Eating is Just Not Food in America (A Journal Critique)

In America, food often defines social class as pointed out by Sue Mattheson’s critique and Margaret Visser’s detective novel. They way citizens of a culture behave towards their food often defines social roles in that culture. America has defined the family celebration to take place around food. Sometimes the celebration is a special holiday or just the everyday dining experience. Generally, dinning does not happen alone and women are the preparers of this food. American society considers dining alone by choice a peculiar habit. Not only does whom a person chooses to eat with, what they choose to eat determines place. The poor eat hot dogs made with fillers and the wealthy eat free-range steak. In both of the author’s writings, the role of food preparation traditionally belongs to females of society based on former Puritan heritages. Women usually dine and prepare wealthier and healthier foods, such as, low fat chicken, salad, and white wine.

Historically these norms have changed throughout the years, and they will continue to do so. With both authors, pointing out these various differences it is quite easy to determine they try to show America’s Patriarchy and its customs. They refuse to see women as cooks who must appease the appetites of the world’s hungry as they have though history. They show that just like murder, food endeavors to show itself in all social classes, genders, and races. Murder happens in elite society, middleclass society, and in the class of poverty (Grafton, 2008).

References

Matheson. S. (2008). Food is never just something to eat: Sue Grafton's culinary critique of mainstream America. Retrieved November 12, 2009, from. The Journal of Popular Culture, 41(2008)
Trinity College Dublin. (2009).Good eating habits. Retrieved November 28, 2009,  from. http://www.tcd.ie/collegehealthweek/good-eating-habits

Religion Leaders Teaching Followers to Pray Curses

Usually people pray for blessings to pour out upon humankind and planet. They pray for healing and help. Nevertheless, some believers have changed the requests for help. They are pleading with God to remove an evil leader from the Earth. Some may wonder who this evil leader is. These believers are calling upon God to remove the leadership of the President of the United States, Barrack Obama.  
Pastor Wiley Drake, (2009) is famous for preaching statements such as, “Ladies and gentlemen, if they’re a Muslim, they’re a danger to this country.” Obviously, Drake does not worry about being politically correct or hurting anyone’s feelings. This June Pastor Drake gave a live radio interview to DJ Colmes in California. During the interview, Colmes questioned Pastor Drake three times about praying for the president. First, he inquired, “Are you praying for his death?” Wiley replied with a simple, “Yes.” Then Colmes questioned him further with, “So you’re praying for the death of the president of the Unite States?” Again, Pastor Drake replied with a simple, “Yes.” Colmes then presented him with, “You would like for the president of the United States to die?” Drake’s last answer was, “If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."
The New Internal Version of the scripture reads, “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership. May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.” Psalm 109: 8, 9 (BibleGateway, 2009). Pastor Wiley Drake contends imprecatory prayer may sound malicious, but it is not as immoral as it sounds. He told reporter Lilly Fowler, "I’m not for a Christian or anybody killing somebody. That’s God’s business." In other words, he is saying people follow Scriptures example. If incredible acts happen after that, it is God’s will. In addition, Pastor Drake points out that Martin Luther and John Calvin prayed imprecatory prayer this way.
It follows that, the next question people want answered is does this type of praying have true foundations in theology studies. According to Stephen Chapman from Duke University’s Center for Jewish Studies, imprecatory prayer took place upon Jewish and Christian traditions from the Ancient Near East. However, this tradition only happens to remind those faithful to covenants they held/hold with God, and if they did not quickly recall the covenants and get back to following God’s commands, their covenants would be broken and what the consequences of breaking that covenant meant to them.

The population may think this is limited to a few religious freaks. Nonetheless, signs show us this type of imprecatory prayer is gaining popularity. Brad Hirschfield, Beliefnet’s Rabbi, notes a top search now presented for research is none other than Psalm 109. Businesses have also taken note of this trend. A line of bumper stickers along with T-shirts have the logo “Pray for Obama” while simultaneously pointing to the passage in Psalm 109 that pleads for a quick end to current evil and wicked leadership.

Many may view imprecatory prayer as grossly immoral and incorrect. At the same time, there are many people who view abortion, partial-birth abortion, and same-sex marriages as grossly immoral and incorrect. Their beliefs come from any translation of the Bible. Many other people who view religion as foolish may believe imprecatory prayer does not deserve protection under the First Amendment to the Constitution.

The latest news is that Pastor Drake recanted the wish for imprecatory prayer against President Obama. Although his reasons are not that he wants blessings and good wishes, he would ask followers to appeal to God with imprecatory prayer until there is a new leader. His rationale is that President Obama is guilty of treason against America and wants him to live long enough to stand trial for the crime of treason. Pastor Wiley Drake contends Obama is not a United States citizen. This makes his presidency entitlement illegitimate (Fowler, 2009).

All humanity should have the right to voice their beliefs, as long as they do not cause physical harm to another person, property, or themselves. To some imprecatory prayer is synonymous with a hate speech and at the same time abortion is synonymous with murder to others. Are the black and white lines indistinguishable or are they as clear as the line between good versus evil?

References

BibleGateway. (2009). Passage results: Psalm 109 (new international version). Retrieved November 23, 2009, from. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+109&version=NIV

Fowler, L. (2009). Praying for Obama’s death. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from. http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2009/11/23/praying_for_obama_death/index.html

Hillnery, L. (2009). Can the constitution survive terrorism. Retrieved November 24, 2009, from. http://www.regent.edu/general/library/about_the_library/news_publications/images/ConstitutionDayPic.PNG

Offbeat. (2009). Watching TV online. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from. http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/images/set3/bible-1.jpg

"Twilight" Changing the Role of Women

     How can the “Twilight Saga: New Moon” change the role of women? This movie opened in box offices Friday November 20, 2009 breaking records set by previous big money makers. It started with a screenplay directed by a woman. Women from all age categories are watching the movie. The role of women just might result in a change for which category of people new movies is developed. The business savvy developers have got to be taking note.

     With sales of the “Twilight” Saga selling more than four times the tickets of its predecessor did before its opening, it is big business. Big business changes culture. This blockbuster broke records previously established by the "Harry Potter" and "Lord of the Rings" epics. About five years ago “Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” set the record for all time advance ticket sales. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” advance ticket sales broke that record. This proves a screenplay does not have to include the male group of viewers for success.

     The female director, Catherine Hardwicke, directed the very successful first chapter in the saga. The male director, Chris Weitz sadly replaced her for the second chapter, despite the fact that the first film grossed $383.6 million worldwide. Since her replacement, reports say the movie suffered artistically. This could mean the movie also lost financially. Under no circumstances will the movie be a failure. Nevertheless, it might have proved even more profitable if decision makers had not fixed something that was not broken. It is hoped the saga will not lose any of its following from this change.
     Although the movies biggest female audience comes from teenagers, more women than them are watching. The age of women viewing the movie and reading the novels is not limited to the young. In fact, it includes the very young to the very old. It does depend on the demographics of a particular area, but advanced ticket sales show twenty-seven percent of the ticket buyers are female twenty-five to thirty-four years of age and thirty-five percent under the age of twenty-five (Harding, 2009).

     In conclusion, anticipation that the business decision makers will take note of this leap for women in the role of movie business has to excite equality seekers everywhere. Despite the moral vacuum of the movie, it is a moneymaking lesson. Those women have the ability to form a male limited or nonexistent male market for movies. The content of the show might not compete with Nobel Peace Prizewinning work; nonetheless, it certainly should convict Hollywood that there is no doubt in female achievement and ability. Once this is recognized, profitable ideas will follow. Knowing they may develop and target this cultural market for many other products. When the numbers crunch and profits show, will they get nervous and frightened or finally start to change their approach and outlook to female capabilities?

References

Harding, K. (2009). Could “new moon” be a feminist triumph?. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from. http://www.salon.com/mwt/broadsheet/feature/2009/11/20/twilight_and_women/print.html

Manny. (2009). "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" trailer! it's very Jacob-centric!. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from. http://www.mannythemovieguy.com/index.php?m=08&y=09&entry=entry090821-104500

Make a Smilebox greeting

Three Symbols That Surround Me Today ...

What do C.S.I., Ford Mustang, and Facebook have in common? They all belong to the current set of America’s contemporary cultural icons. C.S.I. (Crime Scene Investigation) is a drama television series. The show is about a group of crime investigators in Los Angeles. These detectives use minuscule physical evidence, the latest technology, and superior analyst skills to solve murder crimes. The show performed so well it spurred two other take off shows called C.S.I. NY and C.S.I. Miami. Many viewers watch the trilogy and N.C.S.I. also a crime drama, but the investigators are military focus on military murders (CBS, 2009).

Ford Mustang is an American muscle car classic. The first Mustang was shown to the public in 1964. The Ford company wanted to market to the pop culture of the time now known as the "Baby Boomers". They did not want to drive a car like mom and pop. It was only normal for the some of the crowd to want to race their cars. The Mustang was redesigned in order to compete with the Chevy Corvette thus the GT-350 model was born. For the next few years the car went through design changes staying a firm player in the car industry, but in 1979 the car designers once again hit their mark with a redesign. Drivers loved Ford Mustang again just like they did during its birth. Then in 2005 the Ford Mustang received its latest update (Edmunds,2009).

Facebook is a social networking tool, although Facebook would deny this claim. They advertise their service as a means for you to share information and connect with people worldwide. This description describes a social networking instrument whether they want to admit it or not. This tool is used by people worldwide to connect with friends, co-workers, and family. The tool incorporates instant messaging, blogging (wall writing), and email in one place. While using this social networking tool users may add applications for such things as games or groups. They may decorate the profile or get the word out about a cause such as, save the rainforest. Many advertisers now support the web tool to advertise their product or service to more people than traditional websites offer. Facebook does see some competition from other social utilities like MySpace and MyYearbook. Personally I took a quiz on there today named “How addicted are you to Facebook”. My score was a seventy-six percent (Facebook, 2009).

Choosing these three examples is easy for any blue-collar American household. It seems every house a person visits has some form of C.S.I. playing on their television or computer. If asked, “Yuck, C.S.I., how can you watch that gruesome and morbid show?” They would answer in some fashion of “What you don’t watch this show? It’s awesome!” It seems most shows a person watches while growing up always seem to have the main character driving a Mustang or trying to steal one. Then when they look at the cover of any car magazine or try to buy a car model there will definitely be a Ford Mustang, usually the 1964 version. The Facebook networking tool is a new area of technology that the popular crowd uses. If parents want to know what their children are talking about and advertisers want to know what is going to sell their products it is one of the places to be.

So, what do these cultural symbols mean to me? Well, I would own a Ford Mustang to show off to my sons. I am not sure if owning a car that depicts speed in America makes sense though. They cannot be legally driven at fast speeds. Unless, they are driven in a foreign country they are more of a representation of a lifestyle. As for Facebook I started to grow my networking abilities with an added bonus of a place to talk to my children when we were not together. Now, I use the application to talk and stay in touch to my extended family in other states, make new friends, connect with current friends, and grow my network. In addition, I grow My Mafia (Facebook, 2009), raise fish, run a Café, send icon flowers and angels, grow trees and crops, and once in awhile post a comment on my wall (Facebook, 2009). Finally, C.S.I. is not my favorite show. However, everywhere I go people are watching it or talking about it. The television in my house is often playing a version of it. Yuck! Yet,I know I must adapt just like any other person. It amazes even the developer when their creation sports such success.

                                                                         References

CBS. (2009). CSI: crime scene investigation. Retrieved November 16, 2009, from. http://www.cbs.com/primetime/csi/

Edmunds. (2009). Edmunds inside line. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://www.insideline.com/ford/mustang/2005/2005-los-angeles-2005-ford-mustang-convertible.html

Edmunds. (2009). Edmunds inside line. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://www.insideline.com/search/?q=ford+mustang+

Facebook. (2009). Facebook. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://www.facebook.com/login.php

Finklestein. D. (2007). Who will win the election? Facebook fills us in. Retrieved November 17, 2009, from. http://timesonline.typepad.com/comment/2007/10/who-will-win-if.html

Talking Monsters Teach Adults

     Forty years ago the producers of popular culture had an idea for a television show marketed to Urban children to help teach them skills necessary for a more successful school life. This trial program was none other than Sesame Street. The TV show developers held their breath as the show launched November 10, 1969. They were afraid children wouldn’t understand or learn from talking from monsters. Nonetheless, after forty years of programming the adults have learned lessons too.

    Sesame Street’s performing Muppets not only helped educate children but educated grown-ups who worked on the show and watched the show. Adults now know children learn more from monsters when they talk to teach. They know if they develop a character that gives the impression of true existence it followers stay sincere through its many developments. For example, the first design of Cookie Monster had teeth and Oscar the Grouch’s fur was the color orange (Smith, 2009).
     Sesame Street taught the adults who develop popular culture that children liked talking monsters and new shows were developed such as Barney, Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder, Dora the Explorer and Handy Manny. As a result the makers of Sesame Street changed with the times. They added enhancements to Oscar, made the weather mostly sunny and removed the wall's graffiti. A supplementary show was designed to add extra characters, but this aspect of the experiment failed. After the invention of VCR’s additional trial and errors proved children were more engaged if the show progressed as a story and not haphazardly shifting from idea to idea. Finally in order to stay cutting edge Ernie and Bert were extended into the animated clay realm and Abby Cadabby moves by computer technology (Smith, 2009).

     In conclusion it is quite easy to deduce how these popular culture talking monsters have kept their location in the hearts and minds of preschool children. In order to stay pop culture for more than a minute the most crucial lesson is adapting and growing with the lessons you learn. Every new idea doesn’t work, but change is inventible, so new untried ideas are what carry on famous designs. They watched and listened to the large group adding and removing parts as needed.

References

LeMans.(2009). sesame street old school. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from.  http://cacb.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/ss21.jpg

Norwich. M. (2009). Bring Sesame street back. Retreved November 15, 2009, from. http://www.babble.com/CS/blogs/strollerderby/2009/02/sesame_street.jpg

Smith, R. (2009). 40 years of lessons on ‘sesame street’. Retrieved November 10, 2009, from. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120245506

Newhope4unme: Popular Culture Artifact One

Newhope4unme: Popular Culture Artifact One