Four Calling Birds

broderic on December 28, 2011

Okay, now here we go. I”m gonna have to do the next installment cold. I don’t have time to watch this one. I’ve slipped up. I do know that I should’ve already written a post or two on Tokyo Godfathers. If not, then tonight I’ll make up for it.

The story takes place during Christmas and centers around three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo. One is a runaway school girl who fled her home after an argument with her father over a cat. Another is a drag queen. The final hobo is an ex-keirin racer and bicycle shop owner acting as a bum because of a gambling problem. They find an abandoned baby who they vow to reunite with its mother. Adventures ensue. Hmm. I guess you have to watch it to understand.

Anyhow, you wouldn’t expect a Japanese anime to have anything to do with Christmas, but they make an anime about everything and anything. You’ll see later on as I hit up some anime in later posts.

Today’s Christmas theme is how universal the tidings of joy and goodwill to all men are. Christmas shows up in a film in a most non-Christian of nations, and the film celebrates redemption through the birth of a child. Each of the three Tokyo godfathers experiences redemption in some form. Christmas brings some of that to us with the birth of our savior. It doesn’t matter if you’re some Japanese homeless person. Joy and peace are universal truths and it takes a Japanese anime to remind us.

I do miss Satoshi Kon. I wonder what more he would’ve brought to us. I hope you search out his films and realize he was a master storyteller. And I hope you add Tokyo Godfathers to your holiday movie list.

Three French Hens

broderic on December 27, 2011

The Northern Exposure episode Seoul Mates is what made me embark on this foolish blog journey in the first place. If I didn’t read about it on the AV Club, I wouldn’t have tried this out.

This episode of one of my favorite television shows occurs in its third season, the peak of its story telling prowess. The main story involves Maurice finding out about his son born of the hostess he had a fling with during the Korean war. The second story is about Joel, the Jewish doctor, embracing his inner Christian. The third story has Maggie all clumsy because of her imminent homecoming with her parents. The fourth is about Holling freaking out about Shelley missing out on her Catholic Mass. All this in the middle of Christmas as the Raven comes along.

Ravens are what decorates the trees in the town of Cicely for Christmas. They are the Native American spirit of the holiday times. The Raven brought the light to the darkness. “A long time ago the Raven looked down from the sky and saw that the people of the world were living in darkness.”

The Christmas theme is community. Northern Exposure was always about community a place where you belong and where your quirks don’t bother anyone. You’ll always find community in Christmastime. Everyone sharing the same good cheer and good will towards all. It’s what brings us together.

I still haven’t taken up the task to watch the whole Northern Exposure run. I can’t wait to do that one.

Two Turtle Doves

broderic on December 26, 2011

If it wasn’t for Fox Movie Channel, I would be writing this entry cold. As it were, FMC is trying to compete with TBS in a “movie marathon on Christmas Day.” Whereas TBS showcases the beloved, A Christmas Story, FMC comes at you with a more recent entry into the Holiday movie canon, Home Alone.

Yup. That’s today’s treat. Home Alone. The movie that gave us Macaulay Culkin. The movie that reminded us that John Hughes was still alive. The movie that gave us Chris Columbus.

Okay. Since it was a while that I had seen Home Alone, let’s recap. Kevin McCallister gets into a spat with his family on the eve of their holiday trip to France. His mother sends him to his bed, but not before he wishes that he had no family. In the morning in a rush, the rest of the family runs to the airport for their trip leaving Kevin behind. He wakes up finds himself home alone, rejoices, and proceeds to do the things he always wanted to do. Eventually, the Water Bandits come a calling, and Kevin must defend his home from these thieves. Meanwhile, his mom realizing the error is trying to make her way back. Hitching a ride with Gus Polinksi she makes it home in time to find that Kevin has reformed his ways and misses his family.

Today’s Christmas them: home. The place you live. The place where your family is. A place where you gather together and celebrate Christmas. But it doesn’t have to be the old family home. Home could be the place where your friends or with your buddies. Home is where you find yourself surrounded with love. It’s here. It’s there. It’s down the street. It’s physical. It’s metal. It’s the atmosphere of the place. Home is where you are.

I like that FMC has decided that Home Alone is the holiday movie that it wants to make a holiday classic. I doubt that they could make it as such, but they’ll keep trying. I will keep up with it because damn if it ain’t stupid when Jennifer Connelly miscounts children, or when Catherine O’Hara tries to haggle for an airplane seat, or when John Candy (!) shows up as the Polka King of the Midwest. It’s a stupid movie, but there are just as many stupid other holiday films.

A Partridge In A Pear Tree

broderic on December 25, 2011

So I had this brilliantly stupid idea which I cribbed from the AV Club. I will blog about some movie or television show that can relate to Yule time, and I will post an entry once each day for the Twelve Days of Christmas. I was hoping you would join me, if not writing a post, reading my posts and celebrating Christmas time with me.

I shall start with It’s A Wonderful Life, the beloved Frank Capra classic. It’s corny, but I love it. It’s one of my all time favorite movies not just at Christmas time. So bear with me as I lavish once more praises on this most clichéd of films.

The story if you’ve never seen it: George Bailey is on the verge of suicide on Christmas Eve, because he’s worth more dead than alive. His family and the town of Bedford Falls prays for him that night, and their prayers are answered in the form of Clarence, ASC. He shows George that life was worth living because he was beloved and cherished by all the people who came to know him. “Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.”

That’s the Christmas theme: camaraderie and friendship. No matter how sad you believe your life to be, the fact that you have friends makes all the difference in the world. It becomes apparent at Christmastime. As you visit with friends and family, you see as much. What a joy it is to be with everyone! You realize life is good because of all the people you know. Christmastime brings us together.

Anywhoo, this is my start of the twelve days of Christmas Blogathon. It’ an inauspicious start hopefully it gets better. Your turn.

2B Jolly

broderic on December 21, 2011

Though I have lost my religion I am thinking about celebrating the twelve days of Christmas and/or the Epiphany. I’m thinking about a twelve day blogathon starting on Christmas day and ending on the fifth of January, Twelfth Night. Then having some fun on the following day to celebrate, as the Irish call, Little Christmas.

We’ll have fun. We’ll have a blogathon. We’ll write up a post a day about some movie or television show that relates to Christmas or has a holiday theme to it. I’m not sure what to focus on, but I want to write about how the holiday is found in the media. And perhaps a few things about how it affected me.

So join me, if at least for a day or a post, to celebrate the Twelve Days of Christmas Multimedia Blogathon.