Week...6? Coming back to California

Alas, although I am no longer in London, here is the video that I have been preparing throughout the last week, combining all of my London memories into one. If I had more time, I would have taken more pictures, and made this video even longer than it is. I feel like in just 7 minutes, it is nearly impossible to describe the amount that we discussed each novel. However, I did my best, and here is the final product. I hope you enjoy!

https://youtu.be/AyTn9h6Z6dw

Week 5: Coming of Age as a Global Citizen

                                 
While studying The Buddha of Suburbia, we first visited the Museum of London, where we studied the progression of the city of London through time. The novel focuses on London during the 1970s and 1980s, and this quote from Time Magazine gives us wonderful insight into what the city of London looked like at this time. The 1970's and 1980's was a revolutionary period of time for London, as they searched for their identity, and this was mainly fueled by the youth present in the population. The novel begins when Karim is 17, and this photo gives us context into what was happening in London during his childhood.

This is a poster from the Victoria and Albert Museum of a group called The Sex Pistols.
This poster provides more depth on how the music at the time was inspiring the youth revolution that was occurring in the city. Karim often listened to punk/rock music, and The Sex Pistols definitely fit into that category. As London was searching for it's identity, the music was a often a reflection of the youth and multicultural movements at this time. 

This is a 1980s lunchbox that was used in the play "Matilda" and it is present at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The poem says "We are revolting children, Living in revolting times, We sing revolting songs, Using revolting rhymes" and I think this gives us even more insight into how influential the music of the 1980's was. Throughout The Buddha of Suburbia there are constant references to counterculture music, and it is part of what makes Karim who he is when he is a youth in London. The fact that a poem such as this would be on a children's lunchbox during the 1980's really shows you how persuasive the music was at the time. 

This is a costume present at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and it was one of many that would be worn during West End productions in London. As you can see, this costume is extravagant, and it has color schemes and patterns frequently used throughout Eastern cultures in Asia. In West End shows, one would have to wear a costume like this to make the audience feel as if they were looking into Asia. In The Buddha of Suburbia, Karim was hired to act as Mowgli from The Jungle Book, and he had to paint his skin, and although he was against the idea of it, it allowed the majority of the audience (other than Karim's family, who was offended) to transport themselves into the story, such as a costume like the one in the picture could.

This is a shot I took of the London Eye, where we visited on our last day of class. It was a wonderful way to end our trip, and we got to end it with an amazing view of the city!