"A Distraction or Cultural Connection"

This week the main topic I feel we discussed was worldly connections and how they influence culture. Through examples in the articles about how the production of cocaine is worldly defined supply and demand process. As we sat and talked about the world system and how people from all over the world influence our survival in our society, as well as we influence theirs, I was a little mind blown about how someone I don’t even know helps me to survive, and I possibly the same or the opposite. One example we talked about in class was the pair of jeans we wear to keep us warm and clothed in our environment, keeps a young girl in China employed providing a means of living for her. I’m not sure if this example of the world system is necessarily positive, but it’s easy to see how our demand for clothes is met and her demand for a job is met, where as in the article about Bolivia and the coca plant the world system doesn’t seem as such a positive thing. In the case of Bolivia, America has a demand for the drug of cocaine, and Bolivia has the supply of the coca plant, but because the drug trafficking and drug war are being fought and tried to be destroyed, many people are attacking the supply system destroying Bolivian’s way of life. I feel like this example of the world system is a more negative example, because there is culture being lost. So as I was trying to decide what to write for this blog, I thought of all the preceding examples and tried to connect them to my life, which made me think of how much probably everything I touch is some how related to the world system and connects me to someone, somewhere in the world living a life way different for me. It is such a big concept I was trying to think of a small scale world connector. Well to say the least as I was thinking I was getting very far, as I was extremely distracted my our cultures favorite networking tool, Facebook. Here I was trying to find an example of the world system and connections, and it was staring me in the face. Facebook, is a huge part of our culture, but I think also part of the world system, which as we talked about is pushing culture out a bit. When you get to the login page, you can set the language, I looked at how many languages were offered and there were a high number of languages, at least 80, this proves that people all over the world are possibly using Facebook. So that girl in China who is making my jeans, maybe just a click away. Not only is Facebook a social network, but I would also say a culture network, individuals can express what they identify themselves with, and who they identify themselves with. In a small way it’s exactly like the world system in a way each person is an individual culture, but each individual is regulated by this overriding system that controls what you can do, have access too, and formats the website for everyone the same. Facebook to me screams culture connections, just in the way you can access many people from everywhere and learn about all sorts of people and cultures, but it also represents to me a miniature version of the world system. So the real question is: is Facebook a homework distraction or just a form of connection and cultural enrichment?

"Break a Leg!"

From the articles we read this week and also from the book Guests of the Sheik, I really got how important and prevalent rituals are in culture and our everyday lives. In the two articles on America’s favorite past time, baseball, it was entertaining to read how many players have several rituals, as well as taboos, they believe will help them play better or keep them from bad luck. These rituals ranged from eating chicken to watching movies to stepping on a particular base, and the taboos of which the players avoided were also widely ranged including avoiding base lines. In these two articles it was very clear how superstitious our cultures can make us. In Guests of the Sheik, their rituals are heavily religious, but also shape their culture and gender roles. The women and men are pretty much separate, women wearing abayahs or coverings because for a man to see her without would be taboo. Although their religious rituals and taboos seem unusual to us, it was clear throughout the novel the rituals brought them joy and the taboos they avoided kept them out of bad luck, so to speak. Rituals whether religious or part of a game really become a part of a person and their culture and guide the way they think and/or do.
So after reading about many other peoples rituals and taboos, I began to think about mine and how they shape my everyday life or activities. The first rituals and taboos I thought of were the ones I learned growing up in the theatre. The first always say “Break a Leg!” (this ritual brings luck to performers), however on the flip-side the taboo would be to say “Good Luck!” to anyone before they step on stage. Another verbal taboo, “Macbeth”, that’s another no-no in the theater, unless you want it cursed. My theater in particular had it’s own ritual, we had to have a red rose painted on every set of every show we did (the reason and myth behind it can’t be revealed...it would be a taboo), but anyways the rose brought us luck and guidance throughout a production. I can think of one a set almost went without a rose, and half an hour before the show started our two story house, lost it’s second story, so as the wood and that mess was being cleaned up, we were sure to get that rose on the set before anyone stepped foot on the stage again. This occurrence only reinforced our ritual, we believe it brings us luck because of events like that one. I also had many pre-show rituals, I had to listen to a certain song every night, then find my own quite place backstage and just sit until it was go time. I really believed these rituals worked, and they shaped my theatre experience and culture, much like the baseball players rituals in the articles and the religious rituals in Guests of the Sheik.
It’s easy to get caught up in rituals and taboos, because they are all around us. Common taboos such as don’t walk under a ladder, or crack a mirror cause me to be cautious on a daily basis around both a ladder and a mirror. Even getting ready in the morning for the day, I know it’ll be a good day if I go through my little morning ritual of listening to Jason Mraz, getting ready, and putting on my lucky necklace and ring. It’s these rituals that give us confidence and joy to walk through our own lives and cultures. Although at times they seem silly, these many rituals and taboos seem to shape culture and give people joy...so what the heck seize the day and “Break a Leg!”