The Virgin of Guadalupe

Because I do music, I'm part of a mariachi band.  Because I'm part of the mariachi band, I am finding out all the Latin American festivals.  Did you know, for example, that Mexico alone has 3 Independence Days?  Yesterday, we were part of the (drum roll) Celebracion de la Virgen de Guadalupe. 

The food was pretty amazing - and the aromas...wow...  But the biggest perk for me yesterday was being part of a big saint's day feast-type thing.  I've seen and read about these - a huge community celebration, parading a picture of the saint, a big high mass - and I've secretly wanted to witness one of these for years. 

I go to St John's cathedral, which is high church Anglican - so, not all that different from a catholic mass.  Despite yesterday's proceedings being entirely in Spanish, I could follow what was happening.  I also feel a little more fluent in Spanish.  And, music being the universal language of mankind and all, I could sing along and understand pretty much what I was singing.  I do enjoy seeing all the national dress for different countries, too - and a little kid not much more than knee-high wearing national dress including a sombrero is the peak of cuteness.

For lunch I had a papusa (from El Salvador) - like a savoury pancake filled with beans and cheese, with coleslaw and salsa on top.  Just right for pre-performance sustenance.

Movie #16 - Brotherhood of the Wolf

DVD Sam loaned me 5 movies earlier this year.  A couple of weeks ago, he asked if I'd watched Brotherhood of the Wolf yet.  Not yet... if he'd told me that there are a few stripped-down fight scenes, I would have watched it ages ago!  At least now I have.

I'm not sure this is a movie I would watch again - although maybe if I saw it while slightly less exhausted it might make more sense.  So, if you're hoping for an intelligent plot discussion or something, I apologise.  It's not going to happen.  Set in 18th century France, there is a lot of violence, and there are a few scenes in a brothel - if you have delicate sensibilities, find something else to watch.  Especially if you get squeamish.  I started watching at the start of dinner - mistake.

Some little things before I get into it.  This was a dubbed version, and I put the subtitles on as well - weird.  The subtitles corresponded in the same way Google Translate will correspond.  There are some very funny bits, like the brothel madam indignant about the possibility of a scandal in her house.  Or the description of how Florentine women get their men to sleep at home, by giving them poison in the morning and the antidote in the evening.  I found the camera work a little annoying.  There are some aspects I really enjoyed, like the close-ups of the puddles splashing, but the frequent slow motion in the middle of action was irritating.  Not to mention the special effects of the Beast itself, which really dated the movie.

At one point, I heard phrases of music reminiscent of Dances with Wolves and it was only at that point I went "oh yeah - duh".  Native American in this movie about wolves, so how could you resist?  Haha.  There were 2 other distinct musical flavours, a fairly ecclesiastical sort (similar to Allegri's Miserere), and a gypsy style like that found in Chocolat.

In fact, the underlying theme of the movie reminded me a lot of Chocolat: the power of the cultural norm.  (It also corresponded, incidentally, with yesterday's sermon).  Everyone is born into a society with a cultural norm.  Those in power dictate what that idea of normal is, and class anyone who doesn't fit into that mould as inferior.  When those ideas are challenged, our instinct is to fight.  And in hindsight, that is often ridiculous.  In this movie, the ideas were surrounding race (is a Native American really the same race? surely he is inferior, a savage - "you don't avenge a savage with Christian blood") and the Age of Reason (Catholic practices in a world blossoming with scientific knowledge).  Some of the questions they asked were, to this 21st century view, laughable.  I had to remind myself a couple of times that they really wouldn't have known these things, and we only find out by asking and experiencing.  Compare that to now though, with the debates surrounding gay marriage - there is a photo doing the rounds of Facebook, showing a scene from a rally 50 years ago against inter-racial marriage, and a scene from a present-day protest against gay marriage, and a caption along the lines of Think How Ridiculous You'll Look in 50 Years.

And then, the atrocious things Christians do to maintain the status quo, or the Right Way, or to hold onto power.  There is even a scene so like a KKK meeting, all these robed people hiding behind the anonymity of a mask, with strength in numbers - how many of them, if they sat down with the tracts they say they are upholding, would turn around and act and think differently?  And if you are really in the right, why do you need to hide your face?   Or even, the things we do in a fight or flight mood - in this case, if we think this beast is a wolf, let's go and kill all the wolves we can find.  That way we're sure to get it, right?  But how silly we look after a bit of waiting and learning when we discover it's not actually a wolf and all those animals have died for nothing (King Herod, anyone? witch hunts?).

I write this as a Christian but more, as a human.  Much of what Christians have done in the name of our religion is indefensible.  I think though that it's more that Christians have been in power for a good portion of history, and we are human and react in human ways.  Without knowledge that what you are doing is actually wrong, but with a background of this is probably right, we'll tend to go with the probably.

Actually, I'll amend the theme of this movie:  There is nothing to be feared, except fear itself.

And now for today's photo:

Funny story here.  I put washing on the line on Saturday, which was a beautifully sunny day, if rather cool.  I didn't have time to get the washing off the line between gym, blog, and heading off to a games night... It rained Saturday night.  It rained on Sunday.  It rained Sunday night, and it's been rainy and blustery all of today.  Which is wonderful for the June long weekend, but not great for getting my washing dry.  Now I have to work out what I can possibly wear to work tomorrow.

Movie #2

The second movie I picked up last Tuesday was Doubt, which I watched last night.  My brain has been chasing itself in circles all day as a consequence.  (It was also rather reminiscent of a board game I played recently, called 'Scruples' - in this morally grey situation, what would you do?). 

Although it is set in the early 1960s, the situation is not exclusive to that time - as Meryl Streep says, "There is nothing new under the sun".  People are still doubting the character of others, children are still bullying each other, we are still eating the forbidden fruit.  And then lying about it.

However, actions speak louder than words.  In the Catholic parochial school context of the movie, isn't it better to be kind, as Sister James is to all her students (and everyone, for that matter), and as Father Flynn is towards Donald Miller?  Donald speaks highly of Father Flynn, and it is clear the priest is the only one who makes this 12-yr-old black gay boy feel like a worthy human being.

At this point in my musings, I think Sister Aloysius must have it wrong, she must be the dragon in all this (and Meryl Streep does Dragon Lady so fabulously well).  Yet.  No matter how much we hope to be living in a world of rainbows and soft kittens, the reality is grittier.  Not everyone adheres to the same rules.  Some people think the rules are more like guidelines.  Humans are human, flawed, imperfect.  And as a principal of a school, Sister Aloysius has a duty of care towards the children.  If she is too quick to believe the explanation of a suspected misdeed, she might be turning her back on the welfare of a child.  We'd all like our parish priests to be saint-like, but what if that's not the case?  What if there was more to the explanation, more that wouldn't be looked upon kindly, that would be evidence of wrong-doing?  Surely, then, Sister Aloysius is in the right...?  Better to have a priest of suspect morals removed, rather than always be wondering if there's something wrong and damaging going on behind closed doors.  In the end, though, it is evident she is wracked with doubts, the poison of leading a suspicious life.

The contrasts in this film I find interesting.  The suspected priest acts always in a Christian manner (kind, loving, protecting); the nun set on proving his guilt 'steps away from God in the pursuit of wrongdoing' (a line said near the beginning and repeated at the end of the movie), and she even lies - an admission the naive Sister James finds horrifying.  The nuns eat in silence; the men eat merrily, joking and laughing.  Dragon lady forbids ball point pens ("Every easy choice today has its consequence tomorrow"); Father Flynn wants a secular song included in the Christmas pageant - maybe Frosty the Snowman (gold!).

What would I want, if I were a parent of a child in this school?  Someone suspicious and fear-inspiring, who will nevertheless be on the lookout for anything harmful to my child?  Or someone who will act with kindness, maybe 'take a special interest'? Not having any children, that's really a hypothetical situation.  I know that children need boundaries and structure; I know that children need kindness.