Popular Perceptions of Agriculture
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Introduction
Popular Perceptions of Agriculture began during Fall 2007 as students enrolled in ACES 179: History of Agriculture in Illinois, analyzed relevant popular culture. The course is taught at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana by Debra Reid. Popular Perceptions of Agriculture is hosted by WikEd, an internet platform that facilitates the construction and exchange of knowledge. All users can read and modify any of the webpages within it. Feel free to contribute to existing topics, or start new topics that relate to the ways popular culture conveys information about agriculture and rural life, past and present.
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Contents |
[edit] Feature Films
The "feature" film historically, was the full-length film presented during a movie theater showing, not the trailers or other shorter documentary films that were also shown.
For an analysis of the ways that silent films depicted rural life, see: Hal Barron, "Rural America on the Silent Screen," Agricultural History 80, no. 4 (Fall 2006): 383-410.
Selected films analyzed for their treatment of rural and agricultural history include:
- Glory (1989)
- Grapes of Wrath (1940)
- Legends of the Fall (1994)
- Places in the Heart (1984)
- State Fair (1945)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
[edit] Documentaries
Nonfiction motion pictures that rely on historic evidence to interpret an event or explore the life and influence of a person or people. Documentaries generally present a viewpoint on the subject, rather than just narrating events or life experiences. Still photographs can also be considered documentaries because photographers often convey a viewpoint in their depiction of a situation.
Selected documentaries analyzed relative to their depiction of agricultural and rural history include:
- Devil's Playground (2002)
- Hybrid (2002)
- The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005)
- Goin' to Chicago (1994)
- Moving North to Chicago (1991)
- The River (1937)
- Hopes, Dreams, and a Little in Between; The Real Life of Farmer John (2005)
- Peasants (2004)
[edit] Fiction/Literature
The term "literature" has many meanings. For the purposes of this wiki, the term is limited to works of fiction, including pose and poetry as well as myth, legend, ballad and other forms of cultural memory.
Selected works of fiction analyzed for the ways they depict agriculture and rural life include:
- The Jungle
- Spoon River Anthology: Not Your Everyday Cemetery (1915)
- A Thousand Acres
[edit] Children's Literature
This category focuses on works that were written for children and that are selected and read by children. children's literature varies widely from heavily illustrated books created for pre-readers (ages 0-5 years) and early readers (ages 5-7 years) to chapter books (ages 7-11 years) and young adult fiction (teenagers). Adults enjoy children's literature, too, regardless of the characteristics of the book.
Selected examples include:
- A Year Down Yonder (2000)
- Across Five Aprils (1964)
- Little House on the Prairie (1937)
[edit] Young Adult Literature
Young adult fiction is a type of children's literature written for and marketed to teenagers.
Selected examples include:
- John Deere: He Gave the World the Steel Plow (1937)
[edit] Children's Toys & Games
Toys and games help children pass the time, but they can also aid cognitive development. Toys and games often feature farm and agricultural themes.
- The Farm Game
[edit] Memoirs/Non-Fiction
Memoirs and non-fiction include written memories and tales of experiences documented in writing and sometimes supported with evidence.
Selected memoirs include:
- A True Picture of Emigration (1848; 1968)
- An America That Was (1964)
- Days on the Family Farm
- Farm Wife: A Self Portrait
[edit] Coffee Table Books
This section focuses on heavily illustrated, large scale books that often feature photographs (historic and contemporary) or artwork.
Selected examples include:
- Farming Once Upon a Time (1996)/Farming Comes of Age: The Remarkable Photographs of J. C. Allen and Son (1994)
[edit] Exhibits, Museums, Historic Sites and Living History Farms
Many types of museums and temporary and permanent exhibits fit this category, including private as well as non-profit institutions and projects undertaken by collectors.
Selected examples include:
- Allis Chalmers Museum, Paris, IL
- Amana Colonies, IA
- C.H. Moore Homestead, Clinton, IL
- Early American Museum, Mahomet, IL
- Zay Wright exhibit
- Funk Prairie Farm, near Bloomington, IL
- Hawthorn Melody Farm (aka Cuneo Museum & Gardens), Vernon Hills, IL
- Illinois Amish Interpretive Center, Arcola, IL
- Illinois & Indiana Antique Tractor Club, Penfield,IL
- John Deere Home, Grand Detour, IL
- John Deere Interpretive Center, Moline, IL
- Kline Creek Farm at the Timber Lake Forest Preserve, DuPage County, IL
- Lincoln's New Salem, Petersburg, IL
- Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, near Lerna, IL
- McLean County Museum of History, Bloomington, IL
- Morrow Plots, University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, IL
- Old World Wisconsin, Eagle, WI
- Robert Allerton Park, Monticello, IL
[edit] Music
This category can include individual songs, works of one artist or composer, or long-standing shows such as the Grand Ole' Opry. The lyrics, when analyzed alone, could relate to works of fiction or non-fiction, but when under the category, music, the performance aspect, rather than just the words, can affect the popular perception.
Selected examples include:
- Amarillo Sky by Jason Aldean
- Daddy Won't Sell the Farm by Montgomery Gentry
- Down Home by Alabama
- Farmer's Blues by Marty Stuart with Merle Haggard
- For the Money by Montgomery Gentry
- Grand Ole' Opry
- Heartland by George Strait
- International Harvester by Craig Morgan
[edit] Farm Advertising
Farmers and farm-related businesses, particularly operations that depend on local clients use various advertising outlets to present a good public relations image and thus appeal to and even educate the general public. Examples of such niche operations include orchards, organic farmers, market gardens, and Christmas tree farms. The farms need customers, but customers also need these farms, which can provide the only outlet urban dwellers have to experience rural life.
Selected examples include:
- Curtis Orchard, Champaign, Illinois
[edit] Fairs
- Illinois State Fair
