Analysis and discussion=================================================
There are a few points I would like to discuss about my interviewee’s conceptions of normality. The first would be Allan’s sense of himself as an individual or outsider to the mainstream and the story of his name. The second would be Allan’s sense of himself as an American, independent of his Latvian roots. The third would be Allan’s sense of how the norm is molded—and also transformed—in music and culture; which in Allan’s case begs a question of the influence of money, industry, or (in a word) capitalism on what becomes considered “the norm.” =================================================
Regarding names, Conley writes that “there has almost always been a suspicion...” …show more content…
Allan and I have a completely different cultural and historical experience of the United States. We are far apart in age. Our cultural struggles we have encountered in the United States are vastly different, and in equally different eras of history. Likewise, our place in society, or our differences of profession place us in two very different perspectives of what our society is, or where it is going. But I think Allan is very aware of how media influences culture, and of how money influences media in American culture; and is suspicious of how money effects American culture. My interview with him was almost especially revealing in this regard. But I also learned how age-based norms change over time due to influences of culture, family, as much as they change with politics, media, and economy. “Normal” is always a developing concept, and how we age, how we experience the world, or what we experience can alter our own views of normality, considerably. Society can change—as Allan saw—and what we found normal yesterday seems strange, today; if society doesn’t look all the stranger.
There are a few points I would like to discuss about my interviewee’s conceptions of normality. The first would be Allan’s sense of himself as an individual or outsider to the mainstream and the story of his name. The second would be Allan’s sense of himself as an American, independent of his Latvian roots. The third would be Allan’s sense of how the norm is molded—and also transformed—in music and culture; which in Allan’s case begs a question of the influence of money, industry, or (in a word) capitalism on what becomes considered “the norm.” =================================================
Regarding names, Conley writes that “there has almost always been a suspicion...” …show more content…
Allan and I have a completely different cultural and historical experience of the United States. We are far apart in age. Our cultural struggles we have encountered in the United States are vastly different, and in equally different eras of history. Likewise, our place in society, or our differences of profession place us in two very different perspectives of what our society is, or where it is going. But I think Allan is very aware of how media influences culture, and of how money influences media in American culture; and is suspicious of how money effects American culture. My interview with him was almost especially revealing in this regard. But I also learned how age-based norms change over time due to influences of culture, family, as much as they change with politics, media, and economy. “Normal” is always a developing concept, and how we age, how we experience the world, or what we experience can alter our own views of normality, considerably. Society can change—as Allan saw—and what we found normal yesterday seems strange, today; if society doesn’t look all the stranger.