Who's Future

“Everything is there: the minute history of the future, the autobiographies of the archangels, the faithful catalogue of the Library…” (Borges 83)

This short story, “The Library of Babel,” was AWESOME. Immediately after reading it, as well as during, I thought of the episode of Dr. Who in Season four: “Silence in the Library.” These two stories are incredibly similar. Both stories have an infinite number of books and these books are people— their story, their very essence. In these libraries, there was every single book ever written and that ever would be written. A quote from Dr. Who to match Borges’: 

“Spoilers. These books are from your future. Don’t want to read ahead, spoil all the surprises.” 

What I want to dig into is the idea of knowing one’s future. Is it good or bad? Desirable or not? I think that in order to come to an answer, we have to figure out what reasons cause the want to know, both as an individual and as a society. There are countless examples of human fascination with the possibility of knowing one’s future. With fortune tellers, visions, and claimed spiritual visitations, humanity tries to imagine that the future is something tangible that we can look into. In the Library of Babel, the people kill each other in their search for the one book that tells of their lives, expecting to find an object that will just give all the answers.

The fascination with one’s future may be because humanity seems to fear the unknown. Perhaps it is a part of our nature, an instinctual feeling. Humans study things, probe, and experiment, all in order to find out and record all that we can. Unlike Socrates, we are not satisfied with knowing that we do not know. The need to know is what drives us, and our future is something that can never be discovered by probing with a stick. So, are there cases when knowing your future could help you? Or would it destroy you?

Here is the scene from Dr. Who showing the library. While it doesn't have hexagonal galleries as in "The Library of Babel," it gives you an idea of what such a library could be like.

Who is Maria?

In the movie Maria Candelaria, the priest was the only person in town that respected Maria for who she was, and did not accuse her for what her mother had done. A very important line that he spoke to the people of his town can perhaps show the whole message of the movie.

"You accuse this woman, but who accuses you? Because you, all of you, murdered Maria Candelaria's mother by saying she brought shame to this town with her bad behavior." (Maria Candelaria 1944)

To tell the truth, the connections that were made in class between Maria and the Virgin, or Lorenzo Rafael and Christ are not so apparent to me. I can see how it is possible, but really cannot seem to accept that this is what the main point of the movie was. Rather, the first thought that came to mind when I finished the movie was how Maria Candelaria seemed to represent Mexico as a whole and their relations with the rest of the world.

Especially in today’s society, it seems as if the indigenous people are often viewed as the bad guy, or people that do not deserve complete acknowledgement. In the United States illegal immigration is often a topic of conversation and jokes, and anyone from Central or South American descent is lumped into one category, without any separation between the different countries or cultures. It could be argued that becoming successful and socially accepted into high positions is much harder for Americans that come from these southern countries. This is similar to Maria, who was shunned because of her background, and not because of anything she herself had done.

I believe that Maria Candelaria is a representation of racism not only against Indians in Mexico, but also against Hispanics in the world. How else could this movie be interpreted? What makes this film a success? And why is Maria Candelaria such a hero?

Simple Complexity

I would like to discuss an oil painting by Tarsila do Amaral: Central Railway of Brazil. In the Latin American art book it stated,

"The [city themes] have the flat facades of modern buildings, and no perspective, although space is constructed by overlapping and diminution of scale... The cityscapes, railways, etc. suggest a kind of industrial primitivism." (Ades 134)

The thing that caught my attention most when i first studied this painting was the way Amaral was able to portray a complex scene with simple shapes. Just as the quote states, there seems to be an oxymoron: “industrial primitivism.” Amaral showed the complex world of industry to look like a primitive society.

This made me wonder, is our world that much different from earlier societies? Even with all our gadgets that men have created in order to satisfy wants, humanity still has the same base desires as any other time period. Societies are still looking for the best way of living- for the most profitable lifestyle, whether physically, mentally, or spiritually.

Take government for example. Philosophers from as early as Greek or Roman time periods (Aristotle specifically) searched for the most just form of government. As much as we have excelled in technology, it seems as if the ideal government has still eluded us, although we have reached a couple steps closer.

Technology did not further understanding. The more we know about the universe and the physical properties, the more the complexity of it all seems to baffle us. The more humanity knows, the more it is aware that it does not know. While our landscapes have become full of tall buildings, airplanes, etc. the inside emotions and thoughts, as well as our problems, seem to have stayed roughly the same.

What makes society different than the societies of the past? Or what makes us more complex? Did the Central Railway of Brazil capture the truth of the industrial world?

More than Halloween

“The only things that interest me are those that are not mine.” (Ades 312)

I've got a bike, a laptop, a good place to live, etc. and yet I want a car, a new television, a bigger living room... As a typical human being, I am confident that I am not the only one that is unsatisfied with what I have. Even the people that average citizens would consider lucky, rich—maybe even happy—are constantly searching for more. 

An example of that annoying desire that always seems to accompany us, the desire for something different, is illustrated in the movie A Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack Skelllington is the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, loved and praised by all. He is terribly good at what he does, and yet he becomes bored, an actor sick of the act. Here is Jack’s lament over his current life (you don’t have to watch all of the videos, unless you love the songs like I do):

And then, Jack comes across Christmas Town and likes what he sees. Think about how Jack represents us, and Christmas Town is everything that we don’t have.

Why is it that humans always seem to be searching for something more? What are we searching for? Perhaps it is love; perhaps it is religion. And all the little things that we think we want are just objects to take the place of those which are most fundamental. Seeing someone else’s happiness strikes us with jealousy, and we want what they have. And yet very few people that society would deem as “happy” are truly satisfied. 

Are you happy? Am I? That may be one of the end results that we should strive for in life: the state of wanting nothing. Until we have acquired perfect content with who we are and what we have received, we cannot be happy.