Last Monday, I dined with Sara and Liz to learn how to de-stress. We had a small group eating together, sharing our hectic schedules, and discussing personal coping mechanisms. I was extremely comfortable interacting with my neighbors and sharing my experiences. I realized that this was a great way to top off my year as a Rose House Scholar. What began as a planned program of choosing weekly events to participate in and comment on for credit, had turned into something much more. I now realize that I have become part of the House here at Rose, and the people, my neighbors, have become part of my life. Several times throughout the year I was unable to attend an event with Rose, but I took the idea for the excursion and went with friends or on my own. Throughout the year, I have shared lectures and movies, a play, a plantation visit, and several special dinners with my neighbors. I have also visited the Johnson Museum, the Ornithology Lab, and the Holy Cow demonstration! As a Rose Scholar, I have been urged to explore the best Cornell has to offer and I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Sitting with Sara and Liz, eating and de-stressing, has brought home a feeling of belonging at a place that is far from home. I will miss Sara and Liz, and all the Seniors in our house who will graduate. I wish them the very best from the bottom of my heart!
With hopes of returning to Rose,
Nadia
Author Archives: nb459
Dr. Strangelove
Stanley Kubrik’s Dr. Strangelove was a weird movie. It was supposed to be a dark comedy about Cold War fears. The plot revolves around the circular threat of a Russian doomsday device that could be triggered by a U.S. bombing. The real danger in the movie is not the existence of bombs or nuclear weapons, but the incompetence of the decision-makers and idiocracy in power that may trigger them. In today’s world, every time we pick up a newspaper we are reminded of the random unpredictable human element that may result in the end of the world as we know it. Whether it is a threat of another World War or climate change, it is the decisions of the people in power as carried out by their bureaucracies that ultimately will determine the outcome. This fear is presented in the movie and it is what makes the movie relevant to today’s world. However, for me, this hits too close to reality and for this reason I found the film to be a scary exaggeration and not funny at all. I do not like to think about what could happen if those in charge are even more incompetent and in the dark than we may believe they are. Also, the whole production seemed dated, including the jokes. It was OK for a few hours, but I would never consider it a classic or one of my favorites. Some of it for me was boring, and the ending was unclear and dumb.
Brazil: A Fascinating Nation
Last Wednesday I attended the Rose Café lecture on Brazil with Andre Rozemberg Peixoto Simoes, a doctorate student at Federal University of Vicosa studying modern economy and society. Mr. Simoes’ talk was interesting. I knew Brazil was one of the most populated countries in the world, but I didn’t realize it was the fifth largest country in the world. I was also surprised to learn that Brazil has many diverse environments including a vast wetland known as the Pantanal which is home to some of the world’s most unusual flora and animals. Brazil’s Northeast region is one of the poorest regions in the country. I was surprised to learn that this area also has a lot of dry land and boasts some of the most beautiful beaches and resort areas including the Praia da Barra da Tijuca near Rio de Janeiro. This helps the economy because it boosts tourism, but the area is still home to many of Brazil’s poorest residents. This is just one example of the wide gap between Brazil’s rich and poor that has plagued Brazil in the last decade. It was interesting to learn that one of the reasons for this gap is because Brazil has only been a democracy since 1985. Since democracy took hold in Brazil, its government has had two impeachments which have led to corruption and economic hardship. Mr. Simoes’ research focuses on another economic problem, the fluctuating price of milk. It was interesting to learn that the price of milk is not controlled by Brazil’s government as it is in the United States. Instead, if too much milk is produced, the price drops dramatically and farmers starve. Mr. Simoes suggested that in order to boost the economy, the government should make it easier for more people to get an education. I did not realize that a college education in Brazil is actually free, but only wealthy students can afford to take the necessary classes and tests to gain admission. Overall, I found the lecture very interesting because I have never travelled to Brazil so it was exciting to see pictures of the beautiful country and learn so much about it. My favorite pictures were of the Amazon Rainforest. One day, I would like to see it in person and see if the pictures do it justice.
Mad Max
On Friday I watched Mad Max 3-Beyond Thunderdome , a 1985 post-apocalyptic film starring Mel Gibson and Tina Turner. The film is the third in a series shot in Australia in a future world that exists after some kind of nuclear disaster. Here, Mad Max on his motorcycle meets up with two separate societies. Bartertown is run by Aunt Entity, played by Tina Turner who is ruthless and corrupt. The town runs on methane produced by pig’s waste and anyone who wants to challenge a rival fights them to the death in the thunderdome. Max forgoes killing a rival who he fights because Aunt Entity tells him to–the Blastmaster, because he is cognitively like a child. Bartertown is run on greed, which leads to unending violence. The other society is a group of children, the young tribe, who have survived an airplane crash and are waiting to return to the past. They are innocent and in the end of the film represent the future of the world. The film was action packed and Mel Gibson is always easy on the eyes. Tina Turner was good too, but I didn’t like the violent scenes, especially those in the thunderdome. For a Friday movie that was voted on as number one, the action scenes probably won out. I really wasn’t that impressed with the message or the film.
Attica Prison Uprising
On March 7th, Ms. Heather Thompson the author of Blood in the Water – The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its Legacy lectured on her experiences on research and writing her historic bestseller. Thompson covered
a thorough history and recap of the uprising along with the racial and political tensions of the time, background politics that led up to it, commentary from inmates and corrections officers who witnessed it, negotiations for and thoughts on the hostages, the reasons for the decision to go in with force, and the aftermath and cover up by those involved. She also talked about the difficulties she encountered while researching her book. She signed up for what she thought would be a three-year project, and it stretched to 13 years. Her difficulties uncovering the whole picture through press coverage, interviews, and documents led her on a journey for truth in a world of inaccuracies, exaggerations, and lies.
Ms. Thompson talked about the interviews and reactions from participants from all sides of the event. She thanked them for daring to tell their stories, and recounted how all of them were not only willing, but wanting, to tell it. Her voice is the voice of many that has been silenced for too long. She also pointed out several everyday heroes, like the coroner who refused to alter the cause of death for one inmate, who was beaten and shot to death, and stood firm in the face of the anti-prisoner political climate. Ms. Thompson also expressed her historian’s personal perspective of her research and emphasized that what we often see and hear about an event has so many sources of input, all with their own influences, and the whole picture is never really the whole picture. To fill the gaps, it is always best to get first hand accounts because the details, including the feelings and emotions of all involved, are important in telling the story.
I purchased a copy of Ms. Thompson’s book and am looking forward to reading it.
trestle at pope lick creek
Last Friday, I attended The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek with a group from Flora Rose. The performance was top-notch with superb acting. I had no prior experience with playwright Naomi Wallace or her work and the title sounded off-putting because it didn’t give enough information which made it confusing. That said, from the opening scene, the characters drew the audience in with their riveting performances and honest emotional dialogue. The subject matter is deep—centering primarily on the interrelationship of the characters with each other and also with their circumstances, most importantly with the death of someone who knew them all. You get to know the dead fellow through the survivors’ eyes and their expressions of feelings, much more than through narrative description. The way each character copes with the death is important to how they end up dealing with each other. It was billed as “A play about class, violence, and sex in America,” and included all of these aspects, but ultimately was about people dealing with other people. The show was my first Schwartz Center performance, but it won’t be my last. I thank Ashley for including it on the Rose calendar. I look forward to attending more well-produced shows like this one!
They call me Muslim
Last week’s Rose Scholar movie They Call Me Muslim depicts the lives of two women who wear the hijab in two very different cultures. One woman lives in Paris and chooses to wear her hijab despite France’s secularization policy. The other is a woman living in Iran who refuses to wear her hijab which is required in order to enforce modesty. This is against Iranian theocratic law that imposes Islam in all areas of life. The film shows that the policies both women are challenging are not enforced equally, but are equally restrictive for these particular women. For example, France’s policy has forced Muslim girls to take off the hijab in school, but does not forbid crosses for Christians or skullcaps for Jews. In the case of the Iranian woman in Iran, Muslim women are able to go to the mountains and take off the hijab to experience freedom. In my opinion, the question is not whether or not the French secularization policy or the theocracy in Iran should be allowed. The question is whether a certain group is being singled out, and what can be done in order to make such discrimination stop. Why is the French secularization policy focused only on Muslims as opposed to other religions? This policy definitely is based on fear because of threats of terrorism, but this fear should not translate into law. More recently, France has continued enforcing its policies because of the burquini debate. It was interesting to note, that in both women’s cases, the hijab is used as a symbol of power. It empowers one woman to refuse to take it off and the other to refuse to put it on. It gives the women a choice of whether or not to wear it, and in making that choice, the women are asserting themselves. It made me question what articles of clothing or accessories give women in our less-restrictive culture such power?
Shakespeare in Love
Shakespeare in Love is a movie that made me remember why, after 400 years, we are still reading, enjoying, watching and reciting the words of The Bard. The premise of the movie is that Shakespeare’s experiences, in this case with love, gave him inspiration to write his plays. Here, his love for Gwynth Paltrow’s character is his inspiration for Romeo and Juliet. Paltrow’s Oscar-winning performance is riveting as her precise pronunciation keeps the audience hanging on every one of Shakespeare’s words.
Sara asked us to ponder possible inspirations behind the writing process, and to consider whether or not a script can truly express the feelings of love to its audience. In this case, I believe the answer is a resounding YES! The layers of the true actor, playing the stage actor who is Shakespeare, inspired by falling in love and playing Romeo, to convey love to his stage audience as well as to the movie audience, stretches the concept a bit far. However, it enforces the idea that the conveyance of the meaning of love to the audience really comes from the viewer’s interpretation through his/her own emotions and experiences, much like Shakespeare’s character in the movie conveyed his experiences through his writing. In his own words, “Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.”
Lastly, the movie did leave me wondering if all of Shakespeare’s plays were inspired by real events or people in his life. If so, his must have been a crazy life!
Fight Club at Rose
Last Friday the Flora Rose Movie kicked off the semester with Dr. Hill’s interpretation of the meaning behind Fight Club. While the violence in the movie was sometimes hard to bear, our discussion beforehand gave the movie a much deeper meaning. Several scenes in the movie symbolized how our primitive instincts can overtake us if we let them. The script also explored the issue of how and why we conform to society’s expectations. Dr. Hill’s discussion and insight added to the movie’s depth and to my experience watching it. The group also discussed how cultural expectations were both defied and reinforced throughout the movie, especially for the main character played by Ed Norton. Dr. Hill wore a kilt, a family heirloom, to demonstrate how something that is traditionally thought of as a sign of feminism, could be seen as a sign of masculinity in some cultures. I have to say, I enjoyed the chat before the movie and was excited to learn that Dr. Hill had written several papers on Fight Club. His insight, his enthusiasm, and his costume, all made for a memorable event! I am looking forward to the next movie night at Rose.
my signpost
Dr. Hill asked us to identify a signpost slogan that we live by. On the door of my dorm room I have a small sign that reads:
At the end of each day
Before you close your eyes,
Be content with what you’ve done,
Be grateful for what you have
And be proud of who you are.
This is a signpost slogan that I try to live by, especially while I am up here at Cornell.
I am always grateful for what I have and this includes what I am able to do and accomplish each day. I find it much more difficult to be content with what I have done each day. There is never enough time to do everything I want and need to do, and to accomplish everything to the best of my ability. Things slip. Things slide. Things get forgotten. I think this is why I love my slogan, because the ‘content’ is not the same thing as the’ pride’. They are two separate concepts. This allows me to be very proud of who I am as a person who tries to accomplish, who tries to soothe, who tries to make the world a better place with each connection. I am a doer, a thinker, a companion, a neighbor, a friend. That said, I have to learn to be more content with what I have done because in the face of the day and all its curveballs and crazies, I did what I could. Maybe I’m not proud, but just content with what I have done; but that is OK. In fact, that is good. I am always grateful for it all– the opportunities, the love, the experiences, the help and the ability—All of it! Dealing with it all, every day, makes me proud to be a part of it.
This little phrase, goes very far for me and I am happy to share it with you!