Culture SHOCK Seminar: The Resuscitation of an Open Mind

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. ”

~Neale Donald Walsch

What is culture shock? Let’s turn to the lexicon of the modern day, Urban Dictionary, for the answer to this all-important query.

Every person on this earth inhabits a bubble. Not a thin, wobbly film of soapy water, but a fibrous mental shell that separates him/her from the Other. What is the Other? These are things outside of the person’s viewpoint and experience. While this does include exposure to different people from exotic locations and their customs, it also consists of so much more. The Other can be a food you’ve never tasted, a notion you’ve never really given enough thought to, a mindset that you’ve never worn the glasses of. A person can only truly be complete when they have experienced exposure the world outside their insular alley of existence. We must transcend our room, our house, our hometown, and truly see what the Other has to offer. This, in my humble opinion, is the purpose of art. Art is meant to show us what we wouldn’t see without it: a glimpse into the zany, mercurial, and gorgeous beauty of the Other. Art tries to make us leave our own minds, for even a few brief moments, and to take on the viewpoint of another person, whether it is the artist, the subject of the piece, or even a facet of ourselves that we never gave much time in the spotlight. My dear students, spring is in the air, and along with those little buds and shoots that will begin to burst through the melting ice, let us burst our bubbles, break free from our natural cages, and see some things we have never seen before. You were born with an open mind and a clean slate. Maybe a good shock can bring that back to life.

Open Mic at the Nuyorican Poets Café

Monday, February 12^th

Cost: $8 per student

We kick off the semester with some poetry. As an art form, poetry is truly effective at allowing one to see life through another’s eyes. The Nuyorican Poetry Café began as a place where people of Puerto Rican and African descent who lived in New York could come to express themselves in an artistic manner, as many times they weren’t able to bring their work into the mainstream. Though the café had humble beginnings in the living room of a Latino writer/poet’s apartment, today it is a thriving hub of poetry and artistic works that very often represent the many, and oft ignored, subcultures of New York City. The event we will be attending will be an open mic event, where artists will go up to recite poetry or short written works, sing, dance, or present in any way they see fit. Each performer gets approximately 5 minutes, and these slots are given out to 25 people that sign up on a first-come-first-serve basis. For this event, each student will prepare a piece that they would present if they had that slot. Maybe some of you will have the chance to present! The goal here is to see how people are able to effectively give over a viewpoint, feeling, or experience that they had to others. You will leave this café with maybe some new ideas about how other people operate, and learn valuable techniques for really hitting an audience through presentation.

Readings: Read the Nuyorican’s history, and watch these poetry performances (one of which was in the Nuyorican). Try to see how these people give over their lives and views to an audience, or maybe even a life and viewpoint they do not have.

The Chinese New Year’s Day Parade

Sunday, February 25^th

Cost: Free

To an American, New Year’s is a time to get blackout drunk at a bar in Times Square as you watch, through rheumy eyes, some flashing lump of glitzy lights go from one height to another. We very often tend to think that the American way must be the way things are everywhere else. Get ready to have that misconception drown in the beautiful display that is this parade. You will see magnificent dancing dragons, beautiful displays of traditional Chinese fashion, and maybe eat some delicious Chinese cuisine. (No, that does not include sushi.) China is a major world player on the international stage today, and it is really sad how little most Americans know about the country that houses nearly one-third of the world’s population! It will seem weird celebrating a calendar that completely differs from your own, because, like, isn’t this just a random Sunday? Nope. Not to our friends down in Chinatown. Also, a parade includes a myriad of different mediums of art, including but not limited to: fashion, dancing, singing, music, cooking, paintings, and – of course – dragons. All of this will show you how a combination of many forms of art can truly transport one, and all of his/her five senses, into another world that is as culturally different from our own as can be.

Readings: Read some descriptions of the cultural importance of the Chinese New Year and see some interviews with the people who run the parade and people visiting.

“The Play That Goes Wrong” on Broadway

Tuesday, March 6^th

Cost: $30 per student

When you think of a play, you generally think big. Grandiose room in a spacious and stylish Broadway theater, with professional actors, complex music, and NO SCREW-UPS! You would never think that something would go wrong on Broadway. After all, this is Broadway, professional to the tee, the pinnacle of stage acting and production. Well, people really don’t get to see just how much goes into making such a massive event occur. There are so many factors to consider, that it is insanely easy for something to go awry. That being said, this play’s story is actually told through the fascinating use of the literary device known as frame narrative. This play is a story within a story. The play concerns actors in a meta-play, and it tells the story of how everything that can go wrong with their production does go wrong, in a Murphy’s Law fashion. It is a comedic, and very relatable story of mistakes building on mistakes. The idea here is to see how a challenge to the form can enhance it greatly. Also, you will see how you are able to really feel for these actors and their situation even though you (likely) aren’t an actor who has experienced this. We are able to relate to things very much through parallels between situations, even if our and the things’ circumstances are radically different. Then, as a Macaulay exclusive, we were able to get a sit down with the show’s cast afterwards and you guys will get to ask the actors and stage crew questions about the making of a play! This is really exciting. Please prepare thoughtful questions for that. But, to be honest, I kind of wonder something about this play. If they messed up the actual play, would we realize? It’s genius…

Readings: Read and see various reviews of the play.

“PATRICK PARRISH + JAMES ZEMAITIS” at The Strand Bookstore

Tuesday, March 13^th

Cost: $5 per student, plus you receive a gift card for that amount

The Strand is very well known. It is often referred to as “the undisputed king of the city’s independent bookstores.” It really is. It sells a large assortment of new, used, and rare books and has become a kind of cultural icon of New York City. Books, as a rule, are probably the best way to immerse someone in a situation without them ever having to leave their house. A book is a transporter of sorts; you’re mind can quite literally be transposed into a new experience or situation through effective descriptive and creative writing. But books aren’t the only things that will bring us here. Sure, you will all have time to browse and pick up the latest by your fave author. But, the main event will be hosted by Patrick Parrish, a renowned art collector, who will share with us what the world of curating, collecting, and dealing art looks like and means to him. He will share valuable insight on how the arts market functions, and you will learn tips and tricks on how to find and evaluate art. He also wrote a book called “The Hunt,” for those who may be interested in getting a copy signed. James Zemaitis, another notable curator and a Museum Relations and PR Company Director, will join him in his presentation. And get this: you each get a five-dollar gift card to the bookstore as well! You’re welcome!

Readings: Read up on The Strand and browse Parrish’s website.

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” at the Ed Sullivan Theater

Tuesday, March 20^th

Cost: Free, but each student will need to book separately. Maybe contact them on behalf of Macaulay and get a group deal.

Late night talk show? What? How is that art? What culture are we seeing there? Well, this may be surprising, but comedy is really very much an art form. And, this is not just as a performing art. To make something laugh inducing, it actually needs to be extremely well written. It needs to be concise, insightful, and pithy. As William Shakespeare once said, “brevity is the soul of wit.” A joke, one-liner, or punch line is very often written with as much focus and intensity as poem or song, and sometimes even more. Observational comedy and comedy told through anecdotes very often rely on being relatable. We will find ourselves laughing at a line because we go, “huh, yeah, I do that, I’ve seen that, that happened to me once, I agree, yeah.” As to the cultural perspective, by going to this show, we will actually be doing an introspective search through our own American culture. Talk shows often have a finger on the pulse of what Americans value and who they respect most. By seeing the various artists that are showcased in the episode we see live, we will be analyzing what Americans find important in today’s day and age, what’s “hot” and why, and we will hone in on the characteristics that we admire. And you know what? The answers to these questions may surprise even you. You see, we tend to take these shows, guests, and jokes at face value. It’s time to see what our society’s voices really stand on. Also, Colbert is hilarious. That’s another reason we’re going. And if you actually make it to the big screen, be sure to say hello to your mother. That seems to be the move for some reason.

Readings: Read some articles about whether comedy is art, take the talk show host quiz (I’m a Chelsea Handler, apparently), and see Colbert talk about himself a bit.

The Mmuseumm Museum

Tuesday, April 3^rd

Cost: Free/Pay as you wish

Okay. We are doing some weird stuff this semester, but this is probably the weirdest. This museum is very small, and its focus is to show the beauty of the mundane. It is a tiny 60-foot space in a small, old freight elevator shaft that is lined with velvety shelves. On those shelves are random, everyday items that are assigned certain values due to sentimentality, representation, or situation. You will see a shoe that was reportedly thrown at George W. Bush. You will see screwdrivers, empty chip bags, a collection of fake vomit, and other assorted, banal items. It has a collection of fake space-rocks, a motley jumble of items that were surgically removed from patients of a surgeon, and it has a collection of all of the brands and merchandise sold under the name of Donald Trump. There is also a second Mmuseumm that is highly recommended for you guys to go see as well, which consists of a recreation of the closet of a woman named Sarah Berman. Mmusuemm is able to use everyday objects that we all see all the time to really tell of so much about the people who interacted with them. We tend to invest a bit of ourselves in all the objects we use and live with, as all of our possessions are truly extensions of ourselves for the time we use them, and this is a remarkable way to see and understand the inner machinations of the minds of others. You will all, I think, gain a tremendous respect for the items we barely glance at over the course of our busy lives. Now, the Mmuseumm is adamant that it is not art. I disagree. What do you guys think? We’ll find out soon enough…

Readings: Read what went behind the making of this museum, about the people behind it, what major news outlets think about it, and browse its website a bit. Also see what the limits of what art is are.

“The Brooklyn Folk Festival”

Sunday, April 8^th

Cost: $25 per student

This is a really cool event. We are going to be immersed in the world of folk music, and a bit of jazz and blues. Folk music is really defined as music based in tradition, an oldies kind of sound. These songs are the music of the everyman, the ancestral farmer, the tired factory worker, and the family man. This form usually relies on shorter instrumental melodies that are usually repetitive, with simple but haunting and familiar lyrics. Folk music has had many offshoots to date, such as folk metal and folk rock. Jig-like dances and descriptive, storytelling lyrics generally accompany this very personal genre. Jazz and blues were primarily derived from African American song traditions, and they reveal a tremendous amount of their overall feelings at the time. Music is the language of the soul, and folk is the music of culture, of the people. We will see how we can really learn a lot about people by the music they make. Most people today look at folk as “old” music and tend to ignore it, favoring the more modern pop and hip-hop genres. But, if you keep an open mind, and two open ears, you may hear something that will strike a chord in you. And you’ll understand why this music has stood the test of time.

Readings: See the description of the festival, browse through the PhD dissertation on folk, read the definition of folk music, and listen to famous folk-rock song “The Sound of Silence.”

“Cendrillon” in Metropolitan Opera House

Tuesday, April 24^th

Cost: Covered by Macaulay

No, contrary to what you may initially think, this isn’t about a giant robot that fights evil. It’s actually a retelling of the fabled Cinderella story. “Oh, here we go,” you say. “Heard this dumb story a thousand times before.” Yeah. Granted. You have. In about a thousand different ways, through about a thousand different mediums, you are very familiar with this story. But let’s not forget: this is the OPERA. Through the fantastic sets, powerful music, gorgeous outfits, and brilliant acting, you may find this very different from the Cinderella you know and probably hate. The story is also changed somewhat. And to be honest, foreknowledge of the story may actually help you in this scenario. Because, it will allow you to focus less on the plot of the opera, and the fact that it is all in Italian, and to focus more on how the coming together of all of these parts of the artistic world can bring you into its story. Though you will be looking down at the opera from on high, the singers’ voices will reach your ears loudly and clearly – without even using microphones – and you will be enraptured by this touching story of love transcending reality. Moreover, this opera will really bring home the main idea of our time together. Cendrillon is an outsider, a lowly maid who cleans to survive, and she is thrust into a new and unfamiliar world where magic is real and everyone is rich and fancy. To your delight, you will notice she doesn’t run away from the new to the safe comforts of lowliness. No, she jumps into the new and puts herself forward, trying new things, meeting new people, and changing everything about herself in the process. Bravo! You go girl!

Readings: See these reviews of the opera and learn a bit about how the opera operates.

The Frick Collection Museum

Wednesday, May 2^nd

Cost: Free from 2-6 p.m.

Hehehe. Frick. So, what the frick is this place and why is it relevant? Well, the Frick Collection is a New York City Museum located on 5^th Avenue and it is very posh. It is located in what was once the house of the famed industrialist Henry Clay Frick. We will actually hear a short, free talk called “Henry Clay Frick and his Collection,” which will shed some light on the industrialist, his feelings towards art, and the NYC that he lived in. The Frick is considered a place of “high art,” containing mostly works by the European masters from the Renaissance and on, a kind of highlights amalgamation of the art of the upper echelons of European society. There are some really famous paintings here by some very famous artists: Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” paintings by Rembrandt, Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck, Giovanni Bellini, and Frans Hals, to name a few. It also has the famous “Lodovico Capponi” by Agnolo Bronzino. You’ll see more about that in the readings. Anyhow, the museum interior was built as an anthology of various interior decorating styles of Europe, and the museum was built in the Gilded Architecture style, a rarity in today’s day and age. This may seem like the classic art museum, but it is really trying to draw you into two time periods: European high art and the Gilded Age in NYC. These two were very much cultural movements in their own right, and if we peer into the beautiful, masterfully painted, intricately detailed paintings and statues and frescos, we may begin to feel this sense of power at being one of the ruling elite, whether it was in Europe in classical times or in NYC during the industrial age. There permeates this feeling of wealth and power in this place that doesn’t exist today for a staggering majority of the world, so to be able to come and experience that feeling will certainly teach us a lot about what drives the powerful to act in the ways they do. We can learn from this. We can definitely learn from this.

Readings: Read these pieces about the museum and its history, especially all that the museum website has to offer. Then, make sure you read the piece called “My Friend Lodovico,” as it will realy tie this painting into the course by discussing our relationships with art, what it teaches us, and where it can bring us as people.

Total Amount Spent Per Student: $68.00

One thought on “Culture SHOCK Seminar: The Resuscitation of an Open Mind”

Ryan Donovan says:

December 21, 2017 at 11:30 am

Aaron, this looks like a great series of alternately fun and challenging events. I appreciate the particular mixture of forms you’ve included and a nice blend of popular art and high art. You have chosen excellent supplemental readings for each event as well. And by the way, I’m apparently a Jimmy Kimmel.

Culture SHOCK Seminar: The Resuscitation of an Open Mind

One thought on “Culture SHOCK Seminar: The Resuscitation of an Open Mind”

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