All credit goes to my brother Patrick for "putting his stuff out there", getting me to do the same. Ztlamhcs!
The Joy of Sisyphus
Monday, April 22, 2013
Oblivion review
Webster’s dictionary has 2
definitions for “oblivion.” The first one listed is “the fact or condition of
forgetting or having forgotten”, and the second one is “the condition or state
of being forgotten or unknown.” There are elements from the new film “Oblivion”
that are applicable to both definitions, and therein lay the depth that the
movie brings to its collection of standard science fiction tropes.
Science fiction movies, when at their
best, blend great technology, visuals and sound, and most importantly, the
exploration of Big Ideas (George, you knew this…). “Oblivion” covers the first
elements well – director Joseph Kosinski has a distinctive visual style,
depicting futuristic technology in clean lines, the bright clarity of
transparent views, and simple, but effective depictions of human interaction
with future tech. Evocative of the impressive, if one-note visuals of Tron:
Legacy, the scenes that involve the built environment of the humans are more
than effective in communicating a great sense of future control and comfort,
with a definite lack of warmth, poised above a wasteland Earth. The scene
involving a clear bottomed, suspended pool is especially cool looking too.
Kosinski does a nice job of
contrasting the technology at the hands of our favorite scientologist Cruise
(or is it Travolta?), with the gritty wasteland that Earth has become. Cruise’s
character must get out into that wasteland to accomplish what he has been
tasked to do, and so those scenes are relatively simple but point us not too subtly
toward this sci fi movie’s Big Ideas.
Unfortunately for Kosinski and
Cruise (and a Lannister too!) this movie’s story treads well-worn sci fi ground.
It appealed to me, as lately I have been very focused on life, its meaning, and
life’s end. We all hope (or is it fear?) that we won’t be forgotten. We all
know in our mind’s eye that we are all unique, yet everyone dies and that there
is no escape from the ultimate forgetting. That knowledge however offers no
solace to the panic that wells up in me when I really think about the unknown and
potential nothing of death. The movie doesn’t address it head on, and offers a convenient, and not altogether satisfying “solution” to the forgetting.
I have never really understood the notion of “dying
well.” I understand bravery and sacrifice, and the impulse of people to protect
others at their peril. We as humans rightly glorify those who have given their
lives in the defense of freedom, in the defense of justice, in the defense of
the defenseless. Those of us who are left grant our imprimatur upon such deaths,
saying that such deaths have value, above and beyond “normal” deaths because of
their circumstances. We, however, are all in the exact same place in the time-space
continuum at the exact moment we die. The actions we take when alive are what
can help us keep from being forgotten, and those very same actions help
ourselves to never forget. Oblivion isn’t an altogether unique or even
memorable movie, but a simple story, told pretty well. Titles can strike a
little too close to home sometimes, eh?
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Well, given the title of this attempt at communication, I figured it important to start with a reflection on our hero, Sisyphus. I am reading Camus' essay, and we'll see what it provokes out of me. The last few years of our lives has reinforced in me my already strong tendency for introspection and self-examination. (Digression - this blog is an effort to combat some of that tendency to navel gaze.) The experiences my family has had (which we'll see whether they all get laid out here or not) have led me to ask the key question - what is the point? There is so much despair and pain, and negativity in life. The answer to the question is a process, and this is part of mine.
And the Myth of Sisyphus gets at it immediately - Camus doesn't sugar coat it at all. Answering the question is an examination of the question of suicide. More to come from this amazing book.
And the Myth of Sisyphus gets at it immediately - Camus doesn't sugar coat it at all. Answering the question is an examination of the question of suicide. More to come from this amazing book.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
The first post in a new blog about everything and nothing should strike the right tone, should establish the theme, should seek to ..... lol. Whatever. Here you will find my thoughts on all things random and not so random. Does a tree falling in the forest make a sound if there is noone there to hear it? I suspect that I will be testing the limits of that philosophical conundrum. If you are reading, and enjoy (or hate it) let me know (but if you hate it, not so much). Let's roll the rock to the top of the mountain together, and then talk about it on the way back down...
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