When things all fit together....

I'm teaching Introduction to Sociology this semester for the first time in 6 or 7 years. After a few lectures of introduction, the first unit is on "culture."  We read two articles illustrating different aspects of culture.  The first, by Mieke Loe, describes the cultural environment of a restaurant she calls, "Bazooms."  The second, by Haunani Kay-Trask, describes the cultural commodification of Hawaiin culture.  Both readings highlight issues of gender, of work, of culture and cultural hegemony.  The class had a good discussion of the readings on Tuesday.

On Thursday, I planned to show a video, "Mardi Gras: Made in China," which contrasts the lives of young women in China manufacturing mardi gras beads to those of Mardi Gras revelers in New Orleans. The video highlights the working conditions of the women, the culture of China, and the treatment of women at Mardi Gras who are willing to bear their breasts for beads. One part of the video shows the women returning home to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

So, on Thursday, driving in to work NPR happened to have a segment on the changing cultural celebration of Chinese New Year in rural areas of China.  The segment mentioned the enhancement and co-opting of traditional practices for the benefit of tourists; the shifting meaning of the holiday within the country; and the differences between rural and urban China.  It was perfect!  All of my themes tied together!  I played the segment for the class. I don't think they were as excited as I was...but once you start looking for sociology, you see it everywhere.

Mary Poppins and the Dancing Cow

I went to the movie Saving Mr. Banks a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed the movie and it inspired me to go back and re-read the Mary Poppins story.  I remember enjoying the book as a girl and was curious to see again how the book differed from the Disney movie....turns out it is pretty different.

But, here is one story from the book that never made it to the movie. I've been trying to decide if I think it is an optimistic or pessimistic story.  It is from the chapter, "The Dancing Cow," and goes something like this.
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The children see a cow walking down the road and ask Mary Poppins about this unusual sight.  She remarks that she knows this cow well, she was a friend of Mary's mother, and goes on to tell the children about the cow.  This cow lived in a beautiful meadow filled with buttercups. She had everything she needed and was quite content and happy with her life.  One evening, as she was getting ready to go to sleep, she had this urge to start dancing.  She hopped up, skipped around the meadow and danced all night under the stars. When the morning came, she was still dancing.  She felt light and filled with joy, but as the day went on she couldn't stop dancing.  All day and all night, day after day, she danced in the meadow. She couldn't stop to eat or sleep and after a week was worried that she may never stop dancing.

She set off to seek the advice of the king, who was a wise man.  After some deliberation, he noticed that the cow had a star stuck on her horn and that was the cause of her dancing.  The king's courtiers tried to remove the star, but it was firmly stuck.  As a last resort, the king suggested that the cow try jumping over the moon.  The cow wasn't too keen on this idea, but they went out to the courtyard and she leapt into the air.  She sailed up, high in the sky, and soared over the moon.  As she passed over the moon she felt the star fall away and return to the sky.  She came back to the ground in her old meadow and her life returned to "normal."  No dancing.  She was happy to return to her life of order and calm.

But, after some days she grew dissatisfied. She missed her dancing. She missed the joy of skipping through the meadow.  She visited Mary Poppin's mother and told her story.  Mary's mother replied, "You silly cow.  Stars fall from the sky all the time, but you can't expect two stars to fall in one meadow during your lifetime. If it were me, I'd go look for one. " 

"I will," said the Red Cow joyously, "I will indeed."

At the end of the story, the children look out in the lane but the cow has gone.  "I do hope she finds one," they say quietly.
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Now, my question is:  optimistic or pessimistic story?  Good that the cow can hope to find another star?  Or, sad that she has roamed the streets for years looking?