Point Park University Library

“Advertising is based on one thing, happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams reassurance that whatever you are doing is okay. You are okay.”

(title quote: Don Draper, Mad Men.)

Tonight is the season premiere of Mad Men! Television event of the year! Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but the entertainment world couldn’t be more excited. Newsweek not only gives the show its cover story but revamps the design and features stories and ads that ran in the 1960s. You can read about the editorial and creative decisions here.  And it seems show creator Matthew Weiner has been very secretive about season 5’s place in time- as in how many years how passed since season 4 closed in 1965. It has been a year and half for the audience; perhaps the show will follow this timeline as well?

Since 2007 when the show premiered, Mad Men has been a huge success. The show has great writing: the stories and the characters are what keep you coming back, but it also engrosses you in the time period. From the beautiful costumes* and sets, to the tone of the character’s voices, to casual sexism and racism, Mad Men captures a way of American life that dazzles some and gives pangs of nostalgia to others.  The show wraps itself up the world of advertising. Like so many things in the 1960s, advertising was changing. We see the motivation behind the ads and the manipulation and artistry that goes into them.  We see deals and careers made and lost.

We see office politics at play and we see how work and home life affect one another. While Don Draper may be the lead character in the show, his story does not overshadow that of the other characters.  In my opinion, what makes the show so powerful is that each of the major characters is three-dimensional and played by the actors with such nuance and conviction that you become emotionally invested. (I felt this way about the series Six Feet Under as well, but that can be another post).

In case you are unfamiliar with Mad Men you can get acquainted with the show’s “premise” and have fun doing it with Mad Men: The Game.  If you are an advertising major, check out the collection, including print copies of Adweek and Advertising Age, and our online journals.

Fun Fact: Mad Men has a Pittsburgh connection! Aaron Stanton, who plays Ken Cosgrove, attended CMU’s drama school.

*FYI: Banana Republic debuted a Mad Men Collection in their Spring retail line.

“Only a diverse group can symbolize a movement.”

(title quote: Gloria Steinem)

This Sunday’s New York Times wonders the question of why in the current women’s rights community no single woman has risen to the role of leader the way that Gloria Steinem did in the 1970s. Steinem emerged in the beginning of the 1970s helping to lead the nationwide “Women’s Strike for Equality” and co-founding Ms. magazine and eventually becoming the face of the contemporary women’s rights movement. Much has changed in the last 35 yrs and it seems that women’s social activism no longer can have a single leader. The article looks to prominent feminists such as Susan Faludi and Jessica Valenti to explore how the movement and how women’s demands have shifted. As a new generation of girls moved into adulthood, their experience in the world and their expectations of what life has to offer varies. While women and girls, across race and class, are given opportunities not available to them just one or two generations ago, certain barriers and prejudices still remain. Females may enter and graduate from college in greater numbers, yet they still currently make less money in their lifetimes then men. Social pressures to “have it all” may cause women to force themselves into an impossible standard.

Latoya Peterson of Racialicious- which explore race, pop culture, and gender issues- explains it this way, “We’ve entered a period where there isn’t a single narrative about anything. ‘Feminism’ has given way to what other women have termed ‘feminisms’ — all the various ways that we seek justice and equality.”

Knowing one’s history allows us to make better judgments through awareness and understanding. At Point Park we have a strong collection on women’s experience, particularly in the areas of literature and media, in film, journalism, photography, and theater. Check out this month’s Women’s History display and learn more how women see the world.  

“If you people wouldn’t have drunk it, I wouldn’t have bootlegged it.”

(title quote: Moe Dalitz, bootlegger and founder of the city of Las Vegas.)

February 14, 2012 was the grand opening of the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, NV and he date chosen was no accident. In 1929 in a raid let by mob boss Al Capone, seven gang members we killed. The brick wall that the men were lined up against is now part of the museum collection, albeit not completely. But that’s not all the museum boasts in way of artifacts. The building itself was originally the courtroom where hearings by Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver to investigate the mob across the U.S were held.

The mob in popular imagination is often linked to the late 20s and early 30s because of the federal ban on alcohol and the underground trafficking that developed out of it, but organized crime is still very much a part of our societies. Names like Jon Gotti and Whitey Bulger remind us that the underground is still a threat.

So, if you can’t make it out to Las Vegas, check out our collection of materials on organized crime, the FBI, and the criminal justice system.

“Herein lies the tragedy of the age: not that men are poor…not that men are wicked…but that men know so little of men.”

(title quote: WEB DuBois)

Our first floor display has a small sampling of the books and resources we offer at the Library relevant to Black History Month.  Our physical materials, print books, films, plays, and journals is fairly comprehensive offering exploration of the African American Experience from slave narratives to reconstruction, from the Church to hip hop, from militant politics to love poems. But the Library also offers electronic resources that you can access online, including eBooks and databases, specifically the African American Experience. Other databases of interest include Black Drama in North American Theater Online and American History in Video.  

“Papa! What’s money?”

(title quote from Paul Domby, Dombey and Son, 1848)

February 7, 2012 celebrates the 200^th birthday of Charles Dickens. Dickens is a beloved literary figure, one who rose to fame in his lifetime and continues to captures the hearts of readers two centuries on; it could be argued that A Christmas Carol is as much a part of the holiday season as Santa Clause.

The library is proud to offer a wide selection of materials of Dickens work, from books and audio books, to films,  musicals, journals, and literary criticisms. Dickens work itself can stand alone and much has been written on his novels and short stories, but the author’s life has been a large topic of interest as well, particularly this year. Claire Tomalin gives us a fresh look at Dickens’ life and Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, explores how Dickens’ rose from serial columnist to published novelist, an innovative career in the mid-1800s; just how much of the author’s own biography played into his work and his vision of nineteenth century England continues to fascinate his audiences.

Dickens works lends themselves well to the stage and to dramatic performances. As reading and even owning a book of one’s own was not common for all peoples of London, Dickens himself would travel as a performance artist, staging public readings of his works. Call it one of the first author book tours. Dickens’ sympathetic and colorful characters too lend themselves well to visual and audio interpretations, notably Patrick Steward’s display of 35 characters in a recording of A Christmas Carol.  The BBC loves to adapt Dickens for the small screen, and Oliver! won multiply Tonys when it premiered in 1963, and was later made into a film (one of my personal childhood favorites).

You can find more specific and scholarly information on the works of Charles Dickens in Literary Reference Center and you can view a performance of London by Dickens from Theater in Video in the previous post.

“You know, no one asked the internet—well, the internet is speaking now.”

(title quote from Corynne McSherry, Electronic Frontier Foundation, on Democracy Now!)

I’ve written here before about the protest movements around the world. The most recent one, and one that was performed just a little differently, was the so –called Internet black out that took place on Wednesday January 18. These protests were prompted by Wikipedia, among others, in response to the SOPA and PIPA bills making their way through Congress. (To view the bills in their entirety, click here) Hundreds of sites participated by blocking access to their sites, redirecting users, or by placing black-out bars across their pages. As a stanch defender of first-amendment principles the America Library Association gave its support as well.  Many organizations including Stop American Censorship, Google, and the White House’s DIY We the People, created online petitions to let the government know that citizens did not support these proposed bills. What made this so interesting and different, as opposed to other protests and petitions, was that immediacy and directness of the approach. Websites and hosts were taking action by confronting users, showing them how the Internet might behave if these bills were to pass. Users took up the challenge and contacted their representatives. The result was quick and the message was received loud and clear. The White House, which officially had not supported the bills, released this response and Senator Harry Reid said, “In light of recent events, I have decided to postpone Tuesday’s vote on the PROTECT I.P. Act.” Go us!

In the current election year, many citizens are vocal, but that does not mean that everyone feels engaged. The grass-roots movements like the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street gained a lot of attention and ideological support but have not been able to directly affect any change in Congress as rapidly as the Internet black out. It may be argued that free-speech and censorship laws are the dearest to the hearts of Americans. In addition, freedom of expression and the free access to information is the foundation of the library. Check out just a few books we have on free speech, censorship, accessibility, Internet freedom and piracy after the jump!

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“There can never be peace between nations until there is first known that true peace is within the souls of men.”

(title quote from Black Elk [Heȟáka Sápa], Oglala Lakota medicine man)

November is Native American Heritage Month and at the University Library we will provide you with intellectual stimulation and cultural and historical appreciation. While living under individual tribal sovereignty, Native Americans have always been very much a part of the wider America culture, in language, food, art, and community. The First Nations people of North America have insisted for centuries to remain respected, dignified, and autonomous in dealings with traders, colonizers, and governments. Sometimes these relations were peaceful and appreciative, other times they were disparaging, ruthless, and bloody. Today the struggles for equal respect still continue. NPR recently reported a series on the how the foster care system adversely affects tribes and Native children, and Native women are often ignored by the local law enforcement on issues of domestic and sexual violence.

Stories of the “wild west” and the western frontier are wrought with stories and images of Native Americans as savage or brave, but always as other. These conceptions still persist today as can be seen in film and popular culture. However, Native Americans still refuse to be marginalized and continue to fight for their civil rights, to honor their culture and traditions, their ethnicity, and have their voices be heard. 

The beautiful and varied traditions within Native American cultures can be found in our books on the different tribes, literature, and mythology. The darker side of humanity can also be considered with books that discuss racism, unethical trades, slavery, and land removal. For historical and current issues and practices among the tribes see our databases and for some wonderful images and exhibitions see the Library of Congress webpage. The Library has an expansive collection of materials on Native American experiences and history, browse our catalog or stop by!

For a series on life in the Americas after the European settlers, click here.

For more on the Indian Wars, click here and here.  

And online, PBS’s Independent Lens has a few great shows such as Miss Navajo and Two Spirits.