Literature Week 1 : A Picture is worth a Thousand Words...
"Hell is empty, All the devils are here..." -Shakespeare
Studying 20th Literature upon my return to uni after a long break has proven to be nothing short of astonishing. There is nothing more intellectually stimulating than looking at the most immediate history of our world through the various facets of arts and literature. I suppose, the interest I now have was developed further by our lecture discussion - the world we now live in; that is - Earth 2008, is a multi-faceted/ highly complex/ all-dispensable /sometimes over-indulged/ technologically articulated or subverted (depending on how you look at it) society. Learning about the many events and people whom/which contributed to our global and individual state and condition, may give us greater insight on how to move wisely forward... Or does my eagerness and optimism betray my beloved generation Y?
Countless "world defining moments" inhabit the 20th Century, I presume even after the successful completion of this unit we would have barely scratched its surface, but at least we can say that; this unit was the entree which evoked our voracious appetite for knowledge...
I found the following things the highlight of Week One:
1.) The Subliminal Power of Music: Igor Stravinsky's 'Rite of Spring':
the reaction to this piece of music was analysed by the above article.
Stravinsky's music, as mentioned by MG was a musical representation of Stravinsky's view on the war an the world in which he lived. Considering the time (1913), this music would have seemed perverse to the listeners. As was detailed in class, the music caused such an outrage from the audience (as it was music for the ballet), hissing, booing and walking out - someone from my class actually even mentioned that people set the theatre on fire (although this information is yet to be confirmed.
below is an excerpt of Stravinsky's masterpiece:
Click to viewMusic has such an undefinable power - it can subject us (the listeners) to a range of thoughts and emotions we never even thought we had... Stravinsky started the piece with a flitty, nature-like melody that conjures thoughts of fairies and spring. Soon after though the music became a violent, nonsensical blare which could easily be described as jarring music - a reflection of the state of his world of war, famine and "evil" carnage of many sorts - something similar to things we see in our own.
I realised that regardless of the medium used, the most passionate and fearless creations make the indelible marks on time and on people's minds.
2.) Jean Jacques Rosseau
.jpg)
- His concept and question of whether "civilisation" has proven good for human beings - his response being in the negative (that is, NO) is something I can definitely agree with. I still have to collect more evidence and resources to back up my statement but one thing I have observed (from limited sources i.e. National Geographic Channel) is that people who do not have a "Western Civilised Mentality" seem to live a less complex, dare I say happier lives.
3.) I have to read "Millenium - Tribal Wisdom and the Modern World"
to learn more about these differences, thus it would allow me to back up my previous statement (point 2).
I also realised that cynicism may perhaps be a commonplace 20th Century quality. Yes, there have been countless tragedies which have befallen Earth after its turn on the 20th Century - wars, depression, famine, recessions, genocides, tirants, dictators, calamities and just plain "evil" things which may be summed by William Shakespeare's statement;"Hell is empty. All the devils are here..."
The youtube clip below incorporates many images we have come to identify with the 20th Century. As per the 20th Century standard it's set to the music 'Mad World' by Gary Jules. A tribute to our 20th Century history for the 21st Century frame of mind...
Above it all however, we need to break through the cynicism and realise that yes,
There existed and still yet exists - wars, but there are also stories of peace.
There were unseen deaths & genocides, but there exists countless stories of courage and survival.
There were tirants, dictators and furors; but there were also many heroes.
There were stories of famine, yet there are also stories of charity and giving.
There exists stories of HATE which can break any heart, but we forget the stories of Love and Hope that we ourselves are capable of sharing and making. We are so easily discouraged and rendered faithless by the tragedies which befall us, so affected and enraged by these catastrophies, not realising that perhaps despite it all, we come out to learn something new, something better, something which can empower each of us to change the world and time in which we exist.
As the Beatles so melodically said; "All you need is LOVE"...