In Defense of Ceremony

I had intended my next post to be about the recently released Jane Eyre, but decided to postpone that topic in light of today’s highly anticipated wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton.

This past week, as the nuptials approached, I started to notice an interesting trend on Facebook. Judging by status updates pertaining to the royal wedding, most were planning on getting up at 4am to watch the event live while partaking of some kind of British pastry made special for the occasion. A few people were hosting parties. The remainder avidly expressed their indifference to what was happening an ocean away (which, if you think about it, is a little oxymoronic).  Some were flat out indignant at the sheer expenditure of the whole thing. I also came across this:

http://www.whyamericansshouldcareabouttheroyalwedding.com/.

As for me, thank God for DVR, because I love a full 9 hours of sleep.

This morning, as I watched the procession of motorcoaches (do NOT call them buses!), the parade of royal family members, and ultimately the procession of the exquisite bride down the aisle of Westminster Abbey to a crescendo of brass and strings, I felt my own heart swell with joy at the majesty and beauty of what I was witnessing.

Why this reaction? I imagine it was shared by millions of people worldwide, but still the question remains. The cynics might argue that it’s simply social conditioning, especially where the female audience members are concerned. See enough Disney movies when you’re young and you will forever be indoctrinated with the notion that fairy tales really do come true. Or is it that as Americans, we’re fascinated by the sheer other-ness of the monarchy, and while grateful that we live in a democratic nation, feel a little wistful that we don’t have anything comparable?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but maybe it has less to do with cultural background and more to do with our nature as human beings. Maybe we respond to pomp and circumstance because of an innate desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Perhaps we recognize, on some level, that like artistic creation, the ability to conceive of and participate in ceremony is something uniquely human.

There is little left in our culture that is treated with reverence, and I think we don’t notice that fact or really miss it until we witness an event like the one this morning.

Thoughts?

Redbox a Better Bet in Post-Oscars Slump

Three months between posts is a long dry spell in the blogosphere. It pales in comparison, however, to the cinematic dry spell that inevitably follows the Academy Awards every year, and therein lies the reason for my lengthy absence.  Dan and I have maintained our Tuesday night movie date tradition, but the pickings have been slim. A quick recap:

The Adjustment Bureau

I had such high hopes for The Adjustment Bureau, I really did. The trailers convinced me that I was in for a a mind-bending and action packed Rubik’s cube of a movie–2011’s Inception, in other words. Unfortunately, other than a charming meet-cute between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt (pictured above), the film was ruined for me by a slew of laughable plot devices. Try as I might, I just couldn’t get past the magical Fedoras.

The Lincoln Lawyer

The Lincoln Lawyer wasn’t exactly groundbreaking, but I always enjoy a good legal drama, and if nothing else, it was nice to see Matthew MacConaughey in something besides a r0-co again.

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go doesn’t qualify as a post-Oscar film, as it was actually released back in September. I don’t even remember seeing it in theaters, and I suspect it got lost in the buzz surrounding Fox Searchlight’s more heavily publicized Oscar contenders 127 Hours and Black Swan.  The muted cinematography, coupled with powerfully understated performances by Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield, and especially Carey Mulligan resulted in a lyrical and unique film that deserved a lot more credit than it received. On an interesting side note, I read the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro afterwards, and I thought the story translated better on screen than it did in print. How often does that happen?

Source Code

Confession: I will go see any movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Ever since he rocketed to fame in October Sky (awful, I know) he has been number one on my celebrity crush list. Since my opinion of Source Code is no doubt shamefully biased, I won’t say much about it other than it held my attention the whole way through…although whether that was due to the piercing blue eyes or the intriguing premise is anybody’s guess.

Up next: Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre. This film deserves an entire post to itself, as I can’t say enough about it in a short recap. In the meantime, watch the trailer…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IFsdfk3mlk