Category: RCL Blogs

Shift 1: How the discovery of the North American continent led to the formation of the Professional Lacrosse League.

Necessary background to this paradigm shift will include the years leading up to the discovery of the new continent and the interaction that took place between the natives and colonists of the new world. The main players in the transition would include John Rolfe, who was the first main colonist to engage in interactions with the native population, Christopher Columbus, who popularized travel westward across the Atlantic, and lastly, Paul Rabil, who single handedly brought Lacrosse into the light of mainstream sports and founded the PLL. The complication behind this shift comes from the fact that Lacrosse was almost eradicated with the native population who created the game, the sport dwindles greatly in periods and only shot up in popularity recently, the PLL itself is only five years old. The audience would learn the intricacies that took place from colonists discovering the sport, to it almost being forgotten, to a resurgence. The PLL is only going up, gaining millions of new viewers over the last couple of years, meaning the conversation will move into when will it pass leagues like the NHL, MLS or even maybe the NBA.

Shift 2: How the release of Star Wars aided an increase in childhood enjoyment and fonder memories of early development.

Necessary background information to this shift would include statistics of childhood enjoyment levels before the release of the first Star Wars movie as well as the general reception of children about the movie as a whole. The main players in this shift include George Lucas, who made the movies, Disney, who ruined the movies down the line, and actors such as Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, who children idolized. The complication of this comes in when people downplay the significance media has on children and the fact that many people have based their personalities and lives solely on Star Wars showing its impact. The audience would learn hoe media can have an immensely positive effect on children’s upbringing and shaping their personality. The conversations for the future will be headed in the direction in that does modern day “brain rot” media have a negative effect whereas in depth complex stories like Star Wars had a positive effect.

Shift 3: How the discovery of Antarctica in 1820 led to the formation of the Hollow Earth Theory.

Necessary background information for this shift includes the facts leading to the discovery of the southernmost continent. The key players for this shift include Captain Fabien (Thaddeus) Gottleib von Bellingshausen who discovered Antarctica on his expedition south, Admiral Byrd who was a high-ranking British pilot who saw the tunnel to inner Earth when flying over the south pole, and Edmond Hailey who came up with the theory. The shift is complicated because many believe the theory is false but there in an immense amount of evidence and facts that would support a tunnel hidden deep in the south pole. The audience would be swayed to believe there is a secret society residing in the inside of our planet and that there is a tunnel imbedded within Antarctica, they would also learn the history of its discovery. Future conservations will be why is there so much secrecy around the continent and why is it so off limits.

Works Cited

PLL

Star Wars

Hollow Earth

 

Music, an outlet used for generations to push agendas, move people (literally and figuratively), and be entertaining. Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan are two vastly different artists from the sixties and seventies whose lyrics prove to have deeper meanings especially on their works “Animals” and “Times Are A Changin” which helped to propel and inspire the youth and working classes to stand up for themselves. Though with a similar motive the artists take different approaches, Pink Floyd take a more radical approach calling out the shortcomings of society and using commonplaces such as “pigs, dogs, and sheep” to describe the newly formed class system. On the other hand, Dylan takes a more rational approach with the purpose of uplifting the youth, proving to them that they have control of their future whilst also calling for the politicians “to heed the calls.” Both thought provoking works share the ideological criticism of capitalism questioning the effects the system has on the youth and working class through the use of labels and calls to action.

“Animals” is a Pink Floyd album from 1977, a time of changing society in England that faces many problems for the working class. The purpose of the songs is to question the newly capitalistic society. The working class related to the song through the use of commonplaces such as “pigs, dogs, and sheep.” Pink Floyd question the ideology of capitalism through the use of labeling the new class system and relating them to widely known animals whose characteristics are present in that class, this helps to persuade the audience because of the negative connotations associated with each animal as well as the calls to action.

“Times Are A Changin” is a Bob Dylan song published in 1963 during a time of political turmoil and counter culture within the United States. The driving force behind the song is more specifically to create an anthem, Dylan is quoted as saying, “I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song, with short, concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. This is definitely a song with a purpose. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and who I wanted to say it to.” Dylan succeeded in his goal to make an anthem for the frustrated youth that seemed more as a call to action rather than a bashing of ideologies. Bob Dylan, like Pink Floyd, questions the shortcomings of society but in his case it is American Society in the heat of a war killing the youth. Dylan questions the working class system as well as calling the youth to action to stand up for themselves. 

Though both artifacts aim to question and call out capitalistic society, Pink Floyd takes a more radical approach calling for the working class to physically uprising and fight back whilst Bob Dylan calls for change through activism and peaceful protests. Bringing these two famous works together shows the divide between people fighting for similar goals just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan want similar futures but like the civil rights leaders they cannot agree on the best avenue to take violence or peace. These artifacts prove that we still face these problems today in our society, not enough action was taken leading to us facing the same issues today, though the revival of these ideals through new songs could spark change.

Sources:

Bob Dylan

Pink Floyd

Capitalism

Vietnam War

Introduction Preview:

Paragraph 1: Music, an outlet used for generations to push agendas, move people (literally and figuratively), and be entertaining. Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan are two vastly different artists from the sixties and seventies whose lyrics prove to have deeper meanings especially on their works “Animals” and “Times Are A Changin” which helped to propel and inspire the youth and working classes to stand up for themselves. Though with a similar motive the artists take different approaches, Pink Floyd take a more radical approach calling out the shortcomings of society and using commonplaces such as “pigs, dogs, and sheep” to describe the newly formed class system. On the other hand, Dylan takes a more rational approach with the purpose of uplifting the youth, proving to them that they have control of their future whilst also calling for the politicians “to heed the calls.” Both thought provoking works share the ideological criticism of capitalism questioning the effects the system has on the youth and working class through the use of labels and calls to action.

Preview/Ideas: 

Paragraph 2: “Animals” is a Pink Floyd album from 1977, a time of changing society in England that faces many problems for the working class. The purpose of the songs is to question the newly capitalistic society. The working class related to the song through the use of commonplaces such as “pigs, dogs, and sheep.”

Paragraph 3: Pink Floyd question the ideology of capitalism through the use of labeling the new class system and relating them to widely known animals whose characteristics are present in that class, this helps to persuade the audience because of the negative connotations associated with each animal as well as the calls to action.

Paragraph 4: “Times Are A Changin” is a Bob Dylan song published in 1963 during a time of political turmoil and counter culture within the United States. The driving force behind the song is more specifically to create an anthem, Dylan is quoted as saying, “I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song, with short, concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. This is definitely a song with a purpose. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and who I wanted to say it to.” Dylan succeeded in his goal to make an anthem for the frustrated youth that seemed more as a call to action rather than a bashing of ideologies.

Paragraph 5: Bob Dylan, like Pink Floyd, questions the shortcomings of society but in his case it is American Society in the heat of a war killing the youth. Dylan questions the working class system as well as calling the youth to action to stand up for themselves. 

Paragraph 6: Though both artifacts aim to question and call out capitalistic society, Pink Floyd takes a more radical approach calling for the working class to physically uprising and fight back whilst Bob Dylan calls for change through activism and peaceful protests. Bringing these two famous works together shows the divide between people fighting for similar goals just like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan want similar futures but like the civil rights leaders they cannot agree on the best avenue to take violence or peace.

Paragraph 7: These artifacts prove that we still face these problems today in our society, not enough action was taken leading to us facing the same issues today, though the revival of these ideals through new songs could spark change.

Sources:

Bob Dylan

Pink Floyd Britannica

Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin’ Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Pink Floyd – Dogs Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Pink Floyd – Sheep Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Pink Floyd – Pigs Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

 

During my high school years, my favorite teacher and class was APUSH, right above my seat was the “Join or Die” flag popularized by Benjamin Franklin and highlighted by Lindsay in her elevator pitch.

Linday’s analysis of the flag and what is stands for shows how over time the meaning behind the segments of snake shifted from being to unite with the British to defeat the French to unite together to defeat the British. The sections prove that even with missing one colony the “snake” cannot operate at full capacity. This artifact is inherently striking because even today it is still relevant and the meaning over time shifted into what we know of today as the Gadsen Flag which instead of standing for unity of the states stands for unity of the people to protect civil liberties.

Linday’s organization follows the chronological timeline of the timber rattlesnake appearing on United States propaganda, starting with Franklin’s iteration which was twisted to fit the next ensuing wars and then becoming revived as the Gadsen Flag shifting the meaning form states to people during a time when people believed the government was over involved in everyday life. Today, sadly, the meaning of the Gadsen Flag has been tainted in the media as during the Obama campaign it shifted towards libertarian views and gained a racial connotation of being racist due to some radical groups though many still fly it for its original meaning.

Linday’s pitch was beautifully done, the history and context she provides in such a short work in second to none. After reading, I realized that the “timber rattlesnake” is apparent in many other symbols throughout United States history, including marine and navy symbols. I think analyzing every appearance of the snake could show the progression even better on how the meaning shifted slightly but still remained relevant in society like Lindsay stated.

     For my artifact I am analyzing the Pink Floyd album Animals through the lens of ideological criticism. For context, Pink Floyd is an English psychedelic rock band formed in the mid 1960s, Animals was their tenth studio album released in 1977 as well as being the most controversial.

     With this album Pink Floyd questions society through the 3 major songs on the album being broken into categories sheep, pigs, and dogs, each representing a different group of people, the general idea of the album is questioning capitalistic society.

     The dogs represent the aggressive business class, ruthlessly competing for power over one another in a society but, in the end, none of the power or wealth they fought for matters as they all perished, just like in life everything must die. This truth is highlighted through the lyric “just another sad old man dying alone of cancer” which shows how no matter what wealth and status you reach everything comes to an end, the song also says “no one has a real friend” which questions how in a capitalistic society every business is competing and no one can trust one another. The song mentions a stone over and over again which represents the bourdons of all the dirty tricks they’ve pulled on innocent people, the song says “pulled down by the weight of the stone”.

     The pigs represent people who are over wealthy and extremely powerful, the pigs benefit off the people below them working much harder than they are. The song is sang from the perspective of people looking up at the pigs which is why the lyric “pig man … big man” is describing them as ugly but big in society. The lyrics “head down in the pigpen singing keep on digging” shows how the pigs or wealthy people are using the workers to succeed while they are stuck to keep digging. The songs major focus is to trash on the lazy powerful people in capitalist society who use others.

     The sheep are the working, ordinary, common people, who mindlessly follow the herd. The lyric “passing your time in the grassland away” shows how the sheep are just wasting there time away living under the pigs and the dogs who run society this is highlighted by “you better watch out there may be dogs about.” The album takes its big anti capitalistic turn when it reads “ we shall rise up … master karate … now the dogs and pigs are dead” this is a call to action for workers everywhere telling them to stand up for themselves and own the means of production which is inherently non capitalistic.

     The album’s purpose is to prove the shortcomings of capitalism during a time in which it was in question, the 3 animals represent the 3 classes the band believed were prevalent in capitalistic society and how they were abused. Naming the classes after animals like this has a deeper meaning in that these animals can live in perfect harmony showing that there is hope. The cover of the album represents how the big are above everything always, they watch over the sheep working in production and the dogs in their offices.

Uncle Sam is one of the first symbols people think of when they envision the United States, he was created in 1917 after the United States declared war on Germany with the purpose of inspiring young men to join the Army. A civic artifact is something that draws an audience toward it or engages an audience to do something. In this case, the iconic Uncle Sam posters engaged audiences to join the United States Army.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The images clearly depict Uncle Sam giving a mean mug to the United States people with an outstretched finger pointing directly to the reader. The image spread like rapid fire across the war-torn country gaining support through peoples feeling like it was their patriotic obligation to serve Uncle Sam and help save the country and the world. The image began to fade into obscurity after the end of World War I, but when the sequel came around the image arose from the deep depths of irrelevancy to help gain support for the military once more.

The image had the same effect decades later ramping up great support and enlistment numbers for the nazi slayers. The boldness of “YOU” in the image really encapsulates a feeling of individualism making each member of the audience feel special and like they really matter as well as making them feel like they are an intricate piece to the puzzle of stopping the war and genocide in the European Continent. The use of the word “I” really ties into the feeling of the country being entirely united during the times and Uncle Sam being the voice of all the united people asking for “YOUR” help.

The Uncle Sam motif was extremely fitting for the time when people were scared about the future and what would be of the country, he found a way to make every citizen feel united but also as an individual and that they mattered for the security of the country.