CSUSM Gamelon Concert

I was very surprised when I found myself not enjoying the concert as much as I thought I would. I feel really bad admitting this. I usually love indigenous music and alternative styles, but somehow I did not love it.  At least the sounds of it.

However, I can appreciate the cultural meaning of it. I love that they play the instruments on the ground and with their shoes off to show respect for the sacred and blessed instruments. I thought it was incredibly interesting (and rare) that the music had two separate melodies that contrasted each other. But I think my favorite thing about Gamelon music is how the endless circle of rhythm in each song reflected the cultures religious beliefs.

The belief of reincarnation in Hinduism has always been a fascinating subject to me and I respect it very much. I love the idea that we have multiples lives. The concept of having multiple life-long chances for doing good and multiple chances for improvement is a beautiful thing. This was symbolically shown in the music as the melody constantly circled around and around again throughout the song. It made it sound like a repetitive dream soundtrack, which is cool to think about in relation to reincarnation as a bunch of repetitive dreams.

Chasing Ice

Wow. This documentary was effective. Please watch it, and share it with everyone.

James Balog is an inspiring fellow, and a exceptionally talented photographer. I have always been inspired by photography, but lately I have become so busy with other things that I have forgotten how incredible and powerful of an art form it is. I used to just sit and look at photos in every moment of my spare time, soaking up the beauty of the landscape, the portrait, whatever it may be. I loved the lighting, the composition, the color and the lines. But I also loved interpreting the image in multiple different ways. It was the most beautiful and amazing thing about photography. I was captivated by idea that the image that I was looking at could mean so many different things and tell whatever story I wanted it to. Sadly, I had about forgotten this hobby of mine, until I watched Chasing Ice. James Balog reminded me how amazing it can be to observe photos, but he introduced it to me in a completely new way.

With the story he unraveled, and the images he created… I was lead to view his images through the specific lens he suggested. I saw the images in reaction to the journey he was pursuing and interpreted them from the passionate cause he shared with us. I found that that is just as powerful of a way to look at a group of images. Knowing the backstory. Knowing the sacrifice. Knowing the passion. Knowing their weight and their purpose. I was backed into a corner of inspiration and belief because of this movie. There are not an infinite number of ways I could interpret these photos. There are not a million different stories to tell. There is one story to be told and these photos demanded that everyone understand it.

Through these photos, I have become so in love with the glaciers. Through these photos and their backstory, I have become so inspired. It deserves to be seen, it deserves to be heard. We, as humans, have a track record of arguing about things. But it has got to stop. We do not have any time to waste on arguing.

“You cannot divorce civilization from Nature”- James Balog

We have to stop pretending like we can ignore nature and carry on with civilization. Pay attention to the air, pay attention to trees, but most of all, pay attention to the ice. The story is in the ice.

Eliasson and the Green River

I was inspired by the way Eliasson explained the movement and space within the world we live in. When he puts green into rivers around the world, it shows that people truly do make a difference. People have an effect on water, on air, on the earth. And most of all, it shows that what people do… spreads. As the green color in the river slowly moves throughout it, it shows the changes happening over time. It shows the sense of space and time and consequences.

I think this is something that people need to be more aware of. Most pollution is not visible to people and this creates a sort of compliance and non responsibility that is the true problem for our earth. Green swirling water gets everyones attention and brings to light the effect we can have.

Class insight 11-19-14

American Indian Film Festival 2014

Thursday night at the American Indian Film festival we viewed “Rhymes for Young Ghouls”. Throughout the law few years of learning about the culture, I have grown to love and respect them. However, this film caught me off guard. It was powerful and insightful yet also blunt, terrifying, gory, and emotional. It explained many of the tragedies experienced on reservations; racism, addiction, alcoholism, forgetfulness, violence, fear and poverty. A certain scene in the film really made an impression on me as one of the main themes; the suppressed life as a Native American. As the family went to go visit the mothers grave, it was one of thousands and not one grave was labeled or named. This is a classic example of the lack of respect that society had for Native American’s. They were not labeled as actual people, and not worthy of remembering.

The entire story line was designed around Aila trying to stay out of the forced residential schools. The schools were mandatory to attend and run by sadistic white catholic males who forced out any trace of tribal culture, clothes, religion, language and hope. The goal was to assimilate the savage into white society so that eventually there would be no pure Native’s. This is a heart breaking aspect of American History, and I loved the intimate and surreal way that Alia explained it. She was caught and put into solitary confinement in the residential school, and her thoughts were profound:

“I wonder how many ghosts wander these halls… or those who got out alive, but ruined all the same.”

Having your culture stripped from you is essentially taking apart your very soul. She alluded to the fact that many kids did not survive these torturous schools, but even those who did survive, did not survive as themselves. They were a new person, contaminated with white ways and left wondering meaningless.

Billy Elliot

I think this may have been my favorite film I have seen this fall; and for one simple reason. The emotion was so intensely real. It truly hit close to home for me. I could feel the burden of a partial love from the father. I could feel the chaotic ball of nervous energy every time he snuck out to dance, and even more so each time he found himself face to face with a hateful expression of his father catching him doing so. These emotions are torture to endure, and I loved seeing a character endure them so gracefully and bravely. The contrast of the excruciating pain of home life with the brilliant comfort of true identity was powerfully displayed though out the film. The journey that Billy went on to find himself was beautiful, and inspiring. I love his passion. I love his bravery. He never backed down in the face of cruelty, or suppression. The more he danced, the more he understood about himself, and the more bravery was built inside of him. He said it perfectly:

“When I am dancing, it’s a change in my whole body. Like electricity.”

I think it is very important to be able to embrace oneself like Billy did in this film. I adored the emotions (good and bad) that exploded off of him as he danced on the roof tops. He loved himself every moment he was dancing, and he didn’t care what anyone thought about it. This is something of value. Let us all embrace who we are in our most vulnerable, electric state. That is who we are, and that is who we deserve to be.

Theresa and Leanore- from Baja, California

I absolutely loved learning from such genuine, sweet, knowledgeable ladies of such an interesting culture. Listening to the native language of Kiliwa was a breathtaking experience. Even though I had not idea what was being said, I was engaged the entire time. Only 5 speakers of this language left in the world, and I feel privileged to have met and listened to one of them.

What I love most about indigenous cultures is the undeniable appreciation for the land they display at all times. I become inspired each and every time I learn about how they treat the land around us. It is so contrastingly different than how our european ways led us to treat our land. I wish we (as a whole) could respect the indigenous enough to repeat and learn from the ways in which they use the land respectfully.

Their relationship is always symbiotic. When they use part of a plant, they always trim it in a way that will foster its growth even more than before. When they take from any part of nature, they spend the extra time to bless it, explain the reasons for use, offer an apology and thank it wholeheartedly. This sort of respect is beautiful to me, and it is sad to say how forge in it seems. Our culture should treat our precious land like it deserves, and the culture these ladies live in displays a perfect example of how this can be done.

Smoke Signals

I thought this film was a very clever way of communicating many wonderful insights into the Native American Culture and their struggles. It used numerous cheesy jokes to lighten the mood about some seriously harsh issues throughout their history. Jokes about needing to get their vaccinations, being careful about signing any papers, wishing they were more organized when Columbus arrived, and how cowboys always won. They even were laughing about the chance of going to jail just because you were simply an “Indian in the 20th century”. As a student who has spent a few semesters studying the history of Native American Culture after european colonization, all of this tugs at my heart a bit. Even though it was presented in such a light hearted way, their unfair history was constantly on my mind. The alcoholism presented in the film made me frustrated as I reflected on how this was also an effect of the white men’s colonization. Often times white men would give large amounts of alcohol to the Native’s before they would ask them to sign treaties and “sell” the land. Thus, a large reason for alcoholism running in the Native culture is because of this, and it makes me really sad to think about. I could go on all day about the injustices and how it has negatively impacted the tribal communities, but that is not what the film was about necessarily.

What I thought was really beautiful portrayed in the film, was the storytelling. The ability to have oral historical records, and have such fantastic elaborative storytelling skills is a fascinating thing to see. I respect this part of their culture so much, and loved seeing this skill in the various characters throughout the film. I enjoyed Thomas’ character because he displayed a hopeful, positive, curious, friendly and imaginative aura that I think is common for Native Americans. Interestingly, I thought the movie did a wonderful job contrasting the two characters (Thomas and Victor) perspectives to create a dynamic plot and development. I also thought it was great how the film went back and forth between the past and present so seamlessly to tell the entire background of the story as we went along. This along with the dynamic of the characters allowed me to connect with Victor and get inside his head and understand the emotions tied to the struggles.

ART:21 Series

I thoroughly enjoyed learning about all the artists explored in class last week while watching the ART:21 series. I loved seeing so many diverse mediums, and so many unique journey’s of artistic exploration and expression. But overall, the incredible sense of creativity displayed really pushed the boundaries on how art can be shared effectively an interactively.

I have sat here for 20 minutes trying to chose which artist to share my thoughts about, and I cannot distinguish what inspires me most. So, here are some of my favorite aspects: Enjoy!

I loved how El Anatsui taught me that art does not have to be permanent. He created such beautiful displays of bottle caps which had incredible textures and a wonderful sense of liveliness. But the best part was that he would go ahead and move them around every once in a while to create new movements and evoke new feelings. Art should not be stagnant. We should not be confined to create a piece that closed off from any inspirations of adaptations. Art should be ever-changing, inspired to share new things each day. This is what I loved about El Anatsui.

Mark Bradford embraced his audience in so many original ways. The music and mirror filled corridors where he implemented old city signs to tell everyday stories seems breathtaking to experience. The way he was able to get these street signs to tell stories was so creative and allowed connections to be made. Overall, he seemed to have such a profound happiness that effected his work and I truly appreciate the positivity he spreads to everyone he meets. My favorite aspect of his art was his use of his sense of humor to help him perform a commentary of persistence using a hoop-skirt while playing basketball. This is the kind of free-spirited creativity that I am inspired by.

Lastly, I really need to point out something that Barry McGee said. I thought it was so true and should not be overlooked.

“Graffiti is not damage. A commercial jingle being stuck in my head… that’s damage.”

So many people blindly think that graffiti is a horrible act of destruction on property. But, when you think about it… so is most media and advertising we consume each day (like commercial jingles). Our brains are constantly being fed garbage from every direction. This is beyond our will, beyond our control. Yet, we do not seem as bothered by the damage it is doing to our psyche. The pressures to fit in; dress a certain way, act a certain way, eat a certain way, buy certain things… are all damaging the purity and potential of who we are as individuals. We should not let the media damage our minds and define who we are.

And in turn, like Barry suggests, we should not think of graffiti as damage. It is rather an act of individualism expressed to the public that should be appreciated.

Class insight 10/29/14

Whale Rider

This film was quite an emotional journey for me. I really appreciate the values it brought to surface. For most of the film, my heart hurt for Paikea and the injustice and trials she was living through. The words and actions of Koro (her grandfather) were beyond hurtful. To watch how the effects of his skewed expectations hurt those around him was torturous for me. It is unfair to put so much emphasis and pride in solely the chosen males of the group while disrespecting and ignoring the females. It angered me. I constantly was asking myself why Paikea chose to stay around. Why did she endure so much for such little respect and love in return?

The turning point in the film gave me my answer. Paikea’s speech taught me the intricacies of her character, and for the first time in the film, I could understand the emotions driving her passion. My mind was blown when she spoke the words through muffled tears, claiming the love and respect for her grandfather despite everything. This kind of admiration is beautiful, a type that comes without judgement, without grudge. She displayed such perfect respect, even though she received none in return. That is something so rare and profound I can barely begin to comprehend it. I loved her inspiration, her drive, and her spirit. Her power was full and large throughout her speech even though she was otherwise submerged by the constraints of expectations of her gender. I loved the tenderness she displayed, her vulnerability was key to her character. It demonstrated humility that is necessary to achieve the message she was proclaiming. She says:

“If the knowledge is given to everyone, we can have lots of leaders, and soon everybody can be strong, not just the chosen ones.”

It was my favorite part of the entire film, when she spoke those words. I cannot agree more with her. She speaks with such confidence and maturity but also with such humility. She understands that greatness is inside of everyone, and no one should be hindered in any way. She understands that a group does not need one leader, but many leadership roles working together. Coming from such a humble individual, it was truly a beautiful scene.

Despite that no one listened to her for most of the story, I am beyond grateful for the way the community responded to her actions in the end. I love that they began to trust her. I love that they listened to her wisdom and started to include all people in leadership and rituals. I love that they seemed to be moving forward from blind tradition. The togetherness we saw in the end will be more of a strength source than one male chief could ever have been.

Healthy Relationships and the Power Dynamic

I attended a workshop at CSUSM the other week about what it means to be in a healthy relationship. At first it seemed self-explanatory and I began to think that succeeding in a healthy relationship was easy. The psychologist started by sharing with us the characteristics of a healthy relationship: try to communicate effectively and always be open to compromise. These made perfect sense to me. Although it might be harder to do than say, it seemed like an all encompassing tangible solution. But, then we looked at what an unhealthy relationship consisted of. It became clear that so much more than simply good communication and compromise was needed in order to succeed.

The unsound foundation for any unhealthy relationship has one major thing in common: Power. This was the one word that stood out to me at this workshop for many reasons.  The more I thought about it, the more it made me realize just how big of a foundation it was in determining a relationships success. Ultimately, the concept of power within relationships taught me much more about society than I ever thought it would.

In any relationship, whether it be healthy or unhealthy, there exists a power stratification. Whomever holds the power, dictates the activities, the outcome of happiness, the outcome of health, the outcome of success. In a healthy relationship, the couple will have a balance of power. This does not necessarily mean a 50/50 split though. It simply means the amount of power is agreed upon with a consensus from both partners. It should be consistently flexible and periodically checked for fairness and happiness. In unhealthy relationships, the power balance is never discussed. Often times the majority of power is held by one partner and is concrete/unwavering. The effects of this in our society are astounding.

• Sexist gender roles
• Rape/ Sexual assault
• Domestic violence
• Suppression
• Patriarchy

As we continued talking about how unhealthy it is for this type of power balance, I began to realize a trend for who holds the power in most relationships within our society. Men. This bold realization then led to awareness for why this may be a trend. I am in awe. I am furious. I feel helpless because of the intense brainwashing that is happening around us, but I feel inspired as if maybe we can wake up from this mess. We need to fix it.

The problem is not the individual men in unhealthy relationships. Yes, they may be violent. They may be manipulative. They may be more confident. They may make more money. And yes, they do have more power. But, NO it is not their fault.

Why is it that men hold the power in relationships most of the time? Because our society gives it to them. Men are being taught this entitlement of power from an early age. Our entire political system, workforce system, gender role system, etc. is presenting a model to follow. When all of the political decisions made in our country are made by men, it sets the precedent for men to rise up to lead and women to comply. Sadly, many times this model gets taken to the extreme in individual relationships or interactions. We, as humans of gender, do not know how to interact equally, yet.

The rape culture in our country exemplifies this.

Every two minutes, a woman in our country is sexually assaulted. Most of the rapes that occur go unreported. Unreported out of fear. Unreported out of uncertainty. Unreported out of embarrassment. It makes me so sad that women feel embarrassed to report a sexual assault. This speaks volumes to the power dynamic of our culture. Women are embarrassed to be the victims because they will still somehow be blamed or suppressed. They subconsciously know that the blame will not be put on the man in our society. They have the power by default.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/03/emma-sulkowicz-mattress-rape-columbia-university_n_5755612.html

This news story is a beautiful artistic portrayal of the tremendous daily burden that women feel as a victim of sexual assault. They are constantly being ignored in times of need, and their voices are not validated. Contrastingly, I love how this young women’s voice and validation is fought for.

While I was listening to the lecture on healthy relationships, these kinds of uphill battles were all that I could think about. The relationship of men and women in society as a whole is not a healthy one. The power dynamic is not discussed. It is not flexible. It is not fair.

We need to take it upon ourselves to consistently work out the balance of power and decision making between genders. We must communicate. We must compromise. The men should lift up the women, and the women should lift up the men. We desperately need to stand side by side. Serving each other, respecting each other. There are a continuum of genders, and the continuum should be along one line of equal rank. With this, will come the balance of power. And with a balance of power, the relationships within America (individual and societal) can once again be healthy.

Event Assignment #1