Act of Resistance

For my act of resistance, i decided to use chalk drawing to get my point across. i used this method because i've seen it before (on the college campus, cause i live real close by) and i know that a lot of people will see it simply because they will walk over it, and since a lot of people look at the ground, they will at least get a glimpse that will spark their interest to take time to read it. now sadly, i made it, and then it started snowing, so i don't actually think a lot of people saw it since 1) not many people probably went out, 2) the snow melted and made the ground wet, 3) then the snow stayed and everything is covered in snow so you can't see it.

but anyways, my act of resistance was one against consumerism. Consumerism has taken over our country and, i believe, it is a big cause for the lack of empathy and humanity in people. With people's whole focus on goods and the next big thing, they become selfish and forget the true morals and thoughts that we should live by. Consumerism causes selfishness and disinterest in the well being of anyone other than yourself or someone you care about. it also prevents us from taking steps that can improve our economy and quality of life. So i hope to raise awareness about the effects of consumerism on this country and people, and though i don't expect consumerism to stop (obviously) i want people to realize the harm that consumerism can cause, and i want them to be more aware of it and change to make the effects of consumerism not as damaging.

The Boycott

ok, so my actual real last post on lysistrata is tied in with the boycott. i just wanted to compare the two and how the boycott was supposed to be like, the modern day lysistrata, but in reality really wasn't at all except for the character's name (Lysistrata / Lyssa Stratan), the manner of achieveing the goal (sex strike) and one scene (Myrrhine & Kinesis / President & Ismenia). other than that there really was no connection between the two. 

I think that there easily could be more of a connection, the plot of lysistrata (just looking at the actions) is one that could easily be repeated, and in fact, has been many times.

- One group holds all the power (G1)

-G1 ignores Group 2 (G2)

-G2 gathers and makes a plan to solve the problem at hand

-G2 demands attention from G1 (rebellion)

-Ongoing conflict between G1 & G2 (stalemate)

-Both groups try to win over the other group

-G1 gives in

Last Thoughts of Lysistrata

Overall, i didn't really like this play. it was a nice change in pace, but i kinda thought that there wasn't really much to it. i thought the plot was creative, very original, but at the same time its something that doesn't spark my interest or hold my attention. also, there were a lot of things that i didn't really get ( like the chorus and other lines that weren't explained). maybe if we had gone over this more carefully, and i actually got more of the information and understood it, i might have liked it better, but at the moment, it definitely isn't my favorite.

The Commissioner

I think that the commisioner is a stuck up traditional old fool. He gets really upset about how the women took over the Akropolis, and constantly leads attempts to try to get them out and get rid of them, and refuses to even try to look at things in a different light. He is also a scared hypocrite, sending soldiers out to capture the women and scorning and insulting them when they don’t, while he hides safely away from them. Also, he doesn’t even try to listen to lysistrata, dismissing her idea as womanly nonsense, judging that she doesn’t know anything that’s going on simply because she is a woman. His sexist frame gets a shock when the women dress him up as a woman, and sputters in aggravation saying how he was going to report the “monstrous maltreatment of a public official”, showing further how he has a very large ego and thinks that he is better than the rest. He even gets drunk when he realizes that things aren’t going his way, acting like a child and a stuck-up brat.

Love

In the intro, the play was said to be not just about sex, but about love, and the bond between the husband and the wife. I don’t really know about this, I’m trying to see the love in the story, and yes, I get the obvious love between husband and wife, but at the same time I don’t actually see it as love - not as I’ve seen love in the past plays. I don’t see the love between lysistrata and her husband (how he treats her), I don’t see the love between myrrhine and kinesis (he’s saying those things just to get her to bed) and especially when Peace is brought in and holds the attention of all the men. 

Now, the love I’m talking about is the husband-wife love. Other love I see a lot of, there is the love for their country and fellow man, the love for the safely of those they care about, and ect. But even though I know that the desire for their husbands to come home from the war stems from love, I don’t see it as the same love that I though should be there. But of course, I may simply have strange views on love, or what love is.

Kleonike

On page 24 I notice that when lysistrata asked for the other women’s support to end the war (before telling them that the way was to abstain from sex) Kleonike responds with 

“you can count on me! If you need money, I’ll pawn the shift off my back ---Aside and drink up the cash before the sun goes down.”

I never really got this, Kleonike throughout the play seems to be a close friend of lysistrata and one of the main women holding the strike in place, yet here she is pledging her support, only to then seem to be very shady and not supportive at all. I mean, she says, I’ll do everything I can to give you money, but then use it all right away instead. I just want to know everyone’s thoughts on this, so hopefully I can understand it better.

Husband and Wife relationships

I wanted to explore the relationship between the athenian husband and wife that led to the women taking power. From listening to Lysistrata tell about how she always asked her husband how the war was going and if they were getting closer to peace, and how he replied with “What’s that to you? Shut up!” and if they persued the matter she was threatened with a clout on the head (56), its fairly easy to see that the women were not treated with much respect or given much power. However, this slightly contradicts as the women were the head of the household in the sense that they took care of everything at home, from children to cooking to managing the budget. Also, then factoring in how easily the women were able to make them men bow to their wants, I wonder who held the true power in the relationship. The husband, who portrayed having complete control and power (through possible physical and mental abuse?), and seemingly to manipulate others to get their wants (kinesis using his son to get to myrrhine); or the wife, who actually manages the household and succumbs to the husbands wants, but is easily able to take power and control as soon as they want to?