Carnivals and Carnivalesque - PowerPoint Presentation Example

Speaker s Slide This presentation is about the forms of Carnivals and Carnivalesque and presents an analysis of the festivities in the early modern times in Europe, which include Carnivals and Lent. The presentation concentrates on the famous painting by Pieter Bruegel, “The Battle between Carnival and Lent”. Slide - 2 Fascinated by the imaginations of festivals and carnivalesque, Bruegel made a picture, which presented a Battle between Carnival and Lent. The picture is basically a depiction of a festival that was celebrated within some parts of Europe, more specifically in the Netherlands. The picture is famous for the features that it exhibits of the times in which the event took place. The following presentation would discuss the features that are present in the picture and would also discuss how the painter shows those features and how they can be related to the activities that took place during the event. The presentation would start by providing a brief background about the event and the roots from where the event draws its roots. Slide - 3 In the early modern period, the main characteristics of popular culture were derived from Bakhtin’s analysis of Rabelais. Although tribal cultures have considered and practiced carnivals as more religiously, the Northern European cultures have apparently failed to adopt the true essence of carnival in religious terms. Carnival in Europe has been seen more as a recreational activity and it is during this time of the year that multiple individuals celebrated the event by wearing colorful costumes, masks and organizing floats to parade on the streets. Some even combined a few elements of the circus. Slide - 4 It was in the later half of the 15th century that protests against the carnivals began, and a powerful lobby representing the secular portion of the society demanded the banning of carnival and its festivities and declared it to be pagan. In addition, they also portrayed this image all over the Europe, thus obtaining the support of many all over the Europe. It is important to point out here paganism in the view of Christians was considered as a sin. The church and high priests had throughout history opposed pagan practices and convinced a great deal of Christian followers to oppose pagan practices as well. Branding the carnival as a pagan festival allowed the secular individuals of society to help gain support against the event. Slide - 5 According to Edmund Leach, carnivals represent the brief reverse running of time. He takes the example of a pendulum and says that the reverse motion of pendulum represents festivals, however very briefly. The primitive festivals, in time connotations, represent the “rites of passages”, which may be viewed in terms of human life or the passage of a year. The other argument about carnivals takes into consideration their function. The argument largely holds that carnivals serve as a source of keeping things in order and maintaining stability in the hierarchical society. In fact, they serve as “safety valves” for the society but cannot make an impression on social order. Slide - 6 Owing to the fact that in early modern times, participation in carnivals was not considered something serious or binding, people in the sixteenth century therefore were able to decide themselves about participating in the festivals or not. Turner, suggested two different terms to be used in connection with the central festival moment, which were “liminal” and “liminoid”, the later being referred to the expression of disorder through ritual, while the former being related to ritual proper. Slide - 7 During the carnivals, mock-rituals were common and involved the mock-church rituals, including mock weddings, mock baptisms, mock tournaments, mock coronations, etc. However, as the participants went to extreme in mocking the church and other religious and authoritative positions, the opinion went against them. Mocking religion at a time when the church had extraordinary powers was very risky. The Church’s influence within the governance of a state was undoubtedly great and at times greater than the ruler of the state. Eventually the Mock-Rituals were then declared prohibited by the Church, which clarified the position of Church on the matter. The festival and its festivities which were ought to be funny, tolerable and nothing more than humor-filled were regarded as violating the position, power and status of the Church. This act in a manner split the local population in two halves. The first group was of the view that these rituals were in no way offensive to the church and were something to be taken lightly. The second group believed in the word of the church and gave up their participation within the carnival. Slide - 8 In order to uphold the civic order and authority, prohibitions against carnivals were maintained in different parts of the Europe. The movements, which spurred against the carnivals and their participants, took a new dimension when extreme comments were made against those wearing masks and participating in carnivals to mimic someone. It was said that mask wearers represented the devil and not human beings or Christianity. The church and its supporters spread rumors like these in order to help gain support from the common man regarding the opposition of carnival. Slide - 9 Rederijkers emerged as the representatives of the popular culture after Carnivals faced prohibitions. Rederijkers used similar stage but different content to portray culture through their performance and participation. In fact, Rederijkers, consciously and unconsciously contributed to the reformation of the culture. Slide - 10 To ensure that reformation process went along smoothly, Rederijkers opted for popular culture of Carnivalesque and adopted the feast of fools festival. This intention of a smooth transition was to ensure that as little attention from the church was attracted as possible. It was also to ensure that the trend of carnival could be brought back to the people of Europe, in a different manner; the manner which appealed and was tolerable for the Church and hierarchical groups of the society. Slide - 11 One of the major difference in the feast of fool performed by Rederijkers was of the costumes used. The fools wore costumes similar to those worn by court fools. Slide - 12 In Carnivals, fools used to wear costumes of great variety, which included men wearing women clothes, people disguised in animal appearances and other versions of costumes which were not common or wore in days other than Carnivals. However, Rederijkers, being the reformists, opted for different styles and adopted common costumes and attires which were not interesting as that of the ones wore by fools in Carnivals. Slide - 13 PICTURE ONLY Slide - 14 The battle between carnival and lent, as painted by Pieter Bruegel shows how distinct the two festivals were and the message they mirrored through their acts. The contrasting scheme of acts, as shown by Inn on one hand and church on the other hand, indicates both entertainment and enjoyment and observance and religiosity. Slide - 15 This part of the painting by Pieter Bruegel represents the Carnival, which depicts the popular culture of the society. This picture basically represents enjoyment that individuals gained from the carnival. The Carnival side is filled with a great deal of individuals that immediately attract the attention of an individual. The first most prominent figure is that of a man sitting on beer keg. The man is dressed in a number of meat items and also has butcher knives around his waist. The man represents the food provider for the carnival. The second prominent figure is the man standing behind him. This man has worn yellow robes, a color that is associated with deceit. Finally the picture contains a lute-player. The Lute-player is one of the most prominent symbols of Lutheranism. Supporters of Lutheranism criticized the catholic church for introducing the concept of Lent into Christianity, something they had been banned by Lutheranism. Slide - 16 This part of the painting by Pieter Bruegel represents the Lent, which depicts the religious culture of the society. This picture on the other hand represents the religious virtues that were taught by the church. Majority of this side of the picture is taken up by pious individuals. In this half a number of individuals are busy in carrying out activities that symbolize piety for example in this part of the painting there are individuals drawing water from wells whereas some are moving towards the church. The lent side also contains pictures of nuns and priests that are coming out of the church having just finished their prayers. Slide - 17 There are various symbolic meanings derived from the battle between carnival and lent, as painted by Pieter Bruegel. The raised hand of Carnival figure symbolizes the Triumph of Lent and his eyes looking up, thus saying the final goodbye, which in itself is a gesture of surrender by Carnival in favor of Lent. Some on the other hand believe that the meaning of Bruegel’s work can be that whatever human beings do is based on their selfishness and foolishness. Slide - 18 VIDEO ONLY In this video performers have presented the battle between carnival and lent in a contemporary manner, which enables the understanding of differences between two festivals and the social contexts on which they based. The performers in the video have expressed the two festivals through dance and each move holds a meaning. The two sides on the stage, in the beginning of the video, are actually depicting the division between two festivals. Moreover, choosing a male for one and female for the other festival also manifests the contrasting difference in the ideas and outlooks of the two festivals and their forerunners. SUMMARY The analysis of Carnival and Carnivalesque in light of the battle between carnival and lent shows how modern culture and the social norms in Europe have evolved over time. The battle, as depicted by Pieter Bruegel in his art work, portrays the contrasting social setups as performed and presented in Carnivals and Lent festivities. Carnival, from the beginning was considered as something out of the world, which brought were more critics then supporters. The rise of secular power in Europe and after gaining support of the elite, European society went through a social reformation phase, which resulted in the Triumph of Lent, which was considered as more tolerable and representative of the social structure. However, festivals and performances after reformation period were less attractive and of variety as they were in Carnival. Read More