Anyone who has enjoyed what they’ve read here should follow me to my new home:
I look forward to neglecting my new blog almost as much as I did this one.
Anyone who has enjoyed what they’ve read here should follow me to my new home:
I look forward to neglecting my new blog almost as much as I did this one.
President Barack Obama retook the oath of office on Wednesday because of a miniscule slip up during his inauguration. That’s right. One missplaced word and everyone is flipping their shit. The new administration is so worried that, because of this mistake, the general public will doubt the legitimacy of his presidency.
And the sad thing is that they’re probably right to do so. You can just see the chain e-mails being formed in the extreme shallow ends of the American gene pool:
“OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DID YUO KNOW THAT BARKAC OBAMMA IS NOT REALLY THE PERSIDENT OF THE USA?!?!?!?! BECAUSE HE MESSED UP ON HIS OATHS OF OFFICE HE IS UNABLE TO BECOME THE PREZ!!!! WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD DO IS RIGHT THERE CONGRESSMEN AND LET THEM KNOW NOT TOO TAKE ORDERS FORM THIS ILLIGITIMATE PREZIDENT!!!!!! SEND THIS E-MAIL TO AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE ON YOUR LIST AND LET THEM KNOW ABOUT THIS TRAVISTY OF JUSTICE!!!!!!!! gOD BLESS AMERCA!!!!!!!11
Let’s just ignore that the 20th Amendment specifically states in section 1:
“The terms of the President and Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of January, and the terms of Senators and Representatives at noon on the 3d day of January, of the years in which such terms would have ended if this article had not been ratified; and the terms of their successors shall then begin.”
And since the Inauguration was running behind schedule anyway (I’m looking at you, Yo-Yo Ma) Obama was technically president before he took the oath. I’m no constitutional scholar, but I take this to mean that, had he wanted to, Obama could have run up to the podium, karate chopped the Lincoln Bible in half, roundhouse kicked Chief Justice John Roberts in the chest, and declared himself the President of The United States of I-Just-Rocked-Your-World.
Best. Inauguration. Ever.
For some reason I feel vindicated.
I’m not going to get into it hardcore again, but read this article in comparison to the FOXNews article I posted below and you can draw some pretty obvious conclusions as to the comparative merits of the two news organizations.
This is easily one of the strangest articles I have ever read. Though it’s only around 200 words long, it manages to cram in five different terms for marijuana. I think “green buds” is my favorite. It just sounds so…authentic. It also manages to get in a “Harold and Kumar” reference, not bad. And let’s not forget its journalistic opening of “Duuuuuude!”. That’s just good copy. Finally it manages to conclude with a theory it derives from the work of Herodotus, a reference that is only about…2500 years old.
What’s wrong, they couldn’t find a bible verse to back them up? At FOXNews!?
This just in: FOXNews links global warming to the work of Ptolemy’s “Almagest”, blame increase in temperature to Earth’s position in center of Universe!
Also, I love the multimedia. Apparently three close up pictures of the marijuana, a seed from the marijuana, and the “surface glands” of the marijuana were not enough. No, Fox decided to spring for one more, AP stock photo of a marijuana leaf. No pictures of any of the actual cultural information in the piece. I mean, they couldn’t even spring for a black and white drawing of Herodotus, or a Scythian? Thanks, Associated Press. It’s good to know that the next time there’s an article about a methlab raid in some Midwest town, there will be a nice, clean, presentable picture of “crank” or “amp” or “Chalk Dust”, whatever the editor’s agree on.
And all of this doesn’t even touch on how awkwardly the article hands discussing issues that aren’t directly related to a US-centric way of thought. I know! Let’s bank hard on the drug angle and at least get a few laughs out of this piece.
Give me a break.
The Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. Right up there with Aladdin and my all-time favorite Beauty and the Beast. Each of these movies comes from the period that is referred to by many critics as the “Disney Renaissance”. All of these films were tremendous box office successes, and for good reason. The stories, animation, music, and voice acting are among the best in the company’s history, and they’ve each made an impact on children and adults that continues to this very day.
One thing about these movies that fascinates me is the extent to which they’ve become ingrained in our culture. I’m speaking primarily to people my age, born around the mid-1980s, who have been watching these films pretty much since they were old enough to watch anything. For instance, Beauty and the Beast, released in November of 1991, is the first movie I remember seeing in theaters. This coupled with the Walt Disney Classics line of VHS releases (which started around 1984 and was replaced by the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection ten years later) ensured that we would be watching and re-watching these movies for the duration of our childhood and beyond. I feel that we’ve seen these movies so many times that in some ways we take them for granted. And since they were such large parts of so many of our lives, when we watch them today we tend to regress back to that childlike sense of excitement and familiarity for the hour and a half or so the feature lasts.
That being said, recently my roommates and I watched The Little Mermaid on DVD, a movie that, primarily due to how Disney chooses to market its DVD titles (which can be described as insane at best and pure fucking evil at worst) I hadn’t seen in quite some time. Perhaps due to this newfound level of disconnect I found myself noticing little quirky things that as a child I had never really noticed. Granted, analysis of Disney movies is definitely not a new thing, but I wanted to sidestep the more serious discussions about racism, sexism, classism, etc. that often come up in regards to these movies and share some of my idiosyncratic viewpoints on the film.
Before I get into this I just want to make it clear that no, the term “willing suspension of disbelief” is not lost on me. I realize that a lot of my observations are going to seem nitpicky, or like they came out of left field and that they could all be easily explained away with the phrase “Dude, relax. It’s just a cartoon.” So let me assure you, I didn’t lose any sleep thinking about these things. I just thought it would be funny to see what happens when we hold childrens movies to the same level of “scrutiny” that a lot of critics apply to more “adult” forms of expression.
Secondly, it’s important to understand that I’m treating this movie as a self contained world. I imagine that the plethora of sequels, cartoon series, childrens books, happy meal toys, etc. might explain (intentionally or not) some of the issues addressed below. I simply don’t have the desire or the resources to dig through years of mermaid-related media in search of answers. Believe it or not, even my nerdiness has its limits. Finally, I appreciate any comments/additional theories the three or four people who read this might feel like adding. However, let’s try to keep things civil. I have no interest in officiating over a flame war regarding Flounder’s sexual orientation. At least not today…
With that rather lengthy preface/disclaimer out of the way. Let’s get down to business!
1). Merpeople are vegans/vegetarians. I know, I know. This totally looks like wishful thinking on my part, but I really feel I have the beginnings of a solid case here. Mainly it’s a logistics issue. Merpeople live in the sea. Therefore, if they were going to eat animals, they would be eating aquatic animals. It seems unlikely they would do this based on the status of many of the animals seen in the movie. Sebastian is the court composer, Flounder is Ariel’s good friend and confidante, etc. I mean, merpeople are half fish themselves, so eating other fish seems to border on some bizarre form of quasi-cannibalism. At one point Triton refers to land dwellers disparagingly as “fish-eaters”, so clearly at least eating fish is distasteful to him. The only acception to this is Ursula, who eats a terrified little shrimp-like creature in one scene. This actually seems to strengthen the idea of merpeople being veggies, seeing as the act is depicted in a particularly cruel way, and this would contribute to Ursula’s already cruel persona. The horrors of eating animals also seem to be explored during the chef’s songs (albeit this is technically from Sebastian’s perspective). To Sebastian this scene is equivalent to a guided tour through Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment. This scene takes place roughly at the same time Eric, Grimsley, and Ariel are seated at the dinner table. I think it would have been interesting to see the two scenes culminate in the actual serving of the food and what Ariel’s reaction to it would have been.
2). Ariel is inconsiderate. I realize that she’s only sixteen and that she’s disenchanted with her life in the ocean, but Ariel can sure be a bitch sometimes. I’m even willing to let slide her initial no-show at Sebastian’s epic “Daughters of Triton” performance that opens the movie. If only because it seems that she genuinely forgot about it and was somewhat remorseful. But her reaction (or lack thereof) during the impromptu “Under the Sea” performance was a complete dick move. Imagine that you’re one of those little instrument playing fish. This is your big chance to perform in front of royalty. You’re playing your little fins off because you love the princess and you want to help cheer her up. Everything has gone off flawlessly, you’re all just about spent, you turn in unison for the big payoff: the princess’ smiling face and adoration for a job well done. Oh, wait there is no payoff because Ariel just up and left right in the middle of the performance. She didn’t even try to excuse herself, just swam off without a thought for all her adoring subjects and their hard work. Real classy. Heaven forbid she think of anything but her own problems for three minutes. Imagine if this happened in real life. Princess Beatrice walks off in the middle of a command royal performance of, I don’t know, Cirque de Soleil because she’d rather go look at a bunch of junk that she collected. The newspapers would have a field day trying to fit in as many synonyms for the word “brat” into their articles as they could, and with good reason. Listen Ariel, just because you’re the heroine of this piece doesn’t mean you can forget a little thing called “courtesy”. For shame.
3). Sebastian is one hell of a composer. This one should really go without saying, I think. I mean, not only does he put on one hell of a planned show, but he’s also a master of on-the-spot improvisational composition. The above mentioned, unappreciated “Under the Sea” performance is a good example of this. Far more impressive, however, is the feat he pulls off with his “Kiss the Girl” production. Not only is he writing this thing on the fly, he’s enlisting the help of a whole chorus of animals who, not only has he never personally met, are probably species that he’s never seen before. Remember, Triton has a strict “no going to the surface rule” one that the law abiding Sebastian only breaks reluctantly, and even then only out of concern for Ariel’s well-being. So there’s an excellent chance that he’s never seen a frog, turtle, duck, flamingo, etc. before. This does not stop him in the least. To again use a real life comparison, imagine that you asked Phillip Glass to compose a love song for you on the spot. A pretty tough undertaking. Now imagine that his only accompaniment consists of a bunch of musicians he’s never met. Also, the musicians are aliens. I think you see where I’m going with this. It’s almost as if Sebastian possesses some kind of strange telepathic musical ability. In turn, he’s instantly able to tune into and influence the musical ability of any organism with whom he comes in contact. Also, at one point I’m pretty sure he gets the wind to blow on his command. We’re starting to get into super crustacean abilities right here. No wonder he’s the court composer. I bet he makes the last composer they had look like a tone deaf kid banging on a Sesame Street xylophone. When it comes to music, do not fuck with Sebastian.
4). Scuttle is an alcoholic. This is another one that I feel is pretty obvious, yet went completely unnoticed by me the first five hundred times I watched the movie. Watching it again, his drinking problem is painfully apparent. He has so many of the classic signs: slurred speech, lack of coordination, the inability to correctly utilize a telescope. They’re all there. Everyone thinks it’s so cute how he doesn’t know the names or uses for everyday human items. Let me clue you in on something, Scuttle knows damn well what those things are and what they do. He’s just too bombed out of his mind on stolen pirate rum to remember. I don’t know about you, but in my time I’ve seen a lot of drunken people misname and/or misuse common household items. Hell, it’s not a party until someone runs into the room wearing something on their head that is most certainly not a hat. No, it’s a colander. Scuttle syndrome in action. Keep in mind that I’m not judging Scuttle. He spends most of his life sitting on a small, barren rock in the middle of the ocean. I think we’d all have a nasty little habit if we were exposed to those conditions for very long. If he wants to drink, that’s fine. I’m all for it. Let’s just not kid ourselves by interpreting his actions as anything but what they are: the inept caperings of a severely drunken seagull. Need I remind you that one of the several definitions of the word “scuttle” is “to abandon, withdraw from, or cause to be abandoned or destroyed” Which is precisely what Scuttle does to his sobriety every day.
5). How does Merperson society work, anyways? As the punctuation may have led some of you to guess, this is more of a question than an observation, per se. I’m not looking for an in-depth analysis of their culture. Ok, maybe I am, but I’m willing to settle for answers to some of my more burning questions. It’s obvious that they have a written language from the contract that Ursula causes Ariel and Triton to sign, but on what kind of material is it usually kept? I’m assuming that the “paper” Ursula uses is magic, seeing as she produces the contract from nowhere, but even if it isn’t that still leads to further questions. Out of what is it made? What kinds of writing utensils do they utilize? Why doesn’t the paper float away? Which leads to a broader question, namely, how do merpeople get by when they can only have possessions that are heavy enough not to float away? Is it just a part of daily life? “Oh shit, my [insert name of light object] floated away again last night. I really need to start tying that thing down” On a larger scale, what kind of system of governance do merpeople have? Obviously Triton is the king, but is it an absolute monarchy or do they have a parliament of some kind? Are other sea creatures such as fish, crabs, octopi, etc. afforded all the same rights as merpeople, or is there a certain amount of social stratification? Do merpeople have any kind of organized religion? If so, what is it like? Does Triton, with his seemingly magical trident, serve as a religious figurehead as well as a ruler? To what extent are merpeople advanced technologically as compared to their human counterparts? Will I ever run out of questions? No. The answer to that last one is no.
Miscellaneous Observations (AKA: This post is already too long)
Ok, that’s about it, I think. Chances are it’s much more than most of you expected (or wanted). As I mentioned before, feel free to leave your thoughts or theories in the comments section, and let’s try to keep things constructive. If the reaction is favorable perhaps I’ll revisit other Disney or equally children-related fare. If it’s not, I’ll probably end up doing it anyway. Enjoy.
Akira Kurosawa and Toshirô Mifune collaborated together on something like 8,000 movies together in a span of seventeen years (actually sixteen, but it’s still impressive). I’ve seen four of them so far, and every single one of them has been amazing. The Bad Sleep Well is certainly no exception. Though not by any means the first non-period piece Kurosawa directed, it is nevertheless the first one I’d seen, and I was interested in seeing in what ways his style was adapted because of it.
To be clear, I really don’t like providing a plot synopsis to the movies I review. Personally, I like approaching a film knowing as little about its narrative structure as possible. Otherwise I find myself too distracted by anticipation, it’s far too easy to distance myself from it. I feel that the act of viewing a film should be as immersive an experience as possible. My goal in reviewing movies is to hopefully provide enough information to the reader that they might be driven to see it themselves while at the same time not providing so much exposition that they feel like they’ve seen it just by reading the review. It can be a difficult task at times. Particularly with a film like this, which relies so heavily on narrative twists and turns. I know I’m not always going to get it right, but striving towards that is a major goal of this project.
The character work of the film is first rate. The cast is led by Kurosawa veteran Toshirô Mifune, who brings his trademark quiet (and sometimes not-so-quiet) intensity to the role of Nishi, a man bent on bringing down the world of corporate corruption by which he is surrounded. Watching Mifune’s disciplined performance is really a treat. The methodical attention he gives to his character is very evident, and often times I feel that he conveys more emotion with all the words he doesn’t speak than most actors do in full out monologue. This emotion is made all the more intriguing and enjoyable do to his characters appearance. Decked out in a double breasted suit and glasses, he’s almost as mild mannered as they come. At the same time there’s some kind of brutal edge that is ever present. He’s like some bizarre cross between Clark Kent and a To Kill a Mockinbird era Gregory Peck. Though it’s hard not to be overshadowed by Mifune’s performance, there are a lot of bright spots in the supporting cast as well. Chief among these are Tatsuya Mihashi, who brings a lot of humor to his role as Tatsuo, the playboy son of Nishi’s boss (Masayuki Mori). Kyôko Kagawa also shines as Keiko, sister to Tatsuo and newly married wife to Nishi.
Though not as obviously visually stunning as some of his more “epic” films The Bad Sleep Well nonetheless contains some truly beautiful camera work. Kurosawa’s oft-utilized “pan focus” is used to great effect in a number of scenes, most notably the opening wedding sequence and later as Nishi and an associate covertly observe a funeral service. Another of my favorite shots takes place early on in the film in and around and actual volcano. The story is that Kurosawa had his effects artist add a large amount of fake smoke to the natural smoke already present on the location. Kurosawa addresses this in a short documentary that’s added as a special feature to the dvd. I wish I could recall the exact quotation, but he says something to the effect that you can’t present nature as it really is by simply filming it as it is. You always have to add something to it. It’s an interesting idea, and I think it ends up paying off for him very well.
Masaru Satô’s music is also used to great effect throughout the film. My favorite musical effect would have to be Nishi’s persistent whistling throughout the film. Used sparingly at first, it appears more and more frequently, becoming a leitmotif of sorts for the character. Towards the end of the film it works its way into the score of the film while still being employed by Nishi, pleasantly bouncing between the films diegetic and non-diegetic sound. There are also a couple of great instances of musical juxtaposition as well, particularly the contrast between the classical wedding march in the opening scene with the all but celebratory mood of most of the guests. Finally, there’s some great noir-ish traveling music during Shirai’s labyrinthine route to his employer’s secret bank vault. Very cool.
The pacing of the film is superb, keeping the plot moving while also allowing for much needed character development. As a whole The Bad Sleep Well ranks among the top film noirs I’ve ever seen. It has all the sharp dialogue, dirty deeds, and shady characters of 40’s gangster film, but on top of that there’s an ambiguity that is all too lacking in films of the genre. Countless times throughout the course of the movie Kurosawa causes you to question not only the actions and motivations of the characters, but your only personal stance on the issues with which their faced. A solid rumination on the sometimes razor thin lines between justice, vengeance, and obsession, The Bad Sleep Well leaves an impression that is not easily forgotten.
Post Script: Sorry it took so long to get this post out (I’m apologizing more to myself than to anyone who may or may not be reading this) I’m trying to get back in the habit of writing for an audience, so I was kind of all over the place in terms of how I approached this review. Hopefully things will become smoother as time passes and I find my voice.
So yeah, true to form I have jumped on the bandwagon of popular culture well after it has pulled out of the station. I’ve started a blog. How amazingly fresh of me! I think next I might go out and get myself one of those new fangled Walkmen what can play the cassette tapes.
I suppose the reason I’ve started this (other then to cement my indie cred) is to have a place other than my own head to store my random thoughts. This is necessary for my health, but not in the “I need an outlet for my emotions because they’re eating away at my insides” way. More like in the “I can’t believe I just missed my train because I was too busy thinking about movies and children’s cartoon shows. I need to start writing this shit down” way. Basically, this is designed to hopefully keep my head clear enough so I don’t accidentally walk into oncoming traffic because I was too busy thinking about how so much of The Little Mermaid (more on this in the future) makes no sense.
So if you’re looking for a place to read inane ramblings on the logical incoherences of TV shows you vaguely remember, or the occasional movie review, this blog is for you. If you hate all that stuff, don’t worry, because I’ll probably get bored with this in a month and stop updating, so it’s really a win-win.