The Misrepresentation of a Nuclear Family

 

            Remember Beaver and Wally, the popular child stars of the 1950’s?  I mean really, Wally and Beav had it made in the show Leave it to Beaver.  The breadwinner father and the homemaker mother, seems like the perfect nuclear family.  However, according to Stephanie Coontz, the families portrayed in many of the popular television shows, like Leave it to Beaver, were a representation of how families were supposed to live, not how they actually lived (Coontz 33). 

            When I think about the “good old days,” as many people call them, I see happy families who are thriving in the community with few worries.  As it turns out, these families were not necessarily ideal.  In “What We Really Miss About the 1950’s,” Stephanie Coontz writes about how many people sacrificed their happiness to marry someone they didn’t love.  The things they could provide for their child were used as a measure of satisfaction in life instead of happiness (Coontz 34).  These facts are quite disturbing since the 1950’s was chosen as the best decade for a child to grow up.  I always thought families from that decade were perfect, like the family in Leave it to Beaver, because they seemed so happy and there were fewer divorces at that time.  However, as Coontz has expressed, things are not always as they seem with families, especially in the 1950’s.

            The next time I hear Leave it to Beaver, I am going to think about how that was the way a family was supposed to live in the 50’s.  Every family is unique in their own way because every person is different. So, technically, there shouldn’t be a way that a family is “supposed to live.”  So even though Coontz gives her readers many reasons why, I find myself wondering why the 1950’s chosen as the best decade if there was so much unhappiness in the world.

 

Works Cited

 

 

Coontz, Stephanie. "What We Really Miss About the 1950's." Colombo, Gary, Robert Cullen and Bonnie Lisle. Rereading America. Boston, 2013. 27-43.

 

 

Mixed Signals

                “My daughter, writer, sits and floats” (Niedecker 13).  Lorine Niedecker uses her mother’s perspective to describe herself.  Her mother was deaf, and Niedecker made sure her audience knew that when they read many of her poems.  The works from Niedecker include many feelings and emotions.  However, in some of her work, Niedecker makes it difficult for her reader’s to capture the mood of the poem.  With some negative and some positive, the poems from Niedecker can be somewhat confusing for the readers and can raise many questions.

                As I read more and more of Niedecker’s work, I come across many intriguing questions.  For example, did Niedecker even like poetry?  Why did she choose poetry?  What inspires her writing?  Is the tone positive or negative?  In much of her work, I find that Niedecker uses mixed emotions.  Some poems feature such detail and beauty.  The scene it creates can be captured and it is riveting.  However, some of Niedecker’s words hold a negative connotation, and it can be hard to interpret her feelings throughout the poem.  One poem in particular, “Poet’s Work,” features somewhat of a confusing scene and, in turn, raises many questions for me.

                In this particular poem, Niedecker talks about how her grandfather told her to learn a trade.  The trade Niedecker chose was to, “sit at a desk and condense,” (Niedecker 60).  However, the next lines of the poem make it seem as if Niedecker was not happy with her choice to write poetry.  As Niedecker wrote, “No layoff from this condensery” (Niedecker 60).  This particular part of the poem has me drawn to those same four questions.  Looking at one view, it would seem as if she is unhappy with her choice, but doesn’t know what else to do.  In another view, it seems as though Niedecker doesn’t get a break because there is too much to write about.  Therefore, this piece of work from Niedecker features many mixed signals.

                While Niedecker used many different emotions, scenes, and techniques to make her poetry stand out, I find them to be confusing.  Her work did not stand out to me because I had a hard time interpreting her feelings.  She seemed to use mixed emotions, and that raised many questions for me.  Though I was able to answer most of the questions by reading, I have one unanswered question.  Although she continued to write it, did Niedecker actually like poetry?

The Objectification of Women in a Society Dominated by Men

               

                As Women, we are expected to cater to the male species and wait on them hand and foot.  Cook, clean, take care of the kids, do the shopping, these are all typical stereotypes of women in America.  However, after recently taking a look at Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt, it seems that women are being used in another way. 

                Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt has several examples of ads that are quite provocative and revealing.  The women in these ads are presented as helpless individuals asking for attention.  However, the attention they are asking for is disturbing.  They are shown as either naked or in a compromising position with a man in which he has control of the situation.  One ad in particular, Fetish Scent, made it clear that the men who dominate our society make women into objects.

                In this ad, the woman is using a product that she will put on to attract the attention of the man, which tells the audience that the woman is clearly trying too hard.  However, the creators of these ads make the women look like they are always asking for the male attention.   This particular ad shows the woman in a bikini, which makes is seem like she is putting her body up for grabs.  When men see these kinds of ads, they don’t think about the woman herself.  They tend think about how her body is presented and the ways they can use that to their advantage.  A man may not actually act upon his feelings, but those feelings themselves make the woman and her body an object.

                As objects, women are expected to please the man and all his needs.  He has control of the situation and if the situation goes wrong, it is the woman’s fault.  Many men don’t actually want anything to do the woman they are using as an object, they just need someone to fulfill their needs.   If the ads are representing the women this way, then it is clear that the male species has the dominance in our society.

                Men dominate our society.  They use a woman and make sure that she feels at fault for her actions when things go wrong.  It’s a shame that the female species has let this go on so long.  However, with all the male dominance, women really have no other choice but to abide by the rules that society has put in place.  Clearly, one of those rules is that a man should think of a woman as an object.  With little power, it is hard for a woman to go against society.  Maybe with a little back up, women can change how they are portrayed through the eyes of the male species.

The Demeaning Methods of the American School System

“Do we really need school?”(Gatto 143).  John Taylor Gatto raises the question that is on every child’s mind.  While reading Gatto’s “Against School,” I found that the opinions of Gatto raise many intriguing questions.  Is the school system crippling the youth of America?  Do children have any sort of imagination left?  Are teachers really just as bored as their students?  With no imagination allowed and widespread boredom, it seems as if America is being demeaning toward future generations.

            With much fervor, Gatto tells his readers how teachers are just as bored as their students.  In the photo of the children getting on the bus, we see that the children are clearly bored.  However, according to Gatto, boredom is the fault of oneself.  If that holds true, than it would make sense to say that the education system is flawed.  Teachers are bored because the education system they are trained to teach is Prussian in origin.  The function of the Prussian system was to basically make the children robots who have the same intelligence level.  If the children are all the same, then it would seem as if they have no imagination.

            From birth, children’s imaginations have been running wild.  Be it that imaginary friend or the creative scenarios thought up, a child’s imagination can be quite vivid.  However, once children go to school, they learn and do homework, which takes up the time in which they could be imagining things.  Imagination can help brighten the mind and one’s outlook on life.  Therefore, if the education system takes away from imagination, it would seem as if they are belittling the child’s ability to become their own person.

            To children, schoolwork is banal and unnecessary, but to those working to keep the systems demeaning motive, schoolwork is essential.  I agree with many of Gatto’s thoughts on the school system and in a way, I still see these thoughts present in the school system today.  I find the way they make children all the same to be demeaning and harsh.  So I present the question, is America being demeaning toward future generations?

Why am I writing this?

Sometimes people need a bit of a reality check.  In an effort to prove that people should be skeptical of what goes on in this world, I am presenting this blog full of my skeptical views.  Society is a tough place for many people and as a college student trying to make something of myself, I have a hard time keeping up with what is going on around me.  I haven't always been skeptical, but it seems as if everything going on around me at this current moment has a good side and a bad side.  So as a person looking to succeed in this world and be known for something great, I have to think carefully about what side I will be on.