勇気を持って立ち上がれ
Jun. 1st, 2009 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arishauuuugh, annoying night at work. x_x Not made any better by the fact that Slytherin is currently in last place, what the heck!! Although we did spend much time discussing the Hufflepuff ability to come back in the next life as a vampire. xD Oh, RPattz.
Anyway - books!
14. The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man's Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt's Greatest Mystery, Bob Brier and Jean-Pierre Houdin
I think I expected more out of this book. Well, mainly I think I expected the authors' theory - that the Great Pyramid was built using an inner ramp rather than an outer ramp - to have already been proven more than it had been at the time of publication. I mean this book practically ended with a cliffhanger!! And I also wish it had been a documentary rather than a book, because there were some parts I really couldn't picture. Like when they were talking about the Great Gallery being used as part of a pulley system, I would've really loved to see some sort of animation to go along with that because I kind of didn't get it. Overall I enjoyed the book, but yeah, I am too impatient to deal with that sort of ending. :P
Random: there's one part in the book where Brier says that, back when climbing the pyramids were allowed, he used to take tour groups to the top of the Great Pyramid on New Year's Eve. Best way to spend New Year's Eve EVER!!
15. Snakes and Earrings, Hitomi Kanehara
This was entertaining enough to fill two hours, I guess, but I have no idea why it won an award. I found a review that praised it for its portrayal of alienation, but to that I say: everything that comes out of modern Japan is a portrayal of alienation!! D:
16. Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, Jonathan Shay
This book compares the combat trauma experienced by American soldiers in Vietnam with the combat trauma portrayed in the Iliad in an attempt to better understand both. As you might imagine if you know me at all, I found this book hugely interesting. Seriously, the more I learn about the Iliad, the more in awe I am of it. For example: in the Iliad, especially after the death of Patroclus and even moreso after the death of Hector, there are all these comments about how Achilles feels he is already dead, his mother is mourning him as if he is already dead, and when Priam goes to visit him, the scene is set up as though Priam is making a journey to the Underworld - as if Achilles is already in the Land of the Dead. In my Greek Epic class, the prof talked about how this could all be considered foreshadowing; Achilles dies after the events in the Iliad, so this could be the poet's way of including his death without actually including it. In Achilles in Vietnam, Shay makes the case that it's not uncommon for soldiers suffering from combat trauma to feel the way Achilles feels: that they are already dead, or at least that they won't make it home alive. The idea that the Iliad accurately portrays combat trauma and, at the same time, uses that trauma as foreshadowing - it really kind of blows my mind. Like, did they even have words for "foreshadowing" and "combat trauma" three thousand years ago? It makes me feel like there is no excuse for bad writing these days.
One small criticism I have of Achilles in Vietnam is that I would've liked to see Shay complete his analysis of the Iliad, and actually deal with the scene between Achilles and Priam. I have read at least one article that argued that the Iliad is the story of the "taming of Achilles," and that this scene marks his return to humanity. My Greek Epic prof argued the opposite (saying quite explicity that she believes Achilles would never be able to return to civilian life), and I believe Shay would do the same (he writes that the Iliad is the story of the undoing of Achilles' good character), but it would've been nice to see him tackle this scene more than he did.
In conclusion: I have no idea how anyone else would feel about this book, but I thought it was fascinating.
Movies!
36. Orestes, 2006
"Orestes" is a Greek tragedy written by Euripides (who seems to be my favourite of the Athenian playwrights, hahaha); this particular stage-version-on-DVD is in Japanese and stars the guy who played Light in the Death Note movies. AND I LOVED IT!!!
So, quick backstory: Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War, sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia so that the wind will allow his army to sail to Troy. Upon his return home, his wife Clytemnestra kills him. Then their two surviving children, Electra and Orestes, work together to kill her. Welcome to the House of Atreus, my favourite of the Trojan War sequels! xD I think one of the reasons that I loved "Orestes" so much is that this was the first time I've seen this family portrayed like I've always wanted to see them portrayed. There is one scene where Orestes and his friend Pylades have rushed offstage to kill Helen (as revenge on Orestes' uncle Menelaus, who has refused to defend Orestes against the citizens who have turned against him), but Electra remains onstage. As we hear Helen screaming, Electra gives this odd, hesitant little smile. And I thought: That's it. That is House of Atreus. They are messed up. Add to that that Orestes spends his first ten minutes onstage shouting and running into walls and actually being quite frightening, and I was very pleased with this portrayal of the world's most dysfunctional family.
This was also the first time I'd seen Hermione portrayed onstage or onscreen, so I was pretty excited about that. xD I actually have yet to read "Orestes," so I watched most of this without knowing what was going to happen. Which was awesome, except that I kept expecting Neoptolemus to show up and he never did. ^^; Oh, and call me an idiot but I TOTALLY FORGOT about the whole deus ex machina thing, and I was actually pretty annoyed when Apollo showed up to solve everyone's problems! And then I was weirded out by the very end, where they play sound bites from various wars, including a clip from President Bush. Dubya, get out of my Greek tragedy!! D:<
I mean, comparing events from the various Trojan War stories to events in modern wars is nothing new. "Orestes" itself was written during a war, and was probably meant to be viewed with that in mind. I guess I just really wasn't expecting this version to actually follow through.
Now, believe it or not, I have YouTube links for you!! xD Starting at 2:47 in this video is a commercial for "Orestes," and, believe it or not, this video is a music video that someone made! My mind is blown at the idea that someone other than me would actually watch this DVD. xD;;
37. Les Misérables, 1998
I quite liked this although the acting and dialogue were sometimes quite ridiculous. Unfortunately that's all you're getting from me about that one - I've already spent way too long on this entry!! x)
Anyway - books!
14. The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man's Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt's Greatest Mystery, Bob Brier and Jean-Pierre Houdin
I think I expected more out of this book. Well, mainly I think I expected the authors' theory - that the Great Pyramid was built using an inner ramp rather than an outer ramp - to have already been proven more than it had been at the time of publication. I mean this book practically ended with a cliffhanger!! And I also wish it had been a documentary rather than a book, because there were some parts I really couldn't picture. Like when they were talking about the Great Gallery being used as part of a pulley system, I would've really loved to see some sort of animation to go along with that because I kind of didn't get it. Overall I enjoyed the book, but yeah, I am too impatient to deal with that sort of ending. :P
Random: there's one part in the book where Brier says that, back when climbing the pyramids were allowed, he used to take tour groups to the top of the Great Pyramid on New Year's Eve. Best way to spend New Year's Eve EVER!!
15. Snakes and Earrings, Hitomi Kanehara
This was entertaining enough to fill two hours, I guess, but I have no idea why it won an award. I found a review that praised it for its portrayal of alienation, but to that I say: everything that comes out of modern Japan is a portrayal of alienation!! D:
16. Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character, Jonathan Shay
This book compares the combat trauma experienced by American soldiers in Vietnam with the combat trauma portrayed in the Iliad in an attempt to better understand both. As you might imagine if you know me at all, I found this book hugely interesting. Seriously, the more I learn about the Iliad, the more in awe I am of it. For example: in the Iliad, especially after the death of Patroclus and even moreso after the death of Hector, there are all these comments about how Achilles feels he is already dead, his mother is mourning him as if he is already dead, and when Priam goes to visit him, the scene is set up as though Priam is making a journey to the Underworld - as if Achilles is already in the Land of the Dead. In my Greek Epic class, the prof talked about how this could all be considered foreshadowing; Achilles dies after the events in the Iliad, so this could be the poet's way of including his death without actually including it. In Achilles in Vietnam, Shay makes the case that it's not uncommon for soldiers suffering from combat trauma to feel the way Achilles feels: that they are already dead, or at least that they won't make it home alive. The idea that the Iliad accurately portrays combat trauma and, at the same time, uses that trauma as foreshadowing - it really kind of blows my mind. Like, did they even have words for "foreshadowing" and "combat trauma" three thousand years ago? It makes me feel like there is no excuse for bad writing these days.
One small criticism I have of Achilles in Vietnam is that I would've liked to see Shay complete his analysis of the Iliad, and actually deal with the scene between Achilles and Priam. I have read at least one article that argued that the Iliad is the story of the "taming of Achilles," and that this scene marks his return to humanity. My Greek Epic prof argued the opposite (saying quite explicity that she believes Achilles would never be able to return to civilian life), and I believe Shay would do the same (he writes that the Iliad is the story of the undoing of Achilles' good character), but it would've been nice to see him tackle this scene more than he did.
In conclusion: I have no idea how anyone else would feel about this book, but I thought it was fascinating.
Movies!
36. Orestes, 2006
"Orestes" is a Greek tragedy written by Euripides (who seems to be my favourite of the Athenian playwrights, hahaha); this particular stage-version-on-DVD is in Japanese and stars the guy who played Light in the Death Note movies. AND I LOVED IT!!!
So, quick backstory: Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks during the Trojan War, sacrifices his daughter Iphigenia so that the wind will allow his army to sail to Troy. Upon his return home, his wife Clytemnestra kills him. Then their two surviving children, Electra and Orestes, work together to kill her. Welcome to the House of Atreus, my favourite of the Trojan War sequels! xD I think one of the reasons that I loved "Orestes" so much is that this was the first time I've seen this family portrayed like I've always wanted to see them portrayed. There is one scene where Orestes and his friend Pylades have rushed offstage to kill Helen (as revenge on Orestes' uncle Menelaus, who has refused to defend Orestes against the citizens who have turned against him), but Electra remains onstage. As we hear Helen screaming, Electra gives this odd, hesitant little smile. And I thought: That's it. That is House of Atreus. They are messed up. Add to that that Orestes spends his first ten minutes onstage shouting and running into walls and actually being quite frightening, and I was very pleased with this portrayal of the world's most dysfunctional family.
This was also the first time I'd seen Hermione portrayed onstage or onscreen, so I was pretty excited about that. xD I actually have yet to read "Orestes," so I watched most of this without knowing what was going to happen. Which was awesome, except that I kept expecting Neoptolemus to show up and he never did. ^^; Oh, and call me an idiot but I TOTALLY FORGOT about the whole deus ex machina thing, and I was actually pretty annoyed when Apollo showed up to solve everyone's problems! And then I was weirded out by the very end, where they play sound bites from various wars, including a clip from President Bush. Dubya, get out of my Greek tragedy!! D:<
I mean, comparing events from the various Trojan War stories to events in modern wars is nothing new. "Orestes" itself was written during a war, and was probably meant to be viewed with that in mind. I guess I just really wasn't expecting this version to actually follow through.
Now, believe it or not, I have YouTube links for you!! xD Starting at 2:47 in this video is a commercial for "Orestes," and, believe it or not, this video is a music video that someone made! My mind is blown at the idea that someone other than me would actually watch this DVD. xD;;
37. Les Misérables, 1998
I quite liked this although the acting and dialogue were sometimes quite ridiculous. Unfortunately that's all you're getting from me about that one - I've already spent way too long on this entry!! x)