Saturday, October 21, 2017

54 Days Until Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi-Trailer Reaction

Number one, I had almost given up hoping for a new trailer by the time it came around last week. It seemed that we had been waiting so long that it would never actually come, and I was not constantly waiting for it.
Suffice it to say that the release came as a bit of a surprise to me. I actually watched it on the television as it premiered. Because my dad was watching that football (was it football?) game. I don't watch sports.
Into the trailer now:
Who is truly special? Is it Rey or Kylo? To me, they are increasingly bound up in each other. I don't think that trying to find the ways they are different is useful. Clearly, they are meant to be mirrors, exact foils to each other. Everything that is said to one could be said to the other, and vice versa.
I also love how the lightsaber noise goes into the Imperial theme, which isn't quite the Imperial theme. Clever sound editing! Props to those peeps, whoever they are.
Also, the island is shown under the not quite Imperial theme, which just makes me wonder about what is really going on here.
Clearly, Luke is frightened by Rey because she reminds him of Kylo. But, by striving not to make the same mistakes he did before, will Luke send Rey down the same path? I worry. Luke is not the best at making decisions even in unstressful situations.
Is it any wonder that face shots of Rey shift to those of Kylo and vice versa?
The 'Let the past die' sequence worries me. Clearly, obviously, they have to kill Leia, but I don't want it to happen. And I definitely don't want Kylo to do it. If the goal of this trilogy is to give Kylo a Vader-like redemption arc (and I am not positive that it is), then him killing Leia will make it impossible for to ever like or feel much pity for. They will doom him if he kills Leia. Even though she probably has to die.
Can we just talk about how epic Poe Dameron is? He is really Han and Leia's child. The cockiness and swagger of Han combined with Leia's belief and commitment.
And Finn??? Is he a Jedi? Maybe, maybe not, but he certainly is cool. And it looks like Phasma will actually get to do something, which is what I wanted for her all along.
And Luke's anger. You can hear it and it scares me. Let go of your anger, Luke.
And there it is, the combination of Rey and Kylo. The foils coming together, to create something good, or something horrible. I worry about this movie. They could mess it up so easily. They could destroy it without even really trying. I don't want Luke or Rey to be evil. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I just want everything to be okay, but it might not be. And that thought is straight up terrifying.
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Chorus of the Day!

Not here to lose
Not here for you to choose how we, should be
Cause we're not part of your machine
We're not, we're not part, we're not part of your machine
We're not, we're not part, we're not part of your machine, no


Last Chorus of the Day:
Dirty Laundry by All Time Low
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La! ~SCP

Saturday, October 14, 2017

A Reflection on Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

There will be spoilers. I am not writing about the story per say, but I cannot promise that there won't be spoilers.
I didn't realize where I was in my brain until I read this book. While my experience is not the same as Aza's, there are similarities. I am also trapped in the prison of my own consciousness, and it is terrifying down here too.
This book reminded me of the walls. I read it all in one day, and I had to stop halfway through just to cry.
Everything is falling apart for everyone. Everyone is just a mixture of their compulsions, and we label certain people as 'crazy' because their compulsions are weirder than everyone else's. But every character in this book was stuck in the prison of themselves, stuck with their own compulsions and their own confusions and their own problems, and not one of them can truly see past the wall. No one notices Aza's compulsions until it is almost too late, but she also fails to realize that her mother worries over her because she has to. Daisy is compelled to do stupid things with her money. Davis is compelled to worry about his brother. Noah is compelled to worry about his father. And Russell Pickett, wherever he is, is compelled to leave everything to a tuatara, to believe that the tuatara can stop death.
This book reminded me that we are all afraid of something. We are all driven by something whether that something feels like our decision or not.
This was my favorite of John's books. It made me hurt, way deep down, in a way that not even TFIOS could. I can't imagine living with Aza's obsessive compulsive disorder, just like I am sure no one can imagine living with my anxiety. I certainly cannot imagine living with John's OCD, and I hope that he understands that. We are all unable to understand each other, and that is the true tragedy of humanity.
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Chorus of the Day!

Dirty laundry is piling in her room
She's got her secrets, yeah I've got mine too
I don't care about what you did
Only care about what we do
Dirty laundry
Looks good on you

Last Chorus of the Day:
Canyon Moon by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
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La! ~SCP