The Land Before Time: an Exploration of Death and the Afterlife

The first time I watched 'The Land Before Time' I was probably about three or four years old. The film was released in 1988 but back then it took a long time for most films except for the really big Hollywood blockbusters to reach South Africa. Every Friday my dad would rent me a film from the video store in town. I went through lots of animations and goofy comedies starring a host of different animal buddies before my dad finally happened upon 'The Land before Time'. He probably figured that the cover, featuring five cute, little baby dinosaurs would interest me because I liked dinosaurs...and cartoons. Yet there was something about this film that drew me in more than I had ever been drawn in by a film before. Twenty more trips to the video store...to rent the same movie finally convinced my dad that we needed our very own VHS copy. Even when I watch this film now I still cry in all the sad bits, I still get goosebumps every time the narrator talks, get scared by the appearance of sharp-tooth and am filled a bittersweet joy when the baby dinosaurs finally reach the great valley.

It saddens me that in the society of today children are either fed animations that are far too simple for their enquiring minds and when animations do have a hidden sub text they are aimed towards the hordes of the hipster undead who watch 'Spongebob' and 'Adventure Time' and think they were the only ones who got that secret joke. The Don Bluth films of yester year speak of the golden age of animation when the history of immigrants in America in search of the american dream is re-told through a family of musical mice in An American Tale: Fievel Goes West and ofcourse ' The Land Before Time'.

But what is 'The Land Before Time' telling us about ourselves and the world we live in. The message of this film became very clear to me in my most recent viewing. It is quite clearly an exploration of the journey of death and the journey into the after-life. It highlights a fear of all young children and even adults that one day they will have to see their parents die. In the film Littlefoot, a young brontosaurus, is struck with grief after his mother dies from the wounds she incured while trying to save him from Sharp-tooth's attack. In fact all the baby dinosaurs in the film are left alone in some way, mainly because 'the great divide' has seperated them from their guardians. However all the dinosaurs know, from a young age, that their ultimate goal will be to reach The Great Valley, a place unaffected by famine and earthquakes like the world they now live in. I believe 'The Great Valley' represents the afterlife. When Littlefoot's mother tells him how to get there she admits that she has never seen The Great Valley but knows that it exists because as she says " Some things you see with your eyes, others you see with your heart"

Before Littlefoot can begin his journey he first needs to deal with the grief he's holding onto after the death of his mother as well as the guilt about her death. He is counselled by an old, roaming dinosaur called Rooter and then finds purpose in life again when he finds himself taking care of three younger dinosaurs and journeying to the Great Valley. The dinosaurs journey through their dying world and eventually reach the underworld. They journey through the darkness and fear of the underground and emerge in a realm of sputtering volcanoes and tarpits. The darkness possibly symbolises the journey through the mythical underworld in order to appear on the other end. But before the dinosaurs can get to the Great Valley they have to tie up loose ends and defeat the obstacle that holds them back from achieving true happiness. This is sharp-tooth. They concoct a plan to bait him and then drown him in the middle of a deep pond. They succeed and proceed to their destination with the guiding spirit of Littlefoot's mother. When people have near death experiences they do report having being visited by the spirit of a deceased loved one who guided them towards a bright light. The bright light in this case is the glorious sun shining on the lucious, abundant Great Valley. In the Great Valley they are reunited with all their loved ones and as the narration says, lead happy lives. If the unecessary sequels hadn't ruined this image, this theory would be a lot more plausible.

The land before Time is an exploration of the journey through life and death and eventually the aferlife, where one is unencumbered by the guilt and strife experienced in life.
The subtext of this film is probably why I've re-visited it so much over the years when children of today find it so difficult to even remember that they watched 'Sammy's First Adventure' the day before.

Was God an Astronaut?

It was this very question that had me standing in the airport bookshop feeling slightly embarrassed to approach the cashier with Erich von Daniken's 'Chariots of the Gods'.

 I've known about the novel for awhile now, chiefly because of the History Channel show, Ancient Aliens. The recent Ridley Scott film, Prometheus is said to be loosely based on the ideas from 'Chariots of the Gods'. The hypothesis is that in Ancient times, there is no specification here- it could be the era of Ancient Egypt or possibly the time of the Incas or Mayans, it could even be the time of the Dinosaurs or the latter part of World War One, extra-terestrials visited Earth. Now this is where it gets a bit shady. It was possible that they found early humans and used their status as "Gods" to enslave them, making them build structures like the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Nazca line. We don't quite know why they would have done this. T.hey may have needed some observatories, reminders of their time on earth, landing strips etc. According to Ancient Alien theory we don't really need to know why...just how will suffice.

The sub-theory is that not only did Aliens land on earth in 'ancient times' but the homo-sapiens that they came into contact with were not the humans we know today. In fact they looked very different and were primitive and un-thinking, this did not serve the Alien need for a mindless, subservient workforce to build their pyramids so they had to mix their DNA in their mobile, on board labs to create something altogether sublime. An alien-human hybrid that Daniken and Giorgio A Tsoukalos, consulting producer of Ancient Aliens, believe are actually our ancestors! Yes not only was our ancient world defiled by a power hungry alien race and all the structures we consider incredible acts of the human race actually given to us by these darned aliens that we were too poor and too stupid to see as anything but Gods, but we are in fact, The Aliens!

I like Ancient Alien theory not neccessarily because it makes sense or reveals as promised by the Erich von daniken book 'the mysteries of the universe', but rather because its just so entertaining. I am so bored with religions that just want to tell you that God is symbolic and 'in your heart' or 'all around you'. Ancient Alien enthusiasts believe that God really existed and he was an extra-terrestrial astronaut! His flying chariots were really spacecrafts, his garden of Eden was in reality a labratory used for artificially inseminating the primitive human beings with superior Alien sperm so that we may be the more perfect beings we are today. Heck! Even Jesus was an alien, so was Buddha, so was the Grim Reaper. Did you know that even sushi, pickled ginger and wasabi are alien inventions according to Ancient Aliens the series?

Ancient Alien theorists have possibly become just a little too swollen with pride since the series has been renewed for a fifth season. Erich von Daniken's novel, published in 1968, has an air of courage. The courage to put forward a theory that he knew many would scoff at, the bravery to say 'No I dont have all the answers but this is just a theory!' The clarity of mind to include some fuzzy photographs of archeological digs and ancient sculptures so that readers may feel like he's not just getting this from thin air. This is something that the series thoroughly lacks, for that have stopped trying to prove that ancient aliens existed but now seek only to illustrate how they lived, what they did and when they will be returning.

Top Ten Animals in Movies.

A few days ago I watched 'War Horse', knowing full well that it would be the type of movie that would make me cry as all animal movies do. Seriously there's no animal movie that won't make me cry! I cried in Homeward Bound, Bambi, Two Brothers...when I see animals being emotional and cute the floodgates open!
So that's why I decided to compile a list of my top ten favourite animals in movies.

10. Church the cat from Pet Semetary

This seems like a weird choice but I watched Pet Semetary again recently and this cat has so much personality! It spends the first half of the movie mainly in a glass case and gets its balls chopped off! Then comes back from the dead thanks to the native american burial ground (them native americans always leaving burial grounds lying around) and basically becomes a zombie cat. However even as a zombie cat his personality is still pretty much like a normal cat...cat owners wouls concur that once you've owned a cat the scene where Church drops the mauled rat into the bath is not so horrifying after all the cat kills you've witnessed.

9. Baloo and Bagheera from the Jungle Book

I'm counting these two as one animal because they compliment eachother so well.
Bagheera is so wise and such a cat and Baloo so fun loving and jovial, what more could a feral child ask for?
Also they're Indian so I'm being patriotic.

8. Sebastian the Crab from The Little Mermaid

Sebastian is extremely cool! Not only does he have an awesome accent but he's also loving and protective, gives good advice and is as good a performer as Freddie Mercury! I would have included Ariel too but after thinking about it long and hard I realised she was more human than animal.

7. A Velociraptor from Jurassic Park.

Ok so, I know this is a scary animal and also a dinosaur but if you're thinking that dinosaurs shouldnt have been included on this list they you may as well stop reading now!
Velociraptors became my favourite dinosaur after I watched Jurassic Park, before that I didnt know much about them. I reject the idea of them being covered in feathers as paleontologists have recently suggested and prefer to think of them like this. Lithe, scaly creatures with peircing eyes and human-like intelligence. Also they obviously don't have names because they were running around killing everyone before they barely got acquainted but I'm going to say my favourite is the instigator one that Robert Muldoon is obsessed with.

6. Willy from Free Willy

 This Orca is beautiful and seemingly docile despite the fact that in reality Orca's are terrifying, blood thirsty animals. I loved this movie when I was a kid and thought that one day I might become a dolphin trainer and have an orca as my best friend. This is the problem with movies like this though, the point of the movie is overshadowed by the cuteness of the animal so what should have been a catalyst to free orcas actually became an incentive to enslave them.

5. Black Beauty from Black Beauty.

Ok, now would be the time to admit that I was once one of the horse obsessed little girls with the full riding get-up, reading stables and spending every waking moment at the actual stables. I read black beauty when I was proably about 6 or 7 and when the movie came out around that time I fell in love with this horse! All I ever wanted was a black stallion to ride but my parents wouldnt even get me a my little pony toy.

4. Joey from War Horse

Eventhough I just watched this movie this horse is one of my all time favourites! He is so beautiful and clever.
I balled my eyes out when he had to plough the field, in the rain! And pulling the artillery himself to save his horse friend was so compassionate and heroic! this is an amazing horse!

3. Balto from Balto

There had to be atleast one dog on this list and I choose Balto! Balto is hard-working, loyal and sensitive and he was a real dog not just an animated movie. He's also half wolf, as can be seen from the screen shot and therefore dealing with issues of being mixed race, or rather mixed species which makes him complex and broody but also very cool. PS: other wolves I like are Ghost from game of thrones and Akela from The Jungle book.

2. Richard Parker from Life of Pi

Richard Parker, so named because a hunter named Richard Parker found the tiger drinking from a stream and called him Thirsty. When he sold the tiger to the Pondicherry Zoological Gardens the names on the forms got mixed up so the hunter's name was Thirsty and the tiger was named Richard Parker for ever after that. I loved this tiger in the book and the film brought him to life in all his glory. Majestic, powerful and deadly. He shows emotion, and keeps Pi alive but, atypically for most films featuring animals he never stops being a tiger.

1. Littlefoot from The Land Before Time.

Yes a dinosaur is number 1! Littlefoot is the leader of the baby dinosaurs, sensitive, innocent and grieving and that's what makes him the cutest little animal ever. However I actually love all the baby dinosaurs, even Cera. This movie was my childhood! My dad rented it for me 3 times a week for 3 weeks before he realised he was going to have to track down a copy and buy it.  I became so obsessed with it that I watched it every night before bed for a whole year, Its a wonder that my VHS didnt get horribly unwound. I started a tradition in the family that every child that came after me also became mildy obsessed with the land before time. My teachers in grade 2 thought I was a child genius after witnessing me tell the story of the little dinosaur who goes on a quest after his mother dies, it was only later that I admitted my plaguerism, never to be believed again. this film is beautiful and for me no other animation matched up to it, not even The Lion King. It didnt sugar-coat death and grief, it was real and yet somehow beautiful. The soundtrack was perfect and the narration, by Pat Hingle, set the tone for a coming of age and profound film.

Bridal Shower Blues

The bridal shower, bachelorette, kitchen tea, hen party whatever you want to call it, is supposedly meant to be the happiest day of your life bar the actual wedding. What could be better than a room full of women fawning over you, copious amounts of alcohol, possible strippers, gifts of lacy lingerie that would normally cost a fortune?

But that's a bridal shower in the perfect world. In this very down to earth world the bride is fighting with her mom therefore doesnt want her at her bridal shower, the bride's cousin, who's been planning the bridal shower since the bride was 2 years old has completely taken over with a playboy theme and samoosa platters and the 'bridesmaids' who are meant to be planning the bridal shower are in way over their heads, being more used to bring and braais than events described by the bride's cousin as being 'a touch of class'.

So now the lingerie is probably not happening as it should because no one can gauge the bride's bra size, the copious amounts of alcohol needs to rationed so when the alcohol runs out its time for everyone to go home, the possibility of strippers has been dashed by the presence of the bride's mother as has all possible talk of sex toys, sex exploits or basically sex of any kind. On top of that the bride no longer has a functioning bathroom and toilet thanks to what seems to be deranged plumbers.

I can tell you one thing. If I ever get married my bridal shower is going to be sushi and gin and some Jeremy Renner movies. There is no way I ever want anyone to go through this much admin!

Being an Adult- Why it sucks

Who decided the age which one is supposed to be an adut by?
I mean isnt it totally arbritrary?
There was a time that 21st keys  were being handed over to virginal young whippersnappers still living at home. Then it changed to 18 and now it seems as though 14 year olds are buying property and looking at life insurance policies.
According the laws of society especially the Indian laws of Indian society I should be married with two children by now and be buying my parents cars as birthday presents.
Where have I gone off track?

Here's a list of 5 reasons why being an adult sucks...

1.) You can't ask mom and dad for money anymore:
This seems obvious but first lets explore how much of a big deal this is. previously eventhough you may have been earning your own spending money, you probably always spent until you only had 50 cents left in your account and then came along daddy to bail you out when you then desperately needed money for text books. No more! Now even if you have 50 cents you'll just have to deal with it and starve! yes starve! never have I identified more with the term starving artist than now when i am literally starving to death.
In the world of chartered accountants and actuarial scientists this may not be such a big problem because you're one of those people, buying your parents holiday homes with your first salary. In the world of semi-employed would-be journalists this is a major dilemma!

2.) This is a combined sucky reason with why it sucks to no longer be a student:
you can't get discount rates at the zoo. Not only at the zoo, pubs, restuarants, student flights. All things you can't claim anymore because you're a goddamn filthy adult.

3) break-ups are treated as a family crisis instead of a personal issue because you're an adult now and everyone is scared you may never get married. in fact you're treated as an untouchable and every week after your break-up you get calls from not only your mother but grandmother and aunties to check if you've found someone new yet because the scent of the fallen woman is upon you and god forbid you might be trying to support yourself without a husband, you didnt study Bcom afterall.

4.) The point at which you're at your regular place and suddenly realise that the age range has dropped by about 5-8 years. And when you strike up a conversation with the group next to you and they ask how old are you "25" is met with large, awestruck eyes and murmering "Woah...."

5.) Girls Season 1, episode 2- when you start wishing you had AIDs so people would get off your case about finding a job, paying rent and taking an html course.

Cloud Atlas

Everything about Cloud Atlas gives the impression of being epic. The trailer evokes a sense of greatness in not only the length itself but the cast list, the music, the montage of various flashing scenes. in my opinion the trailer actually worked against the film, in that the viewer begins to form the opinion that the film is perhaps pretentious, boring or confusing.

Despite my negative reaction to the trailer I still decided to watch the film and was really suprised to find a thoughtful and emotive piece of work. The Washowski's are nothing if not visionary and while I did not read the bestselling novel on which the film is based i can only imagine that they've interpreted it in both a true and unique way.

Cloud Atlas, while seeming from the trailer to be something akin to Inception 2 is in fact a simple concept. It darts back and forth through time, from the 1800s to the 1930s to modern day then to a highly commercial world and then eventually to a post-apocalyptic earth after a fall of some kind. In each world are the same souls who meet again and again. What the film shows is how small acts can ripple across time to create gigantic movements.

The film is visually breathtaking and is one of the most expensive independant films ever made. The score is haunting, particularly the cloud atlas sextet which features as part of the storyline. the acting is very good if you can try to slightly disregard Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. Jim Broadbent brings a really warm and humorous presence to the film and Korean actress Doona Bae speaks volumes with her intense gaze, Jim Sturgess is also very good and the inclusion of Hugh Grant playing a variety of villainous characters is brilliant. All the actors play multiple roles in multiple time sequences, there are no boundaries with regards to race and even gender. This gives the film a unique and entertaining twist. As you watch, you will spot certain characters but when the credits role and a plethora of suprising castings come to light, as a viewer you will be shocked. Before watching the film try to picture Hugh Grant as a pacific island cannibal, Ben Wishaw as middle aged woman and Susan Sarandon as an old male scientist. The inversions are done to shock but are also done so well and so naturally that you will be shocked.

I wouldnt say that I loved Cloud Atals and I do believe that it was slightly too ambitious and didnt follow through as well as it could have. The length of the film could also be off-putting but I would say that it's worth a watch. There were some emotional and thought-provoking scenes for me and I cannot discount the evident visual talent that these two filmmakers have.

Cleaning out the proverbial wardrobe.

Tomorrow I'm having a jumble sale, both as a neccessary means of living in a small two bedroom flat with no storage space and as a inauguration of the new me. The old me was clinging to 11-12 year old dresses and trying to squeeze them over a twenty- five year old body in the hope of wearing something resembling a baby-doll top. This being because I cannot let go of things.

Included in my jumble sale are such items as the grey jacket that never once, not even in the actual store, fitted me properly, the ankle boots that made my feet bleed and the necklace which caused me to break out in a rash. why do I have things that hurt me so much still living in my wardrobe, because quite simply I'm the kind of girl that tries to make a bad thing work. I fear the unknown so I'd rather stick to the theoretically comfortable dress that makes me look like a circus bear. I'm not masochistic though, I think I'm just hopeful.

As with so many things in life the cleaning out of my wardrobe for this sale made me think about the other aspects of my life that need cleaning out. Mainly what I've been thinking about is cleaning my proverbial wardrobe out of people that no longer mean much to me, have hurt me and continue to do so or just serve no purpose in my life anymore. Lots of my friends have a facebook springclean where they edit their 'friends'  down to people they've had some form of verbal communication with. But what about all those people in your life hanging around you, sometimes 'close' friends who continually disappoint you, who have that special way of making you cry or take so much from you without giving anything back?

It's just like those clothes in your wardrobe that you know you need to get rid off. The shirt with a button missing that is so gorgeous and you wish you could wear it but if only it just had that one button then it would be perfect! The dress that grabs a bit of your skin in its zipper everytime you zip it up. It doesnt fit anymore, once it looked beautiful on you. But times have changed and it no longer fits you as well as it once did.

These are those friends in your life that maybe need to be expelled or cut off in some way. What masochistic pleasure can one possibly get from trying on the same jeans over and over and finding that its always just too damn tight? It makes you look horrible, it makes you feel horrible so why keep it around when you could have jeans that make you look and feel like a movie star?

When it comes to friends, for me there are only two things that depending on which way its going will either gain my admiration of a friend or make me upset and disappointed with them.
One is that they give to me as much as I give to them. This seems like a cliche but it is one of the most important things in any relationship. As human beings we experience things only in relation to ourselves. To not receive the same amount of affection, praise, time etc as you are giving someone else will disappoint anyone but it is a particular bone of contention for me. I left home when I was 17 and often i was travelling alone, staying with friends, away from my family. Therefore, in many ways, friends have become part of my family. This is why giving and receiving is so important to me. I would expect it from my parents, sibling and cousins, why should friends be exempt?

The second thing that disappoints me in my friend relationships is the lack of showing up. I always show up, if a friend needs my help or support I'll always find a way to be there. I have so many friends who will do the same and I admire that immensely. For my twenty-fourth brithday my sister planned a suprise party for me. It worked so well and I never suspected a thing because my sister's elaborate plan was to be nonchalant about my birthday and allow me to plan my own little dinner except that none of my friends could make it. They all had excuses and other plans. The day before my birthday I cried for hours with my sister about how all they needed to do was show up and they couldnt even do that!
 I can't even explain the emotion I felt when on the day of my birthday I walked into a room filled with all my friends that had told me they couldnt come, they all showed up!
I just dont understand the type of friend who doesnt show up just for the sake of it when just showing up would mean so much and cost so little.

I think that if this jumble sale has taught me one thing its the importance of cleaning out one's proverbial wardrobe. Just like the zip that won't go up, it doesnt mean that just because it doesnt fit you it won't fit someone else. Maybe someone else will love it, it's just not right for you anymore and sadly maybe it was never right for you at all.