After my experience with Aristophanes, Clouds, I decided to accompany my friend, Katieanne, to a shadow puppet show. It was, yet again, another experience where I didn't really understand what was going on and had to rely on visual cues more so then that actual dialogue. Shadow puppetry is aimed towards the younger crowd....as in the 1 to 10 year olds. Katie and I got a couple of funny looks from the mom's there. They were probably wondering what two teenagers were doing at a shadow puppet show by choice.
Anyways, the show was pretty simple to understand even though I couldn't understand the language. The best part was all of the children laughing. Since I wasn't quite as "into" the show as the rest of the audience, it gave me the chance to make observations about the people coming to the show. It seems to me that going to the shadow puppet show was a weekly occurrence for some people. As they would come in the ticket lady would greet them with a kiss on the cheek and a light conversation. It goes back to that idea of the "in" circle in the Greek culture. In America some families may go to the movie theater once a week, but it's not like we greet the person at the ticket counter with a kiss on the cheek. It would look extremely out of place for me to greet the ticket counter person in that way and it just demonstrates the difference in quality of relationships in Greece vs. America.
The lady at the shadow puppet show would see these families with their children every weekend and could start a relationship with them. There was a trust it wouldn't be a waste of time and that efforts out forth wouldn't be brushed aside. If only people could be just as welcoming in the United States, there would be less of the superficial relationships and more of the meaningful ones....even with the ticket lady at the movie theater.
Another quality of Greek culture we were made aware of before we arrived in Athens was the dancing. I hadn't seen too much of it just out and about since we've been here, but the little kids know how to party it up at the shadow puppet theater. When the music came on for the finale of the show there were several children that got up in front and started jamming out. It was almost like watching a mini version of Zorba with one of the kids. He was over in the corner with his parents and he had his hands out, doing the snapping and the whole lot of it. It just goes to show that the tradition of dancing, although not as prevalent, is still being passed down from generation to generation.
So....the light shines on this translucent screen (it reminds me of those trace drawing toys I use to have when I was little, mom) and the puppets outline and color shows through. The puppeteer controls the puppets with a little rod so you don't see him at all. The puppets are usually made out of cardboard or something along those lines.
Anyways, the show was pretty simple to understand even though I couldn't understand the language. The best part was all of the children laughing. Since I wasn't quite as "into" the show as the rest of the audience, it gave me the chance to make observations about the people coming to the show. It seems to me that going to the shadow puppet show was a weekly occurrence for some people. As they would come in the ticket lady would greet them with a kiss on the cheek and a light conversation. It goes back to that idea of the "in" circle in the Greek culture. In America some families may go to the movie theater once a week, but it's not like we greet the person at the ticket counter with a kiss on the cheek. It would look extremely out of place for me to greet the ticket counter person in that way and it just demonstrates the difference in quality of relationships in Greece vs. America.
The lady at the shadow puppet show would see these families with their children every weekend and could start a relationship with them. There was a trust it wouldn't be a waste of time and that efforts out forth wouldn't be brushed aside. If only people could be just as welcoming in the United States, there would be less of the superficial relationships and more of the meaningful ones....even with the ticket lady at the movie theater.
Another quality of Greek culture we were made aware of before we arrived in Athens was the dancing. I hadn't seen too much of it just out and about since we've been here, but the little kids know how to party it up at the shadow puppet theater. When the music came on for the finale of the show there were several children that got up in front and started jamming out. It was almost like watching a mini version of Zorba with one of the kids. He was over in the corner with his parents and he had his hands out, doing the snapping and the whole lot of it. It just goes to show that the tradition of dancing, although not as prevalent, is still being passed down from generation to generation.
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