Holiday Ramblings #2 - The Squozen One

Over the past 6 weeks, I have addictively watched and listened to well over 100 hours of mindless conversation between renowned Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl ‘round-headed buffoon’ Pilkington. The group’s unrivalled chemistry on their multiple productions has delivered great moments, but due to the fact that they spent their first few years of togetherness on XFM Radio, they were limited in the language they could use as indicated by the frequently uttered, “Can we say that?”, often followed up by, “I don’t think so.”

This got me thinking about the way in which people are offended by language I don’t consider offensive. In the show, there are countless instances which could easily be considered offensive (generally not malicious) towards groups such as disabled people, homosexuals, and the Chinese without any kind of swearing and often without any remark of, “Can we say that?” This fascinates me in that Ricky Gervais and those above him see little wrong with direct offenses towards certain groups, passing it simply as funny (and it is), yet it is offensive to utter the F-word without directing it at anyone in dissent (such as after dropping a brick on your foot). What is it about certain words that offend people without any malicious intent? If I slipped the S-word into an anecdote in replacement of ‘stuff’, why would it offend anyone? Could they actually provide a valid answer regarding why they’re offended?

I Googled why this group of words is considered offensive, and most people agreed that we created the offensiveness because the words themselves don’t have a whole lot behind them, but rather offense is subjective. In this case, why do radio stations decide what their audience finds offensive? Arghhh this interest of mine is evoking more questions than it’s answering. I’m baffled.

I believe that any language goes. This comes back to what I consider to be the primary topic of our studies: Language and Identity. The worst thing someone can do is feel restricted or feel like they can’t be him or herself, and I know for a fact that the way I speak or the way I speak is a huge part of my identity. This has been the most all-over-the-place blog post that I’ve conjured up, but it’s at times like the end of the holidays where you lack the ability to construct a structural idea, and sometimes it’s nice to reveal the ramblings of a madman. 

Holiday Ramblings #1 - Travelling Innit

When I walk into school in 39 hours and 16 minutes, I will great my friends with a friendly hello, a witty insult, a big hug – no, not a hug. Can’t be publicly displaying that affection can we? – followed by “What’d you get up to?” in which my friends will reply “Travelling innit.” or something of the same sense in their own way. It is a part of international life we have all become so accustomed to. The human traffic (not trafficking) which we all partake in allows us to flow freely between different countries, cultures and communities.

With that in mind, a simple Googling of the word ‘community’ provides you with ‘a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.’ That being said, it is indubitable that in my travelling to nations Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, England, and Australia in the span of two months has allowed me to infiltrate a plethora of communities (regional and beyond). That which I’d really like to touch on is the wondrous Australia, my home country.

When I was looking up the topics we’d covered in this course in my holiday stupor, I came across an explanation of ‘Language and Communities’, including the statement ‘one could argue that a community is defined by its use of language’, getting me thinking about the strange feeling I got just a few days earlier. I was walking down busy Adelaide streets following a trip to Coles for Australia-exclusive lollies (candy) and was amazed by something so simple: the fact that everyone chit-chatting on benches and bumping shoulders with me whilst talking into their ear whatchamacallit was speaking English. This is something I would’ve considered oh so ordinary three years ago but fascinates me today following my international studies.

Coming back to that statement, this swayed my opinions on the place I live today. I have always told my Aussie mates that the UAE lacks the community that in my experience, other nations have (e.g. Australia), and that it feels like a collection of individuals acting in their own interest as a result of the get-in-get-out nature of the place. Reading that statement, many people would affiliate it with the idea of a community being formed through the collection of people speaking the same language, however following my ‘enlightening’, I viewed the same statement with a different perspective, in that UAE is a special community not made up by people speaking the same language all the time, but rather individual cultures and associated languages coming together (and using the same language) to form a functioning economy and system, thus in my opinion creating a community. It is a community unique to UAE I think; I have never seen a community more intricate, but that is what makes it so beautiful. From now on, I won’t spout rubbish about the lack of a community, but focus on the crazy, crazy beauties of this strange, strange place. 

IOCoriolanus

Link to my practice IOC

Personal History Holds the Pencil

Thesis:

Chinua Achebe’s provision of a balanced view of both the Europeans and Igbos in Things Fall Apart is a corollary of the combination of his Christian upbringing and reverence for traditional Igbo life, using paradoxical characters from both cultures such as Okonkwo and Uchendu plus Mr. Brown and Reverend Smith to attain an unprejudiced audience interpretation.  

Topic Sentence 1:

Achebe’s characterization of Uchendu and Mr. Brown respectfully depicts some of the favorable attributes such as openness and wisdom of their respective cultures, providing an idyllic view of both civilizations in order to subvert the foreign view of Africans as primitive and evoke the notion of peaceful colonization.

Topic Sentence 2:

To juxtapose the aforementioned characters, Achebe depicts Okonkwo and Reverend James as possessing some of the antagonistic or unfavorable characteristics such as hypermasculinity and hostility that can be identified with individuals of their respective cultures, removing any idyllic dispositions and providing a realistic perspective based off his own experiences and beliefs.

Topic Sentence 3:

The ways in which the characters of Okonkwo, Uchendu, Mr. Brown and Reverend Smith interact with one another is representative of Achebe’s internal battle of cultures and perhaps problematic hybridity, cases such as Uchendu’s criticism of Okonkwo and Okonkwo’s confrontation with Mr. Smith ultimately allowing the author to create a desired holistic view of both civilizations and groups and how they interact.

Context of Interpretation

Things Fall Apart evokes salient significance of gender roles within the Igbo society presented, hence one’s context of interpretation, consisting of such components as culture, beliefs and time period, will engender differing personal understandings and perspectives of the way in which males and females are delineated.

• Outline of how the culture a reader resides within influences their understandings, perspectives and opinions formed
• The world consists of a myriad of differing cultures, each with their own paradigms, ideals and expectations; such aspects can influence entire demographics’ perspectives formed on the theme of gender roles between the text. 
• Cultural beliefs and values of gender roles differ internationally
• Customs, traditions and expectations and how they relate
• How religion affects views of gender roles within differing cultures

• Outline of how the personal beliefs a reader possesses influences their understandings, perspectives and opinions formed
• Although many personal beliefs would be derived through their respective culture, each individual is different from the next hence their interpretation of certain features and aspects of the novel would also differ.
• How personal views can affect views of gender roles
• How personal experience and the emotions as a result affect views of gender roles
• Personal expectations beyond those of the culture

• Outline of how the time period a reader resides within influences their understandings, perspectives and opinions formed
• People within alternate time periods would indubitably view certain material differently and hence form differing and perhaps opposing opinions and understandings, hence considering one’s place in time and the changes between time periods is significant due to general changes in values, beliefs, expectations etc.
• Highlighting differences between times since the book was written and further in the future and how these may affect the interpretation of gender roles
• Any changes in values, beliefs, expectations etc. and how the former would compare and contrast to the latter

Okonkwo Characterization

It is indubitable that Chinua Achebe characterized Okonkwo as a classic tragic hero: quite a common, and perhaps clichéd technique, however the way in which he does this and the extent of its effectiveness exceed this basic linguistic convention. In the book Things Fall Apart, the reader watches as the Igbo society falls apart, and in this we are already provided with a tragic story beginning with something that seems to begin so strong but ending with demise due to its method of approaching and ignorance towards the European threat presented to them. Okonkwo mirrors such a development in that at the beginning of the story, we, the reader, are presented a powerful man who was able to overcome adversities to become one of the more successful and prosperous men in the village, however once again, due to the fact that a part of the system (either Okonkwo or Igboland) is overlooked, we observe eventual and inevitable failure. Correlations can be drawn between the society’s treatment of the Europeans, not believing that they could coexist peacefully and hence feeling the need to treat them hostilely, and Okonkwo’s belief that his masculinity and negotiation or non-physical confrontation cannot coexist without the first being compromised, both predispositions tragically causing death (or such to an extent). Both systems experienced fates in similar fashion to their defects, Okonkwo’s being physical death and Umuofia’s being a great cultural loss, perhaps the death of a culture. In this way, the tragic hero archetype is able to personify a society, especially considering the notion of Okonkwo as a product of society.

Guide to the Wilderness - Igboland

7 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN VISITING IGBOLAND

A guide by colonist Damien Delaney

As I boarded the S.S. Anne with my duffel bag and hegemonic mindset as one of the many European explorers of West Africa, I prepared myself to face a herd of savages which I had been informed humbly of, but instead found a rich culture full of community and people not so unlike ourselves. I assume that others like me have been brainwashed to view these people so inferiorly – I saw it among some of my insistent comrades – so I have constructed this list of 7 things to consider when visiting Igboland:

1.     Intelligence – These people are much more intelligent than pioneers before me came to believe from their short-lived relationships with them. In this culture, wisdom is valued above most else. It is vital to consider that although the Igbo people don’t speak the Queen’s tongue, they possess a vast knowledge within their own language which is beyond our own understanding.

2.     Politics – The Igbo people have used such intelligence to formulate a sensible political hierarchy without the assistance of the British Empire. Although they may not act under a federal political system like the British, each village possesses an intricate system headed by a group of Ozo title holders, achieved through action and not inheritance, and subordinate groups below them (such as elders and age groups). They are not savages who kill mercilessly. Criminals are dealt with judiciously by the Ala and given appropriate punishment, hence showing their value of ethics and separating them from the animals they have been made out to be.

3.     Religion – Although the Igbo religion may consist of numerous false deities, it is primarily centered upon the same God that we Christians believe in, only they call theirs Chuckwu. The thing is, it is primarily grounded in the same beliefs, where if they please their god with their actions, they are rewarded with success and happiness (complete fulfillment). These people clearly think like us, with strong beliefs in a higher power, therefore it is important to consider where they gain their knowledge from and the motivations behind a vast majority of their actions, hence allowing us to understand their culture more extensively.

4.     Art – Not only are the people smart, separating them from animals, but I have seen them further distance themselves with their exquisite art, in forms of masks, body art and more. But the greatest spectacle is that of the performing arts. I was fortunate enough to witness several village dances, often dedicated to their religion. Such creativity demonstrates an enhanced humanity like ourselves, not just doing what it takes to survive but mastering the power of expression.

5.     Openness – The Igbo people possess what many of us lack: openness. I was able to sit down with an Igbo elder for hours and, despite our linguistic disparity, learn about their life and he was inclined to reciprocate by learning about us. Because I was willing to learn about their culture rather than treat them like animals, I feel like I was accepted within the village, however there has always been a sense of separation and mistrust due to the actions of those before me.

Such mistrust can only be recovered by taking a new perspective on the Igbo people and the land they live on. The land that we as an empire are attempting to colonize has deep religious significance and connection to the people that inhabit it; they even pay worship to the earth goddess known as Ala. And these people that inhabit it – they are not only people but a culture. Igboland possesses a cultural communital ambience which was foreign to me, and to continue colonizing in the way it is being done now will eventually strip the people of this community and themselves, and hence not only is the Igbo culture lost but part of the world is lost to British greed and ignorance. You have been taught to believe that we provide those victims to our colonization with a better standard of living and a sense of civilization, but what exemplifies civilization and a valuable lifestyle more than the behaviors and interactions of the Igbo people discussed above. As was translated to me from the elder that I spoke to exhaustively, “Never kill a man who says nothing.” Learn about the Igbo people and their culture from their perspective before acting instinctively, or else we are reducing us as great British to less than you make the Igbo out to be.