The Year of Living Dangerously

The Year of Living Dangerously is a film based on the novel by Christopher Koch. This story portrays the life of a young and inexperienced field reporter from Australia whose first assignment is to the “dull” island of Indonesia. Guy Hamilton is very disillusioned about being assigned to a country that has nothing going on at a time when the entire world’s focus seemed to be on French Indochina. Yet he soon discovers that Indonesia, and especially Jakarta, is everything but dull. He finds himself soon to be caught in the midst of a civil war in which the popular Communist party is trying to upheave the weak government supported by the western powers like America, England and Australia. Because of the unpopularity of these nations in Indonesia, Hamilton has a hard time finding a story until diminutive Billy Kwan becomes his assistant around all of Jakarta. It’s Billy who introduces Guy to Jill Bryant, an interesting woman who happens to work at the English Embassy and becomes the source of the story of a lifetime.

This movie was definitely an interesting story. I often find myself disinterested in movies that are older than myself but I have to admit that I found it hard to blink during the course of this movie. I was totally engrossed not only by the drama of the story, but mostly by the fact that the plot seemed to be set in a time that truly was one of the most dangerous in the history of the world. The cold war made Southeast Asia a focal point in the lives of most democratic westerners. I also found it very interesting that Billy would tell Guy that to truly know Jakartians, you needed to understand their puppets. Understand their art to understand their culture. I find this is true for any culture. And I think the director, Peter Weir, did a great job portraying Hamilton as a man who understood that understanding a persons culture was far more important than sitting back and judging it without a clue. I believe this movie is a classic that all should see and am truly glad I was able to.

Restrepo

This is one very, very gritty documentary that brings the pains of war straight home through the TV screen. The directors of this film captured what life is like for our American soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and made sure that we realized what our guys are going through day in and day out. The film follows a platoon into the Karengal Valley in Afghanistan, considered to be the most dangerous front in the world, and shoots from a perspective that makes you duck every time gun shots ring. The directors made sure that we were near the action at all time, barely out of the way of the flying bullets. They also gave us a full scope of the platoon’s emotions. We were presented with the jovial, playful nature of young men who’ve probably been out of high school no more than a couple of years. Then came the battles that transformed happy young men to embattled and pained older men. The death of “Doc” Restrepo seemed to give the entire platoon the motivation to build a defensible fort that would properly honor his memory, and help ensure that the men of the company would be able to avoid Restrepo’s same fate.

I was absolutely moved by this film. I feel as though our own media tends to neglect the true stories of our soldiers abroad. Restrepo is the film that America needed to see. Glad I did.

La Bamba

La Bamba is the sad story of a life lived too short. This story of Ritchie Valens was one of the first movies I can remember watching as a child. It stuck with me. I can remember feeling pride in a poor boy who makes it to the top. I remember the sadness that came when news hits the radio waves of Ritchie’s death and his brother and mother are inconsolable. And most of all, I can remember rocking out to La Bamba even though I thought the lyrics were so strange and made little sense to me (and I am a Spanish speaker).

The great thing about this movie is that even though I watched it more than 20 years later, I am still entertained. Its hard for me to feel that way about most movies. The premise of the movie seems a little too fairy-tale-like, but La Bamba was an actual life story (with a sprinkle of Hollywood of course). The poor kid from the valley really does become an American icon. Lou Diamond Phillips does a good job portraying Valens and takes you back to the late 50’s to witness the genius of Ritchie Valens. Although La Bamba was around for many years before Ritchie sang it, it was he who made it into the international hit it continues to be. The entire movie is hit after hit after hit. I can definitely say that this movie is what made me an Oldies fan. Twenty plus years later, Ritchie’s version of La Bamba still makes me rock out.

Strictly Ballroom

This has got to be one of the worst dance movies I’ve ever seen. Definitely a poor man’s version of Dirty Dancing. You know what, that poor man was more like destitute, homeless, and starving. Prior to watching this movie, I thought of movies like Honey or Stomp the Yard as horrible dance movies. This one puts those two in Oscar contention. Sure it had a few nice dance moves and dance scenes, but the scene shots were horrible, the acting was shotty and the plot was ridiculous. My biggest issue with this film is the manner in which the director filmed what seemed to be 85% of this movie as a closeup of the main character Scott Hastings. I could almost count the wrinkles on his face. RIDICULOUS!

I guess if I have to find art in this story or a lesson in art, it’s this: no matter who you are or how uncoordinated you may be, you too can be a GREAT dancer as long as you have some talented brat to teach you. I mean, a paso doble is supposed to save the dancing community? Come on! That pretty much summarizes the entire movie. All 94 minutes of this movie summarized in a couple sentences. With that I hope to save you 94 minutes of your life. Perhaps now you can spend your time in a more productive and fulfilling way, like skipping rocks across a pond.

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie is a comedic heartbreaker that was as entertaining as could be. It gave us laughs, caused us sadness and everything in between. Perhaps it was the intimate setting of the Cygnet Theatre, but this play made both my wife and I feel as though we were a fly in the house of the Wingfield family.

The story is based on a family of three (mother, daughter and son) who struggle to survive in the midwest during the mid 1930’s. Amanda Wingfield, mother to Tom and Laura, is an over intruding mother to her children who sees no faults in her ways. Rather, she believes that because her husband left her years ago, it is up to her children to ensure the family’s future by marrying into wealth (in the case of Laura) or succeeding as a warehouse manager (in the case of Tom). Both want nothing to do with her plans, yet it is Tom who is constantly clashing with his mother, while Laura, who is shy and lacks even a sliver of self confidence, is too afraid of her mother to challenge her. While all three characters struggled to find their way out of their problems, a character named Jim is introduced an is presented as the answer to Amanda’s prayers, and even Tom’s. This is to be the man for Laura. This is Amanda’s ticket out of financial struggles, and Tom’s ticket out of town and his responsibility as family provider so he can finally chase his dream of writing. This becomes the main reason for heartbreak in the story. Both Jim and Laura fall in love. It seems as though happiness is finally knocking at Laura’s front door, then BOOM. Jim confesses to both Laura and Amanda that he’s going “steady” with a girl for some time now and he can’t break her heart (or something of the sort).

I really, really enjoyed this story. In fact, more than I thought I would. I expected to be entertained, but I didn’t expect to be captivated. I guess that’s what the arts do. Well, good art. They seem to draw you in unexpectedly and never let you go. I am fortunate to know the actress who played Laura Wingfield (Amanda Sitton) and really went to this play to see just how good she was as an actress. Well, she wasn’t good. She was great! They all were. The cast of this play did a tremendous job with their roles. All four were nothing short of BADASS. I would most definitely recommend this play to anyone and everyone. If you have a chance to go to the Cygnet Theatre before this sunday, encourage you to do so. Its worth the time and money.

Annie Leibovitz

As far as photography goes, I always thought this is the one “art” that anyone could do. Most people can’t just pick up a paint brush and throw together the colors and strokes that will land your painting in an exhibit. Nor can the average person take a chisel to a block of marble and carve away a sculpture that will sit within the walls of a museum. But I always felt that anyone could just pick up a camera, whether 35 mm or digital, and just snap, snap, snap away until he or she will eventually land a great photo. That is until I saw the amazing photography of Annie Leibovitz.

Her work leaves no doubt that the world was given a gift in the form of Annie. She has an amazing imagination and no limit to her creativity. I see her work and immediately recognize that no matter how much I try, I would never be able to create a piece of art even remotely close to being as great as Annie’s. This woman has been able to capture the last 40 years of America’s history in such a way that no words are needed to describe what’s going on in her work. She’s been able to frame America’s grandest personas and time after time those photos became timeless. As you see Annie put together her work, you realize that you’re witnessing greatness. My entire life I believed that true artists were those who created paintings or statues. Annie Leibovitz changed that perception for me.

JR’s TED Prize Wish

Palestinian or Israeli?

JR’s project of turning the world inside out is a worthy cause. He’s intent on changing the world by showing the world what the world looks like. He believes that art has the power to not necessarily change the practical things in the world as much as it’s able to change perception. If he can go around the world and show people who need to be shown that there is a different way of seeing life, then he believes that can spark an interest within a person to make a positive change. Most people, especially those in countries where life is considerably “harder” than 1st world nations, can’t see things beyond their own problems. It seems as though life shrinks to fit only the spectrum that encompasses their personal issues. JR uses his art to show that people are capable of seeing past their issues. See life in a different light. He states that “art has the ability to make you forget your problems” and can be used as a medium to tell your story. With it you can reach people you never thought possible to communicate with (as he did in the favelas of Rio). It can act as a bridge from one person to the next, without the need for common ground or language. Who’s Israeli? Who’s Palestinian? Who cares? Aren’t they the same people? JR opens the eyes of sworn enemies to show that the problem is not the human form as much it is the emotion within that form. We need to turn ourselves “inside out” to create a change. This is his wish.

Infinite Balance

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” – John Muir

Following the theme of recent topics in our lectures, the exhibit at MOPA known as Infinite Balance was an eye opening experience. I found it eerily captivating to see such beautiful images displaying such dreadful occurences in our world. My wife and I were really drawn in by all the different themes presented in the museum and left the exhibit with a feeling of worry for what our future might be like.

The exhibit is put on by Pictet & Cie, a private Swiss bank who awards the top prize in photography for environmental themes such as Water, Earth and Growth. Using still images they’ve managed to raise awareness across the world about the alarming rate with which we seem to be consuming our world’s resources. In the words of Kofi Anan, Honorary President of Prix Pictet; “[the] photographs highlight the beauty of the earth we share… [but] also expose the damage… we are inflicting on our own environment.” The majority of these artists made it very, very clear with one frame that we are out of control. Our consumption is leading to an irreversible decline for our planet. Such images are those of Yao Lu whose striking images of China’s countryside are a stark contrast to those we’ve grown accustomed to seeing on Discovery or National Geographic shows. The Chinese hills and mountains seem trapped beneath a net of waste which is exactly what is happening to the industrially booming nation. The picture above, Michael Wolf’s Architecture of Density shows the seemingly never ending concrete jungle which Hong Kong has become. The city is indicative of what is happening to our planet. There is less and less space being left for nature and more and more overpopulation. These are the types of images which filled my mind the entire afternoon. Pristine landscapes turned into industrial dumping grounds. The American midwest and it’s backyards overshadowed by smoke stacks that feed the nation harmful chemicals. And, of course, scenes of BP’s disaster in the gulf. All of these are very alarming warnings that we are on a direct flight to destruction. Too many of us believe that global warming and similar issues are problems created by 3rd world countries. We always point our fingers overseas and say: “Their governments are at fault for not stopping their constant pollution or regulating the industries causing most waste.” But aren’t we just as guilty? Our capitalistic and competitive society has created the insatiable consumer. As soon as our TV starts to flicker, we go out and buy two, just in case one of them goes out. As soon as our brand new car is no longer brand new, we eagerly look towards the next model that’s gonna fulfill our need for another year or so. And even worse, as soon as our technology is no longer the latest thing out there, we start saving money to replace our outdated phones and computers (even though they’re only six months old). We buy and buy and throw away our belongings without a care in the world, because, after all, we don’t have to see where our waste ends up. Well, Infinite Balance shows otherwise. Our own carelessness is catching up with us and it will make us pay dearly. This exhibition is a plea for us to make a change. Now!

 

American Me

American Me is a gritty, violent movie that deals with the social issues that were gripping Los Angeles during the middle and latter half of the past century. Edward James Olmos acts and directs this movie and invites those who were unaware of the issues latinos have faced in California to come along for an eye opening journey. As a Mexican-American born and raised in California, I was always aware of the culture that was idealized and defended by our own people. Having watched this movie as a kid, I remember thinking that the lives that these actors portrayed was one that was cool and glorious, and even thought of it as the best way to get respect from others. As most chicanos I grew up around, I thought that the entire point of this movie was to glorify gang life and show just how badass it was to be a cholo and to be hard in the yard. I quickly realized I was wrong. And watching this movie as an adult, I realize now that Olmos was trying to show viewers that gang life or life in the eMe (Mexican Mafia) is nothing more than a quick ticket to prison, or even death.

I feel as though Olmos shows us as viewers that Santana, the “CEO” of La eMe, was nothing more than a product of the racism and hatred that was prevalent during the earlier part of the 20th century. I don’t mean to excuse the actions of criminals, for that’s what they were. Criminals. Nor do I try to point the finger at the “MAN” or the “White Devil” for wrongs committed generations ago. I simply mean to look into the message sent to me by this movie. I felt as though Olmos purposely opens this story with the violent scenes of rape and mistreatment of minorities because he wants to establish reason for Santana’s actions later.

When a child is raised in an environment in which violence, racism, misunderstanding and exclusion are the norm, there’s no reason to believe that said child won’t grow with a chip on his/her shoulder and a general distrust for those outside of his safety zone (family or barrio). The actions taken by the white majority against the colored minorities pushed these groups to form their own lines of defense: gangs. These would patrol and protect their hoods against any unwanted intruders. And of course, violence propagates more violence. The gangs began lashing out indiscriminately against whites, blacks, and even their own. So, again, the white majority would look at these hoodlums and thugs as a being nothing more than rabid animals. And this is the upbringing in which Santana learns to live life. He makes his decision, the wrong one of course, that no one is ever going to hold any power over him, even if he is behind bars. The most direct line to power is violence. Violence, violence, and more of it. The ironic thing is that while Santana plays the part of a feind with no remorse for any of his actions, he’s also a self-educated and intelligent man. He understands what he’s doing and believes it’s the only way to bring power to his “people.” There’s even a scene in the movie where he speaks to his love interest and tells her of fighting for “la raza y el movimiento” which of course is horse shit because he’s only interested in expanding the empire of the eMe. By doing this, Santana is creating a negative image outside the prison walls of latinos. America begins to believe that ALL latinos are like the criminals within prison walls. His tactics within are damaging those that live on the outside. It’s not until he returns to normal life that he begins to attempt to make sense of his past actions and begins to question if he could have a life outside of prison. During his introspective, he falls for Julie, and he begins to understand that his life of crime is not only dangerous, but empty too. But once in the Mafia, there’s no way out and he’s betrayed by his “brothers.” The people closest to him pull a Julius Cesar and get on with the stabbing. And this is what got me. Very quickly in my youth, I began to realize that the gang life had no other ending but prison or death. Edward James Olmos put this message in bold letters and used caps lock. There’s no subtlety about it.

I know that in this class, our focus is to speak of how art and music can transform lives. However, this movie gave me but one message: drugs and gangs lead to death. Simple as that. Gangs suck. Drugs suck. Oh, perhaps more than that, Olmos wanted to remind us that violence only brings more violence. Ok, maybe he also wanted to remind us that “what goes around comes around” so don’t start-a-killin’ because it’ll come back to get ya.

Buena Vista Social Club

http://grooveshark.com/s/Chan+Chan/sGlpI?src=5

Wow! Que ritmo! Que vida!

Thank you Ry Cooder and Juan de Marcos Gonzalez for the Buena Vista Social Club. This is THE album to own for any latino trying to touch that golden age in Cuban music history. I wish I had had the opportunity to see these tremendous musicians play in their hay-day at the actual Buena Vista Social Club in Havana, Cuba. The entire film is just an excuse to make you want to get up out of your chair, or sofa, and dance the night away. Its funny to say this being that I don’t consider myself the type to want to go out and dance, but that’s what cuban music does! It evokes that salsa animal lying deep inside of you to want to leap out and just polish the floor with your salsa steps.

As a latino who tries to immerse himself in as many different types of musical genres, especially those involving latin roots, I have to admit my knowledge of cuban music stopped at Celia Cruz. In my eyes, Cuba was a nation better known for producing baseball players than music (save for Celia) and therefore I rarely paid it much attention when it came to music. Whenever I thought of salsa music I always thought Puerto Rico. This was where all the big named salsa singers came from whenever I saw them on TV. I thought all good caribbean music came from Puerto Rico. Boy was I wrong. I feel as though I’ve been missing out. As I speak, or type for that matter, I find myself trying to download the album for which this movie is named.

All of the artists showcased in this movie were supposed to be of a past generation. Just another group of old geezers. You see them walk and you think these people probably can’t say 3 words without sucking air through an oxygen mask. Wrong again.The vocals of Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo sucked me in within seconds of hearing them. The soothing tunes they brought were crazy good. Then came Compay Segundo… WOW! This dude, at 89 years… He was God’s gift to us all. That’s the only way of putting it. This life-loving man who was full of charisma was also talented with a trova guitar even at this age. His good friends Ruben Gonzalez (pianist), Eliades Ochoa (guitarist), and Barbarito Torres (cuban laud) were also of note. What am I saying! They were ALL great! These old men, and woman, put together the type of music that could win a Grammy year after year after year. With music like this, it’s hard to see how “artists” such as Lady Blah Blah can be listened to. Honestly. I believe that REAL artists don’t need glamour, flash, and fancy props to be great. All you need is a fusion of charisma, rhythm, and a great beat. The Buena Vista Social Club didn’t have one. They had thirteen.