Ugh, my internet has been astoundingly slow lately, but I wanted to post something on my blog. Still on holidays; it's been an unbelievably long time, I know, but I guess this is part of the whole college thing. I'm going back in little more than a week, and I seriously cannot wait for it.
For this semester, I'm doing a couple of weird (well, not science or math) subjects as my electives: art history (which I'm super excited for) and religion. Religion! I remember when I used to fall asleep in those classes in high school. But what I'm technically studying is a subset of religion; the supernatural. I was trolling along the course lists for what to do as an elective and bam! "World perspective examinations of vampires, fairies, angels and ghosts." Completely useless but undeniably fascinating. I can't believe that subject even exists, what the heck are they going to examine us on? Still, it's definitely a nice change from being boxed in by science subjects-- as interesting as they are, it's good to take a break from time to time.
What else...oh, it was my mom's birthday on the 4th. Here was my card to her:
Also have been dicking around with my watercolors lately:
I've been watching a bunch of movies lately and occurred to me how important costume designs are to a character. A character is basically defined by the clothes they wear. Look at Superman in the recent 'Man of Steel'. Shit movie, but amazing costumes and an interesting new revelation-- the emblem on Supe's chest is the sigil of his family and means 'hope'. As one of the last of a dying race, he represents the idea of peaceful cohabitation with members of a different planet-- in other words, 'hope' for a better, kinder future.
I have a lot to say on this Superman movie because I've been a long time fan of the character, and not all of it is good, but I don't want to take up the whole of this blog post. I will add this, though, my main problem with the movie: what the actual hell is up with the music? There's too much fanfare and not enough atmospheric changes to fit the mood of a scene. I felt like I was being blasted with action music the whole time. Superman didn't even have a theme-- I know the movie aimed to be different from its predecessor so they couldn't use the original music, but I think that they could have spent just a little more effort on a proper, non-action related theme that defined the new resurrection of such a beloved character.
I wish people realized how important music is, in any type of media. Look at 'The Man in the Iron Mask', 'Forrest Gump', 'Braveheart', 'Jaws', 'Lord of the Rings', video games 'Legend of Zelda', 'Heavy Rain', 'Silent Hill', and the latest and best zombie game on PS3 'The Last of Us'. Hearing the music in any setting takes you back to that game/movie. It's an instant connect. It's what defines a franchise, a character, but more importantly, it's what creates the atmosphere and the mood. It's the cheatcode to the audience's emotions.
Here's an example: remember the ending scene of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, nineteen years later? And how it was an echo of the music used in the very first Harry Potter movie? It was the most perfect way to end the franchise, this music that brought us back to our childhoods and reminded us that that journey was not over; that, for this new generation, it had only just begun. I swear, I had never cried so hard in a movie theatre when I heard that theme again (a record only broken later on by the 2012 'Les Miserables').
Argh, I admit, I am such a sap when it comes to cinematic music, but still. It shouldn't just be disregarded, or treated like 'background noise'. If a movie were a person, its bones would be the storyline, its meat would be the characters and its animus, its soul would be the music. Music is what breathes life into a story on a screen.
Faaaaaar out, I really did not intend to babble so much about this. This was supposed to be a short post, but I guess it's hard to stop the flow of thoughts once they start.
Till next time,
The Unlucky Elephant
The music is the animus, huh? Irresistible line. I'll have to remember that one.
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