Module Ten - Blog: Video Review

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

1.       The reason why I chose the videos Islamic art at the V&A and Buddhism is because I wanted to see if the videos would show and tell me a little more information than the text gave me about Muslims art and Buddhist; I also found that these two topics grabbed my attention the most as I continued reading the chapters.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

1.       The key concepts that I have learned from the video Islamic art at the V&A is that there is a popular saying that god is beautiful and god loves beautiful things and this is one of the reasons why Muslims made art pattern designs for houses churches and items. One example the video gave of a beautiful thing was the rock crystal ewer it was made by nothing but crystal the design are of curling plants around the object and a image of a eagle attacking a gazelle. Another example the video gave was Ardabil carpet it was pretty big 10 and half meters long and 5 meters wide. The pattern it had was repeat of medallions on the corners. Finally the middle is big medallion surrounded by pointed a pattern of miniature medallions.

The key concepts I learned for the Buddhism video was the Tanha which is to extinguish your desire for pleasure, possessions and positions and to be in the world but not of it. Another key concept I learned was when Buddha died the Buddhist separated into two groups which were Ninayana  which was the small group of monks and the Mahayana which is the larger group Ninayana  believes Buddha is a saint and the Mahayana believe he is a savior.

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

1.       The videos relate to the textbook because the text talks about Buddha’s life and his strategies on how to extinguish the desire strategies such as the eightfold path of moral and ethical behavior. The two videos that I have watched also show the architecture of these buildings that are also shown in the textbook.

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

1.       My opinions towards the videos are that both of the videos have done a great job showing the architecture of each building. I also liked the idea of the videos (i.e. Islamic art and the V&A) gave me a good explanation of what Islamic art really is.