Emma Haeusel

BCORE 107C

Prof. Yolanda Padilla

Prof. Michael Goldberg

10/19/15

In the article “‘A Most Advantageous Spot on the Map’: Promotion and Popular Culture,” by Anthea Hartig, the author argues that Sunkist and other citrus producers used white men and women and an atmosphere of a perfect, Mediterranean city to appeal to their target consumer- affluent white families- while excluding the thousands of non-white workers that made their companies possible. When Sunkist moved their headquarters to Los Angeles in 1935, it found that the landscape lent itself perfectly to their business and they wanted, “to do justice to Los Angeles’ heralded Mediterranean climate.” (296) Sunkist knew that not only were they in the perfect climate to sell oranges, but they were also in the movie making capital of the world, and because of that, they could make innovative motion pictures (or commercials) such as “Story of the Orange”. (299) Sunkist used the themes of “science and sex” to sell their products, showing beautiful white women holding perfectly ripe oranges, beckoning you to “Have One”. (299) While citrus companies promoted a feel of ease, they didn’t just have ripe oranges. Sunkist and companies like it were excluding nearly 40,000 non-white laborers and as Hartig states, consumers saw, “the gradual disappearance of labor and laborers from the agricultural countryside.” (300) Ultimately, the citrus companies wanted to make money, and they would not make money by showing off the dirty, tired, and most importantly non-white workers- they would make money by advertising nice, clean, white men and women in a perfect Californian climate.

Hartig’s point is demonstrated through several images and advertisements produced during this period of commercialism and the selling of citrus. The first image is “Sunkist Coloring Book: Front page”. In it is a white family looking out over the remarkably beautiful orange orchards, seeming to enjoy themselves and loving nature. It is obvious by this image that the company wanted to sell oranges to a white family. That citrus isn’t just for adults, it’s for children too, and vice versa. In fact, this image is part of a coloring book given out to children to advertise the companies product in the children’s school. The second image “Sunkist Pinup Girl 2”, shows three beautiful white women advertising not only oranges, but also the wonderful climate of California and how easy it was to pick oranges. Sunkist used these images to portray a sense of ease and glamour in order to sell their product. In stark contrast to these two images is the image “Japanese citrus workers”, a real photo taken of workers and their actual conditions. Gone is the sense of cleanliness, nicety, and ease, instead, there is a sense of dirty labor. There is no way Sunkist would ever show the reality of citrus growing, because it’s not good business. Los Angeles is the perfect culture and climate for citrus growers looking to make a profit. The glamorous, affluent, Mediterranean feel was just what citrus companies needed to sell their product. In promoting a sense of white supremacy in their advertisements and production, however, they excluded thousands of non-white laborers- men and women without whom citrus companies would have no business.

Emma Haeusel

Dr. Brown

BWRIT135

6/1/16

Final Homework

            When I began this course, my definition of “circus or carnival” was very limited. I knew of what I had seen at the fairs I had gone to, or the clowns at rodeos, or what I’d seen on TV, but I had never thought about and quite frankly did not care about the circus. I figured the type of people who wanted to be clowns for a living weren’t worth much of my time, and besides that they really freaked me out. I had also never looked into the history of circuses or the intricate details that went into them. I never considered how much the circus has changed and the sorts of crazy events and corruption that ran rampant in 20^th century circuses. The Hoagland essay reinforces my new idea of circuses—a place where men, women and children led their own lives in their very special and separate communities—by extensively talking about the ins and outs of circus life as well as the all important class system within circuses. The author discusses the complicated hierarchy of the circus “with stars at the top and winos at the bottom” as well as the idea that people led actual lives not so different from our own, and yet totally alien “but if you were observant, you realized their might be some people who had a love life after all” (8,10).

            Many things stuck out to me in this reading, and many things were confusing enough to prompt me to reread them. One of the passages that stood out to me right away was when the author began discussing the danger and excitement of being constantly on the road, and risking your life as a job:

It’s no coincidence that circus music is often identical to the sort of marches that soldiers used to go off to die to. The stakes are high. Bravery, resourcefulness, pinpoint concentration, and self-containment are what make it work, and one reason why so many losers and handicapped souls have found their footing in the circus is because they see in the crowds how thin a veneer conventional society paints upon our basic greed, inertia, and callousness. (3)

I love the first sentence, and I think it speaks to how the author saw circus performers and how incredibly invested the performers were in their work, which was also their lives. He also brings to light the way we tend to place performers in a box marked “other”, while performers are doing the same to us. The second passage sees the author discussing how regular people are not as different as they hope from circus performers: “We have the gimpy, haywire gene as well, the one that makes you want to hit the road each spring while you last—a hail-fellow who knows that nothing is for keeps. You do your thing, to just whatever tattoo of music and battery of lights are available to you, survive today, sleep it off, and get up on that wire again tomorrow” (12). I enjoyed the reference to the high wire, and that in a sense we are all performers, though maybe not in the traditional sense. I believe he is trying to say that everyone is a little weird and we need to accept ourselves and each other for our stranger parts.

Work Cited

Hoagland, Edward. “Circus Music: For Clowns, Lions, and Solo Trapeze.” Step Right Up: Stories of Carnivals, Sideshows and the Circus. Ed. Nathaniel Knaebel. New York: Carroll & Graf, 2004. 91-107. Print.