I hadn't actually intended to sound like the End of the World was coming! But I had suddenly realised that, because I am at last leaving this University, there is so much that I would still like to get you thinking about and such a short time to do it in.
Talking about Mrs. Henderson Presents was interesting - especially as I had not considered that the title could have been interpreted in another way...or at least was capable of involving a play on words. I also showed it to another class and our discussion went in a somewhat different direction. So I would like you to read about that too. You'll find it if you look up the post for 062&55A03 24/09
I quite see how most of you thought I must have showed the movie for the reasons you gave - all of which were, of course, part of the reason. But the other big part was the bit that got me started talking about Change.
I had thought that this movie was a good illustration of how changing circumstances change our lives. Changes are part of the theme running all the way through it.
The most obvious change that takes place is the change in Mrs. Henderson herself. She goes from being a rather thoughtless, social butterfly[a rather shallow person who thinks only of parties and shopping and having a good time in society] to being a person who actually makes a contribution to society albeit [even if; in spite of the fact] a rather unusual contribution!
Along the way she changes her ideas a lot and comes to experience a world in which she had previously had no experience. The most encouraging thing about this change in Mrs. Henderson is that these changes begin at the age of 78. I think this was also a really good message in this movie -that it is never too late for our character to keep growing, to learn new things and ...well..to change. We tend to think that once a person gets older they stop growing intellectually and that their personality is fixed forever. This is what Ageism at its worst: we make assumptions about old people and think they are no longer useful or relevant in our world.
Mrs. Henderson had previously changed from being a mother to being the mother of a dead son and from being a wife to being a widow. Other changes included having always been dependant on her husband to have control now of her own life and her own money, as well as from living in India to staying in England.
The business that she entered also went through some enormous changes: she bought a theatre with the idea of putting on a normal Variety Show[shows with different "acts" - comedy, dancing, singing etc.]. She turned an old theatre into a huge success only to see it start to go downhill [decline].
It was at this point really that the whole story changed too. It was no longer just a movie about how amusing it was for an Upper Class widow to go into show business. Now it became a movie about one individual who actually changed show business - and the ideas of a whole nation - forever.
What changed then was everything: World War 2 broke out. This was, as mentioned before, the first war to involve civilians as much as soldiers.A war in which a soldier could go away to fight for his country, only to survive and find that his country and his family, had been destroyed.
The whole world changed during this war and continued to change as a result of it. Things have never returned to the way they were before 1939. Traditions, class structure, living conditions, the position of women in society, standards of living, innocence: all have changed irrevocably [unable to be undone or restored. Permanently]since 1946.
I'm always commenting on how much you guys amaze me - you come up with different ideas, make me see different way of thinking about things, present ideas in a way I had never seen them before. But this time you amazed me in a different way: - I couldn't believe that you didn't seem to see the connection between the changes brought about by war and the changes another world wide event brings: the 08 Collapse. Your own children are going to be learning about this at school, you know!
Since Reform and Opening there have been lots of wars in different countries, Leaders of different countries have risen and fell, places in the world have been affected by tsunamis, earthquakes, and changing politics.
But this is the first time that China, having embraced the concept of Globalisation, has been involved in a Global event. In fact, at the moment China, along with the rest of the world, is involved in two things that will affect her: global warming and the recession.
I know that traditionally China has stood apart from the rest of the world but it has now been thirty years since that changed. The time for thinking of her as separate from the rest of the world has passed and while this does not for one minute mean that China has to change to become like the rest of the world, it does mean that she is going to be more and more affected by it.
I asked you therefore to get onto the Internet, or newspapers or magazines as a matter of urgency. While most of you are interested in knowing about the world outside, I think most of you are still doing this from a position of polarisation [being completely opposite; at different ends]. You are still thinking of Us and Them instead of We and Us. Whether you ever step a foot outside of your own country or not your are part of a huge community: The World. To understand yourselves you need to understand your position not just as part of your own family/community/country but as part of this greater community: the world.
The financial crisis may have started in America but it doesn't end there. Events happening in other countries can be events that change everything: just like the second world war did. It started in Poland - a country people in England or Australia or America or South Africa and elsewhere had barely heard of and certainly knew nothing much about. But it affected all those people.
I look forward as I always do to our next class, and to seeing what stories you have come up with. I also look forward to the day you come to realise why I am so concerned. And to the day you join the dots [make the connection] between what started in America and how it will (and already has) change things in Ningbo, China.
Vocabulary
Chink... a derogative word for Chinese people
Wogs... a derogative word for people from the Middle East
Frogs...a derogative word for French people
Eyeties...a derogative word for Italians
poofta...a derogative word for a gay man
humanity...to be used instead of the word "Man" as a collective noun for all people
sexism...treating people differently/making general assumptions about people because of their gender
racism...the same as above but because of a persons nationality or skin colour
ageism...doing the same as the first two because of a persons age
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment