Thursday, October 29, 2009
It may not be daffodils, but it is just as beautiful.
I should probably tie this to the class...
What cinematic tools are used to help create the atmosphere of this movie?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Impressions of Beauty
In Lucy, I could not help but notice all the references made to beauty. Jamaica Kincaid presents images of beauty in the sun, flowers, and even other characters present within this novel. It made me wonder if the character of Lucy does not think that she is beautiful. She hates what is beautiful and simple (daffodils) but says that anything would have sufficed. Apparently she just needed something to hate.
If you hate what you are not then it makes sense that Lucy could be blind to her own beauty or has denied it in an attempt to hold on to her identity. She seems to think that beauty often only serves to cover up a deeper truth as with the daffodils being "made to erase a complicated and unnecessary idea". As an eighteen-year old adrift in a new society, being a stranger and therefore somewhat of an outcast seems to have adversely affected her opinion of the world around her. Therefore, it seems as if the true beauty of the world around her is hidden by her first impressions. However, it may in fact be possible that through being blind to beauty she is free to see the true ugliness of the situations around her.
If you hate what you are not then it makes sense that Lucy could be blind to her own beauty or has denied it in an attempt to hold on to her identity. She seems to think that beauty often only serves to cover up a deeper truth as with the daffodils being "made to erase a complicated and unnecessary idea". As an eighteen-year old adrift in a new society, being a stranger and therefore somewhat of an outcast seems to have adversely affected her opinion of the world around her. Therefore, it seems as if the true beauty of the world around her is hidden by her first impressions. However, it may in fact be possible that through being blind to beauty she is free to see the true ugliness of the situations around her.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A force to be reckoned with...
While watching O, an adaptation of Shakespeare's play Othello, i could not help but wonder what the significance of the name Odin was as intended by the director. For once I got to use my arcane knowledge, and assumed that Odin (as Othello) was meant to refer to the ancient god Odin, leader of the Norse pantheon.
I started researching this idea by comparing what i knew about Othello to what is known about the god Odin. The results were startlingly accurate.
Similar to Othello, Odin was a wanderer of the earth and would appear among men although they viewed him as a stranger and therefore as an outsider. Interestingly enough, the god Odin is associated with war, battle, wisdom and death (among other things) which Othello shares. Also, some stories say that Odin was tricked by Loki - god of deception - into killing someone he dearly loved. In addition it is said that Odin was deceived by his wife and her acts of infidelity, which led to his downfall. This is very much like the story of Othello in that someone versed in lies and manipulation (Iago) made him believe that Desdemona was betraying him and led Othello to kill Desdemona, even though he loved her very much.
And on the note of Desdemona, i found it interesting that "Desdemona" means "of the devil". This simultaneously points toward deception as the devil is associated with lies, and also to her love for Othello as devils are seen as dark creatures just as Othello is referred to as a Moor. As Shakespeares plays are filled with symbolism, I am led to believe that he chose this name knowing what it meant and found it very appropriate in lending depth and meaning to the character of Desdemona.
Upon further research of Norse mythology, I found that the gods Odin and Loki were first seen as the same god - one of power and battle and of lies and deceit - lending support to the idea of Othello as the god Odin as Othello deceives himself through his doubts of Desdemona's fidelity. The idea of Othello as Odin is also supported by Odin's physical characteristics. It is said that the god Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to achieve the wisdom of the ages and therefore walks this earth with only one eye. This relates to our discussion over reputation and perception and equating that with the structure of an eye: how a person's impressions of you are not who you are but are colored by outside factors beyond your control. Similar to Odin, Othello does not have complete sight and is therefore not able to see everything that is going on around him and falls prey to Iago's lies.
Something that I found amusing was that Odin was accused of witchcraft even though witchcraft was considered to be a woman's work. Odin denied this accusation just as Othello was accused of witchcraft in the act of winning Desdemona's love and denied it vehemently. Also, Odin is associated with two ravens: Hugin (thought) and and Munin (memory) just as birds (both doves and hawk) are used for imagery within the movie O. Both are dark birds and lend support to the comparison of the two characters due to Othello's appearance and being referred to as a "Moor" within the play.
I began to wonder if Iago's adaptation within O also referred to the stories of the god Odin, as his name within the adaptation is "Hugo", very similar to Odin's raven. Perhaps - although this could be stretching the similarities a bit - he is named Hugo in reference to Hugin (thought) in the sense that it is his thoughts and actions that bring Odin down within the movie and Iago's actions that are the demise of Othello. Also, in decieving Othello, Iago simply opens the door for Othello's own insecurities to sow seeds of doubt and to take away all trust in his thoughts of Desdemona.
I have no way of speaking to the director and proving conclusively if this was the reason they chose the name Odin for Othello in their adaption of the play. However, upon taking everything into consideration, the facts seem to suggest great parallels between Shakespeares original character of Othello and the ancient Norse god Odin. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the choice of names within O was indeed meant to suggest the great similarities between Odin and Othello. Perhaps - as I would like to believe - Shakespeare himself intended the similarities to be apparent and formed his character Othello around the stories of Odin. There is no knowing for certain if this was his intent, but I would certainly like to believe that Shakespeare was pulling from ancient gods in the formation of his characters and that the director of O noticed the parallels and brought them to the forefront.
websites used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin (used only points that were cited)
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odin.html
http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/archeo/scandanavia/vikings/norse05.htm
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ni-Pa/Odin.html
http://www.behindthename.com
I started researching this idea by comparing what i knew about Othello to what is known about the god Odin. The results were startlingly accurate.
Similar to Othello, Odin was a wanderer of the earth and would appear among men although they viewed him as a stranger and therefore as an outsider. Interestingly enough, the god Odin is associated with war, battle, wisdom and death (among other things) which Othello shares. Also, some stories say that Odin was tricked by Loki - god of deception - into killing someone he dearly loved. In addition it is said that Odin was deceived by his wife and her acts of infidelity, which led to his downfall. This is very much like the story of Othello in that someone versed in lies and manipulation (Iago) made him believe that Desdemona was betraying him and led Othello to kill Desdemona, even though he loved her very much.
And on the note of Desdemona, i found it interesting that "Desdemona" means "of the devil". This simultaneously points toward deception as the devil is associated with lies, and also to her love for Othello as devils are seen as dark creatures just as Othello is referred to as a Moor. As Shakespeares plays are filled with symbolism, I am led to believe that he chose this name knowing what it meant and found it very appropriate in lending depth and meaning to the character of Desdemona.
Upon further research of Norse mythology, I found that the gods Odin and Loki were first seen as the same god - one of power and battle and of lies and deceit - lending support to the idea of Othello as the god Odin as Othello deceives himself through his doubts of Desdemona's fidelity. The idea of Othello as Odin is also supported by Odin's physical characteristics. It is said that the god Odin sacrificed one of his eyes to achieve the wisdom of the ages and therefore walks this earth with only one eye. This relates to our discussion over reputation and perception and equating that with the structure of an eye: how a person's impressions of you are not who you are but are colored by outside factors beyond your control. Similar to Odin, Othello does not have complete sight and is therefore not able to see everything that is going on around him and falls prey to Iago's lies.
Something that I found amusing was that Odin was accused of witchcraft even though witchcraft was considered to be a woman's work. Odin denied this accusation just as Othello was accused of witchcraft in the act of winning Desdemona's love and denied it vehemently. Also, Odin is associated with two ravens: Hugin (thought) and and Munin (memory) just as birds (both doves and hawk) are used for imagery within the movie O. Both are dark birds and lend support to the comparison of the two characters due to Othello's appearance and being referred to as a "Moor" within the play.
I began to wonder if Iago's adaptation within O also referred to the stories of the god Odin, as his name within the adaptation is "Hugo", very similar to Odin's raven. Perhaps - although this could be stretching the similarities a bit - he is named Hugo in reference to Hugin (thought) in the sense that it is his thoughts and actions that bring Odin down within the movie and Iago's actions that are the demise of Othello. Also, in decieving Othello, Iago simply opens the door for Othello's own insecurities to sow seeds of doubt and to take away all trust in his thoughts of Desdemona.
I have no way of speaking to the director and proving conclusively if this was the reason they chose the name Odin for Othello in their adaption of the play. However, upon taking everything into consideration, the facts seem to suggest great parallels between Shakespeares original character of Othello and the ancient Norse god Odin. Therefore, it seems safe to assume that the choice of names within O was indeed meant to suggest the great similarities between Odin and Othello. Perhaps - as I would like to believe - Shakespeare himself intended the similarities to be apparent and formed his character Othello around the stories of Odin. There is no knowing for certain if this was his intent, but I would certainly like to believe that Shakespeare was pulling from ancient gods in the formation of his characters and that the director of O noticed the parallels and brought them to the forefront.
websites used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin (used only points that were cited)
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/odin.html
http://www.astronomy.pomona.edu/archeo/scandanavia/vikings/norse05.htm
http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ni-Pa/Odin.html
http://www.behindthename.com
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Cassio: "Oh, I have lost my reputation!!" Me: "Oh shush already."

Personally, I am fascinated with this idea of a reputation being more of a rumor; a colored glass through which people view your actions before they judge you. It is so true that the only thing a person can control is their actions. Once we do something, it is completely taken out of our hands. The opinions that people form from that moment on that will become our reputation are completely outside of our influence.
In a way, this idea is very liberating. Rather than worrying about how what you do will affect how people see you, this idea allows for you to relax and simply 'be yourself'. Although it can be frightening to realize how little control youa ctually have over your reputation, this means that the people who see you correctly will be the ones who are really taking the time to find out who you are; those who aren't content to just stop at the thin veneer of a reputation and call that a person's character. In the end - for all his faults - Iago makes a very valid point. What you do is not who you are, and your reputation certainly is not who you are. In the end, you decide who you are, and in so doing form your character. And that is who you really are. All else is simply a rumor.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
WANGECHI MUTU
-MASK-
Wangechi Mutu is an artist originally from Nairobi, Kenya, who currently resides in New York. Having studied anthropology and fine art at Cooper Union and Yale, she graduated with her Masters of Fine Arts in 2000, and uses collage within her artwork. Mutu often cuts out her pictures from fashion magazines, national geographic, and magazines on African art in order to combine them in a collage showing a different perspective on beauty and feminism.
The piece above, entitled "mask" is a perfect (clean) example of her art style. She is very conscious of her own heritage and that of Africans all over the globe, along with the lies spread by the media in regard to the idealistic view of women. Within her art pieces, she actually criticizes these views, and so can be considered a true Feminist Artist. Often she uses her collage technique to distort the picture in the same way that the culture of our times distorts the ideas of what it means to be "beautiful".
It would be very fascinating to investigate her life story to see how that has affected her work, or to see how her work reflects her past experiences. Unfortunately, she seems to be very private about her personal life; choosing instead to allow her art pieces to act as her voice concerning world issues.
As far as this picture goes, it is a very interesting piece. In researching mask, I found that the image serving as her clothes is that of a voodoo doll, while the picture behind her is an image of a museum relic. What is intriguing is that the cutout of the voodoo doll covers part of her face as a mask, yet the rest of the image reveals more of her skin - arms and legs - as if she is both revealing and modest. Further yet, the image of the voodoo doll seems to be cutting into her skin; this shows the restriction of the cultural image of beauty and perfection which limits the woman's self expression. Her body language is also contradictory. The legs suggest sexual prowress, or at least domination, while the position of the hands suggest submission. It is as if the very culture she lives in is tearing her in opposite directions between what it wants to see her as - an object of sexual desire - and who she really is.
Throughout her artwork, it is as if Wangechi Mutu is posing a question to each one of her viewers: What is it that you let define you? Do you define yourself, or do you adhere to the unfair and warped expectations of the society around you.
Website of Mutu's gallery in Las Angeles with Susanne Vielmetter
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