Rethink Afghanistan

David Schiff
Film 150
Extra Credit
12/14/09




President Obama has decided to send 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan at a cost of more than $100 billion a year it is time to rethink Afghanistan. (rethinkAfghanistan.com) Rethink Afghanistan is a 2009 documentary that is divided into 6 parts about the ongoing war in Afghanistan. This full length documentary discusses military escalation, the effect on Pakistan, the high cost of war, civilian causalities, and the rights of Afghan women. Rethink Afghanistan advocates an alternative vision to the U.S. policy of sending more troops to Afghanistan. Rethink Afghanistan is directed by Robert Greenwald who also did Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Rethink Afghanistan contains an urgent plea to write your congressman and to vote no for the escalation of U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The war in Afghanistan began on October 7th, 2001 as a part of the U. S. military’s Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the attacks of September 11th, 2001.
The film students of IML 340 examined the documentary Rethink Afghanistan and using clips from it and other found footage created their own 3 minute clips. 2 of them particularly stuck in my mind, one was Auratic Axes by Tiffany Chen and a piece by Corinda Dimes that used WWII newsreels. Tiffany’s piece uses the media images and the horror of war in an unforgettable way. Tiffany defines auratic axes as referring to the blows (the ax) delivered by the aura of an image. Corinda’s piece asks the question why anyone isn’t supporting the war in Afghanistan the way Americans came together during WWII. I thought that was a very thought provoking question. The other projects that were done by the IML 340 students were all very good and made you rethink Afghanistan using images containing the horrors of war including civilian causalities and the effects of war on a country. The students also did a good job of displaying how media sensationalism can persuade the thinking of an entire nation.

Artist Statement II

David Schiff
Film 150
12/11/2009
Artist Statement II

In order to understand the history of the South Side of Milwaukee it is best to begin to first define the neighborhoods that make up the South side of Milwaukee. Bay View which was incorporated in 1879 and is Milwaukee’s first suburb is a good place to start. Bay View in 1887 voted to join the city of Milwaukee to obtain city services of which water was the most important. Bay View has the last remaining public well in the city of Milwaukee: the Pryor Avenue Iron Well. On May 1st of 1886 approximately 7,000 Milwaukee trade workers and 5,000 Polish laborers went on strike demanding an 8 hr day. In a foreshadowing of the ethnic diversity of the South side banners promoting the 8 hour theme were in English, German, and Polish.
On May 4th the strikers gathered at St. Stanislaus Church intent on marching on North Chicago Rolling Mill in Bay View were met by the militia who fired shots over their head as a warning. Later in the same day a bomb exploded in Chicago’s Hay Market Square during an 8 hour day demonstration killing 7 policemen and wounding 60. Tensions in Milwaukee began to grow. Demonstrators despite the events of the previous day began their march on North Chicago Rolling Mill. Governor Rusk issued the order to the General of the National Guard “Fire on them”. 4 laborers were killed and 6 more were wounded and not expected to live through the night. (www.wilaborers.org) Polish workers became the focus of employer backlash from the 8-hour day movement and an example to any worker who was thinking of supporting worker rights.
Father James Groppi was born in the Bay View neighborhood to Italian immigrant parents. James father joined others from Italy in Milwaukee’s grocery business opening Groppi’s Store in Bay View. James went to Immaculate Conception a parochial grade school and on to a public high school in Bay View. Groppi was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1959 and in 1963 he became the priest at St. Boniface which had a predominant African-American congregation. It was here that Father Groppi became active in civil rights for Black Americans. In 1965 Father Groppi became the advisor to the Milwaukee chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and protested the segregation of Milwaukee Public Schools. He also demonstrated against the city of Milwaukee on the behalf of fair housing. He marched across the 16th St. Viaduct which has been renamed in his honor. I included pictures of the 16th St Bridge because I felt it was significant that Father Groppi had the courage to cross the imaginary border that racially divided Milwaukee. I also included a picture of Father Groppi demonstrating at the Eagles Club because at the time it was an all white club, and later became a Latino attraction where dances were held and now is known as the Rave and has alternative music concerts.
Holler Park is a small neighborhood on the far South side near Mitchell Airport. Holler Park features a 10,000 sq. ft. “Rain Garden” with Wisconsin perennials, walking paths, and benches. Holler Park is known as the “Gateway to Milwaukee”. I included some pictures of the rain garden. Jackson Park is a neighborhood on the South side that has seen a growing number of Hispanic residents. Jones Island is a peninsula located at the Milwaukee Harbor. It began as a fishing village populated by Polish settlers in 1870. The settlers never obtained a deed for the land and were evicted by the city of Milwaukee in 1940 to make way for a shipping port, the Port of Milwaukee. It also supports the Hoan Bridge, a long span bridge that was named after Daniel Hoan the former socialist mayor of Milwaukee. The Hoan Bridge connects I-794 to the Lake freeway across the Milwaukee river inlet. I included several pictures of Jones Island and the Hoan Bridge.
Layton Park is on the Southwest side and has a large Hispanic population. It is where Loyola Academy and the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute are located. The Spanish Center was founded by Milwaukee priest John Maurice in 1968. Maurice organized the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Council for the Spanish Speaking in 1963. This organization helped to establish the Spanish Center by providing legal aid, health care, education, employment, and housing services. The term Spanish-Speaking was used because Milwaukee’s “Spanish-speaking” population was different from other cities because it had an almost equal number of Puerto Ricans and Mexican-Americans. New York City for example was dominated by the Puerto Ricans and California by Mexican-Americans. Outreach Institute was used to reflect the understanding of the community and Latino leaders to respond the needs of Milwaukee’s Latino population.
Lincoln Village has a rich history and contains a national landmark the Basilica of St. Josaphat which I mentioned in my previous artist statement. The Holler House Tavern is also located in Lincoln Village and contains the oldest certified bowling alley in the United States. Holler House just celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 14, 2008. I included an original print advertisement for the Holler House and a picture of the bowling alley. Lincoln Village is also home to the Forest Home Cemetery which is rumored to be haunted. You can take a guided tour through the cemetery and witness the people who built Milwaukee. Lincoln Village is currently experiencing a large influx of Hispanics from Mexico and Los Angeles. Mitchell Street is also largely Hispanic and is home to St. Stanislaus Catholic Church on Mitchell and 5th. St. Stanislaus is a national landmark and I included a picture of it. Tippecanoe is located on the city’s far south side and was developed by landowner John Saveland. Saveland an outspoken Republican whose political slogan was “Tippecanoe and Tyler too” intended to develop the land as an upper income suburban community.
Walkers Point is home to the Esperanza Unida International Building that has the Mural of Peace on its side. The Mural of Peace is Wisconsin’s largest mural; it depicts an eagle and a dove with a sunburst rainbow of flags. Reynaldo Hernandez designed the mural while community volunteers painted the four by eight foot aluminum panels which make up the 60 x 152 ft. image. The mural was completed in 1994. Esperanza Unida was founded by Richard Oulahan to help the South side Hispanic families with training and jobs. Esperanza Unida developed a self-sustaining job training model that was studied and implemented around the country. Esperanza Unida provided counseling, job training, and job-placement services for hundreds of residents. (esperanzaunida.org) I included a picture of the mural which is impressive and very recognizable. Walker’s Point is also home to the Allen Bradley Clock Tower which is the largest 4 sided clock tower in the world. Father Groppi led a demonstration in 1968 outside Allen-Bradley because they employed few Latino or black workers. Walker’s Point is also known as the “Fifth Ward” or Latin Quarter.
The Town of Lake is where Patrick Cudahy bought land in 1892 for his meatpacking business. In 1895 the area was incorporated as the Village of Cudahy. After Cudahy became a city it annexed lands south to the border of South Milwaukee. As a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal an octagonal tower was built in 1938. It was to be the Lake City Hall and double as a water tower. In 2001 the internal tank was removed and the building was converted to office space.
Works cited
Gurda, John. The Making of Milwaukee. Wisconsin Historical Institute
Hill, Evan. Milwaukee Neighborhoods Milwaukee.com
Jones, Patrick. The Selma of the North: Civil Rights Insurgency in Milwaukee. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press, 2009
Rodriguez, A. Joseph. Latinos at UWM: A History of the Spanish Speaking Outreach Institute and the Roberto Hernandez Center.

The South Side

A tour of the South Side of Milwaukee as defined by its neighborhoods. I began with Bay View and the Bay View Massacre and Father James Groppi and ended with the murals in Walker's Point and on Cesar Chavez Dr.

Our last day at Loyola Academy

Najla, George and I went to Loyola on Tuesday Dec. 8th to discuss our media literary exercise with the students. We compared "At the Time of the Louisville Flood" by Margaret Bourke-White and Gordon Parks "American Gothic". We discussed the denotative meaning and the connotative meaning of the pictures as well as framing, angle, and costumes. When viewing "At the Time of the Louisville Flood" the students thought the picture depicted that white people are better and the American dream was not for everyone. When viewing "American Gothic" the students noticed how the large flag was framed in the background and how Ella Watson was a symbol of servitude. To view these pictures and read my report scroll through my blog as they are posted.

We also compared pictures that Mr. Gonzales had in his classroom of Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa. (the pictures above are not the actual pictures we used). The students noted that Zapata was on a horse and the angle looking up at him showed respect. Zapata was also carrying a gun which represented the Mexican Revolution. The students believed the image was portraying Zapata as a hero and a leader. The costume Zapata was wearing included a sombrero. Zapata was from the southern portion of Mexico.

Pancho Villa was from the northern section of Mexico. Pancho was photographed with soldiers(his homeys) and as a man of the people. The photograph expressed equality. Pancho was wearing his bandeleros or gun belt.

Milwaukee Bucks doing community work

Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks hands out Thanksgiving turkeys.

Pictures by dbschiff - Photobucket

Pictures by dbschiff - Photobucket

Loyola Academy at Cesar Chavez mural

Mr. Gonzales was teaching his class about Cesar Chavez's boycott of grapes

Bucks have international flavor

Andrew Bogut-Australia

Carlos Delfino- Argentina

Ersan Ilyasova-Turkey

Roko Ukic-Croatia

Luc Mbah A Moute-Cameroon

Francisco Elson-Netherlands

Dan Gadzuric"Dunking Dutchman"-Netherlands

Brandon Jennings who scored 55 points and tied a rookie record played for one year in Europe

Spike Lee from Entertainment Weekly

After discussing Spike Lee in class I found this article in Entertainment Weekly

Loyola Academy Slideshow

Artist's Statement

David Schiff
10/27/09
Film 150


Artist Statement



One of the first things I learned when I returned to school was I had to approach things with an open mind and a willingness to learn. I have learned to be more culturally sensitive and understanding of the diverse population in Milwaukee, in my own neighborhood (Franklin Heights), and here at UWM. The chance to learn about the South Side of Milwaukee, one of the most culturally diverse in the entire city was a chance to increase my ethnic awareness. The opportunity to meet the students at Loyola Academy was an added benefit. I have worked with at risk students before as my own son went to Norris School in Mukwonago. I hope that our representation of UWM inspires these students to seek higher education either at UWM or another university.
There are many churches on the South Side with a rich history that would be interesting to explore and photograph. One of them would be the Basilica of St. Josaphat; I learned a basilica refers to the style of the building and the Basilica of St. Josaphat is a Minor Basilica. St. Josaphat was created by Pope Pius XI in 1929 only the third church so honored in the USA. St. Josaphat is patterned after St. Peter’s in Rome and is recognized by Milwaukee as an official landmark. There is also St. Stanislaus in the historic Mitchell St. district which is also a designated landmark. Another area I considered exploring in South Milwaukee was Grant Park and the Seven Bridges Trail. Grant Park is best known as one of Milwaukee’s haunted hot spots, and a place where you can hike through the woods and gain access to the beach on Lake Michigan. Grant Park is also home to the first golf course operated by Milwaukee County, Grant Park Golf Course opened in 1920. Another place that is supposedly haunted is Forest Home Cemetery in Jackson Park, which is home to over 110,000 burials including 28 Milwaukee mayors, 7 Wisconsin governors, and several noted industrialists.
These were all good choices but I chose to start my photographic journey at the Mitchell Park Domes a conservatory located at Mitchell Park. I was immediately greeted by a flock of Canadian geese on a rainy day. The Domes are composed of three beehive shaped glass domes that span 140 ft. in diameter and are 85 ft. high. They are the world’s first conidial domes and cover 45,000 sq. ft. and took 8 years to build starting in 1959 and finishing in 1967 at a total cost of 4.5 million dollars. In 2008 the lobby was remodeled and external and internal lights were added. There is also a plan to add a greenhouse complex at the rear of the Conservatory. The three domes have different climate settings for the exposition of its contents. The Show Dome opened in 1964 and hosts four seasonal shows and one holiday exhibit held annually in December. The themes are based on cultural interests like Japanese, German, or French, literary or historical like Colonial Williamsburg and the history of herb gardening. The Tropical Dome opened in February 1966 and features nearly 1,000 species of plants including banana, papaya, ackee, guava, avocado, and cacao. A rare curare vine can also be found growing here. The arid dome opened in November 1967 and displays a wide variety of plants from the Americas and Africa. The African section contains the unusual Welwitschia plant which has only two continuously growing leaves and may live for a thousand years. Mitchell Park is one of the six original Milwaukee parks created by the first park commission. It started as 5 acres on Milwaukee’s South Side and now the total area is over 60 acres. There is also a monument marking the site of an early trading post built by Jacques Vieau. Vieau was a settler and a fur trader who later became father-in-law to the founder of Milwaukee, Solomon Juneau.
I chose to photograph Ascension Church next because of its history and cultural diversity. In 1852 ten families organized the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Church in the south side carpenter shop of Samuel Gabrielson. After purchasing a lot for $150 on the northwest corner of Scott and Reed the congregation built its first church with their hands. They couldn’t imagine how the church would evolve into the big city church it is today. It is a church of ethnic diversity including both Hmong and Hispanic congregations. Rev. Gustav Stearns became the pastor in 1899 and served the congregation for the next 35 years. It was during Rev. Stearns pastorate that the church changed its name to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Ascension. Worship services in Spanish began in the early 1970’s, and in the 1980’s Hmong Christians approached Ascension for a place to worship and conduct Bible study. In the 1990’s outreach to the Hmong and Hispanic community was a focus of the ministry and made Ascension a multicultural congregation.
Loyola Academy which started in 1964 began when the Archdiocese of Milwaukee gave John Maurice $6,000 to open a center for the Latino population. El Centro Hispano Americano became the first non-profit organization in Milwaukee to serve Latinos. In 1990 the Council for the Spanish Speaking (the center changed its name after being incorporated) purchased the former St. Ignatius of Loyola Church and grounds. Loyola Academy High School sponsored by MPS began serving 30 at risk youth. In 2000 the new Infant and Toddler Center at Loyola began operation. In summary I have been doing a lot of research on the history of Milwaukee and learning about the South Side and its cultural diversity was extremely enlightening. I knew that it began as a Polish community and transitioned into a Hispanic community but I did not know about the large population of Hmong people. I tried in my photo essay to show some of the cultural diversity of the South Side. I would have liked to have taken more pictures of things I learned about after I wrote this paper, like the landmark for Vieau’s trading post. I also would have liked to have been able to save my work on the Mac and spend more time with I movie and reedit and polish up some things on my slide show. I was also unable to add a soundtrack which would have been nice. Overall I am satisfied with my representation of the South Side of Milwaukee and Loyola Academy and its students

Loyola Academy

I went to the South Side to finish my film project and even though it was raining I captured some nice pictures of the Domes and the South Side neighborhood. I also learned some interesting history about a few of the local churches. I talked to Mr. Gonzales and we will meet with him in two weeks.

WWE (1st Assignment)

I am a big fan of pro wrestling and the WWE. I have posted some images of the wrestlers and the good work they do. They have community programs including contributing to toys for tots and reading programs for young people. I believe the most impressive event they host is the tribute to the troops where they go overseas and perform for the soldiers protecting our country.

Film Literary Exercise

The two images I chose are Margaret Bourke-White’s “At the Time of the Louisville Flood” and Gordon Parks “American Gothic”. I chose “At the Time of the Louisville Flood” because of the stark reality of the imagery and the sharp contrast of the whiteness of the American family with a white dog included framed against the African-Americans standing in line waiting for relief. The billboard proclaims the World’s Highest Standard of Living, but I don’t believe the African-American’s standing in line would agree. The billboard’s slogan suggests the American Way is for the white family and does not include the black family. There is a clear line drawn in the framing of the image between the joy of the white family and the despair of the African-Americans waiting for relief. The focus is clearly on the white family and not on the African-Americans. The angle is also important as the white family is shown above the line of the African-Americans. The costumes are also significant as the white family is dressed affluently probably middle class or upper middle class and the African-Americans are all wearing long dark colored coats. Ronald Takaki in “A Different Mirror” quotes that the black worker was the “surplus man, the last to be hired and the first to be fired.” Blacks faced starvation and reluctantly turned to public relief.

Margaret Bourke-White was a celebrated photographer in the 1930’s; she succeeded in a male-dominated profession and was the first photographer for Fortune Magazine in 1930. She also captured an unforgettable image of the Fort Peck Dam that was used in the premier issue of Life magazine. Margaret Bourke-White was an amazing woman; she was the first woman to fly on a combat bombing mission during WWII and was fearless taking pictures of the German bombing of Moscow. Bourke-White captured images of the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during WWII bearing witness to one of history’s most barbaric slaughters. Bourke-White also blended commerce and art in an advertisement for the “Russell Birdsall & Ward Bolt & Nut Company. Her photographic style can be described as the f/64 group that Edward Weston and Ansel Adams made famous. Most of her photographs are a gelatin silver print. In 1937 when Bourke-White did “At the Time of the Louisville Flood” it became a symbolic image of the Great Depression. The happy white family oblivious to the line of African-Americans waiting for relief is about to figuratively run them over in their brand new car.

The second image I chose was Gordon Parks “American Gothic” I found this image to be provocative because of the way the American flag is framed in the background. Is this picture taken in 1942 the image we wish to convey during a time of war? The costume is also significant as it appears to be a uniform representing servitude. Gordon Parks later tells us it is a portrait of a government cleaning lady named Ella Watson. Parks used “American Gothic” to describe how he felt about America and Ella Watson’s position inside America. Richard Dyer would describe this as whiteness being evident in superiority without ever being shown in the picture. Ella Watson is not only in servitude to a white person but the entire white government. This is not only subjection by race alone but also by gender as some men believe that women are supposed to be holding a broom and a mop. Ronald Takaki in “A Different Mirror” discusses how the New Deal by Franklin Roosevelt was a new deal for the whites only and a raw deal for blacks. The National Recovery Administration or NRA which was established to protect black workers from discrimination in employment was often referred to as “Negroes Ruined Again” or “Negro Removal Act” by African-Americans. Ella Watson standing with an American flag in the background epitomized the disappointment in the Roosevelt Administration.

Gordon Parks was the youngest of 15 children and was told by a white teacher not to waste his families’ money on a college education because he would probably just wind up as a porter anyway. Parks just recently received his 45^th doctorate from Princeton University. When Parks was 16 and homeless he found a portfolio inside of a magazine documenting the living conditions of migrant workers. The portfolio inspired him to buy his first camera and use it as a weapon against poverty and racism. In 1941 Parks was the first photographer to receive a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation and started working for Roy Stryker at the photography section of the Farm Security Administration or FSA. The FSA was a part of the New Deal initiated by Franklin Roosevelt to combat poverty. The FSA planned to help poor farmers by purchasing their non productive land and placing them in group farms on better land for more efficient farming. The FSA was criticized by the Farm Bureau as an experiment in collectivizing agriculture. The FSA exists today as the Farmers Home Administration. The FSA hired Gordon Parks and others to report and document the plight of the poor farmer. It was at the FSA in Washington D.C. where Parks took his first professional photograph “American Gothic”. “American Gothic” was originally a painting by American artist Grant Wood. It is a depiction of a farmer and a woman standing in front of a farmhouse in Iowa. The man holds a pitchfork symbolizing hard labor and the woman’s colonial print apron suggests domesticity. It is as much of a symbol of the whiteness of America as Ella Watson is a symbol of the plight of African-Americans. During the Great Depression “American Gothic” by Wood became a symbol of the American spirit. The photograph of Ella Watson was a parody of the original “American Gothic” but still became an iconic symbol of America.

In conclusion I chose “American Gothic” by Gordon Parks and “At the Time of the Louisville Flood” by Margaret Bourke-White because they depict how the American Dream is usually a depiction of the whiteness of the nation and how it does not include all peoples. I believe they also depict the racial tension that still exists in America in the 21^st century. The images portrayed by Parks and Bourke-White are both timeless and reminders of our past before the Civil Rights Act. They are images to warn us of the dangers of stereotyping and labeling one race as superior and another as inferior. It is these images that I will use to remind me that racism still exists today and that only through understanding that we all are a part of the human race can we imagine living in a world without racism.

David Schiff

Film 150

10/10/09

Media Literacy Exercise

"American Gothic" by Gordon Parks

"At the Time of the Louisville Flood" by Margaret Bourke-White

"American Gothic" by Grant Wood

Screenshot of Green Acres

Gordon Parks

Loyola

I went to Loyola Academy for orientation on Thursday and meet some really great students. I am looking forward to returning probably next week. The teacher Mr. Gonzalez is really nice and it should be fun working with him. I was really nervous I personally graduated high school in '82 and have only been in a high with my son who is 22 now.