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.

The Japanese Surrender: A negative image of the United States.

The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a maneuver on part of the U.S.A to shock the Japanese into surrendering the latter stages of the second World War. The atomic bomb had never actually been utilised by a Nation in times of war and the use of the bomb upon Hiroshima by the USAFF was almost completely experimental and was the first city in history to be destroyed by a Nuclear weapon. There are many reasons why this is a negative image, firstly being the sheer damage that is shown to have been caused by the United States government. Hiroshima at the time, was an important part of the armies infastructure in Japan, thus making it an extremely busy and highly populated City. The death toll around epicentre and for kilometres around was around 70,000 (not including the wounded) and Nagasaki's death toll was around the 40,000 mark. The second reason why this is a negative image of the united states is because many of the images, much like this one, remained hidden from the worlds gaze in secret archives. The press in the United States, in retrospect to the previous statement, deemed the Japanese surrender as a victory. Highlighting the 'falsely obvious' as it was is considered or believed by them to be a triumph was infact the slaughter and genocide of tens of thousands with no less than weapons of mass destruction.

American images of......

Positive or Negative?

Where?
This was a gathering to
"Restore America's Honor" - organised by whom? For what purpose?
What are the roots of "America's Honor"?

.......and the date?

See you on Monday.
John

Negative Image Of The United States

I chose this image because it demonstrates shallow American excesses and the corruption of the American Dream. The fact that some parents in the United States think their children are accessories or a something they can live their lives though is bad enough. It is even worse that because the American media values mass appeal over quality in the hunt for ratings and therefore advertising revenue this parading of innocent children on the catwalk is broadcast in the show Toddlers and Tiaras makes me mad.

Positive Image Of The United States.

In this image we see a vast collection of B-17 Bombers undergoing construction. The reason why I chose this image is because it not only illustrates American ingenuity in both the actual bombers' design and the concept of the production line. But also for the fact that it shows Americas' ability to rapidly transform itself, before 1941 the United States Army was smaller than the army of Rumania. However as this picture shows when America is struck by a foreign power it does not waste time and delivers swift vengeance to the enemies of democracy and freedom.

Negative imagery of the USA.

I choose this image of the Ku Klux Klan as it's dated from the 31st of June 2011. I found this extremely shocking that in today's America with a black president and many black influential people that this extreme racism still occurs. As a child is being involved, who disturbingly has a slight smirk and smile on her face, tells us that as of her young age she is being brain washed into believing that what they are doing is acceptable. This also means that the problem will not fade away if new, younger members keep joining, 150 years after they first fonded.

Positive imagery of the USA.

This image of Cinderella's castle in Disney land Florida represents a positive image for America, as it creates a romantic, fairy-tale world for adults and children. It is an extremely world wide recognisable image for America and the Disney franchise, which symbolises their success in globalising their business around the world. Disney detail the castle as making 'fairy tales come true' and 'dream like', and as the American dream is built in to, not only many Americans but other nationalities around the world as well, helps support this ideology.

Welcome to the blog for Group 2 AMS 1111 2011/12