Thursday, April 14, 2011
A whole lot of "others."
I'm really lovin the theme of the class, because you can find alone as the theme of so many books, plays, and films. And lo and behold, I watched a movie last night that really had me thinking about being an "other." The film was "Babel," and it's plot holds four different stories of people from different cultures. The film follows the individuals by depicting them as outsiders-- one story following a tour bus of Americans in Morroco, another depicting a Mexican housekeeper bringing two american children to Mexico, another following a deaf-mute asian teenager struggling in a busy city full of sound, and finally a young Moroccan boy who has shot an American tourist. I think this film paints a realistic picture of our world's inability to communicate between cultures, and possibly suggesting that we are always an outsider out of our own culture. This is sad to me. Why can't people be more understanding? More willing to trust others? And especially, more willing to accept others? I foresee a lot of travel in my lifetime, and I hope that I don't spend that time as a constant outsider. Do you think this is the case?
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Very interesting and relevant expecially to many of the stories we are reading, which all have some form of abnormality relating to communication problems (the boss and Bartleby, the town and Emily, the kid and his "Jimi Hendrix" obsessed father, and etc.). I do believe that there is an inability for cultures to communicate not just because of language but because of many other life styles and differences, but i don't think it's always the case that one is considered to always be an outsider; however, you are right; i wish people could be more accepting. I don't think that you'll have a problem with being an outsider as long as you keep accepting people and being kind as you are now.
ReplyDeleteI think it often relies on the person that is new to the culture. If they are open and assimilate to what everyone else around them is doing, then they won't have a problem. However, if the outsider sticks to his/her own culture, others will assume they are trying to force the new culture on them, and they will resist, perhaps physically. No one wants to be told their culture is wrong.
ReplyDeleteThis movie does sound very fitting to the loneliness theme in our College Lit class. Both of these stories immulate the struggles of being an outsider, but this movie sees being an outsider due to your nationality or skin color which people can be outcasted for. Traveling the world would be cool and hopefully you do not run into those outsider-like situations.
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