Skip to main content

Who are you? Who am I? | Week 41

October | Music and Art | Week 41 | 10/15/2023
Literature and Cinema as artistic expressions 

As I sit captivated yet again by the detail of Goodfellas, the thought provocation of Interstellar, or the emotional depth of The Dark Knight, I'm reminded of the various virtues represented in literature and cinema: temperance, prudence, justice, fortitude, faith, charity, patience, kindness, humility. I'm reminded of the archetypes: the tainted hero, the misunderstood villain, the damsel in distress, Icarus, Judas, Midas, Jezebel. The running joke today is about the alter ego or persona shift that arises after finishing a great movie, show or book. But it's not so much a joke as a statement of reality. We humans are mimetic and we look to archetypal characters for modules of behavior to integrate. I authored the content of my character starting early with the adventurous spirit of the kids from Magic Treehouse and the courage of the orphans of the Series of Unfortunate Events. I gleaned aspects of masculinity and determination from Dragon Ball Z. I learned wisdom from The Giver, human nature from Animal Farm, psychology from Lord of the Flies, politics from 1984. I learned humility and curiosity from Fringe. I learned fortitude and faith from Game of Thrones. 

One might ask whether definitionally, Art is a model of archetypal behavior, a source of virtuous introspection, a creative representation of an emotional state or a creative expression of unspoken sentiment. One may ask therefore how literature and cinema have anything in common with art and music. I would argue that a great narrative, a great painting, a great song, and a great movie, contain all the elements above and should therefore be collectively lumped together as Art. A song, which makes you feel something, draws out a particular characteristic, behavior, or emotional state. Even without lyrics, it can express an emotion which is unexplained. Visual art can do the same, without words, without sound or even without description. A wonderful movie has an underlying narrative (literature), so in essence one is not possible without the other. A great movie contains the auditory elements of music, the visual elements of art, and the archetypical qualities of literature. It adds a human element and a verbal element and is therefore, in my opinion, the most visceral and complex form of artistic expression. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

To 2024

To 2024  *5:13 pm, Friday, December 20th, 2024* I'm still staring at my monitor, which is by far the brightest object in the surrounding area, as the sun has now set. I can see the whole city from my window, illuminated against the darkening sky. Admittedly, I take this view for granted sometimes, I know it's better than most. I haven't left my house in 3 days, desperately trying to close out items and stay above water with lengthy to-do lists, both work and personal. Frankly, this is not an unusual night in the last few months, but the last few days have been a scramble, as I attempt to step away from work over the coming holiday weeks. In years past, by this time in December I'm already in Florida for Christmas. But this year is different.  When I think about 2024 relative to years past, the word "busier" comes to mind. If I check with the 'weekend tracker' I've maintained for 5 years, the records would concur. I was busier. But where did my time...
Post a Comment
Read more

Divine Synergy: The Literal and Metaphorical Meaning of 3.14

The mathematical constant Pi has long been the subject of inquiry and fascination, since the days of ancient Egypt and Babylonia because of it's unique properties. Pi, usually written shorthand as 3.14, represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to it's diameter. Said differently, the distance around a circle is 3.14 x the length across it. That seems insignificant until one learns Pi is actually an irrational number with a never ending sequence of integers, 3.14159.... The decimal representation never ends, nor is it permanently repeating like how 1/3 is 0.33333. It is infinite.  From a scientific perspective, this is of course intriguing, but from a philosophical or theological perspective this is affirming. A circle is used in many cultures to represent the infinite. Think of the Buddhist Wheel or the Zen Buddhist symbol Enso. Think of the Taoist Yin Yang. The Hindu representation of Samsara. The Celtic Cross. What is the message of Pi? Read literally: The distance...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Number, A Symbol

The Number For years, I was plagued by, or gifted with a number. How did the number get to me, and why? What did it mean? For the better part of 2 years I saw 3:14 everywhere. I happened to check my phone or watch almost daily at 3:14. I'd see it in passing on a sign or TV. On a few special occasions I even awoke at 3:14 AM and turned to see it on my clock. You could ask some of my friends and old girlfriends, I started to screenshot it after a while. I was taking pictures of it. Remembering every occasion. It had gotten past the point of coincidence. There were essentially two explanations for it. One in the realm of psychology and one in the realm of spirituality. Psychologically, it could have been Viewer's Bias. I could have started subconsciously checking my phone or watch every day around 3:14 to try and maximize my chances of seeing it, so to give credence to that idea and create a feedback loop. If I was doing that I certainly wasn't doing it consciously. Then ther...
Post a Comment
Read more