Welcome to the Module 04 and Module 08 "Media & Monologues" thread!
("Scroll-and-a-Half" / 150 words)
Module 4: (Monologues - MS:HP I)
Consider what you've written down from your brainstorm in the Meditation portion of our exercises. What jumps out at you that's wanting to be explored a little more deeply? Come up with a topic based around these meditations and write an essay about your personal perspective on the matter. This could be a single aspect or multiple elements from your list. In addition to sending in via e-mail, if you feel like sharing with your peers go ahead and post here with or without including your "Meditation" and/or "Mindfulness" responses added in together. This is voluntary and will not effect your points one way or another, however it will add to our community vibe and could stir up conversation for any "Mingling" points you may wish to accrue as Extra Credit.
Module 08: (Media - MS:HP II)
Based on your reflections from this month’s lesson and/or the Mantra you’ve chosen to explore, choose one full piece of media you find in any way to relate to these concepts floating around. This could be a book, television show, movie, musical album, etc., and doesn’t have to be something completely new to yourself, so long as it speaks to you as connecting to the vibe you’re associating with this energy. Perhaps you’ll go into detail about why you chose this in particular, along with what aspects correspond most appropriately with your sense of this month’s power. What’s your general opinion of your selection’s strengths or weaknesses? Anything unexpected or enlightening come up along the way? Include anything you feel compelled to share! In addition to sending in via e-mail, if you feel like sharing with your peers go ahead and post this to the corresponding “Media & Monologues“ thread at the Class Forum with or without including your “Mantra” and/or “Memento” responses added in together. This is voluntary and will not effect your points one way or another, however it will add to our community vibe and could stir up conversation for any “Mixing” points you may wish to accrue as Extra Credit.
Modules #4/#8 - "MEDIA & MONOLOGUES" - Fall 2021
Moderator: Prof. Sindor Aloyarc
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Prof. Sindor Aloyarc
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Modules #4/#8 - "MEDIA & MONOLOGUES" - Fall 2021
Deputy Headmaster | Deputy Head of Ravenclaw
"—Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue & grey."
"—Starry, starry night. Paint your palette blue & grey."
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Prof. Will Lestrange
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Re: Modules #4/#8 - "MEDIA & MONOLOGUES" - Fall 2021
Mantra
My first thought for a mantra was something like "NOW I remember!" but ultimately that felt too much like the mantra I had chosen last month for Understanding. Instead I moved to thinking about familiarity words and ended up with the sentence fragment "This reminds me of..." instead: the idea would be that something would be familiar if it reminded me of something else. I tried to focus on that mantra for the first few days of the month, but to no avail: nothing really struck me as being that familiar over those days!
Media
The piece of media I chose for the power of familiarity was the 1812 Overture by the 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (the performance I listened to for this month's lesson can be found here). Even if you aren't that familiar with classical music, you might very well recognize this piece as "the one with the cannons"... but the cannons actually don't show up until near the end of the piece!
The 1812 Overture begins with a Russian theme: a traditional folk song followed by a motif introduced by Tchaikovsky himself to represent an army. Then we hear a different theme to represent the French army under Napoleon (ironically, although the modern listener would recognize that theme as the French national anthem, it was not used as such during the time of Napoleon's army.) We hear these themes contend with each other for a while until, finally, as the French anthem approaches its climax, we hear five cannon blasts followed by a period of descending music where the first-time listener may wonder what comes next...
only to be greeted with a much stronger version of the folk song theme that began the song (punctuated with bells)! After about a minute of this, there's a transition back to the familiarity of the special Tchaikovsky theme, which will make up the final minute of the piece. This final minute, which features no fewer than eleven cannon blasts, is probably the most recognizable portion of the overture: the familiarity of the theme, paired with the tone, leaves no doubt which side is the winning side.
It is not uncommon in music for a theme to be introduced early on in a piece and fade away, only to return later on near the end of the piece where it activates the power of familiarity. What makes the 1812 Overture stand out is that much of the action features direct competition between two different themes (representing a clash of two armies), and the familiarity at the end of the piece serves as a victory celebration!
Memento
Looking back at my writings and thought, the main thing I take out of this month's notes is that the power of familiarity actually caused me to make my mantra more unique: when I realized how similar my initial attempt at a mantra was to last month's, I changed it to a new phrase. And this new phrase could have been called upon when comparing my initial attempt to my Understanding mantra, as those initial words reminded me of my Understanding mantra!
My first thought for a mantra was something like "NOW I remember!" but ultimately that felt too much like the mantra I had chosen last month for Understanding. Instead I moved to thinking about familiarity words and ended up with the sentence fragment "This reminds me of..." instead: the idea would be that something would be familiar if it reminded me of something else. I tried to focus on that mantra for the first few days of the month, but to no avail: nothing really struck me as being that familiar over those days!
Media
The piece of media I chose for the power of familiarity was the 1812 Overture by the 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (the performance I listened to for this month's lesson can be found here). Even if you aren't that familiar with classical music, you might very well recognize this piece as "the one with the cannons"... but the cannons actually don't show up until near the end of the piece!
The 1812 Overture begins with a Russian theme: a traditional folk song followed by a motif introduced by Tchaikovsky himself to represent an army. Then we hear a different theme to represent the French army under Napoleon (ironically, although the modern listener would recognize that theme as the French national anthem, it was not used as such during the time of Napoleon's army.) We hear these themes contend with each other for a while until, finally, as the French anthem approaches its climax, we hear five cannon blasts followed by a period of descending music where the first-time listener may wonder what comes next...
only to be greeted with a much stronger version of the folk song theme that began the song (punctuated with bells)! After about a minute of this, there's a transition back to the familiarity of the special Tchaikovsky theme, which will make up the final minute of the piece. This final minute, which features no fewer than eleven cannon blasts, is probably the most recognizable portion of the overture: the familiarity of the theme, paired with the tone, leaves no doubt which side is the winning side.
It is not uncommon in music for a theme to be introduced early on in a piece and fade away, only to return later on near the end of the piece where it activates the power of familiarity. What makes the 1812 Overture stand out is that much of the action features direct competition between two different themes (representing a clash of two armies), and the familiarity at the end of the piece serves as a victory celebration!
Memento
Looking back at my writings and thought, the main thing I take out of this month's notes is that the power of familiarity actually caused me to make my mantra more unique: when I realized how similar my initial attempt at a mantra was to last month's, I changed it to a new phrase. And this new phrase could have been called upon when comparing my initial attempt to my Understanding mantra, as those initial words reminded me of my Understanding mantra!
Last edited by Prof. Will Lestrange on Wed Jan 05, 2022 12:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Emerald Wolvenhowl
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Re: Modules #4/#8 - "MEDIA & MONOLOGUES" - Fall 2021
Mantra:
My mantra for this assignment is 'Aunt and Uncle', and I have found it useful when I'm out of the house. If my memory serves me right, It is a piece of advice from a Tibetan Buddhist Monk, Thich Naht Hanh. It was recommended that to help us find peace and happiness in ourselves we should be kind to strangers and view them/ treat them just as we do our own aunts and uncles. Although the mantra doesn't sound like much, I like it's simplicity and it helps me to try not to judge others or be prejudiced towards others either and promotes compassion and patience even to those who are being unkind.
Media:
I'm not sure if this counts but the media I have chosen is my very first art folder that contains all of the cartoons I did at the start of my drawing journey. That probably doesn't sound like much, but cartooning has been a big part of my life since 2014. It is very familiar to me because I tend to draw most days of the week and it has become a part of my daily routine. No matter what else is going on around me at the time it's there and it's comforting. While it feels like an anchor for me it also shows me just how bad my cartoons were at the start of my journey. I think that is okay though and is a good thing really because It gives me the opportunity to make comparisons between my drawing back then and my drawing at present. In doing so I can see just how far I have progressed since then and that perseverance is a key to improvement.
Momento:
This lesson has made me realize that while sometimes change is a good thing, familiarity, be it a place person or event etc can be a good thing too. It can be good for us because it can evoke in us feelings of safety, comfort, stability and reassurance as we travel through uncertain or turbulent times and helps us to stay afloat.
My mantra for this assignment is 'Aunt and Uncle', and I have found it useful when I'm out of the house. If my memory serves me right, It is a piece of advice from a Tibetan Buddhist Monk, Thich Naht Hanh. It was recommended that to help us find peace and happiness in ourselves we should be kind to strangers and view them/ treat them just as we do our own aunts and uncles. Although the mantra doesn't sound like much, I like it's simplicity and it helps me to try not to judge others or be prejudiced towards others either and promotes compassion and patience even to those who are being unkind.
Media:
I'm not sure if this counts but the media I have chosen is my very first art folder that contains all of the cartoons I did at the start of my drawing journey. That probably doesn't sound like much, but cartooning has been a big part of my life since 2014. It is very familiar to me because I tend to draw most days of the week and it has become a part of my daily routine. No matter what else is going on around me at the time it's there and it's comforting. While it feels like an anchor for me it also shows me just how bad my cartoons were at the start of my journey. I think that is okay though and is a good thing really because It gives me the opportunity to make comparisons between my drawing back then and my drawing at present. In doing so I can see just how far I have progressed since then and that perseverance is a key to improvement.
Momento:
This lesson has made me realize that while sometimes change is a good thing, familiarity, be it a place person or event etc can be a good thing too. It can be good for us because it can evoke in us feelings of safety, comfort, stability and reassurance as we travel through uncertain or turbulent times and helps us to stay afloat.