We Will Be Killed With Our Families, By John Cage
Sometimes, the void created by a lack of words leads to more discoveries than a plethora of words. The key to gaining further information from silence lies in listening to the unspoken statements versus the words actually put forth into the universe. Along these same lines, John Cage composed a well-known piece called 4’33”, which shocks many listeners due to his refrain from touching the piano in front of him. After first encountering this unique work, I found myself baffled and pondering the deeper meaning behind Cage’s intention. I recognized the sound of shuffling people, the clicking of the Tudor, and the other indications of movement and life. Reflecting on his own creation, Cage interprets 4’33” as a type of “imaginary beauty,” where
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By using the lack of notes played, Cage leads to the question of how to hear humanity in silence. While exploring the central African country of Rwanda, Phillip Gourevitch writes about his personal observations of the silences created by the genocide in his essay called “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families.” He pays attention to the lack of bodies as a silence comparable to the literal silence in John Cage’s piece. After researching the facts of the tragedy, Gourevitch addresses how the genocide lead to the murder of “some 800,000 Tutsi,” yet recognizes the few mutilated bodies he inspects reflect such a small portion of the total violence that occurred (501). Observing the evidence left behind, he acknowledges that each body found is only one of eight hundred thousand and somehow a majority of these eight hundred thousand bodies vanished into thin air. He elaborates on how he discovers such a few amount of clues retrospective to the entirety that should exist while relaying his sights of the “fifty mostly decomposed cadavers” he witnessed in the Kibungo school yard (501). Due to the fact only fifty cadavers exist, Gourevitch claims the human remains initiate a basic understanding of the brutality that happened during these times of mass murder despite their small
By using the lack of notes played, Cage leads to the question of how to hear humanity in silence. While exploring the central African country of Rwanda, Phillip Gourevitch writes about his personal observations of the silences created by the genocide in his essay called “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families.” He pays attention to the lack of bodies as a silence comparable to the literal silence in John Cage’s piece. After researching the facts of the tragedy, Gourevitch addresses how the genocide lead to the murder of “some 800,000 Tutsi,” yet recognizes the few mutilated bodies he inspects reflect such a small portion of the total violence that occurred (501). Observing the evidence left behind, he acknowledges that each body found is only one of eight hundred thousand and somehow a majority of these eight hundred thousand bodies vanished into thin air. He elaborates on how he discovers such a few amount of clues retrospective to the entirety that should exist while relaying his sights of the “fifty mostly decomposed cadavers” he witnessed in the Kibungo school yard (501). Due to the fact only fifty cadavers exist, Gourevitch claims the human remains initiate a basic understanding of the brutality that happened during these times of mass murder despite their small