Deluded Beings

The idea of technology stealing the human spirit is something that is frightening. Should children be sat down in front of the television and allowed to watch never ending media? Should teenagers spend hours on the internet everyday playing games, chatting with friends, and networking with people around the world? What effects does this sort of mass media have on the ones who are most exposed and emerged in it? The consequences will not be seen for some years if technology is indeed damaging. But from the evidence available now, mass media does seem to have somewhat of a harmful affect on the human spirit.

Families seem mesmerized by the glowing images that project from their big screen televisions as they sit down to eat dinner. Instead of asking the children how their day at school went or trying to resolve a conflict between siblings, the focus is on pop stars and what they’re wearing. The glamour life is apparent not only throughout Hollywood, but in every home in America. We welcome it into our lives, our beings, and ask why our lives aren’t as luxurious. Little do people realize that it is slowly destroying the character that human kind has amassed over our history as a species.

Mankind’s short existence has led to many great advances, but perhaps all of the creations that have furthered man have also hindered him. In the modern day, it now seems as if advertisements, celebrities, and the constant need for virtual noise are imperative. Machines control all of the small tasks that used to be performed by humans, the tasks that would let people appreciate the small things now proceed in the background, unnoticed and forgotten. There are few tasks that are left up to the imperfect hands of man which allows more time to be immersed in the deadening barrage of screens. This obsession leads to unhealthy family relationships, obesity, and most terrifying of all, lack of life.

Activities such as sports, spending time with friends, and forming relationships are being substituted for pseudo interactions with created characters from everyone’s favorite shows. Somehow, these imaginary personas’s form a strong bond with people even though no physical relationship is fashioned. This leads to a life of solitude. Computers are a great example of this paradox. How can one be connected with the entire world and yet be so alone? It is because of scenarios such as these that humans are changing at a fundamental level. Once a social animal, the solitary life seems to be consuming entire generations. This style of interaction, through electronics and fantasized friends is a shallow substitute for actual contact. It warps the perception of reality and even of time.

In moderation, technology is a powerful advantage to humans. Unfortunately, the excess of today’s use of this power has corrupted its benefits and turned them into detriments. No more are the days of playing outside, watching the clouds whisper by, or experiencing the world that shaped mankind into greatness. Now these experiences are jaded, expressed through the eyes of the few, fed to the masses, and devoured as quickly as the brain can process. What once was a boundless opportunity for growth has now limited the ability to live.

The Dorian Gray Assignment

Cries of the Conscience


The picture of Dorian Gray seems to embody more than the portrait of the young man, part of his soul is intertwined with the canvas. A pure youth is gazing out of the painting. No maladies or blemishes reside on the unpolluted face of Dorian Gray. This will soon change. As Lord Henry Wotton begins to speak, the untainted mind of Dorian Gray absorbs his words just as a sponge absorbs the sullied spills that are left behind. Dorian begins to wander the dark allies of London during the nights. There he finds his love Sybil Vane. He proceeds to use the young woman that he loves and then writes her a scathing letter full of hurtful words. She kills herself because of this. Dorian moves on rather quickly and is still quite youthful. His portrait however, is not. Lines appear on the face and this is just the beginning of horrid marks that will reside on the face.

Dorian continues with his wicked ways and hedonistic pleasures. The young Gladys is madly in love with him, and soon he accepts her offers. She sees no evil in him, but Sybil’s brother is wiser. He begins to hunt Dorian. This seems to trigger a change and Dorian remorse’s about his past transgressions. He returns to London and vows to destroy the painting. As he gazes upon the portrait for the last time, he sees a kindness still present in its eyes, in himself. He stabs the painting in the heart, but dies himself. The soul that was contained in the portrait was also his own, one in the same. As he lay dying, he prays for forgiveness, but he is not spared his good looks. The portrait transforms back to its original state and he becomes what the picture portrayed.

Dorian Gray’s entire outlook upon life was transformed by Lord Henry in part of the opening scene. Lord Henry begins to refer to the pleasures of life and how they should be seized as he tries to do the same to a butterfly. The freedom and beauty of the butterfly represents the conscience of Dorian as an innocent youth. Just as the butterfly was captured and imprisoned, so was Dorian’s soul and conscience by the terrible influence Lord Henry’s words had on Dorian. The want for youth seems to be extremely prevalent in Dorian’s mind. To lose his youth would seem to him to lose himself. If only he could stay young forever he ponders. This greed for something as pure as youth begins Dorian on his path of demise.

The butterfly is now static as a specimen for Lord Henry. This fate is the same for Dorian. His youth persists and so does his selfishness that is often seen in the young. He seems frozen in time, unchanged. Nothing seems to affect Dorian. His despicable deeds go without repentance and his soul becomes more mangled. The only action that seems to affect him is the act of being hunted. He flees like the butterfly but cannot escape the reality of his sins. He is captured by his own conscience and realizes his must destroy the part of him that Lord Henry uncovered so long ago. He resides to break free, as the butterfly could not, but his attempt is futile. Just as the butterfly struggled to be free and failed, Dorian stabbed the painting in the heart that both he and the image shared. One can never hide from the cries of the conscience and neither could Dorian Gray.

Who is that person?

The Priestess, #9

A strong face stares into the distance as a confident, half naked woman, presumably a priestess or some sort of goddess, is captured in her natural state. Her face and shoulders are the main point of light in the image. A snake adorns her neck seemingly giving her an air of superhuman capabilities. It is juxtaposed to her cream colored skin as a black backed creature. The only other article of clothing is a red and black shawl that she does not use to cover herself. There seems to be no need for her to feel ashamed. She is a gift to her surroundings.

In the background, yellow grasses lead into the rocks of the border between land and sea. A Mediterranean atmosphere persists through the image. Even the colors of Crete are represented in her shawl. Some trees ornament the terrain and white clouds are seen above the sea. The only dark clouds are behind her profiled face. This may be to create more contrast or to forebode an ominous presence, maybe the woman’s or perhaps the person or thing she is looking so confidently towards.

Whatever is possibly in the distance, her eyes are fixed. They also fix the viewers gaze for the initial glance at the image. Her eyes pick up the color of her hair which is decorated ornately. Many braids, that mimic the snake that weaves around her neck, are stacked upon her head. Different types of accessories such as pearls and strands of beads run throughout her elaborately concocted updo. She must be a woman of great importance or reverence to have such a lavishly created hairstyle. She seems very at peace with herself. There is serenity to her face. The edges of her mouth curve upward ever so slightly to give her thoughtful eyes a look of contentment instead of sadness. She might be a youth who is naïve of the dangers lurking in the world, but something in her eyes persists that she is wise beyond her years.

Even though she seems very comfortable where she is, her image does not fit with her surroundings. She is the central point of light, the shining beauty in an otherwise average backdrop. All attention is brought to her, and then to the snake. They seem at odds with one another, herself a symbol of purity and the snake a symbol of evil. Perhaps this is just the view that the Bible has put upon snakes. Ancient Greek cultures used snakes to represent many different things, not just evil as is seen in today’s world. This is possibly why the woman does not seem concerned with the serpent that has coiled itself around her neck. Her confidence spreads even to this part of the image. Most would not be so calm with a snake so close to vital body parts. But the woman’s tranquility is the dominating factor in her face and in the image. This I believe is how the subject approaches all aspects of life, calm and confident.