I posted this right outside of my dorm chapultepec.

In the video titled “My Choice” shot by Tassaduq Hussain, it shows shot after shot of women including Ninrat Kaur, Adhuna Akhtar, Anupama Chopra, and more who have made a difference in their respective careers telling you every single thing they see as their right as women. The video is a collaboration between director Homi Adajania and Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone, and produced by JSW and Sangita Jindal found on Vogue’s website. “My Choice” is a short film made dedicated to #VogueEmpower, Vogue India’s social awareness initiative. Filmed and launched in October 2014, “My Choice” aims to bring awareness to the cause of women’s rights nationwide.

According to studies, women in India enjoyed equal status and rights during the early Vedic period, however, in approximately 500 B.C the status of women began to decline, and they have remained unequal to men ever since. Although reform movements such as Jainism allowed women to be admitted to religious orders, women in India have faced confinement and restrictions. Practices such as Sati, Jauhar, Purdah, and Devadasis are all examples of this oppression in India’s history. These practices include widows being immolated alive on their husband’s funeral pyre, immolation by wives and daughters of defeated warriors, and requiring women to cover themselves to conceal their faces and form from males imposing restrictions on their mobility. In today’s society women are still seen as subordinate and inferior to men with their lives shaped by customs that are centuries old. In the twenty first century women living in India aren’t capable of earning money, are seen as economically and emotionally dependent on men, live with their husband’s family after marriage, and are required to cover themselves as to not distract, or entice men. In the video “My Choice”, the actors stand up against this discrimination. Phrases such as “my body, my mind, my choice”, “to be a size zero or a size fifteen, my choice” “to marry, or not to marry” “to have sex before marriage, to have sex outside of marriage, to not have sex, my choice” and “remember you are my choice, I am not your privilege” are all stated to show that we are individuals and what we choice to do is solely up to ourselves. In a world that has evolved so quickly, how do we still have oppression with regards to women today?

Although oppression of women started a long time ago, it is still heavily prevalent in certain parts of the world today. Vogue took the opportunity with this video to state women are not under the control of men or other women. Every individual has the opportunity to do whatever it is they please. I believe Vogue was brave in putting this video out in India during a time where women’s oppression is under concern, however in order to make a difference in the world today, more steps are going to needed to be taken to see a change.

http://www.vogue.in/content/watch-deepika-padukone-new-vogueempower-film-my-choice

In 1931 historian James Adams wrote a book about America and the optimism of the American people. Wanting to call his book “The American Dream”, his publisher claimed it was too broad and he needed to change the name. Although he changed the name, he referenced the American Dream several times in his book. This idea he created allowed Americans since the early nineteen hundreds till present day to envision their future. The idea of creating your own destiny and achieving the dreams you set out for yourself has been around since the time of Thomas Jefferson, but with each evolving era, what people perceive as their American Dream changes. During the time of the Revolution through the Civil War, Jefferson’s way of thinking dominated the minds of American citizens. Believing in “a nation of small farmers, owning enough land to guarantee economic self-suffieciency and personal independence”, his idea was perfectly aligned with the lives of people during the 18th and 19th century. However, as the 19th century ended, so did Jefferson’s view of the American Dream.Transforming to fit a new way of life, employees working for an hourly wage, America transformed from an agrarian to an industrial nation and the American Dream changed with it. Now tied to upward social mobility, people believed “the to realize the dream was not to be independent and self sufficient but to possess the skills that would allow you to navigate the new industrial order and to rise up through the ranks”. As time has progressed the American Dream has evolved to become more and more materialistic. Imagine if we had the same ideals as the 1900s. What would our world look like today?This picture shows that as the American Dream is becoming more and more materialistic, people are spending more and more money resulting in greater debt.

The Black Panther Party was a revolutionary black nationalist and socialist organization active from the years of 1966 to 1982. At first, the Black Panther Party’s core practice was to monitor the behavior of police officers and to challenge police brutality after several incidents of brutal, unnecessary police attacks. It was once said that the party was “the greatest threat to the internal security of the country”. Other than monitoring police activity, the BPP’s instituted a variety of community social programs, including the Free Breakfast for Children Programs and community health clinics. 

In lecture today Professor Putman talked about hippies and how they challenged mainstream culture. He discussed their dress (tie dye, beards, jeans) and their behavior (let it all hangout). As we know it the hippie age has come and gone, however once again it is making a comeback. At many music festivals now a days men and women alike dress like the hippies used to. Wearing colorful, flowy, bright fabrics, many are seen in revealing clothing “letting it all hangout”. 

For as long as we have records, music has always been apart of our culture. Whether to express emotions, have fun, or even when involved with ritual ceremonies, music has always been both a barometer measuring and responding to society’s problems and possibilities. Throughout the twentieth century, we witnessed the emergence of a diverse range of musical styles and genres. Focusing on one in particular, I’m going to look at how psychedelic music influenced the culture of the 1960s and in-turn, had an enormous impact on the way things are in the modern era.

http://www.c-span.org/video/?294914-1/president-truman-speech-bombing-hiroshima

This is a link to President Truman’s speech after dropping the atomic bomb. He states, “We shall destroy their docks, their factories, and their communications. Let there be no mistake, we shall completely destroy Japan’s power to make war.” America had mixed signals after the bomb was dropped. Many were elated that no more soldiers would lose their life, however, others were heart broken that some of their family members have just been bombed.

After Professor Blum’s lecture today, I became interested in “sundown towns”, and looked up youtube videos pertaining to the topic.