Mark Zuckerberg. A New And Exceptional American.

Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most successful young persons today; having become a billionaire by the age of 23 though his hugely popular website Facebook, now used by over 800 million people. Whilst he didn't invent the idea of social networking the reason why he was able to succeed was because he took existing ideas and added his own creative input along with the input of others to create a very easily accessible and widely marketable system anyone can use. Certainly the story of Facebook and it's founder in my opinion is an example that the new and exceptional American that De Crevecouer puts forward. It also alludes to another idea of De Crevecouer; the fact that a man as young as he can strike it rich and become one of the wealthiest people in the world on the grounds of a new idea and during a massive economic downturn is very much in the vein of De Crevecouer's idea that in America "The avenues of trade are infinite".

Bill Gates.

Bill Gates encompasses some of the key idea put forward in Crèvecœur's Letter from an American Farmer. There is a strong sense in the book that America was a place where, if you are industrious, you could flourish and reap rewards based on how hard you work. Bill Gates' has obviously achieved this. He is a Havard University drop-out and was arrested for a traffic violation in 1977. Despite these, with ingeunuity and inventiveness, he has become the 10th most powerful man in the world (According to the Forbes list has of 2011 - http://www.forbes.com/wealth/powerful-people#p_1_s_arank) and is the second richest man on the Planet.
It is said by Crèvecœur in the novel: "How thankful ought we to be, that they reared us in a Land, where sobriety and industry never fail to meet with the most ample rewards!" This is still alive today and many people in America still hold this value. Take, for example, Facebook founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, along with the aforementioned buisnessman, Bill gates.

Obama !

I chose this image of Barack Obama to represent how America still is the land of the 'new' and 'exceptional.'

I believe this image shows this, as only 200 years ago black people would have been sold and bought as slaves and less than 50 years ago Martin Luther King made his memorable 'i have a dream' speech to try and bring equality to black people. Although by 2008 America had a black president. This is seen as astonishing that we would see this in out life time and amazing that a black man was able to run for presidency, let alone win the campaign and become president of America.

Letters from an American farmer details how black slaves from Africa were mistreated in America ' a negro, suspended in the cage and left there to expire!'

This in comparison to a black man being able to run America shows the 'new' change of America and how this 'new' is still a surviving image of the nation.

This emphasises the idea of America as a 'new place' as in letters from an American farmer, America is seen as the land of opportunity and a better country than any other in the world. This is still recognised today with many people immigrating to America to live the 'dream.' For Barack Obama whose ancestors would of been seen as second class citizens, by being 'born' in America or 'coming' to America has allowed him to chase the American dream and change the original ideology of the 'new.'

This is why it is also seen as 'exceptional' that a black person only a few years back would have not been equal to have their say or equal rights and opportunities as others, could then be running one of the worlds most powerful nations. I think it's also important to look at the ideologies around this concept as over time this has changed and developed. From the book letters to an American farmer, the whole land was new and you could be whoever you liked and at this point in time this was recognised as what you wanted to achieve, to be in the land of the 'new.'

However in today's society due to the slave trade and the inequality black people have faced it would seem that they would want to achieve being an influential and powerful representatives for your nation. So i believe that the ideas around America still being 'new' and 'exceptional' are still a clear vision for many, due to people becoming equal and being able to do and say as they please, which is represented through Barack Obama.

Christopher Columbus 'discovers' America

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/columbus.htm
This is the link to the website that holds an extract of Christopher Columbus's account of finding America.

This account/ diary explains more of what they think when they first arrive to the island and there initial expectations.

"Having landed, they saw trees very green, and much water, and fruits of diverse kinds. The Admiral called to the two captains, and to the others who leaped on shore, and to Rodrigo Escovedo, secretary of the whole fleet, and to Rodrigo Sanchez of Segovia, and said that they should bear faithful testimony that he, in presence of all, had taken, as he now took, possession of the said island for the King and for the Queen his Lords, making the declarations that are required, as is now largely set forth in the testimonies which were then made in writing."

I believe that this part of the extract is key in understanding why they were so keen on taking America as there own. The sight of fertile land, water, fruit (an almost tropical setting) would have very strong allusions to that of the Garden of Eden. Many devout Christians in Western Europe believed that the land and country was corrupt, so this asserts the belief that America was a second chance for the settlers to start a fresh new life of worship, free of Sin.

However, the mentality of ownership is extremely strong. That now they have found this Island, it is theirs for the taking and even wrote up documents stating that they would own or possess the 'said island.'

Such ownership was seen in the extract shown in the Exploration and Expectation lecture. More specifically, http://www.yoism.org/?q=node/60.

In this, ownership is raised again when it is said that the Natives found living upon the Island would make 'perfect slaves'. Of course, by today's standard, this is extremely barbaric, cruel and most definitely unchristian.

His findings obviously documented some curiosities about the land that they had come to find. They were obviously thrilled with the Land, which was indeed Adarmic in nature. However, they were also fascinated by the people that populated the Island.

"They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features"

It appears here that Columbus refers to the people that they find among the Island more like cattle or a commoditiy than actual human beings - which is very reflective of the time, but also indicates the intentions that he himself, and the people who have arranged the Voyage have.

A Map Of Virginia - 'Written by Captaine Smith, sometimes Governour of the Countrey'

Oringinally loading an account by a Captain of a ship that sailed to America, I couldn't ignore his, and many others continous references to a certain Captain John Smith. John Smith a highly publised character due to the famous Disney film, gives a very intriguing account on Virginia.
<http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browse?id=J1008>
His account starts with those that have passed then continues with words and sentances used by the Native Americans, thus proving that he did spend a great deal of time with them and almost showing respect for them as human beings rather than a curiosity unlike those reading his account 'Because many doe desire to knowe the maner of their language.'
Advancing further he goes on to explain what Virginia is like, he paints a picture of a bountiful land, indeed he suggests,
'Within is a country that may have the prerogative over the most pleasant places of Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. for large and pleasant navigable rivers: heaven and earth never agreed better to frame a place for means of habitation being of our constitutions, were it fully manured and inhabited by industrious people.'
John Smith seemingly fully embraces this new world, you almost imagine him to be standing in an open plain ' as God first made it' looking towards the mountains which are covered with snow in the winter 'as if art it selfe had devised them' with his feet submerged in the 'solie lusty and rich,' he is a portrait of heriocness, romanticising his surroundings therefore leading the audience to do the same, to imagine the garden of Eden an open Nivarna. His narrative focuses on the positives rather than to dwell on the negatives of drought or flood.
Continuing farther he adresses the bordering rivers and tribes, however what surprised me was he talks about the inhabitants, especially the men as being 'serviceable ' and 'able' thus already thinking of using the men, to introduce them as one society rather than the us and them. Futhermore how the inhabitants are so well adapted to their surroundings, how their voices are like 'echoes', their stance 'seemed the godliest man that ever we beheld.' He has chosen words that describe the Native Americans as a non threatening presence, indeed they are tall, with muscular physics, long hair, graceful strides and odd but beautiful trinkets, being 'Giants to the English' however are 'of an honest and simple disposition.' This New World offers plenty and variety throughout all seasons from fruit to birds to fish with land that is ripe for planting.
Towards the end we learn about how Captaine Smith has come to learn of the ways of the tribes, "they found Captaine Smith in the discoverie of the head of the river of Chickahamania, where they slew his men, and tooke him prisoner in a Bogmire; where he saw those exercises, and gathered these observations. " This does not seem as friendly of a picture he has painted to us before, thus in providing us with that small statement he again has kept his herioc stance, also now he knows everything about them they no longer are of a threat, however this does not seem a situation that could have have been avoided yet he is quick to leave the subject.
The last paragraphs gives us an insight into the objective of this narrative "I have purposely collected, to satisfie my friends of the true worth and qualitie of Virginia. He suggests that Virginia is a new beginning a land of opportunity, I found this account to be one of interest as this narrative allows you to identify with the land and the curiosities it beholds within.

"Nova Britania: Offering Most Excellent Fruites By Planting In Virginia"

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browsemod?id=J1051

The account I chose to analyse is one by an early settler whom we know only as R.I. and was printed in 1609 as a pamphlet for investors in the Virginia Company, and is addressed to Sir Thomas Smith, treasurer of the Virginia Company.

The main weakness of this source is that we know very little of it's provenance; we do not even know the name of the person who wrote it, simply his initials, let alone whether he went to America or not and how much of his account is based on hearsay. However I chose it nonetheless because it is essentially trying to promote investment and settlement in America, much like De Bry's engravings.

N.B. The version of the text I chose was the modern spelling one, the original spelling is available on the site as well.

Much of the text talks about the history of settlement and discovery in America by the Christian Kingdoms of Europe,I cannot say in perfect honesty that I understand it, even in modern English.

These paragraphs however provides a good insight into Jamestown and the surrounding area:

"The country itself is large and great assuredly, though as yet, no exact discovery can be made of all. It is also commendable and hopeful every way, the air and climate most sweet and wholesome , much warmer then England, and very agreeable to our Natures: It is inhabited with wild and savage people, that live and lie up and down in troops like herd of Deer in a Forest : they have no law but nature, their skins of beasts, but most go naked: the better sort have houses, but poor ones, they have no Arts nor Science, yet they live under superior command such as it is, they are generally very loving and gentle, and do entertain and relieve our people with great kindness : they are easy to be brought to good, and would fain embrace a better condition: the land yields naturally for the sustentation of man, abundance of fish, both scale and shell: of land and water fowls , infinite store: of Deer , Kaine and Fallow, Stags , Coneys, and Hares, with many fruits and roots good for meat .

There are valleys and plains streaming with sweet Springs, like veins in a natural body : there are hills and mountains making a sensible proffer of hidden treasure, never yet searched: the land is full of minerals , plenty of woods (the wants of England) there are growing goodly Oaks and Elms , Beech and Birch, Spruce, Walnut, Cedar and Fir trees, in great abundance , the soil is strong and lusty of its own nature, and sends out naturally fruitful Vines running upon trees, and shrubs : it yields also Rosin, Turpentine, Pitch and Tar , Sassafras, Mulberry -trees and Silk-worms , many Skins and rich furs , many sweet woods , and Dyers woods , and other costly dyes: plenty of Sturgeon , Timber for Shipping, Mast, Plank and Deal , Soap ashes, Caviar , and what else we know not yet, because our days are young. But of this that I have said, if bare nature be so amiable in its naked kind, what may we hope, when Art and Nature both shall join , and strive together, to give best content to man and beast? as now in handling the several parts propounded, I shall show in order as they lie."

The two main points this extract tells us and the intended audience is A, the land's inhabitants are primitive and uncivilised, yet friendly and easy to control, and B, the land is very suitable for settlement and is full of wild animals and fishes to be eaten.

The latter's allure to a potential settler or investor is clear, this new world is plentiful in resources and will yield a good lifestyle/good profit for people who settle or invest there, in the second it further details the resources that are available as well as the untapped ones ("there are hills and mountains making a sensible proffer of hidden treasure, never yet searched"), all of which can be harvested and sold back in Europe for profit. Of course the account neglects to mention the close proximity of the settlement to a swamp and the fact that it is surrounded by woodland.

The former point also has a allure to settlers, which is that the native people are weak and therefore the likelihood of being driven out by them is unlikely, and, more to the point, when the area of settlement is full settling the lands of the natives via conquest will be easy. Indeed earlier in the account R.I. states:

"their (the Indians) strength and means far inferior to their aspires ... their best and chiefest residences were scattered with so poor and slender troups, that with handfuls of men (at sundry times) we ran through all, surprising and sacking their strongest forts and towns in those parts, and might long since with ease, following and seconding our forces, have set them to their stint."

It is clear therefore from this account that the interference of natives should prove to be no problem for the settlers, at least according to the account. The reality of course was different.

#will finish later#

Geographical Destiny.

I found this map quite interesting as it illustrated how the world would look if land distribution was arranged according to population. Although this isn’t a map of America,I felt it spoke volumes about the present attitude Americans have towards their nation. The fact that in this map America (along with 3 other countries) doesn’t move, echoes views dating back to Abraham Lincoln times. Views such as the United States is “God’s chosen nation...the last best hope on earth.” The map to an extent supports the image America has as a big power geographically suggesting it is a preordained nation almost, which fits in nicely with idealistic American views of their great country. While other countries are disorientated by the hypothetical geographical swaps, America’s role in the world seems steady, unmoved. Predestined.

America

The first image I chose is of a person with a placard with a caption about the American dream. Firstly because, the first thing that comes to mind when I think of America is the 'Great American Dream'. The fact that the person is faceless almost suggests that the message this person is trying to put across can easily be identified and related to by many Americans today. I found it quite interesting as well that at a time like this when America and their president stands for new hope and perseverance there are still some who beg to differ, and are not seeing this ever evolving America that we all see.

The second image I have chosen as the positive one is a classic American pin up poster. I'm not sure when or where the picture is from but it echoes so many characteristics that creep into my head when I think or hear about America. It has got aspects of firstly Glamour, hard work, an optimistic almost arrogant confidence in the many things they can do for you. "We can fix anything, any make, any model, foreign or domestic". It reinstates that image of America as a land of opportunities for anyone and everybody.
I also thought the use of the colours of the US flag silently screamed that little bit of American patriotism.

An Americans account.

I have chosen a first-hand account from Captain Anthony Chester and other passengers who participated in the expedition, to Jamestown in 1620.

They first detail their voyage and contact with two Spanish ships but then explain a massacre by the Indians to the new English settlers.

I choose this extract as i found it interesting as we are too believe that the Americans created an almost 'holocaust' to the native Americans, however this details their fear of attack. This could mean either the Native Americans were just as bad as the new settlers in causing conflict, or that the English had been disrupting their way of life and initiated a retaliation from the Natives, and then tried to portray them badly.

'At the time of this massacre a party of Indians embarked in four boats for
Jamestown, with the intention of attacking and murdering the English in this
town.'

From their use of words such as 'massacre', 'attacking' and 'murdering' we do feel sympathy for the English as we perceive them to be the victims in this conflict. It also sounds that they may have been or just felt outnumbered by the Indians, due to the expression of 'party' of Indians. However earlier in the account it explains that Mr.Thorpe had been trying to convert them into being Christians. This can lead us to believe that as they tried to change their way of life, and have already taken over some of their land, that they would of actually deserved a 'massacre' to some respects.

It also says that many of the Indians were in 'employment' to the new settlers, however it is unclear on whether this was forced or if they willingly wanted to.

'When the boats bearing the savages hove in sight, but as soon as we opened fire
upon them with our muskets they retreated in a cowardly manner.'

This quote was interesting and very contradictory towards the English. Again they call the Indians 'savages' so that they can be seen as victims and they are seen as almost not human. However earlier they account they were scared by them - so they where then the cowards as they didn't make a plan or fight back and just scared away - but as soon as they arrive they begin shooting at them, even though there is not indication that the Indians were attacking them. The English seem more cowardly as the Indians weaponry wasn't as powerful, but at this time they may not now what the Indians want and rather than talking they decide killing them is a better solution.

'When the occurrence of this massacre became known in the mother country, the
English were ordered to take revenge by destroying with fire and sword
everything of the Indians.'

This last quote again is quite amusing, i find it interesting that they were 'ordered' to destroy and presumably kill the Indians for revenge. However by researching into this further Jamestown was not attacked due to an early warning of what had happened in the colony of Virginia. The Indians are said to have torched the houses of many Englishmen in Virginia and killed half the population, although by the English doing exactly the same to the Indians seems weak and cowardly.

Anti-America: A Blog

This is a user generated Blog (created on this site) about America. http://bens-blogg.blogspot.com/. The title is 'Bens Anti-American Blog' and it is produced by somebody from Finland. The blog is a mixture of images and textual blog posts, all offering what is a negative viewpoint of what it means to be an American and what American's are capable of.
The images show negative actions committed by the Army, for example, the degrading treatment of Iraqi prisoners photographed by Lynddie England and Charles Graner. Obviously, this is extremely negative and would be deemed a disgrace by almost anybody who see's them. However, there is an innate problem with using such images to categorise America as 'evil' or 'bad'. To judge an entire nation over the actions of the minority is an extreme over generalisation and can be considered discrimintory.
The blog also tends to be negatively bias, concentrating on all the bad parts of a very vast and diverse nation. Something which would not offer a true reflection of the United States and the people that live there. The negatively bias nature of the blog because evermore obvious to me, with this particular post:

"Thursday, January 08, 2009: A note to SA
A friendly note to my reader SA. Could you perhaps write your comments in English and not Hungarian so that also our non educated Americans could understand what you write."

This statement indicates more of a hatred of everything American that would almost defintely cloud the judgement and reliablity of the blog that is being produced. How can you deem something credible if arguements are unsupported and comments such as the aforementioned are used as a defensive and offence mechanism.
However, there are some positive elements to this blog. It's judgement can be considered more refined that most views of America as the points of view and the posts offered are not affected by the more positive images given to us in the Media. For example, television programmes such as Glee, where everyone is seen to be given an equal oppotunity. The creator of the blog also appears to be aware of the 'falsely obvious', this is in relation to the extract taken from the blog below:

"Tuesday, November 25, 2008: Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving will be celebrated this week in the USA. Thanksgiving is the feast when the Americans remember the biggest genocide in world history, when the sinister Americans brutally killed 8 million native Americans."

I choose a website which is published by a man named Vexen Crabtree who specialises in sociology, psychology and religion and his website aims to 'force humanity onwards'.

His article about 'why people hate America - a summary of anti-Americanism' was extremely interesting as he explored many different aspects of why and who hates America and tries to give examples and evidence to support their views. It's sectioned off to who hates America, Invalid criticism of America, why do people hate America and the results of these feelings. This allows him to build up an argument and offer different points to the evidence shown. I also believed it to be a valid source as he did use other books to show evidence, which means they aren't all his feelings of that matter, so it shouldn't be too bias in either way.

His view point on American police force is interesting, as he explains that he does understand that the American government is prone to corruption, although it is a universal problem and the blame can't be but on America alone. There is a statement from the BBC news in 2002 saying 'opinion polls show that half the German population is openly critical of US leadership for a number of reasons; it's failures to consult it's allies as promised, it's refusal to sign up to joint action against global warming and it's protectionist stance on trade issues such as steel and agriculture.' It also goes onto say that many Muslim and Arabic nations hate America due to the bombing, suppressive attitudes and the restriction on financial, commercial and political. These points are all valid as we all know and understand what America is 'trying' to achieve in Iran, Iraq and other countries.

The website below continues to give different view points on why people may hate America for instants, their power over less developed countries, success and jealousy.

I think some of the statements may be influenced by him being American, however he does give two sides to the argument which does allow for debate and discussion over the given information.

http://www.vexen.co.uk/USA/hate

GDP comparison

This image is fasinating when you first look at it, as the artist of the map tries to manipulate us to believe that some states in American have the same GDP as some third world countries. This means automatically we assume that America may not be the rich nation we know. Oregon is estimated to have the same GDP as Israel as $219,400. Although this may seem shocking, you then have to take into account the population of the state and the country compared too. The population of Oregon is 3,825,657 where as Israel's population is 7,441,700 which is nearly double the amount. This demonstrates that although they have the same GDP, Oregon is actually much richer due to the less populated area.

This is similar to the comparison of Wyoming and Uzbekistan. They are said to have the same GDP, however again the artist has not taken on board the differences in population. Wyoming only has around 544,270 people where as Uzbekistanhas nearly 27,000 more people, which again means that Wyoming is a much richer state, even though they do have the same GDP.

This is why i found this map very interesting, as at first look i and others were astonished to think what we presummed to be a rich nation, that actually some states could be considered as less developed or even 'poor'. However after researching into it, you discover that the artist has manipulated the audience into believing something that isn't actually true.

Above shows a map of a map of random revelation also known as auto-complete on Google. The principle of the map is to type in one of the States of America and see what the most popular phrase linked to that State is.

One immediate obvious observation is that sports fans dominate the US of autocomplete, shown by the blue States. The red states refer to semi-eponymous newspapers. The rest however are divided, such as the State of Kentucky which relates to the popular food chain that bears it's name or Maine which results cheifly as a holiday destination.

I chose this map as it gives an insight into an American's life in that specific State and what that individual State is popular for. It is a clever piece of statistics and offers a fascinating insight into the mind of the 'Great Online Public.'

Week 3: Americans on the move.....

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html

This is an interactive map which shows the patterns/distributions of the American population.
What patterns of change can you identify?
Why do people move and migrate? Why are Americans so mobile?
Are they same reasons for each period of history?
Are the patterns the same for each ethnic group?
Is there evidence that environmental factors" are influential? - eg the Population patterns of the Great Plains?
Plenty of questions but, remember, the simple approach - Where? And, why there?
Good wishes,
John

American Map 2. Electric Boogaloo

This map help shows the diversity within American States and how their problems and negative aspects vary, some of them are quite serious, like Louisiana having the highest rate of gonorrhoea, whilst others are less serious, such as South Carolina having the most number of mobile homes. Often foreigners tend to tar the United States as a whole with the same problems but they forget that because it is so vast there are many regional differences. the problem with this map is that whilst it may be true that a particular state is the worst in one area it might be neglecting a far worse quality it has, for instance having the 'Highest Air Pollution' cannot possible be the worst thing about California.

American Map. Territorial Claims Of The Thirteen Colonies

I chose this map of the USA because it is not only interesting but it also demonstrates two things which drove early America. The first and more obvious one is the idea that the early American settlers want to expand westwards until they reach the pacific ocean, and in the process of doing so civilize and harvest the land for it's resources. You can see this clearly from the fact that most of the colonies land claims go much farther westwards than their modern borders do, the most interesting example being Massachusetts which claims a large part of modern Illinois as part of it territory! Other maps even disregard French Louisiana (which at this point in time was barley even settled compared to the British colonies) and just chart the colonies as stretching across the (then uncharted) American continent to the Pacific ocean, how far that was they didn't know.

This then leads on to the second driving force behind early America, independence; for one of the main driving forces for independence from Great Britain especially in Virginia was the fact that the British Government (perhaps not unreasonably) forbade any further westward expansion beyond the Appalachian mountains because it would risk war with the French and Indians, which due to the wish to expand westwards as explained in the previous point got the Americans rather miffed.

The Death Penalty - What it says about America through maps.

This map of the United States indicates which state uses what form of capital punishment, if at all. This map shows us which state uses which form of death penalty, for example, Arizona uses death by gas chamber and lethal injection. The states filled in with grey are states which do not use death penalty. The reasons why a state would opt out of the use of death penalty are usually based on moral, practical and religious grounds. Along with this, the argument that the death penalty can be considered unconstitutional seems to prevent states that have abolished the death penalty for it repealed. The states with no capital punishment also notice a lower homicide rate. Which also questions the relevance of the death penalty in modern day US.

It is not only clear that the states are divided in the view of Capital Punishment but an interesting correlation begins to unfold. For the most part, the states where the death penalty is abolished are also Democrats. Perhaps showing that the views on such matters of capital punishment find their bearings politically.

The map below also shows the numbers of how many people have been executed, per state, since 1976. In 1972, the death penalty was suspended, due to the case Furman v Georgia. In the map below, you can see even more clearly (due to it's more in depth nature) the states who carry out he most. Unshockingly, Texas is the state who have carried out the most executions since 1976 (the number lying at around 471) and if looked at in terms of the Nine Nations, more than just per state, Dixieland/The Bible Belt have seen a total of 858 executions since 1976. This could be to do with the strong ethics and morals which find themselves engrossed in Republican and Fundamental Christian ideologies.

I have chosen an image of the 'Bill Of Rights' for my positive image of America, as a non- American I could write masses arguing and discussing each article about their advantages and dis-advantages, however on a whole it cannot be argued that the ' Bill of Rights ' makes America, in mostly every aspect America is a hero amongst peasants, globally it is probably the most well known Country that to many represents a freedom that rivals no other. America is unlike any other country, it has segregated itself away making it almost impossible to keep up. In my opinion America is like an opening of a new Mac shop or even the launching of Mac's new Ipad for example, Apple has a way of keeping things very secretive but also advertising themself at the same time, so if your in the loop or at the launch parties you have socially succeeded, thus America in comparison has created this almost secretive ideal of being American which would have not been possible if it were not for the Bill of Rights.

I have chosen this popular, if not disturbing image to portray in my opinion a negative aspect of America. In this image we can see two children, possibly under the age of 10 enjoying a meal at the well- known restaurant Mcdonalds. Both are morbidly obese. Obesity is a major issue in America and I believe that this could reflect on to the 'American Dream' as at a commercial level you constantly want the new and improved, then and now and for it to be quick and easy with minamal effort involved. Also to comment on their ethnicity their heritage is clearly not one from America, thus we presume their parents moved to America to live the better life promised or even advertised, and with every bite of Mcdonalds they engulf part of the American Dream and in that aspect I believe they have been corrupted and perhaps have had enough.
Further more there isn't anywhere in this on this Earth that a Mcdonalds can not be found, as a branch it has succeeded without doubt through adveritising and publicity stunts to make one believe that one is doing the right thing to eat a Mcdonalds.

Martin Luther King at the Lincoln Memorial: A positive image of the united states.

"I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia that the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave-owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood." - Martin Luther King, 28th August 1963

Martin Luther King was one of the biggest campaigners for African-Americans to receive civil rights in the United States. His powerful and celebrated speech that took place at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C is still very much a prominent and unparalleled to this day. Which is the first reason why I believe this image connotes positivity in relation to America. A large majority of the photographs taken and the footage of the actual speech are in black and white, which is really a testament of the time in which the speech was given. The fact that this photograph has been reworked and edited so it is in colour, really does show the significance of the speech because it has been revitalised and renewed for a more modern and younger audience. Another reason why this photograph is a positive reflection of America is because of the sheer size of the audience that Martin Luther King's rally had attracted. This shows that his campaign has a wide network of support and that America was evolving (and still to this day) from the discriminatory and racist Nation that it has become known to be. Therefore, this shows America to be extremely progressive.