I chose to research Jazz and Fashion during the Sophiatown era and how the Drum Magazine elaborated it in the magazine
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sophiatown - exercise 9
Sophiatown,also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid, rebuilt under the name of Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name. Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its destruction represents some of the excesses of South Africa under apartheid. Despite the violence and poverty, it was the epicentre of politics, jazz and blues during the 1940s and 1950s. It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians and artists.
I chose to research Jazz and Fashion during the Sophiatown era and how the Drum Magazine elaborated it in the magazine
I chose to research Jazz and Fashion during the Sophiatown era and how the Drum Magazine elaborated it in the magazine
mudfish, mermaids and depictions of Olokun, Oba and Mami Wata.
Mami Wata is venerated in West, Central, Southern Africa, and in the African diaspora in the Caribbean and parts of North and South America. Mami Wata spirits are usually female, but are sometimes male
The appearance of her hair ranges from straight, curly to kinky black and combed straight back. "Mami Wata" where "Mami" is the Pidgin English spelling of mammy (mother) "Wata" is the Pidgin English spelling of water is essentially a mermaid or humanistic water entity.
Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman's upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent.In other tales, Mami Wata is fully human in appearance (though never human). The existence and spiritual importance of Mami Wata is deeply rooted in the ancient tradition and mythology of the coastal southeastern Nigerians (Efik, Ibibio and Annang people). Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches. A large snake (symbol of divination and divinity) frequently accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts. Other times, she may try to pass as completely human, wandering busy markets or patronising bars.[4] She may also manifest in a number of other forms, including as a man. In the Yoruba tradition, the mother goddess Yemaja has been recently associated with Mami Wata in popular culture.[citation needed] Traders in the 20th century carried similar beliefs with them from Senegal to as far as Zambia. As the Mami Wata traditions continues to re-emerge, native water deities were subsumed into it
The appearance of her hair ranges from straight, curly to kinky black and combed straight back. "Mami Wata" where "Mami" is the Pidgin English spelling of mammy (mother) "Wata" is the Pidgin English spelling of water is essentially a mermaid or humanistic water entity.
Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman's upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent.In other tales, Mami Wata is fully human in appearance (though never human). The existence and spiritual importance of Mami Wata is deeply rooted in the ancient tradition and mythology of the coastal southeastern Nigerians (Efik, Ibibio and Annang people). Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches. A large snake (symbol of divination and divinity) frequently accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts. Other times, she may try to pass as completely human, wandering busy markets or patronising bars.[4] She may also manifest in a number of other forms, including as a man. In the Yoruba tradition, the mother goddess Yemaja has been recently associated with Mami Wata in popular culture.[citation needed] Traders in the 20th century carried similar beliefs with them from Senegal to as far as Zambia. As the Mami Wata traditions continues to re-emerge, native water deities were subsumed into it
Olokun is an Orisha in Yoruba religion, associated with the sea.It works closely with Oya (Deity of the Winds) and Egungun (Collective Ancestral Spirits) to herald the way for those that pass to ancestorship, as it plays a critical role in Iku, Aye and the transition of human beings and spirits between these two existences.
Olokun has male or female personifications, depending on what region of West Africa He/She is worshipped. It is personified in several human characteristics; patience, endurance, sternness, observation, meditation, appreciation for history, future visions, and royalty personified. Its characteristics are found and displayed in the depths of the Ocean. Its name means Owner (Olo) of Oceans (Okun).
Olokun also signifies unfathomable wisdom. That is, the instinct that there is something worth knowing, perhaps more than can ever be learned, especially the spiritual sciences that most people spend a lifetime pondering. It also governs material wealth, psychic abilities, dreaming, meditation, mental health and water-based healing. Olokun is one of many Orisa known to help women that desire children. It is also worshipped by those that seek political and social ascension, which is why heads of state, royalty, entrepreneurs and socialites often turn to Olokun to not only protect their reputations, but propel them further among the ranks of their peers.
Olokun has male or female personifications, depending on what region of West Africa He/She is worshipped. It is personified in several human characteristics; patience, endurance, sternness, observation, meditation, appreciation for history, future visions, and royalty personified. Its characteristics are found and displayed in the depths of the Ocean. Its name means Owner (Olo) of Oceans (Okun).
Olokun also signifies unfathomable wisdom. That is, the instinct that there is something worth knowing, perhaps more than can ever be learned, especially the spiritual sciences that most people spend a lifetime pondering. It also governs material wealth, psychic abilities, dreaming, meditation, mental health and water-based healing. Olokun is one of many Orisa known to help women that desire children. It is also worshipped by those that seek political and social ascension, which is why heads of state, royalty, entrepreneurs and socialites often turn to Olokun to not only protect their reputations, but propel them further among the ranks of their peers.
Binary Opposites - exercise 8
Superior - Inferior
Civilised - Savage/primitive
Christian - Heathen
Progressive, Modern, Original - Backwards, Static, Prehistoric
Industrial - Hunting, Farming
Culture - Nature
Enlightened People - Dark Continent
Centre - Margin
Civilised - Savage/primitive
Christian - Heathen
Progressive, Modern, Original - Backwards, Static, Prehistoric
Industrial - Hunting, Farming
Culture - Nature
Enlightened People - Dark Continent
Centre - Margin
Sub Culture -assignment 3 research
1.
Mass
Media- means by which information reaches a vast number of people through
different mediums such as radio, newspapers, internet and television. Sociologists
study mass media to explore the perceptions and behaviors of the audience and
how it effects them.
2.
Culture
Industry- this is in connection with Theodor Adorno as he discusses the
applications within media in the Frankfurt school concept of culture industry. the culture
industry's interest is to preserve its affinity to the narrowing cycle of
capital as its source of living.
3.
Ideology- A system of
ideas, one that forms a base for the economic and political policy. It is a
manner of thinking whether it be a group, an individual or social class.
4.
Popular Culture-
ideas, attitudes, images and perspective that lie within the mainstream of a
culture
5.
Counter Culture – subculture of
which the values of behaviors deviate from the mainstream society.
6.
Critical theory-
Critical
theory is a type of social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing
society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to
understanding or explaining it. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the
surface of social life and uncover the assumptions that keep us from a full and
true understanding of how the world works
7.
Neo Marxism-
A term loosely applied to any social theory or
sociological analysis which draws on the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich
Engels, but amends or extends these, usually by incorporating elements from
other intellectual traditions.
8.
Conformism and
Creativity- A person who uncritically or habitually conforms to the
customs, rules, or styles of a group, Another
example of the complexity of the relationship between creativity and conformity
can be found in fashion. Fashion is generally understood as a creative form and
a way of expressing an ‘authentic’ identity. However, Simmel, in an essay on
the philosophy of fashion draws attention to the ambivalence of fashion.
He proposed that: As soon as a fashion has been universally adopted, that
is, as soon as anything that was originally done only by a few has really come
to be practiced by all – as is the certain elements of clothing and in
various forms of social conduct – we no longer characterize it as fashion.
Simmel points to the ongoing tension between individuality and conformity that
is expressed in fashion. For example, clothes express individuality and
creativity but at the same time cover and conceal.
INTRODUCTION TO
SUB-CULTURE
We live in a society whereby individuals are understood and
defined by particular sub-culture ,A sub-culture being a term used to define a
cultural or social group within a larger mainstream culture.
Within a sub-culture lie diverse factors, namely common
interests, customs, beliefs, ethnicity and values, these characteristics
separate sub-culture from the dominant culture. A sub-culture can be
distinguished by the following aspects, choice of jargon, dress and appearance
as well as that particular group’s choice of musical genre. An example of a
sub-culture is Punk, ideally known for being a rebellious group of teenagers,
formed in Britain in the 1970s, a small group of teenagers stood their ground
and made a point through violence, music and clothing, this was their statement
of rebelling against the government. The Punk cultures had similar
characteristics as the Hippie Movement although Hippies were all about peace
and were anti-science people. (Chegg, 2013)
Konik -exercise 7
Thematising the ugly side of sublime
technological development in Sonzero’s Pulse (2006) as an inadvertent critique
of the ‘technocentricism’ of postmodernity”. South African Journal of Art
History 22 (3).
Konik is giving a description as to what Sanzero’s Pulse
(2006) was saying. He say that he is checking the ugly side of beautiful
technological development as an unplanned evaluation of the technological out
burst of postmodernity.
Nihilism in Japanese Anime -exercise 6
Nihilism – the belief that nothing has intrinsic value – has a long history of influence
on human society, even without actual recognition of this fact by the society being
influenced in this way at any specific time; the axiological effects of nihilistic
prevalence can be witnessed readily by the examination of cultural artifacts, such as
painting or, more accessible in the contemporary era, the media. Of course knowing how
to identify nihilism, and for this purpose understanding nihilism and its various forms,
are needed in this kind of examination and critique of artifacts. In this article a genre of
Japanese popular film art (while all film can be viewed as art it is not necessarily ‘high’
or ‘good’ art), namely anime, will be investigated more closely for evidence of nihilism.
analysis of anime, in its capacity as a popular
‘art’, as a means of interpreting cultural undercurrents in Japanese society, as any popular
medium could be said to serve as a vessel containing expressions of the axiological tensions
inherent to its ‘parent’ culture. I say this to support my argument concerning (signs of) nihilism
in Japanese culture. Some would argue that Japanese society is full of wholesome family
values, which on the surface it is indeed (much like American culture), but when one engages
with its art, including instances of popular art, one can bypass the saccharine façade presented
by the society in which it originates, and perceive the qualities hidden behind the façade of
conventional life, but evident in artifacts such as films, television programmes and literature.
I would like to point out that in its applicability as an interpretive concept, nihilism is not
particular to European society just because it was first explored by European thinkers, and that
it can be applied to any human society in which questions of meaning or value are important
– which, to my mind, would be any human society. The present article is predicated on this
assumption, which is arguably a reasonable one.
EXAMPLE
Akira (1988), directed by Katsuhiro Otomo,
because comparing it to Ghost in the Shell and Metropolis as far as its stance on nihilism goes,
one gets the distinct impression that it embodies a deep doubt in the face of technological
developments that may already have tampered too much with the primal forces of nature.
It is set in Neo-Tokyo, in the year 2019, after World War III, and reveals a chaotic, volatile
situation involving a corrupt government, insurgent terrorists, street gangs and the military.
When monitored at a government laboratory, one of the motorcycle gang’s members, Tetsuo, is
discovered to have genetic properties similar to those of Akira – an experimental subject who
was placed in cryonic suspension because of his colossal, virtually uncontrollable ‘natural’
potential. As Tetsuo becomes more and more powerful (and volatile), the narrative moves
towards a final reassertion of nature’s awesome, uncontrollable powers, in the face of which
puny humans can do nothing. The nihilistic element here is difficult to identify, because there
is hardly any promotion of new values (that is, active nihilism) for a future society. Nor does
it seem to advocate passive nihilism as the falling back on old value systems – these appear to
be corrupt and self-destructive. In fact, it seems to assert radical nihilism in a pessimistic way
as far as human society is concerned, but with a hint that nature will have the last word – in the
end the creative process will start all over again.
The broad picture painted by the anime familiar to me is therefore one of a society filled
with tensions concerning intrinsic human values, a culture that is torn between the more ‘liberal’
and personal value systems that constitute active nihilism in a world critically aware of the
falsity of passively nihilistic ideological structures, and the safe, simple security of retreating
into those very passive-nihilistic, preconstructed moral systems. As I have tried to show, anime
serves as a medium for expression of these tensions.
on human society, even without actual recognition of this fact by the society being
influenced in this way at any specific time; the axiological effects of nihilistic
prevalence can be witnessed readily by the examination of cultural artifacts, such as
painting or, more accessible in the contemporary era, the media. Of course knowing how
to identify nihilism, and for this purpose understanding nihilism and its various forms,
are needed in this kind of examination and critique of artifacts. In this article a genre of
Japanese popular film art (while all film can be viewed as art it is not necessarily ‘high’
or ‘good’ art), namely anime, will be investigated more closely for evidence of nihilism.
analysis of anime, in its capacity as a popular
‘art’, as a means of interpreting cultural undercurrents in Japanese society, as any popular
medium could be said to serve as a vessel containing expressions of the axiological tensions
inherent to its ‘parent’ culture. I say this to support my argument concerning (signs of) nihilism
in Japanese culture. Some would argue that Japanese society is full of wholesome family
values, which on the surface it is indeed (much like American culture), but when one engages
with its art, including instances of popular art, one can bypass the saccharine façade presented
by the society in which it originates, and perceive the qualities hidden behind the façade of
conventional life, but evident in artifacts such as films, television programmes and literature.
I would like to point out that in its applicability as an interpretive concept, nihilism is not
particular to European society just because it was first explored by European thinkers, and that
it can be applied to any human society in which questions of meaning or value are important
– which, to my mind, would be any human society. The present article is predicated on this
assumption, which is arguably a reasonable one.
EXAMPLE
Akira (1988), directed by Katsuhiro Otomo,
because comparing it to Ghost in the Shell and Metropolis as far as its stance on nihilism goes,
one gets the distinct impression that it embodies a deep doubt in the face of technological
developments that may already have tampered too much with the primal forces of nature.
It is set in Neo-Tokyo, in the year 2019, after World War III, and reveals a chaotic, volatile
situation involving a corrupt government, insurgent terrorists, street gangs and the military.
When monitored at a government laboratory, one of the motorcycle gang’s members, Tetsuo, is
discovered to have genetic properties similar to those of Akira – an experimental subject who
was placed in cryonic suspension because of his colossal, virtually uncontrollable ‘natural’
potential. As Tetsuo becomes more and more powerful (and volatile), the narrative moves
towards a final reassertion of nature’s awesome, uncontrollable powers, in the face of which
puny humans can do nothing. The nihilistic element here is difficult to identify, because there
is hardly any promotion of new values (that is, active nihilism) for a future society. Nor does
it seem to advocate passive nihilism as the falling back on old value systems – these appear to
be corrupt and self-destructive. In fact, it seems to assert radical nihilism in a pessimistic way
as far as human society is concerned, but with a hint that nature will have the last word – in the
end the creative process will start all over again.
The broad picture painted by the anime familiar to me is therefore one of a society filled
with tensions concerning intrinsic human values, a culture that is torn between the more ‘liberal’
and personal value systems that constitute active nihilism in a world critically aware of the
falsity of passively nihilistic ideological structures, and the safe, simple security of retreating
into those very passive-nihilistic, preconstructed moral systems. As I have tried to show, anime
serves as a medium for expression of these tensions.
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