Nature and Star Wars?

We discussed the German Romantic Landscape artist Friedrich in class this week. He believed art could be a way to bring Germany to where he thought it should be. To Friedrich, art could unite Germany and bring together religion. Friedrich himself grew up in an anti-Catholic and anti-hierarchical household. He thought that people could find God in nature instead. His painting, Monk by the Sea, painted in the 1820s during a time of revolution and restoration in Germany, demonstrated his views. The painting itself has no narrative. Instead, Friedrich makes the viewer feel small in the face of nature by depicting a monk, a religious man already, as very small. Thus, the everyday man would feel even smaller. Nature is where man could find God and salvation.


Although I do not have the same influences as Friedrich, I can understand what he means by saying nature can be an intense experience. When I go to the beach when it is not crowded I get the same feeling of smallness compared to the wide ocean. Especially if I go into the water when there are large waves, I can feel the power of the ocean all around me.


The fact that he thought God could be found in nature also reminded me of my anthropology class. We learned about the different types of religions that are found in the world. Friedrich's idea reminded me of Mana and Animism. Mana is a belief system in which people believe there is a force that is omnipresent and could be used for good or bad (think Star Wars, "the Force"). This reminded me of how Nature would be that all powerful force. It also seemed a little like Animism in which there are spirits in every object around us. Nature is all around us and God is found in Nature.