The Age of Enlightenment

The Enlightenment era took place in the late 17^th and 18^th century in Europe, and it was an extreme cultural movement. In my opinion, this is when art and music started to make a larger impact on the world all around. In regards to people, the two names that stood out the most to me were Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. I remembered learning about their ideologies and ways in high school; they both promoted opposite things, but made a large impact on society. What stood out to me the most when we learned more about the Age of Enlightenment was the opera that we had watched on Friday, Don Giovanni. I have heard operas before, but honestly I have never been a huge fan of them. The fact that I can’t understand what they are saying is very confusing to me. However, watching it up close and personal in class made me realize that the amount of facial expressions they make and the body movements that they do helps you understand it just as much. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the screen and I thought that their voices were beautiful. If I were living in the Enlightenment era, I would probably go see operas all of the time for their entertainment value. The fact that they are not as popular in modern age is a little disappointing. I think people are too consumed with the pop culture that surrounds us now to absorb the beauty that we can find in this type of music. People of my era especially are not introduced to this music very often, making us less likely to listen to it, unless we do it on our own time. The Age of Enlightenment speaks for itself with its title, because I believe that it enlightened people to think in many different ways. With all of the forms of art, music, and culture presented during this time, people were typically more intellectual and tuned into society. I believe that is something that we are missing from our culture nowadays. We are too consumed with everyone’s lives but our own, and we feed on the drama and existence of people we think are higher than us. However, in reality, if everyone just focused on themselves and what’s surrounding them closely, they would be able to realize the beauty that they can achieve. Everyone is capable of making art, music, or anything that would help the greater good. If more people went to art museums, or the opera, or even a town meeting, they would be able to realize that there is so much more that they can offer, or what the world can offer them. The opera made me open my eyes to realize that I can listen to other types of music rather than what is considered “popular”. I think the Age of Enlightenment can repeat itself, with the talent and capability that is left in the many people on this Earth. So I say, listen to the opera, create a work of art, compose an orchestra, create a new government, whatever you think would be the right path for you, because the Age of Enlightenment happened because people pushed themselves to achieve greatness, and it can most definitely happen again.