Art Analysis: The Color Black

The literary device of the mask in Fahrenheit 451, Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Lord of the Flies is recurring in each of the stories. The metaphoric mask is a both physical and symbolic object that alters the characteristics of an individual; usually the protagonist. The protagonist either gradually puts on or takes off the mask to change as a person. The mask itself acts how you would expect a real mask to work. A mask typically obscures the vision so that you can only see in one direction, and some obscure our vision to a blur. Despite that, the mask has a much deeper connotation in literature. The obscurity produced by the mask placed on one is not a true mask, but an event or decision significantly altering the traits of an individual. Such a transition is portrayed in literature as the putting on or removal of an actual mask. This makes easier for readers to understand, and creates a perceptible connection between the symbolism and reality. In the Lord of the Flies and Star Wars:

This proves Gergen’s thesis, “I doubt that people normally develop a coherent sense of identity, and believe that to the extent that they do, they may experience serve emotional distress” (172). By having several masks or selves, is how we are able to adapt to changing society. With these multiple masks we are able to achieve acceptance and know who we are as individuals. Throughout life we must adopt masks when facing different circumstances; it is through these masks that we see how we change as individuals. If we spend our lives trying to stick to one mask, we can find ourselves to feel lost, depressed, or invisible. Change is good; however we must still stay true to ourselves when using masks. They are a part of us as individuals but they are not us.

In today’s society masks are used depending on the specific social group we interact with. Most people tend to have various masks or personalities when they are with specific people; such as with their friends, family, and during work. In Kenneth Gergen’s essay “In Defense of Masks,” he claims that people are not apt to find a specific mask to which they can be true too however, having various masks could be important because it allows people to adapt to various social groups . I disagree with Gergen’s claim and counter argue that utilizing only one specific mask with whomever we interact with will help anyone live a genuine lifestyle. There are various categories that fall into masks; for instance, makeup, clothing, religion, and appearance. Many individuals acquire masks because they seek approval from others or simply because they are mimicking someone. Once someone adapts to having multiple masks, it is difficult to figure out our true identity due to the variety of personalities that are being portrayed.

Nothing is more real than the mask we choose to show each other who we are. In a coming-to-age novel, A Separate Peace, John Knowles depicts the common rivalry between young adolescents, where masks are used often. Gene is a student at an elite boarding school, Devon, when he meets Finny. As his jealousy grows towards Finny, it leads to an awful life-changing decision. When they are planning on a double jump, Gene bounces on the limb causing Finny to suffer from a horrible fall. Finny later finds out about the truth and runs away in fury, which caused him to break his leg again. As he was receiving a surgery for his injury, Finny died. Gene’s transformation involves the changes of his mask and shadow, which results in his later acceptance of

Gender roles often have disastrous consequences for people who struggle to fill their assigned stereotype. Last Wednesday, Carnegie Mellon had a special showing of a new film, The Mask You Live In, that focuses on how society’s narrow definition of masculinity can cause more harm than good.

“We all have a social mask, right? We put it on, we go out, put our best foot forward, our best image. But behind that social mask is a personal truth, what we really, really believe about who we are and what we're capable of.” Sometimes people can use mask’s to change how they look, feel, and what they think. Everyone has their own mask that they use so that other people do not judge them on who they are. People also mask themselves if they do not think they meet any standards that other people have. It is more beneficial than harmful to mask yourself.

The figurative language in a given poem usually correlates to the theme and, nevertheless, gives it personality in some way. In “We Wear the Mask,” the figurative language is darker, ordinarily connecting it to the theme of hiding your true feelings behind your “mask”. The writer, Paul Laurence Dunbar, uses personification the most in his poem, moreover, creating an image that correlates with the theme. Personification most easily creates an image that the writer can shape to connect with the theme. Dunbar uses this personification in a darker way, to connect with the more serious theme of hiding your feelings behind your imperceptible “mask”. “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,” is personifying the mask (Lines 1-2). Since this poem is mainly about hiding behind our alleged mask, it seems reasonable that Dunbar would personify the mask. Since he did so, the mask is given another level of depth that allows us to see the mask as the main object of the theme. The theme is developed by using this personification of the mask. Although diction and figurative language are important for developing the theme, they are not the only structure elements that can do

Literally, people wear “masks” to cover their faces. In the poem, “we wear the mask” to hide our true feeling. For example, on the first line “We wear the mask that grins and lies, it hides our cheeks and shaded our eyes…” (Dunbar, 527) shows that do not be deceived by that mask because it is full of lies. “They wear a grinning mask that hides their true feelings. This image of the grinning mask evokes an ancient and ritual African mask used for ceremony, hiding the eyes and face of the wearer with an impersonal expression. In that case, the mask carries a divine dignity, something superhuman, mysterious, and perhaps implying a terrible retribution to the enemy in the future.” (“Overview: ‘We wear the mask’ ”) Plus, by wearing the masks, people cannot see the emotion shown on the face. People also cannot look into each other’s eyes to understand the thoughts. According to Huff, “To ‘hide our cheeks’ means to stiffen the face so as not to reveal genuine emotion, and to ‘shade our eyes’ has the triple meaning of adopting an indirect or deferring manner, of avoiding the eye contact that implies a shared understanding of the situation, and of internalizing society's artificial barriers so that an individual will not embarrass himself or others by appearing to desire things that are clearly beyond his reach.”

After watching The Mask You Live In, I thought it was interesting to see how the notion of oppression of women across many cultures. So I grew up in an Asian family and that has impacted me greatly. In East Asia, the majority of the population view women as inferior to men. As a matter of fact, women are often viewed as objects simply to reproduce and help extend the family.

When given the thought, one makes the comparison that masks are used to describe our

We Wear The Mask was written in 1886 with post slavery America being the significant historical backdrop. In this poem, Dunbar explores the duality of experience of African American's at this time. The outward experience presented to the world at large - “We wear the mask that grins and lies” - versus the inward truth of suffering and turmoil - “With torn and bleeding hearts we smile”.

The two works of art that I have chosen to analyze are 1) Jordan Casteel. Miles and JoJo. 2014. Oil on canvas, 54” x 72” and 2) Aaron Fowler. He Was. 2015. Mixed media, 134” x 165” x 108”. The themes that these works of art represent in regards to the exhibit are love, family, and pain. However, they also fall into other thematic categories. The main theme that seems to apply to both “Miles and JoJo” and “He Was” is Human Experience. Additionally, these arts differ in some ways.

What is Black art? Black Art is “cultural production informed by standards of creativity and beauty and aspired by and reflective of people 's life experiences and life aspirations” (Karenga, 1980:80). According to Evans (1979:37), Why is it called Black art? “...It is called Black art because it is saturated with the experience and behavior patterns of the people for whom it is created and because its substance is functional.” So, according to Karenga and Evans Black art is an art and any art if it is made based a Black person 's life. Africa artist was carvers of wood, ivory and bone, sculptors in stone, clay, bronze, gold and iron. Slaves struggled for their freedom and all they had was their art. Even thought Whites most

The Rolling Stone originally sang the song "Painted It Black" and later revised by Vanessa Carlton. Grief serves as the subject as the speaker starts going through the stages of grief and in the process of the going through the second stage, anger. The speaker has lost a loved one and later goes to their loved one's funeral and recently went through the stage of denial and currently has enter the stage of anger. At night when the speaker sleeps, they hope to dream about their loved one, so they can feel some form of happiness again. The speaker explains about not wanting to see sun, which symbolizes happiness, joy, and cheerfulness, anymore as they demand for the sun burn out. The speaker can no longer feel any joy, only black

After this, the Red Shirts essentially waterboard Nemecsek. As Gereb laughs away (he’s honestly the worst), Feri Ats watches stone-faced. Borzage shoots this scene precisely — Nemecsek is plunged into the water, we see Feri Ats watching, Nemecsek is lifted out of the water and held in the air for a few seconds so we can see the desperation on his face. He’s terrified, struggling to breathe, all while battling a cold. It’s a pitiful sight. The audience wants someone to intervene; a child is being tortured, someone do something! Gereb is clearly not going to do anything, so the only choice is Feri Ats. The audience knows this, even before he does himself. This is a key moment — Borzage has to show that Nemecsek is able to affect Feri Ats with his pureness. The audience can sense that Feri Ats has goodness. When Nemecsek confronts Gereb, soaking wet, Borzage shoots him in a close-up. It’s a beautiful shot, with soft light clearly illuminating his wet face. Compare this with the way Gereb is lit — that’s more of a haze, like the light is reflecting off of Nemecsek and hitting him. Nemecsek is a star, the beacon of light and hope. As he cries about how he’d rather die than be a traitor, even Gereb is made to feel bad. Feri Ats gives him a hug and sends him off with a salute (“you’re alright”). Once again, Nemecsek’s innocent tears aligned him with others. The first time, it was the audience. The second time, the Red Shirts. Nemecsek walks off into the distance, the camera lagging behind, as he passes through the archway created for him. In that moment, even though he came to retake the flag, the enemy side is awed by his nobleness. It’s important to note that during all this, the performances of the actors are underplayed. It’s not like the characters are making big pronouncements about how they feel about Nemecsek. Instead, the audience can simply tell from their actions.