All posts by Becky Davis

Football

Battiston down.

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Because everyone seems to delight in the action-packed soccer clips we have been watching and discussing over the past two weeks, I found the clip of the 1982 World Cup Inicident in which Battistion is left unconscious because of a run-in with Schumacher on the West German team. Professor Dubois makes note of this event in his book, and it is interesting to examine the comments below the video (I made sure to find one in French). I am guessing that this same clip, if in German recorded by Germany, would have an altogether different title, tone, and string of comments.

Battistion suffered damaged vertebrae and a series of teeth were knocked out, needing to be replaced. In hearing this, Schumacher replied, “If that’s all that’s wrong with him, I’ll pay him the crowns”. He later apologized to Battiston, but what was said and done could not be changed. By examining all these different events and pieces of drama that unfold throughout different World Cups, it becomes more and more apparent just how much fans (as well as players) invest into this competition. So much so, that it seems like sportsmanship waivers as ardent fandom and fervor increase (0r at least in some circumstances).

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if embedding the video didn’t work, just click here!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=coSfMSUSVPI

 

Banlieue

Banlieue 13

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Needless to say, the clip of Banlieue 13 that was presented in class definitely caught my interest and I decided that I wanted to explore this film a little further. I found the first ten minutes of the film (some of which we watched in class–the panning views of the banlieue and the title) with English subtitles. I found it interesting that the villainous character was going to write his phone number on the side of a building, giving no remorse or thought to his graffiti. The gaurds outside of this building threaten him to cease, and the villianous man calls the gaurds’ boss something to the effect of “Mr. Clean” Then, when arriving inside the building, this main is surprised and remarks that “for once, there is an elevator that works.” Although this film was not shot in Paris (or even in France), these details all play into the point that the banlieue is seen as run-down and decrepit.

Banlieue 13

In our class lecture, it was briefly mentioned that David Belle (who plays Leïto) is the creator of Parkour. Parkour is” a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency” developed in France (Wikipedia). Traceurs (parkour practitioners) train to be able to identify and utilize alternate or the more efficient paths. For this reason, I can understand why the makers of Banlieue 13 incorporated parkour into their film. There is an amazing Parkour scene towards the end of the clip I shared. Also on wikipedia is a list of parkour moves and terms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkour

 

Uncategorized

Opposing Views

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http://postimage.org/image/3um0xha0l/

In this cartoon, we see even more opinions as to what constitutes “oppression”–Is it the woman who does not show off her body underneath a niqab, implying that she is seen by men other than a feminine body or piece of meat? OR is oppression the woman who flaunts her body, leaving little to the imagination, and setting herself up to be viewed as not much more than a physical entity to males? Of course, these are two extremes and the opinions and issues are highly complex, but in terms of oppression, it is quite a valid cartoon.

The Veil

Men unveiled?

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Posted on 11/11/11 by France 24 is a news story that delves into two different aspects in regards to the veil. Aliaa El Mahdy, an Egyptian college student, launched the facebook page “Resounding Cries” in which she asks Muslim men to upload a picture of themselves wearing the veil so that they may “see how this feels!” She says that it is not her personal choice to wear the veil, but she does so because of “social and religious pressure” and to “avoid being hassled in the street.” Her statements and pleas that men upload these photos to understand what women are feeling, even for but a moment, seems irrational, inaccurate, but also thought-provoking. She approaches the veil from a standpoint that is very far from Muslim religion. She seems to be in the mind frame that all women are only wearing the veil because of social pressures, but that is clearly not the case. For example, we have discussed the back-and-forth struggle French Muslims have faced, choosing between their duty to wear the veil and the French-created laws banning it. Hearing Aliaa’s argument from the opposite side, to me, is fascinating to read.

She has, of course, experienced enormous backlash from others within her Muslim community. This article quotes one Islamist writer, Mohamed Refaat Elymany, stating, “I condemn the wearing of the veil by men, even if it’s supposed to be humorous, because imitating women is strictly forbidden by our religion. Wearing the veil is a religious obligation.” He does, however, recognize the social pressures of women to wear the veil, but states that this pressure is not the sole reason that women wear it.

Here is the link for the news story.

Creole, Haiti

Une citation sur une vue de Créole

J’ai trouvée une citation d’une linguiste Algérien qui s’appelle Alain Bentolila. Il est auteur d’une vingtaine d’ouvrages concernant l’illettrisme des jeunes et l’apprentissage de la lecture et du langage chez l’enfant. Il remarque de les langages français et créole en Haiti…

“Whether we like it or not, one and the other language is a historical part of the Haitian national patrimony. In spite of its minor standing, Creole is one of the traits that fines the Haitian nation and is experiences by each Haitian as a component of his identity. Although issuing from the slave period, Creole in Haiti is not soiled with the vice of servitude, because the struggle for independence gave it a national significance as the language of a people who liberated itself with arms in its hands and Creole in its mouth.”

Après avoir appris l’histoire d’Haiti et son révolution, je peux mieux comprendre ce qu’il veux expliquer de l’independence et les esclaves en Haiti. Mais, je ne suis sûre qu’il ait raison en disant que la langue de Creole n’est pas connecté á la servitude.