Vika Live: October 2009

Monday, October 26, 2009

Where sadness roams

Originally only 338 words long, but with vivid illustrations, Where the Wild Things are uses pithiness to convey the frustration of young Max, who is sent to bed without his supper.

To cope with such cruel punishment, the boy escapes into the depth of his imagination, where he is free to misbehave and even gets rewarded for acting wild and crazy by being made a king of the wild things.

The new Spike Jonze's film expands on this story, taking it to another, sadder, dimension. The film chronicles Max’s film adventures in a way that projects his yearning for a wholesome family unit, where everyone is equally happy and free of stress. Thus, he embarks on a poignant journey of confusing childhood emotions to a land where unhappy wild things roam. At first, the monsters are cautious towards the new creature amongst them and even want to eat Max.

Max sympathizes with the poor depressed creatures and attempts to cheer them up with the aid of his imagination. Delighted, they crown him a king and genuinely believe in his power to lead them to happiness. Thus, they gladly follow Max’s instructions and build a beautiful new home, where everyone could be happy and would sleep in a big pile together.

Albeit, the happy moments of Max’s reign as the new king of the wild kingdom are short lived, and the monsters get sad again. This time, Max cannot come up with a way to make them happy and the wild things realize that he has no super powers and is just a little boy, who promised to protect them from loneliness, but could not shield them from sadness. Although they had eaten all of their previous kings who failed to fulfill their duty, the wild things decide to let Max go. By then, Max is eager to leave the carefree island, where wild things cannot overcome their issues of sadness. He finally realizes that it may not be such a bad thing to just be a human boy instead of being a wild and crazy little thing. Consequently, Max returns to reality, where he is rewarded with a great supper.

Jonze’s film is a well fashioned and valid version of the original story. Only, I wish it was happier. Nonetheless, with its fantastical set design and moster costumers, the film is well worth seeing on the big screen.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

On secret clubs and mixed tapes

It's early. I'm not a fan of eating so early. Especially not when I have to eat airport food of egg and cheese taco and Schepps orange juice. I feel a rather uneasy quiver inside.

I don't even know why I got up so early. But being late for the plane is worse than waiting, so I'll wait. I like waiting actually. I used to hate it, but now it gives me a chance to enjoy the moment.

It's quiet at the airport. it was also quiet on the road. I enjoyed the mystery of being one of a few lonely people driving in the dark. It's like belonging to a special club only few dare to join and no one talks about. It's better than Fight Club.

When I was much, much younger, I used to go on random midnight rides, just to be alone with my thoughts. I even once had a boyfriend follow me around, trying to figure out what I was doing. Poor chap thought I was driving off to see a secret lover. I just wanted to be by myself on the road, alone with myself.

I don't go on midnight drives anymore, but I do miss them occasionally. I like driving in the dark. Part of its allure is ability to be completely free of everyday minutia, submerged inside thoughts, which entwine with the road, the music inside or the sound of wind outside.

Sometimes the music is just a sound of the road and early morning birds. At other times, I listen to CDs. The manmade music always sounds clearer, somehow crisper in the dark. While the body is still waking up, the brain is already at work, enjoying the sound, processing the furtive lyrics, tapping to the rhythm.

The music must be right. It cannot be a random radio station; it must be something special. Something made just for me, either by me or by someone who knows me well.

Today I pulled out just the right mix, made last fall by someone who loves me. Almost one year old, it is aged to perfection. Not too outdated for pleasure and not too familiar. It had just enough time to sit around in my car, waiting to be re savored.

It's a rather eclectic mix of a few ballads and some silly songs thrown in just for kicks. I skipped over the silly stuff and went directly to the beautiful Society by Eddie Vedder:

Oh it's a mystery to me.
We have a greed, with which we have agreed...
and you think you have to want more than you need...
until you have it all, you won't be free.

This is perfection: "We have a greed, with which we have agreed"

Nothing is better, except for the tune. It envelopes me in nostalgia like no other song.

There're a few other relics on this CD. Listening to them in the dark, balms my soul in the magic of early morning. No one else in sight, just me, the road and the music of silent joy.