Hey guys,
this is a paper due next week. I HOPE YOU GUYS CAN HELP.
THANK YOU :)
ASSIGNMENT: WRITE ABOUT A RITUAL in a SOCIAL-CULTURAL KEY (you can talk about gender role, religion, culture, economics) and include a sentence about Us cultural capital (it has to be related though).
"What's behind trick or treat?"
The special night preceding All-Hallows-Day, on November 1st, has been considered for centuries one of the most magical night of the year. During this night, in the United States, 93% of dressed up children go trick-or-treating expecting sweets, candies, money, and 80% of adults plans to give out confectionery to them, in order to avoid the idle threat. Teens and adults are more likely to throw costume parties, celebrate around a bonfire, tell ghost stories, and visit haunted attractions. However, Halloween hasn't always been about candy corns, caramel apples, jack-o'-lanterns and horror movies. It has religious significance and economical importance and it can be read in a socio-cultural key.
Behind its fancy name there is a meaning: it derives from All-Hallows-Eve, which is the day before the Christian festivity of All-Saints Day. It was Pope Boniface IV to set Halloween on this date to honor the Catholic saints. However, the origins of this ritual doesn't have to be found solely in Christianity. Irish local folks have been celebrating for centuries their own festival of the dead in Samhain (November, 1st, the Celtic New Year). According to the ancient celtics the border between our world and the Otherworld became thinner during that night, allowing spirits,
both harmless and evil, to pass through.
On the one hand, Halloween was well accepted by some religions. In fact, this holiday has also origins in Paganism: when the Romans conquered the Celts, they combined their harvest festival into this holiday. On the other hand, some religions, such as certain branches of Wicca, found this festivity to be offensive to their belief, since it promotes stereotypical caricatures of "wicked witches".
In the last century, being associated with costumes, parties and sweets, Halloween has lost its spiritual meaning and has become more and more a consumerist festivity. There is not a "standard" amount of money one usually spends on this holiday, because there are several different ways to celebrate it. Throwing a huge party and buying fancy costumes would cost you a lot of money, the ticket for a haunting attraction will cost you around 20 dollars, and just going trick-or-treating from houses to houses with a home-made costume will cost you nothing. When it comes to celebrating, though, Americans don't seem to hang off. Halloween, indeed, is probably the best example among all the festivities to show the cultural capital of the United States. The way Americans celebrate a holiday whose origins don't even have to be found in their country, definitely gives truth to the stereotype of the Americans as a big celebrating people. In other words, Ireland should be celebrating Halloween more lavishly than the United States, since it is the country where the festivity itself comes from; however, Europe just seems to have a very recent upsurge in celebrating this festival.
Today, what usually makes people looking forward to Halloween is the costume business. The available variety of costumes implies both the reinforcement of accentuated gender role stereotypes and of racism.
First of all, women crave to be sexy, while guys just want to be funny and creepy. In the night where the evil spirits are supposed to come and take you away, and gross witches fly around on their brooms, even vulgarity seems to be allowed. Women can choose among a wide range of apparels, one sexier than the other; from the hot Little Red Riding Hook to the seductive nurse, from the provocative cheerleader to the sensual cat woman. The common point seems the same one, though: to appear super hot, whether vulgarity is involved or not. How guys want to appear instead, can vary a little bit more than in girls. However, they always tend to be frightening and funny at the same time. They are more likely to stress on their being ridiculous instead of on their being sexy. They would use fake broken teeth and wear creepy masks, only to make people laugh. So, Halloween costumes have become "what do most men/women want to see the opposite sex dressed up as". No surprise that it is a shallow, non/intellectual sexual object for men, and a character that can make them laugh for women.
Secondly, while there is no such thing as the "white man" costume, one can definitely choose among a variety of Asian, Muslim, Geisha ones which clearly either arouse or hide racism.
What is interesting about this is how even an old tradition such as Halloween can assimilate new implications over time. In fact, today it is an event which provides us with examples of our still racist and biased society which is stuck in stereotypes.
The most apparent negative aspect of Halloween, though, has to be found in the criminality which wildly increases during that night. Violence abuses, drugs use, sexual assaults, weapons-related offences and other crimes spike during Halloween, perhaps because of the appealing opportunity for criminals to be covered in masks and wear costumes. For example, comparing the day of Halloween 2008 to a day of the week earlier we find a 20% increase in violent offences, such as robbery, aggravated assault, assaults causing bodily harm and assaults against police officers, a 11% increase in property violations and a 53% increase in drug violations.
This is why the police is usually posted in the streets and outside the big house parties to try to keep everything under control.
In conclusion, neither can we pretend that Halloween still has its full religious significance today, nor can we just label it as a blatantly commercial event . In fact, it combines both: it still has a spiritual meaning, because it's the night of the dead, but it is also a social festivity which reflects the consumerist contemporary culture.
I'll change crave to desire, because "crave" is usually used with an object of craving... for example, I might crave chocolate or I might crate the attention of others. Someone can crave the feeling of being sexy, but for this sentence I think you can just change it to "desire" and it will sound better:
First of all, women desire to be sexy, while guys just want to be funny and creepy.
So, Halloween costumes have become "what do most men/women want to see the opposite sex dressed up as?" ---Ha ha ha... you make a very good point!
It is no surprise that a shallow, non-intellectual sexual object is desired by men, and a character that can make them laugh is desirable for w omen.
In conclusion, We can neither pretend that Halloween still has its full religious significance today, nor can we just label it as a blatantly ...
The ending is very impressive.
