"Children of the Screen"

There is no denying the fact that in the year 2009, Americans are surrounded by the media—television, video games, and the internet (to name a few). With such a prominent presence in our daily lives, television becomes part of our environment. In turn, the media has potential to influence who we are as people. In Hannah Baylon’s article “Children of the Screen” she makes the point that we are constantly pushing ourselves to the limit with the normal stresses of life, and when we do get time to ourselves we spend it in a brainless activity: infiltrating our brains with the media. Although many of Baylon’s arguments are extreme (she goes as far as saying American values of mindless entertainment “poisons our minds and souls”), I do agree that by living in a virtual reality we are limiting ourselves as humans.
Growing up, my family didn’t have more than three channels on our television (two of the three were Canadian channels). I grew up not really ever watching television and even now I scarcely watch television; however, in Baylon’s article she claims “the average American watches four hours of television a day.” To be honest, I cannot imagine ever watching four hours of television in one week let alone in one day! With that in mind, I would have to agree with Baylon’s argument that it cannot possibly good to fill our minds with four hours of mindlessness. Just as a house plant or a prokaryotic cell needs the correct environment to thrive, humans also cannot thrive without an environment optimal for our growth. When your environment becomes saturated with stagnant media it smothers our zest for life and our potential to accomplish great things. But on the flip side, we do need time to recover from all the stresses of life. Even though I hardly watch television I do enjoy sitting on the couch after a stressful day and just relaxing for an hour. But because I enjoy doing nothing for a short period of time it does not mean I have poisoned my soul, it just means I need a break from the pressures of life.
With the diversity in the human race, an example of my life does not accurately reflect the population. I am aware that there are parents out there who allow their children to watch television and play video games for as long as they please. I also am aware that there are people in America that instead of going to college or getting a job are content with propping their bodies in front of a television. I have also witnessed many girls that have seen far too many chick flicks and believe their perfect prince-charming is coming to sweep them off their feet. In cases like these I would definitely say the overexposure to the media can be very detrimental to a person’s existence. Instead of thinking for themselves they merely allow the world to pass by without actively taking a step to join in. Living in this virtual reality separates people from the reality we actually are living and breathing in. Not only does it create passive people, as reflected in Baylon’s picture accompanying the article, it keeps humans from living up to their true potential.

Dorian Gray: The False Façade of Beauty

A famous biblical quote (found in Matthew 8:36) acts as a vivid theme in the film The Picture of Dorian Gray: “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul.” The protagonist in the story, Dorian Gray, makes the wish to trade his soul for his youth, after he views the splendor and purity in his portrait, painted by Basil Hallward. As Gray keeps his childlike face, the portrait slowly warps, revealing his sin, age, and true soul. During the film, innocent blood is often shed, staining Gray’s hands, one example is Gray’s fiancée’s suicide due to rejection. Gray plummets into a downward spiral of hedonism, including drinking and lustful actions. Even as rumors spread about Gray’s actions, his youthfulness and innocent beauty remains untouched by age or sin. However, the painting of Gray becomes so grotesque that he locks it away—hiding his true soul from the world.

The theme is masterfully woven throughout the film: Gray’s wish was to keep his beauty; however, even though he maintains false façade of splendor, underneath his true soul is rotten to the core (as exhibited in the painting). With this knowledge haunting him, Gray reveals the painting to the original artist, Hallward, but by doing so he knows he may lose the one woman he truly cares about, Hallward’s niece Gladys. Hallward is so shocked by the portrait he tells Gray that if only Gladys could see the true man Gray is she would not love him, rather risking losing the woman he loves, Gray kills Hallward. Gray’s love for Gladys leads them to be engaged; however, he knows she doesn’t know the man he has become. Gray does what he calls his only good deed, and informs Gladys that he is not good enough for her love. After doing this, Gray gazes into the eyes of the painting and sees a faint light; however, he knows even if he changes his way of life his soul would still be staring at him revealing all the horrors of his life. He stabs the heart of the painting and as a result, his life is also taken. As he lies on the floor, dead, Gladys and friends finally see Gray as the man that was masked over the years—the aged, sinful man that he truly was.

The theme of hiding true evil with a façade of beauty presents irony when Gray attempts to physically hide the portrait in his childhood schoolroom. This irony is exhibited after Sybil’s suicide and the picture begins to deform. The dimly lit room playroom is full of toys and books from his youth. As the shrouded picture is brought into the room, the dark covering over the deformed picture contrasts the aerie toys and books that encompass the room. All the innocent symbols and memories from his childhood: a wooden horse, toy blocks, and a Little Boy Blue banner now became the companions for his dark soul. Although Gray physically hid his soul, he could not hide his true evilness. Later in the film he kills Hallward in this very room and wipes the blood off his hands with the Little Boy Blue banner. As Gray stands in solitude he looks forward to a life of eternal youth since the picture is now hidden; however, he is caught in an evil destiny that will eventually lead to his demise.

Who is that person?

The young girl in the twenty second portrait stands alone with a flowery bow tucked behind her ear. Her white dress gracefully falls slightly below her knees and a pink background provides a complement to the assorted pink, yellow, and orange flowers that create an empire waistline on the garment.
The colors and textures used by the artist create a scene of innocence. The white on the girl’s dress is often associated with purity. For example giving or receiving white roses is often meant to appreciate the innocence of a person. Also, the abundance of flowers in the scene reminds me of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in which the fair Ophelia is compared to a blooming flower. After the death of her father Ophelia sings song and hands out flowers even when her innocent mind is overwhelmed by the evils in the world. At a moments glance, this child represents the innocence and beauty of youth; however many clues lead me to believe otherwise.
The girl’s actually age seems to be masked by her ornate attire. She is dressed like a woman attending a formal party or dance; however, the girl’s age appears to be merely twelve or thirteen. Her figure is that of a child before the onset of puberty. She lacks the figure of a woman; her frail and petite body has few feminine curves. She is wearing a flowing dress that would be worn maybe to a fancy dinner by an older woman; however, the dress fits her petite body. Only a child of a wealthy status would have such a nice dress, which leads me to believe that she is a child to wealthy parents who would have a dress tailored to fit their young daughter.
The face of this girl is very refined and serene (not what you would expect from a child)—her eyes seem to stare through the world but not at it. It appears to me that her childhood was controlled and her youthful vigor was removed by her proper and wealthy parents. Her pale skin is an indication that she has been restricted and not allowed to play outside with other children. To me this picture represents a child of aristocratic parents; ones who forced their daughter into womanhood and therefore she missed out on how a girl’s childhood should be.
Looking at this picture, I believe it is in her room, the beautiful hand painted walls and carpeting reflect the wealth of her family. However, she is standing in the shadow of cats, birds, and a fish, which is intended to show what she has missed out. Her parents forced her to be the proper daughter--she took etiquette classes while all the other children played outside. All she wanted to do was run and play with kittens and birds; however, she was given a beautiful room and beautiful clothes and was shaped into the “perfect daughter.” The puddle at her feet shows what she really wanted and what she missed out on.
Standing alone in her room, she represents how easily children can be shaped by their parent’s desires. However, as one would imagine, a proper woman of whom her parents wanted her to be would be gracefully standing with her feet together; however, this girl has more of a stance of a tomboy--her legs are spread apart--which would be considered very unladylike. Her stance is the culmination of her confusion…is she a proper woman, or is she still the child she longs to be? Instead of reflecting the innocence of childhood, this portrait deeply explores the confusion of a lost girl prematurely forced into womanhood.

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