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It's hard to represent America in three images, but I guess this is an exercise in being concise. Here's mine:
posted by tomwheeler at 3:56 PM on October 23, 2009
- A picture of a small New England town or a log cabin in theAppalachian countryside during Autumn when the trees are in full color
- One of Ansel Adams' pictures of the American southwest for contrast
- A photograph of people who've just become U.S. citizens
posted by tomwheeler at 3:56 PM on October 23, 2009
Oh--Mr Adams, who was the rock star?
Brian May.
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:01 PM on October 23, 2009
Brian May.
posted by Oriole Adams at 9:01 PM on October 23, 2009
Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man
John Coltrane, My Favorite Things
Allen Ginsberg, "America"
posted by bardic at 10:30 PM on October 23, 2009 [1 favorite]
John Coltrane, My Favorite Things
Allen Ginsberg, "America"
posted by bardic at 10:30 PM on October 23, 2009 [1 favorite]
Three experiences which exemplify various aspects of America to me:
1) During a road trip in Colorado, visiting Bishop's Castle. It's an enormous castle built by Jim Bishop, a local ironworker who dreamed of building his childhood dream home and has devoted the last 40 years to it. The signs outside are filled with libertarian rants such as "unreasonable & unfair laws force me to write this sign by my hard earned power" and brag that no building codes were followed in the construction. Bishop stole the rocks from the nearby national forest and got into legal trouble because of it. It brought to mind the libertarian paranoia of government, do it yourself ethos, and frontier mentality which pervades America.
2) Travelling by Greyhound bus across Arizona near some border towns. At night, the passengers were all sleeping when the bus stopped and some border patrol police came aboard checking for illegal immigrants. The border patrol checked the IDs closely of all the Hispanic-looking passengers silently, then departed. The bus started up again without anyone saying a word. This brought to mind the weird deference to authority and the odd quasi-legal status of illegal immigrants in the USA.
3) In California, driving 15 miles to go to a 24-hour gym inside a mall, and taking an aerobics class at 8:30 pm in an air conditioned room, even though the weather could not be more ideal outside for a run or walk. Watch the numerous people walking on a treadmill at 11pm while completely isolated with a row of identical ipods. Listen to girls chattering about agressively sexual hip hop lyrics and their church duties on the weekend. Afterwards, walk by the juice bar selling 900 calorie fruit juice drinks marketed as healthy because they have vitamin powder sprinkled on them. This brought to mind the obsession with body image, convenience, isolation, and compartmentalization of modern American life.
posted by benzenedream at 11:03 PM on October 23, 2009 [1 favorite]
1) During a road trip in Colorado, visiting Bishop's Castle. It's an enormous castle built by Jim Bishop, a local ironworker who dreamed of building his childhood dream home and has devoted the last 40 years to it. The signs outside are filled with libertarian rants such as "unreasonable & unfair laws force me to write this sign by my hard earned power" and brag that no building codes were followed in the construction. Bishop stole the rocks from the nearby national forest and got into legal trouble because of it. It brought to mind the libertarian paranoia of government, do it yourself ethos, and frontier mentality which pervades America.
2) Travelling by Greyhound bus across Arizona near some border towns. At night, the passengers were all sleeping when the bus stopped and some border patrol police came aboard checking for illegal immigrants. The border patrol checked the IDs closely of all the Hispanic-looking passengers silently, then departed. The bus started up again without anyone saying a word. This brought to mind the weird deference to authority and the odd quasi-legal status of illegal immigrants in the USA.
3) In California, driving 15 miles to go to a 24-hour gym inside a mall, and taking an aerobics class at 8:30 pm in an air conditioned room, even though the weather could not be more ideal outside for a run or walk. Watch the numerous people walking on a treadmill at 11pm while completely isolated with a row of identical ipods. Listen to girls chattering about agressively sexual hip hop lyrics and their church duties on the weekend. Afterwards, walk by the juice bar selling 900 calorie fruit juice drinks marketed as healthy because they have vitamin powder sprinkled on them. This brought to mind the obsession with body image, convenience, isolation, and compartmentalization of modern American life.
posted by benzenedream at 11:03 PM on October 23, 2009 [1 favorite]
Wow, this is an incredible question. One that is painfully difficult to answer.
Representing Memphis and the south:
-Dancing with friends and strangers at a tiny dive bar at 3 a.m. to a good blues band (the specific place I'm refrencing sells 40 oz. bottles of beer and nothing else). I have never felt more love for my city than in these rare moments. Memphis is notoriously a racially charged city, so my heart swells when I see people of all demographics and all ages letting their hair down and having fun together.
-The low-lying fields of the Mississippi delta in the dead heat of summer. Birthplace of the blues.
-Backyard barbecues, especially on the 4th of July. You get a little bit of everything with this one: fireworks, mosquitos, sweat, popsicles, beer, BBQ (the real kind, not the anything-put-on-a-grill definition), hot dogs, "America the Beautiful." It's like all the Americana you can squeeze into one night.
posted by a.steele at 5:26 PM on October 24, 2009
Representing Memphis and the south:
-Dancing with friends and strangers at a tiny dive bar at 3 a.m. to a good blues band (the specific place I'm refrencing sells 40 oz. bottles of beer and nothing else). I have never felt more love for my city than in these rare moments. Memphis is notoriously a racially charged city, so my heart swells when I see people of all demographics and all ages letting their hair down and having fun together.
-The low-lying fields of the Mississippi delta in the dead heat of summer. Birthplace of the blues.
-Backyard barbecues, especially on the 4th of July. You get a little bit of everything with this one: fireworks, mosquitos, sweat, popsicles, beer, BBQ (the real kind, not the anything-put-on-a-grill definition), hot dogs, "America the Beautiful." It's like all the Americana you can squeeze into one night.
posted by a.steele at 5:26 PM on October 24, 2009
I've already said my piece, but...also, hardware stores. Not big-box Lowes and Home Depot. I'm talking about the old guy and his nephew behind the counter, cut your keys, hinges for that cabinet door? No problem.
posted by notsnot at 3:50 PM on October 25, 2009
posted by notsnot at 3:50 PM on October 25, 2009
They have those all over the world. Not dizzy-making Home Depots, though.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:55 PM on October 25, 2009
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:55 PM on October 25, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
The Ozark Mountains where I was born, raised, and still live. Small towns. Watching John Deere tractors cutting hay in the river bottoms, Case combines roaring through wheat fields, swimming in crystal clear streams, following winding dirt roads, sitting on the front porch with my elderly neighbors who have lived on their farm for over seventy years, waving hello to folks when driving down the highway, listening to impromptu music sessions down at the courthouse square, going down to the local Democratic headquarters to hear the latest news and listening to soft Southern accents.
Attending a Sunday service at my Southern Baptist church (which is actually progressive!) and singing old gospel songs like "I'll Fly Away" and "Amazing Grace."
Barbeque! My favorite is from the man who sells barbeque from a trailer by one of the gas stations at Jane, Missouri located on the Missouri/Arkansas border.
I could go on, but I'll end here.
posted by Coyote at the Dog Show at 3:53 PM on October 23, 2009 [1 favorite]