In case you haven't heard, I started my masters of journalism program at MSU in January. In an effort to choose an extracurricular activity that is enjoyable, and educational, I've gotten involved with SpartanEdge.com, a student-run publication that is hoping to end "pussy journalism." Sadly enough, most of my free time and energy will be put into my new blog over there, even though I've come to love posting here at Blogger.com. Chances are, when the semester is over, I'll be posting here again. But for now, please bookmark my new blog and check it out regularly...if that sort of thing interests you.
I'll also be the editor of the new MusicEdge section. There's a link on the front page of SpartanEdge, where you can read our first article - a review and video of the Sights playing at Mac's Bar on 1/20.
I hope the new year is treating you well. Until next time...
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Favorite Movies of 2006
There were three movies that really grabbed my attention this year, and since I usually only talk about music, I thought I would stir things up a bit. The first one I'll discuss is Children of Men. Keep an eye out for the other two.
How do I cover this one without spoiling the movie? The very idea of this film was more thought provoking than most movies I've seen or heard of in recent years. In a vision of our world twenty years ahead, humans have lost the ability to reproduce. When Theo (Clive Owen's character) is introduced to Kee, the first pregnant woman in 18 years, he volunteers to deliver her to the Human Project, a group dedicated to solving the infertility problem. Let me say first that this movie did not meet most of my expectations. I was hoping for much more philosophical content on the nature of human life and our role on this planet. The first act is a tale of modern civilization turned into a dystopia, where England appears to be the only country still operational (although they have taken to imprisoning and exporting "Fugees," or anyone not of native blood). The second act resembles many zombie movies, where a main protagonist battles against all odds for his life (and those of friends and family) as everything around him falls to madness. The third and final act is basically a war story, but it's some of the most gripping and disturbing war footage I've ever seen.
There are three things that ring in my mind after seeing Children of Men. First, Jasper (Michael Caine's character) says something about life being a combination of FAITH and CHANCE. He's not referring necessarily to religion, but more so what people are passionate about. Our passions and goals bring us into a situation with many possible outcomes, and then chance determines the rest. He was speaking specifically about Julian (Julianne Moore's character) and Theo, who had met decades ago through common activist endeavors. I thought this was a really interesting statement, because it stands apart from many similar statements that involve divine intervention. The second thing that I came to love about the movie was Theo's character. Our world is dominated by greed and violence. In the movie, those two things have completely overruled any other aspects of society. However, he selflessly devotes himself to ensuring the safety of Kee, while constantly avoiding both greed and violence (except self protection). He doesn't know if the Human Project really exists, he doesn't know if Kee's baby will save the world, and he certainly doesn't know if he will survive to see any of it. But he makes a choice and becomes a savior. The final thing, the one that had me fighting off tears, was the idea of a single baby having the power to end human war. I don't know how much more I can say about that without spoiling the story.
Ultimately, I am left with an idea I had in mind before ever seeing the film. A few years ago in a senior seminar at MSU, my professor asked the class, "What is the meaning of life?" I had just taken a class on Darwin and natural selection, so I said, "From a Darwinist's perspective, the meaning of life is to reproduce." So tell me, am I wrong? If we lost the ability to reproduce, would a single person feel any hope? Would there be any point to live any more (euthanasia is another prominent topic in the movie)? Take those thoughts with you in your every day life, and I'm sure you'll have a brighter day knowing that our world hasn't come to the terrible state proposed in Children of Men.
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How do I cover this one without spoiling the movie? The very idea of this film was more thought provoking than most movies I've seen or heard of in recent years. In a vision of our world twenty years ahead, humans have lost the ability to reproduce. When Theo (Clive Owen's character) is introduced to Kee, the first pregnant woman in 18 years, he volunteers to deliver her to the Human Project, a group dedicated to solving the infertility problem. Let me say first that this movie did not meet most of my expectations. I was hoping for much more philosophical content on the nature of human life and our role on this planet. The first act is a tale of modern civilization turned into a dystopia, where England appears to be the only country still operational (although they have taken to imprisoning and exporting "Fugees," or anyone not of native blood). The second act resembles many zombie movies, where a main protagonist battles against all odds for his life (and those of friends and family) as everything around him falls to madness. The third and final act is basically a war story, but it's some of the most gripping and disturbing war footage I've ever seen.
There are three things that ring in my mind after seeing Children of Men. First, Jasper (Michael Caine's character) says something about life being a combination of FAITH and CHANCE. He's not referring necessarily to religion, but more so what people are passionate about. Our passions and goals bring us into a situation with many possible outcomes, and then chance determines the rest. He was speaking specifically about Julian (Julianne Moore's character) and Theo, who had met decades ago through common activist endeavors. I thought this was a really interesting statement, because it stands apart from many similar statements that involve divine intervention. The second thing that I came to love about the movie was Theo's character. Our world is dominated by greed and violence. In the movie, those two things have completely overruled any other aspects of society. However, he selflessly devotes himself to ensuring the safety of Kee, while constantly avoiding both greed and violence (except self protection). He doesn't know if the Human Project really exists, he doesn't know if Kee's baby will save the world, and he certainly doesn't know if he will survive to see any of it. But he makes a choice and becomes a savior. The final thing, the one that had me fighting off tears, was the idea of a single baby having the power to end human war. I don't know how much more I can say about that without spoiling the story.
Ultimately, I am left with an idea I had in mind before ever seeing the film. A few years ago in a senior seminar at MSU, my professor asked the class, "What is the meaning of life?" I had just taken a class on Darwin and natural selection, so I said, "From a Darwinist's perspective, the meaning of life is to reproduce." So tell me, am I wrong? If we lost the ability to reproduce, would a single person feel any hope? Would there be any point to live any more (euthanasia is another prominent topic in the movie)? Take those thoughts with you in your every day life, and I'm sure you'll have a brighter day knowing that our world hasn't come to the terrible state proposed in Children of Men.
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