During the video I felt like the world was a lot smaller than I actually thought before. It made the people seem similar because individuals from all over the world are willing to dance and laugh in front of a camera with this one white guy. I think that everybody loves this video so much because it reminds them that humankind is all here on this one same earth and share a common goal of living and being happy. The scenery and music add to the film and just make you want to visit all the amazing places shown around the world. It is almost liberating to know that we are all more alike than we think, and not all against eachother in beliefs and ideals.
I think arts are such human universals because all people feel the need to express themselves in one way or another. There are so many different types of art because there needs to be a kind to accomadate each persons interets. There is fashion for the designers, dance for the dancers, songs for the singers, pictures for the artists, and so on. Basically art is just something someone has created to express themselves. The arts are extremely integrated into culture because depending on what type of artist you are, your lifestyle will reflect that. For example, if you are in a rock band, you will most likely write rock music, wear rock n roll clothes, go to and participate in concerts, and be familar with the music scene. That goes even farther because when your band has a lot of fans they will start dressing like you, buying your music, and creating a whole culture around the one art of music. I also think that art integrates into culture so easily is because if you don't consider yourself an artist, you will find one you like and follow their work. When each person in a society does that art and culture are in just about every aspect of life.

10

The main idea that I got out of the film was that all religions have the same common goal, trying to rid oneself of earthly feelings and attain a sense of higher peace. All of the religous leaders talked about equality of all people, being kind, compassionate, and helping others. Some of the leaders talked about religion as if it didn't really matter which one you picked, the fact that you believe something is good for you. While many people, even Muslims themselves, sometimes view the veil as oppressing women but it was originally meant to honor the woman and set her apart from the rest. In the Koranic verse it explains that the women should only be seperated by the veil because is announces their religion and status, and that they should be honored. Over thousands of years the veil's purpose and who wear them has transformed from the original Muslim tradition, but it's noteworthy that it never started off as a negative practice. I liked the fact that the Muslim extremists were discussed, and that a point was made that every religion has extremists who take things to a terrible level. For example, Opus Dei, a sect of Catholocism is known to have members that abuse themselves when they repent, believing that is what God wants.I already knew most Muslims have no hatred towards the U.S. like the others, but it was refreshing to hear that peace is what everyone wants ultimately. I think it is very valuable to understand other religions around us because it starts to eliminate the boundaries we put up against people, allowing us to work together on issues for the common good of all people. It is extremely important for the the West to be able to understand and work with the Middle East in times like these. Also, wars and genocides have occured because the two different religions believe they have opposing views and goals. If we could understand other religion we then would realize peace is the main shared goal.

Discussion 9

Just like all the hopeless romantics out there, I am stuck on the idea that I will one day marry the "love of my life" or "soul mate". Marriage for me is something very important and necessary. Once I get married I plan on not getting divorced and sticking with it, but of course things happen so we will see. For me, I see marriage as a partnership not only in love but to run a household and eventually have children. Once I have children I see the parents as working together to raise the children according to the parents values and providing a good upbringing for them. I dont think the husband should be the main financial supporter, especially this day in age, and plan to help financially for our family. However, when I have kids I plan on staying home with them until they start school because I dont like the idea of my kids in daycare everyday. The purpose of the family is to love and support eachother in life.
My idea of what marriage should be is different than the Masai culture in that marriage is basically how the women survive in the community. She would be nothing without her husband and sons because they own the cows and wealth in the family. If a womans husband dies it is in her best interest to become married to the brother or some relative of the husband or she will have nothing. That is very different from the U.S. standards because if a husband dies here the women continues living in the house, going to work, raising the children, and eventually may marry again when she finds somebody that she loves. Marriage is mostly by choice. Also, with a few excpetions marriage is mainly just for two people while in the Masai culture and many other cultures, men have many wives to attain wealth and an abundance of children. It was suprising to me that the Masai women could pick thier lovers outside of the marriage because I would have guessed it would be too dangerous for them or that there would be consequences. However, it was not suprising that they would seek out a lover outside of their marriage because they dont even know their husband hardly at all before marriage and I doubt that they have those kind of feelings for them. One part of the marriage that makes sense to me is that the men have many wives and children so they can take care of the house and animals. It makes it easier for a wive to work with a couple other wives to take care of their one husbands things. Mostly in Western society there isnt need for a lot of wives in the house because there is not that much work to be done, and if there is we just hire maids and landscapers. While cultures can be extremely different in how things are organized within marriage, there is good explanations for them because it helps the society function and is adapted to their ways of life.

Discussion 8

My experience with gender is very different than what the Masai women have been brought up in. They are extremely limited to any type of accumulation of wealth and are completely dependent on the males in the society. They grow up knowing that the only thing that will make their life worth while in their community is becoming a wife and having children. A Masai women who cannot procreate is worthless to their society. In our culture nowdays, women are allowed to pick their career and have the choice to marry or not. In Masai culture, marriages are arranged and strictly for doing household duties and taking care of the husbands children.
The way gender is now in the U.S. has not always been the standard and has frequently been changing overtime. The problem with the rapid gender role change in our society is that some peoples ideals did not change with the rest of society. This means that women can still be discriminated against whether it comes to job oppurtunities or recognitition in achievments. For example, some people may be biased against a women doing a heavy duty job and may not give her equal respect. I think that if the Masai culture began to change it would hurt how their society is organizezd because they deeply believe women are below men. They sing songs about just having children and being a wife showing that they have no interest in accumulating wealth or power. The ideas are so deeply setting in the mens minds of what a women is in their culture that they wont ever see them as an equal.
It is difficult to say that how women are treated in a certain culture is against their human rights because they believe so deeply in what they do. People are do not come from the Masai culture are very biased and are not really in a position to decide if the treatment of their women is against human rights. However, if these women are mistreated such as being beat or abused, it is definitely against human rights and worth being looked into.

Extra Credit

Invisible Children
The country of Uganda is in dire need of help and anthropologists find themselves in the thick of it. Should they stick to just observing the situation or should they step in and try to create a reformation? It seems like a daunting idea for an anthropologist to not only adapt to this enviorment but to devise a plan to help, but they are probably the most knowlegdable people to do the job. From many different books and articles I have read about 3rd world countries, formal education for all children is the beginning of making a new foundation for a country. Because schools can be expensive and 5 or 6 miles away from their homes, children often do not attend school like us in the U.S. Also, a mother may need help with the household chores and taking care of their animals, so school is not always the first priority in some families. By building schools and providing funding for people who are willing to help Uganda, we could do a lot of good. If schools were free to attend and the children didnt have to buy books, going to school would seem like less of a hassle. Once the majority of the children are in school they become goal oriented to grow up and be successful people, and to better their country. There are many villages and tribes in the Middle East that are extremely grateful for their sons and daughters to be able to go to school. Many of the children actually decide to grow up and become teachers for children who need education in their country so it goes to show what one school in one village can do. In the end, I dont think any person who has seen the destruction of warfare in Uganda, antrhopologist or not, can simply turn their back the invisible children and their future.

Discussion 7

The U.S. is pretty unique in that our nation is made up many different kinds of immigrants from other countries. People came here in droves to escape from hardship, poverty, and the freedom to practice religion. Because the Native Americans were obviously here before Americans, it's not suprising to learn that our nation began based upon policies they used. Because America was known as the "melting pot" our culture is based on many other cultures that were already here or from overseas.
Our foreign policy is influenced by our cultural values and that fact that we see the world through an ethnocentric view. We cannot every be fully unbiased on how we react to other countries government and way of running things because we believe our democratic society to be superior. Our ethnocentricism I feel sometimes blinds Americans to the fact that we have plenty of corruption and things we need to fix in our own government. Understanding a countries culture is a step towards getting a better view on their political systems. Many countries government is influenced by thier religion, so understanding their religion is key to lessen the effect of our ethnocentricism. Also, because Christianity tells people to go out and be missionaries to others, that idea may have morphed our government ideals to think it is okay to step in to other countries dilemmas and tell them what to do.