Bittersweet Straddling

Lubrano did an excellent job of keeping me interested. His insight was thought provoking and the reading provided a lot of first hand examples and at some points in the book I could actually feel the emotion of the author or the candidates that he interviewed. One story that really illustrated the difference in classes particularly caught my attention. I'm not saying that this one is any better than the others, I just remember the way it made me feel.

Joe Terry, a person interviewed by Lubrano gives his account of going out on a date with a girl from the upper class. In it he details the hours of work he did collecting scallop meat for a year in order to take this girl out on a date. When he finally took her out he said that it occurred to him that she had no idea how hard he'd worked to be able to take her out. He says, "I remember being struck by the distinct feeling that it wasn't the event for her that it was for me. And I had intended it to be a big deal for her. It became clear in a moment that she just had no idea of the sacrifices a person like me would have to make to take her out" (171). I just remember feeling sad after reading that story. I can visualize the effort that Joe put in, and it's a story that definitely stuck out to me.

When Barbara Peters went for her first weekend home from college, her family told her "not to get too big for her britches," and that she wasn't that much more intelligent than them just because she went to college. This kind of blows my mind and makes me sad at the same time. I just can't imagine being discouraged on my first weekend home from school.

The interview with Anthony Lukas was even more disturbing to me. He almost has no relationship with his family simply because he attended college (65). His father even became violent at one point when Anthony tried to debate his opinion.Once again, I just can't imagine a reaction like this from my parents. Anthony said that he believes that his father was jealous that his son was going places that he couldn't go. My father is so proud of me for being in college. He wasn't able to go when he was young because there wasn't enough money for him to go. That is probably one of the things that he's been most happy about in his life, the fact that I was able to go to college.

I think that this book does such a good job of accurately describing what it must be like for people in the middle - in limbo. The interviews provided so many perspectives and stories. I thought it was very interesting when the author brought up the perspective of working class parents who have middle class children. Children who didn't have to work for as much as their parents did, or children who just had much more than their parents did. I imagine that having middle class children when you're from the working class might be bittersweet. I can see how the parents would be happy that they'd been able to provide many things for their children, and sad if they feel that their children don't appreciate the hard work it took to get there, sort of like Joe Terry's date story.

Lubrano's Limbo made me consider more things about class than I already had. So many examples and perspectives were given. Each one made me understand a little more about being a straddler. I think it's a tough position to be in whether it's with your family, at school, with peers, or with love interests. Someone in an earlier blog mentioned that their father was planning on reading the book, I was telling my dad some of the things that Lubrano and the interview subjects said - and he also plans on reading the book! After reading I remember feeling happy about where I came from (believe me - not upper class! Haha) and very happy to have the parents that I do.

Straddling Is Stressful!

Straddling Is Stressful!

First off I want to start by saying I really enjoyed this book. Lubrano did an excellent job of explaining the transition of blue collar to white collar which personal descriptions the whole way. This book was extremely easy to read I found myself wanting to read on because he made such interesting points. My father is actually starting to read it because a number of things he described about his journey and others I feel that my dad can relate to almost exactly.

I love that Lubrano starts is Introduction section of the book with “I am two people” This little phrase examples more than I could have imagined before started to read this book. I never thought of people feeling like that are two different people because of what they came from and where they are now. I love that he ingeniously uses the term “Straddlers” and that they are in “Limbo” to describe the transition between blue collar and what we know of as the middle class. There arnt two better words to explain this phase.

I feel like the majority of this book the blue collar parents’ just want what is best for their children. When he talks about his father being a bricklayer and how his father had build many colleges, condos, and office towers that he wasn’t even allowed in. he says “once the walls were up, a place took on a different feel for him, as though he wasn’t welcome anymore.” I feel like this could represent a lot of the feelings the people had throughout the book. Also he talks about when the white collar kids of blue-collar parents look or a place of work they are looking for a career not a job. I feel like this message is powerful because a lot of the blue collared parents (same as his dad) just wanted their kids to have a job, an income no matter what. The children, on the other hand, wanted a career no matter what the money which is were there could be a misunderstanding. He said his dad told him “Make as much money as you can, to pay for as good a life you can get.” Obviously his dad just wants him to be well off, but he wanted different things out of his career not just the money. I feel like these were a perfect example of his “clash of values” because the kids from their parents just have different values.

Straddlers for me is an impactful word because it is the truth. When interviewing the author lets us know that many of these people feel that they don’t know how to act when in certain worlds. Such as under the Office Politics the author gives examples of how his father would react to certain situation and he is trying to tell his father that in the office you cant do that. For example, his dad says “Next time, you grab the guy by the throat, push him against the wall, and tell him he’s a big fat jerk.” Obviously this would never work in the office, but his father doesn’t understand that. Also of the interviewees were straddlers for not know how to act or changing even their tone of voice when with certain people.

When the book talks about Identity changing and how college corrupts, I can really get a feel for how these people feel. I agree that as the book says “College is where the Great Change begins.” I truly feel that if someone is from a blue collar family and they are pushing themselves to go to college they are already changing. They have different goals and dreams so they are already becoming these “Straddlers.” When Greg Andrews the history professor says, “Every bit of learning takes you further from your parents” I agree with this statement to a degree. My father was the first and only member of his family to go to college and graduate and his parents could not understand him. I feel like to this day they still to not understand his accomplishment because his parents and siblings’ cant relate so they don’t understand. Is this true in all cases? No, but I am sure it is for a lot of people and the few examples in this book.

As a whole I thought this book was really good. I like that it opened my eyes to certain things I may have overlooked in the past and raise some very good points. Now I find myself wondering do the “straddlers” every get comfortable in each side or will they always have the stress of not completely fitting into one or both sides? Can the blue-collared parents ever truly understand their white collared kids? Will they always feel like they are two people?

lets all straddle in this world together

i found this book to be much easier to read then the Fussel book. it was interesting to hear about all the success stories that these straddlers lived through, and also the pain that came with this success. many of these people that Lubrano interviewed had shattered relationships with their family for years, and with some of them for life. i'm reminded about Maria who had a father who told the relatives that his daughters would be going to college when they where younger, but when she was old enough to head out and her parents found out that she was going, her family took it as betrayal to the family. her mother exploded at her saying "what did you do?" like she just helped commit murder or something. she told Lubrano that she was only accepted again slightly when she was 54 years old and she moved back close to the family teaching at some local school. another story was dot's, the young black girl aspiring to become something better then herself, she had a talent in her writing and even had a voice to charm the record companies to make a deal with her. though her mother would have nothing of it, thinking that since she was a black girl that she shouldn't get her dreams up high enough just so they can be knocked down. finally when she was working on her masters and was asked to write i auto biography, and after talking to her mother about this, she prayed over her heavy heart. finally her mother had apologized for all the trouble that she had cast upon her daughter many years ago. with growing up in families that value nothing on education and everything on the work ethic to get you by in life, it's very hard for young aspiring individuals to break out of this "black hole" environment, as lubrano describes it, and become that shining star that they wish to become.

Lubrano also talks about W.E.B. DeBois' notion of the Double Conscious. This idea focuses mainly on the African American culture and their struggle to either assimilate into the white American culture, or keep their African heritage. in a sense they are both, much in the way that lubrano describes the stragglers, struggling between two cultures but not fully immersed into one. i thought that bringing this idea up was a good correlation between the sense of being both working-class, but then also having your foot into the middle-class. not sure of where you fit in, and leaving some ideologies behind in order to fit into the new world.

another thing that stood out in my mind was the story of Michael who was a devote christian, and came from a very traditional christian family. as a boy he was a leader in the church giving passionate speeches and sermons, and his family and community were very proud of him. well he started to follow a girlfriend to her college classes, sometimes the main reason why guys get up and actually do something (one reason why i got into choir way back in the day), and he enjoyed the classes so much he started to take them himself. he started to take many philosophical classes and classes on evolution. he noticed that he was starting to open up his beliefs and started to question his religious ones, posing philosophical questions to the sunday school children about life. almost Kantian questions asking about the abstract of reality. the parents went crazy and started regarding him as an outcast. one day his mother came to his church on campus while he was working on his graduate degree. this was a nondenominational church with a full contemporary service, and when his mother heard the guitar music playing in the church she broke down. eventually she blamed his girlfriend for leading him into an educated life and away from god. to wrap it up, he is now agnostic (good choice in my opinion) and when he got married to his fiancee they decided to have a judge marry them instead of a priest. which you can only imagine how his family reacted to that.

just a few things to think about:

~ how do you think the Double Conscious affects the relationships that the straddlers have to deal with as they progress up in the world.

~do you think the more scientific knowledge you obtain, the more you are driven away from religion (or at least the mainstream religions. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc.)

~do you think that the "Black Hole" families are afraid to lose their long standing traditions, or do you think it is more of a fear that they will feel inferior to their children.

also if i can find the article, i'm going to post a link to W.E.B DeBois' Double Conscious article so you can check that out if you'd like. i'm finding articles about his article, but not his article. so i e-mailed a previous prof. to see if he'll e-mail me a link.

Sometimes you have to fake it til’ you make it!

Working Girl exposes only a fraction, of the reality, of what it really cost to make your way up the social chain in America. In the film, two social class are represented, the working class and the upper class business professionals. The main character Tess is of the working class and her super objective is to become a professional business women. Her class was revealed by the way she dress (style of clothes, jewelry, make-up, and hair), her friends, how she talked, employment history, and educational institution. What I love most is about Tess character is her ambition, her determination to accelerate in life. She was confident in the direction in which was going in life. She made the decision not to be pigeonholed or weighed down with the life that society “suggested” for her. It was very clear in the when Tess told Cyn that, she was taking her own direction in effort to trying to make her life better -- “I am not going to spend the rest of my life working my ass off getting nowhere just because I followed rules that I didn’t set up.” One of the things that I pointed out in this in particular scene was the attitude that Cyn had towards some of Tess career decisions life style changes. Cyn played the supportive role but in this scene she was a little unsure about Tess’s vision in life. She even said to her, “Sometimes I sing and dance around the house in my underwear—doesn’t make me Madonna—never will.” I felt that that statement was a direct blow at Tess overall life objective, suggesting that Tess was trying to be something that “she’s not.” It attitude is often times common for friends and family members see you stepping outside of traditional boundaries, going after something that has never been done before. There was a young woman from Kentucky, In People Like Us, who went through the same thing with her family after she made the decision to move to Washington D.C to following her dreams come becoming a writer. She talks about the rejection that she suffers from her family because she chose to live beyond the social class that she was raised.

Name dropping and fashion were other things that I saw in the film working to mimic the lifestyles of the rich and successful. While Tess is stripping Katherine ski boots, she is giving her the details about her hotel room. When Katherine finds out that is it’s a first floor room she is light-weight disgusted, she goes, “Did you give them my name?” I thought it was funny because upper class people go far the penthouse suite; an expensive and comfortable top floor room, or something exclusive and secluded. Whereas, middle class people and especially lower class people go for the most affordable/cheapest, the one closest to the exit so it’s not too much of a hassle transporting luggage. Throughout Tess transition from rags to riches she really began to adopt the look of a successful business woman. When she walked into her first business meeting with bulk accordion folder with the rubber around it, I felt really bad for her because in that atmosphere, it just screams poor. I never realized how something as simple as not carrying a briefcase to business meeting, gives of a look of inadequacy, a lack there of. :-/ High fashion tailored clothing are a part of the upper class wardrobe and the accessories that help fit the part, especially amongst the business professional. Upper class professional women have a classy, very elegant, timeless look. The film revealed that some women have no as to what a timeless look, looks like until they are confronted or taught, like Tess. However, I think Tess was full of class to begin with. She at least faked it until she made it.

In this class the discussion of rather or not, class means money or is it a state of mine comes up a lot. Based on this movie has your opinion changed or has it stayed the same? Is class achievable?

I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life working my ass off and getting nowhere just because I followed rules that I had nothing to do with setting up!

I chose this quote from the movie as my title because I felt like it best summed up the issues of social class we have been discussing thus far in our blogs. I found this film very interesting because it effectively illustrated a hierarchy of men and women through a business deal that was completely realistic. In the beginning of the film we are introduced to Tess, a secretary by day and a college student by night. As she turns 30, her dream remains unrealized; because her education was not acquired at a prestigious school, she cannot gain entry to her firm's training program for recent college graduates. Ironically a topic that we all seemed to want to discuss after reading Fussell’s book last week, her boss tells her she didn’t wasn’t as qualified as those who graduated from “Harvard and Morgan”. I felt this was a cliché example in the film of Fussell’s “college swindle”. Are the diplomas from the colleges and universities such as the examples used in this film actually “better” than one from any other school in America, or have the members of society placed these stereotypes over the years by using their names in situations such as this movie? The only way anyone would for sure know if a degree from Harvard was actually “more beneficial” than a degree from NKU would be to attend each college for the same degree. Although that is unrealistic, I truly believe that we have chalked up so many of these “prestigious” institutions over the years and that we should take some of the blame for the fact that one colleges name versus another colleges name at the top of your diploma can ACTUALLY make or break your chances at receiving a job that you are equally qualified for.

Next I want to address the issue of money and position we see in this film. At the beginning Tess was a lower/middle class citizen. Taking the ferry and walking to work every day where we see her serve those higher than her in the company, all while she wastes the talent we later find out she possesses to achieve great things. Once the incident with Katharine occurs is where I felt the movie started to unfold and we see the horrors of money and social class start leaking out. Tess knew a person like “her” would never be heard by any of the people she wanted to meet with to discuss her new radio idea. When she fell into Katharines position and wardrobe at work, she was set. It amazed me how differently she was treated once she cut her hair and started to wear clothes with $6,000 price tags on them. For the most part she was a very smart and confident woman throughout the film, but didn’t feel until she received a title higher than “secretary” could she meet and discuss her ideas with the presidents of the other companys. In a way she was being coached by the woman that we witnessed in People Like Us. She quickly adapted to the dress, workplace and social events of the upper class. She cut her hair, wore designer clothes, looked more confident at work and was attending weddings and other business events that she originally wouldn’t have ever been invited to. This movie was a great example in showing the social class you are associated with can easily be changed. All it takes is nicer clothes, a better job and getting to know the who’s who among the crowd you are trying to fit in with. I tried and tried to find pictures of Tess from the beginning of the movie to the end but didn’t have any luck but I’m sure you are all able to picture the difference.

In the end this movie didn’t fail to aggravate me once again. The underlying message of this film really pissed me off just thinking about how often something like this I’m sure really happens. How many times in the workplace situations and ideas like Tess’s get stolen every day by people “higher” in ranking than her and they never get credit for it. And just because of their rank in the company they get away with it, how right is that? Sure the Katharines of the work world may have gone to Harvard but it’s the Tess’s from NKU that have the ideas that change the world! J

Trust and the Two-Way Street

Working Girl is a classic study in class structures in a modern world. The amount of one-liners alone that represent the very strict appearance that the class structure represents is astonishing – “I’d love to help you, but you can’t busy the quarterback with passing out the Gatorade.” “You can bend the rules plenty once you get to the top, but not while you're trying to get there. And if you're someone like me, you can't get there without bending the rules.” “I'm not gonna spend the rest of my life working my ass off and getting nowhere just because I followed rules that I had nothing to do with setting up, OK?”

Okay, so maybe, as a film, it could have been better directed, and I, personally, could have done without Carly Simon. But throughout, the question of class saturated the plot. For instance, the concept of the two-way street: Katherine’s way of offering parity to Tess, at least ostensibly. Tess finds herself believing that she can move forward as long as she trusts in Katherine, whom she sees as her ticket to a better life. Yet unwittingly, Katherine inspires her with the idea that as long as she’s willing to make something happen and not wait for it to happen, her life will work out. Or rather, she’ll “get what she wants.” Yet it’s only when Katherine betrays Tess’s trust, lying about her radio idea, that Tess begins to really listen to the ideas that her upper-class guide put into her head. That’s irony, right there. Who doesn’t like irony?

And not only that, it applies directly to what we’ve discussed about the idea of “fitting in” with the upper class. Right off the bat, Katherine doesn’t seem to think that Tess, a lower-class secretary, could possibly have come up with a solid business idea. As she begins to accept that it was Tess’s idea, she nevertheless grabs it, and tries to run with it as her own. Even if Katherine really does believe that Tess’s idea won’t be accepted if it’s pitched as coming from her secretary, she’s really doing nothing to help Tess by pretending she came up with the idea on her own. This seems obvious to say, but I worry that there’s some argument that would say, “Well, if Katherine doesn’t propose it as her own, the idea gets canned, and nobody wins.” In a pragmatic reality totally devoid of any sort of ethics or principles, yes, I can see that, but...

I suppose I shouldn’t argue with myself, least of all about ethics.

In any case, some of us, myself included, have had some trouble reconciling the idea that there was an upper class lifestyle to along with the economic fact of being upper class, and that to move upward in class one would have to somehow become a part of that lifestyle. We’ve talked about the Fairy Godmother that guides one into their new place in life, and said that it would pretty much take that (a Fairy Godmother) to really be upper class. Yet in this film, the Fairy Godmother tries to screw Cinderella over, and Cinderella has to work her way in by herself. Or perhaps it’s Jack’s character that’s really the Fairy Godmother? What do you think? Obviously Tess’s business plan doesn’t work without Jack’s support, but the plan never happens at all without Tess’s initial ambition, and willingness to take a risk.

Another issue I ran in to with this film was the first and simplest question that it raises: how likely is this story? Can a lower-class person with a good idea have that idea heard, one way or another? Or do they need a liaison to the upper class? Have you ever experienced something like this, especially in the financial world? I don’t deal much in business myself, and find the white collar a bit itchy, but I’ve worked in food service long enough to know that there are very real disparities in the way the classes are perceived. Maybe it’s just me generalizing people, but I almost always have a good idea whether someone grew up poor, middle class, or upper-middle class. Could a story like Tess’s actually happen, or would she stick out like a drunk teenager (or, if you like, a sore thumb)? Jack seems to think that Tess is out of place when he first meets her at the open bar, although he doesn’t know, because she’s acting the part. She nearly slips up and blows her cover as she gets drunker (more drunk?), but she maintains a measure of presence of mind, and actively tries to hide her origins. Is her story at all likely? Why or why not?

A couple of things, in closing, to think about:

· Tess’s night-school degree marks her as lower class before fifteen minutes pass in the film, but isn’t brought up again at all, even when she’s exposed as being lower class.

· Tess’s character becomes more refined and, let’s be honest, attractive over the course of the film. Her hair changes, her jewelry changes, her accent starts to disappear, her clothes change. Why would the director make that choice while filming?

· Was that really Alec Baldwin?

· Katherine’s character carries the implication of having slept her way to the top throughout the film.

· We get very little background on Jack, but we’re obviously supposed to like him (has Harrison Ford ever played a bad guy?). He’s a hard-working guy who gets hung up on ethical questions – why vilify Katherine and glorify Jack?

· Is Katherine the only villain in the film? Why is she the villain?

· This is probably less relevant than I think it is, but did you notice that the people catering the wedding reception were all black? Another director’s choice – what does it say?

No One Ever Got Rich Over Estimating What The American Public Wants To Taste!

(I decided to post early because there is five blogs you all will have to comment on and it may be more convenient time wise for you:)

The movie Working Girl can be related to what we have already been discussing about this past week on social class. This movie provides great representation of what we have seen in People Like Us and read in Fussell’s book about the differences between social classes.
I believe Tess makes up the lower middle class of Staten Island. She lives in a small apartment with her boyfriend, rides the Staten Island Ferry to work, uses taxis, or walks to where she wants to go. Like most females in her office, Tess works a typical lower ranking job, as a secretary for two male managers that hardly have time to see her or care about what she says. Tess is educated, friendly, and well known at work but she cant seem to get into the Entrée Program. In the movie her managers think it is because she is “up against Harvard and Morgan grads” and her five years of night schooling, honors degree, secretarial time, and Christian Lyons Test don’t measure up to get her the job she wants. Here it is evident that Tess may have been over looked possibly because they employer has pinpointed her into a certain class and does not like how or where she has obtained her higher education from.
Katherine Parker is an upper middle class woman who is at the top of her department, mergers and acquisitions, at the firm Petty Marsh. When she arrives the office grows silent, the workers scramble to get back to their desks, and sit down to look like they are working. Katherine seems to have her head on straight, enjoys spending her money, boss’s people around, establishes ground rules, enjoys looking attractive, and likes impressing her other male colleagues.
Tess lands a new secretarial job for Katherine and discovers how different it is than what she is used to. This is the first time Tess has worked for a woman, been encouraged to share her thoughts, and viewed a manager as a possible mentor. Katherine never asks Tess about her educational background or about other secretarial experiences but instead expects Tess to do her job well, and live up to the standards she expects. Katherine believes Tess should be, “ tough when it’s wanted, accommodating when you can be, accurate, punctual, and never make a promise you cant keep.” She views Tess as “Her link to the outside world” suggesting Tess must handle the little people and make Katherine look good while doing it. Katherine persuades Tess to accept the same views she has on life by saying things like, “watch me Tess, learn from me,” and “ You don’t get anywhere in this world by waiting for what you want to come too you, you make it happen!” The way Katherine talks to Tess reminds me of the lady in People Like Us-How to Marry the Rich and how she was telling the other women how to dress, act,stand ect.
After Katherine’s skiing accident Tess soon learns how an upper middle class woman often lives. In the movie Tess walks around Katherine’s house admiring her possessions such as her artwork, make up, exercise bike, jewelry, and clothing. Her friend Cyn equally becomes mesmerized by the house the big chandelier, and how much one of the dresses costs. Tess moves into the house and begins living her life as if she is in a higher class, which allows other people to view her differently- just like people in Fussell's book. Mick even tells her she looks “different and classy” when he sees her at the engagement party. She wears Katherine’s expensive clothing, says things that Katherine typically would, and even goes to two events Katherine is invited to. She even uses what she has learned from Katherine to attract a handsome investment broker and says things like, “I have a head for business and a body for sin.” She doesn't think twice about going to see Mr. Trask at his daughters wedding reception, just so she can get her foot in the door. Showing up to the Union Club and being in the presence of Owen Trask seems to overwhelm her.
At the end of the movie Tess learns that her true job as Katherine’s secretary may not have even allowed her to present her idea. Katherine makes a big deal by storming into their meeting and stating “She is my secretary!” This alone shocks everyone and Mr. Trask is embarrassed because a secretary has tricked him.
Tess identifies her class and low ranking job by telling Jack “ If he knew she was a secretary he would have never booked a meeting with her.” She even tells Owen Trask, “ Well no one was going to listen, not to me. I mean you can bend the rules plenty when you get upstairs, but not while your trying to get there, and if your someone like me, you cant get there without bending the rules.”
This movie gives pure examples of the different individuals that make up the hierarchy of business and of social class. One newly recent reality show, Undercover Boss, is the complete opposite of the overall just of this movie. High Executives of a particular company are disguised and are put to work in the companies lower ranking jobs. These executives learn how the employees are treated and how dangerous, and hard these jobs are for individuals. At the end of the show they often reveal the true identity of these executives and they make changes to their company that benefit the little people that make things happen.If you haven't seen this show I would recommend it.-Sunday night's on CBS (channel 12) @ 9p.m.