A Philosophic Cage Fight

Locke vs Rousseau

Through “good breeding” and discipline at an early age, John Locke hoped to create virtuous men with the ability to yield to temptation. Defined in Some Thoughts Concerning the Education of Children, “able men” are made by “the principles of justice, generosity, and sobriety, join'd with observation and industry.” The ability to endure hardship provides strength of the body and of the mind as long as man “purely follows what reason directs as best.” This is consistent with his description of children as “rational creatures” that “should never be suffer’d to have what he craves.”

 

Although there have been many “citizens” throughout history, Jean Jacques Rousseau believed the term “ought be erased from modern languages.” Emile, ou l’education served as a medium for Rousseau to express his sentiments and dreams about education. He wrote, “you must choose between making a man and making a citizen, for you cannot do both at the same time.” Striving for harmonious agreement, Rousseau combined the education of nature, the education of things, and the education of man to create the “natural man.” This idealized being would possess an unconstrained consciousness of his sensations and “must act as one speaks.” Rousseau reinforced the influence of nature by referring to children as “seedlings” that must be protected and cultivated by the “tender, foresighted mother.”

Little Sacrifices: An Analysis of Little Women.

Little Sacrifices

What does it mean to “support a family?” During the American Civil War, many families were plagued by poverty as a result of economic displacement. The unfortunate disparity of wealth was evident in many literary works from the mid-nineteenth century. In 1868, Louisa May Alcott produced Little Women, a story written specifically for girls. Through this work, she addresses several societal concerns and successfully erects an “ethic of poor but honest virtue against the temptations of affluence” (Brodhead, 627). Although the burden of selfishness is attributed to Amy, each female in the March family makes an altruistic decision to “support” a loved one. Using each girl in Little Women as an example, it can be argued that American middle-class females should willingly make sacrifices as they embrace the domestic responsibilities associated with their gender.  

Without wasting any time, Alcott suggests the importance of sacrifice on the first page of Little Women. While the four young sisters discuss the hardships of being “poor,” Meg sets the tone for the story as she proclaims, “We can’t do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly” (Alcott, 11). After this revelation, each girl agrees to put aside their materialistic desires and purchase a Christmas gift for Marmee without expecting anything in return. Consistent with popular belief, these characters developed “tender consciences early in life” (MacLeod, 11). Under the instruction of their virtuous matriarch, they are taught to be modest and compassionate despite living amongst extravagant friends and family.  Instead of spending Christmas morning with her daughters, Marmee leaves to care for the truly impoverished Hummel family. Even after returning home, she encourages the young girls to donate their breakfast to the starving immigrants. Eventually rewarded for their generosity by a sensitive neighbor, these characters become “immensely (and consciously) instructive as models of conventional ideals” (MacLeod, 15).

In an attempt to teach economic responsibility, Alcott expresses poverty in terms of pickled limes during the chapter titled “Amy’s Valley of Humiliation.” After acquiring a debt of “at least a dozen pickled limes,” Amy seeks out family to help restore her credit. She provides Meg an elaborate explanation of the schoolyard drama and receives financial support with the instruction, “Make it last for as long as you can, for it isn’t very plenty” (Alcott, 57). Rather than paying the creditors, Amy brags about her newfound wealth and uses this power to explore revenge. As a consequence for blatant disobedience, she is publicly humiliated by her teacher and forced to throw the pickled limes out the window. Since Little Women was written during the Reconstruction, it is reasonable to relate this scenario with the United State’s postbellum fiat paper system. Possessing an enormous amount of wartime debt, the American government issued paper money to stimulate the economy and did not pay the creditors until much later (Elwell, 2). As a result, the economy experienced substantial inflation and many families were unable to feed their children. Just as Meg made a financial sacrifice for her sister, middle-class American women sacrificed their entire livelihoods in hopes of rebuilding the war torn nation.    Later in the story, Amy admits a willingness to sacrifice love for wealth while traveling in Europe. She writes in a letter to her mother, “If Fred asks me, I shall accept him, though I’m not madly in love with him... I may be mercenary, but I hate poverty, and don’t mean to bear it a minute longer than I can help. One of us must marry well.”Feeling obligated to financially support her family, Amy is willing to sacrifice love if it “will make everything cosy all around” (Alcott, 252). During this time period, many middle-class girls were asked to make the same sacrifice and married for either love or money. Contrary to logical thought, idealized perceptions of marriage would not allow wealth to influence this decision. Remembering her mother’s wishes, Amy waits to be married and falls in love with Laurie instead.

One of the most profound examples of sacrifice from Little Women occurs after the March family receives a telegram indicating that Mr. March is “very ill” in Washington. Without the means to travel to his bedside, Marmee tells her daughters, “I am not too proud to beg for father” (Alcott, 131). While Marmee is away, Beth becomes responsible for providing medical assistance to the Hummel family. Considered a domestic responsibility, she embraces the idea of nurturing a sick child.  Referenced in the chapter title, Beth “faithfully” visits the family every day and eventually becomes noticeably fatigued. Since no one else was willing to accept the duty, Beth “went out into the chilly air with a heavy head, and a grieved look in her patient eyes” (Alcott, 142). Involved in their own activities, Meg and Jo do not recognize Beth’s early symptoms of scarlet fever until after it is too late. Feeling guilty, “Jo devoted herself to Beth night and day” as the “shadow of death hovered over the once happy home” (Alcott, 146). Then one evening, the doctor indicates a breaking point is near, but does not think that Beth will survive. Just before Marmee arrives home, the innocent girl’s fever reduces and Beth begins to sleep. Now fully aware of the potential consequences, readers learn to pay closer attention to their loved ones.

After that same telegram arrives, Jo feels an uncontrollable obligation to help however she can and leaves the house abruptly. A short while later, she returns with twenty-five dollars. Alcott describes her facial expression as a “mixture of fun and fear, satisfaction and regret.” Jo explains that she “didn’t beg, borrow, nor steal it” (Alcott, 132). She honestly earned the money by selling the hair off her head.  After Jo removes her bonnet, everyone is shocked to see the boyish hairstyle. Marmee responds to this selfless act by saying, “I can’t blame you, for I know how willingly you sacrificed your vanity, as you call it, to your love” (Alcott, 132). Jo’s willingness to relinquish a defining feature reflects the traditional belief that a woman should put her family before herself. Her actions throughout the story demonstrate the American middle-class woman’s “need to be able to earn” (Sicherman, 648).

Since Mr. March eventually proves to be an ineffective breadwinner, Jo assumes the traditionally male role of providing financial support for her family. After winning a sensationalist writing contest, she gives her earnings directly to Marmee during Beth’s second battle for good health. Jo continues to contribute money to family even after publishing a book and moving to New York. Considered by some the most devastating sacrifice in Little Women, Jo also gradually renounces her youthful exuberance as she assumes the title of Mrs. Josephine Bhaer. After officially surrendering her independence, Jo accepts her domestic responsibilities with the infamous statement, “I may be strong-minded, but no one can say that I’m out of my sphere now, --for woman’s special mission is supposed to be drying tears and bearing burdens” (Alcott, 372).  

Tempted by the lifestyles of the emerging leisure-class, Meg struggles to overcome the burden of vanity. Despite her young age, she anticipates a marriage proposal from Laurie’s “poor” tutor. Shortly after providing Mr. Brooke with a polite rejection, Meg and John are interrupted by Aunt March. While John is waiting in the other room, Meg enters into a passionate conversation with her wealthy aunt about love and marriage. Sacrificing an inheritance, Meg unexpectedly defends her suitor and assertively states, “My John wouldn’t marry for money, any more than I would. We are willing to work and we mean to wait” (Alcott, 182). Disregarding the earlier refusal, John interprets this display of affection as an acceptance to his proposal and Meg “meekly” indulges his excitement.

Over the next three years, Meg welcomes the humble beginnings to a domestic life. Rich in happiness and free from materialistic temptations, she assumes the responsibilities of a proper housewife. She tells her husband, “I shall always be prepared: there shall be no flurry, no scolding, no discomfort, but a neat house, a cheerful wife, and a good dinner” (Alcott, 219). As if it were recited from Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management, her promise reflects the “idealized norms of middle-class life” (Brodhead, 626). After failing to produce jelly and welcome an unexpected guest, Meg and John encounter their first “squall” as a couple. To settle the dispute, Meg internally forgives her husband and silently kisses him on the forehead. According to Alcott, “thoughts of poor John coming home to such a scene quite melted her heart” (Alcott, 225). Months later, a “serpent in paradise” tempts Meg to purchase an expensive silk using the household fund. After biting the apple, Meg is full of remorse. Her indulgence causes John to cancel his coat order since he can no longer afford it. Pocketing her pride, Meg sells the fabric to Sally Moffat and “orders home the great-coat” for her husband (Alcott, 226).

Reinforced by examples from Little Women, it is evident that American middle-class females are expected to makes sacrifices as they gain power over the domestic sphere.  While highlighting conventional values, Alcott reflects mid-nineteenth century concerns as “burdens” for Amy, Beth, Meg, and Jo.  During times of economic struggle, it is important to acknowledge a “difference between the right world of Marmee and the more affluent surround” (Brodhead, 627).  Regardless of social status, compassionate Americans will always feel obligated to “support” their loved ones. According to author Mario Puzo, “The strength of a family is in its loyalty to each other.”

 

Works Cited:

Alcott, Louisa May, Anne K. Phillips, and Gregory Eiselein. Little Women, Or, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. New York: Norton, 2004. 1-380. Print.

Brodhead, Richard H. Starting Out in the 1860’s: Alcott, Authorship, The Postbellum Literary Field. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1993. In Norton Anthology of Children's Literature, ed. Jack Zipes et. al. New York: Norton, 2005, 624-632.

Elwell, Craig. Brief History of the Gold Standard for the United States. Congressional Research Service. H.R. Rep. No. R41887 (2011). Online. Internet. February 27, 2013. < http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41887.pdf>.

"Family Quotes." Family Quotes. Notable Quotes, n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

Klein, Sarah. Bringing Up Jo: Little Women, Female Rhetoric Activity, and the Nineteenth Century American Conduct Book Tradition. Domestic Goddesses. May 31, 2000. Online. Internet. February 27, 2013. < http://www.womenwriters.net/domesticgoddess/kleinalcott.htm>.

MacLeod, Anne Scott. American Childhood: Essays on Children's Literature of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Athens, GA: U of Georgia P, 1994.

Sicherman, Barbara. Reading Little Women: The Many Lives of a Text. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. In Norton Anthology of Children's Literature, ed. Jack Zipes et. al. New York: Norton, 2005, 632-657.

Vallone, Lynne. Disciplines of Virtue: Girls' Culture in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. New Haven: Yale UP, 1995.

 

Childhood Studies?

During the Friday presentation from Dr. Lynne Vallone, I listened to the professor from Rutgers speak about childhood studies as an area in need of growth. She posed the question, “Where does childhood studies fit in?” It requires support from many different fields of studies and currently does not have many models of to follow for implementation. As a result it requires creative and imaginative individuals to develop a program in the schools. This is a long and taxing process that also requires patience and persistence.  Vallone suggests there is much that can be learned from existing programs in gender studies. It is imperative that the student is remembered throughout this process

With the first doctoral class about to graduate from the Department of Childhood Studies, Vallone commented on the challenges of a multidisciplinary program. As one of the Doctoral Supervisors, she mentioned feeling unprepared to help with such a wide array of doctoral theses. Therefore these students were assigned advisors from several departments to provide expertise in other disciplines. To gage the success of the program, Vallone received permission from Institutional Review Board to survey student participants. The findings demonstrated a concern that the multidisciplinary (not interdisciplinary) approach may not help them find jobs after receiving their doctorate. This is why it is so important to advance childhood studies at a national level. Vallone also described two types of individuals: child people and book people. Although it may be difficult, it is critical that the both people come to an agreement about childhood studies.

The final point of discussion was centered around Vallone’s working manuscript titled “Big and Little.” She is currently researching the influence of miniatures and gigantics. Body scale in fiction and reality has been widely used to imply value or superiority. It is also important to note the huge impact that “little” characters can have on their surroundings. Upon investigation, it is easy to find dwarfs represented as problematic throughout history. Even today there is a television show on TLC titled “Little People, Big World.” The famous performer General Tom Thumb was promoted by P.T. Barnum and has also influences American childhood. Commonly forced to mimicry, these individuals are arguably exploited by their abnormal size. Another real life example is the controversial treatment of Ota Benga. He was incarcerated in the Bronx Zoo Monkey Exhibit and demonstrated the conventions of savagery.  Fictional examples including “The Iron Giant” were also included. Typically giant women were considered grotesque. A mortally obese girl named Barbara was photographed before her death and these images were related to an ultrasound of a fetus.http://rtf.utexas.edu/news/media-studies/lynne-vallone-rutgers-talks-doing-childhood-studies

High-End Hype

 

Summary:

            According to the WSJ, the incredibly well advertised Target and Neiman Marcus holiday collection has surprised shoppers and analysts alike. The 50-piece collection created by 24 high-end designers debuted on Saturday with less than spectacular sales. Even though the collection was designed to last throughout the season, stores prepared for a larger volume of traffic than actually occurred. Both companies have reported brisk online business and still express confidence in their partnership.

Personal Interest:

            As a fan of the show Revenge, the commercials for this collection peaked my interest a few weeks ago. I commend the media planners for selecting such an appropriate show to complement their promotion. Although I am not a designer-conscious shopper, the partnership caught me by surprise. I never expected a high-end super market to collaborate with a high-end department store. After looking over the items offered, it is not surprising to see that some products have sold out on the Neiman-Marcus website but it was surprising to see those same items still available on the Target website.

Industry implications:

            This collection has helped position both brands in front of new markets. The fact that affordable luxury is accessible to virtually everyone should theoretically boast sales for both companies. The participating designers also increase their notoriety outside of the fashion community. Considering the present state of the economy, high-end designers need to find ways to stay relevant and maintain holiday demand. The expensive primetime ad spots also proved to be an effective medium for building awareness.

Close-Minded Creativity

            For an industry that prides itself on its creative abilities, creative solutions to add diversity to the workplace seem to be few and far between. By coincidence, diversity became the topic of conversation in two of my courses this week. According to frist hand reports, the sterotypical advertising "Boy's Club" is still present and powerful.

During a Law & Ethics lecture, Professor Drumwright discussed the 2006 NYC Commission on Human Rights investigation of 16 advertising agencies. After significant pressure, each company signed agreements with diversity commitments and most exceeded their goals by 2010. Having worked as a professor at Harvard, Drumwright was able to personally describe the environment as “white, male, and protestant.” She also introduced an article from AdAge titled New York City Comptroller Pressures Ad Holding Firms to Release Diversity Stats (adage.com/u/gwLD9a ).  Omnicom Group was noted for refusing to release a diversity report earlier this year. Their chief diversity officer mentioned it was not in the company’s best interest to reveal this information and referenced a proxy statement to answer further questions. The company’s own statement describedthe data as an unreliable “measure for their commitment to equal opportunity” and believe it is “susceptible to misinterpretation.” The fact that such a prestigious holding company went to such length to conceal their employment records was alarming to me. I understand statistics are easily manipulated but diversity is diversity.

In our Integrated Communications Management course, Dr. Lewis invited +Stefani Zellmer to discuss her career in advertising. As a graduate of the UT Advertising Program, she was incredibly relatable and described the struggles she encountered as a female copywriter. At the time, women creatives were a rarity. Even as research began to show that women made the majority of household purchases, men were hired to fill creative positions. After building an impressive list of agency experience, she wanted to move up in management and encountered evidence of gender discrimination for creative director positions. In response, she stopped searching the illusive “equal opportunity” workplace and two agencies in Austin with the purpose of empowering women. She cited that only 3% of Creative Director positions were held by women… in 2011. 

Although I am an advocate for diversity within the industry, I am cautious to offer a solution to this problem. I feel that hiring initiatives or cultural audits alone will not make a significant difference when combatting this problem. Resistant to public outcry even during the Civil Rights Movement, the "traditions" that have influenced agency composition appear too strong to break.

The Most Important Man on the Field

            As an avid sports lover in a football dominant state, I enjoy attending collegiate and professional football games. While visiting family in Houston, I had the opportunity to cheer for the Texans from a Luxury Suite on the 8^th Floor.  From that height, we had an impressive aerial view of the field. Although it was difficult to distinguish one player from another, I could very clearly see the offensive and defensive formations taking shape. From that experience, I gained a greater respect for the head coach because he must be able to visualize what is happening on the field without the ability to see it for himself. He then must communicate that vision to his players in order to effectively match the opponent. That being said, the head coach is still not the most important man on the field. That title belongs to the network television coordinator.

Most football fans love to watch the game but don’t actually pay attention to what is happening along the periphery. The network television coordinator is the man standing on the sideline with neon orange sleeves over his arms and he instructs when referees when to allow for a commercial break... without ever saying a word. All he has to do is step onto the field and cross his neon arms. During every NFL game, the coordinator steps onto the field ten times during each half. Only two of these are strictly scheduled, the other eight are placed at the discretion of the coordinator. 

There are very specific times when the league allows the networks to take a commercial break. Most of these opportunities occur during regular game stoppage, including a timeout called by either team. This means the coordinator has the ability to make the coach’s thirty second timeout last for two minutes if he chooses. In a sport with a limited number of timeouts per half, awarding the head coach an additional 90 seconds to organize his players can have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. This extra time can make or break a drive and directly alter the pace of the game. In my opinion, having this kind of control over the referees and coaches makes the network television coordinator the most important person on the field.

 

Newsweek is Newsworthy

As a prestigious and respected news outlet, Newsweek is making a statement about the plunging percent of advertising dollars for this category. Since 2005, readers have been turning to online sources for news updates. Although the magazine was founded in 1933, ownership has changed hands twice over the past few years. These changes contributed to earlier talks of becoming a digital-only magazine but nothing had been confirmed until recently. At the end of December, Newsweek magazine will stop printing its publication for good.

According to an article from the Wall Street Journal titled Newsweek Quits Print, only a small portion of their subscribers are currently online-only which provides a lot of opportunity for growth within 2013. The printed version of the article also featured images from past magazine covers to emphasize the role Newsweek has played as a credible source of news for almost 80 years. The faces of General Patton, Neil Armstrong, John F Kennedy Jr., and Steve Jobs were all included in the collage. The writer quoted Baba Shetty, CEO of the Newsweek Daily Beast Co, this decision will save the magazine “tens of millions of dollars” from printing and distribution costs. US News and World Report made the shift in 2008 and found it was a profitable decision since their popular college rankings draw millions of unique visits each month.

As a media student, you hear about the decline in advertising spending on traditional media but you never expect market leaders to experience extreme plunges in circulation and profit. This is incredibly significant because now Time Magazine is only remaining newsweekly being printed given them complete control of the category. Having such a big name join the digital movement will significantly increase online competition. While they are experimenting with pricing, Newsweek will also have to find something that differentiates their product from others in this space since news is easily distributed in the digital space. Hopefully their current online-only subscribers have helped them develop an understanding of what readers what to see and how they want to see it. I’m intrigued to see how many of their current subscribers remain brand loyal after the switch in December.  

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444734804578064300216922258.html