The times are a changing, really fast too. But traditions
keep us more
grounded in the present, even when the rest of the culture is racing
ahead with its changes. The reason I thought about this is because I
noticed on the New Orleans newspaper dot com site (nola.com) a video a
reader posted that was shot in 1954. It has views (in color
too....imagine that) of random costumes that one reveler recorded with
his ancient video camera on Mardi Gras Day 1954.
It's quite interesting as a cultural history of people that celebrated
Mardi Gras more than 60 years ago. But how different were the costumes
and attitudes shown on that old video from one that was more recently
shot? You have to look at the two links below to form your own opinion
as to what changes you see and what similarities. The second video was
taken Mardi Gras Day 2009 (55 years later than the first video) also in
New Orleans, and it is a recording by one person of a few of the
costumes seen that day.
Go ahead and view them.....I''ll wait for you and resume my remarks
when you are finished.
1954
http://www.nola.com/mardigras/index.ssf/2015/01/reader_shares_vintage_new_orle.html#incart_river
2009
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LafDdPQnTE
Oh you're back! What did you see in the two years that is different and
what is the same? Does the similarity of the two make you think, as I
do, that traditions keep us fixed in time, or that they at least show
that we can revert to the expectations of tradition. Either way, I
think Mardi Gras and other traditional events are good for the people
who participate. They reflect on the past and embrace it in an active
way, beyond just knowing the past or thinking about it momentarily.
Because we participate the same way we learn to appreciate, maybe even
adopt some of the behaviors of the former time.
I could be wrong, so you tell me what you think. Happy Mardi Gras from
both year 1954 and 2009.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment