Sign in Subscribe
4 min read History

Weimar Republic + Interstellar + Dune

The art of the Weimar Republic, much like the society in which we find ourselves today, aims to glorify 'every day' common ideas and images. While this approach to art can be interpreted and defended as serving to reflect the age in which it is being created... it presents several ethical dilemmas.

Some quotes from the week

Quote 1

šŸ’”
On this path effort never goes to waste and there is no failure. Even a little effort toward spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear ~ Bhagavad Gita 2:40 (Translated by Eknath Easwaran)
Bg. 2.40
Bhaktivedanta Vedabase

Quote 2

šŸ’”
The great philosophies on living are not great because they are complicated. They are great because anyone can live by them. Yet people fear this simplicity. Live simply: be kind and work hard ~ Damien (A friend from the gym; not transcribed verbatim)

I wanted to include this quote because it highlights the fact that eloquence and goodness can be gleaned from anyone or anywhere.

Quote 3

šŸ’”
The new ageā€”i.e., the age of the middle classesā€”wants monogamy, but at the same time wants to enjoy all the pleasures of libertinage, in an even more concentrated form if possible. They are thus not content to raise the monogamous sexual act to the stars; the stars, and everything else that is eternal, are obliged to come down to earth to concern themselves with menā€™s sexual lives and enable them to reach the highest pitch of pleasure ~ Herman Broch from 'Notes on the Problem of Kitsch' lecture at Yale University

My friend Jeremy Tingle, a music student at the University of Toronto, shared the above-mentioned quote with me. It was presented as part of a larger critique of Kitsch, the 'trash' art popular during the Weimar Republic.

I think that it is important to preface my thoughts by noting that I am not in any way an expert of the history of Germany in between the two World Wars. But I wanted to bring this period to your attention because it bears direct relevance to our current time.

I think that beauty should be celebrated. But what is beautiful? While I don't think that beauty falls entirely within the conforms of a definition, Jeremy notes that things which are beautiful do not draw attention to themselves, they do not self advertise. Additionally, that which is truly beautiful is simple to experience and does not try to conform. Beauty raises our minds to higher things, at least in traditional thought.

The art of the Weimar Republic, much like the society in which we find ourselves today, aims to glorify 'every day' common ideas and images. While this approach to art can be interpreted and defended as serving to reflect the age in which it is being created, almost as a tool of documentation, it presents several ethical dilemmas.

For one, by emphasizing human normal-ness, which comprises our base desires, art can serve to depict these ideas and images in the same light as things that are truly beautiful. And through this celebration, art can catalyze societal degeneration.

Secondly, by choosing to depict normal-ness, art raises a mirror to society. At most, by looking at such work we are forced to look at ourselves. By choosing not to look higher, art prevents us from assessing ourselves in relation to an ideal or at least another idea.

How the film Interstellar accurately depicted a black hole 5 years before the first image of one was captured

Read the following two articles to find out. This was brought to my knowledge by Erik Gillis, a physics student and friend at the University of Toronto.

How Building a Black Hole for ā€˜Interstellarā€™ Led to an Amazing Scientific Discovery
Kip Thorne looks into the black hole he helped create and thinks, ā€œWhy, of course. Thatā€™s what it would do.ā€This particular black hole is a simulation of unprecedented accuracy. It appears to spin at nearly the speed of light, dragging bits of the universe along with it. (Thatā€™s gravity for you; reā€¦
WIREDAdam Rogers
First Image of a Black Hole | NASA Solar System Exploration
This is the first picture of a black hole.
NASA Solar System Exploration

Dune - another amazing soundtrack by Hans Zimmer

I really enjoy Hans' music due to his curiosity in instrumentation

As many of you know, I do have a penchant for movie soundtracks. One soundtrack that I have been listening to quite a bit today has been that of Dune, a 2021 sci-fi release (that you have probably already heard of) based on the novel of the same title by American author Frank Herbert (a book that is now on my 'Want to Read' Ā Goodreads list).

Below are some interesting videos on the making of the film and its soundtrack done by Vanity Fair.

If you haven't already, please follow Aurora - Hans Zimmer, my playlist on Spotify.

The Green Line

REDEFINING TORONTO THROUGH THE WAY WE LIVE

Stay in the Loop
The Green Line
The Green Line is a local Toronto news outlet that investigates the way we live to help young Torontonians survive and thrive in a rapidly changing city.
The Green Line

The Green Line stems from the vision of Anita Li a professor at the Ryerson School of Journalism. I heard about it through my friend Aloysius Wong who currently works at the publication.

Sign up on their website to get updates.

Published by:

Amit Nehru

You might also like...

May
05

To Kill a Bull

Bulls are not violent. But the audience sees them charge into the arena. Only a closer look unveils this truth. Charging does not come naturally to the bull. It is panting, gasping for air before the fight has even started ā€“ traumatized.
2 min read
Dec
27

The Rise and Fall of Naked Emperors

Learn about the peer review publication process as well as why this system may require an update.
1 min read
Jun
25

My Father

This is the story of my father's his first 26 years. It is also the story of three revolutions. It is also, at least in part, my own story. Born in the Himalayan winter, my father's eyes first opened to a frigid world. A city bordering a lake and bordered by mountains was his first home.
7 min read
Apr
18

Elon Musk on Old Political Leadership and Other Tidbits

Elon Musk proposes having a maximal age on elected politicians. In this same interview, he also noted that "people don't change their minds, they just die" and that "leadership that is several generations older than the average age of its constituency will be unable to relate with them".
3 min read
Apr
11

3 Wiki Links from History

This week, I was learning about the spread of Catholicism in India, Indo-Russian relations, and the history of the Magna Carta. Here is what I was looking at, specifically.
3 min read

Member discussion