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Question:

failingengish
failingengish
Student
High School - 9th Grade

What are some songs or movies that express the ideas of Transcendentalism?

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Posted by failingengish on Tuesday June 16, 2009 at 7:09 PM and tagged with arts, emerson.

Answers:

  1. professor-dean
    professor-dean Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    This is a very interesting question.  Before I get into my response, please note that an "N" is missing in "Transcendentalism" above.

    This is my first answer on this site (though I have given a similar assignment myself), I will do my best to keep this as short as possible - volumes could easily be written on this.

    I will take as a given that you are familiar with Transcendentalism, but here is a brutally concise statement - a literary and philosophical American 19th century movement.  Promoted by authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Margaret Fuller.

    As for the music one could say that Frank Zappa's entire career, and the latter music of the Beattles (and some of Lennon's solo work) fullfilled the Transcendentalist idea of finding one's own, unique relationship to the universe and the divine.  Some specific titles - Zappa's Absolutely Free (The first word in this song is discorporate. It means to leave your body, and is not referring to corporations), and the Beattles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

    As for movies an excellent recent choice would be "Into the Wild", based on the book (and a true story) by the same name.  This movie could be considered a definition of  Transcendentalism.

    Hope this helps,

    Professor Dean

     

    Sources:
    http://www.answers.com/topic/transcendentalism

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    Posted by professor-dean on Tuesday June 16, 2009 at 9:19 PM


  2. akannan Teacher
    Middle School

    I think you can take a modern approach to Transcendentalist thought.  Some of the themes to the movement have provided fodder for some great films.  For example, "Pleasantville" can be seen as transcendentalist.  Pulling from the Thoreauian idea of civil disobedience, watch the mural scene when they paint the mural near the end of the film.  A song filled with Transcendentalist thought would be "Across the Universe."  Ironically, there is a Fiona Apple version of the song to close out the "Pleasantville" film.  The song stresses how truth and understanding requires a mindset that is "other worldly."  I think one of the best examples of the movement's desire to stress individualism can be seen in "The Truman Show", where Truman breaks out of a conformed world through listening to his inner voice.

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    Posted by akannan on Tuesday June 30, 2009 at 9:35 AM

  3. cohidy
    cohidy Student
    High School - 11th Grade

    thanks for the usefull information this helped me get the three primary scources i need for a reasearch paper

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    Posted by cohidy on Wednesday October 28, 2009 at 8:58 AM