Watching  Kathakali was very interesting and something that I have never seen before. To practice this form of theatre must take years to master. I cannot even imagine the effort someone has to put in order to be an expert on detailed facial expressions and intricate body movements. The costumes and makeup in both videos are also gorgeous! I love how elaborate the makeup and costumes are. Detail seems to matter for this form of theatre in terms of decorative costume, heavy colorful makeup, and even the exaggerated performing.

I think the idea of man respecting the Gods, but the Gods not respecting man is a very unusual interesting topic that surfaces within this play. The fact that Zues, the almighty, can practically do whatever he pleases and let others suffer for his actions just shows how bad of a relationship the Gods have with humans. This can be paralleled with a real life situation with people who have wealth and power.  Although this is just an ancient Greek play, I believe it has a lot of themes that people can relate to today. The theme of power and how people are controlled plays a huge role in the play and in today’s society. 

In regards to Dramatic and Performative Elements related to Christian rituals, the people who were illiterate used visual symbolisms and visual narratives that we still use today to comprehend what was going on amongst the Christian religion. What makes these certain outlets so primitive that we still use them today? All churches stuck with the same forms of using stained-glass windows and sacrificial symbolism. Is it all kept for tradition or is it still around because it has formed into something more effective for its audience/community? (pg. 72)

In the “Contraband,” how come they chose the same cast for each year for the performance? Instead of using the same people, they could’ve held auditions for other men, especially if they were in need of the money.