N. 11 Due Oct 19. Sacco & Vanzetti

COMMENT

Political change -- for good or for bad -- in history is often (almost always) the result of rebellion, which means violence that goes against the "interests of the state."
The state, of course, uses preventive violence systematically to maintain order and discipline.
Examples: American Revolution (1776), American Civil War (1860), Russian Communist Revolution (1917), Arab Spring (2010).

What kind of criteria do you use to sort out the "good" revolutions from the "bad" ones?

Start with a reflection on Sacco & Vanzetti and the distance between the reality of anarchists' methods and their ideals (also Toni in L'emigrante would be a good example.)

N. 10 - Writing high standards - Due Wed Oct 19

It's all about the SIMPLICITY of genuine writing.

Excerpts from: Ashley Matos, Pajtesa Rexhepi, Solansh Moya

COMMENT:

Which of these three samples is closer to your writing style?

Are you happy with the way you write? Or do you wish you wrote more like one of these three samples? Which one in particular?

=====================

There’s a picture at 1:37/4:46 in “The Way They Lived” that really caught my attention, where the man is laying on a bed made out of a couple of boards and two barrels, looking into the camera with a deep sadness. The picture made me stop and wonder, “Why would anyone have wanted to document this? Don’t just take pictures of how miserable they are, they know how they feel and look. They don’t need the permanent reminder.” As a journalist, that’s one thing we’re forced to do. We go into areas where people are at their worst, begging for help in some cases, and we take pictures and write stories about their suffering for our own gain. We’re unable to help, lest we become biased or tarnish the results of our research. It’s an atrocious practice, yet we do nothing to change it.

 I felt my chest tighten at the line, “Dear mother, what is money when you long for your home” in “Lacrime Napoletane.” I identify with this line, because I’m either working or in class until 8 p.m. every day. The idea of wishing to be home, but knowing you have to do work for a better future is a painful internal struggle that the songs reminded me of, but in a new context. The songs made me remember when I left home for a country I’d never been to, and the feelings of loneliness and fear as I tried to start my life over. I can’t even begin to imagine how much more painful the experience would have been if it was actually hard to communicate with my loved ones here, or if I was potentially unable to ever return.

========================

As I watched the pictures in the short video “The way They Lived” I wondered how a human being can be so strong to swallow all that misery. I was driven to despair by their eyes and the way they looked, so tired, yet that was just a “click” of their lifetime, just one image of their everyday reality.

When I read the book “Son of Italy” I thought I was able to visualize Pascal’s tragic experiences. However, I was aware that those were images created by me as I read his words. These pictures in the contrary bring the actual victims to my eyes and I can’t escape that reality. In them I saw the children, the mothers and the way they had to live, with sleeping beds made of thin tatters over the floor. Everything I saw and read so far is in a way stamped by these pictures, they are the ultimate proof of that tragedy lived by so many immigrants.

In the song “Lacrime Napoletane”, same as in “Santa Lucia Luntana”, there are parts of lyrics that bring the same question, if money is worth so much pain and sorrow? “Yes I have a few dollars, but I’ve never felt like such a miserable bum”. When one is away from home, money has no value. The time doesn’t reduce the lamentation for home, nor do a few dollars more especially if earning them costed ones honor.

===================

 

Through these pictures you can see how hard the immigrant experience was, from the difficult journey to America to the living conditions they had to endure. However, I admire their sacrifice. They were willing to endure hard circumstances in order to obtain the American dream. Pascal D’Angelo said, in his autobiography, “Without realizing it, I had learned the great lesson of America: I had learned to have faith in the future" (pg. 156). Faith, in sadness, is something that is depicted in these text. They feel alone and sad; they wish to go back home, but they can’t. They believe if they continue working hard they’ll give their families a better life, even if theirs is in despair.  The future is bright if you work hard and never give up. These text were more explicit than Son of Italy because we don’t see a resolution in them. We don’t know what happened to the immigrants in the end. Did they come into some luck? Did their American dream come true? We see a heartfelt ending in Pascal’s story. He endured a hard life, but in the end his dream came true. His hard work payed off. Not everyone is that lucky.

=============================

N. 9 Due Oct 16 -- only students M-Z

COMMENT

In Moonstruck the least favorite character is Cosmo (as per previous polls.)

Are there specific TRAITS or FLAWS that you find objectionable in the other characters. major or minor.
Are these flaws small tiles of the mosaic representation of Italian Americans? In other words, are they typical (or stereotypical) of Italian Americans?

REPLY to a point of view that was particularly illuminating or infuriating (or both).

N. 8: "MOONSTRUCK" Due OCT 16

COMMENT

Is this film about Italian American men? If so, how well do they fare, according to these interpretations? 

Express a general assessment of the representation then choose in particular ONE character and discuss how he is handled in the film.

REPLY to the most or least convincing argument. Wait until at least 10 comments have been posted.

7. "L'EMIGRANTE" Due OCT 16

COMMENT

Excluding Peppino, choose a character and investigate all the possible symbolic meanings s/he carries.

Ex:
Pamela: blonde, white, rich, thrill-seeking, sex fiend, not a worry in the brain.
Two very-small-role African American characters.
Toni the Anarchist.
The moralizing sermon by Don Nicolone.

REPLY: wait until at least 10 comments have been posted before you reply to the most insightful and revealing one.

6. "THE WAY THEY LIVED" -- Due Oct 9

COMMENT

Choose a photo you would put on the cover of Son and one for a poster of The Italian. 

Describe each one so that we can recognize them clearly (this takes good skills, it's not an easy exercise) and explain the reasons of your choice.


REPLY

Choose a comment that present the best argument for the choices and explain why you think it is very effective at making its own point.

The way They Lived

5. Neapolitan Songs (Due Sun Oct 9)

COMMENT

Which of the two songs:

1) had a deeper impact on you, emotionally?

2) helped you connect with the deep sense of the immigrants' nostalgia and lonesomeness?


REPLY

Wait until at least 10 people commented. Choose the comment that is best at explaining the commenter's viewpoint.