INTRODUCTION: Aim 1min 

Sample: Indiana Jones ‘Temple of Doom’ Sacrifice Ritual Scene  

I find it interesting that even now as I write my audio paper and after extensive research, when I think of the word Ritual I cannot help but bring to mind the hauntingly sadistic scene within 1984’s box office hit Indian Jones ‘The temple of Doom.’ Yes, I acknowledge this is a strange place to start however I believe this particular scene tells us a lot about the general perception of rituals and why they are almost always depicted as bloodcurdling displays of sacrifice quote on quote ‘to the gods’. 

Interview: Say three words that come to mind associated with the word ritual? (My guess people will say, sacrifice, witches, animals, drums, blood, magic, rape)  

1)_______________

2)_______________

In the following audio paper I wish to argue in support of the ritual with specific emphasis on how and why percussion is used. Traversing a range of shaman cultures, it is my intention to shed light on the hugely misinterpreted aims of the ‘ritual’, those being of healing and transcendence. I will explore how these aims are achieved through standard and non standard forms of percussion from the drum to firework in places such as the UK, Haiti and Zinacantan. While traditional ritual will form the basis of my paper, I will also like to discuss how modern ritual has evolved into rave culture and forms of protest, with focus on the United Kingdom post 1980. 

Sample:20/30 seconds Jingle like mashup/collage of voodoo drums, techno beats, chanting and drum n bass sample. Protest shouting. This collage of sound should get progressively more quiet. 

SEGEMNT 1:

MAYA DEREN: Divine Horsemen sound clip with narration about the gods. 

Firstly I would like to acknowledge the fact that I’m not oblivious as to why the term ritual receives a particular bad rep in terms of sacrifice. One only needs to watch a short segment of Maya Deren’s Divine Horsemen to understand this. Lots of chickens are killed and so is a rather unfortunate bull. However wether you are a vegan or carnivore it’s how we interpret such act that is crucial, we must consider that other cultures view death parallel to our traditional western beliefs. If anything, death is seen as another chapter, the body is merely a vessel and a Haitians life spent is in preparation for the next big chapter, the afterlife. Another example more commonly known is in Tibetan Buddhism, life and death is seen as very much active process, a  never-ending cycle of re-evaluation as a spirit and your eventual rebirth. Whereas Christian belief is more finite other cultures revel in the ambiguity and mysticism of what the afterlife could be. 

I’m keen to begin with the subject of death and the afterlife because of the importance this ‘realm’ plays within many rituals. 

Upon reviewing my initial script plan, it occurred to me that the subject I was discussing was way too broad for a 8-10min Audio Paper. However, from such a broad beginning I have been able to take the parts I find interesting and incorporate them into a more streamlined paper, and hopefully more effective at getting my point across. To begin with I didn’t exactly have an argument, instead a wealth of information and potential routes to take. The route I have decided to take is focus on Haitian Vodou and Acid House from the late 1980s, with emphasis on protest and how percussion is the backbone of these rituals.

I would also like to continue with the interview section for a juxtaposition of voice and tone will add another layer to my paper. Interviews are also a good way of backing up the points I make about ‘raves’ and the late acid craze, using them as evidence to my claims.

The Indiana Jones sample would also go with my second draft, as I can use this to underline my points about the negative promotion of Vodou from the 40s-80s.

Things to take out but to discuss in my blog; the Zinacantan rituals, fireworks in rituals such as Japanese wedding ceremonies, modern rave protest—I’m strictly focusing on the late 80s for it enables me to bring in points about Afro-futurist music from Detroit and Chicago, that was crucial in being the soundtrack for these raves.