Analyse the conflict between appearances and reality in Blow-Up! Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow Up deals with the issue of identity in postmodern society. We follow Thomas, a photographer around London in the 1960s, and we see the film through Thomas’s perspective. Appearance and reality may begin to conflict when the viewer suspects that Thomas’s motive is to apply meaning to his life and identity. Exploring the complex nature of this film’s reality requires examining the significance of images, their context to reality, and the value and meanings prescribed to them. With reference to reality within Blow Up, Antonioni states“Reality has a quality of freedom about it that is hard to explain. This film, perhaps, is like Zen; the moment you explain it, you betray it. I mean, a film you can explain in words, isn't a real film.” (Antonioni, 1996. 149) The conflict between appearance and reality can be explored by examining Thomas’s relationship with his photographs. Thomas treats his images with a great level of care and respect, quite contrastingly to his attitude towards the models on his photo-shoots. We may note here that Thomas is empowered by his images, as when a woman confronts him, seeking to buy some photographs from him. By viewing Thomas’s relationship with his images in this way, we note that he is roused from his dull existence by them. The theme of escapism can be applied to Thomas’s motivation, as he seems to behave erratically to avoid the monotony of everyday life. Nezar AlSayyad contributes an idea about the significance of the lens, by stating “the lens is thus depicted as a tool for both pleasure and security.” (AlSayyad, 2007, 149)Bearing these ideas in mind, Thomas uses images as a means to alter his reality. In... ... middle of paper ... ...an individual’s sense of self becomes questionable. One can interpret Thomas’s journey as one which is fuelled by his desire for a constant meaning to his existence. The film reflects how a sudden onset of inspiration allows us to escape a monotonous daily existence. It is not Thomas’s failing perception that is the antagonist within this film, but rather it is true reality. Images, the treatment of meaning in photographs, and the act of pretending are all escape mechanisms that Thomas uses to flee reality, whether he uses them consciously or unconsciously is remains unclear. Bibliography: Michealangelo Antonioni (1996) The Architecture of Vision. New York: Marsilio Publishers. 91, 149 Seymour Chatman, (1985) Antonioni, or the Surface of the World, Berkeley: University of California Press. 140 Nezar AlSayyad (2007) Cinematic Urbansim, Routledge: New York 148, 149
In society we are surrounded by images, immersed in a visual world with symbols and meaning created through traditional literary devices, but augmented with the influence of graphics, words, positioning and colour. The images of Peter Goldsworthy’s novel, Maestro (1989) move within these diameters and in many ways the visions of Ivan Sen’s film Beneath Clouds (2002) linger in the same way. Both these texts explore themes of appearance versus reality and influence of setting, by evoking emotion in the responder through their distinctively visual elements.
Curtis’s work represents the ideological construction of foreign cultures in the 'way of seeing' that is suitable for the audience of the photograph and the photographer. This illustrates the highly political motives of photograph, carrying multiple meanings in order to craft certain imaginations of the subject (Berger, 1972). As a result of the power that the photographer has on its subjects, certain messages and ‘way of seeing’ are depicted through photographs. For instance, expected gender roles are played out in photographs of the Indian subjects, portraying the expectation of Curtis and his audience of the masculine and feminine behaviour by the subjects conforming to such gender standards (Jackson, 1992). Indian men are captured in what Jackson (1992) describes as ‘active poses’, such as fishing or dancing, juxtaposed with the ‘passive poses’ of female subjects, photographed in more decorative postured of waiting and watching. Though it can be argued that the manipulation and selection of images by Curtis as an artist’s ‘creative manipulation’ of their work, Curtis’ photography was used as a scientific measure, and hence should be devoid of such influences (Jackson,
Having such an image before our eyes, often we fail to recognize the message it is trying to display from a certain point of view. Through Clark’s statement, it is evident that a photograph holds a graphic message, which mirrors the representation of our way of thinking with the world sights, which therefore engages other
The art world of photography is changing all the time. Peter Schjeldahl starts out with a very strong and well written paragraph about the world of art. Peter Schjeldahl says, “You can always tell a William Eggleston photograph. It’s the one in color that hits you in the face and leaves you confused and happy, and perhaps convinces you that you don’t understand photography nearly as well as you thought you did”. These couple of sentences are very strong and flow so well together, and they grab the reader’s attention. Peter explains how William Eggleston was known as a great American photographer.
...ment of himself as a man, as a provider of his family and most important of what he wants to be, which draws him to a completely discomfort of who he is and lost his mind in a parallel world where he is not afraid of the men in the portrait anymore and let himself been through his transformation and finally release in his death.
The power within the mind provides people with the opportunity to create an illusion of one’s life. These illusions sprout from dreams that often are unobtainable, as they strive to reach perfection in life which is known to be impossible. The mind crafted images provide people with an outlet to escape the terrifying truth of reality. Shielding oneself from reality is only a temporary solution, and can create social struggles as well as tension. The struggle between wanting to live in a fantasy of dreams to escape the world, and accepting the hardships of reality has existed in society since the beginning of time. Tennessee Williams demonstrates that many fall into the temptation to escape reality by living in an imagination where truth and responsibilities are neglected in his novel The Glass Menagerie.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, which contains and portrays many themes in outstanding ways. Throughout this play, the title character, Hamlet, is obsessed with trapping a culprit and bringing him to justice. (Hamlet, 15) Sorting fact from fiction and appearance from reality is a major theme of the play. Appearance vs. Reality encircles throughout the play and remains constant. It’s about those characters that play their roles behind the veil of duplicity. Within the play, everything appears to be true and accurate, but in reality it’s vice-versa. (Hamlet- Appearance vs. Reality) In this play, Appearance vs. Reality is dealt with by many characters. The way Shakespeare used this theme in Hamlet is not only interesting, but quite astonishing in the way it affects the play in general, but the ending tremendously.
The essay How You See Yourself by Nicholas Mirzoeff discusses the evolution of art. The author discusses the use of art to represent changing identities over the years including cultural practices and societal expectations. The selfie, according to Nicholas Mirzoeff’s essay, is the equivalent of a self-portrait in the previous centuries preceding the technological development required for the present day selfie. The essay explores the different periods and the significance of art, particularly self-portraits, the selfies of the time, and their development over time. The author focuses on different themes including heroism, gender definition, and the focus of an image. Mirzoeff effectively provides examples illustrating and reinforcing the themes he highlights in his essay.
The camera is presented as a living eye in her work, capable of bending and twisting, contorting reality in its own light. It is at the same time a sensuous device, one that exp...
In the period between 1943 and 1950 Italian cinema was dominated by Neorealism which became the most significant film style of post-war Europe. Formation began back in 1936 when propagandists opened modern Cincitta studios and the film school name ‘Centro Sperimentaledi Cinematografia’. Along with the opening of schools such as this was a movement that placed a group of cinematographers under full-year contracts, among them was Carlo Montuori who used his classic techniques in creating ‘Bicycle Thieves’ (1948) one of the most well known films produced during the Neo-Realism movement. Perhaps also one of the most influential directors was Roberto Rossellini who directed Rome Open City at the end of WWII. Many directors and influential films such as this began to change and shape the way Italian films were made and what their relation to society was like.
Anger and frustration sets the tone for Thomas, for he wants his father to live and not give up on life. Additionally, Thomas is fearful of how he is dealing with his father’s inescapable demise. While men of difference may learn too late, and lament their lack of foresight, even they “do not go gently into the night,” instead they “rage, rage against the dying of the light” (18, 19). Through, Thomas’ use of building blocks like form and symbol, he creates an observation of one man’s last resort to begging his father to not give into death. True, Thomas is angry, but no child wants to lose a parent.
In the book “Ways of Seeing,” John Berger explains several essential aspects of art through influence of the Marxism and art history that relates to social history and the sense of sight. Berger examines the dominance of ideologies in the history of traditional art and reflects on the history, class, and ideology as a field of cultural discourse, cultural consumption and cultural practice. Berger argues, “Realism is a powerful link to ownership and money through the dominance of power.”(p.90)[1] The aesthetics of art and present historical methodology lack focus in comparison to the pictorial essay. In chapter six of the book, the pictorial imagery demonstrates a variety of art forms connoting its realism and diversity of the power of connecting to wealth in contradiction to the deprived in the western culture. The images used in this chapter relate to one another and state in the analogy the connection of realism that is depicted in social statues, landscapes, and portraiture, also present in the state of medium that was used to create this work of art.
Thomas has a distinctive way of sharing his stories: he shuts his eyes every moment before he begins his journey, as if he is envisioning the story inside of his mind and reliving the event he elaborates on. As he goes through each particular event, Thomas’s facial expressions conveys exactly how he feels during the moments. His features light up because of his excessive joy of the memory and he proceeds to dramatically recount his memory to audience, in hopes they receive his story well and enjoy it. The pleasure he takes in recalling his memories is related as to why people tell stories themselves--it is because it invokes pleasant feelings of nostalgia. People tell stories because they want to share a snippet of their lives or the lives of loved ones with others, and in result, they also have the opportunity to reflect on their memories. Moreover, The way the audience gives an account of Thomas’s stories also correlates to Lisel Mueller’s quote (stated in the previous paragraph) which shows how every story can be told differently. People paraphrase, using their own similes and comparisons to tell their version of the story. Comparing their version to the original,
Tom clearly does not believe that staying at home with his mother and sister is worth the unhappiness he feels. A common issue that arises in The Glass Menagerie is Tom’s nightly trips to the movies. When asked about his frequent trips to the movies, Tom describes that “adventure is something I [he]” doesn’t “have much of at work.” (4.Tom) Living vicariously through the movies he sees, remains one of Tom’s only true sources of happiness.
As seen in paintings of battle scenes and portraits of wealthy Renaissance aristocracy, people have always strived to preserve and document their existence. The creation of photography was merely the logical continuum of human nature’s innate desire to preserve the past, as well as a necessary reaction to a world in a stage of dramatic and irreversible change. It is not a coincidence that photography arose in major industrial cities towards the end of the nineteenth century.