Batman: Now and Beyond

Batman is a character that is very prominent in our culture. The costume alone symbolizes the vigilante who didn’t necessarily follow all the laws in order to do what he found to be right. Throughout the years, many depictions of him had been made in order to adjust to the times. One version him was a teenager that Bruce Wayne had mentored in series to take his place. It was a refreshing change because since he was high school age, the issues this Batman had were relevant to the experiences of a high schooler of the times. The episode, “The Winning Edge” is a good example of this. In the episode, there was drug called venom circling Gotham and it had reached the three students on the . If compared to drugs prevalent at the time, the drugs they were taking were like an exaggerated version of steroids. Steroids were especially a common issue amongst athletes in the nineties, when the the show was made. The episode showcased their aggressive behavior and their need to keep taking more in order to gain more strength. It’s an episode that would offset anyone from taking performance enhancers.

This is comparable to the play, “Antigone,” it was relevant to the people of the time because it was very wrong to fight against your city. Since, Creon’s nephew did that and died, he refused to bury him, preventing his soul from traveling down to the underworld. It creates a sort of battle of conscience in the audience being that it’s easy to see how it’s wrong that he wouldn’t bury his nephew although his nephew did defy the state. Overall, the rules of the gods mattered more than Creon’s rules of state and his disobedience caused him a great deal of loss. It related to the audience by furthering the idea that the will of the gods is more powerful than anything else.

Nothing Is Impossible For A Possible !

Kim Possible is an average teenage that spends her free time, fighting crime. . In most of the episodes she and her sidekick Ron Stoppable work together fighting one to fight her arch-nemesis Draken. In one of the episodes, Draken creates a machine, that could control the world. Kim Possible jumps in, to fight Draken’s sidekick Shego, while Ron attempts to fight the scientist himself. She ends up winning, and everyone is safe.

Kim Possible fighting crime, was a way in which she not only protected herself and her family, but also the community.   Crime is a social issue that affects many communities today. And unlike the show Kim Possible, instead of having a teenage girl to protect our communities we have police officers. We also have various issues against the people who are suppose to protect us, sometimes in the form of police brutality. In the reading of Sophicles Antigone, them main character Antigone takes on a different social issue: social injustice. After the death of her two brothers as the result of them fighting for the crown, her uncle Creo becomes in charge of the kingdom. Her uncle then decides that one of her brothers didn’t deserve to be properly buried. She was really upset, and decided to take the law into her own hands. Her sister however didn’t want to get involved and she didn’t help her. Things unfortunately didn’t go well for her as she ended up being arrested. Interestingly, though her sister tried to take the fall for her, out of guilt. Antigone however ended up dying alone, not her sister. She died though, fighting for what she believed in, even after being let down by her own family. Her actions showed that she wanted to be remembered for her bravery and loyalty. Both Kim Possible and Antigone in my opinion,  showed tremendous selflessness and fearlessness. They understood that certain sacrifices had to be made, if certain actions were taken.  I think although they both fought for different social issues, they’re still heroes in they’re own unique way.

Sharifa, Team Hestia

 

 

The Relevance of the Past and Future’s Contemporary Issues are Sympathetically Similar

 

Contemporary society issues are numerous in number and they continue to grow by the year. Many varying outlets in media tend to state their own opinions on certain issues via T.V. shows, movies, books and articles. One such example of a modern T.V. show having its take on contemporary society issues is Arrow. Specifically, it talks upon the issues of gun control and gun violence. Gun violence has been a constant issue over the past years in our country and no there seems to be no resolution in sight. While both opposing proponents of gun violence have valid reasons, it’s a difficult problem to find common ground on. In season 5 episode 13 of the Arrow, a tragedy occurs in which a gunman invades City Hall and injures 24 people along with killing 5. The video below shows a brief snippet of the argument that some of the main characters have following that tragedy. Shootings are becoming more and more common in our country and the sudden tragedy it unfolds is something that the show captures perfectly. Even though the way it’s presented certainly has varied likeability, the fact that gun control is a shown issue is incontrovertible.

On another note, the play of Antigone tackles its instance of contemporary societal issue in a darker and compassionate tone. Its primary issue of women’s place in society and their treatment when compared to men comes to a resolution of sorts at the cost of a heart wrenching sacrifice at the end. Now, while the issues brought up in Arrow and Antigone are different, they both tackle their problems somewhat similarly. In both show and play, the gravity of loss is needed in order to fully understand and comprehend the meaning behind their respective dilemmas. Antigone opened Creon’s eyes at the end when she took her own life and the blatant loss of life in Arrow makes Oliver Queen immediately take action as mayor of Star City. However, due to the difference in time periods and written perspectives, Antigone’s outcome comes off as much more tragic due to the emotional attachment the reader develops towards her. Though women’s place in society didn’t really alter at that time, the play still sent its message of whether or not women deserve to be ‘secondary’ in most of life’s primary respects.

Bailey Seemangal, Team 5, Hephaestus

 

 

Defying Justice: Lapis lazuli

The story of Antigone was written as a tragedy, about a woman who had two brothers that were cursed to kill each other to become the King of Thebes. This resulted in several things of which one her uncle, Creon became the King of Thebes, he decided that Eteocles would be given a proper burial but denied the other brother, Polyneices a burial. On lines 35-36, Creon ruled that “for anyone who does one of these things, murder by public stoning in the city is ordained.” And with that in mind Antigone decided to bury her brother consequences be damned, as a result, she was imprisoned.

Lapis lazuli made her first appearance in the animated series, Steven Universe as a gem trapped in a magic mirror. After she convinced Steven, a half human, half gem to free her she attempted to destroy her captors, the Crystal Gems, who were also Steven’s guardians. After being subdued by Steven, a tentative bond grew between the two even as she kept her distrust of the Crystal Gems because she believed that they betrayed their home world, by protecting Earth and choosing to fuse. While investigating some of the technologies left on Earth by the gems of home world, the Crystal Gems found out that home world gems were heading for Earth. These gems included; Jasper and Peridot, who were sent by their leader to capture the Crystal Gems and along with them Lapis lazuli.  While on board the ship, heading for home world to be prosecuted Lapis accepted her fate while her other companions chose to fight. It was during the final battle between Jasper and the Crystal Gems that Lapis was freed but was shortly captured by Jasper, who then gave her the opportunity to exact revenge on the Crystal Gems for imprisoning her for thousands of years by fusing with her. While fused with Jasper, Lapis took the opportunity to capture her by imprisoning them both under the deepest depth of the ocean.

This reminds me of the story of Antigone because just like Antigone Lapis was caught in the middle of a war between two people she cared about, and if they had followed the wishes of their superiors, they would have been saved but instead they followed their judgement and as a result were imprisoned.

Family or the State

In the world of One Piece it’s pirates against the Marines. The most interesting thing is that protagonist of the story, Luffy wants to be the pirate king so the marine’s are often shown as the antagonists with few exceptions. In this world often times sins of the father are laid on the shoulders of the son. When the father can’t be reached it is the son that the marine’s go after in a bid to uphold ‘justice’. After all their fathers were ‘demons’, a threat, so clearly the sons are the same. Luffy’s older brother Gol. D Ace was the son of the previous pirate king Gol. D Roger. Once the man was executed there was a manhunt for his pregnant lover so that his unborn child could be killed. Before his execution Roger asked Garp who was Luffy’s grandfather and the only man to have ever come close to catching him to look after his lover and unborn child on the fact that his child was innocent. Ace’s mother who held him in her womb for 20 months out of willpower to protect her son died at his birth from the strain and Garp looked after Ace when he saw that sacrifice.

 Garp stands in front of his grandson Luffy.
“Luffy I consider you my enemy.”
 Luffy punches his grandfather and continues onwards to save his brother Ace.
(One Piece ep.480)

There came a point in One Piece when Ace was to be executed not because he was a notorious pirate in his own right but because he was Roger’s son. And that was bad because clearly he had the blood of a demon running in his veins never mind that Ace denounced Roger as his father and claimed his only father was his captain Whitebeard. This was a difficult position for the man who secretly defied the law despite being a marine and took Ace in. Garp is a vice admiral of the marines and a powerful man. He also loves his adopted grandson Ace but he had to make a decision. Save the boy he saved and saw as his own blood or follow the laws he fought to uphold most of his life. Family or the state? When this battle to save Ace is fought there are many parallels that can be seen between this fictional world and the world we live in today. Despite the marine leaders’ goal to keep the peace and put an end to piracy there is rampant corruption and fanaticism that comes with it. We have that here too. Not just in the United States but also in many other places in the world, corruption runs unchecked and no one does anything about it or whatever they try isn’t enough. Another parallel would be the complacency. In both worlds people are complacent and complacency often times leads to apathy and an incomplete story of what’s really going on.

Iseme: What can I do, wretched one, if things are in this state,
by loosening or tightening the knot
Antigone
See whether you will join in the toil and the deed with me.
Ismene
What dangerous enterprise? What ever are you thinking?
Antigone
Whether you will lift the corpse with this hand?
Ismene
What? Do you intend to perform rites for it, a thing forbidden the city?
Antigone
For my brother, certainly, and yours, if you will not.45
I for one will not be caught betraying him.
(22)
Ismene
Headstrong! When Creon has forbidden it?

In the play Antigone, Antigone tries to convince her sister Ismene to bury the body of their brother Polyneices. Ismene quickly points out that Creon has forbidden this though Antigone says that she will not betray her brother. Creon their  uncle is the king and essentially head of state and he is also harsh. If anyone breaks the law even if it is his family he will punish them, as as often times the punishment was banishment or death he most likely would have executed them. Both girls went through the same thing. The loss of their parents and both brothers in a relatively short period of time and now because one brother is condemned to having his soul wander around because he wasn’t buried is too much for Antigone but Ismene doesn’t want to lose her sister who is all she has left. There is a definite loyalty that each sister has and each sister refuses to budge from. And the both aren’t wrong. But when do they know which loyalty comes first and when to go against the state when they are wrong. Often times loyalty is divided because of separation between family and state and that divisions can lead to tragic situations.

Fatema Islam
Team Jupiter

 

Respect Across All Galaxies

Far, far away, but not too far in the future, is the world of Pandora, where humans have just arrived. In the movie Avatar, by James Cameron, there is a race of human-like creatures called the Na’vi. These people rely heavily on the Hometree, which connects them to their ancestors and all things spiritual, many even live here. Sadly due to the greed of the humans who have landed on the planet, the Hometree of the Omaticaya clan gets destroyed. This movie makes many different comments on contemporary social issues. The biggest ones are our treatment of our planet, our treatment of other earthlings, and our treatment of traditions and spiritual customs. The destruction of this tree demonstrates how humans have little respect for nature. It also goes deeper to show that we have little respect for the cultures of others and the rituals they perform. This tree was incredibly sacred to the Na’vi people and was more than just a home. They were connected to their past and future lives through this.

Similarly, in Sophocles’ Antigone, the brother of Antigone, Polyneices, was denied the religious ceremony of burial. Antigone fought against this, doing what she knew was right, and buried him multiple times. Creon disrespected the traditions and customs that were incredibly important to Antigone. This was more than just the act of covering her brother with dirt, it was a sacred act that she needed to do to show respect.

In both of these works, power and greed was put above the importance of honoring traditions and respecting those around you. The humans in Avatar wanted the riches that lay beneath the Hometree, so they took it. Creon in Antigone was desperate to keep the power he held as ruler of Thebes, so he denied the funeral rites to Polyneices and left him to be looked on in shame. Hopefully, we can learn from this social commentary that we need to respect each other and the world around us.

Sheila Kelly, Team Saturn

Death of Tadashi (BigHero6)

 

In the movie, Big hero 6, Hiro just lost his own brother and doesn’t know how to face it. The pain of losing someone important is just terrible to feel, especially since Hiro is just a child. The scene i’m picking is the aftermath of Tadashi’s death(Hiro’s brother). Hiro started to close in and the movie shows him shutting out everything. The movie’s color scheme really showed the great sorrow that Hiro was going through too. The mood was dark, gray and dull making the scene, just so overly emotional and depressing. The audience watching this would feel the same and even cry a little for Hiro. In this society, when people die, it’s normal to feel sad because they were important. So like the norms in society, when people watch this part of the scene, they will either feel sad or pity for Hiro. 

 

In contrast to Oedipus, he saw his mother/wife die and he had a total meltdown. He was extremely sad that he was so foolish and ignorant. The same with Hiro, he went into a total meltdown mode and couldn’t stand up until he met Baymax. When compared to social contemporary, both are sad and tragic. The tragedy of losing someone precious is something no one wants to feel. However in their case, Oedipus realize he can’t run away from fate and Hiro have to face his problem. Everyday in this world there is tragedies and sadness, it will never disappear because if there is light then there is darkness too. It’s the whole yin and yang factor of the world that makes it balance. I believe that there is no such thing as a perfect world because this is reality. Reality can be very cruel and people have to accept reality. Just like Oedipus, he accept his fate at the end and Hiro too. By blinding himself, it symbolize his foolishness and inability to escape fate. Therefore, both Oedipus and Hiro was hurt because of the death of their love ones. Since Tadashi died in a fire, which was caused by somebody and Oedipus’ wife done taboo. Both are issues and they are related to the modern world because people have different opinion on taboo relationship especially with family. Also criminality can be justified as evil for a lot of people. So in perspective both are evil and hurtful. 

Sons of Anarchy

Charlie Hunnam goes by the name Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy. He plays a very important role as the vice president, eventually becoming the president of his motorcycle club. Single father Jax Teller finds his loyalty to his outlaw motorcycle club tested by his growing unease concerning the group’s lawlessness. While the club protects and patrols the town of Charming, Calif., keeping danger away. However, the club earns their money through an illegal arms business.

A social issue is a problem that influences a considerable number of the individuals within a society. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual’s social issue is the source of a conflicting opinion on the grounds of what is perceived as a morally just personal life or societal order. There are many social issues in the show sons of anarchy, particularly kidnapping. Kidnap is to take (someone) away illegally by force, typically to obtain a ransom; kidnapping is one of the felonies that have a larger social impact in a population. Jaxs son Abel, was kidnapped by the Irish gangster and IRA traitor Jimmy O. Jimmy killed Abel’s adopted family and abducted Abel because he thought Jax killed Jimmy’s son. Eventually, Jax retrieves Abel and takes him to a safe place.

In the play, a woman named Medea has many social issues, they’re anger and violence. Her husband is leaving her and marrying King Creon’s daughter. She is in misery and doesn’t know what to do. Medea was furious, she decided to take action. Medea said “best the straight route in which I am most skilled — to take them off with poisons” line 385. This quote foreshadowed Jason’s two daughters and wife death. Medea left Jason alive to keep him in misery.

Although the social issues in Sons of Anarchy and Medea are different, they’re both social issues in everyday lives. Jax had to deal with Abel being kidnapped. However, he overcome the obstacles and obtained his son. Medea was in rage with anger because of her Jason leaving her. Her actions were incorrect and could have been a better solution.

Mohammed team Vulcan

I want to suck your blood!!

I want to suck your blood!! That’s right I’m a vampire. No, I’m the one and only Druuuuuulaaaaa. That’s a dramatic entrance right? Well imagine that same statement said over and over and over again since the REAL Dracula existed?

The story of Dracula originates from a Romanian King, Vlad. The name literally means “Son of the Devil” which was no laughing matter. In order to defeat the Ottomans and scare them off, Vlad’s war tactic was to kill his own people by way of impairment. Innocent citizens were oiled and impaled alive so that their screams of pain and agony would scare about the larger army of the Ottoman’s. The story of Dracula is so gory the only way to understand it was by making Dracula a monster later called a vampire- demon who sucks blood to survive. What is true is that Romania exists from the bloodshed of their own citizens.

We see examples of Dracula in movie series like Twilight, The Count Dracula in Sesame street or my favorite Count Chocula.

Dracula, like Medea are vengeful and scary characters. Both make hasty decisions for the list of their family and and up killing their own blood. Medea enters the play having killed her father while Dracula, taken as a child for a rival army, kills his brother. Similarly, the United States is at war with itself struggling to determine which part of history to acknowledge. Recently there was the murder of a college student in Charlottesville who was at a protest to the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee. Today, without second thought we harm and even kill our fellow human beings (citizens of the USA or not) because we have different scales in which we determine what is right or wrong. Medea thought killing her child was good to save them from humiliation in being abandoned. Dracula sought vengeance in killing his family for not protecting his parents and protesters are killed because of hasty and emotional decisions. 

Wrongful Convictions

A social issue is any problem which affects a good number of people in any given society. Its an undesirable condition that people believe should be corrected. Several contemporary social issues such as terrorism, child marriages and corruption have been witnessed in the Game of Thrones but the scene below portraits a wrongful conviction and execution.

In this video Ned’s execution, The Lord of Winterfell Eddard Stark who is pictured above was wrongfully convicted and executed due to the influence of higher authority. He knew about the illegitimacy of the Queen, Cersei’s children and was stopped in his tracks before he could prove himself. He believed in himself and fully knew who was to be crown King after the death of Robert I Baratheon. Because of this, Cersei ordered his arrested and made sure he agreed to her terms that Joffrey Baratheon is the one and only true heir to the Iron Throne.

Antigone suffered the same fate for what she believed in. She believed the Divine law always over rules the State law . She felt Creon did not have the authority in the matter of burial in lines 441 to 445,

Creon,

“You! you there, hanging your head to the ground, do you say

you did these things, or do you deny them outright?”

Antigone,

“I say I acted. I do not deny acting.”

Creon,

“You may remove yourself wherever you wish,

free of a heavy charge.

Now you, tell me, not at length but concisely,

did you know that these were forbidden by proclamation?”

Antigone,

“Yes. Why would I not? It was public.”

Creon,

“And you dared anyway to transgress these laws.”

Antigone,

“Yes, Zeus was not the one who issued these proclamations

for me, nor did Justice, who dwells with the gods below,

define such laws among mankind.

I did not think your proclamations so strong

that you, a mortal, could overstep

gods’ unwritten and unshakable traditions.”

Creon was a dictator and used his power like Queen Cersei and ordered that since Polyneices attacked the city, he will not be given a proper burial. Anyone who buries him will be punished by death which is evident in the lines above. Even though Antigone knew this, she said in a conversation with Ismene that,

Antigone,

“For my brother, certainly, and yours, if you will not.

I for one will not be caught betraying him”

Ismene,

“Headstrong! When Creon has forbidden it?”

Antigone,

“He has no part in keeping me from what is mine.”

Creon did not listen to counsel from Teiresias, the priest even though he predicts his actions will lead to his death and suffering (in lines 988-1090). He still would not change his mind after Haemon, his son pleaded not to execute his fiancee (in lines 635-765). Creon also refused to recognize the family love that is shared between Antigone and Polyneices. Both rulers displayed poor judgement and leadership without thinking of long-term consequences of their decisions. Creon threw away the laws of the gods (Divine Law) in favor of rational laws of men (State Law).

Antigone was imprisoned for what she believed in and decided to commit suicide something the Greeks believed was noble to do than allow your enemies finish you. An artistic comparison can be done with the use of the sculpture below, Ludovisi Gaul Killing Himself and His Wife.

 

The picture above, shows a Gaul (an enemy/barbarian) in the act of committing suicide by piercing his sword into his chest looking backwards while he supports his lifeless wife with his left arm and leg. His enemies, the Greeks were closing in on him and thus he killed his wife, to prevent her capture and violation as she could’ve been raped, and will be a slave. Due to the remaking of these sculptures and time, the blood can not be seen. This, compared to Antigone hanging herself shows how the Greeks were ruthless with their enemies. Antigone the law breaker and the Gaul an intruder preferred death by their own hands than at their enemies hands.

Ned Stark also died for standing for his beliefs to doing what is right and for his daughter. Sansa Stark and Catelyn Stark in the video are reflections of Eurydice and Ismene when they found Antigone dead.

Richard, Team Vulcan.

 

 

 

The Sphinx’s Riddle

The Sphinx, according to Greek mythology, was considered to be a woman with a lioness’ body, eagle’s wing, and a serpent’s tale. She was known to be a mystical creature who brought about terror and destruction. The Sphinx is a popular character who was also used by J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth of the seven-book series. (Excerpt from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)

In Oedipus the King, the Sphinx was known to terrorize the people of Thebes. She was sent by the god Hera as punishment for the unresolved crimes of King Laius. The Sphinx sat between the city of Thebes and its people, refusing to let anyone in or out unless they successfully answered her riddle. Those who failed to were either eaten of flung off a cliff.

Similarly, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the Sphinx was used to guard treasures and was known to become violent when anything threatened the treasure. In the Third Task of the Triwizard Tournament (a large contest held between three wizarding schools), the Sphinx guards Harry’s closest route to the Triwizard Cup, which Harry must get to before the other contestants to win the tournament.

Both in Oedipus and The Goblet of Fire, the Sphinx represents terror, violence, and eventually, the protagonists’ confrontation with their destiny.

Oedipus left Corinth, his hometown after he received a prophecy that he would kill his father and marry his mother. As he’s passing by Thebes, he comes across the Sphinx and her riddle.“What is it that has a voice and walks on four legs in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?” “A man”, Oedipus answers. With the riddle being solved the Sphinx plunges off the cliff, and Oedipus is welcomed into Thebes as a hero, is married to its queen, and becomes the new king. Unknown to him, however, is that the moment he solves the Sphinx’s riddle, he falls into the trap of the gods, and comes face to face with the fate he’s been running from. Not much later, the city of Thebes faces a plague, also a form of punishment for an unresolved crime; the murder of King Lauis. Oedipus’ pursuit of truth leads him to realize that it was he who murdered King Lauis, his father (when he was traveling from Corinth to Thebes) and that he had married his own mother, the Queen.

In the Goblet of Fire, after Harry solves the Sphinx’s riddle and crosses by her, he too, like Oedipus, has to confront fate. He faces a duel with Voldemort (the main antagonist). In the first three books of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter thrice avoids a dangerous, fatal duel with Voldemort, the darkest wizard the entire magical world has seen. However, once Harry gets past the Sphinx and gets to the Triwizard Cup, he falls into Voldemort’s trap, and upon contact with the cup (a portkey, which is an enchanted object that can transport someone to a specific location), faces the fate he and everyone that loved him was trying to save him from. Harry finds himself fighting Voldemort in a duel.

In both stories, after defeating the Sphinx, the protagonists find themselves facing the fate they originally are running from. The Sphinx in both stories represents fear, violence, and an arrival to the true fate. 

 

Do we need more Antigone in the world?

Antigone is an ancient literacy work by Sophocles. Its a proof of how genders and people were treated Creon, the king of Thebian who believed himself as everything. For him, his world is law and he is the ruler for people. In that society, Antigone dared to question him. She challenged the rules in society which brings up the social status and importance of women in that era. As we read the story of Antigone we see Ismene, the sister of Antigone stating that “we were born women, who should not strive with men” She explains Antigone and the audience that as women they have no right to go against of the word of men. It shows how equality did not exists and there is no way for a woman to rule king or any man in their lives. Although, women were clearly shown to be lower than men Antigone didn’t care about any rule or how the society expects her to act. She still burries her brother against the king order. She was strong enough to go against the world to show what she believes in “Creon has no right to keep me from my own”, she was the type of citizen to do anything for justice. In 21st century, we expect the world to be different and more open for everyone. Most of us look back at this reading and believe that time has changed. There are people who are unaware of the fact that inequality still exists in the same way as it existed in Greek time. Just like Antigone, women in eastern countries and in muslim world are still forced to keep their mouth closed and their identities under men. They are forced to dressed a certain way and speak in a different manner. No matter how advanced the world is, women are still not allowed to speak their minds or participate in things they believe in. There is fear and terror that lives in women hearts that needs to be changed. Antigone was someone who had the courage to speak up. Women around the world are treated as men properties and actions needs to be taken to save them. Just like Antigone, we need more women to speak up and raise their voice against inequality. They need to unite and come together to fight for everything they believe in. It takes courage to fight, and its the only way for women to be free. Fizzasaeed,Team Hermes

Babbling about Plays

In the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series there is an episode called  ‘Journey to Babel’. In this episode, the crew of the Starship Enterprise, the famous Federation starship, is in charge of bringing ambassadors from various planets to the planet Babel, which is essentially a science fiction version of the United Nations. The problem is that many of the planets hate each other due to economic differences and harmful stereotypes of each other, among other things. This leads the guests to fighting amongst each other and the eventual murder of one of the ambassadors. It also shows how the character Spock, who is half Vulcan (alien) and half human was tormented by his Vulcan peers because he is different, the same way many second generation immigrants are teased and tormented as well.

The xenophobia, the fear of foreigners, is similar to that displayed in Sophocles’ Antigone and Euripides’ Medea in the sense that they were tormented for being foreigners. They were called ‘barbarians’ and their misfortune was blamed on the fact that they were from a different country rather than their actions or the actions of others.

This Star Trek episode aired in order to highlight the problems hating another country causes.  This is similar to what the Ancient Greeks did with their plays. The Ancient Greeks used their plays in order to discuss the political issues of the day such as immigration (this is the issue discussed in Antigone and Medea) or a plague (this is one of issues discussed in Oedipus). The difference between ‘Journey to Babel’ and the plays of Ancient Greece is that the Star Trek episode was made so that we think about the problem and take actions to figure out how the problem could be solved. The Greeks, however, used their plays as catharsis, as a way to feel like they are solving the problem without actually solving it.

Hinda, Team Mars

Hell Hath No Fury

The scene is dark with an impeccable consciousness of regret hovering over you as you eat the third handful of buttery, salty popcorn. A few kernels spill over failing to make it to your mouth but your eyes are pasted onto the pail nonpareil actress holding a tendentious expression over the angry, frightened Reverend. The remnant taste of a cola you sipped four and a incessant seconds ago is still lingering off of your tongue and that’s when the phenomena occurs: Why did I choose THIS net-flick?! Why does anyone choose a series to binge and who on earth in 2017 can relate to the Salem Witch Trials or a woman stuffing a rat down her husband’s throat?! Apparently a flock of WGN America’s Salem fans including myself.

Salem is a television show about the contras’ of freedom. We all have freedom to do whatever we please but the consequences are not so lithe or agreeable- often objectionable. Arguably, a young woman in love and separated from her true love by the religious tyranny of the Puritans, Left alone with a bastard child she enters the world of satanism to rid herself of child. She is later unable to alter her choices when her lover returns with burdens of his own. Torn between reviving Satan in hopes of creating a new world of peace and leaving her duties to be a mother and wife in an autonomous state.

A Cross-Cultural Take on Oedipus the King

“The patients become the playwright’s plague-weary Thebans, the playwright’s grim and fearful chorus. Like the cast, they are all black, and the resonant but never stated implication is that they have AIDS.”

“…As a result, his fall has an element in it of just deserts, as though he were being punished for his hubris, and this robs from the mounting human tragedy that gives the play its brutal power.”

These quotes are from a 2001 New York times theater review of an adaptation of Oedipus the King set in contemporary Africa.

As a result of setting the play in Africa, the context of the story changes, meaning that there are different reasons as to why events in the play occur. The writer of the review, Bruce Weber, notes that instead of going through a devastating plague, the people that Oedipus rules over are struggling with AIDS. A plague as gruesome as the one that the Athenians were concerned with at the time of the original Oedipus story is not an issue that would concern anyone today, or in 2001, and so it is understandable that this detail would be altered for a modern adaptation. The use of AIDS instead of the Athenian plague makes for a much more relevant comment on modern African life for that time period, as in 2001, when this play was written, AIDS was prominent issue in Africa. The ideas are similar enough for the use of AIDS in the story to seamlessly work in the story – the people are upset that something so horrible has spread, and so they turn to their leader, Oedipus, for guidance. The story of Oedipus himself and his prophecy continues from there.

Furthermore, Weber observes how Oedipus’ weakness is still hubris, but his fall is somewhat different in this adaptation, which could also affect the theme. Weber claims that “…it’s hard to imagine him as a revered leader. He’s Oedipus the Prince, someone who suffers on his sleeve, who doesn’t have layers of self-certainty to be peeled slowly and inevitably away as his heritage and his fate are revealed to him.” Oedipus in this adaptation is a young, privileged, and somewhat lucky character. His demise is only seen when he blinds himself at the end. In the original play, Oedipus’ decision to uncover the killer of Laius by any means necessary in order to help his people is a noble one, and the audience can pity him when his fate is revealed, which adds to the purpose of the play itself – to find a “reason” for the Athenian plague. In this contemporary version, there may be a comment being made about leadership in Africa and how the situation regarding AIDS may have been handled poorly. There is a change in theme and purpose.

Citation:

Weber, Bruce. “Timeless Tragedy, Transported in Time.” The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2001. Accessed 5 Sept. 2017.

Link:

Tags:

OnStage, CLAS2, Euripides, Sophocles, Antigone, Oedipus, Medea

 

 

 

Nothing Is Ever Done

We’ve all seen Cinderella or at least heard of her , there have been over two dozen cliche movies of the poor orphan child who’ s evil stepmother makes her life miserable , but she overcomes the obstacles and succeeds beyond the means she was born with. To be frank , through discussion with others many feel like she does have to much to offer and at one point I did too. Well , THEY ARE WRONG. In fact, Cinderella has some wise words to offer in Disney’ new and old movie , as seen in scene in the video ( link below)  she shares with us this quote “just because its done, doesn’t mean its what should be done”. This quote couldn’t be more fitting to today’ contemporary society with such publicized political hysteria spreading and with Antigone in Sophocles’ famous ancient play Antigone .

Likewise in both the play and in today’s society revolutionary individuals take a stand against what has been placed in effect by a higher authority . In the play, Antigone goes against Creon’ wishes  , the king of Corinth and her uncles, by burying her dead brother  Polyneices and performing his death rights . Antigone believes it is the wishes of the gods , more specifically Hades , to perform rights on Polyneices’ dead body , the commandments of god illuminate higher importance compared to mere man/Creon. Correspondingly , in the current political weather many similar circumstances are being assembled where many social activist are battling against the government and other groups. For instance , many progressives are fighting against icons of white supremacy displayed throughout the U.S. . Even though it happened doesn’t mean it is right and sometimes change is infinitely possible.

The moral of my overall analysis is , the scene where Cinderella drops a bomb of wisdom “just because its done, doesn’t mean its what should be done”, is an incredibly ominous scene considering that the overall message could be utilized in the past and present , such as with Sophocles’ play Antigone and in current politics. When a lesson has no age or time period boundaries its able to infiltrate a larger audience making it powerful and that is what the scene is able to do.

Sincerely , Samantha , Team Minerva

Citations:

Picture

Caroll Marketing Executive at Callboxinc.com | Blogger | Online Marketer, Judy. “7 Important Business Insights from the Granddaddy of Animation.” Callboxinc.com – B2B Lead Generation Company, 7 Oct. 2015, http://www.callboxinc.com/thought-leaders/7-important-business-insights-from-the-granddaddy-of-animation/

Video

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMF8M8-OZYE         Time: 00:00:30

“Youtube.” Youtube, 11 Feb. 2015, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMF8M8-OZYE .

Julius Caesar and the Modern Presidency

Assassination Scene

Shortly after the current president’s inauguration, Oscar Eustis directed a modern performance of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”. Caesar bore a striking resemblance to the recently elected Donald Trump, from the hair to the too-long red tie. Understandably, many were outraged, some even asserted that this production bordered on treason, feeding of the hate that many people share for the president following his often controversial campaign.

However, Caesar has been portrayed as major political figures in many other reproductions, so to immediately discard Eustis’ interpretation as purely partisan would be short-minded and unfair. Caesar has been cast to represent figures from Mussolini to African dictators to Barack Obama. This play has a history of being used as a representation of a society’s current social and political climate. During World War 2 the assassination of “Mussolini” in a reproduction of Julius Caesar probably inspired a sense of pride and patriotism in those fighting against the Axis powers, as well as an equally negative reaction from fascist Italy. Depending on the interpretation and point of view a reenactment of Caesar can be seen as intensely patriotic, assassinating an undemocratic leader for example, or grossly inflammatory, like assassinating a legitimate president.

A parallel for this is seen in Antigone. Just as the senators in “Caesar”, Antigone and her sister are caught between doing what they think is right and what is law. Antigone gives funeral rights to her dead brother, disobeying Creon’s declaration and ultimately leading to her death. Creon’s actions against the gods cause him to lose his wife and children. Antigone, Creon, and the Roman conspirators in “Caesar”, despite their good intentions, all face the consequences of their actions. In both plays, the opinion of the people plays a major role. In “Caesar” Marc Antony’s speech turns the public against the conspirators; in “Antigone” Creon fears Thebes turning against him for displeasing the gods. Both plays in their original form as well as the many political interpretations of “Julius Caesar” stress the influence that public opinion can have on current events.

Social Issues Present in Pixar Films

Pixar, a subsidiary of Walt Disney, continues to produce new ways to teach modern day children about social issues through brilliant computer animation. One of their recent releases “Zootopia” fearlessly addresses sexism and racism. This is accomplished through Judy Hopkins, a rabbit who follows her dream of being a police officer rather than joining the family business of carrot farming. The plot continues with Judy stuck in a colorful world littered with setbacks and oppression. Of people telling her shes too small, too slow, too stupid, too feminine. But as a theme in this film, we set our own goals, and through Judy’s persistence and relentlessness she overcomes the limitations and expectations set upon her by others, more specifically by society; and she continues to strive for more challenging projects.

The message is clear. Our destiny is not predetermined based off of our race, gender, or culture. It is created by us and the goals we set for ourselves. Just like in Trevor Noah’s book, Born A Crime, Trevor and his mom didn’t let their society’s biased point of view, and condescending judgement hold them back just because of their color, they went against the tide and did what they wanted to do. Trevor’s mom took writing classes and broke into the white collar field even if it was just at the bottom rung, holding a mere secretarial position, Through persistence, belief, and hard work you can overcome obstacles placed by society.

In Sophocles’s play Antigone, Antigone does what she believes is the right thing to do, and she goes out and gives her brother the most proper burial she can, given the present circumstances. Even though it is unaccepted and frowned upon by her peers, more specifically by Creon, she does what she knows is necessary. Because she knows that you cant adjust your preferences to society, you have to let society adjust itself to you, it may take some time and some imprisonment but slowly but surely, we can be thankful that we have reform.

Never Succumb

Resident Evil is an action/horror movie, all about the zombies and how the main character, Alice survived in the terrible situation. it seems fancy and not relevant to the plays we read. But first, I wanna talk about the movie. It’ s based on the game called “Resident Evil”, the first chapter came out in 2002, the final chapter released last year. It’s been 15 years. Alice is stronger and stronger in the movies. I really like the character, she is brave, determine, powerful; reminds me of the character Antigone.

I really like this scene. Alice was fighting with the umbrella corporation. She is so badass and make them pay the price. The corporation is reputed for its evil and ruthless nature, sacrificing anyone and anything in their quest to achieve perfection with the T Virus. They were a major pharmaceutical company before the global outbreak. I can see the contemporary issue from the movie suck like the greedy businessmen such as the umbrella corporation do terrible things for their own profits, money and even wanted to control the world. Alice was one of the victims. Luckily, she was not infected but more powerful, and did not succumb to the umbrella corporation. So did Antigone. Even their backgrounds are different, generations are different, but both of them were facing the formidable opponent. Antigone attempted to bury her brother Polynices, but it’s against the law and her father was threatening her not to do so. but she said,”A specious pretext. /I will go alone/To lap my dearest brother in the grave.”, “O waste no fears on me; look to thyself.”. When she was facing the threats and death, she had no fear, stick to her own belief, never bowing down to evil forces.

The Absolute Bollocks of Society

Blackadder

Blackadder Goes Forth is a kind of old British TV Humor show set in the Trenches of World War 1. The Main Characters, Captain Blackadder, Lieutenant George, and Blackadder’s Batman (Servant not Batman though) Private Baldrick. The show kind of presents the characters as being Lieutenant George being a person leaning to the right of the political spectrum who is misguided by what is going, Whilst Private Baldrick represents the other end of the spectrum being on the political left and having a clue something happened whilst its so chopped up and garbled its confusing

The treatment of each other and other peoples views even when opposing to your own has become a hot button and topic issue. In America there is a consideration that there are only two sides to politics has introduced a if you’re not with me your with them. Despite only around 50% of Americans being either a Republican or Democrat those two parties receive nearly 95% of the votes. Lieutenant George can be used to represent the Republicans in that he is aware of what is going on and why they are going on however they are mixed up. Private Baldrick represents the left wing in that he is aware why things are happening but now what is happening and he has everything confused (I.E the whole Ostrich thing). Both men are convinced in their own minds that what they know is the truth and that this is how it happened. Meanwhile Captain Baldrick noticing their abrupt lack of knowledge as to what is going on that got them in this situation has to inform them that it is not Imperialism from the Germans nor is it that an Ostrich got shot because the Duke of Austria was hungry. In an attempt to bury the problem of what they knew Captain Blackadder had to explain what was wrong with their point of view. This is partially reflected in the story of Antigone where she tries to bury her brother however is prohibited from doing so by Creon. (These respectfully represent one of two wings) However Creon’s son even after the rescindment of the death sentence of his lover Antigone still decides to kill himself to bury this whole event.

To further the issue a later line in the clip said it was simply too much effort not to have a war. Antigone furthers this by it was simply too much effort not to bury Polynices

#CLAS2 #Antigone #TeamHepaestus By David Gelman

 

Frank Underwood: Modern Day Creon

House of Cards is a well written and critically acclaimed Netflix series created by Beau Willimon that delves into the darker themes of politics that nonetheless still accurately portrays Washington in some ways better than others that goes into societal issues on power and control. House of Cards follows Frank Underwood (played by Kevin Spacey) as a South Carolina congressman who ruthlessly rises through Washington to become President of the United States to gain more power as the man in the highest office in the world. As a character, Frank Underwood had always been a ruthless, egotistical sadist since the beginning, but as the series continues, he becomes more involved with his pride and his yearning for more power. The show demonstrates how people yearn for power and control over others and how Frank Underwood exemplifies this character trait. Even though many of Frank Underwood’s actions, such as murder, are exaggerated from real life politicians, his ruthless tendency for power and control over the course of the last five seasons reflects on present day politicians with their own paths to control others through fear and power. Many politicians aim for the highest offices in their country to impose their own self-rule through various tactics, such as gerrymandering, to round up their own supporters and silence opponents, and political corruption to abuse the power of the government to increase his or her control over others. Underwood has shown the issue of ruthlessness and hunger for power. For example; at the end of the first episode of the second season, Underwood monologues to the audience about why he murdered a certain character. Underwood, even though he had a strong sexual and secret relationship with this character, murdered her with no remorse because she had become a problem in his path to gaining power; she had transitioned from a “kitten” to a “cat”. The metaphor that Underwood is expressing is to show that the character who started out as innocent and obedient, become independent and rebellious, something would potentially become a problem for Underwood. The character may have meant something to him initially, but to him, she was simply another problem needing to be fixed. In the scene, he says, “For those of us climbing to the top of the food chain, there can be no mercy. There is but one rule: hunt or be hunted.” His speech about the murder of the character demonstrates his extent to gain power and shows off his ruthless nature. Even though he cared for her, Underwood murdered her in cold blood simply because she became a threat in his conquest for political ambition.

The scene further demonstrates and comments on how Underwood would do anything to further his political venture to control more power; much to the similarities today, Underwood displays an exaggerating action to tone down the actions of modern day politicians. Where Underwood directly caused the death of this character, politicians today indirectly cause physical harm through inhumane policies and rhetoric that Underwood would support in his Washington. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Creon, the King of Thebes is blinded by power and is shown as arrogant, ignorant, and cruel. King Creon used his the role as king to rule by his own will, not for the people’s will at heart; Creon rules as if it his unquestionable right to rule as king, ruling as a leader who displays himself as the sole power and authority of the state. In his role as king, Creon had not only acted as the power hungry leader: he acted displayed a sort of cruel ruling that came with his leadership, such as how he treats his watchman with such disrespect (lines 315-326), his ignorance by not listening to his son, Haemon (lines 726-765), and the cruelty in his arrogance when speaking to Antigone shows him as a cold person (lines 497-525). Throughout the society that is shown in Sophocles’ plays, leadership is shown as an egotistical array of arrogance, ignorance, and cruelty, particularly demonstrated through Creon. Creon’s hubris (or his excessive pride) was his tragic flaw, causing his downfall. In a similar fashion, Frank Underwood’s hubris is what led to his inevitable downfall; his pride got the better of him and his grasp on power gradually fell out; his power as President was swept from beneath him because of his ignorance, arrogance, and hubris, similar to Creon’s downfall as king. Sophocles wanted to show the reader how power leads to ignorance, arrogance, and cruelty, and that a person’s tragic flaw, such as a person’s hubris, will to their demise. In today’s society, the same view applies; as politicians gain power, their become more arrogant, more ignorant and increasingly cruel. As a result, present day media displays the same view of power that Sophocles had; in a way, Sophocles writings have become full circle in our society.

#OldisNew, #CLAS2, #Sophocles, #Antigone, #TeamSaturn, #HouseofCards, #IgnoranceArroganceCruelty, #Power

A modern take on Antigone

“You get the feeling that it’s not just the ill-fated souls of ancient Greece that this sun looks upon. It’s staring straight into the audience as well. That stately drumbeat that we hear every so often is marking the pace of everybody’s death march.”

“It may be Mr. van Hove’s intention to show that even the most adamantine souls can be brought wailing to their knees by life’s blows. The point registers, for sure. But like much else in this thoughtful but strangely detached production, it’s one we register in our minds but not in our hearts.”
       In regards to the quotes from the article connecting to the play, death played a major role in Antigone, as it essentially sets the stage, and is the driving force between the main character, Antigone’s, desire in the play. With the death of her brother she yearns to pay her respects, despite the king’s authority telling her not to, and these issues and themes most definitely connect to a contemporary, and ancient Athenian audience. These issues are similar to what the Ancient Athenian audience might have been thinking about, as they enjoyed plays that had a central theme, and those that had a deeper meaning. Fate and rules, which are themes of Antigone both have relevance to a contemporary audience and ancient Athens. Fate because of the fact that it was beyond Antigone’s control that her brother Polynices had died, but felt as though in her heart it was her duty to honor him by burying his body, despite defying Creon’s wishes. To a contemporary audience, fate is something we can all understand too well, when we often have to make a decision between two important things. Rules can most definitely relate to an ancient Athenian audience, as it played a major role in society, In regards to theater, it was often used as a form of tax, as wealthier citizens would pay for theater production, and also the housing and feeding of the actors. However some differences in issues that the ancient Athenian audience may have been thinking about is a play’s particular relevance to their daily live, and the times in which they would attend to go see a play. In ancient Greece, theater was apart of a religious festival, so while it was used for entertainment, similar to modern day, it also had an important purpose, which can be considered sacred on some level. 

Brantley, Ben. “Review: In ‘Antigone’ at BAM, Agony and Despair in Inexorable Motion.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/28/theater/review-in-antigone-at-bam-agony-and-despair-in-inexorable-motion.html?mcubz=1.

Showing What is Right From Wrong

 

In the Harry Potter series, Hermione is known to be a very smart woman and is sacred to get in trouble. She is not afraid to show how she feels about certain topics. She tends to do things for the goodness of them. In their society, Draco Malfoy is usually a source of some problems in the school.In one of the scenes in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione sees Draco and his friends making fun and waiting for Hagrid’s pet to be executed. Hermione sees them and she believed what they were doing were wrong. So, she goes to put a spell on Draco, but she decided not to. She, instead, punches him showing how she is standing up for what she thinks is right. In all schools, they have a rule where you would get suspended or expelled if you punch someone. So, Hermione basically sacrificed herself to getting suspended or expelled to show how wrong Draco and his friends are. Hermione actually ends up not getting expelled nor suspended.

In comparison to Antigone, in Sophocles’ Antigone, the society show how men think that women don’t stand up for themselves because they think they cannot. Antigone buried her brother herself, which is a crime to bury someone. Antigone’ sister, Ismene was going to confess the crime that she did not do. Antigone does not want her sister to confess it so she sacrifice herself to go confess the crime and she did. Antigone was trying to prove that she has buried her brother to Creon, but Creon wouldn’t believe it because she was a female. Antigone was then sent to prison where she killed herself.

#OldisNew #CLAS2 #Sophocles #Antigone #Team Cronos

Old stories made new through abandonment

Peter Parker is a fictional character that has been portrayed multiple times in film. Peter is depicted as a young adolescent and an outcast. He goes to school and faces the teenage struggles of fitting in, being liked, and getting girls. When he goes home, he finds himself living in a household with only his aunt, as his uncle was murdered and his parents left him when he was a boy. The viewer knows that he is left because, “We see the pair leave a young Peter with Aunt May and Uncle Ben, telling the future web-slinger, ‘There is something your mom and I have to do’”  (Eason, Comic Book Resources). Peter is forced to cope with the betrayal of his parents every day and knows that he will probably never see them again. This is also seen in the opening of The Amazing Spider-man, where Peter is brought to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May. His father says that he has business to attend to and scurries off with Peter’s mother.

The contemporary social issues that Peter faces are similar with the contemporary issues in our society. Just like Peter, people in today’s society are brought up on one person households where there isn’t a significant other. All humans at some point have been abandoned and have had to deal with this loss for a long time . A large amount of adolescents think highly about fitting in and being with the “popular crowd” just like Peter Parker.

The contemporary social issues that Peter faces are similar with the contemporary social issues in Euripides, Medea. Medea is a figure in Greek mythology that was faced with abandonment as well. Medea was left by her husband Jason for Glauce. Faced by this tragedy, Medea is also abandoned by her home in Corinth, as Creon forces her to leave and never return. She is forced in a position where she has to deal with the loss of her home and the man that she loves so much.

 

Euripides’ Medea.” Www.dropbox.com, http://www.dropbox.com/s/gwhelzt22z65x7y/Euripides%20Medea.pdf?dl=0.

Eason, Brian K. “The Secret History of Spider-Man’s Parents.” CBR, 11 Aug. 2016, http://www.cbr.com/the-secret-history-of-spider-mans-parents/. Accessed 4 Sept. 2017.

Is Being too Determined a Bad Thing?

The two main characters in the film, The Prestige, Alfred Bordan and Robert Angier were both determined to become the greatest magicians. They were obsessed to out perform each other. Their determination has lead them to make extreme sacrifices in their lives. For example, Angier wanted to sabotage Borden while he was performing by shooting a real bullet during Borden’s trick to catch a flying bullet. This lead to Borden cutting 2 of his fingers off, due to how serious the injury was. In order to get revenge on Angier, Borden decided to ruin Angier’s trick of a disappearing bird by tweaking the cage that led to Angier killing the bird on stage and the cancellation of the show.

This scene reflects on today’s human society because there are some individuals that are way too determined to achieve their goals that they have to sacrifice many valuable things in their lives in order to reach that goal. Lets take sports as an for example, a lot of younger kids in today’s society want to be able to be professional athletes when they grow up due to so much exposure to sports. However, they’re not even aware of the sacrifices they would have to make in order to achieve that goal. They are so determined that they start training like adults athletes from morning to night. While barely being able to balance that type of work ethic with school work at such a young age. Adding on, they don’t even have the proper time to take care of their health. This could be the reason why kids end up getting injured or suffering from mental illnesses. They aren’t allowing themselves to rest properly. Their pure determination may be the reason for possible failure in their future.

In comparison to Antigone, Antigone was also extremely determined to risk her life in order to bury her brother. The main reasoning for this determination is because she feels as if it’s her duty to bury Polynices body since he is her brother. Also, it was against the Gods and considered as immoral to leave bodies unburied. Therefore, If Antigone didn’t bury him she would’ve felt guilty and offended the Gods. This lead to her decision to violated Creon’s law by not leaving Polynices’s body to be consumed by animals in the wild.  By doing this, she sacrifices many consequences in order to bury her brother. Consequences that would eventually leads to the death of Antigone. This may have been prevented is Antigone wasn’t so determined to bury Polynices, but because of her stubbornness she had to face her downfall. Similar to the film, The Prestige, both main characters, Robert Angier’s and Alfred Borden’s determination to be the best magicians has lead them to their own downfalls.

How to win the Game of Thrones..?

Game of Thrones, a very popular TV series by HBO has just released new season which absolutely rocks! The series take place mainly in the continent known to us as- Westeros. Westeros is the home for several major houses in the series, as well as home for King’s Landing. As the name suggests, King’s Landing is the place where the king and the royal family is located. As you can see on the map below, King’s landing is fairy small compared to the other kingdoms, and yet has control over all of them… Right? Well, that was the case before Cersei Lannister got the power. First of all, only Kings were the true rulers of the Seven Kingdoms, but many dramatic events have made her one and only Queen of Westeros.

Long Before Cersei sat on the iron throne, she already have played her Game of Thrones, How? Well after king Robert tragically passed away, their son – Joffrey had been crowned and therefore announced to be the king. Due to the fact that he was still young and unknowing of the crown matters, his mother – Cersei was technically ruling instead of him. However, not long after he was associated. That was very heartbreaking for Cersei, but she still had another son that could take a place of Joffrey. And he did, Tommen- youngest of Cersei’s kids became the new king. He was way too young however, thus making his mother the undercover ruler of seven kingdoms. After sometime, Cersei has destroyed something that he dearly valued, which led him into taking his life. Left with no other descendants, she became one and only ruler of seven kingdoms. Now that you know a brief description of events led to Cersei’s reign, I can take you to my next point.

Throughout the history, humankind have faced several dictators, most of which have been eliminated. Most of the time, dictatorships are practiced in the closed societies. What do I mean by that? I mean societies are that not welcoming new ideas, and new people; Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler are the few of the dicatoators that practiced their reigns in such societies. What both of them have in common other than living in a closest world away from everytone? Well, people under their dictatorship feared and despised them (although couldn’t really show it due to the fear factor.) Another common trait? They did not concern themselves with the opinions, suggestions and such of the common people, or anyone else really. Sooner or later this kind of behavior leaves people no other choice but to bring them down, which ultimately stops their reigns. Why am I saying all this? Well, although some world-class dictators have been eliminated, some still remain. For example – Kim Jong-Un. North Korea is one of the undeveloped , closed to everyone countries. He is arguably one of the worst dictators yet to exist. People in North Korea are suffering, dying of hunger and other aspects while he lives perfectly fine. Sounds similar… similar to Cersei Lannister! She, just like Kim Jong-Un, does not care of the well-being of her common people, making herself a perfect dictator. History repeats itself, and as long as people won’t find courage to rebel, the dictators will live their life as selfishly as ever before, and people will continue suffering.

In the play given to us – Antigone, Creon, arguably is the dictator. He demands that one of the son’s body mustn’t be buried, which goes against God’s will, and anyone’s moral standard. Antigone, certainly felt that it was wrong to left dead body unburied, and she did what she had to do – burry him. “I urge no more; nay, wert thou willing still, I would not welcome such a fellowship. Go thine own way; myself will bury him.”(Antigone, 69-72)As things progress, he realized that if only he did not command that, everything could have been fine. But, what happened – happened, and let to awful outcomes. Chances are that people would still do something they believe is the right thing to do, even if it was said not to do so.  Everything he cherished and valued has shattered right in front of his nose, and they happened faster than anyone would predict. The point being- If you do not concern yourself with concerns of commoners, (or anyone actually), you WILL lose everything you love. Cersei never considered anyone has ever suggested to her, not even her two brothers, the result? Both brothers turned away from her, all three kids dead, and she lost her rule over half of the kingdoms in Westeros. Moral of the story- be open-minded, see different approaches to situations, and most importantly, consider suggestions of others. None of the personas mentioned above will ever succeed, their reigns will only continue while people fear them. Cersei is not an exception, her Game of Thrones just might be over on a near future.

Diana Dubitskaya, Team Mercury

#Elsewhere #TeamMercury #GameofThrones #Antigone #CLAS2 #Dictators

Antigone is Still Relevant

THEATER; An Ancient Drama Whose Wisdom Is Always Modern

The themes of Sophocles Antigone is still relevant today as it was 2500 years ago. The NYTimes review of, “An Ancient Drama Whose Wisdom Is Always Modern” describes how the themes of Antigone is relevant to a contemporary audience. Lydia Koniordou, who plays the title role in this modern staging of Antigone says, “’the audience knows what the play is about…but they’re not just here for the story. They’re here for the poetry that comes out and for the depth of the thought as regards ideas and problems and dilemmas that are part of our civilization today.” This might be similar to the matters Ancient Athenians thought about because, in both civilizations, theater tackles issues that reflected the society at large. And these issues were able to link the audience to the story of the play. The review also emphasizes how artistic elements such as costumes, masks, the poetry and the songs presented in the play attracts both audiences and transcend time through its elaborate and unique aesthetic.

Another theme of Antigone that is relevant to the contemporary audience is that the play “doesn’t divide the world into black and white” as said by Ms. Koniordou. In modern-day where there is such diversity in our culture, religion and personal perspective, the line between rights from wrong is often blurred. What is right in one culture, might be revolting in another, thus the play inspires the audience to not divide one perspective as being right and the other wrong. The Ancient Athenian audience might have had similar thoughts while watching Sophocles Antigone which performed in 438 BCE, right after the Samos Revolt. The Ancient Athenians punished the Samians brutally, and the theme and plot of Antigone as she rebels against Creon to perform her duty to her brother and God might have reminded the audience of their action. The play transcends the barrier of time as it makes both Ancient Athenian and the contemporary audience think of these issues in society.

Wolf, Matt. “THEATER; An Ancient Drama Whose Wisdom Is Always Modern.” The New York Times. 27 Oct. 2002.

Masuma, Team Mercury

#CLAS2, #Onstage #Sophocles, #Antigone

Fighting for What’s Right

Women were often looked down upon by men, the more you go back in time the more you see how women were often treated as less than equals often saw taking care of the babies and cleaning. You go even farther back you see how women had no say or no power on what happens to them, they had no vote and no voice. But if you look more recently women have been fighting for equality and have been for a long time they are succeeding little by little so now what use to be is changing. Women don’t have to stay home with a baby she can go and work, get an education, speak for themselves, and fight for themselves.

In this scene in the movie Wonder Women you see her walk across a battlefield even though she was told not too. She walked right in the middle of a battle to fight for what she believed was the right thing to do because she couldn’t just watch people suffering. Most people couldn’t imagine women on the battlefield let alone fighting back. Now we look at the play Antigone by Sophocles. One of Antigone’s brothers were not buried properly and this meant he couldn’t go to heaven so she did what she believed in and sprinkled dirt on him it wasn’t a proper burial but it would at least let him rest peacefully. Similar to Wonder Woman she didn’t listen to what others said. Antigone followed her own morels and did what she thought was right. But Unlike Wonder Woman who was praised and celebrated after standing up for what she believed was right, Antigone was punished the king Creon said to her “Go below now…While I am alive, no woman will rule me”( Antigone, lines 524-525). We can see from the play that women were treated differently and punished for acting out of line and not listening. In the movie though we see a total difference response to a women fighting alongside men. We can see how society has been changing and how issues from back then are getting better and the progress society is making on equality.

Francesca, Team Cronos