Book review: ‘Becoming Americans’
November 22, 2009
By ANNE MORRIS
Source: The Dallas Morning News
This ambitious anthology brings together 85 writings by American immigrants from 45 countries. Arranged chronologically, the letters, stories, articles and poems extend from 1623 to the present.
The earliest ones, by Phyllis Wheatley, John James Audubon and St. John Crèvecoeur, often have a schoolbook feel, like a reading assignment for an American history class from primary sources. Later pieces, by Isaac Bashevis Singer, Frank McCourt, Edwidge Danticat, Jhumpa Lahiri and Junot Díaz showcase some of the liveliest writing of our time.
Ilan Stavans, a professor of Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College and a frequent editor of anthologies, made the selections for this hefty volume. They include a revealing autobiographical essay by Stavans, a Polish-Ukrainian Jew born in Mexico City. He describes the moment when he first knew his identity: “I would perfect my English and thus become a New York Jew, an intellectual animal … In just a single moment I understood who I could be.”
Many of the writers deal with issues of identity, too. Not so many see the answer as clearly as Stavans or pursue it as effectively.
The Norwegian novelist O.E. Rolvaag (1876-1931) describes the alienation that sets in when one loses his Fatherland, “for it can never be regained,” and “neither can you get another in its place, no matter what you do.”
Julia Alvarez, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, writes in “Something to Declare” about this pain of loss of place. “For weeks that soon became months and years, I would think … What was going on right this moment back home?”
Other immigrant writers repeatedly address the need to reinvent one’s self, so as to fit the new land. In a selection from Henry Roth’s classic 1934 novel Call It Sleep, a husband from Ukraine finds his wife and child an embarrassment when they finally join him in New York. Life here for him had been a disappointment – and he was angry at everyone.
A much earlier writer, Gottlieb Mittelberger (1715-79), a German, had suggested that his countrymen who came to America believing that “roasted pigeons are going to fly into their mouths without their having to work for them” were fools.
Anzia Yezierska (1885-1970) from Belarus shows in a short story from Children of Loneliness how the younger generation assimilates more readily than its progenitors, producing terrible tensions within a family. In the end, the daughter slams the door in her mother’s face and tells herself: “I owe them nothing, nothing, nothing.” (Sound familiar? Clearly she has assimilated as an American teenager.)
Sometimes children assimilate, but parents cannot follow. In “Dying in a Strange Country,” Tahira Naqvi, a Pakistani-American born in 1952, tells the touching story of an aged mother who reluctantly visits her grown son in Connecticut but desperately fears she will die while outside her native land.
Eva Hoffman, who emigrated from Poland to Canada with her parents and earned a scholarship to Rice University, discusses in an essay how language shapes her perceptions and enlarges her identity.
Becoming Americans leaves out American Indians, who were already here, and gives only moderate attention to Mexican-Americans, despite their growing role in this country. The book is not an attempt to represent evenly every immigrant group. Rather, Stavans showcases good writing that shows how individuals, famous or obscure, felt coming to America, working to fit in.
Say it ain’t so…can it be the marketers have lost all connection with consumers?
Last week were at a conference and this video – Bring Back the Love – was shown to us.
It may be a bit of an exaggeration. But, I’m sure many can relate as marketers try to lump people into herds – can you say moo – and try to tell us we are all the same.
Some will argue that all people have certain commonalities but the debate continues. Will this relationship survive given the fact that there seems to be only one active participant?
This is up for discussion…why don’t you tell us what you think.
Stereotypes and humor go back like spinal cords and car seats.
Last week G-Lo opened his foray into late-night comedy with an impressive 3.2 million viewers. However, some didn’t find George Lopez all that funny. The use of comedy to play up or disarm stereotypes is a double edged sword that “Lopez Tonight” wields voraciously.
The ability to laugh at oneself is an admirable trait, especially if you’re bi-cultural and enduring the struggle of assimilating and/or acculturating into the mainstream. But is there a line between reinforcing the same stereotypes that seem to perpetuate negativity and using them simply for laughs?
For many, comedy is just what it is – entertainment. People have to realize that no matter what a comedian says, one has to undoubtedly always maintain respect for all races, cultures and viewpoints. This is a basic trait that many are taught by our elders…and it should never be compromised.
Honestly, comedy can be used for many different purposes but it shouldn’t be used as the main vehicle for changing stereotypes. We should never be too quick to take entertainers so seriously. The ones that do most likely take themselves too seriously and my only advice to this uncomfortable group of individuals is a quote by Woody Allen: “Comedy just pokes at problems, rarely confronts them squarely. Drama is like a plate of meat and potatoes, comedy is rather the dessert, a bit like meringue.”
Arrests of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S. border have decreased by 23 percent from 2008 to 2009, a trend many attest to the faltering U.S. economy as well as the billions of dollars spent in “securing” the border since September 11th. The 10% unemployment rate and erosion of construction jobs that once lured many Latinos has certainly put downward pressure on immigration, but there is more to the story.
Interestingly enough, the current and expected growth amongst Latinos isn’t due to immigration; it’s due to natural birth in the country.
The post-recession economy could be a tremendous opportunity for Latinos, if only the financial doors were open. However, the current financial crisis poses new challenges to immigrants and natives alike, particularly when it comes to entrepreneurship and the accessibility of credit/funds to create new business ventures. Everyone knows that credit is tight, but it is even tighter for Latinos.
Like trying to fit into the sweater you wore in the 1st grade tight.
Less than a tenth of 1 percent of available credit goes to Latino business men and women. A staggeringly low number considering Latinos will comprise a majority of the U.S. labor force within the next 20 to 30 years. If you want to grow an economy, why not put money into the hands of those bi-cultural Latinos who have the flexibility to navigate and manage the increasingly multicultural U.S. economy.
So how about we take some of the $10.9 billion we spent last year building fences trying to keep Latinos out, and open up the financial doors to the Latino business men and women who will be the harbingers of growth in the post-recession economy.
No jobs? No problem.
We’ll do what we’ve always managed to do…
Create opportunity.
Fence along the US-Mexico border, borders arrests have declined 23% from 2008 to 2009.
At least this is what a new initative – thefuntheory.com – by VW is questioning.
Whether it is for oneself, the environment, or something completely unheard of…the people at VW simply want people to change their behavior for the better.
So, how are they going to do this?
By shifting the way you perceive or experience simple everyday task more. the VW folks hope you will change the way you go about living your daily life.
Check out the link above and see how fun and interactive walking stairs can be.
Kinda reminds me of the scene in Big staring Tom Hanks. It premiered in 1988. Wait, did I just date myself…oh well.
By 2050 the Latino population is expected to triple. What exactly does this mean?
For some it means more buying power, for others it means a louder voice, and for an unfortunate few it also means a new threat to the American way of life.
The truth is that Latinos today are helping to shape our country in new and interesting ways. From Dora the Explore to Ugly Betty we are mainstream.
This doesn’t come without some consequences, and burdens that many people fail to see. But in the Latino community is no different than previous generations of immigrants trying to achieve their version of the American dream.
So, today we encourage you to tune in to the premiere of Latino in America – a CNN in-depth look at how Latinos are changing the nation and how the New America is evolving to become some thing bigger and better.
It’s America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
On Saturday, October 10th, President Obama took the podium at National Annual HRC’s Dinner.
It was very inspiring and refreshing to hear a modern leader speak about this issue. He made it crystal clear that he is a strong ally to the community. He not only understands but encourages activism even in the midst of frustration with the current pace of change.
Check out the video below and let us know what he thinks:
At Adrenalina we strive to be the voice for the new America. As a result, we recently started to study – internally – the lives of transformative figures such as Ghandi, John F. Kennedy and President Obama. This list could go on…
So, it should come as no surprise that a new documentary by HBO title “By The People: The Election of Barack Obama” has caught our attention.
by the people - an hbo documentary
The message President Obama projects is simple. It’s one of unification and hope, something many in this country may not want to hear.
So we would like to charge you…or rather ask you to look deep within your soul and ponder not just about the path of this country but the direction of humanity if all its citizens failed to come together and were succumbed to a hopeless state.
We live in a world where we don’t know our neighbors anymore; we don’t volunteer or get involved in community activities. We’ve become apathetic and separate from each other, afraid to cross an unknown street or even reach across a table to open ourselves up to new experiences. But all this is not the fault of the American or Corporate political system – even though they’ve had their share.
Yet it’s understandable. Most of us are weary of politics, politicians, old school business models and corrupt businessmen. They’ve used divisive plots and spin machines to separate us down the lines of gender, race and religion, but we have a chance, at this moment, to put all of this behind us. We are on the brink of a historic break through in America where one man has gathered a coalition of people together of all race, gender and class to tell the world that we can be strong again. This is what makes President Obama so special and unique.
He inspires us to care about each other and to hold each other up in the face of tragedy, insurmountable hurdles and a country that is literally broken.
Do we dare to care about each other again?
Do we dare to dream that we could all be proud of ONE AMERICA?
Barack Obama challenges us to believe again, “that there is not a liberal America or a conservative America, but the UNITED STATES of AMERICA”, that “there is not a white America, a brown America or a black America, there is the United States of America.”
You can certainly turn a deaf ear to this, but I wonder why anyone would?
Today we challenge you to…Listen, Hope, Believe and keep changing the status quo.
“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for . . . Yes We Can!”
If you haven’t seen the previews we encourage you to take a look.
But, marketers are hoping that Quick Response or QR codes will be the way to code the future.
A QR code is unique in that it can have a variety of information embedded in it such as a website or blog url, message, phone number or even a promotional coupon.
Pretty cool right? It’s a fusion of technology and advertising bridging consumers with various products and services.
But how does it work?
Simple, by using a QR code reader – software which you have to download onto your mobile phone – you can then scan a QR picture with your camera phone and your mobile device will automatically redirect you to the information stored in the code.
In the near future you’re going to see more QR codes on street advertisement, billboards, games and even on apparel such as t-shirts, hats and scarfs.
What’s even more interesting is the fact that these codes and their use in marketing are really nothing new to the Asian market. QR codes are already a part of everyday society in Japan. As always the U.S. is lagging on not just technology but on many applications that could potentially drive people to other products and offerings.
If you would like to get your own QR code you can go to Kaywa – that’s where we got ours – featured above.
Want to see more info on how these codes work? Click on the video below and don’t forget to let us know what you think.
Making the A-list has never been easy, but Adrenalina proves it has what it takes.
Just about a week ago, a selected few Adrenalinos were sighted outside the famous Creative Artists Agency. Rumor has it that there may be a possible future collaboration in the works. But you didn’t hear that from us.
For those of you who may not be familiar with Creative Artists; It was founded in 1975, and is considered to be Hollywood’s foremost agency in the sports and entertainment industry. It represents such A-list film and sports clients such as Steven Spielberg, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Lebron James and Shakira.
The shop is synonymous with stardom!
As you can see from the pics above, our stars were taking it all in. Featured on the spotlight is Manuel Wernicky, president and chief ideas officer, along with a few members of his supporting cast; Jules Aspesi, Victor Zeiris, and Brian Marville.
