Emmett Grogan's piece From Ringolevio has confused me a bit. This text presents the Human Be-In as something that benefited the Haight-Ashbury community in a monetary form. The HIP group had also called in the media. This conflicts with the previous notion I had about the Haight community as being money hating and being against the objectification of them by the media. The video we viewed on Monday gave me those ideas and this text seems to shatter that. I don't know which is correct, the personal interviews which stated they didn't have much money by choice, or Grogan's view that the Be-In was for gain.
I really enjoyed Country Joe McDonald song "I feel Like I'm fixin'-to-die Rag." I like how he appeals to the mainstream culture and their desire to be up on the times and supporting the war. He satirizes the "all American war effort" mentality of being the first to enlist and the honor of going to war for the US. McDonald brings the satire in when he embraces that tone but to the effect of , be the first to send your son off to war and you'll be the first to get him back in a body bag. This song is the last thing Joe Suburb would like to hear because this counterculture artist is telling him that what he is doing is going to end up as his worst fear. That mentality might add to the counterculture's existence because artists like McDonald were more than willing to expose the side of the war that nobody in the mainstream wanted to acknowledge or think about as they sent their boys off to war.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Free Speech Movement
As a whole, the readings assigned from Part Three of the Sixties Reader remind me a lot of the image I used for my semiotics paper. The image I chose to write about was of a young man placing a flower in the barrell of an officer's gun at an anti-war rally. The most famous relation to this image is of a woman doing the same thing... which I believe actually took place at Berkeley.
Just as these students were demonstrating and protesting, the young man in that picture was practicing his right to freedom of expression. It is his way of expressing his free speech.
"Hey Mr. Newsman" also reminds me of the video we watched dealing with the Haight Ashbury district and how people flocked there to take pictures of them like they were in an exhibit. Kampf writes, "Hey, Mister Newsman, how come you're taking pictures of me? Is it 'cause of my long hair or 'cause of my boots up to my knees?" (199). The tone here of disgust and annoyance echos the same as most of the people who were interviewed in the Summer of Love videos about how it felt to be gawked at and objectified as a tourist attraction. They truly felt they were serving a purpose and those outsiders were coming in for amusement.
Just as these students were demonstrating and protesting, the young man in that picture was practicing his right to freedom of expression. It is his way of expressing his free speech.
"Hey Mr. Newsman" also reminds me of the video we watched dealing with the Haight Ashbury district and how people flocked there to take pictures of them like they were in an exhibit. Kampf writes, "Hey, Mister Newsman, how come you're taking pictures of me? Is it 'cause of my long hair or 'cause of my boots up to my knees?" (199). The tone here of disgust and annoyance echos the same as most of the people who were interviewed in the Summer of Love videos about how it felt to be gawked at and objectified as a tourist attraction. They truly felt they were serving a purpose and those outsiders were coming in for amusement.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The Unseeable Animal
I think the concept presented here about the 'unseeable animal' is something that could not exist any more today. In the 60s and 70s the ecology and environmental movement was beginning, and I think today it is coming to an end. There are all sorts of activist movements for going green and saving the planet, but I feel like it has become such a mute point and has been so over emphasized that today's society has become really good at tuning it out.
When it was written this poem may have been received well and caused a lot of thought, but today may be just seen as another poem stemming from a child's naive thought. With all the conquer and destruction of our natural resources (the rain forest for example), many informed Americans may think the existence of this animal to be a nice thought but impractical to actually discover.
I do enjoy the quote by Berry's daughter in the beginning. It represents the naivete of a child while echoing the need for hope when our planet is being demolished by mankind's own greed and blindness to the stress it is experiencing. Her use of "Hope" reinforces this so that the poem may be applicable for generations to come, no matter how much people try to ignore the environmental movements.
When it was written this poem may have been received well and caused a lot of thought, but today may be just seen as another poem stemming from a child's naive thought. With all the conquer and destruction of our natural resources (the rain forest for example), many informed Americans may think the existence of this animal to be a nice thought but impractical to actually discover.
I do enjoy the quote by Berry's daughter in the beginning. It represents the naivete of a child while echoing the need for hope when our planet is being demolished by mankind's own greed and blindness to the stress it is experiencing. Her use of "Hope" reinforces this so that the poem may be applicable for generations to come, no matter how much people try to ignore the environmental movements.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Femininity and the housewives
Out of all the readings we were assigned, Friedan's text from the Feminine Mystique and Sexton's poem, The Addict, impacted me the most.
As a modern woman reading Friedan, I was surprised at how these women felt their education (those who had it) was a burden because it caused them to question their lives has housewives and to want something more. I also started to question how much of their problems in the 1950-1960s were their complacency to the situation. I guess after reading about the civil rights movement and how they stood up and took control over their situation, I wanted these unhappy women to stand up and do the same. To contrast the housewives with the minorities involved in the civil rights movement, they seem to have been in a unique type of oppression. Minorities could see and know that what was happening to them was inherently wrong, however these women were living a life that they had been told was supposed to make them happy and it was where they belonged, however they could not understand or speak up about how miserable and empty it made most of them feel. They were also at conflict with themselves, it appears, because they had never been taught that it was OK to question their role as a housewife or that more was out there for them if they put away the apron and just did it.
Sexton's poem, The Addict, shows what I think was the boiling point of women in this situation needing change. Friedan mentions the tranquilizers being distributed to these unhappy women, but Sexton really puts it into the perspective of the time. She supports Friedan's notion that these women were conscious of their unhappiness but could not talk about it openly, and Sexton writes this poem from the perspective of a woman who knows these pills are killing her, "Yes I try to kill myself in small amounts, an innocuous occupation" (521). Once again emphasizes the society imposed muteness of these women so that they can acknowledge they'd sooner medicate themselves to death in dealing with their situation than speak out or change it.
I have always said that one of my desires is to, despite my career and education, take a few years after I have children to be a housewife and take care of my young family. After reading these texts I have not changed my mind about this ambition, but I can see that these women who did not get to CHOOSE that road for themselves or choose when to go back into the professional world have made it possible for me to do this. I know there is other options for women and that I can choose to go back to work and not be seen as unfeminine or a bad wife/mother. These women really paved the way and suffered silently so women today might be able to make such choices.
As a modern woman reading Friedan, I was surprised at how these women felt their education (those who had it) was a burden because it caused them to question their lives has housewives and to want something more. I also started to question how much of their problems in the 1950-1960s were their complacency to the situation. I guess after reading about the civil rights movement and how they stood up and took control over their situation, I wanted these unhappy women to stand up and do the same. To contrast the housewives with the minorities involved in the civil rights movement, they seem to have been in a unique type of oppression. Minorities could see and know that what was happening to them was inherently wrong, however these women were living a life that they had been told was supposed to make them happy and it was where they belonged, however they could not understand or speak up about how miserable and empty it made most of them feel. They were also at conflict with themselves, it appears, because they had never been taught that it was OK to question their role as a housewife or that more was out there for them if they put away the apron and just did it.
Sexton's poem, The Addict, shows what I think was the boiling point of women in this situation needing change. Friedan mentions the tranquilizers being distributed to these unhappy women, but Sexton really puts it into the perspective of the time. She supports Friedan's notion that these women were conscious of their unhappiness but could not talk about it openly, and Sexton writes this poem from the perspective of a woman who knows these pills are killing her, "Yes I try to kill myself in small amounts, an innocuous occupation" (521). Once again emphasizes the society imposed muteness of these women so that they can acknowledge they'd sooner medicate themselves to death in dealing with their situation than speak out or change it.
I have always said that one of my desires is to, despite my career and education, take a few years after I have children to be a housewife and take care of my young family. After reading these texts I have not changed my mind about this ambition, but I can see that these women who did not get to CHOOSE that road for themselves or choose when to go back into the professional world have made it possible for me to do this. I know there is other options for women and that I can choose to go back to work and not be seen as unfeminine or a bad wife/mother. These women really paved the way and suffered silently so women today might be able to make such choices.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
America and Vietnam
I think that Susan Sontag's essay in response to the questionnaire was the best piece we were assigned to read this week. While reading this essay, I kept thinking about how that questionnaire might still be applicable to today's America. Obviously, some questions would need to be changed such as #4 dealing with African Americans. However, the questions dealing with inflation and poverty, where our foreign policy is leading us, and the general future of our country, are very much applicable in today's society.
Just as America in the late 1960s had to deal with lessened support for Vietnam and what to do about an unpopular war, we are in the same situation. America today is dealing with the unpopular war in Iraq and how the new administration is going to resolve our involvment in the middle east.
Sontag wrote that "the quality of American life is an insult to the possibilities of human growth" (120). I think those words can also be applied to our society today when many children are starving, however we are involved in a pointless and expensive war and sending aid to countries when our own citizens are starving.
She goes on to write, "Needless to say, America is not the only violent, ugly, and unhappy country on this earth. Again, it is a matter of scale"(121). Once again, this mentality can be applied to our current situation where we are looked down on by other nations because of our violent and unnecessary involvement in the middle east. Granted, we are not the only nation that engages in such wars and neglects those at home, but, when you compare the publicity and focus the world keeps on our country's actions, it really does come down to scale. We are not the only ones, but quite possibly the most focused on.
Lastly I'd like to comment on the last passage before Sontag beginnings directly answering the questions of the survey she is responding to. Sontag writes, "Since wars always happen Over There, and we always win, why not drop the bomb? If all it takes is pushing a button, even better. For America is that curious hybrid- an apocalyptic country and a valetudinarian country" (122). Most Americans now seem to have that same ideology when it comes to the war in Iraq. I would argue that a vast majority is so detached from the conflict our country is in over seas because it is easier to be in the "Over There... we always win" way of thinking. If it is not directly affecting our comfortable ways of life, this attitude has been allowed to survive over 40 years since Vietnam. I wonder, will this always be the case until a war breaks out on our own soil and forces the American majority to acknowledge it?
Just as America in the late 1960s had to deal with lessened support for Vietnam and what to do about an unpopular war, we are in the same situation. America today is dealing with the unpopular war in Iraq and how the new administration is going to resolve our involvment in the middle east.
Sontag wrote that "the quality of American life is an insult to the possibilities of human growth" (120). I think those words can also be applied to our society today when many children are starving, however we are involved in a pointless and expensive war and sending aid to countries when our own citizens are starving.
She goes on to write, "Needless to say, America is not the only violent, ugly, and unhappy country on this earth. Again, it is a matter of scale"(121). Once again, this mentality can be applied to our current situation where we are looked down on by other nations because of our violent and unnecessary involvement in the middle east. Granted, we are not the only nation that engages in such wars and neglects those at home, but, when you compare the publicity and focus the world keeps on our country's actions, it really does come down to scale. We are not the only ones, but quite possibly the most focused on.
Lastly I'd like to comment on the last passage before Sontag beginnings directly answering the questions of the survey she is responding to. Sontag writes, "Since wars always happen Over There, and we always win, why not drop the bomb? If all it takes is pushing a button, even better. For America is that curious hybrid- an apocalyptic country and a valetudinarian country" (122). Most Americans now seem to have that same ideology when it comes to the war in Iraq. I would argue that a vast majority is so detached from the conflict our country is in over seas because it is easier to be in the "Over There... we always win" way of thinking. If it is not directly affecting our comfortable ways of life, this attitude has been allowed to survive over 40 years since Vietnam. I wonder, will this always be the case until a war breaks out on our own soil and forces the American majority to acknowledge it?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Adrift in the writing of Timothy Leary
While reading Leary's text, "Adrift in the Age of Aquarius," I was taken by his writing. While it seems to be a very loosly organized and personal account of his experience I really enjoyed it. I am not always a fan of stream of conciousness writing but there is an appeal here to how Leary writes.
I enjoyed how he inserted parts of Allen Ginsberg's experiences (dialouge or texts?). As the reader who is very unfamiliar with an experience such as their trip, it is insightful to read about what Leary sees, hears, and observes in addition to what Ginsberg is writing and thinking.
As much as I enjoyed this text, I was not to thrilled with Leary's choice to add some of the quotes he did from outside sources. I can understand the connetions Leary made with the Lord of the Rings quotes but I'm just set aside by the whole association between what I know of LOTR (the movie, etc) and a text about Beatnik revolutionaries tripping. I also didn't get a great feeling at the end when Leary told his department head that "god would approve" of their behavior at the trip session. It is just not my belief that god would approve of that sort of thing so that explains my personal reaction.
I enjoyed how he inserted parts of Allen Ginsberg's experiences (dialouge or texts?). As the reader who is very unfamiliar with an experience such as their trip, it is insightful to read about what Leary sees, hears, and observes in addition to what Ginsberg is writing and thinking.
As much as I enjoyed this text, I was not to thrilled with Leary's choice to add some of the quotes he did from outside sources. I can understand the connetions Leary made with the Lord of the Rings quotes but I'm just set aside by the whole association between what I know of LOTR (the movie, etc) and a text about Beatnik revolutionaries tripping. I also didn't get a great feeling at the end when Leary told his department head that "god would approve" of their behavior at the trip session. It is just not my belief that god would approve of that sort of thing so that explains my personal reaction.
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