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| The character, Si |
The company threw a holiday party for local children, with the CEO of the company, Willie, playing Santa Claus while the always entertaining and unpredictable uncle and employee of Willie named "Si" being Santa's helper. When one little girl was asked by Willie what she wanted for Christmas, she replied that she wanted art supplies because she wanted to be an artist. Si sharply butted in by saying that there isn't any money to be made in the art profession.
I feel that the point he made was incredibly applicable to american ideals of occupations. It's all about where the money is. It's heard so incredibly often the terms of people having "good" or "bad" jobs. Just as we have discussed in class, "good" and "bad" by no means reflect the quality of the person performing the jobs or even quality of work, just the job's pay. Personally, I've heard it and seen it time and time again the obsession with one's income. For example, extremely reputable and widely subscribed to Forbes magazine releases the annually anticipated "Forbes 400" list. This list profiles the 400 wealthiest Americans for all subscribes to revere in their wealthy aura. The "list" speaks wonders about american ideals.
It's somewhat eye-opening that one's occupation in the american culture is viewed upon based on the money that they make and not the quality or purpose of the work.
What do you think about American values of one's occupations purpose? How can media change this ideal? Please let me know your thoughts!
I think that we are taught from when we are young to go into a profession that we love. Then, we get a little older and the views suddenly switch to, "go into something where you can make a lot of money". I think it's important to find a balance between these two things, which is often very hard to achieve.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteYou should check out Alana's post on this very topic. I bet you and she could comment on each other's ideas expressed here.
I like the emphasis on American ideals quite a bit, but I am wondering if you are critically examining the media you cited? After all, it's a Xmas special about a kid asking for material goods, sitting in the lap of a small businessman. Otherwise, think about adding another source.
Think, too, about the words you choose. When you say, "[j]ust as we have discussed in class, "good" and "bad" by no means reflect the quality of the person performing the jobs or even quality of work, just the job's pay." Are you then saying that low pay is " bad" and high pay is "good"? Just wondering.