Wednesday, March 31, 2010

It's true that words are instruments of separation and social power. We could see it a lot among are youth in the high schools. During their lunch hour we could see the different culture groups hanging out with each of their own. When there's a fight it is usually over somebody else that doesn't belong in their group. Then they start putting each other down and start talking about each other's culture, which starts a big fight among the two groups. To prove which culture is more powerful and who rules. However, it's not only in the school yards it happens in our communities. For examples, when I was a teenager I lived in the San Fernando Valley in a community called "Arlets" where the people were all different cultures/races. For another example, on the block I lived on my neighbor next to me was Chinese and the other side of me lived a Hawaiian family, then further down lived White family and Mexican families and all the kids of all these families all get along together. Race didn't matter; the color of our skin didn't stop us from being friends and getting along. But I remember y dad warning us about other communities, he would tell my older siblings to stay out of those places. One place was the Barrio where the Chicano's lived and a place across the tracks where the blacks lived. One thing we didn't do was go into these places and have a conversation with them especially if we weren't the right race. As we can see words are instruments of separation and social power and yes rhythm and dance are fusional Media that have no concern with social power. The interactive nature rhythm and dance become successful non-verbal communication. Rhythm and dance seem to have an empathic effect that brings about a sentiment of unity, as it enables people to function on an intuitive level. Rhythm opens the way, however brutally to interior experience and this explains the erasure of external social, cultural and gender boundaries taking place on the dance floor, as it has t do with the crowd effect. The dance floor is a spaced packed with people, where people come together on the dance floor as they are transformed. The conscious personality of each individual disappears and the dancers suddenly become one body. When the music starts and the people gather on the dance floor and start dancing and touch one another and that's when there are no more races, culture or things forbidden. All we want to do when the music starts is get on the dance floor and dance, as our mind is only set on the music. We want to join these groups of people and have lots of fun. Nobody in this group is thinking about anybodies race or color of skin, as their just one big happy group dancing to the music. The music seems to take their minds elsewhere. Maybe after the dance they might go back to their old ways of thinking, but at least for a while they got along on the dance floor.

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree and understand where you’re coming from; I lived in the East L.A. for a short time. While I was growing up there my mother always told me not to go across the tracks, that the people there was bad people and that we were not to socialize with them. My schooling was the same thing, however I went against my mother’s wishes and started hanging out with them and let me tell you everything she tried to keep me from, I was in. At the school dances we all came together as a group, music was our connection regardless of the music that was playing. The dance floor was a safe zone for no unnecessary to take place, no violence, no gang related activities, and definitely no for any reason were there weapons allowed in the place. During that time we were as one big group that wasn’t divided, no color lines. Music to me during those times and now was like a stress relief, to just be able to let my hair down without letting the pressures of the world get to me. Our personalities weren’t clashing or anything we were at piece with each others dancing. That seems like a life time ago, how I miss those days.

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  2. I know what you mean about the schools. The only difference is I grew up in a place where I was the only “white girl”. It was a very interesting experience. At lunch it was the same thing one group in this corner, another one over there and yet another in a different spot, it was like segregation. No one dared try to cross the lines there. I went to a high school that had a 1% Caucasian rate. I hung out with people of all colors and it never seemed to make a difference to me. Although I did see the “riots” as the school called them take place between the different ethnicities’. It was quite scary.

    Now being in an interracial marriage and have biracial children I pay attention to the things being said to my kids. I have found that living in the AV we do not see as much of this as when I live in LA. I am very thankful for that.

    As for dance I totally agree that all the color and cultural lines dissipate and people come together for the dance. They are not concerned bout what back ground their dance partner is. If only this would carry on to all parts of society. I think that the world would be better if we were all color blind.

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