The 13^th Documentary by director Ava DuVernay was a very eye opening film. To be honest, I never really thought of prison as a form of slavery. The documentary brought acknowledgement to the series of events that led to this view of African Americans. African Americans were portrayed as animalistic in movies during a time of slavery and this set forth the portrayal that they were even after slavery was abolished. Even after freedom, African Americans were imprisoned.

The evolution from Birth of a Nation, to KKK terrorism, Jim Crow, Civil rights movement, and even to this day with current events about Trayvon Martin and such, it is really amazing to see that society has shaped itself according to this portrayal of African Americans.

The film also brought to attention how our presidents from Nixon to Bush set into place this portrayal. The film even acknowledges that Bush won the election by creating fear around blacks as criminal. Even a lot of our laws such as ALEC have many underlying meanings behind them. It is really unbelievable and startling if one opens their eyes to these events.

This film is honestly a really amazing work of film. It is extremely well evidenced and the format made is very interesting despite the length of the film. The unfairness of our systems and the values that our nation was built on really amazes me. This image and portrayal of people really amazes me. I was pretty oblivious to these events and this film was a very eye opening and impactful work. Even moving into current events, it seems that our nation is continuing on this path.

The artwork that had the most impact and impression on my was Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. This art piece is very abstract and has very detailed brush strokes with a combination of colors. At a far glance, it is very beautiful and pleasing to the eyes. The many colors and various shapes contribute to the ambiguous meaning of the artwork. I got a very sad feeling from this painting almost as if the artist drew it at his deepest moment. I am reminded of that because I can imagine someone overlooking the stars from a balcony and pondering about their life. This is the feeling the art gives me. I feel very calmed by it; the stars have that kind of effect on you. The waves inside in the painting and the various shapes make this painting very abstract. It reminds me of the artwork we viewed in class, of the man with the shocked face. That artwork is very similar to Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, as it uses the similar artwork style. It too has, many shapes, colors, as well as waves. Despite the overwhelming shapes and variations of colors in these types of artwork, somehow it has left a great impression on me. The Starry Night is really an amazing piece of artwork and honestly it was hard choosing one piece. I and the Village by Marc Chagall was another amazing abstract piece that I enjoyed seeing. After my visit to Moma, I was amazed at how much I was able to appreciate the artwork and I also found that my taste for artwork is more of the abstract type.

Family Romance is very evident in Faulkner’s “Barn Burning”. We can see in Snope’s maturation the progression of family romance that Frued talks of. First Snope out of obligation and respect of his father as well as the fact that he views his father as an authorative figure, protects him. He lies for the court in order to protect his father despite his growing hatred for him. Already here we can see that his degenerating feelings for him is becoming to mature. However, he still has a bit of respect and oblgation toward his father as he has grown up with him as an authoritative figure. Another example of family romance is the fact that he has nuch more hatred toward his father than his mother. We can see his feeling toward his motjer as evidence of family romance in Faulkner’s story. As the story progresses, so does Snope’s maturation process. He is beginning to feel like he doesnt need to follow the authority of his father. He feels himself more reluctant to lie for his father. He begins to try to evidence his father. Finally in the end, he decides to give his father in and reveal that the burning was his doing. He does this without hestitaion or looking back. At this point in the story he is considered to be fully matured. Like Frued describes, young kids grow up admiring their parents and slowly they mature and shift in their perception of their authoriatative figures. Here we can see exactly that in Faulker’s story.

One step outside and Vanessa could feel that the weather was very nice. The sky was bright and it was cool, but not too cold. She walked to the bus stop at a slow pace as she was early today. When she got on the bus, she was surprised to see that there was many seats, which was unusual. She thought to herself, Where are all the people today? It’s not as crowded today. Vanessa got on the bus and arrived at main street soon enough. She got off the bus and walked to the 7 train station. The 7 train was always busy especially at rush hour, so it was even weirder that it wasn’t crowded. “This is really weird” she said. She got on the 7 train and sat down. She arrived at Grand Central Station soon after. As she got off, she walked to the 6 train station. As she walked to the 6 train she saw a lady selling water and soda. She thought it was very interesting that she was selling water in the train station. As she walked past the lady, an unpleasant smell entered her nose. It smelled like gasoline except worse. What a nauseating scent. She walked quickly as to avoid the scent. She got on the 6 train and got off at 23rd street. She was 40 minutes early so she was able to get a coffee on her way to school. She walked for a couple minutes and finally arrived at school. What a nice and hassle free commute today.

In the very beginning of Fredrick Douglass’ narrative, Douglas speaks about the abuse and torture that women slaves were subjected to. The image of his aunt being beaten relentlessly was an image that Douglass was unable to forget. The horror and unjusifiable act of slavery is often discussed about. Man and slavery is also discussed, however women and their encounter with the horrors of slavery is often overlooked as the article discusses. The article by New York Times discusses how the new film “The Birth of a New Nation” depicts the helplessness of women slaves in their postiitons. Women often experienced the worst  imaginable torture under slave owners. They were beaten and raped savagely and couldnt voice their pain and troubles. Fredrick Douglass describes these conditions in graphic    detail. The article discusses a character named Esther in the movie who rarely speaks. She represents the population of slave women who just like her are unable to act or speak out. They cannot do so. They were forbidden to do things, yet such horrendous acts were committed upon them. Douglass watched his aunt being beat merclessly without being able to do anything even though she was his aunt. Even when Esther cries into her husbands arms, he probably was not able to do much for her as well. Women who were slaves experienced unimaginable violence and abuse. They were beaten and raped horrendously and even those around them, relatives and family looked on helplessly. However, perhaps the violence Douglass was subject to and the conditions he saw especially with women contributed to his determination to speak up and become a leader in the abolition movement

William Blake’s The Lamb depicts the lamb as an gentle, dependent animal. Blake emphasizes that the lamb is given life, food, as well as clothes. This shows that the lamb is a dependent creature reliant on the so called one “who made thee”. Frankenstein’s creature can be compared to the Lamb in William Blake’s poem. The creature just like the lamb, is created, given life by its creator. The creature is born innocent and created with Frankenstein’s good heart of intention. A creature is born innocent and “meek and mild”. It is his environment and influence that change it. Later on in the novel, the monster commits murder. These murders are committed because of Frankenstein’s rejection of his creation. The feelings of dejection the creature feels are what influenced it to commit these deeds. Just like the lamb, the creature is born innocent, like a child, as Blake says. When the creature commits murder, it can be compared to the Tyger, as a ruthless creature. However, Blake’s emphasis from both poems, is on the creator. At one point in The Tyger, he says, “Did he who made the lamb make thee?” In my opinion, this reference shows that all animals are created innocent, but change throughout their existence through certain influences. Even in the end, the creature is extremely distraught by Frankenstein’s death. His emotions show that his true nature is innocent and gentle, like that of a lamb. His emotions express his deep devotion toward his creator, just as Blake’s poem emphasizes the lamb’s creator, who gives the lamb food and clothes.

After I climbed this hill, I turned back to take a picture. This is the hill that i always walk up on my way to work and it is a representation of the sublime. It has beauty and terror. It has beauty in the sense that I am allowed to enjoy the daily surroundings as I walk to work, but at the same time I know there is danger. When it is dark at night, the road seems to become especially narrow, from my perception. It is perhaps only my opinion. I do enjoy walking up this hill on my way to work as I can enjoy nature around me. But, this hill also has terror. The roads are very dark when night hits and a couple incidents have occurred here. The hill also represents the upward motion of looking toward the future. I see myself climbing up to better things. Looking back, just as I did in this picture reminds me that I have overcome many things. People are always supposed to move forward and not backward on their mistakes and this picture is a depiction of this. The hill has sublimity. There is beauty is surpassing and overcoming the challenges in your daily life, but there is terror in not knowing what is beyond and past the hill. Looking back at the hill gives me a sense of calmness that there is both beauty and terror in our future and past.

The leaves have all fallen leaving not one single leaf; what remains is the sturdy roots of the oak tress. However, the oak trees appear very sad and lonely because they have withered from the long and dark winters. The trees are dead just like the dead in the graveyard. Even the Abbey that stands tall appears as if it is losing its will to stand. The gravestones have eroded from weather conditions and appear wilted. It has taken a lot of wear and tear of the years as have the trees. All around there is death. All that can be seen is the aura of death. Despite this, there is a glimmer of hope. There are a couple of people walking toward the Abbey. Perhaps, they are planning to modernize the fading Abbey and the surrounding oak trees. The sun that is rising over the dark Abbey and oak trees provides a sense that not all hope is lost, that past death there is life and happiness that awaits. Although Casper David Frederick’s painting is very dark and gloomy and seems to reference death all around as a theme, there seems to be an underlying message that everything will turn out fine. The contrast between the bottom half and the top half shows that even though there is darkness, there is also light. The light peeping through and the people walking through the Abbey provides a sense that there will be hope and glory.

Humans, by nature have always been very curious beings. We are always questioning the things and occurrences around us. Perhaps, this is why people filled their need for knowledge with telling stories and writing poems. This was a way to express their feelings and opinions. Stories and poems were inspirational boards for them; to allow their minds to roam creatively. Telling stories, writing poems and stories was the start of the spread of fiction. People created stories to fill their curiosity and the spread of these stories are what led us to gain the knowledge we have today. Although these tellings of stories were fictitious, they allowed us to broaden our views. They often reveal our deepest desires as well as what we want for our own lives. These stories allow us to become more knowledgeable about self improvement, as well as expanding and opening our minds to ideas; which is what leads us to greater knowledge. Even today we are knowledgeable because of media such as fictional stories, movies, and such. From these works, we are able to entertain ourselves to fill a void as well as obtain knowledge on all types of ideas and subjects.