"America held captive to utopian ideology"

The article by Patrick Buchanan was very thought-provoking. America's super powers seem to be declining right now; we are not the nation we used to be, and I definitely think this has partly to do with the fact that Europe has lost respect for us (more specifically, George W. Bush was our president and then we re-elected him). The connection between 19th century America and the China today was very interesting, and I agree. Americans were not so concerned with human rights when we were overwhelmed by the notion of Manifest Destiny and we shoved aside and suppressed the Native Americans. But now we are calling China out on human rights. Is it fair because the people of the world have made progress when it comes to human rights---it's more of an "issue"? Or was our shady past not so long ago that we really have no place to be criticizing China? What I really take away from the article is America is like a slightly delusional old woman who is in no condition to be playing world police.
I must say that I blushed at the sentence "her educational system at the primary and secondary systems are in shambles". I've always thought that America was number one at everything (even though I really know we aren't) but it seemed as though regardless of how we ranked, we we certain to do well, to succeed, simply because we were America. It is not so. We have to compete with the rest of the world, and it starts in kindergarten.
"America, declaring racial, ethnic, and religious diversity as a strength, invites the world to swamp it's native born. And mostly poor, unskilled and uneducated, they are coming by the millions". I'm not racist, but the first thing I thought about was the rising Hispanic population, because a lot of immigrants come from Mexico. I'm not trying to be unsympathetic, but at this point, we don't have jobs available. We are no longer the land of opportunity in that regard.

Population Growth and Decline

I think population cycles and patterns are interesting because it is an effect of past circumstances and proceeds to influence the future. For example, the baby boom that occurred after surviving soldiers of WWII came home and got married. One would think that once all the baby-boomers got old enough to have children there would be another dramatic rise in population, but it doesn't necessarily work like that. Now, there is a baby "bust". Women are having fewer children because they are marrying later and choosing to work. And it's not right or wrong, but I wonder what the long term consequences will be (they will certainly be affecting me!). If the decline continues, there will a smaller ratio of working age people to retired people relying on social security and such. Will people, and not just in my generation, but my parents' generation, have to work longer? Another thought is that the planet may not really need more people on it right now--more people requiring water, using energy, taking up space...Just a thought. I don't think people should stop having kids!
Another fascinating aspect of population are the effects of gender ratios. There was recently an article in The Economist about "China's missing baby girls". In China, (and also northern India) girls are, basically, not desired, and mainly because they provide no economic benefit to their families. Girls are either aborted, killed, or abandoned. Orphanages are filled with girls, and they are still neglected. Anyhow, the skewed gender ratios are problematic for men who want to get married but can't find a wife. One, now they can't have children, and they are literally called "broken branches". This also results in men smuggling/trafficking brides from nearby countries like India, Nepal, Vietname, etc. There is a rise in violent crime...think: lots of men with no outlet for their testosterone. Basically, women, and thus girls, are necessary for maintaining a normal and healthy population cycle. And also, those parents need to understand how smart and capable and beautiful their daughter could be!

Global Security

Of the four issues presented in class (nuclear weapons, chemical warfare, terrorism, and environmental hazards/ dangers to the environment), it is hard to say which is the most frightening. A deterioration in our living conditions/environment directly affects our quality of life. For example--toxins in run-off from factories enter local water systems and make their way into our food and poison other organisms on the way as well. But although pollution may be a result of carelessness and possibly greed, it is not really malice. No one sets out to hurt the planet. It happens, and some people lack the foresight to care. Nuclear weapons are a power symbol; it has been this way since their creation and the Cold War. I think nations want nuclear capability as a "defense thing", kind of like taking an umbrella with you so it doesn't rain: have nuclear weapons not to bomb someone else, but discourage them from bombing you. In my opinion, chemical weapons are the scariest, because like Maggie said, you can't see the gas or the spores or whatever they want to shove in envelopes next--and it's the hardest to escape. A lot of chemical weapons seem to be gases or substances that permeate the air. We have to breathe!
The anthrax in the mail incident is shocking--who thinks to do that? Because it's actually a good idea in the sense that everyone opens their mail. Also, once people realize what is happening, the mail is going to need to be put on hold because of possible dangers...and a chaotic chain reaction ensues. Terrorism is associated with both nuclear and chemical warfare because both weapons allow a person or group to create fear.

Eclipse of the Sun, George Grosz

This piece was painted in 1926 around the time of the rise of militant dictators. What sticks out to me the most is that the "dictator", the man in the blue coat, is surrounded by headless people. This represents the brainwashing and the purging of intelligent opposition that was implemented to seize power. There is also an animal and a bloody knife---it looks like the animal, representing innocence, is going to be sacrificed. I think this relates to how the Jews and other minorities were blamed for all of Germany's problems between the Wars. For me, the cubism, the surrealism, enhances feelings of uneasiness already created by the red-cheeked dictator and his headless cohorts.

Disney and the War: Grumpy is Ready to Go

I am a huge Disney fan! It turns out that the disney cartoonists were involved in the war in an interesting way--their artwork adorned the aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Here Grumpy, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is shown carrying explosives. He is clearly one "person" who would be fed up with Axis aggression and ready to take it on. It's "cute" and perhaps these characters lightened the mood for soldiers in the face of a grim task. However, it is strange to see images associated with innocence on the fuselage of a war plane.

Battle of Midway, Robert Benney

During World War II more than 100 U.S. servicemen and civilians served as "combat artists", recording what they experienced in ink and paint. I think it is really cool that they did this! I can't imagine being able to, I guess, be focused enough to do this, but art must truly be their outlet. The Battle of Midway was a decisive American victory and turning point in the war in the Pacific--and here we have someone's impression of what it looked like.
I can see a person and part of a Japanese plane, or at least flag in the water. The sharp contrast and the rough strokes really give me a feeling of panic and fear, like this is war.

Connection Across Time: "Made in Japan"

Surprised as I was about the Japanese impression of Americans as being materialistic, I recalled reading an article in Time (a while ago) about Japan's new consumer culture.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1832712-1,00.html

Basically, after the defeat in the war, nationalism was associated with suffering. In Japan, it became cool to be westernized, to eat European food and drive European cars, have European (or American) tech-gadgets---the article cites Bang&Olufsen phones and iPods. Now, however there is the desire to promote Japanese culture at home, and it follows, throughout the rest of the world.
The whole thing strikes me as ironic: in Japan and other countries in the East, they idolize Western culture, but we too are fascinated by Eastern culture. Americans feel so "cool" when they drink "chai", tofu appeals to our health-food fad, and sushi-bars are glamorous. I see wallpaper, furniture, dishes, clothing full of eastern influence. For me, cherry blossoms--> Japanese art!

WWII, Part I: What I Learned about Japan and the Holocaust

I'm glad to learn a little about Japan and China during this unit--this being a European History course, sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on World History. Although I suppose it's all a bit intertwined.
The Japanese mindset on the eve of WWII is quite fascinating and a little appalling. First of all, I thought it was sad that they sent their sons at a young age for military training. I know this has been a common occurrence all over the world and throughout history, but I still think it is wrong. You can't just have everyone be in the army--you need scientists, doctors, lawyers, writers, teachers, etc. They viewed Americans as decadent, lazy, materialistic and egocentric, yet they clearly had issues of their own. America, egocentric? The Japanese had their own extreme superiority complex that compelled them to massacre 300,000 Chinese in the Rape of Nanking! I find it puzzling that they believed themselves to be a superior race, or superior among the Asian races. I heard that some people in class were offended by the comment that the Chinese and the Japanese were the same race. Please allow me to vent here: Stating that they are the SAME RACE does NO DISRESPECT. The Chinese and the Japanese are two DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES, and they have DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND CULTURAL CUSTOMS. However they are considered to be the same race. NATIONALITY, CULTURE, AND RACE ARE SEPARATE. So chill out.

I have studied the Holocaust in some way, shape, or form every year since fifth grade, and even then, that was not the first time I heard about it. What I heard for the first time today, was the story about Pius XI, or "Hitler's Pope". It is an interesting story because it was new, and it seems to be kind of complicated. I mean, I wouldn't blame someone for being afraid (of Hitler) but I also believe, that with power comes responsibility (yes, I got that from Spiderman). I understand the desire to maintain diplomacy, but I think that he should have protested the evacuation of the Jews in Rome; I believe he could have made a difference, and it never hurts to try. The video certainly did not make me want to believe this Pope as innocent, when it said that all he did was beg the Axis not to bomb Rome. Since I wasn't in his position, I hate to judge. Unfortunately, the evidence doesn't look very good.

I can't help but find it offensive when Holocaust-denial is associated with Islam. I am Muslim, and I ASSURE you, this is not a Muslim belief. Every religious group has been persecuted at some time or another, so how could one not feel sympathetic? If someone denies the Holocaust, they have a personal...problem. SHAME ON ANYONE WHO DENIES THE HOLOCAUST OR ANY SIMILAR ATROCITY IN THE NAME OF RELIGION. Also, I think some people need to be reminded that Mahmoud Ahmedinejad (a "Holocaust-denier") is NOT a representative of Islam, he is merely the President of Iran.

Connection Across Time: the Large Hadron Collider

Discoveries in physics in the early 20th century regarding the structure of the atoms led to big questions, especially about the nature of these subatomic particles. It was during this era that Albert Einstein derived his formula relating mass and energy: E=mc^2. Although we now know much more about protons, electrons and neutrons, there are still other questions to be answered. For example, what is the nature of particles smaller than electrons? Einstein's formula also led to the development of the Big Bang theory for the creation of the universe. CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Geneva is one example of how scientific questions of the Age of Anxiety continue to influence today's research. In simple terms, the LHC accelerates two protons at extremely high velocities into each other to see what happens when they collide--to examine how the particles break up and also to recreate the conditions of the Big Bang and observe how the universe was created. There is also talk of building a particle accelerator in the tunnel of the Circle Line in the London Underground!
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/hadron-collider-ii-planned-for-circle-line-1932744.html

"Le Violon d'Ingres" , Man Ray (1924)

This is a photograph, and the f-holes are painted on the woman's back. Man Ray was a Philadelphia born photographer, but was closely associated with European artists. He brought dadaism to New York. This piece is an example of a photo montage--it combines two media. One of the reasons it first caught my eye, and one of the reasons I think it is so beautiful is that it is so clean and simple. It is art that provokes thought without overwhelming the brain with loud colors and shapes. Her smooth white back, with a gentle curving silhouette, is the focus. It is remarkable how much it is shaped like a violin. The way she has turned her neck and is staring towards the left is very graceful. I feel very at peace looking at this picture. I think this painting means that music is inside a person, and that person lets it out. I've heard it said that the violin is the closest sound to the human voice; sometimes I've felt that I am literally singing on my violin. Perhaps there is music in not only this woman's voice, but in the way she breathes. Perhaps the way she walks is like a dance. Perhaps there is even a kind of music in her love or her actions. I know Dadaism is about breaking the rules, but when I look at this picture I don't think about rules being broken--I think about truth or simply human nature being revealed.

Girl Before A Mirror, Pablo Picasso

I must confess that I am not really a Picasso fan. I respect his artwork but I do not find it attractive. However, I don't mind this painting. It displays Picasso's characteristic geometric shapes, and bright, contrasting colors, yet the face of the figure is not too distorted. For this reason, I felt like I could relate to the painting. I look in the mirror everyday, we all do. The image in her mirror is not a reflection--the colors are different. They are darker. Or perhaps, the purple in her face represents something "richer", more colorful than white. Looking in the mirror can be like this--sometimes we see someone staring back at us that we don't want to be. Sometimes a glimpse in the mirror gives us confidence, we see the "color", the brilliance in ourselves that no one else sees. Perhaps she is reflecting about aging and mortality, on beauty that fades. I think it is possible that she is pregnant because of the shape of her stomach. Perhaps she is thinking about life and death, what it means to bring a child into the world, or her transition from innocence to womanhood. Notice that she is reaching out to the mirror, to her reflection--is she longing for the past or eager for the future?
According to the MoMA's website this is a portrait of Picasso's young mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, one of his favorite subjects in the early 1930s.

The Kiss, Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt is perhaps Austria's most famous modern artist. He lived mostly before WWI and the Age of Anxiety, but I believe his paintings, and the Secessionist movement, are important in the developments of European art that we studied in class. In fact, like Picasso and Dada, Klimt employs geometric shapes to depict all but the faces, hands, and feet of the two figures. The flowery field at the bottom is two-dimensional, which is another characteristic of modern art. Not only does Klimt use bright colors, he uses gold. Actually, gold leaf is used on their clothing and the background!
This is one of my favorite paintings. Klimt is known for his eroticism, but I do not choose to interpret it as an erotic painting. It is sweet, serene, and tender--just look at her face. For some reason, the bottom green part, perhaps the striking contrast of the purple flowers with the green and gold, always catches my eye. I had the pleasure and opportunity of seeing this painting in person this summer when I was in Vienna. It is at the Belvedere, an old summer palace of Prince Eugene, an Austrian army officer, which now houses modern art. This is one of the most famous paintings in Austria--this and Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch-bauer. The image is plastered over every imaginable tourist souvenir--mugs, calendars, ties, even teddy-bears.

The Age of Anxiety, Part II: Leni Reifenstahl's Triumph of the Will

Out of curiosity, I watched the first ten minutes (the whole thing is approximately two hours) of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph des Willens on YouTube. It begins in the sky, almost as if from Hitler's POV. He is in a plane, and all the viewer sees is the vast expanse of clouds. After a few minutes, the plane lands, and Hitler disembarks from it. He is apparently in Nuremberg, and there are thousands of people lining the streets to see him. As he makes his way to wherever he is going--he is going to make a speech--the crowd is waving, shouting, and smiling. Everyone, even toddlers in their mother's arms are doing the Roman Salute. Beginning the film by showing Hitler in the sky symbolizes that he is high above all other Germans. Not only is he above them, he can see them; maybe he wanted it to mean that he was "watching over" them. The cinematography, although I am not that experienced or knowledgeable in that area, seemed to be very well done. For example, the beginning. Some of it was shot from above, some of it was shot from below (looking up at the buildings, the flags, the sky). There were close-ups of faces. I have to admit, whenever she zoomed in on Hitler, and if he turned to the camera so his face was visible, I got chills. Even though I only watched ten minutes, it seems as though it would be effective propaganda.
Did Riefenstahl believe that Hitler was a good leader? It seems like most of the Germans at the time thought he was, so it's not so surprising that she agreed to make the film. I wonder how she felt after the war was over and Hitler's true nature was revealed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPAxaFxjiDk

The Age of Anxiety, Part I: Philosophy and Physics

The first time I was exposed to the idea of existentialism was in English class, when we read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Interestingly, Crime and Punishment was published in 1866. This is well before WWI but I guess it was during Nietzsche's lifetime. In the novel, the characters are faced with moral dilemmas, and the value of life, religion and responsibility for one's actions are the driving themes. Raskolnikov murders and robs an old pawnbroker because he believes he will use the money better than she will and also that some people, because of extraordinary intellect or talent, are above the law or rules of society. Existentialism was very hard to understand at first, and still remains quite complex. However, after learning about it in class today, and thinking about C&P, it has become a little clearer.
One of the most thought provoking novels I have ever read is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It is set in Czechoslovakia during the years of Soviet invasion and communist terror. It examines Nietzsche's idea of eternal recurrence, one of the foundations of existentialism. If everything that happens to us will happen over and over again (we live multiple lives) then life loses its meaning. But the other side of the argument is that "what has happened once may as well not have happened at all." I like to think that we have one life, and thus our actions have meaning and importance, and I believe that this is the conclusion the characters come to at the end.
It's always fun to learn about science in history. Having studied some of the concepts presented in class, like Special and General Relativity, radioactivity, and atomic structure, it is cool to know what was going on in the world in 'regular' society at this time. These concepts boggled my mind in class (especially Relativity)--I can't imagine what those scientists felt when they realized that there were all these questions that now needed to be answered. The fact that this new age of physics that shattered beliefs about how the world around us literally worked occured at the same time when WWI had already created a disillusioned society is a strange but almost beautiful coincidence.

Connection Across Time: War in Iraq

Although war is perhaps not so glorified as it was in the beginning of the 20th century(see Orpen painting and British Propaganda poster), when the U.S. invaded Iraq, many soldiers went with noble intentions. We were overthrowing a dictator, spreading democracy, investigating "weapons of mass destruction" to protect the rest of the world. It started at a time when everyone was rattled by the prospect of terrorism and eager to wage any war against it. In the early 1900s, Europe was uniting yet dividing itself by forming alliances, and it was a time when self-determination and nationalism and territorial claims were instead the explosive issues. Just as World War I was not expected to last more than a couple months, the United States most likely did not plan on staying on Iraq for over seven years. Like perhaps every since WWI, soldiers are left haunted by their experiences overseas. For example, on Grey's Anatomy, one of the surgeons, Dr. Hunt served as a trauma surgeon in Iraq. Although he is a skilled surgeon and good at thinking on his feet to save lives, he continues to suffer emotionally from what he saw and endured and this strains his personal relationships.

The Treaty of Versailles

In reading about the Treaty of Versailles, I thought about how throughout history France and Germany are always enemies. It may not be this way today, but it is still and interesting pattern. For centuries, the Bourbons hated the Hapsburgs. Otto von Bismarck started the Franco-Prussian War to remove French influence in the southern German states and to complete German Unification. Now in the Treaty Versailles, France wanted Alsace-Lorraine (which they lost from the Franco-Prussian War) back, and basically wanted to ensure that Germany would stay weak.
The pettiness and immaturity demonstrated by the Treaty of Versailles is almost sickening. Could World War II have been avoided if this treaty had not been so harsh? No one can really say, but it's possible. The Guilt Clause placed all the blame on Germany. By punishing and humiliating them, the Allies allowed a country that was also devastated by war to play the victim. Then people like Hitler could justify restoring "the frontiers of 1914" "only by blood"(Mein Kampf, 1924). Wilson's Fourteen Points seem--I can't believe I am writing this--too idealistic. I think if I had been living at the time, I would have agreed with him, and I still do. However, we are still so far from achieving that neatly outlined world. After reading it, I thought "How simple." I'm not going to stop hoping.

Ready To Start: William Orpen

When one thinks of the First World War this is not what comes to mind. The lines and strokes are soft, the colors are bright and cheerful. See the empty bottles of liquor, the soldier's lavish fur vest. In the background, there appears to be a silhouette of two people embracing. The soldier looks calm, ready, and brave, his face glowing and healthy. No, what you probably think of, what I usually think of, is more like Otto Dix's War or Skull--images of death and decay, harsh lines, dark colors, images that overwhelm you and make your head spin. I don't know what Orpen intended to make the viewer feel, but the irony in this painting makes it just as tragic as the raw and honest depictions of war. This soldier probably thought he would be home in four months. Instead, he perhaps suffered for two or three years, just another another victim of the stalemate and slaughter that ravaged the continent.

British Propaganda

It appears that this poster is encouraging women in Britain to join the Red Cross. The "story", the scene, makes me sick. I feel that depriving someone, even one's enemy, especially one's enemy, of water is like a crime...an act so lacking in compassion that you wonder if that person is actually human, something associated with an incorrigible villain in a fairy tale. I don't want to believe that the "German Sister" actually did that. Shame on Britain. Posters encouraging contribution to the war effort by appealing to national pride is acceptable but this is going too far. Of course, this kind of behavior is still prevalent today. Some advertisements blatantly put down a rival's product in comparison. Honestly, for me, it backfires: I don't want to buy the product being advertised. I think advertisements should "play fair". I understand that propaganda is by definition biased, but this is too dramatic.

Skull by Otto Dix, 1924

This drawing of a skull by Otto Dix is the word "haunting" in image form. Notice that the skull appears to have hair and a mustache. It gives the impression of recent death, a sort of half-death half-life state. The worms are devouring the skull, giving this person no peace in death. This was probably the fate of many soldiers: to rot in the trenches. Skulls in general are so eerie--even though there are no eyes or lips, I still feel like someone is staring back at me, attempting to tell me something. Yet the fact that a skull is depicted rather than a face shows universality of fate--all skulls a essentially the same. Many faces could be placed in front.