Films 39, 40, 41 (The Yellow Handkerchief)

Last night I went to the Portland Public Library. An old high school friend co-moderated a small "public forum" on the debate of Gun Control, which has become quite a prominent issue these days since there have been several shootings of unmitigated circumstance. This is becoming quite a topic of discussion, much like many discussions after tragic events (people want to talk and change things after the fact, it seems). It was a great open-format, civil discussion (and the first one I ever attended). When I go to things like this, though, I always end up holding back things that I want to say. It's when my introverted personality comes out. Sure, I consider myself intelligent, but there's something about being in a room full of strangers that makes me reticent to speak up, unless I get comfortable enough to say something. 

It was interesting to hear the topic discussed and I appreciated what most everyone had to say, but afterwards I met up with my friend, Eric, who was co-moderating the event, and we talked about it. He wanted to know my thoughts, on the event and also on the topic, since I'd stayed quiet. 

Here are my thoughts, quickly, about gun control: 

1) When events like these recent tragedies occur, everyone seems to be looking for the quick-fix (I mean, look at our country's approach to the War on Terrorism- oversimplified much?) 

2) The Second Amendment is certainly a "right" for all citizens, but does it have to be, is it absolutely necessary (and I think when the NRA comes out fighting against any and all gun-control policies, sure they speak loud and they do have valid point, but I think guns in generally are/have become a multi-billion dollar industry, so of course, in our Capitalistic society, people will have something to say/defend when there is money to be made). 

3) I've never owned a gun and I won't ever, because I feel safe enough. I've never felt the need to defend myself with a weapon. 

4) Along with the "right to bear arms" comes the power of responsibility. You have the responsibility to be a responsible (redundant?) gun owner. And sure, most people are, but as a teacher, I have discovered that responsibility is a buck that seems to perpetually be passed on and on. Which leads me to this point

5) Education- education is the key to "gun control." We need to spend money on education (of gun owners, yes, but more importantly, on the education of the youth in our country, because they are the ones who will inherit our freedoms and rights, so if we spend more time and money educating them, perhaps a lot of issues that we are seeing become rampant in our society these days will begin to dissipate. I, for one, have faith in our youth as future leaders, but they need to be properly educated). Education keeps losing money and as a teacher I don't know why, because the expectations keep getting raised, but if we spend a lot less time and energy on meeting standardized tests results and more time on promoting (notice how I didn't say teaching, because I think a lot more responsibility needs to be put on parents, especially since as a teacher, I want to spend my time teaching academics and not so much teaching social skills that these kids should already have) social skills and the idea of "what it means to be a productive member of a community." 

6) Mental Illness- along with Education, the mental health field seems to always be on the chopping block when it comes to budget cuts. Again, what kind of society are we defining ourselves as if we do not want to take care of our own people. I think these tragic events all have a similar thread and that is Mental Illness. 

7) Accountability- we need to spend more time holding people accountable for the actions. Now, I know that cannot necessarily happen when the people responsible for these crimes end up killed or killing themselves...but I think accountability is absolutely necessary and will be a stronger deterrent than more stringent gun control policies. I spend a lot of time and energy in my classroom teaching kids about responsibility and holding them accountable for their actions. Many of them do not seem to understand that there are consequences for their actions. So perhaps the education piece I spoke of earlier needs to happen at home. How do we educate parents on "how to be parents" without sounding like know-it-alls? 

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I watched "The Yellow Handkerchief" the other night, which is an almost typical, cliche road trip film. It stars William Hurt, Kristen Stewart and Eddie Redmayne as three unlikely road trip partners-in-crime. The fact that they are unlikely really struck me and I would've liked the film a lot more, perhaps, if there was more of a connection between the characters. The film really centers on William Hurt's character, Brett, as he has been released from prison and he is looking to make it down to New Orleans. His character is rote with some kind of internal struggle (which makes the other two road-trippers quite irrelevant), which drives the film. We get more of his story through flashbacks and his own internal dialogue, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but if flashbacks drive the film (since the dialogue between the 3 characters is very minimal) is this a film that was made the right way. The story wraps up nicely, and we finally understand the title "The Yellow Handkerchief" since it has to do with the woman that used to be in his life. 

The road trip formula is quite obvious here. Secrets of each individual slowly become revealed, and by the end they all learn something about themselves (which is the necessity of these types of films). 

I've enjoyed other road trip films a lot more than this one and perhaps it has to do with the fact that I really have a bias against Kristen Stewart as an actress. She is rather one-dimensional and emotional-less, when a film with minimal dialogue that exposes characters asks for the emotions to be written on the characters' faces and their mannerisms. 

Road Trip Movies: 

Easy Rider

Thelma and Louise

Bonnie and Clyde

Smokey and the Bandit

The Muppet Movie

Little Miss Sunshine

Into the Wild

The Motorcycle Diaries

National Lampoon's Vacation

The Sure Thing 

Sideways

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"Chick Flick" alert- I watched "Because I Said So" with company on my snow day. Yes, I've seen it before because, wait for it... It has Mandy Moore in it. It is a rather typical chick flick with many predictable scenarios. The plot follows an unbearable mother of three girls as she attempts to set up her youngest daughter with a suitor, who in term falls for another man but dates both men at the same time. There are not many moments that are truly funny, but they certainly attempt to be. It's more insulting and infuriating as you watch this overbearing mother run her daughter's life. I feel like Mandy Moore could be a good actress if she chose the right scripts, instead she's falling into traps on typecasting. It also doesn't happen that in every film, she ends up singing. I'd rather see her stretch her acting chops. 

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Second Alert- "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" is another chick flick I watched simply for nostalgic sake. I remember this film from my childhood and being forced to watch it on several occasions with my sister. It's certainly a mediocre film that allows Jeanne Garofalo to be herself (as she was well-defined in the early 90s as the dry-wit and humor, semi-attractive, second-fiddle girl in films- re: "Reality Bites"). It is a warm-hearted affair of classic mistaken identity case. I was really interested to find out this detail and it made me think of all the other films that have followed along with this story. With "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" though, the writers flipped the gender and it works really well, especially with Garofalo and newbie (at the time) Uma Thurman (whom I've really grown to love as a model-turned-actress. RE: Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2).

This story is yet another retooling of the legend of Cyrano de Bergerac, the pudding-faced dreamer who loved the great beauty Roxanne, and wrote her inspired love letters while stage-managing a courtship by his handsome but doltish friend Christian. The story of Cyrano was first told in the 17th century, and was made into an enduring play by Edmond Rostand in 1897. It hasbeen remade countless times

I really enjoyed watching "The Truth..." again, even though it plays the same cards as similar movies. The humor is fresh and the characters are likable.