tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78204119976903636512024-03-13T02:55:22.524-04:00Frank on FilmsReviewing Film, Faith, and Modern RelationshipsFrank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-26268568330054144672018-04-22T15:51:00.000-04:002018-09-13T10:48:58.370-04:00The Greatest Showman Points to Heaven<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 11px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">I was hesitant to see “The Greatest Showman” as were a lot of people. I don’t really know why. I have always had this negative subjective experience with the Circus. I remember enjoying it as a kid, but I think somewhere along the line when the show “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” came out in the 90’s I inherited this disdain for the odd and disfigured. I don’t mean to say that a woman with facial hair made me view the human person as less, but I questioned whether it was right to put it on display. I guess that is the point of Ripley’s. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Believe it or not! </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">It felt more of a hoax rather than something real I wanted to connect with. Somehow I had passed this emotion on to the Circus in general. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Freaks, oddities, and the unimaginable. </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">So when I saw the trailer for the “Greatest Showman” this urge of </span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">not wanting to be duped</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> came up. However, I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed the film despite my past experiences, bad critic reviews, and inaccurate portrayal of P.T. Barnum. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This is a review on the film, not on Barnum’s life. There are many things that Barnum did that I do not agree with, and some statements he made that I see eye to eye with. The film is loosely based on his life, but portrays something of the spiritual that I want to point out. It is worth exploring as the entire film brings to life the biblical story of the Prodigal Son in an entertaining and beautiful way through musically intense joy.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Faith, Hope, and Love</b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The film displays faith, hope, and love through the eyes of Phineas Taylor Barnum, who was a poor son of a decorator. He grew up desperate to rise above his status, a fault that would lead him astray on the journey of the prodigal son, but also virtue that created in him an ethic of hard work and showmanship. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The song “A Million Dreams” sets the scene for the faith he has in himself, the hope for a better future, and the deep love for his wife and children, his greatest success. This was not enough for him as he continued to find fulfillment elsewhere in the world. After being dismissed from his job he convinced a bank to loan him money to purchase a museum. He filled it with things that people had never seen before, fake things, but no one came. He ventured out into reality, looking for people who he could bring out of the dark and put on display for entertainment as visualized through the song “Come Alive”. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">This is when “The Greatest Show on Earth” was born. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Barnum put so much of himself into his show; his passion for theatrics, love for the crowd, and his belief in the human person. The show became a sensation with attractions like the Irish Giant, the Bearded Lady, multi-racial acrobatics, exotic animals, and the small general Tom Thumb. From the perspective of the show, Barnum exaggerated the facts to keep the crowds coming in, but what he built was a home for people who were seen as outcasts. All of this he built on mere faith, hope, and love...and charisma. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"><b>Prodigal Son </b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The well-know prodigal son story is about a son who squander’s his entire inheritance after abandoning his family. Barnum does the same thing when he puts all of his money into a nationwide tour of European opera singer Jenny Lind. He leaves behind his “hoodwinked” circus to give the world something real, Lind’s melodious voice and charm. He abandons his wife, daughters, partner, and circus family after taking out an extensive loan to make Lind’s tour happen. This was the prodigal son separation; believing that there was more to life waiting for him out there in the world then what was actually in front him. Lind’s haunting pop ballad “Never Enough” is the perfect anthem for Barnum’s inner searching. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Then it all comes crashing down. Lind leaves the tour due to Barnum’s refusal to sleep with her, orchestrating a public kiss that goes viral. His wife takes the kids and goes back to her father, someone who Barnum personally loathes because of his high social status. The entire circus is set on fire by protesters losing the museum and all of the animals. This is the lowest point Barnum. The prodigal son is sleeping in the pig stables realizing how much better he had it back home. The song “From Now On” replaces “Never Enough”, a new anthem in Barnum’s heart. It echos the prodigal son’s confession. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">The Prodigal Son’s Confession</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">A man learns who is there for him when the glitter fades and the walls won’t hold. Cause from that rubble what remains can only be what’s true. If all was lost there’s more I gained because it led me back to you. I drank champagne with king’s and queens and politicians praised my name, but those were someone else’s dreams, the pitfalls of the man I became. For years and years, I chased their cheers a crazy speed of always needing more, but when I stop and see you here I remember who all this was for. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">From now on, these eyes will not be blinded by the light. From now on, what’s waited till tomorrow starts tonight. Let this promise in me start, like an anthem in my heart...from now on. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">And we will come back home again! (Repeated until you want stand up yourself and join in)</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Barnum doesn’t walk home, he runs now. Desperate to fix his mistakes he no longer hesitates in his failing self-confidence, but springs into the fountain of humility seeking forgiveness for his reckless behavior. He is welcomed back by his wife who reminds him that he doesn’t need to be loved by the world, but by a few good people. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"><b>A Celebration of Humanity </b></span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Some call heaven a wedding feast, but it’s also the greatest show. A show that is not put on for someone to watch, but to gather people from all of humanity to join in because that’s what joy is called to do. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The music in this film seeks to promote joy. It is fast, intense, upbeat... it keeps moving. Life keeps moving. Life is fun, energetic, and engaging. It awakens the soul even when we are in our darkest moments. God calls us out of the dark and wants to put us on display as a reminder of who we are as human beings. We are beautiful. Made in His image and likeness, meaning our very bodies speak of who God is, no matter what distinctive qualities differentiate us.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">At the end of the film, a critic tells Barnum that he never liked his show, but the people always did. He said that the accomplishment of putting people of difference on stage as though they were equals is what he would call a celebration of humanity, something that points to heaven. In the end, we will realize that we were never mere viewers, but each have our own part in the greatest show. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 16pt;">"A human soul, ‘that God has created and Christ died for,’ is not to be trifled with. It may tenant the body of a Chinaman, a Turk, an Arab, or a Hottentot – it is still an immortal spirit". P.T. Barnum</span></div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-15055576834345606752018-03-04T14:30:00.005-05:002018-03-04T14:54:25.061-05:00Wonder Woman and the Church<br />
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<b>Wonder Woman and the Church</b></div>
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Does the church leave out women in positions of authority?</div>
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In the early days of the Church, women could serve as deacons, taking great responsibility over liturgy and sacraments. While the Catholic Church has ruled out priestly ordination for women, it has not definitively spoken about the diaconate. I was reminded of this after watching <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Wonder Woman</em>, which may seem odd at first, but allow me to preach a little.</div>
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Catholics refer to the Church as the bride and Jesus the bridegroom. The Church takes on a feminine identity even though it encompasses both genders. Jesus’ infamous line from Matthew’s Gospel speaks to the theme of Wonder Woman when he says, “From the time of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent are taking it by force” (MT 11:12). Jesus goes through his passion, death, resurrection, and ascension leaving behind his bride to wait for his return within this realm of violence. Therefore, there is an immensely unique strategy planned out by God in regards to the feminine role in subsiding the wars of men.</div>
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There are these Wonder Women, known as the Amazons, who were created by Zeus to influence men’s hearts with love and restore peace to the earth. Zeus’ daughter is hidden among the Amazons after the fall of Ares, the God of War, to be trained by the best warriors in preparation for his inevitable return.</div>
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The Amazons live on a beautiful island called Themyscira, a paradise resembling the Garden of Eden, that is enchanted from being visible to the eyes of men inside of a physical bubble, just like Wakanda in <em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Black Panther</em>. The Amazon women train everyday equipping themselves with he skills they need to fight a God, but are too far from the modern world to know what has been going on in terms of modernity. The world is corrupted and war enters their domain by chance.</div>
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The Nazi’s chase an American pilot into this invisible Themyscira wreaking havoc on all the Amazons. When the great warrior Antiope (Robyn Wright) is slain it forces Diana Prince (Wonder Woman played by the stellar Gal Gadot) to step out of the garden and into the world of men. Led by Captain Steve Trevor (Chris Pines) Diana enters the war to end all wars believing that Ares is behind it all.</div>
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<strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">The Protoevangelium</strong><br />
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When the serpent brings death into the garden of Eden, it is a woman who is promised to deliver a savior. “I will bring enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and hers” (GEN 3:15). Catholics see that woman as the Virgin Mary, the Church. In Wonder Woman she is embodied by Diana Prince. Her name alone describes both the masculine and feminine role in salvation. She is a woman who is also a Prince. She is a bridge to a greater understanding for all mankind. Within her is the raw power, anger, and frustration of the world of men and also a breathtaking compassion for love.</div>
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<strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">Justice, Truth, and Love</strong><br />
The Church seeks out justice, truth, and love, the three things that define Wonder Woman. Justice is no longer seen as an eye for an eye, but as someone who gives their coat to one who asks for the shirt off your back. We see Diana display this kind of justice, a defying of the norms, when she goes to the front of the lines, providing hope to the fearful infantry stuck in the bunkers. The church fights, especially when called to nurse and shield the broken.</div>
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The church seeks truth! It doesn’t come as a surprise that one of Wonder Woman’s weapons is a lasso of truth. Women have a natural gift of bringing the truth out of men, which inspired the slogan “behind every great man is a great woman.” </div>
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The Church is love. When Jesus poured out his blood on the cross for the sake of love, he was not the only one suffering. There in front of him was his mother, the embodiment of the Church, having her “heart pierced with a sword” in emotional trauma for the love of her spiritual offspring, humanity. In the film, Wonder Woman is given a choice to bring back peace the way it was before mankind’s destructive nature, but her love for them inspires her to fight Ares in an epic battle.</div>
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<strong class="markup--strong markup--p-strong">Self-Sacrifice</strong><br />
The symbol of self-sacrifice in the film is when Steve takes down a carrier plane with weapons on it to end the spread of violence brought by the war. Before he gets on the plane he hands Diana his watch, the gift of time. He knows his sacrifice will not end the war, but be a definitive turning point. He relies on his bride to continue fighting until the end revealing that only when love is sacrificed does it fulfill it’s identity.</div>
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We see this in Christ on the cross as he hands his mother over to John, a symbol that the Church has been gifted to humanity and open to everyone if they’ll have her. Christ’s sacrifice didn’t end violence in the world, but it was a definitive turning point in the battle for reintegration with God.</div>
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<em class="markup--em markup--p-em">Wonder Woman </em>says something about the male and female role in salvation. The man sacrifices his life, the female fights the battles in preparation for their union. The sacrifice paved the way, opened the door to the impossible, while the church fights against injustice and for the human experience.</div>
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I don’t think this was the film’s intention, connecting Wonder Woman to Mother Church, but it reminds me of these roles and how complementary men and women have been made, how one sided we make Church authority, and how amazing women really are in this battle.</div>
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The Church needs women, especially in places of authority. While absolute power corrupts absolutely, there needs a feminine balance that pushes men back into love and peace.</div>
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</section>Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-82328270044134273402018-03-03T21:11:00.000-05:002018-03-03T21:11:23.500-05:00I, Tonya - A Life Destroyed by the Company you Keep<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--figure" id="09fa" name="09fa" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; --x-height-multiplier: 0.375; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.843137); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 38px;">
<b>I, Tonya - A Life Destroyed by the Company you Keep</b></div>
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I grew up knowing the names of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, but never knew the full story of what actually happened. Like most, I believed that Tonya Harding bashed Nancy’s leg in with a bat and was able to still go to the Olympics. I never questioned anything because that’s how the media painted the picture for me as a child. I was very excited when I saw the trailer for <em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">I, Tonya</em> because I knew it would finally shed some light on an old story locked in my memory. How many grew up thinking Tonya Harding was a vindictive skater? How much of her identity had been stained by negative press? Most importantly, how many truly knew that her story was one of class discrimination and domestic violence?</div>
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The film pieces Tonya’s story through the use of real interviews post-scandal. Whether the audience is convinced that Tonya didn’t know about the assault on Nancy is irrelevant. Her biggest fault was the company she kept close to her, namely her husband Jeff and his crony. Her real competition wasn’t her fellow skaters who she could out skate on a technical level, but against the stereotypes of uneducated white America. She wasn’t poor, but still battled the prejudice of social class.</div>
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You begin to root for Tonya early on in this film when you see her mother’s tyrannical parenting style. Her father literally drives out of her life leaving her begging on the street to go with him. Tonya sacrifices her education for training. While all of her other teammates could afford expensive uniforms, skates, and trainers, Tonya had to work harder to stay in the ice skating world. She was the first woman to ever attempt and pull of a triple-axle because she was technically superior. What Tonya lacked in her performances, something she could never understand, was grace. Grace comes from belief and love. Tonya believed in herself, but she had a difficult time loving herself.</div>
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She allowed her boyfriend and then husband Jeff Gillooly to physically abuse</div>
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her because that relationship filled the void of her missing father. She didn’t love herself and that translated onto the ice. There came a point though where the abuse took it’s toll and she separated from her husband. She started focusing on her talent, but suffered a setback when a judge told her that she needed a family to be able to get into the Olympics. He basically told her that America needed a representative who little girls could aspire to be rather than someone they see themselves in. This advice screwed with Tonya’s head and caused her to fall back into her abusive relationship.</div>
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This choice is the one that destroyed Tonya’s life. The choice to surround yourself with poisonous snakes is one where the risk is not just against you, but anyone who gets close to you. From this decision came the entire Nancy Kerrigan fiasco.</div>
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Who we surround ourselves with defines who we are, whether it’s true or not. It makes us a part of that crowd. The longer you hang around people the more you are associated with them. The more you talk like them, act like them, synchronize your sense of humor… you become defined by them. Tonya may not have actually known the truth about Nancy Kerrigan, but she surrounded herself around the people who set it up. She is a victim of a life destroyed by the company you keep.</div>
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The movie is raw, honest, and worth watching for Margot Robbie and Allison Janney’s performances. This is <em class="markup--em markup--p-em" style="font-feature-settings: 'liga' 1, 'salt' 1;">The People Vs. O.J. Simpson </em>on ice skates.</div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-81994908815899860692018-03-03T15:27:00.000-05:002018-03-04T14:54:50.391-05:00mother! Film Review - Satan’s try at Creation<div class="graf graf--p graf-after--figure" id="a98a" name="a98a" style="--baseline-multiplier: 0.17; --x-height-multiplier: 0.375; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.843137); font-family: medium-content-serif-font, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 21px; letter-spacing: -0.003em; line-height: 1.58; margin-top: 38px;">
<i>mother!</i> Film Review - Satan’s try at Creation</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screenshot of mother! (2017)</td></tr>
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I love the idea of this movie. It is spiritually thought-provoking, maybe the best I’ve seen since Gravity. It is deliciously confusing most of the time making you question if the story unfolding could ever be plausible. You are taken beyond the surface narrative and challenged to see the religious symbolism in every detail. A Christian fundamentalist might go berserk over the film’s attempt at this story because it is violent, grotesque, risqué, and most importantly an interpretation. Kind of like the book of Genesis. The way that Aronofsky brings the biblical themes to life using only a house as Mother Nature is genius.</div>
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<span class="markup--strong markup--p-strong" style="font-weight: 700;">(Spoiler Alert)</span></div>
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Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem play an unnamed married couple. Bardem is an artists trying to write his next masterpiece and Lawrence is his muse. She single handedly rebuilt their home after it was burned down in a fire, a scene that opens the movie. We don’t know until the last 20 minutes, but Lawrence’s character is Mother Nature and Bardem’s character is supposed to be God. His sacred writing room is the Garden of Eden and an octagonal crystal displayed in the heart of the room is a symbol for the tree of life. Religious imagery builds from there with the first half of the movie focused on creation, Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, and possibly Song of Songs. The second half consists of a biblical flood, the birth and death of Christ, and Eucharistic communion. There are many interpretations out there as to what this all means and it surely carries some weight when you compare Lawrence to an abused Mother Earth. I would like to offer one more rendition.</div>
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There is something unsettling about Bardem. While certain things portray him as God-like, such as, his love for creation, I didn’t think he was like God. He was more interested in himself than anything else. A god that is self-absorbed goes against the very nature of who the Christian God is, namely Love. “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son…”, yet Bardem didn’t show this self-sacrificial side. Rather he was concerned about his role in creation. The Christian God is an eternal exchange of love who expands himself because of that identity. As St. Paul says, “Love is not proud. It is not self-seeking…” Bardem’s God allowed others to step all over his wife; her needs, desires, emotions…</div>
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During the night a man shows up at their door seeking refuge and Bardem lets him in dismissing his wife’s fear. Several scenes later he allows the man’s wife inside and eventually their children who get into a domestic dispute where one son kills the other in front of Lawrence.</div>
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The film concludes with a disturbing sequence, Bardem and Lawrence’s new born baby is eaten by a fanatical cult and Lawrence is beaten to a bloody pulp for trying to stop them. Bardem holds his wife in his arms and sides with the cult saying, “We have to forgive them.” When I saw this, I knew that this was not God at all. So on the defensive, Lawrence sets the entire house on fire killing everyone, except Bardem. She offers one last gift which is her pure heart, an octagonal stone (the tree of life) and the movie starts from where it began, a raging fire that slowly dissipates returning to a pristine house once again. This time a new woman is there to take on her role as Mother Nature.</div>
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The very reason why there is something rather than nothing is because love broke through, expanded from that which was invisible to become visible. We are participating in God’s bountiful love because God does not need us: people, nature, or the cosmos. Therefore, a God who is self-interested would not make sense to the existence of the world. God shares in his love, for the definition of love is to will the good of the other as other. Yet, this version of God presented in Aronofsky’s film seems deeply interested in getting the story right, his story in particular.</div>
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That’s when it hit me. This is not God, this is Satan, who is famed as the “fallen angel”. The one who fought Michael in a battle over the very idea of servitude. The belief is that in the beginning God wanted to share his love with the world, yet Satan did not want to be a servant. He wanted to be like God, a creator. So the battle ensued and Satan was cast down.</div>
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Cast down to where? This is where mother! takes place. Satan, fascinated with creation, is doomed to live out his days away from God. My theory is that God in his infinite mercy gives Satan the ability to act as creator in his own environment. There he tries to be like God. He follows the footprints creating Mother Nature, Adam & Eve, Noah and the Flood, leading up to his own version of Christ. Yet, Satan who will forever be tangled in his own pride cannot give up his vanity. By focusing on himself, he brings his “creation” to the point of a raging fire in a perpetual cycle, doomed to failure due to his inability to understand the eternal exchange of love that is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.</div>
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I recommend watching this movie simply for the questions you get to ask yourself afterwards. It is a very good way to think about creation and our role in this universe. Just be prepared to be uncomfortable, disgusted, and angry.</div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-29469796254150581882017-06-14T15:19:00.001-04:002017-06-14T15:21:27.358-04:00Scorsese's "Silence" May Have Been Too Catholic for the Oscars<img id="id_cbbe_6e45_241f_181d" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-QJEgzLACkr4/WUGMQmA52KI/AAAAAAAAVaY/Xq618bwqsnsrP0HkdDwt68ffyVzzLiQaACHMYCw/%255BUNSET%255D" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"> <p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">The images of death and tragedy from 2016 alone are enough to haunt us for a lifetime. The two engraved in my memory the most are the body of the Syrian boy on the beach and the child rescued from the bombing in Aleppo.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Where was God in these moments of suffering? Why was He silent?</span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">These are the same questions posed in Martin Scorsese's newest film "Silence". The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Japanese author Shusako Endo. Endo wrote his stories from the rare perspective of a Japanese Catholic. When you watch the film you understand the reason Catholicism is considered rare in Japan. </span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Plot in a nutshell - SPOILER ALERT</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">The</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"> story follows two Jesuit priests who have to enter Japan after finding out their mentor, Fr. Ferreira, was captured, forced to apostocize, and had become a Buddhist philosopher. Upon entering into the country, the two Jesuits, Fr. Rodrigues and Fr. Garupe, discover a Christian community that had been living in secret from the Japanese government. Since Christianity was outlawed, anyone discovered practicing the religion had to apostocize meaning to abandon the faith and step on an icon of Jesus. We discover that this community was similar to the early Christian communities when it was outlawed by the Romans. The priests helped this Japanese community say mass in the catacombs, heard secret confessions, and even held Eucharistic adoration.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Once the government discovers this secret community of Christians they capture and martyr the ones who refuse to apostocize. Christianity, as the emperor points out, becomes a cut root in Japan. Fr. Rodrigues, in an unexpected turn of events, leaves the Catholic faith in order to save the other Christians from being tortured. </span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Too Catholic</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Coming off 2016's Best Picture winner, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica-Oblique; font-style: italic; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Spotlight</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">, about the rape epidemic in Boston by Catholic priests, </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica-Oblique; font-style: italic; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Silence</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"> seemed too Catholic to share the spotlight, no pun intended, with the other contenders. This is a film which portrays Catholics in a positive light, trying to spread Truth through humility, peace, and unity. It is a film which showcases the deepest human struggle with belief in God through immense suffering. It reveals the lowly converts who stand by their faith even unto death and the disciplined Jesuits who abandon their convictions under strategic persecution. While </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica-Oblique; font-style: italic; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Spotlight</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"> uncovered the conspiracy of clergymen and lay persons who allowed the evil of sexual abuse to run rampant in Boston, "silence" explains why evil happens. It is the explanation of how evil can be rooted everywhere, especially within the Church. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">To believe in a Christian God is to believe in free will. A God who does not impede human freedom even if it's evil. Gods voice is no longer one of the Old Testament, but vocalized through humanity. Humanity has become smart enough to know the difference and preach the difference. We have passed as humans the age of reason. We now are Gods voice in the promotion of good and rejection of evil. That's why when humanitarian efforts are taking place we should find out how to support no matter where we are from. </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">God suffers with us. That's His plan, to walk with us, not strike evil dead, as demonstrated by Jesus' "walk" to Calvary. God is silent, even when Jesus prayed to him in the garden of </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;">Gethsemane and while feeling the pain of Crucifixion, but we can only hear him within that silence. That's why prayer and reflection are so important.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">This movie shows real Catholicism with real human struggle. Torture, death, and sacraments. Humans must fight against evil and promote good or do we remain silent in the face of adversity?</span></p>
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<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">Bishop Baron</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">This is a great conclusion to this post from Bishop Barron in regards to preaching the Gospel in face of obstacles, hence the entire mission of the Jesuits in Japan.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"></span><br></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Helvetica-Oblique; font-style: italic; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">The resurrection is the clearest indication of the Lordship of Jesus. This is why the message of the resurrection is attacked, belittled, or explained away. The author of Acts speaks of “violent abuse” hurled at Paul. I have a small taste of this on my YouTube forums. We all should expect it, especially when our proclamation is bold.</span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 12.7px;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica-Oblique; font-style: italic; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;"> </span></p>
<p style="margin: 0px; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-family: Helvetica; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-family: Helvetica-Oblique; font-style: italic; font-size: 11pt; -webkit-font-kerning: none;">This reveals a great mystery: we are called to announce the good news to everyone, but not everyone will listen. Once we’ve done our work, we should move on and not obsess about those who won’t listen. Why do some respond and some don’t? We don’t know, but that’s ultimately up to God</span></p>Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-83187910579752567172017-06-04T23:55:00.001-04:002017-06-05T12:25:30.476-04:00Dear Evan Hansen, Here are 13 Reasons Why...<div style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Like many, I instantly fell in love with the new musical "Dear Evan Hansen". I passively listened to the music for about a month just enjoying the melody, guitar riffs, and lyrics. I started to piece the story together, but I didn't really pay attention to the theme until I binged on the show "13 Reasons Why" on Netflix, a show that hit me hard as a father, as a male, and as an overall human being. I jumped back into the music of Evan Hansen and the pain took root. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Both </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Evan Hansen</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> and </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">13 Reasons</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> tackle teenage suicide, a theme that is not new, but has struck a chord in me as of late. Suicide is lonely, a personified version of Zeno's paradox (the belief that two objects never really touch). The choice of suicide as presented in both of these shows is a result of invisible person-hood. Connor Murphy (</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Dear Evan Hansen</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">) and Hannah Baker (</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">13 Reasons Why</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">) feel invisible for different reasons. While Hannah leaves behind tapes expressing "13 reasons" why she took her life, it was ultimately due to her traumatizing rape that isolated her identity. And with mystery surrounding Connor's death, we can infer from Evan's own failed suicide attempt that Connor isolated himself because he felt misunderstood and thought would be able to "disappear" without anyone truly noticing. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">My soul weeps for these characters because they resonate with so many real people. The popularity for </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Evan Hansen</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> is not just due to the catchy beats or well rounded acting, but to the fact that people really do feel invisible. In a world of 8 billion? How can that be? </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">The question that these shows ask is; "Do we matter?" With so many people in the world, it's easy to feel that your own uniqueness is drowned out. We look to imitate not the people with the best qualities, morals, or courage, but the ones who are most popular simply because they are not invisible to anyone. They are seen! Yet, even the most celebrated may still fall into this isolation (I.e. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Robin Williams, Michael Jackson, Richard Simmons</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">). </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Underneath the invisibility cloak that the world throws on us, our inner selves still define our existence, expressing our identity through "spiritualized matter". We cannot see that which is invisible unless through that which is visible, namely our own bodies. Hanna's suicide is presented as a release of invisible pain, something that she quietly (</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">almost peacefully even</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">) drifts away from. It showcases life as a prison sentence and the body as the incarceration of the mind, but never discusses the spiritual. Even Evan Hansen avoids the the spiritual element of the human person. That's where my pain sat for several weeks. I understand that religion has become tainted for so many, but you don't have to be religious to know that there is something hidden deep inside of you that cannot really be explained. There is an energy source that, rather than isolating us, intimately connects us. Call it your soul, spirit, God, or authentic self, but something is there that sets us apart. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">"Dear Evan Hansen's" solution to suicide: a stable support network. Evan starts a campaign for Connor to remind people that "no one deserves to disappear", playing on invisible person-hood. The campaign goes viral and inspires thousands. "13 Reasons Why's" solution to suicide: standing up against the culture of rape. The transformative hero of the show, Clay, literally stands up to Hannah's rapist and secures a confession from him after taking a brutal beating. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">There comes a responsibility when watching these shows, to not allow suicide to appear glamorous (as in the show </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Heathers</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">). </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">13 Reasons</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> portrays suicide as a way to get revenge on your enemies and </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic;">Evan Hansen</span><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;"> showcases it as a way to capitalize on one's own anxiety. We must remember that even if we feel invisible, we are not. We should draw out the invisible spirit of our uniquely unrepeatable selves. It is through our physicality that our invisible identity is seen. The best parts of us are hidden, only to be revealed through our physical choices, voices, actions, expressions, ideas, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none; font-size: 11pt;">Suicide is lonely. You are not alone. You are loved, whether you feel it or not. Open up your invisible wounds to several people you trust, not just one person, that way you don't put the weight of your existence on the response of someone who may not understand how you feel. Build a support network and remind yourself that you matter. No one deserves to disappear. Life is a tragically beautiful play and you have your role in it. Ask what it is. You may not fulfill that role for many years from now, but you can never bask in the spotlight of your destiny if you skip rehearsal. </span></div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-11553801088317066432017-01-26T09:25:00.000-05:002017-01-26T09:25:52.567-05:00Scientology and the Real Negan<div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Scientology and the Real Negan</span></b><br />
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<b>The "Thud" Heard 'Round the World<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvJ1nwEmOoF4ef8WM0lrno9px7HcV_ph4MlMdIbzyabWCy7BjKp3L98i-YAvFkdWyC1rDqVvze65E19FvP3R6yNyGrXwYravuXmjctTcLIBC66VntveEWO3IhQH65XT-95JAucgBnt58/s1600/Negan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUvJ1nwEmOoF4ef8WM0lrno9px7HcV_ph4MlMdIbzyabWCy7BjKp3L98i-YAvFkdWyC1rDqVvze65E19FvP3R6yNyGrXwYravuXmjctTcLIBC66VntveEWO3IhQH65XT-95JAucgBnt58/s320/Negan.jpg" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BY <a class="u regular username" data-ga_click_event="{"category":"Deviation","action":"description_author","nofollow":0}" href="http://smrtphonrtistcf.deviantart.com/" style="background-color: #dae5d6; color: rgb(51, 114, 135) !important; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: 14.9333px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.298667px; text-align: start; text-decoration: none !important; white-space: nowrap; zoom: 1;">SmrtPhonRtistCF</a></td></tr>
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The Walking Dead premiered it's 7th Season with the most disturbing image ever aired on television. Our hearts were crushed when our favorite character got his head bashed in with a baseball bat by the villain we had awaited seasons for. We don’t know much about Negan’s back story, but we can piece some things together. He is charming, charismatic, good looking, funny… and scary as hell. </div>
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Negan is a monster to say it lightly. We would hope that only someone as frightening as him would be tucked away in this fictitious world. However, if the Zombie Apocalypse ever did break out, there might be a real life Negan out there waiting to bring fiction to reality. And Leah Remini seems to have exposed him or rather we may have discovered Negan’s perfect backstory, the leader of a religious dictatorship. </div>
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In her new show, "Scientology and the Aftermath", Remini interviews former parishioners of the Church of Scientology who have broken free from the confines of it's brainwashing livelihood. Through flashes of bravery, these individuals have begun to tell the real stories of what it's like to be a part of the science fiction-based belief system only to reveal that Scientology is not so much a religion as it is a cult.</div>
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The leader of this cult is shown to be Dave Miscavige, who calls himself the Pope of Scientology. As the episodes progress, more and more stories are revealed about Miscavige's violent behavior or his “Neganistic” personality.</div>
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I'm not making the claim that Miscavige is a vicious murderer like Negan as I don't have any information on him other than what is presented in the show. I would simply like to make an artistic comparison of two characters, one real and one made up, to showcase the stark similarities that bring about intrigue when it comes to use, authority, and power.</div>
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<b>Use</b> </div>
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<i>“This personalist norm, in its negative aspect, states that the person is the kind of good which does not admit of use and cannot be treated as an object of use and as the means to an end. In its positive form the personalist norm says that the person is a good toward which the only proper and adequate attitude is love.”</i> - <b>Karol Wojtyla</b></div>
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Wojtyla echoes the philosophical words of Rene Descartes and adds the resolution of love in this ideology which has come to be known as the "Personalistic Norm". It is Wojtyla's message that the normal way of treating another human being is a deep refusal to ever desire to use them. Rather, each human life, whether saint or sinner, is deserving of love and should be treated that way.</div>
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Both Negan and Miscavige are users. They use people for selfish and malicious reasons. Negan will use people he finds in this new world as slaves to "collect" items for him. He uses women, men, and even “walkers” to do his bidding. Love does not exist in his world, only fear. Miscavige is the same. He uses members of “the Church” as a permanent source of income, forcing each parishioner to pay for "self-help" courses to move up a false ladder of spiritual enlightenment. The average parishioner of Scientology spends a quarter of a million dollars, the average cost of raising a child, on these courses which take up all of their time, studying twelve hours a day. Much like Negan's "parishioners" who spend all their time scavenging for him. Negan and Miscavige use fear to control their Church. Miscavige forces members to “disconnect” from their family and create dependency on the Church... even when these members are as young as age twelve, in some cases. Their ideology is not revolved around love, but rather improving oneself without the results. It is a true Utilitarianism. </div>
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<b>Authority</b></div>
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Authority is a powerful tool towards motivating human beings. Human life is fragile and it yearns for authority and order. Watch Tony Robbins’ film “Im Not Your Guru” and you will see how easy human beings give in to someone who acts as an authority figure over their life. We have to be careful who we give authority of our lives to, else we lose our identity. It is a huge responsibility for those who have authority over someone, namely a president, a boss, or religious leaders of a church. One must echo Wojtyla’s “Personalistic Norm” again and refuse the urge to use a person who has given you that authority. </div>
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Negan is not like this. He takes authority through force. If you do not follow his rules then you suffer greatly. Sometimes the suffering inflicted on the victim is through torture or through the death of their friends and family. He knows the surest way of keeping his authority over his people is to threaten the ones they love most (Hence, the opening death in Season 7). Look at the character of Dwight this season. He does Negan’s bidding because Negan has taken authority of his wife. Any misstep on Dwight’s part would cause Negan to rape or murder her, thus keeping him "loyal" to the cause.</div>
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Miscavige abuses his authority as well. Like Negan, he threatens the lives of loved ones to try and keep people in line. When someone questions the Church or leaves the Church he convinces the other members of their family who are still active to “disconnect” from them. In her series, Remini has showed us at least a dozen examplesof families being forced to disconnect. The emotional turmoil that ensues because of this is too much to bear. Some families try to become active in the Church again just so they can see their children or parents. Children have written heartbreaking rejection letters to their parents who have broken away from the Church. Miscavige knows how to control the masses of his Cult, by cutting their ties to the most fundamental human grounding: family life. </div>
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When Negan takes Daryl hostage and brings him back to Alexandria, he prevents Rick from even looking at Daryl. He breaks the familial bond and won't allow Rick to ask questions. Rick becomes afraid to question his new lifestyle. A person who questions will always be a threat in the eyes of the user. As Remini points out, Scientology does not allow for questions. You are deemed an enemy of the Church if you start to question it’s motives, teachings, and beliefs. The veil of authority that Scientology holds over it’s parishioners begins to shed once questions begin festering in the hearts of the parishioners. That’s why Leah Remini broke away. She asked one simple question that was deemed “none of her business” and she knew. She had to reclaim her power of self. </div>
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<b>Power</b></div>
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Power and Authority go hand in hand, but Power, which is forced upon someone, can be taken away whereas Authority is freely given. Negan is powerful because he is charming, charismatic, and humorous in his own way. He develops the guidelines by which his group must abide, therefore earning authority over his group. Miscavige, too, is charming and motivating. He is a self-esteem builder. He has been credited with building up and inspiring two of Hollywood's most reputable actors, Tom Cruise and John Travolta. He has the power to make new laws, create "new-found" courses, and ideologies within the Church that no one can question. </div>
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What both of these characters choose to do with their power is to influence the masses by convincing them that their work has a deeper purpose and meaning. When Negan shows Carl his home base, he walks up to the rafter’s and looks down below at his followers. All of them slowly begin to kneel. Negan looks at Carl and says, “See, that’s power.” By naming his community "The Saviors", Negan gets his people to murder, steal, and bully other groups by telling them that the Saviors keep the world safe from the dead and the living, but as long as the other surviving humans play by his rules. The Saviors believe this because of Negan’s complete sense of confidence. His conviction that his evil choices are for a greater good makes others forget the hell that they are actually living in with the dead roaming the earth. The Saviors believe that the acts they are doing are nothing more than protection from the evil around them. So, when Negan asks them to use brainwashing torture techniques by confining Daryl to a cell, playing the same song every time he is fed, and giving him false hope in order to break his spirit, the Saviors go for it. Negan won’t stop until he <i>clears</i>, a term used in the show meaning to rid the world of walkers, and have everyone working for him. </div>
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Miscavige uses the Sea Org, a naval based group started by L. Ron Hubbard, to act much like the Saviors. He convinces them that they are helping the planet. He puts on annual conferences with false statistics about how many people have been saved from poverty and drug addictions through their efforts. He has them confine members to cells if they feel someone is questioning the Church. He puts them through rigorous mental anguish for months in order to break their spirit through what they call the “auditing” process and even makes them pay for it. He has assaulted many of his leading staff, including Mike Rinder, by choking him with his tie and then convinced Mike to state that Miscavige did not assault him to reporter John Sweeney from BBC. As Remini puts it, “Scientology has you believe that not only are you fixing yourself, but you are helping mankind.” Miscavige won’t stop until he <i>clears</i>, a term used in Scientology meaning to rid the world of evil, and have all worshipping him. So much of this reeks of Negan.</div>
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As much as we would like to turn an eye to this documentary series, we have a human obligation to expose this and stir up conversations. Negan loses his power when everyone begins to think for themselves, question their own purpose, and face the rouse of fear. I believe now is the time to do the same for Scientology. Let’s support Leah Remini and stand behind her in solidarity shouting the words of Wojtyla that “No person can be used as an object and the only adequate response is love.” </div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-82950027703404948932017-01-23T23:43:00.001-05:002017-01-24T07:28:35.137-05:002017 Oscar Showdown: Moonlight Vs. La La Land<div><b>Oscar Showdown: Moonlight Vs. La La Land
</b></div><div><i>Moonlight is a film. La La Land is a movie. </i></div><div><br></div><div>I watched <i>Moonlight</i> and <i>La La Land </i>back to back right after the Golden Globes. The hype for <i>Moonlight</i> has been enormous. I have been hearing about it for months, especially from my wife who had a former schoolmate co-produce it. I haven't heard anything about <i>La La Land</i> and never even seen a trailer. I originally thought it was a film about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers because I saw a clip of tap dancing. So I dove blindly into both of these films believing that one of them would end up as Best Picture this year at the Oscars. Sure enough one of them will definitely win even with the pressure of Mel Gibson’s <i>Hacksaw Ridge </i>and Scorsese’s <i>Silence</i> (both with Andrew Garfield as lead amazingly). I feel the political pull for the Academy to give it to <i>Moonlight</i> however, since last year's all-white nomination scandal. While <i>Moonlight</i> is definitely a must see, I don’t think it really beats out <i>La La Land</i>. </div><div><br></div><div>Here's why <i>La La Land</i> should win and why the Best Picture should not be based on righting last year's wrong, but just on overall production value.</div><div><br></div><div><b>Moonlight</b> </div><div><img id="id_6aeb_ef46_612a_89ad" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FeAcTadnXcY/WIdIcLcsjGI/AAAAAAAAVLs/AovlweGiRs4/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"> <br></div><div><i>Moonlight</i> is a film about lost identity and homosexuality. It's about the masks one is forced to wear to hide from their personhood. The underlying theme is the same as in <i>The Imitation Game</i>, a 2015 contender for Best Picture. In that film, Alan Turing uses his amazing mind to hide behind from his homosexual identity. In <i>Moonlight</i>, Chiron (or later called “Black”) uses his brute strength to make him “hard” and hide his true self. Both of the films showcase prejudice against gays from their social scene, but <i>Moonlight</i> shows us a different world. Chiron is Black where Turing is White. We haven’t seen a film explore the violence against homosexuals within the African-American community, but also showcase the compassion towards gays from those we would least expect.</div><br><div> </div><div>Three identities emerge in the film separated by chapters. Little is the shy boy who opens the movie. Without saying more than a few words, we understand his internal struggle when it collides with his external circumstances. He is bullied by kids at school for being gay, something he doesn't understand within himself yet. His mother is a crack addict and his father figure is the drug dealer who feeds her addiction. Chiron is the pubescent teenager who has his first sexual encounter with his male best friend. His social awkwardness is cause for violence as other classmates force his best friend, Kevin, to physically abuse him in front of the school. Black is the buff drug dealer with the kindest eyes you’ve ever seen. He is only looking for his purpose and meaning in life. With three versions of himself, Chiron remains confused until the end when he finds solace from his childhood friend, Kevin. </div><div><br></div><div><i>Moonlight</i> is worth seeing and would probably take home best picture if <i>La La Land</i> was not a contender this year. The problem is the film’s pacing. We are taken on these three journey’s that eventually lead to an unsatisfied anticlimactic conclusion. It would have been more interesting to see it as three short films and have to piece the clues together of who this person is. The identity crises would have been more prevalent. The great thing about this film though is that we hear a voice that has never been heard, but unfortunately that voice is drowned out this year by the dying sound of jazz. </div><div><br></div><div><b>La La Land</b></div><div><img id="id_9145_c6fa_4c31_bfe0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-y3Bag4L-V34/WIdIcRn8ZmI/AAAAAAAAVLw/xaSSvuxc4Oo/%25255BUNSET%25255D.png" alt="" title="" tooltip="" style="width: 353px; height: auto;"> <b><br></b></div><div>The plot in <i>La La Land </i>is not as deep and dark as <i>Moonlight</i>. It’s not meant to be. Its purpose is not to flood the audience with tears or create a cult classic. <i>La La Land</i> serves to remind us of how entertaining the movie experience can be. It brings us back to the Golden Age of Hollywood, but in the 21st Century. </div><div><br></div><div>The film follows two lovers who cross paths on several chance encounters. Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a passionate jazz pianist and Mia (Emma Stone) is a struggling actress who dreams of one day being one of those celebrities who regularly walk into her coffee shop on an L.A. studio lot. Together they find inspiration in each other while singing and dancing their way into he audience’s hearts. They’re dreams however cannot be sustained while they’re together and it becomes apparent that in order to fulfill their callings it would have to be done a part from one another. </div><div><br></div><div>The genius of this film is not found in the romantic story, but in the belly of it’s theme: movies can still inspire. Throughout the film Sebastian refers to his sadness of the eventual loss of jazz music. He claims that jazz is dying and there is nothing that can be done because the newer generation won’t even listen to jazz. As I was watching it I suddenly had a revelation. Like Jazz, movies are slowly dying. More actors are crossing over to television. Shows are more talked about nowadays. With the ability to binge watch comes the opportunity for writers to create characters that evolve in real time. <i>The Walking Dead</i> and <i>Game of Thrones</i> are great examples of how character development has changed. Every season you root for someone you once hated or hate someone you once loved. Your are bound to their deep humanity as they reveal their good and bad habits. Shows are creating the most memorable characters of our generation, when it used to be movies that did that. </div><div><br></div><div><i>La La Land’s </i>soul intention seems to be to remind us of how we can have fun at the movies once again. With it’s upbeat original songs, it’s captivating dance numbers, and lovable cast, entertaining movies can beat out serious films. In a year where movie theaters have become stained with the mark of isolated mass shooters and online streaming is the safer and more preferred choice of experiencing the visual story, <i>La La Land</i> so effortlessly sings to us that our escape haven is still intact. We can still go to our own La La Land when reality breaks us in. We can still dance in the heavens when the weight of our lives pushes us to the ground. We can still achieve our dreams when the world’s eye rolls at our passionate attempts. <i>La La Land</i> has not reinvented the way we watch movies, but has reminded us of the way we used to. Hence, we wouldn’t be able to see a film like <i>Moonlight</i> without having the ability to escape into the uplifting world that is <i>La La Land</i>. </div><div><br></div>Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-13471221213237550972017-01-23T12:23:00.000-05:002017-01-23T12:23:07.798-05:00What Batman and Superman need to learn about a Civil War<div>
<b><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">What </span>Batman and Superman need to learn about Civil War</b><br />
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Marvel and DC released the same film last summer. Sure, they had different characters, a different tone, and a different title, but they had the same theme: Civil War, one superhero against the other, Batman against Superman and Captain America against Iron Man. Yet, only one of these plots actually worked, can you guess which one? </div>
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That's right! Marvel prevails over DC again, but did we ever doubt that? Marvel has spent so much time methodically writing their storylines to tie in multiple heroes and villains into one universe. They committed to this over a long 10 year period. DC took a shortcut, trying to cram in emotional relevance towards a new Batman whose storyline diverges from the Dark Knight trilogy completely. </div>
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While I enjoyed parts of <i>Batman Vs. Superman</i>, it felt like a whole franchise stuffed into one film. The most interesting character of the film, Wonder Woman, only appeared in the last thirty minutes. Batman’s new obsession with guns, the weird FLASH forward scene warning Bruce Wayne about somebody that doesn’t even tie into this storyline, and the introduction of a poor CGI version of Doomsday were all things the film could have done without. This movie was supposed to be focused on Batman versus Superman, but derailed into a sappy dual “Momma Martha” brotherly bonding film. </div>
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<i>Captain America</i> lived up to the expectation and masterfully introduced new characters without overshadowing the veterans in screen time. It gave us what was promised, a true Civil War of heroes wh<br />
ere you had one foot on either side of the battles. Since you understood the characters and their developmental process over the course of 10 films, you could reasonably see each of their points of view. </div>
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<b>Civil War</b></div>
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What I like about both of these films was that they addressed the big elephant in the room, the massive deaths of civilians. When I first saw <i>Man of Steel</i>, I was flabbergasted with how many innocent victims were killed in the process of this alien war. It seemed as if that was never going to be discussed, but luckily it was the main topic of <i>Batman Vs. Superman</i>. The same goes for <i>The Avengers: Age of Ultron</i>. So many victims, innocent bystanders were murdered for our enjoyment. It got to the point where with these films you forget people are people. So this is the main focal point of <i>Captain America: Civil War</i>. Superheroes need to be controlled or else they become a threat to humanity rather than an ally. Tony Stark and Superman agree with this, but Captain America and Batman do not. This is where the war begins. </div>
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<b>What DC can learn from Marvel</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupeIwDA5mWiSYTm30knojtoaBaBPRA04ZN_4Kj7hkKVLKBoDLtmoITy6q1rriUXI8cdsP7h8LDRPqL-Bw_UfMIQbp-LQpve591OghOQwhgXCh7CQOEM1ZXs83vY91pupYNi4Y2rhZRY4/s1600/Batman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupeIwDA5mWiSYTm30knojtoaBaBPRA04ZN_4Kj7hkKVLKBoDLtmoITy6q1rriUXI8cdsP7h8LDRPqL-Bw_UfMIQbp-LQpve591OghOQwhgXCh7CQOEM1ZXs83vY91pupYNi4Y2rhZRY4/s320/Batman.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>1)</b> Don't push a civil war on us with new characters. This was a new Batman. Christopher Nolan's Batman never would have played with guns. The introduction of Wonder Woman is great, but don't get her involved in a Civil War storyline yet. We barely know her and want to like her. Yes, Marvel introduced Black Panther, but gave us a badass motorcycle chase before we got to the Civil War battle to make us like him, which we did from the moment he came onscreen. </div>
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<b>2) </b>Don't have the war end by the characters mother having the same name. Okay I get it, their mothers have the same name. How does that make them relatable? They disagree on something much deeper than their mother's. If you want to make a strong connection between them then either make them have the same mother or focus the connection on loss of parents. Simply hearing the common name of Martha should not make Batman question his existence and stop beating up Superman. Captain America played out this brotherly connection well where we discover that the Winter Soldier murdered Tony Stark's parents and the Captain knew about it. That's a way to start a war, but still ends on respectable terms with a beautiful letter written to Tony from the Cap.</div>
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<b>3</b>) Pick your war audience. If you are a rated R movie then live up to it! Batman was a rated R film shredded of its character to make it PG-13. Apparently, Suicide Squad had the same problem. Pick your audience DC. You are not Marvel, so if you want to make a darker series for adults then do it. Don't limit your ideas just because you want tweens in the theaters. As a tween I still made my way into the theater to see <i>Scream</i> when it first came out. They always find a way! </div>
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At the end of the day, DC is light years away from doing what Marvel has done. At least they are trying, but my word of advice is to try harder!</div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0Miami, FL, USA25.7616798 -80.19179020000001425.5329123 -80.514513700000009 25.9904473 -79.869066700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-7433701219747433152017-01-20T09:24:00.000-05:002018-03-27T17:09:08.924-04:00Moana: Family, Nature, and TrumpMoana: Family, Nature, and Trump<br />
*SPOILER ALERT<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">©2016 Disney. All Rights Reserved.</td></tr>
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Disney has made some bold statements in 2016 in terms of prejudice (<b>Zootopia</b>), disabilities (<b>Finding Dory</b>), and the destruction of Nature (<b>Moana</b>).<br />
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As Moana takes the hero’s journey, the story unfolding around her is much deeper than saving the day. The security of the entire ecosystem falls on her shoulders. A thousand years after the demigod, Maui, steals the heart of the Goddess Te Fiti, the world begins to decay. The fish disappear, the plants die, coconuts rot, and islands are blackened.<br />
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Moana is the chosen one called to bring balance to the earth and return the heart to the Goddess of Nature.<br />
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This is a beautiful story with a powerful theme. Yet, it's another film about the human destruction of nature. Moana portrays boldly and beautifully what M. Night Shyamalan’s “<i>The Happening</i>” (or what I’ve renamed as “<i>The Crappening</i>”) could not. It makes the case that, when in danger, Nature has the freedom and the creative right to fight back; however, not in an angry or irrational way, but simply in a naturalistic way like an animal defending its life.<br />
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The main theme in the movie is missed though, at least from all the reviews I have been reading. In the beginning of the film Maui goes to reclaim the heart of Te Fiti because he wants to bring to mankind the ability to create anything, a power that is not deserved of man. For this kind of creation would mean that man would be able to control the earth, when the earth is not an object to be used. The earth is living, breathing, and life giving. The Earth calls to a deep relationship with man where there is altruistic reciprocity rather than dominance. A healthy relationship does not work out that way or at least don't work out well. We can't have the power to dominate nature, rather we must work with nature in a partnership. For both man and nature are working for the same thing, the same being… the same creator. God called Adam to till and guard the garden. He probably never thought he would have to defend it against his own humanity.<br />
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To abuse nature is like allowing your child to draw on a Dali painting, using it for scrap paper rather than allowing it's natural beauty to be absorbed by all for generations.<br />
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Maui doesn't understand this because he has been blinded by the effects of his own human history, so he takes the heart and causes Te Fiti to transform into a vicious monster. She does so, not because she wants to, but because nature robbed of it's naturalistic creation is the very description of chaos, a void blackened landfill that the Greeks spoke about. The most trifling thing is not that Maui actually stole the heart of Nature, but rather why he stole it.<br />
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Maui was a human once and was abandoned by his family. An orphan who was alone in search of belonging was found by the Gods and raised as one of them, given power as a demigod. With his unquenchable desire to please humanity due to its own rejection, he stole the heart as a gift. He did it to simply feel loved.<br />
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How simplistic his reasoning, yet how devastating the consequences. When it comes to the most fundamental aspects of creation, human life and nature, we have become so willing to rob them of their life-giving attributes for personal gain, glory, or simple applause. The irony in Maui’s plot is that he believed that humanity did not have the power to create to begin with when in reality humanity was blessed with the greatest gift, the power to create and cultivate human life in peaceful coherence with nature. <br />
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Which brings me to the Trump Administration. While there is a plethora of topics for Trump to tackle, Moana brings up two that are so intrinsically connected, to separate them would be a travesty: family and climate change. They go hand in hand. For the destruction of the family is destruction of nature itself. As John Paul II said, “The family is the nucleus of society.” If we want a better nation than we have to develop our families, from those in our impoverished cities without clean drinking water or school materials to our middle class and even the 1%. If we want a strong national change on our climate crisis, then we need a leader who is going to help us put back the heart we humans have stolen. <br />
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We have not seen this sense of leadership from Trump so far. No passionate father of a daughter speaks about women with a gravitas of indecency the way he does. So I’m afraid the role model of our country's family-life is in jeopardy. And we know that he believes that climate change is a hoax developed by the Chinese despite the fact that 2016 has been the hottest year on earth in recorded history followed by 2015 and 2014. So we find ourselves at risk to these cataclysmic effects on the nature of our humanity. But just as Moana proved to be the one who could put back the heart without the help of the demigod, so too can our nation take the hero’s journey for our families and our environment. <br />
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I think we all pray that Moana speaks to Trump’s heart when she sings at the end “This is not who you are” shattering his Twitter-obsessed facade and revealing a man who places the care of 350 million people above his 350 million dollar ego.Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0Miami, FL, USA25.7616798 -80.19179020000001425.5329123 -80.514513700000009 25.9904473 -79.869066700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-70133548274052675842016-08-28T22:01:00.000-04:002017-01-23T18:20:18.911-05:00Dear McDonald’s - A Thank You Note<div class="p1" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="s1"><b>Dear McDonald’s - A Thank you Note</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thank you McDonalds for artistically telling us millennials that all along we have been eating second hand chicken turds processed inside a brown potato sack-like cover you call a breaded coating. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>(<i>Drives up to the drive-thru</i>)</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thank you for believing that we are gullible enough to fall for your artistic rouse thus allowing ourselves to once again be placed under your spell through your new commercial which acts as a reminder of how delicious our childhood obesity was beneath your Arches. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>(<i>Places the order, "Only 20 piece huh? You don't have a 50 piece bucket?"</i>)</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thank you for insisting that we pass along our addiction to our offspring in hopes that they too will have a place to demand us to take them when our spaghetti sauce is runny or just anytime we put them in a car. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>(<i>"Okay, just give me two 20's and a four piece for my kid. Sauce?”</i>)</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thank you McDonalds for your authenticity in admitting you have poisoned us for years by using the adverb "now" in your new chicken nugget tag line, "NOW with real white meat and no preservatives”. What about then?! </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>(<i>"Sweet and Sour all day!"</i>)</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">Thank you for your consistently masked belligerence in your advertising through the use of Olympians who are probably eating a vegan burger cooked on Jason Mraz's farm instead of that heart attack you call a Big Mac. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>(<i>Bites into a nugget and sheds a tear.</i>)</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">And finally, thank you McDonalds for proving that you don’t need a clown in your ads anymore to remind us of who we are as your patrons. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>(<i>Guiltily admits he preferred the nuggets with the GMO’s. Nothing like the classics.</i>)</b></span></div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-3289404813156582542016-08-18T13:00:00.000-04:002016-08-22T16:07:00.338-04:00What We Can Learn from Zootopia about Complacency<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>What We Can Learn from Zootopia about Complacency</strong></span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">**SPOILER ALERT</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Zootopia follows Judy Hopps, a passionate rabbit with moral integrity beyond her years, who, with all odds stacked against her, becomes a police officer. She teams up with a Fox named Nick Wilde, a popsicle pushing street hustler, to locate one of several missing mammals, but uncovers a perpetrator transforming civilized animals back into "savage" predators who lose control of mind, thought, and consciousness. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">It's pretty heavy for a Disney film. Prejudice, race, culture, and drug trafficking are all packed in there and you could read about those issues in a myriad of reviews. So I won't go into topics you can read elsewhere, but I will link a few great reviews I believe discuss the topic well at the end of this article.</span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">I liked Zootopia. I thought there were some very positive messages for kids, but mainly for adults. I was struck by the philosophy of how developing a sound work ethic can triumph over complacency. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Complacency is a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try and make them better. In essence, it is the unwillingness to cultivate or embrace new ideas into your life, especially in your work environment. If you don't change, you don't evolve, you just stop learning for the sake of learning. Zootopia tackles complacency in several ways. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Judy's parents - Family</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nick Wilde - Society</span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Mayor Lionheart - Government</span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Familial Complacency</strong></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">There is nothing more blatantly expressed in this film than familial complacency. Judy’s parents are carrot farmers with over 275 children. Everyone in their family has been involved with carrot farming because it's a safe and familiar career. There are no risks. Her dad even says, “See that’s the beauty of complacency Jude. If you don’t ever try anything new, you'll never fail.” Her families core value is complacency. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Complacent families can lead to prejudice. Judy's parents are nice people, but they have a prejudice against predators, particularly Foxes. They don't like them or trust them. In their community, Foxes are portrayed as ignorant malicious animals with low IQ's. Judy is attacked by one as a child, Gideon Grey, for standing up to him after he was bullying a group of sheep. He slashed her in the face to make his point that no bunny would ever become a cop. This is important because Judy's entire experience with Fox have to do with the ones she has only ever seen. Which is why when she meets Nick Wilde, a highly intelligent Fox, she talks down to him calling him a "real articulate fella". </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Even though Judy is different from her family, she struggles with the complacency of culture ingrained in her personality. She acknowledges that Gideon was a jerk and that she knew rabbits who were jerks as well. Yet, she still has a fear of Fox even though she truly believes that anyone can be anything in Zootopia. With support from her parents though, she rises above her family's fear of the unknown as the first Bunny to break away from their culture, but is still compelled to carry her Fox repellant with her everyday on the job. Familial complacency runs deep. If you settle for all you ever know then you will miss all the beauty in the unknown. Ultimately, you carry complacent behavior into the workplace. How does Judy battle this? She works hard in her police academy to prove her family and culture wrong. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Societal Complacency</strong></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nick Wilde is a hustler on the streets of Zootopia. He is the product of his society, one of bullying, prejudice, and corruption. Zootopia claims to be a place where anyone can be anything, but Nick proves that there is deeper complacent issues on hand. Ever since he was muzzled by a group of Cub Scouts when he was a child, he became a corrupt popsicle hustler working on the streets since the age of 12. He never changed who he was or had any intention of changing. Because of the muzzle attack Nick said he learned that "If the worlds only going to see fox as shifty and untrustworthy there's no point in trying to be anything else." He was complacent because society was complacent. He began getting involved with Mr. Big, leader of the Mousy Mafia, and became a con-artist simply because that's what society expected fo him. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Nick always saw a lesser version of himself. When he first meets Judy he tells her "Everyone comes to Zootopia thinking they can be anything they want, but they can only be what they are." In Nick's case he is referring to stereotypes, him as a sly Fox and Judy as a dumb bunny. </span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 15px;"> </div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The Zootopian society that promises freedom from familial complacency is corrupt with prejudice of its own. The ice cream shop that Nick tries in to buy a jumbo pop from refuses to serve him because he is a Fox. Benjamin, the police officer that first meets Judy, calls her "cute", a stereotype only other bunnies are allowed to use for each other. There is a disconnection between the mammals of Zootopia, one that Nick Wilde was a victim of until he connected with Judy. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">There is a work ethic that Judy reveals to Nick that helps him overcome his complacency. Judy doesn't merely accept societies placement of her or Nick. She owns her mediocre responsibilities until they transform into grand responsibilities. Ownership thinking. Instead of meeting her ticket quota as a meter maid she exceeds it to prove to herself that she is more than her mundane tasks. She shows Nick his own individual value by believing in him when the rest of society cast him out for being himself. She shows him that the effort he puts into being a hustler is better spent on enforcing diversity rather than conforming to societal complacency.</span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">For the first time in his life Nick believes he can be better by simply being himself especially when presented with the idea that he could be more than a hustler, like a Police Officer. How do Judy and Nick battle societal complacency? They go against the expectations of Bunny and Fox and team up to take down the government conspiracy. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Hoefler Text'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Government Complacency</strong></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">Mayor Lionheart's Mammal Inclusion Initiative is front and center in the battle of government complacency. Judy becomes the first Rabbit Police Officer as a result of this new law. On the surface this initiative to include all mammals into the professional workplace seems like bold change for Zootopia whose police force is made up of mostly predators, but it is a mirage. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">The Mammal Inclusion Initiative was not established for the benefit of the citizens of Zootopia, but for the political advancement of Mayor Lionheart. This becomes clear when we discover that predators are starting to turn savage and attack innocent victims. The Mayor was willing to lock up the infected animals rather than seek appropriate solutions or treatments because of his complacency towards his own biology as well as the government’s complacency for the sake of controlling mass panic. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">There is clear prejudice within the city and mostly from prey. The prey become the predators in this new society. It is similar to Christians who bomb abortion clinics. It goes against their own message and stance. In Zootopia, anyone cannot be anything because the city is made up of 95% prey who look down upon the 5% of predators. The government is complacent to change this because of their fear of uprising as most of their police force is dominated by predators. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">It is revealed that Mayor Lionheart's assistant Mayor, (Belwether) a Sheep, is behind the conspiracy of transforming predators into savages. The fact that the outbreak began within the organization is testament to the complacency on the issue of predator and prey. </span></div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;"><strong>Complacency is a choice</strong></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: 'Iowan Old Style'; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-kerning: none;">In the end, complacency is always a choice. Sometimes we make it as an individual sometimes as a group, but complacency is always in our control. We can accept things how they are or muster up the courage to "try everything" even though it could result in failure. </span></div>
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<div><strong>Other Reviews</strong> </div>
<div><a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/03/zootopia_yes_disney_made_a_movie_about_racism_but_with_talking_animals/">http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2016/03/zootopia_yes_disney_made_a_movie_about_racism_but_with_talking_animals/</a></div>
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<div><a href="http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/how-disneys-zootopia-gets-racism-wrong/">http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/03/how-disneys-zootopia-gets-racism-wrong/</a></div>
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<div><a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/03/zootopia-nails-the-relationship-between-prejudice.html">https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/03/zootopia-nails-the-relationship-between-prejudice.html</a> </div>
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<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; min-height: 13px;"> </div>Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-74219141629647131052016-07-18T09:03:00.000-04:002016-07-18T09:03:13.251-04:00How Passion Eats Mediocrity - Chef Film Review<div>
How Passion Eats Mediocrity - <span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i>Chef </i>Film Review</span></div>
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**Spoiler Alert</div>
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In the film <i>Chef</i>, Jon Favreau shines as Carl Casper, a famous Miami Chef, who after receiving a bad review from a food blogger reconciles his passion for food with his passion for life. It is a feel good film that tingles the taste buds while warming the heart. In a country where 55% of the workforce is dissatisfied with their current job (Forbes), <i>Chef</i> provides the secret to transforming worker engagement; believe you can touch people's lives with what you do. </div>
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I am a believer in working hard. Hard work is not just good for your employer, but it is the foundation of your very character. There are so many people who work with mediocrity. I remember being a mediocre employee, working the bare minimum because I felt I wasn't paid enough to go the extra mile. Habitual mediocrity will lead you to a mediocre character. The expectations you place on yourself will soon become mediocre and any energy you expel towards your bigger goals in life will become mediocre as well. The big problem with the "bare minimum" mentality is that it seeps into who you are and how you perform outside of work. What's the answer? Passion.</div>
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Carl Casper is a passionate Chef. He loves his craft and puts in the extra hours to prove it, so many hours that he loses his family in the process, his ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) and his son Percy (Emjay Anthony). Their divorce creates a father and son divergence and rather than invest in one-on-one time with Percy, Carl invests in "filler" time. He avoids any meaningful conversations with his son by taking him out to perform frivolous activities during their father/son bonding weekends. This is a result of Carl's dissatisfaction at work. The more disengaged he is at his job the more disengaged he is with his family. </div>
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Even though Chef Carl loves cooking, he is one of the 55% of disengaged employees. Before his restaurant’s major food critique, his boss, played by Dustin Hoffman, refuses to allow Carl to express his culinary artistry. So, instead of creating a new menu for the critic (Oliver Platt), Hoffman actively disengages Chef Casper by telling him to stick to what they have been serving for the last five years. As a result of this decision, the food blogger bashes the restaurant and most particularly Chef Casper resulting in a Twitter war that ultimately defame’s his reputation.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYb3ijQ8h28Qj0g0n6JUufrW0yjb6gdFhKOyeah3UcXR74ZjEMpz628xtJTURT42tQejiiNUPcEKNC2eoo4MpdKiAov37URYpBFrtbpZFJ1pGeDW5lNVrb1mfDXtG_OtEzFGr7NSnV58/s640/blogger-image-852789315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYb3ijQ8h28Qj0g0n6JUufrW0yjb6gdFhKOyeah3UcXR74ZjEMpz628xtJTURT42tQejiiNUPcEKNC2eoo4MpdKiAov37URYpBFrtbpZFJ1pGeDW5lNVrb1mfDXtG_OtEzFGr7NSnV58/s320/blogger-image-852789315.jpg" width="320" /></a>With his life falling apart, his ex-wife Inez gives Carl the most practical advise he ever receives. She tells him to stop focusing on the fame awarded by the life a celebrity Chef and go back to doing what he is most passionate about, cooking. So Chef Carl Casper buys a food truck and starts making food his way on his terms. He brings along his good friend and partner Martin (John Leguizamo) and his son to travel across the nation for the summer in a cultural culinary adventure. All of a sudden Chef Casper’s passion for food starts to positively affect everyone around him. He begins to bond with his son in a way he never had before. Percy becomes his marketing manager by posting their food truck locations on social media ahead of time and generating buzz. Carl reconnects with his ex-wife and even inspires the food critic who destroys his reputation to invest in his new company. </div>
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Chef shows us that if we are not satisfied with our work, it is in our control to fill our lives with Passion. You visually see Carl's energy change in the film from a stressed out laborer, working for a manipulative restaurant owner to a passionate human being who is fully alive. You don't have to be living out your dream to work with passion. In fact, the more passion you infuse into your current work, the better character you will develop to equip you for your dream job. Perform your current job responsibilities with the same passion of what you really love to do. Incorporate your talents into your job and you will leave your shift with more energy than what you invested in that day. I love public speaking, especially when I get to motivate others. You can ask my wife, when I come home from a training program after I have spoken all day, I'll have a more positive energy than the days I come home after working in front of a computer. </div>
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You have passion and you can incorporate it into your work no matter how boring it may be. Never settle for mediocrity. You are unique and unrepeatable. Your ideas matter. Add music to your office, come up with new initiatives, request to redecorate the employee lounge, offer to take new staff pictures, or pitch your idea for a manager retreat. Whatever you are Passionate about, think of how you can infuse it into your daily tasks.</div>
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<i>Chef</i> will not only place in you a hunger for delicious food, but will offer spiritual satiety for a passionate soul.<br />
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Further Reading: <a href="http://forward.com/the-assimilator/201050/why-jon-favreaus-chef-is-evil/" target="_blank">Why <i>Chef </i>is Evil</a></div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-83814159093444000312016-07-10T19:43:00.001-04:002016-07-10T20:55:08.387-04:00Black Tap and the Experience Illusion<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Baskerville; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-kerning: none;">"Black Tap and the Experience Illusion"</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">So aside from the film industry, I am in the business of creating positive guest experiences through hospitable Storytelling. At the <a href="http://www.biltmorehotel.com/" target="_blank">Biltmore Hotel</a> in Miami, Florida, we create experiences that are so impactful, the guest is compelled to share their story with someone else via word of mouth or social media. Retrieving these positive stories is only possible through our commitment to serve with deep empathy and passion. The Biltmore has an outstanding product that demands outstanding service, else that product would be devalued. The stories we create are only as good as our service. If a guest reads a great story about our Fontana restaurant, decides to try it out, but receives terrible service, the experience is disparaged. Experts say we are living in an "Experience Economy", where experiences outweigh mere services and goods; but after what I witnessed last weekend, I believe we are moving towards a "Social-Experience Economy", where the digital experience is more profound than the live one. However, does this make the experience worth paying for?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Last weekend I was in New York City with my family. My sister had been psyched to try this place called <i>Black Tap Craft Burgers and Shakes (<a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/112450581554993064609" target="_blank">+Black Tap</a>) </i>ever since she started following them on Instagram and saw them on Buzzfeed. They had been posting pictures of their food for a while and have become known for their gourmet burgers and decorative milk shakes. Even the Weeknd showed up... but not during our weekend. Sorry. His name... I had to.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Weeknd enjoying his Cookie Shake <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/112450581554993064609" target="_blank">+Black Tap</a> </td></tr>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Their social marketing campaign proved successful the moment we arrived. If we wanted a much-desired seat in this SOHO sweet spot, we'd have to wait in a two-and-a-half hour line just to get in. Two-and-a-half-hours, folks. As my wife's students would ask #isthisreallife?</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Five of us, plus my two-year-old daughter, committed to this line. Anyone who attempts this with a two-year-old should check themselves into a mental hospital. Luckily, we have the coolest daughter on the planet and she held up for that long. So many times we contemplated just skipping the line, but something about the experience compelled us to stay (blame those Instagram filters). We wanted to try those decorative milkshakes, we stared at and discussed Black Tap's social media pages) and the closer we were the more the anticipation grew.<b> (My wife would like me to point out that she was highly-absolutely-positively against this line from the beginning and even suggested other restaurants.)</b> But the rest of us knew that the great reviews, the amazing pictures, and the long lines couldn't be wrong about this place.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Finally our time came, just under the two hour mark (how cool were we)! We were escorted into the pub and seated at the bar. They had hooks for our bags and outlets to charge our phones. There was a full bar with local craft beers. Amazing right? With our stomachs grumbling, our two-year-old breathing a sigh of relief to finally get to color, and our phones plugged in to ensure enough battery life to socially document every detail, we perused the menu and prepared to order. With all of the hype about this place we assumed the service was going to be top notch, but to our surprise, the service was mediocre and disorganized. It took us another 15 minutes just to order after waiting so long. My wife asked the waitress if she liked a certain burger and she just shook her head and said in a non-caring voice, "I don't know, I haven't had it." It was clear that, in order </span>to keep up with the high demand, the company sacrificed service, the most important part of the experience. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqunIZOSMoDD3x34ukZNDkq-ru9ZvJgft2q7qZYXpnqbXdEfE6Aly7MU4KtQfMndjY3esUp1uHY5hgrE-EsMeNXf7sCijt5vrsHKad4am6yybfUEL0TdEB_AbhgHcmzAKqDogK2puTW9A/s1600/IMG_1387.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqunIZOSMoDD3x34ukZNDkq-ru9ZvJgft2q7qZYXpnqbXdEfE6Aly7MU4KtQfMndjY3esUp1uHY5hgrE-EsMeNXf7sCijt5vrsHKad4am6yybfUEL0TdEB_AbhgHcmzAKqDogK2puTW9A/s320/IMG_1387.jpg" width="273" /></a><span style="font-kerning: none;">All the food needed to be ordered at the same time (drink, apps, meal, and shake) so the server would only need to touch the table once in order to move on to the next batch of suckers-- I mean customers. In my case this meant that they brought out my beer, appetizer, entree, and gourmet shake all at the same time. You had guests having to choose to enjoy their delicious craft beer or eat their meal, or dive into their milkshake before it all melted away because of the restaurant's lack of organization. I mean, it was all over the place. When my wife caught sight of the on-coming milkshake (which was making its way to us before our burger salads), she quickly asked our waitress if the milkshake could wait. After all, if a toddler catches sight of a gigantic ice-cream sculpture oozing with chocolate chips, how much of her dinner do you think she'll have? That's right: none. Plus add that to the tantrum thrown when said mountain of ice-cream is placed before her and we enforce that she should finish her meat patty. Yeah, as my wife would say, "hell no." Luckily, the young woman making the shakes caught sight of our anxious faces and held off on the shake (she later confided in us that she did this because she, too, is a parent). </span><br />
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Finally, the big moment came: Black Tap Shake Time. After the ooh's and aah's of our dessert's entrance, I quickly realized the shake was mostly whipped cream and chocolate syrup. The straw was too short to start drinking it because the whipped cream was overflowing. I tried taking a sip at first and got smothered by the white foam. I started digging through this sugary mountain just so I could taste the shake. It had an ice cream sandwich stuck on the glass which was nice to toss in the shake, but then I lost all of the whipped cream in the after splash. The chocolate chip cookie was good... my daughter certainly liked it... but was it worth the two-hour wait and bad service? Besides, trying to drink this thing was ridiculous and we could have saved two hours by just ordering the shake to go and avoiding the $15 worth of decorative glass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The burgers were good, but not worth the wait. The space was poorly utilized as most of their downstairs tables were open (possible hype-tactic?). The company clearly did not know how to function with large volumes. The experience was downgraded to meet the high demand rather than upgraded to keep customers coming back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">So many people were snapping photos of their food and posting them online, including my party. I asked my brother about his experience and he said that his burger was delicious, but he would never come back. This was a one time thing. He tried to justify the bad service however, saying that my expectations were too high for just a bar. Maybe he is right but in my experience, it's the service that changes the game from "one-time-thing" to loyal customer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">It's amazing how much money people spend on the illusion of an experience. They see others post photos of these shakes and make the decision that they are worth standing in line for because participating in the online experience with others is attractive. To my disappointment, they were just shakes. In the experience economy, the consumer's experience is all that matters. Within the social-experience economy, however, it is about the illusion, something that acts as a social media status changer. The illusion experience makes the food taste better because your mind believes it has to be this good. The experience of posting it online and sharing it with celebrities like the Weeknd is what satisfies the consumer more than the actual product and service does. And to contribute to the social-experience economy, I've had more satisfaction writing this blog than actually eating at Black Tap. They got me. The big question is what will happen to the service industry if consumers only care about the <i>illusion</i> more than the live experience? Will the stories about the illusion become more impactful than the stories of genuine service? Instagram and Snapchat may have proven they have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">In case I wasn't clear, Black Tap is not worth the wait... but if you wanna chance it and participate in the social-experience it provides then be sure to grab a slice of pizza while you are in line and remember to not bring a toddler!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">P.S. Miami Locals will enjoy <i><a href="http://eatspringchicken.com/" target="_blank">Spring Chicken</a></i> much more than <i>Black Tap </i>with no wait, tastier food, and decent shakes! </span><br />
<span style="font-kerning: none;">If you are a carnivore and are looking for a good burger joint, check out my buddies blog! <a href="http://burgersandtech.com/">Burgersandtech.com</a></span></div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0New York, NY, USA40.7127837 -74.00594130000001839.942317700000004 -75.296834800000013 41.4832497 -72.715047800000022tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-54046849359875904302016-07-03T14:29:00.000-04:002016-08-23T22:04:53.141-04:00How the Film "Inside Out" Increases Emotional Intelligence<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">How the Film <i>"Inside Out"</i> Increases Emotional Intelligence</span></b><br />
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I started writing this review last summer and never finished it because I didn't feel like I was on the right track. Initially I wanted it to be about how the film portrayed a false message; emotions control you. I wasn't satisfied with what I was writing, so instead of analyzing my work, I pushed it aside and tried not to think about it. When it came out on iTunes last November, I thought about writing it again, but still pushed it aside. When it won the Oscar for best animated feature this year, I again thought about getting back into this review. It kept coming to my mind, but nothing came of it.<br />
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I lost my connection to the film...until last week. During a training program I was leading I had my group take an emotional intelligence test. Emotional Intelligence is defined simply as the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions. I forgot I had a clip from "Inside Out" in my presentation under the heading "Emotions Work Together". I added it to the slideshow immediately after I saw the film last summer, but never played it for a group because we would usually run out of time. This particularly class was ahead of schedule though, so I played it. It was the concluding scene of the film where Riley,12, comes back home from running away and reveals to her parents how much she missed her old life in Minnesota. She embraces her sadness fully for the first time in her life and breaks down.<br />
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As I was watching this clip, I started to remember the films's impact on me a year ago...and started to cry! In front of the entire training group here I was, their leader, crying my eyes out. It was my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cgVm7enQ14" target="_blank">"Puppy in a Cup"</a> moment. Luckily, some of the women were crying too.<br />
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But as my lip quivered for the fourth time, it came to me. I repressed writing this blog just as Riley repressed the emotion of sadness. The movie is about repression not about how your emotions control you. Repressing an emotion is just as bad as allowing your emotions to govern your actions, which is <a href="http://www.frankonfilms.com/2015/02/why-i-always-cry-at-end-of-film-warrior.html" target="_blank">why I always cry at the end of the film "Warrior"</a>.<br />
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<b>Emotional Intelligence</b><br />
Emotions can get the best of us, not only at a young age as they are developing. Adults repress emotions all the time allowing them to build up and explode over the most innocent of victims, like a sweet old lady or your two year old daughter after she asks you to play "Let it Go" for the one millionth time. We will give into these repressed emotions at one point because the load to is too heavy. This is where emotional intelligence comes in.<br />
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Emotional Intelligence is something you can begin practicing now and "Inside Out" provides a visual guide to help you achieve it. There are five stages to developing EI (Emotional Intelligence); Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Self-Motivation, Interpersonal Communication, and Emotional Mentoring. I want to focus on just the first two, SelfAwareness and Self-Management, to make my point in this review, but encourage you to read <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/emotional-intelligence-2.0/id387827045?mt=11" target="_blank">Emotional Intelligence 2.0 </a>to help you achieve a higher emotional quotient for your own personal development.<br />
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<b>Self-Awareness</b><br />
Self-Awareness is the most important step. It involves simply becoming aware of what you are feeling and allowing yourself to feel an emotion physically. You cannot repress the emotion, which is what Riley was doing for the first two acts of the film. She repressed Sadness, I use a capital "S" because emotions are characters in this film. Sadness was being repressed by Joy the entire movie. Joy did not allow Sadness to help Riley through her daily life. Sadness became a repressed emotion for her. On her first day at a new school though, that emotion exploded.<br />
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While Riley was introducing herself in class, she had a "sadness spurt". Overwhelmed by Joy's pressure to constantly fill Riley with happiness, a wave of sadness came flooding in. She started to cry in front of her class mates about how much she missed her old life (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cgVm7enQ14" target="_blank">Puppy in a Cup Again</a>). Even Sadness, the character, said she had no control over what she was doing when she started turning all of Riley's bright yellow joyful memories into soft blue sad ones.<br />
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It sounds childish, but is actually very accurate to what happens internally when we repress an emotion. I am a very patient person, but my patience comes with emotional repression. I grew up repressing my thoughts and feelings because I was never taught otherwise. I've seen my brother repress his anger for years at some of our family members because he was never taught how to handle emotional crises.<br />
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Several months ago I saw a father scald his 8 month old son for crying at the zoo. He lifted his son off the floor and said, "Stop crying! Men don't cry!" Sadly, this parenting mentality still exists and teaches children to repress their feelings at an early age. No wonder men have so many commitment issues!<br />
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Self-Awareness is all about feeling. There is nothing wrong with feeling an emotion, even if that emotion is fear or anger. The whole point of feeling the emotion is so you can decide the appropriate response to it. If you cannot feel an emotion you cannot react to it properly. Think of a glove and a needle. Have you ever tried to sew with a glove on? It makes it very difficult to thread the needle because you cannot feel it. We tend to wear emotional gloves over our hearts that make it difficult for us to thread the needle of our emotional responses. Consistent repression leads to emotional numbness and this is what happens to Riley when her emotions go out the tube... literally they go out a tube and into another facet of her brain.<br />
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<b>Self-Management</b><br />
As Riley's emotional numbness sinks in, she starts making poor decisions and acts out of character. She talks back to her parents, she steals her mother's credit card, and ultimately tries to run away. She begins to lack Self-Management. Plainly stated, Self-Management is the ability to manage your emotions, control impulses, and shake off bad moods. If Self-Awareness is the needle, then Self-Management is the hand croqueting your emotional decisions. Without this technique, it is very difficult to act decisively.<br />
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I always see a pattern when I give others their emotional intelligence test. Many have high self-awareness scores, but low self-management scores. There is a connection between the two because the more you allow yourself to feel the more emotions you will have to manage appropriately with increasing difficulties. If we are an open door to emotions then we must learn to sleep on big emotional decisions before making them. Riley is an emotional door because she is a child. Children are still learning how to respond to emotions and that is why they take over her so often. Joy tries to become the ultimate emotional manager for Riley, but ends up repressing other emotions that don't make Riley happy rather then manage each individual crises.<br />
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<b>Emotional Dictators</b><br />
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Why does it seem like the emotions are controlling the characters? Because there exists a lack of self management here especially within the adults. Riley's dad showcases this when he loses his temper with her over dinner. Without much conflict he allows his anger to control his decisions when Riley talks back. The emotionally intelligent thing to do would have been for him to ask why she was acting out of character rather than allowing his anger to fuel hers. The film can be read that our emotions control us and there is nothing we can do about it.<br />
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However, we are not our emotions. We are so much more than that. Emotions can be great enablers for our lives, but they are not the final decision maker in our lives. There is something higher that allows us to freely choose to act on an emotion or surpass it, just like desires. If we ate overtime we felt a little hungry then we would be eating all the time. If we had sex overtime we felt the urge, we would be in a lot of trouble. We have to learn how to control desires and most of us can do that.<br />
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Emotions are no different than those desires. We first must ask ourselves where is the emotion coming from, what am I feeling, and most importantly, why am I feeling it? Emotions are not the dictators in your brain, if that were the case you would be enslaved by them. You know people in your lives who are enslaved by emotions.<br />
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<b>Conclusion</b><br />
I really enjoyed this film from the inside out. I even liked how the emotions themselves had emotions. It showcases a world of intrinsic beauty inside each human person. I believe watching this film with your child and explaining it to them opens up the door for a natural and authentic relationship about emotions and the things they are feeling. A child may use this film as an excuse whenever they act out of anger though. So, they must be taught that feeling anger is okay, but they have the choice to manage it rather than repress it. And you must provide them with the tools to do so.<br />
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Further reading on <a href="http://www.theemotionmachine.com/the-powerful-lesson-inside-out-teaches-us-about-our-emotions" target="_blank">Inside Out and Emotional Intelligence</a>Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-24008063456416953792016-06-27T18:21:00.000-04:002016-06-27T18:21:06.720-04:00Bareilles Hits Close to Home with “She Used to Be Mine”<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Sara Bareilles’ recent single comes from her new musical “Waitress”, with it’s story adapted from the 2007 award-winning Indie Film. The musical centralizes on a waitress, who strategizes a way to leave her abusive husband, but finds herself pregnant with his child in the planning process. With an innate talent for conceptualizing and baking beloved pies for her patrons, her identity lies sandwiched between her impressive pastry skills and the cowardly use of a man who can’t love. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">The song “She Used to be Mine” is the musical’s ballad baked into a melodic pie of brutal self reflection. Whether you have seen the movie or listened to the tracks released on Bareilles' new album, “She Used to be Mine” attempts to pry open that emotional coffin you buried a piece of your soul in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I’ll give you four minutes to listen to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53GIADHxVzM"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">song</span></a>… </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Now here is a breakdown of how it relates to you (mostly me though…maybe you too). </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Brokenness</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“She is broken and won’t ask for help”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Brokenness is something we can all relate to because well...we are all broken. Jenna, the main character, sings about her unwillingness to seek help within the shattered confines of her marriage. I’ve always had trouble understanding why some people stay in abusive relationships until I looked at my own self-pity. I can be extremely hard on myself especially when I fall into the common misbehaviors of my damaged character. I repeat mistakes, often wondering if I’ll ever learn from them. My brokenness is rooted in fear and am willing to bet that much of your brokenness is rooted in the same; fear of facing your past, fear of change, fear of responsibility, fear of your own thoughts, fear of pain, fear of being alone, fear of losing someone, fear of losing yourself, fear of being loved and not being loved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Jenna is afraid for the entirety of the story. She is afraid of never being loved and never loving in return; true love, not feared love as coerced by her egotistical husband. That fear began when she lost her mother, a woman who showed her that baking can be as artistically enriching to taste as the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica is to absorb with your sight. Tragedy is difficult to recover from once it sinks its roots into the heart with unpronounced emotional numbness. Once you are numb, it’s easy to stay in an abusive relationship. One is convinced that it is better not to feel anything than to face the internal combustion that is the grieving process.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Jenna sings, "Most days I don't recognize me." She is holding on to her brokenness by dwelling on a past identity. We are not always the best version of ourselves in our most fondest memories and sometimes those admirable traits we have will alter. While our core identity remains in tact, the surrounding elements will shift. By trying to get back to a single time in our past we don't leave room for the necessary transformation of our heart’s authentic self. But as Jenna discovers at the end of the play "Everything Changes”, including those traits that made up the identity she once desired. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Life is Alive</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“Sometimes life just slips in through a back door and carves out a person and makes you believe it’s all true.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Wow, how brutally honest is this lyric? When looking back on my life I can say there have been times when life carved out an identity that was false and convinced me it's who I was. Without self confidence, I believed that the repeated opinions of others was all I was made to be. This lyric is all about taking control of life before it takes control of you. Life of course is alive. It’s a garden waiting to be pruned or else prepared to grow wild wherever it likes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">When I was 10 years old my friend’s Michael and Matt had a picnic table in their backyard. One day they were playing on it (or something) and it broke. Rather than fess up, they blamed it on me. I wasn’t even there! That did not stop their mom from forcing a false confession out of me. She sat me down in her kitchen and told me that I needed to admit what I did or I would never be able to play with my friends again. She promised their wouldn’t be any repercussions If I just admitted it. It would have been nice if Mike and Matt had given me a heads up about this, but they didn’t. So instead of embracing an identity of honesty and self-worth, I admitted to a crime I never committed just so I would not lose my friends. She convinced me of admitting to something that was not true and it rooted into my identity. I started having a fear of authority from that point on. This is an example of how “sometimes life just slips in through a back door and carves out a person and makes you believe it’s all true.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Even at a young age, even when we may think it doesn’t matter, even at the loss of friend’s, one cannot forfeit their identity. The outcome is immense as one develops their character. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>The Back to the Future Syndrome</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><i>“If I’m honest I know I would give it all back for a chance to start over and rewrite an ending or two.” </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">I find myself thinking of times in my past that I would like to go back to and relive with the knowledge I have now. I want to prevent myself from making irrational choices in desperation of avoiding the pain of emotional consequences. I know; however, that because of former bad decisions I have achieved a much more valued character. I also know that because I persevered through those challenges I have become a better version of myself. I am a better person because of those mistakes. Yet, I still won't hesitate to travel back in time like Marty McFly and change my past even if it means affecting my future. That's what I call BFS or Back to the Future Syndrome. The goodness in our lives is shadowed by the dark scars in our past.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">This song is Jenna's BFS moment. She cannot see the goodness residing inside her because she is consumed by thoughts of a "girl she once knew”. This is a plea for identity, an S.O.S. to the inner life, brought about by the unrecognized life force within her. We all have a life force that we have abandoned and are searching for again.</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Jenna's life force is her unborn child motivating her to become stronger. Your life force may be an untapped talent, your passion for justice, or the yearning for unconditional love. Life forces are transformation makers. Jenna accepts that her old self is gone and a new identity outshines the old. Her transition from a motherless child to the mother of a child changes everything. Mother is who she is and how she now thrives as she sings to her newborn in the final song of the musical "And who I was has disappeared, it doesn't matter now you're here, so innocent...And I swear I'll remember to say we were both born today." <i>She Used to be Mine</i> is a song that wants Jenna to cling to the past, but the following song, <i>Everything Changes</i> prepares her for the new future, one that transcends her past self. Think of a snake, it cannot fit into its old skin once it's been shed. As Jesus put it, you cannot place new wine into old wine skins. You cannot cling to an identity you no longer have, but must seek for the transformative life force within. </span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;">Bareilles bridges a gap between pop and musical that has been missing for a long time. The song speaks volumes in context of it’s story, but holds it’s own as a pop single. Enjoy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none;"><b>Further Viewing</b><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDDqIxGk9pg"><span style="-webkit-font-kerning: none;">Jessie Mueller breaks your heart</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-kerning: none; text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4oOMYXtnq0">Songs from Waitress Live Concert</a></span></div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-22736333903512595382016-06-22T23:45:00.001-04:002017-02-03T21:57:12.002-05:00Finding Dory and Overcoming Disabilities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="s1">I had the opportunity to take my daughter to watch <i>Finding Dory</i> for Father's Day. It was her very first movie at the theaters and my wife and I were a bit nervous of how she would behave through it, but she did surprisingly well. Since she loves <i>Finding Nemo, </i>she was captivated by the familiar characters and fell in love with a few of the new ones, namely Hank the "Ock-a-pus", which she kept repeating after the film (and everyday since…like ten times). </span></div>
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<span class="s1">I was caught up by this story with preexisting positive emotions. <i>Finding Nemo </i>was the first movie I took my little sister to see with my very first paycheck when she was 8 years old. Watching the sequel now with my daughter and having it be her first trip to the movies was heartwarming. Mix that with the opening scene of Dory losing her parents and it makes for some serious waterworks. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">While I don't want this to be a spoiler review, I do want to express the importance of the story’s three parts, it’s theme of child disability and the ingrained lesson of self-reliance. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In this film Dory gets caught in the Marine Life Institute, an animal hospital/natural habitat exhibit. Through the Institute’s loudspeakers the audience hears the voice of actor and spokesperson Sigourney Weaver repeating the company’s mission statement: rescue, rehabilitation, and release. These stages not only emphasize the process for helping disabled animals, but serve as a euphemism for a child's process of becoming self-reliant despite the challenges or handicaps that may have been placed on them physically, mentally, and/or emotionally. It's a tremendous message that speaks to the heart of parent and child alike. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Rescue</b></span></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybq7yPwz4jLxCrutnCX_dg6oyssnao2H0QZXhuSom7f8esKI-mAIcfQp1sELzhKjdEIvyo1dByZbaN6jRWtBuOsU-uAtVuI90AL_OjgVV6I1Jq88Qi1g1DTe57qRcjfEQBcU2xZy-3-Q/s1600/finding-dory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiybq7yPwz4jLxCrutnCX_dg6oyssnao2H0QZXhuSom7f8esKI-mAIcfQp1sELzhKjdEIvyo1dByZbaN6jRWtBuOsU-uAtVuI90AL_OjgVV6I1Jq88Qi1g1DTe57qRcjfEQBcU2xZy-3-Q/s320/finding-dory.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Rescuing is a prevalent theme in the story for our leading characters. In <i>Finding Nemo</i> we witness a child in need of physical rescue from exterior forces, and a parent's need for rescue from an internal force: the inability to let go. Dory helps Marlin rescue his son Nemo, who was taken by a scuba diving dentist who claimed to have discovered Nemo struggling for his life out on the reef and "rescued" him. The dentist noticed Nemo's little fin, the disability he was born with, and believed he needed to be rescued when in fact Nemo was simply proving to his friends, his dad, and himself that his disability was not a hindrance to him by swimming a far distance to touch the diver's boat.</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">We see this same idea of rescue being played out again in the sequel. In <i>Finding Dory, </i> young Dory is in need of not just physical rescue, but mental rescue. Dory was born with her own disability (short term memory loss). She never truly learned to manage it due to the involuntary separation from her parents. One year after Dory’s adventure with Marlin in <i>Finding Nemo</i>, she gets lost on a new journey to find her parents. Through her journey she discovers that she can rescue herself and manage her own disability. Even though she is at times fearful of being alone and possibly forgetting her mission, she still does not allow her disability to get the best of her as it did so many times in the past.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSiblnVDR6jNOKfVusk65OMLFVL7yCgH4g4CZiXCQWVa8AsZoMAH9VtBKvbk6KcAwJKquXTyzP47ynV40543OjVzKZ95OW_9WEBkpIPZleJookujC_iPh-sEZtkXr_dgSXpcCiFjl-WA/s1600/Dory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOSiblnVDR6jNOKfVusk65OMLFVL7yCgH4g4CZiXCQWVa8AsZoMAH9VtBKvbk6KcAwJKquXTyzP47ynV40543OjVzKZ95OW_9WEBkpIPZleJookujC_iPh-sEZtkXr_dgSXpcCiFjl-WA/s320/Dory.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="s1">Parents want to rescue their children, not just from disabilities, but from <b>everything</b>. It feels natural to protect them. There were some tense moments in the movie when my daughter got scared and turned around to cling to my neck. Her tight grip made we feel like a rescuer. As the movie illustrates though, children will one day need to learn how to rescue themselves, which Dory demonstrates when she learns the skill of self-analysis to help aid her memory. She does not need to be mentally rescued anymore, but becomes self-reliant enough to be the rescuer, as she has proven to Marlin during the first movie and proves now to herself in the sequel. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Rehabilitation</b> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Rehabilitation means to restore to health or former life after imprisonment or illness. The preparation of this process often takes place outside the normal living quarters. Nemo's rehabilitation came after spending time in the "eternal bonds of tank hood" with the dentist's aquarium fish. Marlin rehabilitated after his long adventure across the ocean looking for his son. In <i>Finding Dory</i>, the blue tang fish had to go back home to rehabilitate. She was a nomad without a home for a long time and could never learn to become self-reliant without the support of her family and friends. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Children need the love of their family to encourage them and empower them. </span>Without this, a child lacks an important tool in developing independence. Dory could never find someone to care enough about her to help her rehabilitate, until she met Marlin and Nemo. The familial bond created among the group sparked a deep memory of her actual family. Inspired by this powerful memory, Dory begins her rehabilitation process. </div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Release</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">As I was holding my daughter in the theater, It struck me that one day I would have to release her into the world and she will have to learn how to make healthy choices regardless of anything holding her back. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">What a most difficult job this is for a parent! We tend to be just like Marlin who yearns to protect his son from the "big bad ocean" and who worries about Dory's disability getting in her way. Knowing that you cannot always be there to protect them, even those who struggle with a disability, is the rehabilitation process of all parents. Parents know that establishing good healthy habits is key to self-sufficiency. <i>Finding Dory</i> showcases this brilliantly by allowing the audience to witness Dory's parents create consistent habits from early childhood. They sing songs to her (Just Keep Swimming), they place shells across the ocean that lead to their home and remind her to follow the shells if she ever gets lost, and most importantly they repeat this process. By repeating these healthy habits they bypass her short term memory and sink in to her pre-frontal cortex (or whatever part of the brain that can hold habits for a fish) which ultimately brings her back to her family in the end. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRXC-dA7p_Oh_AljOMug_kelth0DdBMOsnKycbCV9YLYMrnMkESgI1Kx4dSLflF6CyRh_Ch9oKVWXAS6zcCkidpG0wgS4wPcHIeGqusQjosCI2eZDc0wYg4j6OPME0rq0iRJ_9rSue3w/s1600/dory-parents-finding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaRXC-dA7p_Oh_AljOMug_kelth0DdBMOsnKycbCV9YLYMrnMkESgI1Kx4dSLflF6CyRh_Ch9oKVWXAS6zcCkidpG0wgS4wPcHIeGqusQjosCI2eZDc0wYg4j6OPME0rq0iRJ_9rSue3w/s320/dory-parents-finding.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="s1">Habits are powerful in children. I witnessed a habit loop play out in front of my eyes with my two year old daughter last weekend. My wife and I have done our best to stick to a routine when it comes to putting her to bed. She eats dinner, she takes a bath, she brushes her teeth, she says her prayers, she reads a book, and then she walks to her bed to fall asleep. It may not be 100% perfect every time and we may alter the sequence slightly, but last weekend I saw how my daughter’s brain works when it comes to habits. <br /><br />
</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">As I was feeding her in her chair my wife was reading the news update regarding the tragedy in Orlando. We suddenly stopped to pray, offering a moment of silence for the victims and their families. We said a “Hail Mary”, which is the prayer we usually say right before we put her to bed. She participated as she usually does and closed the prayer with her ominous “AMEN” swinging her hands over her head and chest to make the form of a squiggly cross. My wife suggested to add an “Our Father” as well, but Imma’s brain immediately began to go through her habitual routine. She stopped eating and insisted on reading a book. With her “Kite” book close at hand, she grabbed it flipped through the pages and immediately said the word “bed” pointing to her room. She was ready and willing to go to bed at that exact moment. It was because of our consistent practice of routine (steps of sleeping) and reward (sleep) that propelled her forward even when it wasn’t time to go to bed. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>Conclusion</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><i>Finding Dory </i>is a beautiful extension to a film layered with emotionally charged parental suffering and decision making. It's a permanent reminder that a disability is only as crippling as one makes it out to be. With the proper support network and intrinsic motivation, self reliance can be attainable for those whom others deem it impossible. </span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">P.S. I haven't even discussed the slap in the face the movie makes to Sea World. Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Release. Think about that in terms of Sea World. </span></div>
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<b><span class="s1"></span><br /></b></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><b>Further Reading</b></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><a href="http://charlesduhigg.com/how-habits-work/" target="_blank">How to break habits or create new habits.</a></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><a href="https://www.thedodo.com/finding-dory-smart-message-captivity-seaworld-1865067691.html" target="_blank">Finding Dory and Sea World</a> </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/blackfish-documentary-looks-at-seaworlds-captive-orcas/" target="_blank">Black Fish’s Impact </a></span></div>
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<span class="s1"></span><br /></div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-14834423654110255112015-09-03T15:58:00.000-04:002015-09-03T16:11:01.623-04:00The Ant and the Dragon - An Allegory on Humility<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FfME9ZCGUDH5syKxiNky1eIEyV5FOtp651h-dm9-WGaQhjm6MvYJnZ1qjtuvNjU2aKLOFB7tUF9pqE6n-myVPG7srIKNXNoH_ly7BlLtV_HODgn6AqopS9uivifQeYcgmWcIfYjtVl8/s1600/Dragon+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5FfME9ZCGUDH5syKxiNky1eIEyV5FOtp651h-dm9-WGaQhjm6MvYJnZ1qjtuvNjU2aKLOFB7tUF9pqE6n-myVPG7srIKNXNoH_ly7BlLtV_HODgn6AqopS9uivifQeYcgmWcIfYjtVl8/s320/Dragon+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
There once was a magical, but devastating dragon who destroyed an entire kingdom. It swooped in from the sky one sunny morning and breathed its fiery breath upon stone, steel, flesh, and bone. The dragon annihilated all of it's visible enemies and rested on the plunder that it took from the kingdom's golden vault.<br />
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Beneath the ruins of this visible kingdom resided yet another kingdom, a kingdom of lowly Ants, suffering from the unbearable heat brought on by the fire above. With their home in danger, the Queen Ant surfaced out of her colony into the ruins to come face-to-face and speak to the dragon. Her tiny body was barely seen by the monster as she stood on the tip of it's nose. She told the dragon of the carnage he was ensuing on a species who had nothing he wanted and plead for him to cease his torment.<br />
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The dragon did not listen. He sneered and told her that an Ant was too small a creature to concern itself with the affairs of war. Out of spite, he pierced the soil with one of his thick claws and blew an enormous fireball into the ground destroying her kingdom before her eyes. With the Queen Ant holding onto the thick scale of the dragon's nose, both eyes menacingly turned to her tiny body as he said, "I think you should tend to your dead your Majesty."<br />
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The queen scurried off the dragon's nose and returned to her kingdom only to find it now resembling the ruins of the human kingdom above. Looking upon the incinerated bodies of her children and people, she gathered the 12 tribes of the underground Ant Kingdom which stretched forth 2,000 miles in all directions. There she pitched her plan to remove the dragon.<br />
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Several weeks passed by and the dragon rested in a deep sleep. It did not notice the army approach because it came from beneath. Five million ants from each tribe positioned themselves under the dragon and lifted with the indelible strength only a creature like themselves possessed. They marched 300 miles south with the dragon upon their backs until they reached a steep bank with a cavernous ocean below.<br />
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As the dragon continued sleeping the ants waited for the sun to retire and the moon to show its full face. The ants knew that magical dragons hid from direct moonlight. When the moon was at it's brightest the ants carried the dragon off the bank in solidarity. The dragon fell hitting rock and stone on the way down. It awoke mid-fall, but upon making contact with the moon it became paralyzed and could not flap it's wings.<br />
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It crashed into the water and was pinned under the current. The dragon struggled to escape the moon's rays, but it did not let up as it shone thicker through the water. There it drowned within the confines of its watery prison. One by one, the ants that had fallen over with him began to emerge from the water and make their way back up the steep bank to praise their queen for destroying the dragon.<br />
<br />
The Queen Ant gathered her community that night and told them that all praise goes to the moon for its natural defense against the enemies of the earth.<br />
<br />Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-30083252345398497322015-02-16T14:36:00.000-05:002015-02-16T16:34:36.474-05:00Whiplash Film Review - Be More Human<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfG-iArM3VfzJvSCcYH1I-MJldMT2WklzHvApIhgcoAyt-ahywJeFVvYjymUm6MrF-8l_TUGkotYBsLIUJRX_w46DZg7Bu7ppCwNFn3732gsAm8H8PwS_1AmFgB8YpGUv7-_XNtdshjgA/s1600/Whiplash_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfG-iArM3VfzJvSCcYH1I-MJldMT2WklzHvApIhgcoAyt-ahywJeFVvYjymUm6MrF-8l_TUGkotYBsLIUJRX_w46DZg7Bu7ppCwNFn3732gsAm8H8PwS_1AmFgB8YpGUv7-_XNtdshjgA/s1600/Whiplash_poster.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">Whiplash Film Review - Be More
Human<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">We've heard
the expression "No Pain, No Gain" and it normally applies to muscle
building when hitting the gym. The film <i>Whiplash</i>
transitions this expression into the world of music, particularly drumming,
while slowly revealing the innermost desires of the human heart to become the
best version of itself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">The film
centers on Andrew (Miles Teller), a 19 year old drummer in Schaffer Music
Conservatory, who finds himself hand-picked to play for the school's top jazz
band and for their toughest music teacher, Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons).
Andrew's determination to become "one of the greats" is no match for
Fletcher's aggressive motivation techniques. From throwing chairs, to rage-like
rants, and public humiliation Fletcher deems emotional torture a necessary step
in a musician’s blossoming of greatness. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Kyb69lceS6jn8bK5J2U6xJEPBjxWKWbORmSpLkS-WaJD0DkvCPkXOhtJ3H14MKhqQLhaZPdP-PjyMOAKgx9loymC4rpX7olcVVaWmaCQ9R0T8XnenKpG4xOjwQEifA5p6O_e0mIIZ2Y/s1600/whiplash-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Kyb69lceS6jn8bK5J2U6xJEPBjxWKWbORmSpLkS-WaJD0DkvCPkXOhtJ3H14MKhqQLhaZPdP-PjyMOAKgx9loymC4rpX7olcVVaWmaCQ9R0T8XnenKpG4xOjwQEifA5p6O_e0mIIZ2Y/s1600/whiplash-2.jpg" height="110" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">While the
film expresses this boundary pushing in a dangerously exaggerated way, it holds
some merit and credibility. Fletcher's techniques work until the question of
humility is raised. Andrew quickly begins to practice harder each night
surpassing the threshold of pain while playing through bloody blistered hands.
The better he gets the cockier he becomes and Fletcher takes notice. Andrew is
given many opportunities to remain humble throughout his trainings, but as he
gets better he lets pride impulsively make his decisions. It's no longer about
training to become the best, but feeling he has worked hard enough already to
deserve to play with the best. To test Andrew, Fletcher replaces him with
another drummer a few weeks before a major performance and it sets Andrew off
in a rage. This pride combined with the emotional scars created by Fletcher
establishes a monster within himself that Andrew does not recognize. He begins
playing his music with hate, frustration, and pride rather than joy, love, and humility.
The day of the Jazz competition Andrew is hit by an oncoming car while speeding
to get to the concert hall in fear that another drummer will be playing his
set. Despite the physical “whiplash” from the car wreck, a bloody Andrew
arrives at the competition to satisfy his own ego rather than to see his
company succeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;"><br />
Why the push?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLzF5zKJJ1yQkkAAQksqWRZC92pe7zgTWWRwaAnxFbCviYX7VY9c5UOHZDWPCcqZ2-2ml4w7GJeItg_bai5gjamcS5KavpvO-2BEgmk1pEGntasN936q8tqsk1Y1U3Ot-kzSqrFIaO1g/s1600/Reebok-BMH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLLzF5zKJJ1yQkkAAQksqWRZC92pe7zgTWWRwaAnxFbCviYX7VY9c5UOHZDWPCcqZ2-2ml4w7GJeItg_bai5gjamcS5KavpvO-2BEgmk1pEGntasN936q8tqsk1Y1U3Ot-kzSqrFIaO1g/s1600/Reebok-BMH.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">Reebok just
released a campaign called "Be More Human". A synonym for this campaign
could be called" Become the Best Version of Yourself" The campaign
shows athletes, firefighters, parents, and factory workers all training their
bodies to keep up with the many demands of life. Why would anyone cause
physical pain to their body through intense exercise? Reebok’s answer is to
become a better and more determined human. This is why I feel that Fletcher's
technique of pushing his students to their breaking point molds a stronger performer,
but it is also a lesson for every area of one's life. While Fletcher’s way of
motivating is far-fetched, I do believe in healthy practices of pushing the
limit in order to become better at anything you do. We don’t see enough of this
kind of pushing anymore.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">We have
become a society of settlers. We tend to settle for lives of mediocrity rather
than push ourselves to achieve the things we know we can. Whether it is as
difficult as becoming the greatest musician in the world or as simple as
becoming the best possible friend to others, we lose sight of the bigger
picture when faced with the hard work it takes to become the best version of
ourselves. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPG3dM5GXSwDod6NakaX1atPohyf4juodpch0mNM9KiGyokWMUGrBCkP0011_X2A98faCJlprThD-49jB3UvK0l-d-bgD_LSoxcNri-OkHhIAyNC4YsBShPq7PoCUtq5SkouZqiFmLuZo/s1600/Whiplash4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPG3dM5GXSwDod6NakaX1atPohyf4juodpch0mNM9KiGyokWMUGrBCkP0011_X2A98faCJlprThD-49jB3UvK0l-d-bgD_LSoxcNri-OkHhIAyNC4YsBShPq7PoCUtq5SkouZqiFmLuZo/s1600/Whiplash4.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">This is
where the film shines because at one point Andrew has the opportunity to become
one of those settlers in life. He gives up on drumming after a major melt down
and fall out with Fletcher and his school. He abandons his passion for music
for the wrong reasons. Rather than investigate his obsessive compulsion to drumming
he simply walks away from it. Yet at the end of the film we are given the
magnificent visual of a person "fully alive", living out the best
version of himself. Without giving the
finale away, we discover that when Andrew plays to prove to himself that he is
a great drummer rather than to impress his teacher, the best version of himself
shines. All of his hard work pays off and he musically blossoms in front of his
father, his peers, and his teacher. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Js72zNziJwa52iTiRXrrU1B2K-jNxxS0Jd41pPgZoK1IJZxyPFHSCVzMRmWM0M8v4XRjHmcsU5yBDUEGT2ifZ1WKIgCqQZ-bGGyjKNyUivPia-bLdJ9RA0nwlrcrqk7_QfvZJLwi4dA/s1600/Whiplash+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Js72zNziJwa52iTiRXrrU1B2K-jNxxS0Jd41pPgZoK1IJZxyPFHSCVzMRmWM0M8v4XRjHmcsU5yBDUEGT2ifZ1WKIgCqQZ-bGGyjKNyUivPia-bLdJ9RA0nwlrcrqk7_QfvZJLwi4dA/s1600/Whiplash+1.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">We live in a
time of what Henry David Thoreau called "Quiet Desperation", this complacent
settling of the cards life deals us. We get discouraged when our hard work does
not pay off immediately and become too caught up in our own little world that
we forget about the other people around us. This discouragement causes us to
settle and take the first job that comes along, but never do the things that
make us truly happy. We lead lives of this desperation and do not know how to
escape from it. <i>Whiplash</i> shows us (in
an overly exaggerated way) that every day we must stretch the talents we want
to continue to develop, keep track of the dreams we want to achieve, and ask
ourselves “what are we doing to accomplish them?” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">I don't
agree with Fletcher's aggressive techniques, but I do agree with the psychology
behind them. He tells Andrew that “There are no two words in the English
language more harmful than ‘good job’.” If more people analyzed this statement
while asking themselves why they haven't accomplished the dreams they set for
themselves, their lives would become less desperate and more passionate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am voting <i>Whiplash</i> as Best Picture and J.K.
Simmons as Best Supporting Actor for the Oscars 2015. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright",serif;">Check out
the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDb-7DY3CjU" target="_blank">Reebok - Be More Human Campaign Video</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;">Also, Check
out this great </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/18/whiplash-review-drummer-miles-teller-mark-kermode" style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;" target="_blank">Whiplash review</a><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;"> from a well-seasoned film reviewer, Mark
Kermode.</span></div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-54488753390314891592015-02-04T08:00:00.000-05:002017-01-21T09:36:21.592-05:00The Imitation Game: Does Homosexuality Take Away Your Talents, Contributions, and Identity?<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDLHTWhbGPgOG8fN1HGgvysiFBiYFMhh8mz2Z2svDJzBBDv8uh2UrqxLV4Di43SlhKihnHkS6OOBGI2PPN36mt5s1ztGXvuekrKQzg_kowksSKwWQGxuR-v0kCLpfxqm1mypAoUWnX7I/s1600/Imitation-Game-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigDLHTWhbGPgOG8fN1HGgvysiFBiYFMhh8mz2Z2svDJzBBDv8uh2UrqxLV4Di43SlhKihnHkS6OOBGI2PPN36mt5s1ztGXvuekrKQzg_kowksSKwWQGxuR-v0kCLpfxqm1mypAoUWnX7I/s1600/Imitation-Game-Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Imitation Game: Does Homosexuality Take Away Your Talents, Contributions, and Identity?</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">The
Imitation Game is a film about secrets. Secrets which determine life, death,
morality, and identity. From one perspective it is a spy film, from another
it's a war epic, and from another it's activism for "gay" rights. There is
also a hidden spiritual dimension of the film that slowly unravels. It is this
generations “A Beautiful Mind” and is one of the most important films you will
see this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">STORY<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Alan Turing is a
puzzle solving mathematician who enlists in the British military to help the
government crack the unbreakable Nazi code, Enigma, on which all of the German
intelligence transmits their secret messages and planned attacks during the Second
World War. With a team of four other cryptologists, Turing builds the world’s
first computer that deciphers the Nazi’s secret decryption. </span><b style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;"><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">The film is
brilliantly written, edited, and pieced together like its own unique crossword
puzzle, shelling out clues frame by frame. The film's non-linear storyline
provides an extra shroud of mystery as we jump back and forth from 1951 when
Alan Turing is arrested. We are told one thing via Turing's opening voiceover,
"Pay Attention". We then begin a flashback about Turing's interest in
building a machine to break the Nazi code at the start of the war, and then a
third storyline of Turing's childhood days with his best friend Christopher.
Each story unfolds beautifully revealing deeper truths to a film layered in
meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">IMITATION & IDENTITY</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio39geDsYMCdq_qzP6kKs65jUjytiDstmf99CbogtRrUnegiuYQFsqAOPHqVHH5iOHuHR8eB77bt3pNSFx2w5kVAsePjgAyshzFI6iYNpwhBO8d2nc62ZDyu9e2CuQkB0WEtjEe6ty9iE/s1600/Imitation+Game+4.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio39geDsYMCdq_qzP6kKs65jUjytiDstmf99CbogtRrUnegiuYQFsqAOPHqVHH5iOHuHR8eB77bt3pNSFx2w5kVAsePjgAyshzFI6iYNpwhBO8d2nc62ZDyu9e2CuQkB0WEtjEe6ty9iE/s1600/Imitation+Game+4.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">While Turing successfully deciphers Enigma, he struggles to solve the puzzle of his own life and identity. We discover that from a young age he has stood out as an odd ball in the social circle of his preparatory school colleagues. They criticize him, nail him under the floorboards of a classroom, and treat him as an outcast. All his schoolmates, with the exception of Christopher, his best friend and mentor, see nothing of value in him. It is Christopher who reminds Alan that "It's the people who no one imagines anything of that do the things no one can imagine." From a social perspective, Turing's colleagues would have preferred him to imitate someone he was not in order to fit the mold of "normalcy". </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">The title
"Imitation Game" is befitting for every scenario in the film. From
the actual machine Turing builds that imitates the Nazi code (which he names
Christopher) to Turing's “imitation” of a straight man during his marriage
proposal; the “Imitation Game” is played by almost everyone in the film.
Everyone has something to hide or information another person wants. Even the
film itself plays an imitation game with it's audience. It imitates the kind of
war film viewers expected to watch all the while revealing its hidden identity
as the film progresses. One must in fact "pay attention" in order to
piece these clues together to decipher its message. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzgpbf24GDv5NhfgvNTwOI6Rvc7qyz_0Au8f_o2ZzjhGH_A2PGpwMGEOVwCeGL-PjGvBiun319v_4cYOsVFgNaaA4FYjWAmISRjTBhmiQGSeY3THBqbG9dmFtN-hFpBuW8r5vekDKwAs/s1600/Imitation+Game+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzgpbf24GDv5NhfgvNTwOI6Rvc7qyz_0Au8f_o2ZzjhGH_A2PGpwMGEOVwCeGL-PjGvBiun319v_4cYOsVFgNaaA4FYjWAmISRjTBhmiQGSeY3THBqbG9dmFtN-hFpBuW8r5vekDKwAs/s1600/Imitation+Game+3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">While on the
surface you are watching a war story of the intelligent minds behind the
destruction of the Nazi regime, you are also discovering an ironic prejudice
behind the British government. As the Germans were persecuting the Jews for not
fitting into a specific identity, England was forcing homosexuals to hide their
identity under penalty of law.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">We are given
a clue early in the movie about how to decipher the film's message. It is given
upon the discovery of a transcribed code from a Russian spy amongst the group of
cryptologists. The spy used the Gospel passage of Matthew 7:7 as the key to decrypt the hidden
messages and I believe that it is also the key to the film. "Ask and it
will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened
to you." It is a passage about discovering one’s identity and purpose in
life which Alan Turing sought throughout the film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">After he successfully
breaks Enigma and discovers the Nazi's plans of attack, Turing is forced to
keep it a secret within a tight circle of individuals. In fear of the Germans
discovering their code breaking, the content of each deciphered message
is first analyzed meticulously to figure out which German attacks to allow
through and which to stop.With the power of life and death in his hands it is Turing's decisions that ultimately bring the war to an end,
shortening it by at least two years. Winston Churchill would later say that
Turing “made the single biggest contribution to the allied victory in World War
II”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Despite his
natural born genius, his gifted analytical thinking, and beautiful mind, Turing
still struggled to find his identity within the film. He was unable to reveal
that he was the man who ended the war and had to go back to his life of
secrecy. He was a gay man in a time of major prohibition of "same-sex
attraction". The only person he could ever be himself with was
Christopher, who suspiciously died of bovine tuberculosis when they were in
school together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHVXdOKfaZ9Oj6R6YsSZFBE8jNkKIGiwe3bMX5vUVTnItzYqcAsJp2TmE687K8Y8VBs0LeVgO3wleLjq3JsfA1laKGZTRWVDB1QlTmezkLjdF_1fggkrFgBDYXA8a5CoKBuqI40mdGfA/s1600/Imitation+Game+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirHVXdOKfaZ9Oj6R6YsSZFBE8jNkKIGiwe3bMX5vUVTnItzYqcAsJp2TmE687K8Y8VBs0LeVgO3wleLjq3JsfA1laKGZTRWVDB1QlTmezkLjdF_1fggkrFgBDYXA8a5CoKBuqI40mdGfA/s1600/Imitation+Game+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">As the film
jumps back to 1951, Turing is arrested for indecent exposure with another man.
When he is being questioned, he asks the detective to play the "imitation
game" with him. After telling the detective his entire life story he asks
him to judge whether he is a machine, a person, a war hero or a criminal?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">This is a
critical part of the film's message. When the detective says that he cannot
judge him, Turing sadly states, "Well then, you're no help to me at
all." Turing was looking for someone else to help decipher his own
identity. He was looking for a judge. </span><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Everyone else had failed him, his parents, classmates, people, and his country. He finally looks to the law to find some sort of fair judgment on his life and receives none. </span><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">There is only one fair judge, qualified to reveal the purpose, identity, and mission behind any of us. This is where the film's spiritual message seeps through. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">God usually gets a bad wrap when it comes to homosexuality mainly because of human confusion and misunderstanding. God is love and creates everyone unique and unrepeatable. It wouldn't make sense for Christ to suffer on the cross for all except for those who are "gay". We need a serious reality check here. In Turing's case, those who were judging him were the same people he was willing to fight and risk his life for. He had never seen his talent and passion for justice as God-Given, at least not in the film, but those very qualities are gifts imbued in his identity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Does
homosexuality take away your talents, contributions, and identity? Turing needed to be recognized as a person, not as a machine or a war symbol. He needed the righteous judgment of his Creator. Turing never looked to God, but looked to his own creation. The only person he could relate to was Christopher, his code breaking mentor. Without Christopher around to affirm his identity he then built a second Christopher, a code breaking machine that he could dedicate his life to. How could we possibly come to the conclusion that just because someone is gay that makes them less of a person to identify with? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Turing was on a journey of self discovery, but had poor guidance. Rather than shun each other we must support one another along our individual journeys to understanding our
own purpose and missions in life. We all must ask, seek, and knock in order to
have our identities confirmed and recognized within the recesses of our soul. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">WHERE DO YOU BELONG IN THE WORLD?<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Much like Turing, we
all hide a part of ourselves because of some fear, whether it is imprisonment,
rejection, or persecution, we all play a part. We know how to act in front of parents, friends, family, managers, colleagues, or strangers. We find it difficult to be
who we were born to be on display for others to see. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GNteENQtKEY1bz9cY3qIZdxIbx-jBylLdPTtmLQHB3XARClp7Su0i38Ed0G8WTjR0HqyumyLNsUez8pForiM_5ONsSnG1nRGVP46NNCTYewNEpZ_p-lz_2wocMd04UTYM-6nZV8P1tE/s1600/Imitation+Game+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2GNteENQtKEY1bz9cY3qIZdxIbx-jBylLdPTtmLQHB3XARClp7Su0i38Ed0G8WTjR0HqyumyLNsUez8pForiM_5ONsSnG1nRGVP46NNCTYewNEpZ_p-lz_2wocMd04UTYM-6nZV8P1tE/s1600/Imitation+Game+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">We all yearn
to know where we belong and how we fit in. This is especially true still to
this day within the LGBT community as it was for over 49,000 men in Great
Britain who were imprisoned for homosexual activity under the gross indecency law up until 2003. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Turing reminds me of Jesus in this film for so many reasons, one being that he was rejected for his innate identity. Yet Christ was a person who was always himself around everyone. He even went to his hometown and tried to perform miracles there even when they disbelieved. He was a man who lived his identity in every area of his life up to the point of death.</span><b style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;"> </b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">He knew where he belonged.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Turing is
definitely a Christ figure in the film for he knew he had a talent that was to
be used outside of himself and despite the many years of humiliation, pain, and
suffering from others he persevered to succeed in his mission. He tells the
detective in a voiceover as we watch a young Turing being nailed into the floorboards by
his schoolmates, "People like violence because it feels good, but take
away the satisfaction and the act becomes hollow." That is the perfect
description of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. Rather than face imprisonment
for indecent exposure, Turing chose chemical castration, a daily dosage of
medicine aimed at curing his "gay" tendencies. This innocent victim took upon himself a chemical crucifixion that has not until recently begun bringing about fruits for the thousands of victims persecuted by the British government during this time. Whether this chemical obstruction was
directly linked to his suicide or not, Turing was a victim of societal
prejudice. And like Jesus, Turing was a man no one imagined anything of, but
accomplished the thing no one could imagine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Turing was pardoned in 2013 and you can check out the <a href="https://www.change.org/p/british-government-pardon-all-of-the-estimated-49-000-men-who-like-alan-turing-were-convicted-of-consenting-same-sex-relations-under-the-british-gross-indecency-law-only-repealed-in-2003-and-also-all-the-other-men-convicted-under-other-uk-anti-gay-la" target="_blank">petition</a> to support the pardoning of the 49,000 men convicted of being gay under British law. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-14477092033555138752015-02-02T17:30:00.000-05:002016-07-11T08:37:19.330-04:00Why I Always Cry At the End of the Film "Warrior"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZwQK9-K-NLs/VM_hzWybwrI/AAAAAAAAPy0/BwukKRJmRhA/s1600/Warrior%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrKAvShvrOk3eeeuovcUO-U0Bh7-bMhZDhyphenhyphen9Ae5zeQNfyDC3NRPMwL8zL6iHeAswqUSqGTF7CTm3OX99fhUUhgtS-s9Zy2yZFk3Xz0pfc3qU48sHBp5dD6jfCkOekiUtPqBC2poZablI/s1600/Warrior_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimrKAvShvrOk3eeeuovcUO-U0Bh7-bMhZDhyphenhyphen9Ae5zeQNfyDC3NRPMwL8zL6iHeAswqUSqGTF7CTm3OX99fhUUhgtS-s9Zy2yZFk3Xz0pfc3qU48sHBp5dD6jfCkOekiUtPqBC2poZablI/s1600/Warrior_Poster.jpg"></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif; font-size: large;">WHY I ALWAYS CRY AT THE END OF THE FILM "WARRIOR"</span></b></div>
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br></span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">**Spoiler Alert</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">When was the last time you blubbered after a film? Maybe it was at the end of <i>Titanic</i> when you saw a young Jack take Rose's hand. Maybe it was at the end of <i>Forrest</i> <i>Gump</i> when he mutters through his tears about his son, "He's so smart Jenny." Or maybe it was the beautiful final scene of <i>The</i> <i>Notebook</i> which symbolizes the eternity of true love. We all have a blubbering film, for my wife it is <i>Moulin</i> <i>Rouge</i>, a film that she would start again from the beginning the moment it ended in a vicious cycle of tears. My uncontrollable tearjerker is the film Warrior. It is easily one of the most underrated movie ever made as it is the <i>Rocky</i> of MMA (mixed martial arts). The film is not so much about mixed martial arts as much as it's about the triumph of the human spirit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I've seen it four times now and each time I have embarrassingly cried at the closing credits. I'm talking shakes, lip quivers, and short breath panting. I needed to explore why this movie made me feel this way and I'm sure much of it has to do with my brother and my own masculine genetics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br>
</span></b> <br>
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">The Plot</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br><i>
Warrior</i> is a story of two estranged brothers, Brendan (Joel Edgerton) and Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy), who end up fighting each other in the championship bout of an MMA tournament. Trained at a young age to be vigilant fighters by their alcoholic father Paddy (Nick Nolte), both Brendan and Tommy reunite to settle the ambiguous hatred for one another that was built from their parents separation. While Tommy followed his mother and watched her lose a slow battle with cancer, Brendan stayed with his father and eventually parted ways due to Paddy's abuse of alcohol. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdB9JWLdiIIqnXduD_EbLhslbxEpAb1_8ZF_k7z5QJRxZmVbb60r7KBK_8rwfH8dbT_clfFm5n6b5RmBzIpFcLmYwxBGQxQBLXflsnRkSQB8X2in3GPYOzH-3M1bYbkQabWmWXil2JFsI/s1600/Warrior+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdB9JWLdiIIqnXduD_EbLhslbxEpAb1_8ZF_k7z5QJRxZmVbb60r7KBK_8rwfH8dbT_clfFm5n6b5RmBzIpFcLmYwxBGQxQBLXflsnRkSQB8X2in3GPYOzH-3M1bYbkQabWmWXil2JFsI/s1600/Warrior+2.jpg" width="400"></a><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Brendan became the family man, was married, had children, and took a job teaching high school physics. Tommy joined the Marines and abandoned his company after a traumatic event overseas. The story takes place after Tommy returns and seeks out his now sober father to help train him for an MMA tournament granting a five million dollar prize to its sole champion. Meanwhile, Brendan's family faces the foreclosure of their home and in a desperate attempt to make ends meet he participates in illegal street fights for extra cash. By a stroke of luck Brendan finds a way into the same MMA tournament as his brother without knowing it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Each character has something to prove, something to gain, and something to lose. If Brendan does not win he will lose his house and if Tommy does not win he cannot support the family of his fallen comrade (whose death he takes responsibility for). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Okay, so why all the crying?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">My Brother<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">My brother and I grew up very close. I remember how he would cry on the front steps of our New Jersey home when I refused to take him with me to go hang out with my friends. He so badly wanted to be a part of my life at such a young age (there is a four year difference between us). I remember one time our older friend, Derek, was criticizing my brother Chris over some dispute about roller blades. To alleviate the pressure off of my brother, I picked up Derek's roller blades that were sitting on my front porch and I threw them off to the grass below. The thud of the blades lit a flame of anger in Derek's eyes as he turned his attention to me now. He simply said, "Why don't we go across the street, if you are man enough." This was clearly going to be a fight and I was definitely not going to win as Derek was twice my size and much older. Yet, I was not going to allow Derek's criticism of my brother be taken lightly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Rather than appear like a wimp in front of our two other friends who were present for this as well, I obliged to meet him across the street in the parking lot of a Jehovah's Witness church. It was freezing that day and there was snow all around me. The moment we reached the emptied lot, Derek threw me to the ground and pinned me there. He picked up my head and began smashing it against the cold asphalt. He kept seeking an apology, but none was offered. I just stayed there quietly and took an ass whooping for my brother. Derek did not feel good fighting someone who wouldn't return his frustrated blows and he let me go, riding away on his bicycle. (<i>Ironic side note, Derek is now an MMA trainer!</i>) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">That was a great day of bonding for my brother and me. I stood up for him and he was proud of that. He was much smaller than I was and I was obligated as his brother to protect him. He wouldn't stay little forever though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Sometime later, Chris and I were standing in line buying <i>Mystic </i>drinks at our neighborhood Exxon convenient store, when the guy in front of us turned around and asked if we were brothers. I told him we were and he told me to remember that one day my brother was going to be bigger than me and I would have to learn how to deal with that. He said that his brother now towers over him as an adult. I never forgot that because eventually Chris grew to become bigger and physically stronger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Through the years we slowly drifted apart, taking separate paths and finding different interests. The most devastating divergence between us was when I asked him to step down as my best man at my wedding because I felt he was not stepping up when I needed him most. We never talked about this further and it still feels like a wound in our relationship even though it has been almost six years since. I grew up like Brendan Conlon, a family man working hard to support the ones he loves. My brother is a less angry version of Tommy Conlon, focused on physique, nutrition, and holding a dark cloud of emotional repression. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Masculine Sentimentality<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Men have an inner need to express themselves physically. This is why violent sports are entertaining. This does not mean that women are excluded from this, but it tends to be the majority of men who have trouble communicating their feelings through thoughts and words. Men communicate physically through the pummeling of their bodies. Maybe it is rooted from the early days of Gladiators, but men tend to settle the score through physical means. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkvBCkcN2CpD8vP31RgNMRN6zVak7Zeof0z69wm7UkgVjEQQceK_sttUCL_YJVwCQ4XhsrdqvawrBTIf21ckfCf_3_yRDiadJPqGsViqrIf_1iNFFeYTite1MuEaEzOcEag7icFHrovM/s1600/warriorx-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkvBCkcN2CpD8vP31RgNMRN6zVak7Zeof0z69wm7UkgVjEQQceK_sttUCL_YJVwCQ4XhsrdqvawrBTIf21ckfCf_3_yRDiadJPqGsViqrIf_1iNFFeYTite1MuEaEzOcEag7icFHrovM/s1600/warriorx-large.jpg" width="320"></a><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">There is a dichotomy when it comes to the way men and women share their feelings and connect with others emotionally. Without completely generalizing, women tend to express their feelings more openly then men do. Saint John Paul II said that women are more sentimental and men tend to be more sensual. It is through that sensuality that mend discover their sentimentality. However, I also believe that men are called to sacrifice their bodies as a virtuous act. This driving force to lay down one's life can be misconstrued and taken out of context when it comes to violent sports, but it can also be used to understand the way men communicate. Think of William Wallace in <i>Braveheart </i>or Leonidas in <i>300. </i>A hardworking husband may show his love through the intense hours he puts in, trying to balance work, family, and self-development. Physical activity is a way men work out the emotional stirrings that settle in their hearts. Is it perfect? No, but it's our challenge as men to be aware of our masculine sentimentality and its deeper desire to express externally that which is hidden internally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">This is vividly expressed in <i>Warrior</i> when Tommy faces Brendan in the final showdown. Despite the many attempts to reconcile, Tommy refuses to listen to Brendan and see reason. At the same time Brendan refuses to see his brother’s emotional pain caused by witnessing the deaths of his mother and Marine brothers. So they must settle their emotional battle in a very physical way. Without spoiling the ending, it is the last two minutes of this fight that always bring about uncontrollable tears. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Those last two minutes send a shockwave of emotion through my body. I begin to shake because I am reminded of every missed opportunity I had to be a responsible big brother. I am reminded of all the times I failed to shield my brother from witnessing the domestic disputes in our household. I cry because I stopped fighting the Derek's of the world for him and lost myself in a web of familial numbness. I cry because when our parents split up I didn't choose him just as Brendan didn't choose Tommy. And no matter how beneficial it was for my well-being and maturity, I'll always fee guilty for not being there when he needed me most. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Those final two minutes showcase the need for the human body to physically break in order for one's emotional wall to be torn down. I secretly want to fight my brother in order to crack open the the sealed container we buried our childhood innocence in, allowing it to spillover in the grace of forgiveness. I cry because I find more courage in writing these emotions than actually speaking them. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Is this a movie worth watching then? Definitely, especially with your brother. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I love you Chris!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Giver: The Good, The Bad, and The Holy </span></b></div>
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What would the world look like without suffering? Can you even imagine it? Who wouldn't wish for a life without the debilitating effects of terminal cancer, disease, and war? Better yet, what about a place that can eliminate discrimination, prejudice of race, and poverty? It certainly sounds good. The only cost for this world would be a few innocuous elements of your life like beauty, nature, and free-will. Would you trade those for peace on earth?</div>
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In <i>The Giver</i>, a new utopia is presented where there is no unemployment, relationship problems and what was that other thing...oh yeah, emotions. The society is built on <i>Sameness</i> a genetic and economic initiative that eliminates all differences in order to create a safer world. </div>
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It is essentially a society without God. Well, more like a society which builds itself as God. <i>Sameness</i> is run by a council of elders whose societal decisions include: blocking out the Sun as to manipulate the weather, mandating how many children a family can apply for, assigning its citizens their careers, and writing the moral code all people must abide by. Who would let this happen and what about the human conscious you may ask? It is chemically pushed aside through the daily doses of prescriptive drugs they lawfully oblige citizens to inject. What seems like a utopia at first slowly reveals itself as a dystopia. </div>
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The Giver is an actual person in this society who was chosen to obtain all of the memories and real emotions of the past world (AKA our world today). His position is titled "Receiver of Memories" and at the beginning of the film a new "Receiver of Memories" is chosen to take his place. Jonas, a young eager graduate, is given this position because of his ability to "see beyond." His real ability is to see "truth". After receiving memories of joy and pain, Jonas discovers the utopian hoax that the society has been forcing on its people. He attempts to undo the many years of brainwashing that <i>Sameness</i> has established.</div>
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Lois Lowry's book "The Giver" discusses all of these themes for a very young audience. The film version tries to adapt the book's simplistic genius, but falls short many times. However, this is not a review to discuss why the book is better, but a review to highlight the film's Good, Bad, and Holy qualities. </div>
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<b>The Good </b></div>
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The film delivers some very powerful visuals that make for deep conversations, especially for families and small groups. It tackles tough content such as, euthanasia, infanticide, capital punishment, and controlled sexual reproduction. The themes are not only relevant to today's society but are presented particularly for a younger audience. <br />
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The film inspires with it’s stunning visuals of the beauty of nature like snow, the ocean, and the sun. The fairly simple shots shown in context of a character who has never seen them before reminds us all of what beauty exists in our lives. As Jonas receives memories from the Giver, he feels them as if they were his own experiences. To witness his reactions to beauty for the first time is a nice touch that the film has over the book, the fact that we can see what he is seeing. It reminded me of the Youtube clip of the little girl experiencing rain for the first time. There is something about it that fills you with joy! <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuewtGD_Ng4" target="_blank">Check it out here</a>, but after you finish reading. Once you watch it you will forget about this blog!</div>
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The films promotes an awareness of societal numbness. The kids in the film are forced to inject themselves everyday with a dose of an emotion-decreasing drug. They become limited in their perception of the holistic society and the world. They stop asking questions about why things are the way they are. When you have lost the ability to question, you have lost your ability to think.</div>
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We are experiencing a current generation shrouded in numbness and overly enveloped in self involvement. The film does a great job at promoting the affects of this sort of society. It reminded me of "The Village", another film about controlling people through fear and attempting to eliminate all human suffering. What happens when you eliminate suffering though? You eliminate beauty as well. There is no beauty without suffering like there is no baby without the pains of childbirth, no coral without years of water erosion, or no mountain without a hole.</div>
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<b>The Bad</b></div>
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This film is certainly not for everyone. The directing does not stand out and the cast doesn’t shine as much as it does on the movie poster. They were trying very hard to get today’s youth into the seats, which is why they added Taylor Swift in as a cameo. </div>
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Even with Meryl Streep, Jeff bridges and Swift the movie still felt incomplete. It’s because the pacing in Lowry’s book allows for much time spent between Jonas and The Giver. You see a relationship blossom and it becomes evident that a sincere friendship is built between them. The film spends more time developing a relationship between Jonas and his girlfriend rather than with the Giver. The film was trying to attach a romantic story where the book did not offer. </div>
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Also the film uses real footage from Youtube clips, current media, and some documentaries to portray the prior state of the human race as Jonas is receiving memories. The footage is meticulously placed with inspirational music layered over to force out an emotion from the audience. (Did you pay attention to the music used in the clip of the little girl and rain?) They do this because it masks the lack of performance from the actors. We generally don’t care about these characters like we do in the book, but put solid images to inspiring music and you have got yourself a tearjerker! I think this is because of a lack of directing rather than acting because the cast is strong, just outside this movie. </div>
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The film also becomes very predictable due to the pacing and the obvious placement of narrative. You already know the ending before you ever get to the middle of the film. They did not know how to properly imbed the exposition of the story throughout the screenplay.</div>
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<b>The Holy</b></div>
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Now with that being said, the film offers a layer of spiritual content that is not seen in many movies nowadays. The Giver is society's version of Jesus. They need someone to take upon the weight and memories of the entire world. The truth is that no mortal man can bear this weight. Which is why only a God/Man could be the one to remove sin. <i>Sameness</i> eliminated religion thus eliminating the possibility of a savior, yet they were still able to recognize that <i>Sameness</i> needed a type of savior, one who could carry all of the beauty, but also all of the pain from its past. This was the only way <i>Sameness</i> could work. </div>
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Even within this dystopian society God is still present. No matter how many gifts <i>the Elders</i> rejected from their Creator, God still placed gifts into a few individuals like Jonas and baby Gabriel, those who can see beyond or as I call it <i>Truth</i>. God uses Jonas to end the restriction of memories. Jonas freely chooses to sacrifice his life to bring back all of the memories in the dystopian society, a true Christ figure.</div>
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We discover that suffering and beauty are necessary in life because the appreciation for beauty is intensified when one chooses to suffer for it. Sameness preaches freedom, but it is choice that is the ultimate freedom. Choosing to suffer is choosing beauty. Yes, there is unnecessary suffering in the world, but we cannot simply uproot the grass with the weeds. Rather we must simply feed the grass so that the weeds can no longer grow. Choosing to do good is holier than being forced to behave and it is more effective. </div>
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<b>Conclusion</b></div>
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While the world of The Giver is pushing <i>Sameness</i> in this world it is ignoring the after life where there will be a kind of sameness, which is a oneness with God. The big difference is that we will still hold to our individual selves while experiencing an intense unification with God and the celestial society. In this world there is truly one Giver, God three in one, who truly did take on the suffering of the entire world so that the entire world could freely choose this beatific life. While all suffering will be eliminated it has now been weeded out from beauty. Beauty exists in abundance as intended, but suffering will finally cease. </div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0Miami, FL, USA25.7616798 -80.19179020000001425.5329123 -80.514513700000009 25.9904473 -79.869066700000019tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-16732314965488098782014-08-18T09:17:00.000-04:002017-01-26T09:24:44.529-05:00In Sickness and in Health - My Reflection on Four Years of Marriage<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH - MY REFLECTION ON FOUR YEARS OF MARRIAGE</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Why
do so many people offer you the same advice before you get married? It’s like
there is a secret club that you are automatically initiated into when you are
wed who share the same pieces of practical information or rather
disinformation. It is never really informative for a successful marriage,
it always seems like a desperate attempt to make you aware of their own
dissatisfaction with their spouses. They say things like:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">
</span><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">“I
am so glad you are getting married because you shouldn't be happier
than me.”</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">“Remember
these two words: ‘Yes, dear.’”</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">“Get
ready for your sex life to be over!”</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">This
information is usually divulged in a friendly laughable manner, but it is also
disclosed as if it were Sacred Scripture. With divorce rates so high, I can
understand why so many couples have predisposed deleterious feelings towards
marriage. Why don’t we hear more practical advice about marriage and its
beatific vision for the human person? Probably because like everything good in
life, it takes much sacrifice to make marriage work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">This
month my wife I and celebrated our four year anniversary and I have a serious
revelation to share. I am happily married (Sorry Ladies). I am not just happy
with my life, but I am more in love with my wife, Laura, now than the entire
accumulation of our eleven year relationship. I am not going to say that our
marriage is perfect because as with everything there is always a need to grow,
mature, and forever polish that which is most prized in life. I will say that
our marriage is sincere and open to the acceptance of one another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
know some will say, "Wait twenty years until you can't stand each
other", "Wait until more kids come" "Wait until there is a
death in the family, then you'll think differently." Why do we measure
marriage based on the amount of emotional crisis we can go through as a couple?
Do our vows mean nothing anymore? Why do we doubt our promises to one another
when the crisis comes? "I take you in sickness and in health, except when
it proves to be very difficult for me." <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
think so many marriages fail for two reasons: the inability to accept the other
person just as they are and the inability for that same person to change. “I
accept you, now change.” It sounds ironic, but is true when you uncover what
acceptance really means. Professionals will tell you that marriages fail mainly
because of sex and money or lack thereof, but I think those are results of the
deeper issues of acceptance and change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">“The
curious paradox is that once I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” </span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "ms mincho"; mso-bidi-font-family: "MS Mincho";">
</span></b><b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">–<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Carl Rogers</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Acceptance</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">When
Laura and I first met I was lost in a world of imagination and
self-involvement. I cared for very little people and didn't have much
going on in my life. Without preparing for college
I didn't attend after high school. I held some poisonous
friendships, ones that weren't molding me into a better person.
I didn't have a car and was too proud to take a bus
anywhere, even if it was to see Laura when we were dating. I was very quiet
around people, closed off to society while Laura was very familial and social.
I was numb from a visually disruptive childhood, but never let that on. When I
think back on my personality then, it boggles my mind on how I ever got the
girl. What could she have ever seen in that weak boy with a goatee? Well, I
asked her one day and she told me that she could see the man I would
become. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">While
I am still struggling with my own acceptance, I can proudly say I have changed
completely for the better. Laura accepted my personality, but not my bad
habits. She clearly saw the habits that were preventing me from becoming the
man that I was meant to be and she challenged the habits, not my personality. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">I am still an oddball around her, making up lyrics to
her favorite songs, talking to myself in front of the mirror, and trying to get
her to laugh at my “genius” comedic timing. These personality traits drive her
crazy, but she has accepted them. It is because of this acceptance that I
challenge myself to change those habits that destroy my joy, well-being, and
relationship with her. </span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br /></span></a><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Change</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Now
this does not mean that a person in a physically violent relationship should
accept this circumstance and all of a sudden their alcoholic spouse will
change. Accepting the person is like piercing through their heart and embracing
their true identity, that motivated individual that is begging to come out. In
situations like this, the habit of alcohol abuse, for example, needs to be
challenged and if that involves one spouse separating from the alcoholic then
that may be what is necessary. Change can only come from the person who makes
the decision to change. It is an act of the will. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Habits
that alter your physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual states are
worth questioning. Is my diet affecting my spouse? Is my creativity affecting
my spouse? Are my emotions pushing my spouse away? Are my spiritual habits too
advanced for my spouse or are they too vague? Acceptance inspires change. Think
of a rebellious teenager's reason for closing off to his parents, “You don’t
understand me!” That same teenager opens up to the friends who accept him as he
is. Sooner or later that kid will begin to change and conform to the habits of
his friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><b><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Marriages are in desperate need for spousal
acceptance which inspires positive change. </span></b><u1:p></u1:p><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><b><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><b><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
do not only attribute acceptance and change as the characteristics of our
successful marriage. There are four more that I think are necessary. I call
them the four "F's". And yes, I'm sure someone else can come up with
their own four "F's", but let's stay positive people!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Friendship</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Laura
is my best friend. If your spouse is not your best friend then something is
wrong. Does that mean that we have to do everything together? While life
experiences have more meaning when shared, we are still opposite genders. There
are certain kinds of bonds that one sometimes needs from their own sex. Laura
enjoys formal and impromptu sessions of discussion with her female friends that
involve deep emotional topics. I just want to play basketball. Maybe suck at
golf for a couple hours. I prefer physical competition where I can trash talk
through my corporeal abilities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Then
there are the places I don’t want to go without her. Food I don’t want to try
unless she is with me. Experiences I need to appreciate only in her company.
(Unless it’s a movie…then I’ll watch it anyway. Sorry, Love). I can’t remember
how I ever laughed without her in my life or felt joy. The trips I remember the
most are the ones that only she and I take. I have vivid memories of our
honeymoon in Mexico, our trip to Madrid, and our adventure in St. Augustine. No
other memory can stand against those. They are filled with simplicity,
togetherness, laughter, and a complete sense of unity. Friendship for us is as
necessary as breathing. Our marriage cannot survive without it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Freely
Communicating</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
still struggle with this one, but have come a distance. Laura is much better at
it than I am, but I have learned the hard way that communication is key to a
healthy marriage. Unfortunately, a crazy shift begins to happen in men after a
certain amount of time in a relationship, they stop listening. For some men it
takes two seconds of conversation and for some it takes ten. I have become
aware that my attention is pulled in so many different areas, my neurological
pathways are sending messages to more parts of my body and I converse more with
myself when I am supposed to be talking to my wife. So we bump heads a lot due
to mis-communication. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
understand that men have a challenge when it comes to expressing their
feelings. Ladies you should be aware of this and help create for your spouse a
safe ground to discuss those feelings. Men are hard on themselves. I am
constantly beating myself up for forgetting to make a doctor’s appointment, not
cleaning the garden or washing the cars, and not challenging my wife at times
to live up to the best version of herself. Men want to talk about those things,
but need a safe place to do it. Physical activity can only let out so much
emotion, while the rest of it needs to be talked out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Discuss
everything especially finances, intimacy, work, and dreams. Laura and I started
a dream book where we write our dreams in there to reflect on. Remember that it
should be free communication, don't make your spouse try and pull the
information out of you like she is extracting a tooth. So many times I have
done this to Laura and it creates a divergence. If your spouse is your best
friend then communicating should be safe, easy, and free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Family</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Family
is the support network needed to help you keep things in perspective. I have
always had a challenge with my family. I grew up independent mostly, free from
curfew, rules, and positive encouragement. I love my family, but it’s difficult
to get emotionally connected to them. Laura grew up with the complete
opposite. So you can imagine the provocation of a shy emotionally numb boy
entering into an emotionally connected family. I have been challenged by my
in-laws so many times to take care of my spouse and continuously change my
habits. With over thirty years of marriage they are a reminder of success and a
beacon of hope. The amount of love they have for Laura and I is immeasurable.
You could count the molecules in the Indian Ocean faster than you could sum up
the immense love this family has for us. Family is important within marriage.
Many couples avoid each other's families or live with a deep sense of
resentment towards them. I think if married couples really tried to embrace and
accept their spouse’s family, they would find a deeper love and a new support
network. I can only dream of giving my daughter the same support that our
family has given us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Faith</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">No
matter what faith you are or if you simply consider yourself
"spiritual", faith is the most important aspect of marriage. Faith
encompasses not only a religious belief, but a unified set of moral standards.
Faith serves as an aid during difficult struggles, a pathway to raise your
children on, and a deeper love than you can ever imagine. I can tell you that
Laura and I would not be married if it were not for our faith. In the early
years of our relationship we used to be infinity for each other. We were each
other's God and that was a weight that was far too much for anyone to bear.
Together Laura and I discovered, nurtured, and lived out a personal
relationship with Christ. He helped us get back to courtship, fostering a real
love for each other, one filled with giving and emptying ourselves to God. We
were filled with graces beyond comparison. We bonded in new ways through music
by playing for our choir, retreats, and for a band. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Many
couples have told us that they admire our marriage, but I can tell you that any
joy they see within our lives comes from a life of "seeking the kingdom of
Heaven". The greatest gift I have received from my faith has been a phrase
that came to me one day at mass. I easily get frustrated when things don't go
the way I planned. I think of myself as a perfectionist and want my marriage to
be perfect in every aspect. One day I was praying for our marriage and I just
had this thought in my head, "Stop seeking perfection, seek joy." So
many times in life we try and control people, scenarios, and the course of our
own lives, but experience tells us that things never go according to plan. So
seek joy, not perfection. Joy is everlasting. Joy imprints the memories that
are worth storing for later reflection. Joy is the fruit that marriage needs to
thrive. Authentic faith leads to joy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Prove
it to Me</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
remember when my love for Laura blossomed more spectacular. It was when I
encouraged her to audition for "The Voice". We flew up to New York
and spent the weekend prepping for the competition. I was completely
overwhelmed by my joy for her. I wanted her to showcase her talent and succeed
for completely altruistic reasons. I did everything I could to motivate, keep
her on schedule, make sure her voice was well lubricated with tea, and be
present for her. It may sound silly to you, but for someone who would always
think of himself, this was one time where I had no interest in me and I knew
that I had truly changed for the better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
witnessed Laura's profound love for me when I was diagnosed with Vertigo. It
was a nasty spell lasting over five months. She put herself on hold during that
time even when she found out that we were pregnant and took care of me. She
drove me to work every morning and picked me up because of my fear of blacking
out on the road. She took me to ENT appointments, set up a special bed for me
to sleep on so I could get shut-eye, and cooked. She never asked for anything
in return because out of her pure love she wanted to nurture me back to health. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">Marriage
is more than the wedding reception, it is a lifetime of opportunity waiting to
be conformed into joy. You will inevitably face suffering, but through the
bonds of deep friendship and free communication of feelings you will see that
your spouse is there to help carry the burden not be the burden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">For
My Wife</span></b><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">These
last four years spent with you have been the most challenging, yet most
fulfilled years of my life. It's not the same relationship that it was in our
early years. While we used to be in awe of the "new", I am finding
that my love for you is not dependent on how funny you are, how gorgeous you
are, or how talented you are. I am discovering that my life can't be explained
while it is separated from you. The very fabric of my identity as a man,
husband, and friend is intermingled in yours. It’s true that marriage is meant
to act as a bond for the complementation of the couple. When I look inside
myself it is your strength I discover. It is your voice I hear when I doubt
myself. It's your love that motivates me. I yearn to become the best husband
and friend for you because you are an extension of myself. Self-motivation is
really a unitive-motivation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p7lj1ka6VMckH-kBh3vBUndY0Yq5EcxzmW08TRHYs7HCkaQ5d_kC4XCvtpIDU2bKA6J6ODl56bxtDuIqOgl-HGp1W5WhfjLpaSDCH-9uElfaiPN5UFvLQsqAbTUwkJssP716FLTlSmQ/s1600/Marriage.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="float: left;"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><br />
</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;">I
know I fall short in so many aspects of our marriage, but I promise to be
forever open to continuous learning and consistent application of change. I am
invisible without you. You are my foundation and existence. Four years have
gone by since our vows were said and not a day has gone by that I feel
discouraged. I love you deeper every day. I am freely here to help you find
your happiness in life. I am faithfully dedicated to you forever. Together we
have fruitfully extended our love for the world to physically hold, touch, and
cherish (Imma). I am totally yours from Mind, body to soul. Thank you for loving
this silly boy for so long. Here is </span><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">too</span><span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"> many more anniversaries. I love you!
Ti Voligio Bene!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "lucida bright" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-31568722935797796872014-07-21T13:21:00.000-04:002015-02-04T00:30:38.198-05:00The Speed Trap (Short Story)<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: .25in; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;">Thirty, he thought, the speed limit was
forty-five. His hand barely glided atop the wind as it hung out the car window.
His mother wasn’t a risk taker. Not like him. He was the boy who would trade
his entire childhood if it meant being old enough to drive. The minimum age was
all he needed to be, no sense in being older than necessary.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Dylan put your arm in the car before it
gets chopped off,” his mother shouted. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He did as told, no need for an argument. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He really did wish his mother had a
heavier foot. Not that he was in a hurry to get to where they were going
anyway. He just loved speed, every aspect of it. He was yet to be told by more
experienced children that the faster one accelerates the greater the risk of crashing.
But he was a risk taker. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> The car finally stopped. Mrs. Rooney was
waiting on the front porch of the house already eager to greet the two. Dylan
was the first out of the car and Mrs. Rooney swiftly made her acquaintance with
a motherly embrace smothering Dylan’s head into her blouse. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Oh, bless your heart.” She added a quick
kiss on the top of his head. “Martha, you’re saving my life I hope you know."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Oh, it’s no problem really. Dylan is glad
to help Ryan, aren’t you Dill?” She gave her son a strict stare. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “You bet Mrs. Rooney. No problem,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> But there was a problem, for he never
actually agreed to be there voluntarily. His mother had to bribe him. No chores
for a week and a new set of Matchbox cars was the payment he would receive if
he spent four hours with Ryan trying to help him socialize, whatever that
meant. He went to school with Ryan up until a couple years ago when his mother
pulled him out to home school him. Ryan was not like any other child. He was
much slower at getting chores done and couldn’t respond to people as quickly as other kids. Everything about him was slow, which is what annoyed Dylan the
most. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> But Mrs. Rooney came to their house crying
on his mother’s shoulder because Ryan stopped talking all together. The
sanctity of a mother’s tears will slow down the rapidly maturing heart of any
child, including Dylan. As much as he yearned to grow up he couldn’t prevent
the feeling of helplessness that came with the sight of a grownup crying. So he
agreed to accept the bribe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<b>SLOW BOREDOM</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> In the bedroom, Ryan sat in a solid blue
covered chair with his arms drooping down from his shoulders. Dylan sat across
from him avoiding eye contact. He mostly stared at the carpet which was a very
bland brown, not exciting. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “You wanna play cards?” Dylan asked, but no
response was given. “Can you hear me?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He waved his hands in front of Ryan’s eyes.
It scared him a little because it seemed as if there was no life in Ryan at
all. What was up with this kid? One thing Dylan noticed was that Ryan was not
blinking. He almost decided to go downstairs and call Mrs. Rooney because
something seemed wrong, but he suddenly had a flash of memory. It was as if his
mind had a buried treasure and he suddenly uncovered it. He remembered several
years ago when he and Ryan were both in first grade together. The teacher asked
the students who could name their state capital, Dylan knew the answer was <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Trenton</st1:place></st1:city> because that’s
where his grandma lived, but it was Ryan’s hand that shot up in the air first
and it was Ryan who correctly answered the teacher before Dylan’s voice even
had time to roll from his tongue. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He could not stop thinking about the
memory. If this were the old West, Ryan’s quick hand would have beat Dylan’s.
There was no recovery from defeat, either you are faster than the other man or
you are dead. It was so simple. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> So this must mean that Ryan was once not
like he is now. He was fast, so he must be faking it. He must be pretending to
be slow on purpose. But why would anyone do that? Dylan took this as a
challenge. He moved his chair closer to Ryan and he opened his eyes wide and
glared into the dark abyss that Ryan now wore over his vision. He was going to
have a stare contest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> For two minutes Dylan managed to keep from
blinking, but was getting tired. Ryan didn’t show any signs of fatigue. It was
if he wasn’t in his own body. Dylan would not quit however, he would expose
Ryan for being a fraud. Water and salt began to liquefy and Dylan’s eyes turned
a glossy blue, but he kept looking into Ryan’s eyes, lost and consumed by them.
Then he heard a familiar noise, an engine. He heard the distinct sound of a car
engine as if it were inside Ryan’s head. As soon as the sound faded he saw what
looked like a car speeding into the darkness that Ryan’s eyes held. Immediately
Dylan blinked, not because he was giving up but to see if he saw what he
thought he saw.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> The water ran down his cheeks and he leaned
closer to Ryan looking into him to find the car again. He didn’t see it. So he
spread open Ryan’s eyelids to look deeper, intruding his space, but he didn’t
care at this point. He knew what he heard and saw, a blue car trapped inside
Ryan’s mind. Maybe his obsession with cars was really getting a hold of him. He
let Ryan go and stepped back. He couldn’t be going crazy, he had only been
there an hour. Three more to go, he thought. If he didn’t find something to
entertain him he was sure he would end up like Ryan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He walked to the closet in the back of the
room and poked his head around inside. His eyes lit up at the sight of it, a
dusty red car, sized just for an eight year old. It was one of those battery
operated cars, but this one had no battery. This would surely keep him busy
for the rest of his visit. There was no limit to an imagination built for
speed. He pushed the car out of the closet and faced it toward Ryan so he could
keep an eye on him. He still sat there motionlessly. He almost felt bad about
giving up on him, but he knew he could not allow himself to end up like him,
which is what would have happened if he did not feed his adrenaline rush. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He opened the door and sat in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<b>SPEED CITY</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> The car picked up speed and before he knew
it he was no longer in Ryan’s room. He was on the road, behind the wheel, and
driving super fast. He didn’t know what exactly took place, but he wasn’t
afraid. Children do not ask themselves “how” or “why” when their dreams become real;
they just live it before it gets taken away from them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> The red battery car was now a red Ferrari.
His hands were now gloved. His mind was now free. An endless road of paved
highway layed out in front him and he had it all to himself. He drove until the
sun set and rose again topping two hundred miles per hour. A weird feeling came
over him a feeling as if he were becoming one with the car. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> There were four things he noticed during
his joy riding: there were no doors on the car only windows, his gas gauge
always read full, he never felt tired, and he never had the craving for food.
He was sure he must be hungry since a day had gone by without eating. He
thought about these things for a little while and then forgot them. These were
the thoughts that end dreams. So he sped on leaving them behind.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> After a week Dylan had explored the entire
territory and there was nowhere else to drive that he had not already been. His
speedometer began to lower to one hundred and fifty miles per hour. Suddenly,
two cars appeared on each side of his. Both were dark green with red lining.
They were models he had never seen before, they resembled miniature cruise
ships. A voice spoke through his CB radio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “I wouldn’t be doing that if I were you”,
said the voice. It was coming from the car on the left. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Dylan did not notice the radio there before
and he was sure he inspected the whole car. He picked up the radio and answered
back. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Who are you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “My handle is Keebler. And she over there
is Delilah.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Call me Deli,” she said through the radio.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Where did you come from?” Dylan asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “First things first, what’s your handle?”
Keebler asked fervently. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He was about to say his real name but then
realized that a handle was a radio name, something made up. “Speedo”, he said
proudly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “It’s a pleasure to meet you Speedo”, Deli
said. She shook her long red hair at him as a friendly gesture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “I’ve been riding through these parts for a
week now. I should have run into you earlier. Where did you come from?” Dylan
spoke into the radio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “This is our speed zone. Think of this
world as layers on an onion. You just happened to be at the top layer while we
are at a lower layer.” Keebler said. “You have been alone because no one is
fast enough to reach that zone.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Dylan couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
Its not every day he received praises for his driving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “No one you say?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “You’re bragging kid,” Deli retorted,
“You’re speed resembles your youth. A couple years and you’ll be mid zoning
like us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Youth?” Dylan did not like that word. It
was as if Deli insulted him indirectly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “The younger you are the more passion fuels
your vehicle. As you get older that fuel begins depleting,” Keebler’s high
voice said. “Which reminds me why we’re here, you had a drastic change in
velocity. Did you hit a speed trap?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Speed trap?” Dylan did not understand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Speed traps are set up at every zone,
beware of them,” said Deli. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Dylan
did not remember hitting anything. It was a desolate road in the fast zone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “I slowed down voluntarily,” Dylan said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Both Deli and Keebler were shocked. They
started speaking all at once into the radio and Dylan could not make out any
words. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Are you crazy?” Deli shouted. “You don’t
ever slow down. That’s the number one rule. You can’t. Or else he will come.
And he will challenge. And he will win.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Who will come?” Dylan asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Blue Blaze. He sets up the speed traps. He
has been here so long that his passion is fully depleted and must live in the
lowest zone. So he fuels on the passion of others waiting for them to hit a
speed trap and enter his layer. You see once you enter another zone you leave
open a brief doorway to the zone you were in. That’s how he sets up the speed
traps. After he has killed the person and robed them of their fuel he sets up
more traps on every level he can get to until all of that passion is run out.”
Keebler has been speaking in a low voice as if someone were listening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “He is evil, Speedo. You do not want to
cross bumpers with him,” Deli added. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Dylan thought about this Blue Blaze
forgetting the dangers of too much thinking. Blue Blaze must have never gotten
to the fastest zone because there would have been speed traps there. So from
what Dylan can piece together he alone was the fastest person to ever enter
this crazy world. That brought great confidence as well as a big ego, something
he hadn’t yet learned to control. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “I will be careful,” Dylan replied to Deli.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Good. Its time we are off Deli,” Keebler
said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Ay Ay Captain,” Replied Deli. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Two loud boat horns rocked Dylan’s car from
each side and before he could realize he was alone again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><b>SPEED TRAP</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He thought about going back up to his level
but he finally had time to look at the road which was different here from his own.
For one it wasn’t as smoothly paved, he found himself swerving around potholes.
In the horizon he could see the soft outline of a city. This didn’t exist in
his layer and he decided to explore this territory before returning to the
highest speed zone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> The sun was coming down and he kept his
course for the city keeping his speed at 150 miles per hour. He didn’t know exactly how much
more or how much less speed would shift layers because as he thought of an onion
he remembered the many that existed even within the tiniest one. So he kept his
speed constant and continuous. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He had been driving for days and still not
a bit of hunger affected him. What surprised him even more was that he didn’t
have to use the bathroom. The strangeness of it all seemed overwhelming to him
for a second, but he suddenly remembered that thoughts end dreams. So he kept
driving without a thought in his head. That’s when it happened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> It was dark and he must not have seen it or
maybe he did see it but without thinking he simply didn’t register that it was
there. His car slammed into a force of wind that had been bundled up in the
middle of the street. It was a confined ball that decelerated the car and
himself at the same time because he didn’t fly out the windshield. It was as if
he was a baseball and he was caught by a huge glove. His speedometer dropped to
thirty and suddenly the wind was gone and he was cruising down the same road
headed for the same city that seemed to be much closer than he realized. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He knew what had happened. Speed trap. What
did that mean? Was Blue Blaze watching him? He wasn’t afraid. Dylan knew his
power in this world and if he was challenged he would accept and he would be
victorious. His confidence was about to be challenged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Headlights from a car opposite him were
turned on down the long stretch of road. Static came across his radio and then
a voice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “I’ve been waiting,” the voice was dark and
echoed sinisterly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Dylan
didn’t respond he tried stepping on his gas pedal but it wouldn’t go above
thirty. He noticed his gas gauge had gone down a quarter. He picked up his
radio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Blue Blaze I presume,” Dylan was cool and
vigilant in his response. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Speedo I presume,” the voice reeked out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Both cars were coming closer together head
on. A couple football fields away he estimated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “I accept,” Dylan said before he could be
asked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “You never had a choice.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “How does this work?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “We stay straight on this path toward each
other. The first person to swerve out of the way loses,” Blue Blaze explained. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “What are the stakes?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Life or death.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Dylan knew that Blue Blaze would not swerve
first. He knew the risks of surviving the crash were not in his favor. But he
was a risk taker. His decision was made, he would not swerve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Both cars were headed straight for each
other. Dylan tried to push above thirty but it seemed Blue Blaze controlled
this zone and he was coming at him around fifty miles per hour. It was time;
Dylan reached his seatbelt and realized that one did not exist. Blue Blaze’s
car was now in clear view. It was a mixture of all shades of blue with a shark
fin on its hood. He could see Blue Blaze’s face. Time seemed to slow down when
he recognized the face of Ryan driving the car. This was a different Ryan, his
eyes were alive, his face was intense, and he was speaking clearly. Without
thinking Dylan swerved to the right causing a side collision with Ryan’s car.
The blue car flipped over the red car exposing sharp metal shards. The metal
pierced into the red car and hooked itself in. Dylan’s car had been like a
shield deflecting any front end damage and the car suddenly started to speed
up. Dylan maneuvered the wheel to keep on the road, but he was now dragging
Ryan’s car with him. The car sped up past 100 miles per hour, suddenly the
gauge broke and the car was accelerating faster than can be measured. The Blue
car accelerated with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Dylan had no control over the car anymore.
He was nauseated, his head was bleeding and his body scraped up. Out his driver’s
window was Ryan’s car. He could see the face of Blue Blaze, who seemed to be
frightened, for control was out of his hands as well. They were headed straight
into the city aimed to crash against one of the buildings. Dylan grabbed the
radio. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Ryan you have to get out. If not were both
going to die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Who are you? How do you know who I am?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Listen to me; I am in your room right now.
I am in your car, that’s how I got here. You have to get out of here. You have
to get back to your mother.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “There is no leaving this place,” Ryan
snapped back. “You think I haven’t tried? It consumes you, stay here long
enough and it turns you into something you hate. There are no doors; you become
one with the car.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> They were speeding up even more and now
they were almost in the city. The building would be there final resting place.
All around Dylan could see abandoned cars on the sides of the road. Victims of
Ryan or Blue Blaze?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Ryan there is a way. Out the window, I
can’t climb out I’m stuck to your car. But you can. Kick it open and climb out
and you will be home.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “We’re going too fast, I’ll be dead if I
jump out?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Your mothers tears. I’ve seen them. They
will slow you down as you jump out. They are the only thing that can,” Dylan
said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> Suddenly the cars were approaching the
building. The next few seconds were a blur to him. There was no time left. He
could see Ryan trying to kick open his window, the blood trickled down into his
mouth, and he stared face to face with death, his next zone. He closed his eyes
right before he crashed into the wall of brick and cement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>RYAN'S RETURN</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> He was screaming when he was pulled out of
the car. Blood was covering his face and his mouth and he landed face first
into the bland brown rug in Ryan’s room. He did not understand it, but children
tend to not ask questions when they cheat death. He shouted for joy and kissed
the rug. The blood stain gave the carpet more pizzazz he thought. He then could
see two feet standing in front of him. He looked up and saw Ryan holding his
hand out. He confidently grabbed it and stood up. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Blue Blaze I presume?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> “Speedo?” The both laughed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> It was his mother’s tears that had saved
Ryan from death that day. They carried him home the moment he jumped out the
car window.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> It’s difficult to account for the things
that took place that day. But Dylan was considered a hero for rescuing Ryan
from the grips of dementia. Later on psychologists would say that it was Ryan’s
response to his mother and father’s divorce. Adults were always trying to
complicate a perfectly simple situation that they don’t understand. They
forget how to use their imaginations and that sometimes children just get
trapped in them. Dylan had enough of driving for a while and the boy that would
have once traded in his entire childhood to grow up, decided to avoid the speed
trap at all costs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7820411997690363651.post-87126704686147048972014-07-14T07:30:00.000-04:002015-02-04T00:31:27.105-05:00How the Film "Gravity" Rekindled My Faith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Lucida Bright, serif;"><b>HOW THE FILM "GRAVITY" REKINDLED MY FAITH</b></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Gravity</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Bright', serif;"> is a film about weightlessness. On the surface it is about physical weightlessness in the vacuum of space, but in its deepest sense it is a film about the desire for spiritual weightlessness. Too often do we clutter our lives with debris from our anxiety, grief, and fears. Too little do we allow our burdens to drift away from us and very seldom do we “sit back and enjoy the ride” that is our life.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Gravity is a reminder that life detached from God is like trying to live in the ever expanding boundless extent of outer space. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">The Story (SPOILER ALERT)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Gravity is a survival film with a physical and spiritual dimension. On the visual surface, the film follows Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) who are victims of a routine spacewalk gone wrong when the debris of a Russian satellite crashes into their space station. Stone becomes the sole survivor faced with the challenge of making it back to earth before she runs out of oxygen or the satellite rubble orbits back around and collides with her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">On the spiritual surface, the film is about the heaviness of Ryan’s soul in the weightless environment of space and her mission from death to rebirth. Stone discusses the traumatic loss of her four year old daughter as the story develops into a purging process for her grief. The film is not only visually immaculate, but spiritually in tune with anyone going through a dark night of the soul (a form of spiritual emptiness).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHfHsTcUIoR6x1PFjwSZ5OzqE8xLHr4F2cVH2FppnQ6Ar-FZX1TJ4dli8mZkStZoW9fKj79UAVwxEtNr1e8Fyq3DC0rZDHtziq6NHfUJDiNYwT4dGqhixyy0E9F3lZQfEmaxabsn_V4I/s1600/Gravity+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuHfHsTcUIoR6x1PFjwSZ5OzqE8xLHr4F2cVH2FppnQ6Ar-FZX1TJ4dli8mZkStZoW9fKj79UAVwxEtNr1e8Fyq3DC0rZDHtziq6NHfUJDiNYwT4dGqhixyy0E9F3lZQfEmaxabsn_V4I/s320/Gravity+1.jpg" width="320" /></a><b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Vertigo</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Right around the time that Gravity was released in theaters I was going through a serious spiritual battle. Early September I was diagnosed with vertigo caused by an inner ear infection. This wasn’t merely the kind of Vertigo that Jimmy Stewart had in the Hitchcock film, but the kind of vertigo that made me feel as if my own gravitational pull had been stripped from me, numbing my limbs and shortening my breath. The kind of vertigo that induced panic attacks in my car on the drive home from work. The kind of vertigo that drifted me further into the abyss of a spiritual drought. It came upon me suddenly one night as I was drinking a glass of water and then a week later as I was praying my daily rosary in my car. My left leg quickly began to go numb. My right hand started tingling as the calcium built up, the beds of my eyes pulsated stars, and a deep warmth ignited in my chest and spread outward. No matter how loud I prayed, I couldn’t fight my body’s urge to black out on the road. I made it home safely, but the effects lasted for months and I found myself engulfed in frustration with God and a fear of praying. So I stopped. I was so traumatized from the panic attack that I negatively associated praying with blacking out. I was angry that I couldn’t sleep properly, exercise normally, and drive without a fear of crashing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">I really wanted to go see Gravity 3D, but with all of this going on it didn’t seem like a good idea to surround myself with a 7,000 square foot IMAX screen and experience the visual sensations of Sandra Bullock having a panic attack in space. It all felt too close to home. Yet, if I had I known that Gravity was going to be one of the best spiritual film I’d ever seen I might have taken the risk, if not solely to help water the withering flower that was my spiritual life at the moment. Like Ryan Stone, I felt detached from my own self and attached to fear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Attachments</span> </b><b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">and</span> </b><b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Detachments</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe67EnAdnVhHMkrufDxIIFa4lTt0k6aMW83cnsg0xMkuRMRXp2Vvmw30bkPjUTkEyD2WXz7vWB4Rc0CYVqVLottbLvOGGL_RebMTuwNMwlhU23cmq5mpSIBUW6SW2U-6qeKPOoxw52nMs/s1600/Gravity+Christ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe67EnAdnVhHMkrufDxIIFa4lTt0k6aMW83cnsg0xMkuRMRXp2Vvmw30bkPjUTkEyD2WXz7vWB4Rc0CYVqVLottbLvOGGL_RebMTuwNMwlhU23cmq5mpSIBUW6SW2U-6qeKPOoxw52nMs/s320/Gravity+Christ.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Gravity draws heavily on attachments. Immediately after the first satellite crash, Ryan is forced to detach herself from the safety latch which causes her to spin uncontrollably into the black void. She then has to tether herself to Kowalski, who says, “It’s pretty scary shit being untethered up here.” Without gravity’s constancy they severely bump into the ISS (International Space Station) and the zero -gravity drifts them dangerously apart causing Kowalski to make the decision to detach himself from Ryan in a self-sacrificial Christ-like fashion to avoid pulling her with him into the black. “Learn to let go, Say you’re going to make it,” Kowalski coaches her as he slowly drifts away. Later, Stone must detach the parachute of the escape pod from the space station to make it home…. And so on. Every attachment to something is a detachment away from something. Stone’s spiritual attachment was to her daughter’s death and she allowed that to detach her from fully living. “The Glory of God is the human being fully alive.” – St. Irenaus. I was like Stone, attached to fear and detached from God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Gravity<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">The film opens with the text “Life in space is impossible.” In space there is no gravity, no oxygen, no atmosphere… At first it seems liberating, watching George Clooney fly around in the opening scene with his jet pack and the earth as his back drop. Yet very quickly we are shown that without gravity life is dangerous, chaotic, disorganized, and wanders aimlessly without purpose. All of the dangers that are presented in the film are due to the lack of gravity. Zero gravity is the film’s antagonist complicating Stone’s mission back to earth, but it complicates her deeper mission, a mission from death back to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">In the film, Gravity is God. Gravity draws one closer to life as Christ draws all men to himself. There is a beautiful scene when Ryan Stone believes that surviving is hopeless, she finally gets a radio frequency to work while she is inside the Russian space station. She hears the voice of a man speaking a foreign language, but cannot communicate with him. She then hears a dog barking, a baby crying, and finally the man beginning to sing to a little girl. She listens to the sounds of life soothing her as she decides to try praying for the first time. The father singing to the little girl is like God singing to Ryan. He is calling her again back from earth. There is no life out there in the weightless vacuum of space. Life exists in the weighted earth. Yet it is not the physical weight of Gravity that should bother us but the spiritual weight of our burdens that truly drags us down. “Come to me all who labor and are burdened and I will give you rest… For my yoke is easy and my burden light.” Mt 11:30<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">In the beginning of the film Ryan Stone mentions that she could get used to the silence of space, mostly because of the noise in her life. Yet even in the silence of space Stone cannot find peace from her grief. While in the Russian space station she begins talking aloud to God and says she was never taught how to pray. In her darkest moment she discovers real silence, “silence” of the heart. She thought she was talking to herself, but God, who listens in silence, sent her a redeemer and she prayed for the first time in her life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Rebirth<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyOMYtrse4CKl0X2S71_MyrUhYGzPjSyYdXDVvEFADWMhw7-WO92tTrFjCUeam9opzOhA9xy3rVUDA168qkboOC7qVCwUdNPVX4_HAvCdUAHcmJUXnFInjjiJrswNxsaLRz1O85T5f10/s1600/Gravity+Womb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglyOMYtrse4CKl0X2S71_MyrUhYGzPjSyYdXDVvEFADWMhw7-WO92tTrFjCUeam9opzOhA9xy3rVUDA168qkboOC7qVCwUdNPVX4_HAvCdUAHcmJUXnFInjjiJrswNxsaLRz1O85T5f10/s320/Gravity+Womb.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Once she gets to the space station there is a beautiful shot of her in a fetal position as if she were in a womb awaiting her rebirth. The Russian ship however runs out of gas before she can make it to the Chinese stations escape pod. She loses all hope. Giving up, she shuts off the oxygen to drift off to a peaceful death. Her redeemer, Kowalski, appears to her again like the resurrected Christ. His words fill her with purpose and he gives her the escape plan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">“You can shut down all the systems, turn out all the lights and tune out everyone. What’s the point of living? It’s a matter of what you do now. Sit back enjoy the ride. Start living life. It’s time to go home.” She refutes him saying that she is out of gas, but he tells her to engage the landing process. Landing is launching. In other words, every end is always a beginning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">With one simple choice, her eyes open and she awakens a new woman. Her pessimistic attitude transforms as she speaks to Kowalski’s spirit. “I’m not quitting,” she tells him. You can see the true weight being lifted off of her and she becomes lighter than she has ever been. She speaks to her daughter and let’s go of her grief. She starts the landing gear and launches herself aboard the Chinese station where it takes her home. As the pod enters the atmosphere it begins to burn in high heat, like a spiritual purging, a shedding of her former self that leads her to life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWomLUUv_oqG37QjJ317ennhVllORcXgAYS-S5Fpnkgi1XpDfAQXaIgGLq8lXXYtxQ7jDcH6gdHt1shzMyJSZ5jHeDkuy02bAJ1z8uXEDtLbeMGAFbSZxia4LUUvXMJNi51gQIysJ1qk/s1600/Gravity+end.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWomLUUv_oqG37QjJ317ennhVllORcXgAYS-S5Fpnkgi1XpDfAQXaIgGLq8lXXYtxQ7jDcH6gdHt1shzMyJSZ5jHeDkuy02bAJ1z8uXEDtLbeMGAFbSZxia4LUUvXMJNi51gQIysJ1qk/s320/Gravity+end.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">The pod impacts in the water and she finds herself submerged. She opens the hatch to escape and the water floods the inside of the pod. She swims out and emerges from the water like Christ after his baptism. The film’s audio changes from the empty radio voicing of space to a full surround sound audio of the sounds of life, buzzing flies, splashing water, and gusts of wind. We see the green grass and dirt of the earth. Life is here. She’s like a newborn as she crawls out of the water onto the earth. Her hands press into the muddy clay. She struggles to get up as she now feels the weight of gravity. Gravity is always there tugging at us, but it is a necessary weight that orients us in the proper direction of our lives. Yet, even the weight that Stone feels as she struggles to stand up, she feels the weightlessness of her soul. The glory of God is man fully alive. Ryan Stone has been reborn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">When we try and escape Him in the silence of the cosmological “Heavens” we find a closer connection to Him on earth and in our hearts where life abounds. Jesus said “The kingdom of Heaven is upon you.” We don’t have to leave Earth to get closer to God. We need only walk a few steps and meet the neighbors or look into the eyes of our children, friends, and strangers. God is there. I allowed my illness to detach me from my gravitational connection to God. I was living without Gravity surrounded by fear and spiritual asphyxiation. God proves that even in the darkest times, life is always beckoning, especially in the hopelessness, despair, and frustrating spiritual battles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">Despite my spiritual darkness, a new light was born in my life, my daughter Imma Bernadette. She was conceived during the highest peak of my vertigo and after her birth this summer my dizziness has disappeared. I have never felt more alive. Even though my responsibilities now weigh more, I am liberated through a newfound spiritual weightlessness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Bright","serif";">It took me quite a while to sit down and watch Gravity, but I am so glad that I did because it rekindled a flame in me that was put out for far too long. </span></div>
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Frank W. Brennanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01922396859240661441noreply@blogger.com0