AMST 3700 post #5

Today I am writing about the beautifully written book "Bombingham". One of the main themes that I enjoyed seeing in the book was how their was a constant juxtaposition between the war Walter Burke was fighting in Vietnam and his memories of the violence he witnessed in his childhood in Birmingham, Alabama. Both times ending with him learning a little bit more about himself and his place in the world. I felt like even though I do not live in the world he did, I can relate.

I can relate because all kids at the age of Walter think the same. The little things he would pick up on such as the way he would explain how big adults were is very reminiscent to how I thought adults were. He always mentioned his father as being this very large man but in reality he probably was not that big. When I grew up past 15 I did not think that my dad was that big.

Also in "Bombingham" Walter and Lamar got into trouble very similar to the kind of trouble that I got in as a kid. Of course I never really experienced the racial prejudice that they did growing up I can remember getting into petty trouble as a youngster.

Overall, to me, I enjoyed the book because it acted as a collage to my own life. Showing me things that I have not done in a while or people I have not seen in a while.

AMST 3700 post #4

This weeks blog I am going to discuss the assigned reading "The Man in The Gray Flannel Suit". I would first like to discuss how the book shined a mirror on the traditional executive position of the 1950's business man. The ability to depict how one man tries conform with a movement larger than him in both lifestyle and leisure activities was beautifully translated in the novel. The dull way of life of the "yes man" is found in most industries, in most countries, but in America and in this time period it was especially unique. I am personally a big fan of the era before and during this period and this was a great look at the hopelessness that surrounded the typical American business man. Not only was it that they worked for firms that required them to fit this niche but it was also that the book addressed issues surrounding them being WWII veterans. Veterans who were unsatisfied with the excitement of their own personal lives.

In the book this has a negative affect on the relationship between Tom and his wife Betsy. It is like he is not so much unsatisfied with her but it seems that way because his past life experiences make him believe that there is something more to life. Throughout the story this is made evident in Tom's strive for a better life where he is risking his present relationship with thoughts of his past lover during the war.

The characters in the novel and their lifestyle are parellel to the AMC television show "Mad Men". I feel like the story lines and ability to look into social norms is depicted perfectly in the television series and book.

AMST 3700 post #3

In reading "Building Suburbia" I am taken back first and foremost about how manipulated the average American was to buy a home in the suburbs. I guess it is because everyone at the time and even in today's society did so. According to the first chapter mass marketing was partly to be held responsible for a flood of families to planned neighborhoods during different times of the 19th and 20th century, and even today.

Living in a "neighborhood" created a micro society in each suburb of America that brought out new gender roles not seen in it's past. Men were often seen as the bread winners of the family that went to a job everyday and women were the ones who cooked cleaned and took care of the children. Advertisements and marketing were huge in making this picturesque ideal larger than life. Once this has been established, there became a flood of new businesses, transportation companies and owners of utility companies that were ready take advantage of the market.

This is very interesting to me because I feel like this still exists but in a more diverse way, with niches being taken care of too when it comes to advertising. For instance in the book the author writes about how hair salons were huge in flooding the suburbs. Now, there is more than just hair salons, there are nail salons, tanning salons and in most small cities there are even nail supply shops. You could open up your own store if you would like.