- Published: January 2, 2022
- Updated: January 2, 2022
- University / College: University of Technology Sydney
- Language: English
- Downloads: 40
The “ Save Our Souls” episode of the “ This Is Civilization” series is a consistent piece of documentary cinematography that gave me an interesting insight on the life of the British art critic John Ruskin. I deeply enjoyed an incredible journey to the Victorian Era with Matthew Collings, and was amazed by the beautiful pieces of art and architecture shown in this episode. The documentary made me open my eyes and take a critical look at the world around.
A travel back in time to the 19th century was very educational. I find the comparison of the Industrialization Era with our modern age of Globalization very accurate. It seems that people were facing the same problems of becoming free-will slaves of the system. I agree with Mr. Ruskin that Art was (and still is) among a few ways not to lose our human nature in the progress. His life is a great example of a constant struggle to show the world the meaning of life through Art. I was astonished by some of his revolutionary ideas about the Renaissance and the Gothic styles. I find myself in opposition to the idea that the era of “ re-birth” was in fact an indication of a society being sick, however Ruskin’s point of view is very thought-provoking.
In conclusion, while watching this episode, I was somewhat shaken by the ideas of the narrative. It has rarely occurred to me that our society is “ empty, “ distorted”, “ polluted” and “ corrupted, however, finding out about Ruskin’s life work helped me to develop a new critical opinion about the world we live in.
Work Cited
Collings, Matthew. “ Save Our Souls. This Is Civilization. Episode 3”. Art. docuwat. ch. Channel4. com. Web. 24 Nov 2014.