Otherizing: Greek Orthodox Church

A number of years back, I attended a Greek Orthodox Church as a guest of a friend. This was a new experience, as I had only been to Catholic Churches. I knew it would be a different experience, but I wanted to see what other religions were like. The first thing I noticed was how beautiful and unique the outside of the church was designed. I kept staring at the church as I was awestruck by the sheer beauty.

Once we entered the church, I kept looking around. I did not know how to proceed into the church and felt a little apprehensive. Again, the art was breathtaking and the altar was stunning. I did not know whether to stand, sit, or genuflect as I was entering the pew. I kept glancing around me to see what other people were doing. This is when I really started to feel uncomfortable and realized that I was the “other.”

Since the service was in Greek, I could not follow the sermon and my eyes began to wander around the church. I noticed that I was staring at “other” people to try to see what I should be doing. I noticed that they did the sign of the cross a little different from the way I was used to. The first thought that came to my mind was that “they” were doing it wrong. It was perplexing to me. I then realized I was observing all the rituals of the Greek Orthodox religion and trying to compare it to the Catholic rituals I was used to. The comparing of the two separate religions was how I was “otherizing” the people in the church. I realized the best action I could take was to observe and appreciate a different religious culture and gain a better understanding of what different religions have to offer.

Holy Trinity Cathedral

 

Hollywood Hype

            When I hear the word “empire” my mind immediately jumps to scenes from the movie Gladiator. I think of Spartan-like men in breastplates, heads bowed reverently to their emperor, ready to march out in battle at a moments notice. The movie Gladiator deals with the Roman Empire, but thoughts of the Ottoman and Byzantine empires also cross my mind.  My general connotation with the word ‘empire’ is not one of strong emotion. I attribute this neutrality to empires being  a very  historical idea to me. It is not something that I feel passionately about because it is something that just simply was and is not anymore. A positive association I make with empires is the great courage men showed in fearlessly serving their emperors, but at the same time I am struck by the heinous acts they committed in the advancement of conquest.   One definite negative connotation I have with empires is the hierarchal rule of one man above all. An elite class held power and others would toil endlessly with hope of advancement.

            Empires definitely had a strong since of self and other because within an empire citizens were required to have a strong sense of patriotism and respect for their leader. The constant race to expand made all outsiders either a threat or an impediment to progress. If you were not for the empire, you were the “other” because you were not cut from the same superior cloth. If you were for the empire, but from somewhere else you were a lesser man.

            Empires were established in a time of many new technologies and tools were coming into being. Those left behind in a less advanced or civilized state were often considered Barbarians. Men of a different nationality who spoke different languages were considered to be lesser and of a barbaric nature.

            My ideas on empires and barbarians are almost completely shaped by Hollywood. The majority of the exposure I have had to these topics has been though movies. 

When I think of the word "empire" I think of a society with a hierarchy. This certain society is always well structured and has a strong military, also, I when I think of an empire I think of a place that is powerful and has connections with other empires. Within an empire there is a king or someone of extreme power who have people working for them, kind of like a hierarchy within a hierarchy. I connect the word "empire" to countries like Greece, Egypt, and Rome due to what I learned in high school about these empires. Also, when I think of an empire I think of a place that eventually falls into ruins. An empire directly relates to the idea of the "self" and the "other" in two different ways. The first is within an empire there is always a king of higher power, who is essentially the "self" and the rest of the empire can be considered as the "other" (or the other way around, the king being the "other" to the rest of the empire). The second way is that the entire empire is the "self" and other empires and countries are the "other".

For me "barbarians" are the "others" of a modern society, they are people who are ignorant of the modern society and are considered to be "dirty" and uncivilized to outside societies. I think that my ideas of these words came from what I have learned in school about modernity and what I see in the media.

"Empires" & "Barbarians"

     When I think of the word “empire” I think of a powerful, thriving civilization. The first things that come to my mind upon hearing “empire” are Rome, Alexander the Great, and big, very successful businesses. I relate the word to both its historic and contemporary meanings. I think of ancient times with powerful emperors and strong militias. When I think of these highly successful and well-built civilizations, my immediate second thought is their downfall. The word “empire”, to me, is something of great power but also impermanence. I guess it’s the whole Spider Man thing, “With great power comes great responsibility”. I just feel like most of the time, such immense power is abused causing the empire’s own destruction. Power is not something most people can handle (correctly) and often times leads to their own defeat. I think that when an empire becomes entirely about self and not about others, that’s when problems arise. To most big businesses, we are the “others”, faceless, mindless consumers. I think that when companies understand and care about the individual (self) and don’t just focus on profiting from the general public (other), that’s when they truly achieve, and can keep, power. I think my current understanding of the word comes from what I have learned in history classes and in film. Learning of Alexander the great and powerful, ancient empires. The film industry has influenced my understanding as well, showing the lives of famous people who have gained great wealth and power—created their own “empires”.

     To me, the word “barbarian” suggests a savage, animalistic being. I think of unintelligent, uncompassionate cavemen; a being lacking education or basic consideration for other beings. I relate the term “barbarian” to those who are very cruel to others or disregard human emotions. As a child, I watched many movies that painted certain cultures as “barbaric”. Lots of films display foreign civilizations, like the Indians for example, as the “barbarians”. One of the things that really made me think about the term “barbarian”, is learning about Christopher Columbus and his voyage of, what he thought was, the Indies. His exploration in the foreign land and learning about the foreign people really made me think. Do we simply otherize these people thus deeming them “barbarians”? Is it just because we don’t understand them? I think such things as language barriers and the fact that many cultures are just so different from our own is something most people just can’t understand. I think we sometimes otherize foreign people out of fear or frustration that we feel we cannot connect with them. I believe that sometimes we label others as “barbarians” without truly taking the time to understand their culture and customs. I really try to gain a clear understanding of foreign people and try to see from their own perspectives rather than simply regarding them as uncivilized without even trying to get to know them. 

 Arnold Schwarzenegger:
Barbarian/Terminator/former governor of California

Barbarian and Empire

When I think of the word “empire”, it brings to mind the movie “Scarface” starring Al Pacino.  Not because of the drug kingpin situation, but because Tony Montana was able to build an empire from nothing.  He went from being a “nobody” immigrant, to the boss, a leader.  Being at the top of an empire to me is being in supreme control; making the decisions as the person in charge.  Tony Montana, the character known as “Scarface” played by Al Pacino, built an empire, although they were fronts to launder money, Montana opened and ran several companies while avoiding problems with other gangs. He started from selling drugs and opened several businesses Montana managment, Montana real estate, Montana records, and Montana Legal to name a few.  Empire to me means a vast network of command that has a leader with the power to protect, build, and overcome other rivals, whether businesses or civilizations.  Empire is related to the concepts “self” and “other” because what we see as an empire to our selves, could be perceived as an “other” depending on who’s looking at it. When I think of the word “barbarians”, I picture a savage and ruthless Genghis Kahn type. I portray a barbarian as big, ugly, uncivilized, and almost animal like.  I feel like my ideas about these words primarily came through media and possibly even some life experiences. Also, ‘Scarface: The World is Yours” for Playstation 2 is an awesome game; a true classic if you play games.

A whole question of being civilized

All of the pink was all controlled by a small city on the coast of Italy

                                                         
     At the first mention of the word "empire" I begin to conjure up ideas of massive and powerful civilizations that ruled for an extensive amount of time. The basis on which I usually form my opinion of empires comes from the great Roman Empire. It is the most well known today for their advancements in technology and the hardships that followed their demise.
     The Roman empire started out of the turmoil of the fall of the Greek empire. Starting out as a small city in the Mountains of Italy, the Roman empire was able to conquer and hold a major portion of the Western side of the known world. Not only did they conquer this section of the world, but they held control over it through many different emperors.
     Because of this association to the Roman empire, I tend to associate the word empire with structure and prosperity. The Roman empire maintained its borders much longer than anyone of the time. Therefore, the Romans made many scientific and philosophic advancements. But after the Empire collapsed, the western world turned into chaos and was forced to rebuild itself all over again.
   The idea of an empire being a view between self and other can be based upon the idea of calling yourself a part of an empire. Anybody who says that they belong to the same empire as another citizen no matter the distance has something major in common. Whereas someone who comes from a completely different group has no association to the citizen of that empire and are therefore seen as an outcast to that region.
     A barbarian can be seen as anyone who does not live in the empire and instead has fought off and chooses to stay away from the empire. The only interaction that the barbarians have with the empire is when they are attacking them for goods they need because they know that the empire has an abundance of these goods. The controllers of the empires usually give a very bad image to the barbarians making it seem as if they are uneducated and uncivilized compared to the empire.

                                                   A stereotypical image of barbarians

A standard Roman legion during the height of the Roman Empire

Defining empire

The word "empire" to me means a bunch of people living in the same large area, under a a single rule. This rule should create communion within the people living in it or must share certain ideas that differ from other empires or places around the world. When I think about the word "empire," I think of old world civilizations like the Roman Empire. My mind also goes to fictionality, where an empire can be a kingdom like in Cinderella, where everyone is under the King's rule.

Fall of the Roman Empire

Although my mind separates the word empire from fiction and non-fiction, I would overall have to say that the word makes me feel uncertain and almost fearsome. Thinking back on history class, and the empire that I learned about, I feel like being under a single rule can be dangerous and lead to inevitable corruption, similarly like the fall of the Roman Empire When one person rules, they tend to get big headed and think of themselves before the people.



Empire relates to the self and the other because it separates a ruler from his/her people. The ruler will set boundaries and rules for his/her people, which may force people to be a certain way under that rule. A ruler learns more about his/her self once put into a position of control and power.

When I hear the word "barbarians" I think of people without constraint. These people don't know proper behavior and are savage-like. In my mind, I see savages as cave-men or pre-historic humans. They use natural instincts and not consideration and proper thought that civilized people use today.

My view of barbarians

My ideas about these two words probably came from movies and history class. We  learn about the first humans or cave-men and the creation of civilizations and empires in class, but the movies give us the imagery of it all. This imagery is hard to let go of and sticks in people's minds.