What have you learned in history so far this year?

Americans continue to struggle with respecting Native Americans culture. I did research on cultural appropriation, meaning, there is controversy about the way Americans use Native Americans’ symbols, labels, and motifs specifically in the fashion industry. Around mid 1800s, Americans forced the natives out of their home place. We waged wars against them and destroyed villages, families, and tribes all for land. We did not give them a chance. Today, we continue to disrespect their culture, and clearly have not learned what their beliefs are and how they want to be treated. There are many examples of Americans disrespecting the Native culture. Something as simple as buying a fake Navajo blanket is insulting because those blankets had religious significance to Native Americans and most Americans still do not understand this concept.

I was surprised to learn about “leisure time”, and how people considered “leisure” “laziness” in the 1800s. It is odd that no one had free time or weekends. I live for the weekend. I could not imagine never having time to sit down, watch Netflix and text. I suppose I had always assumed weekends were apart of life and that most people had a “summer vacation” or a “fall break”. If I had no leisure time and had to come to school on the weekends and during the breaks we have now, I might loose my mind.

It was unpleasant to learn that the world is becoming very visual. It is becoming hard to imagine things. A great example of this would be my reaction to watching 12 Years a Slave. It really opened my eyes to how slaves were actually treated. Watching someone get hung, and almost beaten to death for borrowing soap was appalling to watch, but shocking to realize that this actually happened to most slaves. So, why couldn’t I get that picture from the readings I had done in the textbook? Its simple, most people today are becoming very visual and this is unpleasant.  

I will be able to remember when I could relate things to the present. For example, when our class talked about Chain stores and the consumer society, I will remember that companies sent catalogs to houses to get people to buy there products. These giant textbooks were basically a “Wal-Mart in a book”. It is so interesting a giant book could make shopping glamorous. I don’t know about you but I love to shop, it has always been so fun for me. So to learn about how “mass consumption” intensely affected women’s lives helps me to understand why catalogs were created, and why shopping became enjoyed by most women.

I would name the time period from 1865 to 1920, “Productivity Age”. During this time America, and Americans were producing items, remaking itself, and productively inventing new relationships. During the reconstruction period, Americans were producing new cities, and architectural styles. Americans were productively succeeding at forcing the Natives out of their homeland and productively producing new industries, new people and new techniques about how to be successful when starting a business. Soon after this, Americans were producing new products for the consumer society. So, the “Productivity Age” encapsulates the period from 1865-1920 perfectly.  

Zara and H&M in class assignment

In class assignment 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

I learned, in class today, that the clothing is sent back to the headquarters of Zara. That they aren't just shipped from the store in Portugal or china. I find this admirable of the company, that they care this much to have the clothing sent back to the headquarters and checked. I can't imagine a 5-million square foot building. I did not realize that it was so important to know how the consumers will react to the products before the products are even released. H & M has companies in more places than Zara. Zara seems more high end, only in Spain and China, whereas H&M seems more common, in more places, like Sweden and many other parts of Europe and Asia. I think it is really interesting to learn about how important it is to really attract the customers to buy your stuff, and its not about setting up a cute outfit in the display window, they really think through what they put there and what they have "on display" in the store. Its a genius way to get the customer to buy their products. A really good question Mrs.Lawson told us, that another student told her, was "How do companies know where to put their stores?" It is a great question which leads me to more, Is their a buisness to where people put their business, and if so what is it?

Thinking About Success

Friday, November 21, 2014

Thinking about Success 

Luck
Opportunity
Hard work
Skill

Rankings:
Hard Work
Skill
Opportunity
Luck

what makes a person economically successful?

I think what makes a person economically successful is there hard work. That is what I put as most important because I believe that hard work pays off. And if one wants to become successful they need to be willing to work hard and not base there company or chances off of luck. Skill and opportunity I put together because with skill comes opportunity. If you have the right skills, and they are good and you have worked hard to perfect them then opportunities come next. You have a huge amount of opportunities if you are willing to work hard to master your skills, or strengths and weaknesses. For someone to be economically successful they need to work hard, I have found that it really pays off when people work hard, in my life and others around me. I have learned that I cannot just base my decisions and become successful out of luck, because you are basing your chances on something that you don't know will work out or not. If you have a desire to become economically successful, why would you want to just have luck when you know that you have worked really hard to get there. I would rather it pay off then for it just be about luck. It sounds better, in my opinion, too if someone asks you how you got to be so successful and you say, "I worked really hard" than to just say "I am not really sure, I got lucky". It applies to more people as well because if someone uses luck as there answer and someone else tries to do the same thing, use luck, it might not turn out so well for them. But, I really do think that if everyone works hard, and tries to work hard to perfect their skills opportunity will fall into place and you have become a successful person.

Letter to home about my immigration 

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Dear mom,

            I am finally in America! It has taken me weeks, months to get here and I am so excited. When I stepped off that boat I was overwhelmed with the scenery and the beauty of America. I am in New York city! Coney Island is my favorite place to go here. It is an island that you have to take another boat to, and there is so much to do there! It's an amusement park, so I can play arcade games and ride roller coasters! The food here is good, fatting, but good! Back in the city I live in a neighborhood, or area known as the "suburbs". There are other people like me, that live close! We have a lot of similarities like, we all want to become Americanized and we are all foreign born! It's really cool! I heard that there are over 10 million us here, how amazing! It's not like this all the time though, there are some struggles of being an immigrant here in the United States.
            Finding a job here is close to impossible, I have one working in a factory, not ideal but it pays the bills. Other people in my community are not so fortunate. Most people on the streets look at us like aliens. We don't look like them or talk like them, and some Americans think that we have something wrong with us just because we don't look like them, I think some are even afraid of us. Another challenge is learning English. I had to go through what is called an "assimilation" process where I had to learn English to be in America. I don't understand why we had to do this. What is so wrong with my language that I have to change it? Shouldn't Americans be learning our languages too? I mean they are letting us into their country! English is not easy to understand. Two words sound the same and can mean totally different things.

But, I know I am not alone, and I have earned my right to be here in America! It is a wonderful place, filled with excitement and adventure! I hope you come see me soon mother!

Your new American daughter,
Meredith.

Cultural appropriation

Cultural appropriation USH project 

Monday, October 20, 2014

Chief Indian wearing a 
Pendleton Blanket (1901)

Robe made my Pendleton in the 1920s
and was named after the Chief Joseph 

Controversy surrounding the use of Native American labels, motifs, symbols, and products in the Fashion Industry 

    In the modern world there is a lot of controversy regarding Native American labels and the products made in the fashion industry or cultural appropriation. The main controversy that the Native Americans have had recently are dealing with the companies, Pendleton and Urban Outfitters.

   Cultural appropriation is, according to Susan Scafidi, a law professor at Fordham university makes a statement on what she believes appropriation to be, "Taking an intellectual property, traditional knowledge, cultural expressions, or artifacts from someone else's culture without permission [...] It's more harmful when the source community is a minority group that has been oppressed or exploited another ways." A controversial situation came about when, Urban Outfitters recently brought out a line, titled "Navajo", that included items known as the "Navajo pantie"and the "Navajo print wrapped flask". This, as one could imagine, brought anger the the Native tribes in America. Their sacred prints, hand made and passed down from generation to generation were being represented as a "flask" and "pantie". Sasha Houston Brown, a member of the Santee Sioux Nation of Nebraska, asked for the removal of the line with a 'cease and desist' order. Another influential person regarding cultural appropriation is Jessica Metcalfe. She grew up in North Dakota and is a Turtle Mountain Chippewa. As a young girl, looking through Seventeen magazine, she never saw anyone who resembled her skin color. Metcalfe knew that she wanted to fix this problem. She created a blog in 2009 called 'Beyond Buckskin' promoting the Native fashions in todays world. This blog then expanded and became an online boutique just last year. Her message to America is, "'True Native fashion is more than whats for sale at Urban Outfitters or Forever 21.'" One question many by-standers ask is why this matters to the Native tribes living in America so much. 

    The modern Native Tribes regard the use of their textiles, jewelry, and hair styles, such as headdresses important to themselves. These items have religious significance to them. Metcalfe states, "'We're being told that we don't have rights over how we are represented in America. There isn't just one Native American culture." Another Native appropriations blogger, Adrienne Keene, wrote, "'The Natives have a sophisticated government and communities, but how could they be seen as this if there are so many designers or people wanting to produce products that don't represent them at all.'" Keene could not have said it better. The Native Americans heritage is being used as something we Americans do not understand. Americans do not know the significance of the Native prints and turquoise jewelry. Americans regard these Native prints as a 'cool pattern' or the 'trendy' thing to wear. The Natives have recently gotten their freedom from us and still believe that this has something to do with why we do not hold their fashion in high regards. In 1880, white Americans would take these adorned Native American blankets into their home and use them as rugs. The would even ask the Native 'designers' of the blankets to make the colors more muted so it blended in with their furniture better. This downgraded the importance of the blanket. A blanket, handmade by the Native Americans was used for the white people to step on and even further, they were asked to change their own design to suit the white people better. This clothing is their identity and they intend to protect it. Unlike one may think, this has not been the first time that cultural caricatures have been formed.

This situation has been present in other patterns that the Americans look at as an everyday print. For example, another blogger, Lizzie Bramlett, explains that the pattern Americans know as ‘paisley’ was a holy symbol of the Zorostrians in Persia. Movie stars and fashion models can be associated with this same issue. Gwen Stefani was on horseback with feathers in her hair, with braids, in a music video. Karlie Kloss is a Victoria’s Secret Model and walked the runway in a floor length headdress, leopard bikini, and turquoise jewelry. There are designers today that are really trying to signify the Native American clothing. Kristen Dorsey, a modern Native American jeweler, is creating the ‘Modern Native Jewelry’ line. She is trying to steer away from the typical turquoise jewelry with silver, she is using copper and black pearls, found in the Mississippi river where her tribe lived before the Trail of Tears. Her signature piece is the serpent cuff, and the serpent is a Native American diety. She states “Its more than just making jewelry.” 

In America there is a lot of controversy surrounding Native Americans and how they are perceived in society. Many Native American bloggers and designers are fighting this battle constantly and trying to create an environment where all Natives are represented as good, religious people. Someones cultural identity is important and vulnerable part of who someone is, and when one abuses this concept it takes away a persons identity. Sasha Brown put it simply, “We are not a culture, a theme, or a trend, style or costume, and mascots. We are not a relic of the past.”

Karlie Kloss, Victoria's Secret model, walked
the runway adorned with Native clothing
in 2012

Four Native women wrapped in
Native blankets (1890)  

This young girl is modeling
a Pendleton blanket, made
into a dress by Lakota

Works Cited:

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/appropriate>.

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/caricatures?s=t>.

Grinberg, Emanuella. "Native American Designers Fight Cultural Caricatures." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/30/living/native-american-fashion-appropriation/>.

Grinberg, Emanuella. "Taking Native American Fashion 'Beyond Buckskin' and Headdresses." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/01/living/native-fashion-beyond-buckskin>.

Hix, Lisa. "Why the ‘Native’ Fashion Trend Is Pissing Off Real Native Americans." Collectors Weekly. Collectors Weekly, 1 Dec. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://m.collectorsweekly.net/articles/why-the-native-fashion-trend-is-pissing-off-real-native-americans/>.

Metcalfe, Jessica R., Dr. "BEYOND BUCKSKIN: Appropriation." BEYOND BUCKSKIN: Appropriation. N.p., 10 Apr. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.beyondbuckskin.com/search/label/appropriation>.

Okafor, Udoka. "Cultural Appropriation: The Act of Stealing and Corrupting." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Dec. 2013. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/udoka-okafor/cultural-appropriation_b_4363916.html>.

Scafidi, Susan. "A Much-Needed Primer on Cultural Appropriation - Fordham Law." A Much-Needed Primer on Cultural Appropriation - Fordham Law. Fordham University, 3 Nov. 2012. Web. 27 Oct. 2014. <http://law.fordham.edu/faculty/28427.htm>.

Film Essay

Meredith Walker

September 11, 2014

In class Essay

H Block

In my history class, we have watched two movies; Glory and 12 Years a Slave, both showing the immense thought process that one must have gone to be able to produce such significant movies. I am going to prove that you can develop great analytical skills, explore real events, circumstances, and attitudes by watching these movies in a critical manner, and by doing research.

12 Years a slave was produced by a black man, Steve McQueen, and according to imDb it won many awards, the Oscars, in 2013, for best performance by an actor, best achievement in costume, directing, and at the Golden Globes as well for best performance by actors, best director, screenplay, original score and the list goes on. From the site Box Office Mojo, the weekend this movie opened, in 2013, worldwide, made, $6, 675, 731. Many Americans were clearly drawn to this movie, not only because of the intensity of the film, but because it was based on a true story, real events that happened to someone. I watched an interview with Steve McQueen, on YouTube, and he said “What was so shocking to me was that I did not know his story, I later learned that no one knew his story, so it became my passion to inform people”. Slavery is a subject most Hollywood filmmakers are scared to approach because it comes with a lot of controversy and tension. This movie was so appealing to many different people because it was a true story. It was not just showing an enslaved man and had some true facts here or there, no this was a real story, will real facts, that happened to a real person. Not all of these facts were true though, on the website HistoryvsHollywood, it laid out which facts were truth and which were lies. Steve McQueen added just a hand full of parts that Solomon Northup did not include in his story, for instance, Patsy did not actually want to end her life, and, Steven McQueen points out in his interview that, in the book Solomon portrays his first slave owner as nice, yet Steve McQueen wanted to give the impression that this man was the opposite. He was reading then passages from the bible, yet not being a Christian by beating his slaves, and he knew Solomon Northup was a free man and chose to do nothing about it. I have learned that most of these events in this movie were definitely factual and that Steve McQueen wanted to give Solomon Northup’s story to the world. He wanted to redress a subject people forget about in their daily lives. I thought it was produced to remind the world of the tragedies of slavery, but I came to learn through research and critical thinking that it was so much more than that. Another significant movie in America was Glory by Edward Zwick, who had the same intentions as Steve.

Glory was not as successful as 12 Years a Slave, it was made in a later period, 1990, and I believe many people were still trying to overcome the tragedies of wartime slavery, therefore making it a hard subject to watch. According to imDb, it was a huge success, however in my opinion it was not as big of a success as 12 Years a Slave. It won awards like Oscars for best actor, cinematography, and sound, and Golden Globe awards like, best performance, but the list does not seem as along as 12 Years a Slave. The weekend it was released, in 1990, it made $2, 683, 350, not near as much as 12 Years a Slave. So it seems the audience did not react as positively, based off of the money it made the opening weekend, as the audience did with 12 Years a Slave. Edward Zwick said in an interview, “It is not an attempt to out-do Gone With the Wind, it’s a chance to re-examine history”. This did not catch peoples eyes. It was an excellent portrayal of the blacks fighting with the Americans in war, yet I was not as involved as I was with 12 Years a Slave. I found myself wanting to see more with 12 Years a Slave, it was more real, it was a true story, whereas Glory was based off of facts. Edward Zwick says he was “focusing on the regiment coming together, in all aspects”. Unlike Steve McQueen who was focused on telling the world one mans story. On the mythvsmemory website it states that it ignores the history of the regiment, the confederate soldiers were not supposed to be the angry ones, the government was supposed to look bad. But, Edward was adding in parts that he felt were needed, as he read through historical documents to produce the film, he felt that the confederate soldiers were hateful and wanted most to be portrayed that way, and I agree with him. On history.net Zwick states, “I did it because I felt it needed to be told”. These are the same intentions that Steve had, yet as a human I feel that 12 Years a Slave was more prominent, and it was made in a modern time period.

            12 Years a Slave and Glory were two important, grueling movies to watch and were told by two brave men, Steven Mqueen and Edward Zwick. I have learned that, hearing what critics and the producers have to say about the film, and watching the movie, I understand so many more things than I would have without the research. It brought a clear point to my mind, that these filmmakers were trying to bring humanity to an inhumane place, and they illustrated this well.

Sources, Film Research- Glory & 12 Years a Slave

12 years a Slave Sources

12 years a slave- cost to make

New york times 12 years a slave

Rotten tomatoes 12 years

IMBd awards 12 years

History vs. Hollywood 12 years a slave

Filmmakers intent on making 12 years a slave

Interview with Steve Mqueen 12 years a slave

BOM 12 years success

Glory

Glory review

Glory reviews imDb

Myth vs. Memory Glory

Edward Zwick intentions about glory

NY times- Glory

Awards/ opinion- Glory

AWARDS- Glory

JSTOR review on glory

BOM glory success

Zwicks intentions