POST 4: Your own choice of a a film, series, song or book (novel, play, essay, comic, graphic novel) dealing with the 'MYTHS & HEROES' notion

Hey world! Even though this is a post for work, Don't leave it right now for I think it is a good occasion to make a first presentation of a non-manga work, for today's post will be about a sci-fi book,

The Ones!

As the most clever will have noticed, it is a book wrote by Daniel Sweren Becker that was released on September the 6th of 2016 by the Imprint edition. This book isn't very well known, mostly because it is quite recent, but I think it deserves some attention for it talks about something we could have to deal with sooner than we think: Genetical Manipulation. Well, you will get to realize it after I tell you guys about the plot.

In a slightly futuristic world, the Governement decided to experience the principle of Gene selection on 1% of newborn babies each year, making them perfect individuals known as "The Ones". During their youth, the Ones are noticed as perfect individuals, pretty, good at sport, having good grades, the highest quality of the population, and our main character, Cody, is proud that her and her boyfriend James are part of this 1%, considering it as a luck. Unfortunately, this is not everyone's opinion, an the association "Equality" starts criticizing the Ones, that would be taking away normal people's chances because of their so told perfection. After a few time of campaign, Equality reaches its first purpose by making the Ones officially illegal. This is where the real story starts, for persecution against the ones is being encouraged all over the World, and in order to "equilibrate" the balance, they are given additional disadvantages to drag them down in front of the rest of the population. As some of the Ones are accepting this situation and trying to calm things down by showing a will of peace, a group of rebellious ones is created, and their leader Kye chooses the use of terrorism as a mean to get back their rights, a movement in which Cody will take part, unwillingly taking James with her. As she is going to go deeper in illegality, James is going to be torn apart between the perfect image he has to keep in front of his family, for he is a replacement of a son they lost, and his will to help his loved one.

Obviously, the main characters are both James and Cody, but others could be considered so, mainly Kai, the leader of the rebellion, Norton, who is like the leader of the forces against the neo-Weatherman, which is the group of Ones, and James's father, who is a scientist secretly working on a chemical that would take off the One's advantages, reducing their abilities.

As you can see, this is not only raising the question of gene selection, but also the legitimacy of the governement's decision and the application of justice when individuals are at stake. This could be described as the story of a generation in a world where Human kind would have globally lost its moral, its humanity.

In addition, you could come to ask yourself what is good and justified and what revendications cannot justify, mostly with the character of Cody. If both James and cody have the noble qualities and will for self- sacrifice to be qualified as heroes, and even almost superheroes as they are perfect human-beings, Cody is a bit more difficult to agree with. At first she chooses to fight against "Equality" for justice, but after what she will experience during the story, it is obstination and the will for revenge that will make her keep fighting. All along the story, she will get deeper into illegality and terrorism, and even if you think her fight is a bit justified, you can't help but tell yourself that she is going too far, and she has to be placed in both hero and anti-hero category.

Gene selection is supposed to be a cutting age advance, a concern that would have appeared a few time ago with the many advances of science, but the Idea of a perfect man, that got rid of mere human's limitations and imperfections, is not that recent. Indeed, this corresponds to the Greek myth of Pygmalion, a sculptor who wasn't interested in women or humans in general, but that once sculpted a statue of a woman so perfect and beautiful that he fell in love with it. Eventually, after winning a contest on Aphrodite's festival day, the goddess answered his wish and made his ivory woman come human, so that he could marry her. With this myth, we can see that this will of perfection of humanity is something that keeps running through the ages without a distinction of technical limitations.

Well; this is it, hope it gave you some will to read this book, for it really deserves some more attention than it has for now. As this is partly a work post, the gift won't be for that one, but if you are curious I could give you clues in the comment section, so as always don't hesitate in writing some, I'll read them all and take them into account.
Oh, also as I have no good pic to close this post, it will be an announce of the next free post, and it's not a manga again!
Bye Guys!

The Mad Hatter

Post 6: An art Exhibition Review

In 2014, from June the 10th to September the 14th, at the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, level 0, an exhibition called Pop art myths took place. Though it is of course imposible to get to see it at the center of Madrid nowaday, you can see the entire exhibition here, and you should give it a look for they did quite a great job putting it at everyone's disposition.

As said in the title, this was a three month pop art exhibition regrouping a group show of several artists, some well known such as Andy Warhol or Roy lichtenstein, and some that I discovered through it, like  Peter Blake or Mimmo Rotella. In one of there digital resources, you get through the many rooms of the exhibition, each gathering art pieces corresponding to a peculiar theme: Landscapes-interiors-still lives; Portraits; Myths; Emblems; Collage-advertising-comics; Urban Eroticism; History painting, and finally art about art.


Even though this exhibition has quite a large pannel of art pieces, that conveys quite a feeling of diversity, as someone who is quite fond of graphic art, made out of pencil and paint, the ones I found the most interesting where in the History section, especially "group hug" (counter publicity), of Juan Genovés, "The living room", of  Equipo Cronica, and the famous remake of Boticelli's "Birth of Venus" by Andy Warhol. These three, as impressive as they look, are also revealing the heteroclicity of atmosphere an identical section can contain, for the color pannel they are showing is way too different to create any other link than the historical criterial, except for some similiraties in the creative process. Indeed, in addition to Wharol's remake of Botticelli's paint, the "equipo cronica"s work is based on Velazquez painting's "Las Meninas".

Despite being fond of more classical forms of art, I have to salute the amazing works that were done by pretty much every artists of the exhibition to innovate in their art works, concerning pasting as well as re used comic characters, for it makes every piece surprising in its own way, wether it is humorous, simple or a bit grotesque. Morover, it is worth mentioning that if Andy Wharhol and Lichtenstein are probably the most well known of the pop art movement, this diversity of placement isn't focusing on their art works, and this makes the other less known artists have their place in the show.
Personally, I can't deny that as a total newbie in the pop art culture, I thought that I would not be able to get right into the exhibition, for it can look a bit weird at first time, but I was quite wrong for it is a very accessible form of art, sometime more explicit than more formal ones. Besides, if some of you are not quite fond of exhibitions and are afraid of spending too much time getting through this one, don't worry for it has quite a little number of art pieces for an exhibition, and the truth is you quickly made it through, even a bit too quick as far as I am concerned. Of course, as it is an exhibition made to present the pop art myth, to give samples in order to make it discovered by more people, this is not really abnormal, but some more pieces could have served it well.

Now that we have seen a bit of the general informations about this exhibition, let's focus on one peculiar piece, of which I talked already which is "the living room" of equipo cronica. In this painting, we are placed in a living room, very bright looking, with a squared floor on which stands a little girl dressed in grey, surrounded by what seems to be servants. At her feet are a ball, a dog and a rubber ring looking as a duck.  As a third year student in Highschool, I have some insight into this remake of Diego Velazquez's famous painting, mostly because the change of colour stricked me by the major changes it brought to the atmosphere of the all painting.
Indeed, the bright and shiny feel expressed by this remake contrasts with the very sober look
La salita

• 1970
• Acrylic on linen
  200 x 200 cm
• Museo Fundación Juan March, de Palma
• 
  

of Velazquez's paint, made as if their was no light in the scene. the level of details of nthe scene is also way superior in Velazquez's paint, and this is simply the result of the different times the paintings were made. If Velazquez is representing the XVIIth century through his representation of the Royal family, the remake of Equipo cronica seem to represent the myth of the American way 

of life during the 50s, which explains the bright atmosphere and the apparent signs of prosperity, emphasized by the traditional clothes and the fact that it is a royal family represented. The dog and the child toys are adding to this feel of modern familiy, eventhough the character's placement is the same as in Velazquez's paint, with the paintor himself standing next to the familiy. On top of that, if the level of detail is lower while looking at the nuances, it is not less

 impressive by the precision of the composition.

Las Meninas

1656

oil on linen 

318 x 276 cm

Diego Velazquez

With this painting, we basically see the essence of Pop Art, which is to use the ancient to innovate, and the change of time we see in those is perfectly illustrating this aspect of the pop art myth, which purpose is in my opinion to surprise people. I would add that this is not an art that can really die, for it will innovate and create new forms of Art as long as artists will keep creating in other arts movements. Pop art might be a constant modern art.

Well, this is it, I can only advice you once again to go check this exhibition online, as I don't think it will be another time in Madrid. This said, as always don't hesitate to leave comments, and bye guys!

The Mad Hatter