Module Eight: Video Review

1.)

The first video entitled More Human than Human was required, so there was no reason I chose that one except for the fact that it was mandatory.  The second video I chose was The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th Century BC.  I chose the second video because as seen in the first video, Greeks had a very strong influence on art during early human history and art today.  I was interested in knowing more about their developments in the art and other subjects as well.

2.)

There are several important concepts I learned from the film More Human than Human.  One of the first concepts I have learned was that many images of human bodies all share one thing, the fact that none of them actually resemble real human beings.  One of the first examples of this was a Statue of a woman's body which is clearly unrealistic and extremely pronounced.  One scientist believed he found the answer to why this might be true through studying baby seagull chicks.  The baby seagulls are stimulated by the sight of the red stripe on the mothers beak and tap it.  The scientist used a stick with a red stripe down it to see if the chicks would respond, and they did.  His analysis showed that we are stimulated by things that are desirable to us.  So in the case of the statue of the woman's body, the hunters and gatherers exaggerated the most desirable parts, fertility and fatness.  Egyptians also help an answer to this concept.  Throughout their existence, they had images of the human body without exaggerated features, that never changed.  The Egyptians created images of the body this way not because of their brains were stimulated by them, but because their culture emphasized stability and order.

The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th century B.C also offered several important ideas.  During the 6th and 5th centuries B.C a revolution in art, architecture, philosophy and theater took place in the Greek world.   One of the most well-known examples of there accomplishments in art and architecture that still exists today is The Parthenon.  The Parthenon was the center of the city where the moony and religious treasures were kept.  This building represents the summit of the humanist movement in the 5th century B.C.  This movement held that every man was the master of his own destiny and that destiny was a noble one.  5th century greeks also made important contributions to the theater world.  Not only did they build theaters, but they also invented drama as we know it.  Finally, Greeks were the first to try to portray humans in a realistic rather than stylistic way which effected the development of art itself.

4.)

The book provided a general analysis on ancient art across our world, but I felt the videos gave a more in-depth example of how art had emerged from these ancient civilizations.  The first video gave me an idea of how and why the human image is portrayed the way that it is.  The second video gave me an extremely detailed account of the way in which Greek culture including art, architecture, philosophy and theater impacted the development of many other cultures today.

5.)  

I really enjoyed both videos this week.  I felt like some of the information from the More Human Than Human video I may have already learned from previous videos and chapters, but it was a good review.  I especially liked The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th century B.C video because it really helped me see the important impact that Greek culture had on our world today.