Alaa Qui

Hello Netizens, Surrealism was founded by the poet André Breton in 1924. It started as an artistic and literary movement. Surrealism suggested that the Enlightenment movement had restrained the superior features of irrational unconscious mind, and it's goal is to free the mind and the human experience from the suppressive limitations or rationalism. Breton was very knowledge in the  psychoanalytical writings of Sigmund Freud and he had studied psychiatry and medicine. He was specifically interested in the concept that the unconscious mind -which is the source of dream- is where artistic creativity comes from. Breton considered surrealism to be a revolutionary movement that is able to free the human mind from the rational view or order of society. But how could an individual achieve this freedom of mind?  Automatism  Automatism is the practice of free association or a stream of consciousness, which gave surrealists a way to channel their uncons...

Hello Netizens, For today, I would like to introduce you to Semiotics. It is the study of creating symbols that carry meaning, which includes; signs, sign processes, likeness, indication, designation, allegory, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, metonymy, communication and signification. According to the American pragmatist philosopher, Charles Sanders Peirce Semiotics is, "theory of meaning which identifies the content of a proposition with the experienciable difference between it being true or false." History  Signs have been used through out history, be it drawn on caves, carved on wood or typed on your keyboard. They are a significant part of our society, and they have been recognised though out the history of psychology and philosophy.  Cave paintings of cattle, c. 15,000 bce ; in the Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux Grotto, near … Ralph Morse—Time Life Pictures/Getty Images The idea of Semiotics rose as an interdisciplinary system in the ...

Hello Netizens, On Friday, I had the chance to watch 'Life Is Beautiful' (1997), an Italian film directed by  Roberto Benigni. It is a comedy-drama set in Italy and takes place before and after World War II.  It tells a story of an Italian Jewish man, Guido, falling in love with a school teacher. The film is inspired by the book ' In the End, I Beat Hitler ', and Begini's father's experience in a German labour camp.  The film has won multiple awards, Grand Prix, nine David di Donatello Awards, Best Film in Italy and three academy awards. Life Is Beautiful is a film that is meant to illustrate the beauty of life and plant hope in the hearts of the watchers. The main character is an over-optimistic individual with an extremely charming personality, and when faced with tragedies he laughs at the face of misery and smiles till the very end. The love interest is Dora, a conserved woman who then shows a little more of her perkiness. Their...

Hello Netizens, Postmodernism is a movement that erupted mid to late 20th century. It is not only limited to arts, but it has spread through philosophy, architecture and criticism. The premise behind it is removing the rules and limitations and allowing for a challenging and/or new set of thoughts. It brought with it a sceptic or ironic attitude and challenged social norms. It includes with is critical views of art, literature, culture, philosophy, economics, linguistics, history, feminist theory, criticism, fiction and architecture.  Postmodernism is also associated with sets of thoughts such as post-structuralism and deconstruction, along with philosophers, like; Fredric Jameson and Jean-Francois Lyotard. Believe Anything by Barbara Kruger at Hirshhorn, Washington, DC. According to Oxford dictionary postmodernism is, " A late 20th-century style and concept in the arts, architecture, and criticism, which represents a departure from modernism and is character...

Hello Netizens, This week's figure is a German inventor and printer Johannes Gensfleisch Gutenberg. He was born on 1395 into a modest merchant family in Mainz, Germany. Johannes Gutenberg is known for inventing the mechanical movable type printing press. His family was exiled in 1428 due to the craftsmen of the town revolting against the noble class. They then settled at, where it is now known as, Strasbourg, France. And that is when he started experimenting with printing.   Johannes Gutenberg's early life wasn't documented, hence the lack of factual information about it. However, it is speculated that he learnt either goldsmith and/or blacksmith trade. Historians also believe he attended the University of Erfurt after moving to France.  For a while. Gutenberg worked on developing special mirrors that captured light that erupted from holy places, and they were usually sold to pilgrims. He was skilled with metal working, so he s...

Hello Netizens, This week I got the chance to watch my first Zhang Yimou film, and it is 'Not One Less' .  I thought about summarising the film in one word, but I seem to never settle on one in particular. Not One Less is a touching film, a visually beautiful film and a film that successfully portrayed the importance of education in rural and poor areas of China. Not One Less, a 1999 drama film , revolves around a 13 years old substitute teacher, Teacher Wei, as she teaches in Shuiquan Primary School. She is the heroin of the movie, but not like every movie, she is not special, Wei is ordinary... Very ordinary. Her only qualifications is that no one else wants the job, good handwriting and knows one song about chairman Mao. As I watched the film I eagerly waited for her to blossom into a life changing teacher, However, this is not this kind of film. Everything is very subtle, it is satisfying to watch the story unfold and not attempt to be over the top...

Dear netizens, For this week, I have got another admirable individual I want to introduce you to. You m ust have seen one of his films before or at least heard of them. This creator is Zhang Yimou.  Zhang Yimou was born in the 2nd of April 1950, he is a Chinese filmmaker that receive huge recognition from the west and challenged the censorship rules of China. He is counted to be from the fifth generation of filmmakers in china.  His films are recognised for having strong colour palettes, and his vibrant colours distinguish him from other creators. Zhang Yimou dabbles in themes as the resilience  of Chinese people in the face of hardships,  which can be seen in his film 'Not One Less' . Several of Zhang Yimou's films were banned in his homeland, which led for outside viewers - mainly from the west -  to recognise his work. He begun his journey as a cinematographer in 1984, after graduating on 1982 from the Beijing Film Academy, wit...