home

**Claudia's Skit:**Two friends walk into the living room and sit to watch T.V. A jean commercial comes on. The commercial consists of three girls modeling jeans.

Kevin: Hey let's go see what's on T.V. Esther: O.K. Hopefully something good is on.

The two friends go and sit down and begin to change the channels on T.V. Then the jean commercial begins.

Karalynn: ( All jean girls with their back to the audience) They are so comfortable. Jennifer: And they make you look so good. Claudia: They make you want more and more. All three Jean girls: Wearing jeans isn't just comfortable. It's powerful.

Kevin: Wow! I love those jeans i'm going to go buy them. Esther: Why? you already have enough jeans. Kevin: Hey the more the better!

= = Claudia :** Introduction: In Lawrence Shames' “The More Factor,” Shames exemplifies “how the hunger for more –more toys, more land, more opportunities- is an essential part of American history and character, streaming from the frontier era when there was no limit to American desire.” I. “America was the place where one never quits. America offered new chances to those who in their own countries, where all the lands were fully occupied… could never emerge from the poor conditions where they were born.” a) Many people around the world are born and suffer from poverty and hunger. Because of the poor conditions of their third world country, the family migrates to a country for which they have higher expectations of life. America for many people is the place where dreams come true. There are better opportunities here in the United States. There are more jobs, educational opportunities, less corruption, and a secure country. Plus the value of money is higher than their country. The harder people work the more money they get. They learn to appreciate what they have here because they probably came from nothing. b) For instance, my parents are from Michoacán. They both came to the United States to provide a better life for their children. There are better jobs, education, and much more. They came from nothing; they lived in a little box practically. They only would have a piece of bread to share with more than five siblings at a time. When they moved here they lived in a garage. Then moved into a condominium after being here for a long time. They got their citizenship, speak english now, and own their own home in Nevada. This to many people back home is considered to be the American dream. All my parents hope for is for their children to take advantage of all the opportunities many hope to have some day for their own children. On the other hand, when some people don’t go through the hardships of poverty they might not take advantage of what they have here in America. And some people just get greedier. Leading to my next point. II. “Given that the goal a realistic goal for most of our history-was more. Americans have been somewhat backward of adopting values, hopes, ambitions that have to do with things other than more. In America, a sense of quality has lagged far behind a sense of scale.” a) According, to Shames many people become greedier and want more. It almost seems that more is more important than quality. Apparently, the more you have the better. Is this true? What do you think? III. “The fear that the world may not be a big enough playground for a full exercise off one’s energies and yearnings and worse the fear that the playground is being fenced off and will no longer expand.” a) An abundance of commercial buildings, new homes, and new businesses are being built all around that sooner or later there is going to be no land left, thus, this leads to producers wanting more now. And why do producers/ companies that build homes want more? For money!!!! They are not building you a home for you just to be nice. They a building homes because they are getting something out of it.
 * [[image:MoreFactor4.JPG width="570" height="96"]]

==

//"In America, a sense of quality has lagged far behind a sense of scale. An ideal of contentment has yet to take root in soil traditionally more hospitable to an ideal of restless striving. The ethic of decency has been upstaged by the ethic of success. The concept of growth has been applied almost exclusively to things that can be measured, counted weighed" (Shames 78). Americans are always looking for a good deal, always trying to get the most bang for their buck. It is for this reason that restaurants have adjusted **portion sizes** exponentially for the past 40 years. Janet Raloff of Science News Online calls this "dietary inflation:" [Also note] the fact that modern fast-cooked meals both at home and at restaurants carry more calories per recipe than a generation ago...A new study finds, except for pizza, food portions have undergone substantial inflation over the past 2 decades. No doubt, the desire for more in the food industry is what keeps fast food companies going, the rates of **obesity** soaring, and our **unhappiness** at an all-time high. In Morgan Spurlock's documentary, "Supersize Me," Spurlock spent 30 days eating nothing but McDonalds' fast food to prove a point: The fast food industry, it's portions, and it's food are not of a healthy quality. Spurlock gained over 30 pounds, got addicted to the food, lost his sex drive, and was at risk of heart failure and many other health problems. **Do you think that the more factor contributes to unhappiness and obesity?** Our obsession with more is also food for the growth of stores like Walmart, who offer unbelievable deals at the expense of their underpaid and overworked employees, their lack of benefits, and their exploitation of cheap, third world country labor. **Do you think that it's worth getting a better deal at Walmart at the expense of other people? Is the more factor more important than human rights and the quality of other people's lives?**// = =

"The economy has been the frontier. Instead of more space, we have had more money. Rather than measuring progress in terms of geographical expansion, we have measured it by expansion in our standard of living. Economics has become the metaphor on which we pin our hopes of open space and second chances" (Shames 80-81). = =

The "Life Takes Visa" credit card ad campaign reflects marketers knowledge about America's weakspot: the more factor. More people spend more at an earlier age and incur more debt leading to more cases of young bankruptcy. My husband works at a financial institution and sees this all the time. Visa is encouraging people, young and old, through this campaign, to indulge, take shortcuts, etc. all in the name of living. Once children are of an accountable age they start to spend all that they have to acquire more possessions in order to display their level of success. Americans too often define happiness as success and forget the more important things in life. I suggest we stop spending money and start spending time with our loved ones and in the pursuit of transendence in order to adjust the quality of our lives for the better.
 * How does access to credit cards worsen the quality of life? Do objects and possessions make you happy?**

//[|http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030201/food.asp//] http://www.creditcards.com/Life-Takes-Visa.php http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/ http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/ http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=2175135&page=1////////////////////// = = = =

Laurence Shames writes in The More Factor that "Given that goal - a realistic goal for most of our history - as __more__, Americans have been somewhat backward in adopting values, hopes, ambitions that have to do with things other than more". Shames says our economy has been our frontier as the physical frontiers: land, ocean and even outer space has begun to fill up. Our economy is not what is was in earlier decades: we have layoffs, re-organizations, and the fall of the stockmarket in 1987 and the volatility ever since. These have led to a general mistrust of the ecomony. The gap between the extremely wealthy and the middle class grows wider every year, and the segment of society that lives in poverty has grown. I think we all feel that the more may be running out. Shames writes, "What sorts of insights and adjustments are called for so that economic ups and downs can be dealt with more gracefully?" In other words - what will be the new "more"? Could it be religion and spirituality? After all, that was the more for the the Puritans and others who first settled the New World - religious freedom. As established denominations such as Catholic and Episcopal are losing members, we see a rise in the membership of evangelical, non-denominational churches. Some of these are "mega-churches", with hundreds of members in a huge hall equipped with microphones and large viewing screens - think of the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County. Now more than ever, these churches are in our lives more than just on Sunday - think of politics and the Moral Majority. Parishoners hope for a better, more fulfilled life on this earth through religion, and of course a reserved place in heaven. Could heaven be the New Frontier? Then we have the New-Agers: People looking for spirituality in places other than a church. Starting with Shirley McLaine and "channeling" (speaking through individuals long dead) interest in past lives and reincarnation has risen. Attendance at spiritual retreats, interest in Buddism and spritual activities such as yoga are all on the rise. Is our next life the New Frontier?
 * Kevin McCawley**

"A different sort of growth--ultimately, a growth of responsibility and happiness--will have to fulfill our need to believe that our possibilities are still expanding."(Shames 80) "The concept of growth has been applied almost exclusively to things that can be measured, counted, weighed. And the hunger for those things that are unmeasurable but fine--the sorts of accomplishments that cannot be undone by circumstance or a shift in social fashion, the kind of serenity that cannot be shattered by tomorrow's headline--has gone largely unfulfilled, and even unacknowledged."(Shames 78-79) The focus lies where the populus places it. Shames addresses that currently, the focus is on possessions or "measurable" things. Our degrees are something that can be measured or seen as a quantity acquired by knowledge. With our future degrees, we hope to achieve more than we would had we not graduated. Along this path here we will meet people and get to know ourselves better. It is a challenging thought experiment to examine the motives of graduating. Would we be happy to have an increase of responsibility within society, without an increase in pay? How would our paradigms, or set of values, shift? How could we put this into practice?**
 * Jennifer Bartlett "Paradigm Shift"**
 * We could focus our attention to other "values" and see love as "currency", words as "currency" and experiences as "currency".

Survey Questions: 1. If you were in poverty, what country do you think offer the most opportunity to improve your quality of life? 2. What stands between you and success? 3. If you had enough money to buy the things that you want, would you buy a large quantity of the things that you want or would you buy one thing of high quality of that item? 4. When you feel hopeless, what gives you hope? 5. If you were to move, what would you be seeking elsewhere?
 * 1) United Kingdom
 * 2) Eastern Europe
 * 3) United States
 * 4) South America
 * 5) Asia
 * 6) __


 * Esther Contreras "The Frontier"**

Economy has been the basis of the frontier, Economy has become the way American society measures accomplishments. The Concept of “Frontier” is still very strong because society is fixated on the idea of expansion and growth, we do not let this idea die, because it stands for power. The frontier image we have today has continued throughout time because the image of America has always and still is one of unlimited resources and boundaries that have never been limited. Unlike America countries like Europe, Africa and Asia think of a frontier as something that carries a negative connotation, or at least not a symbol of power or wealth. Because of money worries and morale crisis the idea of a powerful frontier like the one we have depicted has recently began to fade. The idea that America is untouchable is dying because reality is taking over the dream.

Esther Contreras

Blue Jeans by Fred Davis- Summary

The article by Fred Davis talks about blue jeans and their creation about 700 years ago and how since then this item of apparel has served as a form of expression. Jeans were and still are made from sturdy indigo- dyed cotton cloth. Before the 60’s one did not see blue jeans on everyone, in the 30’s and 40’s painters and artist were the main consumers in the 50’s it spread to hoodlums and motorcyclist. Not until the 60’s did jeans become universally worn, they crossed all gender, age, regional and national boundaries. In the 60’s Jeans also crossed the occupational boundaries jeans were no longer looked at as a work tool but simply another article of clothing.

What is it that makes jeans the one apparel item that has made them the fashion statement that they are today? According to Davis the idea behind jeans and the fact that jeans crossed over the boundaries and did not look at class or status, jeans were simple, for the common man and unpretentious they stood for the symbol of the American West free spirited and self reliant. This idea or way of thinking did not stand for a long time according to Davis this is because at the end of the day social status still counts he says that once Jeans hit mass marketplace what jeans stood for changed. Jeans were no longer the same to all people because they became part of fashion and different types and styles were created. The new message was one of fashion and if you were not “in fashion” you simply weren’t up to date.

Elite vs. Populist status market In the 90’s Urban Denim made jeans a fashion garment by crating a men’s fall fashion line that gave out the idea that jeans were no longer about “ the western cowboys and country”. Denim now meant play clothes that one could also wear to the office the next day. Jeans were now a symbol of taste distinction and hierarchical division.

Conspicuous Poverty: Fading and Fringing Soon faded and fringed jeans became more popular that new regular blue jeans. This trend became popular among the young. With the growth in demand for faded looking jeans companies began producing jeans that looked faded and fringed, with this production came higher prices for old looking jeans.

Labeling, Ornamentation, and Eroticization Designer jeans which displayed mostly the brand label of the designer became very popular one wears the brand. The separation of male versus female jeans and denim products also became popular. Jeans for girls were made from different material and to fit different body types. For males jeans were made to fit baggier. In the end comfort was also a way to sell along with gender, age and style, all of this falling back to the fashion statement.

Designer Jeans The sewing of the designer label became a must and even though this was never practiced on any other clothing garments, the idea of putting the designer brand on jeans became a must. But soon certain types of jeans were “in” and others were not, but for the most part the regular blue jean stayed fairly popular.

In the end of it all Davis states that Jeans have evolved over time and, now with a brand, style, size, color, etc for everyone that wants jeans they maintain the desire and the need for production because they have all types and kinds.

"Numerous means were found to invest the jean and its associated wear with gender-specific, eroticized meaning...of all the modifications wrought upon it, the phenomenon of designer jeans appeals most directly to the garment's encoding of status ambivalences" (Davis 105-106). Whereas jeans were originally a symbol of rural democracy, the common man, simplicity, unpretentiousness and the american cowboy, nowaday jeans are status symbols of american fashion, accentuating our differences in society. **How much have you ever paid for a pair of jeans? Why do you pay so much? Are brand names that important? Why do the expensive brands exist? Think: celebrities and high class people--the ones with the money...it's all about emulation.** We want more...this time, we express it through jeans. The fashion industry survives on social/ethnic/gender markers. Take the girl in the picture. She's a white, blonde female, thin with slight curves and a propensity to act sexy. But she's playacting, because it's the advertisers who are telling women to be thin, blonde and sexy--and of course, to wear designer jeans. Maybe what they really want you to think is that if you buy these jeans you'll be all those things--not like that's a new marketing strategy (oldest one in the book, in fact), but it continues to be effective. So, again, think and answer the above questions. = = = = == == == = = = = = = Claudia picture of jeans trends... it explains both articles.... how there are different types of jeans and the fact that more is better.
 * Karalynn Schneck**: The de-democratization and eroticization of Jeans


 * http://www.levisstore.com/home/index.jsp

Claudia:** "Karl Langford for Chanel shapes a classic suite from blue to and white denim $960, with Denim Bustier $360, and Denim hat $400, All at a Chanel boutique in Beverly Hills." The sewing of the designer label became popular when Levi Strauss and Co. decided to put the label on the jeans. Therefore, the idea of making jeans and branding them became a must for popular designers. Despite the fact that, there are very expensive labeled jeans out there the blue jeans stayed popular overall

"My memories of blue jeans were of dark blue, tight-fitting, stiff-as-cardboard, denim with front pockets that were so small and tight that it would be tough to put a set of car keys in them without making a permanent dimple in my upper thigh. Fortunately, the jeans I bought felt like they had already been washed a few times. They were rather soft, slightly faded, and the front pockets were deep and spacious."http://wilstar.com/OverCoffee/2003/jeans.txt http://www.delmarvanow.com/debeachcomber/stories/20050729/2186108.html "That's the trend now ... [Shoppers] just love that destructive look." If you can't afford to take part in this fad and your wardrobe is hole free, then buy a cheap pair of classic jeans, break out the scissors and destroy them yourself. It's a great way to eliminate unwanted aggression and relieve the stress of everyday life.
 * Jennifer Bartlett Conspicuous Poverty**

"From the "left" (and not altogether apolitical) came the practice of jean fading and fringing." (Davis 105)http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/style/article/0,1426,MCA_530_4970139,00.html ...a retailer such as Abercrombie & Fitch is trying to hold on to the cool factor while keeping prices in line. Last year's prince of teen fashions is looking more like this year's big yawn as teens confess they are tired of the washed-out, tattered jeans look that they were willing to fork over big bucks a year ago. "Abercrombie has put the brakes on the super-high end of the line," Tennant said. Gone from its front windows is the Ezra Fitch line, an over-the-top collection of denim that carried price tags approaching $200 for a pair of ripped jeans.

(The trend is not over just because A&F takes it down from window displays. This just states that people are tired of paying for the tattered look, but the look is still desired.)

Starting somewhere around the 1960s, the resilience of this trend seems to say something about the inner values of minimalism that evokes something in each generation...as if it is engrained in humanity to value using what you have to its maximum capacity and show "evidence" of it. We "weigh" heavily something that has experiencial value or wisdom. There was a Levi's commercial last year about a girlfriend who is sad because her boyfriend is going of to college and all she asks for is his old pair of jeans. He buys a brand new pair, and "wears them out" by burning them a little, washing them over and over, etc...with similar wear patterns and gives them to his girlfriend. She sighs...
 * Is this mindframe just particular to jeans? What else do we value more with perceived aged-ness? (People with gray hair/ aging characteristics, Antiques, Architecture)

Kevin:** Morris Levi Strauss first fashioned trousers for working men out of indio-dyed cloth. The term demin is an anglicanized contraction for the French "de Nimes" (denims) - as this indigo-dyed cloth was said to have originated in Nimes, France. The term jeans comes from sailors in Genoa, Italy. The sailors were called "genes", and they wore a similar garment to the Levi trousers. For the next century, jeans were worn by working people - goldminers, farmers, ranchers. Not a garment chosen by the upper-class, jeans symbolized hard work and a lower class lifestyle. It is not surprising that the next group to wear blue jeans were artists in the late 1930's to 1940's. Artists are generally people who "...stood strongly in opposition to the dominant conservative, middle-class consumer-oriented culture of American society". (103). So naturally they would chose jeans: trousers worn by working people, and artists wanted to identify with the working class. The irony is that these artists probably came from middle and upper class families, who else could afford to make a living doing art? The next group to claim jeans as their garment of choice were the bikers and "hoodlums" of the 1950's. The uniform was dark blue jeans, black boots and white t-shirt. By this time, jeans were being produced by others (J.C. Penney for instance) but Levi's were the brand of choice. Of course, the bikers and "hoodlums" were also groups that made a point not to be associated with conservative American culture. "Good boys and girls" did not wear blue jeans. And jeans were still worn by the working-class. Most students now would not remember a time when jeans were not a staple in their wardrobe. I was in junior high in the early 1970's, and girls were not allowed to wear jeans to school. So all the girls at Moore Jr. High picked one day, a Monday, to wear jeans to school. They could not send us all home, so they had to change the policy. It was wonderful...