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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. 

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