Difference between revisions of "325--2011--Week 6 Questions/Comments"
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Nye’s mention of Times Square is important because it describes the effect that electricity had on American culture. He notes, “The tourist came to Times Square not only to see the brilliant lighting, but to witness human fame and notoriety, hope and despair, wealth and poverty, beauty and ugliness” (Nye 69). The lighting was such a marvelous sight that tourists came to that part of Manhattan just to see the lights; electricity was such a phenomenon to the American people. He also mentions the later tradition of New Years Eve at Times Square. Nye comments, “Times Square thus became a ceremonial space filled by a vast crowd from every conceivable class and profession, reduced to momentary equality as they marked the passing of time” (71, 73). The fact that the invention of a lighting system became a public spectacle proves the innovation of electricity and its influence on society. | Nye’s mention of Times Square is important because it describes the effect that electricity had on American culture. He notes, “The tourist came to Times Square not only to see the brilliant lighting, but to witness human fame and notoriety, hope and despair, wealth and poverty, beauty and ugliness” (Nye 69). The lighting was such a marvelous sight that tourists came to that part of Manhattan just to see the lights; electricity was such a phenomenon to the American people. He also mentions the later tradition of New Years Eve at Times Square. Nye comments, “Times Square thus became a ceremonial space filled by a vast crowd from every conceivable class and profession, reduced to momentary equality as they marked the passing of time” (71, 73). The fact that the invention of a lighting system became a public spectacle proves the innovation of electricity and its influence on society. | ||
–Samantha W. | –Samantha W. | ||
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| + | To add to Meagan's point on electricity in the world's fairs, I found this portion of the reading interesting. Nye states: "In a time when the nation was in the throes of rapid industrialization and urbanization, the word's fair was a shapely actualization of order whose displays could "take people out of their ordinary routines and thus remove them temporarily from their usual positions in the social structure"(34). I feel this is very similar to christmas lights, when we see the lights, it takes us to a winter wonderland and we escape if just for a moment. -Matthew Slagle | ||
== Electricity and transportation -- Crosstown Transfer == | == Electricity and transportation -- Crosstown Transfer == | ||
