INVICTUS

Image via Wikipedia/Nelson Mandela

INVICTUS

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Having just watched the movie INVICTUS starring Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, I was curious about the poetry that is referred to throughout the movie.  Wikipedia, as usual, was of help, although I give Freeman more credit for his performance and betrayal than the movie reviewer in the article from Zemanta quoted below.  The poem, written by William Ernest Henley (1849-1903), is said to have been written on a small scrap of paper and kept by Mandela during his imprisonment.

For me the movie was a portrayal of greatness, of forgiveness and for the beginnings of the end of apartheid in South Africa.  Mandela's integral part in teaching forgiveness is astoundingly portrayed in the film.  The greatness in the movie for me was not the actors' performances but the message of hope around which the story was constructed.

.....and a thought regarding the actual poem.....are we the captains of our souls, am I?  .....are you?

Related articles by Zemanta

• DVD: Invictus (12) (independent.co.uk)
• Gordon Brown's last letter: a salute to Nelson Mandela (telegraph.co.uk)
• DVD Review: Invictus (writer.fitzhome.com)

New, Good, Better and Best

Image by Getty Images for 20th Century Fo via Daylife

Having recently watched "Bride Wars", (stars - Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway), a thought that had been percolating for a while began to take shape in my head. The movie is a cute, sometimes hilarious, sometimes pathetic story of two life-long friends being torn asunder by their similar wedding fantasies. With a scheduling snafu in the wedding planner's office, requiring one of the engaged to yield the cherished date and venue, the life-long friends become selfish, battling, first rate enemies!

The characters engage in petty squabbling, stooping to do most anything to keep the best friend's wedding experience unpleasant while at the same time striving to arrange every possible detail for their own perfect day. The underlying theme in question would seem to be the competing bridezillas and their personal self-absorption - viewed in a comic light - rather entertaining.

Upon reflection, as I have been internally analyzing this "friend thing" lately, my question is why two young women see fit to throw away the sanctity of a lifelong friendship in favor of their own means to an end - the perfect wedding day? When does someone deemed a friend become tagged as new, good, better, or best friend? What is it with those categorizations?

There are persons I've met who just "feel" right to me from the first moment - upon sharing, I've had similar experiences as they, both good and bad, I might admire their ease in social settings, or be drawn to them by their outer trappings of dress or hairstyle, or for the fact that we quickly discover similar marriage and birthing patterns in our lives. Those persons might be labeled in all four categories - "new, good, better, best." But where is it that friendship is really born into a category beyond acquaintance, new, better, or best?

I greet the post office clerk, the grocery checker, the bank teller, the board member, persons in church, etc. perhaps each week or several times in a week. I smile, converse a little, perhaps notice physical changes or demeanors. Are these people my friends - I certainly wouldn't categorize them as enemies....maybe just acquaintances? On the other hand, persons I've literally known for years, greeting, visiting, commiserating and departing but with no real sense of an established friendship. Always something held back with no eagerness to establish further ties. Once more, they're not enemies, just not friends.

Then there are those who I've known for a short time, cherish immediately, and strive for connection and similarities without even realizing that striving. When do these relationships go from "new" to "best?" For me, it may be when adversity strikes a blow to that special person I've met. I can feel sorry for an enemy or an acquaintance, even pray or wish for their well being, but the "reaching out" for a person through adversity is where I believe the initiation of true friendship may be born. It's when I find myself yearning to comfort them in a personal loss, reaching out to them with a word, a small gift, a particular email message, or even that perfect snail-mail Hallmark sympathy card. For me, I think there's something about the need to reach out in love that tips the balance from acquaintance, to new, to good, better and maybe even best!

Does any of this pondering ring true with you? If so, where do you experience that good, better, best connection of friendship?

Movies, Addiction, Dementia, Control?

Image via Wikipedia

If you drop by occasionally, you may have seen my post about the movie "Slumdog Millionaire." I had some question in that post about whether viewing movies of poverty, torture, real life, fantasy, etc. is entertainment or not. I received some great comments both pro and con on the issue. Since that post, I've had the opportunity to view two more movies - "Rachel Getting Married" and "The Savages."

From the outset, "Rachel" did not qualify as a movie that I felt would be light entertainment. I ordered it from Netflix as I had read of the outstanding performance of Anne Hathaway in the role of a recovering addict. I've enjoyed her roles in other movies and wanted to see her perform in something other than a pretty fairytale movie. Well, she did act her role both well and convincingly as an addicted family member, the struggles she had in addiction recovery, the struggle for her family, and for her friends in relation to her addiction. Having some years of personal experience with addicts I suppose I thought I would just steel myself against the story of how sad and overwhelming an addicted person's struggle is in life and how a family can never "cure" the addict but often unknowingly contributes to the addict's angst during the addiction and recovery periods. It was tougher to watch than I suspected and found myself fast forwarding some of the scenes. I wondered why I had chosen to place myself in such a familiar sad story.

But wait a minute, the next movie I watched was so poignantly close to home that I could have almost written the script - albeit, there would have been two sisters and a brother in the sibling roles and the father would have been a mother, etc. That movie was "The Savages." I had seen a clip of it and I rented this one out of, I expect, morbid curiosity about the story line. I had lived the story of searching for that "perfect, idyllic setting" in which to place one's parent for keeping - feeding, cleaning, manicuring, diapering, if necessary. This movie was played out in my family approximately 8 years ago when my brother, sister, and I had to make the decision to move our Mother out of the care of her husband into a professional "assisted living" facility. We were extremely fortunate that our step parent had taken such excellent care of the woman he and we loved and kept her living at home as long as he possibly could. There was no other choice left for us as his health and ability to continue her care had become inadequate, threatening his own well-being and the literal safety of their home.

At any rate, here I was watching yet another movie that was definitely NOT entertainment for me. Yet, I was mesmerized at the authenticity of the movie sibs' discovering their father's dementia, their individual acceptance and denial of the issue, their search for the RIGHT place in the midst of their own tumultuous and unsettled lives. I cried when they cried, I felt their pain as I had experienced their pain, their guilt.

NOW, I ask you readers, why was it - in your humble opinions - that I was able to watch this true to life portrayal of a very sad situation - no fast forwarding, a great deal of inner turmoil, a lingering feeling of relating to the fictional characters? Where was the line that I drew that enabled me to watch a scene so familiar, though painful to relive? I've asked for your answers but I find I have developed an answer of my own even as I compose this post.

I believe for me it's possibly all about control. On the wide screen (or my little Netflix production) when millions suffer, when injustice and cruelty is the overarching theme before me, when the evil overwhelmingly crushes the innocent, I feel helpless and not up to the test of abolishing that portrayal of darkness. Helpless and fearful knowing that evil is so convincingly portrayed as imagined and witnessed in this world. "The Savages" story line was familiar and even though I knew the ultimate end of my Mother's placement, our decision, she would most likely be in a nursing home with none of us with her at the moment of death, I had some control over manipulating the circumstances that would keep her safe and comfortable until that time. I could relate to the movie because the brother and sister came to grips with the fact that their control of their parent's life was the only control they had. They could NOT prevent the death nor the dementia - they could only manipulate the care and comfort of their charge.

So yes, I think I've discovered my issue with movies and those I will select and enjoy, those I will fast forward, and those that I won't bother to hit anything but the delete key! But still, do you think it's about control?

Movies - are they entertainment?

Image via Wikipedia

I enjoy movies, mainly movies accessed through Netflix. I'm not crazy about movie theaters and haven't actually be in one for about 8 years - but that's another story. Anywho, I hadn't viewed for a while so took a comfortable seat, laptop on lap (logical) earbuds in, set to relax in front of one of the award-winning, have-to-see movies of the year, Slumdog Millionaire. I lasted 30 minutes......

First of all, I've been to India. It's been a loooooong time since I was there but over and above the beautiful sites of the country, the poverty was overwhelming for me then and I found it no less overwhelming in the movie scenes of children minding and participating in public privies, bathing and drinking polluted water, living in stalls and shacks. Also, the first opening scenes of the movie were filled with torture scenes, not (American as apple pie) water-boarding mind you, but nevertheless torture of a human by other humans! Taking a deep breath and thinking I could fast forward to the entertainment part of the movie, the straw/scene to break this little camel's back was quickly forthcoming! A train car unloaded with men armed with clubs set on bludgeoning mothers and children because they were Muslims, the delete key was in order for me!

Why is this entertainment? I am in agreement that it is a tool for awakening my heart to the world. I do not think that is bad, I think it's important that I/we not fool ourselves into believing that the world is all well fed and sitting back drinking bottled water. I have a hard time erasing either real or fictional scenes that portray prejudice, hatred, cruelty, poverty, deprivation, or war zone activity. Occasionally, I manage to sit through stories (you can check out my movie list) of this nature but can they, should they be called entertainment?

They make my heart and mind cry out to my Creator, why, why, why? I thank God for the Mother Teresas of this world and for organizations like ONE and the Episcopal Relief and Development Organization. But sitting in front of a screen and calling it entertainment - I think perhaps there should be a new category of Academy Awards called "Fictional Documentary -Entertainment Reality Films." I don't know. Am I just an ostrich with my head in the sand? What do you think? What kind of movie entertainment do you seek out? Did you see this movie and love it or hate it?

Netflicks Chick

Well, I totally poo-poohed the original takers of the Netflicks concept. How ridiculous, who has time, why would you do that - I don't really like movies anyway! Oh, I love reflecting on my non-judgmental view of the world and its inhabitants - my friends!:) And, that's me, never jump in unless it's with at least 2+ heavy feet.

Yes, of course, I'm here to "eat crow" - although I don't believe I've actually tasted crow but I hope I'll like it if I ever do because I have to eat it figuratively all the time!

I LOVE Netflicks!! Now granted, I'm only into 1, maybe 2 movies a week. (I hope you read my little movie remarks on the side column of my blog. I would love to have some feedback on the movies you like to see.) Anyway, the little red Netflicks envelope comes right on time, directly to my mailbox, no delay, no hassle - I then look forward to my movie time, usually just Riley and me. He's the only creature in the house that will sit down that long to be petted. He makes no comments about the reality or NON-reality of the movie nor does he stomp out of the room with a disparaging remark if something in particular is found to be disturbing to his sensibilities.

Considering I have not been inside a movie theater in probably 7 years, I'm astonished at my new-found veracity for film stories. It brings up memories of childhood - going to the movies on Saturday, Holloway suckers capable of pulling one's fillings and even teeth out if bitten into rather than sucked (thus the name suckers)....and this will gross you out - I even remember eating popcorn off the floor if regrettably a full bag was accidentally dropped....YUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKK!

So, this movie thing is so much fun. After seeing "Becoming Jane" and "The Jane Austen Book Club" I'm in to rereading all of those wonderful books of hers. Movie theme music is making it into my ITunes menu....well, would you look at that - is it possible that movies actually foster intellect and creativity - who'd have thunk it? And technology?.....well, look it me - and UTUBE!!!

So, movies or no movies, Netflicks or no, what do you like in movies - old or new - an all time, all time favorite? I'd love to know if you're an aficionado of old black and whites, silents, love stories, war stories, horror movies.

"Here's lookin' at you kid" - drop me a comment:)