Monday, August 25, 2008

Early Thoughts on Cultural Identity

Think about what you discussed today with your small group and with the class. Then, finish the following sentence and give a brief explanation of your response:

Americans in our generation value....

24 comments:

Kalyn K said...

Americans in our generation value their life, their society, and the people around them.

AllisonS said...

Americans in our generation value individualism.

I think this is the biggest thing that our culture today values because you hear it in every song because everyone has different tastes and etc.

aaronw said...

americans in our generation value...
an identity.
this could be a reputation, a way they identify themselves, or they way they act.

clarao said...

Americans in our generation value culture.

Anonymous said...

One of the biggest trends I saw in the songs was anger with the world. Most songs talked about the war and going green. Most of the songs people picked were activism songs. I think this shows that there is a large group of people who just want a better world in terms of peace and all that other fun stuff.

So I think that...

Americans in our generation value the concept of peace.

kristinah said...

Americans in our culture value love. They want to be loved and they want to find love. People find it hard to find love and keep it because there is often no reason for love to fail. It is hard to find true love too and when it is fake it hurts other people. People can be afraid of love too because of this reason. There are a lot of songs about an absense of love or when love had failed on them or it had been taken away.

catem said...

Americans in our generation value a sense of security.

In a generation where violence is apart of everyday life, and war is a reality which was brought home by 9/11, nothing is valued higher than that safe and sound feeling.

RayS said...

Americans in our generation value prosperity.

I think we as americans value prosperity becausse it includes, money, happiness, friendship...we all want to live our lives the way we plan to. Prosperity keeps us in the place we want to be and with out it we really dont have anything.

KelseyL said...

Americans in our generation value freedom.

They want the power to do what they want and not have an authority figure telling them what to do.

Kalyn K said...

Sorry this is seperated... I think that because every song has something to do with other people, life, and/or the society they live in.

nicolek said...

I think that American's in our generation value our possessions. We are so proud of our suburban homes and high class jobs. In the song I chose it say, "people walk around carrying their paychecks in a necklace and a bracelet" which means that we buy expensive things to show our place in society. We don't even consider that other countries may not have enough possessions to survive. I think that it is up to our generation to change that.

matthewg said...

Americans in our generation value connection.

My mom can't live without the phone, my dad can't check the exact status of stocks without the Internet. The first thing most of my friends do when they see my computer is check the comments on their Myspace.

clarao said...

I feel like what our generation is trying to do is spread democracy and mix other cultures into our own.

DennisRocks said...

Americans in our generation value guidance. Life is challenging and every gesture of help, no matter how insignificant, will be appreciated.

brennanl said...

Americans in this generation value perfection. I noticed a trend in the songs that either the lyrics or the music video describe it. Although not all perfection was in a good light, at least someone in the video valued it. Usually,it was the majority. I think that our generation chases perfection like no other one ever has- even though no one will ever catch it.

Alyssa S. said...

Americans in our generation value change. In this decade, people have become very active in our society. Whether it is to change government, the environment, laws, or education, people have begun to realize they can make a difference and have begun to do so. One of the things Barack Obama is famous for, is saying that this is a time for change. Especially in young people, change has become a very important aspect of life.

Sethd said...

Americans in our generation value there wallets. No matter what is going on in the world, Americans aren't happy unless they are doing well economically.

lesliel said...

Americans in our generation value selflessness.

I think this because though this decade is a lot about individualism, when people show that they truly care about others, people value that.

maddisonm said...

Americans in our generation value relationships. In our generation people love to feel accepted into a group, and value that one person they can turn to when times get hard. How our relationships can determine whether our day is bad or a good day. If you get in a fight with your parents or best friend you can have a horrible week. Us as Americans value the people that treat us right and the relationships we have.

helenp said...

Americans in our generation value the feeling of belonging.
We all try to fit in and many don't feel that they do. We try to describe ourselves by catergorizing.

josed said...

Americans in our generation value being able to do and think about what they want. All of my group's songs show people that can do what they want, have their own way of thinking, have their own goals that are being suppressed, etc. It seems all songs somehow talk about fulfilling our desires, living in the world we want, without caring about anyone else.

catherinec said...

Americans in our generation value life and the living. Although we take for granted many things, we have inproved our way of living to value the living.

rachelseverson said...

Americans in our generations value activeness. Even though not all of us are inclined to actually help out, we value and appreciate those who do. I think there are a lot of problems, new and old, that we need to realize and solve.

ErinO said...

Americans in our generation value freedom and an identity that seperates them from past generations.

I think these two are important and well stressed in today's society because I believe that people today are so over-concerned about falling back into the technology and concepts of the past, that they will do anything it takes to keep moving forward.

I agree with Matt(connection), Seth/Ray/Nicole (economy/stuff), and Cate (security) as well.