Culture and Philosophy: Aesthetics - the Beautiful and the Sublime - Literature review Example

Culture and Philosophy: Aesthetics; the Beautiful and the Sublime Introduction In a more simple and narrow sense, aesthetics can be defined as the theory of beauty in relation to philosophy of art. However, in a broader definition, aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of art, taste and beauty. The Oxford English Dictionary associates aesthetics with the appreciation of beauty .Aesthetics, therefore, refers to the feeling that is drawn from the experience or exposure to natural situations. The relationship between aesthetics and the world of art is of great importance. This conclusion is drawn from the fact that art is a media through which human experiences, feelings, thoughts and ideas are expressed and communicated to the world at large. Artists communicate through their works or pieces of art. These include literature, poetry, music, film/cinema, carvings and drawings. Aesthetics therefore explain to us what the artist desired the recipient of that piece of art to think, feel, experience or conclude (Roald and White 176-189) Discussion There are various categories of aesthetics, all of which have different effects and outcomes. For instance, we have the beautiful, the sublime and the ugly or horrible. In this paper, however, it is the beautiful and the sublime that will be discussed in detail. The best way to kick off the discussion is by looking at the simple definitions given to the terms “beautiful” and “sublime” by the dictionary. The term beautiful is associated with something or a situation that is pleasing or appealing, while sublime is associated with a sense of awe. This is specifically according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Both definitions are agreeable, however, philosophical scholars and academicians have widened the definitions of the two terms, in order for them to fit well in the world of art, culture and philosophy. In relation to art and culture, “the beautiful” refers to pure pleasure, while “the sublime” is associated with pain or impure pleasure. It is therefore clear that the beautiful is associated with objects, situations or experiences from which human beings naturally and automatically derives a good feeling. On the other hand, the sublime describes situations, objects or experiences that leave human beings with a good feeling yes, but one mixed astonishment. At times, these situations or experiences may leave someone with absolute fear or terror (Edmund 99-119). To better understand this, it is prudent to delve into the major components of these two categories of aesthetics, and how they are distinguished from each other. A better way to illustrate is by showing the application of the same in the “Romeo and Juliet film”. The major components of these two categories are quite distinct. However, some of them have a thin line of separation in between them. The first component of the beautiful is that it is pleasing (Jacques, Bergala and Maries 201-220). This simply means that it is appealing to the senses of the body in some way. This aesthetic is therefore present in situations and experiences that the observer or listener is happy about, and objects that are appealing to the eyes. An illustration of this can be drawn from the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo secretly attends Juliet’s birthday party and happens to see Juliet. The Juliet’s beauty is so appealing to Romeo’s eyes, that he even forgets he is in love with someone else; Rosaline. A person watching this film would experience the same beautiful feeling experienced by Romeo. A feeling that is appeals. The other major component of the beautiful is that it is decorated and adorned (Immanuel 166-182). This refers to a situation or experience to which utmost importance and reverence is attached. It can refer to an object that everyone would desire to possess or a situation that everyone would desire to be in experience. In the film industry, some scenes are intended to send the person watching into a world of admiration and fantasy. This is especially where the events of that particular scene are ones which are worshipped by the society at large. A good example would be a romantic scene, where two persons proclaim their unconditional love to each other. Love is something adored by the society generally. For instance, in the Romeo and Juliet film, the famous ‘balcony scene’ is a perfect example of such a situation. This is where Romeo and Juliet openly confess their love for each other. A person watching this scene would most likely smile as opposed to frowning or grinning. This is mainly because the scene is decorated with a romantic atmosphere, something that is desired by all. Sublime on the other hand has its own major components that bring a general feeling that is different from the one brought by the beautiful. Pain is the most notorious and obvious component of the sublime (Edmund 69-79). This pain can be the one resulting from a tragedy or the one resulting from the inability to cope with a situation, an event or an occurrence. The sublime is mostly associated to natural events or occurrences that are beyond the control of human beings. They overwhelm and overpower the strength and ability of human beings (Philip). Stress and death are the most common sources of such a sublime feeling. Stress refers to the pain resulting from the incapacity or inability to do something, while death brings pain because one is incapable of coping with the demise of another. The above two situations are very much evident in the Romeo and Juliet film. First and foremost, it causes them pain that they cannot be together as soon as they might want. They cannot declare their love publicly because of the enmity that exists between their families. Secondly, a sublime situation is seen in the scene where Romeo, unaware that Juliet’s death is not real, decides to take poison and dies due to the pain of losing Juliet. Likewise, when Juliet wakes up to the realization that Romeo is dead, she too takes poison and dies. This scene carries with it a sublime moment, one which a person watching the scene in the film would like to forget. The other major component of the sublime is that it evokes intense emotions. This can easily be associated with a tragic situation or one that stimulates anger. In such a situation, it becomes difficult to take whatever is thrown at someone. For example, a quarrel between or among people can be described as a sublime moment, as it is likely to evoke intense emotions and inspire awe. An illustration from our case study is when Romeo visits his best friend Mercutio and his cousin Benvolio and gets into a quarrel with Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin. Mercutio is unable to tolerate this and gets in to defend Romeo. The quarrel between Mercutio and Tybalt intensifies and the latter kills the former. Romeo’s body fibers are tightened. He is enraged by the death of his friend and because of this, he kills Tybalt. This scene well fits in the sublime. The deaths that are occasioned result from quarrels that evoked intense emotions and inspired awe. However, as much as the beautiful and the sublime are different as portrayed in the discussion, they at times exist to complement each other .In the film industry, they are used together so as to effectively communicate the message of the artist (Placeholder1). A good illustration would be a film that shows the contrast existing between heaven and hell. In such a film, heaven is described as an ideal place for human habitation. It is depicted to have an environment that is very much appealing. No suffering, no illness, eternal life, and so on. Hell on the other hand is portrayed as an inhabitable place. The devil, the demons and the fire brings an intense feeling of fear. Therefore, while heaven represents the beautiful, hell represents the sublime. However, the two aesthetics are used, especially by Christians, to spread the message of salvation. The beauty of the heavens is meant to attract them to salvation, while the sublime of hell is meant to cause fear and terror. Romeo and Juliet is another ideal film where these two categories of aesthetics perfectly complement each other. For instance, Romeo and Juliet love each other but they cannot be together because the ancient enmity that exists between their families cannot allow. However, at the end of the film, in the very last scene, we see the two families reconciling. They have been awakened by the true love that existed between their young ones. In this situation, therefore, the beautiful; the love shared by Romeo and Juliet, was the cure of the sublime; the enmity between their families. This is just an illustration of how the two aesthetic categories of the beautiful and the sublime are used in artistic works to effectively communicate the message. Of most importance to note is the fact that the beautiful and the sublime are not always on two extremely opposite ends as Edmund Burke puts it. Sometimes the line separating the two can be very thin and worth ignoring (Jacques, Bergala and Maries 190-200). For instance, there are circumstances when a situation or an experience is not too good, but at the same time is not bad at all. This is where the pain, fear or rage stimulated by the sublime cannot outweigh the awesome feeling brought by the beautiful. A casual example is when a person learns that his lover will not arrive in time for their anticipated meeting, but she will eventually come. The wonderful and beautiful feeling of meeting each other cannot be outweighed by the time inconvenience. It is therefore fare to agree that not all that is not beautiful is sublime. Therefore, foregoing discussion of the beautiful and the sublime as among the major categories of aesthetics goes a long way to recognize and appreciate the impact of the same in the film of Romeo and Juliet. Of most importance are the social and cultural implications of the same, portrayed not only throughout this film, but also in most if not all films. The feeling and atmosphere created by aesthetic surroundings is of great importance to people of all ages and races (Roald and White 191-241). A practical example is when a toy’s noise is made to a crying infant. The baby ceases to cry because of the consoling mood created by the noise. It finds pleasure and solace in the same. Another illustration would be the soft, low music played to patients in hospitals. The relaxing feeling resulting from such music is said to be essential in the recovery process. Works Cited Edmund, Burke. A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful. J. Dodsley publishers, 1767. Immanuel, Kant: The Critique of Judgment. New York; Start Publishing, June 2013 Jacques, Aumont, Bergala, Maries, Vernet. Aesthetics of film. Austin; University of Texas Press, 1992, pgs 190-220. Philip, Shaw. The Sublime. London; Routledge, 2007 Roald, Hoffman and White, Boyd Lain. Beyond The Finite. New York; Oxford University Press, 2011, pgs 176-241 Read More