Binge Watches For Banquo

Nobody can resist the allure of a good Netflix binge sesh, not even Banquo! Honorable and dependable, these are the titles found in his queue.


1. Braveheart- Braveheart is the story of William Wallace, a 13th century Scotsman who led the Scots against King Edward I. The movie focuses on themes of bravery, nobility, and honor, all of which are traits that Banquo embodies. At the end of the movie William is killed by the King, just as Banquo was.


2. Ghost Adventures- Ghost Adventures is a reality series that follows ghost hunters as they investigate haunted sites. They use science to try to suss out paranormal activity. Banquo would watch this series, and get a kick out of it, because he has had some of his own ghost adventures haunting Macbeth. One of the most common reasons the show cites for the presence of ghost is an unresolved violent death, which perfectly mirrors the presence of Banquo's spirit.


3. The X-Files- The X-files is a cult classic science fiction series about the FBI duo Mulder and Scully. Mulder believes strongly in the paranormal and magic, while Scully is a skeptic. Banquo would see much of Macbeth in Mulder and would relate to Scully's reluctance to put stock in the parnormal.


4. Friends-Friends is an iconic sitcom about a group of friends who support each other as they navigate life in New York. Banquo would enjoy this show because he is the ultimate great friend. Yes, he is wary of Macbeth sometimes, and his obsession with the witches prophecy, but ultimately he just cared about the wellbeing of his friend.

To Be A Man

The qualities that make a man a man haven't really changed much in the course of human history. Although technology has advanced, cities have grown, masculinity remains a constant. There is a reason that the works of William Shakespeare are still so widely taught and valued and that is because the way Shakespeare portrays the human condition remains accurate in modern times. This includes his representations of manhood, particular in Macbeth. Macbeth is as much a tale about masculinity as it is about the struggle for power. In Shakespeare's time and our own, these pursuits are one and the same. Shakespeare conveys the values of manhood mainly through the character of Lady Macbeth.


In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth views her marriage to Macbeth as leaning to her side in terms of power balance. She lacks respect for him because she views him as weak-willed. When he sends her the letter informing her of his heightened status she muses, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way." She desires more power and wishes for Macbeth to gain more titles so she can taste it at least indirectly. Lady Macbeth views his human kindness as weakness and thus not manly. This is mirrored in modern society as well. We do not view men who show emotion or kindness as real men, nor men who are not overtly ambitious. Men are instead expected to desire promotions and 'make the bacon.' In modern times we would probably see Lady Macbeth as the provider and Macbeth as more of a homemaker, which wouldn't give him value as a man either.


Another truth Shakespeare reveals about manhood is the negativity associated with mental illness. At the banquet Macbeth is haunted by the ghost of Banquo and begins behaving erratically. Embarrassed and concerned that the noblemen will suspect them of foul play, Lady Macbeth dismisses Macbeth's behavior as something trivial. She then turns her attention to Macbeth about his behavior and asks him, "Are you a man?" in hopes of shaking his strange behavior. The implication is that it is not suitable for a man in this time to suffer from mental illness. Illnesses of the mind are considered womanly. Modern times also see this stigma. It's bad for both genders but particularly nuanced for men.

Blog Post Number 5

This artwork is known as "Reliquary Casket with Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, ca. 1173–80" (The piece ) (my sketch) and is made of silver with niello and a gemstone. The artist is unknown but the box is believed to be of English or German origin. The silver box was created to house a relic of the Saint Thomas Beckett. Its panels depict images of his death and ascension to heaven and subsequent sainthood.  Thomas Beckett was the archbishop of Canterbury and quarreled with King Henry II. The king sent four of his knights to kill Beckett, but that just turned him into a martyr. Beckett remained beloved by the people and was named a saint. The box formal of the piece is effective because its many panels allow different facets of Beckett's story to be told. The edges of the box are golden in color and the scenes are etched in silver. t is topped with a red gem.


A reliquary is a container designed to create relics. These relics might be physical remains of religious figures such as body parts or things like shreds of their clothing. Relics have been an important part of many religions including Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism. Since relics were considered priceless for Christians, they were always made out of precious materials, like the silver in this one. Many were designed to be portable to they could travel and be shown to followers. Others had followers make pilgrimages to view them. Pieces such as this were important because they were all that was left of beloved religious figures.

What's In A Name?

As a child, I hated my name. No one had ever heard of it and I had to hear it butchered constantly. The lunchlady told me every single day, "Have a nice day mytra" for six years! Eventually I stopped correcting her.It always immediately established me as someone who wasn't entirely American or white. It was just too foreign and I longed for a normal name like Katie or something. But as I've grown older and learned more about the origins of my name, I've grown to appreciate it. Mitra is a fairly common girls name in Iran. It is derived from 'Mithras,' who was an ancient Zoroastrian god. Mithras or Mithra is closely associated with the sun and with the sacred bull. He was worshipped as a protector of light, interpersonal relationships, and justice. That's a pretty cool backstory and I get lots of compliments on my unique name. Rather than being embarrassed now, I like the idea that my name sets me apart from others and is memorable.


My name was just one aspect of the conflicting cultural identity I have experienced in my life. This was most significant in elementary school. I was quite tan and had a more racially ambiguous appearance then. As someone in a mixed culture household, with an  Christian American mom and a Muslim Iranian dad, I often felt caught between two worlds.Not only was I stuck between them, but felt I didn't truly belong to either. No one at school, least of all the Caucasian children, could possibly understand the different ways we had grown up. But neither did the Iranian children. From second to fourth grade I attended Persian school on Saturday mornings to learn Farsi. The other children there were quite cruel to me and my sister. We were not full Persian and didn't belong there, in their eyes. Also the classes were mainly for kids who spoke Farsi at home and just needed to learn how to read and write it, which was not the case for us. So growing up I felt I was divided  into two halves, trying to conform both, and not really succeeding in either.

Photograph by Wing Young Huie, University Avenue Project (2007-2010)
http://photos.wingyounghuie.com/p929219206/h6cc35901#h617c9bfa

In this photograph by Wing Young Huie, four young girls working at a vendor are shown in the foreground. In the background is a couple walking laden with shopping bags in front of an auto shop. The young girls look into the camera lens while the couple is perhaps unaware of the photograph being taken. The girls appear to be of Hispanic origin and the vendor containing bags of vegetables points to them coming from the agricultural industry, possibly as migrant workers. It is very clear that in the photograph there is a divisive difference between the girls as workers and couple as consumers. These are their respective societal roles. While in most cases this would alienate and present the girls as 'others,' the format of the photo, with the girls all looking into the lens, has the effect of 'othering' the couple, who are white and would traditionally enjoy a more privileged role in society. The girl on the left side of the photo looks almost amused, as if she and the viewer are sharing a joke at the couples expense, further alienating them.

This is very similar to how Margaret Atwood presents the concept of otherness in her novel The Handmaid's Tale. The society she creates, Gilead, is comprised of strict social roles such as Handmaids, Eyes, Wives, and Marthas. Each has a very specific role, and no mobility to change said role. Again these roles do create oppression in the society, but in the specific narrative presented, that is not the tone taken, like in the photograph. So while Gilead's structure does create 'otherness,' they way Atwood wrote Offred's sarcastic tone actually succeeds in 'othering' the people with power. Offred's inquisitive and oftentimes facetious voice establishes her as a very different person compared to others in the book. Because they do not think like Offred, the reader sees them as 'other.'