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I can't let my muse listen to the radio.....
There was a piece on public radio's "The World" today, about a woman who was hired to chauffeur some Saudi royal princesses around on their visit to L.A.
It was a fascinating story of cultural gulfs, economic gulfs, and how in so many ways, their world was so different from the 'little people' they interact with every day, they may as well have been from another planet.
Yes, they were pampered royal princesses. Yet they were also females from a society where the worlds (and rights) of men and women are unfathomably different. In some ways their bubble of wealth and privilege is also a lavish prison.
So of course it got me to thinking about writing a story of a driver/cultural concierge hired to attend some of these pampered princesses while they navigate their way through a western world they are completely clueless about. And the lessons both sides learn about the other, their vast differences, and in countless little ways they can't foresee, the shared humanity that binds them all. Of course in my version, the driver wouldn't just be western and secular, but also initially mistaken for female by the people who hire her, and given a glimpse into the secret lives of women in this profoundly gender segregated society.
Somehow I think this is one princess story Disney will never tell.
If I suddenly stop posting, it will be because my Muse has had enough and decided to kill me in my sleep. :-)
....there isn't a jury in the world that would convict her....
Comments
New Ideas
New ideas are great. Let your mind run free. Make notes or maybe better make a voice recording of your thoughts. That way you can go back to your idea (or multiple ideas) later when you are ready to start working on the next story. It can be a way to not get bogged down in too many projects at once, but still retain those great ideas and not lose the input of your muse.
I concur
Catch these falling stars, and.. Well you can always look at them later and decide "Wow!" or "Yuck", but at least they haven't disappeared forgotten.
Teri Ann
"Reach for the sun."
To me a muse is like a cat
If you don't pet them and stroke them when they come around looking for attention, they eventually will give up and go away. Of course when you want them they are never around. And if you don't feed it correctly things don't go right either. A muse may produce some erm waste products at time also, so clean those out of the sandbox of your mind when they don't erm pan out.
And of course you must love it when it wakes you up early in the morning without by your leave.
Saudi Princesses
I converted to Islam in 2005, and though I am now Mormon, much of my Muslim experience remains with me. Here in Portland, my experience with the Muslim was brutal and hurtful, for the year I was in Ohio they were absolutely sweet to me.
There was opportunity to chauffeur several Saudi's around. A half dozen of them were Saudi women. It was very interesting.
We can talk more about it if you like.
Khadijah Gwen
I find it fascinating...
It's easy for people of one culture to casually put down another because 'they're not like us'... but it's been my experience that we all have our achiiles' heel.
It wasn't that long ago in 'western culture' that women were considered more property than peers. In fact, there's still plenty of evidence of that mindset in certain pockets of society.
I don't think people brought up in any culture can see it the way an outsider can... I wonder if the women in severely patriarchal societies (I say severely, since I have yet to find a culture that isn't at least somewhat patriarchal) really know what they're missing out on. ...Then again, maybe they see positive aspects as cultural insiders that outsiders don't... It just seems like an interesting idea to explore.
I doubt I have the insight to do the subject justice, but if someone else took it on and turned it into a story, I'd eagerly read it.
K@
Some of us are multicultural
Being a child of an immigrant myself from an Eastern country, I can see more than one side of a cultural coin, as I lived bi-culturally. Travel helps too, so for the story it would be interesting how they interact depending on how much cross cultural exposure they've had.
And yes, Middle Eastern cultures do not have that monopoly on being asses towards women. It always windup having some of the higher 'tier' women in the society helping to enforce the male view of women in society with other women. That is true of the Eastern country my parents came from. What choice do they have really when it is the men who lay out the gridwork of society and make sure women fits into the framework that benefits men the most. Frankly I think men love it.
There is a reason why polygamy is a more common form of plural marriage then polyandry. The former is a means to dominate, a symbol of power and wealth and a means to use women as baby machines to quickly replenish population due to war and/or infant mortality. The latter is more due to true scarcity (women) and ultimately require sharing. Anthropology 101.
Huh?
"Ma'am, step away from the muse....."
Why iz dey dangerous? Or endangered maybe?
;))
*sends a burst of pixie dust to the muse in question*
~Hypatia >i< ..:::
Muses
My muse is definitely dangerous. She keeps insisting I write things!
Penny