Most recent public comments by Andrew Golden https://nowcomment.com/users/16322 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=399363 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=399363 While I agree that there is a serious issue in the United States with the romanticization of war in general, do you think that the majority of the population shares this view? I think that the media, such as movies, songs, and T.V, tends to portray war in a more positive than negative light, I don't believe that this is a view that the general population of the U.S. shares. With regards to movies, I believe that there's a bit of a suspension of disbelief; in other words, if we see war portrayed in film, we tend to pass it off as "just a movie," whereas many people do have some sort of an idea of the tragedy and horror of war. While I'm not saying that this disconnect from war in media is necessarily a good thing, I just think it's important to make the distinction that for many people in the U.S, war IS hell, and they do have some sort of understanding of how truly awful war can be. It does beg the question though, to what extent should we/do we disassociate "movies about war" from "actual war"? Mon, 02 Nov 2015 22:32:31 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=388189 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36344?scroll_to=388189 We found it interesting that there is a disparity between the perspectives of American and Chinese scholars about Hmong Americans. Better Places portrayed Hmong Americans as successful ("owning restaurants and real estate," living in "four-bedroom suburban homes"). The Chinese scholars questioned why Hmong Americans were portrayed as so successful and not show their struggles. The Chinese Scholars believed that Hmong people were the less productive/successful Asians due to their origin. -Yong Yang, Andrew Golden, Khanh Nguyen, Thuy Le Mon, 19 Oct 2015 18:57:17 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=384794 https://nowcomment.com/documents/36342?scroll_to=384794 I think the idea the author presents here is very powerful. Most people living in the United States aren't affected by war and conflict in a concrete, visible way in their day to day life. Rather, they are involved indirectly, as their daily tasks and routine often support the system that allows war to occur. While some people are aware of this, it is easier for most people to push these thoughts away. We see war through a Hollywood lens, the way it is portrayed in movies, as a conflict that involves soldiers, not civilians. The thought that we might actually indirectly support war is one that is hard to stomach, so we choose to disconnect ourselves from these thoughts. Mon, 12 Oct 2015 16:41:47 -0400