Wikipedia Assignment Part II

            When I posted my Wikipedia article on Oct. 16^Th on The American Anti-Slavery Society, I thought their would have been a lot more feedback from others users of Wikipedia on the topic. Unfortunately, as time went on there was not as much feedback as I had anticipated, the only difference between what I posted on the 16^th to now are a few grammatical errors, but that’s about it. Most likely, the reason that it did not get much contribution to it is because it’s a historical event that not many people know about, but also there was no attention brought to it other than our fellow classmates in class.

            While the society had a good amount of members along with key members such as Frederick Douglass, the American Anti-Slavery Society did not get much hype after 1838 because it eventually became overshadowed by the abolitionist movement. According to Louis Filler, author of The Crusade Against Slavery, “The growth of the abolition movement was due in part to the similarity between it and other reform movements of the era. Abolitionists, like other reformers, were calling for a freeing of the human spirit and the elimination of artificial barriers to self-fulfillment. Abolition turned out to be the most important of all the reforms of the Jacksonian era, but its success would put the Union itself at risk.” (I). Because the Abolitionist movement had become very popular and increasing in population, the anti-slavery society has become one of those events in history to be overshadowed.

Also, Wikipedia could not give much attention it as it did not stick out enough for them or because the topic they felt was not at all popular. On Dec. 13^th, one of Wikipedia’s top related articles went to a musical called A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant in which children act out a musical satire of the history of The Church of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard’s life. The reason this is the top related article is not only because it sounds amusing and entertaining, but also there was a lot more research done on this topic that the American Anti-Slavery Society post did not achieve. If you read the article on the pageant, they not only discuss the synopsis for it, but also the background(where the idea came from), where they got inspiration to create the music for it,  the number of productions they had, the number of awards it got, and so on. From looking at the entire article, you can tell a lot of research has been done on this topic. Not to say that I did not do a lot of research on the American Anti-Slavery Society, but I can tell for the future, if I want to get something noticed I’ve got to be précised on how I craft my article and have the knowledge to make it flashy and really interesting in order for it to be looked at by many eyes.

In conclusion, while the American Anti-Slavery is an interesting topic, it did not get much of a response due to how it was presented and it’s a dim light for some in American History. But, I have also learned that you can get an article with not much of a name viewed by many in knowing how to market it for the future. Topics and interests just do not come randomly to people, in order for people to take notice in many things you have to create something that will “Razzle Dazzle” them, which will wow them and it is in that mindset you will get an audience’s attention.

(I)-The Crusade Against Slavery By: Louis Filler

No. 6 The Women They Are A Changin

Following the Second World War, it seemed life was slowly turning back to normal for many who put much effort into the success of the war. Men went back to their jobs working hard to bring money that put food on the table for the wives and the children. It was presumed that while the men went to work and did their jobs, the wives would sit at home and contemplate all day in the kitchen “What Should I Cook for Dinner?” As we get ready to enter 2008, it is important that we notice the progression and evolution of how the social order of women has changed in time. In the 1950s, instructional videos gave off the impression it was a woman’s job to look after the children, clean the house, and of course make the evening meal, but many years later television has become much more open minded and now shows that women have much more freedom and can do things like get a job, have free speech, and vote while the husbands may be the ones looking after the children and finding out what to cook for dinner. To emphasize my argument, I will use a speech given by Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Committee.

First we must look at an instructional cooking video made in the 1950s that depicts what was expected a married woman.

 

This video emphasizes the stereotype that women really did not do much during the day other than think about the evening meal. Look at the woman’s bored expression, it is as if there is nothing better she could be doing with her life than thinking about the best kind of food for dinner. Here, television has become representative of the mindset of many americans that women did not really have that much of a purpose or job in life except to make a delicious meal for their wonderful hibbie. She now goes on to trying to bake a chocolate cake, but fails in the end. The video even shows that she did not read the directions right as to why the cake did not bake correctly, given the presumption that women could not  even read or that women were ignorant and did not pay attention to much detail. Overall, in looking at this movie, it shows that the American thinking, particularly the male side, truly believed that a woman could not do much other than cook. With African-Americans during the Civil Rights movement demanding equality, it was especially hard for a woman to get the same kind of rights.

Bob Dylan once wrote, “The Times They Are A Changin” and clearly he was right as we look at the roles of women today and see the impact that they give the country. Now that we have observed a woman’s role in the 1950s, let’s look at their roles today with a speech given by Hillary Clinton.

Notice how she has so much confidence in herself, how she is dressed. She is in a pants suit, not a skirt like women in the 50s, her hair is cut short, and while many may agree or disagree with her notice how much she has confidence in what she is saying. She speaks a lot on very political issues saying things like “I’ll End This War.” or “Set a New Course.” Clearly, Hillary Clinton’s intentions on running for president showing that America has realized that women deserve much equality as others do. If Hillary had tried to run for president in the 1950s, she might have been run out of town or put in jail for he thought of it. But her confidence, the way she presents herself, and the cheers she gets from audience has shown that the country has developed tolerance for women having independence and how the country has come a long way since trying to teach women how to properly bake a chocolate cake.

In conclusion, television has indeed played a major role in showing the development of women in the social network. Television has become representative of the American mindset, and shows how America has come a long way in its struggle for civil rights. Today, it shows women doing all sorts of very important things such as being journalists, lawyers, doctors, police, etc. and leading successful lives to improve the country for a greater tomorrow.

No.5 Stereotyping: The American Entertainment

    As far as anyone can actually remember, people of different cultures, race, religion, or even social position have been stereotyped for years and years. But, while all stereotypes have gone noticed, there has been one that has indeed been overlooked: The Irish. When looking at political cartoons of the 19th century, and looking at television series and films made by many Americans of the 21st Century, one can see that Irish stereotyping has not changed much and has actually grown a little more.

Take for example, modern television. Usually, TV series which are so “politically incorrect”, can’t even contain themselves when it comes to stereotyping. There was a sitcom called “The Fighting Fitzgeralds” that first aired on NBC in March 2001, which only served to bring Irish stereotyping to the surface. The main character is a retired firefighter. he has one son that’s a bartender, another that is a professional stockbroker that can’t seem to hold a job and of course their hobbies are drinking and arguing. The reviews from Mike Duffy and John Levesque differ in some respects, but both agree that there’s little funny in maintaining stereotypes. While, the show thankfully did not last long, only proves the point that Irish stereotyping has evolved since the past. Now take that show and compare to the Irish man in the module as he seems to be raising his fists in an argument. This only gives fuel to the idea that Irish only love to argue and fight amongst others, just like “The Fighting Fitzgeralds”. Political cartoons may be a little out of date, for stereotyping, but television has indeed kept up with the times.

Even, American films have kept the tradition of creating stereotypes within the Irish community presented. One example, we can see is religion. During, what is commonly known as the Golden Age of Film. Classics, which inclueded some of the biggest stars brought the Irish personal to life in some very stereotypical ways. For example, there was James Cagney, the big brutish kind of guy, as well as the famous Spencer Tracy. Others to add were Bing Crosby, who made it “ok” to be an Irish priest, and then there was Maureen O’ Hara with ehr flaming red hair and a temperament to equal. Decades later we can look back at some of thsoe films and see true classics, while others may get a “B” grade. We also see them as fiction and recognize the stereotypes so common in that Golden Era of Hollywood. The module, shows an Irishman with a catholic book by his side. How stereotypical was it to bring the Irish and Catholicism as a match made in heaven in some sense. Through the rhetorical use of media, American society has taken entertainment through films and televisions as a means of bringing the American interpretation of the Irishman to life. It even shows that it has developed so far into our psyche that we think someone of Irish culture talks and sounds like the people presented on TV. Just like, many did int he poltical cartoons of the 19th century, the American interpretation of the Irishman is only bias and based on what people presume is someone of Irish descent. Can anyone honestly say that it does not damage a community or ethnic group to be repeatedly portrayed in such a derogatory style? What of the reputations of the vast majority of Americans of Irish descent who work hard, are well educated and contribute regularly to their communities? Is that all to be lost in a joke about a drunken paddy?

In conclusion, one can see how it was easy for the Irish to be stereotyped in American newspapers and now the media of the 21st century has taken over the job. The lesson that one can learn is to not presume or believe the satire presented by others. While, satire or parody can be funny to mark it as a fact will only bring one more into stereotyping and that is something one can hope to easily fix for the future.

No. 4 The American Civil War: Bringing Unity Or Religion?

With the election of 1860 resulting in Abraham Lincoln as the next president, the outraged southern states responded to this by seceding from the Union. Abraham Lincoln, wanting to keep the country together and not having to be split in two was forced to declare war on the southern states, ultimately resulting in the American Civil War. The war began in April of 1861 when the Confederate Army took over Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The war was long and bloody. Over 600,000 men on both sides died. Over 1,100,000 were injured. manyt hings had shifted after teh war, Slaves being freed was the biggest, but the one thing that is commonly misinterpreted or overlooked is religion. Many can say that some believed the war was a moral calling to free the slaves in the south, but with the war bringing death and many wives/husbands being widowed, the war made more people turn to religion as a means of escapism and thus creating an amazing uprising in the country’s morality.

Civil War & Religion Photo Album

No.3 Matilda’s Tale

My name is Matilda Arbuckle. I am a 34 year old house wife living in The Garden of Eden. We are a secret people, that is we do not let outsiders enter our town. Our founder and leader Bryon McFilter, has said that we are “god’s Chosen” and has told us that God said to him that outsiders will only poison our family trees. If we are to bring ourselves to salvation within the next life, we must preserve the beauty of the nearby forest that God has given us. It has become increasingly hard for us, due to Father Bryon’s need for creating industrial machinery. Our factories have destroyed a bit of our forest. We need them, however to build our houses, bring us electricity, and have pure running water. They are a necessity to live, but I worry if we anger God by this. Treating God’s creations with tenderness and love is just as important as treating ourselves with the same equality. We have a tendency to grow things, not just crops, but flowers for our orchards. We live by the law of God and God alone. The bible is our constitution. Anybody caught breaking God’s law is punished severely. Punishment can range from a whipping and in some cases death, but we have never had a travesty like that come our way yet, and may the good lord let it not happen. Our golden rule, of course, is to attend the early sunday mass. This is the day of the week, we devote entirely to worshipping God. It is our way of communicating with God, about our needs, our problems with the community. Once mass has ended, Father Bryon goes into the enchanted garden into the woods to talk with God and he comes back to tell us what is to be our focus for the week. If God is pleased with what we have done, our week will be filled with abundance. Lately, my husband and I, however, are concerned with the word of God. Not with God himself, just with Father Bryon’s judgment. Our crops are dying, even though Father Bryon has said that God is pleased with what we have done in the previous weeks. I am beginning to worry, that God has turned his back on Father Bryon’s judgment. This does not consist with just me and my husband, but with everyone in town. We worry that the cost of the forest for industrialization has angered God with us. My husband and I have spoken with our neighbors and we believe that we are being tested by the good lord himself, just like Abraham was with his son Isaac. We have decided to sacrifice at least one of our factories as an offering to God. Maybe, here God will know that he is first in our lives and that we do care about the earth. My husband speaks with Father Bryon tonight. My only hope is that he approves of our idea so that our crops will flourish as they have always done.

No. 2 The Patriot: Inaccurate & Bias

The film, The Patriot, directed by Roland Emmerich was an entertaining portrayal of the American Revolution. What one could mean by the word “entertaining” is that while it had amazing action sequences, it also did not have a good accuracy of the real Revolution. While the fight scenes were rather bloody and gruesome at times, the film seemed to sugarcoat the reality of the war. The film showed the Americans as real heroes and the Britain’s as nothing but pure evil. Thus the message is clear in the film: The Americans are to be shown in a golden light, to draw attention away from the wrongdoings of the Americans during that time period.

The first thing that one can raise an eyebrow on, were the treatment of African Americans during the film. Now this was before Abraham Lincoln had abolished slavery and at the time, slaves were treated as furniture and not necessarily as human beings. The film starts off in South Carolina in 1776. This was at a time when the slave trade was at its highest. In the film, the slaves looked as though they were treated as workers and were not slaves. When Col. William Tavington decided to burn down Benjamin Martin’s house, he tells his “workers” that they are free and will fight in the British army. One of martin’s workers, Joshua argues with the Colonel saying, “We’re not slaves, we’re freedmen…” (I). This seemed deeply inaccurate especially since by 1776, the Slave Trade was used by many countries. If this was thirty years earlier this might have been believable, but since it was in the middle of when many countries were using the Slave Trade, the idea of slaves being treated as equals with others is highly doubtful. But because this film was trying to make Americans look golden, there had to be some kind of exaggeration to make the film appealing to a very patriotic audience.

Another example of inaccuracy was the choice of dialect that was used in the film. When any person would speak, they sounded too modern for 18th Century Colonial America. According to Mel Gibson, as he speaks to the Loyalist of Charlestown, “And what of the greedy, self-serving bastards who sit as Magistrates on the Admiralty Court and have fine nearly every man in this room. Should they be boxed about the ear and thrown onto the first ship back to England? I’ll do it myself.” (I). He speaks very well, however he talks too modern in a since there does not seem to be any trace of old english in his voice or dialect. what’s inaccurate is that if it was Colonial America wouldn’t they talk more old English and have more of an English accent. Gibson talks modern, because it makes it easier for the audience to relate to him if he talks like a normal 21st century man. In order for the film to be more appealing to an American audience, the dialect was modern so that even if it was inaccurate, the audience could relate to the character more.

In conclusion, The Patriot may have been very inaccurate tot he real facts of the American Revolution, but it did achieve its purpose to put Americans on a lighter side in the Revolution. While one was watching the film, there were those who forgot how cruel slaves were treated, and why Colonial Americans were speaking so modern. The message may skip over the dark details, but one can believe it does serve as a reminder to the importance of the Revolution and how American victory marked the end of British rule and began a new age of creating a land of the free and home of the brave.

(I)-The Patriot

No.1: Slavery…Through White Eyes?

Since the age of Colonial America, ranging from the American Revolution, and became an incredibly bloody debate in the American Civil War, slavery, has been said to be one of the darkest parts of American history. Abraham Lincoln once stated, “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” Little is known about what slavery was like from an African-Americans perspective due to very little documentation recorded by an actual slave. So the only sources one can turn too are the ones made by the owner of the slaves.

By examining slavery through a white plantation owner’s perspective, we see that African-Americans go from ill-treated helpers to property.

The biggest thing that one must look at is the comparison of how a slave was described by an owner during the 1750s all the way to the 1790s-1800s. Owner Benjamin Fendall is able to give us a good description of his “servant”, which African-Americans were called at the time. Fendall describes to us, “He had on, when he went away, a dark colourd Cloth Coat, lin’d with blew Shalloon, a dark coloured Pair of Cloth Breeches, trim’d with Brass Buttons, a pair of grey Worsted Stocking, a pair of dark green ditto, an old Castor Hat, two white Dowlas Shirts, and to pair of Oznabrig Trowsers: On one of his Arms is represented, our Saviour upon the Cross between two Thieves: and on the other, the Image of Adam and Eve.” (I). Look at how he is easily able to describe what his slave was wearing that day. Fendall is even able to describe religious symbols that the slave had tattooed to his body. His “Servant” had a full name too: John Headford.

Now let’s skip ahead 100 years and look at the description given by Owner John James. John tells us that his slave is, “negro woman by the name of JUDEA, five feet and a few inches high, not very black, and of the common size-It may be supposed she is lurking about those places, or gone to Norfolk, where she has some acquaintances.” (II). It seems, John may have an accurate idea of her height, but cannot really seem to describe her to his audience very well other than her not being very black. This lack of description only proves that as time went on, African Americans were no longer looked at as living human beings, but furniture or pieces of property that could easily be traded or bought. By comparing John’s description to Benjamin’s, one can get a glimpse of how slavery evolved through time and what kind of people they were looked at is, which sadly can be said as “Something” rather than a “someone”.

In conclusion, while slavery supposedly ended after the Civil War, the treatment of African Americans, sad to say, had not vastly improved. Martin Luther King Jr. was correct in saying, “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important. With great thanks to the Civil Rights movement, African Americans were beginning to get equal rights among others. It is important though that in order to understand the nightmare that slavery brought is to look at it from the one bringing the terror. In the end it is important, not just to look at one perspective but any available one that is given, because in order to understand not just slavery, but history in general, all perspectives must be viewed to understand both sides of a tragedy.

(I)-Virginia Gazette (Parks), Williamsburg, From July 13 to July 20, 1739.

(II)-Norfolk Herald (Willett and O’Connor), Norfolk, November 17, 1801.

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