The Golden Age of Special Effects.

We live in an age of CGI. Hollywood studios have been finding that it is a lot easier to CGI a bunch of enemies or explosions or anything in action and Sci-Fi films. Unfortunately I am one of those people that have not really enjoyed these transitions. Almost all of my favorite action and fantasy films took place in the mid-2000's. Lord of the Rings, Kingdom of Heaven, Mask of Zorro, The Bourne Trilogy. These films had a sense of realism to them that a lot of the more modern action films don't.

Although I thoroughly enjoyed The Hobbit, an Unexpected Journey, the excessive use of animation really took me out of some of the scenes. There were scenes that were exclusively CGI and since I knew it was all CGI, all suspense was immediately taken out of the scene. I think the reason why I enjoyed the big budget action films of the 2000's was because special effects were not good enough at that point to completely shoot a scene, but could only be used to enhance scene. Give them that extra something if you will. For an example I have added two scenes, both from director Peter Jackson, one from the Hobbit done completely in CGI and one from The Fellowship of the Ring, decide for yourself which one has more tension.

Hopefully, you agree with my opinion that the second clip is much better. Mainly because of the lack of frame cluttering. It's almost as if Peter Jackson told the animators to put as much stuff in the frame as possible. This excessive animation really makes it difficult for me at least to get personally involved in the scene. The sad part is, is that a scene shot in a forest with a bunch of guys in costume did so much more for me than and thousands of dollars of animation could.

I am going to bring up a point here that might cause some contention. As some of my classmates have already stated, they really did not like the film Pacific Rim, and while by no means did I think it was a great film. I found it to be very enjoyable and worth the money I spent in the theater (mainly cause I didn't watch it in 3D). Now obviously this film relies on CGI like it is nobody's business, but the thing I found interesting after looking a bit further into the making of the film was that director Benicio Del Toro made a conscious effort to make the cockpits of the Jaegers a real set and the enhance it with CGI. Here is a clip about building the set.

 

 

Now I thought that was pretty amazing. Especially because of the lack of necessity. They were already making an extremely CGI heavy set, Del Toro could have just as easily had the actors put in a green screen environment and done everything in post, but he said no. I want to add a sense of realism in an otherwise unrealistic film. This went as far as to make real functioning pilot suits and helmets. 

Well for those of you who have stuck through this whole post and watched all the videos and listened to all my wild comments I say thank you. I always appreciate a good debate, so if someone has a conflicting idea I'd love to hear their arguments. After all, we're here to learn.

Skins Pushing The Limits

Skins is a teenage drama television series that first aired on the British television network, E4, on January 25, 2007. This controversial show revolves around the lives of a group of friends living in Bristol, South West England, testing the limits of their youth. The drama has explored countless debatable storylines including alcohol, dysfunctional families, the dealing and using of illegal substances, mental illness, sexuality, death and bullying. The show, created by father and son duo Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain from Company Pictures, has been a critical success. The show has received an assortment of criticisms and praise since, despite the character’s disobedient actions, most characters don't suffer the consequences of their behavior. Skins has built a well-known reputation for representing the nation’s youth as a sex-crazed, drug-bingeing mass.

            This representation is negative and stereotypical, presenting all teenagers to be raging rebels. However, this has not stopped the show from receiving long-term success.

The writers responsible for this show deserve much of the credit for the success. The producers were careful to create a youthful team of writers in order to keep the show relatable and free of common clichés that occur when television tries to relate to adolescents. Contributors to the team include comedians Simon Amstell and Josie Long, the Dawson Brothers and writer of the popular show Shameless, Jack Thorne. The team has also worked with teenagers who write and review the dialogue in the show (The Independent).

A lot of the show’s achievement is also thanks to its realistic, down to earth characters. Each character has a hidden dynamic that makes them seem misunderstood, causing the audience to feel sympathetic to their corrupt behavior. For instance, two of my favorite characters, Cassie Aisnworth (Hannah Murray) and Effy Stonem (Kaya Scodelario) each endured a troubled childhood causing them to endure interesting character development overtime. Cassie, for instance, was introduced in the beginning of her series as a ditzy, peculiar girl using pills, alcohol and lies to hide her intense eating disorder. As the seasons advanced, Cassie falls in and out of love, survives a suicide attempt and finally, shows promise of overcoming her eating disorder. Her original series ends with her moving out to New York for a fresh start. Effy’s character development was much more difficult since she has been on the show the longest. She was introduced in the first generation as Tony’s younger sister who was selectively mute. Her lack of dialogue mixed with her willingness to abuse substances made her enthralling to viewers. The show then introduces her in the next generation as a young reckless, popular female attending a community college.

The writers have received criticism for the development of both characters. Specifically, they have pushed the boundaries between glamorizing mental illness and building upon the stigma already placed on receiving treatment. For example, Cassie and Effy both express that they do not welcome their treatment with open arms. For instance, when Cassie is an outpatient for anorexia and attends weigh-ins, the doctor who sees her on a weekly basis calls her by the wrong name and then ignores the fact that she is placing weights in her pocket to tamper with her results. In the end of the series, it is implied that Cassie is beginning to slowly overcome her eating disorder, but it is never spoken of or actually resolved. In fact, the writers never desired for Cassie to completely recover. Writer Throne says, “We don’t want a little preachy drama where everyone hugs at the end but hopefully some people will recognize themselves in Cassie.”

Additionally, when Effy’s depression sends her to the hospital, just like Cassie, she does not immediately get better, like she might have if she was starring in a different television show. After she checks out of the hospital she begins to see a therapist. Rather than helping Effy, the therapist falls in love with her and begins to plant ideas in her head for his own personal gain. In the season finale, the therapist goes as far as to kill her boyfriend so he can have Effy for himself. I thought it was interesting that they portrayed the therapist in a negative light. Writer Elsley says, “We’re not attempting to help or instruct anyone. What we’re trying to do is write a show about relationships.” On one side, the show shouldn’t have made this negativity towards recovery present, on the other hand, the show has made it obvious from the beginning that it’s not about happy endings but rather, about pushing boundaries.

The cinematography in the earlier seasons was dark and used many long close-ups on facial expressions as well as long landscape shots in order to capture the beauty of a scene in an aloof way that didn’t include much dialogue. The shots are known to be abstract with a brilliant edge that matches the dangerous tone associated with the show. A lot of times the shots were built to introduce subtext since the characters were known for not speaking their minds. Elsley speaks about the camera work on the show, “What differentiates our show is that there is a subtext and the camera action is where you communicate that subtext… The problem with Dawson's Creek is that they talk out all their issues and everything gets solved. But what we're trying to do is address these problems televisually without talking everything out all the time."

An example of the artistic edge used by Skins producers is a preview for the fifth series. This preview employs special effects and symbolism that have stood out in my mind even after all this time. 

Skins had delivered six memorable, dramatic, rebellious seasons. Each one has left characters undeveloped and storylines unfinished. Over the years, viewers have used social media outlets to voice their opinions on how they thought the blanks were filled. But, this summer, Skins surprised us all by announcing that there would be a seventh season, Skins: Rise. This season was broken into three parts, each focusing on a character the show had implied they would never revisit. Writer Jamie Brittain used the episodes to keep us in the dark all while entertaining our eternal love for the characters they created years prior. The electronic soundtrack, sweeping shots, and quick movements made this show artistically different from past seasons.

In this season we are left in utter shock at how put together Effy’s new life is. [Spoiler Alert] She is financially stable, driven, nagging others to party less and sleep more, so much different than the heroin abusing, pill-popping, drinking out of the bottle before class Effy we had grown to adore and fear for. But just as we are beginning to buy this new act, we find that she is manipulating a friend, Dom (Craig Roberts), to give her inside trading information. Before we know it, Effy allows her life to become as chaotic as we know it to be. However, this time Effy isn’t testing her boundaries with drugs and alcohol but with financial fraud. Her episodes end with Effy going to jail and her beloved roommate, Naomi, passes away. As the audience is left in awe at Effy’s misfortune and devastated by Naomi’s death, we are launched into the feeling of surprise when the opening seen is Cook, driving a car with a bag of drugs in the console. Cook, Jack O’Connell, was presumed to be dead when he launched himself, fists full of fury, into Effy’s therapist’s office to avenge Freddie’s murder during the season finale of the second generation. Cook has changed in the same way Effy has, he’s somber despite his success with money and work. Cook, not much to anyone’s surprised, ends up finding himself deep in trouble with girls and drugs. Still, the greatest danger to Cook remains to be Cook himself. Cassie’s episode also includes a similar change of character. Cassie is right where the show had left her, in New York. But now she is less childlike and spontaneous as before and is spending her days waiting tables at a corner café. She is no longer wide-eyed and whimsical, but tired and uninspired. Effy’s in jail, Naomi’s dead, Cook’s alive and Cassie has escaped a life of hardcore partying to live in a run-down apartment with her little brother. The change is something that has shocked avid viewers and has allowed the characters to develop in a way that no one had truly expected. Before, the generations were always about how outrageous the characters were going to party, and Skin: Rise was about how they have realistically established themselves after living a life without consequences.

The long-term success in the UK caused producers in the US to see if they could produce a similar victorious series. MTV decided to pick the show up in 2011 and tried to reproduce the characters and events in a slightly different manner. With a show that has such an enthusiastic fan-base it’s impossible to create a show in which there are not critics. Shows such as Shameless, first produced in the UK and then reproduced in the US, is an example of a television show that has been successful in this transformation. However, the criticism about Skins was overwhelming, stating that the characters were not successfully represented. When viewers get an idea of how characters are they panic when change occurs. Also, the criticism about the illegal activities that often occur in the show was much greater in the US then it ever was in the UK. Consequently, the advertisers left the series once controversy about the character’s actions surfaced and the show was quickly canceled. I find it surprising that parents were so much more upset about the airing of the show than those in the UK.

The show is about the struggles that teenagers go through that no one dares to talk about. It’s not about the hint of eating disorders or drinking that you see on other shows. Because in real life, teenagers don’t get in trouble with the authority every single time they sip a red cup, the way they do on ABC Family. Skins may be the most raw, heightened version of teenage rebellion, but the show has gone where every show involving teenagers has been afraid to go. The head of the network, Danny Cohen, stated, "I hope [Skins] will feel as authentic because it's genuinely inspired by, driven by, and directed by young people". The idea of not reprimanding a teenager’s actions has produced a dangerous yet wildly refreshing reaction from viewers. The viewers who love the show have related in a wonderful way that is unusual for the typical television watcher. The fan-base behind Skins is completely enthralled with the characters, critical of change but supportive of each other and brought together as a close-knit community. Skins has gone somewhere new, causing a reaction and a fan-group that is equally as unheard of.

The Comedy of Judd Apatow

There is nobody I can think of that can make people laugh the way Judd Apatow can.  As a director, producer, and writer of many hit films like The 40-year-old Virgin, Anchorman, Knocked Up, Bridesmaids, and most recently, This is 40, Judd has become a comedy juggernaut within the industry.  His success in this particular genre is one for special recognition, for comedy is no easy task to conquer.  You must have a good well thought out script and characters.  You must have good actors who have comedic ability for the specific part that will carry the jokes or comedic moments throughout the film. Its not as easy as it sounds, which is why you hear of so very few comedy actors/ actresses, and directors.  So how does Judd Apatow do it? What makes his films so continuously successful? 

Life is Comedy

“I’m just trying to tell the truth about, you know, the struggle of-- being alive is funny, it's just inherently tragic and also hilarious--in a fun way and in a sad way. That seems to connect with people.” - Apatow

Judd doesn’t make comedy just through jokes, he finds comedy through life struggles dealing with things like family, relationships, work, and even death.  His stories are made to relate to real life struggles of the average person’s life and to do the things in life most of us want to do or say but cant out of social expectations.  He uses touchy topics that are generally not funny in reality but uses that drama to turn it into something that is acceptable and hilariously funny. Life and it’s unfortunate dealings are his main mechanism.  It gives us something that feels real, and makes light of otherwise sad/bad things in life. Here are some examples:

The 40 year-old Virgin

The title alone is enough to grab your attention. 40?...Virgin?...What! Most cant believe those two things are in the same sentence. It brings comedy all its own. Based on the journey of a 40 year-old guy named Andy (Steve Carell) to finally lose his virginity through the help of his friends, he struggles to find a girl and or find one of his liking, and his ignorance and awkwardness about sex becomes comedy gold.  Steve Carell embodies the character so perfectly as well as contains the necessary comedic talent, his timing and expressions brought the character and great writing to life.

Knocked Up

A drunken one-night stand that was generally supposed to stay that way unexpectedly takes a turn as Alison finds out a few weeks later that she is expecting.  The couple isn’t shy of the usual cliché you see in many movies and on television. Alison is tall, thin, blonde, smart, and successful, while Ben is a lazy, overweight, stoner who lives with his no-good friends and does nothing but sit around all day and they must find a way to work it out together.  As a journalist on the brink of a career break through with E! News, Alison is now faced with a whole new challenge as she must deal with telling her brand new employers her situation, as well as personally with dealing with Ben and her new reality of a baby on the way. This unlikely love story paves way for comedy as it is sweet, but not too sweet, and unrefined but not too raunchy, but is simply honest and realistic. The movie shows struggles with relationships, commitment, trust, getting old, and growing up which most, if not all couples, come across at one point or another. Also, it is the dirty humor and profanity, of which Judd is known for mastering, that sets the fuel to the fire that makes this movie such a comedic hit. 

This is 40

A sequel to Knocked Up, we are brought inside the life of Pete and Debbi and their struggles to keep their family together. Their sex life is strained, their kids hate each other, their businesses are failing, and they are on the verge of loosing their house.  As you can imagine with these deep scenarios, Judd made this into one of the best comedies yet.  Its very realistic, yet its one of those movies that takes things two step further solely for the comedic effect.  And Melissa McCarthy makes an appearance, so no explanation needed there.  Nothing is held back, in fact you get the sense of that straight from the beginning when it opens with an argument about Viagara. Its candid, funny, and emotional, all at the same time. It is a unique twist on the average middle-aged couple and family and highlights every aspect you could possibly imagine.

Judd has the ability to know what is too little and too much without pushing it too far.  He breaks social barriers of society by voicing scenarios through his characters that many people wish were acceptable in real life. I really enjoy his films and look forward to his new projects. 

An Open Letter to NBC

Hey NBC. What's up? 

Let me start out by saying that I love you guys. Seriously. You've always been my favorite network. Ever since I was old enough to start watching The Office and Saturday Night Live, I've had total faith in your ability to showcase comedies that other networks might shy away from. While you may not have a flair for the dramatic like CBS or a weird obsession with animated comedies/Seth Macfarlane (I'm looking at you FOX), you've always stuck with your roots and delivered some really solid, hilarious, heartfelt shows. Let's be honest; you had your heyday back in the late 90s when you struck gold with Seinfeld and Friends, but since then, you've had The Office, the cult hit Community, and the critical darling that was 30 Rock. I like to ignore Whitney and Animal Practice altogether and just say that, hey, you've done a pretty great job.

But that's not why we're here today, NBC. You know that, and I know that, so let's not beat around the bush: it's time to stop fucking with Parks and Recreation. By now, any fan of the show has probably heard about how you've only given the Pawnee crew 2 new episodes in the month of November (postponing the Halloween episode until a few weeks after the actual holiday) and won't be airing new episodes after that until mid-January, when Community is also slated to return. In it's stead, you'll be airing reruns of the Voice, SNL clip shows, and....The Sound of Music. Vulture broke the news here and, as I'm sure you know, all hell immediately broke loose. Adam Scott, who plays Ben Wyatt on Parks and Rec, tried to cover your ass by saying that this was your intention all along and that you weren't just prepping the show for cancelation, but some of us are displeased either way.

I know what your strategy is here, NBC: your Thursday night comedies are quickly losing ground in the ratings battle, and you blame Parks and Rec for being a bad lead-in to your new shows Welcome to the Family (which was already canceled, ouch) and the Sean Hayes anchored sitcom Sean Saves the World. You want viewers at any cost. It's a business, I understand. But - if I may put things extremely bluntly - your business model sucks, as do your new shows.

Parks and Recreation is adored by everyone, fans and critics alike, myself (quite largely) included. It has a great ensemble cast, extremely witty writing, and is heartfelt to boot. It's just an all around great American show. It's far better than your biggest Thursday night competitor, The Big Bang Theory; we all know that, but the general American public seems to have missed the boat on that one. That's ok though. With a strong presence on Netflix and a good start to it's sixth season, Parks has the potential to really hit it's stride....if only you'd let it.

NBC, Sean Hayes is blaming you for the poor ratings his show is getting, and I personally agree with him, though in an altogether different way. Your ads for this show are absolutely obnoxious; and not just the commercials, but the little stupid banner ads you play 24/7 that show Sean jumping over a couch, trying to look all cutsie and single goofball dad-ish and shit. Stop. Please. This show is not good now, and I'll be damned if it's ever going to get good anytime in the future. Instead of trying to pander to the wider, mindless crowd that flocks to CBS sitcoms, give us more shows like Parks and Rec, not less. Build your comedy lineup around it; maybe even advertise it or something. I'd be happy if you even aired a single episode in the month of December.

I'm sorry if I lost my temper there, NBC, but this is something that is very near and dear to my heart. I look to Ron Swanson as the incredibly mustachioed, bacon-and-egg fueled role model I never had, and to Leslie Knope as the strong, positive leader that Pawnee - hell - that America needs right now. You've got a real gem on your hands here NBC, and while I don't know what your plans for the future are, I just want to say this: the citizens of Pawnee may want to get Leslie Knope out of office, but all I'm asking is that you don't impeach Parks and Recreation just yet.

Music Videos fro Macklemore

Starting over the past year or so, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis new album, The Heist, took over the popular music scene. Although the album itself is one of my favorite of albums of all time, I want to discuss the absurd production quality of their music videos. Will start with the first one I saw and where I first fell in love.

The first and earliest video of Macklemore that I saw was Otherside. There's so many beautiful shots in this music video. They have a bunch of different settings like most music videos. The first being the hotel room. They stick to a specific color scheme the whole time of blues and yellows. Colors that make sense with water and natural colors. They do stray from it from time to time but only when they're really trying to convey a different mood or time setting. The way they also have the camera move with Macklemore's actions I think is a really powerful effect. Ben Howard has such a presence it's unbelievable. One of my favorite parts of a good music video is the story it tells. This video portrays his struggle with addiction and it effected his life and relationships. Demonstrating this through the boat, the hotel, and the dock scenes really have a great effect with the story of the song.

The next amazing song and music video is Same Love. Same Love depicts the struggles and accomplishments in the life of a homosexual. It's also the first pop song that is in support for gay rights. Again Ryan Lewis and Jon Jon Augustavo did such a wonderful job on this video. All of the shoots could be posters and look so perfect to me. You can literally pull a story from every scene. The overall story in this music video follows the life of a gay man. It shows him having a perfectly normal and healthy childhood but when he's a teen we see his first conflict. Then there's a scene where he's at a party standing alone in a crowd of couples. I think all of the red lights and shadows really portray the feeling of the guy. Then we see him struggling with saying grace and simply walking around in public as a couple. The last scene of the wedding is so beautiful to me. There's so little light and it really feels intimate and happy. You can really feel how powerful the moment is to the people at the wedding.

The first thing about this video is that it is clear they made a lot of money of the album. This music video is so over the top I can't believe. Sled dogs, pirate ships, camels, airplanes, trucks, sky diving,  and motorcycles. This probably has the least defined story of the three but the amount of things in each scene is just purely entertaining to the eye. I think it's trying to portray the uncapped power of the individual and coming together in this for the album. Each character is on a journey to spread the word about the album and give it to the people. I love this video because of how over the top it is and it makes me dream about having the ability to do something like this.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have so many gorgeous videos and I highly recommend watching them, and oh yeah. The music is pretty good too. I mean is number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

When Harry Met Sally...

I am not someone who usually jumps up and down for joy over romantic comedies and a fair number of people feel the same way.  The reasoning behind this I think has to do with the overall structure of the romantic comedy.  The audience usually knows exactly how the movie is going to end: the two leads are going to end up living happily ever after together.  Most romantic comedies know about this and do one of two things to circumvent the problem: 1) They ignore it and proceed to make a predictable, boring film OR 2) They recognize that the audience knows the ending, so they write new and interesting beginning and middle, so by the time the end is reached.  

This is exactly what is found in the 1989 romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally (which is one of few rom-coms I can get behind).  This film tells the story of Harry Burns (Billy Crystal) and Sally Albright (Meg Ryan), who meet in 1977, at the end of college when they are thrown together as an unlikely carpool from Chicago to New York.  They immediately find themselves at odds, as they really can't agree about anything.  Right off the bat, they get into an argument about why men and women can't be friends.  In which, Harry claims that, "What I'm saying is - and this is not a come-on in any way, shape or form - is that men and women can't be friends because the sex part always gets in the way."  This interaction ends with them separating in New York.  They meet again five years later in an air port, where they then decide to become friends.  I wouldn't dream of spoiling this any further, but the story does end well for Harry and Sally, who manage to bring out the absolute best in one another (and isn't that what love is all about?).  

When director Rob Reiner sat down with writer Nora Ephron, Reiner wanted to create a romantic comedy based on his hilariously miserable love life.  Ephron liked the idea and Reiner elaborated that it would be good to write about two people who decide they want to be friends, but don't end up that way.  Reiner really tapped into something that I think each and every one of us can relate to, men and women.  We all have wanted someone romantically, who only saw us as a friend first (and vice versa). Ephron then went and wrote one of the funniest scripts I have ever had the pleasure to see turned into a film.  The only thing that may be as key as Reiner and Ephron, is the acting done by Crystal and Ryan. These two actors are comedic veterans and their strength really shows in this film.  They help bring to light how messy friendships and relationships really are and how the line between them sometimes can be blurred.  It also shows us how love can be right in front of us, where we least expect it.  

Overall this romantic comedy doesn't just show what "true love" is all about (which we see a lot of in Hollywood), but it goes after what "real love" is all about.  This breath of fresh air makes When Harry Met Sally the perfect movie to sit down and watch with that special someone. 

I will leave you with the most famous scene from the film (which is hilarious, even out of context):

The beauty of "Honest Trailers"

I was just browsing around YouTube earlier today like most of us do when we're trying to avoid doing our homework or going to the gym or, well, doing anything productive for that matter, and I stumbled upon a gem. The channel is called Screen Junkies and the channel specializes in a series which they call "Honest Trailers."

Have you ever watched a trailer for an upcoming movie, got super excited for it to come out, and when the day finally comes when you see it you're greatly disappointed? Or maybe it's simply not what you were expecting AT ALL?  Of course you have. We all have. The people who are hired to put together movie trailers are hired because they're good at what they do...usually. They throw together some dramatic music, the most intense or dramatic scenes of the movie, and often a badass voiceover to top it all off. Well, Screen Junkies has moved past all the lies and has worked to give you--the possible moviegoers--the most honest trailer possible. Just watch:

I know that I've ripped on Pacific Rim in the past, but that's only because I saw it exactly how the creators of this video saw it. Call be a pessimist. Call me a tough critic. For those of you who saw this movie, you can't tell me this wasn't an accurate depiction of the pure ridiculousness it contained.

Next up is the Honest Trailer for World War Z. I figured I'd discuss this one so my opinion isn't totally biased. I actually really enjoyed this movie and all it had to offer--or most of it, anyway. Overall, I thought the movie was very well produced (despite having almost been shut down several times during production due to Pitt's absurd spending) and I enjoyed watching it. It did, however, have its faults like any other movie. This trailer picks out each and every one of them.

Again, for anyone who's seen this movie, you cannot possibly say that the depictions in the trailer are wrong. Possibly exaggerated? Yes. But not wrong. World War Z was a good movie derived from a great novel, but there are oh so many faults and weaknesses contained within its 116 minutes. For one thing, the movie does follow loads of zombie movie stereotypes. It also has lucky coincidence after lucky coincidence to make sure the main characters stay alive. The problem of the movie is ALSO solved through a string of completely ludicrous "discoveries." It was like watching Fast & Furious 6 all over again. Just watch the trailer for examples of all of these.

Trailers are a necessity for the movie industry. They're really the only way to get the word out about an upcoming release. The problem with trailers, though, is that they often misrepresent what you're going to see and often leave you greatly disappointed. Screen Junkies created a way to allow you to reflect on these instances and laugh. Laugh a lot.

Wish Tree

"Make a wish

Write it down on a piece of paper

Fold it and tie it around a branch of a Wish Tree

Ask your friends to do the same

Keep wishing

Until the branches are covered with wishes"

                                        -Wish Piece by Yoko Ono

From a distance, its branches seem to have experienced an early winter. The leaves are buried in a cloak of white, and from far away it's almost surreal. Standing amongst its colorful brethren, this lone tree bares the weight of worlds upon its shoulders. Secrets that have come from closed lips and locked jaws: where the keys had been buried away eons ago. No names, only titles synonymous to the people behind the words. This is a wish tree. 

Taken from Japanese artist, Yoko Ono, and her sculpture Wish Tree, the idea goes back through many generations. As per Japanese culture, prayers are often tied to the branches of trees as an offering to its source. Ono created this as part of her international peace project IMAGINE PEACE, as a way to bring people together that allowed them to connect with both themselves and others.

Do It has brought this idea to life in our own backyard with the help of IC Junior, Leah Galant. Her short documentation of this project brings forth a sort of empathy and awareness between its almost ethereal footage. Countless people stand under the branches: old to young, male to female, race to race. It pulls at something we often forget amidst the stress and bustle of our lives. That we are all living in the same world and that we are all affecting the same space, subconsciously or not.

Every single note is a story, a plot, and a wish.

And who are we to say wishing is futile? Wishes are a language all on their own. They are joyous, loving, hateful, bitter, curious, and alive. They are the pieces of ourselves we're too afraid to show one another.

I think Galant did a wonderful job of displaying both the highs and lows of such a thing. She starts with a person and she cuts to a wish. She's in their face, close-up. Their voices are low yet we never lose them between the music. It forces us to hear these people talk as if we ourselves were standing next to them. It makes us watch and it makes us listen. No script could hold the intensity and the earnest thoughts of what is said and printed out.

As mentioned in the video, the anonymity of the wishes acts as a net to catch us. When we're so close to falling it allows us to jump and know we won't disappear. It allows us to be honest and open. It's freeing.

Where we often walk with our heads down or with our vision narrowed, this tree yells at us to notice it. To see it, to come to it, to read what it has to say. It demands us to pay attention to the things that are around us, and to the people that laugh and cry just as we do.

If nothing else, it lends us a shoulder as if to say, "you're not alone." It's almost ironic. Individually, some are dark and brooding while others are cheerful and caring. But put them together and they all make a solitary image. One that sticks out and reminds us that we're alive.

The video puts a lot of things into perspective. If anything, we can see a lot of our own wishes written out. Ones that we can sympathize with and others that makes us wonder. It allows us to step out of time for a bit and experience (in a small and fragile moment) somebody else's life.

Some wish for good health, others for a better relationship, and some even wish for the impossible. No matter what the content, the wish tree has become a friend and a willing listener. It will take your wish if you want it to, and it will keep your secrets if it must.