Dysfunctional Families Galore

At this point, I feel like we've talked about a lot of dysfunctional families. We started this year out talking about the Buendias in Macondo, and, with their extensive incest and violence, they turn out to rank pretty high on a scale of dysfunction. Recently, we just covered Oedipus' family, and they too carry their own flaws as Oedipus is the brother and father of his children. Another crazy family we discussed in class was Agamemnon and his wife, Clytemnestra's. Agamemnon kills his daughter which leads to his wife killing him which then leads to his children killing their mother. Not very functional at all, I'd say. In all three families, greed and murder are also prominent themes. Because of these elements and ultimately due to the dysfunction of their families, these stories could all be classified as tragedies. As Aristotle said, tragedy resonates the most with an audience when they can relate to it. Granted, we most probably do not relate to the extremely violent and incestual tendencies of these families; however, we can relate to other, more general conflicts that these families face, such as pride and impulse, which lead to their tragic endings. I think it's interesting how authors can use family to achieve this point.

Another One

Okay so I'm gonna relate GoT again to one of Sophocles' dramas because it just works. More spoilers, whoops. So Cersei Lannister and Creon are both ignorant rulers. They do not consider the consequences of their actions before committing them. Cersei blows up the Sept of Baelor (it's like a church or whatever), killing Queen Margaery, her family and other unfortunate citizens of King's Landing. Cersei's plan was to rule alongside her son, Tommen, who was heartbroken by Margaery's death. Tommen could not live without Margaery or with the knowledge that her death was orchestrated by his own mother so the young king kills himself. Like Cersei, Creon indirectly kills his own kin in Sophocles' Antigone; because of Antigone's death, his own son Haemon commits suicide and in turn Creon's wife Eurydice follows. Both monarchs rule over the ashes of their loved ones.

Greek Drama vs. Roman Drama

This past summer, I traveled throughout Italy and saw a lot of ancient Roman amphitheaters that looked a lot like their Greek counterparts. However, the ruins, just like the theater, held distinct characteristics that separated them from the Greek amphitheater. I did a little research, and I realized just how interesting the differences between Roman and Greek drama were. For one, Roman drama focused more on comedy rather than tragedy, and theater was seen as solely a form of entertainment and an escape from life. For this reason, Roman drama also incorporated lots of violence and bloodshed (the Romans really liked their violence, cue the Colosseum). On the other hand, Greek drama had a strong focus on religion and mythology and encompassed deeper, more philosophical themes. Architectural design in drama was quite different between the Romans and Greeks as well. As we learned, Greek amphitheaters included a theatron, orchestra, and skene. Roman theaters, however, incorporated many more structures and were built to resemble typical, Italian streets.

Above is a picture of a Roman theater. The columns and buildings behind the stage make it appear more like a typical street.

Blindsided

So there's this show I watch called Game of Thrones. In the show, there was a character named Oberyn (sorry for anyone who was thinking of watching the show 'cause...spoiler). Like Oedipus, Oberyn was well loved by his people and charismatic. He was also very prideful and impulsive, two attributes of his personality that led to his downfall. Anywhoo, Oberyn ended up in a duel with a really huge dude who was kind of a freakishly muscly bodyguard for a very royal family. This dude was called the Mountain. Oberyn would have won the duel had he let go of his personal vendetta against the Mountain (dude raped and murdered Oberyn's sister then murdered her children). Oberyn had the Mountain on the ground, he was good as dead. But Oberyn would not relent until the Mountain admitted out loud what he did to his sister. When Oberyn got too close to the Mountain, who was sprawled out on the ground, he tripped Oberyn and poked Oberyn's eyes out with his fingers until his head exploded. Perhaps if Oedipus had not pushed Tiresius or Creon for the ugly truth, he wouldn't have felt inclined to poke his own eyes out. Likewise, Oberyn certainly would have kept his own eyes and head if he had settled for fatally wounding the Mountain without demanding for a confession. 

Archer and Oedipus

In one of my favorite shows, Archer, the main character is pretty Oedipus-like. Archer, the main character, works for a spy agency in which he ultimately assumes he is the superior agent. Archer routinely goes out of the way the way to negate his co-worker’s ideas, no matter how valid they might be. He is also incredibly argumentative, which although hilarious leads to quite a few problems. Moreover, just like when Oedipus literally just doesn’t hear Creon telling him that he killed Laius, Archer doesn’t take criticism very well:

Sophocles and Freud

So, Freud was evidently a fan of Sophocles. In Oedipus Rex, Freud admired Sophocles’ focus on the subconscious. This, as most of you all probably know, led Freud to develop the concept of the Oedipus Complex. However, Freud also apparently found inspiration in Sophocles’ Electra, in which Electra and her brother Orestes conspire against their mother and stepfather for the murder of Agamemnon, their father. From this play, Freud developed the Electra Complex, which could essentially be interpreted as the female-focused version of the Oedipus Complex.

Moreover, Sophocles’ version of Oedipus was an extremely validating and direct portrayal of Freud’s three parts of the psyche: the id, the ego, and the super-ego. In the play, Oedipus struggles with the balance of his psyche, and therefore makes for a fascinating Freudian case study.

Denial in Oedipus

While reading Oedipus, I was really drawn in by Sophocles’ attention to human behavior, and especially that of denial. Throughout the play, Oedipus’s main mechanism of discourse and coping is denial. In blaming Creon and Tiresias, he is ultimately disregarding any involvement he might have in the death of Laius.

Not only does Sophocles accurately display the tenacious nature of denial, but also the conflict that arises with any form of negation: to live in a tailored world void or the truth, or to better know one’s world. Because Oedipus chooses to hold his discourse with Creon in public, he is forced to decide between not knowing the truth, but maintaining his reputation, and knowing the truth about himself and facing the repercussions. Oedipus’s situation can be easily tied to life today, where we are forced between living in in ignorant bliss, which would not be a particularly honest existence, or doing something as simple as watching the news and being informed, but all the while a bit horrified of the realities of our world. I think Sophocles masterfully portrays the intrinsic characteristics of denial and the conflicts that arise through disregarding the truth. He also proves that denial is essentially just a stalling mechanism, and that the negation of truth does not in fact make something false.  

The Ancient Art of Bronze

One of the many different types of sculptures we read about and talked about in class were bronze sculptures. There were many bronze sculptures that were made in Ancient Greece. Some of these sculptures remain, however many of them were melted down for their value, so all that we have are Roman marble copies. Bronze was used instead of copper as it was still 90% copper but it had a much lower melting point due to the 10% tin. The first type of ancient bronze sculptures were called sphyrelaton, which means "hammer driven" literally. For this type, different pieces of the sculpture were made separately through hammering sheets of metal. These different parts were then attached by rivets. Around 400 B.C. however a technique called lost-wax casting became popular. There were three different types of lost-wax casting. Solid lost-wax casting was the simplest and first method used. This method involved creating a solid wax caste of the sculpture, coating it in clay, then hardening the clay. After the clay was hardened, they would remove the wax and pour in the copper. Once the sculpture cools, the clay breaks and reveals the cooper.



 an example of solid lost-wax casting bronze sculpture

This is one of the few surviving bronze sculptures that used the solid lost-wax casting style. This solid wax-casting style was used during a brief period between sphyrelaton and later methods, so very few examples remain. This sculpture is of Eros, the greek god of sexual attraction sleeping on a rock.

Impulsivity vs. Over-thinking

In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is a rash and impulsive decision maker. He is stubborn and doesn't think through his decisions often. This leads him into trouble when talking to Creon in front of a large population of Thebes. This is generally seen as a bad thing. When making a decisions one must think through all the options and consequences and choose one that makes the most sense. If you are impulsive, you may not think through all the options and make a poor choice. Sometimes you may get lucky and make a good choice, but it is very risky. Thinking too much, however, can also lead to bad decisions. When thinking too much about an option, you may begin to stress yourself out or doubt yourself. Making decisions too quick or thinking about them too long can lead to poor decision making. It is important to find a balance between these two.  This relates back to the Athenian value of balance. Sophocles, one of the well renown ancient Athenian playwrights, obviously had this balance in mind when writing Oedipus Rex. This idea of balance was not specific to just the Athenians, however. I recall in Latin learning various Verba Sapienti about the Roman concept of balance. Athens and other ancient civilizations knew the importance of balance.

Greek Theater at Griffith Park

This weekend I am visiting colleges in California thanks to the two day break. While here I was able to visit Griffith Park to see the Hollywood sign and the Griffith Observatory. What I was not expecting when visiting Griffith Park was to see a theater modeled after the ancient greek ones.

This theater also has some interesting history. In 1896 Colonel Griffith J. Griffith donated 3 acres of land to Los Angeles for public recreation. For many years the 3 acre property remained unchanged, until in 1919 Griffith died. In his will he left a trust fund for 1 million dollars to build an observatory and theater modeled after the greek. The theater was dedicated on September 25th of 1930, and held its show in June of 1931. The theater was used as barracks during WWII, and held the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Elton John.










As you can see, however, this theater varies greatly from the ancient theaters in Epidaurus and Delphia. First of all the setting area for The Greek, as it is called is not as round and uniform as the ancient theaters. The Greek has three sections split up by horizontal gangways and two separate side sections form more of a polygonal shape instead of forming a semicircle. This theater also does not have a separate section for the chorus and actors. Instead of a stage and orchestra, there is just one stage since most plays in the 1920s did not heavily involve a chorus. There are many similarities however including a scenic backdrop to the stage and playhouse. To me it was interesting to see the similarities and differences between The Greek and actual ancient greek theaters.

Jocasta - Robot, Queen of Thebes, and Bride of Ultron

So there’s this character in the Marvel Universe named Jocasta.  She’s also called the “Queen of Thebes” and "Bride of Ultron."  According to this site: (http://marvel.com/universe/Jocasta#axzz4u6kIHOLe), she was created by Ultron to be Ultron’s partner.  Apparently in the comics this guy Hank Pym created Ultron…and then Ultron used Hank to transfer the life force of Hank’s wife Wasp into the “robotic shell” he called Jocasta.  Kinda confusing, just like Oedipus’ family.  So anyway, Ultron named the robot Jocasta because she was both the creation of Ultron and his bride.
Brief rundown on Jocasta that undoubtedly omits lots and lots of details and facts:
After her creation, Jocasta was like, “Oh, no, if I live then that means Wasp has to die!” and called up the Avengers to put a stop to Ultron’s madness.  Even then, some small part of Wasp remained part of Jocasta, but when Ultron re-activated her, she ultimately decided to side with the Avengers (after briefly returning to Ultron’s side).  In the end she sacrificed herself (twice!) in order to get rid of Ultron.

Rex Sanchez

One of my favorite shows, Rick and Morty, depicts the arrogance of the smartest being in the universe. Rick Sanchez, the most intelligent being, is one of the most hubris characters I've ever seen; Rick and Morty centers around Rick's self inflicted demise, Rick's only true enemy is himself. Rick reminds me of Oedipus, or rather vice versa. Oedipus stubbornness lead him to uncover the ugly truth that leads him to gauge his eyes out and sends him into exile. Oedipus accuses others to be his enemies, but these accusations only point to the true enemy, Oedipus himself. Rick'a intelligence is his downfall, Oedipus' hubris and stubbornness is his enemy.

Pope's Official Residence: Inspired by Pagan Culture

Talking about the prophet and the leaves in Oedipus Rex brought me back to the good old days: four months ago in Latin V, discussing the Cumaean Sibyl.  (Ancient times, I know.)  The Sibyl was this pretty awesome lady who lived in Cumae and was one of Apollo’s priestesses.  (For all you Harry Potter nerds, think Sybill Trelawney.)  The Sibyl wrote prophesies on leaves, which is why I was thinking about her in relation to Oedipus Rex.  She also plays a significant role in Virgil’s Aeneid, helping guide the hero through his tasks (no spoilers, don’t worry!).  She was super famous with the Romans, partly because of this role that she played in Virgil’s epic.  If you’ve ever heard the saying, “The descent into Hell is easy,” that line is spoken by the Sibyl in the Aeneid.
So I wanted to bring up this super cool, super famous artwork of the Sibyl!

(At the bottom you can see the name “Cumaea” inscribed.)
This is a painting by Michaelangelo (I’m sure Elizabeth knows way more about this than I do) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  Apparently Michaelangelo used a man, not a woman, as the model for the Sibyl (the lady in the middle) because in the Aeneid Virgil describes her as kind of hulking and muscular.  So you’re probably all like, “What?  Why was this pagan figure on the ceiling of a chapel?”  Well, besides the fact that pagan culture permeated society long after the Middle Ages, Virgil wrote this thing called the Eclogues, and in Eclogue II, which features the Sybil, he predicts the birth of a savior.  Virgil said that this boy’s birth would bring the Golden Age and make everything better (because everything was better in the old days).  Some people thought he was a prophet who was foretelling the birth of Jesus, hence the Sibyl’s appearance as one of the twelve prophetic figures on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.