Movie Recommendation: Whisper of the Heart

     I had an idea for a new series of posts: Movie and book recommendations! It's as straightforward as it sounds. I pick a book or movie that I really like and recommend it to the world (explaining why, of course I recommend it, and giving all the necessary cautions). Anyways, enough of this introductory nonsense - to the post!

     Alright, so I think it's official. Whisper of the Heart is my absolute favorite movie ever in the whole entire world. I want everyone to understand that this was not a light decision. I've literally been considering whether or not to declare this movie as my favorite for a long time (it's a big deal ok?). It is one of the best stories I have ever encountered. For those of you not familiar with it, Whisper of the Heart is an anime movie produced by Studio Ghibli (a Japanese film-making company that partners with Disney). It follows a middle school girl named Shizuku as she tries to discover both who she is and what she wants to do with her life. Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'. Curious as to who he is, Shizuku meets a boy her age whom she finds infuriating, but discovers to her shock that he is her 'Prince of Books'. As she grows closer to him, she realises that he merely read all those books to bring himself closer to her. The boy Seiji aspires to be a violin maker in Italy, and it is his dreams that make Shizuku realise that she has no clear path for her life. Knowing that her strength lies in writing, she tests her talents by writing a story about Baron, a cat statuette belonging to Seiji's grandfather. 

     The Ghibli movies are starting to gain recognition in America, but they're still not what I would call 'mainstream'. This is a pity because they're collectively some of the best movies I have ever seen. But for me Whisper of the Heart stands out as the best (most people like Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke the best, which is fine, but most people haven't actually seen this one). Now, let me tell you why I love this movie, and why you should watch it.

     It’s one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I love the characters and the way that it looks, but mostly I love what it teaches. It teaches that the people you love should make you want to grow, to be a better person. It teaches that they should not only support you, but you should also support them. It encourages you to explore, to take risks to discover not only who you are but also who you’re capable of becoming. And, most importantly, it shows that it’s not enough just to want something - you have to put in effort to see what you have inside of you, and, once you find what you have, to not expect it to be perfect on the first go. Instead you have to polish and refine it. It’s not just a beautiful love story, it’s a story about hard work and self-discovery, a story encouraging viewers to be as braze as Shizuku and Seji (the boy playing the violin), to improve both for the ones you love and for yourself. 

     As both a writer and an academic this hit home particularly well. Sure the characters in the story are middle schoolers, but I (and most people I know) share in their doubts and struggles. The whole 'what if I'm not good enough,' 'I don't know what I want to do,' 'if I did know, how do I know if I could do it?' struggles that most people deal with are central to the movie's plot. It answers all those doubts and fears in a very realistic and encouraging way. The whole point is not that you can do whatever you set your mind to, but that how do you know until you try? Sometimes you can't do what you want. Sometimes you're not good enough. Sometimes you have potential, and if you have potential it's important for you to do everything you can to help it grow, to refine potential into skill, to become better. It won't be easy, but the things that are most important never are. I think we need more stories like that.

I recommend this movie for all human beings everywhere. The only slightly objectionable content occurs when Shizuku's older sister is speaking with Shizuku and is about to take a shower. We briefly see her in her bra, but the scene is not meant to be sexual, and it's a very modest bra. Other than that it's 100% safe. Another thing to note, this is a Japanese movie that takes place in Japan. It may be a little hard for Western viewers to understand everything since it takes a lot of cultural things for granted. This movie follows a western plotline pretty well, and the cultural differences shouldn't be too distracting (I say this because people in my own family were initially turned off because it wasn't what they expected). I would, however, suggest watching it in Japanese. There is an English dub, and it's a good dub, the only thing is that this movie takes place in Japan and there are several plot points that make more sense if you watch it in the original language (Shizuku is working on translating the song Country Roads by John Denver from English to Japanese). Also, the English dub slightly changes the end, and I understand why they did it, but I didn't feel like the change was faithful to the themes that the film draws out. If you've never seen a Studio Ghibli film before this is a good place to start, and if you have, it's one of their best ones. So go, take this recommendation and follow it. You're welcome.

Journey of the Magi

The Journey of the Magi

     A cold coming we had of it,

Just the worst time of the year

For a journey, and such a long journey:

The was deep and the weather sharp,

The very dead of winter.”

And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,

Lying down in the melting snow.

There were times we regretted

The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,

And the silken girls bringing sherbet.

Then the camel men cursing and grumbling

And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,

And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,

And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly

And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:

A hard time we had of it.

At the end we preferred to travel all night,

Sleeping in snatches,

With the voices singing in our ears, saying

That this was all folly.

     Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,

Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;

With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,

And three trees on the low sky,

And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.

Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,

Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,

And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.

But there was no information, and so we continued

And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon

Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

      All this was a long time ago, I remember,

And I would do it again, but set down

This set down

This: were we lead all that way for

Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,

We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,

But had thought they were different; this Birth was

Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,

But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,

With an alien people clutching their gods.

I should be glad of another death.

— T.S. Eliot

This is one of my absolute favorite poems. Happy 12th Night and Happy Epiphany! 

Theological Musing

    

     This may be a stupid thing to post about, but I’ve noticed more and more recently that people refer to Adam and Eve’s innocence in the garden as mere naivety. They use phrases like ‘before Adam and Eve knew right from wrong,’ or ‘when Adam and Eve sinned they learned the difference between good and evil.’ This is simply not true. Adam and Eve already knew the difference between right and wrong, between good and evil. Good was acting in obedience to God’s commands, evil was disobeying Him. What they lacked was an experiential knowledge of good and evil. That’s why God placed the tree in the garden. Even if Adam and Eve had not fallen into sin they still would have gained the knowledge of good and evil, but it would have been a victory for them and not a defeat. If they really didn’t know the difference between the two then there was no sin and they were unjustly punished. The point is that Adam and Eve did know the difference between right and wrong. Their sin was intentional and deliberate and they failed the test God had placed for them. They gained an experiential knowledge of good and evil, but they gained in the defeat of sin.

Thank you for your time.

Frozen Review

I saw this movie a couple days ago and thought I'd post a review on it!

Summary:
     Princess Elsa has wonderful, mysterious ice powers... that she can't control. After hurting her little sister Anna she cuts herself off from most human contact. Anna grows up lonely and sad that she and her sister are not as close as they once were. Eventually Else becomes the Queen of Arendelle , but her amazing powers soon get the better of her and cause trouble for everyone. Anna has to step up to save both her people and her sister. 

Spiritual Content: 10/10
     There wasn't much in the way of spiritual content, just some typical Disney magic. There was a Bishop that presided over Queen Elsa's coronation.

Violence: 10/10
     There wasn't really much in the way of violence. Some cartoony stuff. Nothing disturbing though.

Sexual Content: 10/10
     None. *SPOILER WARNING* Anna and Kristoff kiss at the end *SPOILER WARNING* 

Plot: 8.5/10
     I loved the story. It was a great re-imagining of Han's Christian Anderson's original story. It played a bit with the traditional fairy tale themes of true love and the role of fair tail heroines, but it was blissfully free of the trend to re-interpret fairy tails in a feminist light. Anna and Elsa were strong female characters without losing their own femininity or emasculating the men around them. I really appreciated that on the storyteller's part. It showed that they actually cared about the story more than any modern ideology. In the end, it was a fairy tail, and true love won (I don't think that counts as a spoiler... this is Disney after all), but not in the way you would normally expect (and it worked in terms of the narrative as well). *SPOILER WARING* The only part of the narrative I didn't think worked well was that whole think with the trolls and the ice in Anna's head. Why did changing her memories fix anything? That whole thing was too important to the rising action of the story to be left unexplained *SPOILER WARNING* Other than that I thought that the story elements of Frozen were expertly executed. 

Character: 9/10
     The character of Anna was very well developed. I thought she was great. She was the Disney princess that I've been wanting my whole life. If I were a princess I would be a less bubly version of Anna. 'Oh look how cool and beautiful I am' *Trips and falls* Yeah, she's pretty much perfect. Elsa wasn't developed so much in dialogue as she was in song, but you still got a pretty good sense of her character too. Olaf was adorable. Kristoff and Sven were great, but I wish they'd been give more of a back story (it's implied and described a little bit, but there was more that could have been done, plus also I loved them. Could this movie have just been about them please?). Han's was pretty well developed. Also, the trolls, I have no idea what was going on with those Trolls.  

Theme: 10/10
     Frozen carried the classic fairy tail there - true love conquers all. I love this theme. It's wonderful and true in the most beautiful biblical sense. The love of God conquered death on a cross, and an act of true love save the day in Frozen as well. *SPOILERS* However, Frozen's saving act is unlike your typical fairy tail. This story is not so much about eros as is is about philos, or however that word translates when applied to sisters. There is romantic love in the story, but that love is not central. This story isn't so much about saving the kingdom of Arendelle as it is about saving it's Queen. Anna and Elsa love one another, and it is a familial act of true love that saves the day. Romantic love is important too. Kristoff certainly loved Anna, and it's implied that his kiss would have saved her, but in the end it is Anna's act of self-sacrifice for Elsa that breaks the spell. It's a different take on the power of true love, but one which I think is desperately needed in this world where familial relationships are just as shattered as romantic ones.*SPOILERS* I loved the direction that this movie took; it kept the old tried and true fairy tail theme, but reinterpreted it in a different, but just as important way. There was also a kind of sub-theme that explored the importance of duty and obligation both to family and to country that was really well executed (as it turns out, you can't just drop all obligations to everyone. There is no such thing as an unattached individual. Everyone owes something to others).

Overall Conclusion: 9/10
    This was a wonderful movie, one of the best I've seen all year. The music was stunning (the fact that Idina Menzell played Elsa probably played a part in that). The story was wonderful. There was a bit of a gap in the narrative, and some strangeness in some of the characters, but it didn't detract too terribly from the overall story and message. I recommend this movie for everyone. Even my brother who hates musicals on principle and has outgrown Disney (I mean really, how do you outgrow Disney?) enjoyed this movie. I've been singing the songs non-stop. This, this is what I want from a movie - something beautiful, entertaining, with a good story, and a timeless message. Frozen delivers on all accounts.  

Oxford 2014

     Exciting news (in my life anyways). One of my brilliant and amazing professors has organized a two-week class that will convene in ENGLAND!!!!! It's designed to be an experiential learning class. Instead of just sitting in a room and discussing great British writers associated with Oxford, we will actually be going to the places they wrote about! We'll be able to discuss the work of C.S. Lewis at his house, T.S. Eliot on the Thames, and we'll see Shakespeare performed at the Globe! We have an amazing reading list too!

C.S. Lewis  - The Great Divorce  and  That Hideous Strength  

            Discuss at The Kilns and at “The Eagle and the Child”

J.R.R. Tolkien-  Intro to The Silmarillion     

            Discuss at “The Eagle and the Child” 

John Henry Newman- The Idea of a University  -- Discuss at Christ Church

            Visit Littlemore, Newman Centre

Evelyn Waugh—Brideshead Revisited 

Discuss at: Herford College , Turf Tavern,

 Christ Church Meadow, and Botanic Gardens

T.S. Eliot  -- “The Waste Land” and “The Four Quartets”

            Discuss on the Waterbus trip down the Thames

Chesterton – “Ballad of the White Horse”

            Discuss at the White Horse at Uffington

William Shakespeare – TBD,  based on performances at The Globe Theater 

     Beyond this we get plenty of free time in order to make excursions to wherever else we may wish to go (within reason of course). I'm already making an itinerary of places I need to go and things I need to do. As a class we'll go on Walking tours of Oxford, to the Bodleian Library, Ashmolean Museum, Evensong in Christ Church Cathedral, Waterbus trip down the Thames, The Kilns- C.S. Lewis’ House, Concert in Oxford, Blenheim Palace, Westminster Abbey in London, British Museum in London, Tower of London/The Armoury/Crown Jewels, Churchill War Rooms/Imperial War Museum, Shakespearean Performance at the Globe Theatre, Stonehenge, andThe White Horse at Uffington. For myself I want to ride in the Eye, and visit the Sherlock Holmes museum.Then, if I have the time and the money I'd like to make an excursion over to Wales. I'd see all the Doctor Who stuff in Cardiff and soak in the air of the Welsh countryside (cityside?). Everyone always forgets about Wales, but they have some of the best Arthur myths and Wales is a source of inspiration to one of my favorite authors (that's Diana Wynn Jones in case you were wondering). 

     I'm so excited that I have this opportunity, and am even more grateful that I'll be able to go with some very dear friends. I've loved England for as long as I remember. The stories that have shaped me the most have come from that country. Pictures of propriety, virtue, and empire. Tomorrow marks the beginning  of the new year (happy new year by the way), and it also marks the official countdown to Oxford. There's still a lot to do between now and then (I mean I have the whole Spring semester to take care of first), passports to get, money to save. I'm truly excited! :) Happy New year everyone. May your year also bring its own excitements and adventures!

End of Hiatus

Hello friends,

I have finally returned! Hopefully as break continues I can build up a pretty sizable queue so that I can produce a fairly regular stream of posts. I'm not very good at blogging, I admit, but I think if I force myself to keep up the practice it will be good for me, academically speaking. I do have several reviews in the works (books and movies) and I will have some more philosophical and theological things to post as soon as I start working on my paper again. I figure submitting one for a conference will be good practice and look good on grad school resumes right? Tomorrow I'll start officially posting again! Until then please enjoy these ridiculous pictures with no context:

 

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Until tomorrow.

All Saints Day

Happy All Saints Day (observed) to you all. This is my first time ever celebrating it, and it has been an amazing experience :) Some business: due to a busy school schedule I haven't been very consistent in posting on this site. I plan to build up a queue over Christmas break, but until then, if you want to, you can check out my new tumblr account here. It;s like a smaller version of blogger that allows me to post my thoughts and interesting things I want to share with a time commitment that's friendly to busy college kids. Other than that I have nothing much to say. Please enjoy this quote from the Venerable Bede's All Saint's Day sermon:

"But above all these things is the being associated with the companies of angels and archangels, thrones and dominations, principalities and powers, and the enjoyment of the watches of all the celestial virtues—to behold the squadron of the saints, adorned with stars; the patriarchs, glittering with faith; the prophets, rejoicing in hope; the apostles, who in the twelve tribes of Israel, shall judge the whole world; the martyrs, decked with the purple diadems of victory; the virgins, also, with their wreaths of beauty. But of the King, who is in the midst, no words are able to speak. That beauty, that virtue, that glory, that magnificence, that majesty, surpasses every expression, every sense of the human mind. For it is greater than the glory of all saints; but to attain to that ineffable sight, and to be made radiant with the splendor of His countenance, it were worth while to suffer torment every day—it were worth while to endure hell itself for a season, so that we might behold Christ coming in glory, and be joined to the number of the saints; so is it not then well worth while to endure earthly sorrows, that we may be partakers of such good, and of such glory?"