The End?

As we finish up Gebusi, as well as the semester, we are looking at the end. But in culture there seems to be no end. A prime example is the Gebusi themselves, as we read Part I and Part II of the ethnography I concluded that their intimate self-preserving way of culture was ending and Western ideas were taking over, however in Part III, we find that the Gebusi are in fact reverting back to their original culture, ideas, and ways of leaving. I think the Gebusi are a great example of how culture is unpredictable and how it is never the end necessarily. I think the can be sad about the extent of which anthropology and culture play a role in everyday lives. The impact of culture is a never-ending concept on our lives, and the various ways anthropology looks and views culture allows us to realize this. Whether it is religion, social, food, sport, commerce, dress, greetings, or the many other aspects of a lifestyle, they all are connected to culture. Culture is always changing as well which tends to complicate things, but is the change always progressive or different. Like the Gebusi, I would say there is a smaller scale example in American culture that shows that some aspects of culture just never end. In American culture we are always looking for the next best thing, what will work best, who will be best, and what is the most technological advanced...but there is one aspect of American culture that most people are rather fond of, and that is “retro”. Retro fads, that make a comeback in a culture are just as depicting of how even though culture changes the culture of the past doesn’t necessarily end. My “favorite” retro fads that seem to be making a comeback, clothing styles, retro cookware, and rollerblading. Yes all of these things seemed to have gone of style, replaced by things we thought were better, but like the Gebusi maybe we found that American culture without them just wasn’t working. I choose clothing, cookware, and rollerblading in a rather humorous manner, but however they are still great examples. Sometimes though it’s true technological modern things can’t stop the reoccurrence of the good ol’ things. When asked whether I would like to receive an email or a letter, I would say a letter. The feeling of something in a mailbox is one that can’t be replaced by something in an inbox, all though more materialistic this change and advancement is like how the Gebusi culture couldn’t completely change because it didn’t adapt to their needs and wants. It’s important to see that culture is changing all the time, but that doesn’t mean it is always progressing or digressing, it’s just changing. It is a never ending process, and there is a never ending amount of information to receive and learn about other cultures as well as our own. If I learned anything from the Gebusi and retro fads it is that it is never The End.