Besides everything? This was painted by John Gast in 1872. The idea was to show Manifest Destiny in all its glory. The painting is called, "American Progress."
Let's deconstruct, shall we?
In writings about this painting (click on post title for more) various authors comment on how it expresses the sentiment of Americans at that time. The expansion West as God given (Destiny) and the obvious (Manifest) reasons for this expansion: Progress. First off, in the left part of the painting Indigenous peoples are being displaced and run off the land. Animals are running away. This is all to make space for the telegraph wires of Technology the Woman is carrying as she flies through the air. I won't bother writing about Her color. Gender expression: Super Feminine (she can fly!). Sexuality: Unknown. Class: Hard to imagine what work you could do in that outfit. But what is she carrying in her arms? It's a school book signifying Education. Behind and below her are the settlers who will claim the land as, obviously, theirs because they have Education, Knowledge, and Technology. So, when some of us say, "Hey, wait, what education? Who are we teaching? Why?" it's that we see this school book floating through the air and invading everything held sacred for the sake of someone else's Education, Knowledge, and Technology. It's been 135 years since this was painted. What's that school book you're using say?
1 comment:
As a non-traditional age college student, I experienced quite a change in the way history (and other subjects) were taught when I decided to go back to college in my late 40's. The teachings when I was in high school, reflected the feeling that colonization did the Indigenous a favor, by helping them to become less savage. The knowledge of how colonization affected the Indigenous in this country, was never taught. When I came back to school, years and years later, it was a breath of fresh air, to find out the truth of what had happened. Some feel this way of teaching is going to ruin our country pride or our patriotism. But I think it is necessary for our children to understand the wrongs done by our country. Maybe teaching the truth will help people to be more tolerant of those around them, since now we understand the U.S. has ugly history also.
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