tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1857194414838603002024-03-21T23:38:52.808-07:00Oubliette 13Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185719441483860300.post-27575492213995613792020-10-12T19:13:00.000-07:002021-07-18T05:36:04.351-07:00The Quest (aka Frog Dreaming) - A Forgotten 80's Horror/Adventure Flick for Kids<p> When most people think of actor Henry Thomas they think of the movie <i>E.T.</i>, and rightfully so. It is by far his most well known role and the movie is a classic. My mind, though, produces images and scenes from another movie that is a good bit more obscure. I think of a VHS case with said actor standing in black, inky water, a rifle in one hand and homemade scuba gear strapped to his back. Behind him a creature raises out of the depths, long neck and jaws dripping with slime and moss. In typical 80's fashion, the title <i>The Quest</i> is scrawled in thick, paint-brush-swipe font with neon pink shadowing.</p><p>The movie made an impression on me. It was one of those that my mother probably rented in the late eighties when I was less than ten years old, and I devoured it as I had so many other movies that cycled through the VCR from the rental stores during those times. In my thirties I still remembered bits and snippets of that movie, like the muddy water of the abandoned quarry where it was filmed, the isolated setting, the thought of the monster hidden in the murk, and the bubbling and frothing from the center of the pond when the beast was about to make its appearance. I remembered the title <i>The Quest</i>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWoY9TL7Q0iD7B5j6Y-xbgJ6rvobN0Oj8JVOa-HSbQY6eOLE5D_Vqsbqz3d0jrzug2EcyyMxDLrtWtybZ89DBz4DcLEkkeAYwrVjI6h4ZGv8gpcTZuJXWWE27y2BJbcmUZV8uJYVSoDFO5/s2048/IMG_2584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWoY9TL7Q0iD7B5j6Y-xbgJ6rvobN0Oj8JVOa-HSbQY6eOLE5D_Vqsbqz3d0jrzug2EcyyMxDLrtWtybZ89DBz4DcLEkkeAYwrVjI6h4ZGv8gpcTZuJXWWE27y2BJbcmUZV8uJYVSoDFO5/w273-h182/IMG_2584.JPG" width="273"></a></div><p>Some twenty years after I first laid eyes on that movie, though, I found it hard to locate. You would think in the vast reaches of the internet that any and every movie you could think of would just be a couple of clicks away, but that wasn't the case. At least not at first. Over the years I would search Google for "The Quest" and it would turn up with a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. I did locate a VHS copy through ebay that I quickly snatched up. Eventually I discovered that the movie was only titled <i>The Quest </i>in the U.S. In it's native land of Australia, where it was filmed, the movie's title was <i>Frog Dreaming</i>.</p><p>I didn't know what the hell frog dreaming meant, but once I learned that it was the title I searched on Amazon. Sure enough it popped up (as of this writing it is available for free on Amazon Prime). I bought the digital copy there for around four bucks, and sat down to relive my childhood.</p><p>Maybe nostalgia overpowers my other senses, but I felt the movie held up really well. It's basically a kids adventure movie with an eerie twist. Henry Thomas' character, Cody, is a fourteen-year-old inventor. He's a bit of a rebel, but a likeable one that tests the limits of his endurance with his own brand of science experiments (a more subdued version of Data from <i>The Goonies</i> comes to mind). He and his friends stumble upon an abandoned quarry while exploring the dense forests of Australia.</p><p>This quarry creeped me out to no end as a kid. In the very first scene in the movie, before we meet Cody, a man is resting in a rowboat on a pond. Cliff faces surround him. The place is still. Frogs hope from lily pads at the bank, disappearing into the brown water. A ramshackle hut sits near a small dock, and a rusted windmill twitches in a light breeze. When I saw the windmill more memories came back. Yes! The windmill! It will start turning faster, it's squeaks changing from lazy squeals to a continuous, high-pitched rattle and as it does, the still surface of the pond will begin to roil and bubble. And it did. Something impossibly big sloshes around, and the windmill announces the creature's presence. The man in the rowboat manages to get out of the water (after his boat capsizes) but sees something so terrifying that, we find out later, he dies of fright. </p><p>The pond is the centerpiece of the story, and the main source of mood and atmosphere. The underwater scenes throughout the film are eerie and unsettling. One other scene, though, brought back memories of watching as a child. Cody decides he has to know what is going on at the quarry after he and his friends catch a glimpse of the beast. He goes on a trek that takes him downriver from the coast to find a man called Charlie Pride, who knows of a legend called donkegin. The local people take him to see this man, and Cody ends up at a boat dock at night. It is about to storm. Thunder and lighting crack in the distance. Charlie Pride reveals himself on the dock, where a veil of mist drifts along the river and casts a feeling of spectral mystery over the scene. Cody, who doesn't frighten easily, approaches the man and asks him about donkegin. Charlie points to the end of the dock, and tells him to "dance with the devil," and then he'll know about donkegin. Cody looks, and at the dock's far edge a shape moves and twitches. It is backlit, and the light casts its limbs as elongated shadows that reach out into the fog. Again, great setpieces, and great atmosphere. When Cody reaches the end of the pier he finds that the figure isn't a devil. It isn't a living thing at all. It's a prop hanging from the ceiling, no more than a scarecrow, and it is attached by an arm to a boat moored at the dock. As the boat sways, the creature moves. It's an interesting piece of foreshadowing for the climax of the movie.</p><p>The movie's ending, though not quite filled with the monster magic it implies, was still memorable to me. In fact if there were two moments that always stuck out to me as a kid, it would be the first scene in the quarry when the mystery of donkegin first makes itself known, and the ending. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0he3-d5kk8YBGoLLT7PhL15XMz5B9eRiJwT0DAF8RjH5ZGCQd5MQUUw6WglYK59wMhCWUk0QS-cCS-UrNH91GCVsL8htbOze_Dt4wRRosoDTkyzLerZBCz4P_YI1CFKQuBXuftbRRahaV/s2048/IMG_2579.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0he3-d5kk8YBGoLLT7PhL15XMz5B9eRiJwT0DAF8RjH5ZGCQd5MQUUw6WglYK59wMhCWUk0QS-cCS-UrNH91GCVsL8htbOze_Dt4wRRosoDTkyzLerZBCz4P_YI1CFKQuBXuftbRRahaV/w312-h213/IMG_2579.JPG" width="312"></a></div><br><p></p><p>Cody is a cool kid. He devises his own, homemade diving gear in order to search for donkegin in the bottom of the pond (I always wanted to do that afterwards). When he uses his equipment and goes missing beneath the surface, his friend has to run home and tell everyone he's trapped or, more likely, drowned. The authorities begin draining the pond. We discover the donkegin, like the "devil" at the end of Charlie Pride's pier, isn't a creature at all; Cody is trapped inside an old mining crane underwater. The long neck and head of donkegin are the jib arm and shovel bucket of the crane covered in seaweed, mud, and slime. The windmill somehow activates the machine. When raised from the depths it looks like some prehistoric water beast, but the gunk soon starts falling off of it to reveal what it truly is. The image of the thing, roaring its rusted metal roar, was burned into my brain the first time I saw it. With how far we've come today with graphics in movies, the effects of this are probably considered laughable. Still, if you can look past some of those shortcomings there are a lot of thrills to be had.</p><p>It turns out the term frog dreaming basically means cursed. I'm not sure if this is a real term or one made up for the movie. Cody explains it early on when he tells his friends the whole area is filled with frog dreamings, which are like sacred sites or haunted places. Weird name for a haunting, and a weird name for the movie itself, but I guess <i>The Quest</i> isn't exactly a memorable title either.</p><p>One thing I suppose I should mention is the probable political incorrectness of some of the language in the film. I'm not sure of how volatile race relations are in Australia but if they're anything like the U.S., some people won't be happy with some of the words used. The terms "blackfella" and just "blacks" are used several times, and though it doesn't seem overly derogatory in context it does seem to imply a separate entity - i.e. they are them, and we are us. Kind of like separate but equal. I didn't take it as intentional disrespect to the people of aboriginal descent (which I did not know were considered black until I looked this up), but I did learn that among some it is considered offensive to use the term "blackfella". Other web pages suggest that blackfella is a common term used to describe a certain way of life in Australia. I don't know enough about it to make an educated stand one way or the other, so I'll just mention it here and let the viewer judge for themselves.</p><p>All in all, the movie was still a lot of fun all these years later. It wasn't exactly scary, but the air of mystery that pervades it was enough to keep me interested even today as I watched. I held onto memories of that murky pond and the crane monster for over thirty years until I found it again. I feel that it lived up to the hype of my childhood mind. </p><p>Long live donkegin!</p><p><br></p>Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185719441483860300.post-11021769384376412442020-07-15T17:30:00.004-07:002020-07-16T10:35:08.355-07:00RAD: The Classic BMX Movie From The 80's Finally Get's Its Due<div style="text-align: center;"><font size="6">Breakin' the Ice</font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><font size="2">by Luke Whaley</font></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>It's summer, 1989. I'm eight years old. We've just come back from the video rental store with a stack of VHS movies, and the first one my siblings and I feed to our VCR is a movie called <i>Rad</i>. <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOwzXf9t19VnS4wDU3KuBpLBKKuh1LLPo7ly23u2IDrnDLqe9j5r9OlH2NteV9aMw1aWPwffW5341RFMeVNRV5aLYbZA4ykdEh6cWgABimxiEs2XgItaqM0dpjqoldw7OBThGfYJXNlaM/s2048/Rad+VHS.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCOwzXf9t19VnS4wDU3KuBpLBKKuh1LLPo7ly23u2IDrnDLqe9j5r9OlH2NteV9aMw1aWPwffW5341RFMeVNRV5aLYbZA4ykdEh6cWgABimxiEs2XgItaqM0dpjqoldw7OBThGfYJXNlaM/w151-h200/Rad+VHS.jpg" width="151" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My very own, well-worn<br /> VHS copy of <i>RAD</i><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><div>The minute the movie finishes, without even stopping to hit rewind on the VCR, we're out the door. At the end of a cement walkway a two-foot piece of scrap wood is propped on a cinder block, creating a ramp. Trees in our yard become obstacles. The concrete pad that slopes from the carport to a flat parking space is the starting line. Before you know it, with a little imagination and a couple of worn out bikes, we're ready to recreate the Helltrack scene. We strap on any helmets or knee pads or gloves we can find that make us feel like we're wearing professional gear, and we're off. The song "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNVZzXgMdXs">Thunder in Your Heart</a>" is on repeat in my head as my feet force my bike into action. The grass slows us down. Our legs burn. The sun hammers sweat from our skin. I hit the downhill slope of the driveway and feel the wind on my face. My older brothers are in front of me, but for the moment I'm not Luke anymore, I'm Cru Jones. I'll catch them.</div><div><br /></div><div>Through my early teens we did this, or some iteration of it, every time we watched <i>Rad</i>. The movie was a staple of my childhood, an anthem for the small town anykid that wanted to follow his dreams, and it featured some of the coolest bike stunts I'd ever seen. It was an underdog story on par with <i>The Karate Kid</i> and <i>Rocky</i> to me.</div><div><br /></div><div>When DVDs began to take the place of videocassettes and all my favorite movies got the digital upgrade, inevitably I thought about <i>Rad</i>. Once or twice a year I'd scour the internet to see where I could find a DVD. Amazon didn't offer it except in a bootleg disc that was, I read, just a scan of the VHS. I had created a scan with my own VHS copy years ago and didn't want to pay someone for video quality I already had, so I never bought it. An official DVD was nowhere to be found. I signed up to be notified by Amazon when the DVD would be released but that notification never came.</div><div><br /></div><div>Blu Rays replaced DVDs, and then 4K came along. I was beginning to think that I would never see a high-definition release of the film when I received an email from an obscure company called Vinegar Syndrome announcing its release in 4K. I was skeptical. Vinegar Syndrome specializes in exploitation movies of all kinds, from silly, B-grade horror movies to smut films from the sixties through the eighties. It did not seem like a likely home for a family movie like <i>RAD. </i>Despite my skepticism I pre-ordered the movie.</div><div><br /></div><div>Boy am I glad I did.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPFoEqXYbzsWe9a1SVY9Vl6cAmHEE3iG99d7IA2TmjlzNbCWGpe5uh1Zu8K6h3fwSDYSwpAPoLD535WFsHzuE_Q8Xfd5YEQtGlF45erPfiVppfj3eBJd67YgTe3BtBrLYxocwtsG3ZK5N/s2048/RAD+4k+Clipped+Trns.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1518" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPFoEqXYbzsWe9a1SVY9Vl6cAmHEE3iG99d7IA2TmjlzNbCWGpe5uh1Zu8K6h3fwSDYSwpAPoLD535WFsHzuE_Q8Xfd5YEQtGlF45erPfiVppfj3eBJd67YgTe3BtBrLYxocwtsG3ZK5N/s320/RAD+4k+Clipped+Trns.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><br /></div></div><div>It is by far the most well-produced and comprehensive release of a cult movie that I've ever seen. This, it seems, is where Vinegar Syndrome really shines. Such care and attention to detail went into the packaging of the disc that it felt like a special edition release of a big-time summer blockbuster movie. The slipcase features the classic VHS cover art, lenticular on the front and holographic on the back. Inside the slipcase the movie disc case includes the original artwork. Also inside the case is a folded poster depicting the Helltrack obstacle course. </div><div><br /></div><div>The transfer of the film is as nice as could be expected. There is some grain here and there, and one or two weird transitions that felt a little more drawn out than I remembered, but all in all <i>Rad</i> has never looked better. I have to admit I was a little nervous watching it again after I'd gone six or seven years without a single viewing, but I was not disappointed. There is a certain amount of cheese to it, being a typical, lower budget 80's film, but I was surprised at how it held up. The magic was still there. Maybe it was nostalgia, but who cares? </div><div><br /></div><div>I was equally impressed with the special features. With a movie like this that has hovered in the realms of obscurity for years to all but the die hard fans, a blu ray release would normally consist of the movie, a theatrical trailer and maybe, <i>maybe</i> a commentary track. This release has three commentaries, featurettes on director Hal Needham and writer Sam Bernard, archival interviews, the music video to the song "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyNRmFxpbLU">Break The Ice</a>" by John Farnham, an original theatrical trailer, and more. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlWVczTNInof6PuFS14Z6nOFYhoBGmv5YmMNjxRFOnRt5EmhMhairN4f-2rKCfTFZw8JFW8TGIybRJiUoePJh6YzJ-nMylEVV6rQHAjHr6ycT1thp6ywfvJa4i3OGXOB2ph76vwIjZSQk/s2048/RAD+4k+2.jpg+Clipped.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSlWVczTNInof6PuFS14Z6nOFYhoBGmv5YmMNjxRFOnRt5EmhMhairN4f-2rKCfTFZw8JFW8TGIybRJiUoePJh6YzJ-nMylEVV6rQHAjHr6ycT1thp6ywfvJa4i3OGXOB2ph76vwIjZSQk/s320/RAD+4k+2.jpg+Clipped.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJDp8BydhmjO9OupASiu04EaKPp5MF53yCAwje8Y21oY3tEA3mfJNLuNOdBhV8UkCpXC-66l5yfoff83-wXHhmJfob4CTslmeCioUv8F3r343E5qw-ZdbvuUSWL1xoSg-8x_37N6ZMvLT/s2048/RAD+poster+Helltrack+Clipped+Trns.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJDp8BydhmjO9OupASiu04EaKPp5MF53yCAwje8Y21oY3tEA3mfJNLuNOdBhV8UkCpXC-66l5yfoff83-wXHhmJfob4CTslmeCioUv8F3r343E5qw-ZdbvuUSWL1xoSg-8x_37N6ZMvLT/s320/RAD+poster+Helltrack+Clipped+Trns.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The 4K release of <i>Rad</i> is my favorite release of this year. Its only competition will be the <i>Friday the 13th</i> Collection: the Deluxe Edition that will be released in October by Shout! Factory. As excited as I am about that release (which will FINALLY feature the real 3d version of <i>Friday the 13th part 3)</i> it will be tough to beat out <i>Rad</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is the full list of special features for <i>Rad</i>:</div><div><br /></div><div>-<span> Brand new commentary track with lead actor Bill Allen</span></div><div><span>-<span> Brand new commentary track with actress Talia Shire and Robert Schwartzman</span></span></div><div><span><span>-<span> Archival commentary track with: actor Bill Allen, actor Bart Conner, writer/co-producer Sam Bernard, and various BMX stunt riders.</span></span></span></div><div>-<span> Interview with director Hal Needham</span></div><div><span>-<span> Interview with writer Sam Bernard</span></span></div><div><span><span>-<span> "Rad 25"- The 25th anniversary event (footage from filming locations, autograph sessions, etc)</span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span>-<span> Multiple archival interviews with cast and crew</span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span>-<span> "Break The Ice" music video</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span>-<span> Original theatrical trailer</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span>-<span> Extensive behind-the-scenes still gallery</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><span> </span>**<span> </span>In a quick update to this blog entry, I am sad to inform readers that this particular 4k edition is out of stock at Vinegar Syndrome. It is going for ridiculous prices on ebay and Amazon. At some point I read to keep an eye out for distributors of Vinegar Syndrome's titles. There may be a few copies that crop up from time to time. One I know right off the bat is <a href="https://www.diabolikdvd.com/" target="_blank">Diabolik DVD</a>, but I know there are others. While the 4k is not available at this time, DVD's are available through Amazon.</span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span>You can rent or buy a digital copy <a href="https://www.altavod.com/content/rad#more-info" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span>While you wait for that ultimate 4k to re-appear, check out a couple of these <i>Rad</i> items you can find online:</span></span></span></span></span></div><div><span><span><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><a href="https://www.teepublic.com/mask/5562090-helltrack?feed_sku=5562090D54V&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=PLA_Masks&gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9b_4BRCMARIsADMUIyoAHQ810nHz8r5vQtKl-ReeBj62ExBnMszzrADxw87zbGiH11FnqhIaAvBZEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank">Helltrack face mask</a> from TeePublic</div><div><a href="https://www.80stees.com/products/cru-jones-replica-jersey-rad-movie" target="_blank">Cru Jones Jersey</a> from 80s Tees</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/697486218/rad-racing-retro-vintage-80s-movie-bmx?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=rad+movie&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&bes=1" target="_blank">Rad Racing Tee</a> from Etsy</div><div><a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/649073586/rad-movie-hell-track-mug-1980s-rad-cup?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=rad+movie&ref=sr_gallery-1-13" target="_blank">Helltrack Coffee Mug</a> from Etsy</div><div><br /></div></div></div>Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185719441483860300.post-16136242126652473072019-12-31T09:42:00.001-08:002020-01-16T20:23:35.580-08:00Ridiculous Moments In Horror 01: - Evil Dead 2 - The Possessed Hand<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
RIDICULOUS MOMENTS IN HORROR - PART 1<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><u>Ash Battles His Hand</u> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This segment is the first of what will be a continual stream of ridiculous horror moments sprinkled throughout this blog. I'm starting with an easy one. First, though, a
little backstory. <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I’ve been fascinated with the spooky side of cinema for
as long as I can remember. The earliest horror movies I saw were from the
<i>Friday the 13th</i> and <i>Halloween </i>franchises, and as a youngster I
took the movies seriously. I was literally scared of Jason and
Michael.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> The slashers were at the tip top of all movies in my eyes, and nothing could surpass them. </span>At some point when I was about
thirteen I bought a book at the local Blockbuster called <i>Movie
Psychos and Madmen</i>. It chronicled the history of villains in movies, and the reason I bought it was because it had a chapter on
slashers. I remember reading a passage from the book basically stating
that the slasher movies were not to be taken seriously, because the killer is
supernatural and therefore not as realistic as, say, Norman Bates from <i>Psycho</i>.
As much as I hate to use this word in the overly sensitive times we live in, I
was offended. Ridiculous, but true. <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I was offended because, at the time, I had not made a
distinction between skillfully crafted movies (like the aforementioned <i>Psycho,</i>
or <i>The Exorcist</i>) and the type of movies you watch just for the thrill of
being scared. Movies like <i>Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street</i>
or the <i>Halloween </i>sequels. I loved those movies, and in my pre-teen
mind I took it as an unfair criticism to imply that I shouldn’t take them
seriously. <span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
About a year later I stayed over at a friend’s house<i>.</i>
At the time we were going through a massive horror movie phase, searching out
every movie in that section of the rental stores and watching them one after
the other. He had a movie called <i>Evil Dead</i>. He owned it, and
it was in a blank white case that gave no clue as to the contents of the
videocassette inside. He gave me the backstory about a guy who fights
demons in a cabin in the woods, and how in part 2 he has to cut off his hand
and replace it with a chainsaw. Oddly enough I recognized what he was
talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mother had rented a
movie she thought I’d like called <i>Army of Darkness</i> months earlier.
I remember watching it and not quite understanding what I was seeing. It
was horror, sure, but it was also funny and a little bit weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know how I felt about it, but it
stayed in my mind for all that time afterward. So I mentioned it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> My friend explained that</span> <i>Army</i> was actually part 3
of this <i>Evil Dead</i> movie! I decided I needed to watch it.<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I did watch it.<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I loved it.<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
It wasn’t until we rented <i>Evil Dead 2</i>, though,
that I began to realize something. As I watched the hero - Ash - beat
himself silly with his own possessed hand, it all started to make sense.
This movie wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It had some spooky moments, but it was basically a slapstick comedy
dressed as a horror film. It really drove that point home when the
severed hand flicks the bird at Ash before scurrying into a
rathole (Check out the hand battle below, before and after it is dismembered).</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OIUoUHoPlEs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OIUoUHoPlEs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HQPGN2Dfxws/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HQPGN2Dfxws?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p>After watching something like this it became clear to me that some movies, while artistic and creative, are meant to be taken lightly. Certainly the <i>Friday the 13th</i> films fell into this category, and the <i>A Nightmare on Elm Street</i> sequels. You don't exactly watch these movies to see Oscar-nominee performances, you watch them because they are fun. They're eye candy. If the whole realm of cinema were a theme park, these movies would be the roller coasters and the haunted mazes. Though it took me a while I finally realized that wasn't a bad thing.</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
To this day <i>Evil Dead 2</i> remains in my top five
favorite horror movies. It sets such a beautifully wonky atmosphere that
keeps you questioning: Am I supposed to be afraid or am I supposed to
laugh? If you’re reading this as a horror fan you most likely know this
movie all too well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was your first
experience with the <i>Evil Dead </i>franchise? Sound off below in the comments.</div>
<br />Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185719441483860300.post-53904610520314908582019-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:002019-04-26T12:15:27.909-07:00Robert McCammon Book Signing This past weekend author Robert McCammon had a book launch in Homewood, Alabama for his new book <i>Cardinal Black</i>. I had known about the event for weeks. One of the nice things about Facebook is that you can mark that you're interested in events and it will remind you when the event draws near. I hadn't kept the exact date in mind so thank God for that Facebook reminder.<br />
Still, I almost didn't go.<br />
I like what I've read of McCammon's books, but I'm fairly new to his work. I've read <i>Boy's Life</i> and one or two short stories. After finding out about the recent book signing, and having what I thought was a few weeks to spare, I wanted to tackle another book of his and decided on <i>Swan Song.</i> Problem is, big book stores like Books-A-Million and Barnes & Noble didn't seem to carry it. Even my local used book store, Deb's Books, didn't have even a worn out old paperback copy of it. I found half a dozen other books by Mr. McCammon, but couldn't find a single copy of <i>Swan Song.</i> I could have ordered it from Amazon, sure, but there's something about going to a book store and scanning the book spines on the shelves, and your eyes settling on a book that you've sought for a long time that is supremely satisfying. It's the thrill of the hunt that makes book shopping so fun to me. I finally found a copy of the book at my local Books-A-Million (I swear it hadn't been there the last few times I'd checked) and I bought it immediately.<br />
It was that night that I received the Facebook notification telling me I had an event coming up that weekend: Robert McCammon's book signing. Damn it, I thought, as I looked at the 800+ page novel sitting on the arm of my recliner. I like to read a lot, but I'm a slow reader and there was no way in hell I was going to complete such a large book in a day and a half.<br />
I was not prepared. Worse still, my wife wasn't too keen on going and I, being introverted and thus a tad on the antisocial side, didn't want to go alone. Saturday came, I mentioned I'd like to go, she shrugged it off as uninteresting, and I decided I should't spend the money. The more time went by, though, the more I though about it. I'm not a Robert McCammon expert, but I did love <i>Boy's Life</i> and wanted to read more by him. Not only that, but I'm an aspiring writer myself. As my thoughts stewed about the possibility of meeting such a successful writer, I decided that more than anything I wanted to meet him so I could ask him what was the best advice he could give to an aspiring writer. I guess I brought it up a few too many times and my wife, being the good woman she is, changed her mind and agreed to go. <br />
When we got there and parked I started to get cold feet. He was supposed to do a reading from his new book, and a Q&A session, as well as sign the books. What if we had gotten there after the signing, and he was in the middle of a reading when I walked in? What if everyone looked up at me as the door closed behind me? What if there was an hour of Q&A left? I couldn't stand in the store for an hour while my wife sat in the car with our baby in the backseat. Was I even in the right place?<br />
Eventually my wife told me to nut up and do it. It would have been ridiculous, I admit, to drive an hour to get to a place just so I could sit in the parking lot for five minutes, overthink the situation, and leave with nothing to show for it. So I inhaled, opened the door, and stepped out of the car. Luckily there was a guy in a Slipknot shirt walking out as I made my way across the parking lot, and he took notice of my <i>Jaws</i> t-shirt. We stood and talked for almost five minutes. That dude actually loosened me up quite a bit. Sort of set my nerves at ease. As we parted ways I sighed in relief, and made my way into the Alabama Booksmith shop.<br />
The line was thirty deep at least when I stepped inside. I bought <i>Cardinal Black</i> at the counter that was immediately adjacent to the entrance, and stepped into line that started just past the checkout counter. The line spanned the length of the building, which is a tiny, house-like shop filled with signed hardback editions of books for sale, most of them at normal list price. The line moved slowly, and being a veteran of many horror movie conventions over the years, I was accustomed to waiting. I only hoped our daughter wouldn't wake up and start crying in the car, where my wife sat with her.<br />
When I made it to the table, I had already planned what I wanted to say and for the most part, aside from a little nervous babbling, I stuck to my script. I told him I loved <i>Boy's Life</i>, said that it reminded me a bit of Ray Bradbury's work, and that I looked forward to reading more from him. As he finished signing, I dropped the question I'd come there to ask.<br />
"What would you say is the best advice you could give to an aspiring writer."<br />
He paused for a moment and leaned back in his chair, trying to gather his thoughts. He then leaned forward. Here's what he said.<br />
(I'm going to paraphrase here, but it covers the main point.)<br />
"Finish your work." Those three words alone held a ton of meaning to me, being a big starter of projects that will eventually find their way into the heaping pile of unfinished work stashed throughout folders all over my computer. He did elaborate, though: "Always finish your work. Believe in it and give it everything you have. You are your story's number one fan. Its first fan. It must speak to you, and keep your undivided attention. Give one project all your attention because it takes so much focus to complete a story. If you bounce around from project to project you'll never get anything done."<br />
After he gave this advice, I thanked him and he thanked me and wished me luck on my "work." It was nice to hear my unfinished novel be referred to as "work." <i>I</i> know it's work, and any writer knows just how much work it is, but it was nice to have an established writer refer to the work I was doing. It gave me a sense of validation in some way. I may not be a published writer but damn it I <i>work </i>on my writing. See? Robert McCammon said so! Probably a silly thing to get hung up on I guess. Either way, I learned a bit from my short time talking to Robert, and he was an incredibly gracious and humble guy that seemed very thankful to all his readers. He allowed me to get a picture with him. Check it out!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbYDPq5VgZXgfadthzyKgEDC2HrsfRe9db6XNPy3FhA1TRmNGgClfMlmW1DOuAGUA-XX7q2WCCQFlVvZW3GqqWzwWvszhe3AOKWavDkoQD4WLTP1nEu0KMxP7iPgeFw_zKjGrGg32brY4/s1600/IMG_20190420_160411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMbYDPq5VgZXgfadthzyKgEDC2HrsfRe9db6XNPy3FhA1TRmNGgClfMlmW1DOuAGUA-XX7q2WCCQFlVvZW3GqqWzwWvszhe3AOKWavDkoQD4WLTP1nEu0KMxP7iPgeFw_zKjGrGg32brY4/s320/IMG_20190420_160411.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I walked out of that store with my signed edition of <i>Cardinal Black</i> and a newfound determination to finish my work. Our baby was still fast asleep in the car, and my wife had been content to scroll through social media apps while I received this motivation from Mr. McCammon. I could barely contain my excitement as I told her what happened. I had stepped outside my comfort zone and received something valuable in return. I received determination. And now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my work. This novel ain't gonna finish itself!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.com02626 19th Pl S, Homewood, AL 35209, USA33.4838753 -86.78881987.9618408000000009 -128.0974138 59.0059098 -45.4802258tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185719441483860300.post-28268207635813629722019-03-20T15:03:00.000-07:002019-12-31T09:43:09.851-08:00Pet Sematary (2019) Trailer<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="371">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rdxRz-Wo0ea2xBdvidO6vAaCK-wVPFDAHAadqA-6JCQN_ECMJpnzQuHIJdhaRTCLT_P7KXs8l4GCOK_UvXk6lqyu_n2AT-0P6J1-YQUoHTA_y1-m-Ei5V26raigznty6RuPwdRkCSr74/s1600/pet2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7rdxRz-Wo0ea2xBdvidO6vAaCK-wVPFDAHAadqA-6JCQN_ECMJpnzQuHIJdhaRTCLT_P7KXs8l4GCOK_UvXk6lqyu_n2AT-0P6J1-YQUoHTA_y1-m-Ei5V26raigznty6RuPwdRkCSr74/s400/pet2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
My mind works like this:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I watch a trailer for a remake of a classic horror movie, and I’m
ticking checkmark boxes mentally as the trailer plays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m assessing the mood, style, acting, and
story, and seeing if it’s on pace with the source material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I watched the second trailer for <i>Pet
Sematary </i>(2019), a couple of check boxes were missed. The animal mask that Ellie wears and the ceremonial burial seemed like a forced attempt a being scary, and there were certain things that just rubbed me the wrong way. When the big twist to the original was revealed I thought, “Well this
is dumb.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched the original <i>Pet Sematary</i> shortly
after it was released on video back around 1990, and it became the stuff of legend
to me, easily the most terrifying movie I had seen up to that point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the paperback novel for sale at
Wal-Mart a few months later, and convinced my mother to buy it for me. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was in fifth grade at the time and though
it took months, I eventually finished the entire book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m thirty-seven
years old now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the first time I
picked up that book, I’ve read it at least four times at various points in my
life, and have seen the movie easily fifteen times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably way more tha<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">n that. </span>After my latest reading of the novel, having
become an adult and father of two kids, I can now more than ever appreciate how
horrific the story is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s no wonder
King himself hid the manuscript away once he’d finished, assuming no one would
ever want to publish such a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4dx4UlPuPneIXfMyG_Seu-3TIK0V_OMSLcJSJ50a9yG_N7zFtnRSnJhags8ThyeqcrIg518G_ScEpYPiSWnb0F8M4Zbf-NfYDByQO99Nbrn0DLRzGKdv-sgwELu45MB19SSfsIZ8VB4S/s1600/Pet-S-920x584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="920" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI4dx4UlPuPneIXfMyG_Seu-3TIK0V_OMSLcJSJ50a9yG_N7zFtnRSnJhags8ThyeqcrIg518G_ScEpYPiSWnb0F8M4Zbf-NfYDByQO99Nbrn0DLRzGKdv-sgwELu45MB19SSfsIZ8VB4S/s400/Pet-S-920x584.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the book, Ellie
Creed is the inquisitive daughter, the one that gets mad at God when she
realizes her cat could possibly die, the one that stirs the tension between her
parents without even knowing it, the one that brings the subject of death to
the front and center of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
is also the one that is telepathically linked to Victor Pascow, the “good
ghost,” that tries to warn the Creeds when things start going wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gage on the other hand is a blank slate,
the picture of uncorrupted innocence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The kid’s so cute in both the book and the movie that you can’t envision
anything bad happening to him at all and, once it does, you get the feeling that there is nothing safe
in the world anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That brings me to
my point concerning the Pet Sematary remake coming in April.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The twist that I thought was dumb was that
the filmmakers switched which child is killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, it’s the older sister Ellie that is struck by the eighteen-wheeler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I realized this, my first thought was that Gage is supposed to die because he is
innocence personified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While losing
either child would be equally catastrophic for the parents, the loss of a child
that is barely more than a baby has more power as far as
storytelling goes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's more shocking. When Gage comes back
in the novel it is almost blasphemous it is so horrific.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a disfigured shell, being driven by an
evil force that makes him speak of disturbing things that no child would ever know to
say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s how we see the wickedness of the
Micmac burial ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It has led this
innocent child into the road, knowing that Louis’s bereavement will drive him
mad enough to bring the child to it. It is using this poor innocent being as a puppet to carry out despicable deeds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the most part, even within the
horror genre children are largely left alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You can pretty well bet when you see a kid in a horror movie, especially
a younger kid under the age of ten, that they will escape any dangerous
situation a horror movie throws at them (there are, of course, exceptions, but I’m talking about the majority
here).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stephen King is not afraid to fight dirty when he’s
telling you a story, and that’s why his fans love his books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the supernatural elements that
pervade most of his works, his stories are about real people and real life, and
in real life sometimes the worst possible thing happens to ones we least expect
to be harmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the case of <i>Pet
Sematary</i>, it also turns that innocent life into a foul-mouthed killer demon that likes to
play mind games with its victims. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2SFf_B5dnpsi9VBpdADdtj-GucUWBlHIGmb9vAOgfYs6DAyqjpPDO50iIuamZ0-qhwM6cPBcnFkyWLRR2flOADnu-ka1dKAylOj9Av2MtPON96UV_KIYaRQNczG5fTy7gpaq548i70Sw/s1600/Pet-Sematary-Trailer-2018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2SFf_B5dnpsi9VBpdADdtj-GucUWBlHIGmb9vAOgfYs6DAyqjpPDO50iIuamZ0-qhwM6cPBcnFkyWLRR2flOADnu-ka1dKAylOj9Av2MtPON96UV_KIYaRQNczG5fTy7gpaq548i70Sw/s320/Pet-Sematary-Trailer-2018.jpg" width="320" /></a> I read interviews from the filmmakers that explained why they changed the story, hoping as I read that I would find something to ease my concern, but their justification made it even worse. There were a few reasons it was done, but chief among them were the fact that working with a toddler in such intense situations would prove too difficult. They likened it to the movie <i>Child's Play</i>, which uses and animatronic doll for the majority of Chucky's screen time. The idea was that we've seen that before (after which I thought "We've seen a killer in a mask stalking people in a house before, too!")They added that the older child, Ellie, would understand what happened to her, and would be able to play mind games with the parents because she was more developed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That line of thinking, in my opinion, is where their version could go wrong. The entity from the Micmac burial ground that influences the dead is an invader of the corpse. There is nothing left of the living being that once existed inside that body, and because of that it doesn't matter if Ellie understood that she had died. She doesn't have to be old enough or clever enough to play mind games, because the entity <i>is </i>clever enough. That's the horror of this thing: the person that comes back isn't the same person. They may look like that person, but they aren't that person. Something else is running the show now. In my opinion it's way more horrifying to have a toddler's dead body possessed by this thing. The demon can play head games just as easily with the four-year-old as with an eight-year-old, but it is so much more dreadful to do it with the younger one. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having said all that, I do understand that filmmakers need to make changes to tell their own tale. I get that people are affected by different aspects of a story. Stanley Kubrick's <i>The Shining</i>, for example, is so different from the book that Stephen King himself didn't like the film, though it became a horror classic in it's own right. I love <i>The Shining</i>. I hold out hope that, if the filmmakers of <i>Pet Sematary</i> have toyed with the themes of this story as much as I suspect they have, it will still be an entertaining movie in it's own right.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZN7-1TjaPqnPtV70RzZJJiTARDTvhBC1ncPDES8ngP0M-h36bYR_eINqL0BL05PbX6TvsKsKLtMlKLuCFqTDHcxwrfHTPn9wWDH_SSo_R3z_isyQd5L3dZ-VPgFahvmnzGoBd59-JSLE/s1600/Pet-Sematary-Remake-Cast-Zelda-Alyssa-Brooke-Levine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="798" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZN7-1TjaPqnPtV70RzZJJiTARDTvhBC1ncPDES8ngP0M-h36bYR_eINqL0BL05PbX6TvsKsKLtMlKLuCFqTDHcxwrfHTPn9wWDH_SSo_R3z_isyQd5L3dZ-VPgFahvmnzGoBd59-JSLE/s320/Pet-Sematary-Remake-Cast-Zelda-Alyssa-Brooke-Levine.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'll even secede the point that maybe the older child will add a new dynamic that will pleasantly surprise me. She has more character development in the book and the 1989 film than Gage does, so maybe the audience will become more emotionally invested in her character. Ellie's character is the one that is the most concerned with death, except maybe her mother Rachel (*fingers crossed* please let Zelda be creepy, please let Zelda be creepy...), so maybe there is some logic in having her die instead of Gage. There is a lot more physically that can be done with an older child as well, as her size will prove to be more menacing than a toddler. In the end, though, I just don't think her intelligence or cunning or size should really have anything to do with it. The place beyond the Pet Sematary is evil. The force that lives at the burial ground is what we should be afraid of, no matter what corpse is harboring it.<br />
<br />
Watch the trailer for yourself below, and feel free to discuss!<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zK0LNzU2TQI/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zK0LNzU2TQI?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
</div>
Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-185719441483860300.post-45697897160182754792019-02-19T15:04:00.000-08:002020-02-12T08:27:40.586-08:00Eraserhead: A Casual Analysis<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<b>ERASERHEAD: A Casual Analysis</b> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
I believe it was after high school when I decided to
start reading classic books that I had never been assigned to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To this day, <i>Moby Dick</i> is one of my favorite
books, most likely because I read it without having someone tell me what it was
really about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To tell you the truth, without taking an hour
to really dig deep and remember all I can, I couldn't tell you a whole lot
about what symbolized what in that book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When I think of it, though, I can picture the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pequod</i> in choppy seas, an immense, white glossy mass plunging into
the water ahead of her, and Captain Ahab at her helm with a look in his eyes so
steely you'd be afraid he would rust in all the salt spray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think of the poison in his resolve to seek
vengeance and the grandeur and pain and discomfort and beauty of life at sea in
the 1800's, and even the cetology of the time and the mechanics of
whaling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who needs a college professor
to describe what one should take away from a book like that?</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSDOv37I8zClSkc28yjmp9KobhmR7dfWD5MpXuDLM8710LzGYeHQWSlJerYn9zHwhTjh9Kc5gbuIVLsfh_FnjJeQoLtyVuJ-HWGIEqobcbrAAlFsDvxy8rkQvK5gFyPcFPj5Kfh8AWXAU/s1600/Eraserhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbSDOv37I8zClSkc28yjmp9KobhmR7dfWD5MpXuDLM8710LzGYeHQWSlJerYn9zHwhTjh9Kc5gbuIVLsfh_FnjJeQoLtyVuJ-HWGIEqobcbrAAlFsDvxy8rkQvK5gFyPcFPj5Kfh8AWXAU/s320/Eraserhead.jpg" width="243" /></a> </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
A good story entertains you, a better one teaches you,
and the best kind lingers with you in the way a deceased loved one does.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You find yourself thinking about it,
questioning it at random points in your day perhaps weeks or months after you
experience it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stories that can
accomplish this are few compared to the amount of stories we read, see, and
hear each day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most are trash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every now and then one comes along, though,
that stops you in your tracks and makes you pay more attention to it, whether
you want to or not. One of those stories is the 1977 film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eraserhead</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I present here my analysis of this eccentric
movie. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><br />
<br />
<i>Full disclosure: I am not a
film critic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is only my
interpretation of what I took from the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I could be completely off base with everything I understand to be true
about this movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mr. David Lynch might
curse me for being so dense as to perceive his movie the way I have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But this is my interpretation, people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go get your own.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
There are some movies that you watch and think to
yourself: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">What the hell did I just watch?
</i>Eraserhead is actually not one of these to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no doubt that if I sat my dad or my
brothers and sister down to watch this movie they would definitely be asking
that question, but right from the start something settled in my mind as I
watched a rocky planet floating in space before a scatter of stars and a malevolent
looking man pulling switches as sparks spurted with an electric hiss at their
base: this movie was a riddle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More to
the point, a riddle that didn't have any one good answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the type of movie that, while a
certain percentage made no sense to me, I felt the deeper meaning slowly slink <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>its way into my subconscious. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The imagery was poetic in a disturbing way,
and while the basic plot is moderately easy to follow, it is evident from the
opening frames that there is a sea of subtext swirling beneath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As mentioned before, the movie starts off with a planet,
or some rocky heavenly body suspended in a blanket of stars while our main character Henry's
permanently confused face is superimposed over it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry opens his mouth and, well, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">something </i>falls out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This thing looks to be living tissue, or
tissue that was at least once living and is composed of a bulbous, wrinkled
"head"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and a long twisted
tail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got the distinct impression that
this thing resembled a sperm cell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
cuts from this to a house with a huge hole in the roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, this may symbolize the coming destruction
of the world Henry is used to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We later
learn that Mary, his girlfriend, had become pregnant with what I can only
describe as a "deformed" child<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(more on that later). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think
this rocky sphere floating in the sky is not a planet but a meteor, and it has
impacted Henry's home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be too
easy for symbolism, but I get the feeling this meteor and its impact on the
house is a metaphor for the unexpected pregnancy and the imminent emotional and
social damage it will bring to Henry's timid world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
This world where Henry lives is gritty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shadows and light are constantly at battle in
the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>black and white cinematography, and
shadows usually win.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The setting is
industrial in nature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Henry is
outside walking, there are the sounds of steam hissing or trains rolling over
tracks or the whir and squeak of heavy machinery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The living quarters for any of the characters
is bleak at best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary's family lives in
a tiny apartment with an invalid old woman and a dog that has just given birth
to a large litter of puppies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry's
apartment Isn't much more than a bed, a desk, and a shelf or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beside the bed is a radiator that plays quite
a critical role for Henry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At times he
sees a "Lady in the Radiator" as she's credited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She appears on a lit stage, her face deformed
with oversized cheeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe she is
a daydream to Henry, sort of a comfort zone his mind goes to when at his
apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is further validated to
me in that the radiator is the bringer of warmth, and warmth means comfort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgiMTCmvDw2z6Wm9FOnqRsfYYExFkSq6eywC6IivIHQvye64gIo5rD6C3PyRVgv4pbSJbzfZdstd9hJYUBGtg3npPykgCw76ALA2bL88Lgd9g-fUoO6JJANK6o4Pp7Knbdydd7VlW-8Bgs/s1600/Film_725w_Eraserhead_b_original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgiMTCmvDw2z6Wm9FOnqRsfYYExFkSq6eywC6IivIHQvye64gIo5rD6C3PyRVgv4pbSJbzfZdstd9hJYUBGtg3npPykgCw76ALA2bL88Lgd9g-fUoO6JJANK6o4Pp7Knbdydd7VlW-8Bgs/s400/Film_725w_Eraserhead_b_original.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Early in the movie, Henry goes to Mary's house to have
dinner with Mary and her parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
scene is intriguing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole thing is
uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point, Mary's
father asked Henry to carve the chicken, and when Henry begins to cut into the bird
blood starts spurting from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I haven't
exactly figured the bleeding chicken out yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wondered as I watched if anyone else at the table sees the chicken
bleeding as Henry is trying to carve it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If they do they don't seem to mind, at least not at first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole scene seems to show a sort of
disgust for the mundane features of life: going to dinner with the parents,
carving the chicken, listening to the mind-numbing story Mary's father tells
about his injured arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is also when
we hear of the imminent arrival.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
the insistence of Mary's mother and Mary herself, Henry agrees to marry
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The marriage begins with these rocky terms, and once the
movie cuts from that uncomfortable dinner to Mary caring for her newborn, we
see that happier times are not ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The newborn is not recognizable as a human baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the face is almost reminiscent of a
horse fetus with no ears, or perhaps an alien.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's body is wrapped in gauze, and the sole purpose of this thing's
existence is to issue an incessant cry that is tinny and grating to the
extreme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Think baby's cry mixed with the
whine of an injured cat, over and over again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It cries so much that Mary begins to be resentful of the baby-thing, and
of Henry as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During a stormy night
she finally has enough of the thing's cries, and leaves for her mother's.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry is left to care for the newborn by
himself, and he is obviously not prepared to do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He suspects the baby is sickly and takes
it's temperature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When everything seems
normal he turns his back, opens the door, and begins to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing begins shrieking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He turns and sees that, from the time he
stood up and opened the door, the baby became covered in boils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He then sits down and cares for the creature,
all while staring into the distance, an expression of extreme boredom on his
face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The baby, meanwhile, is once again
at peace. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This creates the very real
feeling that this thing is in need of constant care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For Henry to take his eyes off it for just a
moment is to risk harm to the baby-thing. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The main theme of the movie seems to show itself here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gathered that the movie is really commenting
on parenting, family life, and the banality of it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It paints a dark picture of the uncertainty
and frustrations of parenthood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How are
these two people supposed to care for this newborn creature?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is so fragile that it is covered in
bandages, and can only whimper and whine for food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's mere existence seems to be torture to
the couple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once Henry
is left alone with it, his only respite is fantasizing about the lady in the
radiator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
The fantasy, I believe, is a sexual one and perhaps even
masturbatory, like a wet dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she
dances slowly across the stage more of the things Henry had earlier expelled
from his mouth drop around her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
steps on them one at a time, and white ooze squirts out of them onto the stage
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She giggles as she does this, and
after she has stepped on a few the scene cuts to Henry waking up in bed in his
dismal apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary is lying beside
him, twisting uncomfortably in bed and bumping against Henry's back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is being pushed further to one side of the
bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is confined, and you can't help but
get the impression he is trapped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He finds
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>these giant sperm-like things from his
dream beneath his covers and, disgusted, throws them away from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This speaks again to the misery and despair
of the human condition, especially in this desolate world. Not even the sex
dream is enjoyable, and whatever pleasure he does get from it is ripped away
when he awakens to the dwindling confines of his side of the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In frustration, he keeps grumbling "Move
over!" and shoving her to the other side of the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
Mary disappears from his bedroom in the following scene,
and one could assume some days have passed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is a knock at his door, and deep echoing hum fills the
soundscape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry answers the door to
find the neighbor, whom we've seen before earlier in the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a beautiful woman, and speaks in a slow,
seductive tone when she tells Henry she has locked her keys in her apartment
and needs a place to sleep for the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another common issue in relationships rears its head: adultery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scene moves to Henry and his neighbor
having sex in a small pool of milky liquid that has inexplicably formed in the
center of Henry's bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like many scenes
in the movie, we are seeing what Henry is experiencing through the filter of
his own subconscious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They sink into the
milk, the neighbor pulling him down beneath the surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Immediately we see another asteroid-like rock
and the neighbor presumably leaving, being withdrawn into the darkness with an
uncomfortable look on her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
radiator lady appears and I assume Henry is asleep and dreaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sings "In heaven, everything is
fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In heaven, everything is fine..."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry is asleep, satisfied for the moment.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
However, the dream lingers as Henry steps onto the stage
with the radiator lady.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She disappears,
and we are treated to a surreal and disturbing nightmare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Among other seemingly random occurrences
Henry's head seems to be pushed off from within by a long cylindrical object
that is not unlike a penis in shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
penis-like head remover seems to be a manifestation of guilt, giving literal
imagery to the term "thinking with the wrong head."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From his neck, the deformed baby's head
sprouts forth, whining uncontrollably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
baby's whines are louder and more shrill than ever, and the fact that the
baby's head replaces Henry's is symbolic of Henry's obligation to put the baby
before himself. </div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
In true dream fashion, the head falls through a pool of
blood and lands in the street where a young boy picks it up and sells it to a
pencil manufacturer, who drills a sample from Henry's brain and uses it in his
pencil making machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The core sample
is formed into erasers for the pencils in this conveyor belt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The machine operator tests the eraser, and
confirms that the materials - Henry's brain - is "okay."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he sweeps the brain remnants from the
desk with the flick of his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This,
to me, is Henry's attempt to accept what he has done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As odd and elaborate and as probably steeped
in symbolism<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as the dream is, I believe
it is really about Henry's guilt and his attempt to erase what he's done from
his memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, the pencil machine
operator<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>reinforces it to him it in its simplest
terms: "It's okay."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he
brushes the shavings aside, scattering them to the winds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry's mind has been cleared.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
When he wakes up the next morning, he goes to his
neighbor's door and knocks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mary has
seemingly gone for good, he is alone, and perhaps he now sees this as a new
opportunity to be with someone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The baby-thing lets out a raspy
giggle at Henry's misfortune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This baby
seems malevolent from the start, intent on ruining the lives of Henry and
Mary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he hears the neighbor
returning, he rushes to the door only to find that she is with another man in
the hall, and Henry is left alone with his baby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The neighbor gives one final look of
repulsion at Henry, and the image of him flashes to the dream version of himself
with his baby's head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She must have decided
that the malformed baby is too disturbing, or at least that is how Henry perceives
the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> He's got too much baggage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK37jrmlixTYfWwG5njjdkYqD7cU3uZCU-dbRGXFQVhGNEpt-EFbBaAeguGSIiGVPlJTxtB39sShas4kOwQ-7x5iEooiOGuSV-9WtaTESU3dQGsRIeSe4qk0Jt77rS-fw9jK_xSfirQ2Vk/s1600/Eraserhead+baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK37jrmlixTYfWwG5njjdkYqD7cU3uZCU-dbRGXFQVhGNEpt-EFbBaAeguGSIiGVPlJTxtB39sShas4kOwQ-7x5iEooiOGuSV-9WtaTESU3dQGsRIeSe4qk0Jt77rS-fw9jK_xSfirQ2Vk/s320/Eraserhead+baby.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, Henry
can no longer live with the malevolent creature that is destroying his
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He cuts the bandages from the
baby's body, revealing its internal organs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He stabs at one of these organs and blood spurts forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lights flicker, we see an image again of a
malformed man operating switches while sparks fly about, and the dying baby's
head appears so large it takes up the whole side of the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guilt of killing his baby is filling his
mind, physically confining him farther into a corner of his small
apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the deed is done, and
the thing is obviously dead, the screen goes a hazy white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through this fog, the lady in the radiator
appears, and hugs Henry triumphantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Henry, still with a confused countenance, has found the comfort he has
desperately needed.</div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
As mentioned before, the main theme of the movie is one
of struggle and desolation, and an ultimate hopelessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It deals specifically with these qualities as
they relate to marriage and parenthood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David Lynch
had a young daughter at the time of the filming of this movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also lived with his wife and daughter in a
bad part of Philadelphia, and those difficult times are almost certainly the
inspiration for the gritty industrial setting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no comfort to be had in the world in which Eraserhead takes
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You get the sense of being
cornered, trapped in an unending loop of misery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The steaming streets, the thugs attacking one another in the background, the apartment window that faces nothing but a brick wall,
the dead plant jutting from a heap of dirt on Henry's night stand, the tinny
whine of the baby creature, the high contrast cinematography, all serve to
enhance this claustrophobic feel of dread and hopelessness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The scenes between Henry and his wife, Mary,
almost always portray the worst parts of married life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people who have been in a relationship
have had these same moments: The petty arguments, the spiteful glances, the
guilt trips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this world, though, the
issues seem all the more inescapable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The only amount of contentment Henry receives is from staring at his
radiator and fantasizing about a lady on a stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let's face it, with the lady's grossly
deformed face smiling gleefully as she prances around the stage, even that
daydream is no prize. </div>
Luke W.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17405992617394650832noreply@blogger.com0