The first work of art that really struck me emotionally was Edward Hopper's "Automat" .
At first glance, it seems like a simple painting. And it is. But the subtext is really awesome.
I'm not by any means a painting (or art in general) connoisseur. Most times I think paintings range from "wow, it looks awesome" to "I could've done that" to "meh, it's a painting". But sometimes a few paintings stand out, and this one was one of it.
I kept looking at it for almost an hour, finding more and more details. The one glove missing, the blank stare at the coffee cup, the basket of fresh fruit (or plastic?) by the window.
But what definitely struck me the most was the overall loneliness that it made me feel.
I felt that I may know this woman, or could meet her on any coffee shop here in town. She looks disappointed, kind of beaten but not asking for help. Enduring it all by herself. Maybe she was stood up, maybe this is the coffee place where she stays in touch with her thoughts/emotions.
This woman will probably reject politely any try for help. This woman is any of us at some point in our lives. We're all alone inside our own heads, and sometimes feel alone in the real world.
Luckily the Wikipedia Article on the painting has some great insights.
I think this is THE purpose art should have. Make us feel, make us think. Simply thinking: "oh, it's pretty", is not enough. Art should make us better persons.
Spoilers ahead, but then again, who isn't familiar with Casablanca, even if one hasn't seen it?
I've been watching 'Casablanca' over and over again since I bought the Special Edition DVD, and is there any film out there one can watch again and again without ever being tired of it? And does any film appeal to a broader audience? Just everything about it seems to be as close to perfection as it only can be.
But what exactly is so special about it? Is it its great genre mix, never equaled by another film? When we think of 'Casablanca' first, we remember it as a romantic film (well, most of us do). But then again, its also a drama involving terror, murder and flight. One can call it a character study, centering on Rick. And there are quite a few moments of comedic delight, just think of the pickpocket ("This place is full of vultures, vultures everywhere!") or the elderly couple on the last evening before their emigration to the US ("What watch?").
<span>But 'Casablanca' is not only great as a whole, it still stands on top if we break it apart and look at single lines of dialog, scenes or performances alone. Is there any other film which has more quotable dialog than 'Casablanca'? 'Pulp Fiction' is on my mind here, and 'All About Eve' and 'Sunset Blvd.' come close, too, but still I think 'Casablanca' tops everything else. And not only is the dialog great, it's unforgettably delivered, especially by Humphrey Bogart ("I was misinformed.") and Claude Rains ("I am shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on here"). Many of scenes have become a part of film history; the duel of 'Die Yacht am Rein' and 'La Marseillaise' is probably one of the greatest scenes ever shot (the only I can think of that would rival it for the #1 spot is Wankel and the globe from Chaplin's 'The Great Dictator'), and the last scene is probably even familiar to the few people who've never seen 'Casablanca'. Am I the only one who is absolutely convinced that the film wouldn't have become what it is today if Rick and Elsa would have ended up as the lucky couple?</span><span />
<span>Their role is to support the singer by harmonizing or just repeating the same lyric that he sings after he sings it.</span>
