A Thousand Cuts to Genocide
Respond: Through his opinion piece, we can see what motivated Apio to write Kamau - simply put, his dedication to and concern for his people and home. And while political conflict can influence art, how does art influence political change? Name one or two contemporary artists you know of who express political and cultural views (any culture, ethnicity or social issue - does not have to be Hawaiian) in their art, be it music, poetry, visual, etc., and briefly share how they have changed your mind.
And for more information on the play, read "The Viewer`s Guide for Kāmau" found at Kumu Kahua Theater. Reading this guide will definitely help you with the next project for this course.
19 comments:
Art can influence political change through music, poetry, art crafts, theater, etc. With music, in a song can have a very important message. Like many people they listen to music and that is how they understand. One music group called The Black Eyed Peas wrote a song titled "Where is the Love?" This song has a very strong message. The song is like an anthem for anti-war. It deals with issues like war, terrorism, racism, etc. What I have learn from this song is to accept and get along with one another. Instead of making war, we should all make peace.
Art influences political change by the various messages whether hidden or seen through lyrics (music), pictures, media arts, etc. I believe that a lot of times artist's inspiration comes from the hardships that not only themselves but also their community goes through as seen in the play, "Kamau" with the Hawaiian community having their land taken away from them. I also believe that art influences political change because it enables the artist to touch the hearts and minds of people all over the world.
One of the artist’s lyrics that have influenced me is Michael Jackson. Songs like "Heal the World", "Black or White", and "Ebony and Ivory" are about easing poverty and racism. It shows that two completely opposites (cultures, ethnicities, etc.) can unite as one under the idea of living in peace and harmony and putting our differences aside. From these lyrics I learned to appreciate the things that I have because there are others out there with little and that we can all live together regardless of skin color because after all, there is only one race, the human race.
I think that art especially music influences political change. Many people like listening to music, and each songs carry messages of singer. Many people are moved by messages of singers,so music influences feelings of people. I think that people take the reins of government, so if people change, politic also change. Therefore, art influences political change. John Lennon wrote a song that is Imagine. This song has a great influence on many people. He carried a message that was against war. I learned many things from this song. For example, we are same human being, so we need to join hands to create a good world. I decide to respect other people after I listened to Imagine.
Art can influence political change in both positive and negative ways. Everyone chooses to express themselves differently, now days art comes in many different forms like music, poems, pictures, books, acting and so forth. Music is the most common way that people express their feelings, thoughts, and ideas. I think that a person’s life struggles and what they experience motivates them to write. You often see music artists writing songs about the worlds imperfections and the chaos that they’ve experienced or were exposed to. A lot of singers write about what their life was before they were famous which gives us as outsiders a positive outlook. I think that the song “Ghetto” by Akon is a good eye opener for many of us, the song talks about the tough times people go through while living in the ghetto and how hard it is to get out. I feel that if we don’t experience the same hardships as others its as if they never existed. This song changed my outlook on my own life. It made me realize how fortunate I am to have all the things that I have. I learned to never take anything for granted especially life itself and always be grateful for what you have.
Arts influence politics in many ways, such as music and movies. I think that movies especially influence many people, and also government. Movies about a war are always heartful and impressive. I like a movie, "Saving Private Ryan" directed by Steven Spielberg. I think that the movies of wars have deep and many messages to people who watch such movies. People think they should not make same mistakes, such as wars, again as they watch the movie. When I watch movies about wars or crimes, such as "The Green Mile" directed by Frank Darabont, they have deep meaning to me. I think of something what I should and what I shouldn't. I think if many people are influenced by those movies, the government get changes, and politics are influenced and change.
Art can influence political change through many avenues such as poetry, music, theatre and even comedy. Comedians tend to find ways of sending a message in a that expresses humor. Frank Delima brings all races together and even writes songs to describe different ethnic backgrounds. I feel that in a way Frank Delima helps reduce racism. I learned that we are all human and really the only difference is our skin color and other beliefs.
I believe art does influence political change weather through music, poetry, artwork, theater, etc. These inspirational artists want to establish peace and make a difference in the world. One of the greatest leaders of all time was Bob Marley who believed that he could instill peace and love into peoples hearts through music. In his song, "Redemption Song" is greater than slavery itself, it's about freedom on the inside, whereas in that state of enlightenment impossibility is nothing. Bob Marley also sang other motivating songs such as, "One Love" and "Three little birds." Bob Marley is a legend and his message will forever transcend time.
Certain political issues can inspire art. However, art, whether it is music, literature, paintings, films, and such, can inspire a person to think, possibly about the subject the artist is trying to display in their art. Art can also raise awareness and lead a group of people to take certain actions, whether art inspires them to change the way they live (whether it helps them to decrease their impact on the environment), to voice their opinions or concerns regarding a political issue to a higher government official, or to donate to charity (e.g. one that helps starving children in Sudan), among other acts.
Such artist who has had a hand in inspiring political change is a group of Rock musicians from Chicago, Illinois that formed by the name of Rise Against. Rise Against have written songs that inspire and urge listeners to voice their concerns regarding political issues that affects them most ("Give It All"), and raise awareness about global conflicts that affect the band themselves ("Ready To Fall"). This band, among other musicians and artists of other forms of art, has inspired me to learn and think about political issues that are affecting the Earth. However, there is only few things I can do to help, such as donate, vote in elections, and recycle or do other actions that help decrease my negative impact on Earth, among other little steps of action.
Art can influence political change through the message being conveyed by the artist. As people take in the art, whether it's through sight, sound, taste, etc., they are left with that message in their mind, and from that, people develop thoughts and opinions about various subjects. When it comes to politics, the people's voice is usually heard loud and clear and political leaders make appropriate changes to better appease the people. One artist that I know of was one of my Kumu, Kawika Eyre. He wrote children's storybooks with themes directly related to Hawaiian values. Within his stories, only the Hawaiian culture is portrayed, along with the same social settings that the culture still thrives on today. They don't really have "political views" for today's world, but there are social and cultural views that may influence people's opinions on political issues.
Art can influence political change through many things. Such as music,poetry,painting and so on. I believe that every single artist has their storong thoughts about their works. For example, some artists try to against wars and take a stroung stand for people to protect the inviroment. They put their thought into their art. I know one Japanese artist, Yoko Ono. She is one of the greatest artists in the world. She especially gives her time for peacekeeping operation. She draws a lot of pictures about peacefulness. One of the fomous story about her and her husband is they had a news conference about having right to live as oneself for telling people the message without wearing any clothes. They made a speech that every single person need the right of freedom of their life. I really think what they did was one of the arts to tell everybody to know how important to keep the world peacefully. After I saw that, I started to think that people should live how they should be, and I received a message from her "Be yourself!".
I believe that art can influence politics as well as many other aspects of life in a variety of ways. One artist that stuck out to me was a guitarist named Raul Midon. His album "State of Mind" has many influential songs on it if the title of it wasn't a dead giveaway. Interesting facts about this guitarists background is that he has a unique style of playing that is hard to duplicate, I would know because I have been playing for years so I can recognize his complicated techniques. The most interesting fact is that he is blind. I think that it's a big aspect on where his thought process originates and the path that it takes. In some ways I think we are the blind ones, blinded from seeing the truth sometimes. People now days get caught up in their image and they don't see the true value of what they really have when they have it. I particularly like this artist because the music is awesome, catchy, complicated, insightful from a totally different perspective and most of all humbling.
There are many ways to express art whether it be through music, poetry, paintings, dancing, etc. By using these different ways to express art it can influence political and cultural views. One song that I like to listen to is Hawaii 78 by Israel Kamakawio'ole. In this song he talks about how much the land in Hawai'i has changed over time. The land looks different from way back then till now. Development has ruined the land that was once ruled by the king and the hawaiians lived off of the land.
Politics could be highly influenced by an art. Art is a broaden way of expressing ones thoughts through acting,painting,singing and etc. I was watching Oprah Winfrey show the other night ,and she expresses her thoughts toward social issues that we have in our society through a art by using media. She clearly states the issue we have and tries to give us the solutions. However, the most important thing that we have to remember is that we all are going for one big goal that is to make our world better. By watching Oprah show made me realize how it is important for us not to conflict with others but we all must cooperate with each other no matter what race we are, so one day we can reach our ultimate goal.
I believe that art definitely can influence political changes.Artists have the power to use thier skills or fame such as music, poetry, and painting to let people to know how the mass populations may feel about a certain sunjects.
Bob Dylan is the one of the most famous artists who sings about politics and writes protest songs. Most songs are politically motivated. His songs are influential musically and also culturally. John Lenon is also a famous artist who especially gave his time to work as a peace activist.
From my experience, when I first listened his song was "Imagine" it was sung about world peace and that was my first experience to hear English song which included political message. I think we all should think more about world peace and really wish that it would come true in the future.
Politics influences culture and in turn influences art. Throughout the decades there is one thing that generations of people have in common it is the way that the art and artists of the time react to cultural and political issues. Margaret Cho says in her stand up act Revolution, that "artists are suppose to comment on culture, that is the function of art." To me listening to the messages in Cho's acts makes me think in a different way and to broaden my view of things.
I believe that art can have a big impact on political change. Many people love art because it has been a part of the every day life. Such arts include music, poetry, dancing, singing, etc. Through these variation of arts, many messages can be sent through to people, it's just the matter of how you comprehend the message being sent because of course different people would have different opinions of things. An example would be about music. Many artists now days write music based on a life experience they once had. Through those experiences, they would write lyrics about it and turn it into a song. Once the song is done and the song gets out to people, the people would then listen to it and figure out the message the artist is trying to send. This is how the artist catches the audiences attention. One artist that came to my mind was Twista. This artist is a hip hop artist. The song that I thought expressed social issues was "Hopeful". What Twista was trying to get through to the people was that even though the world is corrupt and that it's not the dream world everyone expected it to be, the best thing you can do is to just be hopeful and hope for the best. Nothing is perfect in this world and not everything will go your way. Always hope for the best. Twista does state many bad issues that needs to be dealt with and how it affects the people. This song had an impact on me because the message that was being sent is so true to me, I understood each problem that was being stated in the song.
The medium by which we express ourselves determines whether or not we will be heard. some people are visually stimulated whereas others respond better to tactile or auditory stimulation which is why various forms of art are so essential in sharing a message with the masses. when we come across a message in a form that we find intriguing, we open ourselves up to its meaning (like the meaning of an abstract painting or a metaphor in a poem). David Olere was a multilingual architect of jewish decent enslaved in Auschwitz (a nazi concentration camp) during WWII. he managed to survive the camp by working to remove dead bodies from the gas chambers and incinerate them. Today Olere’s paintings remain the only accounts of the atrocities that took place within the concentration camps as there were no photographs taken of the gas chambers, rapes, or murders. His work is a reminder of the human capacity for brutality and the pain and suffering undergone during the Holocaust.
Art can influence political change through music, movie, radio, comedy, picture, poetry, etc.
About one year ago, so many Japanese teenagers had committed suicide because of bullying and it was like a suicide boom. The news came out every single day and I was really sad to hear that.
At that time, one of the most famous Japanese comedians was talking about it on the radio. He said he is really mad about it because the most wrong thing is to kill themselves. All the media is telling that people who committed suicide are so sorry but it never ever decreases suicide as long as the way the media reposts is like that. Now,the media gives bad influence on people's mind. People must think if they die, everyone feels sorry for them and be side of them, and bullies get criticised and hurt. The media just encourages increasing the number of suicede. That's totally wrong way. Therefore,someone needs to say people who commit suicide are stupid. He can understand the feeling they want to die but to die before the parents die is the most singful. I'm not sure if his thought is correct, but I had never thought about suicide that way. He has a power to break stereotype and tells us what media about suicide should be through radio. From this case, I learned media can influence political change negatively and positively. Also,
Japanese drama recently focused on domestic violence, gender identity disorder, or something serious. One Japanese movie picked up the topic that is buying and selling children and internal organs in Thai. These give us to have chance to think about the serious problems deeply and change our thoughts and behaviors. The basic concept of all the art would be living in peace.
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