Leap Day

After watching the video about the representation of women in the media today in class, I came home to find my roommates watching the movie Leap Year, in honor of Leap Day. Since I was in a "more power to women" type of mood (which documentaries like that often put me in) I watched the movie with them through a different lens than normal.

As I watched Amy Adams take initiative and go to Ireland to surprise her boyfriend and propose to him, I was excited to see a woman take initiative and do something that traditionally is done by men. The man she meets to take her to Dublin, who (spoilers) ends up being her love interest, mocks her about her plan. Then throughout the movie the typical "they fall in love thing" happens and it's great and nice and I quite like it (even with a lot of the stuff in it that puts Amy Adams' character down as a woman) I'm a sucker, I admit it. The part that struck me as different this time watching it, however, was the ending.

Amy Adams decides to go to Ireland and get the guy. Again. Only this time, it's a different guy. I never realized before, but I love that her character is consistent and still goes after what she wants. She realizes she is unhappy, and that she loves the Irish man and not her fiance, and she flies to Ireland to get the guy, just like she did at the beginning.

And I really like that.

Sock Puppet Murder Mystery

My ward decided to do a big FHE activity. The assignment was to make a video about something from the Book of Mormon. Those were the only instructions. So, my FHE group and I got to work thinking of something fun and entertaining we could do for our video. It is a male dominated group, so many ideas were thrown out.

My favorite idea was to do a sock puppet murder mystery. We were going to turn the story of the chief judge getting killed (I think Nephi was the prophet at the time) into a classic whodunnit.

Alas, the men thought sock puppets were silly. The idea was scrapped.

Instead, we decided upon a series of short "And I'm a Mormon" clips. One was Abish, the track star. Another was Nephi building a boat. Samuel the Lamanite. Alma the Younger talking about his thug days. The guys got pretty excited, and it turned out really well.

Every group in the ward made a video, and we had a big FHE activity together to watch all of the videos. They were all clever and creative, and surprisingly well-made. Which got me thinking.

We made these videos just for fun, for our ward to watch. And it brought us all together to make the videos a success. Which is pretty powerful. A group of 9 opinionated guys (plus a couple of us girls) managed to come together and get really excited about something, and they/we made it happen.

Imagine if that were applied to something bigger. More important. The impact it could have is amazing. I think that is why the church puts out so many different forms of media now. It brings people together in lots of different ways for a powerful and wonderful purpose. Think of the impact we could have if we took advantage of media like that.

Late Night Talks with my Brother

A few years ago, I walked past my brother's room and saw him watching an anime. I lingered in his doorway to watch for a couple of minutes before walking away. The show was a little strange in my opinion, but I figured he liked it, so whatever.

 I noticed him watching it a lot, and came upon an idea. I had been trying to have a better relationship with him, and I needed a way to get closer to him. 

Epiphany: Watch the weird anime with him. 

I showed interest, and he started the show over to watch with me. We started watching a couple of episodes together every night, and then we would talk about it for a while after. We finished that show, started another. Surprisingly, I started to really enjoy the shows we would watch.

Our conversations started moving toward other things, and then we would spend several hours talking after our show. When I went to college, every time I would come home to visit, we would talk in his room and watch a few episodes of a show. We have one manga (book version of an anime) that we read every week, and then text or call each other to talk about it. We still do it, even though our late night TV watching sessions are over because of our diverging lives. 

I was able to use something my brother loved to become closer to him. At first, it was just the show that made us spend time together. Then it became something wonderful, and I have a very good relationship with my brother that stemmed from it. 

If used correctly, media can be a wonderful tool to build relationships. It can give you something in common, a shared interest, as way to spend time together. 

All it took was a little effort on my part to notice what he liked, and show a little interest. It's amazing how much people open up when you show a little interest in what they like.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Last night, I saw Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, at the behest of my roommates. I'm not really into the zombie genre, but I humored them. And I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie was cheesy, and hey, full of zombies. However, the proposal scene at the end was actually quite touching. It made the whole movie worth it to me, just for that one scene.

That got me thinking - isn't it often the same with any movie or TV show? We don't keep watching just for those cool fight scenes. We watch for those small moments that really make you connect with the story being told. I began to think about other instances in which this was the case, for me.

This was the best part of the whole movie in my opinion. You see the kind of man Steve is, and why he gets chosen. You see his integrity, his bravery, and his selflessness. You see that it doesn't matter what you look like. Muscles and stature don't give you power. Who you are is much more powerful So good.

Avatar the Last Airbender has so many good moments. Two in particular stand out. Katara saw her mother killed trying to protect her when she was a young girl. Later on, she seeks revenge against the man who killed her. She finds him, and fights him. Just as she is about to kill him, she stops. She decides that revenge is not what she needs, and moves past her consuming hatred.  The second one I thought of was the finale when Aang stands up for his beliefs and what he was taught as an Airbender- peace, forgiveness, kindness. He refuses to kill Ozai (the villian), instead taking away the source of his power. It is a poignant message, and a wonderful moment.

The Hobbit - there were many things wrong with these movies. However, one beautiful part of the story are those few moments between Thorin and Bilbo. The moment when Bilbo says he'll help take back Thorin's home. The moment when Bilbo shows Thorin the acorn, and Thorin softens from his consuming paranoia. And finally, Thorin's death, when he reconciles with Bilbo. Those were short, small moments. And they were my favorite parts of this trilogy. 

One Piece. The world's most popular manga and anime series. Luffy (pictured above) is mostly carefree and easygoing. Often ridiculous. However, when people hurt his friends, he gets very angry. One of the most satisfying moments of the whole series (700+ episodes and counting) is when a powerful character shoots and injures Luffy's friend. The friend begs him not to do anything, because of this man's status and power. However, Luffy goes against his wishes, and, just as the villian is gloating, Luffy breaks all of the status barriers and punches this guy in the face. It made the whole 25+ episode build up, and 20+ fall-out episodes so worth it. 

Marley and Me. This is a wonderfully made movie. It focuses on how much dogs can ruin your life (and possessions). Throughout the movie, scene after scene shows you how much Marley misbehaves and destroys things. However, the moment in the veterinarian's office at the end, when Marley is dying, changes the whole tone of the movie. Owen Wilson strokes Marley and tells him how much they love him, and that he is the world's best dog. And then, when they bury him, Jennifer Aniston reminisces about a necklace that Marley ate, and buries it with him. These two moments show the power of being able to turn bad moments into good memories, and just how much pets can be a part of your family (forgive me, I am a major dog person. If you are not, too bad - it's not your blog)

These are just a few examples. There are so many others. What are some moments that stood out to you in your favorite movies/TV shows? What parts of them really stand out and make you go "wow, this is really good"?