One of my favorite visual tropes is that of the Guy Gamely and Authentically Participating in Foreign Culture. It's obviously not what he was brought up with, and he's not entirely comfortable with it; nevertheless, this particular guy chooses to gamely suck it up, wear the odd clothing, dance the dance, and make an authentic contribution because he knows how important it is to the people directly involved. I've seen this before, mostly at weddings when I was a child, and it's always life-affirming to see how well most people rise to the occasion--white guys wearing leis, Hindus standing at the altar in church--and I always find it inspiring, in a small and delicate way, to see people decide to stand by each other at their strangest.
No comments:
Post a Comment