I’m sorry to disappoint, but this blog post has nothing to do with Jeb Bush or politics. It’s far less exciting!

One thing about ‘Aferim!’ I couldn’t help but notice were the many references to folklore. Did people “back then” used to be so boring as to need to relate every event to some absurd story, which had changed five or six times due to being passed down by rote, about how the world started. I feel sorry for those who believe these narratives and use them to justify their dubious actions, namely slave-holding and wife-beating in the film.

At one point in the movie, the priest went on for five minutes describing every possible stereotype from the English to the Romanians to the Gypsies, which in the end warranted the beating of Gypsy slaves. This film took place in the Romanian territory of Wallachia in 1835. For many people during this time, priests were the authority on morality, so when they spewed their ridiculousness and reinforced uninformed generalizations about different types of people they turned their listeners into thoughtless, accepting drones, especially when it favored them, i.e. allowing them to own and beat slaves.

I remind you to question your beliefs and authorities.