That said, I would like you to choose one video from those listed below, which are included in the presentation given in class, and interpret them in an essay of at least three paragraphs.
Son Lux's "Break": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUSBXsd8NkQ
El-P's "Stepfather Factory": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Acgr18qpcPM
Talkdemonic's "Duality of Deathening": http://www.talkdemonic.com/new%20video.html
Aesop Rock's "None Shall Pass": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1u43KDiWD0
Mike Finnegan's "i1100": http://www.blackwingsdesign.com/folio/art_3.htm
Radiohead's "All I Need" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdrCalO5BDs
Ross Ching's "Eclectic": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwlkFRtOxMI&feature=related
Ross Ching's "Eclectic 2.0": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izXpNLjgAtM
The images in the video you choose should hopefully inspire in you a sense of metaphor. The question you should ask yourselves as you view the video of your choosing is: What do the images flooding my mind from the video represent?
And so the directions are as follows:
- Watch the video. Listen to the music.
- Pay close attention to the details of the images presented in the video and the music that is interfused with those images, lyrics included (if the song has lyrics).
- Jot down as you view the film your basic impressions of the images and the music. What mood does it create? What emotions are expressed through the interfusion of music and image?
- Once you (we) are finished viewing the video, write an interpretive essay in which you explain the deeper meaning of the video, giving a analysis/synopsis of its images, and an explanation of the various lyrics, if there are any. Be sure to describe the music you hear as well.
This is assignment is due on the blog or hard copy by Thursday, December 18, 2008.
8 comments:
I was leafing through my older brother’s college sketchbook this past weekend and came upon a page with some notes scrawled across its once blanks surface. His distinctive script was placed against the backdrop of a pen-and-ink depiction of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, ablaze with a fire burning atop the organ, pierced with a ring of thorns and bleeding from an open wound. The shadow cast by the heart, set against the light of its own flame, was that of a cross. My brother’s message in all of this: “God’s greatest creation is the human heart, for it is in the love of the heart that [we are] most like God, sharing in His divinity.” Beneath this, a bullet point and an underlined: “The Order of Christian Lovers.” As sub-points to this, my brother writes: “A love so radical it knows no boundary—it has no fear…; it finds in every persona a ‘neighbor’ (CCC #1931); a heart sustained only in grace… .”
Evidently, this subject of Christian love that inspired my brother’s sketch some eight years ago was taken in paraphrase from The Catechism of the Catholic Church. It strikes me as odd that a document such as that of the Catechism, so easily associated with the lesser attributes of the Institutional Church—its black and white dogmatism and strict eye for doctrine and adherence to the letter of doctrinal law—would profess something so radical as a love without boundary. Upon further thought, however, such a provocation is not at all distant from the profession of beatitudinal love that Christ proclaims in the Gospels, particularly Matthew. This kind of love is one of charity, of self-giving concern for the other that readjusts one’s center of gravity. It is a love that incorporates into it a philial, erotic, and agapic sensibility—that is, the triune characteristics of brotherly, romantic, and unconditional concern for someone other than oneself. This Christ-inspired love is one that, though simple in what it requires of us, cannot be reduced to an easy definition in light of just how complex and complicated human relationships can be. The challenges of being vulnerable, of standing figuratively naked before someone else is no facile task; it requires plain speech and honesty; it requires simple sharing that acknowledges without judgment the inherent dignity of the human person. The simplicity of this message is clear, yet its complexity comes in the difficulty of actually living it.
In his song, “Break”, off of his electro-classical album, At War with Walls and Mazes, composer and song-writer, Son Lux, acknowledges the sheer difficulty of finding clarity in the web of human relationships that can tangle a person in knots of confusion, heartbreak, sadness, loneliness, and isolation. Indeed, weaving one’s way through obstacles in the course of developing ties to others involves the recognition of just how at once holy and wicked people can be, of how quickly one can be pulled into the holiness—that is, the wholeness—of life in relationship to another, as well as the wickedness—that is, the sense of fragmentation—of life in relationship to another.
The music video for “Break”, directed by Finbar Mallon, does well to image the dynamics of human relationship in its stuttered frames of stop-go photography that feature animated strings of yarn, colored in red and green; a man and woman interlocked at once by the green and red yarn, though separated by the obstacled space of a trafficked street; a naked body trapped in a web of such string; the budding of paper flowers in red and green; and the image of red, green, yellow, and orange paper that pixilate the walls surrounding an amorphous and tangled body. Put together, all of these images suggest a narrative of tension that occurs between lovers as much as it does between friends, between enemies, between those warring forces of holiness and wickedness within oneself. Thus the flashing colors of green, yellow, and red throughout the various sequences of the video signify the relational dynamics of “stop”, “slow down”, and “go” that we feel in the pull and push of everyday relationships. The video, at one point, presents an image of a young man dressed in green, a young woman to whom he is tethered by a string, dressed in red, suggesting the discord that lovers, friends, and enemies go through in those moments when one party says yes to something while the other says no.
The theme here is finding unity in discord, of union in dissolution. Matched with the lyrics, the collage of aforementioned pictures tells a story of a hopelessness that ironically inspires hope. The shaky cry of Son Lux’s voice, overlaying the single-note structure of icy piano keys, relays an eerie message of lament over the feeling of being torn apart by the uncertainty, confusion, and doubt that is part and parcel of human intimacy:
Where have all the wicked gone?
Is there no one left to break you down?
Where have all the holy gone?
Is there no one to condemn you?
Where have all the wicked gone?
Is there no one to condemn you?
Where have all the holy gone?
Is there no one left to break you down?
It is not without some irony that Son Lux is asking himself and a perceived other, “Is there no one left to break you down?”. It is almost as though he acknowledges the unspoken wish we all have to entertain drama—even if it involves emotional turmoil—and to seek out suffering in relationship with someone else in such a way that we ironically feel more alive. We could call this the “embraced heaviness” that fictional characters such as Antonio in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice feels in his heart-break at the loss of his dear companion, Bassanio, who seeks the hand of the fair Portia in marriage. “Embraced heaviness” is a sorrow voluntarily suffered.
But what is the logic behind this kind of voluntary suffering? It can perhaps only be explained in the sense that, by being broken down, by being condemned, by being caught up in the push and pull of good and evil in our own hearts and the confusing forces of love shared between ourselves and someone else, that we have something to live for, that we have a reason to constantly restore ourselves in the ashes of our own brokenness. So, in asking “Where have all the wicked gone?” or, on the other hand, “Where have all the holy gone?”, Son Lux is recognizing the paradoxical tie between good and evil—one exists because of the other—in our lives. Moreover, he is acknowledging the difficulty of maintaining a steadfast will in reconciling these two forces in one’s life. It is neither one nor the other that exists alone, but both in co-existence. In this way, it takes courage to stand of one’s own free will in tending the flame that ignites between and within people.
Son Lux’s logic is not unlike that of St. Augustine who coined the term, “O Felix Culpa”, that is, “O Happy Fall!”. Nor is it unlike the logic of St. Paul who proclaimed in Chapter 12 of his Second Letter to the Corinthians:
“In order that I might not become conceited I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and keep me from getting proud. Three times I begged the Lord that this might leave me. He said to me, 'My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.' And so I willingly boast of my weakness instead, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I am content with weakness, with mistreatment, with distress, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ; for when I am powerless, it is then that I am strong." (2 Cor 12: 10)
While Son Lux nowhere specifically mentions the person of Christ, nor indicates explicitly any religious message within the song, the spiritual allusion to man’s potential for restoration, in recognizing and being called out for his own failures, is clear. We all suffer from the sin of pride and so it goes that we are all equally in need of humility, of being humbled as much by the wicked as by the holy. In realizing the good and evil in our own hearts and in the interpersonal dramas of human relationship, we come to a greater awareness of self and other, a knowledge that can only serve to foster growth—a budding like that of the flowers portrayed in Son Lux’s video collage.
This kind of paradoxical reasoning is certainly implied in Son Lux’s ironical lyrics for “Break”—that, whether holy or wicked, we are as much responsible for our own condemnation as we are for our own redemption; we, not someone else, bring both about in our own lives. In the end, it is we who must hold ourselves accountable for the way we treat and are treated by others according to the laws of the spirit. We must become our own judges. This is a challenge. It is much easier for us to skirt responsibility by willingly condemning or being condemned by others, appointing ourselves either the self-righteous judge or the helpless victim of misunderstanding. But, as St. Paul says in his letter to the Romans, referencing the supremacy of God’s law (versus the laws of society) as exemplified by Christ’s accordance to its higher purpose: “But now we are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that we may serve in the newness of the spirit and not under the obsolete letter.”
I think that Son Lux may very well be echoing this sentiment: that when we live according to a higher purpose or law in relationship to another, we are challenged to make decisions for ourselves based upon that higher ideal. This is hard. It is much easier to give up when someone is throwing flames at us, be it the wicked or the holy, the righteous or unrighteous. It is much easier to rely on someone else’s will-power to steer us in a direction we are unwilling to drive on our won. But, to confront obstacles in a spirit of faith and hope, is a testament to the strength of the human will and spirit, inspired by that higher force we call God. Furthermore, by being aware of the good and evil that surrounds and is within us, we can come to a greater understanding of ourselves and others—thus that odd desire for an experience of wickedness and holiness, or to simply giving up which laces the questions of Son Lux’s hauntingly beautiful song.
As the video fades to black, we are reminded that, even in the tangle of human relationships, the love which inspires them is fundamentally without boundary; it is rather the foundation of the law which rules human relationship; it is the root force of human will and the spark which ignites the strength of the human person to hold him or herself accountable and free. Son Lux tells us—as does the seemingly unrelated chapter of the Catechism that my brother recreated through art—to untangle the web of confusion that prevents us from entering more fully the green realm of friendship with the other, to walk that safeguarded yet boundary-less space of intimacy. For it is there where we connect to each person we find as though s/he were indeed a “neighbor”. And when we do connect, it is crucial for us to take on the difficult responsibilities of caring for self and other.
Eddie Kelly
English 165/ Writing the Essay
Bro. Robert Peach, FSC.
December 17, 2008
The Bible states in Matthew 7: 12, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” In other words, God is the only one who is to judge. We are taught, as Catholics, that judging is not of this world, no one knows exactly how God feels towards a certain person or their acts. However, judging other people is something humans have done forever and will continue to do. I think that this is the easiest sin to commit.
Aesop Rock exploits this negative trait in his song and music video “None Shall Pass”. The video portrays humans, dressed in animal costumes, trying to make their way to be judged. In the beginning of the video we see that the “judge” is only a human beginning his shift as judge. This shows that everyone judges, we all clock in to this life of condemning others.
One of the most prominent images of this video is the idea of humans dressed in animal costumes. This is showing that, just as no one is exempt from judging people, no one is exempt from being judged. Everyone lives with labels that they are given by others. There is one moment in the video when two people come face to face each dressed in their respective animal costumes. As they are looking at each other you see think bubble appear over their heads. Inside the bubbles they are thinking of the other person as different animals, and as the animals change so do the two people. The only things that didn’t change during this interaction were the real faces of the men. We can be labeled as different things by different people, but underneath all of the labels we still remain ourselves. I believe Aesop Rock is trying to say that even though it is difficult, we must try to break off our figurative costumes and become the real individual.
At the very end of the video, we see the man who, in the beginning of the video, clocked in as judge, clock out of his shift. When he exits the building, a costume drops onto him, reminding us that there are no exceptions to human judgment. After he is labeled, a rock is thrown at him, the symbol of a negative judgment by the judge, a role he just finished acting. I think this shows two things. Firstly, judging others is a sin; therefore, you are the one worthy of negative judging. Secondly, it could show the man judging himself. Maybe the person so set on constantly judging others was dissatisfied with their own self.
The title, “None Shall Pass”, is also contained in the main chorus of the song:
And I will remember your name and face
on the day you are judged by the funhouse cast
and I will rejoice in your fall from grace
with a cane through the sky like "none shall pass
When I hear the word, funhouse, I think of a carnival attraction with many mirrors. The cast of a funhouse, then, is the person in it looking at their reflection. I interpret these lyrics as if they are said by someone who has been unfairly judged. They are speaking to the person who judged them, and they are saying that they will remember who judged them and that they cannot wait until that person has to judge their self and see how horrible they’ve been. The final line and the title of the song, “none shall pass”, is a reminder to everyone. It is saying to go ahead and continue to judge others if it makes you feel better, but remember no one is exempt from being judged.
Aesop Rock has delivered a very powerful and true message in the song, “None Shall Pass”. Not only is his video a satirical look into the human condition of judging, his song is a warning to those who judge too often. I believe Aesop Rock realizes that everyone will judge, but I think his point is that it is imperative that you try to limit your judging and to not let it affect you in your normal activities, such as meeting new people. This song-video combo is the ultimate “don’t judge a book by its cover” warning, but his main message is to be prepared if you do.
Corey Kramer
English 165/ Writing the Essay
Bro. Robert Peach, FSC.
December 17, 2008
In Aesop Rock’s video “None Shall Pass” is about the judgment of other people. In the beginning of the video we see a man get into a flying object. This man, moments after getting into this object, starts flying around the city judging everyone he sees. Every person has on the costume of a different animal, symbolizing the different judgments of the different people. As he flies over the city, all of these people are walking in the same direction ultimately forming a line to be judged by this man in the flying object.
The title of this song, which is also repeated multiple times in the chorus, is the underlying theme in this song. Aesop Rock states the “None Shall Pass”. What he means by “None Shall Pass” is that no matter how everyone regrets being judged, none shall pass judgment. As the video goes on, these people having mute interaction with each other. During these confrontations, the people just stare at each other while different images of the person run through their head. While these images run through their head, the only constant in the video is the facial expression on these people. This represent that no matter how much we choose to judge other people, what is on the inside can never be judged without getting to know the other person.
Towards the end of the video the man who flies around judging people lands his object and stamps a time card. This could symbolize that humans walking around judging so much, that it becomes part of society and becomes a job to judge. But as this man is walking away from the flying object, he suddenly gets hit with a stone and a pig falls on his head. The pig falling on his head shows that he is just another face in the crowd waiting to be judged. After he realizes he was judged, his head starts to blink, showing that he realizes that all of his judgment was wrong. Soon after he realizes his judgment was wrong, the video soon begins to rewind showing how the man wishes he could go back in time, and take back all of the judgments he passed. This video shows that those who judge, will alway be judged back.
Chris Ranallo
English 165/Writing the Essay
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
December 17, 2008
In Talkdemonic’s “Duality of Deathening” we are shown - (in what may be a closer future then we think) - a robots attempts to become human. He comes to his home where he proceeds to watch a video of a human having what he believes to be a normal human dinner, then he mimics what he sees on the video. This is showing how we as a society tend to mimic what we see on television even if we sometimes look ridiculous in doing so. The robot then opens a book titled “Understanding Man” and words appear crossing the screen that define human characteristics. The robot realizes he’s never seen a human display many of those emotions and knows that he has never shown any of these emotions because he doesn’t have any real emotions.
The Robot then finds himself reading about the human anatomy. He realizes there is not much different between the human anatomy and that of his own. They both work like machines, constantly moving, and having different jobs in different sections of the body. The robot becomes aware that he is already closer to being a human then he ever will be pretending to be human. Our society is so desensitized of our feelings because of the media, and are slaves to media trends, and live our lives based on what the media says our lives should be like, that we are robots. There is no individuality in today’s society and that is a very big problem. We need to break away from “the norm” and be who we want to be, and not who we are told to be.
The ending of this video does not give hope to future generations being able to express their own individuality however. We see the robot open a small box and take out of it a smaller sized robot which then begins to walk across the table. The larger robot is standing at the end of the table waving it on much like a parent would do when their child begins to walk. It is telling us that if we are not able to break free of society’s hold on us, then our children will most likely be raised by robots and become robots themselves, never being able to find themselves and becoming another slave to societal trends.
Chris Lisowski
Brother Rob Peach
Eng 165.01
12/17/08
While examining the daily life of an average American, I can see many flaws that one carries out in their daily life. One thing that we do often but don't realize it is taking our everyday wants and needs for granted. Most American's do not realize that the simple wants and needs that they expect on a regular day comes by very rarely if ever, in the lives of people in other countries.
In Radiohead's "All I Need" video, they try to show the problem between the two boys. The video shows two young boys, one living the life of an average boy like any other American boy getting up every morning and getting dressed and going to school and coming home to their family. The other boy that they show in the video is an Asian boy waking up every morning to the same dull life having to work in a sneaker sweat shop all day and having nothing to go to after except the hallway he sleeps in every morning. In the lyrics the phrase "your all I need" appears a few times and I interpret this as if the boy in the sweat shop is saying this because what he does in a day is work that he is forced to do and gets paid just enough to survive in life. He is saying this because even though an American would see this as a horrible life, the boy sees it as if that's all he needs in life to get by. If an American boy was put into this situation they would almost not be able to survive. This would happen because everything is just given to children these days, they do not value things as much because they do not have to work for what they are given.
I see that American's taking our everyday wants and needs for granted is easily one of the worst things we can do not only just to ourselves but also to our country as a whole. If the Americans of today were forced to change their life styles to the life styles of those with out the wants and needs of an average persons life we would all be in a lot of trouble and could possible ruin the America we know today.
Chris Galiardi
English 165/ Writing the Essay
Bro. Robert Peach, FSC.
December 17, 2008
Some things cost more than you think.
A priest once told me that your sins affect others. Sins always affect others whether you know it or not. If you are making fun of a friend, while it might seem harmless, you probably are hurting the feelings of that person. Not only do sins affect others, but all of our actions influence others, whether it is for the better or the worse. These actions could be as tiny as picking up a person’s book that they dropped, or as large as donating a Christmas present to a person in financial hardship.
This idea of our actions having an affects on others is the main message in Radioheads’ song “All I Need”. In the music video we are presented with two children that seem to lead opposing lifestyles. One is a kid living in a middle or upper class family that attends a private school. The other is a poor kid working in a sweatshop. As the music video progresses you see the contrasting lifestyles of the two kids. The kid in the higher class goes through a day of school while the other kid spends a day working at a sweatshop making shoes. Throughout the sequence differences our shown in the children such as the food they eat and their art they make. Finally the climax of the song is reached with a more upbeat melody and crashing cymbals and it is revealed how the two kids are related. The kid comes home from school and takes off his shoes that were made from the kid working.
This act of the two being connected through a shoe is what brings them together. The refrain of the song acknowledges the fact that we are connected, “You are all I need” (Radiohead). This means that we all need each other. Without others this world could not exists. We rely on others for everything. Going through a typical day at school you can see all the people you rely on: teachers, classmates, and even the lunch ladies or janitors. No person is unimportant. I believe that this is the message of the song. You rely on everybody to get you through life, even if it may be a person in a different country that you do not know, making a shoe for you.
After the song is complete a phrase pops up that says, “Some things cost more than you realize”. This is something that we need to remember in our society today. These days everything is about going fast and this is how our society thinks; how can we finish the quickest. We never stop and take the time to thank a person. We need to stop and take the time to think about what people do to please us. This can even be seen with our relationships with our parents. As teenagers we take what we have for granted and do not think about the things our parents sacrifice for us. Hopefully one day you can see that the things your parents do for you, like making you dinner or giving you a ride to a friend’s house, really do ‘cost more than you realize’. And maybe we can take the time to actually thank our parents for all that they have done.
Toby Coleman
English 165/Writing the Essay
Bro. Rob Peach FSC
December 17, 2008
The video that stood out to me was Talkdemonics “Duality of Deathening.” The video “Duality of Deathening” stood out to me for several reasons. One reason is the fact that it is so true to life with the use of a robot. The use of the robot is symbolic of many things. I think that the creator of the video is trying to stress societies hold on people and that every single one of us is in fact a “robot” in our daily lives. Our daily lives consist of the same old things and society always seems to have that deathening grip upon us making us act as if we are “robots.”
The video begins with a robot entering what appears to be his home and he begins the same routine acting as if he is human because he aspires to be a human. He sits down at a dinner table with a mannequin woman sitting adjacent to him as he was a video labeled “dinner conversation,” to simulate a real dinner with people. After doing so, he proceeds to read a book titled “Understanding man,” again with the attempt to understand what it is like to be human. While reading this the robot reads the definitions of humans with adjectives like emotion, freewill, love, and socialization for example. While reading this he slowly begins to realize that he is really similar to humans. Also he studies the human anatomy and compares it to that of his. He realizes that he is not all that different from us because we both possess the objects to keep us alive and moving, whether it is organs in our case or gears for the robot.
The video concludes with very high spirited music as the robot begins to finally realize that he is not all that different from humans. The bigger realization is that humans are actually more like robots in terms of being robots in society. If we plan to break out of our current holding by society then we need to make drastic changes if we want to do so. But as of right now society has its hold on us.
Liam Halferty
Brother Robert Peach, FSC
English 165/Writing the Essay
December 18, 2008
Poetic Imagery Presented in El-P’s “Stepfather Factory”
El-P, short for El-Producto, is a New-York born hip hop artist that has been an entrepreneur in the alternative hip-hop scene for almost 16 years. He frequently uses techniques such as metaphor, science fiction, and fantasy themes in his music, usually aggressively in getting his point across to his listeners. His interest of science fiction and fantasies are what influence him to write about such phenomenon in his music. The nature of reality and the aspect of paranoia are some other topics which El-P is known for, differing from the style of most other rappers. One example of this delving into the true nature of reality is his single, “Stepfather Factory,” in which he tells the story of a company that creates a prototype of a robot stepfather. This stepfather would supposedly solve the problems of broken families, putting the missing piece into the puzzle, giving children and wives what they have been missing.
The story that is told in “Stepfather Factory” begins with the head of a company presenting the idea of the robot father, stating that this father is what families need to bring them together and make them happier. He points out how without the father around, some mothers consider killing themselves due to the brokenness of their home. This problem would be solved with the purchase of this father figure. The emptiness that has been inside of each member of these families with no father would be filled, according to this man’s proposal. The irony of this man’s speech is when he asks a young girl her name, she answers the man, and his response is simply, “whatever.” This shows that this man with such a good plan does not truly care about the welfare of these struggling families, but only for the lucrative outcome for himself and his company.
In the next verse of this piece, the head of the company is addressing his customers that seem to have problems after their purchases of these robotic fathers. This restates the fact that this man with the genius plan was much too interested in the money that he would receive from this project compared to the satisfaction of his customers. He speaks of the flaws of the robots, that their emotions cannot be controlled like that of a human. He also states that these negative traits can lead to negative acts, such as physical abuse to the members of the family. In the music video, the robot is seen hitting his wife, and hugging her immediately after. This demonstrates how the robot may have unpredicted stimulations of its emotions, due to the fact that he does not have feelings like a human being does.
The main point in which El-P is attempting to get across in my opinion is that the robot fathers cannot be good fathers without having true emotions or feelings. The robots can do the normal actions that a true father does, but when his emotions and those of others become mixed, the robot cannot comprehend their meaning, causing him to act in a negative manner. Children need fathers that are able to understand their emotions and to care for them in a way in which creates a positive environment. The concept of robot fathers may be a wake-up call to society, that fathers or even mothers need to start raising their children to someday become successful, rather than simply being figurative robots, hardly being a part of their lives.
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