Susan Crile; Depicting Violence “America has been at war ninety percent of the time since 1776; 22 out of 239 years. We have an image of ourselves as out of touch with the reality of our military history, and we are on denial that we are waring nations. Gore Vidal said it well; we are on perpetual war for perpetual peace.” These were the first words said by Susan Crile during the discussion moderated by Harold Holzer, Director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. During these discussion, Susan talked about her paintings regarding the war and its outcomes where she tries to make the viewer feel and be aware of the pain and danger that a war represents to the humanity. (Crile) The twice awarded “National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships” Susan Crile, has been creating art to depict events such as the 1992 War in Iraq, the 9/11, Guantanamo, and the Abu Ghraib scandal. Although all these events are already covered on the media, she expressed that …show more content…
In order to accomplish her purpose, she made the paintings in large scale and some of them in multiple panels, she dominated the viewers’ space and prompted the ashes and tar by using materials such as charcoal, pastel, oil paint, and pumice. The artist tried to create images and abstractions that made the viewer feel involved in the image with close up views and simple details as tire tracks; she made the fire look so real, that the viewer can actually feel and see the fire burning around him or her. After four years of hard work, Susan finished her series “The Fires of War” and were first showed in April of 1994 at The St. Louis Art Museum.
The three narratives “Home Soil” by Irene Zabytko, “Song of Napalm” by Bruce Weigl, and “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen all have the same feelings of war and memory, although not everyone experiences the same war. Zabytko, Weigl, and Owen used shifting beats, dramatic descriptions, and intense, painful images, to convince us that the horror of war far outweighs the devoted awareness of those who fantasize war and the memories that support it.
An image has the explicit power of telling a story without saying any words, that’s the power behind a photo. A photo tends to comes with many sides to a story, it has the ability to manipulate and tell something differently. There is a tendency in America, where explicit photos of war or anything gruesome occurring in the world are censored for the public view. This censorship hides the reality of our world. In “The War Photo No One Would Publish” Torie DeGhett centers her argument on censorship, detailing the account of graphic Gulf War photo the American press refused to publish. (73) DeGhett argues that the American public shouldn’t be restrained from viewing graphic content of the war occurring around the world. She believes that incomplete
Susan Brewer brilliantly illustrates the historical facts of American government propagating violence. Scrutinizing the Philippine War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War the reader discovers an eerily Orwellian government manipulating her citizens instead of educating them. Brewer states, a "propaganda campaign seeks to disguise a paradoxical message: war is not a time for citizens to have an informed debate and make up their own minds even as they fight in the name of freedom to do just that." pg. 7 The Presidents of the United States and their administrations use propaganda, generation, after generation to enter into foreign wars for profit by manipulating the truth, which it is unnecessary for our government to do to her people.
In conclusion, while books, photos, movies and other historical documentation can portray information or a message about wartime events, they will never be able to produce the feelings of those that were personally involved in wars have experienced. Yet, it is incorrect to criticize these writers. The information they reveal is still very important historical information. Even if a reader or viewer of this media cannot feel exactly the same emotions as those involved, they still often experience an emotional connection to the events being depicted. This is important, not only for the historical knowledge gained about wars, but also to understand the nature and futility of their occurrence.
"The historian Will Durant calculated that there have been twenty nine years in all of human history during which a war was not underway somewhere." (Hedges, 2003). In fact more than half of my lifetime has consisted of the United States, my country, being at war. It is sad to know that I have no experienced peace. It is also alarming because I, like my peers, have become somewhat immune and numb to war. We have come to think of it as just another issue going on, and do not really see it as the drastic event that it really is. It is something that is just there; just in the background.
Ginzburg insists that time cannot heal the wounds of war and that her generation, tied to war by its suffering and by its destiny, uncompromisingly carries the truth. She effectively uses all her rhetorical tools: repetitive imagery, fatalistic tone, and purposeful lack of organization, to show how war makes people lose their world forever.
Anderson believes that Americans are good at remembering our wars, but we only remember the major wars that threatened our liberty, our freedom, or our values. Anderson says this is because we use them to remind ourselves of what sacrifice is. ...
For the great lesson which history imprints on the mind…is the tragic certainty that all wars gain their ultimate ends, whether great or petty, by the violation of personality, by the destruction of homes, by the paralysis of art and industry and letters…even wars entered on from high motives must rouse greed, cupidity, and blind hatred; that even in defensive warfare a people can defend its rights only by inflicting new wrongs; and that chivalrous no less than self-seeking war entails relentless destruction.
War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, written by the talented author Chris Hedges, gives us provoking thoughts that are somewhat painful to read but at the same time are quite personal confessions. Chris Hedges, a talented journalist to say the least, brings nearly 15 years of being a foreign correspondent to this book and subjectively concludes how all of his world experiences tie together. Throughout his book, he unifies themes present in all wars he experienced first hand. The most important themes I was able to draw from this book were, war skews reality, dominates culture, seduces society with its heroic attributes, distorts memory, and supports a cause, and allures us by a constant battle between death and love.
Though the statement might seem contradictory, there is an underlying truth that can be applied through both generations. The Party in the novel created these slogans to ensure continuation of control and power over their people. During wars nations unite and people focus on their common enemy and less on how despondent they are. Constant war shows that people are sacrificing, pledging and giving devotion to the country and consequently to the government. As a result, this keeps the general population under control. War brings forth devotion and patriotism to the country. The 1930 's and 1940 's involvement in WWII brought forth such patriotism that many people became less worried about the current depression their country was in. The History Channel states "Some of Hollywood’s top stars joined the military. Many appeared in government-produced training films and morale-boosting short subjects. Others participated directly in the fighting" (History.com). The article also states that during the war "Americans listened to more patriotic or war-related music" (History.com). In 2001 President George W. Bush declared a "War on Terrorism" and the country became unified and determined to fight and keep terrorist at bay. A Global Policy Forum article states that after the declaration was announced, "Washington called on other states to join in the fight against terrorism asserting that "either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists"" (War on Terrorism, GPF). From both the constant war in 1984, the continuing "War on Terrorism" and even WW2, has stemmed a universal detestation towards a single group. In the novel, the Brotherhood run by Emmanuel Goldstein is subjected to the hate and the blame of Oceania 's problems. "The program of the Two Minute Hate varied from day to day, but there was none in which Goldstein was not the principal figure"
Going to War The arrival of winter is well on its way. Colorful leaves had turned to brown and fallen from the branches of the trees. The sky opened to a new brightness with the disappearance of the leaves. As John drove down the country road, he was much more aware of all his surroundings.
Kenneth Burke’s War, Response, and Contradiction focusses on the link between art, contradictions, and society. In this article, the different interpretations of stimuli from the members of the same society reveals the contradictory nature of humans. Two main examples are the anticipated reactions to the ways war is represented and the comparison of a lamp and literature. Individuals within society will interpret war differently when exposed to human and inhuman images of war, revealing the contradictory nature of humans. Comparing a lamp to literature assists in showing contradictory nature of humans as the audience realizes that individuals within the same society have different interpretations of the same stimulus.
War has always been inevitable throughout the history of the world. The outcomes can differ greatly; it’s usually either a win or a loss. Wins or losses are just definite statements, but photos can represent these statements. Alfred Eisenstaedt’s “V-J Day in Times Square” shows an American sailor kissing a young woman right in the middle of Times Square, despite their surroundings. This iconic photo was taken after the U.S. declared victory over Japan in World War II, and was published in Life magazine a week later. John Gap’s (III) photo shows a young girl being consoled at a soldier’s funeral in a local high school gymnasium, later to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. This humble photo was taken during the war still raging in Afghanistan, showing that these types of losses happen quite often, as there are no iconic photos for Afghanistan compared to the photo shot after the win over World War II. Unlike its counterpart, this photo was published only at a local level on a website. Both these photos show a soldier being dismissed to go home from war. Although the two photos share that common factor, the scenario in which the soldier comes home differs greatly. Through these photos, Albert Eisenstaedt and John Gaps III help evoke pathos and give the observer a sense of the pride and the devastation felt of a home coming from war using photographic elements such as framing, focus, and angles.
America has a long history of glorifying war. Many of America's early presidents were war heroes, a tradition that started with America's first president, George Washington, who was a soldier in the American Revolution. Being a war hero was sometimes all that was needed for a candidate to be successful in his bid for the presidency. Zachary Taylor, for instance, had never even voted in a national election prior to his becoming president, but he was a war hero (Tindall 513). This exalted view of war filtered into American literature. American literature portrays war as the true test of manhood. Any "real" man should be more than willing to d...
War is defined differently from different perspectives, some may viewed it positively and some may not. Cochrane, 2008 in his book defined war as being a period of organized violence between at least two parties, who may come from transnational, state or sub-state sources. On the other hand, “war” can also be defined as a patriotic act where one seeks the determination to lead their country as well as a sweet act that willing to sacrifice for their country. It can be viewed cruel, inhumane, and at the same time, noble. Ironically, war can make an individual a hero or a criminal.