THE STATUE ISSUE

Donald Trump's motives may not be pure (they're not), but he raised an issue that makes me pause for a moment.  It is obvious that statues of Confederate warriors have raised emotions with terrible racial implications.  The removal of some of them has become a point of contention for white racist groups to rally against as a way of asserting their sick beliefs.  On the other hand there are others who think they should all be pulverized.

Perhaps some of us can reduce the issue to a personal level.  In my case I was dismayed to learn that some of my ancestors (on both my mother and father's side) were members of the Orange Lodge.  I imagine they did some good things, but what bothers me is that they were very anti-Catholic.  A few generations later I see Catholics as people first, some of whom are relatives and others are friends.  In Hamilton I am reminded of them almost every weekend when I walk by what used to be an Orange Lodge.  Ironically when their membership ran out of money a group of Catholic Portuguese  took over the building.  When I walk by I feel a small tinge of shame and recognize that hatred is potentially in all of us.

An historical benefactor of the city of Hamilton, Sir Allan McNab was a key person in putting down the Rebellion of 1837.  In theory I sided with the rebels who did in time force changes in the government, but it cannot be denied Sir Allan McNab accomplished a lot of good things.  If you are in the area have a look at Dundurn Castle (I drive by almost every day).

ISIS members demolished some ancient temples that had been standing for over 3,000 years. Westerners believe that proves how barbaric Islamic terrorists  (and by extension all Muslims) are. The radical Islamists felt they were blasphemous.  Many others thought they were beautiful and historical.

Trump suggested that after the Confederate general statues were dismantled that the public would then move on to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson who were both slave owners.  One key difference is that the Confederate generals killed to help break up the country while the founding fathers helped to establish the country.

Thomas Jefferson has been a key figure in two blogs that partially explain his situation.   Edward E Baptist relates just how critical slavery was to the United States and the role played by Thomas Jefferson amongst others; http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/12/the-half-has-never-been-told.html  In a fictional account, Stephen O'Connor speculates, using some historic evidence on Jefferson's relationship with a mulatto slave, Sally Hemmings:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/06/thomas-jefferson-and-sally-hemings-make.html

Robert E. Lee after surrendering for the Confederacy had been asked to endorse a statue of himself. He refused saying he felt it would retard the healing process the nation had to undergo.  Isn't that a concern?  Many of the statues were built in the twentieth century as blacks were asserting their rights more effectively and have become a slap to modern blacks.

Many otherwise good people have a blemish on their reputation.  Are we to judge them for their sins or look at the whole person and realize that we are all human and subject to a wide range of faults?

What to do?  History should not be ignored as that causes another set of problems.  But when an offensive statue is placed  in a prominent location those in charge have to decide how to go forth.  Do they want to be known for being offensive to local citizens and visitors?   In some cases a logical place might be a museum where we can be reminded of our past follies.  Racists may well focus on the symbolism of their distorted beliefs, but the rest of us can say that artifact is historical.  What about the empty space left behind?  Sometimes that says a lot, but sooner or later someone will be inspired for something else.

The photo is of the building that used to belong to the Orange Lodge, but now belongs to the Vasco Da Gama football club.  I believe that is King William on his horse fighting the Irish Catholics.

Do subtitles scare you? Who knows what you are missing?

Some of my readers must be a bit annoyed at how often I write about foreign movies.  I apologize for boring or torturing you, but sincerely hope you take a closer look.

Foreign movies appeal to my curiosity about "foreign" people.  Helps to understand a different perspective on this big frightening world.  On top of it all there is a lot of artistry captured in foreign cultures that is pleasurable.

My parents when they were first married often drove out of town to a Chinese restaurant, but ordered regular Canadian food.  After several years and a few children somehow they were persuaded to try some Chinese food and were really turned on.  We all got to eat Chinese food and developed a liking for it.  A few years later somehow we discovered pizza.  What other exciting discoveries are out there?

Aside from exoticism, we are struck by similarities that we might not have expected.  Many foreign countries have adopted Western culture, but we often picture them wearing folk costumes.  We think they are simple minded and don't have the emotional ups and downs that we go through.  They lack our sophistication.

As with English movies there are a lot of ordinary and poor films in foreign tongues, but nonetheless many are copied (for an Angolphone audience, often poorly) and  many actors, directors, writers, composers, cinematographers, etc are lured over to English speaking production houses with bigger budgets . A lot of entertaining movies are out there if you are willing to cross a few borders.

Right now Westerners are very distrustful of Iran, but they don't understand the history that should make you marvel that they might not trust us--you also don't think they are much like us.  "Separation" isn't  political in any traditional way, but does demonstrate Iranians have the usual sort of human problems and try to handle them in similar ways to us.  This movie has an ambiguous ending that leaves you wondering.

The Korean movie pictured at the top, "Glove" illustrates more similarities.  What North American is not familiar with baseball?  Well they are in Korea as well and they have prima donna players, locker room conflicts, dramatic games and this movie illustrates all that.  It also follows a typical sports plot line, except victory comes a little differently and the particular drama is unique.  With the baseball connection you will find yourself pulled into the story which is very well done.   If you want to pursue Korean movies you will find a wide variety including very violent and thrilling, but also some of my favorites like "200 Pounds Beauty" and "Miss Granny" for laughs and romance and for philosophical insight,  "Spring, summer, fall, winter...and spring."  See an earlier post:     http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/04/a-slice-of-korean-cinema.html

Asia is now moving into our consciousness and since my youth at least has been perceived as very different.  Certainly there are things that might seem exotic or weird, but again you can see similarities with little effort.  Perhaps some of you may have seen "Shall We Dance" with Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez.  I was a little disappointed because I had previously stumbled on the original Japanese version.  It shook up some misperceptions I had about the Japanese and was a charming story.  Later on I learned both versions had the same writer.  The Japanese lost the war and suffered for it, but have moved on.  A very perceptive Japanese film maker was Akira Kurasawa who not only had some of his movies adapted for Hollywood, but also some of his techniques.  He filmed the early difficult times after the war.  Japanese films cover a wide range.  Animated films are easily adapted using English speaking voices.  Others are very perceptive of human dilemmas such as "Like Father Like Son." and "Departures."  More information on Japanese movies here:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/03/japanese-movies-are-more-than-godzilla.html

I love Bollywood and was partially hooked because I have always loved musicals, but there is a lot more depth (as well as some very beautiful music).  One to draw attention is "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" a love story between a regular guy and a fat girl--you will come to love her too.   read more  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/05/a-feel-good-movie-little-off-beaten-path.html "PK" a religious satire perhaps most suitable for India as it has large segments of a wide variety of religions.  see:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/03/pk.html

China is viewed as a Communist monolith, but like the ancient Romans the government tries to provide "bread and circuses"  Besides Chinese movies come from different sources including Taiwan and Singapore while Hong Kong has a long unique history.  Jackie Chan, Yun-Fat Chow and Li Gong have left their influence in China and North America.  For more information:   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/08/chinese-cinema-is-peek-into-their_1.html

Browsing one day I stumbled on "Bliss" introducing me to Turkish movies.   The book was of great interest as was the author who wrote the music for the movie.  The movie was about honor killing which is outmoded for most of Turkey but still real for some sectors of the population.  I did a post on a comparison of the book and movie at  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/05/turkish-delight-in-book-and-movie-form.html I have since seen a number of Turkish movies making me realize that our image of backward countries is not up to date.




Switching over to Europe I learned from "Mother of Mine" about some history from World War II that had escaped my attention.  Finland was in a very awkward position in that they were being attacked by the Russians  (our allies against the Nazis) and were greatly outnumbered.  Many of the children were transported to Swedish homes.  This is a story about a young boy who adjusted poorly at first then found it hard to leave his new mother.  To read about the sad movies that include other foreign titles check here:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/08/the-power-of-sad-movies.html



European films may seem a little closer to our English culture, but there are lots of interesting  choices.  I have enjoyed films from France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Italy, and Russia.   One of my very favorite movies is "After the Wedding" from Denmark.


For Anglophone Canadians we often overlook a foreign language source that often hits really close to home.  Our Quebec brethren are actually more prolific in movies as a way of maintaining their culture.  Yes, many of them want to separate, but many others want to explain themselves.  You can learn more at:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/09/french-canadian-films-are-world-class.html

Where I have not gone far--Africa--watched one low key romance comedy "Cape of Good Hope"  from South Africa, mostly in English, plus "Tsotsi" and one  Science Fiction-"District 9",  a Bollywood movie set there, "Race"   From the Hamilton Film fest  "The First Grader" about an 84 year old former freedom fighter who wanted an education.  I accept Africa will surge in a lot of endeavors over the next few decades and deserves more attention.

Hollywood to my way of thinking has developed some formulas that work to maximize their profits.  They provide some stimulus and like Pavlovian dogs the audience responds.  If it starts to seem repetitious they escalate the stimulus.  Although I find myself responding on cue often, I look for a different stimulus.  How about you?

Aside from thinking foreigners are weird and not nearly as sophisticated as us, another obstacle is subtitles.  I suffer from aging eyes, and declining attention span.  They actually help focus my attention and perhaps help me catch some subtleties (of which I might miss in a dubbed version).  Dubbed is an easier adjustment, but I dislike the voice not matching the lip movements or the actor's physicality.  You might feel more comfortable with a dubbed movie and maybe work your way up to subtitles.

Subtitles can be misleading--some writers avoid using profanity, often simplify words and it is not uncommon to spot spelling or grammar errors.  They can be slow, sometimes difficult to sort out which character said what.  A translator can make a  big difference in how you enjoy a book, and a good subtitle writer can also make a big difference.

A lot has to be left out but it is a very big world with lots of sights that our ancestors could only be aware after a lot of effort and often expense.  You can sample it effortlessly.  Your local library and Netflix are both ready and willing to help your exploration.  I hope I have whetted your appetite.

Why The West Rules--For Now

Ian Morris, the author goes beyond the titillating title and makes numerous interesting points about our human cultural history. Readers are attracted to the idea in the title because of their own cultural bias and prejudices. We may be part of the dominant culture, or maybe we are about to become the dominant culture or maybe we should be concerned about who dominates or the dynamics.

One of his favorite methods is to use fictional analogies and he starts off with a story that caught me off guard. I thought I had missed some bits of history, but before too long I realized this was not only fiction, but really science fiction. The best science fiction is basically twisting a fact and see how it affects how people relate to one another. In this case the author speculates on how society would have evolved if just a few details were changed. He suggested that instead of the Chinese kow towing to the superior British, it could easily have been reversed if culture had evolved a little differently.

History doesn't begin with the written word, but goes back much further. For instance Neanderthals play a role in the Eastern Western dichotomy, but not in Africa.

The author devises a system for comparing cultures. He identifies four criteria: energy capture, urbanism, information processing and capacity to make war. The data is a little difficult to pin down, but he uses reasonable comparative information. I agree his system is very arbitrary, but useful to explain progress in any culture system.

For most of history both sides (East and West with some acknowledgement of Africa and America) evolve very similarly and very slowly by recent memory. Each side has some advantages, but at various points circumstances combined to give one side a chance to move ahead.  Edible plants, soil, tamable animals, river systems and other factors play key roles in developing a culture. Europe being closer to North America than Asia, by itself encouraged outward exploration. With the start of the Industrial Revolution western civilization surged ahead.

Ian feels that the three main motors of history are fear, sloth and greed. One contention is that developments are not just due to some individual genius that one side or the other has more of, but happen when the time is right.  For instance when the telephone was invented there were others on the verge and there was a contest to determine the winner.  Yes, individuals found themselves in position of making monumental decisions, however the author might say they were set up to be in those positions, but admits they could have decided differently, or have been replaced.

He has built upon other authors. Jared Diamond is one that I admired for his analysis that cultural development has a strong geographical component. Martin Jacques is another who is considered an expert on Chinese development.

For the future Mr Morris sees two likelihoods. One possibility is what he terms "singularity" which is sort of a blending of cultures with world political unity. East and West have been borrowing from each other for a millennium with important contributions from America and Africa for centuries. The other possibility he calls "nightfall" which is disaster which is what has fallen to individual civilizations from the beginning, but now could involve all mankind. The world is globalized and our concerns cross all borders demanding co-ordination. He quotes Albert Einstein, "If the idea of world government is not realistic, then there is only one realistic view of our future: wholesale destruction of man by man." Necessity has been the mother invention in the past and hopefully will be for the future.

I almost forgot, Ian Morris sees that the East should overcome the West in this century, but that is not as important as the race between singularity and nightfall.