Children of the Screen

“Children of the Screen”, it sounds like something ominous straight out of a horror movie and yet it is being used to describe multiple generations of both young and old people including my own generation. For most of us the age of information has been thrust upon us since birth and it was inevitable that we would fall into this destructive pattern. All around the world children from an early age are being taught life lessons through the television set and this is luring them into a false sense of ease when it comes to watching television. While TV can teach children important skills, it also stifles their creativity and becomes an easy out for when they are tired or bored. Once these traits are learned it is hard for most people to deviate from them in their adult lives.
A dim glow on the subject of television is that is it an effective means of communicating to the mass population. Most of us were not lucky enough to be invited to President Obama’s inauguration; however, thanks to the TV screen we were allowed to watch and listen to the proceedings. Almost directly after the inauguration I was extremely disappointed to hear a preview of the news for the next day that said, “tune in tomorrow as we reveal Michelle Obama’s dress size.” Are we really that pathetic of a society that the First Lady’s dress size makes bigger news than the war in Iraq or the current state of the economy? Are we so dissatisfied with ourselves that we prefer to hear about Brittney Spears’s latest divorce over the situation in Darfur?
The realist inside of me knows that I am somewhat a “child of the screen” simply because I am just like the millions of Americans who religiously watch The Office on Thursday nights but the key to coexisting happily with this mind numbing influence is simple. Like everything else in life both good and not so good, there needs to be moderation and balance, and we as a society have not found that yet.
I truly believe that our society is adapting to a screen-based environment. Have you ever noticed that in most restaurants there are multiple television sets? Almost everywhere we go the screen follows us and majority of the time those images we are saturated with are less than wholesome. The screen is not the sole cause of society’s problems but I do feel like there is a direct link between them. As more and more shows depict violence, language, sexuality, and nudity our society seems to inch its way further from traditional morals.
The portrait that accompanies Hannah Baylon’s essay, Children of the Screen, is a startling portrayal of a child bound to the television. The child’s eyes are wide and she cannot speak. All the child can do is listen and absorb the information being flashed over the screen. It is uncomfortable to look at but at the same time it is an excellent representation of our society as a whole. We need to be more aware of what we are allowing into our minds and if we are not careful we might just evolve so much that we can never go back.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

The movie, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is based upon the gothic horror novel by Oscar Wilde. It portrays the classic struggle for external beauty and the sacrifices some deem worthy for endless youth. The handsome Dorian Gray begins the movie a moral person. Everyone has their faults and Dorian was no exception to this but he was an overall good person. The trouble begins when Dorian is having his portrait painted by Basil Hallward and is introduced to Lord Henry Wotton who shares his ideas about beauty and youth. The unfortunate realization that youth and beauty are fleeting traits cause Dorian to wish his portrait will age instead of his body. Dorian’s wish is granted and as his sins increase, including seduction and murder, his portrait becomes more and more jarring to look at. While Dorian stays as handsome as ever, his portrait grows more grotesque with each evil deed until it is barely recognizable. In an act to save the woman he loves, Dorian stabs his portrait in the heart. When he is discovered dead next to his portrait, it is revealed that he had become what he feared for so long, aged. His portrait returned to its original state while Dorian’s face became ugly and disfigured. I felt the message of this movie was that there is more to life than looking beautiful and that you should be satisfied with what you have.
The scene I found the most captivating in this movie was in the beginning half after Dorian had already proposed to Sibyl Vane. Dorian was all set to marry Sibyl until he talks with Lord Henry, who convinces him that life is all about pleasures and that marriage will not lead to anything other than misery. It is at that point that Lord Henry devises a plan for Dorian to follow that will seduce his fiancée. The scene plays out as follows: Sibyl meets Dorian in his study and he reads her a poem. Dorian then asks Sibyl to stay with him that night and when she politely turns him down, he becomes cold and indifferent and asks her to “let herself out”. Sibyl is confused and hurt so she returns to him for the night in order to please him. The next morning he writes her a note ending their engagement. The interesting part of this scene is how most people are manipulating each other with the exception of Sibyl who sadly just fell in love with the wrong guy. Lord Henry influenced Dorian to commit his first evil act by using his fiancée to satisfy his lust. Dorian then manipulates Sibyl to get what he wants and when he is done he simply breaks up with her and moves on. This act starts Dorian’s quest for all the pleasures of life and the portrait begins to reflect that. This scene foreshadows Sibyl’s fate along with Dorian’s. Sibyl was so distraught from Dorian’s letter that it appeared she would do something drastic and Dorian seemed so clam and nonchalant about his actions that it was clear he would only continue to get worse as time goes on. It is amazing how one justified misdeed can lead to a lifetime of similar actions.

Who is this Person?

Who is that person? The question of who someone is, is so deep and profound that can we truly understand who someone is simply by looking at them? To a certain extent we can. Take for instance portrait number four. The woman appears to be in her mid-seventies and has well proportioned features which suggest she was attractive in her younger days. She wears a wedding ring on her left hand and yet she is all alone in the room where she sits. One would assume that her husband passed on recently due to the deep sorrow seen in her eyes. Her lips are pressed tightly together and her eyebrows scrunched in a manner that alludes to her grief. The woman’s overall expression reveals that she is not used to being alone and cannot stand the silence. She wants to embrace her death yet at the same time is scared to face it alone. Her slouched posture and limply laying hands give rise to the idea that she has given up on life and is waiting for the end. She looks very fragile from all the things she has witnessed throughout her long life. Her eyes are deep and reflective; probably of all the people she has met and places she has seen.

The clothing choice also reveals part of her personality. The woman is clad in a dull red robe that one would imagine belonged to her long lost husband. The robe looks worn as if she wears it all the time. She clearly cares more about comfort and feeling close to her husband than fashion or style in her old age. Her sole piece of jewelry is her wedding ring and even that does not look very fancy. At first glance most people would not notice that she was wearing one until further inspection of the portrait. The glasses she wears are simple and old fashioned which leads the observer to assume she has traditional values and was not materialistic. She loved people, not things and that is evident through her dress and the room she is waiting to die in.

Another expressive element of this portrait is the color. All of the colors have a darkened tone and look downcast. The artist even chose to make colors that are normally vibrant and full of life look sullen such as the oranges and reds. The fact that the woman is spending her time waiting in such a dreary room amplifies her hopelessness and depression. An interesting clue to her life is the fact that she has no pictures in the room. Most elderly people adorn their walls with pictures of loved ones and pets. The lonely woman in this portrait has no pictures up and that suggests she probably never had children and that the faces of her loved ones who left her are too painful to remember.

This portrait is indeed gloomy and sullen but there is something about this woman’s eyes that draws in observers. It has been said that a person’s eyes are the windows into their soul and this woman’s soul is crying out for companionship in her final days. She desperately wants somebody to talk with and share her life experiences with before she takes her final breath.