American Studies Forum: Spring 1992

8/6/2019 American Studies Forum: Spring 1992

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MERICANSTUDIES:F02{l1M

MarchI April 1992Looking Ahead (Organically) to Fall Semester

by Richard H. CracraftChair and Chief Cultivator, American Studies

Fall semester is upon us. Even as we gaspat the deceptively balmy air of spring, theleaves which will drop in the fall arebeginning to burst their green bonds -foreshadowing fertile American Studiesclasses ahead.Let me remind you who are just beginningthe American Studies major of theimportance of taking AS 303, "Studies in

the American Experience," this fall - it isthe introduction to our discipline, taughtonly in the fall by Dr. Neil L[eaf] York.The wise who are clinging at any point onthe tree will want to register for ProfessorJames [Leafmeal] D'Arc's "Film inAmerican Culture" course (AS 360).And many of you already plastered to the

trunk will want to enjoy the teeming andtimely course of Dr. Suzanne Lundquist,"Contemporary Native American Literature:500 Years Since Columbus," English 495,section 4. Also encouraged in the English495 series is section 400: "AfricanAmerican Women Writers," gleaned by Dr.Gloria [Greenleaf] Cronin; and we havetraditionally permitted students to substitute

395R, section 1, "Canadian" Literature," afine course sown only occasionally by Prof.Elizabeth [Acorn] Wahlquist.And, if your program permits it (please,

avoid too many substitutions, and watch thebalance and distribution of your crop, er,ah, course work), English 368, section 1"The Literature of the Latter-day Saints,"from the Really Big Tree Trunk himself, isa must for the Truly Educated Fallen Leaf.And don't forget, Geography 450 is beingoffered by Dr. Richard Jackson - no fallback course, especially when taught by anOld Rake.Those just entering the American Studies

major in the fall will be organicallyenhanced by the new requirements, whichwe list below. Note that the prerequisitesfor the major have changed almostcompletely, and that there are a few newcourses listed under the options (and a fewwhich have disappeared) . You seasoned oldleaves on the bough may also take these newoptional courses, but such an alteration willrequire (simply) a "Substitution Form"signed by me and presented to the

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DAVID M. K:ENNEDYCENTER FOR I~NTERNATIONALSTUDIES


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Humanities Advisement [Mulch] Center.

Revised AS RequirementsI. Prerequisite (12 hours): Political

Science 110, Economics 110,Humanities 261, 262.II. Required (33 hours). AS 303 andten courses from: AS 360, As 390R

(twice only), Art 315, Art 317,Economics 274, English 336,English 358, English 392, English395R or 495R (American topics; oneonly), Geography 450, History 250,History 371, History 380, History382, Humanities 401R or 404R(American topics; one only),Political Science 307, PoliticalScience 319R.

III. Information:A. Course substitutions may bemade only with written, priorpermission of the American Studieschair.B. Students may substitute 3 credithours of Washington, D.C. Seminarcredit for one American Studieselective.C. Majors should begin course workin the major by taking AmericanStudies 303 fall semester of thesophomore or (at latest) junior year.

Redd Assistantships, Etc.Two words to the wise:Logos I: The Charles Redd Center for

Western Studies (4069 HBLL) announcesthree Redd Assistantships ($7,000 each) forqualified graduate students specializing inthe study of the American West. Applicantsmust be admitted to an M.A. or Ph.D.program in the College of Humanities,College of Family, Home, and SocialSciences, or College of Fine Arts. Studentsmust agree to write theses on some aspect ofthe American West. Work requirementsinclude a 15 hour per week commitment towork as a research assistant for a professorstudying the American West. Interestedstudents should see Thomas G. Alexander,Director of the Redd Center forapplications. Deadline for application isApril 15.Logos IT: The American Heritage

program likes to hire American Studiesmajors, particularly juniors and seniors, aswell as graduate students, for TeachingAssistantships. For further information seethe American Heritage office.SPRINGFEST ON SATURDAYSpringfest '92, the American Studies

Student Association's year-end extravaganzawill be held this Saturday, April 11th from4:00-7:00 p.m. at Dr. Cracroft's home (770E. Center Street in Provo).Come dive into all-you-can-eat pizza, one-

on-one basketball with the professor of yourchoice, intellectually stimulatingconversational opportunities with theprofessor that you always wanted to scoreextra brownie points with, and learn thedetails of Dr. Neil York's BYU GroomerAward. Bring a pal, pet, or spouse (noaccounting majors). DON'T MISS IT!

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Women and The American Dreamby LeAnn D. Hillam

When a woman tells the truthshe is creating the possibilityfor more truth around her.-Adrienne Rich

Myths. Because we understand our historythrough myths, they hold us together as anation. Myths explain. They may besomewhat false, but they help us achieveunderstanding, especially when paradoxesexist. Within the American Experience,myths are important because they help usbelieve that reconciliation is possible andthey simplify complex questions. TheAmerican Dream is one of our nation'sfavorite myths. The American Dream goessomething like this: anyone who workshard can find material success if they persistlong enough. Most immigrants were versedin the Dream long before they reached theshores of America. Today, "the AmericanDream" myth is used in advertising and injustifying America's obsession withmaterialism. But, does the Dream stillexist? More importantly, does it work forall Americans, or is it simply a cherishedAmerican myth we cannot let go of? Andwhat about women? Where do they fit intothe Dream? Or do they?We are well steeped in what the AmericanDream has been, and is, for men. Now it istime to ask women where they fit in theDream. Although visions themselves do nothave gender, until recent ly , thequintessential vision of the American Dreamwas, for the most part, male. Men havebeen perceived as the primary players in thepast centuries in the struggle toward successand affluence. Women shared the Dreamand worked to make it a reality for theirfamilies, but in the last couple of decadessignificant changes have come within

American society. Women's perceptions oftheir - roles, their rights, and theirresponsibilities have changed theirrelationship to the American Dream. It hasbecome clear that old rules no longer applyor are irrelevant because there isaccelerating dependence of families on twoincomes. High rates of divorce andseparation give rise to a growing number offemale-headed households.Over the past twenty-five years women of

disparate backgrounds and experience havebeen questioning traditional attitudes towardwork and famil y , dependence andindependence, and ways of balancing publicand private roles. While many havediscarded the traditional scenario by choice(because of the women's movement), othershave been forced to change bycircumstances. Divorce, for the first time,places women in a position of independencenever before thrust on them. Althoughthose women may be playing by new rules,much of society is still playing by the oldrules - trade-offs will have to be made.It is both confusing and overwhelming to

be an American woman today. While thereare more choices to be made, how do weknow what is the right choice? Do we havea career or do we have children? Or do wechoose both? Do we succumb to theSuperwoman model portrayed by popularculture? Television programs, advertising,news, and women's magazines featurewomen in upper-middle class occupations asthe latest achievers of the American Dream.The reality is that most women currently

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work in low-status and low-income jobs.The belief that any individual or family canlive a life that resembles this upper-middleclass ideal has fueled the American Dreamfor over two hundred years and theconsumer society since the IndustrialRevolution. But downward mobility is asmuch a reality as upward mobility was,traditionally in the Dream.Historically, the American Dream was, infact, the idea of upward mobility and thatwith hard work anything was possible.Today, we seem to not only include upwardsocial mobility but also wealth and successas living proof that we have reached theDream. Today women have bought thisimage of being "successful" and "having itall" as being available to everyone if oneonly thinks, plans, and works hard enough.But what happens to the majority in thosedead-end, low-income, temporary, or part-time jobs for whom this dream isunreachable? If the Dream is alive andwell, then who do we blame if we do not"make it?" It is clear that the AmericanDream for women cannot be a blueprint forthe majority. The fundamental components- a reliance on individualism, a notion thatAmerican society is fluid enough to permitupward mobility, a belief that hard workleads to economic rewards, even for women,a group that has always been on the marginof the labor force - will not serve womenwell because of our massive social andeconomic problems.We have to recognize that the Dream was

and is a myth. Even men did not shapetheir destinies alone. They did not, as theimage goes, tame the West, developindustrial America, and climb the economicladder alone. Most of the men who "madeit" in America, as far as our perception ofthe Dream goes, had a woman beside themevery step of the way. They did not do italone and they still do not do it alone. Howcan women be expected to do it alone? Theideology of the American Dream seems to

fail for those women who make it and thenfeel the guilt of choosing between career andhome. It again fails for those who areoutside the system - the black pregnantteenager, the poverty-stricken, single-spousehousehold. Maybe we need to move beyondthe present belief that the Dream is, simply,material wealth. I think we may need a newversion of the American Dream thatrecognizes that we cannot survive withoutone mother, that families must have supportin order to thrive, and that women cannotmake it alone anymore than men have.There must be more paths toward agratifying, economically secure life.Tradi tional male occupations cannot be seenas the only way. We must recognize thatwork is merely one aspect of life, and thatthe family and caring is the foundation ofhuman existence. This may sound utopian,but there are no obvious solutions. It isobvious to all that for women the presentsystem is impossible. There are no easyanswers, and in the end, women will have todecide where they are most comfortable inthe American Dream.Alexis de Tocqueville, a French aristocratwho toured the United States in the 1830sand recorded his impressions, wrote about

democracy and how it modifies inequalitieswhen he asked, "May it not ultimately cometo change the great inequality between manand woman which has up till now seemedbased on the eternal foundations of nature?"I have to think that democracy has indeedlessened the inequalities between men andwomen. Richard Reeves, in AmericanJourney, interviewed Betty Friedan whoagreed that, "The real ideology that shapedthe movement was the ideas of America -equality, democracy, participation in theshaping of the decisions that affect your ownlife. These are things ingrained inAmericans." Although there are unresolvedand only tentative answers for women, atleast democracy brings hope that thequestions will be asked when women

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consider their place within the AmericanDream.Editor's Note: LeAnn is currently a Senio rin American Studies and th e ou tgo ing (andou tstanding) President o f the AmericanS tu d ie s S tu d en t A sso c ia tio n .

WHO SAID IT?1. "If men were angels no governmentwould be necessary. "2 . "I only regret that I have but one lifeto give for my country. "

3. "I become a transparent eyeball; Iam nothing; I see all; the currents ofthe Universal Being circulate throughme; I am part or parcel of God. "

4. "I know of no country in which thereis so little independence of mind andreal freedom of discussion as inAmerica. "

5 . "We want the world and we want itnow!"

"Excuse me . .. I know t he game's almost over, butjustfor the record, I don't think my buzzer wasworking properly."

AS JEOPARDY1. This Civil War veteran lost an armin battle, was promoted to Major,

and later led the first successfulexpedition down the Colorado River.

2 . This 1979 Francis Ford Coppola filmwas Joseph Conrad's Heart o fDarkness modernly set in Vietnam.

3 . This community iscontinuously lived-inAmerica.

the oldest,place In

4. Not knowing what to call the NewWorld, geographers andcartographers began calling it"America" in honor of this Italianexplorer.

5 . "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too!" wasthe successful campaign slogan ofthis President who died very shortlyafter taking office.

New ASSA OfficersDr. Richard Cracroft, American Studies

Chair, recently announced who the newofficers of the American Studies StudentAssociation will be for the upcomingacademic year. Derek E. Baird will replaceLeAnn Hillam as President, Joi Gardner willassume Derek's responsibilities as Vice-President in charge of activities, and D ..Kyle Sampson will replace David Clark asVice-President and Americ an Stu dies F oru mEditor.When reached for comment from his 800

North condominium, incoming PresidentBaird stated: "We are looking forward tonext year, and we are planning on having anexciting and profitable year. Have a greatsummer, and we will see you in the fall!"

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Cinema of the Common Man:1939's Grapes of Wrathby Tracy Alexander

Editor's Note: Tracy Alexander is a recentBYU American Studies grad. She iscurrently working on a Master's Degree inCinema at USC in Los Angeles. This is thesecond article in a series written by formerBYU American Studies students who arepursuing AS-related graduate degrees.In Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman might

as well have described American society inthe late 1930s when he said, "The genius ofthe United States is not best or most in itsexecutives or legislatures, not in itsambassadors or authors or colleges orchurches or parlors, nor even in itsnewspapers or inventors ... but always mostin the common people." Whitman thencelebrated common people, observing auniqueness in their speech and philosophiesand in their delight of everyday things suchas music and literature.Although Whitman wrote the quotedpassage in 1855, it applied to the celebrationof people as expressed in a set of the most

important films of the years 1935-1940. Inhis enlightening essay on the Thirties,Warren 1. Susman argued that attitudes inthe nation changed during the decade. Helabeled the culture of the thirties "a cultureof sight and sound." In the visual, verbal,and poverty-stricken culture of the period,Susman suggested, Americans sought tounderstand their own identity and regain anew awareness of their relationships withother Americans and other cultures. Writerslike Reinhold Neibuhr and Lewis Mumfordled this search for identity, speculating aboutthe definition of American culture and itssignificance in the world.The Great Depression had a broader

significance as well. As the worst of allAmerican economic disasters, the

Depression had such a catastrophic effect onsociety that everywhere Americans turnedthey saw reminders of their extremepoverty. Stripped of their ability to supporttheir families, many men and womenbecame dehumanized as the dust bowl,businessmen, or banks bulldozed farmersand sharecroppers off their land.In the idleness of desperation people

sought to regain their independence and inthe process became more reflective. Manydreamed of owning their own land, makingtheir own way, and providing for theirfamily's needs. Political leaders like HueyLong and Father Charles Coughlin proposedplans to share the wealth and in the processto help those able-bodied derelicts in need ofjobs or land to find their moorings. Therootless unemployed began to dream of anew America where they could again findsteady jobs and restore their dignity bybecoming breadwinners.Americans called this hope of independentsuccess "The American Dream," and writerslike Archibald MacLeish and John Steinbeckcontemplated the effects of the dream onsociety. As these reflections reached thelowest level of the American psyche, a needfor escape appeared. The films of the '30stapped into commonly held ideas and beganto respond with messages and themes thatlifted morale, celebrated democracy,remembered cherished values, and, inWhitman's sense, honored common people.

In a sense, each of these themes becameencapsulated in one film that epitomized thestruggle of the common man to overcomethe natural and man-made barriers soprevalent in the 1930s that were erected tothwart the American Dream - The Grapes ofWrath (1940).Adapted from the novel by John Steinbeck,

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the film reached deeply into the Americansoul and reinterpreted myths from theAmerican past in - terms relevant to the1930s. In 1939 when Steinbeck publishedthe novel, critics and the reading public allhailed it as one of the best of the decade,and from May of that year through the endof 1940 it remained at the top of the best-sellers list. The novel was popular becauseof its treatment of the plight of the migrantworker. The plot tells about the Joad familyand their travels from the dust bowl ofOklahoma to work as migrants in California.The theme of the common people and theirstruggles to make their way through theDepression touched the heartstrings of manyAmericans. It was just this theme thatcompelled Twentieth-Century Fox to buy thescreen rights shortly after the publication ofthe novel.Despite the novel's popularity, it was alsovery controversial. The language andconditions depicted in the novel wererealistic - certainly too explicit to meet thedemands of the movie code - about the timesand living conditions. When Fox put DarrylZanuck in charge of production he hiredprivate investigators to go into the migrantcamps and find out if Steinbeck's explicationof conditions in the migrant camps wasauthentic. The detectives told him that thetreatment in the novel was mild compared tothe circumstances they observed.As a novel, Th e G ra pes o f W ra th had few

good things to say about the morallyuplifting features of American society.Though it emphasized the basic personalmorality of the Joad Family, it taught that amajor problem with the depression-ladensociety was the lack of a well developedsocial conscience. Thus, the director couldfinesse the morality aspect of the code byemphasizing the Joads' family values.Overall, the film had a great appeal to

everyone who saw it. Even director JohnFord, in an interview with PeterBogdanovich reported that he like the idea:

"The whole thing appealed to me - beingabout simple people - and the story wassimilar to the famine in Ireland, when theythrew the people off the land and left themwandering on the roads to starve ... I like theidea of this family going out and trying tofind their way in the world. "The film appealed to the whole of America

as well, for it was about what many hadgone through. Americans identified with thefamilies who were kicked off their land bythose who thought of their land as real estaterather than as the source of life. Manytimes in the film various characterssymbolized this mythological attachment tothe land by picking up the earth andworking it through their fingers.During the 1930s, Americans deeply felt

the injustice of taking the lifeblood awayfrom anyone. Such confiscation cut thebonds that bound people to their roots andmade them less than human. When thishappened they often carried their feelingsclose to the surface and cried like thecharacters in the movie.Nevertheless, torn from their roots, both

the movie characters and the real peopledreamed of a better place. Thus, althoughthe story is sordid and the characters lackthe common elements of civilized humanity,in the end The Grapes o f W ra th celebratesthe idea of the American Dream. Successwas achievable.To realize that dream, however, the Joads

had to surmount their own interests and inthe process recognize the need for selflessdevotion to the greater community. Indoing so, they achieved something closeboth to the temporal vision of Rousseau'sGeneral Will and to the spiritual ideal ofTranscendentalism's Oversoul. One of thelast scenes of the movie illustrates thisinsight. Tom says to Ma, "A fellow ain'tgot a soul of his own, but a piece of a bigsoul - the one big soul that belongs to everbody - an' then it don't matter. Then I'll bearoun' in the dark. I'll be everywhere -

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wherever you look, wherever there's a fightso hungry people can eat, I'll be there ... Andwhen our people eat stuff they raise, an' livein the houses they build, why, I'll be theretoo. "The Grapes o f Wra th chronicled thehardest times in the lives of the Americanpeople. At the end of an era that haddehumanized family after family, itcelebrated the transcendence of theAmerican Dream. The film expressedfeelings of community and collectivetriumph. It celebrated the ability ofcommon people to overcome the problemsthat resulted from the Depression. At thesame time, it extrapolated from this ideal toargue that the ability to surmount seeminglyinsuperable difficulties constituted an innatepower given to all Americans. "We are thepeople," it seemed to say, and in wordsanticipating the Civil Rights struggles of the1960s, "We shall overcome."The Thirties were a time of strife and

turmoil for the American people.Nevertheless Americans believed that if theybanded together, they could overcome theirstrife. Franklin Roosevelt told them, "Theonly thing we have to fear is fear itself."He ennobled the common person byaverring that "there is no indispensableman." The movies of the period reiteratedthese themes helping to convince people thatthey could overcome any obstacle that facedthem. In spite of adversity, Americansgenerally continued to believe that commonpeople could win over the evils ofdepression. With Walt Whitman theybelieved that "the genius of the UnitedStates (rested in) the common man."

WHO SAID IT? ANSWERS1. James Madison2. Nathan Hale (his last words before

being executed by British troops).3. Ralph Waldo Emerson, from Nature.4. Alexis de Tocqueville, fromDemoc ra c y in Amer ic a .5. Jim Morrison and The Doo rs, from"When The Music's Over."

AS JEOPARDY ANSWERS1. John Wesley Powell2. Apoca lypse Now3. Oraibi, Hopi Indian Reservation,Arizona4. Amerigo Vespucci5. William Henry Harrison

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Documents

American Studies Forum: Spring 1992