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Death at a Funeral
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Death at a Funeral
America is at the heart of a fresh era of films with racist connotations. The films define race in a very different way as compared to early films – a far more open approach to racism. Of course, racism has dominated American films for decades. The earliest movie that made racism a subject was The Birth of a Nation in 1915 in which the roots of Ku Klux Klan was celebrated. Movies also highlighted slavery in light of the white perspective on the topic. Classic movies like Gone with the Wild paid greater attention to the manner in which brute slave labor enhanced the lives of the whites – their idealism, romance and gallantry. The civil rights movement came out strongly to strike a balance between whites and blacks by the counter-narrative – Roots – that revealed the disguised cruelty in the white charm. Divisions have intensified since these early times. Movies by white people often justify the struggles whites endure in coexisting with the blacks. Similarly, movies by black people often justify the struggles blacks endure in coexisting with the whites. The division has intensified even in movies that incorporate aspects of both blacks and whites. Jungle Fever and Do the Right Thing were a manifestation of the difficulty in reconciling black and white narratives. At one moment, the two are together as depicted in some films while at yet another moment the two are torn apart in other films. This confusion is even worse than what used to be at the beginnings. This paper uses an expert analysis of Chris Rock’s Death at a Funeral to depict representations of race in American cultural productions.
Introducing the Expert
Kwame Anthony Appiah is a Ghanaian of British origin. He is a novelist, cultural theorist and philosopher. His areas of interest are philosophy of mind and language, political and moral theory, and African intellectual history. Appiah was bred in Ghana but pursued his Ph.D. at Cambridge University. He taught philosophy at the Princeton University before proceeding to the New York University early this year. Currently, Appiah is a member of New York University’s departments of law and philosophy.
Appiah’s dissertation at Cambridge University was an exploration of the challenges in semantics. He is attributed to the 1992 award winning novel In My Father’s House. His later books included The Ethics of Identity, Color Consciousness and Cosmopolitan: Ethics in a World of Strangers. He was also an editor of Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. In 1995, Appiah became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Summary of Death at a Funeral
The film is all about a funeral ceremony. Aaron and Ryan’s father is being buried. The older son, Aaron, has been staying at his parents’ home together with his wife Michelle. Dwspite several attempts to acquire their own home, Aaron and Michelle have never succeeded. Aaron envies Ryan, his brother, because the latter has succeeded in life as a writer. Ryan has published a novel. He lives a classy life. Ryan books expensive plane tickets from New York to Los Angeles but he cannot help his brother offset the funeral expenses.
Aaron and Elaine (his cousin) set out to pick a brother Jeff so that they can proceed together to the funeral. Elaine is accompanied by her fiancé Oscar. Oscar is quite nervous. Aaron gives him some pill to ease the nerves. He takes out the pill from some bottle labeled Valium. After sometimes Aaron reveals that the pill was a powerful hallucinogen he had prepared for a friend. It did not take long before chaos erupts. Oscar began to hallucinate about the coffin moving. To stop the coffin, Oscar knocks it, causing the body to fall out of it.
Some dwarf person named Frank approaches Aaron. He comes with surprising news that he was the secret lover of Aaron’s father. In fact, Frank even has photos to prove his point. He threatens to make the photos public and to send them to Aaron’s mother unless Aaron pays him $30,000. Aaron has no money to pay. He approaches Ryan to do it. They decide to join hands in the payment. However, as Aaron and Ryan deliberate to pay, Franc starts ridiculing Aaron’s writings. This annoys Aaron so much that he abandons the payment.
Frank becomes violent. He pretends to draw a gun out of his pocket as he exits the room. Ryan pulls him over. In joint efforts, Aaron and Ryan tie up Frank, preventing his exit from the room. Norman appears from nowhere and finds the drama on course. He administers several doses of Valium to Frank so that he can calm down. Jeff reveals that the substance is similar to the hallucinogen earlier administered to Oscar.
While Jeff and Norman are supposed to keep an eye on Franc so that Uncle Russell does not get distracted, Frank releases himself from the daunting task. He jumps from the couch and in the process bangs his head on the coffee table. The incident makes the others think Frank is dead. They form a plan to dump Frank into the coffin. Outside, everyone is helplessly watching Oscar, who stands on the roof threatening to jump down due to what he considers infidelity of his girlfriend after catching her kissing with Derek, an ex-boyfriend. Ryan and Aaron dump Frank into the coffin.
Elaine tries to calm Oscar down by telling him thet the incident was forceful due to Derek’s insistence. Elaine reveals that she is pregnant. Soon everyone gets back to the ground, and the eulogy continues. As Aaro n gives his speech in an awkward manner, Frank starts the drama. He bangs the coffin so loud that it opens up. Frank comes out of the coffin. The photos he had in his pocket scatter on the ground. Cynthia, Aaron’s mother, sees the photos. She screams so loudly at Frank and starts attacking him. Meanwhile, Aaron goes the extra mile to win everyone’s attention to his moving eulogy. He stresses how his father was a man of morals and had no flaws.
Appiah’s Take on Racial Identities
Appiah is the postmodern Socrates. He questions what being an African or African-American entails. However, the answers he offers raise pertinent issues that are all inclusive (that is, encompass all people). Appiah’s major concern is how people construct themselves individually in the society, privately or publicly, presently or in the past. This situation prompts him to explore the complexity of the process of personal possession. He stresses the dangers and opportunities of self-creation in a world that is culturally hybrid and ethically fluid. He formulates standards to measure the morality of people’s lives today while obliging people to examine those lifestyles and restructure them accordingly.
Death at a Funeral is racially charged. Blacks dominate the cast, and the atmosphere is one against the whites. Aaron and Ryan are determined not to cause shame and embarrassment to their deceased father. The white man – Frank –, who appears from the blues on the funeral day, is armed with loads of evidence to tarnish the deceased’s name. He encounters a combined force of black men. The demonstration of hatred starts when Frank ridicules Aaron’s novels as lacking flavor. This comment angers Aaron to the extremes until Aaron withdraws from the $30,000 deal he had made with Frank to keep him off the funeral. Aaron and his group resort to tyranny of numbers to eliminate Frank. They administer a toxic drug to Frank, which makes him run wild. As if that is not enough, the black group does the extraordinary – they fix the white enemy into a coffin. Although sounding comical, the racial setting and interpretation is quite sad. This incident is one of the gravest manifestations of racial identity. The blacks are so tired of whites that burying them alive is the best remedy.
As Appiah articulates, “…racial identification is simply harder to resist than ethnic identification. The reason is twofold. First, racial ascription is more socially salient… Secondly, race is taken by so many people to be the basis of treating people differently” (Appiah 46). So entrenched is racial identification in American society that all spheres of life, including cultural presentations, want to manifest it. Death at a Funeral is among many other films that present race as a cultural aspect of the society. According to Appiah, “There is not now and there has never been a common culture in the United States” (50). Appiah then argues that collective identities force people to behave in certain ways so that to fit within the ideals of their group: “The large collective identities that call for recognition come with notions of how a proper person of that kind behaves: it is not that there is one way that blacks should behave, but that there are proper black modes of behavior” (57).
Conclusion
Death at a Funeral, therefore, is a classic manifestation of the racially charged American society. Much has been done to fight racism from all angles, but it will certainly never end. As Appiah has articulated in his academic work, racial identity is different from other forms of identity. However, in as much as people identify themselves along racial lines, Appiah urges people to recognize contingency and practice irony. It is only better for the film industry to reconsider racial connotations of the films they release. Hollywood influences huge masses, and their presentation of race as a good thing will only polarize American society more and extend it to the world.
Works Cited
Appiah, Kwame Anthony. Color Conscious: The Political Morality of Race. New Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 1996. 40-60.Cinema Blend. Death at a Funeral (2010). Cinemablend, 2010. Accessed at
http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Death-at-a-Funeral-2010-4581.html 8 November 2014.
Contemporary Artists Tackling Global Issues
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Contemporary Artists Tackling Global Issues
Contemporary artists address various issues of global interest through their art. Examining through the lens of modern art reveals a deep-lying quest and explanation to issues that pertains the human population. Topics ranging from environmental degradation, Urbanization and homelessness are addressed by the artists to drive across a message that can inspire change in the mindset of people. `Artists major on different thematic body of works in an extensive body of knowledge around particular aspects of information.
Kerry James Marshall is an artist that has positioned his art within the discourse of blackness in contemporary art. His work is placed in black history to express the aspect of blackness to critically address the issue of blackness and their marginalization. He has used various arts to challenge marginalization. He best makes use of paintings and drawings. He notes that his work is mainly rooted in life experiences. His vast knowledge of art history is depicted in his works.
Jimmie Durham is another contemporary artist who continues to elicit tones of emotions in the art world. He knows very well that art can be activism and vice versa. He uses his art and paintings to influence a change in mindset in the society. Through the art, various prejudices are tackled that affect humanity in general. Of most important concern is western prejudice which has taken root in the lives of people. Most significantly known as a compelling and inventive visual artist with veins of an activist, he tackles many common place issues in the most compelling way. Most of his earlier artistic pieces sought to bring visibility to artists of color in America. His most important concerns were racism and apartheid. His manifestation of art is He is very attentive to form and to make of material choices. He often blends humor that greatly defies and disrupt the mainstream in addition to providing a portal through which troubled people can enter when faced with difficulties. By blending historical perspectives in his work, he succeeds in disrupting historical notions of authenticity and the boundaries that tend to hold people in their comfort zones.
Street Artists
Roa
Roa is a talented Belgian Street artist From Ghent and is most widely known for his giant black and white animal street. He originally started off in the street originally painting in abandoned buildings in the most isolated places of Ghent. Up to today, his art is found in buildings which stand out in the city streets all over the world. The most prominent cities which his art stands are the cities of New York, Legia Warsaw, and Berlin. Additionally, he has visited the city of London on some occasions to leave his mark. His art has an impactful experience visual wise. He draws his art in such a way that he juxtaposes the nature into the environment of the city to bring about an experience that incorporates different perspectives. The way the street art stands out shows that he dedicates a lot of time to the art to paint. Additionally, since his art is painted on the streets of big towns, it means that he has to seek permission from the councils. His most works stand the test of time without destruction.
Lonac is a Croatian Street artist from the town of Zagreb who has gained public acclaim due to his fantastic spraying techniques. The nature of his art portrays an artist who is interested in the realistic aspects of the art. He is an artist that has maintained his style for a long time. He has been influenced greatly by the classical nature of portraying art thus maintaining his uniqueness in the face of change. Over time, he has ensured that he changes his art with respect to the changing times. He has a unique way of combining the art of embellishing reality while maintaining a poetic sense. Lonac notes that his experiences influence his art. Therefore when painting his art, he maintains and draws inspiration from his memories in addition to blending his passions with everyday observations that have a striking resemblance to reality. Most often, he works on projects independently without depending on the help of anyone. Some of his pieces of art are however illegal in the general sense. The works of Lonac are spread all over the world in different places like Italy, USA, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Great Britain. His biggest mural to date has been that depicting a young boy and girl sitting on a bench incorporating butterflies in the painting to show how they fall in love. The mural is titled “I lost my shoe when I saw you.” It has been his biggest street art to date.
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Better Homes Better Gardens
Undoubtedly, Kerry James Marshall is a renowned artist of this generation. All his paintings communicate individual messages hinged on his identity; African American. Marshall was born in 1955 in Alabama. Being born an African American, Marshall faced a lot of challenges and struggles related to race. Despite all the hurdles Marshall conquered and established himself as a painter, a passionate painter.
Better Homes Better Gardens is one of such beautiful paintings. In this picture, Kerry James Marshall explicitly packages the message of an idyllic place. Marshall appreciates the public housing project in his art; Better Homes Better Gardens is a painting representing the Wentworth Gardens in Chicago. From that picture itself, one is made to visualize the perfection and pleasant environment.
Moreover, Kerry James Marshall having grown up in the time of Civil Rights Movement and Black Power exhibits great love for the theme of blacks. In the painting, Better Homes Better Gardens, the artist explicitly brings out his idea, and the people in the painting are black. This choice is not a mistake but was intentional to show the essence of fighting for rights of African Americans and appreciating his identity.
Also, Marshall in his painting, Better Homes Better Gardens, has brightened the blacks. In the painting, we see two people; a man and a woman. Seemingly, the people in the painting are a couple. The couple is happy with the look of things, they are holding hands and are closer together with smiles on their faces. The happy couple, black in identity shows that family happiness is a necessity and the blacks also were part and parcel of the United States, they were legitimate natives who deserved to be treated well like their white counterparts.
Finally, the painting, Better Homes Better Gardens is a vision of a project that represented a utopian notion. From the well-trimmed grass compound to the state of the art structure, all were a sign of a beautiful building project. Marshall, a passionate artist whose art does not fall short in exhibiting the same. The painting, Better Homes Better Gardens is a romantic memory of a project. The art itself gives the Wentworth Gardens in Chicago plaudits and tells the world how idyllic the place looks.
Influence of Globalism on Contemporary Art
The inauguration of the 21st century marked the new era full of change. In this new time, people are more proactive and are adopting a worldwide view of things. The need to go global has been necessitated by many factors ranging from customer preference and acceptance of other cultures is some part of the world. Art has also been carried by this dynamism wind. The art of the century has a tremendous difference from that of the ancient world. This difference is necessary because now we have a different audience being targeted from that of the past.
Apart from that, globalism has influenced modern music. There has been a significant change of taste. Therefore, genres of music have slightly borrowed from others to make it more modern. For instance, there’s a significant change in modern Rock music from that of the seventies and the eighties. Country music has also had some upgrades compared to that of the near past. We are beholden to accept the changes and walk the season. Yes, walk the season in embracing change for change is inevitable and has got enough steel to be resilient to when it pleases.
Also, globalism has influenced modern art because of the present issues of the century. The themes of this century are different from those faced in the forties. For instance, we had the pre-independence and post-independence times in Africa. In such a time the issues that were very common are issues to do with prejudice. Prejudice based on race was the very common. The Holocaust was also a significant event, in the Holocaust, the Jews were targeted. So it is undebatable that in such moments of strife and humanitarian crisis such themes dominated the art.
That aside, globalism has influenced the taste of customers. In the recent past, customers were not attracted to products of styles from abroad. Local art was seen to be without substitute, unlike in modern world where people are not limited by boundaries. Change in taste is supported by the freedom which is treasured in the contemporary world. In a nutshell, globalism has had a positive influence in modern art as the themes addressed are leaning to the most contemporary issues like terrorism, nuclear weapons, cancer just to name but a few issues of our generation.
Art Changing History
Titus Kephar is an artist who makes beautiful paintings and sculptures that relate to the struggles of the past while speaking. About history, artworks interact closely with the history through appropriating its styles and as well as its mediums. Titus Kaphar has always been fascinated by history; mostly the art history, the American history, the world history and also individual history. He kept imagining how history is always written, recorded, interfered with or exploited. Titus Kephar grew in a family that was always very strict on him. They needed him to work hard in a field that he was not perfect on. He tried his best to go through what his parents needed more his father who was very close to him. Titus Kephar loved museums so much compared to any other beautiful thing. This happened so because of his talent on the art field. He could spend most of his time in the museums just to look and observe how the arts and sculptures were made and use more knowledge on that to make most beautiful paintings. Titus Kephar did all he could to perfect his field of art. He was determined to make a bright future from that art painting and sculpture making. Painting changed Titus Kaphar’s life in a series of ways. The area of interaction was strengthened very much that he could now interact with prominent people worldwide who he never dreamt of. He created many friends who were eager to know how he made such beautiful things in the world. His dad who always thought of the work of art as a second option for his son was finally convinced that it was the best area of performance for his son Titus Kaphar. Many of us may think that things done relating to art and painting seem minor which is very false. Everything we do in life goes hand in hand with determination and passion. Titus Kephar had a passion which he perfected on hence making him a successful man despite all the challenges that he went through the whole of his life. In our lives, we need to shift our focus in the right way not just fixing our minds on the same thing which will eventually hinder our success.
Alyssa Monks
Alyssa Monks was born in the year 1977.She is a widely known painter who specializes in large oil paintings. Her pieces include figures obscured by water, steam, and vinyl.Most Alyssa’s figures revolve around bathrooms and tubs. Alyssa’s paintings are a unique blend of abstraction and realistic, showing her talent for delivering the vulnerability of the human experience. After watching Alyssa’s video and listened to how she made it, I felt so touched and encouraged. Alyssa monks were born in a family that had many children hence it was challenging for her parents to satisfy their basic needs fully. She tried all that she could to achieve her dreams of becoming a painter. Her mother was always on her side and ensured that she attended all the classes for each day. Alyssa’s painting is so unique and has a sense of reality due to the sources she uses to do her painting work. She uses semi-transparent filters of glass, vinyl, steam, and water to make her paintings look natural and real. She is a painter with passion since she can do her best in every art she does. She always made painting her game of the day to perfect on it hence her skills were built. Alyssa Monk’s painting became her source of income. Her life and that of her family too changed after that, after it became the only source of income generation. She was able to pay rent for her own house and also fully satisfy her basic needs. The story of Alyssa Monk reminded me of my life when I was growing up.IN my family we were so many hence it was so difficult for our parents to satisfy our needs even the basic ones entirely. I always struggled with life day in day out. Things got worse when my father died of a mysterious disease. I knew my life could not be the same. Since what has already happened cannot be reversed, I committed myself and lived moved on after a big struggle in life. Hope, determination, and focus made me successful. This feeling can be shared in the work of art. This is because, in any dream of achieving something in life, one has to undergo challenges, but they should not hinder him to succeed. One should be hopeful, determined and ready to accomplish no matter the circumstances.
Death as a Central Theme in Claudia Ulloa Donoso, “Little Bird
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Death as a Central Theme in Claudia Ulloa Donoso, “Little Bird”
Death is a reality that surrounds human beings and every living creature on the planet. It is a reality that most are unable to accept. “Little Bird” by Claudia Ulloa Donoso, is a story that centers on death. Donoso portrays death as seen in different characters such as the narrator, Kokorito the narrator’s cat, and the little bird that the narrator saves. From the different characters, death is regarded in different ways. For instance, the narrator is tired of the subject of death because she has seen plenty of death that she states, “I don’t really need anymore.” Kokorito seems to have a placid acceptance of death and does not deny or defy it. Kokorito, however, seems to have plenty of lives. He kills birds, not for meals but to gift his owner. Kokorito regards death as a gift. The little bird saved by the narrator is seen to not be accepting of death. Donoso’s “Little Bird” therefore mainly discusses death and near-death experiences -as chances for renewal and as gifts.
Kokorito, the narrator’s cat, is not afraid of death and regards death as a chance for renewal. This fact is reflected in the manner he handles his life. For instance, the narrator describes that one time, Kokorito went into the polar winter and returned after twenty days. “When he came home, he opened the window himself, drank some water, and fell asleep [on the narrator’s] bed for two days. Then he got up, meowed, and lived again” CITATION Cla18 l 1033 (Donoso). This shows that Kokorito pays attention to death to a point that it does not bother him. Kokorito regards death as the beginning of a new life.
Kokorito also helps establish the argument that death is a gift and a lesson. Kokorito always gifts the narrator dead birds. He catches them, “tortures them, plays with them like balls of wool, but in the end, he always leaves them in [the narrator’s] bed” CITATION Cla18 l 1033 (Donoso) For Kokorito death is significant but for the narrator, it is something she wishes to avoid as she states that she has seen plenty of death already. The narrator regards death as a negative phenomenon but maybe Kokorito is trying to familiarize her more for it to stop bothering her. The narrator also presumes that Kokorito may be trying to make her understand the brevity in life that, lives “end in just a few seconds.”
However, from the experience with the little bird the narrator saves, life is not as fleeting. The dying bird defies death by coming back to life. After this experience, the narrator does not seem afraid of carrying of dying animals that she states, “Sometimes it’s a good idea to carry dying animals around, to keep your hands in your pockets, and to never take off your coat.” From the dying bird, the narrator learns that not despairing on life will eventually revive it. That one should view death as a normal occurrence in life, but where life can be saved, even on the brink of death, then it should be. She, therefore, walks out of her interview seeking to thank the bird. The bird taught her the valuable lesson of “taking responsibility for lives other than [her] own” CITATION Cla18 l 1033 (Donoso).
In conclusion, the short story revolves around the concept of death, that people ought not to be afraid of it, because death provides one with a chance of renewal and life, and that death is a gift in form of a lesson. The story shows that death is a part of life, but so is life. The survival of the little bird and Kokorito’s numerous lives prove that facing death and not despairing on life will eventually revive it. The short story, therefore, proves that life itself is a threat against death.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Donoso, Claudia Ulloa. The Successful Candidate Will Not Have a Dead Bird in Her Pocket: “Little Bird” by Claudia Ulloa Donoso, translated by Lily Meyer. 30 May 2018. Web. 07 March 2019.