"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Blog Post #7
This weeks reading and activities focused on the expression of dance. Dance is a way people can tell their stories and be themselves. It allows for freedom and can be very relaxing and also liberating. In the guided activity we watched different forms of dances being performed. "Walking With Pearls Southern Diaries" was a dance were all the women wore the same outfits but there was more then one dance. They had a lot of different dances choreographed and in the music the story was being told. "Walking With Pearls Africa" was very different from "Walking With Pearls Southern Diaries" they all wore different colored outfits but the dance was more unified. They worked together at the same time. There also was not a lot of music and just narration in the beginning. The reading Memory Walking With Urban Bush Women's Batty Moves By, Ama Oforiwaa Adunum really related these types of dances to her own life and how they are so influential. The "Batty Moves" dances that she describes shows women in their natural light. They are free and open with their dances and how they portray themselves. They show their history and where they are from and show that they are not afraid to be who they are. They really give off a strong message to all women everywhere. Ama is Ghanaian she grew up in Africa but went to college in the United States. This was obviously a huge transition for someone to go through. When she came to America she never felt at home. Her culture and the way she grew up did not fit the social stamina at the college that she attended. She was seen as different and she felt that she was looked down on for being African. Ama felt she was being pressured into pretending to be someone she was not just so she could fit in. When she saw the "Batty Moves" dances this all changed for her.
"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.
"The other dancers sang their versions of the song, sharing their African American heritage but also emphasizing their other identities -- Seminole, Bajan, Cuban, and Nuyorican-- to illustrate both individual and collective identities as women of the African Diaspora." The dances showed something different to Ama they showed unity between a group of women who were so different and all came from different places but at the same time they were all alike. This provided hope for Ama and allowed her to appreciate the art of dance. It brought her back to her childhood and she was able to relate to these women and understand their message. This reading and the guided activity showed how dancing is more then what it seems to be. Dance can have deep messages in them and it gave me a good look into a kind of dance i've never seen before. It showed me a new culture and how women should really take advantage of dance and use it more to rely messages. Maybe it will help some other girl who feels out of place just like it did for Ama.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Blog # 6
In this weeks lecture our main focus is on Gay and Lesbian rights. This is a very current topic and an ongoing debate. Recently the state of Maryland just passed the law for marriage equality for everyone. As of January of 2013 nine states have legalized gay marriage. This is a huge step for the gay and lesbian movement. Lady Gaga is a huge supporter of the gay and lesbian rights movement. Her song "Born This Way" represents a lot of things to many people. According to her song she believes that you are born gay and it is not something you chose to be. In her song she repeats this concept over and over to get the point across. Because she believes you are born gay there should be no discrimination against people for that reason. Sexuality is a way we oppress people like what we have done with race and gender in the past. You should not be discriminated against because of the person you fall in love with or who you date, and you should be able to get the benefits of being married to someone you love. There are so many benefits when it comes to getting married. For example tax benefits, housing benefits, government benefits and many more.
In the graphic novel Fun Home By, Alison Bechdel she discusses many issues involving gay rights and her life story. In her graphic novel she uses pictures and her words to describe her life story and her relationship with her father. She had always felt different as a child and never wanted to do all the girly things that other girls had wanted. Her parents also put her in many positions that young girls would never be put in. Her father and her had a very complicated relationship he had a lot of issues and didn't know how to show his love for his children. When Alison realizes that she is gay she is very open about it. She wanted to tell her parents right away and hope they would understand. When she does this though she is very wrong her mother takes it the hardest and tells Alison something that she never knew. Her father had been having affairs with men all of his life. Throughout the book Alison talks about her father's mannerisms and how they were complete opposites. Alison had always wanted to dress up like a boy and have muscles like one and her father wanted to be more of a girl. He always dressed her up in dresses and made her put clips in her hair. Two weeks after Alison had come out to her parents her father had passed away. There is a lot of speculation about how he died and if it was an accident or not but Alison realizes that her parents lives were very abnormal. Alison's story relays the message that you should always be who you are no matter what. Her father pretended to be something and someone else his entire life and in the end he couldn't handle it anymore. Alison had always known that she was different and she embraced it in her life. Thats all you can ever do is be yourself and hope others will accept you for who you are.
In the graphic novel Fun Home By, Alison Bechdel she discusses many issues involving gay rights and her life story. In her graphic novel she uses pictures and her words to describe her life story and her relationship with her father. She had always felt different as a child and never wanted to do all the girly things that other girls had wanted. Her parents also put her in many positions that young girls would never be put in. Her father and her had a very complicated relationship he had a lot of issues and didn't know how to show his love for his children. When Alison realizes that she is gay she is very open about it. She wanted to tell her parents right away and hope they would understand. When she does this though she is very wrong her mother takes it the hardest and tells Alison something that she never knew. Her father had been having affairs with men all of his life. Throughout the book Alison talks about her father's mannerisms and how they were complete opposites. Alison had always wanted to dress up like a boy and have muscles like one and her father wanted to be more of a girl. He always dressed her up in dresses and made her put clips in her hair. Two weeks after Alison had come out to her parents her father had passed away. There is a lot of speculation about how he died and if it was an accident or not but Alison realizes that her parents lives were very abnormal. Alison's story relays the message that you should always be who you are no matter what. Her father pretended to be something and someone else his entire life and in the end he couldn't handle it anymore. Alison had always known that she was different and she embraced it in her life. Thats all you can ever do is be yourself and hope others will accept you for who you are.
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