Do You Feel It?

Reading Maus was very thought provoking, especially by the way my English class analyzed the way words and images enhance one another and the many ways pictures can be interpreted by their design and visual. I personally have never been good at expressing myself, at least with words anyway. Maybe it’s my lack of vocabulary, or my jumbled thoughts, but getting something to come out right, it can be so hard. Even now, I’m still not sure if this is coming out the way I want it to. Through my many thoughts though, I came to this realization: the difference between words and art is understanding and feeling.

First off, think about music. How does it make you feel when you listen to it? Ok, now stop thinking about that garbage rap or pop music that has a bunch of unnecessary fast words or one single annoying beat. Try youtubing “epic music” or “inspirational music.” How do you feel now? Ok, try “sad music”. Now, “silly music.” What’s the pattern? What are you noticing with every listen? Are you feeling something? Can you explain it? What’s different? Now go to the comments and try to explain it, share the link to what you listened to as well. Do you think the words you used really evoked the emotions felt when listening? For those of you who read this later and see comments, try reading someone’s description and then listen to the music yourself. Was it explained well? Did you feel the way you felt when reading versus listening?

Now consider this: Texting. It is something people do. Every. Single. Day. Not a new concept. But then why are there still misunderstandings, misinterpretations, anger, annoyance over them? Shouldn’t humans have mastered the art of texting by now? I guess not. Still why do these things happen? It is simply the lack of feeling behind them, or the lack of a crucial piece that evokes emotion from the receiver anyway. In person, a conversation has words, voice influx, and facial expressions. These are our tools of persuasion, and the way to arouse something within another. Texting though, it really is just a bunch of words; it misses the mark.

This of course does not mean words do not create feelings, it’s just that they do not always inspire the right emotions for the time, or allow someone to feel what the other felt, just like those in the Holocaust versus those who were not. How can one make them feel what they felt with only words? Sure they understand it, they know it was bad, six million Jews died! But do you feel it-the loss the pain the trauma- do you? To be able to explain something, down to the last detail, is an amazing power, but to actually see it, or hear it, can make it capable of meaning so much more.

 

Here is one of my favorite of the "Epic music" searches, I found it about five years ago actually XD- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU7SGn0MeP0

I was listening to Revelations by Vlado Hudec while writing this, it's a good song, I recommend giving it a look- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7L8hko4ExU