Roots

The elements of African culture that stood out to me in this movie was the respect towards the elders.  Cunta was respectful to his parents, which was expected of him.  He also had responsibilities, such as caring for the goats.  The respectful manners towards elders shows their culture and how important it was to know your place in society.  Other elements of the culture shown in the movie was all the boys in their adolescence  were waiting for the rituals to become a man.  The boys had to prove their strength and courage in order to be a man.  This stood out becasue it was important to Cunta to become a man.  It was also a big deal that a large group of boys went through together.  This is important to their society because it enters the young boys in to manhood, to join their elders and parents before them.  

Sahara Folklore

1. This folklore was about a woman who saw a pregnant lizard. The lady, Binta offered to help the pregnant lizard, if she needed it. Later on, a stranger came to Binta's house telling her that Tafaka, the lizard needed help. When she went to help the lizard, there was a djinn, a beauitul and magical person. Then when a handsome male djinn came to Binta's door looking for a bride, and she got him one. This is the reason why all the women in Air are beautiful, because they descended from the djinns.

2. Elements of African myth were incorporated into the Tale of Tafaka in the end of the story. The myth is that all the women in the one culture are beautiful because they are descendants of djinns. Djinns has powers and intriguing beauty.

3. The entertaining part of this story was when the stranger came to Binta's door and asked her to help Tafaka give birth. It was entertaining when Binta was stunned that the pregnant lizard she saw was actually a djinn.

4. This myth teaches about African culture because it shows how there is the belief that their ancestors were beautiful magical humans. Also, it teaches me a moral about how helping others, even small creatures such as a lizard can lead to great things. Binta didnt' even know the lizard was a djinn, yet still offered her help, which lead there to be peace between the djinns and other humans.

5. I can apply this story to my life because it shows karma. It shows how doing a good deed brings good being back to you. In my life, I might see someone less capable then me. By offering them my help like Binta did, something good will happen to me. If I do a good deed, then something good will happen to me in return for the good deed.

Wonders of Africa

I was so amazed to read about the Pyrimads at Giza. It shocked me how big the pyramids truly were. They were built about 4,600 years ago, and there is little error in the lengths of the sides. It is unbelievable that there were hardly any mistakes in the construction of the pyramids, and they didn't have and of the tools we use today. I did not know that the pyramids were so accurate in measurements. I was also surprised when I read the article about The Niger River. I did not know that this river had deltas that served many purposes for the people around it. The deltas benefit its surroundings and gives life. I also did not know that the one delta, the Coastal delta, is the largest delta in Africa. I did not know much about neither Zimbabwe nor the Great Zimbabwe. I was surprised to learn that it once was populated by 18,000 people, but collapsed soon after.

I think that I never knew about these beauties of Africa, because the media does not speak about these such things in Africa. The media only explains the diseases and problems associated with Africa.

Do Now-4/27 AFRICA

When Africa comes to mind, I think about the climate and environment. I know that the climate in Africa is hot and sunny. I also know that some areas are much like cities we see in the United States, but in other parts of Africa, it is just land, where animals roam. I also think about lions. Lions come to my mind because of The Lion King, but also because in some parts of Africa you lions roam around freely. One group of people, who wander are actually friendly with lions. There is a trust between the lions and people which makes them able to be so close to each other, with no harm. I also think of dancing and tribal rituals. I think that this thought comes to my mind because of stories about African tribes and their culture.

The comparison between the terrorism going on today and the traumatic Holocaust are very similar. The only difference is how young the kids are when they are taught about Jihad.

I like what the lady said about in order for there to be peace, it has to be fought with peace. I think that shows that all the violence will only kill people. It will not make their lives better. I like how the video showed multiple times worldwide, where a stand was taken. It shows that people need t stand up against radical Islam.

the single goal of radical Islam, is to destroy all others below them. They consider themselves the superior and only want to see the destruction of the west, as well as other religions besides Muslim. It is crazy the amount of power and influence radical muslims have.

their views on non-Muslims living in Muslim land is outrageous. I cannot believe that they treat them as cows, and are willing to sell them, take them and even kill them. It must be hard for non-Muslims, since it is their home as well, but they are in constant fear of death.

the media and propaganda have such an impact on how the little children will believe growing up.

The one guy is titled as a Palestinian Media Watch. What does that mean?

The one lady talked about how in school she was taught that the Jihad was a holy war to conquer the world for Allah. The little children would shout out and have poems in school about how they wanted t be a Jihad and die for Islam. At such a young age, these kids are exposed and surrounded to being passionate about Islam. They are surrounded with radical Muslims, and their views are that they should be fighting too.

I was surprised to think that peaceful Muslims are victims too. The radical Muslims are taking such extremes to kill people who don't agree with them. It doesn't make sense to kill people of the same religion, since they are fighting for their religion.

Radical Muslims are doing these attacks for the sake of their religion, but they seem so cruel and heartless to be setting off bombs in large cities, where many people live. Attacks on London, and New York City left so many devastated. I find it ironic that they are using such violence for their peaceful religion.

Obsession

I think it's crazy how much the radical Muslims hate America and the west.