Humanities 104 Final Review Flashcards
The Island of Dr. Moreau: How does the author suggest that this novel centers on the Darwinian struggle for survival
The whole novel is centered around Darwinian struggle for survival especially through Dr. Moreau’s God-like persona. He creates these Beast-like creatures to challenge the notion of what makes a human human and the lack of control over nature. The notion of the survival of the fittest was challenged by the introduction of Beast Creature. Dr. Moreau thought he could manipulate nature and evolution to edit these creatures’ natural survival instincts.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920): how does the director challenge the prevailing social order?
During the time this film was released there was much societal change in several different categories such as politics and socio-economics. This came out post WWI which after the war the social order was practically non existent. There were people of all different social classes who fought together in the war, they were not worried about which tax bracket they were in rather they were more focused on survival. Even after the war there was still a very blurred line between social classes. The world in this film is portrayed by instability in reality and evilness in authority figures. Many Germans after the war felt lost after the war which is why the rise of Hitler almost gave the German people a promise of hope and unity in the nation.
Black Panther (1966): how do the creators suggest that this hero symbolizes Black Power?
“The Semplica Girl Diaries” (2012): how does the author affiliate his story with Surrealism?
Give a brief (2-3 ¶) account of ONE of those movements OR explain what distinguishes between TWO similar movements. Provide vivid descriptions of specific artworks as the basis for your characterization of each movement’s aims and accomplishments.
Futurism:
Futurism art emphasized movement, technology, violence, and the modern nationalist movement. It was started in Italy in the early 20th century with the launch of the Futurist Manifesto in 1909. The manifesto advocated for leaving behind traditional art and culture and glorifying modernization. Futurist artists were fascinated by the dynamism of industrialization which is expressed through artwork such as “Armored Train in Action ‘’ by Gino Severini and “The Revolt” by Luigi Russolo.
Both artworks emphasize the usage of trains and the movement they created. The sharp angles and lines demonstrate the direction of the train and maybe even how fast they are going. In “The Revolt” the train does not seem to be the center of the piece rather the weaponry that these men on the train are using. They are highly industrialized weapons that were being introduced into modern warfare during this time period. The yellow triangles and smoke surrounding it highlights how powerful these new weapons are. In the “Armored Train in Action”, the painting spotlights what looks like normal civilians using the train as a faster way to get around the city. Some of the figures look like they even have their hands up in excitement.
Artworks that are apart of the Futurist movement
- Armored Train in Action, Gino Severeni
- The Revolt, Luigi Russolo
Explore the role of monsters in the literature and film we’ve studied this semester, focusing on at least TWO and no more than THREE works from Humanities.
Metamorphosis
Undergoes a physical transition that makes him to appear as a monster to his family
Aligns with the traditional grotesque and horrifying nature of monsters
Behaves like a creature, climbs the walls and hides under beds
Own father even injures him because he believed that Gregor was trying to hurt his own mother
His monster like identity strips him of his humanity, he can’t communicate with his family or even eat the food he used to like
Family believes that they need to get rid of Gregor and he inevitably ends up dying alone
Parents disown him as their son because of his outward appearance
Is he really a monster though?
He seems to be cowardly and more concerned about not hurting his family/trying not to scare them
Some monsters are known for being misunderstood creatures
Gregor has a sense of internal monstrosity which was eventually reflected on his outward appearance
In a way he is both the victim and the monster
His human self is dead because of the monster taking over
Island of Dr. Moreau
The Beast like creatures seem to be portrayed as monsters because of their uncanny resemblance of humans but not quite human
They were forced into becoming monsters through torture and mental pain through Dr. Moreau’s experiments
The beast creatures may resemble actual monsters but the real monster of the story is Dr. Moreau
Beast creatures are meant to serve the needs of their human creator
Both Gregor and Beast Creatures are timid in nature but depicted as being monstrous creatures (they did not choose this path
Both initially exploited for their servitude and work
Gregor is used by his family to work and earn them money
Beast creatures are exploited for their labor to serve Dr. Moreau
Undergoes a metamorphosis just like Gregor does in the sense that they change from their natural state of being an animal to a human resembling creature
Drawing on at least TWO and no more than THREE works from Humanities, discuss the question of what, if anything, the individual owes to their family, to their people, or to society at large.
Paintings during the early 20th century challenged traditional realism in art
-Ex. Pablo Picasso
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
Portrayed women in an abstract way almost changing the way that society viewed women
Emphasized geometric form and utilized space in his artwork
In a way as he was breaking down his art subjects geometrically, he was also breaking down the expectations of what art should be
Portraying these women in a brothel was very scandalous during his time
Took away from the traditional views of femininity and beauty
Women were more angular and harsh and not so much soft and elegant as traditionally depicted
Picasso was inspired by Iberian sculptures which was controversial since he was incorporating non- Western design techniques into Western Art
Can tie into imperialism in a way since people in the West believed everything they did to be better than anything that was considered non Western
So Picasso scrapping western inspiration for non western was highly controversial
-Egon Schiele, Self Portrait
Raw emotions seen in this image
Emphasizes emotions over reality
Vulnerability
Distorted version of human body in contrast to the traditional style of sketching the human body
Almost looks like he has been burned or his body has been stretched with the change of skin tones
Changes beauty standards and seen as scandalous
Can be seen as a cultural defiance
Both artworks challenge the views on traditional paintings of the human body
Express the geometric lines that us humans have
Challenged social and cultural norms and changed what people considered beauty
Pablo Picasso’s painting
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
