The Meaning of America and It's History

Grossberg's "Youth and American Identity", and Gordon's "More than Just a Shrine" stresses how America has turned into a universal "melting pot" made up of diverse people and unique cultures . Since post-World War II, Grossberg describes how today's youth generation is a "problematic solution to America's search for identity." In simpler terms, Grossberg believes that a great deal of the world is trying to mold our younger generation to be the next leaders, role-models, and products of the American dream. The question is "How can we be sure this generation will fullfill the American dream?" I'm not sure that Americans know exactly what the American dream really is, but they surely have ideas drawn from history. History class taught me that the American dream is part of achieving manifest destiny. However, in Gordon's piece, certain people such as immigrants did not come from a country where they were able to achieve superiority among other nations, such as the immigrants of Ellis Island. In Gordon's essay, she pays homage to the immigrants of Ellis Island and gives a detailed account of what it was like for them to come to a new place and not seek freedom nor other essential aspects of an "American Dream." Overall, one line from Gordon's work struck me, "And to tell the ghosts what I have always thought: that American history was a very classy party that was not much fun until they arrived, brought the good food, turned up the music, and taught everyone to dance." For me, this statement is true, being raised Italian and growing up in an Itatlian family, with great food, a fun-loving family, and amazing traditions, just as those who are Irish, or German, or any other culture in the world. Were all different and we all bring something new to the world.

Malls and Churches??

Beginning to read John Fiske "Shopping for pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistence" I was very confused why he was talking about churches and comparing them to malls. I started understanding what I was reading toward the end of the story. I do not see anything wrong with kids just going to the mall to just hangout with their friends and escape from their homes. From my own experience I would do the same. I would go to the mall just to hangout with my friends and just go in stores and look and leave. If i had any money with me I would use it to buy food never to buy anything in a clothing store, electronic store, etc. Saying kids go to malls to start trouble or to get drunk is crazy. My mall is a place where you would never see anyone ever drunk or starting a riot. But i am only able to compare my mall with the story other malls across the nation are completely different from mine. I think the story was a complete waste of time. Kids today don't have any place to go and feel safe and hang out with their friends without getting into trouble by the police just by loitering. I just didn't like the story overrall.

2 in 1

The text "Goths in Tomorrowland" is just really funny to me. I know someone who use to dress somewhat freakish when he was like 13 and he is the biggest sweetheart. Now he's preppy with no piercings and wears American Eagle, it's just a phase. Just because they wear black, have peircings, and listen to heavy metal it doesn't mean their evil and going to cause a corruption or hurt anyone. The topics these authors come up with just amazes me.

In "Shopping for pleasure: Malls, Power and Resistance"I had no idea what Fiske was talking about until the end of the text. I think the text was stupid and a pontless topic. Who cares if kids go to the mall, walk around, socialize and not buy anything. They are mostly young teens who don't have a license and have nothing better to do. I even did it. You have no money so you just browse. Kids don't just go to the mall thinking "Oh I'm going to start a mob today." The whole drinking thing I have never even thought of but I could definately believe it considering how the middle age school kids are nowadays. But just because someone has a bottle in their hand it doesn't mean there drinking! Fiske just completely overexaggerated in this text.

This guy's outside his mind.

Cathedrals and malls? I see no comparison between the two, i've only ever heard a cathedral compared to a sporting venue and that is because people come their to worship their team which makes alot of sense. I wasn't a fan of his twisting malls and everything about htme with the catholic religion and things associated within that. But yeah i have seen some adolescents cause a scene at a mall more than a few times, but not necessarily a mob type scene. Although what does he expect from a bunch of teenagers hangin out at the mall, the mall is somewhat their hangout for their group of friends, typically the ones making the scenes are the ones who can't drive yet and are pretty young and immature. Overall two thumbs way down for this topic of his.

Going to the mall DRUNK?!?!?

"Shopping for Pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistance" By: John Fiske. Well.. When I started reading this piece I was so confused about comparing shopping malls to churches but I did understand more once I kept reading. Teens go to malls to hang out with friends, get away from their parents or even just for something to do. Fiske made it out to seem that teens go to the mall to start trouble. I know personally I have gone to the mall before to hang out with friends and just look around cause at that time I don't have any money to spend. I think all teens at some point just go to the mall to walk around or socialize but that doesn't mean that they are trying to fight the system. I thought it was very interesting when Fiske stated that teens go to the mall to get drunk. That teens bring there alcohol in water bottles/soda bottles. I have been to the mall many times and have never been drunk or seen any teens getting drunk while there. I think Fiske is taking that issue a little too far! Teens just want to walk around, have fun, maybe buy something, and most times cause no trouble at all.

O dear...

Ok, let me start out by saying I totally agree with Angel! In Fiske's story he jumped around so much, why....there's no reason for it.

I sidagree with hiim when he acusses adolesents of creating a mob scene, does he know that most of the stores in the mall are directed at pre-teens, teens, and young adults? Sometimes I go to the mall and I can walk in and out of stores and an hour later walk out of the mall an hour later with just a shirt! But I didn't creat a scene doing it. Lot's of teens walk around and window shop and when they know they have money they will go back and buy something.
I also don't know anyone who goes to the malls drunk. Why did he even bring that up, where does he come from?
I don't think this iske guy knows anything about anything...well atleast nothing about teens or malls.

Two Birds, One Post

I’m going to make a combined posting of my paper ideas and a response to the Fiske reading because I’m not exactly sure which we were supposed to do.

Honestly, I feel like this paper is going to end up as a giant rant with a few statistics thrown here or there – in kinder, fancier English teacher terms this will be mostly a persuasive writing piece. I’d like to do “Goths in Tommorowland” but I think I would have difficulty finding statistics to support an argument. I think if I used Naomi Klein’s article I would have enough to research, but I agree way too much with her and her position that stating my own opinions on the issue would be redundant. For this paper I’m going to pull out the political card and lean to the right of the fence in order to rip Mike Davis a new one. I know it’s crazy considering I call myself a moderate-liberal, but I think I’ll be able to put together a solid argument by disagreeing with Davis’s article “Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarization of Urban Space".

As for Fiske’s article: what a pompous critique on the art of mall-ratting.

A long stretch

Many things can be compared to each other. Some are compared by metaphors. In John Fiske's "Shopping for Pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistance," he makes a long stretch using a metaphor to compare shopping malls with Catholic cathedrals. When he gets in to the story he explains how teenagers and the youth just use the mall as a place to hang out and to get drunk. WHenever I went to the mall I did not see this going on. Yeah there are alot of teenagfers and youth just walking around the mall looking and not buying much, but that is because many of them do not have the money to. I am sure that if the circumstances were different and they had money that the things that they look at that they might buy. I think that the mall is a perfectly acceptable place for teenagers to go to and to get out of the house just to hang out. To me there is no comparison from a mall to a cathedral.

Shopping malls are the new age cathedrals ?

In the beginning of this text Fiske uses the Catholics cathedrals as a metaphor for shopping malls. Saying that shopping, is like a religion and how "the exchange of money becomes a secular equivalent of holy communion". The downfall to this religion is not enough consumption of the product. That is when Fiske looks to adolescents, who flock to the malls but rarely buy anything. He talks about adolescents creating a mob scene, taking up the space at the mall, causing a riot. It is also known that if their is a group or teenagers, then they must have drugs or alcohol...Right? WRONG. While reading this article I could not believe the conclusions this guy jumped to about adolescents. Did it ever occur to him that just maybe teens don't have enough money to buy what they want all the time, and no other place to hang out ? Maybe they just want to get away from their parents for a little while, and the mall seems to be the only place where teenagers today can do just that. Why is it that when a group of teenagers get together, adult get scared ? In most cases teenagers are harmless, and just want a place to have fun, well at least that's how I felt when I went to the mall with my friends.

Fiske...I have no idea what your talking about

I think I have never been this confused in reading an essay or short story. I thought Edgar Allan Poe stories used to be tough to follow, but I think now I've changed my mind. Fiske starts out talking about how shopping malls are like a cult or religion for people, how they are a metaphor in some way to people. Then, he speaks about consumerism and how teens occupy malls in such a powerful way that they are taking over malls. What does all of this mean? He puts to many ideas together at one time, where I have no idea what to think about first. This essay was very difficult for me to follow. However, I understood the last few paragraphs about teens and going to the mall. Most of the time we do go to the mall to socialize with one another. So what? Maybe I'm a teen who works a low paying job where I do not earn enough money to buy new clothes and accessories all the time. Maybe I have to save my money for important investments like helping my parents pay for my phone bill or college tuition, things that actually matter most. I like to walk around the mall and talk, but I'm not a teen who brings alcohol to a mall in a water bottle or soda can. I mean c'mon, who really does that? Anyway, to me this article was not meaningful because I'm not a troubled teen who goes to a mall drunk, or someone who buys expensive clothing to enhance consumerism. I guess I'm just normal.

Whats the point of shopping for pleasure?

As with most of the readings assigned for I struggled to find an opinion or something intelligent to say about it, all this reading about theoretical stuff and intangables, tends to confuse me.

I did gather that the article itself is pretty objective, like "goths in tomarrowland" it brings up the issue of space and shared with different people with different agenda's, but i fail to see the significance of it all. Teens go to the mall whether they have money or not, so what. But no, this Fiske guy thinks there is some kind of subliminal power going on, i dont know what hes talking about. I dont think that unemployed adolecents are going to the mall with the mindset of "I going to fight the system, I'm going to the mall without cash" nor do they walk in a store and think "I gonna stay in here for ten minutes then walk out without buying anything, that will trick the shopkeeper". I Do think teens go to the mall to socialize, eat, or just for something to do.

a thousand and one blogs

its been a long time since i've blogged on the site, so i'll try to get a bunch of them in together. if anyone gets lost, feel free to leave a comment to let me know.

"No Logo" by Naomi Klein and "Hype" by Kalle Lasn

These pieces covered the issues surrounding adverstising, how advertising companies use subversive techniques to capture its market, and how advertising in general effects the public as a whole. Many of these findings came to no surprise to me because I knew most of them that were being used, if not through research then by daily coming and goings of life. We as a public are forced at times to have our physical and mental space invaded...even now as I'm typing this post, there is a constant bombardment (sp?) of advertisements with pop ups. The sad part is, that is the point of advertisement which has evolved into overwhelming the viewer into submitting to the product they're trying to sell. As much as I hate to say it, putting ad's in a bathroom however invasive this is can be really effective. I don't think it should be done because personally I just want some peace and privacy in that situation. It does go to show though that companies are willing to do whatever it takes to keep its market or reach out to a new one. One such example that i could think of was McDonald's who start their market age very early with the Happy Meal. And they're not the only ones, because from a young age we're marketed. It actually frightens me to think what advertising can do to a certain point; I'll just take up my job to make my own decisions instead of letting advertising decide for me.

"Nickel-and-Dimed..." by Ehrenreich and "Pennies and Hour..." by Kernaghan
The sheer insanity of this article kept me rivetted. Though once again, I'm not completely surprised by the result Ehrenreich got when she went to look for work after leaving such a cushy job. In all honesty, it felt to me as though she had a condescending (sp?) tone at first to think that it would actually be easy to find a crap job since she is so over qualified. Speaking from experience it's difficult to find work anywhere that pays decently because there is always someone who, even if they're less than qualified, is more than willing to work for less than the standard pay. I give her kudos though for effort and the fact she did it at all.
On the point that there are plenty of people out there willing to work for far less than standard pay, there is enough proof overseas to demonstrate this well. Children and adults alike are crammed into unsafe conditions for pennies a day in order to have some sort of cash income. Unfortunately with the pay and working conditions, its much more of an uphill climb than most bargin for. It makes me ill to think that some little kid made me a hat for less than a fraction of what I bought it for.
All in all, I feel like hell for buying into the companies that advertise to me constantly, get their products made by poor little kids, and are getting the major cuts of their profit. thanks those sections of reading was a blast...


"Fortress Los Angeles" by Mike Davis and "Goths in Tomorrowland" by Thomas Hine
Goths in Disneyland; the two don't really belong in a sentence either. Let's take something pastel, bright, beautiful, and seemingly perfect and throw in an element of extreme darkness, sadness, and just plain morbidness. Along that note, lets take the homeless in a business district in a city like Los Angeles. The bigger issue here is a case of image. Its a matter of something clean, perfect, and idealized that is supposedly being invaded by that is considered dirty, dark, morbid, and "wrong" by society. For 'Goths' I came to a simple conclusion...who cares about image if these punks are giving you money? If they have no where else to go, let them be weird, but weird in a safe environment. For 'Fortress' my conclusion was, honestly if they want your garbage and refuse, then let them have it. If you don't want them rummaging around in your crap, then donate to charities, or set up a shelter for these people to go! Until you, and I am speaking to the authors, realize that circumstantially speaking these people have no other option to keep on doing what they're doing, I suggest you shut the hell up.

"Shopping for Pleasure" by John Fiske.
I'll make this one simple: this guy has way too much time on his hands and is looking to far into too simple of a subject matter.
Since i can't get away with a one sentence answer, i will continue on my point. True, there are instances, however few and far between where kids have gone to the mall drunk, which completely eludes me as to why. True, kids go to the mall to hang out and NOT BUY ANYTHING. This is because they're kids and kids typically DON'T HAVE JOBS TO EARN MONEY! However, once again they need a safe, controlled area to go and just chill. Now if companies have the opportunity to expose their products to future customers, i don't see a problem here. And the whole thing about the mall being a church, i've heard this metaphor before about malls becoming temples of excess. I've had enough of this metaphor because to an extent it may be true, but for crying out loud its not that bad. there is a world of difference between a church to worship, and a place to buy some khakis or something.
Finally, lets get one fact across here: adults are scared of teenagers. Always have, probably always will for whatever reason. So yeah, enough of that.

Paper Idea
I have no idea what I want to do for this paper, but I am leaning in the general directions of either "Goths in Tomorrowland", or "Nickel-and-Dimed..." for my paper. I'm choosing these particular essays because they seem to be issues I could follow up on very well.
comments or ideas welcome.

An evil city and a judgmental park...depending on your view

First starting to read Mike Davis's "Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarization of Urban Space" I was getting some what confused going a long with it but then after going back and re-reading it I was able to comprenhend most of it. I thought it was interesting how the city was spending so much money to keep the homeless people from sleeping anywhere. Wouldn't it be cheaper to set up shelter homes and food banks, instead of changing the way the park benches are designed, or installing sprinkler systems in the parks to keep them from sleeping in the parks, and designing special garbage systems to keep them out of their trash. They could have saved so much more money getting them off the streets and into safer places, but they don't seem to care about the people who try so hard to just find shelter from the out door envirnoment. Thomas Hine's "Goths in Tomorrowland" made me think that we judge people way too much. The parents of the kids who live in OC just need a safe place for their children to go and know that they will be safe. Expressing themselves with dressing up in black is the way their clinque is. The sterotypical jock always dresses in jerseys, computer geeks always seem to dress in overalls and have glasses with tape in the center of them and the goths dress in all black and decorate themselves with piercings and sharp objects. Even though Disneyland is labeled "the happiest place on earth" the way someone dresses shouldn't change anyone who sees them in the park. Their not doing anything wrong and don't seem to be physically bothering anyone. Why do people have to complain about them being there. If they had been bothering people physically then there would be a reason to get rid of them. With the changing of generations people, more teens though, are expressing themselves more with the way they dress. People cannont be offended by it since this is america and you have every right to dress the way you want to. I see no problem with having people look goth walking around disneyland as long as they don't come up to me and start bothering me.

LA vs Goths

"Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarization of Urban Space" By Mike Davis. Alright, I first wanted to start out saying that I was kind of lost when reading this piece. I believe that it was boring but I am still going to attempt to explain what I thought. Davis goes into detail about how the government is giving so much money to Los Angeles for the upperclass to benefit off of. At the same time the rest of Los Angeles society is being forgotten about. Davis says the government is only trying to help out the upperclass and tourist and not doing anything for anyone else. I think the government needs to stop worrying about the buildings and designs and pay a little more attention to the lower class and some of these problems can be helped. "Goths in Tomorrowland" By Thomas Hine. I found this article interesting because I could relate seeing this types of kids in high school and knowing about certain "clicks". I think there are good people within all types. Even though someone dresses like a "goth" doesn't mean they are trouble or bad. I feel that everyone expresses themselves differently and that should be accepted. I do not understand why if you didn't want to go to Disneyland ( a happy place) and be happy and have fun.. then why someone would go there? It ruins the atmosphere when you see someone sitting on a bench with an evil face at such a happy place, but that's just me!

"The mere presence of teenagers threatens us." (Hine)

After reading Hine's "Goths in Tomorrowland", I glanced in the mirror to take a look at myself and thought, do adults really fear teenagers? Could I have an appearance that intimidating to adults? That is crazy to me. If anything, I fear adults, they never fear me. This story made me realize just how paraniod the "older generation" can be. Teenagers should not make someone feel afraid let alone be talked about as if we are criminals. However, I do agree with Hine when she talks about goths, I know some that are good people and I know some that are not. Stereotypes are put on the wrong people today. I could say that I am afraid of old people driving on the road because 70 or more percent of the time old people are terrible drives just as teenagers can be. Most old people you could label "legally blind." Most importantly, I feel sorry for teenagers who wish to be different and to be accepted as different and I do not sympathize with teenagers who purposely try to rebel against society. What is the point in rebelling by the way you act and dress? That only makes a society more corrupt in my opinion.
Within Davis' story concerning Los Angeles and urbanization within cities, these storys are very similar. Those who are desperately trying to urbanization cities are also finding ways to evacuate the poor from society because they fear them, just like adults fear us teenagers. To me, I do not see poor people as a threat. I see them helpless and unknowing of their own self-worth. However, buisness companies throughout Los Angeles do not care about the feelings of others, they only care about making money. This aggrivates the poor, and to me, that is why I see "crazy" homeless people on the subway or park benches in Philly. These people have gone crazy due to society's high demands and beg for money, even are ready to abuse middle-class people in giving them money because they are so angry. Hell, I would be angry to. Altogether, I sympathize with both worlds, the poor and teenage population.

Southern California: Where They’ll Rob from the Poor to Give to the Rich and They’ll Kick You Out of Disneyland for Dressing Like a Hot Topic Cliché

Mike Davis’s “Fortress Los Angeles’ is a detailed account on the disproportionate amount of government money and resources that goes toward helping LA cater to the upper class residents and tourists. It’s pretty despicable how the city government took land away from low-income citizens for development and how their needs were completely ignored.

I really don’t know why it’s so shocking that Disneyland would kick out “Goth” kids. During the 60’s and 70’s it was common practice for them to turn away male customers with long hair. It’s all part of Disney’s reactionary way of preserving nostalgia. The rest of Thomas Hine’s article “Goths in Tommorowland” goes on to explain how much marketing has an affect on adolescents. I found myself agreeing with Hine’s closing statement: “Young people are caught in a paradox. They drive themselves to extremes to create space in which to be themselves. Yet the commercial machine they think they’re escaping is always on their back, ready to sell them something new” (72)

The urban and youth downslide

Mike Davis's article was interesting about the lengths they will go to or not go to with ending homelessness. We all know that in a rich buisness area there would be nice places to eat and shop as well as comfortable park benches to relax on, just as we knew that in poorer areas the benches are almost unbearable to sit on even for a homeless person also with turning the sprinklers on at night to avoid vagrancy. Hine's article begins about goth's invasion of Disneyland but then goes deeper about what type of groups teens are linked to, especially how segregated they are, we all know this from going to high school. I think he was on point when he says we are now more concerned with individualism these days rather than the pre-mtv days.

Goths and Homeless are Rejected

In Thomas Hine's "Goths in Tomorrowland" he describes how there are few safe places where teens are welcome. Disneyland, one of the minority places left, teen goths were beginning to take over. Disneyland's safety was one of the attractions for these goths. Many of the teens had not even been goths when their parents dropped them off at the edge of the parking lot. Rather, they changed into their black and sometimes gender-bending garments, applied their white makeup accented with black eyeliner and gray blush-on (Hine 68). The word "teenager" is in question whether if it is sufficient to encompass all the different teens. The goths that invaded Tomorrowland are examples of another kind of diversity (70). They have become a stereotypical group such as "jocks", "preps", "freaks", "geeks", etc. Teens will go to extremes in order to express themselves and create space for them to be their own person but it is seen that they are only escaping themselves but in reality their is no escaping. In Mike Davis' "Fortress Los Angleles: The Militarization of Urban Space" he explains how Los Angeles tries to keep the underclass out of its city. They attempt this by offering few public lavatories then any other major North American city. Also, there is a lack of outside water sources for drinking or washing. City leaders periodically propose schemes for removing indigents en masse -self consiously adopting the idiom of the cold war, has promoted the "containment" of the homeless in Skid Row (Davis 278). Skid Row is has become probably the most dangerous ten blocks in the world. The police play a major role in the Los Angeles city. They stop visitors to be frisked and the police routinely oreder residents back into their apartments at night. The domestic life is subjected to constant police scrutiny (280).

Time to post another blog....

Okay , so as I was reading Mike Davis's "Fortress Los Angelees : The militarization of urban space, I became very lost. Maybe it's just me but this story was not interesting to me at all! I'm not quite sure at what he was trying to get at, perhaps i'll take a shot at it. So, I understand that he thinks that Los Angeles is not the same, and that it's very much seperated by classes, or people. He also explains how things have changed, he says " Taxes previously targeted for traditional public spaces and recreational facilities havebeen redirected to support corporate redevelopment"...so basically the people are getting help or funding for childrens park, but instead big companies are getting the money. He says that once booming towns/cities are now home to a community of different races living in tenement homes, but " will soon fall to redevelopent's bulldozers."
In the story " Goths in tomorrowland" by Thomas Hine, he writes about teens and how it affects culture. In this story he is mearly talking about the, shall we say " goth era", sure we all know someone who is a " goth" I went to school with many people who dressed in black wore shoes with a 6 in heel, and black eyeliner and white faces seemed to be thier thing. Diseny land is supposed to be for happy people, not people who look angrey or sad. What affect does it have on little children? But according to parents disneyland was a safe place. Adults seem to have a problem with the goth trend even today, they usually just don't want to subject their children to it, I just think they don't understand it. All in al this story was better than the first.

In Mike Davis' article "Fortress Los Angeles: The Militarization of urban space," he shows that's the Los Angeles governments are privatizing public space and subsiding new exclusive enclaves. The main reason he wrote this was to show how racist the government is towards helping the higher class citizens and leaving the lower class races who live the urban life with nothing to live for. The reason for this is to increase the amount of sites for for tourist and also for their safety. I think in a way its fair, but at the same time cutting off the limits of civilians will only cost the government more trouble because there going to disobey the law even more than they were before. Maybe if they take some of the money their spending on these buildings and help the lower class environments, it will make it easier for them and there will be less problems. In Thomas Heins "Goths In Tomorrowland," he shows the other side of teenagers and how the way they dress affects certain environment. I think teens who dress gothic to go into Disney world should be banned or atleast get in trouble because it is supposed a place of happiness. Teenagers dressing like this are scaring the little ones. Anyone who chooses to dress like that should be sent to a psychiatrist immediately. Why would you do anything to ruin your reputation or make yourself look bad, its just something I never understood.