Food for Thought: Can Images Still Move Us?

i attended the Food for Thought on November 18th. this week's session was lead by Professor Chris Cassidy and he discussed the different views of art and how they are meant to affect different people. he discussed the differences in how the art affected people in the past and the people now. we discussed the difference in how art affects people in different countries; people in third world countries aren't going to be moved the same as we, Americans, would about a picture of piles of trash with children rummaging in them because that is their everyday life and we don't ever see that here. we discussed whether or not today's American children are desensitized by the images they experience on TV or video games. it was said not so much but i think that it does affect them considerably. when children see murder and theft on TV or in their games everyday, why would they flinch if they saw it in real life. we also discussed the fact that if the art is more personable, it is easier for it to move us; this goes along with the differences between countries. when it isn't something you would likely see in your own area, it is harder to sympathize with it. this session was very informative but it didn't involve much input from the audience.