What is the individual’s place in society in the Horse Boy?
The documentary film of “Horse Boy” is an amazing story that talks about a family that experience miraculous transformation of their autistic son through the exploration of the wilderness and close encounters with horses. The couple Rupert and Kristin had an autistic son Rowan who showed signs of autism at the age of two. They tried to find ways for the healing of their son. One day, while they travelled to the place of the shamans and had an adventure through horseback riding, they were surprised when Rowan started talking and interacting with the people around him. They saw that he is very keen to the horse and that he was acting normally when he had long moments with the horse. Along the trip, it was not just Rowan who discovered healing along the way. The couple also witnessed an amazing truth that made them see things about their son in a different perspective. One amazing scene that created an impact to them was when they saw Rowan actively playing, smiling, and interacting with the children his age. Rowan was still autistic. The only difference was that he was able to see the world where he is most inclined to. The couple also realized their son had a place in the society despite his conditions. During the journey, they saw that their son was accepted by the shamans, and to the people they met. The society did not mis-look the presence of Rowan. Instead, he found his place in the society, being accepted for what he is and who he is. This acceptance from the society and his family made him act like a normal child once again.
What is Art?
The art in the post-modernism period is characterized by the aesthetic elements that are juxtaposed with the traditional and conventional art. Two remarkable artists in this period are Ai Wei Wei and Bansky. Ai Wei Wei and Bansky are two postmodern artists that express their socio-political thoughts through their arts. Ai Wei Wei lays out his works over material traditional items like urns and paints them with modern designs. He vividly show the contrast between the traditional and modern world, with messages that the age of consumerism is eating the modern day world. Bansky expresses his thought through graffiti. He is an urban artist that depicts his arts with messages that are anti-modern notions. He points out that the current day world is far from the utopia that it should be.
What is the place of the human being in the nature of things?
The Book of Kells embeds illuminated manuscripts the reveal the society aspects. The ecocriticisms of the book combines the pansemiotic sense with the environmental concerns. There is a psychoanalytic view presented in the context revealing the Marxist influence in the criticism of the socio-political issues. The Marxist theory was used as reference to point the place of the human beings in the worlds. Accordingly, there is a mutual sense of belongingness for man and his environment. Man has a sense of domination and possession over that world that connects man and nature. There are both material and immaterial relationships between nature and man.
Temple Grandins in the “Horse Boy”
The idea of autism explored in the movie “Horse Boy” was a true to life story that tells about the young boy Rowan and how he progressed in his condition. Rowan was said to be healed right after they travelled in Mongolia and his parents discovered Rowan’s Passion for horses. Rowan, after his encounter with the horse became more active. He started to talk and interact with other people. He also played with other kids his age where his parents found it unusual based on the many episodes of Rowan. After his parents brought him into a wilderness adventure, a certain part of himself was freed out and then he started positive signs of socialism. The movie was backed-up by theoretical explanations by experts in the field of autism. R temple Grandin, one of those people who overcame autism. Temple followed the journey of the family giving out explanations of the various conditions of autism. He is also a professor of animal behavior which further contributed to the explanations about autism. Temple explained that the society can contribute to the healing of the people with autism. Autistic children needs exposure to various interesting things and introduce him to new experiences. The expedition of Rowan in Mongolia made Rowan’s world so much bigger were he saw the horses, flowers, streams, and the general environment was silent. Temple also hypothesized that there is a connection to the presence of the shamans to the healing progress of Rowan. He stipulated that maybe these shamans had autistic traits. Their healers are aware of this and they know how to deal with them. They had rituals where they do rhythmic chanting and various repetitive movements that are actually similar wit the autistic traits. Temple remembered coming into trance like states. The many explanations of the Temple added to the knowledge on how to deal with autistic children. He relates his own experiences and finds some similarities in the life of Rowan. Temple is a great contributor in the social construction that makes the people with autism and the people around them to better understand the condition and look for ways on how to overcome them.
How is beauty created by Human Beings? Ai Wei Wei Sunflower Exhibit:
The sunflower seeds created by Ai Wei Wei is a porcelain covered with sunflower seed husks that are intricately hand crafted in the surface. The approach of Ai Wei Wei in the post modernism art combines the elements of historical and traditional figures and the modern elements. The porcelain in this art is the traditional element that has been left unattended by the public. However, with the introduction of art of Ai Wei Wei by putting the seed husks all over the porcelain material, the simple and ordinary item is transformed into a very special item. Beauty has been created by Ai Wei Wei by the transforming common and ordinary items into historical art figures by embedding his art expertise on them.
Ai Wei Wei
The arts of Ai Wei Wei show the integration of the modern and traditional periods. He is very realistic in his arts such that he exposes the real things about life in most of his works. One of his most popular art is the Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo (1994). In this art, Ai Wei Wei used a very ordinary urn as his medium. This urn is an item used by people in the past in their daily chores. He added some calligraphy and simple art methods that transformed the item into a very different one. The simple name of Coca-Cola printed on the urn made the object a great work of art where the past is colliding with the present modern culture. The message of Ai Wei Wei for this art is about the age of consumerism that has enveloped the current day societies. Due to modernization, nobody uses the urns anymore. However, just the simple name of Coca-Cola, without the actual soda drink, the object got elevated instantly to stardom. The art shows that Coca-Cola is gaining high popularity that its attachment with an ordinary object results to them being identified as well. The ideas of Ai Wei Wei reveals the current day realities in the society and captivates that concept in his various art works.
Han Dynasty Urn with Coca-Cola logo
Banksy
Bansky create this painting where a man sits down peacefully along the side of the lake. This painting is magical painting where Bansky incorporated various contrasts in the canvass. For one, the man sitting down is a Nazi. He is recognized through the red arm band in his military uniform. There is so much meaning in his painting that evokes various concepts of the socio-political system. Bansky, an urban artist belong to post-modernism era, integrates socio-political concepts in his paintings to criticize the current day world. For him, the world that evolves today is far from the Utopia that the people idealized. In this painting, the Nazi is at rest. It is a playful contrast to the symbol of the Nazi an the peaceful scene he is located. A Nazi at peace and at rest is too unlikely due to the image of the Nazi in the history. This is the Utopic embodiment of Bansky. He pictures the world to be truly at peace, achieving Utopia in its true sense.
