Brindisi Students Art and Music Festival

It’s a sunny afternoon in early May, and while students in other high schools throughout Italy are immersed in reading, writing and a host of other studies, over one thousand students from the Adriatic port city of Brindisi and surrounding area are gathered together to put on a show unlike anything that has been seen in recent times.

The event is called BAMS - “Brindisi, Arte, Musica and Spettacolo” and showcases the talents and creativity of students attending the Brindisi Liceo Artistico (Academy of Arts) and other upper-level institutions of higher learning in and around the city.

But far from just being a day spent in the sun showcasing arts and crafts, and listening to high school bands, vocalists and dancers - the theme of the BAMS festival touched a nerve in every student involved: “Better Art Than the Mafia”.

The Mafia - unfortunately - is alive and well in Italy and perhaps thrives strongest in the South. Students with no future to speak of will always be a reliable resource for underworld activities. The BAMS festival sought to demonstrate that there ARE students who care and who want something more out of life.

Guglielmo Carrozzo , President of the Puglia Board of Education, thinks a festival of this kind demonstrates solidarity among students. Remarked Carrozzo, “…The BAMS festival wasn’t just held in Brindisi, but in areas all over the Puglia Region. The student unions suggested it and I thought it was a good idea, but the kids had to put in the effort to coordinate the event in order for it to come together...”

Coordinating this festival was no easy task. Two student-representatives from each school in the region were responsible creating a work force that would garner participation, get the necessary permits, and assist in setting up the stages in addition to a dozen other jobs necessary for getting this event off the ground.

Adds one student, “...the city is showing its support by allowing this festival to happen, but it’s just the first step. The only way to get rid of the Mafia influence by demonstrating that the city is proactive in it’s obligation to young adults…”

Amid the blaring sounds of electric guitar and hip-hop dance demonstrations, the student union set up a kiosk to collect signatures to present to city hall along with a letter of intent to the Mayor.

Adds Caroozzo, “…one of the aims here was to get the support of local businesses to agree to try and underwrite a meeting place for the students. Not just a place where they can hang out, but a youth center of sorts where the students can come and feel free to be creative and in general have a sense of purpose. Hopefully, the Commune (city hall) will take a look at this and realize that it serves a deeper purpose than just spending a day out of school...”

In an area spread out in a piazza above and on a portion of port of Brindisi, two stages, 20 bands, dozens of artists, dancers and singers converged for a day that passed all to quickly.

Added physical education teacher Giulia Lezzi, “…The students wanted this and they deserve all the credit for pulling it off. It came together pretty good and the students behaved themselves which is important…”

Only time will tell whether this festival has any lasting impact, but at least for now, area students in Brindisi can enjoy knowing that voices were heard and that their hard work coordinating this festival was worht it.

Suspiria- a Film Between Dreamlike Imagery and Exploitative Shock

This classic tale of witchcraft is the most beautiful horror film I have ever seen. A young American woman Suzy Bannion (Jessica Harper) is accepted to a prestigious dance academy in Germany only to find it is a meeting place for a coven of witches. Based on the essays of Thomas Dequincy’s Suspiria de Profundiis. Director Dario Argento takes the first three essays of “The three mothers,” about ancient and powerful witches who live in various places of the world to spread their evil to create a film like no other. It is like a live-action Disney horror film of brilliant reds, green and blues filling the screen. A voice-over sets the uneasy tone of the film as he tells you over a black screen that Suzy Bannion has taken a plane from New York City to attend an exclusive dance academy in Germany. Suzy Bannion arrives at the airport and steps out into a driving rainstorm to hail a taxi. A cab arrives and there is a language barrier. Suzy shows the driver the schools brochure and she is off to the academy. She arrives at the academy to find a young woman at the doorway, screaming at someone inside. She hears pieces of the conversation, which become a helpful clue after the girl is murdered. The killer chases the girl through a dark forest until she arrives at a friend’s house. The friend tries to calm her down and leaves the girl to meet her death. Suzy immediately notices everyone at the academy look likecharacters from a dark Brothers Grim fairytale. The tall, gangly students are represented in stark angry colored lights. The ballet instructor is dressed all in black. The head mistress is a serious looking woman with bright painted red lips. The servant is a hunchback deaf-mute servant, and the Russian head cook is a knife-wielding lunatic. Suzy falls deeper into the threat of the coven when she suffers a nosebleed in ballet class causing her to collapse. The cause of the nosebleed is explained as a mild internal hemorrhage. Soft blues and pinkish reds represent Suzy, as she seems to float on air when she walks. Her discovery of the secret is handled in a sleep-like haze with red twinkling lights following her as she runs from the dying queen witch in the end. Scary and gory in 1977, the film looks fake and silly by today’s standards. The blood and gore looks like bright melted red crayons or wax. A scene stands out where a student is chased into a room full of piano wire, which doesn’t cut her as she thrashes around in the middle of it. The effect looks as if a giant slinky is attacking her. The film, despite all this is still a lot of fun to see with your friends on a Saturday night with the lights off and lots of popcorn. Digitally re-mastered. Rated R.

XALA - A Review of the Film "Curse"

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Xala: women representative of the generational transitions of Senegal

Xala  is a perfect illustration of the underdeveloped middle class and its staggering flaws. The film is an allegorical tale of corruption told with simplicity and is inundated with satire exposing the emerging neo-colonial bourgeoisie. The story is of an African businessman recently elected to the Chamber of Commerce in1960 during the initial onslaught of independence in Senegal.  El Hadji Abdou Kader Bèye has been inflicted with the xala on his wedding night with his third wife, Ngone. His impotence parallels the same cultural affliction emerging within Africa’s post-colonial and post-independence society of nouveaux riches, its peasants, beggars, and the unemployed. The pseudo-bourgeoisie is crippled by selfish motives to trade with Europeans and exploit local Africans. According to Frantz Fanon’s theory of post-coloniality:

Closing the road to the national bourgeoisie is, certainly, the means whereby the vicissitudes of newfound independence may be avoided… But it is also the only means toward progress. 

Instead of making productive investments in his community El Hadji exploits the local people while trying to imitate the foreign consumer culture. He is confronted with the problem of regaining his sexual potency to consummate his new marriage. This issue consumes the story as El Hadji neglects his business affairs and responsibilities as a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He hopelessly searches for a cure to the curse that has ruined his reputation and farcical idea of elitist success in Africa.  The result is his bankruptcy and the ultimate loss off all of his possessions including his wives.
The women of Xala are vital to the story. It is through the female characters that El Hadji’s power is given to him and taken away. They demonstrate the cultural alienation of the bourgeoisie and present alternative models of tradition and modernity. The women “function on both a ‘sociorealistic’ and symbolic level and can be viewed as integral characters whose structural and ideological facets not only reflect but are [as equally important as the male protagonist].”  Rama, Oumi, Awa , and N’Gone all become an inherent part of El Hadji’s ascent and decline economically, sexually, socially, and politically.  Polygamy no longer functions as a traditional structure that brings labor and communal kinship to the community. El Hadji’s second wife, Oumi N’doye helps to install the image of a ‘modern’ Westernized couple. N’Gone symbolizes economic affluence and satisfies El Hadji’s conceit. The first wife, Adja Awa Astou,  is representative of tradition, dignity, and devotion to Muslim principles. Whereas, Rama, their daughter, is a model of the future generation of Africa that will emancipate women from stifling patriarchal traditions.

Awa, El Hadji’s first and oldest wife, retains the essential elements and character of African tradition even though her surrounding environment is rapidly transforming at the expense of modernity. She is docile, yet firm and is seemingly accepting of her role as a faithful and supportive wife in a polygamous situation. When Rama, her daughter, tries to convince her to divorce El Hadji Awa responds in a calm manner saying, “We must be patient in the face of adversity.  You think I’d find a husband. I’ll be a third or fourth wife.” Awa compromises displaying an aggressive character  towards El Hadji’s actions for emotional security and financial support in a patriarchal Islamic society. She stands by her husband in his professional and financial ruin. Awa exhibits passive resistance when relating to Oumi, the second wife. When asked to come inside of Oumi’s house, she refuses  in the name of the marital laws that place submissive restraints on her actions.  She explicitly reminds El Hadji saying, “Do you forget I’m your first? Go and say hello for me.” In a later scene Awa demonstrates solidarity with her co-wife. When Oumi is complaining about the third wife, N’Gone, Awa bestows words of wisdom about the situation. She tells Oumi with cynical humor: “Patience does not kill. If so, I would be dead.”  Once Oumi leaves the wedding Awa openly invites her to her home reminding her that she is the elder in the relationship.

Awa is a representation of Africa in its most unadulterated essence. Though she is rigidly traditional, she is a model for all Senegalese women. She personifies loyalty, patience, dignity, and poise. The African woman is the strength of the family; she is an advisor during times of struggle, in charge of educating the future generations, and a pillar of compliment and support to her husband.  Awa predominately speaks to El Hadji in Wolof , thus retaining the essence of cultural pride. She is also the refuge El Hadji seeks in his state of impotence after he is deserted by his community and three wives.
Oumi, the second wife, is a strikingly different type of woman compared to Awa.

This contrast is explored in the wedding scene where Awa is wearing a traditional African dress and Oumi is shown in a modish wig and a revealing black European style dress. She is a materialistic character and is overtly aggressive when she relates to El Hadji. She believes that due to her youth and sophistication she has the right to say and do whatever she feels.  When El Hadji visits Oumi to take her to the wedding she speaks in French and refers to Awa as an “old dried up fish” as she demands money from El Hadji: “Since you’re spending, I will too! This is not enough, hand it over.” In a later scene she unremittingly reminds El Hadji of his sexual duties in the marriage: “It is my turn. I want you at the house tonight. You know I am always ready.” Oumi arrogantly implies that she will uphold her duties as a wife as long as El Hadji continues to perform his financial and sexual duties when asked. She remains faithful to El Hadji until she realizes his downfall is inevitable.

At this point she decides to depart with the children and all of her belongings to another place far away from such a despicable man. Oumi is the archetypal seductive and disparaging mistress. Her character does not support El Hadji in any productive ways and she is the stereotypical representation of a woman who is foolishly attracted to the hallucinations of Western consumer society and negative post-colonial thought patterns.  Sembene uses Oumi as an example of the caricature that emerges from cupidity, shallowness, denial of culture, and the disillusioned eagerness to follow Western and foreign mores. Oumi is not a successful symbol of the strong progressive African woman. Her character is paralleled with that of El Hadji because her existence is counterproductive to post-colonial African cultural and economic success. 

N’Gone, El Hadji’s third wife illustrates his materialistically motivated greed. “A long panoramic shot of the endless parade of gifts displayed by El-Hadji as her dowry stresses the corrupted patterns of such a tradition. N’Gone is merely traded and exhibited to El Hadji’s middle-aged friends and colleagues.”  He uses N’Gone as his bragging trophy to the Chamber of Commerce by emphasizing her “virginal value.” He tells the counsel men: “My first wife was a virgin and so was my second.”  Accordingly, the brides’ mother teaches her about her duties of a subservient wife. She stresses: “Man is the master, you must always be available. Don’t raise your voice. Be submissive.”  N’Gone does not have an active role in the film; she is merely El Hadji’s “femme objet.”  The poster of N’Gone with her back exposed, located in the bedroom directly “presents the graphic correlation between the businessman’s sexual and economic impotence.”  After several failed attempts to “deflower” his new wife, El Hadji seeks the help of the marabout (herbal healer) only to discover that he has the xala.  His sexual impotence with his new wife portends his symbolic dis-function as a member of the corrupt neo-colonial bourgeoisie. El Hadji’s superficial economic pursuits and greed for elite status backfires into something much greater than sexual disfunction. His lack of cultural, spiritual, economic, and political wisdom causes his entire existence to become impotent and useless in African society.

Rama is a revolutionary and positive source of resistance to her father’s perpetuation of the corrupt bourgeoisie and the French Colonial presence in Senegal. Rama wears a short Afro hairstyle and alternates between modern clothing and her traditional Senegalese boubou. She rides a moped around her town, rejecting unnecessary luxuries of Western society such as her father’s Mercedes. She only uses aspects of Western culture that can directly serve her educational and technological needs.  She consistently speaks in Wolof when her father speaks in French and denies his promotion of foreign products such as French mineral water. She confronts her father in a responsible and mature manner when expressing her vehement enmity towards the traditions of polygamy and stifling post-colonial thought. During a conversation with her mother and father, she expresses that “men are all dirty dogs and every polygamous man is a liar.” As a result, Rama is slapped by El Hadji, but her spirit remains unbroken. “Xala’s evocation of this [issue] allows Sembene to highlight the suffering that [traditional] marriages cause to women and to denounce men’s egotistical motivations for taking several wives.”  El Hadji’s violent response to Rama’s statement is a confirmation of his unrealistic ways of perpetuating and understanding the patriarchal order influenced by the male/religious-instigated system of polygamy.

Rama is the only woman in Xala who is liberated from having to participate in a sexual relationship in exchange for economic support. She is well educated and she is a positive icon for hope in Senegal created by a balance of traditional and modern values. Rama is the single character who has succeeded in assimilating her African principles and European culture into a progressive way of life. Her advocacy of her mother and father’s divorce is symbolic of her mother’s separation from a draining relationship as well as Senegal’s annulment from paternalistic neo-colonial rule. She refuses financial help from her father and expresses that she is more concerned about her mother whom her father has neglected.  Rama demonstrates a synthesis of her mother’s wisdom and dignity and she embodies a universal view of the future, reborn Africa. Her character is indicative of a society that will create a synthesized language and culture indigenous to and reflective of the richness of African ethos while simultaneously emancipating women from patriarchal traditions.  Rama’s function in the film is penetrating and reveals significant issues of the new Africa dealing with progressive post-colonial and post-independence development.

Sembene’s female protagonists are archetypical and play imperative roles in his sociopolitical dialectics. The women in this film do not represent all types of Senegalese women, however they are symbols for the evolution of Africa. Awa represents the traditional culture and history of a transforming continent. Oumi is symbolic of a transitional Africa that places too much value on Western goods and ideology and thus she must “pack up” metaphorically to make room for the new Africa epitomized by Rama. She is the essence of a balanced conglomeration of modern and traditional values, synthesized to bring about the economic, educational, political, cultural, and social emancipation of the oppressed African. Senegal cannot develop with out the emancipation of its women. Sembene implies that Africa’s true growth will come from adopting the fecundity and nurturing qualities of the African woman.  Xala differs from Black Girl because the women of the contemporary generations use their agency to reject and combat the forces of post-coloniality that cause them to feel repressed and captivated.  Diouana chose to passively eliminate her troubles whereas the women in this film are predominately active in catalyzing change.  Xala is an evolution from Sembene’s dialectical messages in Black Girl. The female is the link between generations and she is the “genitrix” of a new Africa. “El Hadji is impotent because he has misused the fecundity of Africa/woman to assert his social and male ascendancy.”  His greed and neo-colonial ignorance overshadows his agency to change his situation and righteously serve his community as one of the first African members of the Chamber of Commerce.

The last scene of Xala is important because both the traditional and the modern, politically committed African women observe El Hadji’s rebirth as the beggars spit on his corruption, greed, and westernized illusion of success.  He is crowned by one of the beggars with the white flower crown worn by his third wife at the wedding. The crown symbolizes the preserved virginity of the woman he was unable to deflower.  It is also representative of the fertile, pure, virginal quality of Africa that will be restored through the elimination of the stagnating middle class bourgeoisie.  The women are the only dignified characters still standing in support of El Hadji in the end of the story, indicating that the fate of the community now lies in the fate of its grandmothers, mothers, and daughters.

Great Tips for Memorable Baby Shower Gifts

baby clothes gifts

I never realized how complicated buying a baby shower present could be.  I always loved to shop for the gifts before I had a baby.  Unknown to me, I actually thought I knew the best things to get.  You just pull up the registry and get something.  This is a full proof way o make sure you get something the new mommy wants.  However, let me propose another idea.

I have a 13 month old little girl.  When I was pregnant, I had 3 baby showers.  I was very fortunate and my friends and co-workers were very generous.  I didn’t have to buy any clothes or onezies for about 6 months.  I also found out, after my showers and registry completion, which I didn’t know what to register for when my daughter grew a little. 

These are some of my tips on baby shower gifts that I give friends when they ask:

1. How much I spend depends on how well I know the person.  If it is an acquaintance, I usually spend $20-$25.  If it is a close girlfriend, I usually spend a little more.  I also keep some basic stuff on hand and buy it when it goes on sale.  That way it is cheaper.  Those items are infant Tylenol and gas drops. 
   
   


2. I start buying for close friends when they are about 4 months along.  This way I can spend a little more and not feel it so bad in the wallet.
   
   


3. I always start out with a basic set for everybody. This consists of diapers, infant Tylenol, and gas drops.  Usually I can find a box of wipes on sale and include a couple of packages.
   
   


4. Other items I try to include off the registry are things that the baby will need later on.  Such items are usually spoons that change colors when too hot, sippy cups, other feeding items, and bibs that are for when the baby starts eating solids as opposed to the adorable drooling bibs that the new mommy will probably get a ton of.  I have found that these are very much needed and are usually not purchased off the registry as they are not “cute” gifts to give.
   
   


5. Filler items that I can usually find for $1 or less are teething rings, socks, generic bottles (make sure you get the right size nipple neck the new mommy registered for), and toys/rattles.
   
   


6. Things I don’t get are onezies, cute drooling bibs, towels, washrags, and outfits.  I have found by going to many showers and by my own experience, that the new mommy gets plenty of these whether she has registered for them or not.
   
   


7. Diapers are an item all to themselves.  I loved getting all kinds of diapers.  That way I got to try different brands without having to buy them myself.  I do have a confession, however.  I was so blessed that when I figured out that only Pampers didn’t leak or break out my little girl, I returned $105 worth of unopened diapers to Wal-Mart.  So I don’t worry about whether I look cheap or not when I buy different kinds of diapers.
   

Here are some tips I would give the new mommy that I learned the hard way.  I made the mistake of washing all my new clothes as soon as I received them.  I would whole-heartedly recommend not washing anything until you are all done with your showers.  I probably would have exchanged some onezies for other things I needed but didn’t get but couldn’t because I washed everything as soon as I got them.  I also received duplicates but didn’t realize it until I had washed both items.  I could have exchanged these as well.  I also saved all of my shower bags and have used them for other baby showers that I have been invited to since then.  This allows you to spend a little more on the gift since you don’t have to spend anything wrapping it.

I hope you have a great time buying for your baby shower.  It is one of my favorite gifts to buy.  New mommies are so appreciative of anything they get.  I know I was.  Not to mention that they are usually starting off with a clean slate and have nothing to begin with.  Maybe these tips can help you buy the best gift sets you know the new mommy will love.  I have gotten lots of complements even though I never buy the “cute” stuff.