Black Orpheus

"The happiness of the poor is the great illusion of carnival." (Orpheus, Black Orpheus)

In class we talked about carnivalesque, the idea of two opposites, black and white, good and bad, or like stated in class yin and yang. In Black Orpheus there were several examples of this idea.

The movie starts out in a poor village where there are kids dancing and playing with no shoes on.. Quickly we are swept away to the city where there are large buildings and everything looks clean. While Orpheus and Eurydice travel on the tram they cross a beautiful bridge of arches and then end up in the poor village again. The contrast is very obvious and is drawn upon several times throughout the movie.

Another example is the difference between Eurydice and Mira. Mira is loud, obnoxious, self centered, etc. and Eurydice is the exact opposite. The most interesting part is not that they are opposites but that Orpheus is engaged to Mira but in love with Eurydice. 

Towards the end of the film Orpheus runs after Eurydice to save her but ends up actually killing her, obviously the opposite of what he intended on doing. 

The greatest example in the movie come from a line that Orpheus sings while carrying Eurydice back to the village, and is quoted above. The celebration of carnival is poor people dressing like kings and parading around for all to see. Hence the use of the word carnivalesque to sum up this idea.

After speaking about this in class, and before watching this movie I watched it's trailer, which is incredibly carnivalesque as can be seen.

Circular Ruins

"After nine or ten nights he understood with a certain bitterness that he could expect nothing from those pupils who accepted his doctrine passively, but that he could expect something from those those who occasionally dared to oppose him." (Jorge Borges, The Circular Ruins, 58)

This experience that the man in the circular ruins has with his pupils, as stated above, reminds me of Newton's laws of motion. Newton's laws of motion are:

1. First, is an object experiences no net force, then its velocity is constant.
2. Second, the acceleration of a body is parallel and directly proportional to the net force acting on the body, is in the direction of the net force, and is inversely proportional to the mass of the body.
3. Third, when a first body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force on the first body. This means that the forces are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Although Newton's laws are describing motion of physical objects, the same principle is evident in our lives if we can imagine ourselves like objects and challenges ("pushes")  presented to us by others as a force. These laws can be applied to any facet of our lives like education, work, sports, music etc. 

First, if a person is never "pushed" to improve then they will continue on their same path, continually doing the same things. Many times we make the same mistakes repeatedly. Maybe even worse, is being content with the same successes throughout our lives, never looking to improve.   

Second, if a person is "pushed" in a certain direction he will follow in that direction. How far he travels in that direction depends on how hard of a "push" he is given. As an example, my wife taught middle school children while also working as a lawyer, now almost four years later most of her students are studying law. Although she is small, her "push" was very large and her students allowed themselves to be "pushed".  

Third, when one is "pushed" by someone then they "push" back. As stated by Newton these "pushes" are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Everyone knows the common phrase: "two minds are better than one". Examples of the importance of teamwork are found everywhere in life; partners lifting weights together and students studying together are just a few examples. 

Borges knew that to grow and improve as human beings we need to be "pushed" by challenges. If we are not willing to oppose these challenges (forces) then nothing great can be expected from us, just like the pupils in the circular ruins.

Flower Day

Diego Rivera, Flower Day, 1925, Ades pg. 197

This painting by Diego Rivera shows the Mexican spirit despite the reality of their social, economic and historical burdens.

Most Americans love the cultural experiences that they have had with Mexicans because of the happiness and warmth that they give. The Mexican spirit is beautifully displayed with a wide variety of vibrant colors transmitting the loving happiness of the Mexican culture. Traditional clothing and braids depict the exotic culture cherished by so many. Lastly, the lovely calla lilies create a national symbol that all Mexicans can identify with. For example my wife did not use a traditional bouquet in our wedding; she only used a few eloquent calla lilies.

Mexico is traditionally known as a chauvinistic country where the wife carries out all of the burdens of the home. The faces of men can be seen in the background watching a woman carry a large and presumably heavy basket of flowers, while two other women kneel in the dirt working, as one even carries a baby on her back. More importantly than showing the traditional responsibilities of Mexican women is the representation of their strength, sacrifice and dedication to the family.

Many Americans cannot and will not ever understand the poverty of Mexico and other Latin countries. It is hard to imagine hope and or happiness in a situation like theirs, yet anyone who has spent significant time with a Mexican knows of the joy they find in life. The women in the painting are working in the street without shoes representing their poverty, but their incredibly clean clothes show the hope, happiness and joy that the Mexican can find in any situation.

Flowers, and especially calla lilies, were very important to the Mexican Indians and are sometimes used to symbolize them. The woman carrying the lilies could represent one of two things. Either the Mexican carrying the burden of their roots from their Indian past and the conquest for the pessimist, or the Mexican carrying along the memory and tradition of their Indian past for the optimist. I personally like to believe in the second. 

Tell Them Not to Kill Me!

"Providence will take care of them, Justino. You go there now and see what you can do for me. That's what matters now."

The theme of this short story can be found in all of our lives. Juan Rulfo captures perfectly our human flaws not only through the main character Juvencio, but also through his son Justino and the Colonel. The flaw that Rulfo focuses on, which is also the theme of the story, is the importance and desire for things that we do and do not have.

The most interesting example is that of Justino and the Colonel. The Colonel did not have a father growing up because Juvencio killed him. He hunts down Juvencio years after his father was murdered. He is still angry for being robbed of a father figure in his life. He is willing to do anything to get revenge for what was taken from him. Although he never really knew his father his desire to revenge his death is unstoppable. On the other hand Justino grew up with a father. Yet while his father pleaded for Justino to save his life he coldly responds no. It almost seems like he could care less what happens to his father and is only worried about himself. Juan Rulfo delicately intertwines the idea that one person, Justino, does not value what another person, the Colonel, so desperately desires.

The idea of desiring what we do not have is also displayed through Juvencio. Because Juvencio let his animals into his neighbors farm to eat his food, his neighbor killed one of his animals, and then Juvencio killed his neighbor. Juvencio blames it on Don Lupe, his neighbor, because there was a drought and he would not let his animals feed on his land. In reality he never had a right to his neighbors land or food.

We can see this principle continue to play on in the lives of many people today. Part of the economic problems of the USA is because of people creating debt that they cannot afford. Because we as humans are slow to value what we have yet fast to desire what we do not we continue to bring suffering upon ourselves just like Juvencio suffered throughout his life.