Welcome...and initial guidelines...

This blog will be used in the spring of 2008 by 80+ students at Drexel University to investigate the effects of Iraq on culture and the reverse. Our goal will be to better understand why the US is in Iraq, and to question whether literature can help us on this journey.

Weekly plans and other materials will always be posted in Vista, not this blog. So go to Bb Vista to get the discussion prompts and other instructions.

I intend this blog to manage our discussions and track our collective investigation.

You should have received an email from me inviting you to become a contributor to this blog. The email was sent Monday afternoon to your official Drexel email address.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Bombs and Beautiful Lifestyles

My, and many other girls’ favorite addiction these days is the CW networks Gossip Girl. Watching uber-rich kids grow up and deal in Manhattan has plagued my life since the book first came out. As they are spending thousands on clothing, being shuttled by their drivers in large tinted Escalades and living in multi- million dollar townhouse apartments, us normal folk are being grilled about saving the environment before global warming sets in. How is it that the elite are able to get out of the normal problems of day-to-day life? At the same time, it is the poor, unskilled and undereducated that are sent to war (as we decided in class). What connects Gossip Girl and war is the fact that polar opposites create a strong dynamic that influences each other. I feel that if the wealthy weren’t able to get away with everything, there would be no greedy joy in watching these TV shows. Perhaps normal life would have nothing to look forward to and dream about.
Rarely do you hear that the high-class have children serving in the war. It is the middle and lower classes that take it upon themselves to fight for our country. At the same time, we are being constantly bombarded with scenarios on how to save the environment. Donating silly string to detect bombs in Iraq, hybrid cars are being produced to make up for the oil controversy, and the characters in Gossip Girl drive around in big fancy cars and live in expensive high-rise apartments with little care for the world. If these people have become the new role models for young teens, they should inform themselves of current world concerns. If anything, they can afford it.

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