Overview
review the ppt slides and then answer this prompt: How does Buddhist art in the Gandhara region help us imagine the circulation of people and ideas across the world? (5 to 6 lines) look at slide 8 as those were the sculptures we were comparing. ( please finish first task within the next 5hrs)
here are example answers from classmate's replying to this prompt in our discussion post:
classmate 1: The art and architecture of Greco Roman and Buddhist artists indicate significant exchanges across cultures during the Gandhara era that would have occurred due to the silk road and the remaining legacies of Roman colonies in Western Asia. There are remains of Roman temples for these gods very similar to Buddhist stupas, and likewise, when looking at the Athena sculpture and the ‘Birth of Buddha’ relief, one can reason that Buddhist artists in the Gandhara era drew much inspiration from the Greeks in regard to their worship of these deities in art. Particularly, the idea of humanizing and giving face to goddesses and deities, as the Greeks did with Athena, the goddess of wisdom. The ‘Birth of Buddha’ also shows Grecian influence in its attention to realistic anatomy and form, such as the intricate folding in the clothing to reflect the muscle movement of the bodies beneath them. Also, in many Athena sculptures, the goddess is seen with a spear or making some sort of imposing gesture with her hands, and Gandhara era sculptures depicting the Buddha also heavily incorporate hand gestures to characterize their sculptures (Athena’s warlike nature being communicated by a raised arm, and the Buddha’s status as the great teacher depicted by his folded hands). Therefore, it is probable that similarities in sculpture regarding pose, form, and gesture are evidence of cultural interaction and absorption of ideas between the Buddhist Gandhara region's art and architecture and that of the preceding Greco-Romans.
classmate's 2 response: From the similarities and differences between sculptures, we could see how Gandhara sculptors learned techniques from another culture and then applied those skills to portray their local gods. Gandhara artists depicted the draped fabric of clothes similar with Greeks while combining elements from their local popular cultures. Works from Gandhara could be the epitome of how different cultures reacted to influences from another culture. Artists learned techniques but applied them to their local cultures. Furthermore, the changing in the configuration of Buddha also implicated how with contact with other countries, a local culture itself changed to better influence others. Like artists in the 2nd century started to depict Buddha in human shapes instead of representing him with trees, dharma or other symbols so that people from other countries could learn Buddhism easier by finding stronger connections with Buddha.
Task 2: Referring to the material covered in chapters 2 and 3 (attached the textbook below), analyze three scenes that help shape the psychological space of the narrative through the choices made in framing, composition and the lens. Integrate language introduced in the readings – lines, depth of field, foreground, middlegroud, background, lens height, the edge of the frame, use of negative and positive space, perspective, etc. you can find the film Daughters of the Dust here: https://soap2day.to/MczozNDoiMTMwMTJ8fDEzOC4xMTAuM...
here are examples of classmate's responses to the discussion forum please make sure your answer to this discussion meet higher standards than the example of the classmate's responses i am showing u for example. :)
example 1:From 1:29:14, when Eli is arguing with the woman for her help to leave this island, this scene is intersected with another scene, which the children playing in the beach. When the woman is talking about the free Negroes, the frame depicted the slow motion of the girls running in the beach, which enhanced the symbol of the eager of freedom and new life in mainland. The switch from wide shot to the long lens of the girls’ shoes and faces intensifies the footsteps of being trapped but wanting to run and the most primitive and real look. At the end, the transition of the two shots is very impressive. When the people in the beach fade out gradually, they finally falls to the woman’s hand in a close-up, and the lines is “Eli, I put my trust to you”, that means to take the children together up to north.
From 1:22:04, the frame shows the woman is teaching the kids their original language, but sadly, there are just few words that she could remember and teach. From the low angle camera and the close-up to the kids’ face, it helps the audience more immerse with their primitive world. And this scene is very meaningful and important to the whole film since it it reflect the culture that belongs to their own tribe and is passed on to the next generation. The evening sunset in the lens also sets off hope.
From 1:20:59, with narration of her past as a slavery, there are two time that she look directly toward the camera. This direct gaze makes the fictional characters in the movie realize that they are in the movie scene, and makes the audience realize that they are just watching the movie, thereby getting rid of the immersive experience of the movie and starting the audience's rational reflection. In this scene, it actually created a sense of anxiety to the audience, along with the line says “it’s the worst place to have been born in slavery time."
example 2: The transition that occurs around 23:57-24:05 particularly interested me. In this scene, all of the children are playing on the beach, and the shot slowly fades to a closeup of Nana Peazant’s hands. Nana Peazant’s hands are shot from a slightly high angle as though we are a little bit above her, emphasizing that she is pleading for something. This emphasis makes sense, given that a large portion of the film is about Nana Peazant’s reluctance to let her family go. The group of children seems to be grouped together in a circle, hinting at their unity, while Nana Peazant’s hands form two lines on screen, suggesting her emotional distance from them as they all prefer to leave. The scene also switches from deep to shallow depth of field, ensuring that we focus on the children and the environment in the first half, and then just Nana Peazant in the second. As the scene continues, Nana Peazant and Eli are both kept out of the frame; the frame centers their bond by focusing on the two of them holding hands in the foreground. Finally, the thing that struck me most about the scene was the framing of the transition: as Nana’s hands fade in, it almost seems as though she is holding the group of children in her hands to protect them.
I quite liked the cinematography of the fight scene around 1:02:00. The scene uses mostly shallow depth of focus to keep our interest in the foreground where the fight is happening. The scene does a good job of usually not centering either character in the frame – someone’s head or feet is often off screen. I think this helps emphasize the dynamic movement of the fight: in many of the shots, they are fighting near the edge of the frame, and moving back and forth. The scene also tells us where to look by using plenty of triangles formed by implied lines of eye contact. For instance, when Eli is standing over the other character on the ground (with his face out of the shot, perhaps to make him look menacing) I see an imagined right triangle formed by the character on the ground, Eli’s body, and the line of eye contact between them.
The scene around 4:02 (the man welcoming the sunrise) is, in my opinion, one of the most gorgeous moments of the film. The ocean and the sky create visual symmetry, since they each take up about half of the shot. I also notice vertical symmetry – the man is perfectly lined up with all of the reeds. Additionally, the scene employs the rule of thirds by not centering him in the frame. Perspective seems to stretch towards the left. I liked this angle because it suggests the largeness of the world beyond the frame, but the odd perspective also makes me wonder if there might be a touch of mysticism to this world. There is a lot of contrast in this scene as well, which is a striking way to start the film. Everything in the scene – the reeds, the ocean, the man’s body – stretches towards the four edges of the frame, continuing to emphasize this expansiveness.
here is where u can read chapter 2/3 for the second hw https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1N1QYU2agnP...