Hans Bassich In the painting of the Liberation of the Peon, Diego Rivera depicts soldiers cutting down a naked man from a post. At first glance, the soldiers appear to have whipped and beaten the man. Without careful deliberation, viewers could easily interpret the scene this way due to the visible scars on the man’s body. However, through visual clues, viewers of the Liberation of the Peon can infer that this is not the case. In actuality, the soldiers are helping the man down from the post and providing him with a blanket. In the Liberation of the Peon, Diego Rivera uses a variety of visual elements, such as directional lines, in order to draw our attention to the man tied to the post. For example, the knife held by one of the soldiers brings the viewer’s focus not only to the rope tying the man to the post, but also to the man himself by pointing the knife’s tip towards him. Rivera also uses the soldiers themselves to help bring attention to the tied up man. The solider on the left, who is holding the man’s head up, is wearing three sets of bullets around his body. One set of bullets is laying across his right shoulder, with the bullets pointing down to the man. The other two sets of bullets, one across the soldier’s left shoulder and the other around his waist, are drawing more …show more content…
attention to the soldier’s cutting the rope. In addition, this soldier has a gun holstered on his leg, which also serves the purpose of bringing attention to the cutting of the rope. On final example of directional line is the blanket held by one of the soldiers. Rivera has drawn lines into the blanket that point upwards to the soldiers cutting the rope. Each of these directional lines put emphasis on the soldiers cutting the rope on the beaten man, which is the focal point of the Liberation of the Peon. Other major visual elements used in the Liberation of the Peon are contrast and color. The soldiers, their horses, and the beaten man are composed of a pleasing variety of color, bringing our attention to this positive space in the foreground. In comparison, the surrounding landscape is primarily composed of a dull, single color, therefore creating the negative space. This bland negative space further accentuates the focus of the painting, which is the soldiers freeing the beaten man. The positive and negative spaces also have contrasting values. The negative background is lighter in color, while the positive foreground is rich in vibrant and darker colors. Although it may seem like the positive space has lots of variety, Rivera brought visual balance to the Liberation of the Peon. Rivera achieved this by painting hills and a burning village in the negative space, which are noticeable enough to counteract the variety of the positive space while not being too visually overwhelming. Rivera also uses scale to help create the sense of a more visually appealing scene.
For example, the soldier and horse at the far right are about the same height as one another. While Rivera could have made the soldiers a lot taller than the horses to signify their importance, he opts to make scale them realistically. Furthermore, Rivera also proportions the soldiers’ bodies realistically, adding to the visual appeal. For instance, the soldiers’ heads are not significantly larger than their bodies from what we would expect, or vice versa. Overall, Rivera uses a variety of elements to bring attention to the focal point of his painting while maintain visual
appeal. I believe that in the Liberation of the Peon, Rivera is trying to convey a rebellion or civil war of some kind, which a couple of clues convey. Firstly, we see the soldiers in the foreground and buildings burning in the background. This might suggest that the soldiers simply attacked the town for some unknown reason. However, the soldiers are also freeing a beaten man tied to a wooden post, who represents the oppressed or enslaved population. Therefore, the soldiers are freedom fighters, fighting to free their town from the oppression of their rulers or government.
‘A Fabricated Mexican’ is a novel by Ricky Rivera in which he chronicles his life as he grows from a child farm worker to a Ph.D. candidate. He takes us through his journey in his search for his personal identity. In the book we find that his journey has not been an easy one. This difficult journey is due to many factors, most importantly the people who have surrounded him during this journey.
The dialogue Crew has written between “old pa” and his grandson “we got chopped to bits at ypres” (Memorial, 1999) shows the brutal and slaughterus experiences “old pa” went through during the First World War. By Tan using the colour blue in “old pa’s” eyes, he accentuates the saddness, therefore showing a message that it is not only a book that is able to tell a story but it can also be told through people’s eyes. This allows the audience to connect on a deeper level with the realism and historical past of the war, as well as the past life expeiences in the grandfather’s stories. The use of the army camouflage colours in the illustrations is also a strong tool in suggesting to the children that this book has a direct connection to the army, soldiers, wars and battles. The images of the people, the soldiers and the women also add to the historical reality of the content of the
Mexican Americans have been in this country longer than many groups of people. Although, they have been here longer, whites took thier land from them. Along with taking their land from them, they took all the pride that the Mexicans Americans had. It seemed that way until they started fighting for their rights in the early nineteen hundreds. Treaties were made that gave land rights to them and speeches were made by political leaders deeming this countries actions unjust. However, the treaties were ignored and the speeches were ploys to gain votes. Many Mexican American leaders noticed that their people were mistreated and walked all over by the anglo government.
Evil is omnipresent, but it cannot be clearly perceived without an unbiased understanding of its intent and motivation. In “The Tattooed Soldier”, this sense of evil is depicted in the two main characters, Antonio Bernal and Guillermo Longoria. The book is set in the late 20th century era of Los Angeles, where the city is in a state of riot and utter chaos. The story focuses on Antonio, a political refugee from a dictated Guatemala, and Longoria, a former member of the Guatemalan death squad. They came to Los Angeles from the same country, but their beliefs and actions differ severely. When their paths cross, Antonio is struck with fear, because he recognizes Longoria as the tattooed soldier who killed his family. The encounter triggers a flashback
Incidentally, as I write this paper I gaze upon a framed picture of a man. Over the right shoulder in the background is a blue field with silver stars behind his right shoulder. In juxtaposition behind his left shoulder is a field of red containing a pattern of gold and silver. His cover is stark white, precisely in the middle a gold eagle globe and anchor symbol. Determined blue eyes gaze back at me. His mouth set with resolve. His uniform, deep blue trimmed in red. Gold buttons run down the center. The leather neck fastened tight with two gold eagle globe and anchors on either side of the closure. A United States Marine stares back at me and I weep because some general, some officer one day may consider my son to be an acceptable loss.
José Antonio Villarreal’s Pocho does a superb job of dealing with both the common coming of age narrative and the tensions faced by Latino Americans. Richard Rubio attempts to remain individualistic throughout his life but struggles with what that means within the confines that his heritage and society structure him into. Characters ebb and flow through his life, each having certain standards, expectations or ideals predetermined about him. Richard attempts to cast off and ignore the pressures they place on him, and instead forage his own path for what his future is to look like. I believe that the conflict between his family’s Mexican heritage and his American home is what forces Richard to actively pursue, and even fight, for his individuality.
... in a common effort that contributed to protest activities. The photograph also uses tension to portray the two conflicting ideologies. There is visible tension between the guardsmen and the protestors; the guns represent war and violence while the flowers represent peace, love and nature. The National Guardsmen also look very uneasy while the protestors look content and comfortable. The union of the two creates tension in this photograph because they are so meaningful alone, making this photograph a very iconic image of the time.
In 1910, the first social upheaval of the 20th century was unleashed in Mexico. Known as the Mexican Revolution, its historical importance and impact inspired an abundance of internationally renowned South American authors. Mariano Azuela is one of these, whose novel, "The Underdogs" is often described as a classic of modern Hispanic literature. Having served as a doctor under Pancho Villa, a revolutionary leader of the era, Azuela's experience in the Revolution provides The Underdogs with incomparable authenticity of the political and social tendencies of the era between 1910 and 1920. The Underdogs recounts the living conditions of the Mexican peasants, the corruption of the government troops, and the revolutionary zeal behind the inspiring causes of the revolution. In vivid detail and honest truth, Azuela reveals the actuality of the extent of turmoil that plagued Mexico and its people during the revolution. However, before one can acknowledge The Underdogs as a reflection of the Mexican Revolution one must have an understanding the political state of Mexico prior to the Revolution and the presidents who reigned during it.
In every field of endeavor, in every activity known to Man, whether sailboarding or physics, hairdressing or chipmunk catching, there are people who excel, people who go far beyond the rest. They reach the epitome while we mere mortals look up from below and marvel. So, when you have read the 526 pages of Womack Jr.'s book [not counting the appendices], you can tell yourself that you have read THE book on Zapata and his role in the Mexican Revolution. The author used every source available, he interviewed all those who were left alive to talk. I wonder if any new printed sources will ever be found ? Certainly everyone who played a role, however insignificant, in those long ago days of 1909-1920 is now dead, making new interviews extremely unlikely. This is a work of art, a work of love, and a vast labor that surely took a few years off the life of the author, not to mention breaking some relationships. It is the definitive work so far on the subject. If you want to know the story of why and how Emiliano Zapata, a once insignificant small town horse trader and farmer, became a legendary rebel whose name resounds throughout Mexico today---a man who fought unwaveringly for the rights of small farmers and villagers to the land they worked---then you have no choice but to read this volume. This is the epitome, this is the story in unbelievable detail; political, economic, social, military. And yet, Zapata himself almost disappears in the vast bulk of detailed historical and interpretive observations. It is not so much a work on an individual as on the whole period in a small area of Mexico.
There was a huge revolution in the country of Mexico that started in the year 1910, led by Porfirio Diaz, the president of Mexico in 1910. In the 1860’s Diaz was important to Mexican politics and then was elected president in 1877. Diaz said that he would only be president for one year and then would resign, but after four years he was re-elected as the President of Mexico. Porfirio Diaz and the Mexican revolution had a huge impact on the country of Mexico that is still felt in some places today.
Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998) is a film that examines the Guadalcanal Battle of World War II, looking past the physical results of the violence, in order to uncover the deeper truths and ramifications of war. The film conveys themes and ideologies that are somewhat uncommon to war films, especially WW II films. In this dark, surreal, journey, Malick takes us inside the minds of soldiers experiencing this battle to capture a remote pacific island from the Japanese. We do not hear or see gruff, hardened soldiers, anxious to die for their country. In fact, there are no heroes in The Thin Red Line. There are only regular men, scared of fighting and scared of dying, who have been thrown into a situation that will forever change their lives. The fighting is not suspenseful or glorious just brutal. Using an ideological approach to the study of film, this paper will examine The Thin Red Line’s messages about the truths of war, and how it challenges our society’s stereotypical view of war as a valiant undertaking where brave men fighting for good battle the evil of the enemy. Consequently, the ideologies that are uncovered will then be used to look at The Thin Red Line as a war film, and how it fits and does not fit into the genre.
The Mexican Revolution began November 20th, 1910. It is disputable that it extended up to two decades and seized more than 900,000 lives. This revolution, however, also ended dictatorship in Mexico and restored the rights of farm workers, or peons, and its citizens. Revolutions are often started because a large group of individuals want to see a change. These beings decided to be the change that they wanted to see and risked many things, including their lives. Francisco “Pancho” Villa and Emiliano Zapata are the main revolutionaries remembered. These figures of the revolution took on the responsibility that came with the title. Their main goal was to regain the rights the people deserved. The peons believed that they deserved the land that they labored on. These workers rose up in a vehement conflict against those opposing and oppressing them. The United States was also significantly affected by this war because anybody who did not want to fight left the country and migrated north. While the end of the revolution may be considered to be in the year of 1917 with the draft of a new constitution, the fighting did not culminate until the 1930’s.
...s work The 3rd of May, 1808 is a very detailed and dramatic narrative within a collection of war themed works by the artist. I believe that by using the formal elements of color, texture, shape, lines, space, and the value I was able to sufficiently provide evidence that Goya offers a sequential order of direction for the audience to comprehend from their personal viewing. The twisted and grief stricken work creates a massive emotional connection and the artist plans for the viewers’ to grow and understand this message. The subject highlighted is obvious that Goya is passionate on his stance and outlook on war is suggested in the work. It’s obvious that Goya’s formal organization of his color palette, variation of brushes, repeating shapes, and play with lighting all correspond to depict man’s savage and at times monstrous actions are justified during war.
The painting was not very realistic. Napoleon is much larger then his horse. He was a very short man and only was about Five foot four inches tall. David did this on purpose to make him seem larger than life. Another unrealistic part of this painting was that he did not ride a horse he rode a mule. His point of doing that was to make him seem higher, like a king. Napoleons clothes were in great condition for completing such a hard task to d...
This photograph serves as an effective piece of rhetoric. It responds to the death of President Kennedy in a way that allows individual viewers to eulogize the fallen and perhaps find closure. It also provides a tribute to the president in a way that’s not too heavy handed or obvious.