From seeing the cultural presentations of my classmates, it is interesting to note how different cultures have different aspects of life on which they focus their attention, and through which they create meaning for themselves as individuals and as a community. The evil eye and the superstition surrounding it plays a large part in Turkish culture, while for Jewish/Israeli culture there are many ritual cleansings and ceremonies that take place for many occasions. Both kinds of traditions, however, are designed to represent spiritual forces or deities beyond the control of the people. Every culture, it seems, has their own unique way of representing their spiritual aspects. These forms of representation have evolved from their role as spiritual symbols to being a focal point of the entire culture, such as the way the symbol that defends against the evil eye has become standard on everything from socks to cookies in Turkey. Even Jewish/Israeli foods, such as latkes, represent aspects related to the spiritual; the oil in the latkes represents the oil in the temple that miraculously did not burn out.
Religious influences rise to a whole new level in Iran when the government regulates filmmaking in accordance with the strict Islamic fundamentalist moral and religious code, and cultural representation is not allowed to flourish through the medium of the media. Therefore, depending on the level of control and regulation imposed on religious customs, customs will either evolve and broaden in meaning or be forced to remain the same.
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