Loren Eaton wanted to like the movie Monsters (2010), but the opening scene killed it for him. “I’d have an easier time liking it if it didn’t lie to me in its opening scene,” he says. Spoilers.

Also in movie news, Vic Armstrong appears to be remaking Left Behind. I can’t tell if this is a straight-forward remake or a comic one. Look at some of the promo images. They’re silly.

A strong Christian movie reviewers, critic, take-down artist (however you want to think of it) Steven D. Greydanus has written about homosexual themes in Disney’s latest fantasy, Frozen. He didn’t like the movie much without this part, but he makes several points on what he thinks is subversive in this movie. He is probably right on a few points, but overall I disagree. I don’t think the Oaken is a gay man with his husband and family in the sauna, and I wish Disney people would step up to settle the issue (though I doubt they will).

Steven writes, “And yet, in this case the filmmakers have walked that line really well: so well that the pro-gay themes have gone right over the heads of countless adult Christian viewers, many of whom have embraced Frozen as resonating powerfully with Christian themes.”

Frozen by superstarwordgirl on deviantART

He has since published his response to suggestions Frozen is a marvelous Christian parable of sorts. “The common crux of most of these religious readings of Frozen,” he says, “is the climactic, self-sacrificial act by which Anna saves Elsa before being restored to life — an act that, according to Frozen’s theologically minded enthusiasts, recalls the saving death and resurrection of Jesus.”

But this is common in fairy tales, where people are often saved from death or near-death curses.

Steven asks, “Who is really saved in that climactic sacrificial act, Elsa or Anna?

Anna sacrifices herself to save Elsa from a fleeting, mundane threat: a treacherous enemy lurks behind Elsa with drawn sword to cut her down. In principle, this is a trivial threat to Elsa — one that, with her powers, she could easily ward off if she were alerted to it.

By contrast, Anna is in far more serious, profound and thematically important physical peril. Anna’s heart has turned to ice, and the ice is insidiously spreading through her whole body, swallowing and devouring her humanity.

It’s worth noting that the original Hans Christian Andersen story “The Snow Queen,” the nominal inspiration for Frozen, climaxes in a scene strikingly similar to the one at the end of Frozen: a heroine weeping over the frozen body of a victim whose heart has turned to ice. In Anderson, however, the frozen victim’s icy heart is thawed by the hot tears of the other person’s love.

For a bit about the motivations behind the popular song, “Let It Go,” the writers talk about it here. “… she was exalted at her coronation as being so perfect and wonderful. But the moment that Elsa revealed that she was a little bit odd, everyone turned on her and then chased her out of the kingdom.”

A strong Christian movie reviewers, critic, take-down artist (however you want to think of it) Steven D. Greydanus has written about homosexual themes in Disney’s latest fantasy, Frozen. He didn’t like the movie much without this part, but he makes several points on what he thinks is subversive in this movie. He is probably right on a few points, but overall I disagree. I don’t think the Oaken is a gay man with his husband and family in the sauna, and I wish Disney people would step up to settle the issue (though I doubt they will).

Steven writes, “And yet, in this case the filmmakers have walked that line really well: so well that the pro-gay themes have gone right over the heads of countless adult Christian viewers, many of whom have embraced Frozen as resonating powerfully with Christian themes.”

Frozen by superstarwordgirl on deviantART

He has since published his response to suggestions Frozen is a marvelous Christian parable of sorts. “The common crux of most of these religious readings of Frozen,” he says, “is the climactic, self-sacrificial act by which Anna saves Elsa before being restored to life — an act that, according to Frozen’s theologically minded enthusiasts, recalls the saving death and resurrection of Jesus.”

But this is common in fairy tales, where people are often saved from death or near-death curses.

Steven asks, “Who is really saved in that climactic sacrificial act, Elsa or Anna?

Anna sacrifices herself to save Elsa from a fleeting, mundane threat: a treacherous enemy lurks behind Elsa with drawn sword to cut her down. In principle, this is a trivial threat to Elsa — one that, with her powers, she could easily ward off if she were alerted to it.

By contrast, Anna is in far more serious, profound and thematically important physical peril. Anna’s heart has turned to ice, and the ice is insidiously spreading through her whole body, swallowing and devouring her humanity.

It’s worth noting that the original Hans Christian Andersen story “The Snow Queen,” the nominal inspiration for Frozen, climaxes in a scene strikingly similar to the one at the end of Frozen: a heroine weeping over the frozen body of a victim whose heart has turned to ice. In Anderson, however, the frozen victim’s icy heart is thawed by the hot tears of the other person’s love.

For a bit about the motivations behind the popular song, “Let It Go,” the writers talk about it here. “… she was exalted at her coronation as being so perfect and wonderful. But the moment that Elsa revealed that she was a little bit odd, everyone turned on her and then chased her out of the kingdom.”

Eric Christensen lists 10 things he rather not see in new fantasy, such as The Chosen One (The Special), dark lords, limitless magic, and uniformity among races. I would add blind seers to this list. What do you think of these things? Would you add or subtract anything?

Just a quick update on my condition. I remain at my remote location in Iowa, healing up and seeing a physical therapist a couple times a week. Every day, in certain ways, I am getting better and better. Off pain meds, walking on my own a little (in carefully selected locations), feeling like a person again.

My time is dominated by trying to catch up on my graduate school work, an effort that is driving me nearly mad — mad, I tell you! But I carry on.

I was trying to think of my memories of surgery. I remember being in the pre-op waiting room, and the nurse beginning to move me out… then nothing. I have a vague recollection of being somewhere and being told it was all over and they’d be taking me to my room, but I don’t recall what that place was like at all. After that, a few days in the hospital, during which I was incredibly blessed by numerous visits by friends. My brothers sort of tag-teamed it to keep me company almost all the time.

My major fear going in was that, because they were doing a spinal block for anesthesia, I’d be conscious and aware during surgery. But if I was, I’ve forgotten. Amnesia is good. I could use more of it.

Because you, gentle reader, are the salt of the earth, the voice of reason, the splash of confidence upon the shaven face, I offer you this video for your comment:

I didn’t see this video until after some commentators complained about it, and I’m disappointed in them. This is beautiful. How does this undermine the country? I think some people have political worldviews that taint everything they see in negative colors.

Had they watched this ad instead, perhaps they would be less outraged. I take that back. I think these people live on the Isle of Outrage.

UPDATE: Bell’s Whisky South Africa Ad is beautiful. Continue reading America, Land of Language →

Just an update on my condition. Theoretically I have lots of time to post right now, but in fact everything takes so long, and I have to rest so often, and the pressures of my grad school studies are so large, that it’ll be hit and miss.

Anyway, I had my right hip replaced at a Minneapolis-area hospital on Thursday. In general my recovery has been on schedule, my condition good under the circumstances. Right now I’m spending a couple weeks at my brothers’ and his wife’s place in Iowa, where the environment is a little safer than in my house.

Thanks for your prayers.

Some argue that anonymity promotes transparency, but it does not. Humility and love promote transparency. In a place where no one knows who you are, you can say anything for the attention you want. All the alcoholics in A.A. actually anonymous to each other? No. They are well-known to each other and anonymous to most people outside the group. The outsiders have proven themselves to be unsafe, prideful, and even hateful. The insiders prove themselves to be honest, humble, and loving.

In a post on Internet anonymity, Peter Leithart notes the problems with social networking:

Pressure to perform is one of the few constants of online conversation. We talk all the time, says sociologist Sherry Turkle in a recent interview, but “all of this talk can come at the expense of conversation.” Web communication “favor[s] showmanship over exchange, flows over ebbs. The Internet is always on. And it’s always judging you, watching you, goading you.”

It’s provoking you to market something, mostly yourself, and to talk at others instead of talking with them.

I’ve been watching the new series of BBC’s Sherlock, of course, and of course it’s very good. If you’re on Facebook, you’ve probably seen, as I have, a number of positive reviews.

And I don’t mean to pan it here. I enjoy watching it. I think it’s extremely clever and well done.

But I have to say I think the series has lost its way.

The first season was remarkable, in my view, for being an update and a reboot that managed to keep the spirit of Conan Doyle’s characters and stories to an amazing degree.

Last season, I think, was a little less so. And this season even less.

The failure (it seems to me) is an overdose of something I ordinarily like – excellent characterization. Cumberbatch’s Holmes and Freeman’s Watson are wonderfully alive and interesting. But they’ve moved too much to center stage.

Remember, these are supposed to be mysteries. This season’s stories have been mostly about Holmes’ and Watson’s friendship. In Episode One, the great question was, Will Watson forgive Holmes for going off and letting him think he was dead? In Episode Two, it was, How will Holmes manage to function as best man at Watson’s wedding, considering his personality problems? In each case, the mysteries were shoved off onto the periphery.

I don’t mean to complain – much. But it’s important not to lose focus on your primary task, whatever you’re doing. A Holmes story that’s more about relationships than mystery is not really a Holmes story.

Statue of Alfred the Great at Wantage. Photo credit: DJ Clayworth.

News from England is that archaeologists think they’ve found a piece of Alfred the Great… or his son.

Preliminary tests suggest that a pelvic bone found in a museum box is either Alfred, or his son, King Edward the Elder. The bone was among remains excavated some 15 years ago at an abbey in Winchester, England, but they were never tested. Instead they were stored in a box at Winchester Museum until archeologists recently came across them.

“The bone is likely to be one of them, I wouldn’t like to say which one,” Kate Tucker, a researcher in human osteology from the University of Winchester told Reuters. Researchers say that, given the historical record, bones that old could only have come from Alfred or his family.

I hope they find more, especially the skull. Can’t get enough of those forensic reconstructions.

In the absence of a skull, the only way to find out what Alfred looked like would be to clone him. And I don’t think anybody over there really wants that. The first thing he’d want to do would be to drive all the foreigners out. Beginning with the Normans.

Come to think of it, I’m going to have an extraneous piece of hip bone available myself in a couple weeks. I wonder if there’s any market for it as a relic. Invest now, before I’m canonized.