Reggae music on Rastafarians

Reggae music on Rastafarians The origins and significance of reggae music on Rastafarians Regarded as the core of Rastafarian culture, reggae music is also the heart and soul of Jamaica. Rastafarianism emerged in the 20th century along with reggae music in the 1960s. The latter has been a way of revealing Rastafarianism to individuals while Rastafarianism has contributed to the growth of the reggae genre, illustrating the reciprocal relationship between the two. One of the major promoters of both Rastafarianism and its music has been Bob Marley who, via globally famous tracks, has helped the two proliferate. I wish to look at the influence of reggae and rastafari beyond the West Indies because I feel that Reggae is unique, joyful and does something to people, different to other music. This is mostly due to the ideas behind it, and I want to show that its not just about marijuana and the usual stereotypes of Rastafarians but to show the beauty and significance of listening to Reggae and being a Rastafarian. During the 1930s Jamaica was an island where depression, discrimination and racism dominated, especially in the poorest areas. This is where Rastafarianism came in to help out the community. The Rastas claim that Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974, was the re incarnation of Jesus Christ and their religion worships a single God, known as Jah. Rastafarianism therefore originated in Jamaica around this time as a result of the strong oppression by Western nations. Its basic principles include the desire to defy Babylon (a common term used to define Western culture) as well as using non-violence as a method to achieve this. Furthermore their principles consist of a peaceful autonomous and independent society together with a symbiotic relationship with nature and their surrounding environment illustrated by the fact that often Rastafarians are vegetarians and prefer avoiding foodstuffs such as alcohol, meat, pork and shellfish instead basing their diets on alternative nu trients such as those in mango and coconut. Another extremely important aspect of the Rastafarian culture is dreadlocks; in fact these are a way to repudiate Babylon and its artificiality inspiring dread in its inhabitants. Furthermore Rastafarians believe that by shaking their dreadlocks a connection is created between God and themselves. Another method of completing this divine connection is by smoking ganja which also counteracts the daily oppression. The Rastafarian method of non-violence has therefore allowed the survival of Jamaicas population along with other colonies of the West Indies providing survival against the influence of Babylon as well as pride in the African culture. Originally serving as a method of restoring self awareness as well as their African roots reggae music today plays a major role in teaching the Rastafarian people about the oppressive, deceptive and divisive nature of the system under which they live and, as written above, serves as the primary way to annihilate Babylon, with Nyabinghi music being the most integral form of it. Reggae developed from several other musical styles including ska, rocksteady, mento as well as American RB. Furthermore, although the majority of radio stations were situated in Florida or Louisiana, some were powerful enough to transmit their music as far as Jamaica therefore influencing the development of this genre. Only in the 1960s did Reggae become an officially distinct genre. Reggae is based on a musical approach characterized by accents on the off-beat which is identified as the skank. It also contains a heavy backbeated rhythm which means there is an emphasis on specific beats in a bar, an example of this in beats 2 and 4 in 4/4 time. This backbeat differs greatly from the usual strong African-based sounds and is not found in typical European or Asian music. The music is also frequently very straightforward, and occasionally it will be constructed and based upon no more than one or two chords. These simple recurring chord structures therefore add to the hypnotic effects of reggae. Reggae music consists of several instruments which include drums and other percussion, bass guitars and guitars, keyboards, horns and vocals. Furthermore the reggae drumbeats are usually selected from three major categories: One drop, Rockers and Steppers. In the first, the stress is fully on the third beat of the bar (typically on the snare, or joint with the bass drum). With Rockers beat, the stress is on the third beat as well as an accent on beat one (usually on bass drum) while in the last, the bass drum plays four solid beats to the bar, giving the beat an persistent force. There is also extensive variety of additional percussion instruments that are used in Reggae music. Bongos are often used in improvised patterns with African style rhythms but cowbells, shakers and claves also have fundamental roles in reggae music. Also, the bass guitar regularly plays a leading position in reggae and, united, the drum and bass are typically referred to as the riddim (Rhythm). The sound of bass in reggae is thick and heavy and the bass line is often an uncomplicated two-bar riff that is focused around its thickest and heaviest note. Another fundamental instrument in reggae music is the rhythm guitar which plays chords mainly on the second and fourth beats of a bar which, as written on the previous page, is a sequence of beat known as skank upon which reggae is largely based. Furthermore this instrument is played to produce a very short and scratchy chop sound which causes it to sound similar to a percussion instrument. From the late 1960s to the early eighties the piano was also a main feature in reggae music doubling the guitars skank rhythm, playing chords in a staccato style or occasional extra beats or riffs. From the 1980s onwards synthesizers were used to replace the piano, adopting organ-style sounds in order to achieve the choppy feel typical to this style of music. Another family of instruments utilized in reggae is the brass section, including saxophones, tr umpets and trombones. These often play introductions or counter-melodies but, in more recent times, are being replaced, along with the piano part, by synthesizers. In comparison to the other instruments and rhythm of reggae, the vocals are a more of crucial aspect of the genre. In fact they are distinct from other genres as they directly deliver specific messages to the audience, the nature of which will be discussed in the following paragraph. Many reggae singers use embellishments of various kinds such as tremolos (volume oscillation) or vibrato (pitch oscillation). Possibly the most fundamental part of Reggae is its lyrics, known for their tradition to cover various subjects including love, peace, religion, sexuality, relationships and socializing. Some of the messages sent to the audience via the lyrics are optimistic and upbeat, but they may also be of political significance as the singer attempts to increase the awareness of the audience to such matters. This is achieved by criticizing materialism or enlightening the listener with lyrics concerning controversial issues such as the Apartheid or human rights. Reggae song-writers mainly sing about one love and one world, unity and brotherhood of all mankind, the coming together regardless of diverse beliefs, and the hope of a new tomorrow. In addition Reggae lyrics are, as written in above pages, religion oriented, often discussing religious subject matter such as paying tribute to the Rastafari God, Jah. Other common lyrics are based on socio-political issues, for example the embrace of black nationalism, anti capitalism, criticism of political systems and Babylon which, as previously discussed, is the idiom used for the white political authority organization that has held back the black race for centuries. The lyrics in Reggae music remind the audience of the singers demand to gain freedom which in turn addresses the quest for freedom of all people who are oppressed globally. Robert Nesta Marley or more likely known, Bob Marley was born in a little countryside town in Jamaica on 6th of February 1945. He was a vocalist, performer, songwriter, and a pioneer to many because of his way of introducing reggae music to the world, and he still remains to be one of the most adored musicians to this date. Bob was the child of a black adolescent mother and a much older, soon after not present white father. His earlier years in the countryside village were spent in the community of St. Ann. This is where Marley meets one of his child-hood friends, and future collaborator in music, called Neville â€Å"Bunny Wailer† ORiley Livingston. They both attended the same school, and they mutually shared a love called music. Bob was encouraged to begin playing guitar thanks to Bunny. Nevilles father and Bob Marleys mother afterward had an affair together which resulted in all of them living together for some time in Kingston; this is according to Christopher John Farleys Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley. Marley in the late 1950s lived in Trench Town; this is one of Kingstons poorest neighborhoods. Even though the poverty influenced him a lot he still found motivation in the music that surrounded him. This is because there were a couple of successful musicians which were from Trench Town as well. Also as I mentioned before, many other sounds and music was broadcasted from America which many artists such as Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, influenced Marleys love for music. Bob and Bunny dedicated most of their time to music and under the supervision of Joe Higgs, a famous reggae musician in Jamaica, Marley tried to develop on his singing skills. Under the tutoring of Higgs Marley met another student, Peter McIntosh which later became Peter Tosh, who would play with Marley and Livingston later on, to be known as The Wailers. Approximately in 1962 a local record producer, named Leslie Kong, liked Bobs singing and produced a small number of singles for Marley, one of them being â€Å"Judge Not†. His small success as a solo artist, made Marley join and create a band with his two friends, Bunny and Tosh, to form the ‘Wailing Wailers in 1963. In January 1964 the first single that they all made called â€Å"Simmer Down† rose up to the top of Jamaican charts, at this point of the bands status 3 other members had joined the Wailing Wailers. These new band members included Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith. Even though the bands popularity was rising in Jamaica, they still had financial problems and this caused for 3 of the members to leave, these were Junior, Beverly and Cherry. The 3 original members went through a rough patch for a period of time and Marley moved to the United States where he married Rita Anderson on 1966. After some time Bob returned to his home, Jamaica and reunited with bunny and Tosh now form ‘The Wailers. At this point in Marleys life he started to develop and explore his spiritual side and his interest grew for the Rastafarian movement. At this point the Rastafarian movement had been in Jamaica over 30 years. In the late 1960s some of the songs that the wailers produced where â€Å"Trench Town Rock†, â€Å"Soul Rebel†, and â€Å"Four Hundred Years†. In the 1970s the wailers added two new members, Aston â€Å"Family Man† Barret and his brother Carlton†Carlie† Barret. They later got a contract with Island Records which resulted in the recording their first full album, Catch a Fire, and tour Britain and the United States in 1973. Burnin, their next album was released that same year and this album featured songs like â€Å"I Shot the Sheriff†. Their next album in 1975, Natty Dread, reflected some of the political problems that Jamaica was facing between the Peoples National Party and the Jamaica Labor Party. Some of the conflicts between these two parties can be seen in one of their songs â€Å"Rebels†, this song was inspired because of Marleys own firsthand experience of these conflicts. One sad fact about this album was that two if the original members left to pursue their own solo careers, these were Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. The bands and reggaes popularity was increased abroad when the band toured extensively now called Bob Marley the Wailers. They were joined by I-Threes which consisted of a group of 3 female vocalists, Marleys wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. Marley was starting to be on his way to becoming an international music icon and was already a much admired star in Jamaica. He entered the U.S music charts in 1976 with the album ‘Rastaman Vibration. His devotion to his faith and his interest in political change was reflected in one of his songs, â€Å"War†. The lyrics to this song where taken from a speech by Haile Selassie, the song discusses a new Africa, freedom, and racism. In 1976 there was an attempt of assassination on Marley because of his popularity and support of the Peoples National Party from the rivals. The night of December 3, 1976, a group of armed men broke into Marleys and the Wailers rehearsal before a concert. Marley and his wife were lucky and were just injured from gun shots but Don Taylor was shot 5 times and had to have surgery in order to save him. Even though the attempt of assassination had occurred, Marley still played at the show that night. The following day the Marleys escaped the country. The next year, 1977, Bob moved to London where he began to work on ‘Exodus. This song speaks about biblical stories of Moses and the Israelites leaving exile and comparing this to his own situation. This theme also links to another topic discussed in the song being returning to Africa, to the roots of Africans. This track was very popular in Britain and this song was followed with other successful songs like ‘Waiting in Vain and ‘Jammin. The whole album was very popular and stayed in the British charts for more than a year and is considered one of the best albums ever made. During 1977, Marley wanted treatment on a toe he had injured earlier that year, then discovering it to be cancerous cells on his toe. Bob required surgery for it to be removed in Miami, Florida. Even thought Marley and the Wailers were making Exodus they all recorded what would be released on another album, Kaya, which came out the following year, 1978. The two main records in this album were ‘Is This Love and ‘Satisfy My Soul, this record theme was love. Even after his last experience in Jamaica with an attempt of assassination he returned to Jamaica and in his One Love Peace Concert he made the two parties PNP and JLP leaders shake hands on stage, I think this shows the determination of Bob towards unity and love. That same year Bob visited Africa for the first time in his life. He visited places like Kenya and Ethiopia and obviously Ethiopia being more significant to him because of the relations with Rastafarianism. His next album portrayed a lot the unity of Africa and the end of the oppression there. Survival, the album, was mostly inspired from his visit to Africa. The next album which was release in 1980 was a huge success. Songs in this album like ‘Could you be loved and ‘Redemption Song, the latter song spoke about Marleys talents of how he combined poetical lyrics with social and political importance. One of the lines of the songs quotes ‘emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds this is a clear example of the play of words and how he directs the message directly at the audience. The cancer that had been discovered earlier in his toe had unfortunately spread across all of Bobs body while they were in touring around Europe and the united states to promote their album. During his tour in Europe Bob underwent treatment in Germany where we was able to fight the cancer for a couple months, but it then was shown that he did not have much to live. When this was known Bob Marley wanted to return to his homeland but unfortunately passed away before he could make it to Jamaica. He died on the 11 of May 1981 in Miami, Florida. In part of his memorial service his wife, Rita Marley, and the Wailers played one last time for him. Figures of more than 30,000 people paid their respects to the Jamaican hero whish had received a Medal of Peace from the United States that earlier year. Marley will always be remembered till the end of times as one of the first international singer to have come from the Third World. His music is still and will be popular and fortunately his inheritance is continued by his wife and children. Also many of his children have continued in the family business and have as well succeeded in the music industry. His fight for the oppression and poverty still continues thanks to an organization created by the Marley family called the Bob Marley Foundation. This organization helps in education, health, food, and development of countries which need help.

Responsibility :: essays research papers

Responsibilities are more important than Rights Everyone has rights and responsibilities. Rights are things that people are aloud to do. Responsibilities are things that people are expected to do. In this essay, I will be telling you some facts why responsibilities are more important in the society of Waknuk. The first point is David's father; Joseph Storm hates offences and blasphemies because of his religion. Next is Old Jacob thinks that rules should be changed in Waknuk because he wants it to be like when his father was around. Lastly Alan Ervin detects the thoughts and shapes group and that Sophie has a sixth toe. The people in Waknuk believe in responsibilities over rights. David's father, Joseph Storm, hates offences and blasphemies because of how he was brought up by his parents. David is talking about the people in his family. He is talking about his father and particularly about his strong religious beliefs. He said that offences are animals or plants that are deformed. His father hates offences and he kills them in a disgusting way because of his religion. David was explaining the process of how his father dealt with offences. "That was because an occurrence of an offence was sometimes an impressive occasion. Usually the first occasion that one happened was that my father came into the house in a bad temper. Then in the evening he would call us all together including everyone who worked on the farm. We would all kneel while he proclaimed our repentance and led prayers for forgiveness. The next morning we would be up for daylight and gather in the yard. As the sun rose we sang a hymn while my father ceremonially slaughtered the two headed calf, four legged chicken or whatever kind of offence it happened to be. Sometimes it would be much queerer than those†¦" (The Chrysalids Pg. 18) David's father thinks that it is a responsibility to kill any offences. He does this because that is what his religion has taught him to do and based on how he was raised by his parents. He therefore, has these feelings and does not know of any other way of thinking. At the same time he mentions that a blasphemy is a deformed human. His father hates blasphemies because they are similar to an offence; they are not animals or plants, but humans instead. "And if it happens among people it was a blasphemy.

The Principle

Legal moralism has been a principle that prohibits people from acting or engaging in things which are detrimental to the society with the use of laws and its enforcements. This includes laws which prohibit certain actions that can lead to several problems that may affect the whole social fabric. Such laws include those that prohibit the use of illegal drugs, prostitution and abortion. This actions or engagement in this type of acts may most likely affect the citizens in a rather negative matter that could destroy not only the participating individual’s life but also the lives of the people around him. In line with this principle is a principle that shall limit a person’s liberty through the use of customary rules prescribed by the society in which the person lives. It differs from the principle of legal moralism in the sense of â€Å"formality†. Restriction of Liberty While legal moralism is concerned about constitutional laws, this principle is more likely inclined to the limiting effect of customary moral rules which are more effective than legal laws. This principle shall from this point onwards be referred to as customary moralism principle. This type of principle acts in the same manner that legal moralism does. However, as stated above, traditional moralism is more effective than legal moralism. Its effectiveness lies on the way that it has been formulated. Compare and Contrast Unlike most legal laws which determines the right and wrong inscribed as laws of the society, customary rules and traditions determines the right and wrong principles which lies in the culture of a society. These rules have been tested through time and generation by the whole society. This is the reason why these laws are easier to understand. People find it efficient since it was directed and made through the use of actual and practical experiences. Unlike legal laws which are mostly hypothetical and less pragmatic. Legal laws are made by an assembly of men that shall represent the whole society in a conference or convention. Customary rules are prescribed mostly by elders, who have more experience than the present generation. Since these rules are based and may differ in experience, they are not implemented in the society in a forceful manner. Instead, society shall pick what rules are still beneficial and applicable in the situation. Thus, customary rules undergo practicality checks, every time the rules are being implemented or are being followed. Society: Laws versus Tradition It evolves with the society. It represents the society. People are more inclined to follow this principle not because of its force but because of customs and traditions. For instance, the introduction and the success of organizations such as the Cosa Nostra which is more popularly known as Mafia, prevails even after there have been several legal precautions and actions taken. The Mafia is an organization which is generally against the fascist regime that dominates the Italian region. Since it is an organization, it has several guiding principles and rules that enable the group to grow and survive. Accordingly, the Mafia acts as a second government in areas such as Sicily. The rules that were constructed or enforced by the Mafia are followed more religiously than the laws enforced by the government. Omerta, a favorite law in Mafia is the law of absolute silence that denotes an individual could not say anything that would expose the Mafia. Even, if it means that they could be incarcerated, tortured or even convicted, it was believed that the Sicilians would not tell a word or would deny anything he knows. Legitimate Traditional   Actions Actions which this principle might consider as legitimate are mainly actions which are traditionally been accepted by the general public that were made legal. In some country, prostitution is legal since it has been traditional. In the Netherlands, the use of â€Å"marijuana† is legalized. There are also some countries that legalize abortion if the fetus is not more than three months. These types of prohibitions by the law rooted from certain traditional beliefs and customs of the people. Traditional moral principles which have legal counterparts could be interfered by the law. However, there are certain traditional beliefs such as burning of animals for sacrifices wherein authority and law has no right to intervene. Commonly, traditional rules which are considered as legitimate are those which promotes the welfare of the society. This are the societal norms which are approved by the government and are thus legalize. Thus, the legitimacy of any traditional action depends on which government or country an action was made. Traditional Moralism versus Harm Principle and Paternalism Traditional also to fraternities are hazing ceremonials and rumbles. If Traditional moralism would be used, this type of action would be normal. However, of course, this would create problems in the legal realm. In such case this kind of actions shall be controlled by the proper authorities such that this would not cause death or other mass violence. This action would either fall in the harm principle or paternalism. It falls in the harm principle since it must be controlled or even not permitted if it induces harm to other people. It falls under paternal principle because there are laws which prohibit fraternity violence in able to protect the members of the fraternity from injuries by refusing to recognize fraternities who are recorded to conduct delinquently. While legal moralism is against actions such as gambling and prostitution, traditional moralism permits them. In this regard, traditional moralism could be seen to fall under the harm principle. Traditional moralism could also fall under paternalism in the sense that it is a guide for action through rules set by the majority of the society in able to control certain actions that would negatively affect the society. Defense of Traditional Moralism I believe that traditional moralism could effectively restrict freedom in able to promote the welfare of a society since it is constructed through convention by the society. It is more likely to be more effective since it commonly involves the norm within the society. Although this might create several factions in the society that might create their own traditions and customs, this kind of interferences might not be able to make it through the main stream culture. Failing to do so, these actions would be considered as deviant by the society in which their actions are not permitted. Traditional Moralism can also be viewed as a principle that acknowledge and encourage liberty, more than restricts it. This is not arguable and may in fact be true, more likely when the legal rules is composed of laws which is not suitable and is not agreeable with the society. Such as laws which are imposed only by the government or by another government in a particular country. This could best be demonstrated on colonized countries or in war-stricken country such as Iraq. The laws that the American government may not be suitable or efficient in the society such as in Iraq; in such case traditional moralism would be more beneficial and applicable than legal moralism. Reference Leighton, P. (2007). Paternalism and Legal Moralism. Retrieved on November 14, 2007. Retrieved from: http://www.paulsjusticepage.com/cjethics/2-limitsoflaw/harmprinciple.htm

A Dream Story – Creative Writing

Around me is long tall grass swaying slowly in the gentle breeze. Ahead of me is a thin path which meanders into the valley below me. Above me the clouds do not appear to be moving and each cloud seems to be looking at me expecting me to move. I tell myself I should, but the question is where? I want to move but my heart is telling me, change is ahead. I take a large deep breath of the clean, odourless country air. My legs begin to move. I have decided to follow the path which seems to have an abnormal atmosphere about it. As I begin to stroll forward I see naked trees with no leaves. The trees sway in the cold wind which makes them look as though they are shivering. The clouds above me are getting darker and darker; eventually they get as black as soot. All of a sudden creature like sky above me lets out a roar and its white deposits drift down onto me. It is snowing. As I continue to walk down the path questions begin to fly around me. How did I get here? Why am I here? Before I got here I was in my room listening to some music. All of a sudden an ear splitting noise besieged my ears. It was as if someone was drumming on my eardrums. Around me everything became a smoky mask. The world around me became a white blur. My eyes slowly shut into a midnight black world. When I awoke I had been transported into a setting that was very new to me. I began to think what I had just left behind I continued down the hill. I began to meander further and further down the path. At my feet the snow was starting to thaw out. Small flakes of snow on the ground were glistening in the bright sun as if they were saying â€Å"The joke's on you.† But why? It wasn't as if I had chosen to come here, wherever I was. Even when I was perched on the top of the hill, my path had already been chosen for me and that was the only direction I could go. What did this path symbolise? I would find out in due course. After another five minutes of constant downhill walking. I reached a small hindrance. A small transparent stream was blocking my path. It didn't really pose a large problem to me. All I had to do was to roll up my trousers and walk across it. For some weird reason, I was wearing sandals with no socks. When I was back in my room I had been wearing socks. All of the rest of the clothes I had been wearing were unchanged, so why the change of footwear? The water in the stream was surprisingly warm. In the water there was absolutely nothing. I dipped my head and I took a large gulp of the precious liquid, as I was desperately thirsty. My body was also cooled down. With fluid inside me I was ready to continue on my path. Around me trees were getting fewer and all that was around was tall grass. The only hill in sight was where I had come from, where I had launched my expedition into the unknown from. The path was beginning to get wider, smoother and easier to walk on. Perhaps I was getting somewhere significant. Maybe I was near the end of the path close to my friends and family. Was this all wishful thinking? Only time would tell. I started to walk faster. My walk grew into a jog. My jog grew into a run. My run grew into a sprint. All this because the path was getting wider and the surface was evening out. I knew something was ahead of me. I was beginning to tire. In the distance a barrier was slowly starting to form. What was I about to reach? I stood by the red and white wooden barrier which was blocking my way and preventing my onward journey. Why was it stopping me? Of course! I suddenly realised that it was a level crossing. On the floor in front of me were two iron parallel lines which were the train track. As it had just shut before my eyes a locomotive must be approaching. I looked left. Nothing. I looked right. Nothing. Again I looked left. Again nothing. Then I looked right and there it was chugging towards me. An ancient steam locomotive was coming towards me and out of the top of the engine steam billowed as if there were a hundred chimneys. The engine became louder and louder as it approached. Slowly it passed me. Gold letters shone out at me which read â€Å"Paul Sturrock†. Who was Paul Sturrock? All I could think of was that he must have been a great man to have had a fine locomotive named after him. Whilst I was daydreaming the train had almost passed by me. Should I get on the train? If I did where would I end up? The train might just go to some city I have never nor have any desire to go to. If I didn't get on the train I would just carry on the path to where ever I got to, but I would probably be safe. It was decision time. I ran past the red and white striped barrier. As this was an old fashioned train it wasn't going extremely fast. The rear carriage had a small platform where the conductor would stand. For some reason this train had no conductor. Come to think of it when I saw the train slowly pass me by there wasn't a driver by the looks of it. Perhaps though I was just imagining that. As I pulled my self up onto the black floor of the rear carriage I had a peek inside, there appeared to only be a handrail around the coach and a table with food coming from it. It was my favourite food roast beef with all the trimmings. I opened the door into the carriage. Nobody was inside. The smell of the warm Sunday lunch slowly drifted my way. I started to dribble at the thought of food. It must have been hours since I had eaten. I sat down on the comfy looking cushioned chair. It was beautiful. I could rest my feet which had recently clocked up many miles. I felt like I was a car who had just run out of petrol and who was just refuelling with delicious looking dinner in front of me. I picked up the shiny polished silver cutlery. I took a bite of the meat. It was exactly how I liked it. Not well done but not rare. It was the perfect medium to rare meat. I gobbled down the rest of the food very quickly. I now began to realise that somebody must have realised I was getting onto this train and must have cooked me the food. I advanced into the next carriage. Nothing. The next carriage. Nothing. The next carriage. Nothing. Finally in the last carriage I found a spotless kitchen. I begun to wander round it. In the oven there was no evidence that something had just been cooked. There were no finger marks on the stainless steel food preparation tables. On the floor something caught my eye. It was a note of places which were on this train's trip. I had heard of none of the places such as Jopwold, Southchester, Keele, Harow and the last place was simply named â€Å"The Wall†. Had we just stopped at one of these places before I got on? Were we heading back to the depot? I had no idea; all I could do is wait. Sitting down in an empty kitchen is hardly the most fun ever and it seemed to go on forever. I stood up looked in the cupboards there weren't even any spare ingredients so I couldn't even try and make some interesting food. Outside, there was nothing but the same tall, abysmal looking grass. I heard a high pitch screech as the train lurched me forwards. We were stopping. Were we at one of the stops on the piece of paper? As the train began to get slower and slower I stuck my head out of the carriage window. The train stopped. I looked left and right down the carriages to see if anyone was getting out. As I expected, nobody was. As I was leaning out, the door suddenly opened and I fell out crashing to the floor. I sat down where I had fallen waiting for the train to move on. Five minutes later it still hadn't moved. I presumed that I had reached â€Å"The Wall†. I looked around me. Where was this wall? I walked round the other side of the train. There it was. A glass wall stretching as far as the eye could see. On the other side of the glass wall was a black void with absolutely nothing in it. I knocked on the glass. It seemed very strong. I wanted to get through it. There was nothing round me to help me break through, just the same grass. Of course the table I had just eaten off on the train! I picked it up and carried it off the train. I pulled one of the legs off it and threw it at the glass wall with all my strength. It just rebounded off. I quickly pulled off the other three legs and hurled them at the wall but they just bounced off. I knew in my mind I had reached the end of the world.

Christianity in the Land of Santhals

There is considerable difference of opinion among Christians over the story of Creation. From the Catholic perspective God is ever present in some aspect. There are significant themes in the Bible, Moral Therapeutic Deism and â€Å"NOAH† that explicitly express distinct views of creation. The central idea in all three expressions is that God is in existence and created the world. However, the creation stories differ significantly regarding the purpose and reason of the world, more specifically human beings. The story of creation differs greatly throughout the Bible. The amount of altering views in the book of Genesis alone is astounding. Genesis is the study of beginning; the record of all creation along with sin. It is â€Å"mythic† in the way that it tries to make sense of the world. Genesis contains two creation stories. In chapter one and the beginning of chapter two, the first story expresses the stages of creation in six days, with each day expanding from the day before, until creation achieves its peak when God makes human beings in His image. In Genesis I, the world begins â€Å"in the beginning† of everything. From a void, God creates everything out of nothing. â€Å"1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.† (Genesis 1:1-2) God created light and darkness on day one, the next day He created the atmosphere and divided it from the oceans, on day three God created land, water and vegetation, the next day He created the sun, moon and stars, on day five God created creatures to fill the sky and water, on day six He created creatures to fill the land, and on the last day of creation God rested from all His work. The second story of creation centers around the creation of a human being. God took dirt and breathed life to create the world and humanity. In this Genesis story, creation was more experimental. This can be seen through His creation of Adam and eventually Eve. God seems to be enthusiastic about the world. Similar to Genesis I, God created humanity out of His love and kindness. â€Å"And God saw that it was good.† (Genesis 1:4) He plants a garden and creates animals to entertain Adam and Eve demonstrating how deeply He cares for them and all future humanity. Furthermore, when God created man and woman in His own image, the Bible says, â€Å"And God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good.† (Genesis 1:31) God was fulfilled with His creation and looking at it gave Him a kind of bliss. The Genesis creation accounts set up a specific problem by stressing the goodness of everything that God has made and continuously deny that the world is broken from the start by a battle involving the forces of good and evil. Although Genesis does not precisely state how evil enters the supposed to be good world, it describes how Adam and Eve introduce the idea of disobedience to God into creation. God in turn created unnatural curses on the future of humanity. These curses, including men to toil in the field, women to be ruled by their husband and experience excruciating pain during child birth, and the inevitable death of all creation, were meant to punish Adam and Eve for their sinful actions. As time advanced and sin expanded, humans eventually deviated so far from good that they started trusting in and worshipping other so-called divine beings. The record of the beginning of humans gradually developed to correspond with the life of transgression, violence and these new convictions. This can be seen explicitly in the movie â€Å"NOAH†. In this movie, the opening scenes make it apparent that God created humans to be good. Because mankind was becoming too sinful, God called upon Noah to build an ark that can sustain the flood that He would create to wipe out the human race. â€Å"NOAH† is a cinematic train wreck that expresses the de-creation story put in action by God. Certain scenes in this movie express how the human race has become nothing but violent. The main character, Noah, even states that he, along with his family, has the darkness inside him. This can be seen through the savagery toward animals and the treatment of women and children throughout the movie. In Genesis, God set a moral standard by which the human beings must live. Although, in the Bible, we know that both humans and animals have become violent, â€Å"I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.† (Genesis 6:13), ‘Morality' in other animals is simply their instincts. This can add to the claim in the movie that animals are entirely innocent and require protection from the immoral actions of humanity. Genesis places human life in accordance with the life of animals. The first story places the creation of mankind on the same day, day six, as the creation of animals. In â€Å"NOAH† there is an essential division between humans and animals. Instead of saving the human race, God orders Noah to bring two of each species on earth onto the arc to save the animal species. He does this because there is the idea that animals acquire an innocence that human beings clearly do not. This stresses that God saw animal kind as innocent and, in a way, above humans. In the first Genesis story, God created human beings to fill the Earth and order it. â€Å"God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.'† (Genesis 1:28) This verse describes God's purpose for the human race as being fruitful while subduing the Earth. Moral Therapeutic Deism proposes an elevated view of self. It is a very individualistic deism that has the idea that God wants humans to have â€Å"good† morals. The five beliefs of Moral Therapeutic Deism are that God exists and created the world, God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, the central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself, God does not need to be particularly involved in one's life except when He is needed to resolve a problem, and good people go to heaven when they die. The first belief is a direct contradiction to the Incarnation in Scripture. It holds the conviction that God made the world then pulled back from it turning away from human beings. The second belief also contradicts Scripture. Christ did not come to Earth to make unmoral men â€Å"good†. He did not come to us to reform us but to reclaim creation from the scourge of sin. Having a behaved people was not His objective. The third belief is a very self-interested idea because happiness means something different to every person. This claim that the end goal of a person's life should be to find happiness completely redefines the idea that God wants people to be nice, fair and kind considering that people can define these traits differently. In Scripture, God yearns for more than merely good behavior and occasional happiness. â€Å"Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.† (Matthew 5:19) The fourth belief also contradicts the Incarnation. God is involved in every aspect of our lives. The Kingdom of Heaven, along with God, is current and present. He is exceptionally active in the life and well-being of His creation. â€Å"Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.† (Genesis 28:15) This idea that God created the world and humanity just to leave it alone can also be seen in the movie â€Å"NOAH†. Repeatedly throughout the movie, Tubal-Cain curses God and is angered by the lack of communication between God and humanity. Except for Noah, who regularly claims to see and hear signs from God, human beings felt that they were, in a way, left in the dark. This caused them to act out and eventually believe that they could do anything they wanted including savagery. The fifth belief is also considered false by Scripture. Heaven is about being present and in constant communication with God. People do not go to Heaven, Heaven comes down to us. â€Å"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven.† (John 3:13)

Farewell My Concubine: Self-Identification in Context

Directed by Chen Kaige, a highly acclaimed fifth-generation Chinese film director, Farewell My Concubine has received many international film awards and nominations; among them are the Best Foreign Film and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993. In the film, Cheng Dieyi, a Peking Opera actor playing the leading female characters, becomes obsessed with his role as the concubine of the King of Chu and blurs his stage role with the real life he leads. The circumstances in which one grows up in are critical factors in shaping his or her sense of self-identity.This paper attempts to explore the gender identity troubles that Cheng Dieyi has undergone in his self-identification and sexuality in the context of the environment of his upbringing. The story begins when Cheng’s mother takes her son to Master Guan and begs him to take Dieyi (whose nickname was Douzi at the time) into his opera troupe. In order to be a performer in the Peking opera, one must not have any features that are abnormal or that may frighten the audience. Unfortunately, Douzi fails this test because he was born with a sixth finger on one of his hands.His mother was desperate to sell him off and thus cuts off her son’s finger with a cleaver. At this point, Master Guan agrees to accept Douzi as a disciple in his opera troupe. Master Guan notices that Douzi’s â€Å"features were surprisingly delicate; he was almost pretty† , which are perfect for playing female roles. Thus, Douzi is chosen as a dan , or the female lead of the opera troupe. He will play the female roles alongside his best friend, Xiaolou who was chosen to be his sheng, or male lead. Starting from even the earliest scenes of the film, Dieyi’s self-identity has been slowly ripped away from him.Dieyi’s abrupt transition from living in a brothel as a prostitute’s son to becoming a well-disciplined opera singer in the troupe is marked by his mother’s brutal amputati on of his sixth finger. This symbolic castration implies that one must abandon his inherited past in order to seek a new social identity. â€Å"The root of biological determinism has been severed and the subject freed to pursue a place in a symbolic world of gender fluidity† Dieyi’s finger is not the only thing that has been emasculated, but his self-identity has been castrated as well. The film hints at this in the beginning by including the character of Master Ni, a unuch who was physically castrated, losing his male reproductive organs. While Master Ni was physically castrated of his male reproductive organs, Dieyi becomes mentally and emotionally castrated through his harsh upbringing in the opera troupe. Whereas the symbolic castration signifies the possibility of Dieyi’s transition from a biological male to a stereotypical female, the harsh corporal punishment he receives during his training in the opera troupe enforces that transition. Corporal punishment is often used in schools to reinforce the relation between master and student.It instills in students a sense of the power of the social hierarchy and their place within it. Dieyi’s designated â€Å"place† on that hierarchy, sadly, requires that he learns to abandon his male identity. While corporal punishment remakes Dieyi mentally, costume and make up remakes Dieyi physically. As he performs in the long dresses and fancy headdresses, he sees himself capable of reflecting signs of beauty and femininity. He is forced to sing â€Å"I am by nature a girl, not a boy† , and his full transition to femininity went into full motion the moment he mastered this line and accepted it as the truth, that he is by nature a girl, not a boy.Like most of the male dans in the Peking Opera theatre, Cheng Dieyi must be able to create the illusion of a real female that appeals to the male audience, but Cheng’s femininity is apparent not only on stage, but off stage as well. Clearly, Cheng has fully adapted his female roles into his life off stage. He speaks in a low soft voice, his movements are graceful, maintains the delicate hand pose of the Lan huazhi (the artificial feminine hand pose of the male dan), and wears a seductive look that would often be considered a feminine gaze.Most male dans merely imitate these feminine acts on stage, but Cheng Dieyi gradually transforms these â€Å"acts† into an unconscious habit of his. â€Å"The repetition of the stylized female acts embedded in female impersonation and the rigid and violent regulation of these acts eventually bring about Cheng Dieyi’s unconscious identification with Yuji, concubine of the Chu King, constructing in him a feminine sexuality and identity. † Opera performers at the time were expected to play their stage roles for ife. Dieyi’s most notable performance is an epic opera named Farewell My Concubine; it tells the story of the King of Chu (Xiang Yu) and his fa ithful concubine Yuji. Xiang Yu knows that he has lost to his enemy and drinks with Yuji on the last night. Yuji performs a sword dance for him and then cuts her own throat with his sword to express her faithfulness to him. As Dieyi continues to play the role of Yuji into this professional career, he begins to blur the life of Yuji’s character and his own.This becomes very obvious when Dieyi begins to show signs of affection towards his stage partner, Xiaolou, who plays the King of Chu. In multiple times throughout the movie, Dieyi can be seen looking at Xiaolou with a tender, almost romantic gaze and is especially gentle when he helps Xiaolou apply makeup and dress in costume. His romantic feelings for his â€Å"stage brother† are translucent to the audience as he is overcome by jealousy at the news that Xiaolou was getting married to Juxian. He believes that Juxian is robbing him of what was rightfully his.As in the opera when Yu Ji and Xiang Yu swear their love to e ach other, what Dieyi sees is actually he and his stage brother declaring their loyalty to one another. While Cheng Dieyi wholly embodies the female roles he impersonates, the Peking opera stage is essentially the world in which he bases his identity on. As he enters his professional career and makes a name for himself, he thinks that he will always be able to hide behind his feminine charms, and that art will always transcend any situation.For a while, he is proven right. On one occasion, he sings for a Japanese official to help Xiaolou out of jail; in another, he sings for a Chinese official to bail himself out of jail. Duan Xiaolou reminds Dieyi again and again that life is not the stage and he must learn to adjust to the values of the changing times. The film covers a story that spans across 50 years of Chinese history: the rise and fall of the Nationalist Party, the Sino-Japanese War, the rise of the Communist Party, and the Cultural Revolution.As the nation goes through a turb ulent historical period, Cheng simply views it as a backdrop that would never affect his performances. He was never concerned about any of the political upheavals that occurred or the change in regimes. He felt that as long as his art is being appreciated, it does not matter who the political leaders are. When he was put on trial for being a traitor when the Communist Party was in power, he exclaims, â€Å"If the Japanese were still here, Peking Opera would have spread into Japan already,† with no regard to the consequences.The art of Peking opera has always been Cheng’s way of escaping reality, and it is this illusion that he identifies with. However, when the Cultural Revolution started in 1966, the identity he has found for himself has been robbed from him once again. The Cultural Revolution is one that advocates extreme reality, and thus traditional art becomes a target of exploitation for distracting people from reality. When Dieyi and Xiaolou are taken out onto t he streets to be reprimanded, his previous illusion that he and Xiaolou would never betray one another, just as Yu Ji and Xiang Yu would never do so, is shattered.Under the humiliation and physical abuse of the Red Guards, Xiaolou calls Dieyi a traitor to the Chinese and a homosexual. Cheng and Duan then turn on each other and expose incriminating details about each other’s past to the Red Guards. This political movement is in a sense, a rude awakening for Cheng. For the first time, it forces him to abandon the identity that he forged for himself on the opera stage, and accept that he lives in a world where loyalty is not always indestructible. It is because of this revolution that causes Dieyi’s blurred lines between opera and reality to slowly reappear.These lines, however, did not have a lasting effect. When Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou reunite on the stage many years after the Cultural Revolution, they make their final Farewell My Concubine performance. At the last scene, Dieyi, playing Yuji, takes the sword and slits his throat. Dieyi wanted so desperately to be Yuji his entire life, and he finally fulfilled that wish, or so he thinks, by boldly committing suicide just as Yuji has done so: for his love, and in a dramatic manner, like a stage opera should be.Cheng Dieyi had grown up with violence and abuse, in a society with constant political turmoil and turbulent changes. As a boy who was already an introvert to begin with, the unsettling changes that revolved around him became too overwhelming. He had no choice but to retreat into a world that he knows best: the opera stage. Though the opera stage is but a fictional world, it is the only place in which he is always the hero(ine).Works Cited Cui, Shuqin. â€Å"Engendering Identity: Female Impersonation in Farewell My Concubine . From Poetic Realm to Fictional World: Chinese Theory of Fictional Ontology (1999) Farewell My Concubine. Dir. Chen Kaige. 1993. DVD. Miramax Films, 1999. Goldstein , Joshua (1999). â€Å"Mei Lanfang and the Nationalization of Peking Opera, 1912–1930† East Asian Cultures Critique 7 (2): 377–420. He, Chengzhou. â€Å"Gaze, Performativity and Gender Trouble in Farewell My Concubine. † Nanjing University (2004): n. pag. Web. Poquette, Ryan D. , Critical Essay on Farewell My Concubine, in Novels for Students, Gale, 2004.

Greek and Persian Civilizations Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Greek and Persian Civilizations - Research Paper Example This discussion will be done by comparing and contrasting the aspects of the two cultures and finding the differences that each civilization wrought on the world. Social history methodology will also focus on the development of the political systems of the two civilizations, the agricultural and economic development that led to the recognition of the two civilizations. The Greek culture is the main influence on current development in social cultures and political systems, since the culture introduced a myriad of social and political development. This culture can be traced back to the legacy of early civilizations in the Middle East towards Egypt (Balcer 259). The Greek culture was mostly formed by the assimilation of other cultures through the acts of warfare and defeat of other cultures. The spread of the Aegean civilization through the realms of the Middle Age was followed by a destruction of the early civilizations by European invaders, but the Greek civilization continued to grow . By the year 800 B.C, the growth of Greek political and social systems led to the development of a completely new civilization; the Greek empire, led by different rulers. The Greek empire transcended many borders, and by 400 B.C, Greek culture and politics had permeated most of the world. The development of the Greek culture throughout world civilizations was mostly encouraged by the war-seeking nature of the ancient Greek rulers; the kings and leaders believed in a system of conquering all other powers in the world, therefore, the Greek civilization spread rapidly and effectively. This led to the assimilation of the Greek culture in most civilizations, which is why the Greek culture is the most common form of ancient historical culture. Conversely, the development of Persian civilization can be traced back to 2000 BC, when the Middle Eastern region was encroached by different civilizations (Spielvogel 432). Before the development of the Persian culture, the Middle Eastern region w as covered by different cultures, until the immigration of three main cultures in 2000 BC. The three cultures were the Scythians, Medes, and the Persians. The development of the Persian Empire followed a constant approach of wars and tragedy before the culture was fully ensconced in the Middle Eastern region, and led to the development of the Iranian culture. The development of the Persian Empire followed a different path from the development of the Greek empire; the political and social systems were differentiated by the values of the current leaders in the system. These two cultures were influential in the development of different religious, artistic, cultural, and social norms as are understood in the current civilization period. The Greek civilization was also a major aid in the development of the Western civilization, with the introduction of the different aspects that are characteristic of the Western civilization. The development of the Persian Empire can be traced back to th e political advancement of the first rulers (Spielvogel 432). The first rulers of the Persian Empire were Cyrus the great and his son around 550 BC, who helped to develop Persia into a great political and economic civilization. The influence of the two leaders was seen after the