Socialist Realism doesn’t have to be propaganda it could also be protest, Diego Rivera also worked in a social realist style, for example.

Also, a nitpick, the GI Bill wasn’t passed until a year and a half after the painting in question was made (in ‘42).

Also that Thanksgiving dinner painting is called ‘Freedom from Want,’ a title taken directly from one of Roosevelt’s speeches. It may seem saccharine, but not apolitical, he’s a socialist realist, through and through.

Privilege is subjective. Yes, my grandparents had the privilege of running water, but also grew a huge garden which they canned and preserved to feed their four kids. They did this in the evenings and weekends after they worked 40+ hours at a factory of “under belching smokestacks”. Is that more privileged than a…

This article was all over the place. I had no idea what point was trying to be made. Americans in the 1800s celebrated the end of a harvest which would mean bountiful food through the harsh winter when most people had to grow their own food? But that was bad and made up. Now most Americans don’t grow their own food,…

Decorating things with the dried remains of corn was a thing before ‘corn’ ever referred to maize.

Yeah, white women aren’t blameless and deserve criticism for voting against their interests as women in order to preserve their privilege as white people, perpetuating racism, etc. And I’ll admit a big chunk of my brain still reacts to legitimate criticism of white women with “well *I* don’t do that!”, which isn’t…

THANK YOU! This reeks of a desperate need to make something problematic simply because someone finds it annoying. Like I used to shit on Old Navy in high school because I was annoyed that everyone was walking around wearing the same fleece, but I didn’t pretend it was because micro fleece fabrics are bad for the…

I feel really genuinely bad for you. This especially did it:

Plus how many people actually feel anything more towards Thanksgiving because of some connection to the Pilgrim story?  Not many.  They want to see their families, be able to go out after dinner for a walk in the cool air, maybe settle into the couch alongside everyone else for a drink and a doze in front of a…

“[Martha Stewart] also normalized the idea of fall decor to celebrate the season itself by treating pumpkins and corn husk wreaths like decorations.”

Thank you for posting. The info about the artists was especially important.

I hate pumpkin spice lattes. And I am totally ok with pillorying them- so Puritan, for one thing, to put anything in the stocks and punish. I do get that as a writer paid to observe American culture, you’ve gotten the tone of pretzel logic -needed to observe a culture you’re part of- spot on. A few things,…

Why are you acting like America is the only nation with fall celebrations? There have always been celebrations around the autumn harvest. The autumnal equinox is auspiciuos AF in pagan traditions. Thanksgiving does, indeed, have problematic roots, but America didn’t invent fall. Good grief.

The problem is that the article implies that the affection for fall has its roots in an idealized white femininity versus oh, I don’t know, the harvest, a period of moderate temps and plentiful food in between the extremes of summer and winter, the fact that fall foliage is objectively beautiful...

Yeah, I work with factories in China that were recently closed for their mid-Autumn festival. Used to work for two different companies owned by modern orthodox Jewish families of Syrian descent that closed offices for two days for Sukkot every year. If you think an appreciation for fall, even going so far as to…

We simply like the idea of a day of gratitude and a family meal together. At the start of the meal we go around the table and everyone says what they are grateful for.

Exactly the point I wanted to make, but far better than I could. This article was so US centric it made my French teeth hurt.

No kidding

Oh Americans...I didn’t realize that I shouldn’t enjoy Fall or Autumn as it’s known everywhere outside of north America because of basic bitches, PSL or a racist American holiday. The change of seasons is often a blessing. No more oppressive heat, excuse to wear more comfortable clothes, the weather is better, the…

Of course there’s hope for a national holiday about gratitude, calling back to the shared human experience of seasons of bounty and seasons of paucity. That’s basically been the entire history of our species, and there’s nothing wrong with gathering to reflect on the good things we have.