In the three weeks that have passed since I have returned from choir tour in  England, I haven’t really had the chance to slow down and process the events of the past three months. Heck, the past year. And as soon as I got off that plane in San Francisco International airport, I started to make a mental checklist of all of the things that I needed to get done or had neglected to do since the end of school. Things like unpack, move things into the temporary room, call friends, answer emails, pick up music, return camping gear, practice violin, upload photos, and get a grip on life.

It was surprisingly easy to become busy all of a sudden, surprisingly easy to tell myself that I should go into work the next day, and I did it. I got right back into the swing of things. I woke up early. I had breakfast. I went to work. All on the day after I got back home. It was too easy to try to get my life back on the upswing, to make it appropriately busy, social, and demanding. Because that’s what inevitably happens, and that’s what I want. (or wanted?).

So I signed up for the half marathon in San Francisco, which I promptly started training for. I began practicing with a friend some violin sonatas that we picked out. I started in earnest to study the Vieuxtemps concerto (a beast!). I cleaned my room, rearranged furniture, and checked out a bunch of books from the library. I called friends and scheduled lunch/dinner get-togethers, sent emails to those I neglected, and tried to catch up with my sisters’ lives.

But still, I feel unsure of myself.  Why did I make my summer so busy? Precisely so that I wouldn’t have to have these moments of uncertainty, ones that I feel right now. Summer time has never felt so scattered. People are moving in and out of Palo Alto and the Bay Area. I am moving between two college residences. I work at Stanford but live at home. I thought I could ground myself with the work that I would do in the political science department. Instead, it has almost become a decentralizing force that causes me to miss college life and to remember that I am not part of it.

The little kids that run around on campus remind me especially of the fact that I am not at Stanford, currently. The entire dynamic of the campus has changed with the influx of kids attending summer school, tech camp, math camp, acting camp, EPGY, sports camp, yadda yadda. Suddenly there are high school kids with People to People or Junior Statesmen of America lanyards round their necks marching around campus like they own it. (I’m not saying that I don’t do that from time to time.) But their youthful confidence is something that I almost had a year ago (well, not really).

Fortunately, most of my work is done in the library. The library is like a church – large, magnificent, sobering, quiet, wonderful, and an institution.  As I walk among the rows of books, I feel sad that I will never be able to access all of the knowledge that the library offers. I will never have the time to read about the way science was viewed in post-war Poland. I can never read all of the books Russian, Japanese, and Arabic. I will never be able to study Carribean film artists. But at the same time, it is uplifting to know that I have the possibility of accessing some of the library’s information, and that others can as well. It’s almost crazy to think of all of the man-hours devoted to the study of one subject, or the relation between many subjects. It’s wondrous to think that someone had the patience, the will, and the interest to study some of these subjects. I’m not trying to imply that some subjects are not meant to be studied or are not worthy of interest. It is precisely the value that is placed on knowledge that is fascinating.

This may or may not be a good phenomena, but I think it is an awesome one. That the minds of humans are geared towards curiosity and that they have the tenacity to pursue this curiosity humbles me.

And at this point in my post, I have reached what I selfishly set out to do.

Ethnography of Communication on Facebook

Abstract

Facebook.com, a popular online social network site, provides its users with a means for representing their identities in the digital world.[1] With the “Profile,” each user can manipulate his or her online identity that concurrently delineates personal information and converses with other online identities or “Friends.” Gender, date of birth, hobbies, interests, and relationship status are some of the identifying pieces of information that users display to fill out their Profile. The Profile not only depicts the user, but also shapes the representation of other individuals on Facebook.

Scholars have recently begun to study the Facebook phenomenon using surveys and statistical analyses, but none have used ethnography as a means for analysis. This paper draws upon ethnographic data to provide a phenomenological explanation to the Facebook experience. It argues that the digital world is a large part of the experience of young Americans and that the Internet is more social than commonly thought.[2] Moreover, this paper problematizes the static nature of the Profile, arguing that the Profile converses directly with others’ Profiles in a constantly changing digital context that is simultaneously recreated and interpreted.

Introduction

Embodied conversation between individuals begins when they weave performance and interpretation into an intricate dance that allows individuals to consider voice and body cues. Meaning is interpreted from the context of the conversation and nuances of body and gesture.[3]

However, embodied conversation differs from computer-mediated communication, where individuals must write themselves into being.[4] With the Facebook Profile, multiple forms of media attempt to bridge the physical and the digital worlds and recapture some of the interpersonal cues that have been filtered out by the medium.[5] Ultimately, the digital conversation lacks the spatial and temporal rules that govern embodied conversation, creating ambiguity and uncertainty for the users. How is context created and interpreted? How is conversation initiated and maintained? What function does it serve? How does searchability affect the ways that online users perform conversations? These are some of the questions that this paper attempts to answer by focusing on the conversations on Facebook, an online networking site.

What is Facebook?

Facebook is an online networking site that allows its users to create detailed personal Profiles that link with other users. Features such as photo posting, commenting on other users’ “Walls,” and joining groups relating to a shared interest also form a large part of the Facebook experience. Facebook distinguishes itself from other social networking sites like Myspace and Friendster because its participation is determined by offline social networks. Initially requiring membership in a university community, Facebook more recently includes members from specific high schools, regions, and companies. Social browsing is limited to the Friends that the user lists and people from the user’s offline community (e.g. a university or city). Users can manipulate their Profile’s privacy settings to control access to their entire Profile, photos, wall posts, and other social information. Facebook has become a huge Internet phenomenon, with more than 7.5 million registered members at over 2,000 U.S. colleges. It is the seventh most viewed web site with respect to total page views.[6] Facebook has achieved notoriety among college students, strongly figuring into their everyday activities and ways of speaking.

Creating and Interpreting Context

Users must negotiate unknown audiences that are not bound by the same temporal and spatial rules that characterize real-time, face-to-face conversation. The digital world does not afford the user the opportunity to scrutinize the audience for physical and acoustic cues. Furthermore, the changing nature of the audience makes it impossible for the user to determine future audiences based on the present audience. This ambiguity creates discomfort and uncertainty in how to perform conversations. The fact that the user’s audience is loosely bounded by membership to the university community does assuage some of the user’s concerns. The user does not have the burden of dealing with the perceptions of all Facebook users, rather only those of the Facebook members that belong to her university. In fact, the Profile becomes a digital body through which the user communicates. “Digital” body language provides the necessary cues for appropriate digital conversation.

Still, users limit or edit some of the social information that is included in the profile in an attempt to deal with these unknown audiences. Recently, the blurring of the parental and professional audience with the social one has jeopardized the Facebook user. For example, a Resident Assistant (RA) set her profile to private by only allowing her Friends to access her Profile.[7] She intended to prevent the parents of her residents from viewing photos of her in compromising situations, such as at a party with alcohol. Other students limit their profile to prevent potential employers from accessing similar incriminating photos. Cognizant that the audience can extend beyond the intended boundary of the university community, students negotiate these uncertainties by regulating the information in their Profile.

Not all Facebook users take the display of their social information as seriously. Disruptive playful contexts are established when users report witty, false information about their religious views, how they met certain “Friends,” or even romantic relationships. One Facebook user declares that her religious views concern “His noodly appendage,” referencing the parody of religion that claims the Flying Spaghetti Monster as the supernatural Creator in protest of intelligent design. Her willingness to add a risqué element to her profile reflects the humorous context that some users create on Facebook. [8] Another user mischievously describes how she met her friend in the first person voice:

They met randomly in 1957: we were both on the highway to hell, but our trips were cut short when erica got arrested for dealing ecstasy to illegal immigrants, and i got arrested for punching young’uns and stealing their candy. as fate would have it, we were cellmates in the slammer. we exchanged numbers, screennames, myspaces, facebooks, and even got matching tattoos on our shaved heads. prison life was hard, but cocaine and mozart kept us sane. [9]

Fantastically inventing the story, the user creates a naughty narrative that is intended for the delight of others. She feels comfortable eschewing the seriousness of providing accurate social information and instead replaces it with good-humored fun. Finally, a Facebook user has humorously interrupted the Facebook context by declaring that she is in a relationship with “Everybody’s Moms.” [10] In a sense, the user mocks the social expectation for monogamous, heterosexual relationships and instead pronounces that she is part of a polygamous, homosexual one. On another level, she escapes from the social awkwardness of having to declare her true relationship status in a digital world that contains unknown audiences.

However, not all attempts at disrupting the context of Facebook are lighthearted. Stalkers employ the “poke button,” which implies light sexual overtones, to annoy Facebook users.[11] The “poke button” sends a digital “poke” consisting of an image of a hand with a pointing index finger to the Facebook user. A message reads “You have been poked by [name of Facebook user].” One undergraduate Facebook user states that she received multiple pokes from a graduate student, which she found annoying and alarming. Eventually she sent a message to the graduate student, demanding that he cease contact with her.[12] Sexual tension can easily be introduced to the Facebook context. Fortunately, offensive comments, or “flaming,” do not often occur in Profile-Profile communication. In their essay that asks, “How social is Internet communication,” Watt, Lea, and Spears (2000) argue that in computer mediated communication, group norms are reinforced when group identity is salient.[13] Since the university community is the salient group identity, norms that demand courtesy and respect when posting comments on Profiles preclude “flaming.” In contrast, discussions in Facebook groups such as “Is abortion right or wrong?” whose membership consists of Facebook users from many different university communities, often displays incendiary posts that mount personal attacks against Facebook users. Due to the weakened group identity, the norms that insist on politeness no longer exist, allowing for confrontational comments to occur.

Thus, the Facebook user must create and interpret the Facebook context. Although she cannot quite capture a complete sense of the unknown audience that views her Profile, she can manage the type of her information she displays and the privacy settings of her Profile to minimize potential risks. Furthermore, she can create her own playful contexts that go beyond the intended context of Facebook in order to explore and recreate the digital world.

Conversing Through Profiles

Users often describe their initial confusion about creating an acceptable Profile and interacting socially on Facebook. Over time, this is displaced with the increasing familiarization with other people’s Profiles and viewing the digital actions made by other users. Through imitation and with a bit of creativity, users navigate the digital world of Facebook, understanding the tacit rules that underline the conversations between the user’s Profile and other online identities. These rules concern the appropriateness of initiation, timing, content, use, and medium of digital conversations.

In order to begin conversation with others, the Facebook user must deal with the socially awkward process of digitally requesting another Facebook user to be his “Friend.” Facebook does not allow for the qualification of the strength of the friendship, which further complicates the digital “Friending” process. The user can only accept or decline the Friendship request, theoretically providing a more egalitarian network that does not privilege one Friendship over another.[14] In reality, users often agonize over who to accept as their Friend. In their model of politeness, Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson (1987) use the idea of social face to explain the reason for interaction between two individuals. They argue that speakers balance their concern for the other’s face with the desire to defend their own. Speakers avoid “face-threatening” acts through “positive politeness,” such as expressions of friendliness or approval, and “negative politeness,” such as avoidance strategies for the imposition on the other individual.[15] On the part of the user that extends the Friendship invitation, social face is at risk, for the invitation might be rejected. On the part of the recipient of the invitation, social face is at risk, for rejection might signal pretentiousness. Users struggle over what Facebook Friendship means, trying to decide whether to exclusively include only close friends from an offline context. Eventually, most users accept requests from anyone they know or vaguely recognize.[16] But the deceptively simple choice between “Accept” or “Decline” still provides problems for Facebook users. There is no simple way of defining the type of relationship between “Friends;” this creates confusion and ambiguity when these relationships are publicly displayed. Further complicating the matter is the friendship request’s implied invitation to converse. When a user wants to reconnect with old friends such as acquaintances from high school, a friendship request would be a mechanism for beginning a dialogue. But sometimes the old friend does not want to begin dialogue, but thinks that it is rude to ignore the friend request. Differing expectations between the two users and the change of social setting of the conversation create tension with the friend request.

Although the non-verbal cues of embodied conversation are filtered out by the computer-mediated medium, Facebook users manage to sustain dialogue that incorporates some aspects of turn taking. Digital conversations between users’ Profiles do not occur in real time and thus turn taking is an issue. With regards to face-to-face turn taking, Sacks et al. (1974) argues that syntactic cues, intonation, and non-verbal behavior such as gaze and gesture signal “transition relevance places” where utterances are potentially complete. At these transition relevance places, a new speaker could begin talking or the same speaker could resume the conversation.[17] But how can intonation and non-verbal behavior be conveyed in the conversations? Some Facebook users ingeniously use punctuation to capture the speaker’s intonation and indicate these transitions. One user comments, “i didnt get to see you in the psych building today….”[18] With the ellipses, she simultaneously indicates a transition relevance place and invites the other Facebook user to reply to the comment. Also, when she writes, “dinner…Friday?” the rising intonation of the comment is implied with the question mark, signaling yet another transition relevance place.[19] The content of comment also invites a response that should not be avoided. The Profile also provides conversational anchors that can reinitiate or sustain conversation. One Facebook user declares that when he wishes to restart a conversation with another user that he is not particularly close with, he uses the user’s pictures or piece of social information from the Profile to stimulate conversation. For example, he writes “way to be a badass.” in response to another user’s profile picture that shows him at a concert with a bloody nose caused by a jostling concert-goer’s careless elbow.[20] The Profile itself acts as a conversational catalyst that the user can take advantage of to maintain the dialogue. Thus, the content of the Profile and the stylistic resources of the user combine to overcome the problems concerning the mechanics of the digital conversation.

However, not all topics are broached and only certain conversational anchors can be employed. For example, the user does not always believe that gender and sexuality can serve as an appropriate conversational anchor that the Profile may communicate. The user can specify gender and sexual orientation by choosing between pre-set options for “Sex” and “Interested In”. If the user deems his or her sexuality inappropriate to display, the “Interested In” field is left blank or misleadingly filled in. Gays that are not “out” in an offline context, or gays that are uncomfortable discussing their sexuality in a digital context, intentionally discard this piece of information.[21] Others who believe that the Facebook labels “male” and “female” wrongly reinforce the gender binary and inadequately describe their identity also choose to leave the gender field blank.[22] Many gays fear that others might initially judge them based on their sexuality and that current and future social relationships might be damaged. Since sexual orientation can be searched for and viewed, many gays set their Profile to a private status. In this case, the power of the Profile to engage conversation can potentially be dangerous; some gays think that the disclosure of their sexual orientation would be a face-threatening act.[23] On Facebook, a private and public space, it is too risky to include certain pieces of information.

Finally, conversation on Facebook is not limited to the networking site. Facebook spans many different channels, including email, cell phone, blogging, and newspapers. Each Facebook friend request and Profile comment sends an email through the Facebook site alerting the recipient involved in the digital social action. Facebook users upload photos taken with their cell phone. College students post blog entries about Facebook use and how it occupies a large portion of their wasted time. Newspapers report on the Facebook phenomenon that has extended to almost every college in the United States. But most importantly, Facebook shapes interactions that occur in the physical world. Users utilize Facebook to manage social events, inviting people to come to their party or their performance. They plan lunch dates. They plan study sessions. The gap between the physical and the digital worlds has narrowed to the extent that the two worlds have begun to come together. Photos from past performances are included in the Facebook event information for future performances. People make promises in embodied conversation to “Facebook” the other person and plan the next time they will get coffee together. The intertwining of the digital and physical communities underscores the social nature of the Internet and its large role in defining the experience of young Americans.

Conclusion

The Facebook profile serves many social functions albeit in a digital world. It initiates, negotiates, maintains, and extends social conversation with its descriptive data, photos, articulated friendship links, and Profile comments. Digital conversation, conceived of through the interpretation and creation of contexts, negotiates unknown audiences and creates new social situations. Finally, the Profile itself acts as a medium and agent for initiating and sustaining conversation. With Facebook, the extension of the digital conversation to the physical indicates the success of online networking sites to incorporate multiple forms of expression and bridge the gap between offline and online contexts.

[1] The Facebook. Jun 2007. 23 May 2007 <http://www.facebook.com>.

[2] Watt, Lea, and Spears, cited in Woolgar, Stephen. Virtual Society?: Technology, Cyberbole, Reality,Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pg. 69.

[3] Boyd, Danah, “Profiles as Conversation: Networked Identity Performance on Friendster,” In Proceedings of the Hawai’I International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-39), Persisten Conversatin Track, Kauai, HI: IEEE Computer Society, January 4-7, 2006, pg. 1.

[4] Sunden, Jenny, cited in Boyd, Danah, “Profiles as Conversation: Networked Identity Performance on Friendster,” In Proceedings of the Hawai’I International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS-39), Persisten Conversatin Track, Kauai, HI: IEEE Computer Society, January 4-7, 2006, pg. 1.

[5]Watt, Lea, and Spears, cited in Woolgar, Stephen. Virtual Society?: Technology, Cyberbole, Reality,Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pg. 69.

[6] Cassidy, John, cited in Ellison, Nicole, “Spatially Bounded Online Social Networks and Social Capital: The Role of Facebook,” Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Dresden, Germany, June 19-23, 2006, p. 2.

[7] T., Sarah, personal interview, May 36, 2007. Note: all of the names of the interviewees have been changed and all gave informed consent to the interview.

[8] T., Sarah, ibid.

[9] L., Jennifer, personal interview, May 26, 2007.

[10] F., Mary, personal interview, May 26, 2007.

[11] “Urban Dictionary: Poke,” Urban Dictionary, updated Jun 2007, accessed Jun 10, 2007, <http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=poke>.

[12] K., Yasmin, personal interview, May 26, 2007.

[13] Watt, Lea, and Spears, cited in Woolgar, Stephen, op.cit., p. 70.

[14] Boyd, Danah, op. cit., p. 7.

[15] Brown, P. and Levison, S., cited in Mesthrie et. al., 2004, Introducing Sociolinguistics, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 189.

[16] Boyd, Danah, op. cit., p. 6.

[17] Sacks et al., cited in Mesthrie et. al., 2004, Introducing Sociolinguistics, Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pg. 197.

[18] K., Yasmin, op. cit.

[19] K., Yasmin, op. cit.

[20] L., Matthew, personal interview, May 26, 2007.

[21] Z., Jacob, perusal interview, May 27, 2007.

[22] L., Anna, personal interview, May 27, 2007.

[23] Z., Jacob, op. cit.

Exploring the Relationship between

the Individual, Society, and Nature

By introducing different subjects into his painting Landscape and the Fall of Icarus, Bruegel attempts to examine the relationship of the individual to society and the natural world around him. In the painting, the weaknesses and vulnerability of Icarus, the individual, become apparent. When he goes too far in attempting to establish his individuality, defeat inevitably befalls him, as evidenced by Bruegel’s depiction of a swirling puff of feathers which gently float above Icarus’ flailing body. Interestingly, no member of society notices Icarus’ drowning, instead remaining oblivious in his own pursuit of maintaining his established role in society. The peasant and the shepherd who have found satisfaction in occupying their appropriate social niche can peacefully function within the structure set down by society and nature. For the members of the great group of society let Icarus perish without great concern or regard because Icarus, in the grand scheme of things, does not interest them. Ultimately, Bruegel suggests that there is no room for the bold individual in the world that he paints; the only way that the individual can survive is by fulfilling his appropriate social function within the greater context of the society and natural world that he lives in. If he eschews this particular role, he will certainly be punished in an appropriate way, and society and nature will carry on with its own purpose and activities. But, society’s ignorance can prove to be unsettling and dangerous in its own attempts at controlling nature.

Bruegel’s visual treatment of the subject of Icarus suggests the unrestrained and frail nature of the man who actively seeks individuality. Bruegel chooses to paint mythological Icarus, the young man who challenges the advice of his father and defies the power of the sun. However, Bruegel does not paint Icarus’ daring flight that reaches higher and higher altitudes, but rather his dramatic and fatalistic plunge from the heavens in to the sea. The helplessness of Icarus, emphasized by the flailing legs and arms and the surrounding swirling sea-waves, suggests that the individual cannot survive in the world that Bruegel creates. Perhaps Icarus’ flight is an aspiration to escape from this society-driven world, but ultimately, it is one that he is brutally forced to return to. There is only so much that Icarus can do now, and that is to fight for his life, albeit in a scattered, pitiful way. This is the only part of the sea where the waters are troubled and turbulent; contrasted with the peaceful maneuvers of the society-constructed ships and their elegant full sails, Icarus’ lack of control is underscored. For Icarus does not dive into the water in a graceful manner, as suggested by the gentle spiral of feathers around him, but rather smacks onto it and flounders around. With Icarus, Bruegel suggests that with the bold pursuit of individuality comes a lack of control and poor decision. As such, it is important to examine the moment of momentous impact where Icarus becomes grounded (physically and mentally) and painfully realizes what he has done, while the suffocating water churns over him and the disorientation sets in. Only after the individual has gone too far in his challenge of society and nature will he realize the negative consequences of his actions.

Bruegel then places Icarus on a lower level in relation to society and nature. Icarus’ full body is not shown; only an odd assortment of two legs and a partially covered hand is visible. This does not fully humanize and complete the image of him as a strong, confident figure. Instead, we see him as disjointed, out of control, and doomed to death. The viewer can only imagine his look of horror and confusion on his face as he fights for his life. Bruegel further detracts from Icarus’ importance by contrasting him with the large-sized, serene, fully painted body of the peasant. Bruegel demotes Icarus from a position of importance to one of insignificance; as Icarus struggles for life in the sea, the peasant exists peacefully within his field.

This brings Bruegel to his next distinction regarding the individual and nature. The size of the region of the painting that Bruegel allots to Icarus undermines Icarus’ relative importance to nature. Although Icarus creates much tension and movement within his area of the tableau, his actions are restrained to a small area compared to the vastness of the sea. Placed within the greater context of the whole body of water, Icarus is tiny compared to the truly greater force of nature. The cruel relentlessness of the sea offers him no respite; its indifferent nature does not give Icarus a second chance to rethink his challenge to the sun. Bruegel indicates that in the grand scheme of things, the individual’s actions are puny and insignificant. Furthermore, it is almost comically tragic that Icarus is so close to the shore, and yet so far away from reaching it. Mother Nature seemingly taunts him with the possibility for survival that is almost within his physical grasp. Unfortunately, Icarus is so disoriented that he does not realize that land is attainable and close. Bruegel suggests that nature clearly has the upper hand in this relationship, for it controls the individual’s destiny. Thus, the frailty of the human species is contrasted with the great power of nature, which is sublimely indifferent to man’s puny activities. Any foolish attempts by the individual to challenge the authority of nature will result in failure and grave consequences. Without respect for the superiority of nature, the individual must perish, for he cannot function in the world that Bruegel describes.

Thus we arrive at what Bruegel suggests should be the focus of painting: quotidian life within the larger context of society. Notice how Bruegel refuses to adopt the subject matter that most Renaissance painters did at the time, instead opting for the more rustic peasant subject. It is apparent from the composition of the foreground that Bruegel paid close attention to detail in the study of this subject. The vibrant, round red sleeves of the peasant immediately catch the eye of the viewer upon first inspection, which directs his line of sight to the foreground of Bruegel’s painting. The strong, simple lines of the plowed earth smartly carve out the large space that Bruegel has purposely intended for the depiction of an individual performing his duty within the greater framework of society. The flexed back leg of the peasant, which is found similarly with the horse, seemingly necessitates that the tension in the leg must be released, and that the horse, the plow, and the peasant must move forward. Because this is impossible in the sense that that the picture cannot suddenly depict the next frame in this sequence of events, the viewer’s imagination and perception must work together to fulfill the desire to see the farming unit continue their task at hand. This wish to complete the cycle of movement briefly forces the viewer to involve himself within the context of this scene, to take part in what the peasant is working on. Thus, the viewer achieves what Bruegel implies as the ultimate goal of his society: to understand and become involved with the idea of social purpose, that of functioning not as an individual with his own intentions, but instead as a group intent on promoting the good of this group. As reminders, Bruegel paints examples of individuals who faithfully fulfill their societal duties. The downward glance of the peasant directed towards the earth focuses his sight not on Icarus, but rather the task at hand. Similarly, the blinders on the horse allow for it to move in a straight line ahead without having to think about where it is going. Both of these elements allow for the sole concentration on the necessary tasks of life: farming. The peasant, unlike Icarus, is grounded physically and mentally in his work. In broader terms, only by acting within the social parameters of acceptable actions can the individual function in the world painted by Bruegel. Thus, a harmonious and serene mood is evident in Bruegel’s depiction of the peasant, the shepherd, and the beautiful ships sailing on the sea, the result of all three’s ability to all function together in society.

But, society cannot function solely with itself; it must work within the framework of nature. For nature is the prime power in this tableau. The partition of the painting is dictated by the curve of the coast, the line of the horizon, the interrupting islands, and the lines of the plowed earth. It provides the basic stage and parameters for which society, the actor in this painting, must perform on. Society must deal with the world that is presented to it, but does not hesitate to control it. For the most part, society has accepted this fact and has benefited from it. Society has clearly understood how to operate the ship, whose sails are brilliantly full with air and whose sea wake is carefully controlled. Society has learned how to farm, for the peasant smartly guides his horse-drawn plow in the earth, and the shepherd employs his dog and crook to help him tend his sheep in the fields. Society has built great cities, which showcase picturesque red roofs and well-constructed ports. Thus, Bruegel intimates that society has learned to use technology which can function within the greater structure of nature. In the case of the ship’s captain, society has developed techniques for steering in the water and harnessing the power of the wind. In the case of the peasant, society has expertly fitted his actions to the variations of the seasons and the taken advantage of the nourishing power of the sun. In the case of the city-planner, society has constructed buildings that can accommodate some of the demands of foul weather. Thus, in giving these key examples, Bruegel suggests that when society learns to direct its actions within the framework of nature does it become supremely successful.

Finally, we have the appropriate ideas for understanding Bruegel’s devaluation of Icarus. Icarus’ opposition to nature and individualism (as a challenge to society) both reject him from importance in Bruegel’s painting. The other figures in the painting seem to acquiesce. The peasant’s head and body are turned away from Icarus, and the blinded-horse as well. The lone shepherd and his dog gaze in the opposite direction in oblivion of drowning Icarus. Men on the ship perform their chores in an unaffected manner. The character’s noninvolvement contributes to the serenity of the tableau, which contrasts sharply with the agitation of Icarus. Are the characters’ apparently unaffected manners necessary? Upon first inspection, yes, because sympathy for the individual cannot distract the characters from their tasks at hand. This would momentarily disrupt the relationship that they have established with society, and society with nature, and they could begin to question their own role in society and seek to become individuals themselves. Thus, Bruegel seems to caution one man’s rash and bold contribution is nothing to be concerned with in the grand scheme of things.

Yet, the overall feel of the painting, suggested by the dark earthy brown and foggy blue color scheme, does not sit well with the viewer. Could Bruegel be in fact celebrating whole-heartedly the achievements of society but at the same time introducing concern over the health of the society who chooses not to heed the lessons of Icarus’ story? The somber nature of the painting points to this very conclusion. In a sense, the juxtaposition of the peasant, shepherd, and ship captain’s attempts to control nature with Icarus’ downfall (which resulted from a similar effort to subordinate nature) is ironic because both parties attempt to achieve the same result, yet society is unwilling to admit this fact. It is precisely the devaluation of the myth of Icarus that society uses to allow itself to think that it can control nature. Are they not participating in the same defiance of nature as Icarus? Yes, but to a lesser degree. At any rate, Bruegel cautions at society’s unwillingness to learn from Icarus’ failures and the brazenness of man’s attempts to retain command over nature.

My answers mostly translated to that I don’t strongly identify with my race, nor do I think that it factors into my decisions heavily, such as making friends or relating to others.  But rather, on closer inspection, I see that this answer might be a result of the projection of my wishes onto my feelings. Maybe I want to eschew the Asian stereotype so badly that I blind myself to the reality that there are many things about this stereotype that I take part of. I want to rebel so much against this ingrained stereotype of the studious, anti-social Asian.

Who knows.

Actually, I don’t feel like I have enough information of Asian culture to say whether or not I strongly identify with it. Culture itself is permanently and constantly changing according to the definitions set by those of that race. I don’t feel like I have been concious of these changes, and consequently cannot definitely state that I belong to this identity.

Furthermore, I feel like culture is so amorphous and ambivalent that it is not worth trying to totally understand at one moment because at the next moment, it’ll be something different. Language neatly provides the opportunity to forgo this ambivalence with one word, that ties up the loose ends and cleanly contains all definitions and ideas in this one signifier. The problem is that its signifieds are varied, complexly related, and numerous.

I am me.

When I wake up in the morning, my first impulse is to check what time it is. Then, it’s to check my email. Disgusting, I know. I really want to get out of this habit, but it seems like the messages in my inbox are leading my life.

I get my daily fix of news from bbc.uk, or cnn.com. I do my research using an online wiki. I compose my assignments in word doc’s. I chat online with my friends. I listen to music off of my computer.

Maybe the fact is that I don’t want to admit that I feel closer to my computer than anyone at Stanford. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I worship my computer as herald of world news, a source of inspiration, and an idol I should worship. On the contrary, it’s almost terrible how much I spend pecking at those darned keys and carressing the touchpad. It’s that I haven’t found someone that I feel close to.

Actually, it might be my violin. There was this moment today when I was practicing when I swear the violin was speaking to me, and I was speaking to it. Gosh, I’m pathetic, trying to substitute human interaction with musical actions. But it was so powerful. It might have to do with the amazing concert that my teacher played last Saturday. Playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons in a beautiful acoustic space, she reminded me of the wonderful medium of music.

The ice crackled, and the storms rushed when she played Winter. And I could see the joyous nymphs prance around in Spring. I think that my relationship to music is changing. Right now, I have the most motivation ever to practice more, and to practice intelligently. To learn the intricacies of the music I am playing, and to understand the physical nuances of the mechanism of playing the violin.

I feel the contact of my middle finger of my bow hand on the stick of the bow. I notice the lightness of my fingers in my left hand as they execute a 32 note passage. I feel the string that passes through my head and spine magically draw me upright. I have this most amazing body awareness.

It must be the yoga/pilates fusion class that I’m taking. It feels so awesomely relaxing just to lay on the mat and feel the anchors in my sacrum, heels, lower ribs, shoulders, and head pulling me down to the floor, releasing all the tension in my body.

It’s during these moments where I feel alive. Despite the fact that there’s a huge black industrial sized fan hovering above me, and the fact that I’m in a building, rather than the outdoors, I can create my own sense of humanness, feeling, and relaxation in that room in Arrillaga Gym.

Then I return to the worries and stresses of everyday life. Like, losing my phone! Argh! This has been very frustrating. And learning about how scientists are more than ninety percent sure that global warming has been induced by human-produced carbon emissions. And Bush’s budget proposal which aims to reduce wasteful government spending by cutting Medicare by one percent, while simultaneously appealing to Congress for billions more money. And the interesting and unequal juxtaposition in the news of football-induced violence in Italy with bomb-induced violience in Iraq.

By golly, I think I need to go sit underneath a tree and meditate.

I wish that I could have this trust with another person here at Stanford. I have problems placing my full trust in someone. Maybe this can be attributed to the fact that when I was a kid I was moved around a lot, which forced me to adapt to differnet environmnets and made it difficult for me to make lasting friends. In any case, it is difficult for me to surrender my deepest, most introspective thoughts to someone. I tell myself that no one would concern themselves with such thoughts and that I shouldn’t bother. On the other hand, I cry out silently.

Stupid, I know.

What’s more, is that I’ve been more and more preoccupied with what people think of me. How can I be concerned with this when I don’t expect them to interact with me? Why does it even matter? The truth is, that it does matter in some cases.

I am so broken, that I can’t even put coherent sentences together.

I am so broken that there are a million pieces of me on the floor, and I don’t even have the energy nor the motivation to sweep them up into a neat pile and deposit them in the dustbin.

Let’s refocus on the things that give me joy.

Masterclass with the King’s Singers is coming up, as is their concert, of which I have a comp ticket. Sweetness! It will be awesome, ear-opening, and generally awesome, I am sure. Stephen Sano, director of the Stanford Chamber Chorale, and graduate of Cubberly High School in Palo Alto (back when it was still open), has the connections that allowed us to secure this masterclass.

Detective work with the political science department. No, really, the research is like being Sherlock Holmes. I have to go find books in the library and find specific militarized interstate disputes so that I can create narratives about these disputes. These narratives will lead to a better understanding and use of the data set of which the disputes are a part. It’s fascinating, rewarding, new, challenging, and relevant. Not much more that I can ask for! It integrates computer technology and paper technology (read: books) in this one project. Finally, I learn about the political happenings in many different countries in many different time periods. It’s great.

Freud class with Professor Douvaldzi. My views of the relationships of culture, language, literature, and psychology are forever changed. She brings such a vibrancy, focus, and intelligence to the class that we are perpetually reaching a higher understanding in a wonderful way-through intimate discussion of Freud’s texts. Also, I’ve developed an almost intellectual crush on one of the students in the class. I love watching the mental cogs in his mind turn when he delivers one of his clever comments. It’s a beautiful sight. (And he has beautiful, long, curly blond hair.) For some reason, I just started smiling in class. Not grinning like an idiot, (or at least I hope not) but rather smile that begins small, but gradually becomes bigger with the realization of the beauty of the moment. Marvel and wonder.

My roommate is awesome. He is so accommodating, neat, involved, and an all around great guy. The other day he had a date, and he asked me what he should wear. After about a half hour of deliberation or so, I picked out the right outfit for him. A dark, striped button down shirt, a pair of jeans-both mine.I felt oddly proud and amused at the fact that I was dressing my roommate. Later, he said that his date had remarked about the togetherness of his outfil.

Thanks, Matt!

I thought that I was on the right track, having picked out SLE, Math 51 (multi variable and linear algebra), advanced swimming at Avery, and a South Asia development issues class.

Boy was I wrong. The swim instructor failed to show up at the pool, and when I arrived at the South Asia class, the instructor was unimpressive in his teaching style. Also, on a whim, I accompanied Adam to a Freud and Psychoanalysis class. The professor was direct, serious, yet warm while describing the amount of work that the students would put into her class (a lot) and the level of satisfaction that would result from this hard work (a lot). Hey, I thought, this seems interesting.

So, my schedule was out of whack. Damn, it’s so hard to find the perfect schedule. Anywho, after frantically paging through the class bulletin, a hand out in the daily news, and looking on Axess, I came up with

GerGen168A: Freud and the Enterprise of Psychoanalysis

EarthSys 101: Energy and the Environment

SLE: Structured Liberal Education

Math 51: Linear Algebra and Differential Calculus of Several Variables

PoliSci20SI: Workers in the Shadows: California’s Agricultural Industry and its Workers

Athletics: Yoga/Pilates Fusion

Music: Chamber Chorale

Music: Chamber Music

AHH there’s no room! Yet it fits perfectly together and has a great balance of subjects and type of work.

Yay. I will proceed to kill myself.

I’m pretty hungry, so I go to the vending machine in West Flo. Stick in exactly $1.30, pushing in the green dollar bill in backwards, with the design printed on the vending machine door telling me to turn the bill around. The machine takes it anyway, and I have a flashing moment of temporary relief. A dime, then a nickel. Pale lights illuminate my haggard, hungry, expecting eyes as they follow the coil of the vending machine turn and release a cup of noodles, roast chicken flavor, into the receiving part.

Success, but only momentary. I deliberately walk on the catwalks back to the lounge, deliberately taking the longer route so that I can see what people are up to and to not have to open another door using my keys.

There’s no plastic forks in the kitchen, and I get annoyed, so I go to the sink and wash off a metal one.

Microwave time! Enough said.

I take it out of the microwave, mash around the noodles with my fork, and try to forget the awful chemicals that exist in the flavoring.

And it’s not that satisfying in the end. Not enough noodles, the flavoring is off-putting.

But there’s not much you can expect out of this. And I didn’t really.

That’s ok.

Oh–tons of family and family friends. We gather round the canned butane powered hot pots, dipping, prodding, picking, sipping, steeping, dropping, talking, yelling, screaming, biting, passing–there’s action everywhere. Conversation is fast-paced and often ruthless in its intentions.

So how’s college, my relatives ask, and I choose to give them the good-natured, optimistic response. Where’s the girlfriend, some ask. That’s your next big project. Or at least it should be, they claim. I just smile and nod to dispel any notions that I’m with a girl. Damn, I’m not even with a guy! (yet.)

These are the moments where I can feel my heart sinking into my stomach. My body crumples, my defenses fall, my thoughts drop. I am resigned. I cannot win. I cannot respond in a way that would stop these inquiries into my personal life, because these are the types of questions that family ask. Nor can I think of a way to tell them the reality of the situation. That I, Mackenzie Lee, am gay. That I will never have a girlfriend. That I will fail, as the first grandson of both sets of grandparents, to produce a natual born heir to the Lee clan.

I understand the anthropological importance behind passing down a name, for it is more than just a sound. It contains elements of belonging, history, and masculinity.

But why do I accept this importance so readily? Maybe it has to do with the fact that family has been the most constant thing in my life. I’m not saying that the type of relationship that I have with my family is ideal, or even close to ideal, which it is not, but I would like to say that the constancy of having family around has been comforting.

Nothing has been constant, really. I’ve passed from infant to toddler, to young teenager, to young adult. I’ve moved around constantly. I’ve changed my thinking and the way that I perceive things. I’ve never really had friends for more than a year. As such, I’ve really given up on thinking that any large immutability exists in this world as I perceive it, and have resigned to accept change.

Speaking of change, I hate carrying change around in my wallet. It makes the wallet unberably thick and bulky which in turn juts out my pockets. But have you ever thought about the musicality of coins? The jingling, the rolling sounds, the whiz and whir of coins steadily circling to the bottom of the round donation receptacle make coins better than bills in terms of sound. I used to grab the coins right before they fell into the bottom of the recpetacle so that I could repeat the phenomena to watch and hear it over and over again.

Speaking of spending, I recently bought a pair of Vans with three velcro straps and white stiching on black cloth. And a pair of brown, tan, and white Puma sneakers. And a pair of Lucky jeans that were half off, yet still pricey. WHY? Who am I trying to impress? Does it really matter?

Not in the boyfriend department. I’ve tried that already during this past quarter.

Me? Hell no. I’ve been too disappointed by “me” lately.

You? Don’t know you, really.

Maybe I like pretty things. And then I want pretty things. It’s actually quite repulsive when you think about it. I feel disgusted.

Is it better to achieve and attain beautiful things through art, music, dance, or literature? Why not fashion? Food? Does the fact that you have to pay for the last two diminish their beauty? No, because I have to pay for the first four as well. So, is this my justification for paying $50 for the Vans, $60 for the Puma’s, and $80 for the Lucky jeans?

No. Because I feel that I cannot derive the same amount of satisfaction through buying a piece of clothing than reading a deliciously good book. Or can I? Or is it the quality and type of satisfaction that I should be concerned about? What if I cannot really complete my satisfaction without attempting to attain all six of these beautiful things?

Beauty. It’s all realtive. I’ve had more time over break, and, shamefully, I’ve been spending a lot more time looking at myself in the mirror. (Wouldn’t a narcissist justify this act by saying that he was trying to get more in touch with himself, and that the first step was to memorize and acquaint himself with his physignomy?) God, I’m ugly, I think as I look in the mirror. I compare myself to all of the impossibly beautiful movie stars that I have seen in the many films that I have seen over break. Juxtaposition of my picture next to Jesse Metcalfe’s would be disastrous. Beauty and its dangerously destructive relativity destroyed me.  And of course I’m talking about the physical beauty here.

Enough. I’m going to eat more blueberry boy bait. Yes, it’s a baked good. No, there’s no secret ingredient, and there’s no guarantee that you can snag a guy with it. I sure as hell did not see any disclaimer that accompanied the recipe.

L’Enfermement de la Femme Arabe en France

L’enfermement de la femme dans les communautés arabes pose des problèmes sérieux concernant l’isolation, l’identité, et la violence. Bien que cela serait facile à dénoncer simplement, ce problème exige des investigations plus profondes pour une compréhension totale. Heureusement, des écrivains, des cinéastes, et des chercheurs ont commencé à déconstruire la situation de la femme arabe. L’intertextualité est évidente : cela est un thème dominant dans la littérature, les films, et la recherche. Dans ces explorations, ils essaient d’expliquer les causes, les circonstances, et les effets de l’isolement de la femme arabe. Finalement, ils remarquent le rejet des rôles traditionnels dans la génération plus jeune et les conséquences qui suivent.

Pour bien interpréter les raisons pour l’enfermement de la femme arabe, il faut considérer la religion et la culture. Dans les communautés arabes, les deux entités sont inextricablement liées, et elles servent comme la base de la vie arabe. En plus, leur importance est augmentée par le fait qu’elles maintiennent les liens avec la patrie et évoquent les mémoires des vies des générations plus âgées. Donc, certaines traditions doivent être maintenues, comme la séparation entre les hommes et les femmes, le mariage, et la structure patriarcale. Dans le roman de Mehdi Charef, Le Thé au Harem d’Archi Ahmed, les rôles masculins et les rôles féminins sont bien délignés et n’imbriquent pas souvent. Dans le cas de la femme, elle doit rester à la maison, préparer le repas, et obéir son mari. Même les petites filles doivent faire le ménage ; cela renforce le rôle domestique de la femme au jeune âge. L’homme, la présence masculine, justifie ces traditions avec la religion.

Aussi, la tradition du mariage, un autre élément important, exige aux jeunes femmes de garder la virginité pour maintenir l’honneur et la dignité de la famille. Dans son livre, Immigration, Race et Ethnicité dans la France Contemporaine, Alex Hargreaves explique que les parents sentent que le statut quant aux autres arabes dans le communauté compte sur l’insolation des filles du risque des relations sexuelles avant le mariage et le rassurement d’un mariage avec un époux arabe (Hargreaves, 117). Donc, l’enfermement des filles dans la maison est une façon d’être sûr qu’elles ne perdent pas la virginité et de les préparer pour le mariage aux autres arabes. Finalement, l’autorité des hommes, comme prescrite par la culture, force la obéissance à ces règles de mariage et perpétue l’enfermement de la femme.

Malheureusement, ce problème s’entête avec saillance dans la communauté. Le taux de chômage des femmes maghrébines reflète les normes culturelles qui découragent l’emploi dehors de la maison (Hargreaves, 40). Le manque d’emploi signale le manque des relations avec les Français et l’exploration du monde extérieur. Cette restriction affermit l’enfermement de la femme et perpétue la dichotomie entre l’Orient et l’Occident.

Conséquemment, la femme reste à la maison, isolée et enfermée. Dans le film de Yamini Benguigui, Inch Allah C’est Dimanche, la belle-mère sectaire et autoritaire crée une situation où Zouina, la femme, reste enfermée et isolée. La belle-mère ne permet pas à Zouina de sortir de la maison, d’ouvrir la porte aux étrangers, de parler très longtemps avec les autres femmes françaises (et surtout pas les hommes français), et de se maquiller. La belle-mère abuse d’elle verbalement et incite abus physique du père pour maintenir ses pouvoirs et son autorité. La belle-mère lui ordonne de faire le ménage constamment. Donc, l’enfermement de la femme crée l’isolation et révoque certains droits. Par conséquence, Zouina devient instable émotionnellement parce que elle n’a pas le soutient de sa propre mère et des autres femmes algériennes. Elle n’a même pas le droit d’exprimer ses émotions en face de sa famille. Elle perd son identité. La monotonie et la fatigue de ce type de vie lui affaiblissent. Contrasté avec la situation des voisins, la différence entre les deux styles de vie devient de plus en plus claire et prononcée. L’indépendance des femmes françaises dans le film aide à amplifier la contrainte des femmes arabes.

Mais, la femme arabe peut trouver des solutions à ces problèmes. Heureusement, Zouina commence à chercher des moyens de retrouver sa identité. Elle va au marché et parle avec les Français. Elle cherche la famille Bouira (algérienne) avec l’aide d’une amie française. Elle défie l’autorité de la belle-mère. Finalement, elle confronte son mari et réclame ses propres droits. Voici les conséquences de ne pas régler le problème de l’enfermement : les réactions de la femme. Mais, cela n’est pas possible si la femme ne fait pas des efforts de replacer sa crainte du monde non domestique avec un sens d’intérêt et la propre initiative. Dans le cas de Zouina, elle réussit parce qu’elle ne reste pas satisfaite avec le style de vie et s’occupe de l’échapper. En même temps elle établit un lien entre l’Occident et l’Orient.

Autres personnes sont plus chanceuses. Dans Samia, il semble que la solidarité et les rencontres avec des autres femmes arabes comblent le manque de soutiens et diminuent la sévérité de l’isolation. A ces rencontres, les femmes peuvent trouver du soulagement et de la sécurité. Elles bavardent ensemble, elles font la cuisine ensemble, et elles finalisent les préparations pour le mariage d’une fille ensemble. Plus important, elles comprennent qu’elles ne sont pas seules. Mais, au même temps, ces rencontres écartent le besoin des interactions avec le monde extérieur et augmente la division entre l’Occident et l’Orient. Dans cette atmosphère de mentalités façonnées similairement par la religion et la culture, les idées au sujet de la tradition, le mariage, et le rôle de la femme sont confirmées et fortifiées. Le manque de l’exposition aux femmes françaises empêche la possibilité du rejet du rôle traditionnel des femmes.

Les réactions à l’enfermement de la femme sont variées et complexes. Selon les hommes, ils veulent le continuer. Dans Samia, le frère exige que sa soeur lui sert pendant le dîner et il justifie ses ordres par « le respect qu’il nécessite ». Il utilise la violence pour maintenir le pouvoir sur Samia pour qu’elle garde sa virginité et reste docile. A son avis, les privilèges conférés par la docilité des femmes et le pouvoir des hommes sont trop chers pour les abandonner. Selon la génération âgée, le consensus est similaire. Dans Inch Allah C’est Dimanche, la belle-mère veut continuer en France la mode de vie qu’elle avait en Algérie. Elle prie, tient des suspicions des Français, raconte des histoires traditionnelles aux enfants, et surtout, maintient la subordination de Zouina. La religion et la culture sont deux moyens de conserver les mémoires de l’Algérie. Cette subordination est une réflexion du désir de garder l’appartenance à la patrie.

La génération le plus jeune n’a pas en commun ce désir, et conséquemment ils n’ont pas en commun le type des réactions. Il existe une réticence dans beaucoup des jeunes femmes arabes d’accepter les rôles assumés traditionnellement dans les familles maghrébines (Hargreaves, 106). Voilà le conflit entre les traditions et la modernité ; la jeune femme arabe combat les traditions avec des mentalités modernes. C’est exactement ce conflit qui cause les tensions entre les parents et les enfants. Mais, pour la jeune arabe, il est très difficile de déterminer de quel côté elle prendrait position. Comme Maxim Silverman, auteur de Immigration, Racisme et Citoyenneté dans la France Moderne, explique, les idées doubles de genre et sexualité ne permet l’entretien facile de l’identité et la solidarité de l’individuel (Silverman, 168). Sans direction et sans modèle, la femme arabe doit choisir lui-même et s’occuper des conséquences de ce choix. Dans Samia, Samia choisit l’indépendance et considère la fugue comme moyen d’évader le contrôle de la famille et la religion. Ayant choisis de ne pas conformer au rôle domestique, elle sort de la maison fréquemment et maintient des relations avec un garçon. Samia ne reste pas toujours silencieuse ; elle répond insolemment à sa mère et à son frère. Les actions de Samia montre les réactions hostiles et négatives de la femme arabe concernant les traditions et l’enfermement de la femme.

Les jeunes femmes arabes déclarent leur indépendance des rôles domestiques par des autres réactions plus fortes. Dans Samia, la sœur de Samia se fuit de la maison pour maintenir les relations avec un homme non arabe et de continuer ses études. Le désir d’avoir le contrôle personnel du matrimoine et la sexualité va mener à la fugue pour échapper les mariages arrangés et à la décision d’établir les relations avec les hommes acceptables. Elle ne se satisfait pas des opportunités restreintes pour trouver les époux de son choix. Elle rejette l’enfermement dans la maison et une vie sans contact avec le monde dehors. Ses actions prononcées indiquent le degré du rejet des rôles traditionnels dans les jeunes femmes arabes.

Mais, la transcendance des limites ethniques n’est pas facile à atteindre. Alex C’est presque impossible d’isoler la famille de la lutte entre les traditions différentes dans les mariages mixtes (Hargeaves, 112). Les dichotomies de (1) l’Orient et l’Occident et (2) les traditions et la modernité se manifestent dans les mariages mixtes. Aussi, la violence et les émotions extrêmes introduisent des autres problèmes. Mais, si la femme reste déterminée, elle peut franchir ces obstacles et réclamer son indépendance.

La jeune arabe peut trouver des autres formes de soutient. Le film de l’Université d’Iowa, Les Beurettes, explore les facteurs externes qui aident aux jeunes femmes arabes. L’établissement des groupes d’entraide et les émissions à la radio dirigées à cette population créent des liens entre les jeunes arabes et le monde dehors de la maison. En plus, ils peuvent suggérer des solutions aux problèmes de génération. Finalement, leur présence indique l’intérêt de la communauté concernant les femmes et les tentatives non violentes d’aborder ces problèmes.

En conclusion, l’enfermement de la femme arabe est un problème complexe et prévalent. La religion, la culture, l’isolation de la femme, les réactions des différents groupes de la communauté doivent être considérés. La complexité doit être entendue pour que les solutions convenables soient accessibles. L’intertextualité des films, les romans, et la recherche aident à déconstruire cette complexité, chaque dans sa propre façon. Ils incitent l’intérêt et le discours qui sont essentielles à améliorer la situation des femmes arabes et à éliminer la misogynie.

Bibliographie

Charef, Mehdi. Le Thé au Harem d’Archi Ahmed. Paris: Gallimard, 1999.

Hargreaves, Alex. Immigration, ‘race’ and ethnicity in contemporary France .

London: Routledge, 1995.

Inch Allah C’est Dimanche. Dir. Yamina Benguigui. Perf. Fejria Deliba. DVD.

Filmmovement, 2003.

Samia. Dir. Philippe Faucon. Perf. Lynda Benahouda. DVD. Pyramide, 2001.

Silverman, Maxim. Deconstructing the nation : immigration, racism, and citizenship

in modern France . New York: Routledge, 1992.