EN 110 Class Blog

2009-03-01T14:41:00.003-05:00

hey everyone!
so i just wanted to post and say that the wedding plans ball is rolling i hope that sister-in-laws are working on getting outfits for themselves. please dont worry about your daughters becuase Nani has them covered (woo hoo go Nani). also brothers and brother-in-law please undersatnd that for the sake of the groom we are not allowing beige cargo pants (or any other color for that matter) please be respectful to the wishes of the bride and everyone wear a suit. thanks. also if you have a tux that doubley acceptable because tuxs are penguin clothes and we all know how happy that makes me :-)!
thanks for listening.
also if anyone has any good ideas from wedding bands (as in music not rings) and any other details or suggestions that i have obviously missed would be very welcome, thanks!
-Rachi and Daniel

11/26

2007-11-26T20:20:00.000-05:00

Catastrophe and the Media: A Case Study

Today we will familiarize ourselves with the story as it has been told in the newspapers you’ve researched. First, exchange your set of articles with another group member, then read them in their entirety.

When you have done that, write a synopsis of the event in a few paragraphs (more than half a page, less than an entire page), based only on what you can glean from that particular set of newspaper articles.

Then, write a short (more than one sentence, less than four) answer to each of the following:

1) Who does the audience seem to be? Give one quotation which you think indicates that audience and why it does? (Things that indicate an audience: references understood only by that group, word choice, etc).

2) Who are the ‘villains’ in the story? Do villains appear even when the event is natural (in the case of Katrina, for example, the head of FEMA became something of a villain as the story went on).

3) Who are the heroes? What sort of people are they?

4) What are the main differences between this newspaper’s telling of the story and the other newspapers? (Spend some time with this one, it is critical to our work over these last few weeks). What moments are described differently? More generally, are causes and effects described differently in one newspaper rather than another?

You’ll need to do this for each set of articles. After you’re done, type up these answers, bring them to class and add them to your binder (more on this in a moment).

For Wednesday, find one more ‘in-depth’ article about the event. This would preferably be a scholarly article, but it could also be a magazine feature of some length found in a magazine you might think of as more ‘intellectual’ than a newspaper. Some examples: Harpers, The New Yorker, The Economist… Bring that article to class.

11/20

2007-11-20T14:06:00.000-05:00

Final Project: Part 1

During the last weeks of the term you will work with a small group on a research project which will trace a particular catastrophe as it unfolded in the media. The hope is that as a critical viewer you will be able to see not just facts but the presumptions behind the coverage. Your group will first research the story as it unfolded, then analyze the ways the story was told. Our last weeks together will involve several small projects culminating in a ‘report’ on the media coverage of your catastrophe, particularly the differences in the ways it was covered in different newspapers (in this case the NY Times, The New York Post, and one international newspaper, The Guardian).

First, you will be assigned your group. After you have been assigned your group, the next step is to choose your catastrophe. The topic can be any disaster, tragedy or catastrophe of the last ten or so years, excepting the events of September 11, 2001. This includes school shootings, tsunamis, terrorist attacks in other countries, etc. This choice must be made by the end of class today.

Your next project is to assign each group member one of the three newspapers (again, the NY Times, The New York Post, and The Guardian). Then, for Monday December 3, each group member must collect and print out every article on the event in their newspaper for the two weeks following the catastrophe. This includes news reports, but also editorials, etc. Print everything out and bring it to class on Monday.

While I don’t expect you to have memorized the articles, I do expect you to have familiarized yourself with the coverage, and to be able to report intelligently on what the newspaper reported at the beginning of the cycle and then the end of the cycle, when they presumably had the full story.

Links to the relevant newspapers:

NY POST: http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm, then search under ‘Custom Newspapers’ or ‘New York Newspapers.’ Follow the instructions under Advanced Search to limit the search to the Post. Note: The Times is also available here, though the option below is more visually appealing

NY TIMES: The Times can be searched on its website www.nytimes.com, under ‘Archives.’ It also is available at ‘Historical New York Times’ at http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm

GAURDIAN: http://libraries.cuny.edu/resource.htm, then search under ‘Custom Newspapers. Follow the instructions under ‘Advanced Search’ to limit the search to the Gaurdian. Note: The Gaurdian archive is also available at their website: www.gaurdian.co.uk

11/14

2007-11-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

Just to clear things up for those who need it, regarding the executive summary: you do not necessarily have to work each article into the summary--all we care about are the indicated things (on the handout), and the emphasis on need. The means by which you achieve this is up to you: whatever is the most effective. The five to seven sources are just for the works cited page. Though of course you'll want as much research as makes your summary effective, we'll also imagine that in the unwritten essay you would have referenced every article mentioned in the works cited page.

Remember, all three parts are due as one document in class on Monday. Also, we will be creating groups for our next (and final!) project on Monday, so be sure to be there, and be there on time.

outline

2007-11-14T09:57:00.000-05:00

1)Introduction;
a) Topic: Colleges should not allow race or ethnicity to affect the admissions decisions in either a positive or negative way. Students should not be kept out by the color of their skin but they shouldn’t be able to have an immediate acceptance just because schools want to have more diversity in their student body. Students should be accepted based on educational merit, and neither race nor ethnicity should limit or enhance their chances of acceptance in to a college. b) affirmative action should not be an excuse for minorities to get in to schools rather than having a equality for all students. c) this paper will try to show how ethnicity and race should neither limit nor enhance the chances for students of ethic minorities to getting in to college.
2) body:
a) paragraph1: how the article “race sensitive admissions struck down at the university of Georgia”, written in the Journal Blacks of in Higher Education, reflects on the topic of racism being seen as a limitation for students from minor ethnic groups from getting in to colleges. This article gives statistic for other reasons of rejection from colleges, such as statistics of SAT grades of black high school seniors in Georgia.
i) the facts given to prove this casts a doubt in to the minds of those who could be otherwise viewing this as racism. The school claims that there are other places that these students could go. And that they have numerous factors that go into their decisions of acceptance of students.
b) paragraph 2: how the article “Higher Education for Negroes: Challenges and Prospects”, by Kenneth B. Clark, shows how there are numerous colleges made for blacks, which are referred to in this article as negro colleges, in which more that 80% of black went to. These colleges were originally made to teach newly freed black slaves. The fact that there are colleges made for blacks makes everything segregated enough.
i) proof or this: students who start out at the same place as everyone else should have equal standards for the judgment of their acceptance to colleges. So there wouldn’t be need to segregated colleges if there was equal judgment.
c) Paragraph 3: how the article “The Language of White Racism”, by Haig A. Bosmajian, shows how racism starts with the whites in the classroom as children and how this is how they are raised. But it goes on to say how they have to over come this and how they don’t exactly know what they are doing because they are rarely tied to the racism. How the article “What's the Big Deal about Racial Preferences.”, by Terence J. Pell, shows that colleges might not keep to certain rules in order to get what they want for their student body.
i) example for proof: the college of Michigan had a point system in which many things were taken in to account but the there were also 20 points that were given at the decision of the person reading the application.
d) paragraph 4: how the article “Sexism and Racism: Some Conceptual Differences”, by Laurence Thomas, defines the differences between sexism and racism and how they are both seen as serious limitations to their prospective victims.
i) proof: men who realize that are being sexist and want to change have to go back to the beginning and change everything they learned. In stead of that whites who are racism just refuse to accept that it has anything to do with them. Women and blacks have been seen as the same thi9ng in such aspects as intelligence and emotion.
e) paragraph 5: how the articles tie together to show that affirmative action is not necessarily the best choice if we want equality. Because we see from “Assessing Affirmative Action” by Harry Holzer and David Nuemark that affirmative action is really just giving separate treatment because of race, sex, and ethnicity. Whether it is a limitation or an enhancement it is still a biased and if we are striving for equality we should not accept this.

Outline

2007-11-14T09:51:00.000-05:00

I. Introduction

a. subject of essay: Social stratification divides and structures different people according to certain qualities they are affiliated with, therefore class systems should be formed into one solid level in society.
b. argument: Social stratification, influences people to become responsible for whatever branch of work they are assumed to fulfill and maintain a well organized and safe environment for themselves and future generations. The class of people defines their position in society whether it is looked upon as negative or positive. Therefore those of lower class should strive for more.
c. method: By using scholarly articles that provide information about class systems, i can prove the point of the necessity of upgrade in a class system.

II. Body

a. para1: Social class is necessary to define the obligations associated with each member of society.

i. Every culture defines it's social stratification based on what is most demanded by whom according to Hsien-Jen Chu and J. Selwyn Hollingsworth who studied the relationship between family-types and social stratification.
ii. Also they mention that urban and rural establishment changes ones responsibilities considering their being is either in a family or taking on the society solo. Therefore class is based on how you manage yourself in both or one of such. Extended research provides that larger families, are more likely to obtain a higher class then an independent family.

b. para2: People of different levels of class including upper, middle and lower are easily definable by others assuming intelligence and ability to work are the largest components of a class rank.

i. Earl Edward Muntz conducted a survey asking students to define social class systems according to stereotypes affiliated with knowledge and power. He asked students of different rank to participate and it showed how seemingly middle lass students opposed classification whereas upper middle class students, due to their urge to boost their rank, would react differently to this study and oppose equality.

c. para3. Children are and should be exposed to class very early with the start of school, considering education is a big part of social classes.

i. Celia Burns Stendlar explains how upper class people pertain to school as very important for social behavior and conflict resolution, whereas lower class is less complex and trains the child for adulthood.

ii. lower class children are more susceptible to outside influences and look upon success as a disgrace and work on boosting their own social being rather then their grades and thinking of their future, unlike upper class children who worry about bad grades and concentrate deeper on assignments.

d. para4. Ethnic background and race contribute to class as people of African or Hispanic cultures are stereotyped and affiliated with the lower class.

i. attitudes to ethic races are correlated with lower class according to Paul Haut. Minorities are rarely or never affiliated with upper or even middle class due to their past especially in American culture. The surveys provided show how biased students are and how upper class is significantly favored as a comparison to African Americans, Jews and foreign born peoples, who are even categorized below lower class.

e. para5. Affirmative action is a system that eliminates social class for minorities to simplify their success and help bring them up in the class system.

i. Affirmative action, although rather controversial between many people better. Considering it is affiliated with reverse discrimination, it is difficult to proclaim this as the best idea for minorities, but it is a start and may give out more hope and become simpler.

III. Conclusion

a. The articles i chose show how people of lower class and those associated with minorities are misrepresented through the biased nature of people of higher class as well as their own choices in a social environment. Whether it is families who guide their children in a specific way that defines them or their relative background, they are places into a specific social class according to action.

b.To improve ones stance in society it is necessary to push forward and eliminate stereotypes first, before entering into success.

2007-11-14T08:52:00.000-05:00

Part 2: The Outline

a. Subject of Essay: The majority of people believe that depending on your social class, as well as many other factors, there won't ever truly be equal opportunity among social classes. They believe that the person you are, depends on your social class, amount of possessions, or occupation and effects your ability to better yourself.
b. Argument: Although there are different races, ethnicity's and class distinctions, there is one thing that cannot be argued against, the fact we are all human. No matter what class we may be born into, we all have the same ability to better ourselves through hardwork, dedication and determination.
c. Method by which this paper will prove that argument: By using several quotations and examples from appropriate sources, this paper will examine the main argument and support the fact that social class does not determine one's ability to achieve in life.
Body
d. Paragraph 1: Despite the fact that most people believe one's ability to achieve in life is based on their social class, the truth is that through one's determination, dedication, and hard work, they are able to better themselves no matter the situation they may be in.
i. Evidence for that point: Due to the fact that the homeless are in the lowest social class, most people believe they have no skills or ability to better themselves. However, in "Getting It Together: Social and Institutional Obstacles to Getting off the Streets" by Dalton Clark Conley, the opposite idea is introduced to the reader, "these individuals are beginning to be recognized as adaptive and resourceful. Recent literature on homeless people had depicted this population as an entrepreneurial group who engages in an every shifting combination of tacticts in order to make it from one day to the next, seeing their survival as a story of determination and resiliance." Although people may see the homeless as worthless and helpless, clearly they have enough ability and skill to survive day to day. The significance of determination is shown in this quote because it tells us that, with the help of determination, one has the ability to survive almost any condition.
e. Paragraph 2: Even though race, ethnicity, and class distinction all have an impact on the differences between people, the one similarity between every person, is the fact we are all human.
i. Evidence for that point: Donnell Alexander, author of "Cool Like Me", emphasizes this idea by addressing to the reader that we are all participants in a game of golf. He goes on to say "we're all handed the same basic tools as birth; it's up to us as individuals to work on our game. Some of us have sweet strokes, and some of us press too hard, but everybody who drops outta their mama has the same capacity to take a shot" (443). No matter how many things you may own, how high your salary may be at your job, or what social class you may be a part of, you are human and that is something that makes us all equal, despite what many people believe.
f. Paragraph 3: People may argue that equal opportunity is hard to come by, but at times you must create your own opportunities and with determination, as well as responsibility, it is possible that you can achieve this in spite of your social position.
i. Evidence for that point: Bruce N. Waller, author of "Responsibility and the Self-Made Self", explains to us "responsibility for self falls into the same category as most of the workaday responsibilities that we (as responsible individuals) exercise" (46). Any person is capable of succeeding in life as long as they are responsible of themselves and they understand that their future has the potential to be whatever they want it to be as long as they're determined, dedicated, and responsible.

Part 2: Outline

2007-11-14T08:47:00.000-05:00

I. Introduction

a. Subject of Essay: Affirmative action is not worth the struggle.

b. Argument: Although the Supreme Court now supports affirmative action in colleges, according to Robert Shireman, the author of "10 Questions College Officials Should Ask About Diversity", there are problems in trying to keep colleges diverse because they fear accusations of reverse racism, therefore affirmative action should be demolished.

c. Method by which this paper will prove that argument: I will first explain what affirmative action is. Then I will show some examples of how hard it is to comply with the policy. After that I will say why it not worth such a struggle, of course while considering all points of view.

II. Body

a. Paragraph 1: Affirmative action is a policy that attempts to give minorities and women a better chance to succeed at things like education, or at their place of work.

i. Evidence for that point: Webster dictionary directly defines affirmative action as "an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women; also : a similar effort to promote the rights or progress of other disadvantaged persons"

b. Paragraph 2: One position on affirmative action is that it needs to be used to help create an equal society.

i. Evidence for that point: "The law school's prestige in academic and professional circles grew as it
became more diverse. Affirmative action hardly diminished its stature. Rather, Boalt Hall was a great law school because of affirmative action." (Lawrence, 929)

ii. Many say that diversity and affirmative action can help make a college more prestigious although people against affirmative action say affirmative action makes a college or university less prestigious.

c. Paragraph 3: Another position on affirmative action is unconstitutional

i. "any policy that gives consideration to race is essentially a form of racial preference or quota system and is in violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional." (Rhoads, Saenz, and Carducci, 192)

d. Paragraph 4: There are so many ways people try and support this policy.

i. Robert Shireman says there are so many wrong things people are focusing that worsen the problem of diversity. (10 questions..., 462)

ii. Focusing on race alone and not just class is one big problem.

outline jason

2007-11-14T01:14:00.000-05:00

I. Introduction
a. Subject of Essay: The poverty rate in America is between being between 11-15% which is high compared to other countries. This upsetting statistic should be a wake up call for the government to be more effective on the war on poverty.B. Argument: Americas reputation of the land of opportunity should be discredited as a result of the governments lack of opportunity for the poor. c. Method by which this paper will prove that argument: This paper will prove the argument by showing that poverty today remains a big problem and the governments methods to reduce poverty have not been effective.

II. Body
a. Paragraph 1: This article “The politics of poverty” written by David Brady talks about different causes of poverty such as single mothers raising a family, or a lack of education. This article says that left wing parties are more efficient then right wing because they have a more aggressive approach in fighting poverty.
i. Evidence for the point: Brady states“ I conclude that left political institutions partially combine with and partially channel through the welfare state to reduce poverty”. For more evidence Brady goes on to say that left political institutions reduce poverty in the marketplace.
B. Paragraph 2: This article “ Separate and unequal” written by Marian Edelman James Jones talks about American children in poverty. The article states that there are more children in poverty today then there was 40 years ago. The authors of this article seem upset by this and blame the government for not taking action against children in poverty. He wants guaranteed health care for all children as well as better food programs for children in poverty. The author also calls on the government to give better education and training for children to get good jobs.
i. Evidence for the point: The authors state “ If America has money to wage war and rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq then there is more then enough money to reduce poverty”(135). The authors are making the point that the American government as plenty of money which can be used to fight against the war on poverty.
c. Paragraph 3: In The article “Why poverty remains high” written by John Iceland lists three reason why one might be in poverty. The ways mentioned are income growth, inequality and changes in family structure. Iceland seems upset that the economy was booming and the lower class people did not benefit from the positive economy. He says that low level families suffer because they cant afford basic goods because of economic inequality.
i. Evidence for the point: Iceland explains the 3 causes of poverty he states “ Economic inequality can mitigate the overall positive impact of income growth if unemployed and low-income workers do not get the benefit from these growths”. He also states “ I found that income growth explains most of the trend in absolute poverty”.
d. Paragraph 4: Sanford Schram in her writing “Welfare spending and poverty” talks about how people may become dependant on welfare which can be bad because people don’t develop skills to make money on there own. The government by giving welfare is making an effort to fight poverty but their effort might be the wrong idea.
i. Evidence for the point: PhD Sanford Schram states “ The new consensus on welfare expresses the idea that the major problem in social welfare is dependency not poverty”. She seems to be implying that people have to take action gets jobs instead of sitting back and relaying on the government. The Government might be at fault here.
e. Paragraph 5: “ Having global poverty” written by Timothy Besley and Robin Burgess discuss how if the economy is efficient poverty can go down. If the economy is doing well there will be higher paying jobs. This seems to imply that the government has to go ahead and do it all it can to improve the economy so all people will be better off. i. Evidence for point: The authors state “ The main sources of economic growth are accumulating human capital, physical capital and technological change, growth from these sources can help the poor directly and indirectly”.

2007-11-13T22:24:00.000-05:00

I. Introduction:
Subject of essay: In the past century there have been millions of people who have emigrated from a foreign land, to a country with a very different way of life. There are many non-natives who immigrate to the U.S. forcing them to compromise their cultures and therefore, assimilate.
Argument: By assimilation, many cultures opt to leave their old traditions and establish new ones in order to achieve conformity and unity amongst their fellow citizens. This leads immigrants to feel more comfortable and confident in their new surroundings, which will lead to emigration success in their newfound land.
Method by which this paper will prove that argument: I will prove my argument by supporting it with relative journals from scholarly professors.

II. Body
Paragraph I. The article, “Assimilation of Japanese women in an American City,” written by Melvin De Fluer and Chang-Soo Cho discusses the experience which Japanese-born women have had with assimilation in the United States. It states that “Japanese women are quite isolated and don’t assimilate because they don’t work with native-born Americans, as men do {246}.” This evidence shows that Japanese-born women do not assimilate as easily and therefore remain isolated in a segregated, Japanese community.
i. This is a counterargument to the thesis that shows that Japanese-born women that have immigrated to America have not assimilated so well. Therefore, these people will inevitably keep their original traditions from their place of origin leaving them to never feel total comfort and stability in their new home.

Paragraph II. Deborah Golden writes in her article, “Storytelling the future: Israelis, Immigrants and the Imagining of Community,” about the experiences that people had as they immigrated to Israel. She says that newcomers had a tough time adjusting to what the citizens of Israel expected of its newcomers. The article discusses that “Actions are being taken by the Israeli state and its citizens in order to ensure the newcomers welfare both materially and culturally {8}.” While the state is quite helpful to its immigrants, they still try to “guide the newcomers in a remaking of the self {8}.”
i. Although the citizens may come on strong to the newcomers, it will pay off in the long run to adopt these new traditions in order that the immigrants feel and portray themselves as more established individuals.
Israeli immigrants are being asked to remake themselves to fit the desire of the Israel State. By this request, just as stated in the thesis, although Israeli newcomers will be forced to leave their old traditions for new ones, they will achieve success by abiding by traditions of their new land, making an easier transition into a new, diverse culture.

Paragraph III. Highly Renowned Professors, Raymond Teske Jr. and Bardin Nelson discuss in their article, “Acculturation and Assimilation” that the two terms are not dependent on one another. Acculturation is “a process of adaptation to new conditions of life…as a result of contact with the culture of one or more societies {351}.” Acculturation is not contingent on a change in values, while assimilation very well is. “Assimilation is contingent on acceptance by the out-group {358}.” Assimilation is also a process that compromises ones internal and external self and involves change in values as well.
i. The authors state that Assimilation is a process that forces one to compromise their values and all parts of their being. One should be compromising only as much as they want to. One should not be forced to do things he doesn’t want to do in his country where he has freedom of rights. Again, just as stated in the thesis, Assimilation is something that will eventually force a culture to leave all its traditions however, if conformity and comfortableness is not what they achieve, then there is no point in tolerating those traditions to begin with.

Paragraph IV Bernard Wong writes about an experiment that he performed between Chinese in Lima Peru and Chinese in New York. This is written in his article, “On Assimilation of the Asians in the Americas. A Reply.” This experiment between the two Chinese groups took place in order to compare assimilation. It shows how Chinese assimilated into New York. Wong states that, “immigrants discard the cultural traits of their host country through intermarriage participation in institutions of the host society and adoption of their behaviors and attitudes {172}.”
i. Through controlled experiments Wong proves this quote about immigrants, such as the Chinese who dwell in New York and assimilation. Wong points out that intermarriage and participation in certain “American” events have Americanized the Chinese living in New York, which helps them modify themselves for a more united America.

Paragraph V. The article discusses the challenges that immigrants of America face. Many times immigrants come to America empty handed and illiterate as well. These two traits combined will leave immigrants to segregate themselves and leave little hope for a smooth transition into American society. Zhou claims that if children of immigrants are in school with native-born children great tension will be created. This will leave immigrated children to resist assimilation.
i. This is a counterargument for the thesis that assimilation will allow people to earn more status and confidence. Immigrants may feel uncomfortable with these new traditions and segregate themselves, leaving them no chance to ever assimilate into the American society. These Immigrants may never achieve total success when they feel as if their being looked down upon at all times.

Part II

2007-11-13T21:44:00.000-05:00

Yoni Mandelbaum
Professor Henkle
English 110
14 November 2007

I. Introduction
a. Subject of Essay: Students from higher income families will do better in school than those who have families with lower income.
b. Argument: Therefore, in order to enable the students with lower family income to have the same opportunity as those with higher income, a full scholarship should be provided to the students from low-income families.
c. Method by which this paper will prove that argument: This paper will prove this argument by providing and analyzing articles from scholarly journals that support the idea that scholarships should in fact to be given to low-income families in order to create equal opportunity.
II. Body
a. Paragraph 1: This article explains that due to the high cost of college, combined with the low assistance level of financial scholarships, many low-income families are finding it very difficult to afford sending students to universities.
i. Evidence for that point: In fall 2001 Princeton got rid of student loans and instead offers scholarship grants. Since most universities are unable to do this, low-income students are finding it extremely hard to afford college, resulting in a decrease in entry and completion of college by students with low family income. Families that bring in twenty-five thousand dollars or less are considered low income, and as college prices go up it is these low-income families that suffer the most. While some financial aid programs, such as Pell Grant, can not provide as much money as is being demanded, the amount still needed after financial aid has been given is still substantial. The author concludes by advising the federal government to be more active in setting up college preparatory programs in high schools, as well as reorganizing financial aid programs and organizations in order to assist the low income families in an efficient manner.
ii. This article illustrates the major need of financial aid to be given to those with lower-income families in order to give them the opportunity to excel in college as the tuition rate rises. Although more money is demanded, financial aid organizations need to be able to provide for those not wealthy enough to fully pay their way through university. In addition, it appears that as financial grants are given, the distribution to varying income families is very important in order to ensure those with lower incomes get equal opportunity to attend do well in college.
b. Paragraph 2: This essay discusses how a higher amount of scholarship money should be provided to low-income families that need the financial help, rather than the same amount given to those families that are financially comfortable.
i. Evidence for that point: As Princeton revised its financial aid program by dropping student loans and instead offering scholarships, Harvard has joined as well by offering an additional two thousand dollars to those already receiving financial aid. This seems okay, but since black students compose seven percent of Harvard’s study body, most of this scholarship money will go to white students, as the financial help for black students will decrease. While the white students with higher income families receive the two thousand dollar bonus, so do the many low-income black families. Therefore it is unfair to those who may need more money than others do. It seems that the author is suggesting that more money be given to those with more financial need and less to those that can handle college payments without as much assistance.
ii. In order to give equal opportunity to those with lower income families, it seems that this article suggests different amounts of financial aid bonuses be given out to students receiving grants based on their own economic situation, rather than the added bonus that every student under financial aid receives. By giving the lower-income, in this article relating to African-Americans, a bigger sum as financial aid, it gives them an equal opportunity to do well in school.
c. Paragraph 3: The author of this article conveys the thought that as unaffordable as private schools are to low-income families, many of these families are finding public and state-run colleges equally financially unbearable.
i. Evidence for that point: Low-income black families are seeing private colleges as unreachable in their states due to their financial situations, and are therefore relying on state-operated colleges instead. In a study done by the Lumina Foundation, it was found that public universities were also financially unattainable for low-income families except in the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky, and Wyoming, where state legislature subsidies and financial aid were sufficiently provided to lower-income students. Three factors that the researchers give as reasons for why college is affordable in some states but not others include the difference in income between whites and blacks and minorities varies by state, secondly, each states has different financial aid programs, and finally, state subsidies for college also vary by state. In conclusion, these problems must be dealt with in order to educate a broad and diverse work force and to avoid social tension.
ii. The article raises the point that in almost every state in the US even public state-operated colleges, let alone private universities, are out of the financial league for many people. This article articulates the need for more financial aid to be readily available to low-income families. Therefore it seems, in order to give the low-income students an equal opportunity at a quality education, financial aid needs to be provided more generously.
d. Paragraph 4: The topic of this writing concerns how many Ivy League colleges have decided to diversify by distributing scholarships, not based on financial need, but rather for academic achievement as well as student-athlete potential, resulting in the inability to provide low-income families with the necessary proper financial help.
i. Evidence for that point: After many years of top Ivy league schools coming together in order to address financial aid policies, these meetings came to a stop. As a result it was found that schools were giving scholarships, not based on financial need, but rather on an academic achievement basis as well the wish to include a more racially eclectic student body. In result, it was found by a professor named Caroline Hoxby from the economics department at Harvard University, that “in a period when college costs continued to escalate at a rate far higher than inflation, the amount of aid available to poor students remained bout the same.” This means that as colleges were making the decisions for students to receive financial aid to, although they might diversify by choosing black students, these students will be from middle to higher income families rather than lower-income families. Finally the author concludes that black students who are academically and athletically gifted will receive more attention and consideration in the area of financial aid rather than those who need it most.
ii. Although financial aid is being given out, it is not being channeled in the right direction. The change from financial need to academic achievement based is really leaving those who need the money most at a large disadvantage.

e. Paragraph 5: In this essay, Lewis C. Solmon, illustrates his views that financial compensation should be given to low-income families in order to reimburse them with money they would have received had the child been working rather than being in school. In addition the author suggests that money on expenses to enhance the home learning environment should also be addressed.

i. Evidence for that point: A family’s income directly affects choices parents make for their kids concerning school because the money spent to send the child to school, is also money lost since the kid could be working to provide more money for the family. If the students decide to work outside of school hours, then that time that could be spent on schoolwork and studying, are instead committed to working to help support their already low-income families. The author continues and suggests: “in order to get the poor to send their high school age children to a school of any quality, the cost in terms of proportionate reduction in family income must be reduced for low income families. Perhaps directs payments to these families based on sending their children to school (rather than welfare payments based on the number of children) are the answer”(Solmon 769). In addition, Solmon writes that because of a family’s low income, it may cause the student’s home to be less resourceful and unaccommodating to their needs, thereby giving them a disadvantage compared to students from houses of higher income. The author concludes that incentive payments should be provided to lower income families to send their children to school, in order to assist in making the home an acceptable place for children to excel in their studies, and in addition to provide a higher rate of return to schooling.
ii. As the author proposed, in order to give the lower income students a fair opportunity to achieve substantially in school, payments or scholarships should be granted in order to enable this. As a parallel, my argument states that money should be distributed to those in need as a device to help spark equal opportunity between lower and higher income students to attain good grades in school.

11/13

2007-11-13T19:29:00.000-05:00

Please note and look at Yoni's exemplary part III for Assignment 3. Not only are his citations right on, the summaries could be very helpful to many of you as a model. Here we see something very specific, clearly drawn from the articles, and dealing with the entire article. This to warn you off of being general ('the authors propose some solutions' rather than 'the authors propose X, Y, and Z as solutions') and from not indicating the complete argument ('in conclusion' is a useful phrase). Even if you can't deal with the article as fully as we might like, be sure that you are scanning from beginning to end, and indicating that in your summary.

11/10

2007-11-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

Hope the library visit was instructive. Those of you who haven't sent me a topic and bibliography need to do so immediately. Email is fine--we need to get this set because the final three part project will be due on the Monday before break, and going on without a topic is more or less pointless.

For Wednesday, do the first five paragraphs of the outline of your imaginary essay and bring it to class. Also, post it here (I understand there may be some formatting problems) so we can look at it during class. Follow the Essay #3 instructions for the format of this part of the project. Five paragraphs will not finish your outline, but it will give us a start and something to work with in class.

Last but not least, you should receive your graded second essay tonight via email (11/10). If you have any problem opening it, be sure to let me know on Tuesday so that I can print it for you for Wednesdays class. If you don't receive the essay at all, also let me know.

I suspect some of you will want to revise your paper for a better grade, and I'd be very glad to have them (for some of you it's more or less required for passage in the course). To prevent backlog, however, I will not take any new drafts of essay 1 or essay 2 after Monday, December 3rd. This means you should be working on these over Thanksgiving break.

11/9

2007-11-10T08:26:00.000-05:00

AND OF COURSE THE ASSIGNMENT IS STILL DUE TODAY. ANY RESEARCH HELP YOU GET TODAY WILL HOPEFULLY BE USEFUL FOR YOUR FINAL DRAFT.

Scheduling Change: Because of a conflict at the library, our library research day will be MONDAY (11/12) in ROOM 101A of the library, rather than Wednesday as indicated on the syllabus. Therefore, this Monday proceed directly to 101A, where you will learn the library research system and, we can hope, find a bit more time to work on your research for the current assignment.

Please tell anyone from the class that you might see that class will be taking place, and tell them of the venue change. Thanks.

11/7

2007-11-07T20:03:00.001-05:00

As we discussed, the assignment for Monday is part 3 of the next project, the works cited page. In addition, if you have not given me a topic for your paper, or haven't cast it in the format we discussed during today's class, I suggest you do so via email as soon as possible. While I want the topic to be at the top of your works cited page for Monday, it would be best for you and for your research over the weekend if you have a set topic which I've seen and approved.

Note that many articles in the journals are quite long. The key here, then, is to read selectively and carefully yet quickly, but to also be sure you understand the author's entire argument and (because this will be required for the outline) know enough about it to quote from it without misrepresenting their point either generally or in the specific quotation you've chosen.

Lastly, the directions for this assignment are quite clear--look to the prompt (the handout today, but also available to the right) for all answers to how to approach this assignment.

2007-11-07T14:13:00.000-05:00

"As, such, I'm copshow menace and a shoe commercial demigod- one of the rough boys from our " hood and the living, breathing embodiment of hip-hop flava" The paragraph above this quote described the experience an young immigrant women had in an all black Los Angeles neighborhood. The quote proves that every single black male is associated with crime of some sort, as being some kind of a gangster. They are also associated with always listening to rap or hip hop.

"Then we became free on paper yet oppressed still."

This quote best explains the fact that, yes, slavery has been abolished many years ago along with racism, but we are all very aware of the racism that still exists today, especially towards African Americans.

"We were just about all slaves, so we were all niggas"

The word slave, is automatically associated with the word nigger. White people aren't the only ones who make this association, you see this in my quote because that quote was made by an African American.

Arguable Topics

2007-11-07T09:49:00.001-05:00

1. Many times immigrants or first/second generation Americans become Americanized or 'white' and often forget their cultures and where they came from.
You can conclude this when reading '22 Notes Of A Native Speaker,' & Eric Liu states "I have moved away from the periphery and toward the center of American life, I have become white inside."

2. No matter where we are, we will never be equal and will always be categorized into a class.
This idea can be seen throughout Paul Fussell's 'A Touchy Subject' "...in law we are all equal, in virtually all other ways we are not." This quote sends the message that we aren't equal. It can also be seen in '10 Questions College Officials Should Ask About Diversity.'

3. Your ethnic and economic background will determine how successful you will be in school. This is seen in Shireman's '10 Questions College Officials Should Ask About Diversity' when he questions that and mentions that "...another is reaching out to the same group of pre-dominantly white, high-income students that is always has."

Arguable Topics

2007-11-07T06:08:00.001-05:00

Social Class will always be a problem because there is nothing we can do to change it.

They write that no matter what we do there is a point where we identify and “agree on a rigid ‘class’ hierarchy.”

We don’t decide in what class we are but we are in the class we fit and there is nothing we can do to change it.

We will always decide by ourselves that we “fit the psychological profile of” whatever class we fit.

The only way to go is to go white.

The goal of people is to be “born white” or “achieve whiteness”. It never I want to be Asian, Hispanic or Black. Like what is so bad about that.

Arguments

2007-11-07T01:14:00.000-05:00

The culture we are born into and brought up in influences our decisions and provides a predictable future. Certain expectations are determined based on your culture as Annie Dillard seems to explain in "How to Live" when she states "You enjoy work, and will love your grandchildren, and somewhere in there you die." Presumable predictions classify a person according to their society.

Social status of a person may be defined by their race despite the irrationality, provided that media enhances ones classification according to clothes, accessories etc. According to Donnell Alexander who wrote "Cool Like Me" being black results in an automatic classification as 'cool.' He writes, "when mainstream America looks for cool we look to black culture. Countless new developments can be called great, nifty, even keen. But, cool? That's a black thang, baby."

Social structure defines and predicts ones stance in a community as people of the upper, middle and lower class are easily distinguishable due to steretotypes associated with them according to Paul Fissels "A Touchy Subject" as he explains how the middle class has a "tendency to get very anxious...and nervous about slipping down a rung or two. On the the other hand, upper-class people love the topic to come up...proletarians generally don't mind discussions of the subject because they know they can do little to alter their class identity."

Arguments Jason

2007-11-06T23:09:00.000-05:00

Argument 1: you reveal a great deal about your social class by the amount of annoyance or fury you feel when the subject is brought up. A tendency to get nervous is middle class. Upper class love the topic . Lower class does not mind the topic because they can do little about it.

Argument 2: Eric liu, I was Chinese and the girls were white I thought this was the sole obstacle of my advancement.

Argument 3: From How to live Annie Dillard says "any culture tells you how to live your one and only life".

Debatable statements

2007-11-06T23:04:00.000-05:00

Environments will drive people to conform with the “stereotypes” that pertain to them.
-This can be seen throughout Eric Lui’s passage as he lists the reasons why
he is white.

Social classes are necessary in order for societies to exist.
-This statement is taken from pg. 481: “Those who sell ‘executive desks’ and
related office furniture know that they and their clients agree on a rigid ‘class’ hierarchy.” In other words, no matter how you look at it, societies will always have social classes attached to them because some people will become doctors
while others will become janitors.

Racial inequality is largely due to the problems of culture rather than innate racism.
-Taken from pg 413: “By the mid-nineteenth century, Western science and
culture…” Culture will have a great effect on the way people think which can lead to ideas of racial discrimination and such.

three arguable topics

2007-11-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

1. Why do people these days deny there are classes in the US? People deny that there are social classes in their own town by the amount of money they have or what they are capable of doing with that money. they say that everyone is the same because they don't want to see the separation.

2. Why does certain racial and ethnic stereotyping seem humorous to certain kinds of people, but at the same time offend other kinds of people?

3. why does income determine how far one will get when it is? schools are paying class valedictorians when they should be giving more aid to people who actually need it

Topics on diversity and stereotypes

2007-11-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

Although he supreme court now supports affirmative action in colleges, according to Robert Sherman, the author of "10 Questions College Officials Should Ask About Diversity", there are issues in trying to sustain this new found diversity.

According to Robert Sherman in "10 questions College Officials Should ask", focusing on race to solve the lack of diversity problems "may be feedingthe stereotypes"

In "Coming Into the Country" Gish Jen says, "the monent we feel certain rights to be inalienable... we become American". In other words it's saying that it doesnt matter what rituals or stereotypes your culture has, as long as you feel you are free and no one can tae that freedom, you are American.

arguable topics

2007-11-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

Argument: Students from higher income families will do better in school than those who have families with a lower flow of income. This issue is addressed when Robert Shireman notes in his essay “10 Questions College Officials Should Ask about Diversity”, while discussing a financial aid program, “his institution actually has a large enrollment of low-income students, and it is possible that their campus experience would benefit from a larger enrollment of less-needy, high-achieving students”

Argument: Those who conform or assimilate to a culture’s customs, actually feel torn and somewhat heartbroken when they abandon their original culture’s customs. This argument can connect to the idea Eric Liu conveys in his writing “Notes of A Native Speaker” when he says, “These were the moments when I realized I was becoming something other than my parents”.

Argument: Being cool is a necessity in order to get through life. As Donnel Alexander proclaims in his article titled “Cool Like Me”, “Humans put cool on a pedestal because life at large is a challenge”.

Arguments

2007-11-06T21:07:00.000-05:00

Social class exists even in an industry in which the jobs are the same.
A Touchy Subject 481. "In the construction business there's a social hierarchy of jobs, with "dirt work," or mere excavation at the bottom; the making of sewers, roads, and tunnels in the middle; and work on buildings (the taller, the higher) at the top."
-The relation between the argument and this quote is that even in an industry like construction, where the workers do the same thing(construct), social class of lower, middle, and higher exists.

Racism is the cause of race, as opposed to it being the product of race.
Pg 413: "If prejudice is about ideas--unreasonable judgements or convictions--then discrimination is about behavior--unreasonable treatment based on class or category. Racism is a structural problem, a form of discrimination based on group identity that is embedded in institutional process of exclusion. As such racism is a social construct, more a cause than a product of race."
-The relation between the argument and this quote is that, the quote explains that racism is an unreasonable treatment towards a certain group, by means of using a exclusion method defined by society. This shows that racism, which treats a certain group unfairly by kicking them out, causes that group to be labeled as a certain race. An example of this would be, if you were to exclude a colored person from yourself because of their color, you categorize them as black,yellow, or brown. Thus your act of racism, has caused you to label that person as a "race."

11/5

2007-11-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

For Wednesday, read and/or familiarize yourself with pages 427-444 and 461-465 in Seeing & Writing. In addition, read Eric Liu's 'Notes of a Native Speaker' if you haven't done so already.

When you have done that, post here three arguable topics for an imaginary essay on the subject of stereotyping, racism, or class. Critically, these topics must be drawn from a question or topic found in the reading for Monday and/or Wednesday. Broad (but not too broad) questions of stereotype, racism, or class are of course fine, but there must be in your one or two sentence description of the paper's imaginary argument a connection between a quotation from the text(s) and your argumentative topic.

I am an ABC

2007-11-05T12:44:00.000-05:00

I have straight black hair.
I speak mostly English.
I am not fluent in Chinese.
I celebrate Chinese New Year.
I eat dinner with my family every night.
I do not like math.
I went to Chinese school for 5 years.
I respect my elders.
I am becoming a buisness woman.
I enjoy watching television.

Ways to say I am Korean

2007-11-05T11:55:00.000-05:00

-My mother owns a nail salon
-I watch korean dramas
-My house is never without kimchi
-I take my shoes off when I go inside a home
-Most of my friends are Korean
-I can game for 24 hours straight
-I am very ethnic
-I speak fluent Korean, and accented english
-I took a plane to America
-I have been asked if my father owns a deli
-I attend a church in which most, if not all members of the congregation are korean

Ten ways to say I am a B.A.P.

2007-11-05T09:38:00.000-05:00

Here are some ways you could say I am a B.A.P.

1. Since elementary school, my social life was determined by my membership in Jack and Jill.

2. I eat fried chicken with a knife and fork.

3. Ebonics is not a part of my vocabulary.

4. When I attended Holyoke, I only dated boys from Amherst, Brown or Dartmouth.

5. Being a legacy predetermined my acceptance into A.K.A.

6. I summered at our house in Sag Harbor or my girlfriend’s in the Vineyard.

7. I know I will always find t hat perfect outfit when shopping at Lord & Taylor or Sack’s.

8. I only wear my mink at social occasions, never to work.

9. I cruise to the Caribbean in February and the Mediterranean in August.

10. My MBA in finance assures my invitation to many clubs and committees.

Ways to say I am Dominican

2007-11-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

I love to dance merengue and bachata.
I eat a lot of plaintains.
I always ask for a discount on everthing I buy.
I travel to Dominican Republic with my baggage passed the weighing limit.
I eat rice beans and chicken every day.
I own a hair salon.
I have 5 brothers, 10 uncles, 25 cousins and 1 nephew.
I go to a school where everyone calls me "primo"(cousin).
I usually go to family parties.
I celebrate my birthday in my house kitchen.

I am a Video Game Addict

2007-11-05T06:21:00.000-05:00

I talk about things most people don’t talk about.
I like computer role playing games.
I smell bad.
I look unprofessional.
I talk to my self.
I have comic books.
I love reading books about fantasy.
I not healthy.
I only talk about video games.
I sound like a nerd.

I am from the south

2007-11-05T02:23:00.000-05:00

I work on a farm with the land and animals.
I have many different types of guns.
I am a devout Christian.
I have many children.
I drive a pick-up truck.
I wear blue overalls.
I hate city-folk.
I wake up to a rooster's call.
I have a Confederate flag.
I am a cowboy.

I am a Mexican

2007-11-04T23:02:00.000-05:00

I am 5 feet tall
I am an illegal immigrant who hopped the border
I am a taco eater
I am a busboy,painter,dishwasher, etc.
I am a proud mother and or father of 9 children
I am a resident of Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, etc.
I am a soccer fanatic
I am very proud of being Mexican
I am frequently confused with Ecuadorians
I am a gang member

I am a teenager

2007-11-04T22:58:00.000-05:00

I am a teenager.
I like to watch animations.
I prefer to read mangas than novels.
I like to wear t-shirts more than shirts.
I don't drink and smoke.
I like to play video games.
I like to wear jeans.
I am young.
I like to have fashionable products such as ipod and psp.
I am daydreamer.

I'm a female.

2007-11-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

I'm emotional.
I'm dependant and unstable.
I cook.
I clean.
I make children and take care of them.
I nag.
I'm either uneducated or ditsy or both.
I get things with my outer appearance.
I am a gold digger.
I'm materialistic.
I love make-up, jewelry and fine clothes.
I'm a bitch.
I like to snuggle, share feelings and cry.
I hate sports and action movies.
I'm weak.

I am a male Asian American

2007-11-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

I am very good at math.
I don't speak back to my elders.
I do not need to be heard.
I study all of the time.
I don't exist; rather "we" exist.
I plan to become a doctor, lawyer, etc.
I live with my parents.
I plan to support my parents until they die.
I am not very sociable.
I have slanted eyes.

I am rich

2007-11-04T21:11:00.000-05:00

I have many maids
I get what I want, when I want it
I go on luxurious vacations and stay at the finest hotels
I recieve spa treatments daily
I am a member of a very exclusive country club
I have an unlimited credit card
I wear clothes from some of the top clothing lines
I have a mansion in Bel-Air
I have underlying confidence
I pay people off in order to get them on my side.

i am a mother

2007-11-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

i am a woman.
i have very maternal feelings
i can feel empowered in my kitchen
i have not seen an unanimated film since before Disney's "The Lion King"
i can do more at one time than any working person i know
i have more hobbies than the average grandmother
i am forever cleaning somthing sticky off of the hand and faces of my children
i drive a minivan
i carry everything in my pocket-book, just in case
i have no time for myself or my husband
the closest i have come to a manicure in the last four years is finger painting with my children
i wouldnt trade my role for anything else in the world
i regret nothing

I am a homosexual male.

2007-11-04T14:08:00.000-05:00

I talk in a very feminine way.
I wear tight shirts and pants.
I listen to Madonna.
I'm usually a hairdresser, make-up artist, or fashion designer.
I have an STD.
I am not liked by many.
I walk with my shoulders back.
I cannot get married or have children.
I am very promiscuous.
I enjoy shopping.

10 ways to say im a nerd

2007-11-04T11:03:00.001-05:00

I where glasses
I play chess
I love science
I where suspenders
I am awkward towards girls
I have only nerd friends
I walk funny
Im part of an exclusive book club
I snort when i laugh
I watch the discovery channel

I am old

2007-11-04T03:25:00.002-05:00

I am old.
I walk with a cane.
I carry candy in my purse.
I wear too much makeup.
I can not drive.
I like to talk to people.
I enjoy telling people stories.
I have gained a lot of knowledge.
I am wiser than you.
I get up early.
I like to watch birds.

20 ways to say I'm Italian-American

2007-11-04T01:41:00.000-04:00

1. I am family centered.
2. I am Roman Catholic.
3. I have at least one picture or statue of Jesus in my house.
4. I eat Sunday dinner at 2pm.
5. I know how to make the best sauce and meatballs.
6. I have at least one mechanic, plumber, electrician, accountant, travel agent or lawyer in my family.
7. I have at least 5 cousins who were named after my grandfather that live on my block.
8. I lived in a small house but still had two kitchens.
9. I know how to make a meal for 28 people.
10. My mother has plastic covered furniture.
11. I’ve been to the Vatican at least once.
12. My family fights over if its “sauce” or “gravy”.
13. I’ll have 25 people in my wedding party.
14. I respect those who respect me.
15. I Respect my elders.
16. I take great pride in my nationality.
17. I have family in Italy.
18. I am artistic.
19. I am a lover.
20. I Know how to have a good time at a party.

I am homeless.

2007-11-03T12:35:00.000-04:00

I am a male.
I am a drunk.
I am a druggie.
I will use any money you give me on drugs and alcohol.
I sleep on the train and street.
I smell badly.
I always wear old tattered clothes.
I always wear my clothes in layers.
I am mean and crazy.
I am a bad person.

I am a High School Jock

2007-11-02T00:00:00.000-04:00

I have a 2.0 GPA
I am rude to whoever want
I have a cheerleader girlfriend
I pick on geeks
I am very popular
I have a cool car
I am full of myself
I am in great shape
I am a leader
I am shallow

11/1

2007-11-01T11:53:00.001-04:00

For Monday, read and/or make yourself familiar with the following pages in Seeing & Writing: 407-421, 478-495. Also expect a quiz on the reading.

In addition, you'll see much of our discussion will continue to be on race, class and stereotyping. By ten a.m. on Monday post here another list of the sort we did in class Monday. Choose a ethnic or class group and, following Eric Liu's model, list ten 'Ways to say I am...'

10/24

2007-10-28T12:32:00.000-04:00

In the hopes that it will result in finer papers, I'm assigning no reading for Monday October 29th. We will, however, be working with portions of Eric Liu's 'Notes of a Native Speaker,' which can be found to the right. If you have a chance, then, I recommend looking it over.

Reworked Quotes

2007-10-24T21:16:00.000-04:00

Old: According to Davidson and Lytle, Saving Private Ryan would be considered an authentic movie compared to being mythical which "will always .... historical evidence" (427).

New: According to Davidson and Lytle, Saving Private Ryan would be considered an authentic movie compared to being mythical: "myths of the cinema will always .... historical evidence" (427).

Old: Again, according to Davidson and Lytle, “for Cimino, ... the war’s historical context” (418), throughout the time when orders kept changing with the captain's decision.

New: Again, with Davidson and Lytle's perception throughout the time when orders kept changing with the captain's decision, “authenticity ...the war’s historical context” (418).

2007-10-24T09:34:00.000-04:00

Old: Davidson and Lytle wrote, “There are, of course, a number of straightforward ways to evaluate historical dramas. We can give each film a scrupulous fact-checking to determine which parts are true and which are false” (Davidson 403).

New: Davidson and Lytle acknowledges that, "there are, of course a number of straightforward ways to evaluate historical dramas. We can give each film a scrupulous fact-checking to determine which parts are true and which are false” (Davidson 403).

Old: Windtalkers has some sort of a myth Davidson and Lytle talk about called, “the American melting pot, in which immigrants from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds learn to live in a single nation” (Davidson 406).

New: Davidson and Lytle makes note of the myth of "the American melting pot, in which immigrants from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds learn to live in a single nation” (Davidson 406), which is shown in the film Windtalkers.

Quotes Updated

2007-10-24T09:12:00.000-04:00

Original Quote:

We embraced at face value the messages of these stories and most of us, especially those of us who have never been in combat, never doubted what we saw. And why would we, these stories reinforced “our cultural ideals or gave expression to deep commonly felt emotions” (Were Trouble Comes 406).

I believe Davidson and Lytle would find that “We Were Soldiers” is the more authentic of the two movies not because it accurately portrays historical events in their entirety, after all, this is a Hollywood feature film and “dramatic films about history do not portray what actually happened in the past so much as what ought to have happened” (Were Trouble Comes 405).

As he quickly exits the compartment where a soldier is smoking a cigar, another soldier says” they sure picked a beaut’ for acting platoon sergeant” (To Hell and Back)

New Quote:

We embraced at face value the messages of these stories because they reinforced “our cultural ideals or gave expression to deep commonly felt emotions” especially those of us who have never been in combat (Were Trouble Comes 406).

A soldier who witness Murphy’s exit from the compartment where a soldier is smoking a cigar comments: ”they sure picked a beaut’ for acting platoon sergeant” (To Hell and Back).

According to Davidson and Lytle, “dramatic films about history do not portray what actually happened in the past so much as what ought to have happened” therefore I believe they would find “We Were Soldiers” the more authentic of the two movies.(405).

2007-10-24T07:33:00.000-04:00

Old: The film starts out with a monologue by the main character, Swofford, “A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle”.

New: Swofford remarks in a monologue, “A story: A man fires a rifle for many years, and he goes to war. And afterward he turns the rifle in at the armory, and he believes he's finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son's diaper; his hands remember the rifle”.

Old: Davidson and Lytle describe what they believe myth is through this quote, "And because myth deals with expectations rather than reality, Cimino obliged"(417).

New: Davidson and Lytle feel that "myth deals with expectations rather than reality" (417) and that is how they gauge a movie's "mythical" status.

Quote Revision

2007-10-24T02:52:00.000-04:00

Old: Davidson and Lytle argue that, “an artistic standard of ‘truth’ that resides less in the particulars of the historical record than in rendering situations and characters in authentic, human ways” (Davidson 405).

New: Davidson and Lytle carry the message films utilize insignificant situations, exaggerate and improve them, hence converting them into important factors as they insist, “an artistic standard of ‘truth’ that resides less in the particulars of the historical record than in rendering situations and characters in authentic, human ways” (Davidson, Lytle 405).

Old: Davidson and Lytle analyze a film entitled Deer Hunter as rather mythic according to it’s “story and images” (Davidson 416), but “the dialogue is more natural, less stilted” (Davidson 416), showing factors of authenticity.

New: Davidson and Lytle analyze a film entitled Deer Hunter as rather mythic according to it’s “story and images," but “the dialogue is more natural, less stilted” showing factors of authenticity. (Davidson, Lytle 416).

Old: Davidson and Lytle clearly disagree as they show resentment towards the film as much as the setting of the film not agreeing with the actual filming area stating: “Clairton is an imaginary town, created by shooting in eight different locations spread over four states. Its imposing Russian Orthodox Church is from Cleveland and is twice the size of anything a town like Clairton might afford” (Davidson 417).

New: According to Davidson and Lytle: “Clairton is an imaginary town, created by shooting in eight different locations spread over four states. Its imposing Russian Orthodox Church is from Cleveland and is twice the size of anything a town like Clairton might afford," and this factual seting of the film does not agree with the the film itself (Davidson 417).

2007-10-24T00:58:00.000-04:00

So this is like what Davidson and Lytle say in “Where Troubles Comes”, “, filmmakers are constantly constructing their version of history…” (409).

Davidson and Lytle also think that "filmmakers are constantly constructing their [own] version of history" and don't stay true to the facts (409).

“Jarhead noun, slang for marine. Origin from the resemblance to a jar of the regulation of high-and-tight haircut. The marines head by implication therefore also a jar, an empty vessel.” Swofford says this in the movie Jarhead

Swofford lets us know why the marines are called jarheads: “Jarhead noun, slang for marine. Origin from the resemblance to a jar of the regulation of high-and-tight haircut. The marines head by implication therefore also a jar, an empty vessel”.

Quotes

2007-10-24T00:36:00.001-04:00

Old:
"The dialogue is more natural, less stilted(416)."

New:
Like Davidson and Lytle stated in " Where Trouble Comes," " The dialogue is more natural, less stilted(416).

Old:
"No matter how "true" a feature film tries to be to the emotions of it's characters, its makers will always place dramatic considerations above strict fidelity to the historical record(405).

New:
Davidson and Lytle agree on that, "No matter how "true" a feature film tries to be to the emotions of it's characters, its makers will always place dramatic considerations above strict fidelity to the historical record" (405), proves that even the moment of a son leaving his house because of disagreement of war issues.

Revised Quotes

2007-10-24T00:12:00.000-04:00

Old:

"Are the costumes right? Did a historical figure do the things he or she is said to have done on screen? If the characters are fictional, are they representative of historical figures in similar situation?" (Davidson 403).

New:

Davidson and Lytle would base their definition of "authentic" on the following: "Are the costumes right?..................in a similar situation" (Davidson 403)?

Old:

"A myth, to quote one dictionary definition........deep commonly felt emotions" (Davidson 405).

New:

As Davidson and Lytle reveal, "A myth.......commonly felt emotions" (Davidson 405).

2007-10-24T00:05:00.000-04:00

Old:
An example of this statement, is told in Tim O'Brien's "How to Tell a True War Story", he goes on to say: "A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things they have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue " (1).

New:
Tim O'Brien, author of "How to Tell a True War Story", provides us with an example of this idea by stating,
"A true war story is never moral. It does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things they have always done. If a story seems moral, do not believe it. If at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie. There is no rectitude whatsoever. There is no virtue" (1).

Old:
An example of this would be when Davidson and Lytle, authors of "Where Trouble Comes", had said in the text "myth deals with expectations rather than reality" (417).

New:
Davidson and Lytle, authors of "Where Trouble Comes" establish the difference between authenticity and myth by elaborating on this idea: "myth deals with expectations rather than reality" (417).

2007-10-23T22:03:00.000-04:00

Old
In the article where trouble comes by Davidson and Lytle they speak about how in the Movie the Green Barriet with John Wayne, they make the American soldier out to be a stereotypical macho man. They state, “Wayne ........... Tough" (405).

New
In the article where trouble comes Davidson and Lytle suggest that in the movie Green Barriet John Wayne is portryaed as a sterotypical American tough guy: " "Wayne.......... Tough". (405)

Old

Davidson and Lytle suggest that these movies are mythical in different aspects. They want to make the point that movie companies write their own version of the war, rather than historical facts which they call “Authentic“. Davidson and Lytle authors state, “Grant .............. happend"

New
Davidson and Lytle point out that Green Barriets, Platoon and Deer Hunter are "Mythical". The authors explaine this by stating " Grant......... happend" .

Quotes

2007-10-23T21:34:00.001-04:00

Old:
O'Brien mentions in "How to Tell a True War Story" that true war stories often don't have a point, moral, or serious excitement (O'Brien, "How to Tell a True War Story", 174 and 181).

New:
O'Brien tells us thattrue war stories often don't have a point, moral, or serious excitement (O'Brien, "How to Tell a True War Story", 174 and 181).

Old:
They define mythical as "... a real or fictional story with a recurring theme" (Davidson and Lytle, 405)

New:
According to Davidson and Lytle "a real or fictional story with a recurring theme..." is a defintion for myth (Davidson and Lytle, 405)

Rework of Quotations

2007-10-23T21:23:00.000-04:00

1)
Original: In the essay Where Trouble Comes, Davidson and Lytle state "...films strive for an artistic standard of "truth" that resides less in the particulars of the historical record than in rendering situations and characters in authentic, human ways"(Davidson & Lytle 405).
New: According to Davidson and Lytle "...films strive for an artistic standard of "truth" that resides less in the particulars of the historical record that in rendering situatios and characters in authentic, human ways"(405).

2)
Original: Davidson and Lytle also state "the combat epic that came of age during World War II" (406), which is entirely true for the movie Flags Of Our Father.
New: The movie Flags Of Our Father is a "combat epic that came of age during World War II"(Davidson & Lytle 406).

Rework on quotations

2007-10-23T20:39:00.000-04:00

Original:
Tim O'Brien, an American novelist once said in his article "How to Tell a True War Story" that "War is Hell; War is nasty; war is fun.....war makes you dead."(180)

New:
As Tim O'Brien described in his article "How to Tell a True War Story" that " War is Hell;... war makes you dead."(180)

Original:
"Films strive for an ... human ways." ( Davidson & Lytle 405)
New:
According to Davidson & Lytle, "Films strive for an ... human ways." (405)

revized quotes

2007-10-23T20:28:00.001-04:00

Old
Thomas Hobbs...says that the human state of nature is war.
New
Thomas Hobbs insists, “The natural state of nature is war” (3).

Old
“In the end a true war story is never about war… it’s about love and sorrow” (10), says Tim O’Brien.
New
“In the end a true war story is never about war... It’s about love and sorrow” (10), reminds Tim O’Brien.

Old
O’Brien states, “You can tell a true war story from its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil” (1).
New
Author Tim O’Brien recognizes that, “you can tell a true war story from its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil” (1).

Old
According to Davidson and Lytle an authentic war film is one that has characters that are individual, realistic and ambiguous.
New
Davidson and Lytle maintain that an authentic war film must have individual and realistic characters: “to a historian viewing the film the characters do look less stereotyped” (416).

New Quotes

2007-10-23T18:11:00.000-04:00

Old:
O’Brien writes, “Story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth. {203}”

New:
O’Brien argues in his piece, “story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth.” {203}

Old:
“Hollywood, an industry that markets the fantasies and fears of popular culture, inescapably finds itself in the myth business creating short stories, themes, and character types that embody the culture ideals of its audience and give expression to their deepest feelings” {Davidson, Lytle 405}

New:
Davidson and Lytle describe in their article how Hollywood constantly finds itself creating fantasies to satisfy their audience, leading Hollywod to find itself in the myth business. {405}

2007-10-23T14:09:00.000-04:00

A)
Original
“Myth,” as described in “When Trouble Comes,” “deals with expectation rather than reality. (417)”
New
“Myth” as described by Davidson and Lytle, “deals with expectation rather than reality” (417).

B)
Original
The authors then quote New York Magazine that said: “What really matters is authenticity, which this movie has by the ton. (416)”
New
The authors then provide a quote from New York Magazine: “What really matters is authenticity, which this movie has by the ton” (416).

10/22

2007-10-22T20:58:00.001-04:00

For Wednesday, rework all of the quotations in your essay in the manner we described today (if you've forgotten, the handout is listed to the right). To keep things interesting, you will be allowed to use the 'As (name of author) states/indicates,' or the 'According to (name of author),' format only once in your next draft of your paper.

Once you've reworked all of your quotations, post two (both the original and the new version) here on the blog for all of our perusal.

And remember, your final draft of essay 2 is due, stapled to the draft that was due last Friday (10/26), via email on Monday, October 29th.

Sources

2007-10-20T08:26:00.000-04:00

This is the relevant information for the two key sources for the essay:

Author: Tim O'Brien
Title: The Things They Carried
Year: 1990
Publisher: Penguin
City: NY

Author(s): James West Davidson and Mark Hamilton Lytle
Title: After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection Volume II
Year: 2005
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
City: NY

10/17

2007-10-18T08:06:00.000-04:00

This is a long post. Be sure to read it in its entirety.

As we discussed in class, we will be working with the first draft of the second essay somewhat differently than we worked with the first. By 5pm on Friday, October 19th, you will send a copy of your essay via email to both your peer review partner and myself. Then by 10am on Monday, October 19th, email a response (the parameters are outlined below) to both the partner and myself.

The Response:

I will not be grading or commenting on this draft, which will be the only draft of this essay before it is assigned a grade. That means that these peer reviews are terrifically important: you will not just be helping your partner with what you think will improve your paper, but also what you think I will be most interested in seeing in their work. We discussed what that means in class, but to recap: the specific requirements outlined in the prompt; attention to specific detail in texts and the appropriate films; and paragraphs which consistently demonstrate their purpose, involve textual and cinematic evidence, and connect back to the overall argument.

For the review itself, first read through the essay at least once, getting a sense of the piece as a whole. Then go through the manuscript using the tracking changes tool to make suggestions about the paragraphs...

(NOTE#1: as I said in class, do not go through making proofreading changes to the sentences--this is their job. Should there be a pattern of poor grammar that you notice, be sure to point it out. Otherwise, limit your comments to 'comments': that is, what in the paragraph is working and what isn't, rather than rewriting it.)

(Note #2: You are required to have at least one comment on each paragraph. Feel free to put the comments in terms specific to me: 'I think Prof. Henkle would have a problem with the second sentence here because...')

...After you've gone through and made your comments on the individual paragraphs, write a 200 or so word general comment on the essay, in much the same way you have seen me do with yours. Do this at the top of their essay, in letter format (addressing it directly to the author). If you're using the tracking changes format, this will appear in red.

A Few More Notes:

The preferred format is MS word, which will give your reviewer the opportunity to use the 'track changes function' I demonstrated in class. (If you cannot access MS word during this time, email me for other possibilities--still, MS word is going to be very helpful here).

The peer review groups have been assigned for anyone who was in class, plus Polina (who was assigned a partner to make up an odd number of students). Contact me if you need the email address of your partner. Those of you who were not in class, need to contact me immediately to be assigned a partner. If you have been assigned but have since forgotten your group member, the partner list is to the right.

pearl harbor

2007-10-17T11:13:00.000-04:00

The movie pearl harbor is about the attack on pearl harbor, Hawaii, by the Japanese in a pre-emptive strike, on December 7th 1941. the Japanese thought that the US was going to invade them for their oil and rubber so they attacked them first. the movie was made in 2001, and it depicts the lives of 2 soldiers who are best friends and how they split up and are reunited during the war. Randall Wallace didn't really follow the truth in the movie, instead he directed the movie toward the audience and what they would like. there weren't very many war seance. the movie starts off showing you two boys playing in 1923 showing you right from the beginning that this movie is not going to be specifically about the fighting but also about the lives of the characters in the movie. the characters are the bored antsy teenagers that wanted to run off to war. Ben Afflek volunteered for a station in the British air force. the characters seem very stereotyped and the dialogue is not really about the war. the movie has a war in it but its more of a romance torn apart by war and sewn back together very roughly. in "the man i killed' by Tim O'Brien, the death of the enemy wasn't especially victorious in the narrator's mind. he grieved over it and felt guilty, even though it was war. while in pearl harbor when there is finally a fighting scene and they are flying over japan and dropping bombs they feel no grief only triumph over the people who surprise attacked them and killed two thousand people. Davidson and Lytle would not see this movie as authentic because the fights they did have were not similar to the ones in real life.

The Battle of Ia Drang

2007-10-17T08:33:00.000-04:00

The movie “We Were Soldiers” was adapted from the book We Were Soldiers Once..and Young by General Harold Moore and Joseph L. Galloway both who were at that battle and acted as consultants to this movie.. The movie and the book are both about the first part of the Battle of Ia Drang which took place in the highlands of South Vietnam from November 14 to 16 1965.

Randal Wallace, the director and screenwriter of this movie, went to great lengths to authentically “recreate the war’s/battle’s historical context (418). The movie opens with actual news footage after the battle in Vietnam of an interview with the Col Moore expressing his gratitude to his men for their courage and sacrifices during the battle. He tells the interviewer with barely contained emotion to “convey to the American people what a tremendous fighting man we have here. He’s just an outstanding man and…I can’t tell you how highly I feel for them. They’re tremendous.”

These are some of the many things that were done to create that authentic feeling:
They used real equipment such as military helicopters and land vehicles and real napalm.
The used the clothing of 1965 for the non-military actors and the correct uniforms of the time and place for the military personal.
The portrayed accuracy in the appearance of the characters throughout the battle; everyone was dirty and bedraggled.
They used props that were used by the real characters during the conflict such as cigarette packs, books, and field equipment.
The not only acquired the period armaments the combatants used the also built AK-47’s from scraps for the North Vietnamese soldiers.
The depiction of wives getting telegrams telling them that their husbands were killed being delivered by cab drivers.

Yes there were thing that were done that didn’t happen during the battle such as using fireworks instead of bullets and computer generated airplanes but I don’t believe they are of great consequence compared to the things that Wallace got right. Gen. Hal Moore felt that this movie accurately portrayed what happen there so who are we to doubt him?

JarHead

2007-10-17T06:56:00.000-04:00

Jarhead is a movie that is about the Gulf War but it doesn’t really focus on the war itself. The movie is more of a story-truth than a happening-truth. This would be called a Hollywood movie and not a historical movie. The story focuses on one men and how he spends his days in the war. Even thought the movie is about the war and the soldiers that went to it, you don’t really get much information about the war and you only hear them talk about the war for small periods of time. The movie moves really fast and there aren’t that many events that happen. They stay along time which each even that they put in the movie and about two are the only ones that have to do with the war itself. They add the element of family and girlfriends which is what attracts people to what the movie and also because they put funny scenes. They show the fear that the soldiers have and how much they also want to be there. The main character doesn’t kill anyone during this movie. Is really interesting how he spend somewhat more than 120 days in the war and in the movie he says that he spend four days with four hours and one minute in the war. Meaning that most of the time they were there doing training or doing nothing at all and just waiting and they only spend so little of their time in the action of the war. He never gets to fire his gun against an enemy and never kills anyone. Davidson and Lytle would say that this movie is not authentic and it actually isn’t. Even thought this movie is suppose to be about war, is more about how the war may affect someone and how it changes the things back home because time doesn’t stop in the real world when they are at war. When it comes to saying that is a war movie it really isn’t authentic but if you talk about the meaning of the movie, you would say that even thought it may hadn’t happen that way that it is true. So it is just the truth with some exaggerations and things that may or may not have happen.

Platoon

2007-10-17T01:51:00.000-04:00

A movie made in 1986 well after the Vietnam war, has seemingly captured a true essence of the soldiers that participated in such a task. The movie concentrates on the character played by Charlie Sheen who voluntarily chose to be in the Vietnam war for 365 full days. He quickly begins to regret it a week into his journey with the platoon as he finds himself suffering under difficult natral conditions leading him to tire faster, faint more and allowing for the soldiers with him to undermine him and attack him verbally.
The movie has a very depressing and mournful tone all throughout. There is nothing patriotic about it that flatters American decision in entering the war (especially through a very violent redneck character named Bunny, whose destructive nature emphasizes a terrible American stereotype). Furthermore we see that all the men, besides the character played by Charlie Sheen, are poor or unable to evade the war which shows how the War is inevitable for those who couldn't buy their way out of it. There is lack of pride within these men, as the men had in movies such as Green Berets, and their use of pot and deragotory speech of women show how little they favor being part of this war, hence making them characters easier to relate to and more personal. This, in turn, is the reason why Davidson adn Lytle would find this film, very authentic.
Davidson and Lytle themselves interpret Platoon as "the first commercially successfful films to look thhe war itself. to see Vietnam as history." With this quote Davidson and Lytle seem to convey the idea that seemingly historical facts within a movie allow it to become more authentic rather then a movie that prides itself on effects, just because they can use them, or the element of love to capture the audience. In Platoon there is really no sign of victory, regardless of the little missions the platoon does succeed in, theres still constant silence, with mere crickets adding to the jungle effect. The only music we hear is the solemn and depressing adagio for strings that just speaks for the characters most of the movie.
The only happiness we see in all these men is when they are diving themselves from the war entirely , just trying to escape, which i find to be the most authentic feeling. Their struggle with natural obstacles or the kidn of treatment they receive from one another consdiering the time it is based on, allow even more authenticity to pour through. EVerything from red ants, to race, to illegal killings become a dispute, which seems to me as the unhealthy animal instinct humans may have, especially trapped in such violent conditions.

Apocalypse Now - authentic

2007-10-17T00:59:00.001-04:00

The movie Apocalypse Now, is quoted as “pretentious” (p 422) by Davidson and Lytle. The movie does not explain what is going on, but rather makes the watcher guess. This film is considered authentic according to Davidson and Lytle. This movie does not have any war stereotypes. It gives you war for what it really was. It makes war seem ambiguous. This movie has accuracy, which is needed in order for a movie to be considered authentic.

This movie is not pro Vietnam. The director of this movie wants you to think that war is addictive, that it in reality it drives you nuts. It wants you to understand that when your fighting, you want to be home, and when your home, you want to be fighting.

The movie opens up with the forest being bombed. You then see a quiet, but dark room. The only source of light entering that room is from a half opened blinds on the window. Outside of the room, it is very light. In the background nothing is heard, except a helicopter flying is heard in his head. He is at home, but wants nothing more than to be back in the forest, fighting. The music in the beginning of the movie is very peaceful. This movie makes you conclude that people at war do pointless things. It makes war seem absurd. The people fighting make a battle that has no actual gain it, other than a personal gain, which in this case would be surfing with the good tides.

Pearl Harbor

2007-10-17T00:53:00.000-04:00

The movie of my choice is Pearl Harbor written by Randall Wallace. The movie is set during the time in which the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The movie in general is about a love story that is set during a war that complicates everything. To be more specific the movie is about a pilot who falls in love with a nurse. The Pilot volunteer's to go fight in Britain, and his best friend and the love of his life are transferred to Pearl Harbor. While in Britain the Pilot "dies". The nurse finds out and is extremely depressed but shortly after hooks up with his best friend. I can go more into detail but as you can see the movie has nothing to do with the actual bombing in Pearl Harbor. In stating that I believe that Davidson and Lytle would call the film a myth. I believe this to be true because the director choose a certain event like Pearl Harbor just to be the setting of his love story. Davidson and Lytle prove my point when they say, "Hollywood, an industry that markets the fantasies and fears of popular culture, inescapably finds itself in the myth business, creating stories, themes, and character types that embody the cultural ideals of its audiences and give expression to their deepest feelings ( Davidson and Lytle 405). The film give very little information on the actual events that took place on the horrible day. The movie could have given more information on the historical event that actually took place for it to have been considered some what authentic.

Reality in war films

2007-10-17T00:05:00.000-04:00

It is true that almost all of the war films created so far are not 100% accurate on events telling. Even the films that provide evidences and first hand documents are not perfectly truth. Almost all of these films contain personal emotions and dramatic plots. "The historical 'reality' presented by dramatic films is radically different from that of a letter or diary." ( Davidson & Lytle 403) I agree with this statement. The film "Flags of Our Father" also supports my opinion.

"Flags of Our Fahter" is rather a personal memoir than historical presentation. But in some specific fields, it is even more accurate than those historical presentation film. Memoir as a first hand document is considering as accurate as diary and letters. The mian character in this film is a retired soldier who was once fighting for the United States during WWII against Japanese armies. When the war ended, the soldier himself is treated as a national hero because he was the one who swings the flag after the victory. Newspapers and TV shows were talking about him all over the time that put him in a position as hero. But himself, in the other hand, did not satisfied because he was not the one who bring victory to the U.S. He was a soldier that fight the war with all other soliders. Those who died in war were the heroes that sacrificed their lives to the victory. News reporters were miss reported the fact and showed no respects to those who died in the war. According to the main character and also the way i agreed that war heroes are not the one who survived in the war but the one who sacrificed their own lives in order to bring up the victory to the country.

Born on the Fourth of July

2007-10-16T23:51:00.000-04:00

Born on the Fourth of July tells a story of a man who changed his beliefs of the Vietnam War after experiencing the fighting himself. Davidson and Lytle would say that this film is not authentic. They would say the movie is not authentic because most of the scenes are dramatized. The movie begins showing Ron Kovic Tom Cruise) doing all the normal things a teenager would do, like playing baseball and hanging out with his friends. This scene is authentic because it’s the life of any young man. But Kovi goes to fight in the war and suffers paralyzing wounds. When Ron Kovic returns home he expects a hero’s welcome, but instead he received discouragement. This is when the non authencity begins. He went to fight because he wanted to defend his country against communism but he soon finds out that the government had lied to him and his friends. He expresses his feelings to his parents and his naïve mother orders Ron Kovic to move out of the house. This scene of moving out is included to make the audience feel sympathy for the hero. The cries between mother and son makes tears run down the audiences cheeks. In Where Trouble Comes Davidson and Lytle states, “No matter how “true” a feature film tries to be to the emotions of it’s characters, it makes will always place dramatic considerations above strict fidelity to the historical record” (405), proves that even the moment of a son leaving his house because of a disagreement of war issues.
The film is easier to be able to pick out the exaggerations then a text. In this film the lighting, color, music and clothing all emphasis the idea that the war was a mistake. The changes of setting was more interesting then just seeing the Vietnam war and all the fighting. The love scenes were included to sell the movie as said by Davidson and Lytle “To justify the a budget of millions, a film must make money, and over the years box-office receipts have proved that audience are attracted to plot with an element of romance” (404).

Windtalkers

2007-10-16T22:08:00.000-04:00

The movie Windtalkers is a film based on the Battle of Saipan between US and Japanese forces for the island of Saipan. Historically speaking, I can say that the movie is pretty accurate besides the characters in it. The Battle of Saipan was a battle to gain control of the isle of Saipan and kick the Japanese out. The 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions we're responsible for all the land battles, while there was support artillery from the sea and whereever they set up ground artillery. In the movie we have the 2nd Marine Division landing on the shores of Saipan, backed by artillery support, to capture the island for utilization against the Japanese. The movie is called Windtalkers because the term windtalker is what they called Native American code talkers in WWII, in which case here are two Navajo men. In reality, Navajo code talkers played a key role in successfully relaying messages and directing coordinates for artillery fire that could be intercepted, but couldn't be understood or cracked by the Japanese. I believe Davidson and Lytle would take this movie as mythical instead of authentic. The Battle of Saipan wasn't even very accurately portrayed in this movie, to be frank the Japanese soldiers that were stationed in Saipan we're worn-out and wounded soldiers, not like the fierce fanatical fighters you see in Windtalkers. The real Battle of Saipan was some 30,000 poorly equipped Japanese soldiers defending against some 70,000 well equipped US soldiers with aircraft carrier and bomber support. The whole operation took less than a month to complete with obviously an American victory. However in the film, the Japanese soldiers are these very well equipped soldiers who, as Davidson and Lytle would put it, "(they shout alot and run around ineffectively)(WhenTrouble 423)."

The film is titled Windtalkers, however if you've seen the movie the two Navajo code talkers are just sideshows compared to how much attention they put on Sgt. Joe Enders. And just because of that the film loses a chance it could have had at being authentic, instead of telling a story or an account of these Native American code talkers, it decides to focus on Sgt. Joe Enders, the defender of the codetalkers. The battle scenes are quite action packed and intense, but a little too unrealistic. In the first battle scene with the slaughter of then Cpl. Joe Enders, as the last soldier is killed in front of Enders, Enders takes a brief pause and screams for a good minute, also the bullets have stopped coming, but after the end of his yell a grenade in slow motion
flies through the air and explodes in front of Enders. I think Davidson and Lytle would agree that this is a little too dramatic. Though there are some historical accuracy that Windtalkers displays, the other's are just plain inaccurate. This film could seem like an authentic piece, but I doubt Davidson and Lytle would agree on that.

Authentically Saving Private Ryan

2007-10-16T21:51:00.001-04:00

The movie Saving Private Ryan, produce by the extremely well known Steven Spielberg, is one that Davidson and Lytle, authors of “When trouble comes,” a detailed analysis of war representation through film, would almost definitely describe as “authentic”.
The word “authentic” according to Davidson and Lytle refers to historical accuracy. According to these authors, authentic contrasts with the word “mythical,” explained by Davidson and Lytle as “deals with expectations rather than reality. (417)” The authenticity or reality of war is extremely well presented in this film.
Saving Private Ryan is about a group of soldiers during World War Two, who are sent on a mission to find and bring Private James Ryan home back to his mother. He is ordered to come home after his three brothers are killed during the war. This movie is mainly composed of Captain John H. Miller, played by Tom Hanks, along with his group of troops, encountering many different military obstacles on their conquest or wild-goose-chase, trying to reach Private Ryan.
This movie was shot in such a way that authenticity is very easily seen. There are many crucial details that may be overlooked, but in fact help prove or support the validity in this film.
One detail that is very important is how the cameras were used throughout the movie. During all of the fighting scenes the cameras actually move with the actors. The cameras give the viewer the feeling that they are actually part of the group, following the soldiers with their every step. This proves authenticity in the way that the cameras were positioned in angles that the real feeling of what it was like to be part of the action could really be experienced by the audience. Also, at certain points in the film, during various fight scenes, the cameras zoom in on Captain Miller. The lighting becomes a little tinted and the view becomes a little fuzzy. From there the camera shoots as if it is Captain Miller looking around almost in slow motion. Miller and the audience are able to see the atrocities that occur during war, with the slow motion to emphasize reflection on the historical reality.
The blood and guts throughout the movie also help support the idea of “authentic”. The producer of this movie is not trying to hide anything that really occurred during war. Spielberg shows the viewer the incredible amount of gore in order to show what actually occurs on the battlefield at time of vicious fighting. At one point in the first battle seen, Tom Hanks’s character gets sprayed with a comrade’s blood, and then lifts his helmet from the ground and empties it of blood. This detail shows the historical realness of what really happens during war.
Although there are many more details the few definitely helps to prove the idea that historical accuracy is demonstrated in this film. This gives support to the claim that Davidson and Lytle would view Saving Private Ryan as “authentic”.

The Patriot

2007-10-16T20:18:00.000-04:00

In the movie, The Patriot, we follow a family of Americans who are entangled in the epic Revolutionary War against Great Britain. The main protagonist, Benjamin Martin, does not want any involvement in the war at first because of his past experiences in the French and Indian War but eventually enters the fight to avenge the death of one of his children. The murderer of his son is none other than Colonel William Tavington, the cold-hearted red coat commander who will become the main antagonist throughout the rest of the film. Martin, with his rag tag militia, does tremendous damage to the British forces stationed in America and eventually turns the tide of the war.
I didn’t need to finish this film to know that if Davidson and Lytle were sitting right next to me, they would find many reasons to call this movie a huge myth. The picture that The Patriot paints is “Americans are amazing, just good men while the British are tyrannical monsters”. Colonel Tavington is delineated as a man without a conscience in this movie. It just happens that he kills off two of Benjamin Martin’s sons to further grip the viewer’s heart. One scene to take note of is when Tavington barges into a church and promises to spare the lives of those who give the whereabouts of the militia. When a man, out of fear, gives the hard kept secret away, Tavington leaves the church, locks the door and burns everybody inside to the ground. The camera goes into the burning church to show the panic and pain of the people while we also see the face of Tavington show no remorse. Even more heart gripping is the fact that the eldest son of Benjamin Martin’s wife and family burned in the church as well. A blossoming love story is crushed by the main villain; where have we seen that before?
Martin is portrayed as a superhero throughout the movie. He takes down countless British soldiers, even when the odds are against him. Of course, the hollywood explanation behind his sudden power boost is that he needs to rescue his eldest son from being hanged. The last battle is twisted up with music and slow motion action to make Martin’s victory more epic than it should be. All in all, The Patriot is as authentic as my chances to attend Harvard.

Braveheart-mythical

2007-10-16T18:03:00.001-04:00

The movie starts out with men wearing rags, looking on one hand like Native Americans and on the other hand like George of the Jungle. The men fight on horses that seem very much like an olden day war. Almost right away there’s a love plot to catch the attention of the audience. Once the woman of his dreams dies, William Wallace {Mel Gibson} takes charge of the men who did this to his lover, the English. When the war between Wallace’s side, the Scottish, and The English commence, one will notice a myth straight away as Wallace is constantly fighting for the entire Scottish side. It seems almost as if he’s a one-man team beating the English all on his own. This is of course quite mythical. In the movie, First Blood Part 2, Davidson and Lytle bring up a similar case where Rambo locates an MIA prison camp trying to rescue American prisoners. Everyone thinks he will fail because he’s all alone but “Needless to say Rambo manages to fight off entire detachments of Vietnamese and their Russian allies, rescuing the American prisoners and piloting them safely home. {423}” From these two examples one can see how mythical a scene like this could really be.
On the other side we see Gibson in an authentic light when we hangs on to the handkerchief of his lover, which helps him get through the war. It gives him strength to give a pep talk to his fellow soldiers and keep them going. However on the other hand one might look at the actual battle scenes and notice that the Scottish have no armor, all they have is rakes and sticks to fight while the English have Armor, and real weaponry. Davidson and Lytle point out that just as Gibson and soldiers in Braveheart lack everything essential for war, making this an evidential myth, “Cimino went to extreme lengths shooting these sequences, not so much to re-create historical reality as to obtain the proper “look” for this myth. And because myth deals with expectation rather then reality, Cimino obliged. {417} Myths keep an audience more entertained because they are films where the audience expects something to happen and it usually does. This gives satisfaction to the audience and at the same time, a successful movie.

Saving Private Ryan

2007-10-16T15:53:00.000-04:00

One of the war films I am writing about is Saving Private Ryan. The author of Where Trouble comes by Davidson and Lytle would say that Saving Private Ryan is “Authentic”. Saving Private Ryan unlike other war movies they do not exaggerate or dramatize events. In Many war movies that we see today, when a soldier is shot and killed it does not look authentic. Hollywood directors seem to dramatize the death to much. Many times the soldier flops back and forth before hitting the ground. In a lot of movies there is barley any blood after the guy gets shot. In Saving Private Ryan when a soldier was shot and killed they fell straight to the floor without any theatrics there was blood all of the dead soldiers body. The movie is very gruesome and can be nausating at times. Saving Private Ryan does not care if your grossed out they want you to feel how they felt. Saving Private Ryan did not stereotype the American soldiers like other war movies do. The movie showed many deaths on both the enemy and the American side. The soldiers uniforms looked very real. The movie even shows accidental deaths which occurs alot during war. Many war movies dont show this. There was a scene in the movie where on of the soldiers puked when he reached Normandy. I think this is important showing the soldiers as human rather then perceiving them to be tough macho men. The small amount of sound In the movie makes the film seem more authentic. Other movies need the music to make the movie more dramatic. The movie has a whole looked real its almost scary. The movie was on location which is very important in getting a better feel for the place they fought at.
Davidson and Lytle would be very pleased with the work Steven Spielberg did in making saving private Ryan a accurate account of what happened. The movie was in the point of view the soldiers. This was done to show the viewers the reality of war. The main thing here was there were no sides just plain facts. Dispite what people say the movie companies are better off get the histroical facts right because that will get more viewers.

We Were Soldiers

2007-10-15T23:57:00.000-04:00

“These are the true events of November, 1965… the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam…” This is the first thing you hear as the movie, We Were Soldiers, opens on a dry deserted valley. If you were to ask Davidson and Lytle if this movie was authentic they would probably say no. It follows all of the war movie clichés, such as the unwounded-well-rounded-colonel, the American victory, the morals, and the heart-wrenching emotions it evokes. We can deduce this by reading the excerpt “Where Trouble Comes”. They talk about how certain directors will make choices to make the story seem better and to sell the movie, “…directors and screenwriters will tinker with the plot and characters until the story provides them with what they need.” (Where Trouble Comes”, 404.) The movie itself seems exactly that, until you watch the behind the scenes bonus feature titled “We Were Soldiers: Getting it Right”. Here the director explains he wanted to “get it right” because no Vietnam movie has yet to do so. The Author of the book the movies is based on agrees and is satisfied that the directors follow the story and try not to stray from the book, but who’s to say this book is authentic?
The battle of the Ia Drang valley was the first battle where the Viet Cong were directly fighting Americans, and it lasted for 56 hours straight ending in an American victory. This is the basic plot of the movie and it is factually correct. But what wasn’t factually correct was a multitude of things. The actual conversations, the love stories (although I’m sure they had wives and families waiting for them), and the way the battle actually took place. The movie even shows the Viet Cong plotting their attacks. How would the American Army have any clue what conversations these Vietnamese men had with each other? This was probably added to round out the plot, or some other crazy artistic decision.
Something that Davidson and Lytle mention, is that mythical war stories always show the enemy as vicious and the Americans as the superior ones. In We Were Soldiers there are quite a few scenes that humanize the VC soldiers, in example a young soldier writing in a journal that holds a picture of his wife and gets brutally murdered, later the Colonel mails the wife a letter telling her he was an honorable man.
This movie may be an exaggeration of the truth but it's still the truth.

10/15

2007-10-15T21:08:00.000-04:00

In order to help each other, as well as begin working on your essay due Friday, write a 250-400 word response discussing one of your films. Is that film 'authentic' according to Davidson and Lytle? Why or why not? It should refer specifically to both Davidson and Lytle and your film. The specificity of description will be one of our major concerns here--how do you describe a film with the same detail one can describe a text?

As always, any responses less than 250 words do not count for credit.

10/10 Wrap

2007-10-12T09:23:00.000-04:00

You'll notice that the prompt for the second major essay is listed to the right for your consultation.

For Monday, read 'How To Tell a True War Story' and be prepared both for a quiz on it and to discuss O'Brien's project generally, particularly in relationship to the Davidson & Lytle chapter we've been working with. Think about the following question, which I'm sure to ask: How is the Davidson & Lytle's opposition of 'myth' and 'authenticity' like O'Brien's 'story-truth' v. 'happening truth'? More importantly, how is it different?

No response for Monday, though the response for Wednesday will require you having watched at least one of the war films for your essay, so be sure to be doing that this weekend. You don't want to be in the position of writing and watching at the same time.

Mythical?

2007-10-11T16:44:00.000-04:00

In the excerpt "Where Trouble Comes" Davidson and Lytle speak in much detail about the way historical events are portrayed in movies. They also discuss the many choices made by the directors to make their movies more appealing and entertaining for their viewers. These choices involve making changes to some of the events that took place to make them more action packed. Davidson and Lytle also talk about the different views historians and directors have. Obviously a historian is an expert on history and will do his best to record the actual facts. However, directors are more into making their film into a big hit, disregarding the events that actually took place.

I believe that Davidson and Lytle would consider Tim O' Brien a historian to a certain extent. " I'm forty-three years old, true, and I'm a writer now, and a long time ago I waked through Quang Ngai Province as a foot soldier" (O'Brien 203). That quote best describes the fact Tim O' Brien actually took part in the war, fighting as a foot soldier. In saying that Tim O' Brien talks about many events in his excerpts, many of them are fictional but they are authentic. He actually wrote a whole chapter that was completely fictional, this chapter was called "The Man I Killed." In this chapter he refers to a soldier he killed and started to elaborate on the mans life as if he knew him. He went to the extent of actually give the man a year in which he was born and even his place of birth. When referring to those stories Davidson and Lytle would consider Tim O'Brien's stories to be mythical.

Happening Truth

2007-10-10T09:12:00.000-04:00

I believe Davidson & Lytle would look at Tim O’Brien’s “The Man I Killed,” and recognize that this story is authentic by O’Brien’s telling of his “happening truth.”

In Tim O’Brien’s “The Man I Killed,” he describes killing a Vietnamese man who belongs to the NLF. The descriptions are very detailed each time he tells of this man’s death. I can feel his pain not only because of his repeated depictions which focuses on different aspects of the death nor because his platoon buddy, Kiowa who keeps encouraging him to let the event go, but because of need to create his “story truth” that speaks very clearly to his agony.

The two dominate myths (the western and the WWII combat epic) of the American cinema are not portrayed in the story. In this story, O’Brien feels grief for killing his man. He does not believe that “Americans have come to Vietnam to protect innocents and promote democracy…” If he felt that way, he would not need to think about this man’s life and how miserable he looked in death (Davidson & Lytle 409).

Each time he describes the man the reality is balance with a “what if.” He imagines this man may not want to fight but felt the pressure from his family and hamlet to participate in fight these invaders. He imagines that he might have gone to a university to study Mathematics. The ring on this man’s hand and picture in his personal belongs makes O’Brien think he may have been married.

O’Brien makes it clear to the reader, which part of his story is real and which is imagined; both make this authentic.

Mythical or Authentic?

2007-10-10T08:55:00.001-04:00

Davidson and Lytle’s article Where Trouble Comes is about how many Vietnam War movies such as Deer Hunter and First Blood are mythical and have many changes in order to depict characters, background, and the war in a positive or “American” view. Since there was such protest against the Vietnam War in America filmmakers created films which did not change the outcomes of the Vietnam War but in First Blood’s case, showing a victory for America by rescuing a dozen prisoners (423). Platoon was the first successful to look at the Vietnam War itself as history and not myths of near invincible heroes and fabrications. Soldiers are not trigger happy gunmen with a mission to prove but instead are scared and will often try to weasel out of hard assignments to avoid being killed. Platoon also depicts emotions soldiers faced while fighting in the Vietnam War, “Sheen is tormented by ants that crawl over him; he faints from the heat and humidity of the hard march; he stares anxiously into a rainy, impenetrable dark, trying to spot the invisible enemy” (424).

In Tim O’Brien’s The Man I Killed, after killing a Vietnamese soldier, an American soldier named Kiowa feels strong emotions of guilt and denial. Kiowa tells the Vietnamese soldier to “Stop staring” and “Man, I’m sorry” (144) while lying dead full of holes and bleeding. Kiowa tries to rationalize his actions by stating that it is war and he had to do something. Davidson and Lytle would look at this O’Brien story and say that is indeed authentic. Kiowa feels deep regrets for what he did and asks for forgiveness to his “enemies.”

2007-10-10T02:01:00.000-04:00

Written by Davidson and Lytle, Where Trouble Comes, it is depicted in their article as a mythical intrepertation. This is described with a scene in Deer Hunter, which it is exaggerated into a different perspective. It is also blown out of porportion making it seem worse than what the truth and reality really is. This idea is quoted as, " in their evil hands, their holiest myth of the west - the ritual of the one shot kill was pervered into an evil game of torture." (419) With a simple kill presented in the movie it is also drastically overstated. Movies doesn't necessarily bring what's war about. It shows how films can be portrayed and what the realistic life at war can be very differently seen. Therefore illustrates that as one may show one thing it can be viewed as well as another set of outcome.
In comparison, in Good Form by O' Brien, he states that "I remember his face, which was not a pretty face, because his jaw was in his throat, and I remember feeling the burden of responsibilty and grief." (203) This statement shows that O' Brien witnessed the tragic incident of a man's death. In addition, he explains in every detail about the man's body describing its facial position as well as body position. he also allows the viewers to have a clear and vivid feel upon his guilt upon his description about the man's dead corpse he saw. He paints the picture bringing the audience with him there.

Story-truth or Happening Truth? Mythical or Authentic?

2007-10-10T01:58:00.000-04:00

In Davidson and Lytle’s article ‘Where Trouble Comes’, Michael Cimino discusses the dramatizations in his movie The Dear Hunter, “I wanted people to feel what it was like to be there, to be in jeopardy every moment” (418). Dramatic scenes, such as the Russian roulette scene, involve the risk of losing life. In movies and in writing, characters and situations are often made up or exaggerated in order to connect with the audience. The danger of losing life can easily help speak to an audience because it is something everybody is concerned about. The Russian roulette scene is similar to the story ‘The Man I killed’ by Tim O‘Brien. In it, he describes a dead soldier killed in battle. The connection here would be the importance of life and the danger of losing it in both stories. He uses detailed descriptions in order to help communicate images and emotions to the reader. However, we learn that most of what O’Brien tells the reader is fiction. That what he was really doing was trying to make the reader feel what he felt during the war. In ‘Good Form’ by Tim O’Brien, it has been said, “I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening truth.” Both Michael Cimino and Tim O’Brien admit to having stretched the truth, if not having made up their own truth, in order to help relate to the audience or reader.

Davidson and Lytle’s article “Where Trouble Comes” does not try to depict one point of view in order to satisfy the needs of the reader, instead they are analyzing the views of many film makers who are trying to represent the Vietnam War. Davidson and Lytle try to distinguish what is real fact, in Tim O’Brien’s words- “happening truth”, or what is made up to help attract an audience. Also known as ‘authentic’ or ‘mythical’. To better understand such a concept Davidson and Lytle have said “..myth deals with expectations rather than reality” (417). With that being said, it is believed that Davidson and Lytle would probably look at O’Brien’s stories and consider them to be mythical because O’Brien has even said that he writes to get an emotion from the reader, so they can feel how he felt, rather than use factual events. If O’Brien’s stories were authentic, they would include real events that have happened in the war and to himself, rather than the sad and dramatic one he tries to portray.

Reality vs. Fiction

2007-10-10T01:33:00.000-04:00

Whose to say, with all the information on the Vietnam War that we have access to today, that any individual can't write a story in the point of view of a war vetran? Not to say O'brien's stories were mythical, but it can be assumed, allowing it to only become a different version of Davidson and Lytles "Where Trouble Comes." In this case it's short stories rather then movies, thats the only difference.
But i personally do feel that O'briens short stories are more athentic simply because the accounts he provides are so much more personal: "I remember Norman Bowker and Henry Dobbins playing checkers every evening before dark...the playing field was laid out in a strict grid, no tunnels or mountains or jungles...the enmy was visible, you could watch the tactics unfolding into larger strategies." In this sentence alone you can sense the emotion in the author, how he desired simplicty but how he it didn't exist.
"Where Trouble Comes" is a more dramatic outlook on the Vietnam War stylized to attract viewers stictly for the purpose of money, not so much to convey an idea. How Davidson and Lytles would approach O'briens work is most probably authentic, in fact his stories would be a rather strong unit in a war movie and yet another contribution to the media.
Unlike O'brien, who uses personal and touching accounts to give a vivid idea of the war, Davidson and Lytles describe a movie entitled Deer Hunter, which at most points even fails to relate much to the vietnam, which confirms how they use myths to seduce the viewer: "Sadistic guards force them to join a sadistic game of russian roulette...nick...survives...Michael...uses the bullets to kill the guards and escapes with Nick and Steven." Russian Roullete definitly has no significance in the war facts, or emotions, which supports the mythical point.

Authentic or Mythical?

2007-10-10T01:19:00.000-04:00

In "Where Trouble Comes" by Davidson and Lytle the short story describes how producers change the facts in order to make the movies more interesting. The story consists of different movies and describing how everything is dramatized. Davidson and Lytle stated, "The historical "reality" presented by dramatic films is radically different from that of a letter or diary, or even from a secondary account like The Jungle" (403), giving us an understanding that there are different forms of reality. Its not only the factual data included. The short story "Spin" by Tim O' Brien from The Things They Carried is the total opposite. Tim O' Brien was in the actual war and witnessed everything he wrote. The use of "I" is very powerful because it shows the reader Tim O' Brien was present. Davidson and Lytle would say that O'Brien is a mythical writer. "The war wasn't all terror and violence. Sometimes things could almost get sweet" (O'Brien 35), shows that when talking about a war its not all about negative. One of the paragraphs in "Spin" describes how it was a ritual to play cheeckers every afternoon. O' Brien states the positive parts of the war and leaves more of the negative parts.

Keep the realism or over Exaggerated?

2007-10-10T00:26:00.000-04:00

Article “when trouble comes” written by Davidson and Lytle have provided examples to show how modern films create mythical representations of war .As one who knows that most of the War films have over exaggerated the true information of history from many aspects. Ineluctable, Many War films are hard to make impersonally. Obviously, the films are not accurate by engrafting personal views and emotion to a “reality recollections”.
The article is based on Vietnam War. Davidson and Lytle mentioned about some war movies are using historical truth .However, while defining the real evidence found in history, director also changed or added information in order to match their personal “ideally” picture. As the authors’ state: “This piece is a dramatic film, not a scholarly monograph. Like novels or plays, films strive for an artistic standard of “truth” that resides less in the particular of historical record than rendering situations and characters in authentic, human ways. (pg 405)
“The Man I Killed” by O’Brian gives a point of view from a solider to the Vietnam War in his early time. As a witness to the war of Vietnam, O’Brian went through all the events that appeared to his sight at that time. Back to his memories, he clearly listed certain incidents he had faced in the past. At this aspect, he is a historian for fact. However, O’Brian has failed to carry the title “historian” according to Davidson and Lytle‘s perspective for what a true historian should be. The principle for a real historian is: 1. always stick with the truth. 2. Judgy a historical event in an impersonal way. O’Brian has made his 1st mistake to against the tenet, “Daddy, tell me the truth,”Kathleen can say, did you ever kill anybody?” and I can say, honestly,”of course not.” Or I can say, honeslty,”yes.”(pg 204) A historian can’t cover the truth with personal feeling which includes: guilty, shameless, embarrassment. They always have to be impartial to recount what was exactly happened during the past.
If the authors Davidson and Lytle would make a critical to the story “The Man I Killed” by O’Brian, they probably would consider it as a mythical representation not Authentic.

Detailed Reality

2007-10-09T23:27:00.000-04:00

Davidson and Lytle write about the mythical representations of war in modern films such as The Green Berets and The Deer Hunter while O’Brien gives us his account of the war from his own perspective as a foot soldier. If Davidson and Lytle were to read some of the excerpts from O’Brien’s book, I believe that they would call O’Brien’s work authentic because they understand that this writing comes from personal experience and emotion, rather than money or entertainment. The two authors wrote about the movie Platoon and praised it for showing the true nature of war. They wrote, “Platoon also dramatizes the anguish of fighting in Vietnam. Sheen is tormented by ants that crawl over him; he faints from the heat and humidity of the hard march; he stares anxiously into a rainy, impenetrable dark, trying to spot the enemy” (424). Rather than an epic tale of a seemingly invincible hero, Davidson and Lytle admired the sheer reality of war.
O’Brien writes about just how real war really can be in his short story titled, “The Man I Killed”. He gives us a startling detailed image of a man who he believes he has killed with his own hands. He writes, “His jaw was in his throat, his upper lip and teeth were gone, his one eye shut, his other eye was a star shaped hole” (139). The reader can imagine this picture so clearly because of all of the vivid details. Davidson and Lytle would deem it authentic just by reading the first couple lines of this short story.

Does Reality Make Stories or Do Stories Make Reality?

2007-10-09T20:50:00.001-04:00

Davidson and Lytle, the authors of “When Trouble Comes,” an in-depth analysis of representation through war films, would look at Good Form, a short story by a war veteran named Tim O’Brian in a very interesting way.
In the article by Davidson and Lytle it states: “John Wayne’s film demonstrated that although myths might distort history, they could not ignore it entirely if they hoped to speak to audiences in lasting and satisfying ways. The tensions between ideal and the real, between “what should have been” and “what was,” made The Green Berets an unconvincing film for many Americans”(410). This quote can be explained that in order to capture audiences, the use of myths to represent cultural ideals and expectations, whether historically accurate or not is very important. These myths are carefully chosen to give the audience a full understanding of what is meant to be represented or demonstrated through that specific story or film.
In O’Brian’s short story he writes: “ I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth”(
203) He later states: “What stories can do, I guess, is make things present”(204) This author is trying to convey the message that he may tell a story in a way that although is not historically accurate, is expressing and even stressing the ideas and feelings behind what could be an authentic occurrence. Particularly in this short story, O’Brien first tells the reader that he was a foot soldier patrolling Quang Ngai Province and establishes that as truth. He then shares a short event where he was present and witnessed an opposing soldier dying, but states that that occurrence never happened. The reason he does this is to be as Davidson and Lytle would say, “mythical,” in order to illustrate to the audience how he was feeling at that time. Next, O’Brian states what he calls the happening-truth, as he truthfully admits to the “faceless responsibility and faceless grief (203)” that he is left with after witnessing the dead bodies as a soldier many years earlier. This preceding statement is what Davidson and Lytle explain as "authentic." The story-truth is what follows as the author exaggerates these feelings of responsibility and grief by saying that he killed that member of the opposing forces, “attaching faces to grief(204)”.
As we can see, producers, authors and the like, use mythical and authentic stories or movies in order to suggest and expression their feelings. The controversy then arises of whether reality makes stories or stories make reality.

Truth or Lie

2007-10-09T19:51:00.000-04:00

Davidson and Lytle conclude that " The historical 'reality' presented by dramatic films is radically different from that of a letter or diary, or even from a secondary account like The Jungle". (403) In other words, first hand documents such as letter or diary often give the most accurate information about particular events. Second handed documents such as books and films are most likely to give false information because this kind of information usually include personal emotions and point of view. Tim O'brien's stories about Vietnam War is more likely to be consider as mythical according to Davidson and Lytle's conclusion.

Even though that Tim himself was a soldier in Vietnam War that experienced the truth behind the war, but the story which he writes is not 100% accurate. This is because he put too much his own emotions into the story and sometimes, he even make up his own stories in order to make the it more interesting. Quotes such "I remember his face, which......I was present" ( Tim O'brien 203) and "I want you to feel what I felt.... happening-truth." (Tim O'brien 203) evidenced that the story "The things they carried" is not all about truth but the author's emotion too. According to Tim, that when reader falls into the emotional words in an article, he/she will consider this story as a truth whatever it is really truth or not. Tim thinks that the truth can not be written, truth is what the reader feels about it. When a reader feels the same way as the author does, than it is a truth.

Mythical vs. Authentic

2007-10-09T19:16:00.000-04:00

In the reading, “Where trouble comes” by Davidson and Lytle, they discuss the Vietnam War and how exactly film makers played off of the war. They discussed how many movies were geared towards a mythical view of the war, “because myth deals with expectations rather than reality” {417 Davidson, Lytle}. On the other hand some screenwriters took the controversial road and chose to create more of an authentic film. For Cimino, authenticity seems to revolve around dramatic feelings and constructing an emotionally arresting moment rather then a recreation of the wars historical context.” {416 Davidson Lytle}. The problem with these films is that they don’t give the audience a real knowledge of the war, rather “the message was tailored perfectly for those filmgoers who as Coppola said, didn’t want to “feel guilty” and who could now leave the theater singing God bless America, believing that the myths at the center of Michaels world remained intact” {Davidson 419}.
In the stories which O’ Brien writes about he discusses some truthful killings within his peaceful domain. As he states in his article, “Spin,” “The war wasn’t all terror and violence. Sometimes things can almost get sweet” {35}. This is more of a mythical approach. In this passage O’Brien explains that at many times during the war it was quite peaceful and the fellow soldiers would play games with one another. “How’s the war today somebody would say, and Ted Lavender would give a soft spacey smile and say, “mellow man, we got ourselves a nice mellow war today” {36 O’Brien}. This according to Lytle and Davidson would be a mythical view, one that many audiences may be fooled by, however not very true. On the other hand, in the article, “The man I killed” by O’Brien, there is much detail, feeling and compassion. It discusses an American man who killed an innocent man during the Vietnam War. The man could’ve been a million things but the Americans took his life away. Davidson and Lytle would call this more of an authentic story. Historians may be able to relate to it a little more, because it has a little more truth to and reality to it. The Americans killed many innocent civilians and as much as one may like to admit that they didn’t, this story tells it like it is. “Twenty years ago I watched a man die on a trail near the village My Khe. I did not kill him but I was present you see and my presence was guilt enough. I remember his face which was not a pretty face because his jaw was in his throat I remember feeling the burden of responsibility and grief. I blamed myself, and rightly so because I was present” {203}.

nicolefarahnik o brian mythical.authentic

2007-10-09T17:49:00.000-04:00

Davidson and Lytle would consider O’Brian’s stories as mythical. According to Where Trouble Comes, by Davidson and Lytle , it is stated that “A myth, to quote one dictionary definition, is “any real or fictional story, reoccurring theme, or character type that appeals to the consciousness of a people by embodying its cultural ideas or by giving expression to deep, commonly felt emotions.” (405) According to this quote, as long as the same feelings or interpretations are perceived, then the story, which could be fiction or nonfiction, would be considered as a myth. Where Trouble Comes shows us that movies and stories do not show the real truth anymore, but rather dramatize everything to make it bigger than what it really is. “I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening truth.” by O’Brian, Good Firm. According to O’Brian, truth is when you get the same feeling that the actual person who went through it has gotten. He considers it more important to get the emotional value, rather than the occurring truth.

Mythical or Authentic

2007-10-09T17:36:00.000-04:00

If Davidson and Lytle we're to read Tim O'Brien's material, they would consider it to be mythical. In "When Trouble Comes" they define myth as, "any real or fictional story, recurring theme, or character type that appeals to the consciousness of a people by embodying its cultural ideals or giving expressions to deep, commonly felt emotions." What Tim O'Brien writes aren't exactly non-fiction material, but what is true is that he has primary source of the Vietnam War, which is his experience as a veteran of the war.

As a person who fought in the Vietnam War, O'Brien has a better understanding of what really went on in Vietnam, rather than a news reporter who was just reading out military charts. However, his stories would be seen as mythical because O'Brien himself writes, "I want you to feel what I felt. I want you to know why story-truth is truer sometimes than happening-truth." Writing by this theme, he retells what he felt in Vietnam by giving it a dramatic feel, which would cause Davidson and Lytle to call it, "radically different from that of a letter or diary..."

Jason Eisenberg, Myth or authentic

2007-10-09T14:44:00.000-04:00

The main idea in where trouble comes written by Davidson and Lytle is about how Movie companies add fake details and change the story line of an historical event to make money. Davidson and Lytle think it is wrong for movie companies to continue the trend, rather they should give the whole truth

Davidson and Lytle when reading Tim O Brien’s stories would find the stories to by mythical. Davidson and Lytle want movie companies as well as people telling stories about the Vietnam war for example to give the harsh facts even if it may be tough to swallow. They do not want movie companies and historians to depict the war in the wrong way. They don’t want the facts changed for movie companies to benefit off of. In the passage Where Trouble Comes it states “Grant the search for profits often pushes Hollywood to distort the past in hope of making films that audiences need and want to see”. (Davidson, Lytle.405). They are saying that many myths are added to war stories to attract the consumer. O’ Brien in his stories talks about how Lieutenant Jimmy Cross thought days and nights about the women he loved whose name was Martha. “In the late afternoon, after a day's march, he would dig his foxhole, wash his hands under a canteen, unwrap the letters, hold them with the tips of his fingers, and spend the last hour of fight pretending. He would imagine romantic camping trips into the White Mountains in New Hampshire “. Davidson and Lytle would call these accounts by Tim O’ Brien Mythical. They might say O’ Brien stories at times are nice, but too mythical. They would say that in such a brutal war there was no time to sit back and think of women back home. To Davidson and Lytle O' Brien is telling us these stories to soften up the real truth about the war. Davidson and Lytle would accuse O’ Brien of being mythical so in the future people would get a good feeling about the war and not the correct account of the war which Davidson and Lytle are stressing. The story is it self may be authentic. but the way it is told regarding the Vietnam War is Mythical because it brings a false representation of the Vietnam war.

Is O'Brien a True Historian

2007-10-09T12:57:00.000-04:00

In O’Brien’s “The Man I Killed” he spoke a lot about what the man looked like and how the bullet holes affected his looks. These sections are historic but when he goes on to talk about what the man he killed used to feel and how he was raised, he has no idea. He is just saying what he thought happened, there is no was to see if that was the truth. He is just speculating. It is a fact that “the man’s head was wrenched sideways” (142). Because others could have seen it, but that the man killed loved mathematics is not a fact.
If O’Brien is supposed to be a historian he needs to stick to more facts and less feelings. I think that Davidson and Lytle would have a problem with calling O’Brien a historian. They would feel that he doesn't stick to the story enough. Also, in the end of “Good Forum” by O’Brien, he states that he would tell his daughter that he didn’t kill anyone when he wrote other stories about killing someone. Historians are supposed to tell the whole truth and let the reader see the facts and grow their own opinions. In their essay “When Trouble Comes”, Davidson and Lytle write that “like novels and plays, films strive for an artistic standard of ‘truth’”, so too O’Brien’s stories are changed by his own feelings and thoughts, they are a form of the truth but they aren’t fully truthful. So I think that Davidson and Lytle would view O’Brien’s stories as entertainment but not history, due to all of the opinions in the text.

The truth?

2007-10-09T06:29:00.000-04:00

Davidson and Lytle talk about how directors make certain choices when creating a movie with historical truth in the excerpt read in class titled “Where Trouble Comes”. Some scenes actually happened, some were fabricated to make it interesting. They talk about how historians and filmmakers have different views. For example, historians stick to the truth and what really happened, while filmmakers will change everything disregarding truth-value to make their money. In fact one director, Michael Cimino, had openly admitted to doing so in an interview for this excerpt. He was questioned about a scene referred to as the roulette scene and said he wanted people to feel what it was like to be there. He said these “emotionally wrenching” scenes were used to sustain the viewers interest and make them feel what it was like to be there. The author said in this excerpt “Cimino was reluctant to talk, claiming he had only read about such games in a ‘newspaper report’.” So is this real? The authors consider this scene to be mythical.
Tim O’Brien can be considered a historian. Except this historian actually made the history and wrote his account of it. Davidson and Lytle would definitely consider O’Brien’s war stories as mythical because his reasoning was not to sustain interest but to feel what he felt, or what it was like to be there. We wonder throughout all the stories O’Brien is telling and we’re asking ourselves is he for real? Did these things actually happen? When we get to the chapter “Good Form” he says it was invented. Then he says “…I watched a man die on a trail near the village of My Khe. I did not kill him. But I was present… Even that story was made up.” Earlier in his book he wrote a whole chapter on how he killed this man, the story was authentic though fictional. It was an account of things that happened during this war, even if he himself didn’t witness it, it happened to some G.I, sometime, somewhere during the years America was fighting. It is authentic.

10/3

2007-10-03T16:13:00.000-04:00

In an effort to make up for the class' general lack of knowledge about the historical realities of the Vietnam war, we're dividing up the period into years, with each of you taking one year and writing a 3-5 sentence (no longer) summary about what was happening in Vietnam during that year (even if your year follows or preceeds the height of American inolvement, we want to know something about what was happening in Vietnam during that period). We will assemble these into a 'timeline' we can post on the blog to give ourselves a sense of the events and their order. Critically, you must cite the source of your information, as you would on a works cited page. When you have finished, email your mini-paragraph and citation to me and I will post the results here on the blog.

Those of you who missed class were assigned a year--email me to get it.

Secondly, read all of the O'Brien listed under important links (two separate links, and 'Tim O'Brien: Spin, The Man I Killed, Good Form' consists of three pdf files). Expect a quiz on the reading Wednesday. In fact, expect a quiz every class until the reading consistency improves.

Lastly, post a response of 250-400 words connecting a specific moment (no more than a scene or one of the shorter stories) in one of the O'Brien stories to a specific quotation (of your chioce) from the Davidson and Lytle article 'Where Trouble Comes' in order to answer the following question: How would Davidson and Lytle look at O'Brien's stories? Would they call them 'authentic' or 'mythical'? Be sure to quote 'Where Trouble Comes' and O'Brien in your answer.

Because there is no school Monday, all of this is due by Wednesday at 10am. And of course, those who haven't yet read 'Where Trouble Comes' should do so immediately and expect it to also be covered in Wednesday's quiz.

about the Vietnam War

2007-10-03T09:26:00.000-04:00

well.,be honest .My history wasnt that well when i was in high school for world history.As i know that the war of Vietnam is consider as the 2nd indochina war.After the the world war 2(1937-1945),American had send lots of soilders to Vietnam inorder to agianst the north Vietnam which they were on the south Vietnam's side.However , thats the only war which Ameircan had lose from all the time till now. Vietnam War is one of the special event from the cold war time, its the only war actually starts to use weapon to against eachother around that time.In addtion, this war had last for ten more years , American really spend lots of money for it.It was consider as a big mistake for the plan of American military .

Personally, im not into WARs.Also dont want see any war around the world.We are all human beings, thats the point.Why dont fix problems piecefully?"If there is still evil exists, that would be human's heart."(a quote from a game i have played)Human are eveil sometimes.We really cant blam the mistake to any one of them.If the war start, both will be respons to everything.No one is complete right or wrong.As we back to the history,Vietnam War did increased the problem about race ,human rights also discrimination problems in United States.It brought a great damage to the Ameican political,people who lives in american were livins in the minds of shadow for a long time.

Im not a war fan , so i really cant give that much opinions.But i hate WARs.It could really destroy a nation at a wrong decision.I dont know whats gonna happend in the future ,but my other hope is to make Bush stop hurting Iraq for stupid reasons.