jeudi 9 février 2012

The Veil : Marjane Satrapi

In 1980 , It becomes compulsory for girls to wear the veil at school . The little girls did not like to wear it and did not understand why do they have to wear it . Before 1979 , Marjane was used to go to a French non-religious school where boys and girls study together .In 1979, the revolutionaries called for a “Cultural Revolution” in which bilingual schools must be closed because they were considered as symbols of capitalism. Consequently , the children were divided between sexes.Marjane says that she does not know how to feel toward the veil. Her family is very modern .She also says that she had been born and raised with religion.As a child , she has always believed that she would be the last prophet.In other words , she wanted to be the symbol of Justice, Love and " the Wrath of God All in One" as she says . She also has a holy book in which she imitates the rules of the first great prophet of her country, Zarathustra, who had announced that everything in life must be based on the commands to “Behave well, Speak well, Act well.”She has conversations with an imaginary friend that looks like God.
All of this can make us think about the situation of Iran at that time , starting from the Islamic Revolution and the situation of women during and after the revolution , and finishing by Democracy and Justice during and after the revolution period .
The situation of women and girls in Iran is unfavorabke . Accessing and staying in the education system is a challenge for many girls in Iran. .
Cultural barriers also hinder girls from continuing their education beyond primary level. Advocacy with parents and communities must therefore be encouraged.
Justice and democracy was almost absent . Everything was imposed on people even their way of thinking .However , since the new election Iran has been doing great changes toward q culture of civil liberties , human rights and democracy .

A Stream of Illusion : Rita Carter

Rita Carter defines illusion as things we believe are there without receiving any outside information about it. We can also receive sensory information that is not related to consciousness and it influences how we think or feel. This leads to the theory of “blindtouch,” “blindsmell,” and “blindsight.”
Blind smell, blind sight, and blind touch allow us to sense information but at the same time we are unaware of what it may be.
A personal experience I have had that influenced my perception was when my friends invited me to a party in their house. I knew my mother would not accept , so I didn’t even waste my breath asking. I began thinking of an excuse to go out . Brilliantly, I told my mom that I was going over to a friend’s
house to work on a homework assignment. Instead of going to my friend’s house I went to the party bo,but the whole time I was I feeling uncomfortable and scared . It was my conscious trying to tell me that it was a bad idea in the first place.
According to Carter , an illusion is a distortion of the senses, revealing how the brain normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Rita Carter explains illusion as a normal thing that human brains experience. It happens to many people diffrentely . Some believe that the sensory information we get influence our behavior but it is false. Most of the information we receive which are not sent it to our consciousness may never influence our behavior, but the effect they have on us is can be our unconscious processing of their information .