, Henry E. (1963) "The Movement for Indian Assimilation, 1860-1890." University of Pennsylvania Press: Philadelphia. Page Number: 15, 34, 56,138
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3054897
American est
United States became one of the most industrialized nations and sought to grow its industries at an alarming rate. For this purpose, the western part of United States, which had not yet been discovered, was subjected to massive development, economic growth, formation of industries and allowing settlers to move towards the west. Railroads played a significant role in contributing towards the development and urbanization of America's est. The goal of this paper is to analyze the impact of railroads on America's est in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources.
Railroads in America est
Railroads had been developed in United States during the nineteenth century and start of twentieth century. They owe their existence to Industrial Revolution. During the nineteenth century, Industrial Revolution promoted technological and industrial development and thus, laid down the foundations of railroads in United States. During this time, United States became one of…
Work Cited
Bain, David Haward. Empire Express; Building the first Transcontinental Railroad. Viking Penguin. 1999.
Banerjee, A.E.D. a. N.Q. "The Railroad to Success: The Effect of Infrastructureon Economic Growth," Providence, Brown University. 2006.
Beebe, Lucius. The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads: Centennial Edition. Howell-North. 1999.
Bianculli, A.J. The American Railroad in the 19th Century: Locomotives. University of Delaware, Newark. 2001.
As Margaret Atwood points out, Americans have as much to be ashamed of as to be proud of.
When Barbara Kingsolver claims "The values we fought for and won there are best understood, I think, by oil companies," she refers to the way the American flag has been distorted. The issues the flag symbolizes, such as freedom and liberty, are myths for many people. As Kingsolver points out, the American flag has been used to justify many evils including wars like Vietnam and Iraq. Instead of delivering true freedom, liberty, and democracy, the American flag really brought economic dependence. Instead of associating the American flag with negativity, death, and intimidation, Kingsolver suggests that Americans reclaim it. The red stripes do not need to symbolize war. They can also symbolize "blood donated to the ed Cross."
The American flag is a flexible symbol that is often used in ways that manipulate…
References
Atwood, Margaret. "A Letter to America." Published on Friday, April 4, 2003 by the International Herald Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2008 at http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0404-07.htm
Kingsolver, Barbara. "And Our Flag Was Still There." Published on Tuesday, September 25, 2001 in the San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 29, 2008 from Common Dreams at http://www.commondreams.org/views01/0925-08.htm
Streufert, Duane. "Evolution of the United States Flag." Evolution of the United States Flag. Retrieved July 29, 2008 at http://www.usflag.org/history/flagevolution.html
d.). For example, in the U.S., decisions are frequently delegated, that is, an official assigns responsibility for a particular matter to a subordinate. In many European nations, like Germany, there is a strong value placed on holding decision-making responsibilities oneself. When decisions are made by groups of people, majority rule is a common approach in the U.S. while in Germany consensus is the preferred mode. One should be conscious that peoples' expectations about their own part in shaping a resolution may be influenced by their cultural orientation (Spang & Ozcan, 2009).
The fifth difference is in attitudes toward disclosure. In some cultures, it is not fitting to be forthright about emotions, about the reasons behind a disagreement or a mix-up, or about personal information. When one is involved in a dialogue or when they are working with others or when they are dealing with a conflict, they should be mindful…
One of his major works was a long poem written in three cantos about the horrors he experienced while being held prisoner on a ritish prison. ship. There we see a much edgier, angry Freneau who is willing to write about real life in real terms:
Here, generous ritain, generous, as you say,
To my parch'd tongue one cooling drop convey;
Hell has no mischief like a thirsty throat,
Nor one tormentor like your David Sproat."
All of these influences eventually came together, resulting later in the 19th century in Transcendentalism. This time when American writers reached to the past, they combined the best higher ideals of both the Puritans and the Enlightenment, and the love of nature from neoclassicism, and produced bodies of work that transcended all its previous influences. The roots for the literary movement that would bring us "Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry…
Bibliography
Boynton, Percy H., ed.:"On a Honey Bee," by Philip Freneau, in American Poetry. New York: Scribner's Sons, 1918. Accessed via the Internet 12/23/04. http://www.mith2.umd.edu:8080/eada/html/display.jsp?docs=freneau_honeybee.xml&action=show.Site copyright 2002.
Cesarini, J. Patrick. 2003. "The ambivalent uses of Roger Williams's: A Key Into the Language of America." Early American Literature, Sept. 22.
Lossing, Benson J. 1877. "Jersey, the British Prison Ship," in Our Country. A Household History for All Readers, Vol. 2. Accessed via the Internet 12/23/04. http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/Our_Country_vol_2/jerseybri_jc.html
VanSpanckeren, Karen. 1998. "Outline of American Literature." U.S. Department of State, November. Accessed via the Internet 12/23/04. http://usinfo.state.gov/products/pubs/oal/oaltoc.htm
American Moderns: Fashioning a New National Culture
Literature and historians alike look to the past to define the present. In many ways, one can look at the defining moments in American history to understand the foundation in which today's culture exists. This paper asks one to examine the specific period of time after the Civil ar and how the men and women born of these decades until the First orld ar created a new American culture. This involves looking at the work of historians like Christine Stansell in order to gain a better understanding of the pillars and forces that shaped American culture at the time.
It is apparent that times were changing drastically from the Victorian era to the Modern era. People's morals and values were changing as writers and artists pushed the envelope and introduced new ideas into the mainstream. It can also be assumed that these "new…
Works Cited
"American Moderns." The Journal of American History 88, 3 (2001): 79.
Anderson, Sherwood. Winesburg, Ohio. Free Books Online.
Cohen, Patricia Cline. "Village Voices." The New York Times Online Book Review
American National Character (history)
The Ongoing Search for an "American National Character"
This assignment asks the following pertinent and challenging questions: Is it possible to find trends amongst so much diversity? What characteristics are distinctly American, regardless of class, race, and background? What is problematic about making these generalizations and inheriting the culture? What have we inherited exactly? What problems arise with our ideals - and are we being honest with ourselves? Discuss individualism and the "American Dream." Are these goals realized and are they realistic? This paper seeks solid answers to these often elusive questions.
The search for a national character should be never-ending, and the pivotal part of the search that should be enlightening and enriching for the seeker of that knowledge may just be the inspiration from the books and authors springing into the seeker's mind along the way to discovery.
Who is presently engaged in a…
References
Bellah, Robert. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life.
New York: Harper & Row, 1985.
Cochran, Thomas Childs. Challenges to American Values: Society, Business, and Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985.
Geertz, Clifford. The Interpretation of Cultures. New York: Basic Books, 1973.
McElroy's thesis serves to isolate America from Europe, intellectually, in its development, and affirms America's sense of being a special nation in relation to the rest of the world. The vastness of the American wilderness, and its wide-open spaces that gave rise to the need for self-reliance also helps explain why modern European social welfare state institutions, like socialized medicine and generous pension plans, often meet with resistance in an America that is still in love with the ideal of individualism and hard work. Even in today's discussion regarding the status of illegal immigrants, on both sides of the debate, the willingness of desperate people to work for a mere pittance at jobs that Americans find too hard or poorly paying is often seen as admirable, rather than tragic, because hard work is so valued in American society.
McElroy's focus on the colonial period on of American history, however, neglects…
American Ethnic Literature
There are so many different voices within the context of the United States. This country is one which is built on cultural differences. Yet, for generations the only voices expressed in literature or from the white majority. Contemporary American ethnic literature is important in that it reflects the multifaceted nature of life in the United States. It is not pressured by the white majority anymore, but is rather influenced by the extremely varying experiences of vastly different individuals, as seen in the works of alph Ellison's Invisible Man, Gloria Anzaldua's "How to Tame a Wild Tongue," and Cathy Song's poem "Lost Sister." American ethnic literature speaks for minority voices, which have long been excluded in earlier generations of American society.
American ethnic literature has developed enormously over the last few centuries, and especially within the context of just the last few decades. In today's literary world, it…
References
Anzaldua, Gloria. "How to Tame a Wild Tongue." Borderland / La Frontera. Web. http://wolfweb.unr.edu/homepage/calabj/282/how%20to%20tame%20wild%20tongue.pdf
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. Vintage International. 1995.
Franco, Dean J. Ethnic American Literature: Comparing Chicano, Jewish, and African-American Writing. University of Virginia Press. 2006.
Lee, Robert A. Multicultural American Literature: Comparative Black, Native, Latino/a and Asian-American Fictions. University Press of Mississippi. 2003.
To wit, "half of Americans deem religion very important in their lives; fewer than a quarter in Spain (22%) feel this way, and in Germany (21%), Britain (17%) and France (13%), even fewer say religion is "very important" to their lives (PE).
Fifty-three percent of Americans are more apt to agree that it is vital to believe in God prior to having good morals and values while just 33% of Germans, 20% of the British, 19% of Spaniards and 15% of those in France agree with that statement. omen and the elderly are more apt to agree that God is indeed the "necessary foundation for morality and good values" (PE). Fifty-nine percent of American women say religion is "very important" to them but only 41% of American men agree with that statement (PE).
Meanwhile, in the Journal of Beliefs and Values (illiams, et al., 2009) the authors point out that…
Works Cited
Adams, James, and Ezrow, Lawrence. (2009). Who Do European Parties Represent? How
Western European Parties Represent the Policy Preferences of Opinion Leaders. The Journal
of Politics, 71(1), 206-223.
Bernstein, Elizabeth, and Jakobsen, Janet R. (2010). Sex, Secularism and Religious Influence
American Psycho
In his seminal work American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis uses the character of the yuppie serial killer Patrick Bateman in order to criticize American consumer culture while simultaneously challenging the reader to confront his or her own responses to that culture, responses that Ellis seems to suggest are only removed from the sociopathic actions of Bateman in a manner of degree, rather than kind. To see how Ellis uses the character of Patrick Bateman to explore the dual role of the serial killer as liberated individual and microcosmic representation of society, one may compare Bateman to the real life serial killer John ayne Gacy, who managed to keep his multiple murders a secret for the better part of the 1970s. Examining Bateman's characterization alongside the history of Gacy's murders and seemingly normal civilian life will help to demonstrate how the fascination with the two-faced killer ultimately stems from…
Works Cited
Campbell, John W. "Professional Wrestling: Why the Bad Guy Wins." The Journal of American
Culture 19.2 (1996): 127-32.
Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho. New York: Vintage Books, 1991.
Hantke, Steffen. "the Kingdom of the Unimaginable": The Construction of Social Space and the Fantasy of Privacy in Serial Killer Narratives." Literature/Film Quarterly 26.3 (1998):
On their way the group picks up a hitchhiker who seems to be visibly sick from the heat and possibly crazy. However, the hitchhiker goes on to torment and violently threaten the group, so they leave him on the side of the road.
Once the group finally reaches the house, Kirk and Pam go and search for an old childhood swimming hole. When they reach the location, they find that its dried up but, hearing the sound of a nearby generator, the two go to a nearby farmhouse to see who is around. Kirk goes inside where he encounters Leatherface and becomes the villains first victim by way of a sledgehammer. Pam goes in to see what is taking Kirk so long and she too is killed by Leatherface by being hung onto a meathook.
Night soon approaches and the remaining friends begin to worry about Pam and Kirk. Jerry…
Bibliography
Hooper, Tobe. Texas Chainsaw Massacre. 1974.
Marx, Carl. Communist Manifesto. New York: Signet Classics, 1998.
Marx, Carl. Das Kapital. New York: Signet Classics, 1999.
American Way of War
The history of the American Way of War is a transitional one, as Weigley shows in his landmark work of the same name. The strategy of war went from, under Washington, a small scale, elude and survive set of tactics practiced by what seem today to be relatively "quaint" militias, to -- in the 20th century -- a full-scale operation known as "total war." True, "total war" was not a concept invented by the Americans in the 20th century. The North eventually practiced "total war" against the Confederates when Sherman's campaign left utter destruction of civilian territory in its wake. The ancient Romans practiced it when, under the direction of Cato, they destroyed Carthage because its mere existence, they felt, posed a threat to their prosperity. In the 20th century, however, "total war" received an enormous boost of technical support when the inventors of the atom…
Bibliography
Butler, Smedley. War is a Racket. LA: Feral House, 2003.
Chollet, Derek and James Goldgeier. America Between the Wars. NY: Public Affairs,
2009.
Debs, Eugene. "Anti-War Speech," 16 June 1918. Web.
Marx's interpretation of Twentieth-Century Capitalism, as described by Miller, describes the changes in the American dream. The American dream was initially one linked to the idea of land ownership. Immigrants came from Europe, where land ownership had been a privilege of the wealthy. However, when America was relatively unsettled, almost anyone could theoretically come to America and claim land, and many people did just that. Of course, some of these early Americans did so in a grand way, traveling westward from the cities and establishing homesteads in the wilderness. The idea of home ownership, however, was not limited to those frontiersmen. Instead, only 100 years ago, someone could come to America and, because of the cheap price of land, afford to build his own home if he worked hard enough to do so. However, the nature of the home, itself, was different. Those homes were centers of production: at the…
Works Cited
Medaille, John. The Vocation of Business: Social Justice in the Marketplace. New York:
Continuum International Publishing Group, 2007
Miller, Vincent Jude. Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture.
New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2004.
Nevertheless, there have been many decisions over the years that have tended to weaken the intent of the Framers. In 2001, in Zelman v. Simmons Harris the Supreme Court ruled that school voucher programs did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment. The decision represented a blow to the essentially secular nature of the American state and system. By allowing public money to be given to religious schools, the Supreme Court was permitting the violation of a more than two hundred year old principle. In reaching its decision, the Supreme Court chose to accept the argument that giving money to schools was not a case of advancing religion but rather one of who should have power over education - the state or individual parents.
Personal freedom was now being re-defined as something that included the right to government assistance if the government provided assistance in similar situations. Persons…
Works Cited
Bolick, Clint. "School Choice: Sunshine Replaces the Cloud." Cato Supreme Court Review 2001-2002. Ed. Robert a. Levy, James L. Swanson, and Timothy Lynch. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 2002. 149-169.
Censer, Jack. "7 France, 1750-89." Press, Politics and the Public Sphere in Europe and North America, 1760-1820. Ed. Hannah Barker and Simon Burrows. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2002. 159-178.
Champlin, Dell P., and Janet T. Knoedler. "American Prosperity and the "Race to the Bottom: " Why Won't the Media Ask the Right Questions?" Journal of Economic Issues 42.1 (2008): 133+.
Milner, Murray. Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids: American Teenagers, Schools, and the Culture of Consumption. New York: Routledge, 2004.
He also observes the poignant problem of racism that arises here, which is also his reason for calling the new cult "white" Buddhism: in spite of the fact that the hite Buddhists may adopt all the traditional Asian customs- from their name to the food they eat or to the rituals as such, they will still be part of the "mainstream of the white culture." (Allitt 1999, 459). That is to say, the racial differences, still linger no matter what, and are emphasized by the American racism, which is the dark side of American culture.
Finally, Eldin Villafane analyzes the way in which the Catholicism of Spain was imposed to the Native Americans in Mexico, emphasizing the great religiosity of the Hispanic people. The author discusses the differences between Christendom and Christianity, the first being the powerful and complete assimilation of all life-matters into the religious frame.
Thus, all these…
Works Cited
Allitt, Patrick. Major Problems in American Religious History: Documents and Essays. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999
Moore, Laurence R. Touchstone Jesus. The Mixing of Sacred and Secular in American History. Westminster: John Knox, 2003
Not meeting them is not only a sin according to the tenets of the religion, but it also causes damage to the spouse with whom a partnership was made and the children that are a result of that partnership.
More precisely, failing to live up to familial obligations is a sin because it causes damage to the spouse and children. Jewish daily life, as Mrs. Baron explains, is built around a constant devotion to God. Cooking, eating, sleeping, waking, bathing, and almost every other common task of everyday life is associated with some ritualistic elements and/or prayer to remind each person that every bit of good done is in service to God. Making sure your family is cared for in the best manner possible is part of this, and this explains the different roles that exist in her family. She acknowledges that the roles have changed somewhat since her grandparents…
In the future, though, the influence the U.S. must wield over nations such as Pakistan that are Muslim yet strive to be part of the international community, is likely to be contingent upon the U.S.' recapitulation perceived moral authority as well as its ability to use economic and military carrots and sticks. American influence is also dependant upon the international population's own perceptions of the U.S. As well as these nation's national leaders' rhetorical compliance with U.S. demands for the curtailment and monitoring of terrorist activities. Thus to generate loyalty in the hearts of the people in nations such Pakistan, the U.S. must use soft, rather than hard power. And use this soft power more effectively and seem more morally upstanding a more judicious rather than aggressive use of national force seems essential.
orks Cited
Hess, Charles. "American Foreign Policy," Human Rights and Human elfare. Durham: Duke
University Press, 2004.…
Works Cited
Hess, Charles. "American Foreign Policy," Human Rights and Human Welfare. Durham: Duke
University Press, 2004.
Nye, Joseph S. Soft Power, the Means to Success in World Politics. London: PublicAffairs, Ltd.,
Nye, Joseph, "Soft Power and American Foreign Policy," Political Science Quarterly. 19. 2
American Religious History
Defining fundamentalism and liberalism in Christianity is hardly an exact science, especially because prior to about 1920 there was not even a term for fundamentalism as it exists today. hile present-day fundamentalists often claim descent from the Puritans and Calvinists of the 17th and 18th Centuries, Puritans were not really fundamentalists in the modern sense. They were not in conflict with 20th Century-style liberals and supporters of evolution and Higher Criticism because those did not yet exist. As George McKenna put it "if there were no liberalism there would be no fundamentalism" to react against it (McKenna 231). Today, about one-third of Americans define themselves as evangelical Protestants, and all Republican Party politicians have to make appeals to the Christian Right (Hankins 1). In 1976 there were at least fifty million 'born again' evangelical Protestants in the United States, and today their numbers may be as high…
WORKS CITED
Carpenter, Joel A. Revive Us Again: The Reawakening of American Fundamentalism. Oxford University Press, 1997.
Gilkey, Langdon. On Niebuhr: A Theological Study. University of Chicago Press, 2002.
Hankins, Barry. American Evangelicals: A Contemporary History of a Mainstream Religious Movement. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008.
Longfield, Bradley J. The Presbyterian Controversy: Fundamentalists, Modernists and Modernity. Oxford University Press, 1991.
American Vacation Time/Holidays
In the United States, people live to work while in other areas of the world people work to live. Or at least, this is a common stereotype about Americans and people who live in other parts of the world. The average working American gets two weeks (sometimes three if they're lucky) of vacation time a year while it isn't uncommon for individuals living in Spain, Italy and other parts of Western Europe to have the entire summer off, which is something that shocks Americans when they visit Madrid or ome in the middle of the summer. In the news we've heard about workers in Western Europe facing a cut in their social benefits, however, their vacation time is never touched (Geoghegan 2010). Meanwhile, American workers employed during this desperate financial time are not taking their vacations in fear of losing their jobs if they do or of…
References
Geoghegan, T. (2010, August 4). Why don't Americans have longer vacations? The New
York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com /roomfordebate/2010/08/04/why-dont-americans-have-longer-vacations
Parker-Pope, T. (2010, February 18). How vacations affect your happiness. New York
Times. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/18/how-vacations-affect-your-happiness/
S. Constitution. The court ruled, "Proposition 8 served no purpose, and had no effect, other than to lessen the statutes and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California" (Dolan, 2012). Hence, the will of the people can become law through popular initiatives, but on the other hand, the argument can be made that if citizens object to the constitutional amendments enacted in any given state -- for any political or social issue -- they have the power of the judiciary to address grievances and sue to reverse the decision.
But should citizens have the power to make public policy through initiatives and state constitutional amendments? Is direct democracy the answer for citizens that feel their elected officials are out of touch? This paper believes that passing propositions and altering state constitutions is indeed a way to bring the voter "…in closer touch with great affairs" and allow the voter…
Works Cited
Dolan, Mura. "Prop. 8: Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional, Court Rules." Los Angeles Times.
Retrieved March 9, 2012, from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com .
Levin, Daniel Lessard. Representing Popular Sovereignty: The Constitution in American
Political Culture. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1999.
American Social hought on Women's Rights
his paper compares and contrasts the arguments in favor of women's rights made by three pioneering American feminists: Judith Sargent Murray, Sarah Grimke, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. his analysis reveals the centrality of religious argumentation to the feminism of all three. Murray and Grimke were both converts to varieties of evangelical Protestantism who drew considerable intellectual and emotional nourishment from strands of Christianity, which encouraged, or at least did not discourage, their personal development. Unlike Murray and Grimke, however, Stanton did not convert to evangelicalism. Instead, she launched upon a secularizing trajectory that took her beyond Christianity to Comtean Positivism and rationalism. Unlike Murray and Grimke, moreover, she acknowledged the problems inherent in any attempt to square Christianity with feminism. However, she never rejected the Bible completely, and she is appropriately viewed with respect today as a pioneer of feminist biblical criticism. he paper…
This was a striking argument that made the development of female intellectual potential inseparable from the worship of God. But while this is certainly useful as an argument for elevating the standard of female education, it falls far short of a cry for female emancipation.
Religion's relationship to feminism is more thoroughly explored in Sarah Moore Grimke's more ambitious Letters on the Equality of the Sexes, and the Condition of Woman (1838). What had changed in the fifty years since Murray's entitled "On the Equality of the Sexes" was published was that the battle for the liberation of women's intellectual abilities appeared to have been won. By the 1830s, well-educated women existed. But the shift that was occurring at the time - precipitated by the antislavery movement - was toward the use of female abilities to intervene in debates of social importance. Like other feminist antislavery advocates, Sarah Grimke gained notoriety as an outspoken female advocate of the antislavery cause. In 1838, Grimke, who had converted to Quakerism around 1818 - apparently because it was compatible with her passionate commitment to antislavery (Lerner 8) - found herself vilified by the press and rebuked by the Congregationalist ministerial association of Massachusetts for her participation in an abolitionist lecture tour of New England in 1837-38.
What was controversial, however, was not so much her antipathy to slavery - although the Congregationalist clergy had long sought to stifle criticism of slavery - than the idea that a woman should dare to speak out publicly on a matter of such importance (Behnke 20; Lerner 19). Grimke responded to her critics by publishing a work, which forcefully defended her right to speak. Addressed to Mary S. Parker, president of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, Grimke's Letters dwelt at length on the Bible, which was the ultimately source of the conservative view that women were commanded by God to restrict their endeavors to the domestic sphere. Grimke shared Murray's conviction that the meaning of scripture had been 'perverted' in the interests of men. Almost everything that has been written about 'the sphere of woman,' she argued, 'has been the result of a misconception of the simple truths revealed in the Scriptures.' She cited, in particular, erroneous translations, and professed a low opinion of the 1611 King James Bible (221). In an examination of the creation narrative, she discerned no grounds to believe that God had created woman as an inferior creature. Both genders
Therefore, the "day the music died" was the day music and politics became fused. The Vietnam War, the Kennedy assassination, the Civil Rights movement, and other historical events also evoke imagery associated with death. "The day the music died" also marked the day merica's Golden ge died too. During the 1960s music became associated with sex, drugs, and violence: in stark contrast to the childlike "doo-wop" days of the 1950s.
McLean weaves in references to British groups the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to show how the British invasion altered the landscape of merican music. In addition to using musical references, McLean also writes about merican popular culture through film stars like James Dean, who also died tragically and whose iconic career embodies the central themes of "merican Pie." Like Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, James Dean was also a 1950s icon. His death also marked the "day the music…
American Pie" progresses chronologically from the "day the music died" until the late 1960s. In verse five, McLean mentions the Woodstock festival in 1969 and refers to "a generation lost in space." McLean also mentions Satan and the Devil to underscore his view that the 1960s was a time of debauch. The songwriter views the 1960s as being a generation "lost" to drugs. Music concerts and public events became spectacles and often erupted into violent protests. For instance, McLean refers to a concert the Rolling Stones played at, during which the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang overstepped their authority as chief security officers. McLean likens the event to a "sacrificial rite." Therefore, the songwriter describes the changes in American culture in Biblical terms, continuing to use imagery relating to death.
The title of the song is itself conveys the semiotics embedded in "American Pie." Pie is one of the only foods considered quintessentially American. The reference evokes mom's apple pie, an image of idyllic domesticity in the suburbs, of traditional gender roles, of sweetness, family, and the American Dream. The "day the music died" was the day that American woke up from its Dream. Gender roles were shifting rapidly so that women were no longer geared to be housewives. American culture seemed to be coming apart at the seams. The happy-go-lucky energy of the 1950s, captured in the songs of Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper, had died when those musicians perished in a plane crash. Those were the "good old boys" McLean refers to in the central refrain of the song. Likewise, when McLean writes about driving his "Chevy to the levee," he also uses another icon of American culture: the Chevrolet automobile.
During the 1960s a wave of events took place that would forever alter the character of the American Dream and of the American consciousness. The Vietnam War was by far the most significant, giving rise to a youth culture to a degree that had never before existed. Prior to the 1960s youth culture was a silent voice on the cultural landscape. Artists like James Dean were among the first to reveal the power of youth culture in America. His death, referred to in the third verse of "American Pie," is akin to the deaths of the three musicians mentioned at the beginning of the song. Youth culture became rebellious and highly political. Activism was a new trend that led to disturbing protest movements that were often mingled with musical concerts like Woodstock. The Kennedy assassination also signified the "day the music died," as did the infusion of radical politics into popular music. McLean mentions Marx in verse three to refer to the wholesale shifts in American lifestyle and culture.
Generally, it works by either giving a reward for an encouraged behavior, or taking something away for an undesirable behavior. y doing this, the patient often increases the good behaviors and uses the bad behaviors less often, although this conditioning may take awhile if the rewards and removals are not sufficient to entice the patient into doing better.
Existentialism is important to discuss here as well, and is often seen to be a very drastic way to examine human behavior. There are two types of existentialism. One is Atheistic Existentialism, and the other is Theistic Existentialism.
Atheistic existentialism has its basis in the statement that the entire cosmos is composed only of matter, and human beings see reality in two forms. Those forms are subjective and objective. People who believe in Atheistic Existentialism do not believe that anyone or anything specific made the world. They do not know whether it…
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