issue 131

bufeitianshiUID: 2880182

131"The arts (painting, music, literature, etc.) reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society."

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Does arts reveal the otherwise hidden viewpoints and impulses of a society? The speaker claims so. While I acknowledge the merit of the claim, otherwise, in my view,
reflecting the hidden ideas and impulses of a society is not the only function of arts. Besides, people can restore to other form of actions to express hidden ideas and impulses of a society, such as political movements.

It is indeed true that arts play an essential role in revealing the hidden ideas and impulse of a society when the society is not a democracy one. Under such
circumstance, individuals may face the threaten from the government, who spares no effort to lead the public to become submit to ruthless policy and tyranny, thus keeping silence towards seamy reality. And then it is easy for arts to turn out to be one of the most effective ways to express their viewpoints towards the society they are in. For supporting examples one need look no further than “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”. Under the reign of Nazi, many Jews leaded a miserable life. Nevertheless, no one dared to speak out their hatred. But Anne, a sixteen-year-old girl, expressed her feelings and the public hidden ideas in the form of literature. Were it not for her writing, nobody can know the masses’ feelings. In this way, the book transcended the art itself and became the avatar of the public voice. Just as Jan Romein said, This apparently inconsequential diary by a child, this "de profundis" stammered out in a child's voice, embodies all the hideousness of fascism, more so than all the evidence of Nuremberg put together. Another apt example is that the meaningful painting “The Fu Er add the boat tracker of river” ,which reveals the tragic life under the govern of the Czar。In a society of despotism，the speaker’s claim that arts is indeed a powerful way to reveal the public ideas and the impulses has its merit.

However, things are quite different in a society with democracy. With sufficient political freedom and rights, it is no longer necessary for folks to hidden their complain about the government, policy and so forth. Arts’ function of expressing the hidden ideas and impulses of a society tends to be replaced by other functions. Take architecture as an example, the ancient pyramids and the great cathedrals of Europe, which are primarily used to honor deities and to propel humans into the afterlife and are impulses to transcend the human condition. However, during the twentieth century, the field of architecture is dominated by the form of steel-forged art deco and then the sky-scraping office buildings, which are more mundane and practical compared with ancient pyramids and the great cathedrals of Europe. In some cases, there is even a trend that arts are used to cater the need of modern society. In this meaning, it is ridiculous to draw the conclusion that arts can reveal only the ideas and impulses of a society.

Besides, the bare face that obscurity is one of the most manifest feather of art which has nothing to do with the existence of democracy cannot be overlooked. As is well known, art is a useful way to express our sentimental relations and emotions obscure, such as happiness, sorrow and so on. Without the obscurity, arts may not be beautiful as they are now. Two examples that aptly illustrate this point involve Vincent van Gog’s sun flowers and Beethoven’s the ninth symphony. According to the discussion above, we can safely draw the conclusion that arts reveal not only the hidden ideas and impulses of society, but also hidden personal feelings and emotions as well. What’s more, art can also improve our lives by directly and indirectly lifting the moral of individuals, creating unity and social solidarity. Art creates awareness of social issues. So it is hasty for the speaker to generalize the function of art.

In sum, art plays an important role in mirroring the ideas and impulses of a society. At the same time, it also serves to express personal hidden ideas and feelings. Besides, art is not the only way to reflect the hidden viewpoints and impulses of society.