what is a possible meaning of the “hakuna power · 05/10/2018  · description: the “hakuna...

• What is a possible meaning of the “hakuna matata” ritual in relation to power? How is this meaning affected by a change in social context?

• How might the meaning of a text affected by who is reading it?

• What is “logocentrism” and how does Derrida feel about it?

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Fleshy Politics: Vaccines, Suspicion and Felt Protection

WOMEN AND GENDER STUDIES PRESENTS:

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Writing Help

• RGASC drop-in times for RLG101H: Thursday 12-2pm in NE3251

• TA office hours this Thursday in NE4207

➡ Anna: 1-3

➡ Amin: 11-1

➡ Ian: 12-2

➡ Kyle 11-1

➡ Michelle: 2-45

5. “Texts”

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Today

• Finish: Ritual!

➡ Theories: memory, power, rites of passage

• Film Paragraph + Film Analysis

• “Texts”:

1. Theories of texts2. What do texts mean? 3. Which texts do we study?4. Why study texts?

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Ritual Theories

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Ritual Theories

• Emile Durkheim (society)

• Sigmund Freud (neurosis)

• Harvey Whitehouse (memory)

• Malory Nye (power)

• Arnold van Gennep (rites of passage)

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Harvey Whitehouse

• Rituals and memory (p. 143-4)

1. “Imagistic” mode: high intensity (dramatic and/or traumatic)

❖ E.g., wedding, funeral, assault

2. “Doctrinal” mode: mundane repetition (routine)

❖ E.g., daily prayer, national anthem

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Imagistic Imagistic

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Doctrinal

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Doctrinal

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Doctrinal Power

• Rituals involve power relations (p. 149)

➡ Can express power or challenge power

➡ (Note: this is not Nye’s theory)

➡ Examples?

➡ Royal wedding, Indigenous rites of passage

➡ NFL: taking a knee

➡ Lion King?16

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Power

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Power

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Power Power

• The same ritual can mean different things

➡ Need to know contexts➡ Bloch: social/historical contexts (p. 149)

➡ Bell: individual contexts (p. 150)

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Hakuna Matata

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Ritual Studies: Example

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• What is the meaning of this action?

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• What is the meaning of this action?

Possible answers:

• Form relationships (=Durkheim)

• Avoid difficulties (=Freud)

• Remember (=Whitehouse)

• Express power (=Nye)

• Examples?

• Indigenous rites of passage:

➡ Pondo healers

➡ Anishinaubae vision quest

➡ Wiradjuri boys

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Rites of Passage

• Rituals and transformation

➡ Space, time, social relations, etc.

➡ Boundaries

➡ Rites of passage

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Arnold van Gennep

1. Separation

➡ Death of old self; leave home

2. Liminality

➡ “Threshold”; anti-structure

3. Incorporation

➡ Birth of new self; go home (new/old); physical change?

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Arnold van GennepRite of passage = literal / symbolic journey

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Pondo Rite of Passage

(liminal stage)

• Limin = “threshold”

➡ Doorway, path, tunnel, etc.

• Liminal stage (from Nye, p. 147):

➡ Inversion of “normal” life

➡ Different dress/place/behaviour

➡ Bizarre, upside-down

➡ Anti-structure, opposite of normal

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Rite of Passage

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Rite of Passage

Time

InitialStatus

NewStatus

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Rite of Passage

Time

Sepa

ratio

n

InitialStatus

NewStatus

Inco

rpor

atio

n

LIMINALSTAGE

Threshold

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Rite of Passage: Simba

Time

Sepa

ratio

n

InitialStatus

NewStatus

Inco

rpor

atio

n

LIMINALSTAGE

Threshold

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Rite of Passage: Simba

Time

M d

ies,

S ch

ased

aw

ay

Cub King

S re

turn

s to

Pri

de L

ands

Timon +Pumbaa

Irresponsible + Immature

Hakuna MatataAccepts

Responsibility

Separation

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Symbolic Death Liminality

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Incorporation

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Film Analysis!

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Film Analysis

• Value:

➡ Learn by doing (=use of theory)

➡ Original research

➡ Critical analysis

➡ Difficulty

➡ Surprise? (Change your perspective?)

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Film Paragraph

• Grades + assignments posted

➡ Thanks for not emailing me!

• You ≠ your grades

• First assignment only worth 5%

➡ Chance to learn and improve

• Overall: well done

➡ Yay!!

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• Grading process + appeals

➡ See announcement from last week

➡ Not graded to achieve certain average

➡ C = adequate (UofT standard)

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Film Paragraph

• Learning and improving

➡ Education!

➡ Please look at feedback from TA

➡ Students who met with me or the TAs improved their work

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Film Paragraph

Common issues:

1. Not following instructions

➡ Bottom portion of grading rubric (quantitative)

2. Quality of work

➡ Top portion of grading rubric (qualitative)

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Film Paragraph

• What shift took place in ritual studies during the 1990s? How is this relevant to your film essay?

➡ What was the old question about actions? What is the new question?

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Old question: “Is this action a ritual?”

New question: “What does this action mean?”

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Final Film Analysis

• Biggest challenge: use theory to interpret some aspect(s) of the film

➡ Avoid the obvious!

➡ Description vs. interpretation➡ Description: The “hakuna matata” ritual helps

Simba feel better and make friends.

➡ Interpretation: Using Freud’s theory, it’s possible to see that Simba uses the “hakuna matata” ritual to avoid dealing with problems

• 4 paragraphs in total:

1. Belief (revised!)

2. Ritual

3. Text

4. Reflection

Final Film Analysis

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This week’s tutorial homework (bring 2 copies)

• Submit to Quercus and Turnitin.com (Revision 1: Film Analysis)

➡ Include grading rubric (will be posted asap)

• Deadline: extensions!

➡ Oct. 22: will get grade before drop date (=Nov. 8)

➡ Oct. 26: no late penalty, but will get grade after drop date

Final Film Analysis

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• Ask for help!

➡ Me / your TA

➡ RG Academic Skills Centre

➡ AccessAbility Resource Centre

➡ Health + Counselling Centre

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Final Film Analysis

“Texts!”

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Author – Text – Reader

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Final Film Analysis

• Apply theories to “texts” WITHIN the film

➡ “Text” = anything in the film that is spoken, sung, written, named, signed, etc.

➡ “Author” = character who writes or speaks

➡ “Reader” = character who reads or listens

• Example: “Hakuna Matata” as text

➡ Who is the author? Who is the reader?

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• Do NOT do the following:

➡ “Text” = screenplay of the film

➡ “Author” = writer of the screenplay

➡ “Reader” = viewer of the film

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Final Film Analysis “Texts”

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1. Theories of texts

2. What do texts mean?

3. Why study texts?

4. Which texts do we study?

1. Theories of texts

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• Authorship (p. 169–71): Michel Foucault + Roland Barthes

• Readers (p. 176–78):Wolfgang Iser + Stanley Fish

• Gender (p. 178): Judith Fetterley + Julia Leslie

• Language + interpretation (p. 158–59): Jacques Derrida

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Authorship

• Two issues re: meaning of a text:

1. Barthes: “Death” of the author(=author’s intent is NOT important in determining the meaning[s] of a text)

2. Foucault: author’s identity IS important in determining the meaning(s) of a text(status, expertise, gender, etc.)

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“You know this is your master, eh?

Do you feel the lash?”

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Author’s Intent is NOT Important?

Song

• “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift (2014)

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“Shake It Off”I stay out too late

Got nothing in my brainThat’s what people say, mmm-mmmThat’s what people say, mmm-mmm

‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, playAnd the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shakeI shake it off, I shake it off

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“Shake It Off”I stay out too late

Got nothing in my brainThat’s what people say, mmm-mmmThat’s what people say, mmm-mmm

‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, playAnd the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shakeI shake it off, I shake it off

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author’s identity IS important 66

Author’s Identity IS Important

Hakuna Matata

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One True King

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How does the author’s identity affect the meaning

of the following texts?

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Adolf Hitler

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