Monstrous Discourse & the Cultural Moment - Essay Example

Monstrous Dis & the Cultural Moment Francisco Goya was a Spanish artist who was born in 1746 and passed on in 1828. This was during the 18th century also known as the Romantic period. Through his artistic portraits, he came up with a famous piece that was known as “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”. This artistic piece brought up the concept of demonic figures and/ or monsters that were haunting the artist while he was deep in his asleep. The piece built a lot of speculation since nobody really knew what Goya really meant. Despite that, there were some literal meanings which were derived from the piece. These included: Sleeping may cause humans to lack better judgement and reasoning. As a result, the lack of both of these attributes could create monsters through our imagination. This was clearly seen in his piece where the artist was surrounded by monster like creatures such as owls, bats and cats while he was sleeping. It is without doubt that each of those animals that were portrayed by Goya had their own meaning. For example; owls are thought to be mystical creatures that can be used in witchcraft. To the Spanish speaking people, owls are termed as “Lechusa” and to them; these winged birds are related to dark tales and evil spirits. Bats on the other hand are creatures of the night since they mostly appear while people are asleep. Another literal meaning of the piece was that the lack of reasoning while we sleep makes human beings come up with illusions of what the world is. As a result, these illusions could be in the form of night mares. Again, the creatures could be termed as nightmares to the artist who was sleeping. Goya made an etching which stated that, “Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her, she is the mother of the arts and the source of her wonders” (Gamwell 78). This statement could have meant that art is a combination of reason and imagination. However, both of these attributes should have their limitations else it would turn out to be insanity. According to Goya, majority of the things that were committed by mankind and they lacked reason were actually based on the concept "sleep of reason". The Romantic Era (Romanticism period) was a period that occurred during the 18th century and it was filled with enlightenment. It was also known as the age on intellect where art was projected with a twist of emotions; that is, majority of the artistic portraits were not only a representation of what existed, but they also incorporated the aspect of feelings and emotions from the artist to the audience. During this period, there were a number of moments that took place; however, the most significant cultural moment that took place was in 1886; specifically on the 28th October 1886 while the statue of Liberty was being unveiled. The statue has a long history behind it. Before the statue was unveiled, America was at war with Britain starting 1775. This war was referred to as the American War of Independence (American Revolutionary War). The major cause of the war was that America was rejecting the colonial rule of the British. They wanted to be an independent nation. The war lasted for a period of six (6) years. And during that duration, there were thousands of casualties as a result of the fighting. In 1778, America was down with trade and they had no option but to look for allies such as France. As a sign of their support, they also declared war on Britain. In 1783, there were peace talks in Paris, France which led to the end of the American Revolutionary War. This was the period when the statue of Liberty was given to America by France as a sign of support (endeavour) after the American Revolutionary war. The design of the statue was set up on a pedestal that had already been built on an Island that was located in New York. However, the island was later re-named Liberty Island with regard to the statue and its significance. The unveiling of the statue of Liberty illustrated the concept of “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”. On a comparison note, America could have been related to the artist who was sleeping while the monster’s that were attacking the artist could have been related to the war between America and Great Britain. Without doubt, America was under a dark spell due to the effects of the revolutionary war that had taken place. The statue of liberty acted as their form of independence which also included their freedom and political democracy. With that said, the monster in this cultural moment was the war that occurred. There was social anxiety with regard to the statue. This is due to the reason that it was one of a kind in America; thereby it was marked as one of the most important monuments in America to date. It is without doubt that the monster which was prevalent during this period was the actual war - The American Independence War. The evidence behind this is that the numbers of those who lost their lives as a result of this battle were numerous. As cited from the Military Factor (N.d), the U.S. Army Military History Institute projected that the numbers of those who lost their lives in the war were a total of 25,000 people. These statistics termed this period as a dark period just like the artistic portrait that Goya made – It was also termed as a dark piece due to the occurrence of the monsters that were haunting the artist while he was sleeping. The relationship between the cultural moment (statue of Liberty) and monstrous discourse in terms of the compiled artefacts is that the weapons which were used by both the American and British soldiers is what led to the uprising of the war. Based on Goya’s statement that reason and imagination is what causes mankind to act. It is without doubt that the Americans had a reason to act based on what the British had done to them. As a result, the combination of reason as well as action led to the monstrous reality which in real sense caused a distortion to the “normal” happenings in America. For example; trade and commerce was shattered and America had to seek help from France; secondly, thousands of lives were lost during the American War of Independence. With that vividly stated the usage of the weapons of war (artefacts) were the reason that led America and Britain into signing the peace treaty in Paris, France after six (6) years of war - “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”. Based on that, it can be described that America was in a “sleep” period during the British colonisation as they lacked the reason and motivation to oppose the British rule. However, since they were fed up with the British rule, they had a reason to oppose and reject them. As a result, they were no longer in the “sleep” period. Their actions and/ or reasons are what caused “monsters to be produced”; however, that led to the attaining of the statue of Liberty which was no longer a “monster” in their history but an impression of independence. The weapons that were used in the war are now referred as artefacts since they have a story that is tagged to them – The story of independence. As a result, some of the artefacts that were used in the war are: War club; Tri-corn Hat – This hat was worn by the militia troops; Benjamin Lincoln Sword- As the name suggests, this sword was carried by Benjamin Lincoln; Grenades; Matchlock Musket; Brown Bess Musket; Powder Horn; American Long Rifle (National Museum of American History, “The Price of Freedom: Americans at war”). The connection between the cultural moment and the artefacts (monsters) is that the artefacts were actually used as weapons of war during the American Revolution. These weapons were the reason as to why the concept of “monsters” arose in the American history. However, the same artefacts are the ones that led to the rise of the cultural moment – The statue of Liberty which signified independence in the form of freedom and political democracy to the American citizens. Monsters in America seek to showcase the uprising of the term “monster” and what it means. Monsters have their specific and significant meanings. To others they act as told tales to scare people. However, in other instances, monster tales are used as a form to tell and/ or share a story relating to real life events such as wars, political discomforts, disasters and so on. According to David Schmid, monsters may also live among us; they can either be real or as a result of our imagination or illusions (University at Buffalo, “Monster Culture”). The same concept was also put up by Goya. According to him, “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” which means that the lack of reasoning can create illusions of what the real world is or not about. A historian by the name of Poole (2011) also supported the same ideology by stating that “monsters” can be related to fears which have been propelled by the introduction of imagination which is associated with environmental reactions to issues such as cultural influences, events, conflicting anxieties and social changes. The film Monsters and Mysteries in America is one that is in a mission to showcase monster’s prevalence in the American history and how these monsters have managed to become part and parcel of the American culture. As a result, these monsters can be termed as artefacts which were discovered back then and now they have been reconstructed in a bid to showcase the story behind their existence. Some of the monsters and/ or artefacts which were portrayed from Monsters and Mysteries in America include: moth man; big foot; honey Island swamp monster; fouke monster; frontier wilderness beasts; freak show oddities. All of these monsters were known to disrupt the “normal” happenings in life with regard to the individuals who were there to witness them and in some instances they caused nightmares. The analysis that can be drawn from two (2) of the artefacts (Brown Bess Musket and the American Long Rifle) is that both were used against the enemy. Image 1 Brown Bess Musket Image 2 American Long Rifle Source: The National Museum of American History The Brown Bess Musket was an arm that was majorly used by the British soldiers during the American War of Independence. It had its own characteristics which were majorly problems such as: it took time to be loaded, it was not good at aiming and therefore it was not reliable. The arm was also an 80 caliber rifle that was marked Jordan – Edward Jordan was the maker of the metal parts of the rifle. The American Long Rifle was more of a German arm since its roots were from the nation. However, it was used in the American War of Independence therefore; it established its roots in America. The arm was a 54 caliber rifle that had a wooden patch box. Both of these artefacts were used in the bid to gain independence which was signified by the cultural moment; that is the statue of Liberty. It is without doubt that each of these artefacts is a propagator to the cultural moment as well as the concept by Goya, “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters”. On a critical analysis, the “sleep” period was when America was used to the British colonial rule and they did not object the rule of law that was imposed by the British. That is, America was fully under the British law and there was nothing else that they could do rather than follow what they were told. This period can also be termed as the period which America did not have reason as well imagination to act against the British. As a result, they lacked the reason to act for a cause – that is their independence. However, later on the Americans realized that Britain’s laws were too strict and they had adverse consequences on their nation’s progress. With that reason, they could not continue to be under Britain’s rule of law. America wanted freedom to implement their own laws and adhere to them. This decision is what triggered/ led to the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Both of the mentioned artefacts were used to fight for independence. The fighting was a dark period as well as a dark reflection of the reasons, actions and imaginations that the Americans had acted on. What they underwent during the war was the results of their actions; that is the deaths of thousands of soldiers. The thought of the deaths of the soldiers reflects a dark illustration and/ or imagination. According to Goya, these dark illustrations of the mind while we sleep and lack reason are referred to as monsters. Therefore, the real monster based on the cultural moment was the war and the artefacts that were used were just part and parcel of the occurrence of the war. Based on that explanation, both of the mentioned artefacts are representations of the monster – the war of Independence. In addition to that, the cultural moment can be termed as a “wake” period since America now had a reason to stand tall against Britain in terms of their freedom as well as political democracy. According to Poole (2011), “monsters are not just fears of the individual psyche, but concoctions of the public imagination—reactions to cultural influences, social change and historical events”. Therefore, it is without doubt that the society that we live in has a variety of monsters from different perspectives. In the artistic piece by Goya, “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” is indeed a reflection of the society that we live in. There are countless numbers of events which may happen and they may not yield the expected results that we would wish for them to. This was vividly described by Goya as “darkness”. As previously analysed, the cultural moment – the statue of Liberty – was as a result of a “monstrous” event that had happened; that is the revolutionary war. Thousands of soldiers lost their lives in the period that the revolution lasted in a bid for the unveiling of the cultural moment that symbolised independence and freedom for the people of America. The concept “sleep of reason” had to occur in the minds of the American people. That is what led them to acting on their imagination to gain their independence. If they had not “woken” up from their sleep, then they would still be under the British rule to date and that means that they would not have had the chance to feel their freedom since they would be under the rule of another nation- their mother country Great Britain. The events that happened then are worth the cultural moment that took place. That is the reason why the war lasted as long as it had to last. The Americans had to give it their all. They had to lose everything and face all the “monsters” that they could have encountered in a bid to have a brighter future that had freedom of their people. Through their losses they have currently gained massively in terms of international trade and relations. Additionally, they have now become an independent state with optimal freedom and political democracy. The cultural moment – the statue of Liberty - can be termed as a token that they earned through their efforts. That is the reason why while it was being built; it created social anxiety to the people who were existent then. To date, it still creates social anxiety to the majority of people whose fore-fathers participated in the revolutionary war as well as those who are intrigued with what went on during the war. Thereby, the cultural moment has gained massive significance through history. It is without doubt that France played a great role in this historical moment. They helped America through their tribulation times. In addition to that, they were also against the Great Britain colonialism in most parts of Europe. It can be concluded that Goya’s artistic piece created meaning to a number of events that existed back then as well as now. Through his works, individuals can relate and give meaning to events that happen in our lives. Bibliography Gamwell, Lynn. Dreams Nineteen Hundred to Two Thousand. U.S, New York: Cornell University Press, 2000. Print History Rocket. Cause And Effect Of The Revolutionary War. 2012. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.historyrocket.com/American-History/revolutionary-war/Cause-And-Effect-Of-The-Revolutionary-War.html Military factor. From the War of Independence to Operation Enduring Freedom - blood spilled from sea to shining sea. N.d. Web. Retrieved from: www.militaryfactory.com/american_war_deaths.asp National Museum of American History. The Price of Freedom: Americans at war. N.d. Web. Retrieved from: http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/exhibition/flash.html Poole, Scott. Monsters in America: Out Historical Obsession with the Hideous and Haunting. 2011. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.patheos.com/Resources/Additional-Resources/About-Monsters-in-America-W-Scott-Poole-10-16-2011.html University at Buffalo. Monster Culture. 2013. Web. Retrieved from: http://www.buffalo.edu/home/feature_story/monster-culture.html Read More