Teaching 1990 to Yesterday
Our last discussion had my students become the historians and the subjects. They were placed in groups and determined three things (people, events, concepts, issues) that would be in history books about their lives thus far (1990-yesterday) 50 years from now. The answers included: Barack Obama, same-sex civil union, 9/11, the wars on terror, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Sarah Palin. They also discussed medical advances (as in human genetics) and the environment (as in global warming, oil, and various new forms of power).
Most importantly, they discusssed technology. It made me think of Kip singing that he “still loves technology” at the end of Napoleon Dynamite. From cell phones to Facebook, blogs to twitter, military advances to space exploration as a form of entertainment. Perhaps graduate students will use theories from Lawrence Goodwyn on group cohesion in historical works about how Facebook defeated myspace.
For each person, event, or issue listed, I tried to connect it to the histoy we had worked through during the semester. For cell phones, for instance, we discussed how technology transformed entertainment from groups listening the radio, to couples necking in cars, to the expansion of televisions, to the rise of 24 hour news stations, and finally to the ability of everyday people to create mass entertainment. The biggest change, it seems to me, in the twenty-first century is how everyday people are now the creators of content. Perhaps Tosh.0 and its use of Youtube hilarity will be featured in history textbooks fifty years from now as indicative of the change (by the way, I use Tosh.0 quite frequently in my religious history class … as in the time he had one of his “web redemptions” feature a man shooting images of Jesus – both white and black).
One of my favorite elements of both Hist and Major Problems is that they effort to hit the past as close as yesterday. Hist struggles with globalization and its discontents … one of the primary features of the age (beautifully exemplified in Benjamin Barber’s Jihad versus McWorld). The global emphasis has hit history books – not only in their interest in globalization, but also in the emergence of “big history.” In contrast to big history, micro studies continue as books discuss this or that election and the “shaping of America” or how it “saved America.” History texts, I think, in the future will have to balance the extreme local with the extreme local. In Major Problems, one of my favorite examples of this is Henry Louis Gates reflecting on Barack Obama’s election. There, we see how intimate personal acts (an interracial marriage … albeit a failed one), national changes (the civil rights revolution), international movements (the movements of Obama’s father and family), and global impact (Obama winning the Nobel Peace prize, leading the U.S. in its wars, pulling the troops out of Iraq, etc.). I think the 2008 election (including the fact that the conservative party ran a woman on its ticket) will be a highlight for so much more than Obama’s nonwhiteness.
So … now to you faithful readers and students. What will be in those textbooks 50 years from now?
I think one of the things that will be remembered in history books about today will be the lack of bipartisanship in government. Hist brings up the topic when discussing the presidency of Bill Clinton and the Idea of two Americas. Clinton seemed to overcome it with the people being fed up with the Monica Lewinski scandal and with the idea that the Republican Congress was trying to blackmail him by not passing a budget. George W. Bush seemed to overcome it with the 911 crisis and the resulting wars. But President Obama has yet to find a way to overcome it.
The document I am going to discuss is “Two Workers Flee the Inferno in the Twin Towers”
I feel like this event in history ties in with the question you asked: What will be in those textbooks 50 years from now? Because who could have ever guessed that this would have happened. No one, especially the thousands of people working in the trade tower, woke up on September 11 and could have predicted how terrible that day was going to turn out. After reading the article, it was most shocking to see the vast difference between the two accounts of what happened while leaving the tower. One man, the blind man, remained so calm and collected. While the other man who was more in control and less helpless, was terrified to his core. Is ignorance bliss? Maybe so. The blind man was thinking how after this was over, he could suggest to install anti-skid strips on their stairs for the “next time”. He was so calm because he thought the whole thing was a drill. While the other man was witnessing flesh burning off bodies and debris and flames and will be probably traumatized for life. I thought this article was very interesting.
Really terrific insights from both of you! As usual!
50 years from now? Wow who knows where the world will be! There can be so many different and new events put in textbooks from this time. One main new advancement that I think will definitely be written about in textbooks is how we now have electrical cars and hybrids. Who would of ever thought that we would have hybrids. We are not depending on gas that much anymore and are resorting to different options. Also as you stated in the beginning, technology. We do not just have a house phone anymore; we might not even have one. It is not normal for a high school kid to not have a phone. Communication and technology together will definitely be highlighted in the textbooks to come.
Like we discussed in class there are almost endless possibilities of what could be in our textbooks in 50 years from now. So many things have happened since 1990, including 9/11, the invention of apple products, social networking sites, hybrid cars, effects of global warming, presidents, the list goes on! Considering how technology is one of the bigger aspects of our society these days, I definitely do not doubt that in 50 years, Steve Jobs and Bills Gates will be considered historical figures. Issues like the evolution and notion of “Going Green” will be mentioned in textbooks, how the world is developing and pursuing it’s energy conservation tactics. The war’s that are going on will of course be highlighted, perhaps in comparison to WWI and WWII. Terroism, Osama Bin Ladin and Suddam Hussein will be the Hitler and Stalin of our generation. In reality we can only predict and assume what we think will be put in textbooks in 50 years. I guess the only way i’ll know what is actually in them is when i’m helping my grandchild with their history homework. To think that I will have experienced what they are learning is a little frightening to think about!
Well I think that the things that will be discussed in history textbooks years from now will be the evolution and rapid advancement of technology. Computers in general have come a long from being giant boxes to being thinner, portable, smarter, faster, and for most people their main source for communication. When I was growing up I thought of electronic devices such as Apple devices would take more than twenty years for them to be available. One of my favorite programs that technology in today’s age has provided is Skype and other video communication programs. I thought of this as a marvel of the ingenuity of our present time. But who knows, maybe years from now history textbooks will regard Skype as obsolete and have hologram communication as a commodity in its place.
Jordan Kirchberg-
We live in an ever changing time, where new things are being created within every year. It almost seems like the company “Apple” is coming out with something new every year and just adding a very small portion of new things to it. Facebook has also changed our lives like you mentioned before. We are transitioning to not personal communication rather then seeing someone in person. However, Facebook allows us to see what friends or family are doing by seeing pictures and sometimes their statuses they put. Finally one thing that I wished I meant to mention was Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not because he used massive amounts of steroids or that he was a c- actor, it would be because he is the first Austrian born Governor of California.
I think one major thing that will be mentioned in textbooks 50 years from now will be our dependence on oil. Soon enough our oil supply will be depleted and we will be forced to start using another source of energy. I think along with 9/11 and our 10 year war (10 years so far, at least) will be the issue of our battle for oil. Another thing that i think will be in textbooks in the future will be the first iPod. Do you remember how clunky and boring it was? It has two random games on it and could barely fit in your pocket without making a bulge. We already have new iPod touches and iPads and iPod nanos that are all much smaller than the original. You can now watch tv and videos on your iPods and play games such as Angry Birds or Tony Wings. We have come so far so fast, just imagine what it will be like 50 years from now!
I believe that a major issue that will be discussed in history books fifty years from now is how we were are dependent on fossil fuels. With rapidly growing alternative energy solutions, I believe fossil fuels will become obsolete. Just as we were once dependent on coal, steam, and other primitive forms of energy, i feel that we will grow away from fossil fuels much to the dismay of big oil. With the environmental impact and limited resource, we have no other choice. Gasoline vehicles will be a antiques and the value only seen in them if you have gas to run them. It is hard to imagine that we will not have more efficient sources of energy in the next fifty years. I think that government will be the leading fact in making this a reality.
The document that was most interesting to me is document 7 from chapter 16 titled “ACLU warns against the “patriot act.” The ACLU are a civil liberties group who state the 5 most offensive proposals of the patriot act. The first being the broad definition of terrorism. Its a definition that could easily be used against multiple forms of civil disobedience such as peaceful protest. It would be possible that protestors who spray painted a peace sign outside the state department could be charged as terrorists for their actions. the 2nd is indefinite detention of immigrants based on the attorney generals certification of a danger to national security which i assume means that even with judicial review, it would provide no safeguard for abuse. the third is expanded wiretap authority authorizes intelligence wiretaps that need not specify the phone to be tapped or require that only the targets conversation be eavesdropped on. the 4th is a “sneak and peek” search which allow law enforcement officials to enter your home, office, or other private place and conduct a search, take photographs and download your computer files without notifying you. the last proposal is eviscerating the wall between foreign surveillance and domestic criminal investigation which gives the director of the central intelligence the power to manage the gathering of intelligence in america and mandate the disclosure of information obtained by the fbi about terrorism in general. I think this act obstructs civil liberties and is unconstitutional. its hard to believe that it was even signed into law. the wire tap and sneak and peek are the ones that stood out most to me because having your privacy invaded by the government is not right. also, being labeled a terrorist for spray painting a government building is idiotic. Theres a new act titled the national defense authorization act and its just as bad as the patriot act.
dominic v
I chose the document “Two Workers Flee the Inferno in the Twin Towers, 2001.” I believe that this article ties directly into your question of what would be in our textbooks in fifty years from now. WIth that being said, it is obvious that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 will never be forgotten. I think that this is event is the equivalent to the Pearl Harbor bombings in 1941. Even today Pearl Harbor is still frequently talked about amongst the world, there is no doubt in my mind that the attacks on 9/11 will be talked about even more than 50 years in the future.
Some of the other things that will be in history books 50 years from now would be the stock market crash of 2008 which to me resembles somewhat to the Great Depression of the 1920s. Both were dramatic decreases in the stock market and affected the entire nation directly. Considering both Pearl Harbor and the Great Depression are in our history books today and because both events are similarly related I think that without a doubt they will be key parts in history books in the future.
Haley Palmer
I think without a doubt, President Obama will be in textbooks (if we are even using textbooks 50 years from now). Obviously he will be there because of his presidency, but mainly because he is the first African American to ever be President of the United States. I think a lot of textbooks will discuss the issue if Obama won because he was black, or if he won for political reasons. I also think that the creation of technology transferred to personal devices instead of larger sources (like desktop computers, or television sets) will be a large section of books. An entire new industry was created because of personal devices, and it has changed our generation completely. I believe that the books will teach the effect that technology had on our society, especially in the relationships between family and friends.
I have decided to discuss Article 8 in Chapter 16 titled “Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Marvels at Obama, 2008.”I thought this went great with what we were talking about in class. One of the first topics that came up when we were discussing what might be in the history books is the first black president, at least that was the first thing that popped up in our group. However, presidents will always be in the history books but I feel like this will be a big portion in the textbooks just because he was the first African American President. We have all learned about all the difficulties and abuse that African Americans have faced just from this class alone. Now they have rights and freedoms just like anyone else does. And in this article Gates is professing how amazing this is. He tells about how all their hard work has paid off and the head boss of the United States of America is African American. The other thing that gave me goosebumps as I was reading this was when he mentioned his father. He was 95 years old and he has gone through living from when African Americans were slaves and outcasts to today where he was able to go and cast his vote for Obama. This article just shows how we talked about Obama being in the textbooks, when in reality he already is. To this day people are still shocked that he got the title of President. And I think we are all pretty lucky because we were living as this went on. We are all part of history and in the future some people can probably tell their grandchildren that they voted for Obama when they are learning about this in their classroom!
-Nadin T.
I would also like to discuss Document 4 from chapter 16 entitled “Two Workers Flee the Inferno in the Twin Towers, 2001. This document is composed of two different people giving their testimony about the tragedy of 9/11. The first man named Mike was blind since birth, and had to evacuate the building with his seeing-eye dog. I found it interesting that Mike seemed to be completely calm through this whole disaster. I have never really thought about how important seeing-eye dogs really are. I have always known that they are they to help guide the blind from running into everyday things, but this story has changed my perception completely. The second story of a man named David was also very impactful. The descriptiveness of his writing made me feel that I was actually in the building with him. I could smell the jet fuel, and see the burnt off skin flapping on the blonde woman’s body as they tried to rescue her.
The question I have about this article, is did all of these characters survive? I am assuming that Mike and David did since they are recalling their story, but what about the blonde woman, and was Mike’s dog injured when the debris fell on top of her? Lastly, was the David that Mike referred to in the second paragraph the same person who wrote the second story?
I think that our history books in 50 years will primarily consist of technology and medical advances that will happen. I think that it will talk about facebook, and how much it has changed the way we network. Also I think apple and all those technology companies will be a big part of our textbooks. I also think that it will discuss a lot about 9/11 and the terrorist attacks and the war that is going on in the Middle East right now. I definitely think that President Obama will be in the text book since he was the first African American President.
Zoe Carroll
After our discussion and reading through some comments, I’m surprised that the advance in video games hasn’t been brought up. Plenty of my male friends, including my brother are seriously addicted to these games. Most of the game’s I’ve seen people playing are extremely violent whether they are killing aliens, or fighting against another country in a war. The graphics are so realistic, and people can communicate to each other from across the world through the game they are playing. I think video games are going to continue to become more advanced in the next couple of years, and that it will be in our history textbooks 20 years from now.
Lorena Klopp
For starters, in 50 years from now, textbooks will probably cease to exist. So perhaps textbooks will be in the new age “textbooks”. However, I’m sure that there are more prevalent things that will be focused upon. Documents like “Two Workers Flee the Inferno in the Twin Towers” (2001) will without a doubt have its own chapter, because I doubt people would want to hear the story of the sad fifth-grader that was supposed to go to Disneyland for the first time and was robbed of her childhood on that very same day. The fact that the United States has been in two wars for several years will most definitely be in there. One of the most obvious would be President Obama’s reign of presidency. I’m sure that the growing gap between socioeconomic status will also be noted in history. But I do wonder if Obama’s stimulus package will be in there as well, as much as it backfired and revealed the socioeconomic gap. And you never know, if the Occupy Movement keeps up that might make the books too, it would probably on be a picture insert in the corner. Since all of that would be mentioned, the current recession would have to be mentioned as well. Reading back on it in 50 years (assuming that medical advances would still have us around) would probably astound us by how little we actually knew or were affected. All of us currently enrolled in class are most likely not entirely affected by it because we are surviving all of these tuition increases (keyword:most likely). Our eyes will be opened to the extreme effect that the U.S. recession had on the rest of the world.
When you asked us this question in class my group and I came up with 1. Barrack Obama, 2. The events of 9/11, and 3. technology.
Obama because he is the first African American President, as all those before him were white. But what I also think will be included in the textbooks is who he ran against which was Hilary Clinton, their election would’ve made history no matter who won. Hilary Clinton would have been the first female president.
Secondly, the events of 9/11. This war is extremely important and will definitely be, if it isnt already, in future historical textbooks.
And lastly, technology because technology has drastically changed over this past decade. We now have the easiest and most reliable sources than ever before. The rave isn’t about having just a plain old cell phone anymore, its about having a smart phone, or better yet, the iphone.
-Kalina G.
Other than the obvious, 9-11 and the first african american president, Obama, things such as technology advancements will also be a huge part of our history. Apple has been a big topic in the recent years with the multiple developments as well as the death of found Steve Jobs. Smart phones, ipods, skype, gas prices/oil, and standards of education are all aspects of now a day events or tangible items that will be surpassed and written in history books. Health care costs and the Great Recession are economic issues that will be talked about and analyzed for many years. Entertainment will also be a topic of conversation for many years to come and big people like Michael Jackson and the Kardashians have been people in this light for today.
I feel that one of the major topics that will be discussed in 50 years will be the role of women in politics, particularly pertaining to the presidency. Geraldine Ferraro would of course be mentioned as the first woman to appear on a presidential ticket for a major party. We have yet to have a woman president and in today’s society, women have been ascending the ranks in politics. In 2008 we witnessed the possibility of electing the first ever woman vice president. Now with the current political race, we have Michele Bachmann trying to win the presidential candidacy for the Republican party. Whether she will win her respective ticket or even the election remains to be seen, but I feel that in 50 years from now, the United States will have its first woman president.
I picture Global Warming and how we have handled it to be in the text books in fifty years. Although I think the majority of scientists now agree that this is a real phenomenon with the potential for real serious consequences, there is still much debate in the political realm. Many Americans still believe the idea of Global Warming is based on false information. America’s response has been less than proactive. President George W. Bush refused to participate in an international agreement to control global warming. My personal opinion is that the party against Global Warming is the same party that does not want the regulation of businesses. To admit a problem would be to admit a need for change. It is hard to deny the pictures of the ice caps melting, and I think in the future how countries responded to the issue of Global Warming will be studied in History classes.
What I think will be really interesting fifty years from now isn’t what will be read, but how? Maybe it won’t even be read at all? We have the article “Two Workers Flee the Inferno” to gain a first hand perspective of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks, but wouldn’t it be really interesting to actually hear these people describe these events? See their faces and witness their emotion? Watch some of the thousands of hours of video recorded by not only the government or news corporations, but also by everyday people? Won’t it be amazing when a student watches a lecture from someone like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs talking about the important of technology in our generation on some form of iPad or eBook that is mandatory for the class?
In 50 years from now I believe that one main topic that will be discussed in text books will be the rapid advancement in technology. They will talk about the computer and how it has evolved from a giant box that sat on a table into a very thin and portable device that works very quickly, even though by then our laptops and phones will seem funny and weird in the same way our generation thinks type writers and record players are weird. It will also discuss how the rapid advancement in technology has contributed to our advancements in communication. This like facebook, skype, twitter, and face time all our examples of the advancements in communication over the years. I wonder what a text book will look like in 50 years. Will it even consist of paper or will it be all on things like the Ipad or the Kindle?
The document I am discussing is the 2nd document in chapter sixteen (End of the Cold War, Terrorism, and Globalization) of Major Problems entitled President George H. W. Bush declares the Cold War over, 1990.
In this document, George H.W. Bush mentions how he thinks the aim of the United States should be to ensure democracy’s advance. He wanted to take the lead in forging freedom and peace. I think it’s interesting how vocal he was about this. With communism crumbling at the time it probably made perfect sense for him to voice his thoughts and let the world know he wants our ideals spread abroad. But I wonder if he thought of the repercussions of doing so. As we spread our western ideals some countries didn’t like us because they thought we were encroaching on their land. As a result, we’ve experienced war and terror attacks. If the president knew what spreading our ideals has led to, would he still have pushed it and vocalized it?
Set aside from todays modern technological advances and history making elections and political figures, I believe what will surely make history textbooks of the future is Performance Enhancing Drugs. Now, that is a general statement, but lets look at what those words mean in our generation. First thing that comes to mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was a major user of performance enhancers back in his days at Golds Gym Venice Beach! He was the governor of California during the decline of the economy. He was a major movie star and political figure, much like Ronald Reagan. The next thing that comes to mind is the Supreme Court Case in baseball. Almost every big name baseball player including Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Roger Clemens were accused of using performance enhancers. Last is the supplement revolution. In nearly every household nationwide you can find some form of vitamin or supplement. There is a GNC or Vitamin Shoppe in every mall. Performance enhancing supplements are everywhere!
Shane Pizzo Hist110
I believe that gay rights will be a ‘thing of the past’ in 50 years from now. However, I am speaking from a completely neutral standpoint. With the fight for equality over time, there have been significant changes for the groups that have attempted to lobby for change. For example: black equal rights was unheard of 70 years ago amongst our older generations. However, times have changed to the point where the grandchildren of these people have no idea what it is like to see colored children at different schools, hospitals, and restaurants as them! Women’s rights is also another example of change. Now, all women can vote! (if they meet the legal standards)
We have seen a rise in equality over the last few centuries and many people see gay rights as an issue that would fall under this category. I predict that in 50 years, our children and grandchildren won’t be able to imagine a world in which gay people couldn’t marry.
Amy Alston
History textbooks fifty years from now… what will be features? Marijuana. Considering the prohibition of alcohol made textbooks today, i believe the legalization of marijuana will make textbooks in the future. Either because people won’t be able to imagine a time when marijuana was illegal or they won’t be able to fathom some rowdy, crazy kids trying to legalize it. Another thing i think will be in textbooks is prop 8. i think gay marriage will be legs in all states in 50 years and will be very common. so prop 8 will be shocking to some, since it tries to prevent same sex marriage. Along with many other issues we consider to be very important today, i think these two will definitely make textbooks.
The funny thing is, fifty years from now, maybe their wont be history “textbooks.” Maybe the majority of people will have shifted to history “textPads” or a Kindle sort of thing. This could save many papers and could all be in one single kindle that holds many, many books. The only ugly thing about this is that people may still want to read textbooks and have the feeling of opening pages and etc. But anyway, the history textbooks would definitely have Facebook in there and also talk about the movie “the social network.” Maybe Inception will be in the textbook, to talk about how technology has advanced and how it affects the world we live in today. They could talk about other Apple products and also talk about Microsoft as well. I also believe marijuana might be legalized by then, so maybe they will also be including a portion on marijuana.
50 years from now, I think our textbooks will display the rise of social media and how ti extremely affects the world today. Any news is spread worldwide in a matter of seconds. Most information can be sent to individual users by a status update or by a post on twitter. there is no room of privacy and holding back information any more. In books, i think they will analyze the affects of social media and backlash on certain key points in history and always relate it to the cyber uproar it got. Also, i think they will talk about how dumb all “officials” are in the state of the us and world economy. The build up of lies really are really hurting us now and that will definitely be a chapter in a history book 50 years from now. Some other things i think will be mentioned is the acceptance and movement of Gay rights. Just like the civil rights and women rights movement went along with great force and drama, gay rights is becoming more accepted and seen in the eyes of the government. 50 years from now, it will be probably be of shock that gays had any struggle at all.One last thing is the technology.”The day the iphone was made” will probably be how i felt when i would ask my grandparents about the color TV. Technology will be doing everything for us in 50 years and my generation can joke to kids about when we remember when not all cell phones were touch screen. — Its weird to think that i could be looking at history books 50 years from now and remember the present time but it might be even more weird to be alive in even different problems of the world.
Scott Cooper Said…
In the coming future I think we will be remembered for the first African American president. This is a huge deal for America because racism still exists both consciously and unconsciously in the minds of the people and our government. Having an African American president is clearly showing we are working towards fixing our racially biased system.
The document I am discussing is “Harvard Professor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Marvels at Obama, 2008.”
According to this document, Professor Gates was extremely contented with the fact that Obama became the President of the United States in the election of 2008. I completely agreed with him. This definitely was a precious moment in American history to have the first black president. Obama’s victory not only marked a new era of true equality, but it also encouraged people to have faith in the country. In my opinion, President Obama gave hopes to a variety of people like his campaign slogan, “Yes, we can!” The impossibility now became possibility and American was once proven to be a democratic country that provided freedom to all. Everyone could pursue their interests regardless of their backgrounds. Therefore, as young adult, I was deeply touched by this document and the presidential election of 2008.
Duyen Trang
In 50 years from now our textbooks will most likely not be books. They will probably be on little electronic ipad looking devices. Some things that I would guess would be in them would be the significance of our first african american president, and perhaps the insane technological growth that has occurred during our life and will continue to grow. We now are learning about the Civil Rights Movement and have heard all about the mistreatment of the blacks, and 50 years from now it will be cool to see the transformation of our nation and the election of it’s first black president. Who knows maybe by then a woman president would have been elected. Same goes for the technology. Now, we are learning of the Industrial Revolution and how the time when TV’s, and cars and fridges were invented. And over the last decade alone there has been a scary introduction of advanced technologies. Iphones, Ipads, GPS, and so so so much more and just imagine 50 years from now. Quite frankly, it scares me!
When I did this activity in class I of coarse went with some of the easiest and most obvious choices; 9/11, Obama, and Global Warming. In order to challenge myself I want to come up with a few more choices that are outside the norm. My first one that I think would be in history books is about the release of the photos in Abu Ghraib of the abused prisoners. I think this will be an important event in the future because as time goes on, I think more and more of the non sense that the American military and other government jobs will be uncovered; which would add on to the anger that many individuals have on how things are hidden from the masses. Another one will be the budget cuts on the schools. I think when you take money from a public education it is not only the parents whom have to help pay many of these bills that is angry, but also the thousands of students that attend the school. As these cuts rise, and less and less money is given towards education, more individuals will become angry. So this moment will be one of the many dominoes of the American people voicing their opinions against the governments actions. The last thing that will be seen in history books will be the Occupy Movement. It’s hard to say though, just because this is a very recent event and occurrence, and people are still yet to really know if what they’re doing is helping; yet, it shows that people of America are starting to rise against in hopes for a better tomorrow, much like we did in the mid 1900’s.
50 years from now, people will remember the Iphone and the ways of communication that are now being seen as prominent. Technology will be what this generation impacts our history books with most. Cars that can park themselves, phones that have a personality and do what you ask of them, TV’s that you can pause and then un-pause in different rooms… the amount of impact the technological advances made in the last few years is incredible and he impact it has on our society-now and for hope for even more in the future-is what is going to make it into the pages of history books 50 years from now.
I’m curious to see if comedy receives more scholarly attention in the future. Comedy from tv shows such as “South Park” and “Saturday Night Live” often deal with contemporary issues. They give an insight into average people’s opinions on the subject matter whether it is “South Park” poking fun at the Occupy movement, such as when the boys Occupy Red Robin, or when Alec Baldwin comes on SNL to make fun of himself for getting kicked off of his flight for not turning off his Ipad. Comedy can often reveal how we really feel about a subject, instead of how the pundits on the news networks want to us to feel.