1.) I chose the Buddhism and the Chinese Art videos because I have always been fascinated by those two cultures. Buddhism has many excellent teachings and I've always felt I should adapt them and learn them and practice them. Chinese art and culture has always been of interest to me; I think it's beautiful and shows control and structure.
2.) The Buddhism video was fascinating. I loved getting to see up close the different temples of worship and statues of the Buddha; I personally have a little Buddha figurine in my aquarium because I love the feeling and mood it gives. I had no idea there was a Buddhist temple in NY, near to upstate NY no less! I thought the gigantic statue they created there was beautiful, and the mural and other embellishments made it even more magnificent. The fact that its so big they had to make the building around it speaks to its epic proportions.
The Chinese art video was equally fascinating, though only because I enjoyed the pieces featured! There wasn't much actual information in the video, aside from specifics about each individual work. I liked getting to see the variety of pieces made by the Chinese, and their various purposes. The two part vase that rotates internally was very fascinating, along with the beautifully patterned and decorated floral teapot; those might be my two favorite pieces.
3.) The videos tie in to the different cultures and religions mentioned in the readings. It gives a different and more up close look and explanation of the cultures and religions; almost like an in-depth analysis of a particular culture or religion, in this case Buddhism and Chinese culture. The Chinese art video less so, since it only described the various pieces and their uses; however, it still helped to illustrate what we learned in the readings.
4.) I enjoyed getting to see more of the architecture and art of these cultures; watching it in a video has more impact for me than a picture in a book. The Buddhism video gave extra information I had not known or picked up from the reading, and that was very interesting and enjoyable for me. I wish the Chinese art video was more of an educational video about the techniques or the history of the culture, instead of being just a list and description of various items from the museum's collection.
