【09GRE作文冲刺组】3.8作业

xiaoyao36UID: 2392780

TOPIC: ISSUE131 - "The arts (painting, music, literature, etc.) reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society."
WORDS: 476 (693)
TIME: 00:45:00
DATE: 2009/3/8 12:19:04

The author claims that the arts reflect those ideas and impulses hidden in our society. It is true that the arts are one of the most efficient ways to reveal those concepts and attitudes, which will favor the understanding and interpretation of our life. However, from my point of view, the arts can do more than that.

In the first place, the arts can reflect those concepts and attitudes hidden in the society from the public, which, in most cases, are held by a minority of citizens yet still, do not arouse the wide awareness from the majority. They are hidden from the public's view and only witnessed by a small group of people. Thanks to the artists, who throw light upon these ideas, they may be brought out in front of the public. History is replete with such examples. To illustrate this point, we need to look no further than Sartre, the famous psychologist, dramatist and political journalist. With the development of the Capitalism, Sartre realized the blank area in people's mental world compared to the rich material one. He began to discuss the meaning why people live and the essence of freedom, and later came up with the concept of existentialism, which attracted popular interest and wide concerns. He used his works to reflect these new impulses in human minds and brought it forth to the whole world. Just as a famous critic once said (and I paraphrased):"The arts are originated from normal life. More importantly, it is more than just life", which has concluded the essence of the arts. Owing to the artists' unique angle to see the world and irreplaceable way of interpretation, the hidden ideas and impulses are exposed to the public.

However, the arts can also act as the representative of the commonly acknowledged events or trends. On one hand, the artists' works could be considered as either a precious memorial of the history, to which the later generations can refer for useful suggestions, favoring the descendance in admiring the history and making right decisions. For example, due to the existence of the Divine Comedy, we can develop a better understanding of the ancient world and their culture. Thanks to the Gone with the Wind, we are able to feel the true feelings of the slave owners during the civil war. According to the dramatic painting of Madness, the new leaders of China will be aware of the potential disasters resulting from hasty decisions. On the other hand, the arts could act as the stimulus of the public morale. The arts can present the achievements and great development recently made, which will initiate the society as a whole to go for the better. From this perspective, the arts could exert much more profound influence of the society than only revealing the hidden ideas and impulses.

Basically, the arts, besides the concrete contents of the works themselves, it is a reflection of the general spirit of the whole society, no matter democratic or despotic, turbulent or peaceful. Take the Renaissance as an example: from Dante and his Divine Comedy to Spensor and his Faerie Queene, from Giotto to Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci; from literature to painting, from architecture to music, all the achievements were boosting during the Renaissance. They were the best representative of the lively and free social atmosphere among Europe at that time. Compared with the Renaissance, the arts achievements were considerably few during the war, a period when the society is unstable and in a mass. In this way, the arts can also inform us of the general state of a certain stage during the development, allowing us to build a broader perspective of understanding the society.

In general, I do appreciate the key role that the arts play in exposing those hidden ideas and impulses to the public, benefiting our comprehension of the contemporary society. However, we should not overlook other crucial parts that the arts play in our society. All in all, the arts can be considered as the mirror of our society, and the comprehension depends on the angles from which you interpret it and the way how you do this.