#8 Carry it Forward: The Perfect Human

The idea behind Von Trier & Leth's project to recreate The Perfect Human in the movie The Five Obstructions was to challenge Leth's film making ability, and expand his creativity by challenging him to think outside of the box to create a film. In a take-off of obstruction #2 which was created in Cuba, I think a The Wizard of Oz, or a short film based on it, should be recreated in a variety of countries, subcultures and cultures.

The Wizard of Oz is largely based of things we value in the U.S.: courage, intelligence (a brain) and love or passion (a heart). I would be interested in seeing a short film based on the plot line of the Wizard of Oz, but carried out in other countries. Instead of a traditional American clothing and a dog carried in a picnic basket, Dorothy would be representative of other countries' "typical" people. It could end up being very strange, but I think it would be an intriguing insight into foreign cultures through an adaptation on a classic American film. The film would not have to follow the plot exactly but instead the general message.

Directors would be at liberty to recreate with their own perceptions of what the most important main themes are. Not only does a project like this force the director to analyze and explain his or her interpretation of the original film, it also forces the director to understand and analyze a different culture in order to portray its values in a film.

Interesting cultures or countries to recreate with: India, Cuba, indigenous tribes of Africa, Mexico, etc.

#7 Carry it Forward: Letters to a Young Poet

Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet has a strong focus on the importance of solitude. Most of the deep, contemplative periods of thinking I have are a result of conversations with friends or family, or in classes like Humanities or Issues and Answers. Rilke talks a great deal about what solitude can do for a person, and that being alone is necessary if you eventually want to have a unified relationship with another person, because solitude is an essential part of attain a full understanding of yourself.

At this point in my life, attaining an understand of yourself and "finding yourself" is a common goal. Next year, our class will go off to college and people will start to develop personal identities away from their families and friends, but these identities are not very different from what we've grown up with. Next year, I am taking a gap year and traveling to Chile, and Rilke's idea of learning from solitude is something I can utilize. I realized that though I would still grow in college, I have the ability to truly understand myself, my life and my future because of my plans for next year. I know that in Chile I will be forced into situations way outside of my comfort zone and away from the culture and social atmosphere I have been raised in. Because I'll be away from all things familiar to me, I have a chance to figure out what I am like when I am not being influenced by my friends, my country, my family, my school or the media and culture where I live.

When in solitude, we are stripped of everything that we try to hide behind. We have noone to rely on, to copy, or to lie to. When in solitude, the only person you are lying to is yourself, so there is a certain forced truthfulness that comes out of solitary contemplation. I will keep in mind the powers of solitude, and not fear the loneliness or desperation it seems to evoke. I want to focus on learning about who I am outside of the environment I am in, and make sure to stay true to myself.

Photo: tiquetonne2067

Challenging the Status Quo

It is necessary in any functioning society that people challenge the status quo. Accepting the way things are is what leads countries into total control by the government. In many ways, messages sent out by the government, much like the advertisements of "liberty bonds" and idealization of war during WWI, can affect the population and if people don't resist, freedom is swiftly taken away.

Of course, much of what people think about when they think about challenging the status quo isn't to the government, it's to popular culture. But this is still just as vital to a society's well being.

If artists never challenged the church and broke away from realistic paintings of everyday life, or broke away from paintings of biblical scenes, we would have missed out on almost all of the "greats" of art. If the Voskuijls and Gies' never broke away from the status quo mindset of German's during World War II, Anne Frank's family would never have been able to survive in hiding as long as they did. Essentially, if the status quo is not challenge as much as possible, no progress in a society will ever take place.

However, it is impossible to 100% challenge the status quo of society because so much of our thoughts and morals are biased and based off of our condition in society. As much as we try to break free from any societal influence, it is impossible to neglect it entirely because it is so ingrained in us.

[Photo credit: Creap-- Flickr] Photo of rebellion on rebellion about rebellion...graffiti opposing the graffiti made about Che, a leader of rebellion.

Best Of The Week

Studying "mash-ups," bootleg culture and different ways people challenge the status quo has forced me to examine what I think about the way the music industry is starting to accept more and more "mash-up" art as cool new music. But my idea has mainly stayed the same-- while the music produced by artists like Girl Talk may not take as much technical skill as was required of the original artists, it's just a different type of creation and takes an imaginative and creative mindset.

Still, I think it's easier to defend the work of artists who "bootleg" content from other people to send out a clear public message, like Evolution Control Committee's "Rocked By Rape". This video sent out a clear message of defiance to the way the world is, and wanted to point out all of the destruction going on in our world. It sends an interesting message to those who have been desensitized to the constant explanation of horrific world events by the calm and collected newscasters of America. It is easy to defend works like this, that attempt to make a positive change or send out a message of awareness. However, it is nearly impossible to define bootleg work as "good" or "bad," which is why I would defend the rights of any artist who wants to use other material in his own work.

All artists are inspired by other art and other work, and it will come across in anything they create, but "mash up" style creation seems to me like it is just directly citing the other artist. Though they may not put the name in the credits, people know that what they're hearing is a compilation of other artists' work.

However, even though