7 Quick Takes: Media Edition

This week I'm using "7 Quick Takes" to give my quick take on several pieces of media - books, music, TV, and movies - that I've consumed in the past few weeks.

1. "Math Curse" by John Scieszka and Lane Smith is the best kids' math book I've read since discovering "How Much Is a Million?"  "Math Curse" is clever and funny and all the kids were fascinated by it even though they probably only got half the jokes. I'm not sure I got all of them, but the ones I did get cracked me up. Thumbs way up - definitely a book just about anyone would enjoy reading.


2. On the Rocks' version of "I Can See Clearly Now". They break into "MMM-Bop" in the middle of the song, which just cracks me up. I'm old enough to find that both nostalgic and funny.

3. Disney princesses - they are ubiquitous. They are much-beloved by my daughters. Their come-hither looks are disturbing. Their original movies are pretty good (sometimes great), but the spin-off DVDs are often cheap and badly-made. My point? I don't know yet. But I'm noticing and thinking.

4. District 9 - this might be the most thoughtful science fiction movie I've ever seen, but it's also one of the few I never want to see again. It was disturbing for all of the right reasons. I recommend it if you like your social commentary in story form and you have a strong stomach.

5. True Grit - I don't, as a rule, like westerns. But this one now joins "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" as a western I'm glad I saw. Once. Because I still don't really like westerns.


6. Brooke Fraser's "Orphans, Kingdoms" - my more-musically-educated-than-I friend pointed out that this song establishes a martial rhythm at the beginning that doesn't make any sense lyrically . . . until you hit the bridge. And then it all comes together:


I love, love, love this song. So many good lines: "babes with coats of arms", "the world inside us, the feast, the harvest", and, of course, "who is he that can conquer himself?"

The whole thing reminds me of theologian Dallas Willard's definition of a kingdom as the range of someone's effective will, i.e., your kingdom is the areas where what you want to be done is done. And our job, of course, is to submit our kingdoms to God's kingdom, make the places where we have power also the places where God's will is done.

And where do we have the most power? Over ourselves, of course. But inside us, alone, without the authority of God over us and caring for us, we are lost children. I think a lot of this song is about that.




7. "Once Upon a Time" is a TV show Adam and I discovered a few weeks ago. We promptly watched all the available episodes. And . . . I keep thinking about it. It is, let me be clear, not a perfect show. It's sort of uneven, the writers make some choices with the characters I disagree with, it's corny in the extreme, etc. . . . but it's got enough really fascinating stuff that I still love it. I love looking for all the little fairy-tale details in the "real world" (which is actually the world created by the Evil Queen's curse), like the tree-covered wallpaper, and the stone dwarf statue on her lawn, and the bowl of red apples that's always on the mayor's desk. I enjoy seeing what they do with the fairy tale characters in their true home and how that's echoed in the small New England town they're all cursed to inhabit. I love the "real world" names of the fairy tale characters. "Snow White" is "Mary Margaret Blanchard".  The Evil Queen becomes "Regina". Cinderella becomes "Ashley". And I love, love, love "Mr. Gold", which is how Rumplestiltskin is known in the cursed world (he owns a pawn shop! how cool is that?). He's the perfect brilliant, ambiguous, conniving imp of a character. He's over the top in the fairy tale world, but in the cursed world he's perfect.

And I like some of the themes that are emerging through the stories. One thing that's continually emphasized is that "everyone has a choice" - you just don't get to choose which options your choice is going to entail. "Everyone has a choice" - but you're not always going to have all the information you need to make the right decision.

Strangely enough, for a story based on fairy tales, this one's not for the younger set (see the above, about some of the choices the writers make that I disagree with - I'm sorry, I don't see even a cursed Snow White having a one-night stand), partly because of subject matter, and partly because, in between the too-sweet fairy tale scenes there are some genuinely frightening moments (see the end of the episode about Gepetto's parents). But for grown-ups who know the fairy tales, and who like puzzle stories (and who have a soft-spot for the corny or the hokey or the slightly overwrought), it's a nice little once-a-week treat.



Okay, that last wasn't quick. I'm sorry! For more Quick Takes (many of which will be quicker than mine), visit Betty Beguiles, who's guest-hosting this week.

Peace of Christ,
Jessica Snell