As I was posting my third journal I became aware that my second journal was in my drafts!! So i’m posting it now.. this is my SECOND journal:
Journal #2
This week I honestly started out confused on where this class was going to go and what direction we’d be moving in, and watching the film about the World Fair also caught me off guard, but as we dove into more discussions regarding the film and Hank Morgan’s “The Human Motor” it all seemed to go full circle and make a lot of sense, as well as become much more interesting.
What I enjoyed about the movie “Magic of the White City” was the emphasis on the importance of the different countries coming together with their individual strengths, to create one unique and incredible fair. Prior to class I didn’t even know the Chicago World Fair ever happened, I have definitely heard of it but I didn’t have the slightest idea of what it entailed, and now with my knowledge of the film I can say I am an even prouder citizen of this country. Things like the Chicago World Fair are what helps make America so great, and the technological advances this country saw in the world fair and in that time period is so interesting.
What I really love about this course is how the importance of technology is so emphasized with the progression of the country, because I think it is extremely important and not touched on enough. We are a country with a history of geniuses and they are not acknowledged enough. This goes to say about a lot of history, indeed is history taught in schools and is so important, but this class especially has made me realized that there still isn’t enough credit given. I don’t think about the fact that I have someone to credit the fact that I have light bulbs in my room or that I have something so complex like an iPhone. I doubt that was the intention when showing the film about the World Fair, but it really stuck with me. Especially different countries, different countries were at different stages of technology and progression and they all came with something they were proud of and wanted to show it off in Chicago, in America. The World Fair was a huge turnout, and I thought it was so interesting how much work and planning went into a Fair that only lasted six months.
Something else I found really interesting that a student mentioned during the discussion of the film, was how all this technology was so amazing and impressive at the time, but in the end it caused a lot of destruction. The military technology advances and nuclear weapons and such were such incredible and complex advances, but they killed so many people. No doubt did this country need these advances and no doubt were they beneficial to our military and for fighting, but it is hard to be celebrating the cause of so much destruction and suffering. Hank Morgan touched on this in The Human Motor and it was a very interesting point- it’s a celebration but it can only be celebrated to a certain extent. We have to support war and fighting because it’s a huge part of why America is so great, but there is still a line.
On a better note, another interesting point a student made in the discussion was about the conservative nature of the fair. The time period was very conservative and sexuality was not something that is not typically part of fairs, it is events like circuses that allow for more openness with sexuality and the opportunity for sexuality to be put into an art form. To add to that however, it was interesting how the organizers of the fair requested help from the “Lady Managers” and all of their rules they made for the fair were turned down: including nude art, risky dancing and the selling of alcohol. This was another aspect of the fair that made it so unique, it was open on Sundays, it sold alcohol, basically it crossed all controversial lines. It goes along with how quickly America was progressing at this time period, it allowed for some change and some excitement.
All in all, I thought the film and the different aspects of technology in America and around the world was very interesting and I’m looking forward to see where this class goes from here.