Realism And Virtual Reality : Images Of America 's Wars

Since the formation of the United States, war has been a constant factor within the political sphere. From these wars the U.S obtained power, land, and status unseen and unparalleled by any civilization in humankind. One of the earliest wars that allowed the United States to grow into the global power it is today was the Mexican-American war. This war not only shaped American politics for decades, but also fueled the sectional crisis that culminated into the infamous Civil War. Being the new country’s first armed conflict fought mainly on foreign soil, the war itself had several diplomatic implications that haunted politics for years to come. However, the war itself was fought for several political, social, and economic reasons and can be attributed with shaping the essence of American culture forever.

Within a painting, the watercolors and each discrete stroke of the brush gives each element a diverse connotation. The Parade By Abraham Rattner, was painted in 1969 to illustrate the protests of the Vietnam war that the United States was involved in.This exceptional piece of art work exhibits the warm colors of the crowd and the fiery blazes colored across the skies, highlighting the widespread conflicts the nation had against this horrendous battle. During this time, individuals were protesting against the government’s actions in order to conserve tranquility. This painting captures the scenery that had taken place during these frightful days of war and the disputes happening internationally.

In Alexander Gardner’s Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War, the haunting image “Harvest of Death” catches one’s eye with the seemingly endless field of corpses. The jarring facial expression on the figure in the foreground draws one into the narrative of the piece. However, our initial understanding of the image’s narrative is limited to what we can see and what we know of the circumstances surrounding it. While we know it was taken during the American Civil War, by simply looking at the photograph, we cannot know who is depicted. In black and white, it is difficult to even tell what side of the conflict these fallen soldiers fought for. We can interpret the image for our own readings, but we cannot tell what the artist intended us to see or what message he wanted to impart with it. These unknowns, however, are addressed in the related text associated with the image. These short passages can tell us a great deal about the photographer’s intentions and influence the way we read the image. Through the excerpt, we not only learn the intended meaning of the photography, but we also learn about Gardner’s political intentions and the key points he wanted his viewers to note within the image. Published as a pair, Gardner used his text to contextualize his images and inform the way we perceive them. This is clearly illustrated in “A Harvest of Death” and its accompanying passage.

Paintings are different than books or movies because they allow you to create your own thoughts and interpretations rather than telling you what you should think. This allows creative and different takes on an original piece of art.The Surrender, a painting by Joseph Griffith, was published in October of 2006. It features two sides in what appears to be a war. The left side is occupied by the epitome of American icons and showcases the American flag, while the left side contains, not only enemies of America, but “bad guys” from classic movies surrendering with a white flag. This painting can be interpreted as labeling popular American icons as heroes, showing the change in society’s change in what they consider a role model.

Christ Hedges, war correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner, in a chapter titled “The Destruction of Culture” from the book War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, asserts that in war a state’s interest is in the extermination of discordant peacetime culture. Hedges asserts his claims that war transforms art, writing, and literature, that people, in disbelief of the consequences of war, favor a myth, and that the state manipulates education and media to reinforce their narrative. Meanwhile, he uses first-hand personal experiences and historical evidence to demonstrate these effects of war. Hedge’s goal is to expose that ugly nature of war in contrast to our natural glorification of it in our perceptions of history in order to propel the cause

An artist's job is to interpret, and express the aspects of life in a creative fashion. War has played a big part in shaping our human history, and many artists have portrayed their feelings about art through paintings, and even monuments. Whether it be to show; the joy of victory, the sorrow of defeat, or to educate the public on the gory realities of war. Art about war can also show us a great amount of history of the kinds of weapons that were used at the time. It is necessary for artists to interpret, and criticize all aspects of life; even ones as tragic as war, It can make the public more aware of what goes on in times of war.

In the 1940’s a series of propaganda films titled Why We Fight were produced for the purpose of defining the enemies of World War 2 to justify the necessity of America’s involvement in war. Hitler needed to be defeated, Nazism had to be destroyed, and tyranny had to be stopped for the sake of the American way of life by any means necessary. How could society argue against America’s role in the world war when freedom was being threatened? As Martin Luther King Jr. said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to everywhere.” No questions asked, Americans mobilized in the name of liberty and freedom. However the 2005 documentary film Why We Fight directed by Eugene Jarecki is not a sequel or war propaganda. The film informs the audience and questions America 's military industrial complex that has since dictated policy since the victory of World War 2. With the help of narration, soundbites, and credible speakers Jarecki shines light on the pernicious impact of the armed industry on our government, army, and citizens.

The war in Vietnam was a war against communism that tore apart the US. The United States of America plunged together with its allies and played a tremendous role as far as fight against communism is concerned. A huge number of American soldiers were deployed in Vietnam a practice that coupled with much unpreparedness. The soldiers were not aware what exactly they were up to in Vietnam. Most Americans at the time were very much against the act. It was one of the most deliberating wars America plunged herself into and the only one to have been lost. Most intriguing is the amount of publicity and media buzz created by the film industry. Vietnam War was the topic of many television networks, music and Hollywood. Journalist and veterans and scholar were never left behind and went ahead to produce tones of literature on the legacies and lessons to be learnt from the war (Hochgesang, Lawyer, and Stevenson). The exploitation of the soldiers and rejection of the veterans created just as much interest as the war had created. One such commentary came from George Kennan, who depicted the war as one of the most disastrous mission The United States has ever undertaken (Westheider 155-159).. This essay will establish the effects the war had to the US soldiers.

The conclusion of the War of 1812 made two major positive impacts on America. The first was that it brought true independence for American’s. The painting by John Krimmel (Doc C) clearly depicts Americans enjoying Fourth of July festivities. This is post war in 1819, and shows that Americans are happy and proud to have regained their independence. This shows the positive feelings Americans had towards this new era because they had a fresh start with new opportunities (Doc C). The second impact was that the victory of the war gave America more confidence. They now had

War- a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict, typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War is inevitable; people thrive on the idea of war, engaging in bloody affairs, a chance to fight for their freedom and Americas freedom. The public reads of these bloody affairs, in the headlines splattered all over the television screen, imagining in their head the idea of war, the idea of blood, dead bodies, and weapons. Images of war would only put fear and anger into Americans, yet in times of war, the media has an obligation to provide the citizens of America, with these images of war, even if they are terrifying, violent, and bloody. If Americans do not

The authors choice to concentrate on the press more so than on the fighting is interesting and relevant to those who are not experts on the period. The book is a history of the American press and how it raises the American citizen-soldier to a higher level. The common soldier became a symbol of American democracy, Johannsen says “perhaps one of the foremost symbols of the Mexican War

No one anticipated the international chaos that would emerge during the twentieth century, especially the devastation caused by World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. World War II was the most destructive war in human history and changed the history of the world forever, engaging the world’s most influential superpowers in the largest international event of the era. World War II was fought not only by the armed forces, but also by the home fronts of every belligerent nation, exhausting the economy, the industry, and the morale of those living at home, escalating the conflict into a total war that was larger and fought more expansively than any other conflict in history. The use of American propaganda in the World War II war effort

In the two hundred years since 1775, there has been thirty-five years of fighting in what we consider major conflicts or wars. This averages out to about one year of war to every almost 6 years of our existence as a nation and during that time, we have not been without formal military organizations. Over the course of history, the United States has engaged in many battles that were a crucial phase in developing who and what we have become. Throughout this assessment, we will analyze what were some of the true tipping points that shaped (1) America’s paradoxical love-hate relationship with war and, (2) How this relationship influences American warfare.

The exhibit contained upwards of 20 photographs and at least 60 paintings. One of the most agreeable things about the works of art that I witnessed is that collectively, they assisted in recounting the sentiment that gripped the country during the war that threatened to sunder it. One could almost feel the initial enthusiasm as the war broke out, that was swiftly prolonged by numerous clashes over a period of years. There were works that alluded to an impending war, ones that depicted that war, and numerous ones that hinted at a hoped for ending in which the mightiness of the country would someday be restored.

Many emotions stem from war and violence. Some people cope by talking to a friend, others write things down in a journal. Very few choose to discard the written or vocal word for brush and canvas, chalk and paper, or any number of artistic mediums at their disposal. Eugene Delacroix and Otto Dix were two such men. Even though their careers blossomed almost a century apart, they shared common ground. Both men chose to speak through their work depicting history with an unfiltered approach. How does a piece of art affect a viewer? Does that piece convey a message effectively to its viewers? Let us investigate the two artists that roused plenty of conflict and sentiment with their depiction of two very sensitive topics in their era.