Who We Are

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DreamsA small boy sits on his bed
Curled up in a ball
With a stuffed bear in his arms
'Tis his only friend
For his home is for orphans
And he is just too shy to say a word
Despite the frequent silence
He knows he will not sleep soundly tonight
An adolescent stares at a table
Speakers blare of outrageous music
Countless others speak of various subjects
She is in no mood for games or dancing
So, she wonders why she is there
A trio of women in college
Enter a club
All with the same goal
They have been in that festive place often
With sweet perfume and appealing apparel
They just hope to wake
The following morn without memory impairment
A grown man successful of his hard work
Goes directly home at the day's death
All he wants is a night
Without paper in his hand
So, he lights scented candles
And prepares a cup of tea and a bath
He lets out a long, deep sigh
When embraced by the steaming water
Tho he lives a good life
He knows what it is missing
The young man with the tool
That turns text into pi

Oh, what a subject art is. It can be anything, not just in pictures. Just like from what one sees in an ink blot, pictures, poems, songs, and stories tell the person's thoughts and emotions. What we see, what we read, what we hear: a part of the creator is put into it. Such can be the case of anyone.

In "V For Vendetta", Evey is the one to share a saying: "Artists use lies to tell the truth". That is true in the case of what we see on a stage or on a screen. In video games, there are interpretations from the thought: "What if people we once looked up to, are not what they seem?" That may be the case of the long-running video game franchise, "Assassin's Creed". Set in and around significant historical events, two companies compete to do right for the world. The Assassins go after powerful men who are seen as a destructive influence. Corruption from power has been a common theme for years. Since before the start of World War II, a rich man dressed up like a bat has been beating up people for information on crime rings and men inside the police department so he can derail organized crime. When starting out, cops were either bribed to look the other way or got away with their own dirty deeds, which is an abuse of power. Only one other large crime syndicate has been seen in the 007 franchise, and the drug lord bought out or intimidated anyone who got close to him. We get a good look at what the government does, based on bad feelings in the fifth Harry Potter book. Someone from the Ministry is sent to the school as a teacher, who slowly gains control while the Minister himself becomes paranoid.
There have been fictional characters that show what happen when one is pushed to the edge, which is seen when pouring pig's blood on top of a shy girl's head, or tricking a soldier into killing his own wife and daughter. Beyond that point, nothing is the same. Having a short temper, Rorschach from "Watchmen" shows no mercy toward anyone he fights. He was pushed toward the edge upon finding out what happened to a girl whose kidnapping he probed, and lost his sense of humanity. He feels no empathy, and he trusts no one. Being a sociopath and believed to be a lunatic, it may have been his partnership with Nite Owl II that kept him stable.
Another famous theme is "play within a play". Prince Hamlet wants confirmation that his uncle killed his father on cold blood, and had a touring theatre group build a scene of the killing in his interpretation. Normally, when the audience would feel something, the script/book must be well-written. This does not apply to the situation. The prince kept a close watch on his uncle's expression. From watching the play within the play, the king says, "Show me the light". This means that he wanted to see no more, a negative reaction--he was uneasy. Seeing as he was pushed to the edge, one can never know for certain that someone from the audience would be offended by what is seen or read. There was a movie from last year called "The Interview". It was really meant to be a comedy, which took two men to North Korea after speaking to their dictator. The release to theatres was cancelled due to the hacking of its distributor Sony, in my opinion, as a message of the wild offense.

Songs can tell as much one wants it to tell. To me, the outrage is the songs about sex. Rap may be an underrated genre. Not all raps are about a man having his way with a woman. All those black rappers likely express their disgust, their distaste, and their outrage of how their families were treated by the so-called superior white people decades ago. Out of all of them, Marshall Mathers--better known by his performing name Eminem--stands out. With his talent in writing poetry, he found himself writing his own raps all about the struggles in his life, which is highly relatable. He strove to achieve a successful career with what he seemed to do best.
As a subscriber of Eastern-European bands, I can tell a bit about them. They have as much art in their melodies as their lyrics. They have choir and an orchestra to go with the electric instruments. So, their songs can be about religion and incorporate mythological figures, making for a gothic feel. The Dutch band Epica, active for years, has made so many songs about disasters in the world along with the choices made through politics. They tell about other struggles. They're saying: "How will we live when we descend into anarchy? How can we even control ourselves when catastrophe strikes?" It's about more than death and changes. The Finnish band Nightwish builds their songs on imagination and fantasy. The synths and guitar with strings and winds give the magical feel. Tuomas actually found that Tarja's operatic voice is better complemented by electric guitar than acoustic.

With movies, anything can happen. You need a story, acting, and a believable environment. The way of realistic theatre may not be a factor here. I must say, however, that some things need to be kept quiet. Following the news about upcoming movies, makes for a hype. Without following the rumours or news, the viewers are in for more of a surprise, sort of like an actor in realistic theatre pretending that everything is happening for the first time. The art is in the costumes, which is brought into fantasy movies or movies based on novels and comic books. I made this point in a critique actually. With designing the wardrobe, one has a chance to give a character style while trying to match what would actually be worn in historic times, in space,  or in the future and on another planet.
The shots also tell about the movie. Focusing only on a character or what they do, tells the viewer about them, and what an event would lead to. The sounds also give a hint to what the character is feeling.
Also, specific scenes don't go without music. Music is mostly used for a montage or when a scene would just play out. Commonly, music would play when two or more characters are engaged in a fight, when showing a pair at it, when someone is in a panic, or with someone running and seeking.
I can't tell much about characters. The more that a character develops, the more complex they are. It adds to the story. I always believe "Think like the character".

I actually believe in the saying: "A picture is worth a thousand words" What one sees on a page or on a screen, tells anything. Just like with a movie set, there's a reason for the style and the colours used. Either the colour is used because the drawer likes it, or it's to tell the emotion, like with the atmosphere: a clear sky showing joy, and a grey sky showing sadness. There's no artist who doesn't know a challenge when it's seen. Either something is kept simple, or dedication is put into the thought waiting to be on paper. When one tells how much time they take, it says how hard they work on their piece. When it comes to the challenge, the real matter is the question "Am I up to it?"

For four years now, I have been an active deviant, and I've seen such amazing art while finding myself close to quite a few people I watch. In fact, I find that my dear friends on here are like family to me. I love you. Thank you for impressing me and for flattering me back.
And remember: Art is for anyone. You will know your specialty.