Month: October 2017

Last week, a video of Eminem rapping about Donald Trump was released. Throughout this video, Eminem expresses his concerns towards Trump by referring to issues stirred by Trump’s actions and statements. The significance of this video revolves around the fact that Eminem’s verses incorporate not only his opinion, but implied facts as well. 

For those who knew Eminem in years prior to this video, they may be skeptical to believe all of his claims, as he was infamous for being very politically incorrect. Nevertheless, as a very liberal, left-wing state, California is a place where the majority of the population despises Trump. Eminem’s bold statements against Trump is thus presumably supported by Californians throughout the state.

 

Out of all of the verses spoken by Eminem, the lines that impacted me the most were: “And any fan of mine who’s a supporter of his/ I’m drawing in the sand a line: you’re either for or against/ And if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split/ On who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for you with this:/ F**k you!” (Eminem). The implications of Eminem’s demand to choose between him or Trump conveys his true apathy towards what most celebrities view as most important: fans. This surprised me, as Eminem genuinely loathes Trump to such an extent to lose fans. Ultimately, I have a newfound perspective of Eminem, as he ventures and risks his fan base, which is correlated with the amount of money he makes. Through this video, Eminem teaches the listeners to not be afraid to stand up for what one believes, as it is more important to voice one’s true opinions that to support an idea we do not completely accept.

After reading a portion of Defining Edges, particularly the Picture Frames excerpt by Bailey, I learned more about the significance of the borders and frames. One of the frames that I carefully examined was the frame around Don Gaspar de Guzman, Count-Duke of Olivares, c.1635. In this picture, the Count-Duke of Olivares is depicted as a brave individual, which is evident through his position in the picture. He is seated on a valiant, white horse, right in the center of the picture. Despite the main spotlight being shone upon the hero, Bailey expresses the importance of the border that surrounds the nobleman.

The border around the picture contains three dimensional carvings of wood and gold. The most vivid aspect of the frame are the eight satyrs with gaping mouths, being present “as if to protect the nobleman in the portrait” and to “support the image of the duke on his horse” (Bailey 12). I agree with Bailey’s insight about the roles of the satyr faces, as there are similar phenomenons. For example, during the seventeenth century, gargoyle statues were placed on cathedrals as a means of protection from intruding evils. Much like the satyr faces, the gargoyles were three dimensional to enhance the effect of keeping any evildoers at a distance.

In essence, Bailey conveys the various influences that frames have on its pictures. Prior to reading Picture Frames, I only focused on the picture itself when examining pieces of art, but because Bailey brings light to the parts outside of the frame, I learned to appreciate the surrounding efforts that enhance the meaning of the picture.

Mending Wall is a poem written by Robert Frost, an American poet of the twentieth century. After reading the poem, I struggled to grasp several details throughout the stanzas, as the overall flow and story were both puzzling. Of the various implications of the poem, the only prominent information that I retained was “good fences make good neighbors”. Apart from the aforesaid proverb, I was unable to visualize what Robert Frost was attempting to convey.

One of the main factors that makes Robert Frost’s work so complex is attributed to the contradicting statement that he makes in line one and line twenty seven. By stating, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall/ That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it/ And spills the upper boulders in the sun/ And makes gaps even two can pass abreast”, Frost indicates that barriers should not be present because such hindrances distract the fostering of a relationship (Frost 1-4).  However, Frost creates a paradox by writing, “He only says, ‘Good fences make good neighbors’”, Frost indicates that barriers between two people exist to serve a moral purpose (27). Frost does an excellent job in terms of forcing the reader to interpret his writing rather than giving a clear message to convey.

Overall, I saw that Robert Frost believes that fences are detrimental when building relationships, which I disagree with. Even in our own homes, most of us who have good relationships between our family members are not negatively affected by the doors. These doors are essentially barriers that separates one person from another as a means of providing privacy, and are thus a necessity. Because this reality serves to evidence how people are capable of fostering healthy relationships even with such barriers, for the sake of privacy, good fences could make good neighbors.