CULTURAL EXPERIENCES 5
CULTURAL EXPERIENCES 1
Description And Evaluation Of Cultural Works
Jukhari Clowers
Humanities 1500
Dr. Doug Davis
Number of Words 942
References
Jarrell, R. (n.d.). A man meets a woman in the street by Randall…. Poetry Foundation. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49883/a-man-meets-a-woman-in-the-street
Shepherd J. (2021). New sounds | New sounds | hand-picked music, genre free. newsounds. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://www.newsounds.org/shows/newsounds/
Cultural Experiences
Category A: Music
Description
The classical music played by famous musicians in America like Tony Scott reflects the theme in Japanese culture played by their musical instrument “Shakuhachi.” The Shakuhachi is a Japanese instrument for playing music, also known as the Japanese bamboo flute (Shepherd, 2021). The instrument explains how the Japanese people valued music and even made their inventions. Raff Samuelson, an American artist by birth, tries to play Japanese music to explain the cultural experiences of the Japanese people through his artistic music. The sound of the artistic, musical instrument is more relaxing.
The artists try to merge the traditional pieces and the contemporary pieces to create something beautiful. Another American artist who attempted to create Japanese contemporary music was Tony Scott. Scott created the “Music for Medication.” The musician in his work tried to bring the cultural aspect of the Japanese people in his music concerning the Japanese culture (Shepherd, 2021). His works are magical because they create the cross-cultural aspect of music and relate Japanese music to meditation for relaxation. Each piece is more artistic, picking from a high note to a low note. The traditional piece from Japan by the bamboo flute applies to the contemporary world by creating music for medication purposes.
Evaluation
The works by the various artists in Japan and USA make me appreciate Japanese culture. The traditional music created by the Japanese is more spiritual. It makes one connect with nature and release all the tension they hold within the inside. The classical music created makes me applaud the Japanese culture because they were more advanced in time than many cultures worldwide. What the Japanese created is artistic and beautiful. I can listen to their instrumental music all day because it is soul-nourishing. I like the instrumental music by the Japanese people because it helps me to meditate and focus. I use instrumental music to relax when I am stressed. The music is therapeutic and easy to connect to because of the slow rhythms it picks. Most of the contemporary pieces created by many artists lack this sense of relaxation, which is in the traditional music of Japanese culture. However, I wish the music could be written to explain the context to make the audience understand it better. I want to know if it is a love song or a sad song. I want to experience the feelings as in the message of the song. I cannot compare the Japanese works with any other culture because I find their music unique and magical. I have never had such a beautiful encounter.
Category C: Literature- Poem “A Man Meets a Woman on the Street” by Randall Jarell
Description
The poem by Randall Jarell centers on the theme of love. The persona describes the beauty of the woman he admires from far as he walks behind her. The persona describes the woman as having coarse golden hair, making her more beautiful (Jarrell, n.d.). The woman’s skin is fair, and her legs and long. As the man walks behind the woman, he can comprehend her beauty and appreciates it because he has developed feelings for the woman. A woman who is my type, follow with the warmth of familiarity” the persona feels that the woman matches his energy and has something in common. Something that can connect them, and that is love. Love brings familiarity to the man as he sees the woman on the street. It gives him the feeling of the existence of love which provides him with hope. The woman on the street is the persona’s wife- Lorenz. The new dress she has bought from Bergdorf gives her husband the younger version of his wife. It reminds him of his young lover, which also makes him feel more youthful. The poem tries to illuminate that love remains the same for couples who genuinely love each other even with age.
Evaluation
Through the poem, I learn of marriage as an essential aspect of culture. It teaches me of love which has to exist in marriage. The persona seems quite fond of his wife despite the many years they have lived together. The narrator still finds his wife to be attractive. He acknowledges the challenge they have encountered through their life together but still loves Lorenz (Jarrell, n.d). The poem makes me appreciate the aspect of marriage in my culture, which people value. It makes me understand the need to be committed to a person and love them wholly despite the challenges present during the marriage. I like the poem because it tries to illuminate the necessity of valuing marriage as a vital aspect of our culture.
It explains the need for love in marriage to survive any difficulties it may encounter along the way. The theme of companionship has been highlighted in the poem to express the need for having someone who truly cares and will always be there in good and bad times. That
is what will make the marriage survive its challenges. It relates to cultural works such as a song in my culture, which explains the necessity of marriage and respect it as a sacred institution.
Comparison
Both two artistic works try to create the essential aspect of culture in terms of music and marriage. The music tries to make people appreciate the creative works of different people who create them. Through the artistic work of various musicians, the world learns the value of Japanese music using unique instrumentals such as the bamboo flute. The poem also depicts an essential aspect of people’s culture, which is marriage. All these works try to illuminate how culture can be represented in various works, making it rich and enlightening. Culture is preserved through various works such as music and poems, explaining how human beings evolve each time.