Thursday, January 16, 2014

Odipus rex info



Oedipus Rex-
-man: Oedipus was a man with good intentions but a tragic out come. his story is based purely on fate. he tries to do what is right but in the end is condemned. 
-myth- The Myth of Oedipus Rex is much older than the play and the ancient greeks knew well of his story. they myth explains the inability to escape fate. oedipus is fated to kill his father and sleep with his mother. his parents upon hearing this tried to kill him to stop the prophesy. he instead is given and adopted by a different family. Oedipus does everything in his power to not fulfill his prophesy but in the end causes it all to happen. 

-play- the play is written off the myth of Oedipus and goes into depth and detail of the myth and plays it out in an understandable sequence. the play brings the audiences attachment to the character and in the end puts pity and fear into the audience. 


Aristotle- Aristotle was a student of Plato from age 18 to 37 in Athens. he later became a teacher to three different kings, Alexander the Great, Ptolemy, and Cassander, as head of the royal academy. he is thought to have been the last person to know everything there was for his time. He is one of the three best greek philosophers and has created western philosophy into what it is today and began the scientific process we still use today. 

-tragedy- Aristotle says that a good tragedy is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude. a play must be shown and not told and written in a clear cause and effect chain that could happen in any time or place. He believes that plot is the most important part of a tragedy and that the characters simply support it. 

-hubris- is an act of arrogance and strong pride, and acting extremely self-important. it's when someone shames or humiliated someone, not because they did something or will do something wrong but simply for self pleasure of the abuser. the concept that by treating someone badly will make their own self better and more superior. 



Greek theater- 
Greek theaters were usually outdoors without roofs and in the arrangement seen below. greek plays usually just had three actors that changed masks to change character. the masks covered the whole head of the actor with small holes for the eyes and mouth. the masks bring the character closer to the audience and allows for the audience to associate each mask with each character instead of the actors. 


Dramatic irony-
Dramatic irony is when the audience of a play, book, or film or other such creation know of events or other important pieces of information that the character is still unaware of. this can evoke an emotional response in the audience that makes them want to scream at the character to prevent them from committing foolish actions. this is great in tragedies when the audience knows of the tragic fate of the character and their actions simply fulfill it.

Sophocles was born into a wealthy family and had access to good education. he was physically attractive, had athletic ability, and was skilled at music. He wrote 123 dramas for the greek festivals and in the 30 times he competed he won 24 and may have never gotten lower than second place. 

Teiresias-
Teiresias was a prophet who could see the future through vision, he understood the language of the birds and could read their signs, as well as reading signs from fire or smoke, though he mostly relied on his connection to the underworld and the dead. Teiresias was blinded, some stories say Athena blinded him after seeing her bathe, though other stories simply say the gods blinded him for reviling their secret. Teiresias also spend seven years of his life as a woman, this was the result of displeasing the goddess Hera, though after 7 years he did the right thing and he was returned to his masculinity. 


Fate- to the greeks fate was unchangeable, it was what would happen to the person and nothing could be changed. the fate of a person was decided by the three fates of mythology that spun the thread of life and in the end cut it. the fates are said to be older than the gods and it is unknown how old they really are, and it is said that even the gods don't mess with them, and that they have spun the life of the gods as well as everything else. the fates are what create the fate of each individual and the world itself. it cannot be changed or fully known, and they write out the famous myths and stories of the greeks.


Monday, January 13, 2014

connection

Connection



Baraka, a beautifully put together film, makes connections to our first semester while bringing compassion and wonderment, impacting one like no other. in first semester we studied satire and bringing attention to the wrongs of this world, this film does that very well. it shows the ills of the world in an honest light allowing for change to them. just as the semester brought contrast to, the film brought contrast to the beautiful and dark of the world. it showed the wonders the world holds as well as the terrors. There are many more wonders that that Brussat spoke of. some of which include the powerful waves of the sea, forcing itself out of a hole in a rock, and the waves crashing across the shoreline rocks, demonstrating an almost incomprehensible power. the time lapses of the clouds in the sky give them a water like effect as they move and cascade across the sky rippling and moving almost as if it were a waterfall. the clips of the waterfalls themselves were powerful and peaceful. they cascaded in roars off the side of the cliff, in contrast to the peaceful green life surrounding it. these all invoke wonderment in someone. they are beautiful and powerful and leave one in awe of the world. seeing the many different tribes evokes a power within one’s being and brings a connection to the world. this brings out compassion, when there is connection compassion flows through, and through understanding and connecting with those yet undiscovered will bring the gift of compassion through.

The most impactful images through my eyes are the ones of destruction, sorrow, and separation from nature. the covered view of boxes for homes is saddening. there isn’t much beauty in those images. the lack of nature or access to better homes by the people is saddening. people deserve beautiful homes, not large or grandeur, just a nice place to live. the lack of nature to the people is saddening. though within that there are images of young boys and children bringing out feelings of compassion for the young, innocent beings doing what they can to enjoy life. simple joys such as kite flying and spendign time with friends. joy within the destruction and sadness is beautiful and impacting, and it stands out like a candle in darkness. the women in the cigarette factory give a caged feeling. the tedious, yet necessary task of rolling cigarette after cigaret for just enough money for the living of life. rolling cigarettes is a tedious, mind numbing task that seems to get nowhere. the same task over and over again feels caging and no true reward is brought, not to the mind and soul. the slowed time of the urban life in subways relaxes the merry-go-round, for a little bit, but the slowing seems forced, knowing that each person has another thought on their mind and tasks at hand. the beauty of the mind is wondrous, but none of the minds are rested. the life of the city is so rushed that the smallest breaks are forced and not used wisely. the fast motion of city life gives the effect of the rushed time we all live in. the clock ticked through time at a faster speed than it should, time goes by faster than we would all like it to. the burning of the baby chicks seemed the most impactful. it was shocking to see. the chicks are each beings with a life and a mind and a soul, whether the mind is as big as the human’s is out of question. the chicks are treated as if they were inanimate objects, without life. the lack of sight to the life is saddening. the cruelty was impactful, something i don’t think i’ll be able to forget. the sound sets the mood, if it is happy, sad, energetic, or peaceful. the sound goes with each image to give the appropriate mood for one to be in. the movement gives the view in which to see it, are you looking down on the world, is it below you, or is it so much greater than you can see? the movement of the camera gives life to the images being seen. the film’s goal is simply to teach. to teach of the world. it gives awareness to what is out there. it is easy to get sucked into the life you are living, as if it is the only life out there that matters. it is easy to forget the importance of others, and where items come from. its easy to forget how interconnected the human race really is to the world and only think about the here and now, and not everything else, and how great it is.