I watched the movie Stranger than Fiction a couple of weeks ago. The whole time I was watching it I was analyzing it and thinking about what I would write in my blog. Leeper you have ruined me, I can no longer just watch movies, now I have to think about them too. It was an interesting movie, but a little weird. The basic story is that this guy, who is a tax man, is going through his regular life, which is really boring because he is too organized; he even counts how many steps there are to the bus stop. Anyways, as he is going about his regular life he starts hearing a voice. It only comes every once in a while, and only when he is doing something completely normal for him. And the strangest thing is that no one else can hear it but him. As he starts listening to the voice, he realizes that it is narrating his life. He learns to live with the voice until he hears it foretell his imminent death. This of course freaks him out and he immediately starts trying to find a way to stop his death. Along the way he befriends a Literature teacher, who helps him find the author, and a woman named Ana whose bakery he is auditing.
One major issue that the movie brings up is the inevitability of death. Yes everybody is going to die at some point in their life, that is a given, I don’t think that anyone would dispute that. But if you knew how you were going to die and you had a chance to change it would you? He eventually finds out how the book is going to end and he has a chance to stop it from being written. He has a chance to stop himself from dying in that way. And the way he was going to die was very poetic and meaningful. Given this choice would you choose to allow yourself to die like that knowing your death would be meaningful? I don’t think that I would. I don’t want my death dictated by anyone but God. I think that we should live life to the fullest knowing that we could die at any moment, but not looking for or expecting it.

This next section is questions for people who have seen the movie. You can read them if you haven’t seen the movie, but they might give away the ending, and they probably wouldn’t make sense.
If the lady hadn’t been writing the book, would the events have happened to Harold anyways? I said no, because she changed the ending … or did she?
Could he have not gone to the bus stop? What would have happened if he didn’t? I mean if the lady kept writing the book, but he didn’t go to the bus stop. If he wasn’t there would the kid have gotten hit by the bus?
Were the people in her other stories real too? All the characters in this one were real.
After she wrote the ending, leaving him alive, she told the professor that she would go back and rewrite the book. When she rewrote the book would that have changed his life at all? Would it change his memories?
When he called her, the author wrote herself into the story. How could she do that? And who did she think that he was calling in the book?

I went and listened to Michael Spooner talk about his artwork from Treasure Planet. I have not seen the movie but after the show I really want to. The artwork was amazing. During his talk Michael talked about people who would go into animation, people who loved art. All my life, I have loved art. I have discovered that if I do not have a creative outlet I will go crazy. However, I am not that good of an artist, I know and accept that. I know that I will never be able to just sell my art. Even if I was the best artist in the world the art world is incredibly difficult to get into. This is why I have had so much trouble picking a major, and why I have continued to worry about it. The thing that I really love is art, but I know that I can’t have a career in just art. I know it, and my mom has mentioned it more than once. I know that money is necessary for future livelihood, but I don’t believe that it should be the sole, or even main reason, to choose a job. I actually do not really see myself using my degree in my future as a career. I imagine that it will more than likely be a hobby, or a side job for a little extra money, or possibly as a volunteer service for my church, I don’t know. But what I really want to do does not require a major. I eventually want to be a wife and a mother (this is the abridged version, there is more involved) and there is no mothering degree. No I am not here for my Mrs. Degree either. I am here to get a quality education, because I believe that education is important. Education is the cornerstone of our society and I would like to get the best education that I can. I would also like to take advantage of this opportunity, a paid for chance to do what I want and learn what I have always wanted to. Besides the core classes, and the classes for my major, I am taking any classes that look interesting to me. This is my plan for now. I had been thinking about this for a while but hearing Michael talk about his job helped cement it in my mind.

A Feather Tale
This movie was confusing. I do not know what it is about. We discussed in class that it might be rape. It may have been a dating relationship, and the girl felt that she had to give in to him to keep him. But I think that she might have been a prostitute. This explains most of the film. She was crying at the beginning, maybe out of guilt? And I kept wondering who it was that called her? and who delivered her? Why did she have to be delivered? Why, if it was a rape would there be an actual person delivering her? I think her being a prostitute answers these questions.
I think that Leeper said in class that he wanted girls to talk about the feminism side of this. Since I am a girl I guess I should talk about it. Let’s see, feminism, I am not sure that I like this term or at least the stigma that comes with it. I describe myself as a slight feminist. I believe that women are equal to men and as such have equal rights. I believe that it was very unjust for men to not allow women to vote. But I do not really think there is a problem now. I do not think that we should fight about door opening. I think that it is very sweet, and polite, when a guy opens the door for me. I really do not see why feminists have such an issue with this. By holding the door guys are showing respect, they are not indicating that I am incapable, or not smart enough to work the door handle, they are showing respect, and honor, and chivalry. I am also not against wearing dresses, although I do not think that I would be comfortable wearing a dress all the time. Jeans are just so comfy, there is nothing wrong with that.

When Life Departs
I thought that this was a very cute, sweet movie. Even though the kids didn't always have it right, they were very sincere. I felt for them. I thought that it was cute when one little kid described God as an old king. The concepts of God, and going to heaven, and dying are very difficult. They are hard for adults to understand, and even harder for kids. I think that the film did a very good job in addressing the issue.

Little Dog Turpine
I think that is what it was called. The one about the dog who barked at night when the burglars came. But when the old man woke up the burglars were gone, so he punished the dog by cutting off his tail. It happened again and the old man ended up completely chopping up the dog and hanging the parts on the window. The burglars come back and the dog cannot frighten them off so they steal the old lady. The old man puts the dog back together and he goes to save the lady. He lets the lady out and hides in the bag, and then when the burglars come back he eats them. And the old man takes their parts and hangs them out the window. Oh and I forgot the burglars kept imagining the old people as turkeys to be eaten.
This movie was incredibly disturbing. I hope that the intended audience is not children. I would never show this to my kids (if I had any). It is disgusting. And what is the point? It did not have a specific theme that you can point at and say, look past the violence and see the good message. There is nothing. There is no point. I do not know why we watched the movie.