Assignment 2

In this image, we see two figures standing at the start of a race track, with the end goal visible. The figure on the left is a white male, dressed nicely and formally. From his haircut, it can be assumed that he’s more middle-aged or older, with his graying hair and bald spot. His blue suit almost looks like that of a politicians, but it could also just be any regular suit. The figure on the left is a possibly younger woman of color dressed in actual sports attire for the race, her hair tied up and wearing a pink tank top, blue track shorts, and purple sneakers. The difference in their tracks are that the male’s consists of two simple hurdles, whereas the woman’s contains 5 life-threatening obstacles, including land mines, barbed wire, an alligator or crocodile, a brick wall, and a wall of blades. Furthermore, there is a ball and chain attached to her right ankle, which would obviously impede on her movement and not only slow her down but make her track even harder to clear. The male wears a smug look of confidence on his face and a rather relaxed sprinter start pose, while the woman looks displeased but ready to put up a fight, body already posed to start running. Above the image sits the text “Quit whining. It’s the same distance.”

This image of a white male and a minority racing to reach the same goal yet with such different race tracks depict the both racial and gender inequality in our country. Despite their race course being the same distance, one has an easy path whilst the other has to struggle considerably to make any distance, let alone finish the race. Furthermore, the man is dressed formally and nicely, showing the lack of need for him to dress athletically and work too hard to reach the goal line. On the other hand, the woman is dressed in full sports clothing, ready to brave the course, with even an iron ball attached to one of her legs, the difference in effort and hard work shown. The text is obviously spoken by the man, with his mouth slightly open and a mocking look on his face. It shows the lack of insight and understanding of men, white men especially, of the struggles and difficulties that women and people of color have to go through to achieve and obtain the same things. Many lack the awareness or maybe even choose to ignore the privilege they grow up with and the discrimination minorities struggle with. The woman has no reply to the text, choosing to glare at the man instead. This could just be an artistic choice to leave this image as one moment in time, but it could also represent the silence of women under oppression. For so long, women have been forced into silence and lacking proper equal rights. This cartoon image is a both political and social message about inequality in our society today.

Assignment 1

Rather than depending on adaptation and evolution, humans are a species that push for progress and advancement. Kurt Anderson argues in his 2011 article You Say You Want a Devolution that studying our recent history in 20 year increments shows a cycle of progress in both culture and technology, a cycle that hasn’t been broken until now. Evidence shows in various forms of art and fashion, as it has become popular to go back in time and remake big hits, and trendy clothing have remained the same as of today. While this loop we have fallen into has made us turn to appreciating the past more, Anderson claims that it’s also restricting us from new ideas and progress in our country, and treats the past 20 years as a negative deviation. While he does bring up solid points and it is true that we have not changed much in the current cycle when you look at our culture in terms of fashion and art, it hasn’t restricted us socially or politically, as our country’s president has been making efforts for the past 8 years, and many movements for rights and freedom have erupted around the world as well.

According to Anderson, we’re currently “reinforcing the economic (and political) stagnation”, which may have been true when he wrote that article, but is not any longer. While economically we may not have changed much from our famous stores and restaurants, but politically our country has been shifting. Barack Obama being elected as a president was already a big game changer; while some racist conservatives may think negatively of it, it was a breath of fresh air that our country gravely needed, and it gave hope to many around the country. Obama getting re-elected for another term gave him some more time to put some of his goals into action, despite having his hands tied by the conservative Republicans in the government. He’s already managed to form Obamacare, free many of Guantanamo Bay’s inmates, legalize gay marriage, and much more. With the recent 2016 elections, we had candidates from all over the spectrum; Sanders for the lower class, minorities and millennials, Clinton for the middle class while trying to impress the millennials, and Trump for the terrifying bigoted conservatives whom the millennials dread. While Sanders could’ve kept bringing about political change, Trump takes the white house seat with this election, many people fearing the possibility of his reign causing a 50 year jump back in time politically. His faith to his policies have been debatably wavering since his election, but at this point there’s not much to do but “wait and see” how Trump’s presidency bodes for the country. Should it backtrack the hard earned political progress for our country, I’m sure there will always be people standing firm for their freedom.

Anderson also believes that our country’s current state of “embracing the past” prevents us from new ideas and therefore “deters radical change”. However, the past few years have been nothing but full of radical changes, or at least many attempts. With the president and government only able to do so much at once, the people of the country have taken it upon themselves to voice social and political concerns. Discrimination has always been prevalent in our society, be it in the form of racism, sexism, LGBTQ+ phobias, or others. However, organizations and movements for rights and freedoms of minority groups have been coming forward to make themselves heard, pushing for a future where they can be happy for who they are rather than afraid. Recent tragedies like Ferguson and Mike Brown, Brock Turner’s case, and the Orlando Pulse Bar shooting have increased attention to the underlying discrimination rooted deep in our country, a sign that oppressed minorities will no longer sit around for change and push for progress with their own hands. The recent legalization of gay marriage was a huge victory for minorities, despite multiple states attempting to bypass it to continue their discrimination. But for people who have been struggling to be heard for so long, any bit of progress is a victory. Our country isn’t politically or socially stagnated at all. Anderson is focused on things like music and fashion in his article, but I think that change and progress for minorities and their lifestyles are just as important, if not more.

Despite a lack of progress in our country's culture, there have definitely been strides taken socially and politically. While Anderson argues in his article that the country's current halted status causes lack of "radical change" and reinforces "economic and political stagnation", he focuses on culture aspects such as music, fashion, and big companies in our economy. He lacks to mention the big political and social shifts in our country recently, which I think are of unparalleled value compared to what the trendiest clothes are or how big Starbucks has gotten within the past decade.