Urban Vs Tradition - Writing Wednesday

Hello everybody and welcome back to another blog post, 

Obviously, as I'm sure you've heard a million times already, it's 2020 and it's a new decade. Already, from the last decade, we've moved on and our culture has evolved and expanded it's horizons. As we're moving on in technology and intelligence, whilst many people who already live comfortable and happy lives, doing the things that they want to be doing, will continue to expand their cultural horizons, there will also be a lot of other people left behind. 

Quite recently, about two days ago, I watched a documentary with my family, about the Inuits in Greenland. It actually came out during the Christmas holiday period but we were late in watching it so we decided to watch it on the Monday evening. It had no British narrator to go with the film, it just had the Inuit male talking about his experiences in this changing world, with subtitles underneath it so you could understand. It was very raw and it went through each traditional process that the Inuits perform when hunting. It got quite laborious as it showed the process of hunting for seals, fish, and even the whole process of making an igloo. However, it did highlight this somewhat beautiful and fascinating tradition that has gone on for years. It's a nomadic culture and people used to and still do, hunt because they need to. I saw a completely different world to the one I live in where everything is instant and there when you want it to be. We're so used to everything being immediate, that when it's late, we get annoyed. It was actually refreshing to see a tradition that embraces patience and really goes back to the old way of living.

I can understand why people say tradition is a bad thing. It can stop people from moving on and expressing themselves. No matter how much you try to stop cultures from invading your own, it always finds a way to somehow influence people. At the beginning of the documentary, they even showed the children playing on their phone's, sitting in a comfortable living room, away from the barren cold outside. The Inuits have been a strong, set-in-their-ways type of people but even their traditions are starting to no longer be desired. The young people (A) don't need to live that lifestyle when they've got everything already, and (B) they don't want to live that lifestyle because it's boring to them and they want to find a job and make money for themselves and be successful. That is understandable and the older generation's defense is understandable too.

However, traditions can be useful and an easy way people can earn respect for the environment around them. During my stay in Yoxford, I also watched another documentary which was Gordon Buchanan's Snow Cats, where he explored the horrendous fur and pet trade of wild lynx in Russia. It was absolutely appalling to see the sorts of conditions the lynx were living in. Before Gordon filmed their rehabilitation process, the lynx were living in small cages and were even made to live as pets since the day they were born. Although they're back to their wild roots now, thanks to the rehabilitation by a kind Russian man, the lynx seemed unsalvageable before. With our increasing demand for everything to be instant, everything has become too commercialised and we're even beginning to treat animals differently. Contrary to popular belief, I honestly think that not every animal is a pet since not every animal has evolved over millions of years, to live socially beside us. In the Inuit documentary, the man was talking about how his son cried when he killed his first seal. When the father was six years old and he killed his first seal, it was a memorable and victorious moment. Since no one has to kill or get there own food anymore, we begin to treat animals differently, as culturally our attitudes change and old traditions begin to die. Our commercialised world can be just as suffocating as our traditional world. We may say that we have to find a balance but it's easier said than done since in truth, everyone is set in their ways, whether it's conscious or not. I certainly am guilty of it!😂

Pixabay

Which lifestyle should we adhere to, urban life or traditional life? Let me know in the comments below and I'll be sure to reply to them. I ♡ hearing from you! 

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Bye,

XOX, Juliette

Pixabay:
David Mark

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