Because I'm Angry

“Canta ¡oh Musa! de Aquiles, hijo de Peleo, la COLERA FUNESTA que

causó infinitos males a los griegos; que precipitó a los infiernos las

almas valerosas de muchos héroes, y los hizo servir de pasto a los

perros y a todas las aves de rapiña –así se cumplió la voluntad de Zeus– desde

que, por primera vez, separó una disputa al hijo de Atreo, jefe de los griegos y

al divino Aquiles.”

                        -opening lines of Homer’s Illiad (I really like how it sounds in Spanish)

            This was what first came to my mind when I heard this theme. I love it so much! Soooo epic, man. THE WRATH OF ACHILLES! Oh, no, Agamemnon, you’re screwed, you going down.

            I was also thinking of the curious fact that it’s actually healthy to be angry. It’s part of being human. It would be stupid if you don’t get angry or indignant in the face of wrong, unfair actions. You need anger to fight for your rights, to survive in this world. You need anger to whip up your boyfriend in shape, set things straight with him. You need anger to raise children, be a sibling, become closer to your friends, have stronger relationships. It’s also very important not to keep all the heat inside when you’re furious, or you’ll explode, just like when you’re sad. You must let it out, talk about it with someone, take it out on your journal or diary, hit a mattress with a baseball bat, go to your room and eat a bowl of ice cream, etc.

            BUT it’s all healthy as long as there is control, and especially as long as you avoid harming others, eventually softening to say sorry, forgive and forget, fix the situation. If you get carried away by your anger, becoming stubborn and refusing to cool down, you really won’t have a good time. If you step back and take a look at yourself during such situations, you’ll see that you’re being very close-minded, and that it’s all really not worth it. It’s a very immature attitude, in the end, especially if you go real far. Take a look at Achilles in the Illiad. It’s incredible how far he goes, gradually becoming deaf to reason. There’s this part where Odysseus, Ajax, and somebody else who I don’t remember right now visit him on behalf of Agamemnon, who sent them to say that he surrenders and returns everything he’d taken away from him, adding to them a whole bunch of expensive prizes. But this wasn’t enough for Achilles! He practically wanted Agamemnon to kneel before him, absolutely humbled!! Thus, he refused all of the offerings and remained out of the war. Geez, man, he didn’t even listen to his own friends’ arguments. So have in mind that when you let anger loose, you might end up like him, or do even more drastic things…human imagination has no limits.

            I guess that the best way to deal with this emotion is to first let it out, preferably far from people, and not making any serious decisions until it fades out, so you can see things more clearly.

            …remember what Jedi Master Yoda said!

"...♪Because I’m angry
Clap along if you feel like anger is the truth
Because I’m angry
Clap along if you know what anger is to you...♪"

Land of the Dead

Grey mist everywhere. Grey, grim, gloomy. Everywhere he looked, the view seemed the same. The distant horizon only helped reveal how the “sky” was a little lighter than the ground. The shadow figure moved across the scene, that of a boy, resembling an illusion, kind of like a hologram, maybe like a ghost. He took long strides, the light mist swirling around him as he went by. Eventually, he could make out silhouettes in the distance. He quickened his space, for he recognized it as his destination.

            It was a junkyard, surrounding an abandoned, shabby concrete house. Such sites were scattered around in this strangeland. But he had heard, from the wisest of the dead, that one of them contained a special object…one that had a mysterious link to the world of the living. He searched around the debris…broken instruments, shattered and dusty mirrors, worn-out dolls, lifeless trees, cracked pieces of china, moldy electric gadgets…among the descriptions he was given of the object was the square shape. As he continued, he reached an old TV set. To his surprise, it was the only item that seemed to have any sign of life. Its screen was lightened, but blank, a dirty white color, all the while emitting a continuous small sound. He got closer. Sometimes, the screen would flicker, revealing wavy lines…suddenly, human figures materialized for two seconds, disappearing quickly. The boy shot out his hand to turn the knobs about, trying to adjust the image. The TV crackled, sputtering robotic sounds. The picture returned, first weakly, gradually looking sharper. There was a group of friends laughing as they walked about a suburban town on a beautiful day, their schoolbags slung on their shoulders. Many carried skateboards. Palm trees swayed in the breeze as a train passed over their heads on an elevated rail.

            He had waited so long to find this, to have a glimpse of life. It was more beautiful than he’d imagined. Yet he had been deprived from it, even before he could have a small taste.

*if you're going to listen to this song, please ignore the lyric video so you can appreciate the music, which is what really has to do with this post. I suggest you use headphones :).

Time Travel

Okay, it’s not that I’m absolutely obsessed, but I just wanted to mention this for fun. I’ve always said to myself that if I could go back in time, I’d visit Studio Ghibli during the production period of Spirited Away around the year 1999 and help out in some way. It’s just that when I first saw the film, I automatically thought: I wanna do something as glorious and beautiful as that. And if the chance to be part of the glory of that movie ever comes to me, I’d take it! I’d be satisfied with contributing in drawing on one of the animation frames, or being among the lowest ranks of the staff…and seeing my name somewhere in the end credits XD.

          Now, what I really want to do is talk about a few films/animations where I think the use of time travel is truly admirable, at least for me. Let’s start with:

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time : I first found out about this anime movie when I stumbled across it on the internet. I immediately read its summary in Wikipedia, and was SUPER impressed from the start, as the story begins with the death of the main character. WHAT? You never see that happen in your average films directed to high school audiences, especially if it’s animated. THAT hooked me into the story. Then, I liked the idea of applying time travel to a suburban high school setting. What if a high school student could leap through time? What would she do? It’s a simple yet very fun idea, especially if one has enough imagination to come up with clever, interesting and creative answers. When I finally watched the film, I saw that, at least in my eyes, the time-leaping element was nicely fitted into its setting: she uses her power for trivial, ordinary stuff, like coming early to class, getting perfect grades, repeating her favorite activities, and even avoiding awkward situations. The result is a very good “slice of life” teen comedy/drama, light-hearted, really delightful and enjoyable. However, it doesn’t limit itself to comedy, for she later finds out that her leaps are affecting the outcomes of other people’s lives. I liked this detail very much. For example, there’s a scene where she time-leaps to avoid being hit by an object that was hurled towards her, and the object hits the student behind her instead, injuring her badly. This sequence gives much food for thought. Everything happens for a reason, even if it’s a harsh event or situation. That’s why it’s best not to mess with time (if the opportunity is given), or things might get worse. What has passed took place for us to mature and improve the future, by focusing on the present.

          *Note: One might say that the film has some flaws, regarding coherence in the way the whole time-leaping thing works, but it’s actually one of many typical flaws in anime and Japanese films that can be excused for cultural reasons. I would have tweaked that if I had done the film, but it’s not that it’s BAD or a defect. In a nutshell: you must be open minded when watching Eastern stuff, or you’ll never get them.

Samurai Jack : I barely watched this show, but enjoyed the little that I saw. It was not until a few months ago  that I realized what it was actually about. In a mythological-like ancient Japan setting, an evil supernatural being called Aku opens a portal in time and thrusts his enemy, the brave Samurai Jack, into  a very distant future, where Aku’s power is law. Jack must now try to return to the past to annihilate Aku when he first rose, but meanwhile tries to survive the hostile future. I was blown away by this remote synopsis. Wow. Awesome. It explained the visual strangeness of the world displayed in the show, with alien-like futuristic places and a few ancient Asian elements scattered about, including a Samurai that’s not supposed to be there. Really creative in terms of the plot and the visuals, the art style. The whole concept opens lots of doors to good, interesting options and possibilities; you can go crazy with your imagination and have fun.

And finally,

Back To The Future saga : I saw only the first movie a long time ago, and know vaguely what happens in the sequels. Recently, though, I’ve been told how awesome and clever each of them is plotwise. First film: boy visits his parents’ teen years and gets tangled in their love story; second: he travels to the future, meets his son, must confront his enemy (hehe the year is 2015, wasn’t it? XD); third: boy and scientist friend go farther back to the “cowboy” era. Very humorous AND interesting. Wow! I REALLY have to see them. And they’re from the 80’s. Take that, present-day films who’re obsessed with exaggerated 3D special FX.