Eating--->Cup + Drinking--->Plate

To break social norms, I went to lunch one day and instead of eating out of a plate and drinking out of a cup like a normal person, I did the opposite. I had my pasta in a cup (filled up) along with chocolate milk in a plate. When I walked to my seat, a couple of freshman just looked at me and then talked to each other when I could clearly hear them questioning me. I had sat down next to a couple people and they all had pretty much the same reaction. Karlton looked at me for a second and then said that what I was doing was pretty scary, which I understood, since I was slurping up some milk from the plate. Luke Riemann sat down next to me and then for a couple minutes just watched me eat from the cup and drink from the plate. He then asked me why I would do that, since it was so stupid. A couple more people started seeing what I was doing and Janvi said that what I was doing was absolutely disgusting, which I agreed with, since I had spilled the milk multiple times already. More remarks included even more disgust and a lot of laughter upon my slurping. It was an interesting experience since what I was doing wasn't extremely crazy so breaking other social norms may lead to more extreme reactions.

Photo from my point of view:

Recording from someone else:

Macbeth and the Bountygate Connection

From 2009-2011, the New Orleans Saints, an NFL team, put bounties on other teams' players and purposely injured them. This was infamously called "Bountygate" and it occurred even during the time that they won the Superbowl and bonuses were given out to Saints players who injured an opposing player. This is just a way of knocking out the competition, as players were incentivized to take out potential threats who could stop them from winning the Superbowl. This malicious act occurred due to the desire for a Superbowl win, and the coaches displayed their greed, as some of their best players ended up being suspended due to their actions. This is similar to Macbeth's case, because he also had the desire for power and to become king. Both the Saints and Macbeth crossed the line and went out of their way out of greed for more power and success. The Saints hurt the integrity of both their organization and the NFL, while Macbeth was willing to kill a friend and great leader in Duncan. Without the desire of being king or getting a Superbowl ring, both the New Orleans Saints and Macbeth would not have defied their morals and crossed the line. Whether it be a king or great NFL players out of the way, both met their goals, as the Saints won the Superbowl and Macbeth became king.

Social Norms- sitting at sandwich bar

Ok so today Olivia Coxon and I sat at the sandwich bar in the lunch room and at lunch there. We received many looks and a lot of people came up and talked to us. A teacher came over and said "challenging conventions" probably a minute into Olivia and I sitting down. Another teacher came over and said "interesting lunch table". It was a very interesting experience. At 12:02 we were told by one of the lunch staff, "you can't sit here..... this is not a table" and then he left. After the 15 minutes of laughing hysterically and people giving us looks we were inevitably busted.

Comparison of Macbeth and The Dark Knight

During class we have watched many scenes from different versions of Macbeth. We have compared these scenes and chosen which scenes we liked and disliked based on scenery, blocking and character choice. This video is an interesting comparison of many scenes in The Dark Knight and Macbeth (the Patrick Stewart version which we have been watching clips of during class). I thought that this video was very interesting specifically the direct comparison of Macbeth and Harvey. The video explains that Macbeth was the thane of Cawdor and loyal to his people, and that Harvey was the district attorney of Gotham and believed that justice had to be served no matter the method to better his city. These characters are very similar because they are well respected people in their communities, and try to better their communities, but in different ways. Harvey and Macbeth are also similar because they are both influenced by characters that lead them to their evil sins. Harvey is influenced by the Joker because he convinces Harvey that the death of Rachel was not the Joker's fault, and Macbeth is influenced by the witches because they lead him to thinking he could be king.

If you didn't hear in class today, my social norms experiment was posting all day (11 posts total) last Friday. I got a super interesting response, most notably 14 people unfollowed me. Here's a screenshot of my profile at the end of the day if you're curious!

Macbeth's Similarities to Modern Dictators

Macbeth, while maybe not as corrupt and extreme as some modern day dictators, does have some resemblances to Joseph Stalin, who was the dictator of the Soviet Union from the 1920's to the 1950's. Some similarities can be drawn between these two leaders, especially concerning their ways of gaining power. In Macbeth's case, he killed King Duncan in order to become the king of Scotland. Similarly, it is speculated that Lenin, the dictator of the Soviet Union prior to Stalin, died of poison which caused seizures, the accepted cause of his death. Although this is only suspected and cannot be confirmed, it would make sense, considering that the only thing/person remaining in the way of Stalin becoming the ruler of the Soviet Union was Lenin. Even if this speculation is inaccurate, Stalin is similar to Macbeth because of his order for another death. Following the death of Lenin, Stalin had only one political opponent to become ruler of the Soviet Union. To ensure that he would become the leader, Stalin hired men to kill Trotsky, his opponent, just as Macbeth hired murderers to kill Banquo, who was Macbeth's opponent, as it was prophesied that Banquo's children would be kings.

"Lady Macbeth Effect" and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex Shakespeare characters, and most manipulative and obsessive also. She pushed her husband into murdering king Duncan, not being able to suppress her  burning thirst for power and wealth. Poor Lady Macbeth repeatedly washes her hand --- even while sleeping, deluding that water could wash the sinful deed off her hands. Lady Macbeth's compulsive behavior of washing her hands, as if it serves as a purgative that could purify her contaminated mind, makes a link between human morality and cleanliness, as well as immorality and filth. This "Lady Macbeth Effect" intrigues many psychologists in the field, a large and growing work even has demonstrated that immoral thoughts and memories indeed put the mind into contamination, which physical act of washing might undo.

Te University psychological scientist Reuven Dar and his colleagues conducted an experiment on testing if actual cleansing might alleviate some of the obsessive thoughts among OCD suffers. He recruited a group of male and female OCD sufferers, whose symptoms vary. Dat also recruited a groups of people to serve as controls. Dar had each of the volunteers write a detailed narrative about an immoral act they had done in the past, as well as any associated emotions. The subjects wrote about lying to friends, stealing, infidelity and much more. Afterward, about half of each group washed their hand after they were told that this was the lad's recommendation for anyone using a public computer. They all then just complete rating their emotional state.

The last step before the experiment was finished, the volunteers were told that the study was completed and if they would volunteer for another one to help a desperate graduated student who was in need of funds. This step was included because in the original study, volunteers who did not wash their hands were more likely to act altruistically --- presumably to compensate for their immoral thoughts.

Dar wanted to see if a moral threat would be a motivation for the volunteers to help others, as if washing lessen this motivation. Furthermore, he wanted to see if these effects were more prominent among OCD sufferers.

And as a result, they were. Dar reports in the journal Clinical Psychological Science, hand washing did salve guilt about past misdeeds, and reduce willingness to help others. Meanwhile, the OCD patients were particularly susceptible to this effect --- none of the people who washed their hands showed inclination to lend a hand. Essentially, the ritualistic washing seems to create a sense of "moral relief".

This new finding suggests that the next step might be to help OCD patients develop more realistic ways of coping with guilt and moral lapse, so that they can break the cruel cycle of "Lady Macbeth Effect."

Here's the link to Rueven Dar's Article

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2167702613485565

CAPITALism PUNISHMENT

The ideas that Macbeth represents—like greed and the lust for power—are very much present and pervasive in capitalist societies.  Money and private property seem equivalent to the crown and power for which Macbeth is willing to commit atrocious actions to obtain.  Similarly, capitalists will—if unregulated—descend to terror actions to increase their profit margins.  Companies knowingly pollute the environment, heedless of the harms to animals and people alike.  They utilize their political capital to ensure that their evil endeavors remain unregulated.  Corporations utilize child labor and force laborers to work in unsafe conditions.  Luckily, in most nations regulations in the form of legislation have been created.  These regulations can be likened to Macbeth's conscious and his trepidation when murdering Duncan and Banque. However, ultimately, Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's greed overcomes their "regulations," allowing them to perform horrible actions.

Macbeth in Daredevil

I don’t know if anyone has seen ‘Daredevil’ on Netflix, but one of the villains is an interesting interpretation of the Macbeth archetype. Wilson Fisk gains power briefly and loses it as a result of his ambition. He killed his own father, which could be a parallel to Macbeth murdering Duncan. His girlfriend is very similar to Lady Macbeth, as a figurative puppeteer and fellow seeker of dominance. Multiple allies of his die to ensure his position (such as Anatoly, who might be a portrayal of Macdonwald). I think that Wesley, Fisk’s right-hand man, would then be Banquo, though Fisk does not directly murder him. However, Wesley is shot by Karen, whom he abducts to protect Fisk; also, the reason Karen has the opportunity to shoot him is because Fisk calls Wesley, so it is kind of his fault. The death of Wesley haunts Fisk, driving him to madness, making him sloppy enough for Matt (representing Macduff, I believe) to finally defeat him.

Here is a link to a short video about Fisk, if anyone is interested.

Social Norms in Macbeth

The reality Macbeth is in features strange behavior from people, such as the jolly porter and the obvious mistreatment of guests on Macbeth's behalf. Are these challenging conventions, or are these actually normal in these societies? This play is technically a tragedy, but this aloof behavior is featured in many of Shakespeare's comedies rather than his tragedies.

Sleep No More...

Macbeth Witches & Three Fates

When I was reading about the witches in Macbeth, it reminded me of the Three Fates in Greek mythology. This is another group of three women who prophecy the future. In addition to doing the same job, the Fates and the Witches also share visual similarities. I've inserted two pictures to show how similar they look. The Fates appear throughout Greek mythology, or some of you might remember them from Percy Jackson. They are present in the books and the movie! Lastly, another similarity between the two groups of women is that the Fates are all sisters, and the Witches and all sisters.

The Fates (painting thought to be by Michelangelo)

Macbeth's Witches (photo via Huffington Post)

Macbeth-The Lion King Connection

In the very beginning of Macbeth, three witches come and tell Macbeth that he can take the throne from Duncan if he dies. He then later on, with the help of Lady Macbeth, kills Duncan to receive the throne. In the Lion King, Scar wants to kill Mufasa so he can be the king of Pride Rock. He uses the help of his three hyenas (like the three witches) to kill Mufasa.

Macbeth-Hamilton Connection

I noticed an interesting connection between the musical Hamilton and Shakespeare's Macbeth! In the lyrics to the song "Take a Break," in Hamilton, there is a whole stanza in which Hamilton compares himself to Macbeth.

"“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day”
I trust you’ll understand the reference to
Another Scottish tragedy without my having to name the play
They think me Macbeth, and ambition is my follyI’m a polymath, a pain in the ass, a massive pain
Madison is Banquo, Jefferson’s Macduff
And Birnam Wood is Congress on its way to Dunsinane.."

Then later on in the song, a character quotes Lady Macbeth, saying "Screw your courage to the sticking place." 

If you haven't listened to this song from Hamilton (or any of the soundtrack, really) I'd highly suggest it, as it makes some cool connections.

Macbeth History

I did some research on the historical background of Macbeth, and I found this interesting article. Shakespeare loosely based Macbeth, on the real story of Macbeth, the king of Scotland, from around 1040 to 1057. The article explains the real story of Duncan and Macbeth of Scotland and draws comparisons between the actual history and Shakespeare's Macbeth. 

http://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/Duncan-MacBeth/

Some Moral Alignments

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/180636635028258087/ I looked up neutral good and found this helpful picture (just copy and paste the link)

Lawful Neutral

You Got: Lawful NeutralYou’re motivated by tradition and you strongly believe in law and order. You put a lot of faith in the process, and you’ll often follow orders without questioning them, as long as it doesn’t cause you to act immorally.

I am true neutral

You Got: True NeutralYou don’t feel strongly about much of anything. Frankly, you can take or leave a lot of things in your life. You’re mostly guided by instinct, rather than conscious decision

What’s Your Alignment?You Got: Lawful NeutralYou’re motivated by tradition and you strongly believe in law and order. You put a lot of faith in process, and you’ll often follow orders without questioning them, as long as it doesn’t cause you to act immorally.

Popular lawful neutral characters:
Andy Dwyer from Parks and Rec
Lana Kane from Archer
Spock from Star Trek

Breaking Macbeth?

Macbeth in 2013?





And...if you're already a fan of Breaking Bad, here's a great (but long) montage that shows the full evolution of Walter White over the course of the six seasons.

What is your moral alignment?

These categories and theories of moral alignment come from Dungeons and Dragons, and you can get more information about the categories here.

To go right to the quiz, click here. Remember to comment below on what category you were assigned. Do you think it's accurate?