Cultural Opportunity: ICC Art Exhibit

Culture is all about the customs and philosophies of a group of people. A big part of culture is expression in the form of art. Whether it be abstract, portraits, clay work, or simple drawings, art is considered beautiful and luxurious in almost all cultures. At Illinois Central College, we are fortunate enough to have an art department full of talented artists. When visiting ICC’s art exhibits, one can find paintings of distorted portraits, nature, and colorful, psychedelic abstract pieces. The distorted portraits were works created by the students of themselves in a twisted point of view. Facial features were exaggerated and faces were stretched or contorted. The pieces more directed towards nature were of rocks and sticks. These paintings were mainly brown. My favorite piece in the exhibit was entitled “Blue.” This piece was a portrait of a beautiful girl with full lips and crazy-colorful hair. The whole piece was done in blue but her hair was blue along with pretty much every color of the rainbow. It made me want to go home and dye my hair just like that. Another piece I enjoyed was called “Loop” and it consisted of a bunch of loops and swirls of different colors. I truly enjoyed the art exhibit and am proud to say that I go to the same school as many of those artists.

Cultural Opportunity: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Are you ready for one crazy trip? And not just a roadtrip, but a trip of the mind. Well then you better “buy the ticket [and] take the ride!” In the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a journalist named Raoul Duke and his lawyer Dr. Gonzo take a trip of a lifetime from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. With a trunk full of any drug you can think of, the two prepare to take a wacky journey through the desert, their minds, and ultimately come out with some the craziest experiences of their lifetimes. This movie is all about the drug culture of the 1960s and 1970s. The men are constantly dropping acid, smoking weed, and taking all sorts of other uppers and downers. Their crazy drug-induced antics make for a quirky laugh-out-loud comedy. Overall I thought the movie was very interesting and I felt that Johnny Depp (Duke) and Benicio Del Toro (Gonzo) made a very crazy duo. But in the end the only thing I really remember are the crazy trips resulting from “too much too much too much” drugs and the music of Jefferson Airplane playing while Dr. Gonzo attempts suicide in the bathroom. I think the movie says a lot about American culture though. American society has dealt with the war on drugs for what seems like forever. But in the end, America isn’t really winning, the drugs are. No matter how many laws are established against drugs, people are still going to do them and create new drugs to experiment with. I mean, the guys even stay in a hotel full of cops while taking all of these illegal narcotics and not once do they get caught. I think the movie is a good source of wicked comedy for people who don’t mind being exposed to the drug culture. But if you are against such cultures, I don’t recommend seeing the movie.