Dr. Amy Koenig gave a presentation about the pantomime dance in the Roman Empire on February 3rd, 2020. I was a student who attended said presentation and although I was confused on the purpose of it all, I started to find a theme within it. First of all, pantomime means a performance or stage act in which actors express emotions without the use of words. The pantomime is related to mimes, in which people are in black and white attire and make charades. In my own research, it seems that mimicry originated from Ancient Greece.
I did not understand the beginnings of the lecture too well, but one story that stood out to me the most is between Tereus and Philomela. Philomela was sexually assaulted by Tereus, and afraid that she may hurt his reputation, Tereus sliced her tongue with a sword to silence her. Despite losing her voice, Philomela is still able to communicate her emotions and words through an artful pantomime dance. Every movement of her hand and gestures, such as pointing or even nodding with her hand, reveal the violence between Tereus and Philomela. If I understood correctly, Tereus is ultimately robbed of his status and is killed for his violation of Philomela. A brutal death, Tereus is severed and served to his father in a dinner, in which the latter is disgusted. It seems that Philomela is served justice.
A few themes that are touched upon in Koenig’s presentation is the paradox of losing a voice but still being able to communicate through body language. Despite losing her voice, Philomela uses other forms of communication such as pointing to reveal the tragedy that had befallen her. Another theme is of swallow birds and nightingales, in which swallow birds are not able to communicate and sing, while nightingales are able to produce melodic songs. I don’t remember correctly which one is which, but in the Greek version of Philomela, she is associated with the swallow bird in which she is not able to sing, symbolic of her lost voice and tragedy. In the Latin version of Philomela, she is represented with the nightingale, in which she obtains a voice to communicate her tragedy (hand gestures).
For her last few words, Koenig gave me the theme of the power of the silenced. Although there are powerless people in the world, perhaps oppressed by something beyond themselves, there can still be a liberation of communication. A voice gives agency, it provides action and power to the people. If there is no voice, or perhaps less of it, there is an acceptance for the way oppression is and powerlessness. Actions speak louder than words, and in my own life, if I want to learn as much as I can and become my best self, I have to chase after it by asking questions. I like to ask questions in class, and although many of them may not be helpful, I have to keep pursuing my best self.