23 Matching Annotations
  1. May 2021
  2. Mar 2018
    1. Whileonlysomeofculturetakesmaterialform,thepartthatdoesrecordstheshapeandimprintofotherwisemoreabstract,conceptual

      The cultural significance behind the machete

    2. Essays in Material Culture

      The supplemental text I chose to apply was "What is a machete anyways?" by John Cline which an article about the history of the machete across various cultures and time periods

  3. Feb 2018
    1. What contemporary object can be both a tool and a weapon, like the machete? Communication technologies like cell phones might serve as one candidate, especially in light of their application during the “Arab Spring.” But can the iPhone ever bear the same gravitas as the machete? Is silicon the new steel? Information has been a part of every arsenal, revolutionary or otherwise. Still, it’s hard to imagine driving a smartphone into a body “down to the Apple.”

      The writer brings a more modern and relatable point of view into the the mix. Since in this day in age almost everybody in America has a smartphone it makes it more easier for the readers to understand the point he is trying to make. Then brings up a controversial point of Arab terrorist using smart phones to act out violence. A entirely different but similar view to take based on the machete argument. It strengthens his claims, the more some isolates different realms of reason the more the topic can handled more circumspectly. (Haltman 7). He broadens his horizons by presented a more relatable topic to the audience instead of just sticking to just a provincial topic of farming tool and weaponry.

    2. But within the context of contemporary politics this minor event points toward a larger and more pressing concern: as the old manual trades die away, what symbols do we have to convey a sense of collective identity as laborers within the machinery of capitalism?

      Another personal aspect of the writer personal life to further his argument. Growing up farming this cultural portrayal of machetes as weapons undermines his identity. A traditionalist view on the matter shows that the culture that the writer grew up in is being over taken by a violent and terror fantasia that is infecting the the idealism of his identity. He is also trying to gain sympathy with the audience, portraying his old livelihood being destroyed in front of his every eyes. Using pathos to persuade his audience of this cultural take over.

    3. While it’s foolish to assign coherent political meaning to Rodriguez’s film, it cannot be denied that the machete is a powerful symbol of violent, popular revolt, a tool/weapon freighted with centuries of significance.

      Media shapes culture, culture shapes society, and society can shape politics. It is cultural examples such as these that really show how influential media can be. Especially in movies that glorify tools to be weapons. Haltman states that there are metaphysical aspect that embody culture.

    4. However, one thing remains constant: those who use it as a tool in their daily lives are also the most likely to turn to it as a weapon, because it is often the only option available to the slave, the peasant, or the proletariat within the agricultural regions of the tropics.

      The writer bring in the view of revolt which runs deep in American culture since really the foundation of America was based on revolutions. This article was most likely published to feature an American audience so by bridging its emotional and cultural history is a great persuasive tactic. Though it never explicitly said revolts the use of slaves and pheasants using machetes as a weapon can imply such. The writer is trying to discretely imply this notion to the reader in order to make them think and have a deeper and more personal connection with the topic.

    5. A story like Walker’s illustrates why the machete so well captures the problem of the tool vs. the weapon. This simple object is imbued with enormous symbolic political power, because its practical value can never be isolated from its violent potential.

      Object can signify any form of history, culture or emotion depending on how it presented. As Haltman puts it the views on objects can be potentially limitless but why do some views have more significance than the others. Well it all comes down to the culture of it. A recent bate on gun violence have surged popular media both main and social. Historically in America guns were used as a point of self-defense and a balance of power but recent tragedies in Parkland and Las Vegas and any other mass shooting in America has depicted them as killing machines. As practical as a "tool" maybe the cultural significance will always tip the scale to what society depicts it to be.

    6. This fusion of tool and weapon cropped up again and again during my childhood. In the third grade, I encountered a word in a Hardy Boy’s book, Footprints Under the Window, which I’d never seen before: machete. I quickly realized from the descriptions that a machete was essentially the same thing as a “corn knife.” Much of the book’s action takes place on a fictional Spanish-speaking island called “Baredo.”

      It amazing to think that a simple farming tool used for corn can become the embodiment for killing and terror. The machete is not the only " tool" this is happened to. The ever so famous ninjas of Japan were actually simple farming tools before the iconized as weapon for Asia most notorious assassins. Small katana were used for slicing crops but have become a trademark weapon for the group. And even scythes that were used for cutting down wheat plants has become culturally a symbol of death held by the grim reaper to rip the souls out of the living. It just goes to show that an object can have two polar ideas based on culture and significance.

    7. Looking at the cover now, it’s hard not to notice that one of the villainous figures looks a lot like Fidel Castro, and one of his comrades wields a machete. It’s hard to say whether or not this moment of recognition is related,

      A great use of multimodal function here bringing in a book to the argument in hand. It brings in a entire view of American culture into the mix by depicting a machete as weapon. The way that the writer explains it and the picture depicted on the bottom show the machete to be a weapon of terror or fear, as oppose to the tool for survival and nourishment that the history would suggest. So in American culture could it be the a machete signifies weapons and fear more than tools? And considering that the writer he read it in high school it can be assumed that many english classes in throughout that sate even the nation have the same idea about it. As Haltman wrote it's important to know what the object might signify but attention how they might be signify. (4)

    8. the machete has a special place in the labor history of Florida, where for three and a half centuries slaves and wageworkers cut sugarcane in the fields by hand. Indeed, machetes are unique to the extent that they have always been used for both purposes—and not just as a plot device in horror flicks, either.

      These historical contexts make a strong point of evidence to argument. A lot of times when examining a object its historical meaning comes to mind and bringing up dark historical points in America's history of slavery to argument brings up some emotional feelings to the mix. It goes beyond the scholarly talk of an object and expands the idea of the object to further the readers interpretation of it. By using more of these emotional deductions it serves as a bridge to speculation about meaning for the reader. (Haltman 8)

    9. but the ease with which “tool” becomes “weapon” in the eyes of the law is remarkable. Tools are fine things for workers, but politics dictates that violence be concentrated in the hands of the State, and dispensed by its agents. The slipperiness between innocuous utensil and deadly device represents the risk of insurrection.

      Tools or weapons can be best described in words and how the reader sees the object after that is all dependent on the writers diction and view. In descriptions "writers generate a set of carefully selected nouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, and to effectively determine the bounds pf possible interpretation." (Hatlman 6) Using words such as "violence" or "deadly" will most likely make it seem like a weapon in this instance. More than anything the type of diction that a phrase has can drastically change what the word will mean or what it will mean to the reader.

    10. Debates in the U.S. about the right to carry weapons focus almost exclusively on firearms. But the machete bears an unusual character. It’s possible to conceive of it as a weapon, yes, but it’s also very much a tool—not altogether different from, say, a shovel.

      This section brings up a very interesting point in the argument, though uncommon in the U.S many places outside the U.S use a machete as a tool (especially in tropical rain forrest areas) but in many part of American culture it's depicted as weapons such as movies, video games, and entertainment outlets. This could be what Prown calls a polarity which in turn finds material expression in a language of formal oppositions. That one single object what mean two completely perpendicular concepts. It can be perceived as one or the other depending on point of view of the beholder.

  4. Jan 2018
    1. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/

      The machete initially known as a tool is now seen as a weapon used to intend harm when seen in the hands of criminals. The machete is a tool previously used by farmers or people in rural areas, they would use the machete to cut grass, or other resources they acquired.

    2. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/

      Machetes are considered a cheap alternative for guns, neighbors had the utilities to slaughter each other with the own tools they used in their own fields, The use of machetes lead to genocides destroying tutsi people. Ordinary people would have rather used the machete for gruesome activities. The machete once a simple tool has grown to become a symbol for violence in the present.

    3. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/10/what-is-a-machete-anyway/280705/

      The machete although a tool can quickly become a weapon in the hands of everyday people, for example when overthrowing corrupt leaders the people would revolt back in a machete they had used for their own labor. It is seen as a political symbol because it signifies the strength of the villagers or normal citizens revolting.

    4. But the machete bears an unusual character. It’s possible to conceive of it as a weapon, yes, but it’s also very much a tool—not altogether different from, say, a shovel. It’s possible that Wilson is just a stunted adolescent who never grew out of buying switchblades and throwing stars when the carnival comes to town, but the ease with which “tool” becomes “weapon” in the eyes of the law is remarkable.

      As related to the primary text, the interpretations of what a machete is defined as can be viewed differently from all aspects. From a law standpoint, they see the machete as a weapon because it is a sharp object but others see it as a tool because it can be compared to a table saw or an ax.

    5. Machete

      What is a "Machete"? In my opinion a machete is a tool because tools can also be defined as weapons if they are used in an aggressive/deadly manner. For an example, a hammer is a tool but may also be used to harm someone.

    6. “full size” machete.

      Are there miniature machetes? But wouldn't a small machete be considered a knife?

    7. the machete has a special place in the labor history of Florida, where for three and a half centuries slaves and wageworkers cut sugarcane in the fields by hand. Indeed, machetes are unique to the extent that they have always been used for both purposes—and not just as a plot device in horror flicks, either.

      The machete can be used for various reasons. Many people use it in an ax-like manner to cut things down because that is how their cultural history used the "weapon/tool". I personally carry a pocket knife for various reasons. My main reason is for cutting open things in my art class (used as a tool) but I also carry it for protection because I have night classes (weapon). I don't believe you can say what a machete actually is because there are multiple uses for it.

    8. I quickly realized from the descriptions that a machete was essentially the same thing as a “corn knife.”

      This goes back to the primary researches statement of culture having an affect on how people see objects. Some cultures use machetes as actual tools i.e the "corn knife" while others see it as a weapon because they have seen it being used in that way.

    1. henwestudyanobject,formalizingourobservationsinlanguage,wegenerateasetofcarefullyselectednouns,adjectives,adverbs,prepositions,andverbswhicheffectivelydeterminetheboundsofpossibleinterpretation.Thisiswhythewordswechooseinsayingwhatweseehavesuchfarreachingimportance.Itisoutofourparaphraseofwhatweseethatallinterpretationgrows

      I am applying the "What is a Machete, Anyway" as my supplemental text and the main idea of that article is expressing how there are various interpretations of what a Machete is actually. Some people see it as a tool while others see it as a weapon. Everyone's view on a particular object is not the same because of cultural differences. In the article, Cline says himself, "the machete bears an unusual character. It’s possible to conceive of it as a weapon, yes, but it’s also very much a tool — not altogether different from, say, a shovel."

    2. thepossibilitiesarevirtuallylimitless-especiallyconsideringthatnotwoindividualswillreadagivenobjectinthesameway

      In relations to the "What is a Machete, Anyway" article where the machete can be described as a weapon but also as a tool, relates to this specific line in terms of how people look at objects differently.