Research is always helpful, before making a decision. So Maya and Victor decide to do research on every kind of pageant and talent show so that they can give to the eager animals something to help them.
Libraries are a first step in research for a thousand years (famous library of Alexandria is a good ancient example). Therefore Maya and Victor go to the Mayan Codex Library and look for descriptions and paintings on pageants, talent shows, etc.
When you Google the word Pageant, you get (for the US) “a competition for young women in which they are judged on their beauty and other qualities.”
When you go to the Cambridge English dictionary, the definition of PAGEANT for the UK is: “a show, usually performed outside, that consists of people wearing traditional clothing and acting out historical events.”
The pathetic part of these pageants is the focus on winning because of exterior physical attributes and makeup.
Some contestants even fake their lip size, and try to show off their body.
When everyone in Mayanlandia watches the dog shows, they feel that exterior physical appearance is too obviously the important factor. Victor and Maya prefer doggies that help the family, protect the homes, and assist the families in hunting.
However since they are honest and open, the Mayan kids also admitted they were indeed respectful of the natural beauty of the Quetzal, Scarlet Macaw and Jaguar.
But all the birds and felines are also intelligent, take care of their families, and don’t just walk around waiting for people to stare at their bodies (or feather colors).
Even more obvious: Men on Steroids Pageants
Males-on-steroids pageants are so obviously unrealistic that they are not as popular. If people are happy building their muscles, that is their decision. But there are many cultural values and characteristics which are as, or more, helpful than vein-filled muscles.
Show jaguar, puma and crocodile (Acutus) standing like muscle men as seen on
www.t-nation.com/training/sport-not-beauty-pageant
But the Mayan kids admitted that they did enjoy the acting of Dwayne Johnson and Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.
So the kids and tweens of Mayanlandia realize they should study and learn about the pros and cons of all the different kinds of popular shows on TELLYvision in addition to (beauty) pageants.
So Maya and Victor assign a group of kids and their animal friends to do homework on
- High school science fair (and grade school science fairs)
- Conference table exhibits (during break time between conference sessions)
- Local (village, town, and department) trade shows
- International trade shows
- Talent shows
The most distorted aspect is pageants of young girls, teaching them that lipstick, eye shadow, and body language is the most important thing to win.
And typically inappropriate is the often tendency to focus on blond-haired women.
We Mayan Kids prefer all hair colors to be accepted.
High School Science fair is a more acceptable kind of competition
These tend to be literally focused on “science,” such as chemistry or physics. Maya and Victor realize that their Mayanlandia kids science fairs could be more focused on botany and zoology (of their local eco-systems).
Various dates are offered by web sites for early high school science fairs, but the Science Talent Search for high school students in 1942 was definitely an aspect of creating popularity for high school events.
Actually these local exhibits can be for grade school also.
But the most common designation is High School Science Fair.
School science fairs are arranged like a trade show, with “booth” spaces focused around a table.
Table-size exhibits also occur with international conferences
Table-sized exhibits are still common around the world for corporations: we have attended such events recently in Tokyo (IMI, for industrial printing).
So the more that we look at the different kids of shows, we realize that having a table will be great for some creatures to showcase their capabilities.
Trade show is the giant international style: the ultimate size
I have always informally estimated that trade shows of today are derived from medieval market days. The popular weekly market days of Chichicastenango are an example of Mayan markets in Mesoamerica.
Larger “international” ancient cities such as Tenochtitlan of the Aztecs would have had permanent markets.
But smaller towns would tend to have markets only several times a month.
Markets in villages and trade shows in international cities are found now worldwide.
Even though they are not pageants or like a Westminster Dog Show, there are a lot of benefits of encouraging each species of animal to have a “capability fair” (a variant of a high school science fair) with aspects of a trade show as well.
In other words, each animal will exhibit, display, and explain what they do well (such as pollinating flowers for those creatures which are pollinators).
Westminster Dog Show is the model which inspires my desire to stage shows for all animals which are more fair (not just pets of rich people), and which are more realistic (not just for pumped up exterior appearance).
So, as expressed earlier in this story, we have already staged a Mayan doggie show.
Here is the front cover.
Reality shows are almost totally on television
As the Mayanlandia kids keep on doing research they find out about reality shows: on TELLYvision:
- Survivor
- Dancing with the Stars
- American Idol
And they learn about a quiz program (which Dr Nicholas appeared on circa 1966-1968):
- To Tell the Truth
After Research on pageants, talent shows, trade shows, science fairs,
What is the next step?
Now that everyone has a thorough list of options, the next step is to discuss which kind of event is best for butterflies; which event is best for water birds; which event is best for brightly colored beetles.
