Teen Art Out nr 8 Monopoly on truth
ISSN 2284 – 6549 ISSN–L = 2284 – 6549
Nos docti, pensantes Sed non semper veridici (Epica- Monopoly on truth)
IIt so seems that truth is relative. And if not, it is at least flexible. Or that is how it has become. But, amidst everything, truth can be a game of power. Hard to say who is right and distinguish facts when we are served only one very narrow and modified version. How can we trust ourselves when we can’t trust our perceptions? “It’s the media”, some say. With their “words beset in gold” they are not solely a form of attraction but a fort of distraction, for there is no bigger manipulation tool known to us. Can you really be sure that your thoughts are your own? Maybe you heard something somewhere; maybe you didn’t even realize it. Maybe you only reach the wisdom you are allowed to. There is a standard everyone must adhere to, a righteous plan, some guide. If you try to be different you might be left alone “Looking for leftover friends is in vain. You’ll be alone again”.
Our editorial team Editor in chief: Simona Mihalca Editors: Bianca Caministeanu Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone Andreea Albulescu Pancu Raluca Marta Boceanu Natalie Hatley Anne Popp Stefan Pascanu Photo credits: Floarea Ciprian
Gerlanda di Francia Therese Sophie Holt (Doodle Art)
Cover design: Ruxandra Marin Design: Dan Muresan
We reserve the right to select the submissions received before publishing. Contact www.artout.ro redactie@artout.ro
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Interview with Adi Despot Pop culture in a human culture Deceiving for TRUTH Little lies No ugly suicides allowed Monopoly on truth Gerlandia di Francia The side you never see We are... the others Ideas on celluluid: TRUTH? 3
Adrian Despot is the frontman and lead singer of Romanian Rock band “Vita de vie“. It’s safe to say he is a legend and his reputation as both a great singer and showman precedes him.
Simona Mihalca: Hello! What can you tell us about Spunk Tour 2013? How was it so far and what does its future hold? Adrian Despot: Vita de Vie Spunk Tour 2013 is the product of the friendship between Vita de Vie and Spunk, an urban culture workshop. It has been extraordinary so far. The halls are packed and we are in great shape. S.M. : As for the release of the “Acustic” album, when and what can we expect? A.D: The launch will happen on the 8th of April at the National Theatre in Bucharest, along with Razvan Suma, Alexandrina, Florin Ochescu si Eugen Caminschi. What to expect? Expect the unexpected. The whole acoustic experience is a show and a music celebration, starting with sound, settings, video projection and even candles and Persian carpets.
S.M: When composing, what comes first: lyrics or music? A.D: Guitar themes, music. Lyrics are the last ones I look for. In happy cases, they look for me. S.M: What is the band’s relationship with the fans? Can it be done without presence on social networking websites? A.D: It can be done without them, but we have always been close to our fans and we try to be active online S.M: And now that one typical question: what’s your opinion as an artist on the internet? A.D: Things are changing. It is impossible to see as you go if it is for the better or for the worse. We’ll see where it gets us and reach a conclusion there. S.M: What can be found in your playlist now? A.D: Cloud Control, Alt-J, Bon Iver, Angus and Julia Stone, Big Deal.. S.M: What concerts do you plan on seeing this year? A.D: All of them, if possible. Unfortunately, we too work in the week-end so you miss most of them.
S.M: Will you encourage your children to take up S.M: Which is your favourite song on the album? Or music, either as a hobby or as a career? A.D: If they wish it, of course. I have made sure to fill maybe the song you enjoy most to play live. A.D: It’s our first personal album we can listen the house with instruments and who knows, maybe beginning to end, on repead. We have worked they will stumble across them and out of curiosity really hard for it and the result is living up to the they’ll start liking them expectations. We’re really happy about it. S.M: In what other projects besides the band are you S.M: Has the musical training in the university had involved? anything to do with the desire to accomplish this A.D: Unfortunately, I don’t have time for anything else. Vita de vie is a 24/7 project. ambitious acoustic project? A.D: Directly, no. However, classical education left its mark on me, volens, nolens.
S.M: What can we expect for the rest of the year? A.D: A fabulous release, an acoustic tour, a lot of S.M: What chance does rock music stand in Romanian summer festivals, an autumn tour and a reedit of the musical scene? It is a niche section with limited Fenomental album, followed by another tour, next year. It is now 15 years old and more actual as ever. access to radio or tv. A.D: Not good, or better said, not chance to be improved. Rock has become a niche, as you said, has Thank you! disappeared from radio and tv, but not completely. When people stop revolving around radio and tv “idols”, guess what they’ll stumble across. Fate’s turning.
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Pop culture in a human culture There are a few things I’ve noticed when it comes to our perception of the human body within pop culture, and honestly I don’t think the blame is so one sided as we make it out to be. We often point our fingers at Barbie dolls, video games, comic books, anime and manga, and we accuse them of distorting the dimensions of bodies, along with many other societal problems we suffer. But I think we should instead point the finger at ourselves, not the products. Starting with Barbie dolls, we’ve all heard how Barbie’s proportions are not ideal, and in fact are so horrifically unnatural that if she were real she couldn’t even function biologically. While yes, she wouldn’t be able to exist if she was a human, people forget that she is just a plastic doll. Personally, I have never - whether as a child or as an adult - looked at my dolls and thought “I want to look like her!”. And I have a suspicion that many children don’t think that way either. As children we don’t get caught up in the adult flurry about appearances, Barbie was merely a doll we could dress up and act out our stories with. The childlike innocence of not overanalyzing our toys or placing our cultural issues on a
humanesque plastic figure is something we have forgotten, and we should start getting it back. Comic books and their characters is a constant hot point of debate among the people both in and out of the community. The sexualisation of the female superheroes and their overly large breasts, narrow waist and wide hips has been backlashed by many. My question is, why? Comics and other related arts (manga and anime included) are all exaggerated artistic representations of an alternate universe, not reality. They never intended to be realistic, just as Picasso’s art isn’t proportionally realistic. If someone can’t separate the ideas of the comic art’s form and real life, that is not the problem of the artist (who is usually the first to be accused). Men often have unrealistic expectations of what women should look like or act, and that is because they expect the busty superhero to exist in real life, when that is simply not the case. I have yet to meet a woman who expects men to be muscled or bulky like male superheroes from comic books.
If the artist wishes to draw his leading lady with more than average assets, he should be free to do it without an out roar of people who cannot understand that she belongs on paper, in an imaginary world, and not the physical one. In video games, many arguments go on about gender, not just the female physique. Sometimes there isn’t an option to play as a female, other times you can choose either one, and yet even though it shouldn’t matter what genitalia your character has (because other than that, why does it make a difference? If you can only relate to someone because they have the same genital gender as you then maybe you are more narrow minded than you thought), complaints are still being fired at the developers. I have played countless games, and I have never complained about my choice - or lack of - leading character. Because it doesn’t hinder my enjoyment of the game, and it shouldn’t. I understand the fact that humans are a wide spectrum, but you will not gain anything by demanding the entire spectrum’s representation in a game other than extra coding and a sprite/ character model you’re happy with, and still nobody will be satisfied. As far as the body goes, games like Tomb Raider and the character of Lara Croft was a huge milestone in gaming and people embraced it, some with more superficial reasons than others. The argument goes back to the comic book reasoning, if men expect women to look like Lara, they will be sorely disappointed. It’s no reason to not enjoy the games however. I did not play with my Barbies, read comics or play games so that I can criticise them with my own hang ups. I did all that because it was a form of escapism and a pleasant hobby. Separating the two ideals of imagination 7
and reality has made me realise that it’s not the creators of these products that somehow deliberately tried to define me as less than ordinary; it’s my own mind that did it. And because I see that society is demanding reality from what we use to escape it, which creates a vicious circle. When did we stop innocently enjoying all these things for their value, and start burdening them? How much must we ruin everything extraordinary we create because we try to squeeze it into the mold of the ordinary? These issues do exist, but they exist within ourselves, within human interactions, and it’s not comic books or video games or anatomically correct dolls that will make a difference, but it’s us and what we decide to become. We don’t need to look like a superhero femme fatale to be beautiful, amazing or real. We don’t need to have a female character to enjoy a well-developed game, and we don’t need a realistic Barbie doll to create a story and live it with our imaginations. Natalie Hatley
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Deceiving for TRUTH “Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth.” The quote belongs to Oscar Wilde and it is probably more valid now than it was at its formulation. It perfectly describes human nature and our constant need to manifest ourselves, along with the fear of being rejected by the society. By following Oscar Wilde’s idea, close your eyes for an instant and imagine a ball. Think of a masquerade, with guests in disguise. The fear to act naturally would disappear for them, as their identity would be unknown to the others. Though a common theory of social psychology claims that people have the tendency of adopting the roles given by the society – an opinion supported especially after the Zimbardo experiment- a mask has, in my opinion, the opposite effect. Wearing such an accessory would not restrict the variety of possible personalities which could be adopted - on the contrary. And who is easier to impersonate than yourself?
status or by wealth. Introverts are thought to have beautiful interior universes constructed inside them. The greatest mysteries of their mind are more valuable because they remain secret. Inside the mask, there is tranquility; there is the pace of your breath, the freedom of spirit. Eugen Ionesco formulated a similar idea, that darkness only is the witness of the true nature of a human being. I would dare to say that a mask provides this proper environment and that not many things differ between a lonely process of falling asleep and a crowded hall of a costume party. Such a ball as the one proposed above could be the intrigue for the best love story of all times or it could be an utopist society, if the guests were to live the rest of their lives in costumes.
Instead of a conclusion, I would say that truth shows itself when less expected. Looking for it will never reveal it, but living with the At the question “Who are you?” many would illusion that, one day, a ball like that will exist give a conventional answer. The truth is that and that we will all reach the essence of truth a person is defined by the behaviour he or is what should keep us thinking. she has when being alone. The other faces of a human being are determined by social Ilinca-Ruxandra Tone
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Little lies... Lies… Why do we even tell them? It may be for fun, for necessity or to avoid a bad situation that may occur. Well, if you ask me, telling a lie is like a game of Monopoly. It is all a matter of luck to bring up the truth with small additional details and not get caught.
argument.
You see, when you lie, you automatically take a risk, so why don’t just tell the truth? It’s ok to tell your best friend that her favorite dress doesn’t look that good on her or admit that you’ve made a mistake instead of trying to hide it. Nobody is perfect and the world would be a much better place if only people would tell the truth.
At the risk of repeating myself, lying is the original and oldest Monopoly game. Though it might truly be an art of lying, it all comes down to luck, to finding the perfect time and place. And, of course, before playing the game, you have to know the rules.
True friends always appreciate more being honest with them than simply telling them what they want to hear. Why is it so hard for us to tell the truth? Why do we choose to complicate our existence? Truth is, nobody knows. Maybe this is the way in which humans were created. Whether it is to avoid humiliation, to make a good first impression, to protect someone’s feelings or to obtain something, lies are very common tools of our life. People like living behind a mask to protect themselves from any outsider that may represent a threat to them. We are no longer capable of expressing our thoughts and feeling without being judged and I think this is the main reason for building up a wall around us, living in a fake world of lies… I, myself, strongly believe that, if we all take a moment to be honest with ourselves and only then with others, we wouldn’t have so many daily problems to face. In fact, the truth is the ultimate weapon for winning an 10
Any lie crumbles to dust in front of the powerful truth and it is my sincere opinion that if we were to speak the truth more often, we could all learn valuable lessons.
Andreea Albulescu
No ugly suicides allowed Welcome to our dream land! Don’t forget to get comfortable and/or to ask for a glass of ice-cold gin. Relax your muscles, listen to some good oldie-goldie music and enjoy yourself in this fantastic, exclusive week. After all, you paid a lot of money to be here, didn’t you? You spent your whole life to get here. You worked hard, sweat and blood, just to catch a seat here, for a week. But hush, don’t cry. We don’t judge you. We are only here to help provide the best environment for your vacation. We want you to make the best out of the last week of your life. Make your death vacation a perfect one. In our resort, we have rules that have to be respected, otherwise your death will affect others’. And it is in everyone’s best interest to keep the peace around, in order to leave the place quietly, happy and healthy. Firstly, if you wish to commit suicide, you shall ask our friendly staff to provide a weapon
of your choice (we are proud to announce that, starting with 2013, we also offer 10 kinds of poison, each kind fitting a type of personality). Any suicide using a personal weapon will be punished severely, as we don’t want to make it a burden for the cleaning staff to get rid of the blood spots on the expensive carpet. They have their rights, too. Secondly, love is strictly forbidden inside our place. Any person caught or overheard while making love or thinking love will be punished with hate. Lately, more and more people are coming to us – in fact, streets are becoming quiet, clean and more… nature. Trees have started growing again and the birds are singing louder these days. The only thing we are a bit uncertain about is whether everyone has time to come to us and die. Marta Boceanu 11
Monopoly on truth “The truth will set you free.”
A quote which we frequently hear, but not all the time apply or even believe its meaning. Since we’ve been born, we have always been told to speak out the truth and hide nothing, at least, avoid all the lying schemes and come clean. But does it always feel the same, like truth is the answer to all of our doubts, problems and personal issues that we are going through? What is the most difficult position to take in? To be told or to give away the truth? How well do we handle it and how do we manage not the hurt the ones we care about, when we are on the verge of telling them something that could possibly change or decisively influence their lives? The list can go on…so many questions, so many particular situations that each implies a different outlook and a closer examination. Truth is more than a state of mind or a set of theories learned and debated in a philosophy circle, is what surrounds us. To be part of this living, you must realize that truth is what defines God’s creation. We all symbolize the truth. Thus, in order to gain all those qualities that define you as a person, to evolve, to receive a proper education, to reach those goals which raise your ambition, you must be able to consider that truth, followed by sincerity, honesty are the main ingredients to help you build a status that will always be taken in count as an example, in each and every moment of your life. In order to sustain this statement, here is the most adequate example: the moment when 12
you are about to testify, when you are in court and given your role as a witness, your statements can change the entire process and give a total new perspective to the judge’s eye. Therefore, you must swear with your hands on the Bible that you will say the truth and only the truth. But it is not all the time that we face sincere interrogations, either referring to the one asking or answering the questions. Even so, given your role and knowing the consequences that could emerge, you must respect and prove that truth can’t be tamed, forced or manipulated. No matter what pressure we are talking about, at the end, the truth comes out and being the one to dictate it will make you a real survivor, not a rat sinking with the other members of the crew. In real life, we follow the same pattern, only that we are our own judges and witnesses and the members of the jury are all the people that step in our lives, only one piece of the story is missing : the Bible (unfortunately, for many of us). Therefore, we aren’t supposed, literally, to swear on the Bible, but we must keep the promise to ourselves, we must swear that we’ll act in the right way. But who knows what is right and what is wrong? Theoretically, considering the statement: one man’s freedom ends where another’s begins , we can see how in the case of truth, things aren’t the same.
Truth can easily be “forgotten” or “mistaken”, by those who don’t show the same treatment as the one received. Truth isn’t something you write down on a paper and sign, in order to assure its validity. Furthermore, our attitude towards truth is changing. We measure our ability to confess the untold, depending on the other one’s willingness towards forgiveness; we decide whether to tell them or not the truth on behalf of their personality and strength. So many times we follow the other path, due to the fear of not being forgotten, or due to the power of destruction that truth can bring up. By destruction, I’m referring to those type of consequences which, most of the time, follow in a domino effect, leading to more suffering and anger than were before. Truth shouldn’t be something we look at from a subjective point of view. Hence, by letting us believe that truth should be applied differently, we question its real meaning and purpose. I, personally, find myself trapped over and over again in the same dilemma circle: shouldn’t or should I tell him/her the truth, how do I feel, how I picture this or that? In the middle of everything, all I want is to set everything clear and reveal what has been kept away. But, as I mentioned above, there are so many conditions that must be taken into consideration, before engaging into something that you may never be able to fix. All in all, I do agree that you must always tell the truth, but life is just not like other case played in the court. Even though you promise to tell the truth, pay attention to the way you are doing it. Cover up not its substance, but its way of exposing facts. Present all the good parts, all that is convenient, that could be in the other’s benefit, so, in the end, you won’t let the miserable parts take the lead. On one hand, from a realistic point of view, truth is just a matter of time before we find
out who our really friends are and who really treats us with respect, regardless of the situation we are talking about. It’s a natural behaving, a healthy way of judging and acting in society. Still, there are times when you can cover up one or two mistakes, but making lie a “way of living” stands far enough from the normal prospect of life. At the same time, when we receive the truth from a person we not necessarily know very well, we tend to step back and not give him a chance to explain himself, to give us more details, because we believe more in our friends word. Nonetheless, the fear of hearing what we were refusing to admit to ourselves can cause us great harm, by not letting us see clearly how the things really stand. On the other hand, from a more philosophical point of view, truth is like a deck of cards, like the title calls itself: monopoly. It can be a touch of luck, like poker, where intuition is hardly needed, or It can turn out to be a game, where both partners have the right to win. I give you the truth; you gave me the same amount of sincerity. We tie for the same exchange. Fair enough. But not applicable on all of us, because truth interferes with double-faced personalities, that many of us share. So, there is no guarantee that I will receive the same treatment as the one offered. In this case, as in many other, if you don’t risk, you may never win. To conclude, truth will always tag you, whether you decide it to wear it properly or not. Truth will bring the most beautiful, still, the ugliest parts within your personality, depending on your attitude and experience with people and life, in general. The ability to stand straight in front of many accusations and verbal attacks will show the world that truth isn’t a choice we make, truth is the way. Pancu Raluca 13
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Have you ever stopped to think what truth really is? Truth is neither an object nor an action. Truth is, perhaps, one of the most abstracts concepts of all times. Truth is what we define to be truth. Once, somebody said the sky’s blue, and people defined that to be truth. Truth is a concept created by man and for man. You may want to think that truth is similar to thoughts shared by more than one person. The monopoly on truth happens when someone or something with (technically) a higher power dictates or retains and repasses truth (or the so-said-truth) in a way. But if we assume that truth is no more than thoughts shared by people, how can we ever have truth once we don’t think the same? Can we put all humankind to believe the same thing? That’s where the monopoly gets in. It has happened many times in history. Take, for example, the emperors that used to convince people of their divine origin so they would have absolute power. Or the church, that was once in charge of schools and of the knowledge that passed on to the people. Those were smaller communities. In a globalized world like today’s you’d think the monopoly on truth is gone. But it isn’t. Every day the media makes people believe whatever they want. If the news says a man is a vicious murderer or a dangerous rapist, even if he is actually innocent, people will believe it, and the man’s reputation will be damaged. And you don’t even have to go 14
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that far. The logic for the monopoly is simple and spread like a virus everywhere. If you make people dumb, it’s easier to get what you want. If you can make everyone believe what you want them to believe, then you have the power. It’s literally the key to mind control. For how long have you been reading this article? Three minutes? Five minutes? More? Even in time we can’t have a universal truth. Even in this, that basically controls our life, we can’t be certain. Who defined that one second was one second? We still use different calendars all over the world. That’s all because we are different. We are unique. We don’t think the same, we constantly disagree, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. That’s how new ideas are born and how the world changes. So why do we have to follow standards to nearly everything? Why is it bad to stand up for what you believe? We have put knowledge in a little box and expect everyone to take it and make the same use out of it. But the thing with knowledge is that the more you know, the less you know you know. We have fought other monopolies. Why should we not fight today’s one or ones? Let’s make this world an open minded place. Let’s turn all our concepts upside down. Let’s think for ourselves. After all, the truth is nothing but a lie. Julia N. Hamermesz
Gerlandia
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di Francia
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Social watch: The side you never see Nowadays, almost everybody has developed a habit or two. Whether it’s nail biting, playing with your hair when you’re nervous or saying ‘‘like ’’ in the middle of sentences, these are all habits that often become a routine. But, how do you stop your habits from becoming an addiction? One Saturday evening, as I was sitting in a café with Harper ( remember her ? ) , a friend of mine who recently started a job at a women’s clothes shop and was determined to make the best out of it, I started thinking about addictions and their side effects. For Harper, one addiction was smoking. She knew that it was bad for her health and that she had to stop, but smoking, also made her feel good and much more relaxed. I watched her light a cigarette, with the grace of an artist and thought that, maybe I was missing on something.
smoking with scenes from those movies. Now, I guess it’s just something natural to me, like a daily habit.’’ She seemed serious enough to tell the truth and I smiled because if I were honest with myself, I would face the fact that I had an addiction too. Mine was facebook. Side effects? Slowly consuming endless hours of my life, with photos, news and posts. It’s easy to think that you’ll only check your notifications and then make a quick exit, but sooner or later it all falls into a pattern and you end up staying online, for more than 3 hours and sometimes, even wasting a whole day.
What Harper said about smoking kept me wondering. Whether she saw it as something mysterious or possibly, a simple excuse for socializing, the fact remains that it’s one of those vices, from which you can’t easily escape. You think you control it, that you can stop whenever you want to Curiosity won over anything else and I and you continue. However, when you do asked why she started smoking. Harper actually try to stop, you can’t. Could the stared at something on the window and same be said about other things? remained silent for a few seconds, then answered: ‘‘at first, it was because I wanted We all have flaws and we’re no saints, but to try something new. I was bored with in the end, I believe that we should look at my life and smoking seemed fun. Do you the whole picture because our flaws, don’t remember those old movies on the T.V.? define us in any kind of way. Flaws or habits that quickly transform in addictions, are The ones full of jazz, edgy parties, where simply part of our C.V. and if we really try alcohol was prohibited, but nobody cared to be honest with ourselves, then we may and the women seemed free, independent have a chance at something better. What’s and smoked without a single care in the your addiction? world…God, how I loved those movies! Well, don’t laugh, but I have always associated Căminișteanu Bianca Minodora 19
We are ... the others From the title you might have guessed about which gig i`m gonna write. It was the second weekend of May, the 12th to be precise. I was in my phase of getting used to the UK...feeling quite lonely and not understood. I`ve got my weekend off. I knew that one of my favourite bands were playing in Birmingham...I bought my ticket just 3 days before the show...got packed 1 day before the gig and headed to explore a new city...the journey took about 4 hours. I found the HMV Institute quite easy. The fans were gathering already around 3-4ish...I was having a chat with them when suddenly Charlotte appeared on the road. We started to talk....she was very communicative, simple and looked stunning without any make-up. After talking, we took a picture together and from the first time since I`ve been in the UK, I smiled...and felt full of joy. We entered the institute around 7. One of the guest bands was Trillium, whose lead singer`s voice was kickass. Finally Delain appeared on the stage. Back then I only knew Frozen and The Gathering from them but the whole show was so full of energy...Charlotte`s voice was just perfect. From the playlist I can mention Mother Machine, Stay Forever from their April Rain album, Invidia, Get the devil out of me , Not enough or We are the others. Their breakthrough song, The gathering was the last one. Everybody wanted more so they came back for the encore: Control the storm. It was then time for me to wait to get some stuff signed. I had nowhere to sleep and a bus to catch. I got to chat with the other people 20
waiting there One of them had a red bird, which later I found out that was an angry bird. Not only was he carrying it, but he had started to call Charlotte Nuclear Wessels. Soon we became talking mates...they introduced me to the band; they were nice and modest; we even did a head banging pic with Otto, the bass player. When the nuclear lady came out we talked about one of our common subjects: cats (oh yes two cat freak ladies joined forces). In the end, Delain fans are the best. They made me feel welcome. Not only did they give me a place to stay but we had the best time ever. I can only say that it was a hell of an adventure and I am ready for the next one. Anne Popp
Ideas on celluloid:
Justice in Footage
In a world where, as doctor Gregory House states, “Everybody lies”, a group of revolutionaries decide to embrace the challenge to transmit the truth to the people. This way, the very first filmmakers are born and following is a brief presentation of their work. Truth against History D.W. Griffith , Tarantino and Spielberg revealing their vision about the past The first message to be sent through the camera is a copy of history. Since the beginning of cinema, the directors, the writers and pretty much everybody else tried to reenact some of the greatest moments of the history. The best known director to do that is still remembered today and his name is David Wark Griffith. Considered by some a controversial person, Griffith puts on film some intriguing elements, such as the American Civil War and the racial problem or some events related to the life of Jesus Christ. “The Birth of a Nation” (released in 1915) and “Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages” (released in 1916) are two early examples of truth pleading through a motion picture. Relating to the American Civil War there are some recent examples of films that try to expose the same problem. One of them is “Django Unchained” by Quentin Tarantino and the other one is “Lincoln”, a film brought to life by the creator of Saving Private Ryan and A.I., Steven Spielberg. They both orbit around the controversy surrounding those crucial times for the American history and from their nominations at the Academy
Awards it can be observed that people are starting to enjoy asking questions about their past. Truth against all logic and common sense Orson Welles and Ingmar Bergman, masters of social exposure Since there is a reality, there is a filmmaker to disapprove it. Orson Welles, one of the best known American directors tried as best as he could to evoke the social, political and judicial problems of his era. From his first film, “Citizen Kane”, released in 1941 and considered by some to be one of the best motion pictures ever made, to the adaptation of Franz Kafka’s “Le Procès” from 1962, his work remains as fascinating and surreal as truthful and full of meaning. His echoes were to be amplified by an European film artist named Ingmar Bergman. The Swedish director started with a tendency to expose the society through action and storyline (e.g.: “Seventh Seal”, released in 1957) and ended with a plot consisting almost entirely of dialogue and actor’s interpretation (e.g.: “Persona”, released in 1966). The same as Welles, Bergman uses a drop of surrealism in every motion picture of his, but exactly the right quantity so that he keeps the interest of the auditorium going. In terms of artistic flair, the two great filmmakers will never be equaled by anyone, but as the time passes, the society remains the same and the concepts used in their works of art are going to inspire ideological revolutions for the new generations. 21
Truth in modern times Christopher Nolan – between “Following” and “Batman” Known for “The Inception”, “Memento” and “The Dark Knight”, Christopher Nolan is one of the most prolific filmmakers today. His debut as a director of full-length motion pictures was in 1998 with his shocking thriller “The Following”. With an apparently simple plot, the film reveals the cruelty hidden in some people’s mystery and the dangers of the modern day society. With “Memento” he approaches the same concepts, but introduces a new style, which he will use from now on. This way, Nolan starts using the mystery element as a factor for audience’s
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attention and later on just as a signature. With the Batman trilogy, the director transforms everything someone knew about the Batman character into an odyssey about truth and justice against evil brilliance. The success is instantaneous and “The Dark Knight”, the second of the three motion pictures reaches position number ten on IMDb’s “Top 250”. The last big hit of Nolan was “Inception”, released in 2010. The film shows a fantastic story about dreams, love and truth in its most basic form. Everything that remains to be said about Christopher Nolan is that his genius is a plain example that the breed of revolutionary filmmakers had not died and will continue to preach the truth. Stefan Pascanu