Oppression of Civil Liberties: Liberty Leading the People

Oppression

With these pieces, I wanted to talk about the stories of oppression of civil liberties around the world. The “I have a dream” speech by Martin Luther King Jr., fights for the oppression African Americans faced in America. “Speechless” represents the women that face legal oppression even today in the Middle East. “Burmese Monk” symbolizes the oppression and violation of human rights and civil liberties in Burma that millions of Burmese suffer from. “Liberty Leading the People” demonstrates the oppression of the French peasants from the nobility. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army is the great school of Mao Zedong thought” shows the methods China use to oppress its people. These pieces all reveal forms of oppression that humanity has faced around the world.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Liberty Leading the People

Eugene Delacroix painted “Liberty Leading the People” in 1863 to celebrate the French Revolution as well as to act as a propaganda poster for the revolution. The French nobility oppressed the peasants giving them no say in the government and did not care about their daily necessities. At this time, France was on the verge of bankruptcy after assisting America in its war for freedom. Louis XVI taxed the French proletariat heavily ("Causes of the French Revolution."). However, the French nobility hardly paid any taxes. This heavy taxation slowly progressed to be worse and worse to the point where peasants could not afford bread("Causes of the French Revolution."). In addition, the French peasantry’s voice was so limited by the government, the nobility was able to suppress their need for bread. After facing many years of oppression, fueled by the success of the American Revolution and the “words of equality” from authors such as Voltaire, the French peasantry rose up against Louis XVI ("Causes of the French Revolution."). The revolution brought the end of the reign of Louis XVI but marked the beginning of a new ruler Napoleon. Eugene Delacroix wanted to glorify the people that were able to rise up against the authority for their equality.

“Liberty Leading the People” is an oil on canvas painting, by Eugene Delacroix in 1863. Delacroix used vivid colors in painting which brightening the hues and darkened the shades. This provides a contrast that emphasizes the main subject, a lady leading the people. In this case, Delacroix depicted Liberty as a goddess with a robust figure holding the iconic flag of the revolution. The goddess is raised by a pedestal of dead and wounded on the ground, further giving the figure prominence. In the background, figures represent all of the classes. The upper class is represented by the man in the top hat, and the peasants represented by the boy holding the pistol. Eugene Delacroix uses vided colors to glorify the people who fought for their civil liberties in the face of oppression.

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Revolution: A Violent Solution

Kevin's blog, pertains to the violent revolutions in history. The first piece is "Guernica" by Picasso, is about the Spanish civil war where millions of innocents were killed. Guernica was a little village which had almost no strategic value. Hitler made bombing runs over the houses of the innocents utilizing his new method of Blitzkrieg. The people had their voices taken away by Hitler. This blog also talks about Russian propaganda in the time of the October Revolution. The Bolsheviks revolted against the provisional government for to end suffering of the people of Russia due to the Russian participation in WWI. The spirit of '76 is about the American Revolution where the Americans faced oppression from England. Americans staged a revolution and defeated the British to earn their freedom and liberty. The "Tank Man" photograph was taken by Jeff Widener, when the Chinese government reacted violently against the protests from Chinese students in Tiananmen Square. This image is censored by the Chinese government, demonstrating the methods which the Chinese government uses to oppress its people. All of the works in Kevin's blog relates to my overall theme because all the works show some form of oppression that the people faced.

Fight For Liberty

Thomas's blog is about the injustices that humans have faced in history. The first piece, Korean Independence Movement, is about the liberty that Koreans demanded freedom from the oppressive Japanese government. During this movement, a declaration of independence was created by thirty representatives of the Korean people. The Korean Independence Movement has a direct correlation to my blog's topic of oppression of civil liberties. The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 marked the end of the oppression of Egyptian President, Mubarak. Millions participated in labor strikes and violent demonstrations. Mubarak eventually cracked under the pressure and was forced to resign. "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Leutze, glorified Washington's leadership in the American Revolution where the Americans that were oppressed by the British fought for freedom, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. "The Death of Marat" by David, pertains to the French Revolution where the civilians of Paris staged a revolution because the French elites suppressed their voice in the government. In addition, the French working class suffered from wide spread famine. King Louis XVI did not try to save his people, but continued to live his lavish lifestyle. The French working class successfully rebelled against in the face of oppression. All of these pieces correlate to my blog because they all have the message of oppression embedded in them.

Oppression of Civil Liberties