By Wednesday 8 am please add something to one of your colleagues proposals (and as usual post a comment on someoone else's blog).
Your contribution might be telling a historical fact that you know that seems related to someone else's project, or pointing out the aspect of the proposal that you found most interesting. Or telling an idea that it made you think about. Or suggesting a perspective on that project that you think might help.
Also, be on the look out for possible group projects, or places to share research, or even just organize car pools to the city. For example, I know that there are at least two people working on Alcatraz, two people working with the idea of tours, and several people doing creative projects. Your names are all there on the e-mail list that I’ve been using to send announcements around and there’s the world of blogs…but let me know if you need help with further introductions…
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16 comments:
Nick/Wax Museums
Nick--this is a lovely connection:
"These museums mirror Ferlinghetti’s discussion of the city as a “far out” entity"
I think that there will be interesting complications of your point since the space of museums also cordon off curiosities and highlight their non-normality, making a safe place where we can visit the carnival of the strange without always having a direct contact with it on the streets. [For some reason I associate these museums with midevil towns, or at least small rural places].
At the same time, you are right—the carnival atmosphere does go along with qualities of “far-outness” of the city. I’d be interested in hearing more about who comes to these museums and how people behave…and then whether you think the Beats would approve.
The Ripley’s museum, I’m guessing, is presented in a quite different way and attracts quite different responses than the respectful quiet of shuffling through a Fine Arts Museum, and the awe for the art…
But that repectful museum shuffling was something that the beats wanted to challenge too...
Sara/murals & neighborhoods excavation
This is also a lovely project.
One of the most interesting and complex parts of this is going to be how you develop your 'cause-effect' statements around “how the art defines the neighborhood.”
It seems important to note that murals can only capture events after they happen so I’m curious to know how much it is the present that “causes” the memorialization of the past and also how those particular depictions of the past “cause” the neighborhood to solidify its future. How exactly does the mural do that? What sort of things does it fix in place. All quite interesting questions…
Here’s an interesting note that I ran into about the murals being updated to mix more and less recent history:
http://acrazycatlady.blogspot.com/2006/11/haight-street-mural-gets-makeover-and.html
Sadie/Golden Gate Bridge
Focusing on the Golden Gate Bridge is a good idea for the research paper because of it’s historical significance to the city. It is an important part of San Francisco’s character and is one monument that everyone obviously identifies with the city.
If you are going to discuss the Ann Garrison article and want additional sources, you should definitely watch The Bridge directed by Eric Steel. The film has been mentioned in class and on other blogs and it would be an interesting movie for you to watch about suicide on the bridge. The director set up a camera close to the bridge and the viewer sees people contemplating jumping and then finally falling down into the water. While the movie is a bit strange and slightly, it is very interesting to hear the accounts of the jumpers’ lives through their families and friends. You will also hear about a man who changed his mind while in the air and actually survived the fall by moving into a squatting position. If I remember correctly, I believe all the people that are discussed in the film had some type of mental disorder which may explain what led them to jump off the bridge. Overall, seeing the film will be extremely beneficial to your essay in relation to the Ann Garrison article.
Kate- Native American Renaissance and Alcatraz is Not an Island
Kate, it sounds to me like you have the enthusiasm necessary for an 8-10 page assignment, but--like me- you have a hard time focusing or narrowing your ideas down. Personally I like the focus on the Native American Renaissance, and the emphasis on investigating remnants of this movement, and possibly organization still working for social justice for Native Americans. To what extent was the Native American Renaissance successful? In the moving I remember one of the background voices saying that the Native Americans, through the shutting down of the reservations, had become invisible-- "Before Alcatraz the rest of the world didn't really know we existed." The 1953 Termination Policy lead to this invisibility and lack of awareness by disintegrating close-knit communities and tribes (which also results in a loss of culture and identity). I view the concept of a Native American Renaissance as a reclaiming of identity and culture in response to that which was robbed from these people by the scheming U.S. government. I personally think you could better focus on the take-over of Alcatraz and Renaissance by narrowing research down to the need for culture and identity and why this would lead to a movement... The students who worked on the take-over were from the Bay Area, Alcatraz was the only space open for them at the time--what does it mean to have to take over a space to reclaim one's identity and culture? What further implications can be found in the fact that many working for this were college students who had been so separated from their native culture their entire lives?
The above is, of course, just some of my suggestions. Ultimately you should take your project in the direction which you are most passionate about, but here are some other quotes I wrote down from the movie and research I have been introduced to already:
-"the government was the enemy of our culture," "Alcatraz is not an island--it's an idea... a story that's got to be told"
-essay from book: "Lame Deer: Seeker of Visions" by Lame Deer and Richard Erodes, from "Americanizing the American Indians" edited by Francis Paul Prucha, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1973
- essay from book: "Luther Standing Bear (Lakota) Recalls His Experience at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School" from "Major Problems in American Indian History Documents and Essays", 1994, A Hurtado and P. Iverson
- book: "To Remain an Indian: Lessons in Democracy From a Century of Native American Education," K. Tsianina Lomawaima, and Teresa L. McCarty, Teachers College Columbia University, New York, 2006
I hope that the above helps you in any way possible. Once again, I applaud your interest and desire to do so much extra investigation.
Diego/Queer Movement in SF
I love your idea for this paper. It's a great way to take the ideologies developed by Ginsberg and the other Beats and demonstrate how they have been practically applied to real people in the city. I am certainly not an authority on this issue, but some of the things that I, as a reader, would find interesting:
What kind of proto-queer activism did Ginsberg explore or create through his works?
What elements of SF enabled the queer community to become so outspoken and visible?
Was Harvey Milk influenced by or even acquainted with Beat writers?
mmuhamma- The Princess Diaries
I like that you're discussing something relatively current in popular culture in relation to this class. It will be interesting to do an in-depth analysis of a seemingly simple Disney film. However, are you going to bring in any of the literature or authors into your paper or just focus on the city?
Emily Mott/ SF landmarks vs. Vertigo
I thought you had an interesting idea in analyzing scenes taken from Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Vertigo, with San Francisco/Bay Area landmarks either featured or alluded to in the film itself. In terms of bringing in Brechin to expand on the significance of these locations, part of your argument could relate to past/present conceptions of San Francisco (as non-imperial) and how that parallels constructions of Vertigo. You mentioned that tying in these type of conceptions would allow you to exemplify how Bay Area landmarks shown in the film have experienced change; this is a good way of aligning your research. You could also do more of a cause and effect approach to really reflect the manner in which SF’s previous practices informed the creation of Vertigo. Some questions to consider: What significant role do landmarks/destinations play in Hitchcock’s film? How did misconceptions about San Francisco’s historical and social background influence the film’s reception by an audience in 1958?
Addie / Dharma Bums vs Kingston
I think that one of the options of your proposal (that revolved around the comparison between Kingston and Kerouac) creates much potential.
I read some of Kingston's work in an Asian American Lit class and much of her work, as you mentioned, revolved heavily around the search for self identification. I think this is particularly important in that it offers a lot of analysis for your work in regard to, not only the authors similarities, but their unique differences as well.
From a close study of both of the authors' work it becomes evident that, though both authors shared some similar basic ideals, both differ quite noticeably in their revelations of their ideology.
I feel that a closer examination of both these authors work would provide a great deal of information in that they share many ideals while simultaneously differing quite greatly on their expression of their beliefs.
It is good that you chose authors that clearly express similar notions through different lenses allowing for a great deal of comparing and contrasting view points for examination.
Diego/Queer Movement in SF
Can you write a little bit about the current Prop 8? There were protests in the time since it has passed, just like there were protests in other moments within SF. Di you go to Gavin Newsom at SC?
Maybe talk about the portrayal of SF in the new movie Milk (time permitting).
Also, there was this really good movie I watched in my Bio. Of AIDS class that might help you out. It’s called And the Band Played on. It is about the AIDS epidemic in SF, as well as in the rest of the world. It’s a made for TV movie on HBO and it won an emmy, so it’s pretty good haha.
Heidi – “You Are Here (You Think): A San Francisco Bus Tour”
Your idea sounds really interesting. I also found Bernie Lubells and Dean and Juliet MacCannell’s article especially interesting. San Francisco is full of iconic places that are unique to it as a city and yet we rarely question the construction of these images and spaces. I think it will be interesting to investigate what your own reaction to various places is. There is a lot of literature on tourism, constructed images, and tourist expectations, but what the tourist leaves with is rarely investigated due to lack of critical information. I would also suggest reading Dean MacCannell’s essay “Staged Authenticity: Arrangements of Social Spaces in Tourist Settings” for some key insight into the construction and maintenance of the “tourists gaze” and experience.
Sadie/Golden Gate Bridge
Dear Sadie,
I like the idea of using the bridge as a symbol for the city. I'm trying to delve into the tension that exists between images and realities in my paper, too. Imperialism and death: what do those things have in common? I like your thought to use Brechin and definitely Garrison, but maybe Ginsberg, namely "Howl," would be good here too? Are you planning to take a trip to the city soon to stand on the bridge and see what it feels like? Maybe, as you look around you, you could note what the different people are doing, the weather, the energy. I hope I can make it to the city soon, too.
Diegosf-
I also think this sounds like a really intriguing paper topic. Milk definitely had a huge impact on the way we view gay rights. If you get the chance you should check out "The Times of Harvey Milk" which is a really interesting movie documentary, with lots of footage and insight into him and that event.
I also think it would be interesting to touch upon why SF is and has historically been so accepting of the gay community. What values do we have and what events/movements have occurred in the bay area that allows for open, alternative sexualities?
mmuhamma / Princess Diaries and SF
I think you will be able to do a great reading on modern, pop-culture view of San Francisco through working with The Princess Diaries. It is an awesome idea to take a film that is not commonly analyzed and dig deep into the mind-set of the director, as well as the places in San Francisco in the movie and how they are represented. I think this will give a really fresh interpretation on the things we have read and discussed thus far.
If you wanted to bring the original Princess Diaries novel into your analysis of the film, it might be interesting to question why for the film they would make the setting San Francisco instead of New York as it was in the book. Also, if I remember correctly, the Golden Gate Bridge as well as Alcatraz are depicted in the film, so perhaps you can add into your analysis why these landmarks and not others are represented in the film, as well as why they are widely represented on a national level. What does the public commonly know about these places, and what are the hidden histories that people don't know about them? Why? For this you might want to look at Brechin's Imperial San Francisco, or Reclaiming San Francisco as well.
There is also a major theme of searching for one's identity in the film. In relation to this, I also think it is interesting that Mia is your "average nerd" and is still rejected for the most part in her school in San Francisco based on her quirky creativity. In my opinion, San Francisco is a place that opens doors for creativity, so for this reason, it might be interesting when analyzing the film to comment on this.
Nick Furnal/ Museums
I think this study of museums in the modern city could be really interesting. I like that you noted that museums “lead to higher levels of tourism”, and I think it would be interesting to explore the higher level of tourism not only quantitatively (ie: museums bring more tourists to the city), but qualitatively (ie: museums bring tourism to a higher level of intellectual and cultural experience). In addition to the wax museum and Ripley’s, you could consider some other more conventional venues as out-there spaces like the de Young fine arts museum, which recently started exhibiting Yves Saint Laurent clothing next to Asian American Modern art.
One particular thing that intrigued me was your approach to the museum as a tourist spot, or somewhere to get an overview of the local culture. It would be cool to see your ideas on what this means for locals, and how the culture presented to tourists by the museum authority separates or involves visitors in the actual local experience. Good idea using Brautigan and Ginsberg; I think they will definitely complicate your thesis and aid you in your analysis. Sounds like a great project, have fun with it!
Addie,
I agree with Nick that a comparison of Kerouac and Kingston would be highly interesting. An examination of how each of these authors handle issues of their own identity in America could draw on questions about what America is (nation, idea, dream, lie), what is the role of religion, race, gender. I would suggest focusing on a specified aspect of this very rich topic, and not limiting yourself to the two texts.
This is not to say that writing about Kerouac alone is a bad idea. I think it would be the kind of research paper that would open up worlds.
Good luck. And if you have any questions for me, because I am too vague or you just have general questions about the direction of your project, I would be happy to offer you any assitance that I can.
Aaron
Sarah Welsh//Street art in San Francisco
I think your idea of street art is great! In response to your idea of graffiti featured in Haight, my roommate was telling me about an amazing mural of Hendrix. You could mention the differences between murals that idolize an artist (especially an artist that influenced a city with its music and message of love) and murals that are more abstract. Colors can play a huge role in this as well, especially the basic symbolisms behind which colors are used, and how that adds to the message the graffiti artist is trying to reveal. I know these are just basic ideas to go off of, but I love how artists really use every detail to their advantage, and nothing is accidental. Also, you could discuss the difference between graffiti that was approved of (such as murals that a school chose to paint on its walls) and graffiti that was illegally completed? Are there messages or intended audiences different? Your example of how Mission uses street art to proudly demonstrate Latino culture is such an important and excellent topic to use, and I really hope that you delve deeper into this subject, as well as others.
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