Good morning, once more from Mocha Mecca.
Bit of an earlier start today. The great thing about morning appointments is that they ensure your carcass is out of its coffin at a decent hour, allowing you to embrace the fullness of every opportunity the day has to offer.
If only there was something worth doing...
Just kidding.
I read a quote yesterday. Sadly my defunct cognition prohibits me from remembering the exact words, or even the poor sod who said it. Incidentally, he or she is probably lying derelict in a ditch, starving as a result of unpaid royalties. This is now likely to weigh heavily on my conscience, but rest assured that my crisis of moral obligation shan't interfere with my commitment to my readers, which is publishing a good minute-and-a-half of something not entirely unlike entertainment, approximately so often when it suits me.
What was I saying? Oh yes, the quote.
“The life of the optimist is one of disappointment.”
Granted, not the most inspired phrasing – my apologies to those who were expecting something a little more upbeat – but it highlights the 'no expectations; no disappointments' philosophy that the pessimists among us live by. Pessimists are the ones who aren't optimists, and I confidently count myself among them. Not that I awake every morning to find my pillow stained with tears and cheap mascara (please, somebody get me to a cosmetician the day that I do), but I do appreciate a healthy dose of reality in my perspective, which serves as a daily reminder of the fallen world in which we live. It may not make me Mr Congeniality, but a basal level of disappointment in this world helps me keep the foundation of my hope and joy built upon the life to come – the eternal life I have through faith in Jesus Christ – so as not to be consumed by these present and numbered days.
(Sidenote: a plainclothes Cowboys player walked into the coffee shop. I think I know exactly who he is. What the hell is happening to me?)
Anyway, back to the point of my article, and disappointment.
Last night I went to see The Last Airbender at the cinemas with a good buddy of mine from work. I'll try not to give too much away from the plot for those who'd like to see it, but I was excited at the beginning of this movie because it appeared to set up a strong theme analogous to Christianity.
Basically, the story concerns a world divided into four nations, each founded upon an element (earth, water, fire and air), and living among these nations were gifted individuals who were able to manipulate (or 'bend') the element concerned with their nation.
These nations lived in peace and harmony, under the authority of the 'spirit world', which maintained order and communicated with the nations through the Avatar, a particular individual who could bend all four elements.
A century ago, the Avatar went missing, cutting the link with the spirit world. Consequently, the fire nation sought to take over and enslave the other nations, and the story begins with the world awaiting the return of the Avatar to restore order and balance, in a war that would be won “in the hearts of men”, according to a tribal elder.
I was excited because this painted a similar picture to Christianity: an enslaved world waiting for a saviour, who is 'master over all creation', intercedes for the world of men with the spirit world, and who is ultimately sent to unite the nations and win the ultimate battle for men's hearts.
Sadly, any similarity may have been unintentional, or pluralistic at best, as the story seemed to prominently feature themes of eastern religions (such as elemental spirits, reincarnation, Yin and Yang, and inner Chi) as it progressed. Still, potential to trigger some stimulating conversation.
So disappointing to a degree, but a reasonably entertaining story. In my opinion, there was far too much happening in such a short space of time, and as a consequence the film lacked character and conceptual development. My buddy tells me it was based on a comic strip, so as far as most book-to-movie type recreations go, this shouldn't have been surprising. If you're interested, wait for the DVD. SG
6 comments:
See, I consider myself an optimist, but often don't have high expectations. So I might *hope* something good will happen, but won't expect it to. But I won't necessarily expect the opposite to happen either. Does that make sense? I'm not sure.
That makes sense, Leah. And I think it makes you well-balanced. :-)
Hilarious! :)
there's 3 seasons of Avatar cartoon. much better than the movie
How is it that it's 'disappointing' that the film features eastern religious 'themes' in the film ('eastern religious themes' is a very broad generalisation..., to others of different religion, they are not themes, it is part of their history, culture and religious rituals, they are just as important as Christianity and the various forms of Christianity. May be read more about Hinduism, Buddhism, Unitarianism-19th century Christian theological movement etc... see what the rest of the world has to offer? Rejoice in pluralism..
How is it that it's 'disappointing' that the film features eastern religious 'themes' in the film ('eastern religious themes' is a very broad generalisation..., to others of different religion, they are not themes, it is part of their history, culture and religious rituals, they are just as important as Christianity and the various forms of Christianity. May be read more about Hinduism, Buddhism, Unitarianism-19th century Christian theological movement etc... see what the rest of the world has to offer? Rejoice in pluralism..
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