They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But, think about this: 13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 13 stripes on our flag, 13 steps on the Pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above, 13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum", 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 plumes of feathers on each span of the Eagle's wing, 13 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13 arrows.
(http://www.munic.state.ct.us/BURLINGTON/us_one_dollar_bill/us_one_dollar_bill.htm)
The number 13 is so significant in our history, the original designers of it had a field day with the unlucky digits. On the front of the dollar bill we memorialize our past presidents; except for the 100 dollar bill - Benny was never president. The culture thats embedded into our currency reflects our heritage and the ideals of the founding fathers. "E pluribus Unum" and "Novo ordo seclorum" mean "Out of many; one" and "A new Order has Begun" respectively. These statements are fairly general, but to the designers of the greenback, the sayings meant something.
The arabic currency that was discussed in the lecture today was both similar and different. There were historic figures, unifying statements in arabic, and symbolic representations of the countries histories. The kicker, however, is that the reverse side of the dollar bills had images representing the countries as plentiful, modern, and accompanied by english or french languages. These weren't symbolic representations. They were stark, literal images that were purposely meant for the tourist to see. I'm not implying that the currency is propaganda, but those images are meant to convey a positive light on the countries.
Here are the examples.
1) On a Syrian 500 Lira note, the front side had a picture of Queen Zenobia. She came to power due to political issues. This image is accompanied by a crescent moon and arabic writing. The numbers in the corners of the bill are also of traditional arabic numbers. The reverse side had images of modern machinery, English writing, and scenes of modern machinery, farming and blatant picture of a pomegranate, which in most cultures represents abundance and bounty.
2) A Tunisian 10 pound note has a picture of Dido who was a 3rd century B.C. queen who expelled the Romans from a large area of the middle east. She also founded Carthage which was a major ancient city in present day Tunisia. Her image is accompanied by a satellite dish and roman ruins. So there is a sense of modern day technology, ancient culture and pride in heritage on this note.
The main puzzling feature of all these bills - and this is what the lecture focused on - was that most of people depicted on the money were women. Not only that, but the women all seemed to be smiling. This is puzzling because other than the prominent women, as mentioned before, the only other women pictured were working in fields. Cotton fields to be specific. But they were smiling. From what I've heard about working in cotton fields, its nothing to smile about.
The speaker ran out of time before she could further her explanation as to why these women were smiling but from what I understood, it is an attempt to make the countries seem hospitable and inviting. Coupled with the other images of historical and modern significance, putting them on currency is like a travel channel advertisement. Currency is one of the first things needed when traveling in another country, and because everyone needs it, why not put something to make the country seem modern, proud and steeped in tradition? Thats what Ameri-cuh does.
"Currency is one of the first things needed when traveling in another country, and because everyone needs it, why not put something to make the country seem modern, proud and steeped in tradition? "
ReplyDeleteMakes complete sense for one to attempt to promote a positive images on their currencies, its one of the most convenient ways to do so, because no matter what, you will be exposed to it.
I found it interesting that it was prominently smiling women found on the currency of middle eastern counties. Stereotypically many beieve that the rights and influences of women are limited in the middle east, so it refreshing to see this influential women in the hands of nearly all those who come across the particular nation.
I mean it makes sense that a county would want to represent itself in the best possible light, even if what is being represented goes against the stereo-type that is associated with that country.
ReplyDeleteAs Tahreem mentioned, a country's currency is its best form of advertisement since you really cannot escape it.
I also am not surprised that a country would have its currency display not only its cultural and historical aspect, but its more modern one as well. It is only logical that a country would want to be seen as a place great for its historical stories, as well as its modern, more current conveniences.
It is intriguing to examine the different currencies of the world. The images on bills and coins are pieces of art in themselves, and may be able to reveal many things about the many different cultures around the world. I was curious to see what other countries currency looked like so I googled world currencies and I discovered the following site, http://www.banknotes.com/se.htm. It is so interesting to see the plethora of different currencies, and the vast amount of different art available.
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting observation and not too long ago I realized the missing #13 in elevators. My friend told me of its perceived taint-ness. I declared it my favorite number.
ReplyDelete"Currency is one of the first things needed when traveling in another country, and because everyone needs it, why not put something to make the country seem modern, proud and steeped in tradition? Thats what Ameri-cuh does."
How proper?! I agree that it makes a lot of sense to take that approach. It's amazing how much of a veneer countries wear.