A Long Way Gone

I think that the movie Blood Diamond and the book A Long Way Gone relate the closest to the third question; "What purposes and functions does artistic expression fulfill for individuals and cultures?," because both of them show uses for artistic expression. I believe that the purpose that these two things show is that artistic expression allows an outlet for information, a general relief from reality, and simply serves as a nice pastime. 

In the movie Blood Diamond, there is a reporter that is intent on finding the real story and the proof of the story of the blood diamonds and how they are being transported. Her search brings her into contact with Daniel Archer, a diamond smuggler. The possibility of solidifying her story keeps her trying to stay in contact with Mr. Archer and continue to learn more things about what was going on in the country. The artistic expression in this case gives her the motivation to keep learning to produce a good story. The photographs that she takes along the way on her journey show others out of the country what is really going on. Artistic expression in this instance is providing a way for the rest of the world to actually see what is going on.

            A Long Way Gone is the story of a child soldier. The book itself is an example of how the author uses artistic expression to educate other people on the horrors of war and the "truth" of the war in Sierra Leone. In an interview about the book, Ishmael Beah, the author, stated that just writing the book was like a therapy to him. In the book, when Beah was a child, he and his friends started a dancing and singing group. At the beginning, before the war, him and his friends used the group to learn more about America and as a past time. They also found the group to be an enjoyable past time. After the war started and Beah was on the move, his dancing actually saved him on numerous occasions because it proved him to still be a child. Stories were also another form of artistic expression in the book. Stories were a very important aspect in Beah's culture. Every village had their own stories and would even have someone have the profession of being a "storyteller." When the war started, the people that Beah was traveling with would share these stories  with each other occasionally. These stories were also kind of therapeutic in a way because it distracted the boys, if even momentarily, from the horrible present.

           Artistic expression can be interpreted as different things; dancing, singing, writing, and even relaying stories. In the two stories, Blood Diamond and A Long Way Gone, artistic expression fulfills therapeutic needs, overcomes everyday boredom, and can be a way to momentarily forget reality.