Beloved Tom and Jerry cartoons....RACIST!

For multiple generations, many American children grew up watching cartoons like Tom and Jerry or Looney Tunes. In retrospect, many of these cartoons had racist depictions of African American people. Tom and Jerry was seen as a harmless and entertaining cartoon about a cat and mouse fighting and trying to outwit each other. However, the cartoons also portrayed African Americans with offensive stereotypes. It is important to analyze works of culture such as Tom and Jerry because they directly influenced children and passed on ideologies to the next generation. Tom and Jerry cartoons are true stories because they reflect ideologies and stereotypes that existed during their time period.

In the episode “The Puss Gets the Boot” of the show Tom and Jerry an African American woman is shown as an uneducated maid. In something as innocent as a children's cartoon, the writers and animators were not trying to send a message about how they felt about African Americans or women but rather reflected the national consensus. The maid, Mammy Two Shoes yells at the cat “if ya go on an break anythang else ya are O-U-W-T! Out!”. Mammy Two Shoes’ lack of grammer reflects social opinions of African American’s intellect. During the time, an education was a difficult thing to obtain for African Americans in the United States. Segregation in the school systems and society prevented many African Americans from reaching a proper education. Tom and Jerry accurately reflects the stereotype that African Americans are uneducated. The episode also indirectly tells viewers that she is not working in her own home, but someone else's. “I can’t be having a good-for-nothin cat reckin up this whole house!” Mammy Two Shoes says as she scares the cat away from the fragile plates on display. During the time this episode was aired, the idea that African Americans should work for other people was commonplace. In a following episode “Midnight Snack” it is explained that Mammy Two Shoes is in charge of cooking, cleaning, and general kitchen work. In the 1930s and 1940s the common expectation for women was to work in the house, cooking and cleaning. This expectation was shown in the cartoon episode. There was no man in charge of housework, instead it was Mammy Two Shoes who did the chores.

These cartoons are true American stories. Works of culture that reflect ideologies and conventional views held during a time period are true stories. The racism and sexism in these cartoons were not of a foreign mindset to the American people. These prejudices and views were quite common in America. Other true stories can be found in movies and T.V shows made throughout the decades. When works accurately reflect the mindset of Americans at the time, they are true stories.
-Gabriel D

The Removal of a Culture in a Children's Movie

Pocahontas is a popular movie created by the well known Walt Disney Corporation that was ultimately targeted towards children. Normally, people would not bat an eye at this, but within the seemingly innocent movie is some extremely offensive content in respect to race and gender. Many times, the Native Americans are portrayed as "savages," and the movie endorses the idea of the good Indian and the bad Indian. Not only that, but the history of the movie is completely wrong, and it gives an idea that the colonists were at equal fault of the Native Americans, effectively oppressing them to the point where children do not think twice.

At one point in the movie, the song "Savages" makes an appearance. The lyrics are unbelievably offensive and racist towards these Native Americans. "They're savages, savages, barely even human," is repeated multiple times within the song. It portrays the Indians as unpredictable hooligans that only follow through with physical carnal pleasures with the song having a complete lack of acknowledgement for any intelligence whatsoever. The lyrics clearly outlaw the mixing of races, saying "They're not like you and me. Which means they must be evil. We must sound the drums of war!" I am honestly unsure what the writers were thinking as they wrote this song that was meant for children. Something that makes it even worse is that these "savages" retaliate, calling the settlers demon and "paleface," in an attempt from the writers to try and even out the aggression from both parties.

Sure, they end up making it a love story between Pocahontas and Captain John Smith, a Native American and an English settler, with a happy ending and all, but how much of this was actually the case? In fact the whole movie twists history entirely, leaving out the cruelty and killings of many Native Americans, not touching on the fact that Pocahontas was not even a woman when the events actually took place, she was about twelve.

Another thing the movie did wrong was the visual aspect of the humans. Pocahontas's image was in that of standard American beauty, instead of whatever would be the norm of her own Native American culture. The dignified image is the produce of Western colonialism entirely, and reinforces the idea that there is no Native American culture, only western culture's perspective on it.

Postmodernism Isn’t Really That New

The term "postmodern" was first used in 1870 by John Watkins Chapman to describe a French painting. Since then, postmodernism has penetrated every art form and provoked new philosophical thought. Many people agree that the postmodern era started after World War II with the spread of mass media and developments in technology.

However, does the fact that postmodernism was not recognized until 1870 mean that it did not exist before the nineteenth century?

One of the most iconic art movements in human history is the Renaissance, and with that came humanist literature. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, a popular piece on the political philosophy of monarchs, is an example of the literature produced during the Renaissance era. Machiavelli specified the ideal qualities in a prince, including a balance between cruelty and mercy, a reputation for liberality and an understanding of human nature. However, Machiavelli concluded his publication with, "it is not essential, then, that a Prince should have all the good qualities which I have enumerated, but it is most essential that he should seem to have them." This facade that he recommended for the ruling class was highly controversial, but also a very popular idea. His book dominated political thought in the sixteenth century and influenced Jean Bodin, Francis Bacon and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Although this philosophy is classified as realism, it can be argued that The Prince has postmodern characteristics as well. Through the use of the printing press, Machiavelli was able to distribute his ideas and establish the ideal conduct of a ruler. The actual actions of the prince no longer mattered, just his appearance of leadership did. Machiavelli started a differentiation between how politicians should act and how they should present themselves to the public. His most striking example of postmodernism stated, "...men in general judge rather by the eye than by the hand, for every one can see but few can touch. Every one sees what you seem, but few know what you are."

Machiavelli’s work is not the only postmodern example that existed before the nineteenth century, but I do concede that postmodernism was accelerated after World War II. The ideas of "every one can see but few can touch" existed way before the current postmodern world, but now those ideas dominate our lives through incessant media that did not exist during the time of Machiavelli.

How Do We Teach 9/11?

Today marks the 14th anniversary of 9/11. A question arises among many history teachers in the U.S. “How do we teach 9/11?” In years past, there was no real reason to teach 9/11 to high school students because many were old enough to remember what happened. Since there is no set curriculum to teach about 9/11, teachers have used it to lead into discussions about Afghanistan and the war on terror.

 George Bush claimed that 9/11 happened because the Islamist extremist who hijacked the planes “hated our freedom.” This is a ridiculous and poorly researched assumption about the hijackers motives. What should be taught in high schools is that the hijackers true hatred, is hatred for Modernity in the Western World. Bernard Lewis, the eminent scholar of Islam, defines Modernity as “secular culture of reason, science, individualism, progress, democracy, and capitalism.” All of these are associated with modernity, and all of these goes against Islamist beliefs and ideologies. Along with Modernity, resentment of western politics and decisions is another reason Islamist extremists targeted America. The Atlas Society asks a very intriguing question, “Do our enemies hate modernity because it is Western, or hate the West because it is modern?”

To understand the causes of 9/11, one has to truly understand the reason for each target the planes crashed into. Each target was an essential part of Modernity. If all parts were successfully destroyed, Modernity (and the West) would fall. The Twin Towers were selected because they were the centers of trade and capitalism. The next plane that hit the Pentagon was intended to eliminate the center of the U.S. military. Luckily, the plane crashed into the recently reinforced outer wall so the damage done was much smaller than it could have been. The fourth and final plane landed in a field in Pennsylvania, it was intended to hit the White House, the Capitol building or even Camp David. Destroying any of these targets would have destroyed a big part of the government. With all of these institutions destroyed, Modernity would fall as well as the West.

History about 9/11 should be taught through analysis and evidence. It should not be taught through close-minded assumptions such as, “they hated our freedom”.

Yemen's True Forgotten War Story

BBC News recently published an article "Inside Yemen's forgotten war" which discusses the most current events in Yemen regarding the airstrikes. In the article, they also posted a video where a BBC writer interviews Yemen's frightened citizens who give insight on the bombings.

One particular story was the bombing that killed a 13 year old boy, his brother, and 11 others. The 13 year-old, Ahmed Al Beyna, and his brother, Mohammed, set off to work at a close-by water bottling plant on the evening of August 29th. Just as they finished their night shift, a missile struck the factory. The men who discovered them tell BBC News they "found men burned to the machines" and that many "bodies were in pieces." Saudis try justify the bombing by claiming it was a weaponry factory and a training camp for African mercenaries, yet there is no evidence of any kind to support their "justifications."

Yemen's citizens are absolutely terrified of the constant air bombings, saying that they hit any and everything. In the video, one Yemeni man points to some rubble and says that it was a building where families inhabited, "families...NOT an empty building."

The BBC writer, Gabriel Gatehouse, pursued this story to shine light of the recent events that are being forgotten or noted as not as important. These airstrikes have been occurring for over 6 months, there are thousands of stories just as the one of Ahmed's. Each of them just as disturbing and unsettling as this one. These stories seem too surreal to be true, how can someone just bomb factories or homes without thinking twice? Every day, the airstrikes become more damaging and it's said that an impending advance of pro-Saudi forces. This story is an example of the extent to which war reaches. It reaches to the point where water bottling plants are bombed to demonstrate a point to further their own agenda. 

A True Global War Story

I recently read several articles ("U.S. Willing to Accept 10,000 Syrian Refugees Next Year" and "Europe's Refugee Crisis") regarding the refugee crisis in Syria. Each article describes refugees' journey from Syria's civil war-stricken state to safer environments, such as Germany, Lebanon, Hungary, Australia, and the U.S.

The story of the Kurdi family, in particular, provides a profound example of a truthful story. Exploding with popularity, a picture posted on social media shows 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi lying lifeless, washed ashore after drowning in the Mediterranean Sea. Aylan, his brother, and mother all tragically died during the treacherous migration journey; Aylan's father, Abdullah, was the only one in the family to survive the trip. The Kurdi family planned to travel to relatives in Vancouver, Canada. The boy's aunt, Tima Kurdi, posts on Facebook her condolences, "Where is the humanity in the world. They did not deserve this."

This recent event made headlines, and brought a lot of awareness to the growing issue of excessive amounts of refugees pouring into overwhelmed European countries. The story of this poor family can be labeled "haunting" and "a turning point in the debate over how to handle the surge of people heading toward Europe."

Besides the fact that this event did actually happen, knowing that such tragedy occurs can make one angry and uncomfortable with the way these situations are handled. Additionally, countries' aide proves help is near, as the U.S. plans to take 10,000 refugees and Germany plans to shelter 800,000 refugees within the next year. Factual evidence makes it difficult to believe that such falseness would come from this story. Hardship similar to this type of grief goes far beyond Syria's internal conflict but towards an inner depth of how war affects vast amounts of people worldwide.

The American Choice: Society Versus Alienation

The eternal struggle between the individual and the community is one that will plague the human race for the rest of eternity. In every society, of any scale, norms develop that are expected to be reached by the participants of the society. Interestingly enough, the founding fathers of our wonderful nation seem to have been well aware of these tensions, and constructed our constitution to create a balance in this struggle. Most easily derived from the first amendment of the bill of rights, our rights to free speech, free press, and free religion provide citizens with their inherent right to live as they so choose, and to pursue happiness in whatever manner they wish, whether that lifestyle is approved of by the masses or not. America was originally one of the only places in the world that founded itself upon these rights. As long as one's way of life doesn't infringe upon the inherent rights of others, then by law, the lifestyle is acceptable.

This pattern was apparent in America even before the founding of the Union. One of the chief attributes of Colonial America that set it apart from the rest of the world was its massive amount of religious diversity (within the realm of Christianity, which was a big deal back then). Each of these religious parties lived as a part of a greater whole within the colonies, but they all managed to tolerate each other and deal with all of the other simultaneously existing sub-societies. A perfect example of one of these sub-societies is the Puritans. They came to America not for general religious freedom, but for the freedom to practice their religion. And they were granted that freedom. They established their "city on the hill" but their society would never have absolute power over the rest of the colonies and its citizens. If somebody within the Puritan society disapproved of the society's practices, they could leave. And the colonies provided plenty of other subsociety's that might meet that person's standards. But every society has standards, and requires a certain degree of conformation in order to let that individual be accepted. Nonetheless, if somebody wishes not to conform, and to live in a manner that is truly free and individualistic, he can. He can build a cabin in the wilderness and alienate himself, for example. This still holds true today. If somebody wishes to remove himself from our outlandishly complex corporate-based society, and completely exit the dead-end materialistic money game, then he can. The American citizen has the power to remove himself entirely from the burdens of society, or to participate in one of our many sub-societies. In either case, he can thrive. This right to choose was granted by our founding fathers, and it makes our nation great.

Salem Witch Trials

It is a known fact that there were accusations of witchcraft in the town of Salem Massachusetts. There were strange illnesses occurring along with strange behavior of its inhabitants. The accused were brought to court and many were convicted with the sentence of death by burning or hanging. The town today is a tourist attraction with tours with information on the accused.

I went to Salem this past summer and you would have never guessed that what went on there actually happened. There were many houses that had been there at the time of the witch trials that you could tour along with a theater that performed a reenactment of one of the trials. However, when I was in the center of town or walking through the houses I couldn't quite shake the odd feeling from the things that had taken place in the past. The stories that the tour guides told us gave me the creeps kind of. But the accusations and the trials seemed unnecessary. Today, they would just seem like someone going insane or catching some mystery virus. That happens today and we don't go around accusing people of witchcraft. The whole witch trial thing seemed to go out of hand after the first witch was convicted.

Crucible McCarthyism

As much as I enjoyed reading A Visit from the Goon Squad, I’m very happy to be moving on to The Crucible. This play is one of my favorites- it’s so effective in its portrayal of a panic-stricken town, and falls into the rare category of period-drama page-turners. What I find most interesting about this play, though, is not its fabulous characters or unnerving realism. What gets me is how the historical context of the author’s life shapes the story.

The Crucible depicts the town of Salem in a frantic craze, with women constantly accusing and being accused of witchcraft. The author of the play, Arthur Miller, lived during the fear of Communism and subsequent accusations known as the Red Scare. Miller himself was accused of having Communist sympathies, and he was convicted of having contempt for the government, mostly because he refused to implicate others.

Miller’s own experiences allowed him to more realistically portray the panic of the Salem Witch Trials. More importantly, though, he was able to use his work to make a political statement about the absurdity of the Red Scare accusations by turning the Salem Witch Trials into an allegory for McCarthyism. Although his statement resulted in Miller being brought before Congress, his work survived the blacklist and has been widely preformed, even receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Miller is not the only author to use his work to make a political statement. George Orwell used his book Animal Farm as a commentary on Leninist Russia, and multiple presidents have used their books as political dialogues. By looking at the historical context of a novel or play, a reader can often find the author’s intended message. It is important to be able to understand the larger implications of a work, and I look forward to better understanding The Crucible through English class.

Bring Back "Interpretations"

Oak Park and River Forest High School has for years produced an annual history journal called Interpretations, which featured the best student essays that had been written that year. However, last year, this important tradition was abolished; Principal Rouse claimed that the collection of student work featured too many honors-track students, making it unfair and elitist. The elimination of Interpretations was an excessive measure to confront a minor issue, and it ultimately represents a change in values at the school.

Interpretations was meant to be a representation of the absolute best student work from the history department. Honors and AP classes are generally the most challenging classes in the school and demand the highest standards of writing and analysis. It is only logical that the best essays, the ones that would be chosen to be featured in the school’s collection, would be from these AP and honors classes. Interpretations made an effort to include essays regardless of the class they had come from- my brother Greg’s essay on Russian morale during the end of World War II came from his independent study, not any class, and it was featured. The claim that the selection of essays for Interpretations represented elitist attitudes is unfounded.

Even if the administration feels that there are too many essays from honors and AP classes or students, terminating Interpretations entirely was an overreaction. The school could easily have created a quota requiring a certain percentage of papers from non-honors classes. Teachers of non- honors classes could be encouraged to submit more of their students essays. The reaction did not have to be to abolish the tradition entirely.

Interpretations represented pride in the student work of our school. The students whose papers were featured gained a sense of achievement, an accolade to put on college applications, and the experience of having something they wrote published. More importantly, the essays that went into Interpretations represented hard work and dedication to excellence in academics, and eliminating the journal implies that OPRF as an educational institution no longer cares about these values. Interpretations was one of “Those things that are best,” and if OPRF truly accepts that motto, they should allow the history department to reinstate their journal.

Parallels in Les Miserables and The Things They Carried

The story of Les Miserables and the songs from its musical, especially “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” have many parallels with The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.

During “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” one of the main characters in Les Miserables, Marius, has just gotten back on his feet after a revolutionarily sustained injury, goes to the sight of the revolution, and sings about his heartbreak. Marius sings, “Oh my friends, my friends forgive me, that I live and you are gone. There's a grief that can't be spoken. There's a pain goes on and on.” The guilt that Marius is feeling in the scene is made apparent when he begs for his dead friends’ to “forgive” him because he was the one to “live on” and that they are now “gone.”

O’Brien talks about a similar guilt when talking about death and war. He says, “my presence was guilt enough… and I remember feeling the burden of responsibility and grief” (171). Marius’ and O’Brien’s “guilt” about death brings to light the after affects of war on the soldier’s conscience.

Both in Les Miserables and The Things They Carried, characters acknowledge the profound sacrifice that takes place in war and that the reason for that sacrifice is not always clear. Marius sings, “Oh my friends, my friends, don't ask me what your sacrifice was for. Empty chairs at empty tables where my friends will sing no more.” Marius’ blatant ignorance in regards to what his “friends” have just died for exemplifies the fact that soldiers or revolutionaries do not always know if their “sacrifice” is worth the cost or if it is justified.

O’Brien discusses this often times unjustified sacrifice when saying, “you don’t make a war without knowing why… [and] when a nation goes to war it must have reasonable confidence in the justice and imperative of its cause… Once people are dead, you can’t make them undead” (38-39). O’Brien’s concrete way of talking about the “dead” demonstrates his views on the importance war being just.

The similarities that these two stories hold highlight the common experiences that all soldiers might have despite the century.

War...What Is It Good For

The U.S. has made great progress in it’s fight against terrorism. Or has it? On September 1, 2024 terrorist group Al Qaeda hijacked commercial airplanes crashing them into New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing thousands of Americans. Shortly thereafter, many Americans wanted revenge. The U.S. suspected Iraq and Afghanistan of supporting Al Qaeda extremists and quickly became involved in wars in both countries. However there were some Americans who disagreed with these actions. California Congresswoman Barbara Lee did not think that going to war would resolve the conflict, displayed in the quote: “I am convinced that military action will not prevent further acts of international terrorism against the United States.” Still George Bush convinced the country to go to war. The result was the death of over 4,000 American soldiers and a cost to the U.S estimated at over 3 trillion dollars. Now that the U.S has withdrawn from the area, both Iraq and Afghanistan are still unstable and threatened by extremists.

Winston Churchill once said, “Those who fail to learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.” Today a new advanced group of Islamic extremists has arisen called ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria). The group’s leaders are former members of Al Qaeda and are even now being called Al Qaeda extremists. Their actions are considered brutal and horrific and their latest attack involved the video taped beheading of British aid worker David Hains. During the video ISIS threatened the life of another hostage, and said that “This was a direct message to the allies of America.” Just as in the 2002 attacks, these terrorists are demanding the attention of our nation and our allies and they are getting it. During the most recent presidential address, Obama was careful to define the actions of the U.S. against ISIS as defensive. Although the U.S. has made hundreds of successful airstrikes against ISIS targets, Obama insisted that the U.S. would not engage in another land war in the Middle East. Still there are those who argue that the U.S. and it’s allies must annihilate ISIS as soon as possible.

It is true, ISIS must be stopped. WIth each day ISIS becomes more and more powerful. However it is possible for the U.S. to get involved without entering another devastating war. As President Obama urged in his address, the middle eastern countries threatened by ISIS need to take the lead. America should only give them the help they need. This type of help could include airstrikes, supply of weaponry, and tactical support. If history has taught us anything, it is that war will not prevent further acts of international terrorism. When the U.S. killed Osama Bin Laden it did not demolish Al Qaeda. Instead it pissed off the remaining members and caused even more animosity against the U.S. By taking extreme action the U.S has made itself more of a target of the Islamic extremists than it was before the wars.

Algerian Independence: Fight Against Colonialism

Ever since the decline of the ottoman empire in north Africa during the 1820’s, the French empire has held a tight grip on the regions ecological and political assets. In 1830 the French launched a military campaign and captured Algeria's capital city of Algiers. This marked the beginning of French colonialism in North Africa. The word colonialism carries many connotations, it is often associated with corruption and exploitation of the people being colonized. And in the case of Algeria this holds decisively true. Not only was the Algerians valuable agriculture exploited for the benefit of the French, but there was a deep level of racism and subsequent subjugation against the Algerian people. The french saw the Algerian people, especially Muslims, as an inferior class who needed to be tightly controlled. They implemented strict laws prohibiting Algerian natives from holding public meetings, bearing arms, or leaving their district or village without government permission. It was a cruel and discriminatory regime which exploited the entire nation. Between the two world wars, subversive groups started to emerge, first demanding rights for the Algerian people. But when this was denied, groups with larger demands began to gain popularity. These groups, which became to be known as Algerian nationalists, began directly announcing the need for the overthrow of the French regime. During the winter of 1954 a revolutionary group formed in Egypt. Headed by Ahmed Ben Bella, this committee was named the National Liberation Front. This group used terrorism against government and military buildings to exercise their demands. The stubborn French government was having none of it and consequently carried out their own attacks. These attacks consisted of bombings of residential buildings and the deaths of many Algerian civilians. This only fueled the revolution, gaining substantial support by otherwise impartial and scared Algerians. The NLF established a guerrilla force that paralyzed the French army, who had to call in a 400,000 man reinforcement force. By this time the french regime where employing concentration camps and torture methods against alleged nationalists in last resort attempts to dissolve the revolutionary forces. In March of 1962 ceasefire was agreed by the French and the NLF. And on July 5th the Algerian people's voice was finally heard as Independence was finally established. The fight against colonialism and the exploitation these empires conducted was not exclusive to Algeria. The world over people have been subjugated by these corrupt powers, for nothing but personal and selfish gain. But in the end, the peoples voices will inevitably be heard it is just a matter of time.

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