Welcome to a Fairy Tale Adventure

When first I saw that Disney was making a live action Beauty and the Beast movie (one of my favorites from when I was a kid), I thought - well that's completely unnecessary. Then I saw the trailers and listened to the music. I just knew I had to see this movie, even if I did have to sit in a theater with an army of little girls decked out in their best princess outfits.

It was so worth it.

There's just something amazing about seeing the magic of a fairy tale come to life on the big screen. Though, personally I would have been even more thrilled if they had re-released the animated movie in theaters, but the live action movie was a lot better than I originally thought it would be. I still like the original more, but that's my opinion. It was also really cool to see how much technology has changed (especially if you compare the new movie to the 1946 French movie).

The inner child in me was so happy to see this movie that I, of course, went home and put the animated version on right away. While singing along and cleaning my apartment, I was struck by a line Belle sings after she rejects Gaston's marriage proposal.

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

I've seen that line dozens of times on social media. I think there's even a meme floating around with Belle's arms flung open in the field where she's singing.

It's a good line and I think it sums up half of the reason I love of fairy tales (and fantasy and science fiction). It's that longing for an unexpected adventure. Where my mind is so completely blown away with everything that happens, that it's hard to express my awe. It's being able to leave the boring world behind and go somewhere completely unexpected.

I can't be the only person who feels this way.

Many of the stories I enjoyed as a child had heroes that somehow found themselves embroiled in an unusual situation.

For example, the Hobbit starts with Bilbo enjoying his morning, he meets Gandalf, then later that evening a party of dwarves unexpectedly, and suddenly Bilbo is being hired as a burgle to steal something from a dragon. The ordinary quickly becomes the extraordinary in the span of a day.

Or how about how Aladdin comes across the magic genie*? He starts out his day casually stealing breakfast, accidentally comes across a runaway princess, gets arrested, and is then tricked by Jafar into going into the Cave of Wonders. I don't think Aladdin got up that morning and thought, yes today is the day that I go on an adventure.

 The other half of my love for fairy tale stories is likely because of magic.

Yeah, I know magic doesn't actually exist (or does it?), but it can signify how the improbable becomes the possible. I might not have gotten my letter to Hogwarts (or Ilvermorny), but neither did Jacob Kowalski and he got to help Newt with his escaped Fantastic Beasts. I don't expect to stumble upon a seemingly abandoned castle with sentient furniture while hiking (actually that would be really impressive since I live in North America), but neither was Maurice while he was looking for shelter.

Okay yeah, all those examples were stories and movies. They were created to teach entertaining lessons. Some even used to provide an explanation for the unknown world. But nearly all of them continue to inspire our imaginations today.

Adventures happen, even without magic and singing demigods. Some are planned vacations to new counties, others are unexpected (like having a random snow storm in mid March). Without the ordinary days, it's hard to appreciate the extraordinary ones.

Then again, I could have met a witch or wizard, but don't remember because my memory was oblivated. It could have happened.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

*I actually know a couple different versions of this story, but I'm using the Disney version as an example since more people are familiar with it.

Welcome to Passion

Having a passion for something is a wonderful feeling. I personally have a few passions (most fall under the category of story telling) that I try to pursue whenever I get the chance. In some cases, I've even managed to combine passions, such as food and writing to become a food blog.

Cooking for me is fun and relaxing.

 Some people might have only one passion, while others may have a thousand different things that make them want to stand on a soap box and declare how awesome their passions are. Some people enjoy their passions as hobbies like building model airplanes, others turn them into a business.

I think feeling passion for what I am doing is very important. Otherwise, why would I be doing that thing? 

Okay, I'll make an exception to cleaning, since I need to get that done anyway. Then again, having a clean living space makes me feel good, so maybe I do find some sort of passion in cleaning.

I equate passion with strong positive emotions. Being passionate about something should make me feel good, right? That's why I work hard on my hobbies and job. They make me happy and I feel fulfilled.

Shameless plugs are shameless when they are one of my passions...

When I'm making plans for the future, my passions are usually high on the priority list of things that I want to do. I would love to write a novel and get it published, but I have to plan my time wisely to write, do research on the publishing industry, and mentally prepare myself for the massive amount of rejections that are very likely to happen before my dreams become a reality. Since I am a planner by nature, I need to factor all of that in while planning out what I'm going to do each week.

Other people might have a passion for nature. They might try to plan on living in an area with a lot of great hiking locations and outdoor adventure opportunities. People who love dogs might plan on having a place to live that can easily accommodate the fur baby. Someone who loves classic cars might go into mechanics so they can keep their favorites up and running smoothly.

Passions can change over time. I know when I was six, all I wanted to do was go into outer space. I might not have chosen to be an astronaut or astrophysicist, but instead my passion evolved to me enjoying writing science fiction stories (alright fine, it's mostly Transformers fanfiction, but I'm branching out).

Some people might not be able to pursue their passions at the moment or haven't figured out what they are passionate about. An author I recently saw at a speaking event, stated that he always knew he wanted to write a book that he could proudly display on a self. The only problem was he had no idea what that novel should be about. It took him a long time to finally follow up on his passion and today he has a hardcover copy of his book sitting on his shelf.

My passions drive me to keep working hard and enjoy what I am doing. It can be hard to do and might take a long time before a passion is fulfilled, but in the end I think it's all worth it. After all, no one pops out of the ground perfect at what they love. 

I hope everyone keeps working on their passions. I certainly hope I do. 

Also Hufflepuffs are the best!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to Metropolis

I have made it my mission to see as many classic movies as I can. It took me a long time to appreciate older movies (basically anything that wasn't in color). There was a point in my life that I thought all films that weren't in color were boring and not worth watching. I used to hate it when my mom would put on one of her Betty Davis movies or when she'd have a Turner Classic Movies marathon going on all day. Thankfully I have since learned the error of my ways.

My preferences for older movies (or those made before my parents were born) tend to be along the liens of mystery noir, campy horror, and fast talking comedies (mostly starring Carry Grant). In recent years, I've been doing my best to branch out and see as many "classics" as I can. Silent films are my latest obsession, mostly because they are a lot harder to find*. They are incredibly interesting to watch since all of the acting is based on movement and facial expression. The ones that have survived helped set the standard for modern film making and created many of the cliches and tropes we know and love today.

The movie Metropolis is on many "must see movie" lists. It's a silent German Expressionists film from 1927 that is considered one of the first (and possibly most influential) science fiction film of that era, though I hesitate to keep it in the science fiction genre. By today's standards it feels like it should be neatly put in the steam punk genre. It can be viewed on Netflix right now if you have 2 and a half hours to spare. 

For those who are unfamiliar with Metropolis, it takes place in the  2026. The lower classes must toil away below ground, keeping the great city running, while the elites are allowed to spend their days as they please with lavish parties and gardens for them to enjoy. One fateful day, the son of the ruler of the city witnesses an explosion that kills some of the workers and decides that something must be done. There's also a pretty girl, a mad scientist who builds a "machine man", and an evil plot to destabilize the city. The everything is resolved by holding hands (no seriously this is how the movie ends).

I would call this movie cliche, except that it was created well before most of these tropes were considered cliche. For example the mad scientist has super crazy hair, which I think is how you know he's a mad scientist. He is hung up on his dead ex-girl friend, which is why he created the "machine man". There's also a lot of blatant religious symbolism that at times feels over the top at times. The tower of Babel is referenced quite a bit.

Then again there's a lot of things that are over the top in silent films. The story is told through the acting and facial expressions since you can't hear the dialog. There's a lot of exaggerated movements, heave shadows, and the makeup makes people's facial expressions really stand out. I couldn't help noticing how much eyeliner everyone was wearing and I definitely burst out laughing a few times when the film wasn't trying to be funny. There's a really trippy dream/hallucination sequence that I had a hard time following.

So much eyeliner

But please don't think I dislike this film. As over the top and cliche it is by today's standards, Metropolis is incredible to watch. The story is very entertaining to watch unfold and a lot of the major themes are still relevant to problems we face today. The special effects and stylized imagery are amazing. It's easy to see where a lot of modern cinema found its influence. 

Metropolis might seem better suited to the steam punk genre now, but there are a few things that I totally see in the year 2026. The mad scientist character, Rotwang, builds a "machine man" (exact text, I would have used the word mecha) who is supposed to look like his dead ex-girlfriend. I can totally see robots designed to look a specific way being available in less than a decade. There's also the issues and tensions between the working class and elites. The extreme wealth gap between the haves and the have-nots nearly destroys the city in the film. It's not that hard to see comparisons to the struggles people face today.

Metropolis isn't the first German Expressionist film I've watched. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was actually my first film in the genre and it's a lot of fun to watch. The eerie set designs and make up add to the creepiness of the story and would be extremely difficult to recreate for today's audiences. It also has a twist ending that no one will see coming. If you enjoy horror movies, it's a great movie to watch.

Cinema is a recent addition to the human narrative. There have been a lot of innovations and advancements in film's story telling, special effects, and visual devises since people first started making movies. But that doesn't mean that we can't appreciate the movies that started it all. I 100% recommend seeing Metropolis at least once to appreciate what its done for modern cinema.

Story telling is a universal constant for human societies. They have helped reflect and shape culture. It can be amazing to read or watch something written nearly 100 years ago and see that it still applies to modern audiences. What types of story telling experiences will be available in the future? Will virtual reality and gaming be the next great innovations for story telling? 

I have no idea, but I'm excited to find out.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

*Hugo is an excellent film that goes into why a lot of older films weren't preserved and why the few that are should be treasured.