I often wonder what is the point in being the best, especially the best in guiness book stuff. As if one had to proove that he is unique by licking his elbow… To me this is an absurdity. I feel the same about some sports and other kinds of competitions. I can understand the happiness and feeling of achievement that Phelps or Bolt had, but I cannot avoid asking what is the point. Though I hate to loose and tend to boast everytime I win at any games, I cannot understand their quests of being the best. How can one be ready to dedicate a part of his life to running 0.1 s. faster?
To me, this video illustrates perfectly the absurdity of such a quest. This is not beautiful at all, it is the at the opposite of any art creation, it is just about mechanical useless training. This exploitation of our bodies to constantly improve our performances make me think about men turning slightly into machines, only interested in their “productivity”.
Lately I rembered about a few cartoons I used to watch some years ago. A few researches on youtube and I found old episodes. I feared to be genuinely melancholic about the time when these cartoons were incredibly entertaining to me. Well, I was not so disappointed, I had quite a lot of fun actually! It is great to look at things with a “new” eye (especially the Japanese and comics cartoons :). Most themes are musical sins and actions scenes often seem very very slow. Some plots tend to reach the essence of stupidity while some daze me by their complexity and strangeness. There are also some cartoons that will always amaze me by their talents (Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry, Wacky Races, Hey arnold, Recess…).
I was so enthusiast about this experience that I did some research on the internet and found websites that gathered all the major cartoons. To my surprise I realized that I had seen episodes from most of them. Though I had never genuinely followed any series I had still been watching about a hundred different cartoons. It really struck me! My parents tended to prevent me from watching tv. How come I could have spent so much time watching this crap? I still cannot believe I used to love pikachu!
Although most cartoons were a delight and a door towards imagination, it still brings a bitter taste in my mouth. I wish I had done something else with my time. In fact those cartoons are a part of my identity. I guess that is also the reason why it is so funny to watch them again. The self-derision, the delusion about how I used to imagine the world, the nice memories it brings back…
Here are the
I collected. It is a very efficient test to see if we are from the same generation.
I am becomig more and more amazed by the impact of the voices. Your voice is a part of your identity, it expresses extremely well your emotions. The way you articulate, the pauses you make, the tone, the accents, all of that reveal much about you.
A voice is the core of the charisma. You just have to listen to these old dictators’ speech to understand the power of a voice. Yet, I would rather talk about the beauty of voices. Not necessarily a singer’s voice. But those day-to-day voices. The joyfull countryside accent, the softness of a whisper, the funny pace and intonations one has after a few beers… Of course there are some voices that you will carry with you during your whole life. Obviously your mother’s voice (9 months in the amplifier :), your father’s (and the rest of the family), friends’ and lovers’. We can even match colours and memories with voices.
What amazes me the most is that one’s way of life alter their voices. I guess that Louis Armstrong did not sing “What a wonderful world” in the same way when he was young. Alcohol, cigarettes, shouting, crying, silence, all these habits change the voice. A Chinese phrase says that eyes are the mirrors of the soul, well I think that the voice reflects one’s personality and past.
ps: I started a pearltrees about the
that struck me (Disney’s voices, actors, maybe some singers…). I would appreciate if you could tell me about the voices that struck you.
This is one of the most violent mangas I know. A first quick reading might lead one to think that Shamo is just a praise to hatred and non-morality. Or an exposition of horrors to untertain a thirsty audience. I think that Shamo is none of that. To me it is a masterpiece.
First, this manga has two huge forces; it benefits from the narrative and drawing assets of the manga.
Mangakas are incredibly prolific, so they have time to dwell on the characters and the story. It also allows them to expand their creativity and to utterly dedicate to the beauty of the drawings. I am crazy about those pages that stun me by their power, I can stare at them for a few minutes just to dissect every features. In Shamo some of them are as wonderful as etchings (old japanese paintings). In addition, I think that the lack of colours just increase the touch and the impact of the sketches. It looks pure and genuine. A bit like the old movies, once you are used to it, it brings an other atmosphere. Shamo’s drawing is precise and rich in details (great city landscapes). It has clean moves, and a capacity to modify the speed of the action (especially during fights, where there are tremendous accelerating phases). It is sometimes mysterious, rough and very dark.
What also makes Shamo so special is that it manages to pass through the great usual manga stories steps but succeeds in avoiding its hazards. Thus the story has great elements like the training phase, the huge big fight, or the evolution of the main character’s personnality… But it keeps its exceptionnal style (though the last episodes tend to lose this originality)!
Eventually, beneath the dingy lifes, the terrible fights, the murders and other horrors, there are some strong witful messages. The “redemption” of Ryo (the main character) through the discipline of Martial Arts, and his non-hypocrisy. He does not hide from the atrocities he commited and he still stand in front of the crowd to achieve his goals. Shamo also conveys some criticizes of our society, such as the excesses of the show industry (Ryo can be seen as a gladiator who fights until death) and our lack of challenges/risks.
Here comes the terrible, the dreadful, the magnificent, the fearless… Afro Samurai! Check this huge mane, the lousy cigarette (which seems to be filled with more than tobacco), the fleeting headband and the katana. Awesome! :p If I insist on the way this character looks, it’s because this is the main appeal of the anime. The characters’ design is amazing and the fights are incredible. About the plot, the only thing I could dwell on is the useless quest of the headband number 1. The absurd and devastating quest to become the strongest.
Apart from that they are just a bunch of freaks who spend their time killing people over a cool hip hop music. Once I have understood that and admitted that this anime was stupid. I was fully able to just love it! My point is that such animes are just about entertaining and nothing else. I often hear people despising them in a haughty way. I find their reaction silly. I think most of our cultural consumption is about pure and basic entertaining. Well Afro Samurai is a masterpiece of entertaining!
Here are a few images that I selected and modified to illustrate the incredible atmosphere of this song (Led Zeppelin).
I planned to put the video on youtube, but there is a copyright issue with the music.
Anyway, I found it thrilling to work on expressing music with images, I hope that you will feel a bit of the song through the images, or a bit of the images through the song…
We have all heard about this guy. Most of us read the books and sometimes saw the movies. We have all been drawn into that crazy commercials fury few years ago. I even like to think that a majority dreamt to go to Hogwarts a long time ago.
Whatever category you might fit into, you share the Potter’s bond. Evada Kedavra, Quidditch or Death Eaters, you know the meaning of these strange words. Today I do not have the same genuine enthusiasm concerning J.K. Rowling’s writings.
Yet I noticed that we have all been touched by the phenomena. The Potter’s whirlwind was so powerful that I think it is a generational object. We saw that little boy grow up while we were building ourselves. We talked about it with friends, read and reread the books during the holidays. Such a bond is strong and I am glad to know that I can talk or argue about it with people from “my generation”.
You left quite a trace JK!
