Foreign Film: El Otro Lado/extra blog

Extra Entry: Art & Leisure

Objective: I planned to go and view a film presented by the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature at the Hulsey Recital Hall of UAB on the day of March 30, 2010. The film El Otro Lado (The Other Side) was a documentary about the difficulties facing Mexicans as they attempt to cross the border into the U.S. I decided to investigate and attempt to gain insight into the culture and point of view of that group of people.

Detail: My roommate planned to see the movie for his foreign culture credit and he told me about it on the day it was showing. The documentary lasted one hour. The music style of corrido held huge significance in the movie. Many of the issues presented in El Otro Lado made it difficult for me to think like an objective anthropologist because I felt so strongly about certain things. I felt strongly against how drug dealing was as acceptable practice as well as the religious tradition of praying to a saint of the church rather than praying to the God who created them. The people made it very clearly that they loved Mexico, but they had no options left and needed to seek opportunities in the U.S. They made it so clear because they compared it to America's own impoverished sections like the ghettos. Corrido was compared to rap music and the way in which it was significant for the people as an expression of what lifestyles are like for certain people.

Final Thoughts: I gained a clear understanding when the film compared the rap and corrido music styles and the cultures they represent. Though I found myself sharply disagreeing, I suspended my personal views briefly to allow myself to make that connection.

Safezone Discussions

Objective: Attend the safezone discussion during Intro to Cultural Anthropology to prepare for the portion on Gender and Sexual Orientation. This event will count under the category of different political and class ideologies.

Detail:
During regular class time for a week, students of the class went to open discussions on the topic of sexual orientation. We were already split into groups; I was in group two. The supervisor of the group was James Grimes. This suprised me because he was my academic advisor for my first year at UAB. The students of the group came up with questions about sexual orientation for panelists to answer. Group two had two panelists, a young man named Laine, a freshman at UAB studying marine biology, and a woman named Elisa, a realestate agent.

Final Thoughts:
The discussion showed me that stereotypes do not reveal much at all about someone. Gay and lesbian individuals vary as much as any other social group: so much so that they often intertwine and make things complex. Complexity tends to intimidate people so they invent steriotypes in order to water things down or put it in a box and shove it under the bed so that it is not seen again.

Winnie Mandela's visit to UAB

Objective: to attend the lecture of Winnifred Madikizela-Mandela at the Alys Stephens Center of UAB at 12:45 pm on Monday, March 8, 2010, and to acquire new insight into the international community for global connections.

Details:

After my final class Monday, I prepared for the event and walked over to the Stephens Center. I met my old English 101 instructor and went and sat with her and several others. An ROTC senior entered after I had been seated and he joined me. When the event started, the president of the University of Alabama school systems, Dr. Malcolm Portera, welcomed the audience and spoke about Ms. Mandela's tour through Alabama. Many more people spoke about her and it was evident that they all felt not only respect for her as a political figure, but also love as a friend. The reason Ms. Mandela came to Alabama was because it was the 45th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday incident in Selma, Alabama. She spoke mainly on global politics and made it apparent the level of importance she placed on global community. She emphasized her belief that South Africa had no less of a role in shaping our world as the US. However, new problems always seem to rise up when people try to solve old ones, and because of that "the world today is more dangerous." Ms. Mandela compared Martin Luther King Jr. to Nelson Mandela and said how much King influenced Mandela. She said that collectively, South Africa looks at the US as a friend and ally, but the problem is that South Africa sees the Middle East countries in the same way. It causes anguish for South Africa to watch brothers fight.

Final Thoughts:

Ms. Mandela exerted a sense of authority while maintaining a gentle and kind nature. I did not gain new understanding about South Africa's internal culture, but I did see some light shined on the global view that I had not seen before.

Birmingham Museum of Art

Intent: to visit the Birmingham Museum of Art and observe different cultural perspectives of what is considered as art. I would count this in the art and leisure category.

Plan of action: meet up with classmates Shawna and Linda at the Humanities Building of UAB and ride together to the museum.

Detail:
The three of us entered the museum and visited every open exhibit. Several of them bore special interest for me: The Medieval, Renaissance, and Japanese art. When observing the art of Medieval Europe, I noticed that there was separate recognition of art from Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches. Linda had foreknowledge concerning the differences and she shared with us why they were significant. Catholics often used statues of saints while Orthodox leaders leaned more toward portraits because they believed that people would be less inclined to see a painting as an idol and worship it as they would for a statue. Idol worship is against the highest beliefs of Christianity. The Renaissance art showed a return to classic Greek-Roman mythology and deeper exploration of Biblical stories. Renaissance artists had a fascination with the human body's form. I had familiarity with the Japanese art; I recognized the iconic images of the 47 ronin in several paintings. The ronin, "men of waves" or masterless samurai, are famous in the Japanese cultural consciousness for their display of devotion to their fallen lord and claiming revenge for him 8 years after his death. The museum exhibited some samurai armor, weapons, and and statues. I had a moment of nostalgia being separated from them only by glass. Staring at the beautifully designed armor, I came to think that the men who wore them had to realize they were going to die in them. Then it struck me that the armor was decorated with that in mind. The samurai wanted to look distinctive and majestic when they died because death in battle was the highest honor in their society. Samurai even put flower pedals and incense under their helmets so the person who killed them could be swept by the euphoric moment of victory. In general, the samurai were the most sophisticated, civilized, and violent warriors the world has ever known.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed the trip to the museum and I gained a greater appreciation for the exhibits than I had any time before.