Another Racist Look at Disney

As my final semester of classes at West Chester (I still have student teaching) gets closer to ending, I find myself making time for more distractions. I am currently doing so by raiding the Ursinus College Library for DVDs. The library is pretty well stocked. I have a list of films and TV shows to check out. By far the most elusive film I have been searching for is #700 - Cinderella Man. I had had Cinderella Man on DVD, but I lent it to a coworker who passed away while borrowing it and I didn't want to ask his widow for my movie - perhaps borderline tacky? Anyway, with this library I have watched a collection of things such as the 1927 silent film College, the final seasons of Arrested Development, The Bucket List, and Sorority Boys. For this week of Passover, I (Karen) checked out Mission: Impossible III, College, Entourage Season 1, Dumbo and (500) Days of Summer.

I don't always watch movies for entertainment anyway, thanks to some of my college classes. In this case, the classes that are the most influential are American Popular Culture of the 20th Century, and American History at the Movies. In the second class, the professor described the events in Pocahontas , including the details that the title character is a Lolita, and John Smith is a pedophile.

My complaint tonight stems from what I saw in Dumbo. There is already one discussion of a potential racist scene involving crows, but I noticed something else that got my attention and inspired me enough to write. At the end of the opening sequence, as the animals disembark from the train, a carload of black people is emptied. They begin working quickly and singing a song. As they sing, the elephants take part of the physical labor, perhaps a reference to the cruelties of some circuses. The song that they sing is called

Song of the Roustabouts

. The first verse of the song:

"Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike! Ugh! Hike!
We work all day, we work all night
We never learned to read or write
We're happy-hearted roustabouts"

I thought it was interesting that the black workers could not read or write. Blacks were prevented in voting in some elections because they could not pass literacy tests, and slaves were not allowed to learn reading or writing skills. Other lyrics that caught my attention, the phrases "When other folks have gone to bed / We slave until we're almost dead" and

"Keep on working!
Stop that shirking!
Grab that rope, you hairy ape!"

So am I reading too far into this? Is the movie accurate to the times of production (1941)? Or is the movie enforcing the culture that cultivated racism in the early days of the United States. Can the movie do both at once, and romanticizing both attitudes. For the record, a Roustabout is a worker that preforms unskilled and/or temporary labor.

In addition, Karen pointed out that in the parade that occurs when the circus arrives in town, the people riding the camels are dressed as stereotypical Arabs. And while I'm discussing the film I think that the elephant in the green hat sounds like a Jewish old lady/Bubby.

My only beef with the movies in the library: the length of the film written on the box is not accurate. I checked out College thinking it was a different movie of the same name, and kept it because it was listed as being only 66 minutes. However, 30 minutes in I checked the amount of time remaining and saw it listed as 2 hours. And Wikipedia says it is 66 minutes. Maybe I should look again before it is returned. The other movie was Matewan (on VHS!), and as such I could not see how much time was left, but just had to keep watching....and watching, until it ended 40 minutes later than expected. I also know that Cinderella Man was removed from the collection and is in the process of being replaced.

I missed most of this movie because I was busy writing...good thing the movie is so short that I can re-watch it over the weekend - 64 minutes! I also still really enjoy the film for its art design and music.

Comfortable Seating

“That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight, I'm
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try”
-R.E.M., Losing My Religion

This past Friday night was the first night I’ve been in a synagogue in almost a year, with the exception of a cocktail hour and reception of my friends wedding at Tifereth Israel in Bucks County early in September. Still a length of 12 months, if not exactly one year.

The cause of this annual ritual is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year. This is the first year that I have gone with a date to services, and more importantly, the first time I have gone to High Holiday services without family by my side. Karen and I went together to B’nai Jacob in Phoenixville, but I think we went with different purposes in mind and definitely left with different thoughts.

I’m not going to guess Karen’s motives going in, I don’t think they matter to the whole point I’m trying to make. I think that I went to services out of duty to tradition. All my life I’ve gone or been dragged to religious holiday by someone else. Parents, Camp Ramah counselors, USY staff, or maybe the campus Hillel could be held responsible. But I don’t want to blame anyone, but I chose to participate in those activities.

Okay, so I went to services out of duty. I think that my interest in Judaism has spiked and settled in the last few years. USY, particularly during Summer 2004 when I went on USY on Wheels (Bus C), my interest in the religious life peaked. I made a new Tallit out of a Mexican blanket that I use today as my main prayer shawl, and I got Tefellin. I prayed three times daily plus full blessings over meals. I learned the Amidah and began to stand during the Mourner’s Kaddish. I came home from that six week vacation ready to try to eat Kosher. However, McDonald’s double cheeseburgers got the better of me in the long run.

Two years after I traveled across the United States, I had a very different cultural experience. I traveled to Israel for 10 days of rapid fire cultural explorations. I think that out of the week and a half I spent across the world, I think we only prayed once, overlooking Jerusalem on a Friday evening. One of the things that struck me as strange shouldn’t have. As American-Jews, we are all given two names- American names that can be found on our birth certificates, and Hebrew names from our Circumsion (Bris) and Baby Namings. I think the purpose of these names is to allow us to identify with Jewish tradition. The people in Israel only had one name – their birth name, which was in Hebrew. For the most part, the Israelis I met were all secular Jews.

Five years ago when I was active in USY, I think that my religious interest reached a crest. Now I feel more at place with the Jews I met in Israel – secular and appreciative of my culture and religion. Tonight, after I went to services out of religious duty, I felt out of place and awkward. Part of this may have just been being at a new synagogue, but there was more than that. A Rabbi and Cantor were there that I was unfamiliar with. The Hebrew language is barely legible for me any more. English readings sound like Shakespeare. The call and response style of the service did not feel productive to me. When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to read while praying was the following:

“The persons who attends a concert with their mind on business
Hears, but does not really hear.
The person who walks amidst the songs of birds
And thinks only of what they will have for dinner
Hears—but does not really hear.”

I found myself distracted during the short service, thinking about contests at work and my checkbook, what would be in this blog post. I was listening to the service without hearing it, and that is not what I want in a religion. Unfortunately , I left with an attitude of indifference, not particularly wanting to return to pray, but Karen feels reestablished with religion, ready to go out an enjoy her religion some more.

The differences between our end goals do surprise me. I'm not sure where to go from here, but maybe I will find a rhythm during the remainder of the high holidays and feel more comfortable. Until then, Shana Tova!

Please declare all fruits, veggies, pets, and strange relatives

Day 1 - Tues, May 5

It took a rough, very long start, but the roadtrip has finally begun. We are currently in Phase I, the California leg of the trip. Getting here was very interesting.

First there was the whole difficulty of getting ready. Karen and I had a formal event on Monday night and we did not get home till close to 2AM, and had to leave for the airport at 10AM. To make things even better, I still had to finish packing. Well, after dumping Karen's perfectly packed suitcase onto the floor (I really thought it was closed) and then almost forgetting my GPS, we got on the road.

We got to the airport later than Karen would have liked (11:45 arrival for a 12:45 departure) but I think it worked fine. We made it through security and to the gate without any trouble, and only had to wait 15 minutes for boarding to begin. Southwest flight #675 was going to stop in Midway and then continue through to Oakland. The ride was a bit bumpy. Similar to when I flew to Texas several years ago, the descent into Chicago caused an enormous amount of pain in my jaw. I would have tried to cuddle up into a Southwest pillow and cover myself with a blanket, but they had all been removed from the plane due to Swine Flu fears. We also saw several people wearing face masks, but they just looked ridiculous.

We managed to get really good seats. In the emergency exit row, there was a row of 2 seats - the window seat was missing, allowing for easier access to the window exit. Our loveseat was very comfy and cozy, and gave us plenty of legroom. Personally, I love reading the in-flight materials. Skymall offers 'great' products at 'affordable' prices like this Peanut Butter Maker. After I get home, I will scan the best pictures I found onto here for laughs. The Southwest magazine, Spirit, has very random information in it. Karen found a fantastic advertisement that I will scan in later. Sadly, this ad was on the same page as the puzzle answers and the next person to peruse the pages may be disappointed and confused.

With about 30 minutes left on the second leg of the flight, I noticed patches of people on the plane staring at the back. I kept looking but had no idea was I was looking for. I knew that the "buckle seat belt" light was on longer than usual, but my experience was going to get stranger. Once we landed and joined up with the gate, we were instructed to stay seated multiple times, even though no one was moving. A woman was walked to the front of the plane, then the back, then she returned to the front. At the same time, we also noticed a fire truck, an ambulance, and several cops with German Shepard's waiting outside of our plane. The woman was walked off and we all peered through our windows like curious little school children. She got arrested but we weren't sure why. MY first guess was that she had tried to light a joint in the bathroom, and got caught. The cops walked a dog onto the plane and we were told not to touch it. The dog didn't smell anything suspicious on the plane, so we were free to de-plane, provided that we all held our bags in our left hands so that the dogs could smell them again. At this point in time, I started to worry about the beef jerky I had brought with me. My neveres were calmed and all was well. We passed a Southwest employee near the gate and asked her what was going on. She said the woman on the plane got very intoxicated and said words she shouldn't have. I told her that Karen and I are in college, and used to seeing drunk people doing stupid things. We walked away laughing. (I am trying to find a news article about the arrest, but no luck yet).

For all the delays of getting off the plane, and the dogs smelling all checked luggage, the bags still arrived very quickly at baggage claim. I would imagine that even with the delay, the handlers still performed better than their Philadelphia counterparts. The air outside was amazing. Nice west coast weather. Shorts and a tee-shirt. Not many pictures yet, but expect to see a big post either here, or linked to several facebook albums.

...seeing the sights...

Earning the Right to Educate

Finals week at West Chester is just about over. I didn't even start until 8AM Thursday, and my other final is 1PM Friday. One class luckily did not include a final exam, the other class just had a final paper on the September 11th terrorist attacks (which may be posted later). I found out today that my application for Student Teaching is due at midnight. When I worked on it last, I just left one question to answer:

"Describe why I decided to pursue a career in education"


It took some effort for me to come up with an answer that was not generic bullshit. It would have been very easy for me to just say that I need a job, this is what I have spent my money learning how to do, and I want to do it and get cash. However, it would have also been easy for school districts to say no.

Somehow, in this brain dead state that I am in, I managed to come up with four main goals to accomplish while teaching, which I shaped into a comprehensible response. I am a little worried that some of my goals may be too vague though. These goals address the problems I had with high school. The answer I submitted is below, and I would appreciate any feedback or things you might want to see in a high school social studies classroom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My experience in high school left me desiring more knowledge and practical experience. I wanted more group learning (without group projects) and an education that embraced technology as an integral part of lessons, not as a separate class. I very often felt restricted by narrow viewpoints and topics that were difficult for teachers to relate to students. I have decided to pursue a career in teaching in order to bring what I wanted out of my education to a new generation of students. I hope that I can create a positive influence on students. I believe that with a proper and motivating education, students are able to achieve their maximum potential and accomplish great goals. I hope that by pursuing a career in teaching, I will be able to accomplish my goals and revitalize an interest in education for young students.

In order to accomplish this goal, I plan on teaching in non-traditional ways that will better engage students in lessons and activities. In order to create students with a better world view of social studies, I aim to accomplish four main goals. As an educator, I plan on entertaining the students while informing them. I believe that this will help students retain and recall information easily. Part of this entertainment will come from the next goal – an interactive education that utilizes technology to help students learn. Approaching lessons in multiple formats will make a quality education more accessible to students. I would like to have a classroom without the barriers that restrict learning. By drawing on a cooperative education between multiple educators, guest speakers, educational tours, as well as student experience, students will be well rounded and better prepared for life after high school. The final goal I hope to accomplish as a teacher is to help students understand how the past and the present relate to form a world view of social studies.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Educate me with your feedback

I apologize for the font switching, Blogger was reporting HTML problems that I attempted to resolve.

It's Time to Time

Continuing with more information about this roadtrip (starting in less than 2 weeks), it's important to plan on how long specific drives might be. I got all of this information from GoogleMaps so be sure to blame them for any problems and thank me for anything good that comes out of this. Time was rounded to the nearest quarter hour and mileage was rounded to the nearest multiple of 25.


I hope you like my attention to detail with the fonts. Moving on then, onto Good News and Bad News:

Good News!
One other thing that can be done in California now. Karen discovered that the San Fransisco International Film Festival ends around the same time we will be leaving the state. I saw a few films that looked neat. City of Borders is about the sole gay bar in Jerusalem, one was about children learning multiple languages (Speaking in Tongues), The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle promises humor in a tale about janitors and male pregnancy. My Suicide follows a boy who announces he will film his own suicide.

Bad News!
I like to think of this is more of an opportunity for good news to develop. I got an exception made for my summer class, so it looks like I will be able to stay enrolled. However, the classroom observations begin on May 18 and extend through May 19 and 20. So that "day of fluff" I added to the calendar will actually be used for...schooling.

Don't Lock Your Keys in the Car...

Links of a Calendar

These are the other two possibilities that I could think up for the drive from California to Pennsylvania. I spent a little more time on these with clever clip art from Word. Version B, immediately below, skips Colorado entirely and instead has a long drive from Salt Lake City straight thru to Omaha....nearly a 13 hour drive. Instead of spending a day looking at the Red Rocks ( I was inspired to go there by some decent concert DVDs).

The final proposed itinerary I created includes less spent time in California - two days instead of the three originally planned upon. Of course, this may create more pressure to buy a car, but that's why this is a possible plan, not the definitive one.

It seems to me that the most fun will be had on the 2nd half of the trip, no matter which route we take. I think I am just more interested in Cleveland, Chicago, and Omaha.

About a week ago I updated the weather app on my iPod to display the weather in the places we will most likely visit. I was hoping for warmer weather, but it seems that all the weather we experience will be similar to the weather going on in PA (45 degrees) right now.

It has been difficult to figure out specific stops and sleeping arrangements due to not have a strict schedule. In Reno, I expect to stop for food, if at all, so picking a restaurant won't be too tough. In Salt Lake City, the LDS Church History Museum is open 7 days a week and is free! That should also be a good cultural experience. If we had stuck to the original plan and gone to Mitchell, SD, we would be able to bask in the glory of the Corn Palace. If you ever travel in that area, take an hour out of your day and visit. Omaha seems really exciting, for being in the middle of nowhere. The Henry Doorly Zoo there seems to have some more impressive exhibits than the San Diego Zoo, including a shark aquarium that you walk under in a tunnel, a Bio-Dome housing a rain forest, and an underground nocturnal environment. In Chicago, I'm pushing for a return visit to the Museum of Science and Industry (the historical aspect) and if the weather is nice enough, the Navy Pier. The main destination in Cleveland is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Since I got into some (better) music a few years ago, I am interested in the cultural phenomenon of Rock and Roll. During the final stint in PA, I want to try to stop in State College (Penn State main campus) for a meal. Dinner somewhere in downtown, ice cream at the Creamery, and Stickies at The Diner. After that, its back to the monotony of summer classes.

Another update in the next few days with driving times and maybe other interesting places to stop along the road.

Lists and Lists and Dates

My girlfriend and I have been planning a road trip for this summer for a while now. We are going to fly from Philadelphia to San Fransisco, buy a car, and then drive back just prior to the start of Summer classes and projects. Above is a map I drew on the back of some classwork (if you look closely you will see text on the other side of the image) with several different possible stops marked in green.

The bulk of this roadtrip will take place on Interstate 80, which runs from San Fransisco to north New Jersey. With luck and strategic planning, we should be able to make it from California to Pennsylvania. As of now, the planned stops are as follows:
-Tiburon, California
-Reno, Nevada
-Salt Lake City, Utah
-Morrison, Colorado
-Omaha, Nebraska
-Chicago, Illinois
-Cleveland, Ohio
-State College, Pennsylvania
-West Chester, Pennsylvania

I'll be posting updates on this trip as well as blogs from the actual roadtrip which commences within the next month. Below is the first of 3 different possible calendars we mayfollow on the trip. This one has us hitting each destination (excluding Seattle, Yellowstone, Mitchell, and Minneapolis) but for rapid fire visits at each location. The others have different advantages.

Safe Travels...