Questions

1. What are the specific signifiers of each genre of music-psychedelia, blues, soul, country, square, folk, hip, etc? (what are the roots of each?)

2. What were the important domestic and foreign contributions and failures of each presidency?

3. How did the public react to implications made of people in sitcom jokes, etc? For example, in an episode of All in the Family, each group, conservatives and democrats are teased? Were many people offended or oblivious or did they simply enjoy the irony or humor?

3 Questions

1. Who was the most effective President of the 1960s? How do these presidents we have studied compare to the ones of today? In many ways, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, etc. set precedents that our Presidents still follow today. Can you think of any?

2. Which music movement did you find to have the most widespread effect? What are the most dramatic social implications of any music movement?

3. Do Movies become the most significant form of art by the end of the 1960s? How has the transition into New Hollywood carried over into today?

1. What were considered the successes of the Weathermen Underground?

2. What caused America's psychedelic phase to end?

3. Was New Journalism a reliable form of journalism? Was it more honest than previous journalistic styles?

Questions

1) What characteristics of young people made them more likely to protest than other groups?

2)How, it at all, did the de-mythologized realism of the sitcoms in the 1970's affect public opinion about the "new normal"?

3) What were the values in country music that Nixon found appealing?

1. In what way did the protest activity influence the political spectrum of the 1960's?

2. Is there an idealogical connection between escapism and New Journalism? If so, what is it?

3. How do funk music and country music coincide as far as the racial standpoints that the signify? Is one more effective at conveying its intent?

Preguntas

1. When did communism begin NOT being such a scary topic to bring up? And what took its place as the epitomy of evil?

2. When and why did the MPAA assemble and being rating movies?

3. What are some of the things we should mention when we're asked to identify songs for the final?

Quetions

1. I was reading over the anti-war protest songs, and it really focused on how insincere the music was, did the anti-war folk music have any effect?

2. Did New Journalism have a far reaching effect on society or was it limited to a small audience?

3. It seems to me that in the early 1970's America basically forgot about Vietnam because of Watergate and Nixon, is this correct? If so, what effect did it have on the outcome of the war or how the war was dealt with in our government?

questions

1.) What was the Nixon administration's policy on the Vietnam war?

2.) "Howl" had a lot of a sort of shock value to it at the time. Was it meant like that, just to shock, or was it a sincere expression of Ginsberg's sentiments?

3.) Why did only African music come to be such a great influence on later movements?

1) With shifts in culture/media/technology, has the path to power changed? Is there now no longer a clear cut Ben Bradlee way to power with the Internet and new ways to reach across the nation and or the world?

2) The nation went from Magiccoms and monstercoms and country coms and militarycoms in the 1960s to Anti-warcoms, ethniccoms and gynocoms in the 1970s. Are there any "coms" that are political in the same way today as the Mary Tyler Moore Show showing feminist rights or Archie Bunker commenting on social mores?

3) What is the difference between soul and funk?

Questions!!!!!!!!!!

(1) How was the Nixon administration a harbinger of things to come and how did his administration impact people's perceptions of the presidency?

(2) How did the emergence of White Ethnics influence society and people's idea of their own identity?

(3) What caused black protest music to emerge? What were the defining features of this genre?

Questions

1. What factors led to the overall decline in the government's credibility among its citizens? What led to Nixon's involvement in Watergate and was it even necessary?

2. Are psychadelic rock and country music polar opposites? What factors do they have in common? What do they both commonly achieve? What do they achieve that the other cannot?

3. What are the origins of New Journalism and what was its appeal? Was it effective?

Questions

1. How could LBJ have better handled the Vietnam War that would have led to less friction between liberals and conservatives, or was it even possible?

2. Did the shift in popularity towards sitcoms on T.V. signify that the audience wanted to use it as an escape as opposed to focusing on reality?

3. Did protest songs do more harm than good when it came to appealing to the other side or was it merely a form of personal expression for the protesters?

Inquisition

1. What could the Weathermen have altered in their system of radicalism in order to have been successful? Would they have even been discussed in this cluster if they had altered their ways and minimized the amount of violence that they were associated with?
2. Does the value of a song decrease if the artist isn't authentic regardless of the sincerity of the song? For example, is Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction less powerful because he didn't write the song?
3. What precisely is it that makes New York journalism so different from that of journalism in the rest of the country?

???

1. What do you think of Carter's decision to pardon Nixon? Is this a power that should be awarded to the president?

2. Did the emergence of post-modernism coincide with the decline of religious practices? Did it arise because people of the 1960's were left feeling unfulfilled spiritually and so sought other means to grasp onto any glimmer of truth?

3. "We write songs; we know what we mean by them. But in a week someone else says something about it, says that it means that as well, and you can't deny it. Things take on millions of meanings. I don't understand it."

-Paul McCartney interview, ca. 1967-68

Does only pop music fit this code of open interpretation? Is this an innate characteristic of pop that allows it to appeal to the masses? Or can other types of music fit this description as well, such as Folk, if the lyrics and musical signifiers are more abstract?

Questions

1. Did Wallace's backlash politics focus on the Civil Rights Movement, counterculture, or simply all progressive leftist concepts

2. Is there any connection between new journalism and the coverage of Watergate? Were the practices of new journalism used in this coverage?

3. Is protest music only attributed to psychedelic and folk music, or music affiliated with counterculture? Or could funk music and other black power promoting music be considered a type of protest music?

questions

1. why was the 60s a prime stage for all of the protests that it had? was there any relation to the growing sense of individuality that many people felt in this time?

2. the fiddler on the roof was a great example of the white ethnic's desire to reflect on the old country and how things used to be and was a key to its success. are there any less obvious instances in famous movies where the plot refers in some way to the white ethnic movement?

3.Did any major traditional signifiers of music change genres in the 60s and did the meaning of those signifiers change with the genre shift?

Questions

1) Why was Kennedy so good at re-shaping conflicts during his campaign? Was it that he was able to scare Americans enough to follow his ideas regarding communism and our education standards, or that he was just a good advertiser?

2) Why were the news coverages of the Vietnam allowed to be so graphic and then why did the brutal truth in news fade off of the general news program, even into today?

3) Soul music wasn't really protest music the way Bob Dylan's music was until James Brown, but was there any black protest music in between that we just didn't cover?

Questions

(1)

In the American National Election Study from 1964 to 1972, how were respondents chosen? Does today's system today represent people of all races and backgrounds in the studies?

(2)

In Philip K Dick's Time Out of Joint, what was the meaning of the soft-drink stand disappearing? Did this have something to do with the knowledge we talked about in discussion? What did the soft-drink exactly signify, what was it's point?

(3)

When rock artists cover songs, such as the Quicksilver Messenger Service with Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love?, is it considered to be participating in the folk process?

the 2000's

In my paper I am comparing the people's trust in the government and/or faith in humanity and finding a parallel in A Clockwork Orange (the movie). Do you think there's a specific media example that embodies a political feeling of the 2000's??

From September 11, 2001 to oil prices to Obama's inauguration and everything inbetween

Not from 1960s America, but please read if you have the time.

Korean Comfort Women

Starting around 1937, the Japanese started taking away innocent Koreans. There was conscription of Korean men into the Japanese military, to increase the number count of military in the Second World War. But what most of the world does not know is that 60,000 to 200,000 Korean women were taken as well. These women were known as the Comfort Corps--as a euphemism. These women were hardly women; the Korean women taken ranged in age from 11 to 24. Little girls were taken from their families to serve Japanese military men in SEXUAL SLAVERY. These young girls lived in horrid conditions, serving up to 20 men a day.

After 1945, these women were torn apart. Many had already died from either disease, malnourishment, or war causes. Many committed suicide so that they would not have to return to their families and bring shame to them because of what happened to them. Many were killed so that they could not tell their stories. To this day, the women who have survived have not received any apology from the Japanese government. The Japanese continuously deny that any of this happened, or claim that Comfort Corps had nothing to do with the government. These women have faced so many traumatizing events and adversities, all they want is an acknowledgement from the Japanese Government that their sexual slavery really happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xs4sORagrw&feature=related

(note: some of the claims in this video are a little misleading...the young girls were not just willingly sold into sexual slavery)

For Those of You Who Attended the Music Conference with the Paper on Autotune, Charlie Sheen's Autotune is "Winning"

This mix that transcribes Charlie Sheen's current philosophies into an autotuned song, is actually put together really well, it's "Winning."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QS0q3mGPGg&feature=player_embedded

nagging questions

to add a little bit of clarification to the topic of relativism of knowledge, wikipedia defines it as mostly referring to moral principles and ethics and while some instances in science can be used as examples of relativism in knowledge, laws like gravity dont really fall under this category.

hmmm....

Pentagon Papers.........Wikileaks???

The Pentagon Papers drove Nixon to Watergate...

What will Wikileaks do to Obama?

Everyone seemed to be hiding something in the scandal, and I can see why the newer guys in office were. They were doing what they were told because they didn't know any better. They thought they were doing the right thing by protecting the president. But why did Haldeman testify and say he had one of the tapes in his possession over the weekend? I don't understand if he said this to protect the president by saying that the tapes could have been messed with or to say that they should be released. He was supposed to be close to the president but when he testified it seemed that he was lying becuase he couldn't remember any specific details. Do you think there was a possibility he was trying to reveal the truth without actually saying it, because he kept saying things that made Nixon look guilty?

In Tuesday's lecture it was mentioned that presidents after Nixon have used similar techniques to get what they want more quickly by dodging the formal channels, such as presidential signing statements. Because Nixon was able to come out clean after such legal atrocities, did that subtly signify to future presidents that it is within their right and power to act in such ways? Should Americans be just as suspicious now of our President's actions?

while looking up political songs for my paper, i found this website with a few political songs and the one that was interesting to me at least was the song about the iraq war and that made me think about how much the war in iraq and afghanistan relates to vietnam and this excerpt from the song felt the same way, acting as a voice of the 60s and 70s letting the youth of today know that the same thing happened to them back then.

http://www.brownielocks.com/sixtieswarsongs.html

Frost/Nixon... and some music

I don't know the accuracy of this film's portrayal of the Watergate scandal but it might be useful in helping to illuminate the somewhat dry political readings for this week. Here's the trailer and synopsis of the film:

Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibxs_2nDXUc

Synopsis- http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/frostnixon/

On a side note, I found the music conference to be really interesting. I thought the "Reality Bites" segment shared some interesting arguments in regards to the kind of media our generation consumes. What were your thoughts? I'm especially curious as to what people thought of the third presentation on Ke$ha and her "native style".

Thursday's Reading on the Watergate Scandal.

I may have missed something in the reading,

I know that Nixon knew of the intrusion into the Democrats hotel in Watergate, but I was questioning if he knew of this after the incident, or was he did he play a part in planning this?

If he had found out after, the cover up could have been his part in trying to save his face and those who worked for him. The responses given in the long trial were kind of on both sides.

So did Nixon order to burglaries in Watergate, or did he learn of it after?

Cade vs. D'Amico

It was interesting to read Toni Cade's Preface right next to Debby D'Amico's To My White Working-Class Sisters.

Both wrote of working women, but the contrast and similarities were so interesting that I wonder how a conversation between the two would end.

At first, when reading Cade's piece, I was thinking why does she want such a separation and distinction amongst the black women? I felt that she was going against the long struggle for equality. Martin Luther King, Jr. had been fighting so hard for the equality of human beings. But after reading D'amico's, I got the sense that Cade may have been arguing against the melting pot of assimilation, and pushing for maintaining one's identity, and was not necessarily trying to say that people were unequal.

In "The Current Cinema", Pauline Kael discusses the extent to which art house films became the cultural norm, especially for the growing 60's youth counterculture movement. The appeal of this style was not only the quality of the films produced, but also the feeling of being "an inside audience whose members enjoy tuning in together to a whole complex of shared experiences and attitudes." This elitist appeal and sense of superiority is arguably part of what made the counterculture movement so successful as well and still pervades the "indie" counterculture today. Does this deviation from mainstream culture actually imply a higher quality or artistic aesthetic? Or is a film automatically considered more legitimate only because it defies artistic convention?

The Ramifications of Shifting Power

In what way did the shift of power from producer to director impact the quality of the movies made? I am inclined to think that because producers were often entwined with distributors, etc., their focus was not so much on quality and freedom of artistic expression as much as marketability. However, when a director is given complete control of a movie, a complex and often ambiguous air is added to the film, inspiring several different interpretations and complicating what could seem like obvious readings.

"New Hollywood"

Professor Decker’s lecture today described the trend of decreased censorship and content regulation in Hollywood movies. Does this trend reflect a genuine shift in what American society deemed socially acceptable, perhaps brought about by becoming somewhat inured to the “shocking” as a result of all the various counter-culture movements? Or is it more the result of directors being given more artistic license or whatnot under the antitrust laws that broke up the vertically integrated system of studio production and distribution for the film industry?

Oops I deleted my post but this is for Patricia

Movies are such a passive experience. You sit down and you have no say in what unfolds, no chance to argue whatever the movie has to say--you sit and you watch. Your only power in to turn off the TV/leave the movie theater but hey, you payed good money for that ticket! Naturally, we put ourselves in the roles of the characters in a movie, we get to be Rocky, the terminator, Don Corleone for two or more hours of that day. Movies are fantasies and never full replications of the truth, but they allow us to escape into our fantasies in the least intensive way possible--sitting down! Basically, I saw the Justin Bieber movie and realized the power of movies, especially documentaries. I watched a great director portray the kid in the most talented, heroic way possible and I could not do anything about it but sit and watch--it is not easy to contest something you both see and hear! Well regardless of your views of J. Biebs, movies make one hell of an aesthetic argument!

Here's my favorite Bieber song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHVhwcOg6y8

Is film is the opium of the people?

After reading "The Current Cinema", I immediately thought of a quote my film teacher loved to share when I took his class in high school:

"Theaters are the new church of the masses- where people sit huddled in the dark listening to people in the light tell them what it is to be human."

--1930's Film Critic

Are we "looking for 'truth'- for some signs of emotion, some evidence of what keeps people together"? Do we "[go] to the movies looking for feelings that will help synthesize [our] experience," as the article suggests?

Why do we love going to the movies?

Grammy's

During the Grammy's this past weekend I found myself thinking more about our 60s class than questioning Lady Gaga's performance--but then again the Egg and fake shoulders were pretty tame compared to a meat dress. But The Kingston Trio was honored for being a folk revival band, Bob Dylan "performed", the music world remembered Mitch Miller and if Arcade Fire's performance wasn't a sensory overload I don't know what it was. Given how we learned about folk music do you think the Kingston Trio merited the title "folk revival band"? Also how do you think the legacy of Mitch Miller will be remembered?

Women in Country Music

In 'Creating Country Music', Peterson mentions that "women were systematically excluded from the business side of the developing industry and for decades were expected to fit a few stereotyped performance roles" (Bufwack and Oermann, 1993)

What were those stereotyped roles and why were women less involved in developing country music? Did this result in them being less authentic?

Is "Freedom" Panidealistic?

Something in today's lecture that I found interesting were the lyrics of "Okie from Muskogee." Although Merle Haggard may have wrote the song with the intent to poke fun at the "Okies," his use of the word "free" is worth noting because of the contrast it makes between the freedom ideal of the "country music culture" and the hippie culture, so to speak. He wrote that "We don't take no trips on LSD/We don't burn no draft cards down on Main Street/We like livin' right, and bein' free." This use of the word "free" implies that freedom precludes a duty to love one's country and respect its ideals. Counterculture, however, seemed to understand freedom as the ability to express oneself in any manner one deemed fit, be it through music, drugs, or whatever. I think that the contrast between the two is pretty cool because when most people look back on the 60's they think of the hippie culture, but there was also this whole movement of people who wanted to adhere to conservatism and the "old" America.

America: Where The Streets Are Paved With Gold

After the civil rights movement, the perception was that a WASP identity was not embraceable. Regardless of whether that was one's identity, WASP's were seen as the oppresors. Arguably, this could have led to the revival of embracing ethnicity as second and third generations of immigrants attempted to re-identify themselves. But if many of those immigrants and first generation of immigrants had grown up in a society of WASP dominance, under the "melting pot" ideology in which they felt compelled to shed their cultural customs, how could their children and grandchildren authentically embrace this reemergence of "white ethnicity"? Could they truly reflect an ethnic culture and "customs from the old world" when they themselves had grown up with parents and grandparents who had been able to abandon thier ethnic identities and customs? Or did this reemergence of "ethinc" identity simply serve as a convenient label? And furthermore, should immigrants feel compelled to assimilate and abandon their culture, or do they even have a choice?

hegel on country

In Creating Country Music, I was amused that Peterson chose a term out of Hegelian philosophy to describe his view of the cyclical trend in popularity of ‘soft shell’ versus ‘hard core’ country music. Dialectical is certainly an apt term for that trend, so I suppose there really isn’t anything that one can’t apply Hegel to.

Ethnicity in Hard Core and Soft Shell Country

We were talking about the white ethnic movement in class, and it seems that the hard core country artists are more ethnic than the soft core country artists because of their authenticity. The Peterson article states that even though the hard core country artists tended to make less money then the soft core artists, but they "have received the most attention from contemporary commentators" (150). The hard core country artists seem to parallel the first generation immigrants of the early 1900s because they want to keep their traditions alive and tend to not make as much money. The soft core country artists seem like the second and third generations of immigrant families. They would rather make more money and have a better life for themselves by keeping in touch with their heritage, but altering their traditions to better suit the world they live in and make themselves more popular.

The Republican Party

It was mentioned in class today that the Republican Party in the early 1970's wanted to affiliate themselves with country music because it held the ideal of an unchanging society. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the first time we see the Republican Party so solely associating themselves with one social group? I found this interesting because we still see this today, that the Republican party as a whole represents "true American values" and traditional life styles no matter the social class. Why do you think this strategy has been so consistent the past forty years?

Hank Williams' Tunes

Hank Williams' songs have been covered over the years by a handful of various artists. Unbeknownst to me, I happened to have two of them in my iTunes library courtesy of my Grandpa. The tracks are taken from two of Williams' greatest hits: "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Hey, Good Lookin' ". Patsy Cline covered the former and Tennessee Ernie Ford the latter. Here's two more country tunes for your listening pleasure.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/355lbicxk6dxj8t/03%20Your%20Cheatin%27%20Heart.m4a

http://www.mediafire.com/file/56fauyjiuuf3g15/05%20Hey%2C%20Good%20Lookin%27.m4a

Memento/Time Out of Joint

So this is a very random post, but this past week I saw the 2000 film, Memento and saw some distinct parallels in Leonard (the protagonist) and Ragle from Dick's Time Out of Joint. Where Leonard chooses to set himself up so as to make himself feel better later and Ragle becoming so stressed and pressured he makes a mini world to safely live in. Is this a universal human characteristic? Do we all set ourselves up to block out what we don't want to hear/see/feel and only view what we wish to see just to varying degrees? (unless you guys have "Facts" tattooed on your bodies and enjoy planning where green men appear and I just don't know!)

how united are we?

It seems like Americans, in order to truly come together as a country, consistently need a common enemy to stand up against. While it would be ideal if American People could unite under positive causes rather than negative ones, troubling situations again and again seem like the driving force of the "United" in the United States. For example, George Wallace was likely at the height of his power when he took a negative stance against integration and the whole country was aflame with civil rights. When that issue calmed, he then moved on to the war on Communism as he new target. However, even though Wallace focused on more positive issues toward the end of his political career, he had not nearly the power he once had when was slinging insults. What does this say about American politics in general? Are we to be forever restless for rebellion?

Wallace's Repentance

The documentary showed us a completely new Wallace after he was paralyzed. When he went back to campaigning he repented his past actions and succeeded in garnering a significant amount of black votes. The African Americans shown in the documentary seemed to wholeheartedly support him and believe that he had returned to "the old Wallace." To what extent was this transformation genuine? Was it just another ploy to win votes?

Political Science Paper

For my political science paper last quarter,

I looked at the percentage of those who thought going into the Vietnam war was a mistake, and who thought it was the right idea, based on educational level. I was expecting that the college educated would be more disapproving of the war, but this did not prove true in my research. The college educated actually were more approving of the war than the only high school and lesser educated people. I talked about some of the possible reasons in my paper, but would like to know what you guys think about why the college educated were more pro-Vietnam in 1964?

from the lectures

From the documentary and commentary from the professor on tuesday and thursday, we discovered the lengths an individual would go for attention, approval, and power. In George Wallace's case, he went to as great lengths as to completely changing his beliefs and physically getting in the way of two black students trying to attend the University of Alabama in order to get more attention and followers. This concept (especially found in politics)of doing something not because of the good that would come out of it or how morally right it may be but for one's own gain raises the important question of can anybody do anything without expecting anything out of it?

George Wallace: The Fighter

Professor Aberbach raised the question in lecture today on who the real George Wallace was. He was a a fighter. His main goal was to win. He had tried to fight in the beginning of his political career for better streets and free books, but when the public didn't listen and he lost, he was underprivileged in terms of power. So he fought on the majority's side against integration and for segregation. Yes, he was a man who at the very beginning and end of his career helped the poor regardless of their race, but in that in between time he was fighting to get elected so he could have the opportunity to make changes. And in order to win, he had to fight on the side of the segregationists even though the real him only wanted improvements to help the state and the poor, and according to his daughter, "Power."

The Kennedy Curse

Intricate, delicate, and tragic, the Kennedy family is compellingly complex. From JFK to Robert to Rosemary, their family is not only full of accomplishment but plagued by tragedy. However, before tragic demise seemed to grip every one of the Kennedy siblings, there was a time when the reign of the Kennedy brothers was energetic, powerful, and full of promise. I found an article from the Los Angeles Times in 1962 that talks about Robert Kennedy, as he was repeatedly mentioned in our reading for this week. I find the last section to be eerily prophetic- check it out.

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=481683972&sid=1&Fmt=10&clientId=48051&RQT=309&VName=HNP

The Weathermen Documentary

In the documentary, there was a short piece of an official at a press conference who stated that it was "sick" for people to use violence in order to try to change political and social reform, to get the government to change. Did anyone else sense the hypocrisy? The parallelism in his statement to U.S. involvement in Vietnam? What are your opinions on what he had to say?

modern day

if the situational comedy in the 50s and 70s tried to show a more realistic view on society and family in those times, what influential shows in our era (90s and 00s) are best representations of average american life?

60's sitcoms

Why did the situational sitcoms of the sixties resonate with the majority of people? They did not reflect anything that was actually happening at the time in the sense that they did not portray events accurately. They were a symbol of conformity in a time of radical change, so how could people relate to them? Could it have been an escape from the monumental changes that could have been very draining on an individual?

is anyone else wondering...

...why all these shows in the 60s have the title of the show be the name of the main ACTOR? And yet the CHARACTER'S name in the show is somewhat different? I just don't get why they had to use the actor's real name, like Mary Tyler Moore in "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", in the title and slightly change her name in the actual show. Maybe it's just me, but I find it odd.

Wooden and Minow

Did anyone else notice that the video clip of Coach Wooden and his actions kind of resembled those of Newton Minow? Coach Wooden told the one player that he couldn't force him to cut off his hair and be clean shaven because that was his personal choice. However, he did control who was going to play and start, and the player already knew Coach Wooden's rules. He wanted to play, so he shaved. His seniority didn't give him any advantage. Newton seemed to have these same persuasion methods because he had his six principles and let the networks know he was "opposed to governmental censorship," but there might be a chance that your license wouldn't be renewed if your programs didn't fit his principle (57).

SDS what what??

What does everyone think about the weatherman underground? At this point, we have taken a consistently objective viewpoint in class but I want to know the opinion on these guys. Are they criminals and terrorists? Or are they heros? Liberal idealougues or students with kindergarden logic?

I'm Rambling

If the nature of televsion allows it to reflect social values in its entertainment, do networks have a public responsibilty to broadcast programs that are concerned with relevant issues? But in addressing relevant social issues, programs are often labeled controversial. Do networks purposely aim to be controversial to garner viewership, or are they committed to reflecting social values? Or, should televion be offered as an escape from the real world, without trying to impart values on its viewers?

Maybe this isn’t terribly relevant…

But anyways:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/01/25/us/politics/state-of-the-union-words-used.html?hp

This kind of shows the shift in what concepts are considered important issues and how they are expressed. Or rather, how US presidents interpret what they believe the public wants to hear. So, it’s slightly relevant to this period when you think about public opinion on the whole range of issues prevalent during the sixties and what government leaders made of it. That being said, the Times thing does primarily focus on more current lexicon.

Quiz Show

The first article we had to read for Thursday, "Equal Time: The Private Broadcaster and the Public Interest" mentions the rigged quiz show scandals that scarred 1950's television. I browsed the web and came across a movie called Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford. I had previously been unaware of its existence (maybe some of you are not as ignorant) . I posted a link to the trailer and a synopsis of the movie from Rotten Tomatoes; the film seemed to attract some pretty high praise. Enjoy!

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOSnYt9k4kM

Synopsis: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/quiz_show/

Thanks a lot Cluster

Has anyone else found themselves noting the "notable" shifts or the use of distortion in songs while listening to music since turning in our charts? With every song that comes on my iPod while walking to class, I find myself thinking "wow, that was a distorted electric guitar" or "that was an interesting use of percussion/shift of tempo". Thanks a lot Cluster, now even between classes I'm thinking about class subjects.

the "new?" new journalism???

here is a link to a website describing a new text titled the new new journalism

it seems interesting check it out!

http://www.newnewjournalism.com/about.htm

I Love College

Ronald Reagan made extremely clear statements of the inappropriateness of the link between the extreme counterculture/hippie movement and a university campus. What formality should be displayed on a college campus? As productive as the Berkeley sit-in may have been, how productive is the hippie movement in terms of an education? Are these students in their noble struggle against the conforming powers of super plaster man in fact bettering themselves with sex, drugs, and rock & roll? The purpose of an education seems to be more in line with Joan Didion's lessons of the power of vocabulary and language rather than diction defined by imprecision, yet, Ken Kesey seemed to believe his pranksters were much more enlightened than its nom-acid using counterparts. Where does this hippie movement fit into our pre-conceived notions of a formal education? Is there a place for LSD?

Signifiers of Psychedelia

Professor Fink talked about the signifiers of psychedelic music on Tuesday: dynamization, dechronization, and depersonalization. Does literature have the same signifiers? Both Professor Fink and Professor Decker talked about Ken Kesey and the Acid Tests and how they made made things that were inanimate seem to be moving, like the ceiling. Professor Fink went more into what psychedelic looks and sounds like, and Professor Decker talked about the differences in hippie language and new journalist language. But can the music, literature, and styles of art all be identified with the same three signifiers?

The Literary Post

What makes Carl Solomon’s From Howl so atrociously powerful, is it solely the content of the poem or does he use certain literary techniques to create the images of destruction and chaos caused by the psychedelic drugs.

The Dance of the Cosmos

"To make music for dancers like these is the rarest honor - to be coresponsible for what really is the dance of the cosmos" (Lesh 69).

I was impressed with this sentence, not only for its subtle beauty, but for its statement about universality. However, it also led me to think about who psychedelic music was meant for: the audience, the band, or the population at large. Considering that psychedelic musicians would often separate from their group in order to play whatever they (or the LSD made them) feel like playing, my best guess is that in most cases the music was intended for the artist. Their presence on the stage gave them a position of leadership in the drug-addled "dance of the cosmos," and the listeners followed along both collectively and individually.

From the Beatles to Tarantino

"Pop had a new purpose: to make out of pleasure a politics of optimism, to turn passive consumption into an active culture. Such ambition derived from the Beatles' authority as superstars- not just skilled pop musicians but skilled pop artists, self-conscious, calculating their entertaining effects"("Rock and the Politics of Memory", 60).

(image is taken from Google Images)

While reading this, I immediately thought of a comment I've heard made by Quentin Tarantino, director of such movies such as Kill Bill and Inglourious Basterds. When criticized for the violence in his movies, he responded by saying, "What if a kid goes to school after seeing Kill Bill and starts slicing up other kids? You know, I'll take that chance! Violent films don't turn children into violent people. They may turn them into violent filmmakers but that's another matter altogether"(IMDB).

Do artists have (or should they have) an obligation to be aware of what they are injecting into the mainstream culture and the impact of their art? Or is it our responsibility as the audience to consume media with our discretion?

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

I'm so naive I didn't catch LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLucy in the SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSky with DDDDDDDDDDDDDiamonds.

Week 3 Post

In Simon Frith's "Rock and the Politics of Memory,

he says "pop had a new purpose: to make out of pleasure a politics of optimism, to turn passive consumption into an active culture" (60).

Would a song a today be able to accomplish this, and sell? Would people today be willing to purchase a politically charged song, a song that would be able to create an active culture?

But were songs from the 60's so different from the songs being produced today? Today's songs are over flowing with drug, violence, abuse, and sexual references. A lot of the songs from the sixties were composed while the writer was under the influence of some hallucinogenic drug, and probably had some sexual references, with war references which corresponds to today's violence references.

"Hearts and Minds"

What were the messages in "Hearts and Minds?"

Was the documentary trying to highlight the injustices and brutality of the American military or just war itself?

Was it targeting the American military?

Did the film receive any backlash, from Pro-war Americans, because it did not show the perspective from the Viet Cong?

Bob Dylan's Transformation

Much of Thursday's lecture revolved around the authenticity and sincerity of protest songs. By giving the example of Barry McGuire/PF Sloan's song Eve of Destruction, Fink pointed out that folk signifiers such a acoustic guitar and harmonica were used. Did Dylan change his style to include the sounds of electric guitar, percussion, and kazoo in his ironic song "Highway 61 Revisited" to mock such songs? Was this his way of distancing himself from phonies like McGuire who stole his original sound and made his songs sound cliche?

Keeping You Thinking...

In the Mueller reading on tuesday, the author addresses many potential negatives of a war and the potential strains on public opinion that could occur, stating that "compared to world war 2, the enemy is less obviously 'evil', progress in battle is more difficult to measure and comprehend, the american entrance into the war is less easily rationalized, and the end of the war is more likely to prove puzzling and unsatisfying". Due to all of the ill effects of partaking in a war some would say that the U.S. wasn't meant to fight, would you say that the U.S. involvement and war in general is a necessary and efficient means of solving a conflict in a situation like in vietnam?

What's wrong with McGuire?

Fink didn't have to tell me McGuire was a phony. I knew right when I so those interpretive dancers sitting on those junk mobiles. My question is why have interpretive dancers and junk mobiles? I hope that's not what he defines as destruction. If that's destruction to him, I would hate to see him in combat.

Mailer's Self-referential 3rd Person

I found it interesting that Mailer chose to describe himself in the third person in The Armies of the Night. It’s a stylistic choice that creates a distance between himself as a writer and as a person, kind of allowing him to step outside of himself. Mailer transforms himself into more of a character than a real person, which perhaps gave him as well as his readers some insight into self-perception. Considering that, is The Armies of the Night meant more as a memoir or as an exercise in New Journalism?

Damn Viet Nam

Had the American public been fully informed about the war from the beginning and given the chance to have a public debate, would the general public have supported Johnson's decisions in 1964 given the anti-communist feeling of the nation?

Oh Bob Dylan

Robert Zimmerman, a.k.a. Bob Dylan has been placed in and out of many a category in his time as a musician. Started a rock band in high school, became a Woody Guthrie groupie, was a folk singer, then a folk-rock singer, and threw in some country folk rock in the mix as well. If there was one category to put Mr. Zimmerman in, where would you put him? And where do you think he'd put himself?

Eve of Destruction!

I do not think we should be so quick to undermine the efforts of these Vietnam protestors regardless of their intentions. Artists such as Barry McGuire may be phonies, however, their impact upon audiences was substantial and, in many cases, evoked "sincere" responses of anti-war sentiment. In that case, I believe we should give these figures of protest more credit to their impact and not entirely focus on their personal characters. It reminds me of the Lynn Rabinowitz paradox--her intentions are questionable and her motives are driven by a fascination of her symbolic conception of the African American culture as "Art." Many white student civil rights activists perhaps had similar intentions but their impact does not go unnoticed and, as we studied, is often seen as heroic. In terms of Vietnam protest, how do we purely analyze an artist such as Barry McGuire who, needless to say, had a number one hit through "Eve of Destruction"? Do we study McGuire in terms of sincerity, impact, or a mixture of the two?

Pseudo-Sincerity

In my (admittedly large) naivete, I always believed that the Vietnam protestors were people who were all so impassioned, so informed, and so convinced that the war was inhumane that they went to extremes to let the public know that they should "give peace a chance." However, after this morning's lecture and the corresponding readings, I realize that they were just as lost as most of us; at least, many of them were. I wonder how many of those people were genuine supporters of the war, and how many were there because it was easy to dress in paisley, throw up a peace sign, and stand up for something, anything. Were their actions really in response to the plight of the Vietnamese, or was it (as I am now inclined to think) a way to flaunt a giant middle-finger to the Man? I wonder how much of the hippie movement was a bandwagon response, the "hip" thing to do, and how much of it was genuine criticism of the Vietnam War.

I'm Lost

where do i post my question at?

"A New Vocalism"

In John E. Mueller's article he talks about the new left of the 1960s (p. 372), which he deems to be "the old left with new methods of expression." He goes onto talk about the young people, which he says "are the most conspicuous element of any political movement presumably because of their physical energy and their lack of occupational and familial obligations".

I'm curious- with the infiltration of social media (Facebook, Twitter, blogging)- have we lost our reputation as staunch political activists? Or has our involvement increased/ taken a turn for the better (as in educating our fellow student via the internet)?

I am inclined to believe in social media's benefit; I enthusiastically take part in it and find myself educated on more issues/opinions I would not have been exposed to otherwise. However, I'm not sure if at the same time it has caused us to become a more passive group living vicariously through the internet.

"Hair" RSVP

Rather that trying to coordinate this thing via dozens of back-and-forth emails, if you're interested in attending the performance of "Hair" on Sunday, 1/23 (6:30), please leave a comment to this post. I should have a final price in the next couple days.

"Let the sun shine in!"

QMS Song Download

I've hosted the six parts of QMS's "Who Do You Love" on mediafire. Follow the links below to download:

Who Do You Love (Part 1)
When Do You Love
Where Do You Love
How Do You Love
Which Do You Love
Who Do You Love (Part 2)

Class Blog

Welcome to the 1J discussion section blog! Use this space to post your questions and thoughts relating to course content (weekly readings, lectures, music, etc.), or anything else that you'd like to share with the group (links to interesting articles, websites, videos, etc.). Every week, I ask that you engage in some way with the blog, either through posting or through comments to your classmates' posts.

Happy blogging.