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Preserving Cultural Heritage through Films

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Cultural Heritage manifests in both tangible and intangible forms through artefacts, monumental remains, landscapes and landmarks. It is ingrained in our linguistic and artistic expressions, customs, traditions, beliefs, aspirations and value systems originating from the ancient past.  Our heritage anchors us in the way we think, feel, act and interact with everyone and everything around us. Thus, preserving it is a way of preserving ourselves, protecting that which is intrinsic in all of us. What does it take to accomplish this? What are the stakes for society’s indifference and/or failure to do our part? Where are we at?    90 per cent of over 6000 languages will go extinct within 100 years According to United Nations data, “about 97 per cent of the world’s population speaks 4 per cent of its languages, while only 3 per cent speaks 96 per cent of them.” Most of the languages going extinct are spoken by indigenous people. Ravages of wars and natural disasters UNESCO affirms that tangible heritage worldwide “are increasingly becoming the collateral victims of natural disasters and armed conflicts.” Since time immemorial, peoples and communities have been uprooted or disenfranchised of their lands, cultures are weakened or destroyed and ethnic populations decimated by both natural and man-made disasters. Current headlines tell the same story – at an alarmingly accelerating level.   Human propensity to dominate  The annals of history are replete with narratives of tribal and territorial conquests, expanding and changing of empires, controlling influence of political and economic superpower nations. Indigenous and less dominant peoples are subjugated and marginalized, cultural identities forcibly stripped or weakened as they yield to new ways of life.  Endangered intangible cultural heritage As world politics and modern technology set toward globalization, it comes at the cost of traditional knowledge and skills. UNESCO details a long continuous list of endangered intangible cultural heritage year in and year out. From the Art of Xòe dance of the Tai people in Viet Nam, the L-Għana folksong tradition of Malta to the Nordic coastal heritage of clinker boat, handmade weaving in Upper Egypt, among so many. We are seeing the inexorable decline of man’s heritage. Cultural Heritage through the lens The film plays a vital role in the preservation and transmission of cultural heritage. Digital storage not only requires less space for archiving a large amount of information but makes easy transfer of knowledge through the internet. It is a viable way to safeguard cultural heritage from natural and manmade destructive forces. Films transcend the physical limitations in experiencing and sharing cultural and historical heritage around the world. The audio and visual elements not only complement but amplify oral and written narratives.  Looking through the lens of Cultural Heritage Culture, according to United Nations, is inextricably linked to indigenous peoples, “the keepers of knowledge.” Indigenous Heritage is an immeasurable and indispensable wealth of information about the natural world, health, technologies and techniques, rites and rituals and other cultural expressions. In essence, humanity’s existence is just as inextricably linked to the indigenous cultures; thus, it is for our mutual preservation that this link remains unbroken. Today as we live in the comforts and ease of modernization and head to a future of artificial intelligence and technology breakthrough after breakthrough, let us take a moment to look back and take in how much of humanity is lost.  INSPIREFLIX has launched our Indigenous Films Projects. Partner with us in our advocacy for Indigenous Cultures or in our other film projects, all in the interest of global cohesion of humanity which forms the core of our vision.    REFERENCES: http://www.cultureindevelopment.nl/Cultural_Heritage/What_is_Cultural_Heritage https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/mandated-areas1/culture.html https://en.unesco.org/content/preserving-our-heritage https://news.un.org/en/story/2012/12/427362-fighting-cultural-extinction-traditional-dances-and-crafts-added-un-list

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Into the Indigenous Future

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Indigenous Peoples, as defined by The World Bank, are distinct social and cultural groups that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced. Australia’s Indigenous heritage originates from two distinct groups, the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander peoples, but from these two spring hundreds of communities with their own unique language, history and cultural traditions. This diversity is a gold mine of knowledge, beliefs and traditions, music and arts. Let’s delve into a couple that pervade the Indigenous cultures and their ways of life. Dreamtime or Dreaming is the Aboriginal belief on how the world is created, how life and nature came into being, and the interrelation of all things. This is preserved through stories, art, ceremony and songs handed down from generation to generation. Dreaming is the way of life for the Aboriginals, to make sense of one’s place in society and nature. It connects the spiritual world of the past with the present and the future. Coming of the Light celebrates the Torres Strait Islander peoples’ adoption of Christianity. Due to their geographical location, the sea holds a profound influence on the lives of the island communities. They look to the sea for sustenance and from the sea came the Christian missionaries which marked an impact on many aspects of their life. They co-existed peacefully, fostered a relationship of openness and reciprocity. More than a holiday celebration, Coming of the Light is a hopeful testament to humanity’s capacity to embrace what unites us instead of  fighting over our differences. Indigenous peoples have deep spiritual connection with the land and strong kinship with nature.  Guarding and protecting it is at the core of their existence. There is much the world can learn from them about sustainable use and conservation of our land and water resources. By diminishing their heritage we are weakening the customary vanguards of nature and the world we live in. The United Nations asserts, “Indigenous peoples today, are arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the world.” It marked August 9 as International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples to direct global focus on the issue. This remains a challenging terrain to traverse but the end goal of ensuring a conducive environment for all indigenous peoples to thrive and grow would have been worth all the labor, brick by brick, to build up a strong Indigenous future. Sounding off John Donne’s poem below, each time a heritage ceases, a part of humanity dies – a bell tolls for thee. For Whom the Bell Tolls By John Donne No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend’s were. Each man’s death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee. INSPIREFLIX is launching our Indigenous Films Campaign to feature various stories told by Indigenous individuals. We will lend our platform in support, healing and protection of the Indigenous people, their families, communities and their heritage. Leave us a message or feel free to reach out to us for updates and more. REFERENCES: https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/about-us.html https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples.html https://www.aboriginal-art-australia.com/aboriginal-art-library/understanding-aboriginal-dreaming-and-the-dreamtime/ https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/indigenous-australians-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people https://www.qm.qld.gov.au/Explore/Find+out+about/Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+Cultures/Gatherings/Coming+of+the+Light+Torres+Strait+Islands

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Films: The impact on you, the society, the world

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Remember the iconic Charlie Chaplin movies of the 1920s? Or ever heard of them? Films have come a long progressive way from the silent movies of yore to the computer-generated imagery and cutting edge sounds we have on our screens today. And the narratives have become progressively extensive too.  The purpose of film has greatly broadened from mere entertainment to creating profound impact on its audience so much so that cinematherapy, or using films/videos as a counseling tool, is gaining ground in Psychotherapy. Let us scratch the surface of this iceberg – how films impact people, the society, and the world. Transport us into the less known The movie, Children of a Lesser God, takes its viewers into the ‘silent’ world of the deaf. For print director, Lisa Perrier, the lack of verbal expression accentuated the visual component of communication – the body language. More profoundly, it changed her perspective and perception of sound. An incisive point indeed as we associate sound with the sense of hearing yet sound is a vibration, perceptible and throbbing all around us and within – in our every heartbeat. Films not only transport us into less known realms but heighten and broaden the boundaries of our thoughts and emotions.   Challenge deeply-entrenched beliefs or practices A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness is a 2015 short documentary film that raised global awareness on the cold-blooded practice of honour killings in Pakistan. It follows the story of Saba Qaiser, a young Pakistani woman who survived the attempt of her father and uncle to kill her all because she ran off to marry her boyfriend. In this patriarchal society, honour killing is not a crime. Last year, it claimed the lives of 478 as reported in Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). In reality, the number is much higher as many cases go unreported and few lived to tell their stories. The film instigated then Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, to commit to ending honour killings in the country. In July 2016, the law had been amended penalizing offences in the name or pretext of Honour. This is testament to how films can challenge or change societies. Art imitating life The film, Avatar, may have taken place in some distant planet to an alien tribe defending their forest home from destructive human exploits yet this could easily be the story of indigenous peoples – from the native Americans down to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia, and many others from around the world. Films provide the lens through which we see ourselves, the society we belong to, and the world we live in. INSPIREFLIX aims to harness the potentials of film to further our vision of global cohesion of humanity through our human-interest short documentary films. REFERENCE LINKS: https://ct.counseling.org/2016/03/all-things-connect-the-integration-of-mindfulness-cinema-and-psychotherapy/ http://humanitiesmoments.org/moment/one-movie-changed-my-life https://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2022-State-of-human-rights-in-2021.pdf https://www.documentary.org/online-feature/sharmeen-obaid-chinoy-girl-river-and-honor-killings-pakistan

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Invasion Day

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I know a lot of people have strong opinions on Australia Day, what it means, if we should continue to have a national holiday, and some aren’t too concerned as long as a public holiday remains. I definitely hold the view that Aboriginal culture and history should be respected, in particular when thinking about our national holiday. My mind goes in circles when thinking and writing about Australia Day and its history. I know that some people don’t delve too much into the thinking about Australia Day’s date and the significance of it. For some people it’s just nice to have the day off and relax. I know I did some classic Aussie things on Australia Day this year 2022. I went to Bunnings and had a sausage sizzle BBQ. It wasn’t so much to celebrate but it was more the fact that I had a day off and my sister and I wanted to do some gardening. Then two seconds later we smelt the BBQ and it just happened to be Australia Day whilst we were doing all of that. I saw a documentary where an interviewer was asking people on Australia Day why they celebrate it and informed some that the day is actually when the country was invaded; the beginning of the loss of Aboriginal land, rights, freedoms, culture, language and history. Sometimes people were quite surprised by this information and just hadn’t been informed, or thought much about Australia Day and Aboriginal people in conjunction. Other responses were disturbing where they would ignore and dismiss what the interviewer just said as if he were lying. I understand that sometimes it can be difficult to deconstruct thinking, beliefs and values which people have had for a long time or since birth, but the alternative of turning a blind eye to injustice and genocide is devasting. I did a little research to understand what exactly people are celebrating. Many celebrate Australia broadly with no reference to its colonisation history. Others celebrate the welcoming of new citizens, whilst some celebrate having a day off to day drink and stick Australian flag merchandise all over the place. I don’t think that many people are saying not to celebrate Australia or Australian culture. A lot of the controversy appears to be around the specific date of Australia Day. Many countries have national holidays which aren’t in union with colonisation periods. I believe we can still be patriots and proud of Australia whilst making a significant effort to achieving reconciliation. Perhaps a place to continue reconciliation efforts would be with changing the date? I read a beautiful poem in an article on ‘Creative Spirits’ website, under ‘Australia Day – Invasion Day’, by Sandra Gaal Hayman: I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right I am now here Not been before My ancestors Are here no more I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right Their spirit lives in every way Always will unto this day They are so proud and love their land Traditional custodians will stand I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right We have so much to offer all Generations past still call This great land of ours abounds Where harmony and peace are found I am not black I am not white I am not wrong I am not right Proud and true is who we are Some from here and some from far Help each other the best we can That makes us ALL Australian. Source: Jens Korff, 2021. Australia Day – Invasion Day. [online] Creative Spirits. Available at: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australia-day-invasion-day [Accessed 30 January 2022].

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