1 Media: Anime and Classic Music
1. Naruto OST - Heavy Violence (Marching towards war)
2. Bleach OST - Rage of Lunacy (The Battle)
3. Naruto OST - Sadness and Sorrow (After the battle)
Even though these songs are from animations, they do represent the theme of many events. Animations show people's anger and sorrow by different ways of how the character acts, but usually the music has the power to control those feelings, just like movies.
The first song I chose, is as if people were marching towards war, leaving their homes behind but getting ready to fight the enemies to take over each other. Wars start with a lot of conflicts. For example, racism, power, greed and more. It feels like as if the people in the army are chanting for their own victory as they step into the battle field with the razor sharpened swords.
The second song is when the battle starts, where the weapons clash, and people die with regrets. The music in this song feels like as if people are shouting, again for their victory, and minor music is heard, emphasizing the anger. War is harming people and nothing really positive happens to our nation. That is what is being heard in this part.
The last part of the music when the battle had finished, and leaving all the damaged villages, blood, and bodies left after the war. The villagers and the citizens seem to be mourning for the people who died in the battle, and asking for peace. We lose everything in the War. War only gives loss to people, leaving them to survive on their own. The background seems to be dry, as if rain never had come, dead trees and dried up plants which makes food scarce. In all, War represents difficulty and regret.
1. Kiss the Rain - Yiruma
Normally, when I think of Peace, I think of calm and soothing music, especially something classical. The first song I chose is played by a piano and its has a really quiet chorus, but it makes me feel as if I were connected to something. Sometimes when I close my eyes as I hear this song, I sketch people smiling and the fresh rain dropping onto Earth, giving the people some water to drink so that they could survive. The background seems to be light blue with some mist covering it, along with full grown trees and clear rivers flowing down to the wide sea. It gives me a clean feeling. I feel that I am being connected to the nature, and not only people. Being connected to each other is like knowing someone else's pain and caring for them. I think that is what leads us to peace. Making everyone feel the same happiness and pain is like being equal with no segregation. Also, it's not only people who need peace but the Earth needs some rest, after all the pollution that some people had caused. In my mind, it means that we all should work for peace of the whole world, along with earth.
2 Media: Story
The Blokes - Alan Gibbons
The Blokes is a slang word for british guys. Alan Gibbons, the author of "The Shadow of the Minotaur" wrote a short, yet amazing detailed story about Kosovo. There was a War going on in Kosovo and Serbia and many people had to be sent away from their country. They were refugees. It would have been a heart breaking time for the people, since they were leaving their home, their pride, and their family who were lost. That shows a sign of War, since war represents loss.
The refugees go to school but the Blokes wouldn't let them in with comfort. They would pick on people, and give them discomfort, discourage and loneliness. I call that feelings of war. A battle would happen inside your mind, or your feelings as you receive discomfort. A boy named Hashim, was a boy who was sent away from Kosovo to England, and goes to a school. In fact, Hashim has a friend named John, who cares for Hashim. However, The Blokes wouldn't have left Hashim in peace. John was threatened to break Hashim's work which Hashim was going to participate in a contest, which was making a project of "Where I'm From." Hashim made little toblerone houses, and a golden mosque to show his village. However John was terrified about the threat which the Blokes planned to spread the rumor of his dad's mistake, and he crushed the project that Hashim spent hours on. John felt as if a big black hole was sucking him in, giving him discomfort which again, I call feelings of war. Hashim didn't really express his anger, when John asked for forgiveness. Hashim worked on the project, telling John that he would fix it. Hashim refused John's help and did something on his own. As they got to school, Hashim contributed his project to the teacher for the contest. The village, was still broken to bits. However, the walls of the houses were charred by fire, and fire had spread across the village, leaving the villagers in vain. "This is the truth." Hashim says. He was stating his embarrassing past. A past he did not want to share. However, this event had made Hashim win the contest. I think that part of the story was when peace finally reached John and Hashim. John was under the Bloke's threat, and Hashim was targeted by the Blokes. They were both in war with the Blokes. However, John and Hashim did not give up, and Hashim stood up for himself. He did not fall. That is what that made Hashim the strongest.
3 Media - Paintings
3 Media - Paintings
"Guernica" (1937) - Picasso
This painting represents the theme of war with black and white colors. In this painting, the faces of the people are all in agony of something. The woman on the left side is grieving for her dead child. The horse in the center is whining desperately as if it wanted to be saved from this miserable place. Right below the horse, I see a soldier, injured and seems as if he had given up to live. In the center, I see a woman that is frightened of what she saw, as she has a candle lit right in front of her, as she might have witnessed something. On the right side, I see someone being gobbled up into a black chaos of something, as he is screaming out for his life. Also, right below the frightened woman, I see another woman, exhausted and almost about to faint. Right above this people, I see an eye, as if they were being guarded by someone who won't stop guarding. Maybe they will be trapped forever. This painting, is the outcome of War. People screaming of what they are seeing, people shouting with agony, fleeing for their lives, weeping for a certain important person, and also losing their life in the battle field. War gives us certain types of losses. Our home, family, our own lives, and more importantly, happiness.
War and Peace Mural
1951-52
Picasso had drew this Mural representing Peace and War, as he added various types of colors to represent each theme.
This is the right side of the mural, as this painting represents unity and peace. I see the colors of blue, green, white, black and orange. The colors are evenly divided. I feel as if this painting was dedicated to the France and German people as the colors in the background almost represents the flags of France and German. Even though it is not these particular countries, this describes all of us. I see the peaceful faces of people as they look as if they are dancing, in the blue part of the painting. Also, there is a man who is playing an instrument, as if he's playing to the dancing women. The green part of this painting looks as if people are having a picnic under the of a fruit tree. They seemed relaxed and seem to be having a peaceful time doing what they want to do. The round symbol in the white part of the drawing looks like a kite as if it was flying through the air with bright colors, representing the sun. It gives light to the people, and I think that almost represents the sun. Which is the warmth.
Peace and War (North Korea and South Korea)
4 Media, Photos
I had nothing to really say, as it was really shocking that North Korea sent rockets at an island called Yeong Pyung Do. It is about 13km beneath from North Korea. Approximately at 2:30, they had attacked us. This was 3:30, in Malaysia on Tuesday. When I found out about this, I immediately wanted to ask why. Why did you attack us? North Korea has suffered as South Korea decreased the amounts of food and money that we were sending to North Korea, as we lost trust in them, because they had been making Nuclear Bombs. My first question was, why were they making Nuclear Bombs? The people around me answer that they made it because they wanted to threaten us with it. Why threaten? North Korea was suffering unlike South Korea, and they just needed help in order to survive. We gave them a lot of help, food, money. The other countries supported them. They had comfort but instead they made Nuclear bombs. I got mad. I started a war in my feelings against North Korea. If they were to focus on their country, they would have at least improved it, instead of making the useless Nuclear Bomb! Knowing that Hatred did nothing for me, I calmed down. As I watched the news, I wanted to go there, and at least stand up for what I believed in.
What I have recently heard is people worrying if a war would start. I believed that it won't happen, as War was a different matter of fight. Now, I ask myself what is war? An armed state of conflict, is what the dictionary displays. Then, in war, what are people fighting for? That question, left me blank in mind. Sometimes, it would be about Religions, but why couldn't Korea be together? These are my questions for Peace and war. In every theme, there are questions.
These are the reactions of the people right in front of the T.V watching the destruction of the island as 170 shots of rockets were sent out by North Korea. After damaging, the North Koreans blamed the South Koreans for driving them "to the brink of war". Now, I say this is not fair. They have attacked us and yet they do not apologize for harming the citizens to lose their families and homes, and they blame us. Right now, they could threaten us to a War as they have the power that everyone fears. The Nuclear bomb. They had also blamed the South Koreans that we have attacked them first, on July the 25th, when the war against North and South Korea started. They had started everything and yet they blame us. Right now, 4 citizens had died from where they shot the rockets. One of citizens, was going on a holiday to meet his family after his long term in the Army where every man has to go. And he died while returning, unable to see his family for a long time. I cried. I thought what would have happened if my brother was that person? How would I feel? How would have I reacted? War gave loss and it helped me understand about Peace. Peace can only be made if we all felt each other's sorrow. If we did, no weapons would be used to harm ourselves. We have to know what it feels like to be suffered in order to help. That should be happening in Korea. One of my friends asked "Why are they fighting Korea, Korea?" We were all speechless. We weren't able to answer that question. Even though this is not war, it still teaches us in one event. Peace and War are binary opposites but if those conflicts are solved, won't Unity come?So, What is the true meaning of Peace and War? Are we able to make it? Are we able to answer this question?
