# A minor rant about Munch's "The Scream" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 25, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418 "2004-08-25T10:36:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/1 "2004-08-25T10:36:56Z")
I’m getting heartily sick of seeing ignorant news reports saying that this painting “depicts a figure screaming”. You know: /:eek:\ It doesn’t. Do these people understand the painting at all? No? Well, perhaps Mr Munch can explain it to them: > [@](#): > > I was walking along the road with two friends. > The sun was setting. > I felt a breath of melancholy - > Suddenly the sky turned blood-red. > I stopped, and leaned against the railing, deathly tired - > looking out across the flaming clouds that hung like blood and a sword > over the blue-black fjord and town. > My friends walked on - I stood there, trembling with fear. > And I sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature. The “Scream” in the title is a scream of despair sensed by the figure. He is not screaming. OK? Got it? Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/2 "2004-08-25T11:07:49Z")
“One evening I was walking along a path, the city on one side of me and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out across the fjord-the sun was setting, the clouds were turning blood-red. I felt a scream passing through nature-it seemed to me that I could hear the scream.I painted this picture, painted the clouds as real blood. The colours screamed.” Or perhaps the colours screamed. From [this site](http://screaming.lucyjordan.com/) . ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/3 "2004-08-25T11:59:49Z")
And now the essence of his work can be reduced to two keystrokes and one mouse click, typed in the space of 2 seconds and immediately viewable by anyone in the world with an internet connection. /:eek:\ ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/4 "2004-08-25T12:29:26Z")
> [@1920s Style "Death Ray"](#): > > And now the essence of his work can be reduced to two keystrokes and one mouse click, typed in the space of 2 seconds and immediately viewable by anyone in the world with an internet connection. > > /:eek:\ However, the full Munch experience needs a bit more work: ~~-~~ –~~ – ~~–~~ -~ ```auto \-~-~-~-~~..\~~~---~- .../:eek:\-~-~~...\.|./-~~~ ``` Incidentally, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when I first discovered that Munch’s surname didn’t rhyme with “lunch”. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/5 "2004-08-25T12:41:13Z")
I used to really love this painting, but it’s been so overexposed that it’s more like a comic strip to me anymore. Absence makes the heart grow fonder (or something). ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/6 "2004-08-25T12:58:05Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > The “Scream” in the title is a scream of despair sensed by the figure. He is not screaming. OK? Got it? Thank you. Neither Munch’s nor your explanation of the picture changes the fact that the picture depicts a figure screaming. What the picture means to the viewers is up to them. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/7 "2004-08-25T13:00:01Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I used to really love this painting, but it’s been so overexposed that it’s more like a comic strip to me anymore. Absence makes the heart grow fonder (or something). Familiarity breeds contempt? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/8 "2004-08-25T13:02:12Z")
> [@Martha](#): > > Familiarity breeds contempt? Both of those work. And I agree with **Bnorton**. It DOES depict a figure screaming. Either that, or he’s saying, “Uh-oh. I forgot my ears.” ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/9 "2004-08-25T13:16:34Z")
> [@bnorton](#): > > Neither Munch’s nor your explanation of the picture changes the fact that the picture depicts a figure screaming. What the picture means to the viewers is up to them. An absolute brilliant painting, but I never saw the figure as screaming. Looking at it again now, something about the hands doesn’t strike me as someone screaming. Unless it’s about a hysterical woman who just spotted a mouse - which I somehow doubt - I don’t think a person screaming would hold his hands like that. I see the person as an introvert all emotion going on the inside not as somebody making strong outwards show of feeling. I think the face just depict a grimace of a person in the clutches of a deep personal despair. But I absolutely agree. Everybody is entitled to their own interpretation. The painting obviously should have been titled: “The Scream. (YMMV)” ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/10 "2004-08-25T13:25:20Z")
> [@bnorton](#): > > Neither Munch’s nor your explanation of the picture changes the fact that the picture depicts a figure screaming. What the picture means to the viewers is up to them. Bollocks. He’s not screaming. _Look_ at the picture. _Read_ Munch’s explanation. Are you saying he didn’t know what he was painting? ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/11 "2004-08-25T13:25:20Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > However, the full Munch experience needs a bit more work: > > ~~-~~ –~~ > – ~~–~~ -~ > > ```auto > \-~-~-~- ~~..\~~~ ---~- > .../:eek:\-~- ~~...\.|./-~~~ > > ``` Interesting. How come you gave your guy nipples? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/12 "2004-08-25T13:44:03Z")
Anway, I reckon Munch stole his ideas off [Salad Fingers](http://www.fat-pie.com/salad.htm). ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/13 "2004-08-25T13:50:40Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Interesting. How come you gave your guy nipples? Hey, freedom of expression, okay? (Er, actually I needed some kind of spacing device because double spaces collapse to one and mess up the alignment :o ) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Zagna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@El\_Zagna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Zagna)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/14 "2004-08-25T14:45:52Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Bollocks. He’s not screaming. _Look_ at the picture. _Read_ Munch’s explanation. Are you saying he didn’t know what he was painting? Munch’s comment regarding the painting is as open to interpretation as is the painting itself. The statement that “I sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature” says nothing about what he painted in order to capture that feeling. Munch was trying to caputre a \*feeling \* via a painting. The painting depicts a figure on a bridge, hands to the side of his face, and an open mouth. It is true that there is no little cartoon bubble going “yeowwwww” so we can’t be sure what sound the figure is making. I suppose he could be yawning, but since the title is “The Scream” it’s safe to assume that that is what is he is doing. A “figure screaming” is in fact what the picture _depicts_. What that depiction means is something else altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/15 "2004-08-25T14:52:01Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I used to really love this painting, but it’s been so overexposed that it’s more like a comic strip to me anymore. Maybe they can fix that in Photoshop; darken it up a little or something… ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/16 "2004-08-25T14:56:48Z")
There is no “figure screaming.” There is a figure with its mouth and eyes wide open, like the smiley that people in this thread are using. Is the smiley screaming? No. Is Munch’s figure screaming? No. It’s shocked and terrified, but it’s not screaming. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/17 "2004-08-25T15:00:34Z")
> [@bnorton](#): > > A “figure screaming” is in fact what the picture _depicts_. What that depiction means is something else altogether. No, it doesn’t, because the title is not “Figure Screaming” or “Man Screaming” or “Guy Screaming”. It’s just “The Scream”. Maybe he’s hearing a scream; maybe he’s feeling a scream coming on; maybe the scream is internal or figurative or whatever you’d like to interpret. You’re free to think that what you see is depicting a scream, but that doesn’t make you any more right than the people you’re disputing who argue otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/18 "2004-08-25T15:02:12Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > Interesting. How come you gave your guy nipples? You got somethin’ against nipples? ---
**Author:** ![Blackclaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e68b1a/32.png) [@Blackclaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackclaw)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/19 "2004-08-25T15:05:36Z")
It is with deep regret that we, the uneducated masses, have continually mistaken an open mouthed figure in a painting titled “The Scream” to be, in fact screaming. On behalf of us, the unsophisticated hordes, we offer our most shallow of apologies. Damn art fucks ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418/20 "2004-08-25T15:14:14Z")
Are we sure that the person depicted in the painting is in fact the narrator, or could it be that the figure is a personification of ‘the colours screaming’ (or ‘nature screaming’) - in which case it would not be entirely incorrect to say that it depicts a person (or a ‘figure’) screaming. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-minor-rant-about-munchs-the-scream/261418.md?page=2)