Saturday, February 13, 2010
Ohmygod, that's horrible... bon appetit
I get it. 30+" of snow is *not* something everybody likes to experience...especially at the expense of losing electricity and heat. What are people in this predicament supposed to do for a weekend or -- if they're "really unlucky" -- a week of no internet and no warm, cozy homey feeling?
It bothers me to see all of those Pepco numbers and whatnot on the news, seeing how many thousands of people are without power. It bothers me *more* to know that there are people in the world who don't have those luxuries normally and it never shows up on the news. People here complain to no end about how they are missing this and needing that, and perhaps after a few phone calls, the repair truck drives up the block. In the midst of all of these hourly news reports, I think people need to take a step back and remember that they *have* a home, that they *have* the resources to be safe and comfortable year-round and save a blizzard or two that might jeopardize a few nights of email-checking or television-watching, they don't stop to appreciate what they *do* have.
The rest of the world is not as lucky to have every amenity at their disposal, and these kinds of events (whether large-scale like the earthquakes in Haiti or smaller-scale, like not having electricity (although, even then, those scales are all relative)) cannot continue to go unacknowledged. It makes me think of a chilling truth eloquently stated by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2004 movie Hotel Rwanda, which you can watch here (the whole clip is 46 seconds, though the message itself starts at about 30 seconds in).
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
I'm just a little LOST
Monday, February 8, 2010
I would give it a Nine
I just finished watching the movie Nine and I can't type nearly as fast as I came up with things to discuss. Having spent a great portion of my undergraduate career studying Italian film -- including an entire course on Federico Fellini (a good start, but not nearly enough time to capture his full essence) -- the parallels were all too evident in the 2009 movie musical, one that could easily have followed from Fellini's 1963 spectacle, 8 1/2. I'm not even quite sure where to begin, so I'll go chronologically through the film with my observations.
1) Guido Contini: The name of the main character already comes laden 
with history, as Guido was also the name of the main character in 8 1/2, famously played by Marcello Mastroianni. Guido in Nine, however, was brought to you by Daniel Day-Lewis, who actually looked more like Fellini than he did Marcello Mastroianni. Still, even channeling Fellini gave the film a smooth segue from 8 1/2 to Nine. Guido, as a character in the former movie, however, has adopted a different last name in this recent version. The attachment of Contini as the last name may just be a way to reinvent the character, a way to prove that it is *not* the same Guido from before (that, after all, was Guido Anselmi). But the name Contini brings with it a heavy connection on its shoulders. In 1977, author Giorgio Bassani wrote a novel called Il Giardino dei Finzi-Contini (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis), a piece that was later turned into a movie of the same name. The story took place during World War II and told of a Jewish family who tried to maintain their extravagant lifestyle while outside the walls enclosing their estate, Mussolini was imprisoning the Jews. The wall that created this garden thus offered the Finzi-Contini family protection from the outside world, a way to escape all of the turmoil that they would undoubtedly be exposed to on the other side. While Nine makes no direct reference to Bassini's work, the name Contini conveys the idea of an inside and an outside, in the same way that it highlights the idea of the spectator and the spectacle.
3) The usage of the number 9 in Nine has two notable meanings that I have found so far. First, 8 1/2 was Fellini's ninth film. The fact that this film uses the nearest whole number after 8 1/2 as its title suggests that Fellini's earlier version is now complete. (Fellini even ends 8 1/2 with a large dance circle, demonstrating not only the importance of grandeur, but also the symbolism embedded in the circle, a representation of the cyclical nature of life and its absurdities. Even creating this Part Two of 8 1/2 shows that events and people often come full circle.) Second, Guido is 9 years old when he appears in flashbacks.
5) In Nine, La Saraghina makes her presence known, even if albeit somewhat briefly, and is particularly symbolic of Fellini's work. She embodies the idea of the spectacle, of the maternal, of dance. In 8 1/2, Saraghina serves as further personification of the essence of the gaze. According to Millicent Marcus, a former professor of mine, "Because the dance frees La Saraghina from her role as passive object of the gaze, elevating her to the status of active and emancipated subject, she can, in turn, direct a formative gaze upon the audience of young boys who have served as the enablers in this process of self-idealization" (page 4). One could actually look upon the ideas of the gaze, the spectacle, and the self throughout both of these films. Paying attention to each of these elements alone would surely give you a vastly different perspective of the film. In Nine, Fergie took on the role of La Saraghina as if they shared a bloodline. A line in 8 1/2 describes her as the devil reincarnate: "Ma non lo sai che La Saraghina e il diavolo?" ["But you don't know that La Saraghina is the devil?"] Fergie, in fact, made La Saraghina transition seamlessly from her prior dance on the beach of Rimini in 8 1/2 to her performance later in Nine. All in all, I'd say a great casting decision.
in which the main character, Ivan, brings his virginal bride to Rome for a honeymoon, and while he's sleeping, she goes off in search of the protagonist of her favorite soap opera photo strip. At her hotel, however, she becomes mesmerized by the postcards at the reception desk, and it is easy to see how much she appreciates these glimpses into other scenes, much like what would appear in the photo strips she adores.7) Fellini often liked to include a picture within a picture -- or, in other words, people within his broader movie also participating in the watching of a production. Nine director Rob Marshall preserved this characteristic and had the "inner movie" also titled Nine, thereby making the audience wonder which one was the actual production, the broader story or the story within the story.
9) At the end of 8 1/2, the audience is given access to the other side of the displays -- the back of the backdrop, if you will -- thus showing that behind every spectacle, there is an extravagant set-up, and that everything is perfectly orchestrated in order to create a final product. Fellini plays with that idea because he doesn't let his viewers know the difference between the set-up and the product. Maybe in that way, he makes everything the set-up and everything the product. In Nine, toward the end of the movie (no spoiler ahead), the audience can see the breakdown of the set in a very similar fashion.
When I set out to write this blog, I didn't mean for it to come out as a film review. (If it did, I apologize; I never trust other people's film reviews since everyone has different tastes in movies and also judges them based on varying criteria, so by no means to I wish to impart my own assessment of the movie.) I just wanted to highlight several items that I noticed and to invite you to comment on other parallels I may not have identified here. In watching a movie, there is so much more that goes into it than storyline, actors, etc. -- in this case, it was all of this film's intricacies that would go unrecognized by a non-Fellini-phile that, to me, made it a nine.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Maybe Bill and Lois were right all along
Merriam-Webster defines the word "religion" as the following:
1 a : the state of a religious b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
----------
You have all these people who believe in different higher powers, different "beings" that guide their daily principles. Of course, when considering religion, people might think of God, G-d, Jesus Christ, or Allah (or a number of others), but when it comes down to it, can't any "cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith" be considered a religion?
In the last ten years, I have attended two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings -- both times for a school project. Once was in high school and the second time was a few months ago. At the most recent meeting, I picked up a four-page wallet-sized pamphlet detailing the mission, steps, and traditions of A.A. I'd like to share it with you here, so allow me to reproduce the text for you, followed by my own ruminations...
Page 1: A.A.: Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
Page 2: The 12 Steps of A.A.:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Page 3: The 12 Traditions of A.A.:
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority -- a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose -- to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Page 4: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
----------
When I think about religion, what comes to mind is people spanning the spectra of their respective faiths, from reform to orthodox, from observant to extremist and the overarching controversies that take place both within and across religions. Each one possesses its own set of beliefs, which are often laid out in books much larger than a four-page wallet-size pamphlet. From what I can tell (and I never studied religion religiously...pun not really intended), every commonly acknowledged religion has experienced controversy in some form or another. They have these hundred-page manifestos of the tenets of their philosophy, and they still end up fighting. Meanwhile, in four pages, this A.A. pamphlet identifies 24 principles (summed up in 2 pages), among them avoidance of public controversy and maintenance of anonymity. And have you ever heard of a major conflict having to do with A.A.? I mean, it's not like Overeaters Anonymous and A.A. have ever had a dispute over territory resulting in security checkpoints going from one zone to the other. What, then, makes these groups so successful? According to that last definition of religion, I would venture to say that these and other like groups serve as religions. After all, if their members live according to the respective principles of their group and do so with ardor and faith, isn't that the definition of religion? Subsequently, can't a person have more than one religion if they subscribe to beliefs of more than one system? Perhaps it is the anonymity itself -- the act of deliberately *not* preaching one's own values to others in an attempt to convert them -- that allows the members to focus on the mission they strive to achieve.
Does that mean that religions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. should dissolve in favor of sects like A.A.? No, not necessarily, but perhaps people need to take a second look at their reasons for claiming membership of a religious group. Is it because that's what their ancestors were? What the spouse is? (Why do we even talk about religion as being something that someone is, rather than something the person believes in?) The point of a religion should be the union of people who believe in common principles. They should not force their mission on others who express no desire to participate but they should instead be made up of people who have the same -- productive -- aspirations. Of course, everything is relative (no pun intended on this one, either). That is, who makes up the jury that decides what's productive and what isn't? Why should any group believe its members are in a position to claim superiority over another? People could belong to multiple "religions" based on the ideas supported -- but not overtly promoted -- by that faith. Anonymity wouldn't *need* to be a requirement, though probably there would emerge a greater sense of group unity if the roster of the in-group is known only by the in-group itself. Kind of along the same lines as, "The first rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club."
On cruises, a daily list of activities is distributed to passengers to make them aware of the goings-on on the ship. A couple of months ago, I saw that every day at 5:00, there was an activity called "Friends of Bill and Lois." Being that there were lots of older people on the ship, I thought to myself, "How come Bill and Lois get their own slot in the announcements? Why don't other people get to advertise for their friends? Is this some special family reunion or something?" I promptly found out, however, that it stands for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, meetings that would cease to be anonymous if advertised so directly on a ship in open seas, with no place for people to go in search of anonymity. I was confused as to how the names Bill and Lois were chosen and, furthermore, how everyone who wanted to participate would know what that meant. Was there someone on the ship named Lois who might see that and think that someone was throwing a surprise party in her (and Bill's, whoever that is) honor? It turned out, though, that Bill and Lois were actually real people (not on the ship). Bill W. was the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and Lois was his wife, who founded Al-Anon, an organization that offers support to friends and family of alcoholics. I did not attend any of these meetings on the ship, so unfortunately, I cannot comment on the nature of them. Nor would I even if I had -- not in detail, anyway -- because that would defeat the purpose of the anonymity. At the same time, maybe it is this "don't ask, don't tell" approach that preserves the sanctity and the goals -- both individual and collective -- of the group and its members, people who actively try to better themselves and improve the lives of those around them. Why can't everyone live by the same principles, striving to achieve goodness in the world and in themselves? Maybe then, we might all get along?
1 a : the state of a religious b (1) : the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2) : commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2 : a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
3 archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
4 : a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
----------
You have all these people who believe in different higher powers, different "beings" that guide their daily principles. Of course, when considering religion, people might think of God, G-d, Jesus Christ, or Allah (or a number of others), but when it comes down to it, can't any "cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith" be considered a religion?
In the last ten years, I have attended two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings -- both times for a school project. Once was in high school and the second time was a few months ago. At the most recent meeting, I picked up a four-page wallet-sized pamphlet detailing the mission, steps, and traditions of A.A. I'd like to share it with you here, so allow me to reproduce the text for you, followed by my own ruminations...
Page 1: A.A.: Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
Page 2: The 12 Steps of A.A.:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Page 3: The 12 Traditions of A.A.:
1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.
2. For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority -- a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.
4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.
5. Each group has but one primary purpose -- to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.
12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Page 4: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
----------
When I think about religion, what comes to mind is people spanning the spectra of their respective faiths, from reform to orthodox, from observant to extremist and the overarching controversies that take place both within and across religions. Each one possesses its own set of beliefs, which are often laid out in books much larger than a four-page wallet-size pamphlet. From what I can tell (and I never studied religion religiously...pun not really intended), every commonly acknowledged religion has experienced controversy in some form or another. They have these hundred-page manifestos of the tenets of their philosophy, and they still end up fighting. Meanwhile, in four pages, this A.A. pamphlet identifies 24 principles (summed up in 2 pages), among them avoidance of public controversy and maintenance of anonymity. And have you ever heard of a major conflict having to do with A.A.? I mean, it's not like Overeaters Anonymous and A.A. have ever had a dispute over territory resulting in security checkpoints going from one zone to the other. What, then, makes these groups so successful? According to that last definition of religion, I would venture to say that these and other like groups serve as religions. After all, if their members live according to the respective principles of their group and do so with ardor and faith, isn't that the definition of religion? Subsequently, can't a person have more than one religion if they subscribe to beliefs of more than one system? Perhaps it is the anonymity itself -- the act of deliberately *not* preaching one's own values to others in an attempt to convert them -- that allows the members to focus on the mission they strive to achieve.
Does that mean that religions like Judaism, Christianity, Islam, etc. should dissolve in favor of sects like A.A.? No, not necessarily, but perhaps people need to take a second look at their reasons for claiming membership of a religious group. Is it because that's what their ancestors were? What the spouse is? (Why do we even talk about religion as being something that someone is, rather than something the person believes in?) The point of a religion should be the union of people who believe in common principles. They should not force their mission on others who express no desire to participate but they should instead be made up of people who have the same -- productive -- aspirations. Of course, everything is relative (no pun intended on this one, either). That is, who makes up the jury that decides what's productive and what isn't? Why should any group believe its members are in a position to claim superiority over another? People could belong to multiple "religions" based on the ideas supported -- but not overtly promoted -- by that faith. Anonymity wouldn't *need* to be a requirement, though probably there would emerge a greater sense of group unity if the roster of the in-group is known only by the in-group itself. Kind of along the same lines as, "The first rule of Fight Club is that you don't talk about Fight Club."
On cruises, a daily list of activities is distributed to passengers to make them aware of the goings-on on the ship. A couple of months ago, I saw that every day at 5:00, there was an activity called "Friends of Bill and Lois." Being that there were lots of older people on the ship, I thought to myself, "How come Bill and Lois get their own slot in the announcements? Why don't other people get to advertise for their friends? Is this some special family reunion or something?" I promptly found out, however, that it stands for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, meetings that would cease to be anonymous if advertised so directly on a ship in open seas, with no place for people to go in search of anonymity. I was confused as to how the names Bill and Lois were chosen and, furthermore, how everyone who wanted to participate would know what that meant. Was there someone on the ship named Lois who might see that and think that someone was throwing a surprise party in her (and Bill's, whoever that is) honor? It turned out, though, that Bill and Lois were actually real people (not on the ship). Bill W. was the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous and Lois was his wife, who founded Al-Anon, an organization that offers support to friends and family of alcoholics. I did not attend any of these meetings on the ship, so unfortunately, I cannot comment on the nature of them. Nor would I even if I had -- not in detail, anyway -- because that would defeat the purpose of the anonymity. At the same time, maybe it is this "don't ask, don't tell" approach that preserves the sanctity and the goals -- both individual and collective -- of the group and its members, people who actively try to better themselves and improve the lives of those around them. Why can't everyone live by the same principles, striving to achieve goodness in the world and in themselves? Maybe then, we might all get along?
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