Category Archives: Culture

Hot Rods and Lindies

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Anyone who has ever fallen in love with hot rods, in any way, shape, or form, has been made aware that there is certainly a distinctive dance culture related to the lifestyle.  While some of its more mainstream cultural aspects can get overlooked in the process of finding the right falken for the ride, they are the things that draw people in to begin with.  The lifestyle is related to a kind of clothing, a kind of behavior, and a kind of dance.  Some of these will no doubt evoke a deep feeling of nostalgia.

 

It is a sense of nostalgia that serves as one of the main thrusts of hot rod life, whether it’s in the backdrop or the foreground.  For those who are looking to make their obsessions a little more spicy, looking into small details can reveal interesting new worlds.  Hot rods and dance parties have been connected from the early days.  It’s perfectly reasonable, since the cultural scene did grow in the midst of the early days of rock n’ roll.  Although the bands never lacked for subject matter, hot rods worked their way in again and again, suggesting that both the modified cars and the African-descended music had some elemental common ground, or heartbeats that were very similar at the very least.

 

Looking deeper into the sources of anything can become a task in itself, and there is absolutely a deep and notable history in the origins of the dances related to hot rod culture.  For most people interested in dance however, and perhaps fortunately, the actions speak louder than any words.  One can go off in many directions looking at the dance forms around hot rod culture at its peak.  West Coast swing had origins in Lindy Hop from the 20s in Harlem, and found variations that developed into its own thing with the help of the Jitterbug.  But it would be twice as fulfilling to take a class in West Coast Swing at the local club, and the learning would be in the legs.

 

There is a deep connection between the dances and the central objects of desire.  Knowing the history of the vintage wheel works on one’s own car can lead to interesting discoveries about the nature of mechanics, and car culture in the world.  But it’s a lot more fun to get behind the wheel, and learn what torque is all about.  This is where the dance and the dancer really become one.

 

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Controversial Dancing in Grease is Sign of the Times

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Have you ever wondered what automobiles and dancing might have in common? Well, do the words greased lightening mean anything to you? If you were born anytime in the 1970s, okay, let’s put that back to anytime in the 1950s or later, you are more than likely already humming a popular tune that carried a generation and gave a previous one a wider social awareness and audience. And we all know that while the musical was definitely a love story, it can be argued whether the love was actually more for another person or with the vintage tires . For now we’re going to go give it to the romantics and definitely concede the major love story was between the boys and the girls. And the iconic images of John Travolta and Olivia Newton John dancing and singing through the fun house will most likely be first in most people’s minds when reminded of this musical.

Interestingly, the film version of Grease, which was based on the 1971 theatrical musical, written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, was also considered to be pretty controversial and unsuitable for young teenage audiences. It’s difficult to imagine a time when the dances and subject matter contained in the theatrical production, and primarily the film, would be considered too risque and inappropriate for much of the mainstream audience. Parents were selective about their children’s age and maturity levels in watching the movie, while there were others who concluded that these concerns brought society back to the moral level of the 1950s, which is when the movie is set.

In addition to the provocative dancing and some subject matters brought up in the script, the cars themselves, which after all were the subject of the show’s title, carried along with their passengers a certain amount of controversy. The race took place at the LA River and while the impressive custom steering wheels , stripes and motors were a big hit with young audiences, concerned parents wanted to put the breaks on these scenes as well. Many concerned citizens argued that the race scene encouraged dangerous and destructive behaviors in the youth as well as promoted bad driving habits. This is similar to some of the complaints about another iconic car race in film, though this one took place about twenty years earlier and featured James Dean in his legend making role Jim Stark in Rebel Without a Cause . The film, and stage production, continue to be a popular aspect of mainstream culture, and it can be interesting to consider the more controversial elements in relation to the changing nature of morals and social norms that occurred between the setting of the script and the time period in which the film and theatre production were first developed. A critical evaluation of the artistic merit involved with the dancing is another subject altogether.

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Cultural Symbolism in States Flag History

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Flags are a great way of studying the history and symbolism of certain cultures. Meanwhile, for most people who are fascinated by the history of flags, they don’t take it to the extreme of academic research. However, the fascination of historic flags is part of an overall growing interest in our country’s as well as the world’s history. Because flags are so symbolic, they’re a great way to recognize certain fundamental elements of a society.

In addition, if you compare the evolution of a country or state’s flags, you will see noticeable differences in certain social or cultural perspectives and priorities. For instance, the state of Georgia has seen a lot of changes and adaptations, much like other states, since its official beginning in 1879.

Georgia’s first official flag was red, white and blue, with a blue vertical stripe covering the left third and red and white horizontal stripes in its right two thirds. This basic structure didn’t change much until 1956 when the Confederate flag was added to it, replacing the red and white stripes. This created a controversy, with people on both sides of the feelings of appropriateness. This flag remained Georgia’s official version until 2001 when the Confederate flag was removed. This is just one example of interesting features of historic flags and the ability to trace cultural perspectives through them.

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Wedding Dresses that Marry Tradition

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In the whole scheme of the wedding, the basic dictates come from common sense and contemporary design. Even classic weddings will have some influences from the most recent trends, and even the most cutting edge weddings will carry traces of tradition. It’s inevitable, and it’s also part and parcel of the charm of a ceremony that is as old as romantic love. Romantic love may perhaps come from ideas that were formalized in the Middle Ages , but the sentiments can be found throughout poetry around the world from thousands of years ago.

For the dress, the options are always wide open, and new or used wedding dresses can add equal amounts of stunning flair to any ceremony. The only necessities here would coincide with the fashions of the past couple of centuries. Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue . This does not automatically suggest the dress itself has to be new. Because these are only worn once, there’s every reason to carry on their usefulness. Something that was stunning and enormously expensive can still remain every bit as stunning, but with a considerable savings. In traditional families, the dresses are often passed down, and this is another remaking of that tradition, and the results are stellar.

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DJ Carioca in San Francisco

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The scene in San Francisco is a remarkable experience in exploring the flavors of world cultures, and experiencing them in new blends. It’s a city that recognizes that there is no pure cultural form, not here, because everything comes from somewhere else, or is influenced by something else, due to the city’s taste for the cosmopolitan. One can find any number of cultural expressions here, where European, Asian, African, and Latin-descended populations have active participants in the city’s art community.

For any kind of music, then, there are practitioners here who specialize, and have done so for many years. This means that the locals, and any guest in a San Francisco hotel , can have access to stunning new work by the world’s top artists. There are plenty of folk bands, who play traditional popular songs from their particular vantage point, and there are also artists like DJ Carioca , who takes the traditional music of Brazil and sets it to electronic beats for electrifying performances that are impossible to sit still to.

The traditional music isn’t exactly traditional either. There are mixes of forro and samba that have already departed from the traditional in their Brazilian manifestations. The result is a music that is perhaps two or three times removed from its source, but the new vision under electronic guidance brings about the same life and energy as the originals, sweetening the present moment as it embraces and recuperates a living history.

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