Like the title declares this blog post is about inconvenient truths with an emphasis on the inconvenient parts. Particularly I would like to talk about it in a historical context. Like Mr. Allen pointed out today topics like the discussion of Vietnam were rather taboo in society at one point. I think this is dumb. Now, that being said I feel I now must dissect this further and examine this idea of historical taboos and inconvenient truths.
With controversial matters like our military engagement in Vietnam I understand that talking about it often leads to conflict between people with opposing perceptions of the situation but I also feel that not talking about it creates even deeper problems. If we had continued to shun the events of Vietnam then we would never have been able to learn from them and would be doomed to repeat similar horrific incidents again. Perhaps, just maybe, if we were lucky, if we had learned more about public opinion and progressed with it after Vietnam we could have had different political reactions to situations like Afghanistan or Iraq. I would continue to ramble here but I digress as this blog is to focus on inconvenient truths and I think that is what Heart of Darkness is in all honesty; a big inconvenient trip into a dark jungle. It reveals aspects of humanity that are so primitive that we think we have evolved past them but in actuality all it really takes is a change of scenery to make some shocking revelations. So in many cases like Vietnam or the imperialist actions in the Congo I would suppose humanity as a whole would like to just forget about it and move on but by doing that we create internal justifications that allow for horrendous events like this to reoccur.
Now to get to my formalized opinions, I think that embracing the inconvenience is the only way to learn because the truth will set you free and all that good stuff. But every cliche has some truth to back it up and I think this one does as well. There are many reasons to avoid talking about uncomfortable things whether it be because it would cause conflict or admits guilt or something like that but by talking about them we learn from them. This is the main reason I think movies like Zero Dark Thirty are just incredible because it takes a dark moment of history and captures it, accurately or not, it still preserves that so that we will never forget. Of course, in the case of 9/11 there isn't much of a divide in opinions about it but it still acts as an example of why remembrance is so important. My final thoughts as I am wrapping up this blog trail back to the last words of Kurtz about the horror. I think that relates in many ways to the idea of inconvenient truths because Kurtz is one example of a person forced to face the truth and doing so changes him. This change is something that I think we should embrace on a global level to raise awareness of issues, remember history, and most importantly learn from it.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Friday, February 1, 2013
Blogging Around: In the Heads of Poets
The first blog that I examined was Minho's blog about his poetic process. I realized that we had many similar challenges in our creative process. Minho used excellent tools to overcome this like transparency and detail which I believe in the end made his poem even better.
Minho, I really like what you said about utilizing clarity in poetry. I thin one of the biggest misconceptions I had prior to our study poetry was that poems were like puzzles and that the goal was to "de-code" them. I now realize that they are a form creative expression and like you said they use fresh language as their vehicle. Yet, I also see that there are many hindrances that could stunt clarity in a poem. Like you said there are many emotional narratives to pursue within the setting of any single poem but you utilized detail to reveal the beauty within the language. I like that. In my own poem I felt bogged down by possibilities as well but after about the third wave of corrections I could tell my language use in the poem was much more original and much stronger. In fact the previous mistakes that I had made actually helped to me strengthen my final draft of the poem even more. I think this is probably because when you can identify the parts of your poem that need work it is much easier to fix. I, and I assume much of the class, had the problem that at the beginning of the assignment it was hard to start at any good point because our knowledge of poetry was so abstract. As we all ventured through the creative process I think we realized that sometimes the power behind a poem lies in the transparency not the obscurity much like you did. Good blog post bud and I enjoyed your poem too.
The second blog that I examined was Aaron's blog about his misconceptions of poetry as well as his dealings with the process of writing it. Specifically, I related at several points to walls that Aaron hit and also realizations that he made.
Aaron, I too felt like the start of the poetry unit was a tad overwhelming and unfamiliar. Afterall, I don't think too many teenagers have much experience in poetry...or even expressing their voice for that matter. But, through out the struggles of the poetic process my views on poetry drastically changed. I too gained a deeper appreciation for the art and realized that my poem was a chance for a creative outlet not just a another good grade. I also think that it was very honest of you to admit the motives behind your first attempt at poetry. I too at first wanted to write a poem that masqueraded at Mr. Allen's scholarly-musical-philosophical level but realizing that I couldn't was a huge step for me in writing my poem. Just like you I started writing for myself and that opened up a lot of doors for me. I think that during the creative process of anything everyone makes the realization that their notions up until that point were completely wrong. I think its how you continue from that point on that decides whether you are a success or a failure. I really do think your poem was a success bud; so give yourself a pat on the back.
Minho, I really like what you said about utilizing clarity in poetry. I thin one of the biggest misconceptions I had prior to our study poetry was that poems were like puzzles and that the goal was to "de-code" them. I now realize that they are a form creative expression and like you said they use fresh language as their vehicle. Yet, I also see that there are many hindrances that could stunt clarity in a poem. Like you said there are many emotional narratives to pursue within the setting of any single poem but you utilized detail to reveal the beauty within the language. I like that. In my own poem I felt bogged down by possibilities as well but after about the third wave of corrections I could tell my language use in the poem was much more original and much stronger. In fact the previous mistakes that I had made actually helped to me strengthen my final draft of the poem even more. I think this is probably because when you can identify the parts of your poem that need work it is much easier to fix. I, and I assume much of the class, had the problem that at the beginning of the assignment it was hard to start at any good point because our knowledge of poetry was so abstract. As we all ventured through the creative process I think we realized that sometimes the power behind a poem lies in the transparency not the obscurity much like you did. Good blog post bud and I enjoyed your poem too.
The second blog that I examined was Aaron's blog about his misconceptions of poetry as well as his dealings with the process of writing it. Specifically, I related at several points to walls that Aaron hit and also realizations that he made.
Aaron, I too felt like the start of the poetry unit was a tad overwhelming and unfamiliar. Afterall, I don't think too many teenagers have much experience in poetry...or even expressing their voice for that matter. But, through out the struggles of the poetic process my views on poetry drastically changed. I too gained a deeper appreciation for the art and realized that my poem was a chance for a creative outlet not just a another good grade. I also think that it was very honest of you to admit the motives behind your first attempt at poetry. I too at first wanted to write a poem that masqueraded at Mr. Allen's scholarly-musical-philosophical level but realizing that I couldn't was a huge step for me in writing my poem. Just like you I started writing for myself and that opened up a lot of doors for me. I think that during the creative process of anything everyone makes the realization that their notions up until that point were completely wrong. I think its how you continue from that point on that decides whether you are a success or a failure. I really do think your poem was a success bud; so give yourself a pat on the back.
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