Having Dr. Weeks talk to us about his adventures to Sri
Lanka was very informational. Towards the end of his presentation he showed us
prayer wheels, singing bowls, marble plates etc. Then I began to realize that I
have seen a prayer wheel or something similar in a movie. The movie is called The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy. As
I was re-watching the movie I realized that one of the monks had a singing
bowl. (Side note, this movie is really funny and it is on Netflix)
I have always been fascinated with Geishas ever since I
watched Memoirs of a Geisha when I
was little. I never really understood the concept of the movie: only thing I
knew was that she wanted to be a Geisha which had great responsibilities and
she did everything to impress a man. So, with a little researching I found out
that a Geisha is much like a performer. They are highly trained women in
dancing, singing and playing instruments. Traditional Geisha’s begin training at
the age of 6 but todays Japanese students must stay in school until 15. Many
students begin training at the age of 16-18 years old. Here is a scene from the
movie Memoirs of a Geisha where the
young girl is going through training.
I wanted to learn more about the particular Gods in
Hinduism. I chose Shiva the destroyer, I honestly thought this was women
because of the name but look at me being judgmental (Shame on me). Looking up
the history of Shiva was quite interesting. He is known as the most powerful of
the Hindu pantheon and of course one out of the three Godheads in the Hindu
trinity. He is known to be the core of the centrifugal force of the universe
and his responsibilities are death and destruction. Even though he is known as
the destroyer, his destruction later results to creation.
But he looks like a nice God ! He looks like he would ask you how your day went. Just saying.
After reading your blog, I now have two good looking movies that I plan to watch next time we have another snow day or I have some free time.
ReplyDeleteI love the lighthearted video with Eddie Murphy, then again which of his movies aren't! I have seen prayer wheels and prayer flags when the Tibetan monks came to Spartanburg. The tedious way Dr.Weeks played the singing bowl helped put into perspective the importance of prayer to these cultures.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you included Eddie Murphy in your blog. I have just watched a movie with him this weekend and now I really want to watch the movie that you suggested. I also like the post about Shiva. I did a lot of research on him when I was in World Religions Class. It was interesting to see how they three main Gods work together to keep the universe running.
ReplyDeleteEddie Murphy is like my favorite comedian next to Robin Williams so I am most definitely going to have to watch that movie now. The singing bowls are absolutely amazing and I kind of want one. I watched that entire Geisha clip, which was super cool, it is interesting to see what all the girls have to go through ( and I would not wear those shoes.) I thought Shiva was a girl too until we saw a statue and he had a mustache (Oops) but I think it is interesting how he is portrayed in that painting very nicely.
ReplyDeleteI've always enjoyed the singing bowl. My first theater director in high school had bought an authentic one like Dr. weeks and would make us lie down on the floor, breathe deeply, and listen to the singing bowl for at least ten minutes. It was extremely relaxing! "Memoirs of a Geisha" is one of my favorite books/movies so I'm very grateful that you included it.
ReplyDeleteI remember watching 'The Golden Child' many years ago with my father! I had totally forgotten about it until I saw this, but I remember seeing the 'weird spinning thing' (the giant prayer wheel) and wondering what it was! Thanks for sharing, I might go watch that movie now..
ReplyDeleteShannon
I think that is so cool when you learn about something and then can go back to find it in something else that you have experienced before! That bowl makes the most interesting sound. The second movie you found sounds like it would be a good film to watch because it plays on some cultural aspects. I might try to watch it one day!
ReplyDelete'm reminded of our very first blog assignment--your musical autobiography, where each of you was supposed to tell us how you've experienced music from other cultures already in your lives. I don't know if you realized it at the time, but here are two movies that introduced you to the music of other cultures without you really realizing it. Now that you know, you can be on the lookout for other similar presentations in future movies!
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