I think the first similarity that struck me was that just as Columbus was unwilling to accept that the New World had different customs than Europe, Prince Edward refused to understand that New York City was different from the Kingdom of Andalasia. Everywhere he went, he acted as arrogantly as he did in Andalasia, the difference being that in Andalasia custom allowed him to act like that while in New York City, no one cared who he thought he was. Demanding the attention of others and dressing in renaissance clothes whilst doing so, only irritated the New Yorkers.
This isn't normal/acceptable behavior...
Similarly, Columbus refused to admit that he had landed on an island instead of the mainland (Todorov 21-22). He also did not realize that he had not landed in or near India. Columbus failed to accept the cultural norms of the natives. He had the "incapacity to perceive the other's human identity--i.e., to recognize him both as equal and as different. The first, spontaneous reaction with regard to the stranger is to imagine him as inferior, since he is different from us: this is not even a man, or if he is one, an inferior barbarian; if he does not speak our language, it is because he speaks none at all, cannot speak, as Columbus still believed" (Todorov 76). Essentially, that because the natives he came across did not have consistant traditions, Columbus found it easier to dismiss them as inferior than to try to understand them. Which brings me to my second point.
How did Prince Edward miss ALL of Pip's clues that would lead Prince Edward to Gizelle? That was so thick-headed of him. I mean why would Pip be complementing Prince Edward when they're on the search for the prince's "one true love?"
Seriously!?
Prince Edward's inability to recognize and adapt to Pip's inability to speak in the alternate world almost cost him his true love. Similarly, Columbus' inability to adapt to the New World's natives cost him good relations with the natives and set a horrible trend that following explorers and settlers continued to practice.
"Columbus's failure to recognize the diversity of languages permits him, when he confronts a foreign tongue, only two possible, and complementary, forms of behavior: to acknowledge it as a language but to refuse to believe it is different; or to acknowledge its difference but to refuse to admit it is a language" (Todorov 30).
Had Columbus treated the natives better and made a greater attempt to understand their culture, maybe the Spaniards who went to the New World after Columbus would have treated the natives better, allowing for better relations, like the type France had with the natives.
Finally, Columbus was controlled by the Queen of Spain just as Prince Edward was controlled by Queen Narissa. Queen Narissa didn't want lose her crown. Currently, Prince Edward is the only one who stands in her way from ruling Andalasia. Queen Isabella used Columbus to discover new trading routes and methods for expansion of the Spanish empire, while Columbus was intending to ask the Kind and Queen "that they might determine to spend the revenues possibly accruing to them from the Indies for the conquest of Jerusalem; and it is indeed this thing which [Columbus has] asked of them" (Todorov 11). Neither of them realized how they were being manipulated by their respective Queens until it was too late. Actually...Prince Edward ended up marrying his real true love and living happily ever after...but Columbus explorations resulted in the genocide of a diverse, prosperous culture.
Although there are myriad of differences between Prince Edward and Columbus, such as Prince Edward believed that his true love would be made to finish their duet and I'm pretty sure that Columbus did not believe that, or rather, Todorov does not imply that he did, these few similarities are significant enough to get one to think, are we Columbus? I mean, deep down, do we still maintain the same mentality of the Europeans who conquered the Americas?
...and just because every fairy tale needs a perfect ending...
I'm sorry, I don't know how to make the videos fit properly in the screen...
ReplyDeleteBAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA oh I love you haha.
ReplyDeleteBy which I mean, of course, dearest, that you are clever and resourceful in your acquisition of artistically minded parallels to our most arduous of lessons.
See? Wouldn't that be cool? Jeez, the Puritans ruined something cool...
Oh, Dhea, once again, I thoroughly enjoyed your post and its pop culture references! The similarities that you make between the Prince and Columbus are very true.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it, but I think I agree with your theoretical question, "Are we Columbus"? Though I am a proponent of humanity and its goodness, at the same time, I realize that many people are very self-conscious, and not in the "Does my appearance look okay?" sense, but in the "I am just comfortable with myself, so I'll stick with these opinions, narrow-minded or not, thanks" sense.
It was a little ironic when we discussed U.S.-North Korean relations on Friday. Though we typify North Korea as the “bad guy,” perhaps rightly so, I am not sure that such a presumption lets the U.S. claim the “good guy” role. How good are we if we do not attempt to take a holistic approach with North Korea, and instead, stand at the ready with our arms?
Consequently, humans have and probably always will continue to have a sense of fear of the unknown. It is like the student who chooses to hate and ignore subject X and hates it because he/she does not understand it. However, there may be hope. With our globalized world and the dialogue of IR theory constantly shifting, our perspectives on others may change, too (and to stretch this into a future WP lesson, like how Ahni’s reality is shifted).