That got me thinking about mediums that feed me as a wannabe writer and as just plain old me. Countless books nourish me, most currently Stephen King’s “On Writing”, which I’m reading now. This memoir/textbook is scary good on both counts. Among many, some others are “This Present Darkness”, “It”, “The Secret Life of Bees”, feeding my hunger for spiritual imagery, character development, and strong eccentric southern women respectively.
Almost more so than books, movies are the other medium that truly feeds me. Maybe it’s because movies are a more tangible, direct route to my emotions and imagination. Maybe I just like seeing massive, 20’ tall heads of beautiful people. Maybe it’s the acting. Whatever the case, I’m in the midst of watching one of my favorites, “Finding Neverland”, when I find a few spare moments. This morning while on the treadmill, two of my favorite scenes, two that feed me to my core:
In the first, JM Barrie pretends that his dog, Porthos, is a bear he is taming for the audience (four boys and their mother). Peter, the young boy who inspired Barrie's “Peter Pan”, says the whole thing is silly, that it is just a dog, to which Barrie answers: “Porthos dreams of being a bear, and you want to shatter those dreams by saying he's *just* a dog? What a horrible candle-snuffing word, *just*. That's like saying, "He can't climb that mountain, he's just a man", or "That's not a diamond, it's just a rock." *Just*…”
Another favorite scene is when his sad wife, Mary, who is a listless, insipid social ladder climber and Barrie, who is a colorful rainbow shining through his wife’s gray cloud, each retreat to their separate bedrooms for the night. As Mary opens her bedroom door, inside it’s just a bedroom. When Barrie opens his bedroom door, it’s a bright green forest with birds singing and a blue sky and spring all around him.
Scenes like that feed me.
I loved FINDING NEVERLAND, too. I have THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES on the DVR just waiting to be watched. I want to watch it with my mom so it requires some schedule juggling. She read the book and loved it. I haven't read the book and won't until after the movie. I find that if I read the books first, the movies usually disappoint. I am about to read THE SHACK, which mom just finished. She says it is a real brain turner and something that has to be read multiple times to be truly appreciated. That kind of build-up excites me and scares me all at once. I know I will be embroiled and good for nothing else for a good long time.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny, Robin. You're the 3rd person today who has mentioned The Shack to me. I'm thinking I need to read that one soon myself. I have not seen the movie of Bees yet, but it's on my list...just not enough hours in a day.
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