Media Histories and Culture [MHC]...
I checked the Brief and it is mentioned that one of our assignments, that we are to create a research blog. So I thought why not to start the blog in advance. I then went to its module teaching resources in the Studynet before the first lecture on Thursday 6th October 2011 to be prepared. And there was an attachment named "This Rough Magic", so I guess it’s giving us a better understanding of what MHC is all about.
This Rough Magic:
We always seek independence in our mind, in our decision-making and in everything we do. We like to think that we create our own decisions, our own fate without any sort of influence that modifies our independence thinking in a way. But that’s not true in my opinion, because I believe that everything we do is always inspired by something in our lives, both good and bad. Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest, said
“To the dread rattling thunder,
Have I given fire and rifted Jove's stout oak,
With his own bolt; the strong-based promontory,
Have I made shake and by the spurs pluck'd up,
The pine and cedar: graves at my command,
Have waked their sleepers, oped, and let 'em forth,
By my so potent art. But this rough magic,
I here abjure.”
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| C.W. Sharpe, Caliban. Miranda. Prospero. The Tempest. (1875.) |
So ‘This Rough Magic’ is reinforcing the idea. Because the humans are born with an instinct, striving us to achieve something we want to accomplish.
The quote is basically means (in English) that Prospero have “this rough magic” ability to control nature, he can do anything he want to do with it because he fictionally can control the nature with his spells, fiddling the nature to his tunes. But Prospero at the end has chosen to reject his rough magic.
In a way we, as the animation students, are like Prospero because all of us have a Medium (Medius), but instead of his magic staff, we have our own technology to give us many abilities to make things happens, and not to reject our abilities.
I have shown this blog to my father to double check if he understands what I’m trying to say. He then pointed out many interesting points. He felt that Prospero is the past and we’re the present. As we know this famous quote, the past made us who we are now. It had given me a clear sense of what Ivan is trying to tell us by using the example of Shakespeare’s works. With his work, Ivan is empowering Prospero’s words to inspire us to embrace our individual medium/tools. My father also used the example of Avatar movie (2009, directed by James Cameron) to enlighten the Prospero’s theory, the Avatar’s storyline reminded my dad of the Native Americans’ history where the “Americans” stole the land and the gold from the Native Americans. Avatar is similar to that historical event but modified to a sci-fi and much updated version. But in overall it is similar to the history of Native American. He made me think that The Making of Avatar could be strongly influenced by the Native Americans' past so from there, avatar movie is like the present version of that past event. This is an interesting point that my father made. And I agreed with my father. Hope that does make sense to you all.
So coming to the conclusion, may the words of Prospero in Shakespeare's past to light the inspiration in our present to empower and to enlighten those in the future.
