Analysis of media is fundamental to understanding and connecting through art/media. This is done both consciously and subconsciously. Subconscious analyzation is done automatically and is an important piece of understanding because it calls on past knowledge. We can only analyze in a way we understand and through that analyzation we are able to piece together how another’s ideas can influence our own lives. These effects, though perhaps only subconscious, can still have a powerful effect on our behavior. Though this is perhaps just the way I see analyzation, when I feel an attraction to another’s story it is because I am able to connect with thoughts or ideas that they are sharing, whether intentional or not.
The other side, a conscious approach to analyzing others work, takes, of course, a conscious effort. To analyze something in a way we are not used to requires the effort to focus on looking at things in a different way. The text talked about the ways our minds analyze what we see. Like what was read, it is almost impossible to describe something we aren’t currently looking at, because when we looked at it we weren’t focused on memorizing details. However, the more we try and focus on something, the more developed our subconscious analyzation becomes, because that method of analyzing relies on our past. An example of mine is tied to my love of music. More often then not, when watching a film the music is more or less ignored on the first run through. Perhaps ignored is the wrong word, but just like analyzing what we see, when asked what the music sounds like it is difficult to describe. However, as I gained a greater appreciation for mood and story music, I spent more time trying to understand and hear the music. Now, I listen more carefully to a movie’s soundtrack without really thinking about it.
It seems to me to be important to consciously analyze so that we can glean more information as we subconsciously analyze. Yet, as we focus more on certain methods of analyzation, we must give up others. We cannot think about everything at once so perhaps we need to know what is most important for us to analyze so that we can become what we want to become. Media is a way for humans to connect with one another and so it is important to understand and appreciate what is best for us. What is that? I don’t pretend to know, but I believe it is something we should each be striving to figure out. Perhaps the most important way to do this is to think more actively. As we try to understand why an author created media in a certain way, or why something is found in a picture, or why a character acts the way they do, we understand more fully how media affects us and as a consequence what began as a foray into someone’s else’s understanding becomes a way to better know ourselves.
I really liked what you said about connecting with works based on our personal experiences. I agree with this 100 percent. I agree that the reason there are so many interpretations is because there are so many people with completely different ways of looking at the world interpreting it! It is extremely difficult to understand something that you cannot relate to, but like you said, it is important to try. Trying to analyze something that we do not understand or connect with is like exercises for our brain. We are putting pressure and stress on our brain to understand these things that we originally don't understand and in the end, our brain is stronger and we are more cultured and sophisticated in our point of view. Great points! I enjoyed reading your post.
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