The ritual and practise of body tattoo-ing has transformed drastically (much as many other historic and traditional rituals) into a simplistic popular fashion statement. Human history records illustrate tattoos being used in many diverse cultures; namely as rites of passage, marks of status, rank, symbols of religious and spiritual devotion, decorations for bravery, sexual lures, marks of fertility, punishment, amulets, protection and as the marks of convicts.
Cook's arrival
SO, who brought on this fashionable practise to the British Isles? Well, British explorer James Cook was his name. He brought the practise back with him after an expedition to Tahiti in 1769. The Polynesians permanently tattooed themselves as protective and therapeutic symbols, but when the 'fashion' arrived in Europe it was adopted, primarily, by men in dangerous professions (gangsters and rebels-ooooh).
Fast forward to today and it's no surprise to see any girl or guy over the age of 18 with a tattoo inked across their backs, arms, wrists, thighs, ankles, necks or bottoms. It's well enough to assume you get a free tattoo with every purchase of skinny jeans....i must admit, i myself have got both; skinny jeans and tattoo.
I went in to my local Tat shop to do a little amateur filming and aside from capturing the shop's surroundings i found an 18 year old girl getting her first tattoo :). I also captured a little of the guy sitting next to her who looked like a right ink addict!
When you find yourself sitting in a cinema where there's a competitive amount of action and sound effects between those 'watching' the movie and the actual movie itself...you know ther gon'b sum black peeps up in thur, standard.
Don't blame us, I swear it's in our genes (I'll explain)! And even though i get really annoyed when I'm sitting there watching a movie with a manic lady screaming at the screen, with popcorn flying everywhere around her as she targets at the film's antagonist...wait, who am i kidding?! That manic freak is me, I'm that annoying lady in the cinema...well at least last night at a Preston cinema i was. I never really realised it back at home (In Africa) amongst my fellow 'homeboys' (please excuse the cheesy American slang), with them I'd just blend in!
'Oh hell no, he did not just go there', these are the words i found myself saying in the epic scene in Twilight: Breaking Dawn when Jacob ***** ***** ** *** ****** *** .........(Starred out for the sake of those who haven't watched). Anyway the point is, well who was i talking to and why did i feel the need to comment, in a cinema, where the only lights on are pointing to the screen and the rest of the room is in darkness, clearly indicating a separation between where there SHOULD be action/sound/talk and where there SHOULDN'T!!!
Well here's the deal, I'm black, my roots stem from the African soils (Though science/history shows we all did, for the sake of the point I'm trying to make I'm speaking from the perspective of Post-Ape era here). It all boils down to understanding, meaning and the nature of communication taught amongst the African society. And yes, though it may be true that to some extent different cultures and races are gradually amalgamating into one unison popular way of life (especially in the 'first world'), the change definitely hasn't fully affected this largely inherent characteristic difference in communication between, well for the sake of simplicity in this writing, the black and white race.
Both storytellers and audience are involved in creating the sense of the story
Let's take away the cinemas, theatres, ipads, kindles and even books...and understand a form of communication that exists largely in the context of an integrated, communal oral performance. That is the background in which storytelling (and cinema) exists in African tradition. Without back and forth interaction (oral and physical) a story does not exist. Storytelling was and continues to be used as a way to teach, involve and excite the listener.
If you look at the example of hip hop (considering it as a black art form), there isn't a rapper out there who doesn't provide a platform that allows for the integration of the audience with his art...there's always a 'Can i get a Hip Hop Hip Hop' or a 'Wave your hands in the air, like you just don't curr' (feel free to adapt to modern day lingo). The point is it isn't worth the watch if you can't get involved in one way another....
'Throw your hands in the airya and wave dem like u juss dont careya'!
Anyway, this brings me back to cinema and why i find myself having a hard time maintaining my composure through action sequences, love scenes and even through the scenes in between. It's just not in me to sit and silently internalise what is to me a natural reaction to performed storytelling. Whether it be on screen, radio, on paper or on line my culture has ingrained in me to physically and orally react, while involving those around me. Screaming, squirming, popcorn throwing and posing hysteric rhetorical questions during a film are all a part of the cinema experience for me, if i had to sit motionless and quiet for a full on 120mins i honestly, without doubt, wouldn't be able to follow the film's narrative!
With the globalisation of the world's culture and capitalism there are just so many different options you could choose when deciding where you want to live and work. Where in the world would you rather be??
Fill out the survey below and find out what people, perhaps similar to you, would prefer:
Everyone's got their own personal views for the future.
Perfect Family:In reality the seas level will be up to their necks
Most people aspire to be at the top of the ladder in whatever career they've chosen to pursue, or have that perfect happy family living in the suburbs somehwere, or perhaps driving that big range rover and flying around the world from this world stage arena to the other...
But, in reality...there may not be a future to live, not in a couple decades time.
Atleast they're all walking the same direction
If you look at the statistics the future's probably something we should be trying to run away from rather than moving into. Over 7 BILLION people are recorded to be living in the world right now, in 20 years there'll be a predicted 9 Billion. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine that everywhere you walk there'l be a person standing to your left and to your right, and with the amount of housing that will need to be developed you're likely to struggle finding a piece of untouched ground to walk on.
Reality...NOT Fiction
Just about every earthly resource is presently being exhausted on our planet...us humans are a contamination to what was once a sound environment; we live and breed like parasites, filling up the empty spaces, consuming endlessly only to churn out deadly waste, until eventually we'll die out in our own poison...
And, yea, sure we could try cut down on consumtion, 'dig up' more resources, explore new energy sources, go green and recycle the environment...but with a continued increase in population the only vision for the future...isn't one at all!
Below is what Preston City's Head of Environmental Health envisions of the future:
