Free Theme: Chickened Out

I’m a real chicken when it comes to horror movies or scary stories. I avoid them whenever possible, because then I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night, trying to push away all those scary thoughts or images. However, not so long ago I went to the movies and this trailer for a horror film came up between the commercials and FREAKED ME OUT.  It was supposedly based on a true event, in which a team of professionals studied a girl who was possessed by a demon. Technical advances in special effects nowadays allow filmmakers to produce images as scary as they want, even more for a trailer, so these super frightening sequences came up. But what made it all scarier was that I, being Catholic, believe--I KNOW--that sometimes demons possess people; I’ve heard of different cases from around the world, only they’re not as common as, say, street accidents or maybe those survival stories that are told in “I Shouldn’t Be Alive” episodes. SO I was all, “no, this is just cruel, how can you guys make a movie about this? Now no one’s gonna sleep”. I’ve always reasoned that as long as you’re close to God, you don’t have to fear facing such a situation. But this doesn’t stop the whole idea from being frightening and unsightly. I guess that it’s because of the logic behind it: beauty stems from what is good and harmonious, embodied in God, while foulness stems from the opposite, which is evil, embodied in demons, who oppose God. On the whole, I got real creeped out because it's a really dark concept. I felt that the filmmakers were exploring a raw source of evil.

            I suddenly remembered how in the Gospels, there are many occasions in which possessed people showed up. I've read the New Testament a couple of times already, and when I’d come to those parts, I’d say “Oh, look, another demon case. Yeah, that was normal in those times”, and keep on reading.  Since there are no details or specific descriptions in the writing, you don’t get to realize what’s really happening, unless you pause to think of it well, using your imagination.  Now I realize how creepy those events might have been. How could people LIVE, SLEEP in those times, when it was common to find demons haunting anybody? I don’t think one could get so easily accustomed to it, even if it were a usual happening.

            There’s this passage that I used to like a lot because I thought it was chilling and interesting, but now I won’t look at it the same way. The narrator introduces this possessed guy that spent his time screeching in a graveyard—this image is scary enough--and there was no way anyone could chain him or tie him up. One day Jesus shows up and the guy goes to him begging to be left alone. Jesus asks the demon its name, and it answers “Legion, because we’re a lot”. Okay. A whole bunch of demons inside a single human. I don’t know how I’d carry on having been possessed like that in the past. So, since Jesus was insisting on their leaving their host, they ask permission to possess a pig herd nearby, and Jesus’s like, yeah, yeah, now go! The demons then enter the herd, and the pigs go nuts! They go running like crazy until they commit suicide jumping off a cliff and drowning in the lake at the bottom! Man, that’s crazy! But it must’ve been a terrible sight because the herdsmen freak out and run to tell it to the village, and the entire village freaks out, too, and they go to Jesus and send him away (I didn't understand exactly why).

            All I can think now is that I should be grateful that extraordinary events like these aren't so common nowadays. By this time, the movie trailer’s effect on me has faded with the passing months, and I’m thankful for that, too. But when I chance upon such events in the Gospels again, I won’t forget the discovery I made.

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.

Global Warming

The first time, that I remember, that I became aware of global warming was between the 7^th and 8^th grades, like at 13 years old. By then, I had seen a map on National Geographic that illustrated how the polar caps had melted through the years thanks to this phenomenon. I remembered I was impressed, though not so worried. I saw another image in a book that showed how high the sea level would be had all the ice on Earth melted…it would cover the Statue of Liberty, something like that. Later, the film “The Day After Tomorrow” became suuuuuper popular, coming out around that time. It talked about the proximity of the next Ice Age. Man, so Hollywood. I remember seeing wolves running through New York City…RANDOM event for a movie like that. Please. A professional who came to my school to talk about the 2006 tsunami in Indonesia mentioned that the film’s theories were pure fiction, super exaggerated. After that, I don’t recall any other global warming highlight in my life. I thought either the issue is not as serious as before, or people got tired of worrying over it. Anyhow, though I frankly don’t have environmental issues on my priority list, I DO recognize that it is not right to abuse of nature in any way. We will pay for it if we do. By harming nature, we harm ourselves, since we depend on it; thus, it makes no sense to do so. For now, I cooperate trying to use just the necessary amount from nature’s resources. 

A Stone Statue...

Hey, yo. I really didn't get so inspired for a short story about the realismo mágico theme, which is very strange, because I've always aspired to write stories with a taste of that genre, so mysterious. So I ended up writing about a surreal moment of my life, one that kind of reminds me of realismo mágico, cuz I didn't want to fall behind the weekly pace of the blog. I'm sure that inspiration for this theme will come in its due time, so I really didn't mind not having any for this week. A small experience that I'd like to share:          
        
              In my neighborhood, there’s this house near the police-entrance-gate-thing that’s very modern, and it has a stone statue of the Buddha on the front steps. It’s been a year since that statue has sat there. I’ve always had the following theories regarding the owners of that house: 1) they’re Buddhists, 2) they’re not Buddhists, but they like exotic things and thus have that statue on their front yard. Whatever the reasons, I thought that it’s quite interesting to have such a piece in the neighborhood, so uncommon in Puerto Rico, an island where any reference to eastern culture is pretty rare (not counting the presence of Otakus*). The thing is, I took a walk one morning last summer, and I came across this Buddha, and I see that it has MONEY in his hands. Like, pennies, nickels, and dimes. That very precise moment suddenly became so surreal for me…I almost felt as though the statue…was REAL, or alive. How can I explain it…in my head, I thought, if these people are leaving coins in its hands, then either they really are Buddhists or they’re just superstitious, like people who throw pennies into fountains to make a wish (though most of them do it just for fun, not necessarily for superstition). Both explanations sort of gave life to the statue, since the people are leaving money because they really think that it will help them or something. I savored the moment, for I love finding any situation that’s as close as possible to magical--especially when Asian culture is involved! Now, every time I pass by that house, I check if there’s still money in those hands. There always is. I wonder if gardeners, cleaning maids or anyone else snatch some of that money once in a while, perhaps to complement their pocket money for train and bus rides.

*anime fans or geeks

........have there been any moments in your life that seemed surreal?

Help for realismo mágico post...from Wikipedia :D

This is just so you can have some idea...it doesn't have to be perfect, anyways.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_realism

PLUS check out the images for inspiration :) a picture is worth a thousand words, right? What better way to be inspired than by looking at images....especially for the mood of a writing.
Tip: you don't have to write a short story, si no te sale, you can also write about any experience in your life that seemed surreal, or wierd...you can even write about a random dream of yours! Widen your horizons...
https://www.google.com.pr/search?q=realismo+magico&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=I9YkU5G0Nufx0gHax4HwBA&sqi=2&ved=0CE4QsAQ&biw=1517&bih=741&dpr=0.9#imgdii=_