Ford. Jobs.

I think one can find many parallels between Henry Ford and Steve Jobs.  Both were men raised in middle-class families who went on to beat the "odds" and achieve the "American Dream" we talk about so much in AmCon.  Both were inventors, "self-made" men whose own creations paved the way to success.   While Henry Ford began the commodification of transportation by making automobiles more accessible and easily produced, Steve Jobs could perhaps be thought of as the first person to commodify computers, leading to the widespread use of personal computers today.  While on the surface, the two inventions appear to be completely separate, truly, both are inventions which have changed culture completely.  The automobile and its mass production changed business- it solidified the shift in business away from the artisan and towards the collective.  This is a thought I come back to often: that men like Ford and Steve Jobs so often create the technology that ultimately makes it impossible for other men like themselves to achieve success.  After Henry Ford, "tinkers," had less of a role in industry.  Machines took over.  Automobiles also altered people.  The ability for more people to buy a car made it easier to others to travel, contributing to the sense of individualism and tourism prevalent in American Culture.      As mentioned in the online reading, cars also helped to promote a culture of consumerism, bringing people closer to goods- quicker and more often.  Steve Jobs' contributions to the world of computers is somewhat analogous to that of the automobile, as the invention of sleek, personal computers made the purchase of such technology more widely acceptable.  Not to mention other inventions such as the Ipod.  With more access to computers, the use of the internet could become more widespread and ultimately change the way we receive and transmit information of a daily basis.  Furthermore, consumerism gained further importance through stylish Apple products as beauty and function became more closely tied together. 
This brings me to the subject of appearances and representation.  The linked article by Barnet focuses upon the Henry Ford Museum and the way in which Henry Ford's contributions and visions of history are romanticized to the point of corrupting history itself.   The museum is described as," ritualistically link[ing] the
individual to the national collective."  and " not only put[ting]Ford’s own historical pedagogy into practice, it also provides a space in which Ford’s economic theory and practice, Fordism, could represent itself
as a regime that encompasses social, historical and political concerns."   Essentially, Barnet claims that the representation of his contributions to history overemphasizes and distorts Ford's contributions to history- which contained many negative ramifications in addition to those that were positive and also essentially eliminated the artisan/agricultural life that the museum uplifts.  
I suppose one could go so far as to make a comparison between the romanticism of the Henry Ford Museum with the responses to Steve Jobs' death as romanticizing his contributions to technology.  Barnet would likely focus upon the tendency to ignore negative events and business practices associated with Apple and instead to focus upon the beauty of creation, when in reality the production of Apple products takes away from other entrepreneur's wishes to be innovative like Steve Jobs was.   I don't know if I agree with this, or would wish to take this argument very far.   Personally, while I agree that museums tend to romanticize history, and so do reactions to the deaths of celebrities, it cannot be denied that both men, as described above, made significant contributions to American Culture.  While it is wise to always take overly-glowing tributes with a grain of salt, and to look beyond the surface of history, part of me feels that lamenting the manner in which people "sell out" to consumerism to be rather futile.  It is what it is.   You can try and look beyond it, or start your own museum that is better, or write your own article detailing the dark past of Steve Jobs or anyone, but that doesn't change the fact that people will still capitalize on what they can.