The Raft of the Medusa by Théodore Géricault

The Raft of the Medusa is one of my favorite paintings. Just starting with the art, it is beautiful, with just a mess and tangle of bodies, with some of them coming to reach for the viewer or with the most stretching out to reach for the ship, I love every part of it. 

There is also such a mix of tragedy and hope in this picture that I think fits the human perspective so well. Even after all this death around them, being left by others, there is still such a will to live. And that is what we are seeing a hunger to live. Although, that is untrue for one person on the raft, the old man holding his son's(??) body. 

I also think that this mix of bodies could really represent society now. This group of people were left behind by the rich on board, saying that they were going to come back for them, but they never did. They were left to fight among each other to cannibalize each other, to push each other off. This is really the message the rich now are pushing to the middle and lower class in society all across the world, they want us to fight among ourselves instead of going after them. Many do not realize that the real enemy is not the person who voted differently than you but maybe the billionaire who decided to upcharge you on the medicine you need to live.

 But that is not the only thing that is related to today's society, the captain of this boat only got the job because he was a family member to someone important. He had no experience or capability to be captain, and when he messed up, he left all the people on the boat to die, hoping that they wouldn't be able to tell the story. I think that many need to be reminded that, history will always repeat itself, and nepotism is very present in today's society, especially with the recent administration in America. Dozens lost their lives due to nepotism on this boat, and I hope for all that this administration does not force us onto the raft of the Medusa.