a. Identify the central arguments in both thematic readings. Articulate these in complete sentences using both the tools of quotation and paraphrase, making sure that you identify the source clearly when you quote/paraphrase. Produce at least two sizable paragraphs (one for each source) that identify their central arguments.
Post your arguments using the "Comments" button and remember to include the names of all your group members.
Nicole, Margaret, Hsin Ying, huihong
ReplyDeleteThe central argument of "Traumatic Disaster and Titanic Recuperation", is is the relevance of romanticism in today's society. There are many references to romanticism in the article. According to the author, Steven Zani, "The titanic disaster demonstrates that ideologies have changed very little over the preceding centuries, and that we all still carry with us the burden of Romantic notions of identity and social reality" (128). For example, in the film, Rose is forced to marry a man who she doesn't love to bring more wealth to her family. This is relevant to today because many people still marry for financial security versus love.
The central argument of "From Camp to Kitsch" is regarding patriotism in movies post 9/11. Since our country has seen a terrorist attack and several natural disasters, viewers believe that no film will be able to recreate the feelings or anguish our country has felt. Viewers prefer to see movies that portray patriotism and tasteful depictions of disaster (139). Most believe that current disaster movies make light of September 11th.
In the "Traumatic Disaster and Titanic Recuperation" article, one of the central arguments that was highlighted was how race and economic standing played a large role in who was rescued and who was left to die and contemporary versions of the Titanic disaster show how little our idea of identity and social reality has changed over the ages. This is extremely apparent in many parts of the article. For example, a quotation from the author Updike was used stating "In all, 60% of the first-cabin passengers lived, compared with 44 percent of the second-class passengers and only 25% of the steerage passengers." These are staggering numbers proving that the higher class passengers had a much better chance of survival. The initial stories of how the tragedy unfolded were unanimously told from the perspective of a white, first-class passengers therefore the stories were obviously biased. Seventy years later, we can still see how our veiw of the Titanic tragedy is skewed from what actually took place and our perception of heroism on the boat by upper class citizens and the captain and his crew is most likely inaccurate.
ReplyDeleteThe central ideas of the "From Camp To Kitsch" article is the idea of the 9/11 terrorist attacks having a large impact on the United States' popular culture and how the movie genre of the decade changed from sarcastic comedies to doomsday blockbusters. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, there was an increase in "American flags, American cars, jewlery, t-shirts,rise in xenophobia and rascism paranoia (pg. 119)". The entire fabric of the American public was obsessed with the attacks, bringing a new age of popular culture, which included movies. A year after the attacks, two movies (The Sum of All Fears and The Core) opened in theaters, setting a new trend for the decade. The films are about terrorist attacks and how the characters or the world reacts to them. The terrorist attacks truly ended an old age of popular culture in America as sarcastic and simplistic and started a culture of ideas of apocalyptic terrorism.
Nate, Peter, Ferris, Duane, Dan
The central argument of the article "Traumatic Disaster and Titanic Recuperation" is that the movie portrayal of the disaster is romanticized in order to appeal to the audience, which leads to inaccurate representations of what actually happened. Another common theme in this article is irony; in the movie, Rose is shown as a very strong woman with masculine traits and the lower-class people, such as Jack, are glorified. In the reality of the situation, women were expected to obey men and the men were supposed to be the heroes. Also, lower-class people died sooner and they were treated with less respect than the wealthy. The movie "Titanic" is filled with contradictory ideas. The author's argument is clear, "The argument I propose here is that the contemporary versions of the Titanic disaster demonstrate that ideologies have changed very little over the proceeding centuries, and that we all carry with us the burden of Romantic notions of identity and social reality" (Zani, 128). Though entertaining and appealing to the emotion of the audience, Cameron's version of the Titanic is filled with romanticized ideas that do not accurately depict the events of the Titanic disaster or the attitudes of that era in which it occurred.
ReplyDeleteIn "From Camp to Kitsch 9/11, Taste, and the Imagination of Disaster," the central meaning is that the perception of a disaster as portrayed in the box office is strikingly different than public perception prior to 9/11. "The reactions of audiences, critics and Hollywood to the terrorist attacks crystalized a chain of value-laden associations between mass culture entertainment and disaster movies: camp, decadence, weakness, and marginality" (Feil, 124). Before 9/11, because the majority of the American public had no real-life disaster to imagine and make comparisons, they viewed such disaster box office hits as almost unrealistic. However, after 9/11, we now have an actual historical event to make comparisons between real-life and fictional disasters.
Syn Dee, Jina, Jordan, Madeline, Ryan Y.
Inequality became the main focus shortly after the events of the Titanic transpired. Despite the first- hand accounts of the passengers being solely about the integrity of the heroism, the reality of the situation painted a much different picture. Based off of research only a small percentage of the lower and middle class survived while the majority of the upper class lived on to fight another day. Class distinction, suffrage and racism sparked from this event. Others tried to use this event to further deny women suffrage saying they did not take action in the event as where the men did. Additionally, the racism sparked against the Irish people who were blamed for the mediocre quality that was put in to the construction, and later against all foreigners who were accused of violating the adage of ‘women and children first.’
ReplyDeleteThere is a historical and cultural difference between how it's portrayed in mass media and the original disasters.
After 9/11 distaster movies were presented in a more serious manner to satisfy the public's new sensitivity to the subject. The quote on page 120 explains the reasoning for a lack of humor in disaster movies following 9/11. "For instance, Amiel explains that they cut a number of comic scenes from the film 'just because, with the world coming to an end in three months, it just felt too indulgent.' Also, the remake versions of the film exaggerate and americanize the original incident in order to broader audiences.
Dallas, Bonnie, Corey, Kyle, Ryan