Sample by My Essay Writer
Question 1
Why did so many Western writers and artists such as Gauguin focus on the “primitive” past?
They focused on a “primitive” past because they wanted to go back to nature so that they could live their lives in a more meaningful and authentic way. This happened because many people in the 18th Century were moving from traditions and finding some distance with instincts, mysticism, passion and relationships with nature, and this bothered many of these Western writers.
How did these visions relate to the artists’ personal, social or political state?
They wanted to go back to a mind frame of living a more primitive existence than the rest of society. This was a symbol by Gauguin to break from the world of business and materialism. He quit his stockbroker career, and he left his wife and five children so that he could try to find his Utopia.
Question 2
How do these various cultures represent their ideas of utopia and dystopia?
The Western culture felt that Utopia and Dystopia was in living a primitive life. Gauguin felt that “primitive” and “savage” represented the spiritual Utopia. The Europeans represented Utopia with liberal sexuality and their inhibitions, as well as a closeness with nature. The Navajo people thought of Utopia and Dytopia was in the expression of their ritual performances and through the complicated sand paintings. The Balinese thought of Utopia and Dystopia through heroism, as one image describes a son who enters hell to save his parents, and he brings them to heaven. They depict Utopia and Dystopia through heaven, hell, chaos and order. The Japanese manga was a world where people could express their disassociation, fear and doubt.
What do they have in common?
They all have a connection to people finding themselves. Also, they are all forms of expression and idealism.
What is different?
The Japanese and Western Utopia and Dystopias are different in that the West is centred on nature, and finding peace through connecting with traditions. The Japanese is about addressing emotions connected with current social conditions, rather than trying to change the current social conditions.
