Images of America

Welcome to the blog for AM1111 for your group. For the first exercise, post any TWO images which are iconic of “America.” Choose one positive, the other negative and explain your choice in 150 words or so Please don't link to images - post them to the blog as images (use the picture icon that shows at the top of the page when you start a new post.)

Positive Image

I love watching movies, the quintessential modern form of entertainment, and one that grew to maturity in the U.S., remaining synonymous with it even though today it has become a global industry. For this reason I have chosen the iconic Hollywood sign in Los Angeles which represents the film industry of America as my positive representation of the country. Quite simply, the development of the country’s film industry (which is also known as Hollywood) has transformed the definition of entertainment and has had an immeasurable impact on our lives. The prestige it enjoys is such that even the Indian film industry pays homage to it by describing itself as Bollywood. The studios and stars of Hollywood have projected the American Dream both on screen and through their own career paths, and the sign still acts as a magnet for anyone in the world who aspires to ‘make it big’.

Negative Image 

If the culture of films is synonymous with America, the same can also be said of war. No image represents this more than the Ground Zero/World Trade Centre Site. Often as a result of the country’s/government’s desire to increase and exert their influence over the world, America have found themselves involved in disputes with other countries which have escalated into wars. These disputes inevitably lead to the sacrifices of lives but none was more shocking than the 9.11 attacks, which resulted in the deaths of civilians and lead to the war on terror. Yet, whilst there is no excuse for the attacks conducted by Al-Qaeda, it also has to be noted that these attacks can be traced back to America’s desire to control the Middle East to access their natural resources, which caused significant unrest and anger to the people in the region. So I have chosen this image as a negative representation as I believe such a tragedy could have been prevented had America learned from their mistakes in the past (e.g – Vietnam War) and altered the manner in which they deal with foreign countries.