Biography of Joseph Patrick Kennedy Essay -- Motion Picture Industry F

Biography of Joseph Patrick Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy was a very successful banker and film executive, born in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 6, 1888. Considered by many to be America’s version of the â€Å"royal family,† the Kennedy’s of Boston, Massachusetts have enjoyed triumphs and seen tragedy during the 20th century. As the family patriarch, Joseph Patrick Kennedy instilled values of commitment to public service, determination to succeed, and loyalty to family. His father, Patrick Joseph, was a prosperous saloonkeeper. Patrick also was active in Boston politics, as Irish ward boss, a five time state representative, and state senator. Kennedy’s parents were anxious for their son to succeed, however in the Boston social environment of the time, success was difficult to achieve for people of their Irish-Catholic background. It was Kennedy’s mother, Mary Augusta, who decided that her son should be called Joseph Patrick rather than Patrick Joseph, after his father. She feared that â€Å"Patrick Kennedy† sounded â€Å"too Irish.† Mary Augusta believed that in elitist Brahmin Boston, being Irish and Catholic would obstruct entry into â€Å"better† society. Mary arranged for her son to work for a millinery shop, delivering hats to affluent women. She instructed her son that, if asked his name, to reply simply â€Å"Joseph,† so as to avoid drawing attention to his ethnic background. Both parents were aware that entry to the higher levels of Boston society dictated that Kennedy mix with those outside his Irish community. They sent their son to Catholic schools for his early education, but when he was older he attended Boston Latin School and Harvard University, to be educated with Boston’s elite Protestant families. Although Kennedy made a few friends at Harvard, especially among the minority of Irish students there, and was popular with young Irish women, Kennedy never was accepted by a majority of the students---anti-Irish, anti-Catholic sentiment was strong. One friend warned Kennedy to be very careful in his behavior because Boston Brahmins were watching for any sign that would justify their prejudices. Kennedy’s determination to ingratiate himself with the socially prominent Protestants was viewed by some as distasteful and pretentious. He was never invited to join any of Harvard’s â€Å"better† clubs. Friends indicated what they felt was one of Kennedy’s more commendab... ...n its heyday (1930-49) was managed by a number of omnipotent studios, including Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers, RKO, Paramount, Twentieth Century-Fox, and Universal. They produced endless cycles of films in imitation of a few successful original types. The range of themes included the criminal underworld, behind-the-scenes newspaper dramas, westerns, musicals, costume romances, and character series such as the Charlie Chan films, prison stories, mysteries, comedies, and Broadway shows. Because of their enormous investments and gargantuan rewards (the film industry’s gross income for 1946, its best year, was nearly $2 billion); the studios were encouraged to repeat conventionalized formula pictures. Today, the motion picture industry is an always changing, ever thriving business. Media corporations seem to be replacing true media moguls, buying out all aspects of the entertainment industry and forming one large conglomerate operating everything from radio to television to print to motion pictures. This semester I learned that the coming years will demonstrate a transformation of the motion picture and entertainment industry, not seen since its inception over a century ago.

Imprint of Italian and Irish Americans on the American Culture Essay

On July 4th 1776, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Carefully written on this scribe and on the foundation of this nation are the unalienable rights to â€Å"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.† (Declaration of Independence, n.d.) While some of the values and ideas of this document come from America’s motherland, England, the promised rights to the free world are shared by no other nation. For this reason, The American Dream is dreamt not only by natural born citizens of this nation, but by many people all around the world. Over twelve million immigrants during the late 1800s and early 1900s passed through Ellis Island, the first federal immigrant inspection station of the free world. Of the newcomers, a portion of them consisted of Italian Americans and Irish Americans. Throughout history, these groups have contributed to what is termed multiculturalism. Being the minority, these two groups have also experienced power-conflicts through their quests of assimilation. The two ethnic groups faced many challenges that helped create what is believed to be the melting pot to many ethnicities and racial groups. For The Journey While the American Dream is a common value, the aspirations of the idea come from different motives. In Italy, a strong, and unfair class structure created such severe conditions that led to 1/3 of the nation’s population to immigrate to the new world. While the majority of this fraction came permanently for a new life, some came temporarily to make enough money to return to Italy and buy land. Simply owning land in Italy automatically escalated Italians within the class structure. Many Italian Americans settled in Chicago Illinois, one of the largest growing cities in America at the time. Chicago offered much opportunity for work, as it was the ideal producer of steel and aider to America’s industrial growth. Back in Ireland,  the Irish had much more to deal with than just a harsh class structure. Under English rule, Irish religious practices were repressed along with many other basic freedoms the Irish came to experience in America. A poor economic situation due to chaos of rebellious battles led to much of Ireland’s population living an unsanitary lifestyle in mud huts well into the late 1800s. These living conditions led to diseases of more than half the population. When the Irish Americans first settled in Boston, they lived crammed into small, single-home houses with at least a couple more families. Many shared cellar, attic, and crawl spaces for living quarters (Youtube, 2011). Overall Assimilation Assimilation in reference to the Italians and the Irish is much more complex and has become an identity reference in itself. Being the weak minority has demanded the Italians and Irish to accept and disregard many of their own practices to satisfy the dominate. Unlike the Irish, many Italians did not stick together, but lived spread-out and separated from others. In fact, some tensions developed between some Italians groups based on what streets and neighborhood they lived on and in. Inside conflicts like this led to outside conflicts as Americans began to depict Italian Americans as a dark and devious group within press. Italian Americans worked hard to reverse this depiction and to adhere to the dominate rule of society. When Mussolini began to restore Italy to what many people believed that to the equivalent of the Roman Empire eras, Italian Americans felt sense of pride. Mussolini knowing that he needed the approval of Italians worked hard to earn their respect. The world viewed Mussolini as a strong leader, and this view reflected off of the proud Italian Americans. However, when Mussolini declared war on the U.S. by joining forces with other fascist leaders, Italian Americans began to receive much ridicule from the dominate social class again. Meanwhile, Irish Americans needed little effort to complete the process of assimilation. Having many of the same physical characteristics as the dominate groups of America, made it easier to focus on progression up the social ladder. The first generation, while working factory jobs like the Italian Americans, led a more togetherness of a lifestyle with one another in their group, which created a better support system. The support system created a stronger group and led to management positions. The second  generation focused heavily on education as much as the dominate class did. Higher education led to political offices within just the third generation of Irish Americans, which led to the Irish becoming part of the dominate group in America. A great example of this would be the Kennedy Family. Power-Conflicts Predicted to be the minority by the middle of the 21st century, the dominate white has been accused of trying to oppress the minority through tactics summarized by power-conflict theories. (Feagin & Feagin, 2011). When the Italians and Irish first immigrated to America, the first jobs they assumed were factory and railroad jobs. Running these factories were members of the dominate class. It is commonly believed that money is the result of success in America, just as the sum of money and success are equal to power. The contrast between the dominate and the minority was very much defined as there was not much of a middle class. It was without effort for the dominate factory runners and railroad heads to pay the minority the minimum for the dangerous work they provided, after all, the only thing factory workers had to provide was their labor while factory runners had the product of the factories. For a long time this was a recurring issue in terms of power-conflicts. This issue created so much unrest until the two groups gained support from within their own groups to develop labor unions. Multiculturalism Multiculturalism is a term that to this day produces many unsettled feelings of both unrest and excitement. America, regarded as the Melting Pot of many cultures is not even a fully multicultural nation, as this country has taken almost three hundred years to see the first African American president. While the Italians and the Irish have worked hard to assimilate to the ways of this nation, they have also brought their culture onto this nation as well. Christopher Columbus day is proudly recognized by Italians as he was always considered the son of Italy. His finding of the new world has been an amazing accomplishment for the Italians. When the Italians finally had a voice in congress, they pushed to make the day a federal holiday (Youtube, 2011). Meanwhile, the strong religion practice as Catholics has also prompted holidays in favor of the Irish, such as St. Patrick’s Day. Without  the push by these groups to recognize these days, America may have not done so otherwise. It is important that days that attribute much to other cultures be recognized by America to promote multiculturalism. For example another federal holiday that reminds America of equal rights among equal groups is Martin Luther King Day. Conclusion In the late 1800s and early 1900s Italian and Irish Americans came to American to take advantage of the opportunities. The Italians settled primarily in Chicago, while the Irish settled in Boston. The two groups worked hard to assimilate through the trials and tribulations of power-conflicts and the everlasting multiculturalism. While the groups assimilated well by becoming an American version of their ethnicity, they also left an imprint on the overall culture of America. When both groups achieved political offices, days that were influential to their groups became federal holidays. References Declatation of Independence. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charter/declatation_transcript.html Feagin, J. R., & Feagin, C. B. (2011). Racial and Ethnic Relations (9th ed.). New York, NY: Prentice Hall. Library of Congress. (2014, May). Immigration†¦Irish. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationssandactivities/presentations/immigration/irish6.html Youtube. (2011, December). And they Came to Chicago: The Italian American Legacy. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqeikaWQCyo Youtube. (2011, July). The Irish in America Part 1. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0sZ_jWcyl

One Art By Sylvia Plath Critical Analysis - 1446 Words

Loss is a universal human emotion. From the small losses of a missing sock to the often overwhelming loss of the death of a loved one, loss comes to everyone in various forms. The nature of loss, however, makes it a rich topic for poetic endeavors. In both â€Å"One Art† by Elizabeth Bishop and â€Å"Lady Lazarus† by Sylvia Plath, the poets write to conceptualize and understand their losses, ultimately applying radically opposing solutions to the same emotional struggle. Elizabeth Bishop was a high-caliber poet known for her excellent use of form and technical genius. Suffering tragedy at a young age when â€Å"her father died, and shortly thereafter, her mother was committed to a mental asylum,† it is somewhat surprising that the majority of Bishop’s†¦show more content†¦This stanza works to normalize the loss of small things, thus treating them like stepping stones to bigger losses. The refrain of this stanza is the first line of the first stanz a, which immediately reasserts Bishop’s idea that loss â€Å"isn’t hard to master† (Bishop, â€Å"One Art† 6). In stanza three, Bishop encourages the reader to become even more comfortable with loss. She presents conceptual losses in this stanza, represented by names, places, and â€Å"where it was you meant / to travel† (Bishop, â€Å"One Art† 8-9). These are lost ideas rather than tangible objects and, as implied by the use of the word meant, ideas that were potential instead of realized; as such, letting these concepts go is a feasible next step in the process of accepting loss. The refrain of this stanza is simply the word â€Å"disaster,† the last word of the third line in the first stanza (Bishop, â€Å"One Art† 9). The use of one word for the refrain gives Bishop greater flexibility to place it more easily into a new context. The fourth stanza transitions from conceptual losses to sentimental losses, which is, again, another step in the process of gradually accepting the bigger losses in life. These sentimental losses are represented by her â€Å"mother’s watch† and â€Å"three loved houses† (Bishop, â€Å"One Art† 10-11). Since Bishop lost her mother at a young age, it’s easy to infer that, if she is referencingShow MoreRelatedHow Sylvia Plaths Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus2237 Words   |  9 PagesHow Sylvia Plaths Life is Reflected in the Poems Daddy, Morning Song, and Lady Lazarus Sylvia Plath has had an exciting life, if I can use this word. Her father died from an undiagnosed diabetes when she was eight. At the same time, a short couplet that she wrote was published in the Boston Sunday Herald. Later, she won scholarships to study in Smith, Harvard, and finally Cambridge. There, Plath married Ted Hughes, who was a good poet, too. What amazes me in her lifeRead MoreContemporary American Poetry and Its Public Worlds Essay8159 Words   |  33 Pages But who has the will to concern himself with such dangerous maybes? For that, one really has to to wait for the advent of a new species of philosophers, such as somehow another and converse taste and propensity from those we have known so far--philosophers of the dangerous maybe in every sense. (Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, sec 2.) This will not be one more lament for the sad state of contemporary American poetry. Yet to define some of the basic strengths of new work I have