Audio-Visual Art and its Growth
Audio-visual art has experienced a lot of growth over the past few years. Currently, not only are films made using a lot of visual manipulation, but they include inaccurate representations. It makes a lot of sense, for the sake of fun, to incorporate such components as those used in the first development of a film called Scream. The artistic representation of realistic images in films has taken over the conveyance of the artist's world. Yet there are no modern guidelines for judging and analyzing contemporary films, hence the presence of subjectivity. The pertinent question at this point relates to whether the merits of the film are applicable from the perspective of modern art.
Thesis
Modern art must be evaluated using a different perspective to understand the merits, and not the simple traditional methods that include the analysis of the skills of the artist and the scene.
The Emotionally Charged Merits of "Scream"
As most films from the horror genre, one of the major merits of the film Scream is that it is an emotionally charged piece that leaves a memory worth recollecting. Edvard Munch made a simple painting and the film builds on its terrifying emotions as portrayed by the artist. The only way to develop such powerful emotions is through audio-visual art, and this explains why the piece of art became so famous after the production of the first Scream. The angst and horror is only evident through the combination of the mask (from the painting) as well as other visual images as portrayed in the film.
Scream's Contribution to Visual Traditions
Another aspect of the film Scream that makes it revered among critiques is that it is an artifact of high culture that contributes to visual traditions. One of the components of visual culture is that what people see is conditioned by what they already know. Scream appears in many versions and productions, and it has also been referenced severally in other films. Sight is one of the most effective senses in a human being and that is why Mirzoeff (1998) reiterates the same by saying that it is the first sense that develops in human beings. The mask used by the villain is borrowed from a painting made by Edvard Munch (Prideaux, 2005). The vision of the mask combined with the anguished scream in the film ascertains the visual culture.
Scream as a Touchstone of Popular Art
Other than entertain, the film Scream also builds on subsequent visual art as it acts as a touchstone of popular art. The film has a major impact on subsequent art as film producers used the concept to lampoon and develop caricatures. By now, the original film is so famous, almost more famous than the original painting. The painting alone may be pared down only to the extent of essence but the film makes it unforgettable. In fact, it gave other film producers an opportunity to create a combination of horror and comedy in a morbid but funny way. Such a combination has not been heard of since the production of the film in 1996.
Understanding the Merits of Scream in the Modern Context
In as much as the film Scream was produced over 10 years ago, its merits make sense when evaluated from the perspective of modernity. Traditional art was produced from the inner feelings of the artist but contemporary productions are produced using graphics and unrealistic components. For the merits of Scream to be understood, it is necessary to analyze the film from the perspective of modernity and not using the traditional methods. The films is of high culture, it builds on subsequent art and it leaves an emotionally charged memory in the mind of the audience.
References
Mirzoeff, N. (1998) What Is Visual Culture in Mirzoeff, N. (ed.) (1998) The Visual Culture Reader, London: Routledge.
Prideaux, S. (2005). Edvard Munch: Behind the Scream. New Haven: Yale University Press.
