MAtthew Orr's Response to Michael Cox's Question

One of the major contributions that Georgia Tech alumni have given not only to Atlanta, but the entire United States, is in the food industry. The first image that comes to mind has to be The Varsity when thinking about Georgia Tech contributions to Atlanta. Tech alumnus Frank Gordy founded The Varsity back in 1928. Now, it has become a place that every visitor to Atlanta must visit while they are in town. The famous "What'll ya have?" greeting every customer gets before they order is synonymous with both The Varsity and Atlanta.

According to The Varisty's website, the restaurant can normally serve 30,000 customers on Georgia Tech game days. No wonder why it was bestowed the honor of being the world's largest drive-thru! One can almost bet that there are always Georgia Tech students at The Varsity at all times of the day and night, trying to avoid the lowly meals that Georgia Tech Dining has to offer. The Varsity is still, and will always be, an integral part of both Georgia Tech and Atlanta, and it is all thanks to a Georgia Tech alumnus.

Below is a brief clip of an advertisement for a show that explores the history of The Varsity.

New Blog Topic - Week 3 - Michael Cox

How has the presence of Georgia Tech impacted the city of Atlanta?

Give an example of how the Georgia Tech has influenced Atlanta. Whether it be because of the alumni, or current students and faculty, anything or anyone.

Any kind influence is fine, negative, positive, economic, charitable, physical locations, etc...

Also give an example of some ways that you think Atlanta would be different without Georgia Tech.

Representation of the South

The artifact that I chose was a hit single by Ludacris called "Georgia". The video is below.

I found it on Youtube, but it was a very hot song in the beginning of the new millennium. I chose it because of how they are representing the South as hard and ghetto, yet they are immensely proud of it. In the first verse, Ludacris speaks about how violent that Georgia is. They don't tolerate anything from anybody and they will let you know if you cross the borders by bringing their whole crew to come and kill you basically. Much talk of gambling, killing, robbing, and drug use is emphasized and in a way glorified because this is the type of life to be expected in the "South". This is a misrepresentation of the whole region, but is yet still true for parts. Because of rap music many people begin to stereotype blacks as these violent, drug abusers/sellers which misrepresents African Americans in general. Also in the second verse, he uses the line ""Thats why I keep my Georgia Tech in the state of...Georgia" using the word tech as a gun.

Jasmine Kent

Danny Sweat- "Southern Chivalry" ?

Thomas Nast's cartoon "Southern Chivalry" gives gruesome depictions of southern soldiers committing violent acts on different peoples. It seems to imply that the South has no chivalry. This cartoon was drawn for a northern newspaper during the Civil War.

This is not an accurate depiction of the South. He is trying to invoke a since of disgust toward Southern soldiers and anyone who supports them or the idea of what the stood for. It is propaganda. He also calls out Jefferson Davis but disrespects him calling him "Jeff Davis." This is what the northern Politicians and press wanted the public to think so that they would support the war effort.

Matthew Orr - A Redneck Interpretation of the South

This recreation of a famous piece of artwork by Norman Rockwell, originally titled Freedom from Want, depicts a very stereotypical "redneck" family and how they would celebrate Thanksgiving. In fact, the title of this piece is called A Redneck Thanksgiving (if Norman Rockwell was a Redneck), a foreshadowing of what the piece will include. This painting along with several other pictures and paintings depicting a redneck South can be found at The Daily Quip's "Redneck Again!" page. The original Rockwell piece depicts a nice American family having a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner together, as Norman Rockwell thought it should be when he made this painting. However, the unknown author of this doctored photo of the original thought it would be funny to depict what Southerners do for Thanksgiving. Instead of a nice juicy turkey and all the nice china and food, this redneck family's idea of a fine Thanksgiving dinner involves some good ol' bucket of KFC, potato chips, and, of course, plenty of beer. The rednecks in this picture are depicted as slobs, with the way they are dressed, as well as all the trash they leave on the table and Grandma smoking in the background.

I believe the author of this picture was obviously trying to show that everyone in the South is a bunch of redneck white trash. The fact that the family doesn't even have a traditional turkey for Thanksgiving shows that people in the South obviously love fast food and beer 24 hours of the day, every day. One of the children on the right- hand side of the picture is wearing a NASCAR hat, which is another stereotype that everyone that loves NASCAR is a redneck, and every redneck loves NASCAR. Obviously, stereotypes arise behind some strain of truth, so I can agree that there are some people in the South that live like a stereotypical redneck. However, especially around Atlanta, this is simply not true anymore. Sure, some people here still enjoy NASCAR and beer, but a vast majority of people in the South now like American football, a traditional Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and are well- kept. In fact, I know of people in Pennsylvania that fit the description of a redneck depicted by this photo better than anyone here in Georgia and the rest of the South. Overall, while some people in the South may still act like rednecks in the back hills of Georgia, the vast majority of the South now do not fit any of the stereotypes that are presented in this picture.

Post by- Matthew Orr

Michael Cox-Thomas Nast's representation of the South

This image is a drawing by Thomas Nast, a political artist, satirist, and commenator. It can be found on this webpage.

In this piece of work he is representing a raid by Southern rebels on a western town. Nast was trying to create the idea that the Southerners were a cruel, barbarous people. The images of hanging a man from a flag pole, the outright and public murder of a black man on the right of the picture, and shooting the child's dog are good examples of how he was trying to present the Southern rebels as hideous barbarians.

While this picture could have been a possible representation of what would happen in a raid, it does not give a complete picture of the South. It shows only agression without any representation of the South as a whole. Nast's goal was of course to present the South in such a manner to enrage the North. He accomplished his goal but he did not give a true representation of the South.

Parmi Shah- Southern representation Artifact

This article is a screenshot taken from Disney's 1946 movie, Song of the South. The movie takes place directly after the Civil war during the reconstruction era, and portrays slavery in a positive light. In fact through out the movie, Africans are seen as cheerful people who's only joy is to serve the gracious white master, and tend to their children. This screenshot represents the South as a pleasant place, where the caste system is not only in place but actually a wanted by all levels of the system. Taking into consideration who was producing this movie/promotional photo, a large white owned company, it is obvious that this is not an accurate representation of the South during that era. Slavery was not as pleasant as the picture tries to portray.