What Did Your Parents Most Want You to Be?

You can watch the video here!

For some kicks and giggles

I also found this piece of street art in our city by the others, and it made me happy :)

Speaking of Street Art...

Speaking of Street Art, I found this image and I thought it was BEAUTIFUL for activism!!! I think oh so often we don't do "activist" things because we're afraid of looking stupid. Going back to the nerdy thing, I think activists and nerds alike have passion that they don't let fear of other people's judgement hold them back. They follow what they believe in, even if they get dirty looks or are ridiculed for it. You stand up for what you believe, no matter the circumstances, even if you look stupid for doing it. 

Art and Activism

One of the most important ways we can change the world for the better is through activism, which is sometimes hard to define. To me, activism is simply the action of standing up for what you know is right, and teaching those around you through example and kindness, about those values. Together, these values can and will create an impact on the world for the better. Through activism, we can leave the planet better than when we found it. A lot of people interpret activism with a negative connotation because it is implied to hold stubborn people who want change or reform without thinking of the consequences that change/reform would have. However, I think activism has a better side to it. Not all activism is protesting and yelling at government officials for some kind of reform. Even I'm against that. To me, activism is so much more. It is taking the "Captain America" approach: standing up for what you believe in at all times and in all things and in all places. Believing in values, and upholding those values even when everyone else rejects them. And then, activism can be done through poetry and art, and other creative gestures. That's what this post is about: art and activism, and how art is an expression of values, of truth, and of passion, and with such a beautiful expression, making a literal imprint on society and being phenomenal activists.

Particularly, our class has had the opportunity to search around the city to find some pretty fantastic murals and other forms of street art. I would like to talk about this piece.

This isn't simply one mural with another mural in the back. This is a whole group of murals, and some of them aren't even in the picture. This particular piece, with the moose, is painted on the side of a firearms shop. Site-specific artwork has a point unique to other gallery forms of artwork, because the location in and of itself has a critical meaning in the work. In this case, although it may be a beautiful work, its position on a firearms shop wall gives it a special and unique meaning, that it perhaps wouldn't have if it was on a canvas in a gallery. 

One of the profound impacts of art as a form of activism is that art, like poetry, holds questions, thoughts, and impressions that the mind begins to review, causing the viewer/reader/audience to use critical thinking skills to deconstruct a message of their own, without other people forcing ideas on someone like a protest or government reform. Poetry, artwork, and even movies are beautiful, intriguing, and contemplative, which causes an inevitable conversation on some important issues and discussions. I've already discussed how Cinderella and Frozen, and even Comic Con have had an influence on me and my activism, how I have become a better person through engaging in a conversation on the values, messages, and emotions that come through these things. Artwork does the same. It produces thoughtful conversations to display something about the world and how to change it. 

With that in mind, let's discuss this work's conversation. Here we have a moose being serene and calm, mentioning perhaps the tranquility of nature and the beauty of the world, but as the scene gets darker and darker and increasingly more chaotic, there is either damage, imagery, or confusion. What is in store for the future of this moose? We are unsure. Will he get killed? Will his home be destroyed? We assume something must happen because of the transformation in the piece. Then of course there is the location, because in site-specific art, the location is just as important as the work itself. On the wall of an armory, the message begins to take form. One interpretation could suggest rebellion; the very guns sold will also become the very tools to bring chaos to the forest. Is this an anti-hunting message?

Also important with location is the relationship between murals. Behind this moose is a gorgeous rendering of the Virgin Mary who stands out in her own respect as a diverse woman. Her religious beauty and detail, whether intended or not, stands high above the moose, looking on. Again, whether or not these murals were meant to be placed together, the conversation between the works automatically adds to the conversation between the works and the viewer. Here we have someone holy and sacred looking upon a beautiful form of nature and witnessing its downfall and destruction at the hands of firearms. If the mural is indeed intended to be an anti-hunting message, then the location of the Virgin mural makes that message all the more powerful.

But then there is certainly more to the story. While it is easy to point out the anti-hunting message, other arguments including the pollution of natural habitats, and the encompassing story of shifting nature, whether for better or for worse, as well as stories including the Virgin Mary, such as a strong and vibrant beating heart, and a connection to culture and people. All of these have important placement within the work's atmosphere. For example, the Virgin’s beating heart can be seen as a symbol of hope. For the group of people in the area that believe strongly in the Virgin Mary, this work gives hope through a connection, and seeing the reality of a living, breathing, heart-pumping human being, and it draws a connection not only between the believers but also any that look upon her. Because the heart is such an important detail in the work, it produces a sense, in one way, how the Virgin’s sacredness comes from her heart, and therefore brings hope to viewers, because they, too, can have a “sacred” impact, maybe even upon nature?

Both these messages, of nurturing and protecting forms of nature, and acting with the Virgin Mary as an idol, create a new-found impression of the world, and actions that reflect that new impression. That's what makes them important. Like a poem, simply attempting to understand what these works may be saying or may be revealing makes a change of thought and a change of mind. Art, including graffiti/street art can have a powerful activist impact, through imparting site-specific messages and relationships to present ideas that are sometimes difficult to accept or understand. 

A little Captain America :)

Lavender's Blue

Well. Perhaps there is something you ought to know about me. I love Disney things. A lot. And that is a severe under-exaggeration. My family has been Disney fans their whole life, particularly my grandmother. So I grew up with it, and I don't regret a thing. I may know almost every word to every Disney song EVER. and I truly mean, EVER, including all those songs no one knows about like Bing Crosby's Katrina, and Darleen Carr's My Own Home. I even know Kanine Krunchies, Lack of Education, and The Phony King of England. I may even know It's a Small World in a few languages, including Swedish. But the other day, I've added a new song to that collection. Not traditionally a Disney song, but now included as one (in my mind), I have added a beautiful rendering of Lavender's Blue.

Global Citizenship? Yes, I'm coming to that. Activism? Yes, that too. But It might take me a moment to build up the background, which will probably result in a very long post, so please forgive me. That background all starts with Frozen. The movie was released November 27th, 2013. In May of 2013, I found out about the movie doing some Disney-fan-research online. Excited that there was a new princess movie in progress, I became immediately joyful and let my friends know. I then followed its release, for those eight long months, anxiously awaiting that Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Finally it came. We had night-before tickets, and we got Mexican food beforehand. And then we went to see it. Now, granted, I knew the whole story (Well, most of it. We knew that Anna was engaged to Hans at first, but ended up with Kristoff at the end, so we knew something had to happen there, but Disney actually kept the whole Hans-thing very secretive. We just assumed that Elsa fell in love with Hans :/ that was a mistake). But sitting in that theater, I knew what the story taught about. It taught about what I consider to be the values of Christmas (I absolutely love Christmas and Christmas time): Family, Courage, Faith, True Love, Hope, etc. And I knew that these were all beautiful things that I should honor and practice and pursue. Then, As soon as that Vuelie chorus played, and I saw the first snowflake on the screen, I started crying. I was already crying and the movie hadn't even started!
Snow has always been special to me, because it reminds me of Christmas, and it reminds me of those same values, When I see the snow fall, I am so happy and so joyful, because it strengthens me by reminding me of those values of courage, family, faith, love, hope, and more. And I was filled with peace as I watched that single snowflake fall from the sky. The movie continued to please me, and to this day I will declare to everyone I meet that I truly do love Frozen. But I don't love it because it was popular, I don't love it because she "didn't need a man to save her" I don't love it because it "broke the stereotype of true love's kiss" and I don't love it because it was a "cute Disney princess movie." I love it because it taught me about faith and hope and love, and because of the conversations that followed with my friends, the conversations about life. Crime and Punishment was also a large influence during this time, so we talked a lot about repentance, change, and becoming better people. As a result, I became a better person in the process. From Frozen and the conversations that followed, I became more forgiving, more kind, more loving, and more patient. I was more courageous also, to face my trials. I was so grateful for Frozen and what it did for me-- being a vehicle to my personal growth.

With that in mind, and as I continued to progress as a probable English Teaching major and English Literature minor, I had a continual heart and spirit for reading meaning into stories, be them novel, play, or movie. People ask me why I love Disney so much, and I tell them because It is a way to surround myself with good things, and strengthen myself.

And now we return back to Lavender's Blue. You might be aware that the new, live-action Cinderella came out last week. And I went to see it, by coincidence, the day it came out. I went in with very low expectations. I thought it would be entertaining, but I also thought that it would slightly ruin the original, beautiful story. But I was wrong. In fact, as of this very moment, I may even go as far as to say it is more powerful and moving than the original 1950 classic. But then again, that might be too far, I might change that quickly. Would I suggest it, though? Absolutely! It is so incredibly powerful and beautiful and moving.

I feel that it will quickly become the "new" Frozen. Because I loved Frozen so much, and because it brought me such peace and joy to stand in the theater-- a holy place, as it was fiercely transformed into. So I went back. And back. And back. I ended up seeing Frozen in theaters seven times, and collected every ticket, and cried every time. Already, Cinderella has been out a week and I've already seen it three times. I have a feeling I'm going to spend a lot of money on this movie, because this movie, too, has transformed the theater into a holy place. And just as Crime and Punishment was a powerful influence in the analyzing of Frozen, this class, the Global Citizenship Activism class, has been a strong influence in the analyzing of Cinderella. Plus, I am also preparing to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And that preparation has also been a strong influence. And, as last night proved, my dear friends and I are beginning to discuss the power, because it truly is power, of such a great movie.

So with that, I want to show a tiny glimpse of what Cinderella has meant to me, and how a song like Lavender's Blue could strengthen me when darkness closes in.To begin with, Ella's mother, before she dies, makes her promise to always have courage and be kind. An unlikely pairing of values, it has truly brought out a curiosity of the strength and relationship between them. And through it all, when Ella is faced with deep and heart-wrenching, tear-jerking trials, she is able to always come out victorious, through merely staying true to her promise to her mother-- always having courage, and always being kind.