Unbelievable Bonding

I came across this film of Kevin Richardson, called the Lion Whisperer, Kevin Richardson is an animal behaviorist. He has raised 38 lions on a private reserve near Johannesburg, South Africa. This footage shows two lionesses with him. One of them plays with him in the water. The bonding between himself and the lionesses are incredible! Lions and lionesses are known to not like water, but one of these lionesses actually jumps in the water to play with him!! Goes to show you, trust goes a long way if treated with respect and affection!

Through the Looking Glass: The Treatment of Age in Movies

Ok. Now I can think of a whole host of movies that treated age issues. The Cocoon, The Evening Sun, and Away from Her are a few small examples. Away from Her was a tragic movie that treated the issue of Alzheimer's disease and how difficult it is to deal with it when your spouse doesn't remember you anymore. Cocoon portrayed old people as having a second chance in life given to them by aliens. The Evening Sun, just released, gives the portrayal of an old man that escapes a nursing home.

Commercials sometimes show aging people in a negative light. See the Snickers commercial that came out recently that plays in the theaters before the shorts. I was absolutely mortified to see someone jump and topple over an old man in the commercial. Also shocked when Betty White that plays the elderly lady in the beginning turns into a young man while eating the snickers. This was another dig at age. This is how we have been conditioned; to look at older people in a comical way or incompetent way. Or gee, we eat something and can be young again. Where is the respect?

Doesn't the media realize that old people have seen so many things and have gone through so much of life that they deserve respect? Age needs to be valued and treasured, something to be learned from. After all, all of us age all the time. For every day that we are alive, the clock ticks away another day, and we age another day older, day after day after day. What's wrong with that? Isn't it a treasure and a gift to be alive anyway? Don't they realize there is beauty in age???

No one will dispute that sheer physical beauty probably blooms in the teens, twenties and thirties. The skin may be beautiful, teeth strong and perfect, body at its best. Movies about teens abide with popularity, tons of movie about the boy wanting to win over the popular girl. There is a new movie coming out called Out of My League, in which a geeky guy tries to win over a beautiful girl, described by his friend in the movie as a "hard ten". I think of the movie, "Ten", from 1979, in which Dudley Moore's character, George, falls for Bo Derek's character, Jenny, as being an example of someone falling for superficial beauty, only to see that beauty can sometimes run "skin deep". George (Dudley Moore) realizes that beauty isn't everything, and he leaves Jenny (Bo Derek) to go to his true love, Samantha, (Julie Andrews).

Many movies address the subject of the exploitation of young, beautiful women. One example that shows exploitation of young women, and their short lifetime as being on top and most glamorous, is the movie, Show Girls, starring Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon. Elizabeth Berkley plays Nomi Malone, a drifter that ran away from her old life to come to Las Vegas, and become a top billing showgirl and eventually the star of the show, gained through more unscrupulous ways. Kyle MacLachlan plays the exploitative and manipulative entertainment director with connections that takes advantage of her. The degree of exploitation towards young women in the movie just made me want to cry. They also were most valued when at their youngest, and Gina Gershon's character even said at one point that she also gained stardom through less than desirable ways. So the message in the movies is that sometimes youth, particularly when addressing the subject of young, beautiful women, is not even respected, just exploited. This will be the subject for another Looking Glass article. Look for a posting soon.

But the beauty of maturity is often ignored or overlooked. There is beauty in maturity, and knowledge. The skin may not be perfect; the teeth may not be perfect, but the knowledge gained from living each day for a longer time is priceless. And there is beauty in a maturing face. Why does one need a face lift? What is wrong with leaving oneself alone? There is another movie that comes to mind, a movie from 1950, All About Eve, starring Betty Davis and Ann Baxter, of the young understudy, Eve, played by Ann Baxter, that studies the moves of a famous actress, Margo, played by Betty Davis, only to betray her and take over her role, leaving the actress discarded, again showing how overvalued youth and beauty are, as opposed to age, grace and experience.

In the movies, actresses are known to say that they aren't considered for many roles anymore, even past the age of 40. Yes, there are some working ladies in acting; the best, such as Glen Close, Sogourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, Barbara Hershey, Cathy Bates, and Helen Mirren, but for these few actresses that made it to the top of their field, for those actresses that weren't so famous, it is very difficult to find work, unless they are in character roles for short periods of time. The concept of aging is particularly difficult on women, who are enticed by advertising and the media to try to look 19 when they are 40 or 50. I also can think of an old movie from 1950 with Gloria Swanson called Sunset Boulevard, in which she plays an aging actress that is not appreciated by the studios anymore primarily because her young looks were fading. In my opinion, Gloria Swanson was glorious in the role, and glorious to look at too. Actually, I liked the subject matter, because it showed the cruelty of the acting field.


There is a whole TV series devoted to the art of plastic surgery, called Nip and Tuck. By the way, it is a good series, and the two starring plastic surgeons, Dylan Walsh playing Dr Sean McNamara, and Julian McMahon playing Dr. Christian Troy, are great. What's wrong with looking one's age? Look at fashion magazines. The reason I mentioned them, is they are part of the media, and another vehicle that sends off messages to the public. Do you ever even see someone listed over 60; magazines such as Vogue, have articles on "How to look fabulous at 20, 30, 40, 50, but then they have 50 plus. What's 50 plus? what happened to fabulous at 60, 70, 80? Look at the not so subtle message in that. The magazines don't even have a category for an age group past 50. Don't people in their 60's, 70's, 80's etc. like to dress fashionably and look good?? I guess one is supposed to improvise. The underlying message is that there are no further clothes for people that old; don't even try to pick out an outfit because they won't look good anyway. Unfortunately and very sadly, that's the message here.

It always gets me they have a famous model whose face and body has been tightly pulled by plastic surgery, and underneath, "Look fabulous at any age", or "look fabulous over 50". And the models representing over 50? They've been nipped and tucked to perfection, so they don't even accurately represent what someone really looks like at that age. I guess if the price is right....get a facelift, and then look fabulous over 50. That is the message conveyed in some of these magazines, and in the media, everywhere. So botox has made its discover in this age. Botox, mini lifts, mini forehead lifts, eye tucks, face lifts, tummy tucks, leg lifting and what not, arm tucking. And this list is a mile long. Plastic surgery is a huge industry. If you mutilate yourself, and cut and pull, gee, you might look beautiful, like a 20, 30 year old. So, again, let's look at this message. What is wrong with this message? The message really is, that if you lift your body and try to mimic 20 or 30 you'll look great. What about the people that don't have the money to do this? I guess they are chopped liver, baby, in the fashion, media and movie world. Also, in the real world, everyone wants to look like the model in the magazine, or actress or actor in the movie. So what happens when they don't? What happens to the way people are perceived? Why are looks so overemphasized????

So, the question I ask is "is there ever going to be a time when age is respected, looks are not emphasized and people aren't obsessed with plastic surgery?". Look to writers, media, news, movies, the entertainment industry, modeling industry, and magazines and newspapers. There are movies that depict aging in a better light. But just like with violence in movies, for the few movies that show aging in a flattering way, there are scores of movies that look at aging as something undesirable. I don't see things changing any time soon. But education helps. We need change. We absolutely do need to respect age and appreciate the beauty of aging.

Through the Looking Glass: My Review of The Evening Sun, Newly Released February 2010

Ok. This is my second movie review in a row. This is a review of The Evening Sun. The story takes place with a man 80 years of age, a Tennessee farmer called Abner Meecham, daftly played by Hal Holbrook,. Meechem was in a nursing home placed there by his lawyer son, Paul. played by Walton Goggins. The lawyer son is removed and emotionally estranged from his father, and basically looks at Abner as being an old man and all used up. You don't see more compassion from the son until later on in the story, where he redeems himself.

Meecham is in good health, but when his wife died, agreed to his son's idea to go into a nursing home, but found out while he was there that he was bored and restless. Here, the interpretation is that Meechem was very depressed after his wife died, and basically gave up on life, so he agreed to be placed in the nursing home. After a short while, he realizes that he still has more life in himself, and runs away from the nursing home. He goes back to his home, only to find a family living there that was an arrangement through his son. The head of the family household that took over Meecham's residence is an unappetizing and creepy lout called Lonzo Choat. Lonzo is convincingly played by Raymond McKinnon.

What I like about this movie is that this man is portrayed as someone who still has spunk, even though some of his decisions are questionable. I won't give that away, you need to see the movie to see what I mean about questionable. Actually, the movie would have been better had he not had some questionable behavior, since, again that negatively stereotypes an older person to be less competent. Perhaps the writers thought that the movie would not sell as well had he been portrayed as a completely rational person.

Through the Looking Glass: My Review of Shutter Island, Newly Released February 2010

Ok; here is my review of the movie I just saw, Shutter Island. Overall, I liked it and thought it was an original twist on mystery and thriller genres. It takes place in 1954, and is based on the book by Dennis Lehane. Martin Scorsese's take on Shutter Island, the movie, plays a strong suit to his large collection of other works. The mood is mysterious and dark, with a gothic like quality to the cinematography. The plot unfolds slowly; perhaps too much so at first, but with a central focus, that of Teddy Daniels played by Leonardo Di Caprio as a feisty US Marshall with a short fuse that investigates a missing mental patient that was committed for murdering her own three children. Mark Garofalo is his sidekick, and plays a convincing but neutral and non-threatening second US Marshall that assists in the investigation. Ben Kingsley does a good job of playing the good doctor, while Max Van Sydow does a great portrayal of the sinister doctor, with an interesting pull and tug between good and evil. The movie is set in New England, off a remote island called guess what, Shutter Island. The scenes are spectacular, with close-ups of the violent waves crashing against large rocks, characteristic of that landscape, adding to the starkness and dark mood of the story. The photography was so good it could have been the story itself, as the desolate scene told its own tale. The coloring of the ocean, rocks, and sky remind me of looking at old pictures developed in sepia or black and white, but with muted color overtones. Leonardo Di Caprio gives a strong performance, as he is equally dark with a predominant scowl on his face throughout most of the movie. Shadowy and sinister images throughout the story increases the nightmarish and dreamlike quality of the movie. The plot winds like a serpent through a maze, and comes to a conclusion that gives one a feeling of wanting more. Groundhog Day, the 1993 movie with Bill Murray, comes to mind with its recurrent theme of Deja Vu and "I have been here before", that also is characteristic of this movie. It is a movie worthwhile seeing, but not for the faint at heart.

Dear John movie trailer

This is a sweet love story in which a majority of the movie takes place with the boyfriend and girlfriend exchanging letters while the boyfriend is on duty; they meet for two weeks initially in a whirlwind romance.

Through the Looking Glass: The World of Movies

This discussion is a continuation of my post "Movies through the Looking Glass" from 8/9/09. Violence in movies is addressed here, with its implications.

I will be discussing movies, in this series, Through the Looking Glass, and other areas that pertain to how we perceive socially acceptable versus socially unacceptable, and how important success, fame and money is in this society. I also will be looking at the phenomenon of the average person, and how the average person is continually overlooked or underestimated in society, in another post to come.

If you look at Movies Through the Looking Glass, you will find that I talk about the phenomenon of how we view success, and actually ignore or downplay average, normal life. I talk a lot about movies, because that is a main vehicle, whether one likes to think of it that way or not, for imparting values, and viewpoints to people. Movies make impacts on people, and they may talk about a movie they saw years ago, or have seen over and over and over again. Cults have grown out of certain campy movies that were produced, for instance zombie movies from the 70's. Like "Night of the Living Dead" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show".

I talk about heroes in movies that are exalted if they are Rambo types, or very successful. Even the deadbeats in movies end up successful at the end, if they are viewed as heroes.

In this segment, I am discussing violence and evil in movies. Violence has gotten worse, as we depict futuristic movies in which people have diabolical natures, and may try to wipe out alien societies, as in Avatar, or each other, or even aliens that come to earth that will test the nature of man, like in the movie The Box. And in some of these societies, the diabolical types rise to power. Evil societies plant brain chips in people's minds to manipulate them, such as in the new movie with Cuba Gooding called Hardwired, which is a very good sci fi movie. One only has to ask why, since in real life, do we even want to talk to people like that, let alone give them power?

Also, there is a lot of violence, and shoot em up scenes in which people are shot at through a line of fire that sounds like popping popcorn, with rock music to boot, and people fall like flies, with no consideration for their lives whatsoever. I think that when a movie is made, the writers or producers feel that ok, since we didn't get to know the character in the movie, it won't be that traumatic. That in itself is horrifying, since it devalues human life just from the sheer quickness and lack of attachment with which this happens. Just look at the spy movies, like the James Bond series, or futuristic movies, such as Mad Max from the 80's, or the very depressing and stark current movie, The Road, or war movies, gangster movies, or any movies which show gunfire. Even the comic book movies, such as The Dark Knight, in which the late Heath Ledger delivered a brilliant performance of a deranged, psychotic character called The Joker. He was so dark and realistic, that it was hard to watch. Not to mention, many young people, including teenagers, attended this movie.

Slasher movies, such as the multitude of Halloween series with Michael in the mask, Pumpkin Head, and other types of serial killer movies are very popular, as they are so horrific. Hannibal Lechter from the Silence of the Lambs is a morbidly intelligent and horrifying character that made everyone know Anthony Hopkins as having branded that role. The evil is so exaggerated and so overt, one has to wonder why this type of character is even in the minds of the people putting together the movies, the writers, the producers? Evil sells, and so evil is depicted in movies, while people will munch on popcorn in the dark.

There is a morbid fascination for people to see vampire movies, such as the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, from the 90's, with a sullen main character that perpetually tries to flee his original "maker", or more recently, Twilight, in which vampires are likeable and are "vegetarian". I'm not exempt to finding some vampire stories fascinating, since I also like the movie Twilight. Perhaps I like the movie because it shows some good vampires that don't really have a choice in their fate to walk among the living, and that try to eradicate bad vampires that prey upon humans.

There are some inspiring movies that came out recently, such as Blind Side, with Sandra Bullock, that plays a spunky Southern mom that takes in a very mature teen into her home that was homeless, showing compassion and humanitarianism. There are other movies too, such as Extraordinary Measures, in which a father will go through giving up his job and recruiting a biochemist in his quest to find an answer for a horrible neurological illness that two of his three children have. Precious is another movie worth seeing, that shows an underprivileged and abused girl that had very low self esteem that was able to break away from the abuse cycle that she had been experiencing since her very early childhood.

There are a few redeeming movies. But for the few redeeming movies that show the compassionate, and kind side of human nature, there are more than tenfold of the violent and dark movies that show evil and lack of compassion.

I'm going to see Shutter Island so I will let you know my impressions of that. It's supposed to be a dark thriller.

In future articles from Through the Looking Glass, I may only review one movie, address issues, or talk about some of the other topics that I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Have a wonderful week!

Vintage Lane Works

See my new cat magnet; have you ever felt like you were up in a tree? Have you ever seen a cat in a tree? This original illustration makes a great gift any time of year!

Cat on a Branch by vintagelane
Get your own fridge magnets on Zazzle

Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers from Zazzle.com

Go to Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers from Zazzle.com This is a group of talented Zazzle artists that are called Hearts4Haiti, and proceeds are donated to help Haiti earthquake victims.