Like Cats & Dogs
Andrew: [Gwynn & Genevieve] didn't give me no love. Fluffy's my man.
Mom, on Andrew: He's so cute! He's like a ghetto puppy.
The obligatory quotations out of the way, you really ought to go see Hero. Dad and I went last night, and while the fight scenes are over-the-top and not particularly spectacular, it is visually beautiful, full of bright color and the landscape of eastern China.
I'm having some trouble expressing my more academic thoughts about the movie. The historic period in which it is set is key in Chinese history and reads like... well, like Sophocles. The king portrayed is the first Chinese emperor, Shih Huang-Ti, The most entertaining way to read his story is in Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe II , pages 92-118, and he did, in fact, cause the death of his father, without knowing how they were related. The book also has a bibliography, which is more than you can say for most websites, but if you are impatient, you can start here and here. If you've admired photographs of Terra-Cotta warriors arrayed in the grave and ready for battle, they were probably Shih Huang-Ti's.
It raises some interesting philosophic questions, but I can't help thinking about the idealism of the movie in light of the current Chinese government.
Oh, and I got to the bottom of the Confietor mystery. Turns out that it's the deacon's prerogative, and this particular deacon never chooses to use it. So, no conspiracy, just bad choices.
Mom, on Andrew: He's so cute! He's like a ghetto puppy.
The obligatory quotations out of the way, you really ought to go see Hero. Dad and I went last night, and while the fight scenes are over-the-top and not particularly spectacular, it is visually beautiful, full of bright color and the landscape of eastern China.
I'm having some trouble expressing my more academic thoughts about the movie. The historic period in which it is set is key in Chinese history and reads like... well, like Sophocles. The king portrayed is the first Chinese emperor, Shih Huang-Ti, The most entertaining way to read his story is in Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe II , pages 92-118, and he did, in fact, cause the death of his father, without knowing how they were related. The book also has a bibliography, which is more than you can say for most websites, but if you are impatient, you can start here and here. If you've admired photographs of Terra-Cotta warriors arrayed in the grave and ready for battle, they were probably Shih Huang-Ti's.
It raises some interesting philosophic questions, but I can't help thinking about the idealism of the movie in light of the current Chinese government.
Oh, and I got to the bottom of the Confietor mystery. Turns out that it's the deacon's prerogative, and this particular deacon never chooses to use it. So, no conspiracy, just bad choices.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home