Final Part 2

1. The body numbs itself to intense pain, emotional and physical. This lesson comes from PTS(d) and a general understanding of the minds reaction to things with which it cannot process. Like in ceremony, a soldier is blind to the killing, torture, and suffering, it is not until the pain is over that the mind floods with its experiences. This picture found on NPR displays three soldiers. One staring intently at a number of crumpled up letters or a book, this man is black. The second holds the third closely in his arms as he comforts his emotionally wounded brother. Not one man has their head held high. With this photo's composition the artist places the focus of the viewer on the second and third man directly in the middle ground of the photo and in clear focus. This is done in order highlight the depth of emotion between the two men. This emotion is being shared after what can be assumed was a battle. For these men it is not until after the fighting has taken place that the emotion behind it floods back. As with PTS(d) soldiers find it very hard to find belonging withing society after returning, blinded by waves of emotion they are not able to communicate, and comprehensively solve there condition. Once the uniform has been hung up indeed the war is over. The two men withing the middle ground  are absent there helmets, they are civilian in a sense. With their hair showing their true self displayed the numbing is gone and they must deal with the pain they no longer can withhold. This photo through these aspects displays the numbing effects intense pain has, along with the inability to find belonging in society.

2. Human connection exists in modern technology. This lesson is portrayed in modern day communications and the documentary Craigslist Joe. In order to find belonging and an connection one must be able to communicate and share their condition. In this New York Times article "Surfing the World Wide Couch" by Penelope Green, couchsurfing.com is displayed as one of these way people can share their experiences and view the world from new perspectives. Describing the companies mission statement, "Or, as it's mission statement proclaims: 'Participate in creating a better world, one couch at a time.'" So simply and with some humor, the creators indeed mean the empathic understanding that exist when one shares a home. People are able to tell stories, passing on experiences, and communicating at its root level. And although it can be nerve racking attempting to stay in a place you have never been with a complete stranger, with one couch at a time one is able to realize that people a genuinely compassionate and kind.

3. Art is a portrayal of a condition, it is purposeful. As with any form of communication art is able to display the feelings or the mind of the artist to others. Film more than any other is able to communicate its purpose in a number of ways, lighting, costume, set design, it's script. More than any other film displays this purpose behind art, and indeed these ideas can be translated to all forms of art and communication. Stanley Kubrick describes a film as, "...more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings." In order to portray these moods and feelings to the audience, the director uses noticeable changes in the way each scene is set and filmed. While as Kubrick denies it "fiction" film however truly fictional must indeed portray "moods and feelings" that can be associated with real life or at least the mind of the audience. As with most film these moods and feelings exemplify a theme or a deeper meaning within the greater aspect of life. But, "The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." Says Kubrick. What he means is that although a theme can exist or a greater meaning can be implied, the importance of film or art as a whole is to purposefully and eloquently exhibit a piece of emotion withing the human condition. To make the audience feel empathically towards the scene, and create a sense of each mood exhibited, a Film like all communication must yield a sense of belonging to its audience.

4. Communications technology changes the way we think. This is exhibited through history as communication technology has evolved; from the book and the painting to the film and the blog. With the creation of any new technology we as humans adapt ourselves to incorporate it into our lives. In the book The Shallows by Nicholas Carr technology is exemplified as an ever changing aspect of human life that indeed affects the way one communicates and thinks. Carr goes on with, "When a carpenter picks up a hammer, the hammer becomes, so far as his brain is concerned, part of his hand. When a soldier raises a pair of binoculars to his face, his brain sees through a new set of eyes, adapting instantaneously to a very different field of view." Like the hammer or the binoculars, the tools we encounter require of the human mind adaptation in order to utilize it's potential. This can be incorporated into modern technology as well. As a race, humans can communicate instantaneously and globally at the touch of a button. But this has never before existed, the cell phone, the World Wide Web, these have allowed the human mind to expand itself beyond the bounds of its skull. Although this is true these tools naturally effect the way we communicate in former aspects of life.

5. Life cannot exist without death. This theme is portrayed in Seven Pounds through the contrast between some of its key characters. The world is full of opposing forces; fire and ice, light and dark, and the expanding mental landscape and the repression of former studies. The contrasting forces are shown by this painting "Duality" by Deb Kirkeeide. It Shows to black birds facing opposing directions, where they meet in the middle the background is split in two. On the left where the black bird faces is a  correctly oriented tree and on the right where the white blackbird faces is and lighter and inverted image of the same tree. The trees and the birds within the painting represent life as parts of the animal kingdom. By using pieces of nature Kirkeeide is proving the the viewer that in life and living, naturally, there exist opposite forces, ones that build and ones that destroy. Through man kinds history this has been noticed, for example Heaven and Hell within religion, these two representing light and dark. As with opposites are opposing colors. Kirkeeide uses the oppositely black and white birds in order to further exemplify this duality within life. The Black Bird is commonly associated with death and darkness, whereas the White Bird, like a dove, is associated with beauty and even love. These opposing  creatures show how within nature exists a dualism, where each and every thing belongs and exists for a purpose and intent.