Post #37: The Importance of Societal Norms In Victorian England

I am a total Masterpiece Theatre junkie. I love it. Downton Abbey, The Jane Austen Series, Mr. Selfridge, you name it, I probably watched it. Along with the amazing costume design, I love the view on societal norms. Only invite your closest friends to your wedding? Scandalous. Don't change for dinner? Even more scandal. Dress yourself? Unheard of. It sounds silly now, but 100 years ago, that was what was expected. One of my favorite plot lines on Downton Abbey right now is the transition from a Victorian estate to a post WWI world. To watch things shift from season one, which was set in 1912, to this season, set in 1921. Barely a decade has gone by, but things are rapidly changing.
The Importance of Being Earnest was so funny because it really just poked fun at the norms, as well as being exceptionally witty. Mr. Wilde knows what makes society tick. At a time when arranged marriages were still quite plausible and what you served for tea could make or break your position in your community, Wilde took those norms, made fun of them and set them alight with deft satire. It's brilliant.
On the capstone front, on Friday I was a "Victim" for the Mock-Mass Casualty Incident the medical academy hosted. I was a RED in the medical academy's mock-Mass Casualty Incident. Red meant that I couldn't walk, but I could answer questions, and my vitals were a little wonky. I needed immediate care. It also meant that I got some super awesome contusions on my arm. My mom came to help out, as she has a degree in theatre arts and is super awesome at doing stage makeup.

I scared the poor produce guy at Safeway when I forgot about the makeup and pushed my sleeves up.
Go forth and create.
-D.