Pop Culture That Changed the World: Hollywood

The world has always known celebrities but the twentieth century brought it to a new level with the birth of Hollywood. The development of the radio and the television opened up a whole new world of stardom. Celebrities were able to reach people all over the globe and had much more influence then ever before. Fans began sporting the same clothes, hairdos and mannerisms as their favorite stars and celebrity fads boomed. Stars were considered idols and their influence helped shape the world. They were the ones who determined what was "cool" and broke many of the conventional rules of their time. Musicians and movie stars became the voice of the people throughout many major events. Bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were very influential and included political statements in their music. Music and fashion would change throughout the decades and celebrities helped make this transition. Stars would gain huge following and even inspire cult like movements. People became fascinated with celebrities and magazines and tabloids became very popular. The music and movie business was blossoming and Hollywood was considered the center of it all. Celebrities had an overpowering effect on pop culture which is still very strong today. Music and Movie idols impacted the nation and defined the generations of the twentieth century.

Holocaust

What should the world take away from the Holocaust?

The Holocaust was one of the most horrifying events of the twentieth century. It was very hard to study as each new information we learned revealed it to be more terrifying then before. Its very difficult for me to understand how anyone could do the things they did and justify it to themselves. The events of the Holocaust are extremely disturbing and sometimes so cruel its sureal. Yet the Holocaust was very real and it is only by studying it and attempting to fix the mistakes that were made that we can make sure it didn't all happen in vain.

One thing we can take from the Holocaust is a better appreciation for human ethics. When the Nazis experiments were discovered, the world was horrified. The Nuremberg Code was developed soon after these discoveries to protect human rights during experiments. Before this code it was assumed that most of these rights were considered common decency and it was taken for granted that they would be followed. The Holocaust proved this assumption wrong. The experiments showed a new level of human disregard as the scientist were so influenced by prejudices and hatred that they could test people like they tested animals.

Another thing we must take away from the Holocaust is that thousands of innocent people were targeted and died for no reason simply because of their religion or because they looked different from the norm. We must study this unfairness as it puts our own prejudices and stereotypes into perspective. It's scary to see how so many countries spew hate for each other for reasons not much better than Hitler's. Its easy to see now that the Holocaust was wrong and inhuman. However, atrocities such as this still occur today, for eample the genocide in Rewanda. It is important for us to look for the similarities between indviduals and appreciate our differences as it is only by doing this can we assure that the Holocaust will never be repeated.

D-Day

Can the success of D-day be attributed to masterful planning or to sheer luck?

Plan of the D-Day Invasion

I believe the success of D-Day was the result of much skilled planning and preparation. The Allies had been organizing D-Day for over two years and developed many intelligent tactics which gained them advantage during the attack. The Allies created many decoys with the goal of confusing the Germans on where the actual attack would take place. They decided to try to trick the Germans into thinking they would be bombarding Pas-De-Calais. This plan went under the code name "Fortitude South". Though not the most well known fact about the D-Day invasion, I believe that this stragedie was essential to its sucess. To further mislead the Germans a fake invasion force was built in Kent. The Allies built fake tanks and air crafts as well as filled harbours with imitation landing crafts. From a German aircraft's perspective it all looked very realistic as the Allies were very detailed and even gave the impression that the fake camp was trying to camouflage theselves. The Germans were concerned about this growing Allie army and tried to find out more. Expecting this the Allies used double agents which planted stories and fake documents to German spies. They also sent out pretend radio messages to give the impression of a working army. The Allies thought of every detail to fool the Germans and their effort paid off. The Germans kept many of their troops in Pas-De-Calais which they fully thought the main attack would be. To further convince the Germans, the Allies dropped foil from the sky on the day of the attack to give the illusion that planes and ships were coming from Dover. This plan worked so well that the Germans thought that the attack on D-Day was just a diversion and they kept many tanks and troops back at Calais to wait for the 'actual' attack.

Birds eye view of the fake invasion force

Another plan by the Allies was that they sent fake parachuters into German territory. This was very clever because not only did the Germans fall for this but they also began doubting which attempts were real so many Allied troops were able to enter German area. The Allies also weighed each decision they made carefully. They thought of the many possible outcomes to their actions and how to successfully handle them. The used passed failures such as the Dieppe Raid to help them better prepare for D-Day. Many different types of specialized armoured vehicles where developed by the British after Dieppe to allow engineers to accomplish almost all their tasks under armour. These vehicles were very useful during D-Day. Improvements were also made to communications and bigger ships were built for support. It took much carefull preperation before the Allies executed their attack on Normandy and though there were many casulties because of this threrough planning the Allies succesfully invaded Normandy.

"According report hitherto reliable source [sic]. American troops concentrating on large scale in Southampton area. Report appears trustworthy and fitted in with plans connected with the regrouping of FUSAG*."

An actual message from the Germans (intercepted by the British) about the imitiation invasion force.

."I have decided to reinforce the defenses in the West, particularly at places from which we shall launch our long-range war against England. For those are the very points at which the enemy must and will attack; there-unless all indications are misleading-will be fought the decisive invasion battle."

A message from Hitler proving he belived the attack was to be near Pas-de-Callais.

Quotes gathered from www.utexas.edu

* FUSAG: First U.S. Army Group a mainly inactive group after June 1944. Was used to further convice the Germans of an attack at Pas-de-Calais

Russian Revolution

The Rusian Revolution occured because of many different reasons. The first event that really made the Russian people question their government was when Russia lost a war to Japan. Up to this point, the Russians generally believed that they were superior and the loss proved them wrong. The people were upset and many blamed Tsar Nicholas II. The Tsar then decided to take command of the army despite the fact that he had no prior experience and wasn't tqualified for the job. This was one of the many siginficant mistakes of the Tsar which helped cause he revolution. As expected, the Tsar was very unsucessful as General and he was once again held responsible for the loses of the Russian army. Meanwhile, while the Tsar was at war he left his German wife in charge of the country. This was another fatal error as this basically left Rasputin in charge. Rasputin was an evil monk who had a lot of influence over the Tsarina. He corrupted the court and put his friends and supporters in places of power. Under his rule the government suffered greatly yet the Tsar did nothing.

The war also brought many other problems to Russia. The army was badly led and very poorly organized. The war used most of the trains which could no longer bring food to the cities. Food shortages began, both on the battle firld and back at home. The food shortage worsened as a severe winter hit and the poeple were starving. The citizens soon began protesting against the lack of food and Russia's losses in the war. The Tsar lost support of the army and the soldiers refused to calm the rioters. The Tsar also lost control of the country and the rebellion began.

Africa

Africa used to be very different. It was a well developed country and very advanced but this all changed with the arrival of the Europeans. At the turn of the century, many countries in Europe, particularly Britain, France and Germany, decided to form colonies in Africa. The first thing the Europeans changed was to make borders separating the colonies. Many tribes who had lived together before where separated as well as some tribes who didn't get along were forced to be together . The Europeans had power over their colonies and made the original African citizens pay high taxes. Under the Europeans, many well off Africans became very poor.

Africa before the European borders

The main reason for colonization was for resources and Africa had plenty. The Europeans took advantage of this and would buy African exports at very low prices and then would sell it back home at a much higher cost. When the Europeans had taken all they could get from the country they would pack up and leave. Africa relied heavily on their resources to gain money and as the Europeans had taken almost everything, many countries were going into dept. The Europeans leaving also left many other problems for the now independent Africa. Without the Europeans, many countries had to rebuild their government. It was and still is a difficult time for Africa. Countries would frequently change leaders and governments as many only chose leadership roles for their own gain. Many African countries today are still under corrupted governments.

Africa after European invasion

Social Darwinism

The theory of Social Darwinism was taken from Charles Darwin's ideas on evolution. His theories such as Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest were adapted from biology to society. Social Darwinism was incredibly popular in the twentieth century where superiority was equated to your race, social class and richness.

Many countries and societies used Social Darwinism as an excuse for their actions. Most cities would have separated parts to divide different races and classes. The upper class would have many more privileges and opportunities than the lower classes. The upper class would wear expensive clothes, jewelry and so on to show their wealth which in turn showed their superiority. Social Darwinism gave the people, mainly rich upper class whites, justification for their racism, imperialism, capitalism and social discrimination. Social Darwinism promoted hatred between different races and social classes. Upper class citizens would barely even acknowledge the lesser classes and did nothing to remedy the injustices against them as they believed it was their fault to be in that position.

The theory was very popular in Germany and Britain. These countries, along with many other European countries, would attack other countries to "save" and help them as they were considered inferior. These rich countries felt it was entirely their right to take over the homes of the "weak" under the guise of helping them when really they wanted to strengthen their empire for their own gain. Countries saw having a big empire as a sign of their superiority. They also used this as an opportunity to act on their prejudices and many people of different races were unessecarly targeted, harmed and even killed under the name of Social Darwinism.

While I don't completely disagree with the theory of Social Darwinism, I feel it was completely taken out of context. It is no way a legitimate excuse for what many countries did during that time. I believe that you can't decide who is superior just by looking at the colour of their skin or how much money they have.

www.flamminggrasshopper.com

Journal Entry

Dear Journal,

I'm quite exhausted, this has been quite the day! I woke up later then usual as Clara, our new maid, forgot to wake me. She's really quite an awkward thing. The way she ran into the room with her face all red, repeating "I'm sorry Mam!" was just dreadful, I think she'll have to go. You have to be careful, a ghastly maid can ruin a whole household not to mention a dinner party. Just imagine! But I did not have any time to deal with her then as my little darling boy, James, ran into the room. In fact I had completely forgotten about her until now, its funny how servants just blend into the room. Well my beautiful boy had apparently ran away from his nurse as she soon came chasing after him into my room. He is getting so big; almost six and looking more like his father, Charles, every day. At this point it felt like a circus was

going on in my room and I ordered everyone out, except Clara of course, so I could get ready for the day. After being, rather clumsily, helped into my morning dress I went down for breakfast with Charles and the boys. After the meal, I said goodbye to Charles and sent the boys to school. Soon after a parcel arrived for me. I was quite excited as it was my new hat from Paris. My excitement quickly turned to dismay as I pulled out a completely different hat then what I ordered! Honestly, is it so difficult to get a simple delivery right? Sometimes life can just be so trying! I was even more distressed as I was planning to wear my new hat to the Sheridan’s dinner party tonight. Knowing nothing could be done at the moment, I regained my composure and planed to tell Charles about this incident when he got home. A quick look at the clock told me I had about an hour before my tennis game. I changed my attire then left to meet my friends Arabella, Joseline and Cassandra. Tennis was simply smashing today! Arrabella and I won both games, Joseline and Cassandra were furious. After tennis, I was feeling a bit tired so I had a quick rest. I summoned Clara when I awoke and changed into an outfit suitable for afternoon tea. I called on Mrs. Jenkins today. She had a couple of other ladies over as well. She had just got a new tea set and mad a big show of serving tea with it. Of course we all admired it but in my opinion I found it a bit gaudy. She says it’s very fashionable and even the Queen has a set like it. That’s all well and good but Mrs. Jenkins has been known to exaggerate. After tea, I went home and met the boys as they came from school. Charles soon followed and we got ready for the evening. Charles was not happy as there was an upset at work today so I had to keep my complaints to myself. It sadden me to have to put on one of my old hats but even so I was happy with the look. The new corset I bought last week did marvels to my figure and I could tell Charles approved. We arrived at the Sheridan’s fashionably late. Everyone was there! Dinner was fantastic. Each course was more delectable than the last. My favorites were the imported jams and fruits for dessert. All the ladies were lovely but I noticed I had one of the tinniest waists. Mrs. Jones was wearing the loveliest jewel earrings which she had just got imported from the Caribbean this week. I’ll have to remember to ask Charles for a similar pair only bigger of course. After a perfect evening we returned home. The nurse assured us that the boys were in bed and Clara helped me into my night gown. After this long day I’m feeling quite ready for bed as there is so much to do tomorrow!

Good night,

Rose Fanshaw

A picture of our house

A Invention Between 1900-1914

This invention can be found in pratically every home in Canada and has become a staple for familes for generation. Odds are if you looked in your closer you'd find one too. This invention is the vacuum cleaner. A vacuum cleaner is a machine which sucks up dirt and dust. One of the first manual vacuum cleaners was invented by H. Cecil Booth in 1901. Booth noticed that to clean the seats in trains a machine was used to blow the dust away. He thought it would be a much more cleaner system if the machine were to sucked up the dirt instead of blowing it away. He then invented the Puffing Bully which had to be drawn by horses. Though his invention never became successful his idea help shape future versions of the vacuum cleaner. The Vacuum didn't become widly popular until 1906 when a janitor invented a electric cleaner using a fan, a box and a pillowcase. His invention also included a rotating brush which loosened the dirt. He sold his rotating brush idea to his cousin's Hoover Harness and Leather goods store. Hoover became very rich from this invention and became so associated with the cleaner that in Britain a vacuum is sometimes called a hoover. Though the vacuum was becoming more popular it wasn't until after World War II that vacuums became affordable for the middle class. What had started out as a luxury item then became a must for most households. The vacuum significantly changed domestic life and provided a more sanitary and faster way to clean. I feel that the vacuum is a very useful invention and has even improved our quality of living as it gets rid of the dust and dirt instead of just blowing it to another spot.

Why Study 20th Century History?

Though the 20th century is now considered the past, the major political events,inventions & pop culture of this time have help shape our lives today. By studying important events such as the World Wars we can learn form the actions that lead up to these events and even how they might have been prevented. The significant leaders of this time, such as Hitler, Marting Luther King and JFK who had great influence over many people; by observing their leadership styles we can see what was successful and effective and what brought about social change. By studying the past we can also see how inventions, which we take for granted today, caused much change to overall lifestyles back then. Inventions such as the vacuum, the iron and the refrigerator lead to families (particularly women) having more leisure time as it now didn't take all day to clean the house. While this was a positive change, it caused many women to redefine their roles in life. By studying major inventions, we can see how they affect people individually and also how they can change a society. The world at this time also became closer as different countries became connected by the television, radio and telephone. Pop culture of the 20th century is also important to study as much of the music reflected the thoughts and feelings of the people. Celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles are now icons that have influenced the music and movie industry of today. Studying the 1900's lets us see how certain minorties were treated and how these prejudices changed over time. We learn from our mistakes, by studying the past we can learn what went right and what shouldn't happen again.