Dreaming of Dixie

On Thursday we viewed a special presentation at the University about the South and how it was create in the romanticized way we often see it portrayed. Over time we have all have seen people, movies, TV, radio and other forms of mass media portray the south as good, enduring, romantic and hospitable. Often it seems as though the atrocities committed by the south such as slavery and racism were ignore or understated.

In the period after slavery and before the Civil Rights Movement the advertising and popular Culture in general served as a way to still execute racism by showing the stereotypical AAfrican Americans in the worst positions in life. Many of these stories were created, marketed, and used by northerners who dreamed of the old south that they had never known. One example of a product that followed this mold was aunt Jamama. Aunt Jamama flour, pancakes and syrup were sold by using the mammy. The mammy is a woman who is older, unattractive who is often very domestic and takes care of whites in many instances. The appeal of Aunt Jamama was that she was a old south supposedly from a plantation in Louisiana. She was a fabrication of marketers but yet she still is the marketing face of Aunt Jamama today. Popular music and radio also were a big part of these stereotypes. Many songs were published but "coons" and going back to Dixie. Mostly written by Jewish northerners. Blacks also continued to play the stereotypical roles in films and radio. Examples of Amos and Andy support that plays are to be laughed at purely for entertainment.

As expected the South capitalized on this drive towards the old south or slavery and romance. With the spead of cars into our homes many people were not only about the buy Southern items but go see the old South for themselves.This may have been positive for many but very negitive for African Americans. The negitive imagery of them in popular culture helped fuse and continue to propertusate a racist society. It is not until after the civil rights movement that you see a difference in the way African Americans are portrayed or get you just don't see them at all.

Overall I thought that the converstation on Thurday was a good one but I would have liked to have a more detailed acount of some of the instances although I know they are numerous. I am really interested in how popular culture seemed to have formed some type of slavery onto African Americans even after slavery. The level of control that popular culture exicuted onto African Americans in this time was so controlled and calulated becuase in my mind its the bigger picture. If you paint African American people as negitive, stupid, unattractive and primitive that is what people will continue to believe they are and that stategy worked at  times still works today.

Wagner Free Institiute of Science

          Yesterday was our first musuem vist. We when to the Wagner Free Institute of Science. The Wagner was very interesting, it was a musuem experience unlike any other i have ever seen before. The difference at the Wagner is that you are seeing the musuem from the perspctive of it's past visitors. The wagner is a very old Museum it has not been upated since the 1890's. Many of the collections were collected by William Wagner, the founder or Joseph Leidy a researcher from the 1800's. The purpose of the Wagner was to offer free education in science for the masses. The Wagner later went to engage in some important reseach projects but today now serves as a great asset to the computer by still offering free classes and workshops for people of all ages.
          I enjoyed visiting the Wagner mostly because it was different. before this course I never knew the Wagner existed but yet that is part of its charm. You can tell that it is a diamond in the rough. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be a visitor to the Wagner when it began in 1855, it must have been unbelivable to see the speicmans and fossils collected. It is a great place to learn about the beginings of scientific exploration and wonder. The Wagner teaches this from a different perspective because so little has been changed. As a visitor you feel the authenticity and history behind the building and collections and that it a exta added bonus in the experience.
        The Wagner relates to the discussing we have been having thus far relating to early museums. The Wagner started as a cabinet of things Mr. Wager had that he collected and continued to grow. We learned in our reading that this is the way many of the first musuems started. One thing seperates the Wagner and makes it unique in that many of the first museums we were reading about were only for the elite but yet the Wagner was of all who wanted to learn and explore and that just makes it that more interesting.
          Overall the Wagner stands up to the purpose it set forth to fufill so many years ago. There is a need for the Wagner and the need is still evident today. The wagner is fufilling it's purpose by continuing to provide education and exploration for all. The Wagner remains free which is also one of its founding characteristics. I would recommend The Wagner for anyone who is interesting in the pioneering spirit of science that was explored by early reseachers and collectors.