****Bleep****

So today's class period got me thinking more about swearing than about Japanese toilets, but I'd say it still has sociological relevance so I'm doing okay. Why the invention of these words? Mind you, I do not pretend that I don't swear like a sailor, but I feel my words have a different meaning depending on the society I am in. Call someone a wanker or a plonker in the US and you're the idiot, it's not quite the same in England - that sort of language is less talk more fist (depending on who your talking to of course). I find it sort of fascinating that people now swear so regularly that instead of holding back completely, they let slip the word crap instead of shit, etc. Also intriguing to me is the evolution of swears that occurs as we grow. We go from calling someone a poopyhead to a mother f-er in a matter of a few years. This is due to much of our surroundings, the television, how our parents speak, how our friends speak, how others react to our first outright swear. I remember the first time I let loose the f-bomb in the presence of my mother, and I have rarely, if ever, done so since. However, my mom was born in England and a "bloody hell" in the right circumstances is perfectly fine.

I thought that an excellent example of how comfortable we are with swearing is the Orbit commercial I have linked below. The insults these people throw at each other seem childish and foolish, but they are still getting the meaning accross with out pulling out the big guns (language-wise) so why can't we be satisfied calling each other lint-lickers?

"C" What I Mean?

In the movie, "A Bronx Tale", the social construction of the neighborhood that is focused on in the film is due to the ethnicity of those living in it. Boundaries are drawn based on race/background, and one's own past must be the toughest thing to overcome. No one in the neighborhood, including "C", wishes to disrespect their own heritage. This makes for both a culturally rich area, and a segregated city in total. The resulting de facto segregation, though allowing for each culture to flourish separately, encourages racism- each group thinks they are the best. "C" tries to break out of these confines in the film, but is hindered at first by the boundaries created by the largest group he belongs to - his neighborhood. The racism of those around him has become a part of him that he must willingly fight against.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film for both the bravery of "C"'s character and the overall realism of the story.

What's With All The Tourists?

This past weekend I travelled to Florida on vacation with my family. My mother has an obsession with family trips, especially with the looming prospect of an empty nest. I must say, as strange as it may seem to many, I am not a huge fan of really hot weather, yet almost every year we travel to some tropical location to bask in the heat with fellow pasty tourists. What I find most interesting about these holidays is the resistance to the new culture of many of the places we visit by the tourists there. In Florida, a place famous for delicious seafood, I was surrounded by people munching on hamburgers and french fries. The English are notorious for this (ever seen Shirley Valentine?) for wherever they travel their eyes are peeled for chips and egg or bangers and mash. What is this resistance? Where is the adventurous spirit of the tourist? These Hawaiian-clothed, sandal-bearing, sunscreen lathered people go to great lengths to bake in the sun, but not experience their environment unless in a watered-down way. With the inclusion of all-inclusive resorts, many tourists never step out of the hotel grounds. I find there is a difference between a tourist and a traveller, much like there is a difference between saliva and spit. A traveller goes to really engage with the culture and learn from their experience, where as a tourist is clearly seperated from their new environment and is not as engaged.