According to Du Bois the “Sorrow songs” are of great significance to African American culture as they were the rhythmic cry of the slave and “still remains as the singular spiritual heritage of the nation and the greatest gift of the negro people”.  Each song tells its own story and has its own meaning.  Music was a way to manage with the incredibly difficult times and position these people were put in.

The song that I find most significant is “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen by Mahalia Jackson.  This song really speaks to me even though we would never be able understand the situation these people were in and the extreme poverty.  They were promised federal aid after they were free and this woman is singing this song after learning the news the government will not be fulfilling there promise on delivering aid.

According to Damon Krukowski record stores are “The marginalized, the rejected, the repressed” because the big powerful entertainment companies are all going digital and they are all online.  Record stores and vinal music is of no benefit to them.  I think he is trying to show that the original way of listening to music is now more of an art and goes against our modern way of listening to music.  The difference between the record store and Spotify is you can learn knowledge and insight on different types of records ask questions and take someone’s personal recommendation and opinion on a certain thing whereas with Spotify you get your recommendations handed to you from a computer using an algorithm.  The difference is the powerful care more about making money and being efficient where the marginalized will take more pride in the art aspect of the music.

1. In this episode, Kruskowsi’s main point is basically that “the sound of our voices on the phone has gotten worse with the switch to digital.”  In a sense I can say I agree with him I also share the belief that the older corded style landline phones did make the person sound more like a person there was never any muffle or static it was more of a raw sound.  Personally, this doesn’t have a very big effect on me I am contempt with the way the sound is transmitted over the phone as long as I get my message across, this is another point Kruskowsi makes he says “cell phones don’t transmit the full range of sound picked up by their mic” he goes on to say that the sound on new phones is digitally processed and many parts of your voice are phased out to only get the essentials trough.  He does adequately describe the intimacy afforded by sound and there is definitely a drawback using digital i believe this drawback is worth the price for the convenience we have with the technology of today I can pick up my cell phone any place any time and speak to anyone in the world also the technology will only improve so who knows maybe one day we will have that personal analog sound with us everywhere we go.

2. “How A.S.M.R became a sensation” this New York Times article shows how much A.S.M.R. has been helping many people with many things such as anxiety or stress.  A.S.M.R. personally gives me a very warm and satisfying feeling especially when I’m very tired the video on YouTube was very good representation I have noticed myself how popular these videos have become on social media.

In Damon Krukowski episode two of his podcast, “Ways of Hearing” he explains how new technology blocks people off to the people and environment around them via headphones and phone screens.  I can relate to this when I’m on the move through the city I always have my air pods in and I’m I do everything I can to avoid other people around me.  I also fully relate to Krukowski’s view on the roar of the city I also grew up on the top floor of an apartment looking over a busy street in Brooklyn.  I grew very accustomed to all the noises and ruckus of the street below me hearing it all day and night.  When I moved away for a few years out of the city to a more rural area where there was barley any cars or anything going on for that matter the nights were silent, and it was hard for me to sleep I found myself sleeping with the tv on throughout the night.  Along with all the sounds I can relate with him on the gentrification aspect the area I grew up in was mostly industrial all factories and plants.  It was where all the European immigrants came to work there was not much else going on.  When I go to revisit now its nothing but high rise apartment’s and hotels strips of bars and clubs and fancy restaurants the cost of living has also gone up exponentials little remains of the neighborhood it used to be as cost of living has gone up exponentially.

I agree with Martin A. Berger he definitely has a point about the racial tensions that are present all around us in America.  He really digs deep into the oppressive structure of our society even today.  The media should show more Poc’s in prominent and influential positions and call out those institutions that are detrimental to the further advancement of Poc’s in our country.  I believe that the news and media today is to overly concerned with pushing their own specific narrative they should be more on the side of giving people a more honest depiction of what is actually happening in America.

According to Berger “publicity’’ or what we know it as advertisements are constantly all around us on walls and screens especially so today with how far technology has come.  It shows us an alternative way of life and its being jammed into our thoughts at all times.  We might not remember every advertisement we see but in the moment, we take it in.  These constant simulations put us in a different place somewhere else out of out own reality something closer to dreams.  This “Publicity” or advertisements influences consumers that we should change ourselves or how we live for the better by buying something more.  They want to show consumers that you are in fact getting richer by buying said thing even though you are getting poorer by having spent your money.  These advertisements portray people who have purchased said product and are now better off for doing so.  Your envy of those people is what constitutes glamour, and publicity is the process of manufacturing glamour.

For those who owned the oil paintings the idea of glamour did not exist.  During that era everyone’s place in society was determined by birth without the social envy glamour could not exist.  As for advertisements Berger explains that it becomes more common in a society that has moved more towards a democracy, where status should be in theory open to everyone but actually is only enjoyed by a few.  The oil paintings and the publicity images actually do have things in common.  Advertisements can impersonate paintings and other works of art to portray their products in a different light.  Advertisements share many of the same roles and ideas all relate to the principal that what you own is who you are.  Oil paintings showed what the owner already had and how he lived, it did not show what the owner had done to have that wealth and way of life.  Publicity on the other hand shows us a way of life that we aspire to have but do not yet have.

The dream of a far away place influences you to come visit this city or country you can’t afford not to.  It’s a dream of laying on the finest beaches and drinking the finest liquor surrounded by beautiful women.  Not what it will cost and when its over you return to your normal life.

Representation’s of women today objectify them in very similar ways to what Berger argues.  Women today are put on display very similarly to how they were in the renaissance paintings even more so today I believe for example you can’t go anywhere nowadays and not see a picture of a woman on display showing off or modeling for something whether it be a clothing line or car company.  Women are constantly on display for us the spectators and they don’t choose how they would like to be portrayed.  Women did not have control over there paintings and how they were portrayed they were arranged all for the enjoyment of the audience.  Today I believe the same is true for women in commercials and advertisements don’t have any control over how there shown off.  Sexuality plays a huge role in images of women today as Berger explains how the ideal nude painting was constructed by “taking the shoulders of one body, the hands of another the breasts of another and so on.”  He calls it either humanist idealism or an indifference to who one person really was.  Photoshop and photo editing technology, we have today does the same thing on a bigger scale people still think the same way the technology has just changed.

1. According to Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein, writers should use the model of “entering the conversation” in their writing because the templates empower you to be a more critical and intellectual thinker. The book also invites you to participate in debates and conversations of your world in an active and empowered way. The templates also don’t stop your creativity they only give you a format on how to say your message. Once you master them you can change them or get rid of them altogether. 

2. I do agree with the smarthistory videos looking at and interrogating artwork can improve visual and communication skills which can be critical during emergencies. There can be a lot more going on in a piece of artwork than first meets the eye. A close study of art can train viewers to study situations more thoroughly this is especially pertinent to professions like doctors that review test results and Xrays all day long. Studying art and discussing what you see can also help you with your articulation skills by providing a more detailed and accurate description of situations.