Thursday, October 10, 2002
State Flag Showdown
Many people who know me also know that I have a penchant for vexillology. I like flags. Why? I don't know. It probably stems from an assignment I was given by my G/T teacher in 4th grade, where I had to research the history of flags and give a little presentation to my G/T class about them. Why did I get that assignment? I was probably the only one who was boring enough to do it. Anyway, I got hooked on learning about flags of all states and nations.
So, with props to Craig for his Music showdown, I'm going to have a little flag beauty pagaent of my own over here. Five state flags a day over 10 days in alphabetical order. Judging criteria will be as follows:
So, here we go with the first 5:
ALABAMA
Crimson Cross of St. Andrew on white field. Adopted in 1895 to resemble CSA Battle Flag
Sort of bland. Scottish flag with English colors. One of the few near-square flags still around.
CSA is the only thing going on here.
Possibly confused with Floridian, English or Scottish flags. Not very original or distinctive.
I could do this with in my sleep
Lame beginning
ALASKA
Gold stars comprising Big Dipper and Polaris on blue field. Adopted in 1956
Looks like it was designed by a child ... oh, wait, it was.
OK, I get the North Star bit with Alaska being up north, last frontier, etc. Please remind me what the Big Dipper has to do with Alaska again?
Fairly distinctive and simple to recognize.
Simple design.
Is it really lamer than Alabama's? Yeah, Alaska is big, but it's a whole lotta frozen junk.
ARIZONA
Thirteen rays of red and gold form the top half over a bottom field of blue. A copper star in the middle creates a sun-like effect.
Rising / setting sun type effects are always cool. Good, crisp colors and sharp design.
Copper star for Copper State. Apparently the 13 rays are for the 13 colonies, but that's a little odd for Arizona to care about. Red and gold reminiscent of Spanish settlers.
Very visible symbol for Arizona.
The ray effect is always difficult to reproduce, but it looks very nice when done well.
A top-rank flag, definitely
ARKANSAS
Blue diamond with white interior diamond on a red field. "Arkansas" emblazoned on inner diamond. 25 white stars in blue diamond, 4 blue stars in white diamond.
Busy. Boring. Violates Eric's First Law of Flags: "Words on flags suck."
White stars in blue diamond reminiscent of CSA days. Diamond shape for diamonds found in state. "ARKANSAS" to remind the local yokels where they are. 25 stars for the 25th state. The four blue stars are supposed to represent Spain, France, CSA, and USA ... whatever.
It doesn't bother to symbolize. It just says, "Howdy, thar ... we're Ar-Ken-SAW." It also used to mean clean rest stops, but not anymore.
Lot of stuff going on, but simple in concept. Stars are at odd angles, though.
Not too good, but certainly not among the worst.
CALIFORNIA
Left-facing Grizzly bear on a green patch over a white field. "CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC" emblazoned beneath bear and above red bar. Red star in upper left corner.
Violates Eric's First Law with "CALIFORNIA REPUBLIC," but the Grizzly makes up for it. Red star and bottom bar are unexpected touches that add appeal. (Though today one might question just what that red star means ...)
Good history with the flag, but the lone star is (intentionally) derivative.
Again, screams it in your face, but the bear is pretty recognizable nonetheless.
Depends on your tolerance for crappy looking bears. Most will forget the grass beneath its feet.
A little lower than I expected, actually. Very recognizable and acceptable symbol for CA, though I'd assume most Americans would know CA's flag from various courtroom scenes.
# posted by Eric @ 9:31 AM 
Comments:
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Alaska:
Visual appeal: Absolutely great! Of course it doesn't look good photoshopped, but that's because it isn't stupid fields of color like most flags.
The flag was not designed by a child. It was designed by the cosmos! (Whatever you would say makes the stars the way they are to us.)
Significance: There are a million meanings bound into this flag. The stars convey a sense of openness and free-thinking that is clearly something unique to the state.
Recognition: What else are you going to confuse with it? Nothing else comes close.
The flag's ONLY problem is its reproducibility, as you'll find dozens of ways people have placed and aligned the stars.
Alaska's flag is one of the most unique and wonderful flags in the world, let alone the United States.
Overall score: 51 (better than all the other states and the U.S. flag as well)
Go Alaska! :)
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Visual appeal: Absolutely great! Of course it doesn't look good photoshopped, but that's because it isn't stupid fields of color like most flags.
The flag was not designed by a child. It was designed by the cosmos! (Whatever you would say makes the stars the way they are to us.)
Significance: There are a million meanings bound into this flag. The stars convey a sense of openness and free-thinking that is clearly something unique to the state.
Recognition: What else are you going to confuse with it? Nothing else comes close.
The flag's ONLY problem is its reproducibility, as you'll find dozens of ways people have placed and aligned the stars.
Alaska's flag is one of the most unique and wonderful flags in the world, let alone the United States.
Overall score: 51 (better than all the other states and the U.S. flag as well)
Go Alaska! :)
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