Logical Fallacy: Red Herring in Obama's Campaign

Barack Obama's political campaign displays the logical fallacy of red herring in an advertisement commercial about his opponent John McCain. In this advertisement, Obama makes the effort to merely "win" the argument and ultimately the political race rather than emphasizing a critical issue about the nation's economy. The commercial starts with the claim that John McCain does not "understand the fundamentals of the economy." However, it ends with the assertion that McCain owns seven houses, essentially diverting the attention from the issue of the economy to how much McCain's houses cost. This represents red herring fallacy in that the first topic about McCain being ignorant about the fundamentals of the economy, then a new topic is introduced that is partially relevant but does not fully support the issue presented in the beginning of the argument. Therefore, the original topic is "abandoned" (The Nizkor Project 2011), and a new topic about McCain's houses is introduced. In essence, the argument is "supported" or reasoned by a distracting subject change rather than efficient arguments that strongly relate to the purpose of the claim. The fallacy presented in Obama's campaign advertisement depicts that simply drawing the attention away from the issues presented does not prove an argument reasonable. 

Obama's advertisement can be found here!

Retrospective: The Semester in a Nutshell

Writing blog entries is the transition from the prewriting stage to the first draft stage. Not only does it allow me to expand on my thoughts on one idea, but it also provides me with positive and negative feedback. I have always been acclimated to studying by myself, and I never thought that collaborative learning was effective. However, sharing opinions with others helped me broaden my horizons. I always had better ideas about what to write about after I read others' comments. Also, the due dates on the blogs helped me to manage my time more efficiently, and it gave me more time to think about the essay prompts.

Blogs are useful in the brainstorming process, and I might participate in class-related blogs to exchange ideas for a paper or even about issues in today's society. There is a similar student organization called CIRCLE, which is a group of students who comment back and forth about current events dealing with racial discrimination and stereotypes. I am strongly considering participating in CIRCLE next semester because I found that collaborative learning should definitely be a part of my learning style and any career field I choose to pursue in the future.

   

Self-expression v. Knowledge

After researching and being about to notice trends in Wikipedia articles, I am now less likely to rely on this source to attain information. Prior to the research, I was aware that the common public edited the material in the articles, but after looking at the discussion tab and history of edits made in each article, I found out that some changes were inaccurate and unnecessary. People revise articles only for the sake of participating in heated, needless debates that hardly contribute to the actual subject of the article. Additionally, there are no experts to justify the presented information as accurate, and the conversations detract from critical reasoning. Although the discussions of the Wikipedia system offer a collective environment of individual opinions, the lack of expertise and direction in the conversations make them controversial. In other words, self expression demonstrated by Wikipedia cannot symbolize knowledge and accountability.

Rather than participating in the discussions myself, I would focus more on improving the management of edits and revisions made in Wikipedia articles. I noticed that there are several trends that occur in the discussion sections. Users would change one section of the article, then another user would change the revision back to its original content. Other users would simply regurgitate information just to participate in the debate. Such unnecessary information could be deleted to prevent detraction from the article's focus. With more cited and reliable information and less opinionated contributions, Wikipedia has potential to become an efficient, resourceful database to showcase knowledge in various subject areas.

Furthermore, if I were to join the conversation, I would cite all sources and effectively utilize the electronic "signature" part of Wikipedia discussions to make myself responsible for my revisions. I would also include statistics and dependable facts to emphasize more authoritative facts over individualized opinions. Participating in the conversation would be an excellent opportunity to showcase my interpretation and knowledge, as well as receive feedback. Ultimately, I would attempt to balance both authoritative and individual opinion in my Wikipedia discussion entries. 

The Mobile Voices of LA's Immigrants: Visions and Voices Event

The Immigrant Visions Voices event encompassed the VOZMOB interface, which is an online community designed to collect stories from the working class in Los Angeles. Although it is not limited to this growing metropolis, VOZMOB's system of "mobile voices" allow low-income communities that are marginalized or excluded from society to appropriate the mobile media to create their own stories and essentially share their lives.

Started in Pasadena in 1980's in collaboration with the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, VOZMOB had a vision to help and work with the immigrant community specifically with literacy and use the words as practice of freedom and adoption of realities. They decided to utilize the flourishing internet and mobile media to showcase their realities of labor. For instance, one would use features such as texts, videos, and pictures and attach a story as an opportunity to possess their "window into the world." The presenters of the event emphasized that because the internet provides such accessible means to communicate with the world, technology is seemed less as a distraction and more as a great benefit to creating bonds with the rest of the community. Additionally, the presenters were active participants, staff members, and founders of VOZMOB and Mobile Voices work on projects with household workers and daily labors. Organized projects are aimed to publicize and promote the stories of VOZMOB. Through these methods, individuals can use the platform of Mobile Voices to amplify the realities of life for laborers and immigrants. Participants of Mobile Voices desire to reflect on their rights as immigrants and laborers and "emphasize power sharing, horizontalism, and community accountability."

Although I learned about something completely new and unknown to the majority of the Los Angeles community, I noticed that the entire presentation was not effectively organized and was informal. There was one translator in the group of presenters, and the rest of the staff members spoke fluent Spanish and minimal English. There was no formal translator for the presentation, and a streaming of twitter messages running across the wall in the background. No one explained the connection between the messages and the presentation itself. Overall, although the presentation did not attempt to engage the audience in any way, the entire presentation ultimately promoted the idea of creating a close-knit community through digital media.

The link to the VOZMOB webiste can be found here. 

Logical Fallacies Blog: Pepsi Advertisement

The well-known Pepsi beverage company creates annual commercials and advertisements usually involving celebrities and individuals of outstanding authority. The advertisement found here includes a handful of these labeled “celebrities,” such as Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, and Kanye West. The commercial captures these individuals representing a variety of actions, from performing exclusive dance routines to simply walking across the street. In performing these seemingly important actions, the celebrities always have a Pepsi bottle in their hands, which is shown to be the factor that makes them invincible and the way they are. 

This use of the appeal to authority logical fallacy illustrates celebrities endorsing the Pepsi product, and thus the common population views the product to be good.  Under the category of appeal to misleading authority, this fallacy represents a falsely legitimate authority on the Pepsi Company, and although the celebrities might be famous, well known individuals in society, they do not qualify to serve as an expert in the subject. In other words, they are not in the range of expertise nor interests in the Pepsi product, but the fact that the general public view the product to be closely linked to the celebrities’ powers and influences make the advertisement fallacious. They only possess “make-believe expertise” that the public essentially fails to identify in the advertisements (Fallacy Files). In addition, most cases of product endorsement include celebrities who are paid to advertise the product or serve as the company’s spokesperson, which exemplifies their apathy and genuine support of the company’s success. This fallacious appeal to authority represents how the people accept an object to be good or a claim to be true simply because a person of “authority” proclaims that it is true. In these cases, expertise in the matter is not the determining factor in accepting an assertion as valid.

Logical Fallacies Blog: Angle v. Reid

The campaigns between extremist Sharron Angle and current U.S. Senator Harry Reid marks one of the most controversial debates in American politics. As a mother, grandmother, and middle-class citizen living in Reno, Nevada, Angle represented immoderate viewpoints on health care, immigration, and Harry Reid himself during her campaigns before the election for U.S. Senate. In the beginning of this interview, Angle demonstrates the ad hominem logical fallacy by claiming personal characteristics of Harry Reid as a person rather than against his strategies and arguments. She mentions that he is a wealthy man living in Washington D.C., who has done nothing but exacerbate the deteriorating conditions of Nevada. She frankly states his personal weaknesses, such as his inability to “man up” and take action upon his words on reformation in Nevada. No statistical data or factual evidence are presented to support her claim and judgment of Harry Reid, and to a viewer, her unsupported and intransigent claims only weaken her standing in the campaign. 

This is an advertisement approved by Sharron Angle that attacks Harry Reid

Also in the interview, Angle failed to answer the question about choosing between denouncing her controversial advertisement as false or claiming that the evidence presented in the advertisement is true. Instead, Angle talks about Reid’s past voting trends on tax breaks for illegal immigrants although Reid had never been in favor of this option. Angle’s response symbolizes the incorrect statement logical fallacy because she made irrelevant points about Reid’s voting for social security in attempt to claim that the contents of her advertisement are absolutely true. In this sense, Angle moved onto other unrelated issues and “did not answer the question,” according to Reid’s immediately following counterargument. Even following Reid’s rebuttal, Angle brought up the issue about securing the borders as something that Harry Reid failed to establish in his years in office. This still does not provide any kind of answer to the question presented. Specifically, Angle made the hasty generalization logical fallacy that “the question has everything to do with social security” when the question was actually about the validity of her advertisement contents. Ultimately, Angle was not able to make a clear and effective argument to justify the harsh comments of her advertisements.

The link to the interview can be found here.

Balance is Key

My tendency to accept the course material in high school was definitely higher than in college so far. In high school, my peers and I were presented with information and apathetically accepted the material as the truth. Whoever argued against the teacher's lectures or even formed any kind of opinion towards the material were viewed with bitterness. I realized that in college, students develop and enhance their abilities and interests in various fields of knowledge and form individual opinions. In a way, authoritative knowledge is less influential  and communal acquisition of knowledge becomes more prominent in the transition from high school to college.

In my English Literature and Composition class, I had to interpret and share my thoughts, in essay form,  on a work of literature discussed in class. Although the objective of the assignment was to expand our ability to effectively interpret literature, I was limited in how I could interpret the information. There was strictly a right and a wrong answer.  By authority, my teacher was able to say what interpretations were accurate and what answers were completely inappropriate. The students were marked down in their essay grade if the presented opinions diverged from his viewpoint. However, I still believe that my teacher's interpretation of the literature represents just one opinion out of an accumulation of variegated opinions and discussions . On the same note, it is believed that online blog entries, forums, and discussion panels  on a subject are not reliable resources. This may be true, but they provide additions to a basic understanding  of information and ideas that cannot be supported by factual statistics alone. Authoritative knowledge illustrates too narrow and restricting points of view, and collaborative discussions do not provide fully accurate results. Therefore, neither an authoritative nor communal acquisition are most useful in obtaining knowledge, but a delicate balance between the two can provide a greater understandings and quench for knowledge beyond one's own potential. 

Waves of Iranian Immigration in Los Angeles

In addition to New York and Washington D.C., Los Angeles was the hotspot of Iranian immigration in the last 1970's with the Iranian, or Islamic, Revolution. The war between the Iranian monarchy under Shah and a potential Islamic republic under Khomeini influenced the residents of Iran to emigrate to the United States as a modern reservation of escape from the growing economic distress and political repression in Iran. A large population of Iranian citizens migrated to Los Angeles to gain freedom and the advantages of modernization that the city offered in contrary to Muslim values. The Iranian immigration to Los Angeles include three distinct waves of different time periods: from 1950's to 1979 (prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution), after the revolution, and 1995 to the present time that involves the latest decade. The migration prior to the revolution focuses on Iranians who were in search of better educational and career opportunities offered in the United States, for the number of Iranian adolescents enrolled in American universities dramatically increased from roughly 10,000 to 50,000. Also during this time, the continuation of oil production gave rise to a reviving economy in Iran and a shift from the conventional methods of revenue to a more modernized system of economic stability. During the second wave of Iranian immigration, entrepreneurs and highly-skilled professionals emigrated from Iran in search of better odds at success. Gender roles became more distinct in this time period, when daughters were encouraged to move out of a society characterized by gender restriction. The third and most recent wave of Iranian immigration involved illegally fleeing from the country as refugees and seeking asylums. All three waves of immigration include residents who demonstrated partial assimilation to the American culture as well as  those who showed residency in America as a temporary home.

Because there are three waves of immigration that refer to different times regarding the Iranian Revolution, I decided to focus on the first wave of Iranian immigration. The first wave emphasizes the initial intentions of Iranian immigrants, who epitomize their premeditated Iranian or Muslim beliefs and values compared to the modern, secular lives of Americans. Iranian immigrant teenagers were influenced by the schools who provided education that taught students about self-reliance and independence. These characteristics greatly contrasted with the traditional and family-oriented values of Muslims. In moving toward modernism, these immigrants were also able to enjoy the freedom restricted to females due to gender conflicts in Iran, as they gave birth in America, became naturalized, and acquired educational and professional success. More people at this time became naturalized compared to 1980, when only 10% of Iranian immigrants during post-revolution endured this process. In other words, they never intended to stay in the United States permanently, for thousands of Iranians retreated to their homeland in 1989. In addition, the pre-revolution immigrants assimilated to the American culture by learning English. It is interesting that although they were the same group of immigrants, the Iranian immigration movements are significantly dissimilar to each other, demonstrating completely different methods and levels of acculturation to America. While the pre-revolution immigrants were pleased with assimilation, post-war Iranians migrated back to their homeland after they received education and conditions improved in Iran. 

Resources from California Dreams and Realities

"Coming to California: Chasing the Dream" by Gibbs and Bankhead

In this article, Gibbs and Bankhead emphasize the influx of Asian immigrants to San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge, which represents freedom and opportunity in correspondence to the Statue of Liberty for European immigrants in the east coast. The number of Asian immigrants exponentially increased as the telecommunications and corporation industries required large pools of entrepreneurs. In addition, Asian immigrants worked on United States's agricultural and railroad systems in Northern California. Available job opportunities became scarce, and tensions arose between the white majority group and nonwhite minority groups that affected the Los Angeles metropolis, along with its surrounding cities in California. The influence of jobs in California can be effectively evaluated with this article because it specifically refers to the influx of Asian Americans and other minority groups setting individual goals of success upon migrating to California and persistently working towards achieving the American Dream. Although the information is useful in connecting the plausibility of the American Dream for several immigrant groups, the article does not provide evidence that are up to date. In fact, the sources are dated to be in the first half of the 20th century and refer to historical facts such as the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1904 and "the earliest days as a part of the northward expansion." However, I do plan on utilizing this source to support the dynamic nature of the American Dream for both nonwhite and white groups. In addition, Gibbs and Bankhead possess a neutral position on the relationship between the immigrants and whites in California, as well as the Chinese-American's choice to assimilate in American society. They further proclaim that "skin color supersede[s] all other salient characteristics" in the land, for segregation and discrimination continued to exist in the city of Angels.

State Needs a "Time-Out from Mass Immigration" by Yeh Ling-Ling

Because of continuous immigration to California, progress involving educational reforms have been static since the decline in the state's education system in 2000. In this article, Ling-Ling asserts that due to the mass immigration of individuals from all over the world, California has been unable to improve in its financial standing and educational system. The author depicts that the flood of immigrants and "import[ation] of poverty" attempting to assimilate in a supposedly flourishing American society actually hinders the state in particularly financial ways. The information provided in Ling-Ling's article includes critical statistics about the disadvantages brought to California due to immigration, such as the budget deficit of $24 billion and 30 percent increase in poverty levels due to working-poor immigrants. The statistics reveal information from the far past, but the opinions given by Ling-Ling are in reference to California's current condition. Both the factual evidence and analysis given by Ling-Ling can be useful resources in supporting the financial perspective of immigration in my essay. Furthermore, the author claims that although "we are all immigrants or descendants of immigrants" as "good workers," the several years of mass immigration has hurt the state government in  prominently financial ways. Her perspective shows that mass immigration should be halted so that California has time to improve and fix its own infrastructure in the time being.

Tracy Kidder and His Art of Storytelling

Tracy Kidder is a name I only heard once while watching my friend read Mountains Beyond Mountains for her Introduction to Global Health class. My friend lauded on  the descriptions of Paul Farmer's life provided by Kidder in the novel and the accomplishments, goals, and efforts he made to solve health problems on an entirely global scale. Through Kidder's presentation, I learned about his relationship with Paul Farmer, the founder of the Partners in Health organization, and Deo, a young medical student from Burundi. As a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Kidder enjoys simply the pleasure of storytelling, especially about Farmer's mission to build a clinic in an impoverished part of Haiti and Deo's passsionate goal in creating a system of public health in his rural village in central Africa. For Deo, he was working as a hospital intern when Burundi erupted in an ethnic civil war. Surviving the onset of the war, he escaped to Rwanda then New York City, delivering groceries and finally enrolling at Columbia University to progress in his dream of improving public health in his native land. Strength in What Remains is not only a story about survival of a individual in midst of an ethnic war, but also a tale about survival, despair, determination, evil, and kindness. While telling the story of Deo, Kidder remarked how one person can affect the global process of problems with diseases. He added that the best stories of living monuments are "memories that have to be preserved," for his way of upholding Deo's life was to tell and spread his remarkable story worldwide. In doing so, he says that there is no need for justification. In addition, Kidder stated that he accidentally started the book in Haiti, intentionally uninterested in the issues that outlined the lives of individuals in the country. Instead, what he aspired to do was art. He mentions that "art has the great power to transform the sufferings into something beautiful."

I think he achieves both storytelling and the art of touching the lives of others around the world. By conveying the story of Deo, he inspires individuals to recognize the global problems and what people are currently doing to save others from ongoing affliction. In fact, I believe that the stories he tells have the potential to encourage readers to experience the character's lives from writing on the page "into the minds of the reader's imagination." I believe that through his presentation, Kidder hoped to build comprehension of global issues through embodiment of inspirational human experiences. Interestingly, Kidder questioned the audience about their ways of approaching hardships that Deo experienced. This question lingered in the atmosphere of the auditorium. I realized that through similar questions embedded in his stories, Kidder has improved the mindsets of individuals to help the world and stop neglecting the virtuous accomplishments people are currently making. In our AMST class, we learned that racially-motivated riots occurred due to society's neglect towards social tension, which certainly relates to the obliviousness of society with not just racial problems, but also health issues in the world today. For our Writing 140 class, I learned that I should not just formulate a group of words into sentences, but stir the imaginations of the readers, inspire, and attempt to create life and a greater understanding of the world on paper. 

A 140 Year Old Truth

With further research of the Chinese Massacre of 1871, I learned that this mass lynching event was caused by social and racial tensions that were neglected intentionally. The event denotes a spontaneous outbreak of not only societal pressure, but also pure hatred. Although they were new to Los Angeles, the Chinese population was feared because of their abilities to work long hours and move upward in the career field, which caused resentment to the people in the already afflicted Los Angeles economy. The Chinese were also alienated from society because of the large contrast between the Asian culture and religion and the Anglo-dominated population of Los Angeles then. This struggle between the two racial classes, as well as the moving in of Blacks, exacerbated Los Angeles’s attempt to recover from its severely declining economy from the end of the American Civil War. Moreover, Los Angeles anticipated the building of a railway from the city that connected with all parts of Southern California to promote the city. Ultimately, the city’s larger vision, to encourage individuals and families to settle in Los Angeles, slowly diminished because of the massacre.

Victims of mob event

The offenses against the Chinese became so severe that during the Civil War, the California Legislature made it illegal for a Chinese man to testify against a white man in court. This motivated a mob of 500 killers who demolished Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles and 17 Chinese individuals on the street of Calle de los Negros. More importantly, the impractical lynching of innocent individuals was not enough for the involvement of the police enforcement. In fact, it is inferred that the Los Angeles authorities and justice system deliberately concealed the news of the massacre and allowed the massacre and its effects to continue. To them, the killings, and ultimately deaths, of Chinese Americans was a shame and embarrassment to the outside world because it did little to promote Los Angeles.

Overall, this truth was buried and never publicly released to attain the greatest attention from the mass public for over 140 years.  There is not a single plaque, memorial, or statue that physically represents this horrendous massacre, and it is highly plausible that the city purposely eliminated this memory from its history.  

This newfound knowledge of the 1871 massacre led me to realize that many other historical and current events of Los Angeles are left hidden, including the Watts Riot and other following riots resembling a similar conflict. Because of its history and “habit” of forgetting the causes and effects of racially stimulated riots, Los Angeles’s culture is characterized by uncomfortable pasts and the inability to face the sorrows and pressures that the people desperately exhibit. Perhaps a solution to this problem is to expose the truths of riots and histories of Los Angeles that are hidden today in classrooms and public events, which can further spread awareness and promote a greater kind of community within this dynamic city. 

Also, I found out that one of the professors here at USC has recently edited a collection called The Blackwells of Los Angeles that includes one of the articles for the Chinese Massacre. Click here to view an online version of the article!

A Story To Be Continued...

The rampage made by hundreds of white citizens,
destroying the homes of Chinese Americans

Caused by a flared argument over an individual named Yit Ho, the Chinese Massacre occurred in Los Angeles on October 24, 1871. The two opponents of the argument both fired at each other, consequentially killing some notable Los Angeles police officers. Other sources state that the massacre was triggered by an unintentional shooting of a white citizen who interrupted a heated exchange of gunfire between two Chinese gangs, or tongs, at a small street named Calle de los Negros (LA Almanac, 2011). The shooting initiated a mob action that included several whites who demolished Los Angeles's well-known Chinatown. More serious actions of the whites included tortured execution of Chinese American residents in the area. Repercussions of these racially provoked riots consist of a divisive discrimination against the Chinese in Los Angeles, ultimately leading to the Chinese Exclusion Act executed in 1882.

This historical event embodies the racial conflicts and potential misrepresentation of various communities in Los Angeles today. The event also questioned the duties and authorities of the officers sheltering residents from violence and racial inequity. In fact, no individual was brought to court for any of the misconduct, which shows the ineffectiveness of the city's investigative strategies.

 In my research, I am planning to search whether the construction of Los Angeles's Chinatown is to lament the consequences of the massacre or to indicate any form of racial disarray. I will also research about the effects of the massacre that are still instilled in the Chinese American population and the police enforcement in Los Angeles for further support of this historical event's influence on the current City of Angels.

Click here for an image of a 1871 newspaper article regarding the Chinese Massacre of 1871.

Save Olvera Street!

As a landmark of exceptional history, dynamic culture, and socio-economic boom, Olvera Street symbolizes a prominent component in representing Los Angeles as a city of incomparable diversity. As a city, Los Angeles utilizes Olvera Street to not only prompt tourists to experience a family-oriented, entertaining environment of the city, but also productively contribute to its economy. In one aspect, the public place introduces a cultural side to Los Angeles aimed for tourists and newcomers to the area. Olvera Street attempts to preserve its distinct culture and demonstrate a minute division of its history of water and development during the times of Otis and Chandler, as well as William Mulholland. To attract tourists to Los Angeles, this Mexican marketplace serves as a significant place and a must-go attraction to become familiar with the customs of this flourishing city. It is a cornucopia of the Latin culture and the old pueblo, in which Olvera Street endeavors to reproduce with its artificial brick walls, rows of the Mexican flag, and traditional masks an trinkets sold in every store on the street. For Los Angeles, the street provides a route towards an entertaining and cultural experience, even though the culture represented in Olvera Street does not necessarily reflect the truth. Nonetheless, this public place affords a method of luring tourists, for commercializing and economic purposes, into Olvera Street and essentially the greater city of Los Angeles.

In relation to Olvera Street as a necessary component of Los Angeles, there was an issue of needlessly large rent increases and plummeting sales. The issue known as SOS (Save Olvera Street) aims to maintain the existence of Olvera Street and preserve a tradition that has been sustained for several decades. Click here for a 2010 article addressing SOS!

Los Angeles History Comes to Life

Entrance sign to Olvera Street

Struggling to find the perfect location to be culturally inspired, I was, at first, in doubt of going to visit this "Olvera Street" that took part in several people's daily conversations about Los Angeles. Skeptically, I traveled down to the cross streets of Hill and Ord on a public bus and treaded a few steps ahead with already the overwhelming feeling of the silent streets, independent citizens reminiscing while looking out the window on the bus, and the awe-inspiring sense of bewilderment about my surroundings.

Crossing the street at Chinatown, Los Angeles

I passed by Chinatown, which consisted of blocks of miniature floral shops, cafés, and Chinese food restaurants. There were numerous signs with ambiguous characters and the hustle and bustle of elderly individuals passing by each other. With a couple more steps uphill on a sloped, cracked sidewalk, I spotted a street behind a considerably bulky oak tree, wedged between two large buildings. I had entered Olvera Street from the back because there were no blatant indications of "Olvera Street" in the middle of this road. However, with just the appearance of a colorfully and culturally enriched street overflowing with individual people, families, couples, and salespeople in
vibrant, traditional Latino costumes. Every inch on the street was occupied by stores and decorated carts that sold historical items that represented California in various ways. Not only were the stores equipped with antique trinkets and hand-made dolls, but also masks, sombreros and rows of Mexican flags. Olvera Street is the ultimate place to experience cultural and historical fortification.

Standing with the mannequins displaying traditional costumes

Halfway down the historically recognized street in

Stores underground Olvera Street

Los Angeles, past the various Mexican restaurants with lively musical entertainment that echoed across the city, I encountered a place called The Avila Adobe, which is the oldest standing house in the city of Los Angeles. Provided by the El Pueblo De Los Angeles, entry to this museum was free, which embodies the public generosity of Olvera Street. Inside the historical dwelling were displays of the different rooms that were included in the house back at the start of Los Angeles's flourishing development. For example, in the Family Room, there was a large table and numerous chairs for gatherings of relatives and friends. Moreover, this room symbolizes the joy of eating meals together, listening to California music, and dancing along in pure merriment. Overall, the museum demonstrated a genuine, small village that was satiated with contentment and expectations that the California Dream and history offers. For me, I had the opportunity to explore an area I am not familiar with, and discover, directly in person, the history and narratives told in lectures be brought to life.

Another fascinating place I stumbled upon in the village on Olvera Street was a museum that includes the history of water in Los Angeles. Although the museum was under repair, I was able to view the entrance of the museum, which included a timeline of how water was brought to Los Angeles, the obstacles associated with this mission, and the contributions that William Mulholland made to the development of the diverse city that Los Angeles is today. Viewing all the newspaper articles about the project Mulholland executed and the techniques utilized with aqueducts, I was enthused to view Los Angeles and Olvera Street in a completely different perspective.

Family Room in the Avila Adobe

After viewing the History of Water museum and the rest of the row of stores lined in Olvera Street, I reached the end of the road only to find an immense communal festival outside the street. Contrastingly, there were countless tents and vendors covered in modern company logos, including Lowes, Monster, Verizon, and Chase, right outside the traditional and culturally enhanced location of Olvera Street. This denotes the ability of Los Angeles to execute events and celebrations with food and entertainment on a normal Saturday weekend all for the sake of community relationships.

In essence, Olvera Street commemorates the extensive, remarkable history of Los Angeles and encourages the cultural enrichment and diversity that the city has to offer. The citizens are able to enjoy the freedom of exploring the street for entertainment, shopping, or even to experience the pleasurable atmosphere of a new, major tourist attraction. Hence, the cultural diversity of Los Angeles is epitomized and the history of California comes to life with just a trip down Olvera Street. 

Olvera Street

A California State of Mind

New Insight to the song "Gone to California" and the California Dream

The California Dream depicted in Pink's song "Gone to California" elucidates on more than just the notion of escaping to California for ultimately a better life. The speaker in the song shows the struggle towards a new life and expecting stardom, fame, and happiness in the new land of California. Not only does she anticipate the pleasure of experiencing days of respite and bliss, but also the assurance of finding the perfect life in this utopian setting in the Golden State.

As I searched further into the words, repetitions, paradoxical rhythm, and the desperate tone in the song, I discerned that the song fundamentally embodies vain hope. In addition to the disillusionment the speaker will feel after realizing that the California Dream is nothing more than a illusive mirage, this futile idea exemplifies an vacant dream. Without a specific destination, the song expresses the fact that the California Dream is frankly unattainable and serves, instead, as a desperate fantasy by hopeful individuals.

Through this song, I detected that the California Dream resembles a fairy tale that includes a series of imaginary, propitious visions of success. A fairy tale is also a narrative of fictitious characters attempting to escape to a world of promises and eternal joy. Also, a mirage in the distance illustrates a distant, beautiful image that fails to actually exist. Neither of these metaphors refer to reality at hand. I figured out that California is not envisioned as a physical location. California is a forlorn state of mind, and the California Dream only encourages individuals to be entrapped in unpromising futures.

A mirage, representative of the distant futility of the California Dream

California in Comparison

An official music video is not provided.

The song "Gone to California" by PINK, entirely depicts the California Dream compared to the reality of life in other states of America. Particularly in this song, the speaker has experienced anguish in the city of Philadelphia. The song includes the ironic description of the "Philadelphia freedom" to be the "city of brotherly love" that is "full of pain and hurt." To seek a new life, the speaker plans to escape to California where the sun is shining and the "streets are made of silver." Expectations of stardom, success, and overall satisfaction of life are portrayed in the speaker's vision of the extravagant, carefree California life. However, the speaker is aware of the notion that her anticipation is nothing more than what she has only heard about. While devoid of certainty and full of possible fallacy, the speaker flees from her mournful life to a place of fresh opportunities. The melody and rhythm of the song adds to the paradoxical idea of grieving over the old life, discovering the path to new life, and still being doubtful of what the California truly has to offer. The beat of the song is slow, which emphasizes the reluctance to commit to the California Dream; whereas, the California Dream is supposed to convey excitement and bliss.

My California Dream

Hollywood serves as the land of opportunities for fame, stardom,
and extreme success.

The motivation to achieve wealth, fame, and the path to finding satisfaction in life is all defined in the California Dream.  It is the notion of persevering towards success while gaining happiness and experiencing the world of modernism. Often times, this motivation points at one specific destination- Hollywood. This idea has led individuals to strive for their new beginnings in life on new, unexplored land with eager expectations and refusal to receive disappointment or failure. Such life includes living in the present time, receiving sunshine and flawless weather, finding gratification in the given opportunities, and enjoying the results of living life to its full potential. However, as individuals psychologically create goals to achieve in the land, they augment their impervious expectations without taking any kind of downfall into consideration. Consequentially, expectations translate into stronger promises, and reality is overlooked. Whether that aspiration will be achieved is dependent on diligence, and sometimes, a bit of luck. In essence, the California Dream embodies ultimate success, achieving characteristics of being single, healthy, and well-adjusted to the modern world.

The California Dream includes luxury, beaches, and great weather

USC!

Go USC Trojans 2015!

FIGHT ON

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