HUM 102 FINAL PROJECT - Copy (2)
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Southern New Hampshire University *
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102
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Arts Humanities
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May 29, 2024
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HUM 102 Project Part One: Choose the Creative Works 1.
The topic that I picked for my project is mental health. The first creative work of art that I
decided on falls under the Humanities subject of a performance work of art. It is the song titled “Save Myself” by Ed Sheeran. My second choice for a creative work of art falls under the Humanities subject of a visual work of art. It is the painting Henry Ford Hospital by Frida
Kahlo. 2.
Both of these creative works can aid in understanding the topic of mental health. The performance work of art that I picked helps with understanding mental health by sending the message that is ok to not be ok and to focus on yourself. You cannot help everyone, and you cannot pour from an empty cup. The visual work of art that I picked, for me, highlights the importance of mental health in women and how our bodies can betray us by taking away something so personal. I think the mental health of women going through reproductive issues
is severely played down. People don’t realize how cold they sound when they tell a woman that just experienced losing a pregnancy, “Everything happens for a reason”. The Henry Ford
Hospital does a vivid job expressing the mental health of a woman going through that Hell.
People all cope with things differently. What works for one person might not work for the next. What’s beautiful about the humanities in mental health is that it allows people from all walks of life, different cultures, different generations, and different levels of learning, to connect to a source that can be beneficial to their well-being. If you need a raging playlist of man-hating music to get you out of the depression from a narcissistic ex, the humanities can provide that to you through performance works of art. If staring at paintings of wildflowers
helps you grieve the loss of your mother, the humanities can provide you with that through visual works of art. Humanities don’t discriminate your choice of healing your mental health.
3.
Both of the creative works that I chose add the value of diverse perspectives to the topic of mental health. In the Performance Work of art, Save Me by Ed Sheeran, the line, “So before I save someone else, I’ve got to save myself.” (@EdSheeran, 2017, 0:01:07) caught my attention right away because, after each act of either supporting someone or self-
sabotage, it was repeated. I picked this creative work because it has such a profound message; sometimes those who try to help others the most are the ones silently suffering from mental health issues the most. They need to put themselves first, for probably the first time in their life, face whatever demons they are fighting, and work on their healing because trying to heal others won’t fix their hurts nor fill that hollowness they feel from their trauma and issues. This Creative work shows the perspective of a person who is experiencing feelings of abandonment, self-sabotage, and depression in their mental health struggles. In the Visual Work of Art Henry Ford Hospital by Frida Kahlo, a woman is lying on a bed, and she is surrounded by a snail a baby, a flower, the bones of a pelvis, and several other objects. My eyes were drawn to the woman lying on a bed, blood under her, a lifeless baby, and my heart sank. I knew that woman; I knew that woman 12 times to be exact. I picked this creative work of art because it reminds me of my strength and what it takes to live life as a childless mother. This Creative work illustrates the perspective of the silent battle that an infertile woman fights and the lack of empathy from those surrounding her.
4.
In the Performance work of art that I picked, there is a bias of only showing the point of view of the person experiencing issues with their mental health. It assumes that the artist has reached out to multiple people for help when, in reality, he may not have been transparent
about the extent of the issues he was going through and could have made it just sound like they were having an off day. It also assumes that everyone turns to self-medicating, legally or
illegally, to cope with their mental struggles. In the Visual work of art that I picked the bias and assumption of being able to be a mother naturally is the only way is present. It doesn’t present other ways to have a child that, for me in my struggle, was more rewarding than my child having my DNA and helped me conquer those mental health demons that come along with being infertile.
Part Two: Self and Society
1.
My Performance Creative work creates a sense of acceptance when being open about your mental health because the artist is a mainstream artist and being so raw and real with his word choices in this song. He’s letting people know that is okay to be selfish
and take care of your mental health and that maybe we should evaluate who we have in our lives. Don’t be so willing to pause your entire life for someone who wouldn’t return a
passing smile, let alone help a friend during a mental crisis. The Visual Creative work of art that I selected creates meaning by letting women know that it does not matter what their status is, how educated they are, or who they are with, infertility can happen. It makes something that creates the feeling of being so alone in the world a liar because many women struggle with their mental health after having fertility difficulties. We have just been conditioned to stay quiet about it.
2.
Ed Sheeran’s song, being mainstream and his being a popular artist with the general public, allows the topic of mental health to be exposed to so many individuals who may be struggling because their parents, friends, or family never discuss it. By
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reaching those people he is offering them tools to understand and get help with their mental health, which they might not have received if they weren’t listening to his music. The Frida Kahlo painting depicting her miscarriage and struggles with infertility is raw, real, and in your face, impacting society by not keeping women’s mental health issues due to infertility in the dark. The lack of couth that people have about being so blatant to immediately ask a couple when they are going to have a baby or having the nerve to say to a woman that just miscarried, “Everything happens for a reason.” Is downright appalling. 3.
I think older generations, not all but some, see creative works in a different view because they were brought up in a time when mental health discussion was non-existent. While a younger generation might hear Ed Sheeran’s song and be inspired to reach out to help someone in their life that they missed was in need or even get help themselves, older
generations might perceive his song as a man not handling his own business and whining instead of doing something about it. Older generations might perceive the Frida Kahlo painting as a woman being vulgar about something that should be between her and her spouse, while a younger generation will perceive it as empowering women to be open and seek help about mental health issues in infertility.
4.
Through Ed Sheeran’s song, he provides many different scenarios that can affect one's mental health. In doing so he opens up a vast array of people a person might know about going through that scenario, giving them a personal connection with it, or is going through it themselves. I feel this makes people more aware of mental health issues and more empathetic of someone struggling. With the Frida Kahlo painting, I feel that it allows people to be drawn in visually to a woman lying on a bed, blood beneath her, with
every pulled away from her and you can almost feel her pain. The look on her face is empty like her womb. The strong composition of her painting is what pulls empathy out of people because it makes you feel something.
5.
Individuals are unique in how they process emotions and ideas. A person who finds themselves connecting with music can read about mental health all day long and process none of the information, however, they can listen to a song like Save Myself by Ed Sheeran and grasp the mental health issues because the music moved them. They were
able to process the same information because it was delivered to them by a method. Some
people can process things better in a visual manner, which is why they might tear up when they see the Henery Ford Hospital painting by Frida Kahlo. They can see the expression on the woman's face and can feel her pain. The mental health issues she was enduring needed to be illustrated for them to understand the depth and seriousness of the issue.
Part Three: Identity and the Humanities
1.
The relationship between humanities and self-identity is that the humanities provide us with the tools to be able to express who we are as humans and to understand other humans. Humanities allows us to put forth how we want others to perceive us. For example: You might find it hard to express your feelings about something that is going on in your life, which can be good or bad. You hear a song and immediately relate because those are the words you’ve been searching for and now you can send it to whoever needs to understand you. So not only are we using the creative works in the humanities to express ourselves, but we are also using them as a form of communication.
2.
The number of sociocultural factors that influence our identity construction is enormous. Every single detail in our lives contributes to our identity. Some of these can be: our upbringing, the language we speak, our location, race, religious views, the environment we were raised in, and the political attitudes of those around us. What I mean by this is that if you, as a child, were brought up in a religious community and household, you will most likely carry that into your adulthood and your future household.
From birth, our surroundings begin to mold us and influence who and how we identify.
3.
Several different humanities subject areas can be used to understand one’s identity. If you are wondering why you think in the manner that you do or why your brain
reacts a certain way to a specific instance, you could research the subject area of psychology to help you figure it out. If you are curious as to why you have certain features that are prominent and unique, you could look up your family lineage and see what cultural or ethnic background you descended from. You could dive into the possibilities of believing in a higher power or being in the universe that we one day might
have to answer to by looking at the studies of different religions and implementing the one that best fits you.
4.
Diverse perspectives that influence self-concept other than your own, I feel, need to be something you’re exposed to throughout your life. While these might not be our views, they do burrow their way into our subconscious and affect our self-concept. I have
to say the diverse perspectives on how women should look and how they are portrayed being so prominent in social media, in my lifetime, has influenced my self-concept, probably contributing to self-esteem issues that I fought through. Another example is simply where we are located, being from a small town influenced me to lead a simpler
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and country-type lifestyle. This isn’t a lifestyle that I necessarily set out to live but rather maintained from when I was a child and had no control over.
References
[@EdSheeran]. (2017, March 3). Ed Sheeran - Save Myself [Official Audio]
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXM0JdAwabU
Jacobus, L., & Martin, F. D. (2023). The Humanities: An Introduction. Self, Society, and the Humanities. McGraw Hill.
Kahlo, F. (n.d.). Henry Ford Hospital
. Kahlo.org. Retrieved January 21, 2024, from https://www.kahlo.org/henry-ford-hospital/
TEDx Talks. (2015, September 15). Rewriting the Stigma of Mental Illness | Paige Freeman | TEDxYouth@SAS
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5-YwRad-rs
TEDx Talks. (2016, June 21). What They Don’t Tell You About Mental Illness | Elizabeth Med-
ina | TEDxSpeedwayPlaza
[Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieXB-
BGxYwg