Dancing in Jaffa

The documentary, Dancing in Jaffa, reminded me of two different concepts. The first concept comes in the form of a quote given by the icon Nelson Mandela, which can frequency be found as a posting on different forms of social media. It goes as follows “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite”. The documentary reminded me of this quote because it showed how it was possible that two kinds of children that we raised to hate each other and blame the other for many of their problems could be taught to not only coexist but also positively mix in the inmate setting of dance. Dance, although not love, is certainly an intimate act as you are not only forced to be in close proximity and constantly touching another person but also must move in alignment with perfect timing. This increased the intimacy as the only way to accomplish this is to communicate with one's partner in order to be on the same page. To say any of the children fell in love during the process would be too bold, however I think they each were able to find and learn a form of love. That form being that they were able to not only release the previously held hate and prejudices they had for one another, but also be able to create something imitate with one another that each previously thought to be impossible. Through the form of dance the children were able to learn how to love instead of following the previously established decades of hate.

The second concept is one many people are identifying as a trend in social media or other forms of modern technology. When discussing one's thoughts on a person or issue people tend to be much more harsh when granted the ability to hide behind a screen and a keyboard. This concept was clearly shown in the start between the two different kinds of children. Growing up in the areas they had, it was clear that each held hate and prejudices for the other due to their families, what they had been told growing up, and what was most likely reported in the areas they lived in. However, when faced with that person directly, although somewhat reluctant at the start, these views did not hold. Eventually, the children that did not want to because of where the other person was from, did end up dancing with the other child. This shows that in reality, when having to face something or someone you have previously held a dislike for, the situation and more importantly what is possible, becomes entirely different.