The Oath of the Horatii is an oil painting created in 1784 by Jacques-Louis David. The painting was derived from a 7th century BC conflict between warring cities (Rome and Alba Tonga), from where three men (the Horatii brothers from Rome and Curiatii from Alba Tonga) from each city represent their respective territories in a fight to end hostilities (Mayer, 2017; Manca, 2019). The Ride of the Valkyries, on the other hand, is an opera song composed by Richard Wagner and Giscard Rasquin in the film Apocalypse Now (Wagner, 2020). It is also the opening of act 3 of Die Walkure. Though the song has deep roots in the opera scene, it is commonly known for its inclusion in movie soundtracks. For instance, the Ride of the Valkyries is best known as a soundtrack for the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now , where it is played to accompany a scene of American helicopters bombing a Vietnamese village (Greer, 2016). The song has also been popularized by the 2009 Watchmen film in a scene where the superhero Dr. Manhattan obliterates Viet Cong soldiers (Zenk, 2017).
In both artifacts above, the common theme is conflict, especially conflict between nations and the individuals involved at the frontline in the fight for their country. This theme is also connected to me personally as I have several family members, dating back to the Vietnam War, who have sacrificed their all (and some their lives) to fight for the country and its values abroad. The other theme common with both artifacts is that in their own way, they discuss war. As a result, any historian (especially a war historian) will be impacted by the artifacts. For instance, the historian would use the artifacts as a basis for comparing how views of war, patriotism, and self-sacrifice have changed through the lens of the creators of the artifacts. However, a working knowledge of humanities would be useful, especially when performing a comparative analysis. For instance, the historical value of the Oath of the Huratii is evident by comparing it with the works of Jacques-Louis David’s contemporaries and peers.
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Therefore, three humanities resources could be invaluable in investigating the theme and artifacts. First, history could help understand the similarities and differences between the contents of the artifacts. After all, the wars that are part of the context through which the artifacts are viewed and understood share several similarities and differences. For instance, both artifacts express themes related to war and conflict resolution. However, they are different because while the Oath of the Huratii presents self-sacrifice for one’s city as a noble pursuit (for the brothers), the Song of the Valkyries is often used in the media to show case one party’s supremacy over the other. In contrast, Rome and Alba Tonga are represented more like equal forces who concede to settling their conflict peaceably via a contest.
Secondly, arts could be used to understand the subjective reasons why the artifacts are relevant. For instance, arts could provide the social and cultural contexts as presented by the author. However, arts is not limited to the form of presentation but also the medium through which the creators of the respective artifacts put their messages across time. The Oath of the Huratii is an oil painting while the Song of the Valkyrie is a musical piece that has found application in modern entertainment. Lastly, while ethics was not a discipline in the 1700s as it is today, the ethical approach could help deepen the understanding of the code of honor that is the basis of modern ethics.
Thesis Statement: The Oath of the Huratii and the Song of the Valkyries are two artifacts whose comparative analysis provide a subjective means to understand how the concepts of war and conflict resolution changes with time.
The target audience for my message would primarily be war historians who are interested in mainly understanding the temporal dynamics of war and the role ethics (classical code of honor) played. Students are also a target audience that would be interested in my theme and thesis statement. Studying history is a boring activity. However, when it is done in the context of comparative analysis and the underlying ethical principles, the lessons will not only be informative but also interactive. As a result, studying the relevant historical fact will be like reconstructing the events and seeing the world through the eyes of the characters.
However, while war historians are virtually guaranteed to understand the terminologies and principles used by humanities scholars, the same is not guaranteed for students. Therefore, tailoring my message to these individuals will require dividing the final work into two sections: a literature review that will cover all the relevant background concepts and knowledge and a discussion that will elaborate on the theme and thesis statement.
References
Greer, A. (2016). “This is the End, My Friend”: Aural Focalizations of Trauma in Apocalypse Now (1979) and Vietnam Combat Films. The Journal of American Culture , 39 (3).
Manca, J. (2019). “L. David faciebat Romae”: The Brick Walls in the Oath of the Horatii. Source: Notes in the History of Art , 38 (3), 158-167.
Mayer, T. (2017). Drawing the Corporeal: Balance and Mirror Reversal in Jacques-Louis David's Oath of Horatii. Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture , 46 (1), 229-260.
Wagner, R. (2020). The ride of the Valkyries . Eulenburg.
Zenk, C. (2017). Die Walküren und kein Ende Eine Systematisierung von Referenztypen in Filmen. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft , 74 (2), 78-102.
