Dec 03 2008
Final Project picture and paper for Elena
For the final project of the Underworld Greek Mythology and Modern Film Class, a photo journey was created to represent the nightmare of the journey through hell that is the basis for this class. Katabasis, the journey through the Underworld was the necessary journey that the hero in myths and stories must complete as discussed in class. In The Aeneid, Aeneas, the protagonist of the myth journeys through the underworld and acquires knowledge from his experience. Scholars, such as Agnes Kirsopp Michels have argued that Aeneas only journeyed through the underworld in his dreams. Michels attempts to prove that Aeneas’ journey was solely to be interpreted as a dream. Michels claims that because Aeneas and the Sibyl take the exit from the Underworld of the Gates of Sleep by way of gates of ivory, rather than the one of horn, Virgil intended that the trip to the underworld was to be interpreted as Aeneas’ dream from which he is awoken from.
In the photo journey the pictures are taken from the Exorcist Stairs in Georgetown in Washington D.C., chosen for their hellish appeal and terrifying connotation. The pictures were taken and developed by hand in a dark room to gain the effect of the personal hardships that are needed to complete an obligation that is necessary for success. The pictures themselves are meant to symbolize the nightmare that is the Underworld, the dream through hell. The way that the photographs are matted and placed together as a puzzle is to signify the specific sequence of events that are necessary to be completed to enter and exit the Underworld. The string that wraps around the pictures, weaving in and out starting with the first photograph and snaking through all the way around to meet back at the beginning, and ending with a bow symbolizing the process of going through hardships and ending the journey with gained knowledge.
The first photograph in this journey is very focused on ivy leaves that have stairs leading down but are fuzzy and cannot be understood at the current time. The fuzziness of the bottom of the stairs is meant to show the dream that will be entered to journey through the Underworld. This photograph symbolizes the first step to enter the nightmare that is the Underworld. The deep below is unknown and uncertain it is hard to know what is in store and is a scary situation. The only thing that is known from this photograph is that there is hope that something will be learned at the bottom by the small lamp that is seen through the leaves in the distance.
The next photograph is clearer, the ivy leaves are still seen but they are no longer obstructing the view down the stairs. The way down the stairs is long and there are platforms that symbolize that there will be trials that the hero must accomplish in order to move on. The light, or the knowledge to be gained at the bottom of the stairs is still visible and now slightly clearer and is no longer seen through the vines; the goal is now in clear sight. In the following photograph the entire view of the stairs, now, from the bottom step to the very top is visible and the light or knowledge at the bottom is in clear and close sight. The long trek back to the surface is long and tough, but there is light and opening at the end of the path to show where life will be.
The next photograph may be the simplest, but most important of the whole journey. This picture is of the very top of the stairs with only a few steep steps to overcome and the closest to the end of the journey. The opening to the light at the top of the stairs is in clear sight and very close, but cannot be reached without the hard trek of the final steps, leading out of the nightmare. The railings point up to the sky and to the opening that the stairs lead to the surface of the world and to the world of the living. The end is near, but the hardest part of the journey must be accomplished before the dream can be over.
Finally, the journey is complete, awoken from the dream. The nightmare is over and with the knowledge gained there is hope for a better life is now in view. This photograph shows the river with the American flag flying high over the arch of the journeyed stairs symbolizing the hope that the U.S. has after facing such hard times. The plant life is oozing from the fence and the trees are growing to show the life of the world that is flourishing and will continue to go on. The hero has completed his journey and has grown from the experience. The bow is tied to end the journey of the photographs and to show that the journey was not just a waste, but a learning experience that was necessary to the growth of the protagonist.
Work cited
Michels, Agnes Kirsopp. (1981). The Insomnium of Aeneas. Classical Quarterly, 31(1).140-146.
Retrieved November 14, 2008, from JSTOR database.
The Taliban and Their Legacy
The Taliban is a product of the Soviet Invasion in Afghanistan which was a conflict that lasted from 1979-1989. They were mujahideen (المجاهدين or “freedom fighters”) groups that formed during the war against the Soviet Union. However after the collapse of the Soviet Union the pullout of their forces that followed there was a power vacuum in Afghanistan and the country was reduced to warlord’s competing for control of the country’s land, political power, and wealth. The Taliban led by Mullah Mohammed Omar, an administrator of a religious school rose above the chaos and established order in Afghanistan in 1994.
However the Taliban’s radical religious agenda became apparent almost immediately when they began to restore law and order. Singing, dancing, playing music, watching television, and flying kites were all outlawed by the Taliban and praying five times a day was mandatory not optional. Violators were subjected to public executions or amputations. The US invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 when they learned that the Taliban was providing refuge to Osama bin Laden the leader of al-Qaeda. The invasion has weakened the Taliban’s influence but they are not fully removed from Afghanistan and have more influence in some areas than in other.
The Taliban’s most damaging policies were the ones that were inflicted on women. In the early 1990’s 70% of school teachers, 50% of government workers, and 40% of doctors in Kabul were women. Since 1996 women were barred from having jobs, they were required to wear burqa’s all the time when outside the house, girls were expelled from schools and were barred from going to schools, women were not allowed outside unless they were escorted by a male, women also not able to be examined by male physicians but female physicians were banned from practicing.
Despite the Taliban’s removal from power since 2001 violence against women is still prevalent especially in Kandahar where the Taliban exert the most influence. On November 15, 2008 25 girls were sprayed with acid by unidentified men. The schoolgirls are easily recognizable with their uniforms of white tops, black slacks, dark coats, and headscarves. A woman whose daughters were victims of the attack said she always wanted her daughters to get an education and “not to be left illiterate like their parents”. But she doesn’t want to send her daughters to school now. She was quoted saying, “I won’t send my daughters to school after such an attack. Would you?” About 600 schools have been closed for security reasons and over 120 schools have been burned down. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attacks and threats and promises that more will come in the future.
Women, who are denied education, live in extreme poverty, are trapped in their homes and sometimes result to desperate measures to escape. Domestic violence is a problem in Afghanistan that often not reported and if reported the women are the ones punished. 87% of women have been abused half of this abuse is sexual, 60% of women are in forced marriages and 57% of women got married at the age of 16 or younger. On November 1, 2008 a woman used self immolation and died after being subjugated to domestic violence by her in laws. Women are imprisoned when they have been raped, run away, or falsely accused of murdering their husbands among other crimes. Conditions in prisons are subhuman with little food and no healthcare for the women and their children. When released the stigma of jail ostracizes women from their families and their communities and they are forced to become beggars or prostitutes.
Although the Taliban is no longer in control, women are still denied basic freedoms. The legacy of the Taliban thrives when women are terrorized so they can’t go to school and the justice system fails to protect women from the men who terrorize them. There are some improvements in Afghanistan; occasionally rapists will be prosecuted and rehabilitation centers are being created for runaways. But until the government takes a active role in protecting and uplifting women, Afghani women will still be living in brutal legacy of oppression of the Taliban.
sources
Sources:
Hayes, Laura. “Laura Hayes, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Rowen.” Who are the Taliban. 2007. Infoplease. 2 Dec. 2008 .
May, Clifford D. “Meet the Taliban.” 27 Nov. 2007. National Review Online. 2 Dec. 2008 .
Mehta, Sunita, ed. Women for Afghan Women : Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. 36-40.
The Reality of Life in Afghanistan. RAWA News. 2 Dec. 2008 .
“The Taliban & Afghan Women: Background.” Feminist Majority Foundation. 2 Dec. 2008 .