Storytelling of Arabic Nations

Our class was lucky enough to have Professor Zaru attend and lecture about story telling in Arabic nations.    Something I really found helpful was her introduction in which she defined what the 'Arabic World' was in terms of geography, and man was my idea wrong! By clearing up this incorrect idea I had in my mind, it made the rest of the lecture run so much more smoothly, especially when she spoke about other nation's influences on the Arabic storytelling.


The one thing I did really grasp from the lecture was the frame story of 'One Thousand and One Nights' and the meaning of the title. Prior to Thursday's class, I watched the beginning of a comedic movie titled 'A Thousand and One Nights' and the opening credits led me to believe that the frame story was that a women  pushed off her execution for 1001 nights by telling a different story every night, and that was it.  It led me to believe nothing of love or happiness.  It led me to believe that on the 1,002 night, the girl was executed because she ran out of stories, but Professor Zaru taught our class different.  Basically, the it is titled in the way it is because a girl pushed off her execution for an infinite amount of nights and led the King to eventually find love in her and stop his violent acts of sexism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2awC8NuA8iw

(YouTube Video I Previously Mentioned)

From this, she reminded me of the effects of Hollywood and the idea that not everything can be trusted and/or assumed.  

The other aspect of her lecture that I greatly enjoyed was the intrigue left in one's mind by the mystical magic carpet.  I know the magic carpet from Disney's Aladdin but I realized it is much deeper than that.  The idea of it is magical and I wish I had a magic carpet!  It has so much meaning and depth and personality to it making what seems to be a basic carpet a personified, magical object. 

(http://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/g/genie.asp)

This cartoon I found funny as it combined the mystical quality of the magic carpet with the present issues of our time, such as forms of transportation, especially with multiple children in the household.  From the lecture, Professor Zaru made clear to me that Arabic storytellers are sometimes creating current versions but, generally, the original stories passed down from as long as one can track down, old Arabic stories are culturally strong and these new stories, although entertaining and spark interest, it is the original tales that create the true bond among Arabic Nations.

Story Telling of Kenya

Dr. Ochieng' K'Olewe's lecture on Kenyan storytelling was probably my favorite lecture to date in class. I think this is because the class was less about learning about folk tales but rather experiencing them.  I loved how the doctor turned off the lights and told the stories as they were told to him.  The incorporation of music was very interesting and, even though I do not sing because of my terrible ability, I did sing along and am so happy that I had the experience to sing in a foreign language and be part of the stories that he brought to class.


In particular, my favorite "Importance" of African folk tales is to explain phenomenons.  One of my favorite examples of this is the story of 'How the Ostrich Got His Long Neck."  I liked how there was a question about the neck of the ostrich and, with no real explanation, a folk tale was created to explain the unexplainable.  I prefer this reason behind a folk tale more that morals because it is original and the unexplainable is very interesting to me and something I research regularly in my free time.

http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/findaids/marciaimages.htm

The other thing I enjoyed about his lecture was his discussion on the use of riddles in African cultures to incorporate the importance of knowledge in every day activities.  The riddle he told in class had to do with three people crossing the river, but I did find a website with many riddles from Kenya, one in which I particularly liked: 

Riddle: My lamp illuminates the whole world.

Answer: The Moon

(http://www.blissites.com/kenya/culture/riddles.html) - Website of Kenyan Riddles

http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0650.html

I particularly liked this riddle because it brings everything we have discussed in class back together.  The idea of folk tales being common the world around, story telling taking place at night, the presence of education in stories, and so on. 

Overall, the lecture opened my eyes to different cultures and their use of folk tales as I was able to experience it for myself as opposed to reading or hearing about it. Dr. Ochieng' K'Olewe painted a clear picture of how stories were told in Kenya and allowed the class to experience first hand and get involved.  It almost made me feel like I was in a Kenyan village hearing and experiencing the story.  It brought all the stories we read into perspective and made me really think about the story telling habits of the various cultures of whose folk tales we read.

...and that is the end of my blog.

Dr. Johnson-Ross Presentation

In class on Thursday, Dr. Johnson-Ross presented on the African American Storytelling tradition but much of her focus landed on The Brownies Book, which I had never heard of before.  The concept of it reminded me of my beloved Highlights Magazine that I grew up with, and still look at whenever I go to a doctor's office and they are there. The concept of the book was intriguing to me as it not only incorporated African American pieces. It attempted to teach about a wide variety of cultures and people, bringing the world together.


By far, what I most enjoyed about The Brownies Book was that it contained a piece in each publication in which they highlighted a child in the community who achieved something great.  What I loved about this was that, in the reading Dr. Johnson-Ross gave us, it described that this achievement could have been something as simple as doing well in school or being polite to others.  I thought this was a great thing as I thought the editors brought achievement down to an attainable level and did not promote achievements that many of the readers could not achieve or are of monetary value.  For example, they did not highlight someone in the community that became independently wealthy and went on to buy great things but, they promoted average kids who did great things for themselves, even if it is something as simple as doing well on a test in school.


The stories that the professor had us read were interesting as well and I especially enjoyed the input of animals as opposed to people.  Something funny happened after class though... 


I was watching The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and ironically, he had a 'folk tale' type author on his program.  The author, David Sedaris said he decided to write his book after hearing South African orally told folk tales and thinking, 'I can do better.' Unfortunately, I have not been able to read his book but I doubt he told the stories better, but rather in a different manner. He most likely created more relevant stories for his audience and made them humorous. I think maybe he said he could do better more as a joke for the comedic news program, it is on Comedy Central anyway.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-november-4-2010/david-sedaris

(Interview Clip)

Back to Dr. Johnson-Ross' presentation... I genuinely enjoyed all she had to say. My favorite aspect was by far her description of the story "The People Could Fly" in which the moral is: If you believe, you can achieve.  I absolutely love this idea that anything is attainable, as it also goes along with the meaning behind The Brownie Book. 

http://www.audiobooksonline.com/The_People_Could_Fly_American_Black_Folktales_Virginia_Hamilton_unabridged_cassettes.html

The images from that story had so much expression as well, and this is another reason why I enjoyed the African American folk tales. Many of the written versions we read contained images, and these images expressed more than the written word ever could.  Generally, I learn visually and through images and therefore the images presented during the class left a strong impact on me making me enjoy the presentation that much more.

Rise Tales... Do they exist in real life?

Honestly, I have no clue if Cinderella stories or Rags to Riches stories exist in real life following the motifs we read in the Cinderella stories for class, so I hope to work my way to a conclusion about this question.

I do know that aspects of the Cinderella motif exist in real life, such as mistreatment of a child or an average girl marrying into wealth but I have been unable to find, let alone believe, in the chances of someone being raised like a slave and mistreated and rescued by a wealthy suitor. I would not doubt the chances of this happening, but the chances are very slim, especially in this lifetime, that a mistreated person would be rescued from a 'prince'.

In the same sense, I do believe that Rags to Riches stories do exist in real life, but I do not know of any that happen overnight. They all require hard work and motivation to reach that 'Riches' status. For example, Bill Gates did not become a multi-billionare overnight. With hard work he gradually gained money and finally reached the status in which he is currently held. In the same aspect, many of these real-life Rags to Riches stories are mis-told and therefore misinterpreted.

http://www.cracked.com/article_16989_6-inspiring-rags-to-riches-stories-that-are-bullshit.html

The above link shows the falsehoods of six of the most popular Rags to Riches stories among the world today. They describe the real uprising of Abraham Lincoln as well as the real reason Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. 

These arguments give me doubt that Rags to Riches stories even exist to the magnitude that we give them. Many who come from Rags to Riches do not even really come from 'Rags' at all but rather come from average families from their time and become something greater then they might imagine, but they rarely come from 'Rags' in which they are suffering greatly.

Cinderella 'Rags to Riches' Costume 

(in the spirit of Halloween)

I do believe that 'Cinderella type stories' do exist but not in the exact style of the motif we all believe from reading these fairy tales. For example, an aspect of the Cinderella motif we all know so well may exist in real life, but the rarity of the exact tale happening realistically is so minuscule that its rarity will almost make it seem impossible. But I do believe that anything is possible and Fairy Tales are based off of reality so this motif is possible but at the same time, it is also a Fairy Tale and anything and everything is possible in a fairy tale.

Midterm Take Home Assignment

This is the dialogue between the Grimm’s Little Red  Cap and the Ogre from Perrault’s “Little Thumbling”. The two met in a coffee shop (since Little Red Cap is too young to be in a bar) and discussed their experiences.

Ogre: “Hello, how are you? You are Little Red Cap aren’t you? You are one of the most popular fairy tale characters!” (Little Red Cap ignoring him) “Of course, you wont talk to me, I lost my kids and my money and now a mere acquaintance in a coffee shop.”

LRC: “I did not mean to offend you Ogre, but I learned a very important moral at the end of my tale. I should not trust just anyone, even those that appear kind and gentle.”

Ogre: “Well I am sorry you feel that way. My tale had a written moral at the end and it only applied to the hero, Little Thumbling. Unfortunately my author did not leave any room for interpretation for a lesson and moral of the story.”

LRC: “I’m sorry ogre. The interpretation is the best part of my tale. You said you lost your family? Did Little Thumbling do this to you?”

Ogre: “Why, yes. He deceived me into killing my own daughters and tricked my wife into giving him all we had with my boots that he stole, my symbol of authority. He thought I was a danger to him but what he didn’t realize was that I was doing everything in my nature to protect him.”

LRC: “Like the hunter did for me? He saved me and my grandmother.”

Ogre: “Well see... I do what I need to get what I want. I tend not to think. I’m like the Id if you will.”

LRC: “I see. You can’t help yourself.”

Ogre: “I used to. I resisted Little Thumbling and his brothers until the middle of one night and I could not help myself and I accidentally killed my own daughters. (Tearing up) Since then, I refuse to eat human flesh to never put myself in that situation again.”

LRC: “How noble of you! Wait a second... the wolf that tried to eat me and my grandmother couldn’t help himself? It was part of his nature to trick me and eat me?”

Ogre: “Yes, unfortunately some of us villains never grow out of it and suffer the consequences. I was lucky enough to move on and my author allowed me to live in honor of my children.”

LRC: “That is so nice. Well, I have to go. I need to bring some coffee to my grandmother.”

Ogre: “Well, let me walk you there. The city can be a much more dangerous place than the forest.”

LRC: “Why thank you, that would be lovely.”

As they were walking, the ogre pushed Little Red Cap into an alley and ate her. The Id triumphs everything and will do anything to get what it wants, even if that is trick a girl and lie to her about your morals.

Pictures:

1. 
   

1. I decided to draw a scene from “Little Red Cap” by the Grimm brothers. For some reason, the scene I depicted has stuck with me through all the stories and has been the most prominent scene for me through all the stories we read. Its ending varied greatly from all the other Little Red Riding Hood type stories and the act of revenge was not as obvious in all the other tales, Little Red Riding Hood or not, as it was in the Grimm’s Little Red Cap. I drew Little Red Cap, her grandmother, and the hunter filling the sleeping wolf’s stomach with stones so that once he awakens, his stomach will be too heavy and he will consequently collapse and die. In some tales, the villain does die, but either for protection, such as in “Goldflower and the Bear”, or for some other reason. Never has the villain died because the hero inflicts something on them that will lead to their imminent death. The fact that the grandmother and Little Red Cap filled the wolf’s stomach, in which they were just inside, with stones, it is something very iconic and special to the Grimm’s story, therefore I thought it would be a very good representation of the story.

(Click to Enlarge)

This is my graffiti image of the Juniper Tree.  It is a story that I really enjoyed.  I incorporated many of the motifs and symbols subtly in the image.

(Click to Enlarge)

Storytelling in ASL

Our class this week had the pleasure of learning about story telling in American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf culture in the United States.  Dr. Rust and Dr. Rose left a very strong impression on me about the language as a whole.  I always thought of American Sign Language in terms of English.  As all languages, I translate words and signs into English and then string them together to form an english sentence that I can understand.  Hearing the lecture from these two professors made me realize that ASL has its own structure and grammar and is its own language and not just a translation of English.  I always had respect for the language, do not get me wrong, but I think the name (American Sign Language) automatically made me think English Sign Language since English is the dominant language in the United States. I am proud to now say that I know better, thanks to the presentation and I now realize that all the sound and descriptions I  have taken for granted in the past can be achieved in ASL as it leaves such a vidid image in the audience's mind.

What I was most impressed about was the deaf's ability to poke fun at their hearing counterparts as a way to not only entertain but to bring the hearing and not to the same level in society.  For example, they told a story of a Cuban, a Russian, and an American on a train with the idea being that there are too many hearing people in America.  I loved the fact that the non-hearing can poke fun at the hearing and have become an equal part in society, although they do get away with some speeding tickets as I have learned.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZjah32LoW0

This is a clip of the Coda Brothers in a comedy routine making fun of all the things hearing people do.  Unfortunately I do not understand what they are saying but just from their facial expressions, I know that they are greatly enjoying themselves.  Also from the comments, I believe one of the things they make fun of is the game charades.  In the game, people try to clue at a word without speaking.  Deaf people can easily make fun of this game as hearing have no way of doing this other than making obnoxious movements and in the end, looking quite silly to a deaf person. Now thinking about it, charades is a pretty funny game since there is a certified language that can be used in its place.

What else I found interesting is I found a deaf version of you-tube, Deaf-Tube (http://www.deaf-tube.com/).  This makes me happy as not only is telephone communication becoming available for the deaf, but the internet has made strides to make materials easily accessible for the deaf. 

 ASL Telephone

(http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/08/deaf-students-sign-language/)

Playing softball in college, we played Gallaudet University last season and I really appreciated all the hardships deaf people deal with but they are always proud of their accomplishments and are fully capable. For example, our team beat them by quite a bit but following the two games, they were the more happy team. They were happy to have the chance to play at the college level and go out and do what they love. They cheered for each other and they always signed until they were aware that everyone on the field was aware of the sign.  I was amazed by all that they were able to do and this was further clarified by the presentation of Dr. Rust and Dr. Rose.

Overall, I was amazed by the deaf culture and story telling in ASL and if I ever get the chance, I would love to take some classes to further my knowledge of the subject and I would recommend it for others as well.

Fairy Tales at the Zoo!

Over Fall Break, I went to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.  Right in the entrance was a display depicting Hansel and Gretel!  It was interesting to see in the zoo as it is not anything I was expecting.  As we continued to walk through the zoo, I kept my eye out for other fairy tale themed halloween displays, but this was the only one.  Since it is nearing Halloween, now I will keep my eye out for other displays depicting some of the fairy tales we have read, or costumes depicting characters! 

(Lindsey has another picture on her blog!)