Finally, the Presidency

"My fellow Americans..."

This is how FDR started his Fireside Chats immediately after his inauguration. This became one of his most famous programs--his connection to the American common people through the radio. Think about Biden on Instagram Live... In fact, Biden actually had a campaign called #TeamJoeTalks where celebrities endorsed him. Needless to say, FDR was a trendsetter.

FDR's version vs Biden's

Roosevelt is also known for his Hundred Days and the First New Deal, in which he preserved the banks with the bank holiday and created the Public Works Administration (PWA), Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) to stimulate the economy. I could go on and on about the legislation FDR passed (which, trust me, was not easy to memorize sophomore year) but you get the gist.

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The War

Despite the countless pieces of legislation passed under Roosevelt, what got America out of the depression was World War II. After World War I, America was actually very Isolationist. So as Roosevelt approached the war, he gradually promoted an Interventionist mindset. I mean, if Germany's going to intervene with everyone, why can't the U.S.? So Roosevelt started getting involved with revising neutrality acts to allow for a cash-and-carry policy and later the Lend-Lease act so that the U.S. could provide arms and aid to the French and UK. And then, Pearl Harbor happened, so we all know what came next. Actual war. He was pretty much priming the U.S. for war so that when war actually happened, everyone wouldn't be in shock. Although FDR didn't live to see the end of the war he brought his country into, according to my AP Gov breakout rooms, he was deemed the most worthy of all the remaining Presidents to be carved into Mt. Rushmore. Both for the democratic party and demo...

The Fiction of Eye Contact

This picture makes me so uncomfortable. While it's eye-opening to find reason behind the normalities of point of view in film, the eye-level shot appears far from normal in my eyes. Is it the purple suit? The hands crossed? Or the specific positioning of the viewer on a table that makes me so uneasy? It's probably a combination of my suspicions, but I've decided that to its core, it's the eye contact that creates my discomfort. Most of these types of shots never reach the extent of eye contact. Instead, the similarity in levels creates a feeling of similarity shared by the character and viewer. There is no power disparity, no difference in viewpoint. Look at Forrest Gump and this eye-level shot (note that he's not looking at you). But once eye contact comes into play, the connection is too strong. Of course, any good producer will aim to form a connection for an audience to a film. However, there's comfort in a screen lying between a film and its viewer. It...

In Loving Memory of FDR

One of the most influential leaders of the democratic party and democracy as a whole, Franklin Delano Roosevelt left our world seventy-five years ago. Being such a huge part of America's development (and APUSH curriculum), I thought it would only be natural to examine FDR in history and FDR's history. Now, let me take you along a brief, or not so brief, journey of Roosevelt's life.

Thoughts Behind...

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