http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRpzxKsSEZg

“In the Hall of the Mountain King” is a classical piece of orchestral music that tells the beautiful story of simply to be one’s self is enough. The music starts off soft and slow, then gradually gets louder and faster. It continues this routine until it reaches its limit, slows back down, and then just stops. This piece of music relates to the reading, “The Power of Story in an Age of Consequence,” primarily because it tells a profound story with such a great meaning. Forbes’ message on the importance of stories teaches us how a story is only worth telling if it has some kind of a significance to the narrator. If there is no actual point in sharing the story, then it is basically worthless and already dead. On the other hand, if the narrator has a passion for the story he or she is telling, then that story will be remembered and passed on for generations.

We know the composer of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” was emotionally connected to this story because it is such a timeless piece of music. It also touches on an on-going subject that I personally think most people can understand. We as a society often worry so much about the thoughts and opinions of others, which causes us to feel and think lesser of ourselves. If we try too hard to be something we are not, eventually we may become overwhelmed with this false identity we have created, which ultimately makes us fall apart. In the end, we cannot deny our true nature and we just need to make peace with that. As long as we are pleased with who we are, then that’s all that really matters.

The images I created relate to this subject because like the music, the images continue to dramatically change until they reach the point where they can go no further. It starts off as a blank canvas, which symbolizes something that is seeking for identity. Eventually paint is splatted onto the canvas, and continues to do so until the canvas is completely covered with splotches of all colors. The canvas is unable to handle any more paint so it simply goes back to being blank. In other words, it became too overwhelmed with this false identity and had to accept what its true self.