The more you read .......

After doing some reading about gangster movies in the 30's and the influence of Jewish and Italian immigrants, how Westside Story portrayed Puerto Ricans, and the influence of Ravi Shanker on American pop culture, I felt like I know about one sixteenth of what I should know as a 40 year old American citizen who loves both movies and music. I found the readings incredibly interesting because of my passion for films and music.

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I have become a huge fan of old movies over the past four or five years. There are so many ways to enjoy films. You can pick out a favorite actor, like Humphey Bogart and try to watch all his films. You can pick an era, like silent movies, and watch the highest rated films. You can try and watch all the films that won Best Picture. I've done some of those and a lot more. I've tried to dabble into different types of films, like watching a few Marx Brothers films. I decided to watch several of Edward G. Robinson's movies. I'm in the process of trying to watch all of Greta Garbo's movies. This may prove to be an impossible task because I don't think they all exist in their complete form anymore.

Edward G. was an interesting choice to watch before reading Jewish Gangster piece. I watched Little Caesar because it was given a favorable rating in the movie guide book I read. That is one way I started to select which movies to watch. If Leonard Maltin said it was worth watching, I would watch it. I thought it was pretty good. I was shocked at the cold blooded killing that was depicted, even in the 30's. I thought Edward G. had a great last line, "Is this the end of Rico?" If a movie line or scene stays in my memory, that's the clincher for me giving the movie a thumbs up. I watched that movie without a clue that Jewish men were acting as Italian gangsters. It didn't even dawn on me to think about the ethnicity of the gangsters. I guess I just took it a face value that mobsters were typically Italian. I guess I was too busy thinking about the impact the action adventure movie was having on the audience in the 30's. I thought the censorship that they movies had to go through then was incredible. I didn't realize that until I read the article. Three waves of censorship, wow! I also found it interesting that was the reason they all followed the strict formulas, i.e. rise to the top followed by the inevitable fall.

After I watched several Greta Garbo movies, I picked up on familiar theme in those movies. Almost everyone was a tragic love story. Much like, Westside Story's theme. A woman would fall in love with a man who was from a different social class. Of course, the family would be horrified and forbid the romance. Usually, the end result would be death or some other unhappy ending. After reading the article, I started to speculate that the film makers were probably
restricted about what types of movies they could make in the 20's as well.

Mistrelsy is a concept that passed me by as well. I remember hearing about black face performers but I guess I never gave it too much thought. When we look back at history, there are so many stories of discrimination and just inexcusable behavior. Its so easy to take things for granted throughout life growing up a white middle class male in the suburbs. After reading more about the plight of the immigrants it makes it a little easier to understand. Each immigrant population had their own difficulties related to assimilation. I think of the newest immigrants in my little corner of the world, the Hmong, and I can sympathize with the struggle. How much tradition do you try to hold on to? How much do you let go? etc. That being said, I still really can't understand the black face performers. Even though the third chapter brought up a good point that white people often attempt to act black.

My "movies to watch" list continued to grow through each article I read. Let 'Em Have It, Public Enemy, and Scarface are on the list, and probably others as I look back through again. I never have watched Westside Story. That's why I feel like I'm a long way off from being a true film buff. You can't be any kind of an expert if you have not scene Westside Story. I was surprised in a way to read about how Puerto Ricans were portrayed. I feel at a real disadvantage because I have not seen it but it seems like there are some pretty good reasons for not continuing to put on the play. I'll reserve my try judgment until I've watched it. I also plan to see the Young Savages. I thought the Springsteen stuff was great. It was great to see the Boss given some credit where other performers have not earned it. I happen to own a copy of the album they referenced, but did I ever pick up on the theme of the album? No. I just popped on the side with Rosalita a few times because I liked the song. Also, I've been a bit of a completist (I don't think that's a word) when it comes to music I like. When I find an artist I like, I think it's fun to find their earliest stuff.

I wish I had an unlimited amount of time to read the articles and then research some of the names references as well as watch the movies. I did take the time to look up a few on the net. For example, John Phillips was mentioned as part of the Mamas and Papas but the suggestion was made that he did a lot more. I learned about his life and stuggles with substance abuse. I also learned his daughter is Mackenzie Phillips, who happen to have part in one of my all time favorite movies, American Graffiti. I also did some research on DA Pennebaker. I play to watch his Monterey Pop documentary as well as some of his other works like Don't Look Back. My favorite Rock documentary is the Last Waltz. I now have the desire to watch many of the others. I love trivia that was mentioned in of the write ups on Monterey Pop. I think it is on one of the outtakes on the DVDs where they said Neil Young quit Buffalo Springfield before they went on to perform. David Crosby, who had already played with the Byrds, sat in because of his friend Stephen Stills. A short while later they hooked up with Graham Nash and everyone knows the rest of that story.

My Beatles experience has been a work in progress. At times, I have really been into the Beatles. I've watched a few movies and know most of their songs. For some reason, the India phase never really caught my attention. Thus, I missed out on knowing who Ravi Shankar was. I find that very interesting as well. I had no idea what the Hart-Cellar Act was, nor did I really even understand there was a significant migration of South Asians in the 60's. I have learned a valuable lesson about relating history to pop culture. There is no denying the influence that music and movies have had on our culture, but I'm living proof that you can miss out on a lot of it just by taking things for granted. I think there are many worthy lesson plans embedded in all three or the chapters.

Culture in the Cupboard modified lesson

I work with students with special needs ages 18 to 21. I think that a modified activity like Culture in the Cupboard would be beneficial in our weekly employment seminar. Our students are not real good when it comes to remembering things from week to week, so rather than have them bring an item from home, I would have them do some research in class.

First, I would present the topic: cultural differences regarding employment and career. We have several different cultures represented in our group and I think, with some guidance, they would be about to participate in a preliminary discussion of the value placed on work and a career within their family and culture. We have several Hmong students in our program and I think this discussion would be especially valuable to them. Typically, we have a very quite group so they usually need some additional encouragement and examples.

After the introduction, I would have them use the computers to do some research. I find it necessary to give some different options with an exercise like this. For example, I would try and help some students start by saying: "identify some jobs or careers that your parents or relatives have", "why do you feel that _______ chose that career?" "Do you feel that cultural customs played an influence in some or all of their choices?" etc.

After they have completed their individual research, we would come back together as a big group to discuss some of their findings. Again, this usually takes some additional encouragement from staff. We have had discussions, depending on the make up of the group, that consists almost entirely of staff telling stories of a period of time in their life, for example, when they worked as a volunteer.

Because our students all have a disability and have some significant barriers, any lesson we create has the potential to be meaningful or a disaster, depending on the make up of the group. In addition to dealing with disabilities, we face many cultural challenges with some of our students. We are trying to help them achieve the greatest sense of independence possible, but that can cause cultural conflict in some cases. I think this would be a great addition to our curriculum but it has to be interjected at the right time, i.e. the teachable moment.

Blog #1 Barbie and Lil Kim

When I think of the Apple and Lil Kim video in relation to Spiel's piece, my first impression is very basic. Are there people out there who are still concerned about Babie's negative influence on little girls? Are they really worried that Barbie is sexist, racist, or a bad example for children in other ways? When compared to Lil' Kim or Fiona Apple? If I were a parent of a 5 to 7 year old girl for example, I would be a bit more at ease buying her a Barbie to play with as opposed to allowing her to spend time unsupervised on Youtube watching videos like Lil' Kim. Spiel mentions many feminist positions about Barbie. I must admit I had no idea that any of this existed, e.g. "Barbie studies." I think it's easy to agree with some concerns, like the "whiteness" of Barbie. The white dolls are listed as "Barbie" and the other listed by race. I can understand that and would like to see a change. I don't really know how, maybe not label any Barbies at all. There could just be a bunch of dolls of different ethnic backgrounds. Maybe you'd have to buy the doll first and then read their story to learn more about each doll's background including ethnicity. A doll dressed in African clothes would be just another doll until you opened it up and read the little booklet that tells all about the Barbies home, customs, etc.

That being said, compare Barbie to the images of Fiona or Lil' Kim. Fiona looks so sickly and thin in the Criminal video and I don't know where to start with Kim. I know society has changed. I still feel like I have to remind myself that Happy Days is not the norm anymore, but where does it end? From my sometimes naive position, I would like to think performers would take on some responsibility regarding the issues facing our youth today, like anorexia. I found Lil' Kim's video depressing. I have tuned into the BET cable television station a few times to see what my African American students are influenced by. Although, I have not seen anything quite as graphic as "How many licks" of BET. After watching that video, I wonder how serious a threat Barbie really presents. Not much, unless you're the one who had cosmetic surgery done to look like Barbie.