Viewing Blog 3: "The Signal".

        No Hope to No Where.

You are alone. Envision a road to nowhere, to no particular place with no hint of it ever ending. As far as you can see, there is just an endless road, surrounded by a red sand desert: lifeless and void of any familiar characteristics. It's just open space with a single road right in front of you, leading to nowhere. How does it make you feel? Do you feel hopeless when determining what to do next? Well, there is a vacuum of hope. What little you may have had, is gone. Just like that. Just you, starring down an endless road in the desert. 

I experienced these feelings after watching The Signal which was released at the Sundance Film Festival early in 2014 and was then shown nationwide earlier this year. This cinematic gem reaches the limits of "Interstellar" without the big budget a Hollywood backers. The contagious emotions of youth and their sense of adventure is richly layered like a homemade marble cake. I was surprised that the reception was lukewarm, as the plot twists and turns like a water snake on a placid lake on a hot summer day. 

We are introduced to three characters: youth at their prime and students of exclusive MIT. They are dropping one of their party at another school but are intrigued by and determined to find a hacker toying with them named Nomad. The opening scenery is lush and vivid. Open camera pans depict beautiful forests, open prairie lands and deep blue skies. Everything gives us the emotion of a summer adventure, with adolescent drama to mix it up. The main character, Nic is a runner who is now stricken by a disease or injury that cripples his ability to walk without aid. He is also highly intelligent and shares his knowledge with those that he knows; as well as, complete strangers. His sense for humanity is evident and showcases the depth of his character. His best friend, Jonah, follows him along with this journey of fishing out this mysterious MIT hacker. Nic's romantic interest takes form as Haley, a gorgeous brunette. Her facial features are uniquely warm and captivating. She's a California gem that any guy would want to bring home to meet the parents and hastily marry thereafter. A strong will and sense of self-preservation grips us in wanting more of her performance. She's begging these two guys to question their reasons for wanting to find this ghost behind the computer games. Her questions have an ominous foreshadowing of what is to come and their  immature invincibility wins out. 

The typically creepy haunted shack comes to mind when they finally track down the signal of Nomad to an abandon house out in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night. There is the standard search with flashlights through the house and within moments, let the flood doors of adrenaline hit open! Nic and Jonah rush outside after hearing screams from Haley, just to see her defy all laws of physics and fly up into the air. Abduction! The lights flare in and out. Our characters lose consciousness. Remember, hope, because it's about to be strained. 

Nic wakes up in a clean room, void of color, lifeless and sterile. He is greeted by a man in a off-white hazmat suit named Dr. Wallace Damon. He questions him regarding why he has such protective clothing, his response is that Nic might be contaminated from an alien encounter. Nic is puzzled and frustrated, he can't understand what went wrong when him and his friends were trying to track down Nomad to this unknown facility. Dr. Damon's calm and calculating responses to Nic during  his questioning are unnaturally human. The facility itself is a labyrinth of doors and hallways. All lead to nowhere. Nic picks up on this rat maze of a hospital. He starts assuming that his friends are also being held within proximity, as he is able to have conservations with Jonah through the air vents. 

A plan of escape starts to form for Nic as certain questionable revelations occur. He is starting to really push the bounds of his now so-called imprisonment and actively seeks to challenge Dr. Damon and his staff. During one of his many interrogations, Nic sees Haley on a hospital bed in a possible state of a coma. He now fights this unknown system of shadows and sees through glass windows to free his girl and friend from certain doom. He tries several attempts to escape. On his final successful attempt at existing this now forbidden hell, he drags Haley out of the facility. During the attempt, he discovers that his once useless legs have been replaced by hybrid alien technology. He is shocked and Dr. Damon does little to comfort the confused Nic in understanding his predicament. Once they get outside, it is into a dry arid desert of nothingness. 

They struggle to find hope, seeking other humans in this unfamiliar desert. They find shelter only for a little while and until they are tracked down by Dr. Damon and his containment team. During a good chase, they team up with Jonah and his friend's new arms (much like Nic's new legs). They team up with their unique alien powers to overcome their captors. Jonah uses his alien technology arms to super slam soldiers into submission and Nic uses his legs to achieve inhuman speeds. Just as they are about to hit the road to freedom, they are stopped by Dr. Damon and his hazmat hit team. Haley is helicoptered away and Nic uses his super speed legs to run down that road to nowhere in an effort to catch her. 

His incredible speed breaks through a glass wall where he discovers that he has been in a cage the entire time. But oh wait, it gets better. His hope has gone from strained to utterly hopeless. As he looks around, he sees these huge windows; outside of them are the vacuum of space. Yes, space. He reflects on everything that he has been through. His life's experiences of him and Haley, his friendship with Jonah, all passing in a blink of an eye as his new harsh reality sinks in. He is on board an alien star ship. Being transported to a totally different planet. Dr. Damon was all along, Nomad and a mere robot to the collection of human specimens of further alien testing. Hope is gone. As in the vacuum of space, roads leading to nowhere and everything becoming pointless in a matter of moments; this entire movie is a nightmare similar to an ant being in a glass jar that is floating endlessly in an ocean, with no shore in sight. Hope is lost. 

Blog Set 10: "The Fall of the House of Usher" & "Afterward"

        What an exhilarating ride I just had and I didn't even have to wait in line at some cheesy theme park to enjoy it. Poe certainly had to draw up a battle plan when he developed this hair-standing short story: "The Fall of the House of Usher". There is so much great material to dissect and analyze regarding this chilling story of strange family occurrences and tragedy. As I finished this story, my mind eerily came across a subconscious comparison of another great story, The Great Gatsby. Now, I know what your probably thinking, "come on Mike, really, isn't this a little far off into left field?" Let me explain my reasoning (for those of you who play and or participate in any sports, that was my one and only sports reference for the entire year, so thank you). From my understanding of these two stories, they are told from the narrators' past experiences and perspectives: the unnamed friend of Roderick Usher and Jay Gatsby's neighbor Nick Carraway. They both tell us of their unfortunate journey with the main character. Both men try to help their doom-fated friends from either depression or obsession. Both stories involve love, either through the gothic style or modern materialisms. For Usher, his love for his twin sister brews doubt to her power and life after death. For Gatsby, he tries in vain to overcome the love of his past by trying to relive and rekindle the romance. One story is set in pure opulence and the other is the exact dictionary definition of a haunted house (in fact, this may be one of the earliest depiction of a haunted house in American literature). In the end, both are left to their fates: death. I just find the two stories so interesting because they have a unique literary connection similar to Yin and Yang. 

My interpretation of "The Fall of the House of Usher": This text takes a symbolistic approach over the realist opinion. This story is filled to the top with beautifully conveyed symbolism. The descriptions of the physical house and how it relates to the dying Usher lineage is paints of ghostly images to the reader's mind. I can understand the years of decay that has occurred on this ill fated family thanks to the detailed description of the house. Even when Usher's friend is describing his gangly appearance, it's like he is painting a portrait of foreseeable, quickly approaching death. The realist's mind might incorporate hope for a possibly positive outcome for this family, but nothing good happens for them in the end. It's horror folks! Hence, I believe that Poe wanted to paint such vivid imagery that would linger in the reader's soul long after the story was read. 

The psychological bricks of character description is also equally important to the symbolism of the text. Roderick Usher, displayed a myriad of emotion, led the readers to understanding the torments of his mental instability. When Usher is labeled as a hypercondriac  readers are given the sense that something is not right in the house just as it is not right with him. When readers meet his twin sister, Lady Madeline, when she walks by, they left with little to hint that she might just be as mad as her brother. It seems that Usher might just be bringing up all of these aliment himself. To understand that Poe was pioneering suspense when he created Roderick Usher's character is incredibly fascination. This just might be the first early foundation to the present day psychological thriller. Can we all say together, Black Swan? Any takers?

So, to remind you, I started off my post with an allusion of the haunted house ride at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom. Is it a coincidence that every haunted house reflects the literary work of Poe's Usher mansion? I think not. But why has it become the staple of haunted houses for so many years? Why does this archetype fit the bill? Why does it continue to live on in our psyche? I want answers! "Where's the trigger?" Oops, that was Dark a Knight reference, sorry. The symbolism that has so hauntingly ingrained itself in our minds from Usher has become the prefixed foundation to everything that makes an old house into a haunted nightmarish experience. The way he personifies the windows as if they are eyes, creates an unsettling feeling that the house itself is a living, breathing being. Maybe it's a character as it plays a large role in the text.  The unnatural nature of the setting and characters leave the readers uneasy and makes a lasting impression on their psyche. The same chemistry of Poe's creepy house has been copied and recycled over and over again for all sorts of reasons. Some great reason are to scare young children from playing in abandoned homes or to keeping an audience on edge around a summer night camp fire and let's not forget our current film culture. Everything from "Friday the 13th" to "The Conjuring", have all utilized an uncanny, spine-chilling coincidence of description to this icon from "The Fall of the House of Usher"! 

Afterward.... An action will always have a reaction. 

I got chills after reading this story, by Edith Wharton. It was captivating how she enveloped us into this story. I can understand why this is one of many standard examples of American Gothic literature. We start off with a well-to-do couple seeking a get-away residence from their once hectic life of business dealings. Their luck struck them and they were afforded a chance to escape. Which isn't it a general American Dream to escape? It's kind of like our founding fathers once did crossing the ocean, right? 

Once in their new found Utopia, they had inquired about details of their new home, one of many was the concern of ghosts. A unique interest that they both shared, but nevertheless, not a major piece of information to seal the deal on their new house. As the character development continues and the plot thickens, we discover that like any American Dream, there is always a little bit of dirt and mud that might get in the way. Isn't this similar to people like Andrew Carnegie and John Peirpont Morgon's climb to success? They achieve the American Dream, but at what cost? The American Gothic reflects upon these dirty deals in order for there to be success. As if it never even happened. 

Mr. Boyne leaves unexpectedly with an unknown person. Never to be seen again. Mary is distraught and puzzled about her husband's disappearance. After months and years go by, a former partner of her husband visits Mary to clarify some past dealings. It is during this conversation that she realizes that the man her husband left with had a conflict with him years ago concerning the very business that had bought them their new-found wealth and privilege. This man tried suing her husband with no success. In his suffering, he attempted to end his life, only to agonize on another two more months before expiring. 

Just think for moment about the power of one's soul, one's self of being. Do you think that if someone wronged you and the pain was so immense that you would take your own life just to make it go away, but before the deed would be done, that you would exact your revenge against your enemy that placed you in this state? So let's take a guy like Andrew Carnegie. I wonder how many people, union guys and families of dead loved ones wanted to take out their anger, frustration, and hate against him? I wonder if he felt a guilty conscience and would accept his fate as a last "good will" to right a wrong. 

This story steps on the very stones of American Gothic. Boyne accepts his fate when he walks off with the ghost of his wronged partner. He knows what he has done to this suffering soul. The sad part is that his wife has no idea and that she is more in the dark than his heart. It is a chilling plot of the dead seeking vengeance on the living, with relatable concepts of suffrage and lingering doubts of wrongs that have been done, all in the name of achieving the American Dream.    

This text can stand as a social commentary on taking personal responsibility for one's own actions.  There are times when someone causes adversity in another person's life, and whether it be intentionally or accidentally performed, the wrongdoer should be held to some account. Now, I know we all make mistakes and I'm not saying there needs to be more lawsuits or incarcerations, rather more community service, more education programs, and more teachings of tolerance. Edward knew that he had to take some sort of personal responsibility in his actions towards Robert. He accepted his fate accordingly. 

Blog Set 9: Lord of the Rings, Ever After and Poe, Oh My!

Tolkien: One Ring

Think back to the earlier years in your life. They were carefree, with out doubt of being hurt or worse. The concept of fear and world realities did not exist. You knew the neighbors down the street, you could walk home without worry. Playing in the fields till dusk with fiends and watching fireflies dance on the light summer winds was an accepted norm. Doesn't this invoke your earliest childhood memory's? For me, such experiences occurred, and yes, I enjoyed playing with my friends outside in the fields past sunsets, watching fireflies and hearing the unique sounds from frogs & cicadas playing their dusk-songs. 

The Shire also evokes similar memories, too. In The Lord of The Rings, by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the "recovery" aspect that he so elegantly captures is our minds warmth-memories of our collective childhood innocence. He brings us in by reminding us of our once-a-upon-a-time fantasy utopia. The emotions arise when we meet Bilbo Baggins in his golden year age of 111 years old. His character might remind us of our grandparents and how they spoiled us durning our early years. Tolkien brings us to this cherished and happy Shire as a springboard to the dark, evil and emotionally challenging concepts that lay ahead of the reader. That childhood memories are just that, a place & time that through experiencing life, we move on from. 

Another element to "recovery" is the friendship. During the Shire plot set-up, Gandalf starts pairing unlikely hero's for their request to destroy the ring. Friendship is a very important socialization trait that is vital to human happiness and mental wellbeing. It reminds us that friendships can help during the best and worst of times. We cherish them, like the Shire, deep in our hearts and souls. Acquaintances might come and go throughout our lives, but friends can stay for a lifetime. Tolkien knew this universal appeal and drew upon it to build a suspenseful plot of danger and testing of friendship bonds. 

Watching this film always brings up another feeling, too, escapisms. The emotions and thoughts that drive toward mentally running inward from present day realities. It's a brief escape for me and it allows me a sorta reset-process for my mind to this totally different world that Tolkien has conjured. Let's face it, this world sucks right now. Poverty is still noticeable, even down Davie Road. Faith in our government is shaky, like questioning the captain at the helm of a ship; "so where did you learn to sail again?" Cancer and other forms of diseases are killing our bodies and the environment is tittering on the brink of collapse. Families are being torn apart by substance abuse or even worse, infidelity. The list can go on, and on, but in a nutshell the size of a planet, I say "we," are losing the very thought that keeps us going, "hope." I know I've lost mine. It's a bitter pill as a college student struggling to either finish this course, complete a degree program, and hopefully find a meaningful career that brings fulfillment and it can be rather hard swallow without a drink of fantasy every now and then to lighten the emotion of hope. Easing the grip of reality that wraps its dirty hands daily around our throats. For me, this film and novel series are an enjoyable journey away from my world and into another that shines with hope and a foreseeable positive outcome. The escape is how we interrupt the art of the story and the outlandish; that one ring will rule them all, a fellowship of friends and battling against all odds towards success. It's beautiful. For the mind, just to get away. 

As my last part of my rant regarding Tolkien's work, "consolation" for me is achieving that feeling that "hope" can still be salvaged, resuscitated and re-packaged. The ring bearing group's genius is in the form of an empowering emotion from their audience. Similar to Peter Pan's Tinker Bell, the louder you clap your hands, the more likely she is to regain her strength and vitality. Towards the end, speaking on the overview of the entire trilogy, as the Eagles majestically swoop down and save Frodo and his friend, we are left with a sense of fulfillment. That light can be found, even when we are trapped in the darkest of places. Hope can be driven back into our lives. Isn't that what fantasy is all about? That we can recover and relate. The Shire and feelings of childhood goofiness and carefree days. That we can escape, through the work itself by surrounding our inner mind with thoughts of far off lands and magnificent tales of good v.s. evil, and that we can have some consolation. Fantasy is a reawakening of sorts for our mind and soul that reminds us even through the worst of times, there is hope. It might be small, but what, in our life experiences, hasn't started off small and grown into a redwood of a tale? The Lord of the Rings invokes all of these and so much more. It all depends on your perspective and how you digest the flood of possibilities that lay hidden in this timeless journey, that begins like all stories, with a Hobbit living in a Shire. 

Ever After: Oh Brother! 

First of all, I dislike the acting talents of Drew Barrymore. They aren't even really talents, but closely related survival skills necessary to barely keep a living from one movie to another. I believe her best and only work was done in the iconic movie, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. After her debut, she should have quit then shortly afterward and retired to a bar tending gig in Alaska, but I digress. 

Ever After is a movie adaptation from the classically old fairy tale Cinderella. It's either meant to be funny with realistic aspect from the original, or it just comes off as weak and cheesy.   The director took out the fantasy aspect of the story by removing the fairy god mother and the friendly animal companions. There is also not any singing which is what I loved about the Disney version from my childhood. In the end, sure she is rescued by the prince, but only after she rescues herself (yay for feminism) and lives happily Ever After with her new royal stature. I think the best part of the whole movie is when she doles out punishment to her stepmother and sisters. Don't we all wish we could do that to someone in our lives? That horrible boss. That awful ex who took you to the cleaners. 

The two tales are epic in their own right (cough LOTR is a million time better cough) each in their own way. One might possibly be realistic and the other one is a pure escape into the fantastical Middle Earth. I guess it's the audiences' call as to which is a better fantasy. 

The scope of fears that a child might interpret from the Cinderella fairy tale is loneliness, self confidence issues, and social stagnation. Different ages experience these fears at different levels of development. It's how a child conveys a presentation into their own realities of the world. The questions they ask their parents solidifies these fears into harsh realities. 

Yes, one can grow up being alone and not finding his or her Prince Charming or Princesses. Yes, one can develop a disposition that impedes self development from fully being  recognizing to his or her own limitless potential. And yes, one can live in fear that he or she will never do better than their parents, and that their children will never do better than them. All of these are real world possibilities that this fairy tale conjures up from the perspective of a child. All of this is manipulated into the premise of a well-organized plot with moral outcomes for one to take home. What a daunting form of entertainment. Especially for little girls, as if our society doesn't put enough pressure on them to dress a certain way or act like an airhead. 

In my opinion, a proverbial lifeboat should not be utilized as a saving grace in this story's fairy godmother. This only teaches an adolescent that through wishful thinking, that the unachievable will suddenly occur. Just like that. But we all know that self sacrifice, wealth, education, and a touch of luck are the real players in this universe. A child might grow up with this notion and only through failures, will they change their minds on those childhood fairy tale ending desires. I know, that when I have children, I will be paying special attention to what, if any television I show them. And Cinderella will probably be one that I will shelve indefinitely. 

Poe! Nevermore! 

Have we not felt sorrow for the loss of a loved one? Whether it be a girl that got away, a passing of a friend or family member, the sorrow we feel drowns out our perspective of reality to a certain degree. "The Raven" by Edgar Allen Poe vividly portrays this glimpse into sadness and madness. Nevermore. The feelings of helplessness, similar to watching a drowning man die from a sea shore, helpless, oh nevermore. To thy, I ask, have you not felt a feeling so gut turning, that it begs you to ask, why, why this feeling about Lenore? Either way, that was my lame attempt at replicating Poe. The poem is a little haunting, but merely a retrospective journey for me. I think about loved ones that have passed over and ex's that I wished never got away. The typical feelings of hope fleeting and despair washing over a once stunning mural of life, chalk drawn on a sidewalk for all those that don't know you to walk over, day after day. What an emotion oh, nevermore. 

  

Viewing Blog 2: Edge of Tomorrow-Groundhog!

Live, Die, Repeat & Groundhog! 

I wonder if Bill Murray ever saw Edge of Tomorrow? He probably thought to himself, "Didn't I do something similar to this in 1993?" Well, if he did ponder this question, he's surly right. Let's just take the concept, I mean the entire flipping movie plot of Groundhog Day and turn it into a science fiction story with action, romance, and don't forget the aliens. Yes, because every good Sci-Fi film needs the all impending doom-invasion evil-race aliens wanting to take over the world. Tom Cruise doesn't bring the slapstick humor that Murray brings so elegantly to the big screen, but Cruise strongly conveys big-budget action scenes masterfully. The story begins with Lt. Col. Bill Cage, played by our favorite our favorite action hero, Tom Cruise, is trying to get out of going to the front line of the alien battle. His superior officer didn't buy any of his arguments and had him arrested and then stripped of his rank. 

Long story short, Cage finds himself on the fateful front-lines, with scenes reminiscent of any film depicting D-Day. Cage is killed when he does the ultimate sacrifice by blowing himself up with a  bomb, right before an evil alien attacks him. The twist in the plot is when the alien's blood drenches Cage at the moment of explosion, he is sent back in time, exactly 24 hours back. Yes, I understand this goes against all laws of the known physics and theoretical time travel. Every time that Cage is killed in battle, he is instantly transported back to the exact time the day before. See? It's a plot similar to Groundhog Day, when Murray goes to sleep, he wakes up to the same song, "I got you Babe"! Thus, reliving his day over and over again. Cage utilizes his new found time loop to team up with the gorgeous Rita, played by Emily Blunt, who teaches his the art of fighting and war. Romance soon builds as Cage falls in love with his ill-fated partner. Over and over again, they both are killed; and Cage keeps waking up the day before the invasion with higher hopes of getting it right. They do, eventually.

The sci-fi connection to the human condition is that we all at one point of time wanted a do-over. When the universe plays a hand of trickery on us, we, hopefully, take the opportunity to positively develop one's character. Both movies hit the nail on the head with this concept. Murray must find compassion and humbleness. Cruise must find courage and wit. Both characters under go a massive change from their first appearances to becoming likable hero's of the day. The concept of character change and the do-over scenario is not new. It's just that Groundhog Day captured it in a wittily-funny type of way and Edge of Tomorrow build upon that in an action intense sci-fi aspect. Both films are highly recommended for watching. What situation in your life that you wish to have a do-over opportunity? As for me, my lips are sealed, or at least until I come up with just one really big thing I'd like to rectify. Keep the comments clean and G-rated. Peace!