I'd rather live in the shadows, thanks.

From Plato's Allegory of the Cave to more contemporary imageries of brightness and dimness, light has played an important role in which we understand ourselves and our environment. As post-Englightenment beings, we see it as far too simplistic to imagine how knowledge is supposed to represent light, and ignorance darkness.

But is it so uninteresting to live in the 'darkness'? Of course, many in the Middle East would profess that living in the darkness of repression and corruption is no way to live. But let us consider highly developed, democratic states, where peoples choose to live in darkness in one way or another, for one reason or another. For those who fear they are to be blinded by the lightness of outside, they take comfort in their insular and familiar surroundings. They are content in their lot, never wondering what it is like to live in other parts of the world, or even how the people in the next village live. If they were to denounce something, they would not bother to challenge its legitimacy on its strongest grounds, but on its weakest grounds. It is all too easily to criticize religion, for example, on one of their more outrageous grounds.

It is also evident that for some people, the light is too painful in its all-consuming brightness. The harsh light of reality shows the world in its true essence - both fascinating and terrifying. Perhaps this is one mechanism to cope with loss or tragedy, you try and block out what is all too crystal clear under the light. For the rehabilitating drug-user opening their eyes to the squalor and terror around them to political philosophers reading ever more deeply into theories which continue to discuss imperfect visions of the perfect society, this does not necessarily make you happier, but makes the world seem less comprehensible in its different varieties and complexities. If you find yourself in a country, you discover your continent, other continents, the world is not an oyster - but a incomprehensible sphere which you cannot even start to understand. One ray of light might enthuse your curiosity but a brilliant sunshine? It is often from the midsts of darkness, that people grow to be the people they are.

This is worth remembering, both on an individual level, and also on a broader socio-political one.

Francis Bacon and the 'Self' in Politics

Francis Bacon is one of the most acclaimed British artists of the 20th century, and continues to drive debate and drop jaws to the floor in awe. Similar to art, politics strives to reinvent itself - reconceptualising modes of thought which were previously taken for granted.

It is with this in mind that I found a critique of Francis Bacon that further reflected political 'self's' in the Middle East. As with Bacon's work, it is the violence as the subject-matter which has been most often studied - it is the horrifying communication of an isolated individual; the pain in the paintings reflects back to Bacon himself.

This can be said about images of political violence and social upheaval today, it is a reflection of that country's problems and clearly there is some explanation for why this has happened.

But momentum in this political day and age is an underestimated quality, and this is also illustrated in a reinterpretation of Bacon's work. It is important to note the instinctive and emotional reaction the viewer feels when seeing his work - the pain of the viewer is key as it is his work's moving quality which captures the sense of our self.

As an art, a performance, an event - the political theatre in recent weeks in Tunisia and Egypt reflect this second interpretation. Having been inspired by images of political change elsewhere, they identified themselves in the scenes they saw on the televised medium - the faces on the screen are not others' but theirs. It is this moving quality of political theatre which has created the momentum that few world commentators could have envisaged at the start of the year.

9 and Little Big Planet

Although the video games industry is just as big as the film industry worldwide, it is often seen as something of a mystery to the older generations. But it seems the conversation has moved on to such an extent that it is not remotely silly to consider video games as a form of art.

This is perhaps why I watched "9" with some interest and looked at its similarity with "Little Big Planet" - the fun interactive game I have played on occasion. The absurdity of cotton figures with a soul - surely this is the realm of video game fantasy? There is no conclusive evidence as to if there was indeed any influence from art to video game, or vice-versa - but it does give us a starting point into discussing video game as art.

Even with my limited knowledge, it is evident that computer games have come a long way. From my earliest memories of Super Mario, the target market for games has steadily evolved to include older players in their 20s and 30s, changing the nature of games - a game like Grand Theft Auto would have been unimaginable in the Zelda-dominated world perhaps 10-15 years ago. The older computer game player has also led to different demands in the video game, with narrative especially being an important part of a game.

With "cut-scenes", the Metal Gear Solid series has developed a powerful back-story which engages the player into the character and conflicts within the protagonist. Furthermore, history and fantasy commonly combine in different ways in reinterpreting how we bring stories to life.


Top Gear track on Gran Turismo - video games are becoming increasingly life-like.

Thus it is with excitement that I am excitedly anticipating reading a friend's study of interactivity and narrative in video games. But it is evident that the artistic study of video games is only just emerging and will be increasingly prominent in the decades to come.

See relevant links:
9 Trailer Similar to PS3s Little Big Planet
Wikipedia entry for Metal Gear Solid