Commercialization of Holidays

     The industrialization era greatly effected how people celebrate holidays. The reason so many holidays have been commercialized in the way they have is because of the creation of new consumer goods and the development of a more commercial society. When mass production began to play a huge role in how society operates is when the commercialization aspect of holidays really took off. 

     Christmas is the most commercialized holiday that is celebrated in the US today. This holiday was originally created to recognized the birth of Christ and to be centered around the beliefs of Christianity. Today, many people celebrate Christmas that don't have a Christian set of beliefs . Christmas has become very centered around the lights, trees, presents, cookies, music, movies, and egg nog. This is most certainly because of the materialistic society that we live in today. This time of gathering and recognizing the birth of Jesus has suddenly turned into a focus of waking up with dozens of gifts around the Christmas tree. It's been transformed into a time for stores to obtain an economic advantage by selling more merchandise to busy shoppers. 

    Thanksgiving is also another huge commercialized holiday. This holiday was originally created to simply gather around with friends and family to enjoy a meal and recognized the things in your life that you are thankful for. Thanksgiving has made it's way to seeming like just a "step stone" on the way to Christmas. People quickly finish up their Thanksgiving dinners just to rush out and wait in long lines to get the best Black Friday deals. Black Friday is a great example of the extent that holidays have began to be commercialized. In some ways it has caused the holiday of Thanksgiving to loose it's true meaning. The whole point of celebrating Thanksgiving is to give thanks for what we have, and then the same night people rush and wait in huge lines to buy more. 

     Other smaller holidays such as Mother's Day, Father's Day, and Valentine's Day are also prime examples of how today's materialistic society, caused by mass production, has effected the true celebration of the holidays. Mother's and Father's Day both were created to simply recognized the hard work and show appreciation to your parents for all they do for you. This still happens today, but has definetly been altered to showering them with gifts, candies, and flowers. Valentine's Day was also created to celebrate love and togetherness, to simply show the people you love that you care about them. This meaning still stands, but has also fallen into a very commercialized holiday by purchasing cards, balloons, cakes, candy, flowers, jewelry, exc. 

     All of these holidays have became targets for companies and stores all over the country. The commercialization aspect is only getting worse. For example, Black Friday use to begin around 12am on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Now, marketers have developed a strategy that opening earlier on

Thursday night (Thanksgiving night) draws in more and more customers. Strangely enough, the commercialization of Christmas has been so drawn out that it is beginning to affect the true meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday.

     The aspect of consumer culture have greatly affected this idea of commercialized holidays. For example, www.macualay.cuny.edu says, "Advertisers are well aware of powerful, cultural attitudes in this country which impute prestige to practices of conspicuous consumption." So, marketers and advertisers are well aware of the important role they play in the celebration of today's holidays. The era of mass production has caused our society to not appreciate materialistic things as much as we would if industrialization had not occurred. 

The image above shows an average department store on Black Friday, and the hectic lines of people anxiously awaiting the sales. 

commercialization (black friday) image

This image shows the awareness of how over commercialized Christmas has become because of industrialization and the consumer culture that has been formed.  

commercialized christmas

This image shows the top commercialized holidays that we celebrate today, and a few statistics on the commercialization of these well-known holidays. 

over commercialized holidays

This image illustrates the point  I made in my article about Thanksgiving loosing it's meaning because of how over-commercialized Christmas has become. 

holiday commercialization affecting other holidays

The Christmas tree has become the most well-known symbol that represents Christmas. 

christmas tree (major symbol of christmas)

Sources:

http://www.toledoblade.com/Religion/2014/12/21/Commercialization-of-Christmas-holiday-is-nothing-new.html

http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2012-12-28/how-christmas-became-the-most-commercialized-holiday

http://cashmoneylife.com/commercialization-of-holidays/

https://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/rosenbergspring2011/commercialization-of-easter/

http://atlasbusinessjournal.org/the-commercialization-of-holidays/

http://www.uwyo.edu/sustainable/recent-research/docs/global%20consumer%20culture%20arnould.pdf

http://www.businesspundit.com/the-commercialization-our-25-favorite-holidays/

Migrations

     Today I learned that there are many different ways of classifying people, and that you can't always tell a person's race by just taking a glance. There are several fairly specific ways of telling rather a person is one race or the other. These include finger prints, skin color, blood types, and hair texture/color. I also learned that there are many different ways you can sort migration/immigration. Including by country of origin and destination, country of destination, and populations by country. Today I also looked at many different types of visualized information. I always thought of visualized information as being based around graphs and scattered plots, but today I saw websites that used other visualizations to portray information. The use of maps, circular plots, and information set up as an activity were all explored today. Personally, I am fine with sticking to the basic bar and line graphs, but it was neat to see other ways that some people find easier to understand information.

Thinking About Success

   From most to least amount of contribution to success would be hard work, skill, opportunity, and then luck. Hard work would be first because most of the time it takes hard work to develop any skill. For example, you can say you want to be good at painting all day long, but until you practice you won't improve on your ability to paint. Skill would be next because it is important to have skill in the area you are trying to be successful in. Opportunity is also an important factor. For example, If a child has grown up with the desire to paint, but hasn't had the finances to better that skill, then it's less likely for him/her to be successful in that area. Lastly, I believe that luck is only slightly a factor. For example, some people might get lucky and have inherited much wealth that causes them to be successful, but that is pretty rare.

Exploring Business/Clothing Industry

     I didn't have an extensive knowledge of how the clothing industry operated, so I learned a lot by reading the article. One thing that shocked me is how precise the distribution of clothes is. No matter where the clothes are, they must pass through "the cube" which is the base of the business. There is a specific day and time when the clothes are ordered and delivered. One of my questions would be, why do the clothes have to pass through the main location before being shipped? I researched this question, and the most common answer would be for quality check. The distribution centers want to make sure the quality of the clothes and merchandise are acceptable.

Savagery

    Today in class we were researching learning about the word "savage" and how it relates to Indians. Savage means possessing the quality of being fierce or cruel. The Indians and how their way of life is described seems quite rough around the edges. If I were reading this as a way of developing my views of Native Americans, I would have a slightly negative view of them. It would strike some fear in me that Indians are described as being "vengeful" and "crude." These two words aren't usually the best words to describe a person or a group of people. Even though this might come off as being stereotypical,  using caution when hearing warning signs about a person or group of people is actually a very normal instinct.

Letter

     It's just another day here in Lewiston, North Idaho. The tension in this area grows to be a bigger problem day by day. The other day the white settlers lost track of the Indians and went into panic. They set out to find them and over take them. This is just a couple of the many examples of the conflict and lack of trust in this community. There's so much division and hatred that is so evident. It saddens me daily that we can't all just accept that we are different and get along. Yes, I understand we have different color skin and all kinds of different beliefs, but that's the world for ya. There is going to be diversity in the world and that is a good thing in my opinion. It helps us to learn more and see things from others eyes. We have all told ourselves and deceived ourselves into thinking we have to get our way, and our way only. For either side to think that taking the others resources away is necessary truly saddens me. The white settlers attempt to attack and kill the Indians source of food, and the Indians attempt to shoot down the white settlers transportation methods. It causes me to be very uneasy when I hear about the constant battle these people are in. It develops an enviroment where it is difficult to feel safe. The fear of attack on the town is always in the back of your head because of the severe conflict. My hope is that one day all of this conflict can be resolved, that acceptance of others beliefs can be respected.

Article: "The Teller"

       In the beginning of this article, the location of the Indians is unknown. Troops are then sent out to locate the Indians and attempt to overtake them. There is a large amount of conflict throughout this article between the Indians and the whites. The Indians are attempting to attack the settlers, while the settlers are attempting to attack the Indians. It is very evident that there is much conflict between the two groups, and they both want to be ahead of the other.

Link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82007025/1877-06-23/ed-1/seq-1/#date1=1865&index=0&rows=20&words=Indian+Indians&searchType=basic&sequence=0&state=&date2=1880&proxtext=indians&y=15&x=19&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1

What is a newspaper?
A newspaper is a printed publication consisting of unstapled sheets and containing news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence. (google definition)

When and where did newspapers first come into existence?
The first newspapers were dated in 17th century Europe. (wikipedia)

What were some of the very oldest newspapers in the United States?
Public Occurrences, Both Foreign and Domestick was the first paper written in America. Another one of the earliest newspapers in America was the American Weekly Mercury. (http://www.paperage.com/issues/nov_dec2004/11_2004newspapers.pdf)

What are the "leading stories" in newspapers today?
A few of the "leading stories" include harmful medication warnings, political issues, and recent sports. One of the most recent "leading stories" include the partying issues of Lamar.

Which does it mean to be the "newspaper of record"? What US newspaper was first designated as the nation's newspaper of record in 1913? What other US paper can be considered a newspaper of record?
A "newspaper of record" is a newspaper that has a large circulation and whose editorial and news-gatherings functions are considered professional and typically authoritative (wikipedia.) The first newspaper to be designated as the newspaper of record in 1913 was The New York Times. Another US paper that could be considered a newspaper of record would be The Los Angeles Times. (wikipedia, google)

How is looking at a newspaper different from our use of social media to stay connected?
Our use of social media is a much more convenient way of staying connected, compared to using a newspaper. Using a newspaper gives you the opportunity of losing it, but with social media it is always available.

Native American Religion

     The main tribe that the article I read focuses on is the Iroquois tribe. This tribe had a strong belief in having an all powerful creator called the "Great Spirit." The religion of this group didn't feel it was necessary to have a direct concept of their creator, the "Great Spirit." Although, they did believe that this spirit had an unlimited amount of power and deserved to be praised. This group of Iroquois people didn't only believe in the "Great Spirit," but also that there were other spirits living in the world. They ignored the presence of evil in the world and only believed in the brother of the "Great Spirit" as being the main source of evil. This group of people had a strong belief that immortal decisions that were made here on earth would later be punished in the after life. This belief was lead to be part of the source of this tribes success.

     The religion of this Native American tribe was believed to be a more complex form of Christianity. Both religions believe in a creator that provides their people with protection and survival, but Christianity believes in a more loving and forgiving God. With this tribes beliefs they say they will be punished for immortal behavior, but Christianity states that God sent his son to die for our sins. This means that God tells us we don't have to pay for our immortal behaviors because they are already paid for by the death Jesus experienced on the cross. Another main difference is that the tribes beliefs say they shouldn't worry about revolutionizing the world. On the other hand, in Christianity, the Bible states to constantly live your life through Christ's example in order to spread the word of God.

     I chose to research Native American religion because religion is a topic i'm very strong and passionate about. I feel it forms a sense of identity and gives you a strong set of beliefs to live your life through. This is why I wanted to research and learn more about what spirituality looked like for the Native Americans.

http://are.as.wvu.edu/ruvolo.htm

Review and Reflect

     I have learned a lot this year already. I have grown in my analytical thinking skills, and gotten better at finding the deeper meaning of things. I've done a much more sufficient job of thoroughly thinking about specific reasoning. The time we spent on slavery and analyzing the two movies we watched majorly helped me to develop this skill at a more efficient level. Through the discussions we have had in class, I have noticed myself being more willing than I have been in the past to speak and share my ideas.

     An area of strength that I have noticed so far this year is sharing my personal views on the sympathy and empathy unit we have done. I have never been very good at openly sharing my views, so this area of growth has been very exciting to see progress in. I have been in many situations that include knowing the difference between being able to be sympathetic vs. being empathetic. I feel these situations throughout my life have really helped me to be able to contribute my views in class on sympathy and empathy. I really enjoyed this unit because this subject really interests me and I was able to relate it to my personal life.

     I would like to improve on thinking about things at a deeper level, and not just exploring things that are on the surface. I do an okay job of this, but feel it could better my discussions and writing skills if I developed this skill even more. I would also like to better my time management skills throughout this year, and not procrastinate with my out of class assignments.



   

May Merrill Gillespie

Film Essay

      Both Glory and 12 Years a slave help to give a better and deeper understanding of the effects of slavery in the history of the US. It is possible to develop great analytical skills and explore real events, circumstances, and attitudes just by watching movies in a critical way, and doing some research. 

     There is a huge difference between watching a historically based movie in the comfort of your home, and watching it in the classroom. Naturally you are not going to analyze and think deeply about a movie's true meaning and message unless there is a specific task at hand. When you watch a movie in the classroom and truly try to depict the message it is trying to portray, it can be an amazing way to learn. 

     The movie 12 Years a Slave speaks volumes to how cruel and mistreated slaves were treated in the US. The film director does a great job of getting the message across in a entertaining manner. By watching this movie, you can begin to try and empathize with he people of this era because you feel like you have experienced pieces of how it was to live in a time period where slavery was popular. Without a visual image of how difficult life was back then, it is more difficult to place yourself in their position. This relates to analytical thinking because of the word empathy. Empathizing with someone, especially a slave, takes a high use of analytical thinking. I feel that without watching the movie, the door to analytically thinking about what it would be like to live in this time period would not be open quite as wide. Having an image and watching how people that lived during this time period dealt with slavery is very helpful. The movie 12 Years a Slave is based off a book written by the man that the movie is based on, Solomn Northup. The fact that this movie was based on a book that was written by the person who actually experienced all of these things makes it that much greater of a learning tool. The filmmakers goals were to find the truth and to communicate it. Filmmakers sometimes really struggle with producing true stories. The reason is that they want to provide an educational, real film about what they are trying to communicate, but also have to make it entertaining. In 12 Years a Slave the filmmaker did an amazing job with achieving this goal by communicating the brutality of slavery while also making it attention grasping. 

     The movie Glory is known for it's powerful story telling. Although this film is amazingly produced and has a powerful story line, people have definitely questioned it's accuracy. Unlike 12 Years a Slave, the movie Glory didn't really have a fair amount of primary sources. This caused the movie to be told to have masked much brutality that took place. It doesn't do as well of a job portraying the feelings of the black enlisted men. This film is also told to have embellished the characters to create more of an interest of the viewers. This is an example of the struggles of filming a historical event. The 54th Regiment was pretty much wiped out in the end. A crude ending like this could leave viewers feeling awful, causing the film to get bad reviews. So, the film maker had to create a way to get a positive message across. In the end, he did a stand up job of sending the message that white and black soldiers came together in the end. Even if this film is not believed to have the amount of historical accuracy as 12 Years a Slave does, it is still a great opportunity to exercise analytical thinking. Analytical thinking could take place in the way of thinking how this film could be changed or edited to be more up front about how the black enlisted men felt. 

     Rather every fact in a historical movie is true or not, films are still an amazing way to learn about events of the past. It causes us to analytically think about how these past events have changed the world we live in today. These historical films also help for us to relate how these historical events, and what people have learned from them are still relevant today. 

Hyperlinks:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/18/movies/12-years-a-slave-holds-nothing-back-in-show-of-suffering.html?_r=0

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/10/17/_12_years_a_slave_true_story_fact_and_fiction_in_mostly_accurate_movie_about.html

http://a-bittersweet-life.tumblr.com/post/64783364652/the-adventure-of-filmmaking-12-years-a-slave-with

http://www.historynet.com/basking-in-two-decades-of-glory.htm

http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/194041%7C0/Glory.html

Practicing Incorporating a Quotation

This film was not portrayed well from the colored man's perspective. The producer hid some of the intense mis-treatment and majorly down played it. "The film should have, if possible, integrated some primary-source material from an enlisted (black) man’s perspective." This quote reveals that the producer should've incorporated more of the 54th Regiment from the enlisted black men's perspective.

   I learned that paraphrasing should portray the same idea that the original passage does. It should not just be a summary of what the author is saying. Instead, you should take the exact same ideas of the author and put them into different words.

This is what Mrs. Lawson wanted me to learn today:

• Only use a quote when it adds power and style to my writing.
• Always make it clear, from context, that I understand the full meaning of the quote.
• Whether I quote or paraphrase, always be transparent about the source and how i'm using it.
• If I use another author's exact words or phrases, to any extent, I have to use quotation marks and give credit. 
• If i use another author's presentation of facts or ideas, but put their ideas in my own words, I better have a good reason for doing that, and I MUST give credit.
• Hyperlinking is so easy, there is no excuse for not being transparent about my sources. 

I understand what we went over today about paraphrasing.

Paraphrasing Practice

     "As well, the film paints race relations in the North as fairly rosy, with substantial prejudice but without virulent hatred. While a few white characters, such as the quartermaster who refuses to grant the regiment boots, speak rudely about black people, it is not particularly intense. This ignores a history of profound racism in the free state, with many black soldiers fighting in the war to prove their worth to society." This is by Alex Langer from McGillblogs.com

     The film gives the viewers the picture of race relations in the North as being fair, with a certain amount of pre-judgement, but no violent hate. There are several white characters, one being the quartermaster, that look down on black people and speak vulgarly about them, but it's portrayed as being not very intense. Through this movie the obvious racism in the free state is down played, and so is the fact that many black soldiers fought to prove their importance to society.

Empathy vs. Sympathy

     The way we defined empathy in class is having the intellectual identification or vicarious experience of the feelings/thoughts/attitudes of another. Another definition we gave empathy is having the experience of understanding anothers condition from their perspective. The way we defined sympathy is feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune.

     An example of using empathy would be using your imagination and thinking about the situation that someone is in. Even though you may not have experienced the same thing, you can imagine yourself in the situation and try to understand emotions they may feel.

It would be important for someone who is studying history to be able to empathize because they study other people lives and events they went through on a daily basis. They should be able to put themselves in other people's shoes because it would help them to have a more accurate representation of past events to convey to the people they are trying to teach.