BILLBOARDS
who/what do
cultural natives have
to
look
up
to
(?!)
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About Me
- Harlequin
- Education, Nomad, Canada
- black and white and read all over.... a nun tumbling down the stairs, a chessboard wrapped around a body, a mime, a muse, a fool most of all..... a perpetual beginner amazed and puzzled curious and captured tormented and calm trusting expression trusting carnal knowledge hopeful about craft learning to yield
Themselves. (great post by the way)
ReplyDeletethanks, Mariana-- I was also struck by the word "have" also possibly meaning " required" ... literally, if something is on a billboard, one "has" to look up to it...
ReplyDeletenice to see you :))
who/what are cultural natives?
ReplyDeletePisces-- thanks for the question. Cultural natives are the folks who inhabit a culture that might or might not be of their making. For example, I am a cultural native of Newfoundland and consider that my culture even though Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949 and is supposedly also Canadian, and there is enough Canadiana in and on Newfoundland property that it is difficult not to see it, or, literally, to look up to it.
ReplyDeleteI was also thinking about the public advertising of "must have consumer products" in countries who can barely afford to buy the products that they themselves make.
I always like it when you drop in and ask the question that elaborates the deeper question.
And a very enlightening (and eloquent) answer too. As one who finds himself at deep odds with his cultural nativity (being a product of Apartheid South Africa) I often forget that there are those like yourself who sit on the side of the angels.
ReplyDeleteNow, in response to your original post (and again this will be informed by my own position as a native of nowhere) the cultural native should look up to no-one, since billboards seldom deliver on the goods they promise.
Pisces-- thanks for coming back and for that great response..... Mariana is of the same mind.... and, of course, so am I. And it is not only billboards who seldom deliver on the promises....it's tougher and tougher not to be cynical as hell.
ReplyDeleteGoodness knows. I still haven't worked out what's so great about native Scottish culture yet.
ReplyDelete