Children of the Screen

Hannah Baylon’s article, Children of the Screen, poses an interesting point, that we as a society are heavily influenced by media. This causes an unnatural structure, leaving many people unsure of who they are and what they want. I agree with her statement, our environment is no longer natural, but highly dictated by magazines, movies, and television. While we are controlled in this way, not everyone in society is fully controlled by these boundaries. Many people can actually separate themselves slightly from the media, but to an extent, we are all influenced by the world around us, natural or unnatural.
I feel like I have adopted a screen-based environment to an extent. I cannot deny the influence of magazines and other media outlets in my life, but I do feel to a certain extent I know who I am and what I want. As a kid I don’t remember the movies I watched as much as the crazy car rides and adventures I took. I feel like although I watched Disney and Power Rangers, I also had a good dosage of reality and non-media influence in my life.
Without knowing the earth, as Thoreau put it, and Baylon points out, we do lose our true character. Seeing the natural world, going out in it, experiencing real emotion and loss, that is how we can keep our true nature. While screen reality can give us the occasional break from our lives, doing something productive, like going to the gym or going to the park, offer more enjoyment and relaxation. Screen reality can also keep us connected, but again, we lose that personal contact.
The lack of personal contact is something detrimental to our lives. Humans need contact, and by substituting emotions and love with our favorite TV shows, we lose something in ourselves and in our ability to connect to others. People become obsessed with the lives of the characters on their favorite TV shows and movies, they start to mimic them to a point they lose themselves. I feel grateful that while going to school, even though I watch TV and movies and read magazines, for the most part I have toned down the amount of media in my life. I have rediscovered the fun of sledding or simply walking around a town looking in antique shops. I’ve also gained amazing connections with people. While media can bring people together, it’s the basis of human compassion and connection and ties them for life. In my opinion, by becoming totally consumed with media, we lose that foundation necessary to make relationships last in our lives.

Dorian Gray's Lack of Enlightenment

The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of a young man willing to sacrifice his soul to remain young forever, while a portrait of him ages. While sacrificing his soul, Dorian’s portrait does more than age; it becomes a manifestation of what his soul has become. In the beginning of the movie Dorian’s character is likable and well-tempered. After he wishes to remain young forever, in-exchange for his soul, his character begins to change, though not evident to those around him. The only indication of his changing personality is the portrait and a few choice scenes where he deeply affects those around him. His first love, Sybil, kills herself after Dorian snubs her and calls off their engagement. Shortly after that, other minor characters Dorian knows also kill themselves. Dorian even kills his old friend Basil, who painted the portrait of Dorian. No one puts all of these coincidences together because Dorian has always been the kind of man who is well respected and friendly, not the cause of someone’s angst. As the movie progresses, the picture becomes more and more disfigured and covered in blood as Dorian spills the blood of those around him. He even blames Basil for this change in the portrait and uses that as justification of killing Basil. In the end of the movie, Dorian attempts to destroy the portrait, but instead of destroying the portrait, he completes his downward spiral and destroys himself. Overall, the story is of a man who is willing to sacrifice his soul to retain eternal youth, but the message goes deeper than that. I believe the movie tries to convey the message that outward appearance and actions do not necessarily reflect the inner turmoil and ugliness of a person.

When Dorian kills Basil in the upstairs room, Dorian’s character and transformation become apparent. This scene happens closer to the end of the film, when the portrait of Dorian transforms into a disgusting and disturbing version of him. This scene was interesting to me because in it, Dorian blames Basil for the transformation of the painting and uses his logic to justify murdering his dear friend. After murdering Basil, there is a point when the swinging lamp illuminates Dorian off and on, and shows the stark change in Dorian. He went from being good and pure, the light, and transformed into the darkness. The lighting also makes him appear very ominous and frightening. This are all very different from the characteristics introduced in the beginning of the movie, when Dorian was well loved and respected, not feared. While Dorian appears to be friendly and kind on the outside, when posed with a situation, his inner turmoil and angst come out, again showing how physical appearance and attitude do not always dictate who a person truly is. This scene is an interesting point in Dorian’s life, because he still does not see his transformation being his own fault. He continues to blame other people’s actions for his portrait changing. He has not reached any enlightenment, and ultimately, I don’t think he really does.

He is given the opportunity to remain young, travel, learn, and yet he does none of this. He could gain insight into life and travel to faraway lands, but instead, he remains where he has always lived, becoming less and less wise. The reoccurring themes of Buddhism and Christianity and Egyptian religion offer many insights into life, and he takes on none of them. The constant reference to good men is lost on Dorian, who is more concerned with remaining young, than sacrificing anything to gain any true knowledge or wisdom.

Image 18

In this portrait, a man sits with a white cat on his lap, smoking a cigarette, while a woman stands with her hand on her hip. The man’s position in the chair, arms and legs more spread, makes him seem more at ease, suggesting this room is a part of his home or his life. The cat also sits on his lap, showing his attachment to the house. He seems a bit unkempt, potentially Italian. His openness conveys a sense of belonging to the house or room, but his position is slightly awkward, suggesting this situation or house may be new to him. The furnishing of the house also suggests this. He seems to be a wealthy man, who recently bought a home and placed a few objects in this living room, but he has not committed to the house, or, it seems, the relationship with the woman.
The woman stands with a look on her face of questioning or pleading about the situation. She also seems pregnant to me. Something about her body proportion, clothing, and stance suggests she’s hiding something, and the pleading of her face led me to believe she was pregnant. She does not seem to feel the connection to the man, even though he seems to have bought the house for their potential family or relationship.
Both seem to be beckoning to the audience with their eyes, and the doors behind them led me to believe they were beckoning them into their world and relationship. They are bringing people into their world, and the doorway behind them also signifies their relationship. The door behind her is closed, while the door behind him is still open. This signifies her closing of the relationship to something steady or simply giving up on the relationship. His door being open signifies his being open to the relationship and making the situation work. I think he bought the house to establish their family, with the sparse furnishings showing a new situation, but she does not seem very receptive to the changes or her pregnancy.
The texture and coloring of the picture also adds to their hectic life. The textures and colors of the clothing the couple wear are very vivid and solid. The solidness of their dress seems to represent them being the only solid thing in their life. Nothing else seems as concrete. The walls behind them are full of more colors and the objects in the room show their confusion as well. She wears purple, signifying a higher stature in society, while he wears cooler colors, suggesting more of a tranquility. Throughout the picture, he seems more at ease than she does, and this shows through his more casual clothing and body language.
Overall, they seem like a couple on the brink of something new in their relationship. Whether an ending, pregnancy, or simply moving in, their surroundings are not as solid as they are individually.

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