The Cove

        The Cove is an Oscar winning documentary on the capture and killings of dolphins in japan.  It features a bunch of activists trying to stop the dolphin harvest and get footage of the killings. 

        The documentary seemed to rely heavily on the cuteness and intelligence of the dolphins as a motive.  They also included mercury poisoning in their stuff to try to stop it.  Overall it was extremely one-sided and I think we didn’t get an accurate representation of the fishermen, which were portrayed as being evil.  The entire argument is based on the idea that dolphins are of higher status than other animals like cow and chickens.  I don’t believe that this is true.  They may be more intelligent, but a dolphin doesn’t want to live or die anymore than a cow.

        The New York Times calling the film a “Trojan Horse” is the effectiveness of the films ability to get people to join the cause and stop this. They may also have meant the thrilling footage in the night vision scene when they are setting up the cameras and almost get caught. 

        This film portrays Japan as being this evil dolphin-killing nation.  Even though they state that that’s not the case, they contradict themselves several times and this also shows itself in the composition of the documentary.  If I was Japanize and I saw The Cove, I would feel under attack and offended.  I am sure that they were quite surprised and outraged by the mercury-laced meat being given to schools, which was quickly stopped after discovery. 

        People seem to forget the fact that every time the go to a sea world or dolphin park that they are funding the fishermen, that get most of their money from live dolphins (which sells for about 200 times that of a dead one).  As long as the supply for dolphins is there, these killing will likely continue.  Despite the fact that the process in which the dolphins were killed seemed rather brutal, I think there is another side to this that the documentary did not show.

Museum Response Assignment

            My museum response is on the painting “Winter Morning” by M. C. Heurlin.  It is an oil on canvas and about 4ft high by 8ft long. It is in the upstairs art gallery, towards the back about 7ft off the floor.  The painting is of a dog team traveling down a trail, through a forest with lots of ice fog, as the sun is rising. 

            There are 5 dogs pulling an old fashion cargo sled, with a full load covered in a tarp. You can see the puffs of white from their breath streaming over their heads. The guy on the back of the sled is wearing a fur parka, hat, and gloves.  His snow pants look as if they are made out of a light brown material.  The dog team is angling towards you from the left. 

            The forest is made up of some very ragged looking spruce trees.  They are thinly spaced, but more concentrated and taller in the distance and sides.  This makes it appear that it is the edge of a clearing.  A lot of the trees look as if they are dead with no needles.  The ones that aren’t dead look as if they are half dead.  The branches have a thick layer of snow on them and the trunks are lined with frost.  This puts somewhat of a gloomy look to the picture.

            There is a lot of ice fog and it is really thick at the bottom.  You can only see the upper halves of the trees further back.  You can’t see the sun itself, but the fog is lit up in brilliant colors. Starting with hazy red at the bottom, fading into pink, orange, and bright yellow at the top.  The tips of the trees are silhouetted against the red and pink areas. 

            All of this gives the impression that it is bitterly cold.  This really reminds me of times when it gets extremely cold outside and the ice fog reduces visibility to a few hundred feet.  When I look at the painting I can almost feel myself outside in the cold.  The painting is quite detailed and looks fairly realistic.  It is one of the larger artworks in the gallery.  

Exploring Places

The small parking lot we visited was on the side of a hill and it had a good viewpoint of Fairbanks.  It was gray and cloudy with some snow falling, but it wasn't too cold out.  You could see the outlines of some mountains in the distance.  We were supposed to go there to see the sunrise, but I could only see a strip of orange on the horizon.  There were a few planes circling the airport several miles away.  Since Fairbanks is ringed with hills there are plenty of viewpoints like this one and I didn’t think it had anything special about it besides its convenient location.  All said it defiantly wasn’t the highlight of the day. 

The fist thing I noticed about the wood center as I walked towards it is the entrance.  There are ten doors going into it at both entrances.  That seems like way to many for the size of the building and how much use it gets.  Inside it has a really high ceiling and is dimly lit.  On the lower level there is a lounge area.  The upper level is a big cafeteria with sushi, taco bell and a breakfast place for students to eat before and after going to class.  There is also a platform raised above the second level with a few tables to eat at. 

The third place that I am writing about is the student recreation center.  It has 3 courts on the first floor.  The weight room and locker rooms are in there as well. The second floor is a oval ledge that circles the entire building.  It is made into a track.  The whole building is brightly light and it has a high ceiling like the wood center. It makes me feel as if I am outside.  There always seems to be lots of people here.  It also has high rock climbing wall, but I’ve never been on it. 

The most prevalent thing that these places have in common is that they are all on campus and are mostly used by students.  They also make you feel small in comparison.  Home for me is where I grew up in Tanana.

Reading Response: People as Pictures

        The Japanese "Irezumi" is a painful tattooing process that can take up to a year to complete.  This ancient form of art is still done today, despite less expensive and painless modern processes.  It is an important part of culture.  Many organizations use this as a form of initiation and is sometimes used as a occupational badge.  The hands neck and head are usually left bare so a person can wear formal cloths without showing anything.  It is done with a basic awl and gouge, with pigments that can be quite unpleasant when put under the skin.
     I find it very interesting how Japanese culture views tattoos compared to our concept of them in america.  We put little thought, meaning, or hesitation into them, often getting them just because they look good or simply to say you got one.  Whereas in Japan, it sounds like you don't just get a tattoo for any small reason, but there is great significance in getting one.  The way that some people make a living showing off their irezumi and that museums display extensive ones, makes it seem as if they are almost revered.  I think it is strange that so much emphasis is placed on simple markings on your body.
    One of the things that was most interesting about this article is how the japanese culture viewed the naked human body as disgusting and how tattoos were often used to cover this up.  Although different body types are thought of as more attractive than others in different cultures, in the U.S. and in most cultures around the world the body of the opposite sex is viewed as being attractive.  Before reading this I thought that this was something that was more natural and not culturally based.  But I must say that the some of the irezumi artwork make the human body much more interesting to look at, but in a completely different way.  I wonder if this is what caused them to see the naked body as plain and unattractive.
    The article said that irezumi was sometimes used as a form of punishment.  I think that this would work very well for this purpose.  First it would hurt a lot.  Also whenever they saw the tattoo they would be reminded of how much it hurt.  I think that this would help keep them out of trouble.

Introduction

Hi, my name is Ezra Conrad.  I am currently a sophomore at UAF.  My major is undecided, but I am thinking about going into either marine biology or wildlife management.  I am from Tanana, AK.  It is About 200 mile northwest of Fairbanks and has a population of 250.  I have lived there for most of my life.  I enjoy outdoor activities and anything that is exciting.  I don't read very much but occasionally i'll read a novel or a magazine like National Geographic.