Gary McDonogh. Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture

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Further reading

Constantelos, D.J. (1998)

Understanding the Greek Orthodox Church,

Brookline:

Hellenic College Press.

Papaioannou, G (1976)

From Mars Hill to Manhattan,

Minneapolis: Light and Life

Publishing Company.

DEMETRIOS J.CONSTANTELOS

Greenwich Village

South Manhattan area approximately bounded by Houston, Broadway Hudson and 14th

Street, identified with alternative lifestyles and cultures. A pre-war haven for artists and

olitical activists, Greenwich Village became identified in the 1950s with the beat

generation and coffee-houses and, in the 1960s, with the

Stonewall Riot

and gay

lifestyles. The

Village Voice

champions such political and cultural positions, as a

neighborhood

newspaper with national impact. Yet the village also represents attractive

commercial and residential

real estate,

forces of

gentrification

that have challenged its

alternative qualities in the 1990s even while tourists come to seek them.

GARY McDONOGH

CINDY WONG

Gregory, Dick

b. 1932

Gregory’s acid racial observations made an early crossover breakthrough in American

comedy

in 1961 via the

Playboy

Club and

late-night television

. Yet his

celebrity

converged with his growing commitments to the

civil-rights

struggle, as an entertainer

and colleague of Dr. Martin Luther

King,

Jr. Adopting King’s non-violence, Gregory

extended his protests to include fasts against the

Vietnam War

and support for Native

Americans. Since the 1970s, he has also been occupied with problems of hunger in

America and the world. His 1964 autobiography

Nïgger,

remains an intriguing memoir o

maturing in a racist America.

GARY McDONOGH

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 506

Grenada

Part of a long-term effort to dislodge communists from the Western Hemisphere,

President

Reagan’s

1984 invasion of Grenada was ostensibly undertaken to rescue

American medical students studying on the

Caribbean

island following the overthrow o

Maurice Bishop’s government. The major concern, however, was the building of the

Point Salines airport by Cubans. Instability came to the island following a coup by

General Hudson Austin, one consequence of the US blockade that had weakened the

Bishop government, and forced him to turn increasingly to

Castro

for aid. The invasion

was a diplomatically difficult mission as Grenada was a former British colony and the

assault was condemned by the United Nations. But it proved an easy operation even for

the

Pentagon

at that time; the US Army quickly deposed Austin and established a new

government. It also established new limits on media coverage which would create

problems for the flow of information in the

Gulf War

. The medical students were saved,

too.

ROBERT GREGG

Greyhound

buses

Grisham, John

b. 1955

One of the most popular and bestselling authors of the late twentieth and early twenty-

first centuries, Grisham has mastered the intricate legal maneuvering that drives all of his

lots. His main character is usually a brilliant if somewhat maverick attorney confronting

the shortcomings of his profession as he schemes to correct or take advantage of the

system to his or his client’s benefit. Grisham has addressed several modern social

ailments, such as the death penalty (

The Chamber,

1994) or

homelessness

(

The Stree

awyer,

1998). He has been a permanent fixture on the bestseller lists since 1990, and six

Entries A-Z 507

of his ten novels have been made into movies.

JIM WATKINS

Groening, Matt

ee Simpsons, The

grunge

When Nirvana’s

Nevermind

knocked Michael

Jackson’s

Dangerous

off the top of the

charts in 1991,

rock,

after years of taking second place to dance music, re-emerged.

Grunge became the title that the recording industry and media gave to the sound of the

Seattle, WA

music scene, which was subsequently plundered for all available talent.

Grunge signified a style—long hair, flannel shirts and torn jeans laid over a

slacker

ideology—as much as a sound—roughly a

punk

-metal fusion, with Nirvana at the

pop/punk end, Pearl Jam in the hard rock middle and Soundgarden at the metal/punk end.

DEWAR MACLEOD

Guam

Located in the Pacific, far from the US mainland, Guam occupies an ambiguous position

within American politics, society and culture. This largest island in the Marianas chain,

ceded by Spain in 1898, has been a primary American outpost ever since, including

Japanese occupation (1941–4) and a hard-fought reconquest. Guam is an unincorporated,

organized territory of the US, with a population of 133,152, whose people have been

citizens since 1950. While they elect a

governor,

they do not vote in national elections,

although they often figure colorfully in political conventions.

The Chamorros, Guam’s primary Micronesian inhabitants and language group, have

mixed culturally and socially with waves of successive colonizers and immigrants from

nearby nations (Filipinos constitute 25 percent of the population). Both military goals and

development geared to contemporary Asian tourism (the economic bases of modern

Guam) have threatened this heritage, as well as the island’s unique ecosystem.

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 508

GARY McDONOGH

CINDY WONG

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

On August 1, 1964, North Vietnamese torpedo boats attacked an American destroyer as it

conducted espionage in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam. Two nights later, two

vessels reported another attack. Though no firm evidence of an attack by North Vietnam

surfaced, President Lyndon

Johnson

used the reports to justify a retaliation against the

orth Vietnamese for repeated acts of violence. Johnson requested and received from

Congress blanket authorization to respond as he chose to any future aggression by the

orth Vietnamese. The Gulf of Tonkin Resolution became the legislative foundation for

the

Vietnam War,

as the United States never actually declared war upon North Vietnam.

SUSAN SCHULTEN

Gulf War

In August 1990, President George

Bush

undertook the biggest US military commitment

overseas since Vietnam, deploying more than 500,000 troops in the Persian Gulf to

defend Saudi Arabia following Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s occupation of Kuwait.

Bush’s firm response to Iraq’s invasion came as a surprise to the Iraqi president. US

Ambassador April Glaspie had informed Hussein eight days before the invasion that the

American government held “no opinion on ArabArab conflicts,” saying “the Kuwait

issue is not associated with America.” The Iraqis long had claims on territory in Kuwait

and complaints that the Kuwaitis were bringing down the price of oil through over-

production.

Hussein’s smiles following this meeting were erased by British Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher’s resolve to ensure that Bush did not “go wobbly” and allow the

invasion to stand. While General Colin

Powell,

Chairperson of the Joint Chiefs, wanted

to give an embargo and sanctions imposed on Iraq time to work, Thatcher and Bush

decided by January that Hussein would not withdraw. Bush went to war against Iraq,

launching a bombing and missile assault that left Hussein’s forces crippled and unable to

withstand the land assault which came over a month later.

Bush and his military chiefs received criticism for stopping the “Desert Storm” land

invasion after only five days, before Hussein’s Republican Guard was destroyed. This

Entries A-Z 509

made possible Hussein’s subsequent intransigence and resulted in a number of follow-up

operations during

Clinton’s

administration. Constant engagement between American and

British fighter planes and Iraqi air defense systems has continued since Desert Storm.

Saddam Hussein remains in power and is extremely wealthy due to black-market deals in

Iraqi oil. The citizens of Iraq have been suffering in large numbers, many dying as a

result of malnutrition exacerbated by the world embargo.

In the United States, the war was especially noteworthy for the fact that, even though it

was considered a triumph for Bush, this did not translate into electoral success in the next

residential election. It has also lingered as a source of disaffection for many veterans

who suffered from what was called

Gulf War Syndrome,

and who had their claims o

injury rejected by the

Pentagon

The war has already made it into American movie history thanks to

Courage under

ire

(1996) and

Three Kings

(1999).

ROBERT GREGG

Gulf War Syndrome

Following the

Gulf War

in 1991, many

veterans

experienced unexplained neurological

conditions. Initially veterans and their advocates in the media and Congress claimed this

“syndrome” was caused by chemical warfare by Saddam Hussein, by widespread oil

fires, or by radiation from US weapons. A number of “blue-ribbon panels” set up by the

US Government each came back with reports that contradicted most of the veterans’

claims. The most controversial of these, the Presidential Advisory Committee, suggested

that stress was the most likely cause, thereby linking complaints to the older wartime

“shell shock.” Nevertheless, the

Pentagon

has developed an anthrax vaccine for all

military personnel, suggesting that fears about biochemical warfare have been heightened

y this activism. Ironically many National Guard personnel and Reservists have opted not

to take the vaccine, citing distrust of the Pentagon’s handling of claims about the Gul

War.

ROBERT GREGG

guns

In the early twenty-first century one-third of American homes have guns (pistols,

revolvers, shotguns or rifles), representing approximately 200 million firearms. In the late

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 510

1990s, the number of deaths from bullets declined, but still averaged eighty-seven deaths

per day in America.

Firearms were introduced to America by the first European explorers, traders and

settlers to hunt and fight. Most colonial towns required able-

odied males to own a

musket and train with the local militia. Their skill and prudent use of guns to hunt, protect

the

family

and town, and project the

community’s

power affected men’s social and

olitical prestige; this attitude is still held by many Americans. After the Revolution,

Americans, surrounded by monarchies and wary of despots who might rise from among

their own ranks, guaranteed the personal ownership of guns to allow the people to retain

control of their new Republic. The 2nd Amendment to the Constitution (see

Bill o

Rights

) became the backbone of gun-rights legislation for two centuries.

In the nineteenth century the western

frontier

required continued gun ownership and

skills until each area became settled. Post-emancipation blacks used firearms to protect

their families, and rural Americans continued to hunt with firearms. As industrialization

and urbanization progressed, the new city dwellers had less need for guns. A small

ercentage of men and women owned them for protection, crime, sports and collecting.

By the end of the twentieth century 80 percent of the American population lived in

cities

At the same time, Americans’ spectrum of attitudes towards guns became a divisive

force as a strong movement grew to limit, if not eliminate, the private ownership o

firearms. It was fueled by an increase in the misuse of guns, especially by younger

Americans, the use of more deadly 9mm handguns, children caught in the crossfires o

inner-city

drug wars, the crippling of President

Reagan’s

Press Secretary James Brady

and school massacres.

Lobbyists,

like Handgun Control, fought for more laws to restrict

the number of privately owned guns through registration and prohibition. By the end o

the century they were successful in passing federal laws to eliminate the sale of many

military-style rifles and to require a check and waiting period for would-

e handgun

owners. Some cities and states enacted more restrictive gun laws or even sued gun

manufacturers. Other groups sought to diminish gun violence in the media.

The opposition, generally led by the

National Rifle Association,

sometimes joined by

the

American Civil Liberties Union,

has been powerful. Stressing personal defense,

sports and the 2nd Amendment, they have fought many successful legal actions on local,

state and federal levels. While many people oppose further gun regulation because they

see it as a first step in the government confiscation of all firearms, they have pushed for

tougher legal prosecution and sentences for people who use guns in crimes.

Further reading

Sway M. (1988)

Familiar Strangers,

Urbana: University of Illinois.

GARY McDONOGH

Haiti

One of the great “silences” in US

history

. Haiti sent volunteers to fight in the American

Revolution, while the slaves’ defeat of Napoleon’s forces there allowed the United States

to purchase the massive Louisiana territory. During the twentieth century this small

Caribbean nation became more dependent on the US, including military occupation from

1915 to 1934. The US later kept a watchful eye, provided aid and purchased most exports

(largely

coffee

). The strongly anti-communist Duvalier regimes were kept in place by

American government support.

Once the

Cold War

ended, possibilities opened up for democratic change. Opposition

to the Duvaliers formed around Father Jean-Bertrand Aristide, and the Americans began

to discourage attempts by the Tonton Macoute (Duvalier’s secret police) to put down

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 512

protests. In September 1994, after Aristide’s election and almost immediate overthrow,

President

Clinton

ordered American troops to invade Haiti again in “Operation Restore

Democracy”

onetheless, Haiti remains an impoverished nation and many Haitians seek

to enter the United States as

refugees

(boat people) and immigrants.

ROBERT GREGG

Haitian Americans

Haitians represent the largest nationality group among black

Caribbean

immigrants,

numbering approximately 500,000 in the United States, 70,000 in the Greater Miami area

alone. The first group of Haitians to arrive by boat on South Florida shores landed at

Pompano Beach on December 12, 1965. These political refugees and the other early

immigrants seeking political asylum in the United States generally came from the upper-

class families who had opposed the Duvalier regime in

Haiti

. They settled in a section o

downtown

Miami, FL

which has come to be known as “Little Haiti.” As was the case for

anti-Castro Cubans, these first immigrants were followed by a wave of poorer

immigrants, creating significant class tensions within the immigrant

community

American support for the Duvaliers, and for the democratic governments that followed

it, has meant that Haitians have not been considered “legitimate”

olitical refugees. In

contrast to Cubans, whose island nation Washington considers a communist-

ariah state,

Haitians have never been given preferential treatment by immigration laws. The

resentment that Haitians feel about this has become evident

υis-à-υis

immigration laws

that have allowed Cubans who make it to the US to stay in the country

Haitian refugees tend to be semi-skilled, have some education and have lived in urban

areas in Haiti. But Haiti is generally undeveloped compared to the United States, and so,

in addition to

language

difficulties as French speakers, Haitian immigrants have

sometimes had more obstacles to overcome than their Caribbean neighbors. They have

also remained separate and distinct from

African American

communities, divided by

cultural, religious and language differences. In the late 1980s, widespread assumptions

that immigrants from Haiti were bringing the

AIDS

virus into the United States also led

to ostracism. The

New York

City, NY case of Abner Louima, a security guard arrested

and tortured by members of the NYPD, has become a rallying cry for Haitians wanting to

confront the bigotry against them.

Predominantly Catholic, Haitians have tended to worship within the parish church

where they reside. Frequently they hold services in Creole, separate from other Catholics,

and adapt the liturgy to reflect styles of worship in Haiti. The growth of the Haitian

community has also led to increasing interest in

Voudou

and African-based religions.

ee also:

immigration

ROBERT GREGG

Entries A-Z 513

halls of fame

Museums

often linked to foundational myths about a particular game or pastime.

Baseball’s

hall of fame is in Cooperstown, New York, where the game was not in fact

invented;

basketball’s

hall is in Springfield, Massachusetts, where that game was indeed

created. Other halls of fame have been established at a particular location as a result o

one city offering the most enticing deal.

Cleveland, OH

outbid

Philadelphia, PA,

for

example, to become the site for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in spite of the latter’s

claim to its own “sound” and to Dick Clark’s

American Bandstand

. The museums include

artifacts and memorabilia from individuals who have achieved greatness in a particular

sport or music genre (

gospel, jazz,

rockabilly polka), inductees being voted on a yearly

asis. An International Association of Sports Museums and Halls of Fame was created in

1971 and now assists 130 member organizations worldwide.

ROBERT GREGG

Hamer, Fannie Lou

b. 1917; d. 1977

Born a sharecropper in Mississippi, Fannie Lou Hamer became involved in the

Civil

Rights movement

when she volunteered to attempt registering to vote in 1962 as part o

the

Black Panther

party registration drive organized by SNCC. Despite losing her job

and being brutally beaten, she continued in the movement, helping to organize the

Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party,

which transformed the 1964

Democratic

Party

convention in

Atlantic City

. Best known for her slogans, such as “I am sick and

tired of being sick and tired,” Hamer later became involved in the National Council o

Negro Women and the National Women’s Political Caucus during the 1970s.

ROBERT GREGG

Hanks, Tom

b. 1956

Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture 514

Actor/

director

: Gary

Cooper

for the 1990s. Hanks’ often childlike comedic persona in

the 1980s (

Big,

1988) gave way to a “man-next-door” “Americanness” in 1990s movies

about

baseball,

romance, social change,

AIDS,

space and war. This is not facile—his

portrait of a gay lawyer dying of AIDS in

Philadelphia

(Oscar, 1993) grew powerfully

from this everyman association, as well as his acting skills. Meanwhile,

Forrest Gump

(again, best-actor Oscar, 1994), while immensely popular, evoked an unnervingly passive

observation of the American century It remains intriguing to see how this major box-

office

star’s

choices intertwine with changing concepts of American life itself. Most

recently his focus has been manifest in the Oscar-winning

Saving Private Ryan

(1998)

and Second World War commemorations.

ee also:

actors

GARY McDONOGH

CINDY WONG

hardware store

Specialists in materials, tools and advice for the home-owner interested in small do-it-

yourself projects. Everything from nails to hand tools can be purchased, as well as

lumber, paint and many other items. An outgrowth of the small-town general store of the

nineteenth century hardware stores have been an integral part of rural areas, providing

mail-order services for seed, fertilizer and livestock. Recently hardware stores have taken

on an almost boutique status among young professionals. Individually owned hardware

stores have decreased in the last twenty years due to the growth of retail chain mega-

stores offering highvolume sales of numerous items.

JIM WATKINS

Harlem, New York City

Area of northern Manhattan to the Harlem River, variously defined—depending on the

shifting racial and ethnic composition, and the resulting perception of desirability—as

having boundaries of 110th Street or 96th Street, 5th Avenue or the East River on the

east, and Morningside Drive or the Hudson River on the west. Although home to early

Dutch settlers in the seventeenth century Irish squatters in the nineteenth, and Jewish and

Italian migrants from the Lower East Side in the early twentieth, Harlem has been most

powerfully identified as the heart of

New York

City’s African American

community

. It

Entries A-Z 515