The Words and Images of Romeo and Juliet and The Genius of Baz Luhrmann.

Baz Luhrmann made an interesting choice when he transported the classic story of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to a modern setting yet kept the original language. I'm glad he stuck to the old script - reading the play has made me appreciate the beauty of Shakespeare's words so much more. I wasn't sure that it would work with a modern setting when I was first told about the movie, but walking away from it I realized that the themes of this story are still present and will always exist, and it turned out I had barely any trouble interpreting and understanding the story at all, regardless of the old-fashioned language. So was it necessary for Luhrmann to change put the story in a current setting? If I had seen this in its original state, time period and costumes intact, would I have understood it as well?

Baz Luhrmann's directing style is very distinct - you could watch two of his movies, Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, and immediately be able to identify the intense visual aspects that they have in common: fast, choppy cutting, overly-saturated colors, an overall energetic and dizzying way of presenting a story. Even without watching his film interpretation of R+J, by just reading the play you can see the importance of images, settings, and personalities and the way they add a subtle, deeper meaning to the story. Baz does something very smart by utilizing these powerful bits of the story and amplifying them by making them much more obvious to the viewer and putting a modern twist on them.

R+J is not only a play, it's a work of art - in the literal sense, too. It's not enough to just read about it, but you have to see the play to experience the subtle imagery of the two houses, the warlike allusions they sprinkle throughout the story, and just the all-powerful image of the two authoritative, violent, passionate houses. The entire story is based upon image: the beauty of Juliet, the grandeur of the lives they live, and the general basis of teenage love in this story, which "lies not in their hearts, but in their eyes". This story was written for the stage; it was written for people to look at and experience. Shakespeare's other plays seem to include this intense imagery as well: the powerful image of the African king Othello, the ghost of Hamlet's father and Ophelia's fateful beauty, the fanciful and imaginative characters of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's all visuals.

It's pretty clear why BL wanted to put this story in present time - to make it more appealing to the masses and give a classic story a new twist. But it's the images he uses that really set this movie apart from other film interpretations. The close-ups of the Montague's cowboy boots in the very first fight scene, the "Wherefore L'Amour" sign that he shows in several scenes, the costumes that R and J wear at the party (Juliet as an angel, Romeo as a knight. Could you make it any more obvious, Baz?) He takes Shakespeare's images and uses them to create a passionate, romantic film while still sticking to not only the script, but the way that Shakespeare writes. In his little behind-the-scenes sheet, he even says "Martin and costume designer Kym Barrett drew on all sorts of imagery, giving completely different looks to the Capulets and the Montagues. The Capulets became Hispanic, adorned with very Catholic cultural icons. For the Montagues they wanted something far more Anglo; hence the "GI Joe" imagery" of the Hawaiian shirts. With such distinctly different wardrobes the two opposing gangs become easy to understand and follow". Isn't this exactly what I was talking about?

Now, I'm not going to pretend that I know much about Shakespeare. I'm not a drama student, but I'm an art student, which gives me an eye for visual details in film like color or camera angles. And Baz Luhrmann's film gave me a whole new idea and perspective on this play - that just as much as clever and beautiful writing, the story contains subtle images that make it especially intense, and BL uses those images to create a movie that is truly a work of art which both gives credit to Shakespeare's gorgeous words and includes smart, thoughtful, and modern images that symbolize thought-provoking deeper meanings throughout the story.

Know Thy Family

I can't get that stupid song by Sonny and Cher out of my head - "I Got You Babe". It came up on my iPod's shuffle setting and I've been humming the chorus all afternoon. God, what a terrible song.

But I've been trying to think of a blog post that relates to social justice in my book - I usually post blog entires a few days before, always eager to type up a new idea. But this week, I was a bit stuck when faced with this assignment. But when that Sonny and Cher song played, it all sort of came to me.

The song is basically about these lovers who are like "we're sort of poor, and people are telling us that we're too young to love each other, but we're happy because we have one another". Aw, so cute. But this made me think of the main theme of Wuthering Heights - love. And the importance of it. We've just been introduced to Isabella Linton and Heathcliff's son, Linton - a sallow, sickly, spoiled creature who sits in his furred cloak by the fire all day, wallowing in his own self pity. His mother, Isabella, has never mentioned Heathcliff to Linton because they're not together anymore. But Isabella dies, and Linton has no place to go but to his stranger of a father, Heathcliff, who he's quite afraid of.

This is definitely not the first time we've seen issues like these in novels and stories, but I am always appalled at them whenever a story mentions it. I can barely comprehend what it must be like to never know your father or mother, and then to suddenly meet them without any warning. To me, it is absolute cruelty for a parent to hide a child's relations from them. A relation is more important than many people think - especially someone as close to you as a mother or father. To keep a child away from that is to deprive them of the knowledge of where they came from and who they came from and what qualities have been passed down from father or mother to son or daughter.

A parent's love is like none other - it cannot be duplicated, forged, or found anywhere else besides its inhabitance in the heart of a mother or father. No matter how much you try to separate father and son, there will forever be a link between the two souls that won't break, because this child is a part of you. It's disturbing to think of Linton's situation with Healthcliff - he must have been absolutely appalled to find out that this gruff, vulgar man was his father. If only he had been raised with Healthcliff, Linton would not have to suffer the metal torment instilled upon him by the shock of meeting his father for the first time.

Isabella has hidden Heathcliff's identity because she is disgusted by his behavior and ashamed of the fact that she created a child with him. That's understandable, but I don't think she's making any attempt to see the situation from Linton's point of view. I think that the entire trio of characters would all be much better off if they had all known each other from the start - for several reasons. Heathcliff would have raised the child in a better way, and kept it from turning into a pale, slimy weakling as Isabella has done. Little Linton would not have the surprise of such a man as his father, and can you just imagine the mental state the poor child must be in? He's so weak already.

In short, I believe that one of the big social issues in this story is the separation of child and parent. It can be incredibly upsetting and troubling for both the son and the father, or daughter and mother, to meet their child which they have never even seen before. As Sonny and Cher express in their song, love is utterly important and extremely powerful. Especially the love of a parent. It's a bond that will never break and must not be disguised. To deprive a child of the knowledge of their family is the cruelest form of torture, and can be such a harrowing experience to a family as time goes one.

Know your parents.

The Mystery of the Mysterious Mystery Man. (Ben, please don't make fun of me)

So I went to a tour of Brooklyn Tech the other day. I arrived a bit late, and the first thing that I noticed upon entering the auditorium was not the 3000 seats, nor the 100-foot stage...no, the first thing I noticed was a gorgeous, tall boy standing at the front of the immense room. His dark, unruly hair and mysterious features made me think one thing - this is Heathcliff. Heathcliff, my one and only literary love, has been reincarnated and sent back to me in the form of a cute adolescent boy! *cue cliched teenage squeals* EEEEE!!!!

But this story isn't exactly the point of this post. After I left the building and went to Junior's to eat some cheesecake, I was filled with this strange sense of slight melancholy, but mostly confusion. Mulling over a cup of coffee and vanilla cheesecake, I asked myself the same questions again and again - why was I attracted to that boy? Why are we, as women, captivated by the dark and mysterious male figure? Why are we repelled by the slightly feminine, wimpy, blond men, like Edgar Linton? Why am I so in love with Heathcliff, a cruel and hard character?

For me (I'm not sure about anyone else), it's exciting to take risks with the people you love. To delve into the enigma of the mystery man is to venture into a dark cave, hoping to find something valuable. Isabella was drawn to Heathcliff because of his frighteningly good looks. What she found when she married him was a cold and slightly selfish man who did not know how to be affectionate towards someone he really disliked. I believe that he married Isabella not only on impulse, but to test her mental strength and see if she could really handle his equivocal disposition. Isabella didn't know what she was getting into. She was fascinated by Heathcliff and wanted to experience the dangers of his love. She, being so young and foolish, didn't know what love was. Well, she learned the hard way. Hah. That's what you get, wimp.

Cathy is in love with Heathcliff, obviously, because she knows him. Heathcliff has been frowned upon his entire young life, and viewed as a "ragamuffin" and a "gypsy". Only Catherine, who has been exposed to his personality and character for much of her life, has a deep sympathy and understanding towards him, although she may smother it in the company of more prestigious figures, such as the Lintons. But she finally, much too late in the book, discovers that she and Heathcliff share an amazing bond that will never break. They have faced the same hardships, laughed at and taunted the same people, and know each other's secrets. Cathy has realized that she, too, possesses a dark side like Heathcliff's. She disguises it for the most part, but it will never go away. This is how she realizes she loves Heathcliff. Isabella does not possess a dark side because she doesn't have a particularly dark past. Heathcliff and Catherine share the same past, which means they possess similar shades of black in their internal color spectrum.

I believe that women are attracted to mysterious men because their presence reminds women that they themselves do indeed have a dark side. This realization is liberating because we as females usually like to hide this more dismal side, as Cathy does, in order to come off as charming and cheerful towards the people we are attracted to. The Mysterious Mystery Man gives us no feelings to hide. We don't need to disguise our sadness or anger or vengefulness in front of them because they understand that. People like Edgar Linton seem just too innocent. We don't want to wear masks in front of the people we love.

By the way, it turns out that the cute Heathcliff-esque kid at Brooklyn Tech was in NO WAY mysterious or Heathcliffy, besides in his looks. He was President of the student body or something, and a total dork. *sigh*. So much for a reincarnation of my book crush.

let me into your window!

During my month-long stay at summer camp, I happened to hear a song at a karaoke party that was like none other I had heard before - "Wuthering Heights" by Kate Bush, from the album "The Kick Inside". The song is painfully corny and ridiculous, with an even more goofy music video. Nonetheless, I immediately fell in love with the singer, prancing around in a white billowy dress, and I loved the song even more. That's the main reason why I was so compelled to read Emily Brontë's classic, which the song was named after. I wanted to find out what had driven Kate Bush to write such an unexpected song, and how the lyrics corresponded to the actual book. Before I go any further, though, here's the lyrics so you can get better acquainted with the song:

Out on the wiley, windy moors
We'd roll and fall in green
You had a temper, like my jealousy
Too hot, too greedy
How could you leave me?
When I needed to possess you?
I hated you, I loved you too

Bad dreams in the night
They told me I was going to lose the fight
Leave behind my wuthering, wuthering
Wuthering Heights

(Chorus) Heathcliff, its me, Cathy come home
I'm so cold, let me in-a-your window

Oh it gets dark, it gets lonely
On the other side from you
I pine alot, I find the lot
Falls through without you
I'm coming back love, cruel Heathcliff
My one dream, my only master

Too long I roam in the night
I'm coming back to his side to put it right
I'm coming home to wuthering, wuthering,
Wuthering Heights

(Chorus)
Oh let me have it, let me grab your soul away
Oh let me have it, let me grab your soul away
You know it's me, Cathy
(Chorus)

Well, that certainly is an interesting song. I'm only half done with the book, but I have a pretty good idea of which parts of the book Kate is referring to. She touches on the major parts of the story, from Catherine's jealousy of Heathcliff's kissing Isabella, to her never-ending love for him, even if she is married. It mentions Heathcliff and Cathy's childhood friendship at the beginning, and she calls him "cruel Heathcliff" at one point in the song, which is how Catherine sometimes refers to him in the book. This makes me wonder why there aren't any more songs about such passionate love stories.

To me, love stories are perfect for putting music to. I feel that music is so much easier to connect to than a complex novel - for me, at least. I have a passion for music, and this song made me appreciate the art of song writing even more. Songs are such a good way of communicating difficult opinions or ideas to people. Everyone can listen to a song and appreciate it tune, and some people can truly understand its lyrics as well, which is so important since many songs try to express a deeper message or meaning. I love how Kate Bush sums up the main ideas of the story in a simple song.

I also think that it's important to express different aspects of culture in songs. Kate Bush does a wonderful job of introducing this wonderful book to a large audience in a way that gives them the context of the story and displays the passion of the book. I don't know about the other listeners, but this song made me want to read the story.

Kate Bush is obviously incredibly ambitious and talented artist. She was smart to write a love song based on a book. Maybe she didn't have a love story of her own to share in a song, so she took someone else's. That what makes the song so unique.

see the music video here...

wow. sorry. sudden urge to post this.

alright, so i know that it's sort of really, really late for me to be getting into this song, and yes, i know, this is the song by radiohead that EVERYONE knows, but i just cannot stop listening to radiohead's masterpiece of music, "creep".

every time i press the replay button on itunes and thom yorke starts crooning these twisted lyrics into my ears...i feel like i'm going to cry. i don't know...it must be the beautiful, horribly bittersweet chords mixed with the brutally honest lyrics, but there is something about this song that makes me feel like i have to roll myself into a ball and swallow myself and lie in darkness. there's some sick pleasure in listening to this song. i feel the singer's pain as i hear the lyrics. i think a truly great song can do this. i can connect so deeply to this song. i know what i'm writing doesn't sound very deep...but i just can't convey my feelings for this song. i fall in love with thom yorke every single time i hear it.

listen and watch, please. beautiful.