A Reminder of the True Meaning of American Icons - 645 Words

Immigrants swimming across the harbor sea and the first thing they see is the Statue of Liberty. Do they see independence and liberty? Imagine the American flag blowing in the wind on a perfect spring morning. Do American’s see hope and freedom? Does our American patriotic icon’s still represent the same thing that they used to? Has commercialism and cultures lost the true meaning of what the American flag and the Statue of Liberty stand for? Today’s society has lost the importance of respect towards these icons. The Statue of Liberty was build after the Revolutionary War when the thirteen colonies won and became the United States of America. In 1865, Frenchman Edouard de Laboulaye wanted to give the United States a great statue in honor of its independence and liberty. (Strazzabosco-Hayn, 5) Both the French and American people worked together to build this materpiece. â€Å"If a monument should rise in the United States, as a memorial to their independ ence, I should think it only natural if it were built by united effort-a common work of both our nations.† (Berenson, 10) The Statue of Liberty originated in France by liberal supporters of President Lincoln. After hearing of Lincolns assassination, these men sought to create a symbol of liberty, dedicated to Lincoln, the honest man, who abolished slavery, restored the union, and saved the Republic without veiling the statue of liberty. (Berenson 11) This was built with independence, liberty and unity in mind.Show MoreRelatedGlobalization : Two Visions Of The Future Of Humanity1540 Words   |  7 Pagesis and contrasts this view with an article from Michael Shermer. This article argues that due to our natural human tendencies to stray away from other walks of life besides our own, a seamless utopia isn’t realistic. Gleiser provides his readers a reminder about how strong fundamentalism has presented itself when situations of integrating cultures come about. Some peo ple absorb it while others are strictly against it. Humankind is inherently tribal and always has been. We have our individual flagsRead MoreWhat People Really Care About Buying1730 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican society in twenty-first century is centered around the ideology of consumerism. â€Å"Supposedly people had a duty to buy more, even if the events they experienced caused them to focus on personal, family, and political concerns rather than economic ones† (Milner 603). With the age of consumption, there comes a need for social distinction. Social distinction is the desire to be strikingly different from the commonplace. This desire is prevalent throughout society, especially in the youth. SocialRead MoreTattoos : a Permanent Mark on Pop Culture Essay6526 Words   |  27 Pagestattoo their particular group symbol. TV and movies have used the idea of a tattoo indication membership in a secret society numerous times. It has been believed that the wearer of an image calls the spirit of that image.. That tradition holds true today shown by the proliferation of images of tigers, snakes, and bird of prey. In recorded history, the earliest tattoos can be found in Egypt during the time of the construction of the great pyramids (It undoubtedly started much earlier)Read MoreAnalysis Of Shakespeare s The Tempest 2603 Words   |  11 Pagesnot one listed above. The play that reflects the life and all of Shakespeare?s plays is The Tempest. This work was and still is influential in both America, Britain and around the world. Although William Shakespeare was an influential writer in American and British literature, The Tempest reaches beyond a comparison to the new world- America and points to an autobiographical drama that is a reflection of the life of Shakespeare and his relationships with characters, family and himself. WilliamRead MorePsychology and Author’s Purpose in the Great Gatsby2923 Words   |  12 PagesPsychology and Author’s Purpose in The Great Gatsby It was 1931, six years after the publication of The Great Gatsby, when historian James Truslow Adams coined the term The American Dream (â€Å"The Epic of America†, 415). Yet, his was a new take on an old concept. F. Scott Fitzgerald did not have to wait for Adams to brilliantly propose that the ideal of social equality and the pursuit of Happiness is a dream like enterprise, which has little to do with reality (US 1776). In the 1920’sRead MoreForrest Gump as the Modern Day Fairytale Essay4165 Words   |  17 Pagesfilm; magical. We see a feather floating on a breeze. A signifier is a symbol, it can be verbal (seen) or aural (heard). It is a symbol that the audience can place a significant meaning onto. In Forrest Gump the signifier is this feather. To me the feather has no complex underhand meaning. Like Forrest the feather is simple. I believe that it represents his life; worry free, just meandering along quite happily on a breeze. The feather is a metaphor for the randomnessRead MoreBarbie Based : A Barbaric Culture2099 Words   |  9 Pagesmanaged to secure close to 150 careers, represent 40 different nations and cultures, and has collaborated with more than 75 different fashion designers, all amounting to an impressive resume theoretically thicker than a phone book. A cultural icon for the American wasteland of plastic and hollow female beauty standards, labor ideals, and domesticity, she remains the world’s most popular toy doll. Barbara Millicent Roberts was born in fictional Willows, Wisconsin in a time when the annual wage was aboutRead MoreThe King of Pop Essay1852 Words   |  8 Pagesand Wilson inspired his dancing, his performance style and his sound; from his spins, mic grabs, great energy and songs that will keep you on your toes. In Michael Jackson’s song Bad he says, â€Å"Well they say the sky’s the limit/And to me that’s really true/But my friend you have seen nothing/Just wait ‘til I get through,† (â€Å"Michael Jackson - Bad Lyrics† n.p. ) and he did just that. Michael Jackson showed that there was no limit to what he was doing and that he would make a great name for himself. BecauseRead MoreThe Feminine Touch1786 Words   |  8 Pagesgaming system. The ad shows rows of models using the Wii Fit board, placed against a green background, where green is the color representing health and natural living. The white attire of the models contrast the backgroun d color, but supplement its meaning by representing purity and simplicity Kama all values that one may strive for while using the Wii Fit (Chess, 2011). In her analysis, Chess (2011) describes advertising attempt to tap into women s body conscious aptitude. While Wii Fit seemed toRead MoreSubcultures : Women s Punk2209 Words   |  9 Pageswritten and talked about music and political movements of the twentieth century. What perhaps makes punk special is the way a generation incorporated the attitudes and practices of the music into an entire subculture. In her book Punks: A Guide to an American Subculture, author Sharon M .Hannon argues that there is no universally accepted definition for punk .To some, punk mean rebellions against conformity or against parents, school, work, and society at large(2).Punk means different things to different