“One of them has said too much; one of them has felt too much.”
- Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall.
Month: April 2020
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forthegothicheroine:Sometimes reading Arthuriana feels like reading Alice in Wonderland.“Well,” said…
Sometimes reading Arthuriana feels like reading Alice in Wonderland.
“Well,” said Alice, “these are a dreadfully strange assortment of objects!”
“They all symbolize different aspects of Our Lord’s martyrdom,” said the Fisher King, casting a line into his teacup.
“Indeed. I am sure everything symbolizes something else, for if everything was only itself I should be very confused. Might I ask what the point of the bleeding lance is?”
Alice regretted asking the question as soon as she had done so, for she saw the pun that would likely be made about the word point. Instead, however, the room erupted in applause and shouts of “The Grail! She has achieved the Grail!”
The next castle she visited, Alice resolved to herself as the inhabitants of this one danced for joy, would be more sensible.
“Each of us needs something of an island in his life—if not an actual island, at least some place, or…”
“Each of us needs something of an island in his life—if not an actual island, at least some place, or space in time, in which to be himself, free to cultivate his differences from others.”
- John Keats, Of Time and an Island.
- John Keats, Of Time and an Island.
first-son-of-finwe: I’ve realised that what I miss about fantasy is it being truly escapist. I miss…
I’ve realised that what I miss about fantasy is it being truly escapist. I miss it depicting places where I would actually want to go.
Every dang kid I knew waited for their Hogwarts acceptance letter. Reading the books and seeing it on screen gave you this warm, fuzzy feeling and a feeling of longing, even when they were in danger and fighting monsters and evil wizards, you want to be there.
You want to go to Middle Earth, see hobbits and elves and dwarves and run through this land of incredible beauty, mysticism and magic.
You want to be in the TARDIS, seeing the universe.
The more recent trend of fantasy is this gritty, dark realism and places where you would just never want to go. I don’t want to go to Westeros. I don’t want to be in The Hunger Games, I don’t particularly want to be in The Witcher universe. I’m living in the world of Black Mirror and I hate it.
Fantasy used to say “hey our world kinda sucks but here’s a cooler one”, but now it says “hey our world kinda sucks, but here’s an even worse one.”
That isn’t to say that the above are bad. They’re not.
But I miss beautiful, escapist fantasy that gives me a break. That takes me somewhere magical, somewhere otherworldly and gives me messages of hope and optimism in the face of darkness. I really, really miss that.
“For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead…”
“For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of starving while others ate? No man earns punishment, no man earns reward. Free your mind of the idea of deserving, the idea of earning, and you will begin to be able to think.”
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed.
- Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed.
frankiebleu: You know what? I am annoying sometimes. And that’s okay. It’s not the death sentence…
You know what?
I am annoying sometimes.
And that’s okay. It’s not the death sentence I was led to believe. People will love me even if I can’t read their signals sometimes. Not understanding is forgivable. I don’t have to hold myself back so I don’t annoy anyone ever.
The people who love me know I get excited. And I am still loved.
dustypalms: *daydreams about pretty envelopes* 🐌💌💜prints |…
“The Amazing Maurice is a fantasy book. Of course, everyone knows that fantasy is ‘all about’…”
“
- Terry Pratchett, as part of his Carnegie Medal acceptance speech for The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.
The Amazing Maurice is a fantasy book. Of course, everyone knows that fantasy is ‘all about’ wizards, but by now, I hope, everyone with any intelligence knows that, er, what everyone knows…is wrong.
Fantasy is more than wizards. For instance, this book is about rats that are intelligent. But it also about the even more fantastic idea that humans are capable of intelligence as well. Far more beguiling than the idea that evil can be destroyed by throwing a piece of expensive jewellery into a volcano is the possibility that evil can be defused by talking. The fantasy of justice is more interesting that the fantasy of fairies, and more truly fantastic. In the book the rats go to war, which is, I hope, gripping. But then they make peace, which is astonishing.
In any case, genre is just a flavouring. It’s not the whole meal. Don’t get confused by the scenery.
”- Terry Pratchett, as part of his Carnegie Medal acceptance speech for The Amazing Maurice And His Educated Rodents.
Free Culture Movies to Watch During #COVID19: SEVEN CHANCESAfter…
Free Culture Movies to Watch During #COVID19: SEVEN CHANCES
After we rewatched my “The Bachelor” DVD the other night, I noticed in the end credits it had been based on a Buster Keaton movie called “Seven Chances” that I had never heard of. So I went looking, and here it is. The opening sequence was a test filmed in Technicolor. Clearly the print color hasn’t held up. Apparently its been restored; this isn’t that version, however. I can only find the trailer online and its entirely sepia tone.
This Buster Keaton short (hour long) is a comedic masterpiece!