What was the socio-cultural function of the feasts of Corpus Christi? How did these festivals serve as celebration of "the body"? What socio-political groups interests were served by the festivities?
Socio-cultural function of the feasts of Corpus Christi was set up for the celebration of the body of the Christ. What we eat is the metaphor for the body of the Christ. This way people felt like they were a part of the Christ. Every movement they made after the feast signified the "movement of the Christ" The body was also a symbol of how the body was percieved. Guilds celebration of the body was a statement of "we are alive"
As celebration, there would be bible readings and plays. The whole community would gather and form communitas. These gatherings would also have an effect on the dynamics of the culture. Middle class was formed through out the time of celebration. This is very important because the gaps between classes started to not become as wide and noticable. Middle class men could hope to be high class. They could show their power and possibilties of becoming high class through their performances.
In most countries and regions, the class situation is a problem in our society today. The saying "rich is getting richer, the poor is getting poorer" is still accurate for some countries. In Turkey, the gaps between the low class and high class are still very noticable. The idea of the middle class is not developed. I wonder if the reason behind that is because the low class never had the chance to prove themselves to the society. It is amazing to me that through performance, people could show their strength and creativity to their society. The hope of posibilities is a vital turning point in any society.
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Great post Damla! Although when you discuss the middle class and their possibility of achieving success and becoming part of the high class, isn't it worth while to comment on the middle class as a form of oppression? Or rather the middle class is always at arm's link in relation to the upper class. They hope to achieve wealth and dream of attaining this goal but rather continue to exist in a liminial realm, always in limbo.
ReplyDeleteDamla, I agree with your hopes for achieving something greater or at least having the opportunity to move upward in society. I enjoyed your example about Turkey, I think a lot of times it is easy to forget how fortunate we are to live in a place where we already have the opportunity of mobility or at least the idea of it. When you explained that through performance people can show their strength and creativity to their society I started thinking about performance in everyday life and how we change our performances based on our surroundings and as our lives evolve the more possibilities open up.. although we have opportunities to move up the social hierarchy that does not mean people will actually do it and with that being said it brings me back to thinking about the Chambers of Rhetoric because the people that challenge the status quo are the key to opening up possibilities for others and without some sort of radicalism to challenge the norm and increase an opportunity for change I think it will be difficult for change to ever occur.
ReplyDeleteGood essay. Like Krystle, I enjoyed the way you ended with a commentary on the lack of a middle class in Turkey.
ReplyDeleteIn the second paragraph, I'd like for you to be more specific about the ways in which the staging of the feast provided methods for encouraging a feeling of communitas. In the essay, you make it sound a little like something people brought with them in picnic baskets.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I didn't see many suggestions in the reading on aspirations of the middle class to join higher class or to show a sense of wanting to belong to the upper class through the plays of Corpus Christi. Rather, this seemed more of an attraction to lure the upper class to the urban areas, as it was this influx of people that helped business in the area to flourish. How do you feel these plays show a wanting to belong to the upper class community?
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