Watching the movie on classism, I'm not entirely sure how to feel. I don't hate whatever Mr. My Name is WASP the 31st for starters. I like the plumber and I think Tammy is just at a loss, though. For this I want to say classism effects the extreme ends of the spectrum more than those in the middle. For example Tammy always feels her son is betraying her and the class they belong to and Mr. WASP blondie the 19th thinks anything vulgar is blue-collar, beneath him, and horrible. However, despite the occasional outliar like the guy in the bar. People who are in between poverty and riches don't seem to be so against each other. A suburbanite officeman and a well-off electrician for example, kind of like that neighborhood the fireman is in, get along. Again I think this is our culture of extremes coming through where everyone puts too much value on certain things or exagerrates in their thought processes, but that can't be changed.
So Ohio.The state in which my grandmother grew up on a farm. There is also a town called Batavia in Ohio which I would call a working class town. I stopped off there and just felt like I didn't belong, I happened to be in a suit(we were vising colleges), but the people tended to be distant and indifferent to me. At the Steak and Shake I bought food at, there was a certain alienation I felt(or perhaps thought I did?)and it was awkward. Other people of the same area were nearby and having a lovely meal and chatting up the waitress and everything, but when I politely called her over for a glass of water, she became a zombie. It was eerie. And I think that even though I wasn't raised classist, the people in Batavia put a certain sense of class in me that wasn't there before. Then for the other end, I visited Duke University. Now I hate to black-list a school, but if it was built in the 1920's to look like a gothic castle, there is a pretention issue. The people there were new money. And I can't guarantee that, but new money is a class for me. It's people who don't know what to do with their wealth so they flaunt it and make complete idiots out of themselves. They would make Rockefeller cry, basically, because they use money as an excuse to be materialistic and insincere. So I don't doubt that some "working class" people come off as more genuine, because the class a little above them is filled with idiots. However, I think if you jump that gap there would be some level-headed old money people who would be genuine, live well, and not have a toilet lined with gold. So Duke was fake like that and I didn't feel right there either. I didn't feel poor, and since I was looking at the school that wasn't the assumption anyone made, but I did feel above the pettiness. And that was awkward too. I suppose a frat-boy tour guide jaded me a bit though... I am rather prejudice to that social group and he did nothing to allay my pre-existing opinion of him(When a worried mother asked about the alcohol situation, his answer was "This is college, you know?"). Duke and Batavia... I almost think Tammy and Mr. Winston Fairgates Leopold the 4th would be more pleasant to spend a day with than the people stuck in the "middle" And that's a complete contradiction to what I already said! Intriguig.
I would also like to touch on tea- my vice. Apparently, that's a classist thing. And I won't deny it evokes imagery of the British aristocracy or something, but I want to ask why. If anyting, tea has made me less classist. I have studied pretty much every variety, the culture around it in Europe and Asia, and feel it has taken me around the world. For example I was able to talk to a Chinese immigrant a month or so ago about the white tea they grow in Fujian and all about Eastern medicine. I know how to make my own chai, courtesy of my girlfriend's Indian roots, and I've got a taste for the sweet tea of the south as well. I think it's narrow minded to call tea classist and only think of it with crumpets then. Even green tea is becoming a suburban phenomenon because it's so much healthier than coffee(which is complete BLASPHEMY, because I love coffee from a culinary standpoint as well and can't stand when people make misconceptions about it). But green tea is an Asian product for the most part and while everyone can say they enjoy Snapple green tea with artificial sweetners, I would be hard-pressed to find a fellow Gen-mai cha lover in Stevenson or anyone who even knows the difference between a Sencha and a Bancha! It's ridiculous and I'm not pointing fingers at all, but tea is close to my heart and I think it is a good example of classism. I found some funny stuff on youtube. The first is more explicitly languaged and makes some of those generalizations I loathe, but the second makes less of those generalizations, is less vulgar, and is just funny(especially if you know your black teas!).
First(did I mention it has typical hip-hop mysogny?): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNMdUAyHxuU&feature=related
Second: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELH0ivexKA&NR=1
So enjoy the videos, feel free to comment. I'm off for a mug of darjeeling with lemon and if anyone wants any tea-advice, I am your guru. Have a good night!
2 comments:
Tea is a strange topic. I personally drink a cup of tea almost daily. I tend to stick to the classic black teas, the stereotypical kind that go ever so well with crumpets. I have found that Americans do tend to think of tea as an upper class English treat. They picture the Queen in her garden sitting respectively with her legs crossed at the ankle sipping tea out of cute china cups with a pinky up in the air. I, however, while living in England, experienced something far more exceptional. Tea time is the real family time, and the most relaxing time of the day. You sit down, leave all else behind, and relax with a cup of tea, some snacks perhaps, and talk with family or friends. For some, this time is spent at home. For others, it is in the company of close friends. But either way, it is informal and relaxing and wonderful.
Isn't it? I have an Asian friend in my neighborhood who is a blossoming tea freak like myself so we have the occasional cup together either at the English hour or the Asian one. I'm glad to finally find someone who knows the American notion is so loopy, because tea has brought me closer to people worldwide than it has tied me exclusively to the British. I want to share tea with you one of these days...
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