(Originally posted on 3/22/06.)
When I started my old MySpace blog, I was on the hunt for a decent book. I had quite a few disappointments, even giving up on books that had been highly recommended to me. So I halfheartedly pick out a book I'd seen at the Library for some time now that looked kind of interesting, Audrey Niffenegger's The Time-Traveler's Wife. Go figure, it ended up being the first book in a long time that, about three chapters in, I had to do the Neverending Story thing with. (Neverending Story thing = Locking oneself in an attic and finishing a thoroughly amazing and engrossing book in one go. You know what that's like don't you?
Don't you?
I am a nerd.)
This is a book that made me laugh, it made me sob, it made me blush, and it made me shudder and - this is the kicker right here - the f___er made me think. And best of all, it made me think in the same way that my favorite truly thought-provoking fantastic fiction made me think. It takes a worn out fantasy concept and treats it with all-out seriousness, daring to ask what living with this fantastic element would really be like. (What I mean by this is, for example, that we learn the sometimes kinky, more often heartbreaking, and darn near always hellishly confusing and upsetting ramifications of quantum sex.) Imagine a good mash-up of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", "The Sixth Sense", and "Memento". It's an emotional and mental workout, but it is well worth it.
And if I haven't sold you yet, there is the fact that your secret loathing of Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock-n-Roll" is finally vindicated in this book. Yes.
I must now heap praise upon Hayao Miyazaki's "Howl's Moving Castle", which is on DVD this week. Now, If you're ever going to trust me on any movie recommendations, trust me on this. The Studio Ghibli films are Anime for people who don't think they like Anime. Everything Disney nailed in their heyday can be found here. I highly recommend you check them out.
"Howl" is Miyazaki's latest triumph. Dude must be sick of hearing that. Doesn't he get bored of making superior movies? The characters are absolutely delightful and I love how there are more interesting things going on in any given background painting than some animators put into an entire feature. (It's almost poignant seeing the "Chicken Little" teaser trailer on this DVD.) That said, it might not be the best place to start for newbies; I say start with "Kiki's Delivery Service". It's my favorite (if I have to pick) and the most easily accessible of his films. From there, watch "My Neighbor Totoro" (one of the best children's films ever and just released on DVD), then try "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" and "Princess Mononoke" (two of the great action-fantasy Animes of all time), and then "Laputa: The Castle in the Sky", "Howl's Moving Castle", and "Spirited Away" (surreal fairy-tale fantasies). And keep an eye out for "Little Nemo" - an underrated Studio Ghibli production but one of my favs.
Incidentally, I have to mention something about "Howl" that I find very, very strange: some critics have said that the plot is too convoluted. Honestly, I didn't find it any more hard to follow than other Anime. Whatever, dudes. Next you'll be complaining that chocolate tastes too good or something.
I got two strange animated films from the fifties at an evil supermarket for a dollar. They were "Panda and the Magic Serpent" and "Adventures of Mr. WonderBird". And they were actually pretty good.
And finally, I watched "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" on DVD. Dad and I both agreed that it was pretty good. We also both agreed that, although we know the work that the person in charge of condensing the "Brick" Harry Potters into films has cut out for him, it was very strange some of the things left out. The SPEW subplot is an obvious example. But where was the payoff to the Rita Skeeter subplot? And for cryin' out loud, how come we didn't get to watch the Quidditch World Cup or how the other Triwizard Champions battled their dragons? Honestly, as I was reading the book all those years ago, I was secretly thinking to myself, "You just know J.K. put this in because it'll look kickass in the movie." The more I think of it, the more disappointed I am...
I might have fully transformed into a Harry Potter nerd right there. Hang on...
Iorek Lives!!!
That's better.
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I've rescued a few old posts from MySpace and they'll be popping up over the next month.
And, there's a new review at The New Realm. Starting next month, there will be new reviews (or shamelessly recycled features with some new material) every week!
AND, I've uploaded a bunch of new art (and older art that I'd unintentionally hidden from myself earlier this crazy summer) at Flickr. Here is a sample, and you may consider it blatant foreshadowing of a future article:
In sillier news, did you get Oak's Letter yet?
Originally posted in LaGremlin Land on 11/16/06. Note that this does not take the "Lost" episodes since that date into account. It also does not acknowledge the "Golden Compass" film. (But then again, who does?)
In Which A Fan of Both Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy and Damon Lindelof/Carlton Cuse/J.J. Abrams' "Lost" Sets out to Prove That the Two Series are Basically The Same Thing
"This is a kid's book series? I can't imagine what kind of pale, boring, morose kids must dig this." - Devin Faraci of CHUD.com
Well, gee, ME for one. >:(
Also, if -for all it's sex and violence- the His Dark Materials series is a kid's book, then so is every other book where the protagonists *start out as* children. So I guess you can go read Lolita, kiddies. What an idjit. (I'm sorry, I read that article shortly before I wanted to post this feature and I just had to rant.)
Anyway, thanks to the title, there's not much left to explain here, I hope. Needless to say, this contains SPOILERS GALORE for both His Dark Materials and "Lost". Both series are wonderful and if you have not watched/read either of them, do so now. Then come back and read this.
As far as I know I'm the only one out there who sees these connections, which is weird cause I know that there are crazy "Lost" fans who want to sniff out every single possible cross-reference ever. I came up with a lot of these after rereading His Dark Materials (I started as soon as it was clear that the film adaptation was out of development limbo; I anticipate it with dread but that's irrelevant for now), and I finished the trilogy on a Wednesday. "Lost" night. And so, my fellow experimental theologians, similarities between His Dark Materials and "Lost":
Well, first, let's get the obvious stuff out of the way:
His Dark Materials: Polar Bears?
Lost: Polar Bears.
His Dark Materials: Science and faith?
Lost: Science and faith.
His Dark Materials: Brings together a disparate group of characters who find themselves in a strange conflict involving forces way beyond human understanding?
Lost: Brings together a disparate group of characters who find themselves in a strange conflict involving forces way beyond human understanding. We think.
Now, here's where things get interesting:
His Dark Materials: The main antagonists in the first book are the "Gobblers". They are a mysterious group of high-ranking people with shady intentions. The Gobblers are, by all evidence, in allegiance with a larger and far shadier organization. We do not learn much about them in the early chapters -- but we do know that they are obsessed with children…
Lost: The main antagonists in the second season are the "Others". They are a mysterious group of islanders with shady intentions. The Others are, by strong implication, in allegiance with a larger, far shadier organization. We don't know much about them by the end of Season Two -- but we do know that they are obsessed with children…
His Dark Materials: Very near the beginning of the first book, it is revealed that the Gobblers have kidnapped countless children. Lyra, the heroine of the trilogy, is stunned to learn that this includes her best friend, Roger.
Lost: By the end of the first season and the beginning of the second, it is revealed that the Others have kidnapped Rousseau's daughter Alex, Claire (who was pregnant with Aaron at the time), the children from the tail end, and Michael's son Walt.
His Dark Materials: The Gobblers operate from a remote location (near the Arctic Circle) which nonetheless has state-of-the-art facilities.
Lost: The Others operate from a remote location (Craphole Island) which nonetheless has state-of-the-art facilities.
His Dark Materials: Here's the kicker. When she meets one of the kidnapped children who has managed to escape, and when she is captured by the Gobblers shortly thereafter, Lyra learns firsthand the horrifying truth of what the Gobblers are up to. Basically, the Gobblers make the children take tests before performing bizarre and cruel experiments on them. It's implied that the point of some of these experiments is to harness a potential power that the children have…
Lost: Here's the kicker. When Michael sets out to rescue Walt, and is captured by the Others, he *sort of* learns firsthand what they're up to when he is allowed to talk with Walt. Walt is able to tell his father that the Others make him "take tests" before Ms. Clue tells him to shut up.
Furthermore, in the episode "Maternity Leave", it's very clear that the Others are performing some kind of bizarre experiments on Aaron before he is even born. A popular theory, backed up by some of the questions that Ms. Clue asks of Michael, has it that the Others are looking for the potential powers that "special" children have…
It really is the same story!
His Dark Materials: At one point, some of the characters must travel through a place that is very like Purgatory.
Lost: A commonly held, though long-dismissed, theory has it that Craphole Island is Purgatory.
His Dark Materials: A certain World in the Multiverse is inhabited by beings called Phantoms. Phantoms are very interested in adults' souls -- by all evidence they eat adult souls.
Lost: Craphole Island is home to a "monster" that looks like a great, dark phantom. "Smoky" seems to be very interested in the contents of peoples' heads -- as evidenced by it’s encounters with Mr. Eko and B'enry, it can basically "read" your soul.
His Dark Materials: In an incredibly sad scene, Lyra encounters Tony, a lost boy who she first takes to be a ghost.
Lost: In an incredibly creepy scene, Shannon sees the lost Walt as a sort of ghost.
His Dark Materials: Creepy Guy In A Boat - "HE (Pantalaimon) can't come."
Lost: Creepy Guy In A Boat - "We're gonna hafta take the boy (Walt)."
His Dark Materials: Climaxes with an epic, apocalyptic battle involving about a zillion characters which sets about several major shakeups in the foundations of the Multiverse.
Lost: Err, well, we still don't know what really happened during the season finale...
Related Links and Sources:
The Wikipedia entries for "Lost", and His Dark Materials are as good enough places as any to start.
"Lost" Fansites: The "Lost" Encyclopedia, Television Without Pity
His Dark Materials Fansites: HisDarkMaterials.org, The Bridge to the Stars
And more recently, This Article that popped up on the Entertainment Weekly website a little while ago and covers several of the more recent seasons. And which also recommends His Dark Materials to "Lost" followers. (As well as the "Matrix" trilogy, which I have just watched again recently and which plays quite differently in a "Lost" world. And I might talk much more about all this later... when I have something much better than a laptop keyboard to tpewith -- err, type with.)
