Humanities This Week

 

The humanities, like air, always surround us in our day to day lives but rarely do we truly see and acknowledge them. Over the past week, I have made an effort to focus on the people, cultures, and experiences around me as Halloween, a sometimes controversial holiday approached. To start off the week, I attended the broadway show, Aladdin. The play centers on a poor young man in a middle eastern city who falls in love with a princess. The play discusses many aspects of culture and poverty that are prevalent in said society. For example, Jasmine, the princess, is being forced to marry, potentially against her will; a tradition that still continues to be common today in modern society. Aladdin on the other hand faces poverty so horrible that he risks execution daily for even a small scrap of bread. These experiences helped me to consider how even a fairy tale can open one’s eyes to the reality of the world. This perspective enabled me to look at Halloween with an open mind and be more receptive to some of the cultural appropriation that happens every year. I was relieved to not see a plethora of traditional Native American costumes flood the streets on Halloween night. This shift in both attitude and the media gives me hope for the future. As the week continues, I hope to learn more about Dia de Los Muertos and how that can be brought into my life as a new cultural and learning experience.

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