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Edmund Burke-The Sublime
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Aesthetics class
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Kerry Keith Murdock
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I believe Edmund Burke is trying to depict the difference
between what a normal man or situation would be considered ‘beautiful, verses
the incredible, awe-inspiring moments that are rare, in the which he would
personally consider a type of true beauty.
These occurrences in nature, however, are rare, As it was mentioned in last
week’s discussion, the two examples that happened upon my memory were vivid
moments from “Jurassic Park” and the climatic space-scene from Jodie Foster’s
“Contact.” It seems that Hollywood movie makers are constantly vying for this
type of beauty, both for it’s shock-and-awe values but also for the artistic
quality in which the scene can be rendered. George Lucas’ ILM (Industrial
Lights and Magic) company have been creating such scenes for decades, wowing
the audiences with giant, transforming robots, horrible cataclysms, and
space-venturing war crafts. The movie make Roland Emmerich, director of “Independence Day,” has made a career of
disaster films with such intended themes in them. The ‘shock and awe’ campaigns
become so strong the special effects themselves become the main characters, and
the actors with speaking roles become background plot vehicles intended to only
take us to the next ‘shock and awe’ scene.
Again, as
mentioned above, outside of fiction these scenarios are relatively few, given
one and their location. A certain resident of Hawaii, Florida, or the
Philippians may feel they are frequented by hurricanes far too often for their
tastes, even if they are visited by only one.
Aside from
this, I believe that Edmund Burke is confusing the term beauty with terrifying.
While a disastrous scene before me, such as a car crash, can certainly make me
have respect for motor vehicle safety regulations I can in no ways find any
gore of a human being in such pain or peril as being beautiful. The great white
shark, while certainly hailed as the King of the Great Deep, can no more purge
from my lips the summons of the word beautiful than can a stabbing serial
killer. Both are to be respected, but in the avenue of fear, not admiration.
Now let us
consider, as I mentioned in our discussion last week, the nature scenes that so
many outdoorsy people and photographers enjoy. In these locations there is a
tranquil, peaceful, getting-away-from-it-all feeling. To me, far from the
comforts of modern living, this might be one of the locations most associated
with a type of disaster that would be considered ‘awe-inspiring.’ However, the
mood and feeling of these locations are, for the most part, completely
different from the shock-and-amaze campaigns described by Burke. So, it is the simple beauty I believe that most people
can attribute to with the most frequency. It is relatable, and most often, not
nearly as far as one’s backyard, deck porch, or imagination.
Also, why is
it on 3 day holiday weekend vacations, during the hot, summer months, that
people throw just a few, scant belongings into the back of a vehicle and break
said motor vehicle safety regulations in regard to excess speeding limits to
spend as much time as possible in the locations of such quaint, inadequate, and
primitive, locations? Again, as I said, ‘to get away from it all.’ So, certain feelings can be ascribed to the nature
of beauty. No pun intended. These can include, but are not limited to,
happiness, peace, serenity, joy, and love.
If Burke is
still willing to disagree with me regarding this, and his description of beauty
in regards to his safety, then may I suggest that the panoramic view of a
mountainous vista may be considered beautiful to many, which he could
appreciate it by hanging from the tips of his fingers from one of its many,
high ledges. Furthermore, the majority of the world’s populace might better
appreciate the blossoming buds of a flower’s petals from a distance while he
can enjoy it’s many, simple splendors by having a 10,000 pounds of the petals
dumped upon him all at once.
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