Jo Ann Gobson Robinson

This reading has been my favorite so far in the semester. I think Robinson's article is extremely important in understanding the racial conflicts in the 1950's-1960's and the progress that has been made. Robinson became part of the Women's Political Council because she believed, along with the council, that this behavior "will continue as long as black Americans will allow it". The irony was that these African American women orchestrated a thorough and well planned boycott against the public transportation system, during a time of little respect for not only blacks, but for women as well. The council received tons of mail and complaints which was the inspiration for the boycott, but the effects of the humiliation and shame caused on these buses was even more of an inspiration. Many people started to fear riding the buses so they walked more. Also, there was a large increase of violence and injuries within the black community because they had so much built up anger and didn't know who to take it on, so parents would take it out on their children, and children would take it out on their pets. Although there was an increase in violence, Claudette Colvin raised awareness and respect all over the country. Claudette's case caused families from all over the country, black and white, to send money and letters during the tough times of her trial. Rosa Parks also helped raise awareness because she was so well connected to the community. In addition, Rosa Parks was important because she helped show the changes in gender norms over time because she (an elderly woman) was asked to move for a young, white male. Very unusual for today's societal gender norms.

Montgomery Bus Boycott

I thought this weeks readings were very interesting. One of the reasons I took this class was to get more in depth with the Civil Rights movement, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. I think that they are important history and we can never learn enough about them. I was very interested in Jo Ann Gibson Robinson's specific memoir of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Many of us have learned about Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Buss Boycott, but many of us (including myself) did not know about the event leading up to the boycotts. It took a lot of work and a lot of leadership to establish this massive boycott. Many people do not know about the WPC and the influence that the group had in helping with the boycotts. Also, many people, such as Claudette, were arrested well before Rosa Parks sparked the boycott. I also found it interesting that these groups had to have a great amount of patience. They wanted to wait for exactly right right time to boycott the busses. There were many instances where people wanted to go forward with the boycott, yet they remained patient. The discrimination that was put forth to African American men, women, and children was incredible. They endured a lot of pain waiting for this enormous boycott.

3/25 Discussion Questions (Part 2)

Gibson Discussion Questions:
1) What is the Women’s Political Council and why was the group formed? What role did this group play in the Civil Rights movement and the Montgomery Bus Boycotts? What was the significance of their role?
2) What were the events leading up to the Montgomery Bus Boycotts? What were the plans that were supposed to take place on the day of the Boycotts? Were theses carried out as planned? What had the participants of the Boycotts very scared that not everyone would actually participate?
3) What role did Jo Ann Gibson Robinson play in the involvement of the Women’s Political Council in the Montgomery Bus Boycotts? What steps, if any, were taken initially to avoid the conflict? What eventually drove the boycotts to occur?
4) Why are people such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. so much more documented then Jo Ann Gibson Robinson?

3/25 Discussion Questions (Part 1)

Martin Luther King Discussion Questions:
1. Why did King make the choice to speak out against U.S. involvement in Vietnam? Do you think this speech risked doing harm to his status as a civil rights leader, as well as harming the movement itself?
2. Do you believe there was a relationship between the war in Vietnam and the civil rights struggle at home? Why or why not?
3. What if King had not taken a position on the war in Vietnam? Would it have undermined his stated commitment to nonviolence and social justice, or would it have merely highlighted his commitment to the civil rights movement?

Gonzales Discussion Questions:
1. Why do you think Gonzales chose to divide this poem up into three relatively distinct sections? What purpose does this format serve?
2. What role do you think the character of Joaquin serves in this poem? How do you think this character relates to the Chicano movement in the 1960s?
3. In the ninth line of the poem Gonzales writes, “I must choose between the paradox of/ victory of the spirit, despite physical hunger,/ or to exist in the grasp of American social neurosis,/ sterilization of the soul and a full stomach.” To what extent do you believe that Mexican Americans had the choice to choose between assimilation of American values or retention of their native values? If Mexican Americans were to decide to assimilate, do you think they would achieve economic/financial equality?

A Chance to Make Good by James R. Grossman- Reflection

I know that we discussed this a while back, but I think based on what we have discussed in the past few weeks about red-lining, zoot-suiters, and African Americans place in the consumer culture it is important to go back and reflect on the points addressed in "A Chance to Make Good" by James R. Grossman. Grossman's article provides a detailed account of the differences between African Americans living in the north and the south in the 1900s after the Civil War. I think it is interesting to note that many African Americans made the big move to the cities in search of new opportunities after the Civil War and continued to live there until their homes were shattered due to the new highway systems and red-lining after World War II. Grossman cites the court cases of Dred Scott v. Sanford which ruled that Blacks "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect." Although we would like to believe that these ideals changed after the civil war and that African Americans gained more rights, looking at their place in society after World War II it is clear that this is not the case. Grossman talks about the different ways that African Americans tried to make things better for themselves, by moving to the north and working in factories. They also tried to maintain their part in World War I by buying bonds, serving in all black units, and maintaining labor and vocal support at home. Yet, African Americans did not really "make good." Like we discussed in class on Thursday, looking at all of these elements it is clear that the Civil Rights Movement was well precedented. 

The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard

Cohen concludes her “Prologue” to A Consumers' Republic with: “I hope that readers, aware of how my life has conformed to the large patterns set out in this book, will begin to contemplate how their own lives may also have been shaped by these economic, political, social, and cultural structures that reigned over the second half of the twentieth century and still are with us in many ways today… If we all are citizens and we all are consumers, how we choose to mix the two reveals a great deal about who we are as individual Americans as well as about the virtue of the America we live in at any particular moment in time” (15).

Please watch the video (see below) while thinking about the following questions:

(1) During discussion section we addressed different consumer ideologies. According to Annie Leonard, what is the current relationship between citizenship, consumerism, and nationalism? Is this an extension of the “consumers’ republic,” or something entirely different?

(2) How is our current government responding to our economic crisis?

(3) Is it un-American or un-patriotic to resist consumerism? Think of examples in your own life or around you (i.e. in the media).

(4) Any comments on the gender or racial logics addressed (or not addressed) in this film? Can you make connections to Cohen’s arguments?

(5) Any comments on the solutions Annie Leonard proposes?



You may also propose additional discussion topics/questions. And please feel free to comment on other student’s comments to this post as well.
-Isabel

Consumer's Republic Response

The Consumer's Republic affected more aspects of American life than I previously would have expected. I think that Cohen's depiction of how economic conditions shaped the political and social culture in America was very enlightening. I previously understood the Cold War climate as one that intertwined foreign policy, national defense, and the national economy, with the political context of foreign policy shaping aspects of race politics and social norms at home. However, I never understood how extensive the impacts of consumerism were, especially in terms of gender and race dynamics. I was surprised to learn that there were two ideological views of consumers, as citizen consumers and as purchaser consumers, that were vying for dominance within society. I had only expected the idea of a purchaser consumer to be visible.
Furthermore, I find Cohen's description of the impact that the role of the household consumer had on women very interesting. I think that it is well known that women shaped the first wave of feminism and their claims to equality around the notion that they were the moral teachers of the world, and that their role in the domestic sphere created the space for them to enter the public sphere. However, I always believed that women entered the public scene in the second wave of feminism through their participaton in the Civil Rights Movement, and I was surprised to learn that they had previously made waves in the political arena as consumers fighting for fair wages, price controls, etc. I think that Cohen's in-depth coverage of this issue is extremely important and offers a thorough analysis of an issue that is not stressed in the study of American history and culture as it should.

Discussion Questions for Consumer's Republic

1. Lizabeth Cohen uses the terms the purchaser consumer and the purchaser as a citizen throughout the book. Define these terms. Which term did the government stress during the war and the reasons for it? What about after the war? Did these two terms ever intertwine with each other to create a new image of the “good citizen”? If so, when and why?

2. Before the war, how did women use their gender roles as a gateway to influence the government and new policies? What positions were they able to gain when the men went off to war? How did these roles change after the war? Post-war, who was viewed as the “consumer of the family” and who made the decisions?

3. The government has used the media numerous times in American history to spread propaganda. In what ways did the U.S. government use the media to spread new promises and new ideas about the “American life” during and after the war? What roles did Life magazine have advocating these same ideas? How did these ideas help forge the “Consumers’ Republic”?

4. In what ways did consumerism fuel African-Americans to fight for equality? Why were they more determined after the war than before it? How did African-Americans use public accommodations as outlets in demanding equal treatment and equal rights?

5. Which group of people did the G.I. Bill actually help? Why were so many people denied access to the bill’s benefits? How is the G.I. Bill’s discrimination similar to the new taxation laws that were created after the war? How were these same groups treated regarding credit?

6. After the war the Consumer’s Republic created a new representation of what is the cult of domesticity. How did this image change from before? How did the new idea of suburbia generate it? In how many different aspects was the “single-family home” used as a representative figure? Who was not included in this new cult of domesticity umbrella?

7. What is the significance of the “cult of localism”? How did localism and zoning influence educational inequality as well as class and race discrimination? How can we still see the effects of the two in today’s schools and metropolitan areas?

Amos and Andy

This clip is an interesting, yet offensive, exaggeration of African American culture in the 1930's. This video reminded me of the lack of Americanization for the African American in this time period. The depiction of the black man and the lack of attention to the black woman relates to Robin Kelley's article we read this week and the representation of women as objects to the men. The introduction of African Americans in to the media, especially cartoons, was an attempt to alter and define the boundaries between racial barriers and this cartoon begins to do this but is clearly unsuccessful in several ways. First of all, this cartoon is for a white audience and is clearly there for entertainment purposes. It is sad that despite the astounding response of African American participation in WWI, such strong racism still continued. More black men volunteered/enlisted in the war than the segregated units could handle so congress had to suspend black enlistment. It is shocking to me that these men would want to fight a war for the white man who is laughing while watching a cartoon such as Amos and Andy.

U.S WWII culture

The readings for this week covered a wide range of topics on U.S nationalism during WWII. For one, African Americans resented contributing to the war on behalf of the U.S because of the racial injustice they were still receiving. This, to me, is perfectly understandable especially given their historical neglection of their war efforts in the Civil War which later came to be known as a war that was purposely "misremembered". Malcolm X's behavior during the zoot suit era, though he viewed as shameful, were quite significant in representing how African Americans felt about the state of the nation at that time. He not only refused to participate in the war by purposely making his health seem at risk, but demonstrated resistence by wearing the zoot suit and misbehaving against the white community. I do agree with Kelley in which he states that without Malcolm X's rebellious youth years, his adulthood would not have been in the same because he wouldn't have been as radical towards the civil rights movement.
While African Americans were still facing racial injustice, Japanese Americans were being forced onto camps after Pearl Harbor. Partial reasoning for this action is due to national suspicion of traitorship towards the U.S. However, no such evidence to support this suspicion was ever discovered. It saddens me that they were forced to the camps in a "silence", feeling too helpless to put up a fight. Then, they were asked to choose on fighting for the U.S or not. If they chose to fight, they would have to become disloyal to Japan. In my opinion, making immigrants choose between their home country and the U.S is unfair. This is an extremely difficult position to be put in. While those who refused to join the U.S army were treated badly in the camps and looked down upon, some Japanese in the camps remained loyal to the U.S and demonstrated patriotism. They probably did this to show that despite the horrible living conditions they were forced to live in, they wanted to show that they still appreciated the U.S and that it might free them from the camps and help relieve national anxiety towards the Japanese Americans.
Ernie Pyle describes the war at Normany through very personal stories of U.S soldiers. His writing style makes learning about the war easier and more interesting. Instead of just memorizing events and dates, Pyle interjects an element of humanity which touches his readers and makes learning about the war more memorable as if you are reading a story. For example, I really enjoyed reading about the French soldiers giving flowers and drinks to U.S soldiers as tokens of appreciation. Pyle shows his audience that soldiers are human even in the middle of the war and shows this through simple, short stories. I really enjoyed reading his article.

Week 10 readings response

I enjoyed this week's readings. I could hardly imagine what it would have been like to be in Normandy during the war. Earnie Pyle's descriptions, while they are wonderful and do give you a sense of the horror and turmoil, I am sure cannot begin to scratch the surface of what it would have been like to actually be there. I liked how he tried to personalize his reporting by giving the names and the stories of particular soldiers instead of just describing the happenings of the war. You get a feeling of how it might have felt to have one of your family members serving in the war (as many people do right now). I was touched by the stories of the French who were appreciative of the presence of the soldiers and thankful for what they were doing for them.
In Robin Kelley's writings about the autobiography of Malcolm XI found the part about African Americans using any way possible to get 4F status interesting. I completely understand their resistance to fight and die for a country who had not given them all of the opportunities or freedoms they deserved, similar to the men in the Japanese internment camps. Those who refused to serve were given prison sentences. I especially understand the Japanese men not wanting to fight for a county that had taken everything away from them, even their freedom, without due cause. How could they expect someone in this position to proudy fight for a country that treated them like scum? It is so sad to think of these injustices and all of the lives that were wruined and lost.

Amos and Andy

The characters of Amos and Andy are supposed to be African American men that live in a big city. This cartoon became popular in a time period where African American's began to migrate from southern towns to major cities in the north. So more so than their race they represent the African American experience in the north.
Just from this clip of the show you can tell how the creators of Amos and Andy wanted to depict African American men. First of all the apperance of the black characters were exaggerated and full of racial sterotypes. The black characters lips were huge and protruding. Also for the most part the characters seen were over-weight except for Amos. Another important characteristic was the fact that all of the African American characters were all the same shade of black/brown. The artist did not recognize th difference in skin tone between many African Americans.
The chatractures of African American in media were very important in the Cartooning the Color Line lecture. The featured illustrator from lecture named Leslie Roger's really changed how African Americans were depicted in cartoons. He made variations of African American skin color and of physical features. This was a very important in the fight to change and cross the colorline. In earlier lectures we were shown pictures of African Americans as barbaric, pitch black, with huge lips, hips, and eyes. Mr. Roger's helped to eliminate that image of African Americans.
The targeted audience for this cartoon are the white population. The Amos and Andy show was a large success on the radio and the main audience that listened to this show were white families. Many African American households did not contain a radio or television, so this was a big indicator to know who this show was marketed towards.

An American Story Response

This article highlighted the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II as the United States government took active measures against these minorities that eliminated freedoms and liberties guaranteed under the Constitution. The government justified their actions by claiming that they were securing the safety of America's national borders. However, after the war, the federal government issued formal apologies, granted presidential pardons to Japanese Americans, issued monetary compensations to survivors of internment camps, and set up funding for an educational program aimed at preventing such atrocities as a result of racism from every occurring again. However, the author mentioned how many government officials still expressed racist views and noted several policies that emerged after the war that were discriminatory toward Japanese Americans. What was extremely interesting was that only thirteen years after the passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, Congress signed the Patriot Act into law. Once again, the government depicted its ability to ignore civil liberties and target individuals based on race alone. This is particularly scary because it shows that history is repeating itself in many ways, and that latent racism still exists in American society, despite the general belief that racism is in the past.
What I found most interesting about the article was that it showed parallels between the Nazi state and the American government; both were willing to place "guilt" on groups based on their "race." Similar to the American government, the Nazis stated that targeting a certain "race" was in the best interests of the nation and was crucial to ensuring the survival of their own race. The American government was under the belief that the Japanese were attempting to ignite a race war, and justified their actions as a response to this "threat." The Nazis argued that the Jewish "race" posed a threat to the Aryan race. This article did not explicitly state such parallels, but it acknowledged the similarities to a greater extent than do most texts taught in the United States about American history.

Discussion Questions for Week 10: The Good War

1. How does Ernie Pyle describe the scene at Normandy when he arrives at Omaha beach the morning after D-Day? What does he assert about the fact that the Americans were able to take the beach?

2. What kind of preparations had the Germans made to defend their stronghold on Omaha beach? If, according to Pyle, “the advantages were all theirs, the disadvantages all ours,” then how did the Americans successfully take the beach?

3. What were each of the phases discussed by Pyle, and why was it so important that each phase be completed before the next phase could begin? What does Pyle say about the impact and significance of Phase Number Four? How long does Pyle believe it will take the Allies to reach Phase Number Five?

4. How do the French locals feel about being liberated by the Americans? What examples of French goodwill towards the Americans and vice versa did you find in the reading?

5. What social class did most of the American soldiers come from? Additionally, where were many of the American soldiers from, in terms of geographic regions in America? How were the platoons composed?

6. What does Kelley suggest about the relations between different social classes within the Black community during wartime? How did they interact with each other? How did the White community view the Black population during this time?

7. Did Malcolm X address his youth honestly in his narrative? If not, then for what reasons and how did he misrepresent his late teenage years? What is the political importance of his “embarrassing background,” and how does it relate to the greater civil rights movement during the period?

8. What were the Black zootsuiters trying to dismiss? What did this subculture aim to promote? What were some of the popular fashions and trends within this sect? When and where did they gather, and what did they do at their social events?

9. How did Malcolm view legitimate labor during his youth? What kinds of illegal economic strategies did he find to avoid the lawful labor market? How did he exploit White racism during his time working legitimate jobs?

10. In “An American Story” how does Okihiro’s describe life for Japanese American’s during World War II? On Febuary 19, 1942, Roosevelt issused executive order 9066, do you believe this was the most just way to solve a problem of national security?

11. During World War II, like in any country during a time of war, there is always the topic of propaganda. How did the United states “as a nation” during this time feel about Japanese Americans? What examplese to support your answer as given by Okihrio throughout “An American Story?”

12. What are some reasons that Japanese American’s were sent to internment camps? How did these camps break down both mentally and physically Japanese American’s while being held captive?

13. It is well documented that the Japenese were the most decorted during World War II. Why would Japanese Americans fight in this war when they were looked at upon their fellow countrymen as the enemy?

13. In the end of “An American Story” Okihiro mentions the Patriot Act of 2001, where under which racial and religious profiling enables a secret and arbitrary government-sponsered program of registration, expulsion and indefinite detention. Do you think that today’s government and societies mentality towards Muslim’s and people of Middle-Eastern decent are similar in many to what the governemt during World War II had towards Japanese Americans?

Dorothea Lange reflection

Last week in discussion we discussed Dorothea Lange briefly and the incredible photography she managed to capture in such a fragile time period. Considering people were in their most vulnerable states during the great depression, the dustbowl, and times of Japanese internment camps, Dorothea managed to capture more than just vulnerable, poor people being exploited in rough times. She would always ask for permission to take a photo, which is important because of the issue of exploiting poverty. However, this risks several photos that could have been candids turning into portraits. Regardless, she knew what she was doing. Graham Clarke mentions the Indian's view of the camera as a "shadow catcher". The camera can be intrusive, but the article goes on to discuss the counterpoint to that which is the several ways there are to manipulate a photo-it doesn't always have to be photographing the vulnerable. If it is thought of as a piece of art or a way of "capturing the soul" then it would be understood that there is an underlying message trying to be conveyed as with any piece of art. Dorothea calls her photos portrayals of what "society kicked down", signifying there is an underlying theme to her photos, not always vulnerability, but always having an American feel to them-something all Americans can look at and relate to in some way.

Amos and Andy was an attempt to portray African Americans in a stereotypical manner, targeting a younger, white audience, to shape their views about this ethnic "other." Amos and Andy was probably a response to the increased fear white Americans had about the expanding role of African Americans in as a result of migration, expansion of rights, and the emergence of an African American middle class. As justification for efforts that limited the rights of blacks throughout America and relegated blacks to second-class citizenship decades after emancipation, the cartoon portrayed blacks in a negative manner. As time progressed, racism began to be more entrenched within American society, which had never been confronted with a society divided by a color-line; previously, African Americans had been denied citizenship and were viewed as property. As they came to claim citizenship rights, new race divisions and ideologies emerged, which is clearly reflected by the creation of forms of mass media such as Amos and Andy. 

Amos and Andy

As stated previously before Amos and Andy is a cartoon with minstrel characteristics. The black characters in it are shown to have large lips, dark skin, and all behave in a certain manner. This portrayal of black people during the time period was meant to be funny, but also represented how white people felt. Blacks are caricatured as often fat, lazy, uneducated buffoons in the cartoon. I find the issue interesting about which audience the cartoon had the most influence on. I agree that at first this was meant for entertainment of white adults. But as it progressed I feel as though more and more children saw this cartoon and began to soak up the ideals it was portraying. Being impressionable, children would not question a humorous cartoon about validity and would simply accept everything that happens within it to be true. This type of media is certainly offensive but I believe it helps to convey attitudes whites had about blacks during the time period. It is not out of line for this to be shown today in an educational environment because it is clear that this is how these people viewed blacks. These views, among other factors contributed to the ongoing racism during the early 20th century in the United States.

Amos and Andy Reflection

The cartoon version of Amos and Andy is an explicit representation of African Americans and the minstrel tradition. I think that the use of cartoon animation allowed the creators to even further exaggerate their intentions and poke fun at African Americans in the United States. The characters in this film do not look like true African Americans, rather they look like white cartoon characters with a blackface twist. The characters in this cartoon clip are also explicitly unintelligent. Throughout the entire clip, Andy finds himself in bad situation after bad situation.  The cartoon version allows Andy to make these mistakes and get up uninjured and do them again. It does not show him, an "African American" character learning from his mistakes, and he ultimately enters the wrestling ring at the end of the cartoon. The intended audience of this cartoon reaches a broad white audience, who enjoys belittling the character and intelligence of African Americans. The white audience is obvious because as non-African Americans, they would find such a representation comical.  African Americans, however, would probably not find humor in this cartoon strip.  In looking at the historical context in 1935, the Jim Crow Laws were still in existence, and the civil rights movement for African Americans had not taken place. At that time in history, this type of film would have been seen as acceptable in the eyes of most white Americans. 

Overall, the cartoon is a clear representation of the degradation and humiliation faced by African Americans during the early 1900's.

Week 9 response

I know we will talk about this more tomorrow in discussion, but I wanted to quick comment on the readings for this week in relation to the paper that will be due soon. I just found it very interesting with the way they tell you to read a image or picture. Before reading these few articles, I could look at a picture and try to describe what the author was trying to convey, but I never looked at the great detail. The article tells you look at the lighting, the focus, the use of angles, and many more things. I would have never done that to be honest. I think it will help me when having to thoroughly depict an image for the paper. There will be many things that I will have to look at in order to really see what the author is trying to show us. Like the article said, images are like complex texts which have to be looked at in great detail. I also found the articles about Native American photographs interesting in the sense that the photographers didn't seem to want to capture the "real" Native American. They used a lot of props to photograph Native Americans how they wanted to. Dixon seems to go through a lot of trouble to manipulate the images as he sees fit. The clothes, the props used, the background are all manipulated by Dixon.

Overall, I think the paper should be interesting, especially for me. It seems like a lot more work than I originally thought, as far as really being able to depict the picture in its entirety. 

Discussion Questions and Photographs

Discussion Questions, Week of March 2

1. How were settlement houses different from the Americanization programs directed at Native Americans and Mexicans? What demographics were important to each of the three movements?
2. What criteria did the American Indian Citizenship Act (1919) use to give certain Native Americans citizenship? How does this definition of being an American relate to other subjects we have discussed?
3. In the documentary we watched in class, Dorothea Lange asked, “What actually is the human condition?” Her photographs could also be seen as a documentation of “the American condition” during the period in which she worked. What do they say about this?
4. We talked about some of the American responses to the Great Depression, including shame, fear, and blame. What aspect of American culture caused Americans to feel shameful of their personal state, and of the state of the country? Is this aspect still a part of our culture today?
5. Why do you think Americans turned to the memory of the Civil War in the aftermath of the Great Depression? Do you think they returned to an actual memory or a “willfully misremembered” one?
6. Graham Clarke talks about the “problematic nature of the photographic image as both arbiter of meaning and trace of the ‘real.’” In what ways are photographs not an exact mirror? What does this mean for the way we have to analyze photographs?
7. What are some of the visual elements of photographs that can help us analyze them? What about the compositional elements?
8. How did the technological advances in photographic technology in the 1850s change the way American Indians were photographed? In what ways was this photography, both before and after the advancements, sometimes inaccurate?

"Segregated Water Fountains, North Carolina" by Elliot Erwitt (1950)

"A Great Day in Harlem" by Art Kane (1958)

Andy and Amos

You all have touched greatly upon the representation of Andy and Amos and I agree completely with all of your analyses. I don't want to beat a dead horse, so I'm just going to bring up one point that may be of some importance. Although I agree that this cartoon was intended for a younger, white audience, the opening of the video, "I hope you will look forward to seeing the Andy and Amos cartoon and that you will enjoy them thoroughly...," leads me to believe that this series could also have been targeted an older audience in a theater setting. During the earlier years when this series aired, people acquired much of their entertainment from mass gatherings at theaters. The opening of this particular cartoon appears as if it is a bit too formal for younger audiences, and may hint at the fact that older audiences were entertained by it as well. If this show was solely directed towards a younger generation, I feel as though the intro would be much less formal and more juvenile. I may be looking too far into this, but I thought it was interesting to note.

Amos & Andy

The fact that this cartoon uses the word "rassling" instead of wrestling in its title immediately indicates that there is something off-color about the cartoon. However, the ambiguity that exists in regards to why the word "rassling" was chosen for the title is quickly eliminated, as the cartoon depicts racist African-American stereotypes throughout its entirety. The main characters, Andy, Amos, and Kingfish, each display ridiculous traits, while all of the characters' faces appear to be covered in blackface makeup that was common in racist minstrel shows. The audience can assume that the cartoon was created by White people, as the characters are essentially archetypes of Black men that exist in racist minds. Amos appears to be the smooth talking, street smart, but physically weak Black man that is still common in movies today. Andy is the lazy, impulsive, and stupid character, while Kingfish is the traditional black pimp character. Additionally, Andy's wrestling foe, Bullneck Mooseface, portrays the "black brute" character that is present in other racist media, such as the character of Gus in "the Birth of a Nation."

One of the most irresponsible aspects of the cartoon is that the target audience appears to be impressionable White children. Therefore, even though the cartoon was supposedly viewed as comedy when it was released, it served the purpose of perpetuating racial stereotypes. The color line, as discussed in class, is clearly present in this cartoon as there are zero white characters present in any of the scenes, including the mob at the wrestling match. Ironically, the wrestling match illustrates the absurdity behind the separate but equal doctrine of Plessey v. Ferguson, as the barn used for the match was most assuredly subpar in comparison to the venues at which White people would watch wrestling matches.

During the time period in which the Amos & Andy cartoon was produced, African-Americans were taking great strides as a people. Therein lies the greatest shame associated with the cartoon, as the cartoon's depiction of Black people attempted to undermine the progress made by African-Americans. This progress includes the promotion and support of the New Negro movement and the Harlem Renaissance, as well as other positive ventures undertaken by the African-American people. This cartoon illustrates disappointing behavior by the American public for allowing such representations of an entire race to become popular.

Andy and Amos

This cartoon in its entirety depicts racial stereotypes of African Americans during its time. The two main characters are made to look lazy and stupid above all things. Andy is shows to be lazy while sleeping at work, and stupid when he can't even pin down a wrestler who is already on the ground. Amos is made to appear as a follower and can barely think for himself.
These extreme stereotypes and racial depictions were made probably to show people how ridiculous the racial situation was in the 1920's for African Americans. Being made to appear with a low sense of intelligence and low self esteem is exactly what this cartoon sought to produce. The characters are also made to look really sluggish in the way they walk and talk throughout the cartoon.
This cartoon directly relates to the reading about African American progress in the early 20th century in the way that society viewed this race as a whole. African Americans coming from the south to the north for economic reasons were looked down upon for their lack of manners, assumption of laziness, and general lack of knowledge. The cartoon shows African Americans being ok with these stereotypes made on behalf of their race and living up to society's expectations of them of ultimately achieving very little. At the end of the cartoon, Andy gets defeated and beat up almost without a fight which was probably to indicate the assumption that African Americans would just accept the expectations and low values society placed upon them and give up without a fight as well. However, these assumptions were wrong. Enough was enough and with much effort, progress was eventually made among the color line.

Andy and Amos reflection

From the title of "rasslin" to the end of the cartoon, there is a significant racial undertone throughout. Clearly, the main purpose of this cartoon was to ridicule and humiliate the African American race. If their methods of speaking and stupidity within the cartoon is examined it is easy to see how this video stereotyped the black population. Additionally, the shapes of the characters were ape-like, especially that of the gym trainer. The bull-neck moose-face character is simply overt, especially when the video shows his head turn into a moose for a moment. Undoubtedly, this was intended for a white audience as blacks at the time (and now) would find this completely offensive. At a time when the color line was being debated after World War I, cartoons like this were influential instruments used in order to spread the culture of racism.

Consequently, it is not difficult to see the effects this video had on the population at the time. If black morale is kept low, then the whites can continue to perpetuate the status quo. It represented the sentiment of the white people in power. Still being dragged down by the memory of the Civil War, these people were not ready for such dramatic changes, it was their mission to maintain a sense of a color barrier. This cartoon was representative of a much larger ideal. In lecture, we talked about the effects of racism on a culture and a developing society. The fact that whites found this entertaining (and some probably didn't even think it was exaggeration) is the epitome of this culture of racism. The cartoon and its message is a great example to use when attempting to sum up the fight over the color barrier at this time in American history.

Andy n Amos Reflection

The cartoon characters, Amos n Andy, are examples of the many different stereotypes that African-Americans had to endure during the twentieth century. They are depicted as being lazy and unintelligent. After reading more information about the history of the characters they clearly represent many characteristics of the African-American life during this time era. For instance, Andy and Amos were both farm workers in the south, which was very common. They were most likely sharecroppers as we discussed in class. They were part of the “Great Migration” to the north. They settled in the south side Chicago which was known to be predominately populated by African-Americans. The two characters have low-paying jobs which at the time was a result of many whites refusing to offer African-Americans the opportunity to succeed. Many whites believed that African-Americans did not have the capacity to handle certain knowledge. They were portrayed as unintelligent individuals with “empty heads” as the cartoon represented Andy.
The most disturbing element of this cartoon is the targeted audience. The cartoon was intended for white people. It was suppose to be a type of entertainment for them. By stereotyping Andy and Amos white people felt more confident. They believed that even with all the social movements such as the Harlem Renaissance, there would still be no possibility for African-Americans to advance. They were to never be viewed as a threat to the whites. This is the reason that many African-Americans were banned from certain schools. Even any slight offering of any sort of opportunity may ripple white supremacy. The only solution was to continue suppressing the African-American culture in order to ensure white supremacy.
The theme of white supremacy occurs numerously throughout the class. The tactics and motives that white people took in order to ensure that they would always be the most powerful have been seen throughout the centuries. Legislation has been passed such as the Chinese Exclusion Act in order to ensure that white people were still the dominate race. White supremacy was also an element during the Trail of Tears and the formation of reservations. Whites tried to control the Mexican immigrants as well. Amos and Andy are just another example of the methods and ideas of white supremacy. Other races had to be belittled and controlled in order for white people to continue their dominancy.

Andy and Amos Cartoon

This cartoon is a very ethnocentric cartoon filled with racism and fueled by the notion of white superiority, much like many of the themes we have studied so far in this class. The cartoon clearly is meant to represent African Americans and can be highly assumed that it was made by white people. The cartoon centers around all African American characters who are all very unintelligent, lazy, beast-like, and violent; all characterstics of the whites stereotypical view of blacks. The characters are shown as using bad grammar throughout the whole clip. For example, they pronounce wrestling as "rassslin" and pronounce many other words incorrectly. Laziness is also represented in the clip as the clip starts out with Andy being asleep instead of working. All of the characters are also shown as looking and behaving much more like animals than humans. The characters are depicted as walking similar to how apes do and have very large lips, also like apes. They are shows as violent as the whole plot surrounds a wrestling match and one of the wrestlers is depicted as an angry bull, again depicticting violence. While watching this cartoon, it became very clear to me that it was made by whites, in another effort to discriminate against blacks and to highlight their superiority.

In my opinion, the intented audience of this cartoon was strictly white people. The whole cartoon is spent making fun of black people and thier imagined ways of life. I think it was meant to show just how uncivilized and violent black people are in an effort to strengthen and confirm the nations feelings of white superiority. I think it was also intented to reach children as children are the primary audiences for cartoons. I think this was to instill in children the feelings of white superiority in a much less direct way.

This cartoon is clearly very racist, and is just another example of the hardships African Americans have faced since coming to America.

Amos and Andy

The stereotypes and pieces of black identity in Amos and Andy very typical of what would have been thought of black Americans during the time period.  The choppy speech, laziness, violence, inability to learn or listen well, as well as the connections to animals in both depiction and action all contributed greatly to larger ideas about blacks.  It is clear that the cartoon is intended for white audiences, both to entertain and to show how different blacks and whites from each other.

 I thought in particular the references to intelligence and Andy's head as a soft spot were especially important to the cartoons message, especially when contrasted to the physical work and boxing that Andy had to do.  He was consistently shown as not intelligent, to the point where even his ability to work (though this also may have had to do with laziness) or to fight reasonably well were impaired.  It was also clear that though he may have wanted to be fit and ready to fight, he was not, and the constant smoking, even while boxing, showed that he didn't have the intelligence or commitment to do so.

I thought that is clip had a lot to do with our discussion of racialization and the construction and reinforcement of the color line.  The historical time period of the cartoon, 1934, was an important time for the color line to be reinforced, after the Great Migration and the worst years of the Great Depression just beginning to end.  By making these stereotypes visible and part of mainstream white media, blacks were reinforced as other, and segregation was thought to be all the more neccessary