H.P. Lovecraft is one of the most influential horror writers ever, inspiring many writers inside and outside that genre. You can find his imprint all over geek culture — in role playing and board games, in fanfiction and fan art, in filk music, in cosplay, and in countless crafts.
How do you reconcile your love for someone’s art when you can’t stand their beliefs? In Lovecraft’s case, many people have written their own books within the Cthulhu Mythos that directly engage with racism.
I first encountered this sort of fresh take on Lovecraft when I heard an interview with Victor LaValle, author of The Ballad of Black Tom. About a year later, I learned about Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys. Intrigued, I decided to read these books… but to truly understand them, that meant I needed to read Lovecraft.
Until recently, virtually all of my knowledge about Lovecraft’s literature was second-hand. I read The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath when I was a kid, but with its armies of cats and glibbering, meeping ghouls, it is more weird fantasy than horror. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t feel the desire to read more Lovecraft either. Instead, I took in Lovecraft in other ways. I saw The Curse (a horrible movie based on “The Color Out of Space”) with a college boyfriend. That same year, I played endless games of Call of Cthulhu. When I started going to cons, I enjoyed Cthulhu sightings among the arts and crafts on display. And I read Neil Gaiman’s amusing “A Study in Emerald,” a mashup of Lovecraft and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I finally picked up a collection of Lovecraft’s short stories and novellas last year. I read “The Horror of Red Hook,” on which LaValle’s book is based, “The Shadow Over Innsmouth,” which inspired Winter Tide, and much more. At first I thought, “This isn’t that scary.” Then one night I had a disturbing dream that mixed “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” with “At the Mountains of Madness,” and I had to set Lovecraft aside for a while. Other people may have had different experiences, but I found that Lovecraft’s horror is the kind that creeps up on you, grabbing you just when you thought you were safe.
Once I was better acquainted with Lovecraft, I was prepared for the books by LaValle and Emrys. In addition to those, I also read Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, which I ran across in a library display.
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
The Ballad of Black Tom is a short but masterful retelling of “The Horror at Red Hook” from the point of view of a black man. Tom is drawn reluctantly into the world of Robert Suydam, a white man with an interest in the Old Ones. I don’t want to give too much away, because the story didn’t go where I expected it to go. I will say that LaValle has developed a brilliant twist on Lovecraft’s original story. Tom is a complex character, neither victim nor hero — and in the end, that’s what makes this book so good.
Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys
Unlike the other two Lovecraft-inspired books in this post, Winter Tide isn’t horror. It’s a melancholy, beautiful novel that turns “The Shadow Over Innsmouth” on its head. Lovecraft’s Innsmouth is peopled by monsters. Emrys asks, “What if the people of Innsmouth were viewed as monsters simply because they were different?”
The story takes place shortly after World War II. Prior to the war, the U.S. government rounded up the people of Innsmouth and placed them in an internment camp. By the time Japanese Americans were sent there, only a few of the original prisoners were left. At the war’s end, Aphra Marsh and her brother, Caleb, were the only “people of the water” to walk free.
Aphra surrounds herself with others on the fringes of society: the Japanese American family that became her second family at the camp, the gay bookseller she works with, a gay Jewish FBI Agent she sometimes assists, a college student who — as a woman — is denied access to the knowledge available to men, a black woman who is a secret agent for the FBI. At the government’s request, Aphra and her teammates search for someone who has knowledge of bodyswapping. But Aphra and Caleb have a more personal quest: to find what remains of their heritage and their people. Winter Tide is a good read that adds depth to the Mythos. In July, Tor released Emrys’ follow-up novel, Deep Roots.
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Lovecraft Country is a novel made up of short stories, each of which propels the plot forward. The book is set primarily in 1950s Chicago, though characters journey to other places, even outside the known universe. Lovecraft Country begins with Atticus Turner, a black man who discovers that he is a descendant of Titus Braithwhite, a slave-trader and dabbler in the occult. The current living Braithwhite patriarch and his son have also discovered Atticus’ ancestry. They’re eager to make use of the fact that he is related to them, yet “lesser” in their eyes. Each story within the novel is told from the point of view of one of Atticus’ family members or friends, all of whom are drawn into the orbit of the Braithwhite family and its enemies — living or dead.
The stories range from terrifying to amusing. “Horace and the Devil Doll,” told from the point of view of Atticus’ young cousin, is truly frightening. “Dreams of the Which House” has occasional tense moments, but the main character’s stubborn determination to own a house, even though it is haunted and in a white neighborhood, pushes the story from horror to comedy by the end. I loved all three of the books I mention in this post, but Lovecraft Country is my favorite — the sort of book that is hard to put down.
LaValle, Emrys, and Ruff are hardly the only people to re-imagine Lovecraft in liberating ways. Bryan Thao Worra’s essay (linked to above but also here for your convenience) has given me new avenues to pursue. And since I started my Lovecraftian journey with The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, I almost certainly should read The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe. There is no shortage of writers willing to use Lovecraft’s Mythos to engage the very things that trouble us most about him. Looks like humankind is triumphing over the bleak chaos of Lovecraft’s gods after all! 😉
My mother’s family has a great love for books. Visit any one of my maternal relatives, and you will not want for reading material. Over years of visits to my grandparents’ house, I made friends with many of the books in their extensive home library. Every time I’d go to their house, I’d find myself returning to certain favorites. Among the books I loved was The Brandywine Heritage, which features the art of Howard Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, and James (Jamie) Wyeth. I leafed through the book many times, looking at the pictures, but I never bothered to read the introduction.
The Brandywine Heritage was published by the Brandywine River Museum in 1971, the year the museum opened. The museum features the art of the Wyeth family and other area artists, including Howard Pyle, who founded the Brandywine School. If you know Pyle, you know that he was an outstanding illustrator active in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He taught several students who went on to have successful careers, among them N.C. Wyeth, also an exceptional illustrator. Three of Wyeth’s children — Andrew, Henriette, and Carolyn — went on to become artists themselves. (Neither daughter is featured in the book; to be fair, Henriette’s most famous work — a portrait of Pat Nixon — was painted several years after the book was published.) James, Andrew’s second son, also became an artist, studying under his aunt Carolyn.
I’m not recommending this book because of its size. I recently requested it through interlibrary loan and was shocked when I picked it up; I’d remembered it as much larger. It has 18 color plates and 80 black-and-white illustrations. Beyond the nine-page introduction, there is no narrative text. It also does not include Andrew’s most famous painting, Christina’s World. I had sworn I first saw the painting in this book, so that was another surprise.
Despite its small size, I still love this book, because it provides a fascinating look at four generations of artists. You can get a sense of that even without reading the introduction. But I finally bothered with the introduction this time, and I appreciated the opportunity to learn a little more about these artists.
Of course, the art is beautiful. You’ll find Pyle’s pirates and some of his illustrations that are themselves stories. Before the section on N.C. Wyeth’s art, there is a series of paintings completed by Pyle and his students, including a marvelous Canadian trapper viewed from a point somewhere near his feet. The section on the eldest Wyeth begins with drawings of Native Americans from the Southwest and includes some of his illustrations for Treasure Island. Andrew’s section includes engaging portraits and spare landscapes. The section devoted to James includes some of his studies of the Kennedys, his finished painting of JFK, and a number of paintings that focus on one thing: a bronze bell, a boat, the base of a tree trunk, a pig.
The Brandywine Heritage is out of print, which is a pity. It chronicles not only the work of four generations of painters but also the beginning of a museum. While experts on these artists may find that this book is not enough to satisfy them, people like me, who appreciate art but are not art historians, will enjoy exploring the chain of influence from Howard Pyle to James Wyeth.
I’ve always told myself I wouldn’t use my “something wonderful” posts to review things that were already quite popular, so I initially thought I’d never write about Studio Ghibli. It seems like everyone I know is familiar with at least some of co-founder Hayao Miyazaki’s work. But a short conversation with someone outside of my circle of friends made it clear to me that many people haven’t even heard of Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro, much less watched them. So I decided to cover Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki after all.
If you are among those who have no idea what I’m talking about, here’s a brief introduction to Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
What is Studio Ghibli? And, who is Hayao Miyazaki?
Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio, co-founded in 1985 by Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Takahata created excellent animated features during his lifetime, but Miyazaki has a magic touch; he wrote and directed the studio’s best-known films outside of Japan. If you have watched only a few Studio Ghibli films, I’m willing to bet that they were all Miyazaki’s work.
Miyazaki is a master storyteller, and his movies are always beautifully animated. Although each of his films is distinct from the others, certain themes pop up frequently in his work:
Flight. Miyazaki has the heart of an aviator. Castle in the Sky involves airships and a floating city. A witch’s ability to fly is at the heart of Kiki’s Delivery Service. Porco Rosso is about an aviator, and The Wind Rises is about an aeronautical engineer.
Magic. Miyazaki is one of those people who, to steal a phrase from a friend, “Went to fairyland and never came back.” His films frequently feature wizards, witches, or mythical beings. Miyazaki’s world is infused with magic.
The environment. Many of Miyazaki’s films touch on the importance of preserving nature. Princess Mononoke and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind both feature a conflict between humans and nature. Ponyo’s father, the sorcerer Fujimoto, is deeply concerned about what humans are doing to the world, particularly to the oceans. And when Ponyo decides to become a human, she throws the balance of nature out of whack.
War. Miyazaki is hardly the only Japanese film-maker and animator to touch on war. You can find the scars of Hiroshima and Nagasaki everywhere from Godzilla movies to Star Blazers. War is present in many of Miyazaki’s films, and it’s never glorified.
Absentee parents. Many people have noticed how many Disney characters are motherless children. Similarly, one or both parents are often missing in Miyazaki’s films, though they aren’t necessarily dead. In My Neighbor Totoro, Satsuki and Mei’s mother is in the hospital. In Ponyo, Sosuke’s father is a captain on a fishing boat, so busy with his work that he’s never home. Pazu and Sheeta, the main characters in Castle in the Sky, are both orphans. And I’m just getting started.
Strong female characters. If you want great female role models for your children, Miyazaki’s movies are the way to go. Girls are often central characters in his stories. They are brave and powerful. San and Lady Eboshi, two female characters in Princess Mononoke, are strong opposing forces in the struggle between humans and nature. Chihiro of Spirited Away is on a mission to save her parents… and in the process, she rescues other beings in the spirit world. Ponyo is unstoppable in her quest to become a human.
Joe Hisaishi’s music adds to the magic.
Miyazaki’s masterful storytelling isn’t all that makes so many Studio Ghibli features masterpieces. Many of his best films have gorgeous scores composed by Joe Hisaishi. Search for “Ghibli Music” on YouTube and you’ll find several long compilations of music from the movies; most of the songs on these compilations will be Hisaishi’s. You can listen to jazz versions, piano versions, harp versions, music box versions. And like John Williams, Hisaishi composes concert-worthy film scores.
Disney has played a key role in bringing these films to the U.S.
Before Disney got involved, Miyazaki’s work was already making it over to the U.S. in subtitled or dubbed versions. But Disney knows a good thing when they see it, and in the mid-’90s they began distributing Studio Ghibli films outside of Japan. They arranged for high-quality English dubs and re-dubs, bringing in renowned actors to do the voice work. While I generally prefer to watch anime with subtitles, I enjoy most of Disney’s English dubs.
What follows is by no means an exhaustive list of the works of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. I couldn’t get my hands on one Studio Ghibli film — Ocean Waves — and Miyazaki has had a very prolific career. Several of his short films can be viewed only at the Studio Ghibli museum in Japan. That said, I included as many films as I could, and even a couple of television series — one that Miyazaki directed for a while, and another that was co-produced by Studio Ghibli. Unless you are a big Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli fan already, I hope that this list will either introduce you to these films for the first time or at least introduce you to some work that you didn’t already know.
I’ve arranged this list from “must-sees” — the movies that I strongly urge you to watch, even if you never watch another Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli film beyond those — to a few that I encourage you to skip, unless you are a die-hard fan who feels the urge to watch everything. Although most of the trailers I found don’t capture the movies the way I wish they did, I’ve included trailers whenever possible to give you a taste of each film or series.
Must-Sees
Castle in the Sky (1986) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
When I think of my favorite Studio Ghibli films, this is the first one that comes to mind. A fantasy with a touch of steampunk, Castle in the Sky jumps into action right from the start as an airship is attacked by sky pirates. Miyazaki delivers lots of adventure studded with moments of quiet beauty, such as a visit to a garden on a legendary floating island. This is a great starting point for people who are new to Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
My Neighbor Totoro is the classic Studio Ghibli film. Totoro is incorporated in the studio’s logo, and you can find all sorts of stuffed toys and other gifts featuring the character. This sweet film is one of two ideal Studio Ghibli starting points for young children (the other is Ponyo). The action and adventure in this movie are on a smaller, more personal scale than Castle in the Sky, well-suited to a younger audience. I don’t know anyone who isn’t completely taken with the magical creatures in the story — not only Totoro (particularly the big Totoro) but also “soot sprites” and a Catbus.
Spirited Away (2001) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
When Spirited Away won Best Animated Feature in the 75th Academy Awards, that may have been the tipping point that moved Miyazaki from a cult favorite to a famous name in the United States. This story is a fairy tale in which the hero, a girl named Chihiro, must rescue her parents from a curse and escape from the spirit world. As in many fairy tales, Chihiro befriends magical beings who help her on her quest. While the formula is classic, the story and characters are like nothing you’ve seen before. Except for the soot sprites…
Princess Mononoke (1997) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
This powerful film is not for young children. A fairy tale with strong environmentalist themes, Princess Monoke is about a war between humans and the beings of the surrounding forest. The characters are complex; neither side in this war is wholly good or wholly evil. The movie is very violent and very moving.
Ponyo (2008) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
This is the other film that I consider a great Studio Ghibli starting point for young children. Ponyo, the fish-child of a sorcerer and a sea goddess, escapes from home and befriends a human child. Once she has had a literal taste of the human world, she will let nothing stop her from rejoining her friend as a human herself — thus upsetting the balance of nature. The story is clearly inspired by “The Little Mermaid,” and it’s the best take on that fairy tale that I’ve ever seen (albeit very different from the original).
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Howl’s Moving Castle is based on the book by Diana Wynne Jones, though it has been simplified for the screen. While I can be a purist about these things, I think the simplification was necessary. Most of the Miyazaki movies I love best are original stories or, in the case of Ponyo, complete reinterpretations, but this is one of the happy exceptions to that rule. It’s also one of the few Miyazaki films with a full-fledged romance.
The Cat Returns (2002) — Written by Reiko Yoshida and directed by Hiroyuki Morita
The Cat Returns is the only non-Miyazaki anime from Studio Ghibli that I consider a must-see. Although the animation isn’t as beautiful as the other movies in this group, I enjoy the story and characters. Haru is an awkward teenager who rescues a cat. Unfortunately, he turns out to be cat royalty, and his father sees fit to reward Haru by arranging for her marriage to his son. With the help of Muta (a cat), the Baron (a cat figurine that comes to life), and Toto (a raven), Haru tries to escape an unwanted marriage and gains confidence in the process. This movie is actually the sequel to Whisper of the Heart (below), but it stands on its own. The score, by Yuji Nomi, is lovely.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was created before the founding of Studio Ghibli. The story is an environmental fable about a post-apocalyptic world in which humans fight for survival among poisonous forests filled with angry insects. It’s pretty heavy, so I don’t recommend it for small children. Despite the serious subject matter, I strongly suggest you don’t miss Miyazaki’s breakthrough film.
Highly Recommended
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
My child was offended that I listed this film as “highly recommended” instead of “must-see,” but this is, after all, just my opinion. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a lovely story about a young witch who moves away from home and establishes (surprise!) a delivery service. The movie is cute, your kids (if you have any) will love it, and you will enjoy watching it with them; however, I don’t think it measures up to the very best of Miyazaki’s movies — perhaps because it was based on an existing book rather than coming straight from his imagination.
Porco Rosso (1992) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Once upon a time, an aviator named Marco was turned into a pig… or rather, a sort of pig-man. Porco Rosso takes place after that transformation. It’s a sweet story, but it is probably more to adult tastes than many of Miyazaki’s movies.
The Wind Rises (2013) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
The Wind Rises is Miyazaki’s last film to date. A loving tribute to a Japanese aircraft designer, this movie is both sad and beautiful. Before you watch it with your children, keep in mind that there is some disturbing content, including an earthquake and a character who suffers from tuberculosis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QFBZgAZx7g
The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) — Written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
Based on The Borrowers, The Secret World of Arrietty is an engaging film that retains the spirit of the book, but — like Kiki’s Delivery Service — it doesn’t have that spark that makes it a must-see. It also lacks the depth of most of Miyazaki’s films, so while most adults won’t mind watching it, the movie probably has greater appeal for children.
My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) — Written and directed by Isao Takahata
This sweet, funny anime is a series of shorts about family. The animation style is very different from most Studio Ghibli films, but it is beautiful in its own way. Overall, I thought the movie was a delightful exploration of the ups and downs of family life.
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) — Written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa and directed by Gorō Miyazaki
You’re going to see the name “Gorō Miyazaki” pop up occasionally on this list; one of Hayao Miyazaki’s sons, he has begun directing some anime with mixed success. From Up on Poppy Hill is probably one of his best-loved anime, a coming-of-age film set in 1960s Japan. Much of the focus of the film is on a convoluted romance between the two main characters, so it will probably appeal more to older children and adults.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-rhgSCAqDU
Whisper of the Heart (1995) — Written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Yoshifumi Kondō
The Baron from The Cat Returns was first introduced in this movie, though his role here is very different. The Baron never truly comes to life, except in the imagination of Shizuku, a young writer. This coming-of-age film gets a bit angst-y at times and has a somewhat awkward romance, but it’s worth seeing, despite those bumpy patches.
Only Yesterday (1991) — Written and directed by Isao Takahata
This slice-of-life movie alternates between the story of 27-year-old Taeko, a woman on vacation in the country, and flashbacks to her childhood. At times, it felt like it dragged on, but sometimes the most mundane scenes — such as one in which the adult Taeko assists with a harvest — are absolutely beautiful. The story continues into the end credits, so don’t stop watching when the credits roll.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013) — Written by Isao Takahata and Riko Sakaguchi and directed by Isao Takahata
The Tale of Princess Kaguya is one of the most beautifully animated movies I’ve ever seen. Based on a Japanese folktale, the film tells a heart-breaking story about a miraculous child who is forced into a role she doesn’t want. Its runtime is more than two hours, but it never bogs down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM6hcHp0_kU
The Castle of Cagliostro (1979) — Written by Hayao Miyazaki and Haruya Yamazaki and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
This is another of Miyazaki’s pre-Studio Ghibli movies, part of an enormous body of work about Lupin III, a master thief. Miyazaki had already done work on part one of the Lupin III television series when he was hired to direct The Castle of Cagliostro, the second theatrically released movie. This isn’t really like Miyazaki’s later work — after all, he was working with a pre-existing character — but it’s fun and action-packed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJudurbkv1E
Not Bad, But…
Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter (2014-15) — Written by Hiroyuki Kawasaki and directed by Gorō Miyazaki
This series almost doesn’t count as a Studio Ghibli film; it was co-produced by Studio Ghibli, but the animation was done by Polygon Pictures. The series is an extremely faithful adaptation of Astrid Lindgren’s Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter — in fact, while I’m normally a fan of faithful adaptations, I feel like they could have made some cuts and hurried the story along a little. The animation bugged me and my child a bit in the beginning, but we got used to it. Overall, it’s a high-quality series — the kind that might run on PBS. Right now it is streaming on Amazon Prime; according to Wikipedia, it will eventually be released by GKIDS.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988) — Written and directed by Isao Takahata
Grave of the Fireflies is an anime classic, so I feel a little guilty about putting it on this part of the list, but it is extremely depressing. I do willingly watch and appreciate sad movies, but in my opinion, the merits of this one don’t outweigh how hard it is to watch. The movie definitely does a great job illustrating the horrors of war.
When Marnie Was There (2014) — Written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
When Marnie Was There is based on a book by the same name. At the time of this writing, its Wikipedia entry notes that the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is that it is “still blessed with enough visual and narrative beauty to recommend, even if it isn’t quite as magical as Studio Ghibli’s greatest works.” Perhaps that lack of magic is why I couldn’t bring myself to put this on my “highly recommended” list. Yes, it is beautiful, but now that I’ve seen it once, I don’t need to see it again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZq4uuMP8ss
Sherlock Hound (1984-85) — Various writers and directors, including Hayao Miyazaki
Miyazaki directed the first six episodes of this Sherlock Holmes-inspired series. It is a not-unpleasant cartoon for young children, but after five episodes, I thought, “Okay, that’s enough.” (This was before I realized that Miyazaki had not directed all 26 episodes in the series. I might have powered through one more, but by the time I learned that I had only one Miyazaki episode left, I didn’t feel that going back to watch that episode would change my opinion of the series.) I wouldn’t go as far as to say, “Don’t bother,” but I also don’t think you need to make an effort to see these.
Only for Die-hard Fans
Tales from Earthsea (2006) — Written by Gorō Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa and directed by Gorō Miyazaki
Tales from Earthsea is very loosely based on some of the Earthsea novels, particularly The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. (Apparently Ursula LeGuin said, “It is not my book. It is your movie.”) This is one of the least popular Studio Ghibli movies ever produced, although apparently it did well in the box office in Japan. Even if the movie stood on its own and didn’t pretend to be based on LeGuin’s novels, it’s surprisingly dull for its genre. Or maybe I was just sleepy when I watched it.
Pom Poko (1994) — Written and directed by Isao Takahata
Maybe I don’t like Pom Poko because it doesn’t speak to me culturally. The movie is an environmental tale about a group of tanuki, Japanese raccoon dogs, that declare war on the developers who are destroying their forest. Certain elements of Japanese folklore about tanuki show up in this movie — including the notion that they have shape-shifting powers, as well as an emphasis on the size of their testicles. While there’s a lot of humor, Pom Poko is also very sad. There are scenes that are littered with dead tanuki. And while the movie is “only” 119 minutes long, it seems to drag on and on.
Panda! Go, Panda! (1972) — Written by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Isao Takahata
I used to check Panda! Go, Panda! out from the library for my child to watch (without actually watching it myself — shame on me). She enjoyed it, so when I started working on this post and found I could no longer get the movie from the library, I bought it, thinking it would be a worthwhile addition to our collection of Miyazaki and Ghibli-related films. That was a mistake. The dubbing is extremely annoying — particularly the voice for Papa Panda. My child has seen a version with subtitles and claims that’s much better, but you are far more likely to run across the dubbed version that I bought. The DVD technically has two Panda! Go, Panda! movies on it — the original and Panda! Go, Panda!: The Rainy Day Circus. I made it through the first movie and couldn’t bring myself to continue.
In addition to being annoyed by the dub, I kept thinking about how the story wouldn’t fly today. A young grade-schooler, Mimiko, is left alone at home for several days when her grandmother, who is her caretaker, goes to an out-of-town funeral. While Grandma is gone, Mimiko lets a baby panda, Panny, and its father into her house and decides they should be a family. She is Panny’s mother, and Papa Panda plays the role of father to both of them. Nothing creepy about this story at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mtKB92WQEI
Bonus Video
On Your Mark (1995) — Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki
“On Your Mark” is a music video to a song by Chage & Aska. The video tells a sci-fi story about two policemen who rescue an angelic being; the story jumps back and forth in time, offering alternate endings. If you have the opportunity to view this short work, I highly recommend it.
Want to make your geeky friends happy? Have them over for a double feature: Trekkies and Galaxy Quest. Both movies are joyous celebrations of fandom, particularly Star Trek fandom.
Trekkies
When I first watched Trekkies in 1997, I had not yet been to any sort of fan convention. I didn’t know what filking was and had never read fanfiction. I’d never met a person who would now be called a “maker” (the term wasn’t being used at the time). But I was a fan of Star Trek. Trekkies fascinated, thrilled, and amused me with its stories of people who took their love of Star Trek to great lengths.
Trekkies is a (mostly) loving tribute to Star Trek fandom. Denise Crosby (Lieutenant Tasha Yar, Star Trek: The Next Generation) acts as the host in a series of interviews and conversations. The movie features several actors from the different series. They tell great stories, sometimes funny, sometimes moving. But the heart and soul of the film are the fans who are allowed to tell their own stories. Viewers meet a dentist whose office has a Star Trek theme, a maker who recreated Captain Pike’s chair from “The Menagerie” in the original series, and a woman who wore her commander’s uniform while she served as an alternate juror during the first Whitewater trial. There are times when most viewers will think, “That’s weird,” but the response of more than one fan is, “I’m not hurting anybody.” And, as one person points out, there’s little difference between an enthusiastic Star Trek fan and an enthusiastic sports fan, other than the object of enthusiasm.
Galaxy Quest
In 1999, Star Trek fans were in for another treat: Galaxy Quest. Galaxy Quest revolves around a fictitious, Star Trek-like TV show, cancelled years before the action takes place. Fandom plays a key element in the movie. The story begins with the show’s former actors at a convention, interacting with fans. When the actors find themselves aboard a real spaceship that was based on their ship in the TV series, a teenage fan — who reminds me a bit of a teenager in Trekkies — saves the day with his detailed knowledge of the show.
Aside from the film’s amusing and loving take on sci-fi and fandom, it has great actors. Alan Rickman’s performance is especially wonderful.
People who don’t care for Star Trek and don’t understand fandom may watch Trekkies and Galaxy Quest and come away believing that Star Trek fans are just weird people. But anyone who loves Star Trek or participates in a fandom will “get” these movies. Any fan who has gone out to eat in cosplay (or gone out to eat with people in cosplay) will relate to the Trekkies scene featuring Klingons ordering hamburgers. And fans of Star Trek will appreciate the tropes that appear in Galaxy Quest.
Whether or not you’ve seen one or both of these tributes to Star Trek and fandom, I recommend watching them back-to-back as the ultimate fannish double feature.
Note
I’m giving myself a break from the blog for the rest of the month. I will be back on Labor Day.
Also, if you are into Star Trek or similar fandoms, check out my book, Geek Culture. The book focuses on what may be the largest volunteer-run sci-fi convention in the United States. You’ll read about a bat’leth tournament, party rooms hosted by a Star Trek fan group and a group of Klingons, and plenty of things related to other fandoms, such as Doctor Who and Ghostbusters.
If you’re familiar with Gilbert and Sullivan, you know what a patter song is. They didn’t start the fire, so to speak, but the flame burned brightly in their capable hands.
For years, I’ve enjoyed songs that I’ve mentally categorized as “list songs.” As it turns out, I’m not the only one to lump certain songs in that category. Many of the ones I enjoy have cultural references, but others are seemingly random.
These songs include everything from Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Waters of March” to ’80s songs like R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)” and Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” As I continued to reflect on my fascination with these songs, I realized it was more than the list quality that attracted me. I also enjoyed the rhythm and pace of the songs. Again, I’m not the only one who has thought of this. The second part of a recent two-part episode of Hit Parade compared the aforementioned R.E.M. song to “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and to Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
Upon more reflection, I asked myself if these songs weren’t just modern patter songs. Once again, I wasn’t the first person to think along these lines. You can find a whole list of patter songs on Wikipedia, including several of the songs I’d been thinking about.
This is where we can get into debates about what exactly constitutes a patter song. The Wikipedia list includes “Mediate” by INXS, a relatively serene song when compared to much of what I consider patter. “Waters of March” also moves at a relaxed tempo, but if “Mediate” can make the list, why not Jobim’s jazz standard?
If you haven’t yet thought of patter songs in terms of popular music, here are some of my favorites.
The song starts out deceptively slow, and then it really picks up. It wasn’t until I started doing research for this post that I discovered “I’ve Been Everywhere” was originally an Australian song, which has been covered by artists from around the world who substitute place names from their own countries. Pick whichever version is your favorite. I will always love Johnny Cash’s cover the best.
It’s the End of the World As We Know It (and I Feel Fine) by R.E.M.
If no other song in this list truly counts as a patter song, surely this does. Given its pace, there’s no doubt this is a challenging song to sing. Maybe there should be prizes at karaoke bars for people who make it through the song without stumbling!
Bonus tip for parents: friends of ours once told us that it’s fun to sing the chorus when your toddler is having a meltdown.
We Didn’t Start the Fire by Billy Joel
In this song, Billy Joel delivers a fast-paced history lesson covering 1949 to 1989. Although it’s a speedy song, when Chris Molanphy compared it to “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” in Hit Parade, he pointed out that Joel sings 96 fewer words in a song that is “nearly a minute longer.” No wonder it sounds easier to sing!
I Want You by Savage Garden
This doesn’t qualify as a list song, but the verses definitely have a patter quality. If you’re ever in an anime trivia contest, it may help you to know that this was used for the end theme of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.
You Get What You Give by New Radicals
This one’s a fairly normal pop song, but the band put in eight lines at the end that could be considered patter:
Health insurance rip off lying
FDA big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining
Cloning while they’re multiplying
Fashion shoots with Beck and Hanson
Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson
You’re all fakes, run to your mansions
Come around, we’ll kick your ass in
The song is catchy, but the video is disturbing.
One Week by Barenaked Ladies
This song has two sets of completely unrelated lyrics. The core is about discord between a man and a woman. The patter lines were improvised, giving us lyrics like this:
Like Kurosawa I make mad films
Okay I don’t make films
But if I did they’d have a samurai
Gonna get a set of better clubs
Gonna find the kind with tiny nubs
Just so my irons aren’t always flying off the back swing
Gotta get in tune with Sailor Moon
Cause that cartoon has got the boom anime babes
That make me think the wrong thing
Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan
“Subterranean Homesick Blues” has influenced many songs on this list: “It’s the End of the World as We Know It” (according to Molanphy), as well as the two immediately below this one. The video is a must-see. (By the way, from what Molanphy reported on Hit Parade, this comes in at about 129 words per minute verses R.E.M.’s 153 words per minute and Joel’s 104 words per minute.)
Bob by Weird Al Yankovic
It’s hard for me to pick a favorite song by Yankovic, but this is definitely high on my list. His Dylan impression is flawless, and the lyrics are brilliant.
Mediate by INXS
As I mentioned in the introduction, this song is slow enough that I’m hesitant to call it patter, although it certainly is a list song. Regardless, the video is clearly influenced by Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues.”
Águas de Março / Waters of March by Antônio Carlos Jobim
You can find excellent versions of this song in its original Portuguese, in English, or in both languages. The lyrics are mostly a list of words and phrases, making it, I imagine, hard to memorize:
A fish, a flash
A silvery glow
A fight, a bet
The range of a bow
The bed of the well
The end of the line
The dismay in the face
It’s a loss, it’s a find
In Portuguese, the phrases mostly begin with “it’s,” such as “It’s a fish, it’s a flash, it’s a shining silver.”
There’s no doubt that “Waters of March” is a list song. I would argue it also falls into the patter song category — at least when sung in Portuguese.
Did I miss any of your favorite popular patter songs?
I read Fran Wilde’s first novel, Updraft, not long after it came out, and I fell in love with the world she created.
In the Bone Universe, people live in a city of bone towers and fly from place to place. Nearly invisible skymouths grab the unwary with their tentacles. Mysterious tattooed Singers, who live in the Spire, maintain order. Breaking the city’s Laws can result in receiving bone chips, which weigh a flyer down. The Singers sacrifice the worst Lawsbreakers to the city, dropping them from the sky without their wings.
Updraft is Kirit’s story. In the days leading up to her wingtest, Kirit wants nothing more than to become her mother’s apprentice, learning to successfully trade goods among the towers. One bad choice threatens all of her plans.
Wilde’s Bone Universe is interesting and logical. In a world where people never descend their towers, metal is a scarce and valuable resource. The only meat people eat comes from birds; their clothing is made of silk (spun by spiders). As Kirit’s story unfolds, Wilde tells us just enough and no more. She leaves her readers curious: What lies beneath the clouds? In the first book, we never learn.
I also enjoyed the characters: Kirit and her friend Nat (unlike many male-female friendships in books, this one seems to be entirely platonic); Wik, a Singer who discovers a rare talent in Kirit and forces her to bargain with the Spire; and the young Singer apprentices Moc and Ciel — although they remind me a little of Poppet and Widget from The Night Circus.
Because Wilde is so good at drawing us into her world and the lives of her characters, I was glad to pick up the next novel in the series, Cloudbound.
Compared to Updraft, Cloudbound was disappointing. This time the story is told through Nat’s eyes. While I enjoyed meeting him in the first book, I found him a little annoying in the second. As a young adult, Nat has become involved in the city’s politics. It feels like much of the book involves his angst over doing the right thing. Where Updraft moves along, Cloudbound is slow, filled with political debates that drag on and on. Were it not for the fact that Wilde gives us a whole new layer to the Bone Universe as we dive beneath the clouds, I might have given up on the series.
But Wilde’s world carried me along, bringing me to the final book in the series, Horizon. Any faith I’d lost in her was restored by this book. This time she tells the story from three points of view: Kirit’s, Nat’s, and that of Spire-born Macal. We move from the ground, where we finally discover the truth behind the Bone Universe, back up to the tops of the towers and to all points in between. The stakes are high, and the plot moves at a faster pace than in Cloudbound. We see the characters at their best and their worst. By the time I had finished, I found myself missing both favorite characters and the universe itself — the sure sign of a good series.
If you enjoy science fiction and fantasy set in well-crafted universes, spend some time exploring Wilde’s Bone Universe. Her website mentions two short stories set in the Bone Universe and some additional stories and novellas set in a different universe. I look forward to future encounters with her work.
From the very first scene, The Florida Project (2017) is visually stunning and saturated in color. That shines through in promotional images, like the one above, and in the film’s trailer, which could lead you to believe it’s a feel-good movie. It’s not. Watch The Florida Project because you want to watch a good movie… not because you want to watch something happy.
Set in the Orlando area, The Florida Project is the story of Moonee and her mother, Halley. The pair live in The Magic Castle, a budget motel filled with people who are struggling to get by. Moonee and Halley are not particularly likable. While Moonee is mostly just mischievous, she has a mean streak; having learned from her mother’s example, she shouts, “Bitch!” at more than one adult she encounters. Halley clearly loves her daughter, but she also fails to supervise or discipline her. When the motel’s manager warns Halley about Moonee’s behavior, Halley turns to Moonee with a laugh, saying, “I’ve failed as a mother!”
Halley makes bad choices, but she also is stuck in poverty because of her circumstances. She tries to find ways to earn money but seems foiled at every turn. You want to shake her… and you want to help her out. Her story raises the question: How do you fix your life when your options are so limited?
Halley and Moonee are surrounded by a community full of people whose names end in an “ee” sound (seriously, it’s out of hand): Bobby, the hotel manager; Scooty, Dicky, and Jancey, Moonee’s friends; Halley’s friend, Ashley; and Jancey’s grandmother, Stacy. Despite the similar endings to their names, they’re a varied group. Each struggles to make the best of where they are… and some succeed better than others. Bobby (Willem Dafoe) was one of my favorite characters. He’s a mix of tough and tender — probably the sort of person someone in his shoes would need to be in order to successfully manage a motel that serves more as housing for people in poverty than as lodging for tourists.
The Florida Project is heart-breaking — I got a bit teary, though I confess I tear up easily — but it’s also beautiful and thought-provoking. The end is especially interesting — a bit of a jolt from the rest of the film but not, in my mind, in a bad way. Having finally seen it, I understand why people were upset the movie was largely neglected during Oscar season, receiving only one nomination (Williem Dafoe for Best Supporting Actor). You don’t want to watch it when you need something uplifting, but be sure to see it. The acting, the story, the cinematography — all are simply amazing.
The Florida Project is available for streaming or purchase on Amazon.
When it comes to exercise, you can find inspiration in the oddest places.
I wrote about YogaQuest in my book, Geek Culture. Justine Mastin was looking for a way to encourage more physical activity within the geek community and came up with the idea of combining fanfiction and yoga. She found that YogaQuest served as a sort of “gateway drug,” as some people added more traditional classes to their schedules following their introduction to yoga via YogaQuest.
Mastin isn’t the only one to combine pop culture with exercise. Steve Kamb founded NerdFitness to help “people with desk jobs that love nerd culture, games, books, and movies, but also know they need to make healthier choices in their day to day lives.” Pokemon Go was designed to get people to exercise more (though it was only temporarily successful at achieving this). And there are several more examples of how geeks are using pop culture to spark interest in fitness.
If you’re having trouble getting enough exercise and think pop culture-related workouts might motivate you, consider these options, in addition to the ones above:
Pick an online workout
Darebee has page after page of workouts, many with pop culture references. If it helps you to imagine you are training alongside Brienne of Tarth or Robin Hood, you’ll find the perfect workout here.
Superhero Workout, by the folks behind Zombies, Run!, is an app that emphasizes strength training for people who dream of saving the earth.
Ninja Fitness is for people who want a more well-rounded routine, including endurance, strength, agility, and “zen” (flexibility plus meditation).Note: I mentioned this app because I’d read something about it and it had an interesting website. A few days ago, I decided I’d like to download it and found that it no longer seems to exist. I really wish people would pull down a product’s website when it is pulled from the market. I apologize if anyone tried to download this and couldn’t find it.
Over the coming months, four new Pokemon Go-style games will be released. If you’re a fan of Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, Jurassic World, or The Walking Dead, keep an eye out for these apps.
You might also just want to learn geeky skills outside of a geeky environment. You can learn archery so that you can fight alongside Legolas, or take fencing or martial arts classes.
Choose your own adventure
What if you really want to train for the Hunter Exam but can’t find the appropriate online workout? What if all you really want to do is keep up with the Doctor when he finally shows up in his TARDIS? Use your own geeky interests to create a workout that will train you for whatever fantasy world you particularly love. Whatever you do, just get moving!
In the mid-1990s, theaters were filled with movies inspired by Jane Austen’s novels. In 1995 alone, Sense and Sensibility,Persuasion, and Clueless (a modern take on Emma) came out. Those who would rather see a more faithful adaptation of Emma didn’t have to wait long; a version starring Gwyneth Paltrow was released in 1996.
The movies didn’t completely dry up after that, but they did slow down. So when Love and Friendship was released in 2016, Austen fans gobbled it up.
Love and Friendship is based on Lady Susan, an epistolary novella that Austen probably wrote around the age of 19. The movie’s title is a little confusing, because Austen wrote another epistolary story titled “Love and Friendship” in her mid-teens.
“Love and Friendship”
If you’re an Austen fan and have not yet treated yourself to her minor works, I highly recommend them. “Love and Friendship” shows her wit — it’s not yet polished but still uproariously funny. The story begins with two short letters exchanged between Isabel and her friend, Laura. Isabel asks Laura a favor: Would she write to Marianne, Isabel’s daughter, and share the story of her misfortunes? Laura agrees. The rest of the story is a series of letters, all from Laura to Marianne, about her trials and tribulations as a romantic heroine. The 15-year-old Austen doesn’t hold back; Laura’s history is ridiculous from the start. “My Father was a native of Ireland & an inhabitant of Wales,” Laura begins. “My Mother was the natural Daughter of a Scotch Peer by an italian Opera-girl–I was born in Spain & received my Education at a Convent in France.”
“Love and Friendship” contains the kernel of a character type that Austen developed in a more sophisticated way in Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility: a heroine who is too caught up in romance to be sensible. The story reaches the height of ridiculousness when Laura and a friend, Sophia, observe a tragic carriage accident.
Sophia shrieked & fainted on the Ground–I screamed and instantly ran mad–. We remained thus mutually deprived of our Senses some minutes, & on regaining them were deprived of them again–. For an Hour & a Quarter did we continue in this unfortunate Situation–Sophia fainting every moment & I running Mad as often.
The next day, Sophia falls violently ill. As Laura nurses Sophia, her unfortunate friend advises her to “beware of fainting-fits .. Though at the time they may be refreshing & Agreeable yet beleive me they will in the end, if too often repeated & at improper seasons, prove destructive to your Constitution. … Run mad as often as you chuse; but do not faint–.”
“Love and Friendship” is a quick, fun read that treats readers to a glimpse of Austen’s developing sense of humor.
Lady Susan
Lady Susan is more mature and more serious than “Love and Friendship.” Here the letters fly back and forth between several different characters, unfolding the story of a selfish woman who manipulates others to get what she wants. In many ways, she is very different from Austen’s other main characters. Even at her most mean-spirited, Emma Woodhouse is a far better person than Susan Vernon; Emma, after all, has a good heart, even when she is being thoughtless and rude. Lady Susan is nothing short of a villainess who bewitches most of the men around her. The mother of a daughter of marriageable age, she is also older than Austen’s heroines, including Anne Elliott.
But Lady Susan does have the financial desperation that many women in Austen’s novels face. As a widow, she is forced to depend on friends and relatives to keep a roof over her head. Her story begins as she is evicted from one house after “engaging at the same time… the affections of two Men who were neither of them at liberty to bestow them.” The joy of a good epistolary work is that you get to see things from the points of view of different characters. Austen accomplishes that well here. Readers observe Lady Susan from her own point of view and through the eyes of others as she plays with yet another man’s affections and tries to force her daughter to marry the wealthy but dim Sir James Martin. Austen created many delightful characters. Wicked Susan Vernon is definitely among them.
Love and Friendship
Love and Friendship stays true to Lady Susan while making the necessary changes for an epistolary story to work as a movie. Although some of the plot is still propelled by letters, there are many face-to-face encounters that did not occur in Austen’s novella. The movie even brings in an additional character at the beginning so that Lady Susan will have someone with whom she can share thoughts that would otherwise be revealed in letters to her friend, Alicia Johnson.
The movie’s Susan Vernon is every bit as manipulative as her counterpart in the novella, but as we see her in action, it becomes clear just how she can to win men over — even sensible men who have been warned about her — “without the charm of Youth.” I never found myself wanting her to succeed in her plots, but it was easy to see how she might be able to do so, despite the best efforts of those who saw through her.
While Lady Susan may be charming, my favorite character was Sir James Martin. In the movie we see him in his full glory. He is perpetually cheerful and unbelievably simple. I have to bite my tongue to keep from sharing my favorite example of Sir James’ astonishing (yet somehow endearing) stupidity. I want readers who have not yet seen the film to enjoy the surprise. Watch the movie, and you’ll know exactly which scene I’m thinking of.
If you have read Austen’s major novels but haven’t gone as far as to seek out the rest of her writing, I encourage you to do so. While there’s far more to her minor works than “Love and Friendship” and Lady Susan, those two pieces are delightful examples of her youthful humor and her adeptness at creating characters. And if you love Austen in particular or period pieces in general, you should not miss Love and Friendship.
Photo by Cullen328 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
I’m a little puzzled by the story of how Maria Poveka Martinez began her journey toward becoming one of the most celebrated 20th-century potters. The story starts with anthropologist Edgar Lee Hewett, who discovered shards of black-on-black pottery in New Mexico. Wanting to recreate it, he approached Maria, who was known within her pueblo, San Ildefonso, for the quality of her pottery. What confuses me? Members of the nearby Santa Clara Pueblo were still making black-on-black pottery. Why didn’t Hewett approach one of the Santa Clara potters?
According to some of the information I found on the Martinezes, Maria and her husband, Julian, supported Hewett’s excavation team. Perhaps Maria volunteered for the work, or maybe Hewett asked for assistance because he already knew her. Whatever the reason, Maria began experimenting with ways to create the pottery Hewett wanted. This included learning from the Tafoya family of Santa Clara Pueblo.
Within the Santa Clara Pueblo, designs are engraved on blackware pottery. Julian decided to try to find a way to paint Maria’s pots. After trying different techniques, he developed a way to apply a matte paint to a polished background.
Although they worked as a team, Maria is better known than her husband. Pottery was considered women’s work, so she didn’t add Julian’s name to signed pieces until 1925. She also continued making pottery long after his death in 1943. Following his death, she received help from other family members, including her daughter-in-law Santana Martinez and son Popovi Da. Her pottery carries several different signatures on it, depending on when the pot was made and who assisted her.
It didn’t take long for Maria to be recognized for her innovative work. During her lifetime, she was invited to the White House, awarded two honorary doctorates, and featured in an exhibit in the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery two years before her death. And because Maria and Julian shared their discoveries and knowledge with their pueblo, San Ildefonso has become well known for continuing the tradition of the beautiful blackware the Martinez family created.
You can find Maria’s work in the Millicent Rogers Museum (Taos, New Mexico), the National Museum of the American Indian and the Smithsonian American Art Museum (Washington, D.C.), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among other locations.
