white string

I was thinking about what people said about the white string tied around the Africa's neck. It seems to me that the string could have been a symbol for a noose that was tied around a black mans neck. Especially because the string was white. A white noose around a black neck, symbolizing how Europeans were slowly strangling the Africans.

Keeping Up Appearances

Hello everyone!
This is my first blog posting! So, today I think I will talk about the show "Keeping Up Appearances". (and it does have a connection to our class, seeing as it's a British comedy and we are in British litterature) I don't know if anyone has seen it before, but if you haven't you should because it is quite hilarious! I used to watch it with my grandparents, because, well, it is kind of one of those kinds of shows. But I had not watched it for a long time until today. So, just a brief overview: The show is about this couple-the Bouquets. The lady, Hyacinth, is an extremely irritating but funny person. Her husband Richard is a weakling and does practically anything his wife tells him to do. Both of them are in their sixties. The story line always surrounds this couple and includes some other characters as well. Hyacinth's sisters, Daisy and Rose, are very different from her. I think they reveal the type of family Hyacinth really comes from . They are not proper in any way and most definitely do not wear any fancy hats. Daisy is married to a slob who like to smoke and watch tv. She acts like a slave to him, while he lays around. Rose loves fashion. Another two important characters are the couple's neighbors. Their names are Emmet and Elizabeth. They dislike Hyacinth and try to avoid contact as much as possible, by hiding or not answering the door when she comes over.
The episode I watched today was about how Hyacinth wanted to go to an art exhibit. She reads about what to do at an art exhibit and all of the things that "cultured" people should know. In the meantime, her neighbors want to go to the art exhibit but talk about how they can't seeing as Hyacinth is going to be there. While all of this is going on, Daisy realizes that her father (also Hyacinth's father) has left to join the French foriegn legion. The father is a bit not all there. Hyacinth calls, or tells rather, Elizabeth to come over for tea and talk about going to the art exhibit. Elizabeth comes over, but while she is there, Hyacinth gets a call from Daisy saying that their father has gone to join the French foreign legion. Hyacinth makes Elizabeth leave in order to "keep up appearances". Then, Hyacinth, Richard and her sisters go out to look for their father. Hyacinth mentions how she will just have to let him join the French legion because he is too messy to be at her house. Once they find the father, it is time for the art exhibit. The father has to come with the couple and Hyancith insists on Richard introducing her father as Richard's father, and not hers, once again, in order to "keep up appearances". The show ends here.
It is very interesting when I actually think about and analyze the show because I used to only watch it. It is interesting to question the British culture and also compare it to our American culture. Our stereoptype of British people always seems to be one of a snobby person with a big fancy hat drinking tea. This show, shows many sides of how things really are in a culture, and presents a bit of irony in the title. Hyancinth is an extremely insecure person who wants everyone to know her as proper and she wants to climb the social ladder. But, her family is anything but proper. Is this comedy making fun of a real issue in British society? Is there possibly a big issue in terms of a person's socio-economic status? American society certainly has different stereotypes. In many countries around the world, Americans are known to be overweight ignorant people, or just like people on the Jerry Springer show. Another American stereotype is like that of the rich person who is extremely boring and lives in Connecticut. The parents of the groom in "My Big Fat greek Wedding" portray this stereotype.
I would like to explore this more and since I don't know very much about modern day British society, I will have to do some reading and some questioning, please comment if you have any opinions, or to talk about the show!
So, overall the show's title sums up what it's all about. If you would like to watch it, it comes on Saturdays on cptv at 8:30-you might have to check though, because I am not sure if it comes every Saturday.
Okay see all of you in class next week!

So you guys remember way back in the beginning of the year we read Beowulf, and someone said they were making a movie? Well, I was in Barns and Noble the other day and guess what I found! The trailer makes it look very unlike like book. Its all “a son must avenge his father” and stuff like that. Here’s a link to the trailer.

http://www.beowulfandgrendel.com/trailer.html#

Auditory poisons?

I asked Mrs. Belval the other day and she said that it is possible to kill someone but putting poison in their ear. But it has to be a manmade poison, like anthrax, or some other poison that could dissolve the cell membranes in your ear. Already brought this up in class but Mr. Hoffman told me that it’s something I should put up on the blog, so, voila.

The Lion King

I'd just like to point out that the Lion King is alot like Hamlet. Simba is like Hamlet, Scar is like Cladious, Mufasa's spirit visits Simba and tells him to go home and help his kingdom (a little nicer than avenge my death, but still similar)... That's all.

Prince Hamlet: Suicidal?

Ted brought up a good point today in his small group. He asked if Hamlet is feeling suicidal in scene 2. It's a good questions, and one that will come up again later in the play. So, any thoughts?

MSND film

Nick, you bring up a good point. The film has been set in a different time period from the one that Shakespeare intended. There is actually a huge tradition of doing this with Shakespeare plays. The Claire Danes / Leo DiCaprio Romeo and Juliet is a perfect example. The idea behind it I think is that Shakespeare's plots are universal and timeless, so directors use the stories to make statements about their own times and societies. Or, in the case of this film, about other times and places as well.

Green Man

To add on to what Kim said, I found some more information on the Green Man and how he relates to SGGK:
"The Green Man is often perceived as an ancient Celtic symbol. In Celtic mythology, he is a god of spring and summer. He disappears and returns year after year, century after century, enacting themes of death and resurrection, the ebb and flow of life and creativity. The Arthurian legend of Sir Gawain, The Green Knight, is a notable image of the Green Man from the Middle Ages. The green knight had a green helmet, green armor, green shield... even a green horse. When he was decapitated, he continued to live." http://www.dl.ket.org/humanities/connections/class/medren/greenman.htm

Trogdor

I can't believe how many of you have never heard of Trogdor. Seriously, you should be embarrassed. Check out these links:

Here is where it all started:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail58.html

Here is where the fanboy madness continues:

http://www.homestarrunner.com/trogday.html

http://www.hrwiki.org/index.php/Trogdor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trogdor

http://www.homestarrunner.com/trogdor.html

Faire

Caitlin- you brought up some really interesting points. I tried to find the significance of birds to the renaissance- Wikipedia said that augurs (some kind of priests I think) interpreted the will of the gods by studying the flight of the birds. It also said they were "the inspiration for some magical a priory languages, in particular musical languages". Also, I think that they just looked pretty cool in the bird costumes (-=. I noticed that a lot of the things being sold had to do with magic, like different colored stones bringing out certain powers in people and such, so I think that magic must have been a big element of that time period. I thought the priests walking around selling indulgences were a nice touch too. As for things I enjoyed looking at, there were some pretty cool looking swords and Scottish dirks being sold. Also, near the entrance of the park there was a maypole, which was really pretty to look at, and the "baby dragons" were neat too. All in all, I had a really good time. I didn't even mind when we had to clear the road for the king and his entourage to walk by (-=