Mimesis and Scapegoating

1. Dr. O’Meara, Master Bedell, Baron Reynolds, Mimesis and Scapegoating and the other one.

2. Mimesis and Scapegoating By the end of this lesson, you will be able to: • Define and explain (in your own words) mimesis and scapegoating, and the connection between the two. • Know how to apply your new knowledge to everyday life. • Visually, dramatically, and orally be able to give thorough examples through forms such as: novels, poetry, film, historic representation and more!

3. Rene Girard • Rene Noel Theophile Girard was born in Avignon, France on December 25th, 1923 • Is an accomplished author, historian and literary critic. • Is known for connecting the mimetic desire theory with the scapegoat mechanism

4. Mimesis • 1. “Imitation or reproduction of the supposed words of another, as in order to represent his or her character” • 2. “Imitation or representation of aspects of the sensible world, especially human actions, in literature or art”

5. Mimesis Origins • Plato • Aristotle

6. Mimesis Text Examples A Red Red Rose - a poem by Robert Burns O my Luve's like a red, red roseThat's newly sprung in June;O my Luve's like the melodieThat's sweetly played in tune.As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,So deep in luve am I;And I will luve thee still, my dear,Till a' the seas gang dry:Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,And the rocks melt wi' the sun;I will luve thee still, my dear,While the sands o' life shall run.And fare thee weel, my only Luve,And fare thee weel awhile!And I will come again, my Luve,Tho' it ware ten thousand mile.

7. Mimetic Desire

8. MimesisArtistic Examples Claude Monet Water Lily Pond

9. Mimesis Natalie Dee

10. MimesisNatalie Dee

11. Scapegoating • “One that is made to bear the blame of others.” • “A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent into the wilderness.”

12. Origin of Scapegoating • The first time that scapegoating was ever recorded, was in two ritual texts from Ebla (now Syria) in about 2400 B.C.E. • In the texts, a goat laden with silver was chased and driven from the land. • This was to chase the vehicle of evils from the area. • In that, the Eblaites were blaming the goat for the evil in their city, therefore scapegoating the goat, thus the origin of the scapegoat

13. Scapegoating: Book examples …eyes. The windmill was in ruins. With one accord they dashed down to the spot. Napoleon, who seldom moved out of a walk, raced ahead of them all. Yes, there it lay, the fruit of all their struggles, levelled to its foundations, the stones they had broken and carried so laboriously scattered all around. Unable at first to speak, they stood gazing mournfully at the litter of fallen stone. Napoleon paced to and fro in silence, occasionally snuffing at the ground. His tail had grown rigid and twitched sharply from side to side, a sign in him of intense mental activity. Suddenly he halted as though his mind were made up. "Comrades," he said quietly, "do you know who is responsible for this? Do you know the enemy who has come in the night and overthrown our windmill? SNOWBALL!" he suddenly roared in a voice of thunder. "Snowball has done this thing! In sheer malignity, thinking to set back our plans and avenge himself for his ignominious expulsion, this traitor has crept here under cover of night and destroyed our work of nearly a year. Comrades, here and now I pronounce the death sentence upon Snowball. 'Animal Hero, Second Class,' and half a bushel of apples to any animal who brings him to justice. A full bushel to anyone who captures him alive!" The animals were shocked beyond measure to learn that even Snowball could be guilty of such an action. There was a cry of indignation, and everyone began thinking out ways of catching Snowball if he should ever come back. Almost immediately the footprints of a pig were discovered in the grass at a little distance from the knoll. They could only be traced for a few yards, but appeared to lead to a hole in the hedge. Napoleon snuffed deeply at them and pronounced them to be Snowball's. He gave it as his opinion that Snowball had probably come from the direction of Foxwood Farm. "No more delays, comrades!" cried Napoleon when the footprints had been examined. "There is work to be done. This very morning we begin rebuilding the windmill, and we will build all through the winter, rain or shine. We will teach this miserable traitor that he cannot undo our work so easily. Remember, comrades, there must be no alteration in our plans: they shall be carried out to the day. Forward, comrades! Long live the windmill! Long live Animal Farm!"

14. Scapegoating: Book Examples Ctnd… • In the text, who is the scapegoat? • What is the purpose of scapegoating in this particular context? • *Movie clip

15. Scapegoating: Film examples • In the movie Toy Story, Woody is Andy’s favourite toy, and gets played with all the time. • However, Andy gets a new toy, Buzz Lightyear, and all of a sudden Buzz gets played with all the time, and Woody is ignored.

16. Scapegoating: Toy Story • What is the problem between the two of them? • Who is/are the scapegoat/s?

17. Scapegoating: examples • Romeo and Juliet • For the length of the plays, the two families are quarrelling • Everything, until the final scene, is blamed on either of the two families, and brawls occur daily.

18. Scapegoating: Real Life Example • In the 16th Century, there was a king of England named Henry VIII, who had six wives. • Catherine of Aragon (Divorced) • Anne Boleyn (Beheaded) • Jane Seymour (Died) • Anne of Cleves (Divorced) • Kathryn Howard (Beheaded) • Katherine Parr (Survived) • All of the wives that he separated from were scapegoats for not bearing him a son (which were traditionally heirs to the throne) • Ironically enough, we know that it is the male gene that determines the sex of the boy

19. Scapegoating: Real Life Example • On February 24th, 2001, the Republican Party held a press conference, stating that they believed that Iraq was in possession of weapons of mass destruction. • The person that the GOP chose to relay the news was Colin Powell • This put Powell under fire, as the statements were obviously false. • However, Powell was completely against the war and the statement.

20. Whose Mime is it Anyway? • Only cool people win • 2 teams, decided by captains • A specified team will be asked a question, and they have 30 seconds to discuss the answer. If the correct, the team gets awarded 1 point. If the answer is incorrect, other team gets 10 seconds to steal! • When the specified “TRADING ZONE”, the team who lost gets 20 seconds to kick someone out, then 20 seconds to steal a player from another team • Each question is worth 1 point. Plays are marked between 1 and 5, both teams MUST participate. Pictures are worth 2, both teams MUST participate.

21. Are you ready to play?

22. Question 1 • In your group, create a short one minute play where you must portray the true meaning of scapegoating. No explaining is allowed, only acting. Not everyone needs to be included. Examples mentioned are not permitted (too bad for you actually, because now only have two and a half minutes remaining, which you better get going, after you have read this entire question).

23. Question 2 • How many points is this question worth?

24. ANSWER!!! ONE! • TRADING ZONE

25. Question 3 • Spell the name of the man who linked scapegoating, with ones mimetic desire, backwards.

26. ANSWER!!!!! drariGéneR

27. Question 4 • What superhero has a red and blue suit and that can climb on walls? (HINT: trick question!!!)

28. ANSWER!!!!! Spiderman. GOTCHA! • TRADING ZONE!!!!!!!!!

29. Question 5 • Superheroes are often scapegoated. True or false?

30. ANSWER!!!!! TRUE!!!!

31. Question 6 • An analogy is an example of mimesis in literature. True or false?

32. ANSWER!!!!! TRUE

33. Question 7 • Sketch a picture to represent mimesis.

34. Question 8 • What is after December 2nd?

35. ANSWER!!!!! “?” • TRADING ZONE

36. Question 9 • What is the second song off of Iggy Pop and The Stooges classic album, “raw power”?

37. ANSWER!!!!! Gimme Danger

38. Question 10 • In your group, created a short two minute play where you must portray the true meaning of mimesis. No explaining is allowed, only acting. Not everyone needs to be included. Examples mentioned are not permitted (You have 2 more minutes. • TRADING ZONE

39. Question 11 • Listen to the following scenario, and point out the scapegoat, if any:

40. ANSWER!!!!! Homosexuals

41. Question 12 • The first person traded in this activity was who?

42. Question 13 • Who is the scapegoat in this scenario, if any:

43. ANSWER!!!!! NONE! • TRADING ZONE!!!!!!

44. Question 14 • What font is this written in?

45. ANSWER!!!!! Lubalin Graph • TRADING ZONE!!!!!!

46. Question 15 • This question is worth 20 points. Explain why this is a perfect game for the presentation. Include scapegoating, mimetic desire, mimesis, René Girard etc...

47. Refrences • http://www.answers.com/topics/mimesis • http://www.birchmore.org/html/scapegoating.html • http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/12648/ • http://www.uibk.ac.at/theol/cover/links/index.html#9@1 • http://girardianlectionary.net/covr2004/ • http://suicideofthewest.com/?p=292 • http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2008/2416020.htm • http://www.birchmore.org/html/scapegoating.html • http://www.scapegoatmedia.com/

48. Slide done by: Fine Jayme Bedell