Miss Congeniality (America)

For me it was hard to focus and read this article. For one it wasn't too interesting of an article and two everytime I thought of the Miss America pageant I can't help but think of the movie Miss Congeniality. Its a movie where an undercover lady cop has to go undercover and pose as a contestent of Miss America in order to crack a case. Even in that movie contestents were made to seem spunky dumb valley girls. I agree with Kate Shindle when she says that the image of Miss America should be portrayed how it is. "If its about looks organizers should admit it, instead of capitalizing on the swimsuit competition while swearing that it is an insignificant part of the show." (616) In my many years of watching the Miss America Pageant(probably once and it was during a commercial break of my other show) but during that time the image portrayed to me was good looking rich girls are battling each other for who is the next barbie doll of America. I actually thought that the swimsuit part of the competition was the key part in winning the competition and the talent show was thrown in their just for laughs. As you can tell I definitely don't keep up with this subject and there are plenty of people out there like me. I think that the pageant should do more advertising about what it is really about and they should get more coverage on it to show people like me that it is a whole lot more than a superficial beauty pageant.

A Letter to America

While reading this article I found it creative in the way Margret Atwood wrote it, as a letter to america. But I felt it was one-sided. I do agree with the problems Atwood listed about America and they do need to be fixed, but I didn't like the fact that she only listed her positive memories of America back in the day and listed only the negative problems hanging over America now. In her article Atwood makes it seem that America "used" to be a sort of magical country; "you were the music I sang and danced too: Andrews Sisters, Ella Fitzgerald, the Platters, Elvis, you were a lot of fun. You wrote some of my favorite books....." (566) While talking about modern America Atwood had this to say; Your gutting the constitution. Already your home can be entered without knowledge or permission, you can be snatched up and incarserated without a cause, your mail can be spied on and your private records can be searched."(567) I agree that America does have a lot of issues to deal with but thats how it has always been. Or maybe Atwood forgot about the civil rights movement in the 60's and 70's, or how about the assassination of President Kennedy? I wonder if she can spell Vietnam. Maybe she was too busy getting "high" in the 70's and forgot about Nixons recognition. When both eras are compared they both have their own problems and issues going on. America has changed from then to now but that doesn't meant it hasn't improved. Everyday our technology seems to be improving, we have touch screen computers and cell phones, HD T.V., Blue Disc, I pods, and amazing military equipment. Things that if Atwood were to see when she was younger would make her crap her pants! We have reality T.V. shows, Harry Potter Books, and The Chronicle of Narnia movies, and yes Atwood we still have Mickey Mouse and Disneyland. We are still a free nation, a democracy where nowadays anyone can make a fortune with just a little determination. Im not saying America is way better off than it was back then, and Im not saying that it is worse, but it has changed and will continue to change and when changes happen that we don't approve of we should still look at the great free nation that we are and be thankful.

Native Names

This article turned out to be really informative to me. Not once did I ever think of team names like the Cheifs, Redskins, or Braves were offensive to Native Americans. Like Ted Turner I thought it was all in fun and that nobody cared about it. Apparently people do. Ward Churchill opened informed me just how offensive it is. “We need an NFL team called the Niggers to honor African Americans, halftime activities might include stewing of the opposing coach in a large pot as players and cheerleaders dance around it, garbed with leopard skins and wearing fake bones in their noses.” (537) That to me is really offensive to African Americans it actually disgusts me when people say racist things like that. Well the Indian’s probably feel like that every time they see the Indian chop on T.V. or a chief walk out onto the field at half-time. So what are we to do? First off I think people need to be aware of this. I had no idea what an offense this is to Native Americans and now I support the removal of these team names. Why not name them the Kansas City Cyclones, or the Washington Thunderstorms? Something relevant to the city yet catchy. Second Native Americans shouldn’t give up on this cause. They may be outnumbered but if they truly want to change this they will get it done.

Arranged Marriages

This was another interesting subject in which I thought I had a clear opinion about. To be honest, from an American college student's point of view I think that an arranged marriage would be horrible. It takes from your free will of choosing a mate, your parents ultimately have control over who you marry, and what if it turns out that this person that you marry is a totally different person after you are married. I just cannot imagine my mom choosing a wife for me. My mother, God Bless her, has tried to set me up with women before. Now don't get me wrong they were nice girls they just didn't have what I was looking for. I prefer my own judgement than someone elses. Im not saying that arranged marriages are bad, not at all, in fact if you look at it from a divorce point of view arranged marriages are more successful than our marriages here in America. In the article " Arranging A Marriage In India," by Serena Nanda she has a discussion with an Indian women who makes some very interesting points about arranged marriages. "Don't you care who you marry?".. " Of course I care, this is why I must let my parents choose a boy for me. My marriage is too important to be arranged by such an inexperienced person as myself, it is better to have my parents guidence." (142) This statement actually made a lot of sense to me and I was impressed by this women's mature response. I think that a lot of American girls should take this advice before they go and get married in a pretty litlle $100 white chapel on the outskirts of Las Vegas. Another interesting point she made was when she was asked "How can you marry a man that you might not even like?" (143) "If he is a good man why should I not like him? With you people you know the boy so well before you marry,where will be the fun to get married? There will be no mystery and no romance. Here we have our whole married to get to know and love our husband." (143) I totally know how this is. I once had a girlfriend who I hung out with everyday for almost a whole year and we ended up breaking up because we just got too tired of each other. We extinguished the flame by smothering it. All in all after reading this it changed my opinion on arranged marriages and their intentions. It is a decision made by the family for the family, based on how much better it will make not only the married couples lives but the families lives. It is a great tradition and I support anyone who wants to undertake it but it is definitely not for me.

Ethnocentric shakesphere

I was really interested in this article and it made me take a new view on things. Like Laura Bohannan if you were to ask me whether or not shakesphere was universal I would of probably said yes. "Before the end of the second month grace had descended upon me. I was quite sure that Hamlet had only one possible interpretation, and that one universally obvious." (215) Like many thesis's it was put to the test as Bohannan sat down one day and began to tell the stroy of Hamlet to a tribe in Africa. Throughout the article we see two ehtnocentric attitudes butting heads the whole stroy trying to prove Hamlet right in their point of view. "But a chief must have many wives! How else can he brew beer and make food for all his guests?"... " I said firmly that in our country even cheifs had one wife, that they had servants to do their work..." (219) We also see the very frustrating answer to Bohanna was "That is the way it is done, so that is how we do it." (219) Ethnocentric according to the dictionary means; a tendency to view alien groups or cultures from the perspective of one's own.(dictionary.com) Basically your culture is the center of everything. When I think of a this term it reminds me of the movie my "Big Fat Greek Wedding" where the father is very much in love with his Greek culture, " Give me a word, and I will show you how it comes from greek roots..."
I feel that a significant majority of Americans including Bohannan and myself view the world this way. The high and mighty way that our way is best and the way we see it is the right way. (Maybe this is why the French hate us so much) In some ways our way might be the best way. For example our government I beleive is one of the best ways to run a country, but it is definitely not the only way. But in other circumstances our way may not be the best way. For example if you compare our marriage tradition vs arranged marriages based on the success and divorce rates arranged marriages would be more "successful." No matter what the situation or story or whatever its we should look at it with different viewpoints rather than just our own. Of course its easier said than done, but it starts with realizing that you and your culture are not the center of the universe and that are other views that are just as great if not greater than ours.

Glad to be in America

This is one of those articles that makes me glad that I live in modern America. In this article "No Name Woman" by Maxine Kingston, the author is told in secret by her mother about an aunt who killed herself in China after commiting adultry. On the night the baby was born the village rummaged and plundered through the family's house killing lifestock and destroying their home. Talk about harsh. In America now having a baby is a joyous occasion, and neighbors tend to bring over cards, gifts, and dinners to the family. Asian culture is a very disciplined and honorable culture. What I found even more interesting was that her aunt the whole time never mentioned who the husband was. Was it out of fear? Respect? Honor? "If you tell any of your family I'll beat you, I'll kill you, be here next week." (394) When comparing this story of the aunt to a modern day American girl there will be many cultural differances. Back then the chinese thought of adultry as a huge deal one that people get shuned from the family for doing. "Could people who hatched their own chicks and eat the embryos and heads for delacacies and boil the feet in vinegar for party food leaving only the gravel, eating even the gizzard lining--could such people engender a prodigal aunt?" (393) As a matter a fact in most countries back then if you were to commit adultry you would probably be stoned. In our culture adultry isn't justified but certainly is seen everywhere in the media, the latest news on what celebrity cheated with what celebrity, stories of athletes cheating on thier wives, and yes even an internet site that makes lovematches for people that are tired of their husband/wife. (Heard about it on the Kevin and Bean show) So the consequences for adultry in the chinese culture are more harsh than the ones in our country. The effect that the sin of adultry had on the family and the whole entire village was shocking and is a very different approach than that of America. The family cursed the aunt saying she had never been born, and the village ransacked the house. In America despite the sin the family and the neighborhood for that matter usually rally behind the mom and give her all the support she needs. This is another example of how lucky we are to live in America at this time.

Love and Marriage

I thought this was an interesting article and one that stirs the feelings of divorce. Statistics say that in our country the average divorce rate is 50%! That means half of married America gets a divorce. All I have to ask is what happend to our country? Do the words "till death do us part" not mean anything? "For better or for worse" " In sickness and in health." Now there are many justifiable reasons for getting a divorce. In the article " A tale of two Divorces" by Anne Roiphe, Roiphe divorces her husband because he is a monster and doesn't appreciate her at all. If your in a marriage that can't be saved, like Roiphe's, I beleive it better to get a divorce rather than follow the example of Roiphe's mother who stayed with her husband and was miserable. But divorces like these can be prevented starting with the preparation of getting married. I agree with Roiphe when she says " In America we place so much emphasis on romance that we barley notice the other essentials of marriage and child rearing." This concept is very important and is probably a big reason why people get a divorce.
I beleive that one way to prevent a divorce in your life is to do the hard preparation before the marriage. A lot of people nowadays butcher the term "love" and meet someone and after one day get married in a cheap white church in Vegas. These usually don't work out. Preparing for your "soul mate" takes a lot of hard work from both ends. It is important to love yourself first before you love someone else, because how can you love someone else if you don't even love yourself? One of my favorite quotes goes like this: If you jump into a relationship without first doing the hard work of becoming your full and complete self every relationship you have will end in disastor. This takes work from both the husband and wife.
Also the attitude of the couple should be that of severing not of wanting. A husband should think about what he can do for his wife and not what she can do for him and vice versa. Its not 50-50 its 100-100, both need to do their part by serving each other.