American Air & Futurama: World's Fairs and World Wars

American Air

        Reading the American Air was delightful. The way Langewiesche described the American terrain was very incontrovertible. It is without a doubt, a clear depiction of the "true" essence of America. In class, we had talk extensively about the grid system and how it genuinely represent the construct of America during that time. Langewiesche provided insight both from his own personal perspective and from a "veteran" point of view, which I find to be quite entertaining. He compared the terrain of New England to the terrain of North Dakoda, which was utterly different.  At one point during the reading, Langewiesche stated "The air view is an honest view: "You can't kid me" is your attitude as you look down." which gives off a fascinating feeling of adventure, discovery, thrills, a feeling as if you were simply enthralled into his world and his perspective. To my understanding, Langewiesche view flying as a principle of "freedom" and "equality". The vibrant view, the air, the atmosphere, everything seems to flow in harmony.

        To put into perspective, flying was something "new" it was something amazing. The introductions of planes and cameras has really scrutinized people's views and understanding of flight. The feeling of being free and unfettered by others, can easily encompass and overwhelm one's foundation, which in Langewiesche case, was the fundamental "beauty" of flying, of being "in control" of your surroundings.

Futurama: World's Fairs and World Wars

        The introspection of a Utopian world, in and of itself, was something unimaginable at that time. However, when the Geddes's Futurama exhibit was established, the idea became perceptible to the people. Everyone at that time was mesmerize by this concept of a "futuristic world", where EVERYTHING and ANYTHING can come true. It was truly marvelous, a spectacle within everyone's mind. The idea was ingenious, a world where everything was convenient, a place where safety co-exist peacefully with negligence. From reading "The Aesthetics of Ascension in Norman Bel Geddes's Futurama", the concept of Utopia was introduced through a device which contains a collaboration of monumental configuration. This masterpiece of a creation, not only contain the concept of "future" but it also incorporate within itself an essence of nationality and culture. Through this exhibition, we are able to accumulate information about the significance of many things such as transportation, convenience, culture, and society as a whole.
        Personally, I think the concept of being enthrall by new perspective and apprehension of new knowledge to be very "romantic". To me, the interpretation of "discovery" was the most magnificent and sublime feeling a person can ask for ( Granted these discoveries are positive ), especially when that feelings happens only once in a life time. The concept of Utopia, to me, however, is quite grim. I believe that no matter how close to perfect a place is, there will always be a "dark side" (if you will) to it, and these dark sides are what serve to construct a society. It is essential for that society to have a dark side, because if there are none, then it is not a society, let alone a "Utopia".

Thoughts on Bel Geddes' Futurama

Thoughts on Bel Geddes' Futurama

Surely, if the country built more highways, it would more deeply entrench GM’s automobiles into our society, so I was thinking that this might be the reason why Bel Geddes would put a 14-lane-highway in Futurama when he tried to convince GM to fund him. I wonder how much funding Geddes got from other corporations that would have wanted to advertise their products in Futurama, the display that would be seen by more than “twenty-eight thousand spectators a day” (184). Today, that would be almost equal to the tired-of-being-single ad you see every time you open your laptop.

It’s interesting that Bel Geddes’ “Futurama prophesized artificially produced crops” (183). It would be amusing to know if DuPont, which was a main corporation at the fair, funded Bel Geddes to put “artificially produced crops” in Futurama, as DuPont is a corporation that produces artificial, genetically-modified crops. This may seem unlikely because genetically-modified crops were supposedly not yet invented, and the text may mean something else by “artificially-produced crops.” It is nonetheless interesting to consider because there is currently a raging international debate about the environmental and human health impacts of artificial, genetically-modified produce, but I digress.         

         

 I feel that Futurama resounded well with audiences of the time because they were “slowly recovering from the Great Depression and now longing for prosperity,” and the fair’s theme of “Building the World of Tomorrow” also would have resounded well. It seems like it would have been the opportune moment to make such a sales pitch given the disastrous economic atmosphere (similar to the current atmosphere in the minds of many). Even though Futurama seems cute, similar to Disneyland, there is obviously a large profit motive from the mega-corporation(s) that sponsored the project.

 I think that the “aviator hero” technique used by Bel Geddes was appropriate for the time, especially because of the 1926 Air Commerce Act that would help launch the commercialization of airplanes and skyways. Because a large part of the audience would have been excited about yet accustomed enough to airplanes, I think the aerial views of Futurama would have meshed well with the audience—and the angles as well the conveyor-belt setup kept with the popular theme of technological advancement.

                It seems like everything in his world is extremely pro-safety with all rough edges made streamlined, “artificially controlled trees in glass domes,” (trees need protection) and sidewalks safely above the cars (186). I would say this emphasis on safety is in stark contrast to the wing-walking daredevils who did not wear parachutes until the Air Commerce Act of 1926 became regulated (not to use confusing wording). It is in contrast to how America was born—when there were fewer nanny laws and when the law was more in the hands of the people instead of their servants in government.

The author Adnan Morshed writes, “[The] modernist planner’s authoritarian desire to survey the seemingly chaotic cities below, whose problems only he can remedy” (187). It obviously sounds exactly like the modernist planner of the 1930s is a closet-control-freak, decider-of-the-world, power-trip-mad man! I can see this nature of Geddes mirrored in his creation. It seems like the spectators are meant to revolve around his grand babe, and the spectators are not meant to talk to each other but to narrow-mindedly gaze directly ahead in silence with their mouths drooling, much like it is in traditional classrooms and movie theaters. Look at it. Now respect it. On the subject of authoritarianism, I feel that  Futurama reflects the notion of “improved safety” (or give me power to tell you what to do under the masquerade of safety) at the cost of the individual’s freedom to choose what he wants.  For instance, Geddes’ “Futurama prophesized an American utopia regulated by an assortment of cutting-edge technologies: remote-controlled multilane highways (and) farms for artificially produced crops (which would later be unlabeled as gmo by design in supermarkets, if the author is referring to genetically-modified crops)” (183). The idea of God-knows-who disallowing any man (and perhaps by slow degree, everyone) to drive his own car (see remote-controlled multilane highways) is a crime, but it must be an awesome power-rush getting people to give up control of their greatest technological possessions and tools of liberty (not torches of liberty—smoking, although that’s soon to happen at UCD). You dim-witted simpletons don’t know how to drive. Let the fully-automatic, highly-intelligent smartmobile do your driving for you because it’s smart and those crazy drunk drivers aren’t. The pins given to fairgoers read, “I have seen the future” (183). Actually, Geddes forgot to put his name on them. The pins should have read “Hail Bel Geddes, the oracle who has returned to Earth with the solution to this wretched, evil world.”  

The rigid, coldly calculated cityscape and the superiority of its advanced technological inventions makes Futurama seem like a nice place to live where all can be wealthy and live lazily. However, it seems like it would be a bubble-wrap world that would breed complacent, craven zombies obsessed with maintaining what they call order and forevermore fearful of changing their caged destinies.

I think that back in 1939 and in the present day Futurama may be interpreted as a sign of man’s great potential to innovate. However, I think that this heavy emphasis on technological advancement that is reflected in America’s landscape and in Futurama is something that may “plague” America today. Many people may see the “technoscape” as a call to become a scientist due to a perceived promise of security, not because they have passion. I think a similar feeling may have been present at the time of Futurama’s display after the Great Depression because of the rapid breakthroughs in the sciences and the fact that many of the largest companies like General Motors were (and are) heavily invested in their scientists.

I hope that when I paste this into the blog that it will not resemble Futurama’s streamlined structures.    

Resources:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/trends-innovations/darpa-urban-challenge.htm

http://voices.yahoo.com/history-commercial-passenger-flights-2118010.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Aviation_Administration

And the reader

American Air

I felt Wolfgang Langewiesche really enjoyed the flight by reading American Air. Everything he looked, experienced are written in dramatic way. I can imagine how amazing it was to see the view from the sky. Nowadays, we have many chances to see the landscape from above. We have much more opportunity to get on a plane and see the view from the sky. We google places and see the places as aerial photos. Flying must be an amazing thing too. In his article, he writes he always felt a strong sense of fear whether the engine stop working. I am sure that airplanes’ technology was not developed that much back in 1920’s or 30’s. It is interesting to see how technologies had developed in last few decades. Now airplanes are said to be the safest machine to go aboard. Special things became normal in these days. I am glad to live in this super convenient society, but sometimes I feel some kind of fear that we forgot something we must not forget.

American Air/Futurama

Reading American Air was attention grabbing. It seemed to me as if the author was telling me a story with all the details and descriptions. During a commercial air flight, one is used to seeing mainly clouds or just patches of land. But rarely do we see land in the same perspective as a pilot, looking for flat, barren land in order for him to park his plane. It gives an example on how landscapes are seen by different people based. I also like how Langewiesche compared both New England and North Dakota especially because I have absolutely no idea how those areas look.
American Air also reads "Now flying has changed. You have more speed, more radio, perhaps two engines". Back when airplanes were first invented and used, they were very simple, did not arise to a significant height (as compared to planes today), and were not as technologically advanced. But as the excerpt reads, flying has definitely changed. You can see how the planes fly in the air, the development over the past century or two, and how much more efficient it is.

In The Aesthetics of Ascension in Norman Bel Geddes's Futurama, Geddes's Futurama exhibit was described and I could only imagine how amazing it would have been. Millions and millions of people flocked in to see it and it is pretty clear why. For Norman to propose how a utopian society would be in the future, was like telling the future. Many of the things that he envisioned actually came true. His expected "five hundred thousand individually designed buildings, a million trees of thirteen different species, and approximately fifty thousand motorcars" can somewhat be seen today. There are a plethora of plant species, an abundance of buildings (especially in a metropolitan area), and an obvious large amount of motorcars. It is amazing how Norman designed this whole exhibit with such a vision in his mind, with advances in technology and landscape alike. Not only did those who visited get a chance to see the exhibit, they got to sit in seats that moved like a ride, where lights, color, and sound were all incorporated. Futurama also gives me hope for some of the prototypes that have been thought about in the 21st century. Overall, I was beyond intrigued in learning about how such an amazing, futuristic idea came to be and how it played out.

Superman - From another perspective

I really enjoyed reading Morshed's essay about Geddes's Futurama. I'll admit that I thought it was starting to get a little bit dry at some point, but when he started talking about Superman I thought it was pretty awesome. I had always thought of Superman as a symbol of moral righteousness, created by adults to be a good role model for kids. I never thought to consider the time in which he was created. This was a time when new technology had started leading people to believe that the modern man was evolving into something great, possibly something greater than the average human. There was a new kind of aviator hero who didn't just defy gravity and drop bombs on enemies, but one who "could be seen to resemble the early-twentieth-century modernist planner, seeking to rebuild the world from his high perch of authority." Leading from Social Darwinism, the American man must have been seen as something superhuman. It is no surprise that the concept of Superman caught on and gained popularity. He easily fit the role of an evolved human who held a seat of authority and had the power to set things right in the world. He stopped crime because of his strong moral responsibility, and also seeked to improve the world around him. In one of the comics included, he turned a city slum into modern apartment building. Good job, superman. I thought you just fought bad guys in kid's cartoons, but here you are improving our lives and fixing the wrongs of our society. As the essay says, there was a common "moralistic belief that the view from above would not only broaden human vision for more enlightened living, but also, in one way or another, help remedy all physical as well as social disorder." That's exactly what Superman was doing, delivering a remedy for social disorder and creating a more enlightened lifestyle. Superman embodied the beliefs of the future held by modern thinkers of that time, and this something I had never thought of until reading this essay. Superman wasn't just for kids, he was an ideal image of an evolved man that inspired people of all ages to work towards creating a better future. This was a future where we all had a strong moral responsibility, a view from above and the power to fix things. This vision of the future from an aerial perspective wouldn't have been possible without the contributions from Sherman Fairchild. According to the essay about him, "aerial photography quickly became indispensable for anyone responsible for shaping the built environment." Anyone who wanted to develop a town or part of a town wanted an aerial view of it first. Thanks to the popularity of this technology, it is no surprise that people linked the vision of the future with aerial view so much. Those with aerial view were the visionaries who created the future, whether they were city developers or Superman.

Futurama 10/31

         Learning about the Futurama from Adnan Morshed’s “The Aesthetics of Ascension in Normal Bel Geddes’s Futurama” left me very fascinated about the subject. The Futurama debuted in 1939 and was "a one acre model of an American utopia as it might appear of the 1960s" (Morshed 74). The closest thing that I can relate to the Futurama that I have personally experienced is the ride "Soarin Over California" at Disneyland. This ride brings passengers above the ground and "soars them over California" as different sights from different cities in California are projected on a huge screen. Similar to the Futurama, one of the greatest aspects of his ride is being able to have an aerial view. It truly gives the passengers a perspective that they probably have never seen before.  The Futurama was a lot more realistic and a lot more incredible, however. It enabled the people of the 1930’s to “see the future” from a conveyor belt that gave them a bird’s eye view. I can only imagine how wonderful this experience must have felt for the privileged citizens who were able to witness this invention. The Futurama turned people’s images of the future in their imaginations into reality. To be able to see a lifelike American utopian plane from an aerial view must have left people in awe because of the incredible and realistic highways, buildings, cars, etc. But more than what they saw with their eyes, it must have been so amazing for the people of the 1930s to know that such technological advancement was possible. It surely would have left me very excited and very curious to find out what other inventions and advancements will come to be in the near future. 

American Air

After reading all of this week's reading, I found "American Air" most interesting. Langewiesche uses his experience in flight to interpret to the readers the arrangement of American Landscape and how it represents the Americans as well. In summary, Langewiesche talks about his view of the landscape from the air and how certain landscape can be identified by style depending on what part of the country it is at. What I found most interesting was how he perceives the grid system. "About this, the main feature of the United States landscape, it is curiously hard to find anything in books... it was drawn up on paper before the people came; so it was literally a blueprint for a future society. I think it is a diagram of the idea of the Social Contract; homestead by homestead, men would sit each in his own domain Free and Equal: each man's domain clearly divided from his neighbor's" The unique way the American Landscape is spread out is what makes it different from the rest of the world. The land individualizes each man to his own land but at the same time, the systematic way in which it is laid out shows unity and collaboration. Langewiesche talks about how ugly a town looks like but at the same time the beauty is possesses. He deems it ugly because of its similarity to every other town. It is all laid out in the same way that there is absolutely nothing beautiful or special about it. But when he is flying through a town during the night and seeing it all lit up, he can truly enjoy the beauty of it because he says "People went out into this vastness, built a home here and lit all those lights. A proud sight, just by being there." This interprets to how Americans just headed out, found a plot of land, started a town from which other towns were eventually born. It seems that what he sees is the beauty of finding something in absolute nothing and making use of it in such a way that it inspires future generation to do the same. He also pinpoints the fact that people's ideas and what they do reflect on the landscape itself. Just like the article, "The Aesthetics of Ascension in Norman Bel Geddes's Futurama" implies that the better the town/city/landscape looks, the more independent and evolved the humankind seems. I guess this is rather true compared to the changes in the twenty-first century. The better and well-put the city looks, it naturally seems that the people who live in these cities are well off.

the Power of the Atlas

I thought it was very interesting that while lines define physical space and physical boundaries the Prime Meridian can be a measure of human society. The fact that it can cultural boundary is really cool. I do have one question though. So as of yet there are two methods for creating maps. There’s the “intaglio process” or the copperplate engraving and the Lithography process. What are some modern ways of creating maps on the computer or are those still being used? Plus, the idea that Atlases/cartography and the growth of railroads has a close relationship makes a lot of sense to me.  It reminds me of the concept of Manifest Destiny and how the American people think have a right to expand from border to border because they have a god given right to spread their influence across the continent and eventually over the planet. If the territory expands, the Atlases will naturally grow much bigger also. 

Blog #1

My name is Kevin Zheng and I hail from a very small town near San Francisco called Orinda. My major is Managerial Economics with a minor in music. And I look forward to learning many interesting things in this class about America through images and maps. In college overall however, I want to make new friends, gain new life experiences, increase my musical talent and overall just have a good time. There are several things that people should know about me: I am a dancer, rapper, singer, lyricist and all around musician who is in love with music. I am a kpop and jason Chen freak and I live by the philosophy known as Music Never Sleeps.

A New Perspective

I found some this week’s reading to be one of the most interesting topics we have read about so far. To start off, I found it interesting that the development of the plane and aerial photography arose during World War 1, which dramatically changed the way we see the land and the nation as well as contributing to the advancement of warfare tactics. Then, in Thomas Campanella’s “Sherman M. Fairchild & the Airborne Camera”, it was weird to think that this new invention caused such a difference in the lives of Americans. For example, his ability to improve aerial photography led people to gain knowledge “about potential factory sites, port facilities, and traffic conditions. They also revealed hundreds of buildings that had for years evaded taxation” (Edward Polley 1951). Fairchild’s determination and hard work caused people to now be able to view landscapes and cities from above (not limited to the United States) and be able to see literally everything that went on, something never before even heard of. Just as the quote explains, now it was a lot easier to be able to tax more people and properties because there was an “overseeing eye”, so to say. Another thing I found extremely interesting was the emergence of Superman, Buck Rogers, and Flash Gordon mentioned in “The Aesthetics of Ascension in Norman Bel Geddes’s Futurama” by Adnan Morshed. I had no idea that these figures were related to history and therefore found it quite funny that these iconic characters emerged at the time when flying and viewing landscapes from above had become such a great deal and an envious ability.

Thoughts on the advancement and uses of maps

After I read “Maps for the Masses” by Susan Schulten, I came to the conclusion of how much maps not only influenced but helped humans’ outlook on the world. I believe America has always had this main focus of world domination and somewhat controlling most countries and the development of maps played a key part. Our United States would not have prospered if it wasn’t for the advancement of maps. Manifest Destiny was the aim to expand our nation as much as possible and this was accomplished because of our maps. Maps also helped our nation travel to other countries benefiting from the trade, import and export. The advancement of our maps made the process more efficient thus being a significant reason for the nation’s prosperity. Now we have the technology of computers to make our business manageable, but the idea of traveling and communicating started from maps. Back then humans couldn’t even imagine such a thing as a computer taking over the role of the map which brings me to question what will the future hold, what is the next advancement after the computer?

Aerial Photography and WWI

In this week's reading about "Aerial Photography and the First World War", I feel like I was given more background information about the war and its relevance to the skies. I feel like sometimes WWI is pushed aside, as WWII is in many ways more famous than the first. But this war really was a great example of airplanes becoming increasing popular in warfare. Reconnaissance was made very efficient and it seems like a lot more was invested in the advancement of air transportation technologies once they saw the benefits in terms of war; and we know how important war is to politics and the economy. Mapping from above is most definitely an important move when trying to bring an army upon a city, so it really ties into our class's focus on geography and cartography. In this time period, zeppelins also became a very prominent technology, which is interesting because I often overlook their use. This is probably because they are not very fast- but in the reading, they were very much discussed because of how famous it became during the great war. Linking art, technology, and warfare is really important when discussing aerial photography here.

Technology and WW I

Thinking of World War I and its “inventions”, one usually comes up with things like tanks, gas as a weapon or Zeppelins. Yet, I have never heard of any inventions that were developed in response to the war and then kept on being further developed and used in a non-war context afterwards. The aeroplane became a weapon but it also became an important mean of photography and mapping. It is quite interesting to see that the course of the war forced people to put more effort into developing new techniques of photography, when beforehand only some individuals cared about this kind of progress – “the use of cameras was tolerated, encouraged even, but practice and experiment continued to be left in the hands of interested individuals.” (Barbour 85) In addition to that, maps of places were created that had been ignored before (e.g. German East Africa or Mesopotamia). So all in all, this allows us to see the war from a point of view that I personally haven’t really thought or heard of before. Despite all the cruelty, there had also been some useful progress. 

Aerial Photography and the First World War

In the reading "Aerial Photography and the First World War" of this week, I really understood the significance of the aerial photography in the WWI. Before the Great War, aerial photography was somewhat neglected by the people since " aerial reconnaissance was initially regarded as an extension of traditional reconnaissance techniques" (Barbour, 85). It was not easy for the photographers get on the aeroplane and do their jobs. However, after the breakout of the WWI and discovery of the unique function of the aerial photography, it became prevalent for military use. In order to help the army get a better understanding of the maps, the cameras on the plane had been improved over and over. The aerial photography gradually became essential in the WWI for observe the activities of the enemy and give directions to the alley. The causualties drastically decline due to the utility of this technology. I found that it is camplicated for the new technology come to real application. We must give it enough patience. What is more, I believe that the war was not merely brought the misery and pain, the technologies made a big step too.

Aerial photography and the First World War

     While reading Martyn Barbour’s “‘A diary of German doings’: Aerial Photography and the First World War,” I was amazed at how quickly aerial photography advanced in Britain during the war. Aerial photographers in Britain had to overcome numerous obstacles in order to catch up with their counterparts in France and Germany. They had to deal with less advanced aviation capabilities, less advanced photography equipment, as well as senior military and political officials who were skeptical of airplanes and could not initially see the value of aerial photography. 

     

     Despite all this, the British aerial photographers succeeded in showing their superiors that reconnaissance using aerial photography was invaluable, and did indeed catch up with the Germans in terms of airpower and aerial reconnaissance capability. 

     

     I found the numbers Barbour cited in the reading about the sheer growth in prints issued especially impressive. In 1915 only about 80,000 prints were issued, but in the last year of the war 5,676,101 prints were issued. This reflects the enormous jump the British made in their capabilities for taking and developing aerial photographs, as well as the increased demand by the military for these photos. 

My thoughts on cerography

After reading through "Maps for the Masses," and seeing how atlases produced through the cerography process "involved no formal training," I couldn't help but think to myself how hard could it be to make my own map? At the height of its popularity, the atlases made through the wax engraving process had about a 95 percent market share. This meant that not only were there a lot atlases being made by this process, but also that they being made quickly, cheaply, and almost certainly by people who you would assume didn't have that much skill. When the text mentions that this new technique changed cartography from a "craft into an industry" I wanted to know if it was no longer a craft because of it being mass produced, or because it didn't look as nice as the atlases made by the copperplate technique. Personally, I think that although the new atlases are being made at a quicker rate, it still does take a considerable amount of skill to make these maps. I just don't like how the text made it out to be like the makers of the wax engraved maps and atlases were far inferior to makers of the copperplate maps. Think about it, how many times in your life have you been asked by a teacher to draw what California looks like on a piece of paper, and then you end up drawing this misshaped, out of proportioned mess that oddly resembles a banana. What I am trying to say is that although the maps/atlases made with wax engravings were less aesthetic than its copperplate counterpart, it's not like you have complete amateurs making this maps. Map making takes a bunch of skill to get all the geometry right and to get all the cities and towns to fit on there is an entirely different and challenging task. Also, to sort of answer my question from earlier, it can be really hard to make a map between all the drawing that has to be done and the extensive research, making a map of any kind truly is a craft.

Also just as a side note, for those of you who have never seen any prints made by carvings/engravings, it's a real pain to get everything to work well. From personal experience carving linoleum in art class, first you start with what you want you finished product to look like, then you transfer it onto your new medium but backwards. Then you begin the long and tedious task of carving everything out. Keep in mind the whole you're carving the mirror image of what you want your final product to look like. I just think from my personal experience the wax engraved maps still deserve to be considered craft, whether or not mass produced.  

American Development

Both the atlases and airplanes discussed in this weeks reading illuminate America’s rapid development over the 19^th and 18^th century.  I found it particularly interesting how the two technologies evolved over time. Atlases were printed on copperplates, this was known as the intaglio process. These copperplates had fine engravings with “delicate lines that were easily maintained and updated; subtle and variable area tones; and small, neat lettering” (Schulten, 21). This process was seen as “aesthetically superior” to other methods (Schulten, 21). The process required great skill, so the number of the copperplates produced was limited. Thus, only people who could afford them could use them. However, lithography and wax engraving changed this so that more people could buy atlases. Cartography changed “from a craft to an industry” due to mass production (Schulten, 24). The atlases showed the growth of American railroads, and depicted America as very superior to other nations. The United States had many more pages in the atlases, and in the racial typology, Caucasian people were always placed higher and more superior to the other races. Atlases evolved to American interests and superiority.  

Similarly, airplanes went through this sort of evolution. Airplanes went from this glorified, exciting, (even "romantic", as Dr. Kaplan says) and new technology to a device of warfare. At first they were used as reconnaissance, but then they were actually used for combat.

I just think it’s crazy that in American history, technologies have been improved mainly for the end goal of having the most advanced technology and be the most superior. Yet in the process, we loose sight of the aesthetics and extraordinary parts of the technology.

Beyond the Norm

After reading “Maps for the Masses” by Susan Schulten, I finally realized how much influence maps, in this case atlases, had on human views. When the cartographers made the transition from the copperplate process to wax engraving, cartography transformed “from a craft to an Industry”(Schulten 24). I believe that the mass production of maps was an easy way to influence American views. Since computers and the Internet were not yet invented, paper material was the main source of communication. Compared to our society today, we can use Facebook, Twitter, and websites to exploit our opinion. Atlases had played a large role in perpetuating eugenic views and “frame the world as a racial hierarchy” because some of the noncartographic pages were filled with information about other nationalities. But beyond the normal definition of an atlas there was always a motive. Atlases legitimized ideologies people were just learning or had known.

The idea of Aerial photography in WWI was a mind opener and the “surviving aerial views offer[ed] an intriguing perspective [about] the First World War”(Barbour 107). For years I have learned about this historical event, but I never new how much impact the aviation forces had during the time period. In general, aerial photography and the change in production of maps demonstrates how much advancement America has made in technology over the late 18^th, 19^th, and early 20^th century.