Cultural Learnings of Mine for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of the World

This week we celebrate Guy Fawkes week here in England with a nightly displays of lively fireworks in celebration of his foiled attempt to blow up parliament many years before (blowing up things in order to celebrate the fact that some guy failed to do it successfully...how interesting...). Anyways, everynight this week, everyone in Leeds has heard the booming fireworks in the background (I can even see them from my bedroom window).

Also, however embarrased/ashamed I may be to admit it, I did see the film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and witnessed a grand display of fireworks over the central Parkinson Building from afar. Although it made me nostalgic for the magical fanfare of Disney World, the general sound of destruction continued to ring through my ears, and did not cease during the movie.

The movie itself is about a rather uneducated fictious character from Kazakhstan who comes to America for the purpose of filming a documentary. On the way he becomes infatuated with Baywatch and Pamela Anderson and gets himself into all sorts of trouble and obscenities. My personal opinions on the film are quite mixed. At some points I did find it vulgar, profane and racist, however, the movie challenges the definition of what we consider to be offensive. It is hard to criticize Sasha Baron Cohen for showing Jews in a racist light, when he himself, is in fact, Jewish. Although I appreciate this parody-like 'intellectual jackass' from a slap-stick comedy point of view, the film at points does have an ensemble of intellectual undertones. My only concern is that some of the audience is too young, too ignorant to see beyond the racial, cultural, and ethnic stereotypes that are being purported in the film and trully understand the film.

So here the problem is one of people acting without thinking. Some times, when it comes down to it, people haven't the slightest clue as to why they are doing something. Although I do believe that it is wonderful to propagate the British heritage and celebrate Guy Fawkes week, too many people are overdoing it with their incessant, compulsive lighting of fireworks (and believe me, I am NOT the only one that feels this way). It just makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a war zone! Not to mention I've had two essays to do this week.

And one of my absolute favourite songs from one of my absolute favourite groups:
a little part from Colplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head:

"He said Im gonna buy this place and burn it down
Im gonna put it six feet underground
He said Im gonna buy this place and watch it fall
Stand here beside me baby in the crumbling walls
Oh Im gonna buy this place and start a fire
Stand here until I fill all your hearts desires
Because Im gonna buy this place and see it burn
Do back the things it did to you in return
He said oh Im gonna buy a gun and start a war
If you can tell me something worth fighting for
Oh and Im gonna buy this place, thats what I said
Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head"


* So what do Borat, Coldplays and fireworks have in common? Both are lessons of why we should sometimes perhap probe deeper into things- to question cultural assumptions, to question habits, not to always do things just because... and then hope that the audience is wise enough to get the message!


P.S. though our hockey team has suffered yet another defeat, I owe Amy a big thanks for coming out and also for being my gym buddy and making the butteriest flapjacks I have ever tasted!! mmmmmmm. Back to work! (as the fireworks continue, even after a WHOLE week!)

ANd.......... while we're on the topic of making the world a glorious better place, they have decided to hang Saddam as punishment for his violent war crimes... hmm this is a little much too ironic, I won't even get started, I will save this for another post!

*Peace and Love* xoxo