It's kind of amazing that someone like Audrey Hepburn existed. I've only seen two of her films to-date: Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Nevertheless, from what little I know about her, she is endlessly captivating. Regardless...
Roman Holiday reminds me quite a bit of The Little Mermaid. Not the Disney one, but the original Hans Christian Andersen one. Actually, maybe not even exactly that one, but one definitely a lot more faithful to it. When I'd originally watched it somewhere around the age of eight, I think the idea of the mermaid disappearing into sea foam broke my heart. I'd go so far as to say that it's colored my worldview from that point on.
I'm sure The Little Mermaid was about a lot of things, but what sticks out in my mind is cultural immobility. She gives up her voice (her ability to communicate words and precise ideas) to gain legs (the appearance of a human). It seems pretty blunt in implying the prince and mermaid's love, though earnest, is only superficial. In the end (of the movie that I recall), even though her sisters provide her a means to return as a mermaid by killing the prince, she chooses to dissolve into sea foam instead.
In Roman Holiday, Joe and Ann fall quickly and earnestly in love, despite being from different worlds. In the end, though in love, they realize that what they had was beautiful, but ephemeral; true but out of reach.
If the movie were made today, Ann and Joe would probably end up getting married, living happily ever after. It's not that it couldn't happen. I recall a Japanese princess (Princess Akiko I believe) married a commoner not too long ago. And it's good in that it shows that love can overcome any obstacle; that hard work and perseverance can let you accomplish anything... You can create a multi-billion dollar business, too, I just don't think it's a realistic expectation.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Time
I suppose the traditional view of time is that it is a dimension, akin to the three that make up what we view as space (hyperdimensional physics aside). I think it's actually electrochemical/mechanical processes that dictate our perceptions of time. Well, I'm not the first person to think of this, but I did come to that conclusion on my own. I think it was someone along the lines of Aristotle that said time is a product of motion.
I think that about sums it up, but there are some interesting corollaries I draw from this. For one, I think that children learn faster because they are operating on a higher intake of data for any given moment. This may explain why a child may feel that time passes so slowly and why an adult may feel it is so fleeting.
Another corollary is that time travel is impossible. Well, it's impossible in the sense that someone could simply travel along some "time continuum" to turn back (or forward) the clock. Hypothetically, if someone knew the precise position of every infinitesimal speck of matter in the entire universe and its exact velocity (Heisenberg be damned) at the time that someone wanted to turn back the clock, AND also had the means to place those specks in those positions with those velocities (entropy be damned), then effectively, that someone will have performed time travel. Further hypothetically, it may simply be enough to know and be able to manipulate matter in that way on a more local scale, like only the entire planet. Although I suppose if you had that much power, maybe you could just screw around with people's heads...
I think that about sums it up, but there are some interesting corollaries I draw from this. For one, I think that children learn faster because they are operating on a higher intake of data for any given moment. This may explain why a child may feel that time passes so slowly and why an adult may feel it is so fleeting.
Another corollary is that time travel is impossible. Well, it's impossible in the sense that someone could simply travel along some "time continuum" to turn back (or forward) the clock. Hypothetically, if someone knew the precise position of every infinitesimal speck of matter in the entire universe and its exact velocity (Heisenberg be damned) at the time that someone wanted to turn back the clock, AND also had the means to place those specks in those positions with those velocities (entropy be damned), then effectively, that someone will have performed time travel. Further hypothetically, it may simply be enough to know and be able to manipulate matter in that way on a more local scale, like only the entire planet. Although I suppose if you had that much power, maybe you could just screw around with people's heads...
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Heroic Legend of Arslan
I'd been meaning to watch this title for some time, as a favorite song of mine (Ryoute Ippai) comes from it. Overall I liked it, but it ran from some complex political themes to some hard to believe contrivances. There were also a few stereotypical anime characterizations and relationships.
Regardless, what really stands out about this title, I read from a review by "Zereshk" on Netflix, "For those of you who dont know, Arslan's story is based directly (yet dicreetly) on Persian mythology... Too bad Hollywood has been ignoring this rich area of legend and literature due to politics, unlike the open minded Japanese, despite the fact that the Persian empire arguably was the largest superpower of antiquity, feared by the Greeks and Romans... The series tries to condense the entire mass of 3000 years of written Persian history (mostly from 500 BC to 600 AD), legends, and mythology into one (albeit loosely) comprehensive story. ... And besides, monarchy has been in continued existence in Persia (Iran) since the dawn of time. The struggle for the throne has never ended. "
I agree in that I find it astounding that so little of the region's mythology and stories have been popularized by Hollywood. I also find it strikingly appropriate that one of the story's central themes, demonization of the "Rusitanians" because of the war they wage in the name of their god, finds parallel in the context of modern day events in the same region.
The animation itself was rather poor, although the character designs were well done (albeit varying from episode to episode). I recall one beautiful scene in which a character named Farangese played her flute while the wind fluttered her hair. Unfortunately, there were numerous scenes that were comprised of a series of stills. Nevertheless, for all its faults in execution, I think they're reasonably outweighed by the weight of its subject matter.
A couple of things really stuck with me (from memory, so they're paraphrased). "Kings and empires may crumble away, but art is forever." And the second was a character's response (I forget which) regarding why a great strategist and a great general would follow Arslan, a 14 year old boy who, other than having noble blood, really has nothing to offer. The answer was an analogy in which a big boat with a good crew needs a large body of water to reach full speed. Of Arslan, the character said, "He is a lake now that one day may become an ocean."
Regardless, what really stands out about this title, I read from a review by "Zereshk" on Netflix, "For those of you who dont know, Arslan's story is based directly (yet dicreetly) on Persian mythology... Too bad Hollywood has been ignoring this rich area of legend and literature due to politics, unlike the open minded Japanese, despite the fact that the Persian empire arguably was the largest superpower of antiquity, feared by the Greeks and Romans... The series tries to condense the entire mass of 3000 years of written Persian history (mostly from 500 BC to 600 AD), legends, and mythology into one (albeit loosely) comprehensive story. ... And besides, monarchy has been in continued existence in Persia (Iran) since the dawn of time. The struggle for the throne has never ended. "
I agree in that I find it astounding that so little of the region's mythology and stories have been popularized by Hollywood. I also find it strikingly appropriate that one of the story's central themes, demonization of the "Rusitanians" because of the war they wage in the name of their god, finds parallel in the context of modern day events in the same region.
The animation itself was rather poor, although the character designs were well done (albeit varying from episode to episode). I recall one beautiful scene in which a character named Farangese played her flute while the wind fluttered her hair. Unfortunately, there were numerous scenes that were comprised of a series of stills. Nevertheless, for all its faults in execution, I think they're reasonably outweighed by the weight of its subject matter.
A couple of things really stuck with me (from memory, so they're paraphrased). "Kings and empires may crumble away, but art is forever." And the second was a character's response (I forget which) regarding why a great strategist and a great general would follow Arslan, a 14 year old boy who, other than having noble blood, really has nothing to offer. The answer was an analogy in which a big boat with a good crew needs a large body of water to reach full speed. Of Arslan, the character said, "He is a lake now that one day may become an ocean."
