Epic is a huge topic. It's epic. This time, I chose to talk about epic films. I guess the most easily recognizable type of epic films are those fiction and western long films, but I think epic can be more than that. For me, 'epic' is any film that creates a huge and elaborate set on a studio or outdoors to film even a small scene. For example, I think 'Singin' in the rain' is epic just for creating that extremely beautiful and realist stage for the 'Singin' in the rain' song scene.
In the same way, I consider the 'Wallace & Gromit', 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', and all those kind of animation films really epic. They created a whole world for little Plasticine figures to make a movie! It's amazing what people are capable to do in these films! I'm a fan of them!
Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' is not only epic for its alarming story, but for the scenery and ths one-point perspective shots Kubrick used during the whole movie. It's epic!
Nowadays, people could also say that movies like 'Mission Impossible', 'James Bond' and such are also epic for the amount of special effects and all the action involved in those movies. But I don't think they can beat the old Clint Eastwood's epic westerns. I think it is more difficult nowadays to decide which films are epic and which films are not since now we can easily produce awful films that feature thousands of extras, memorable battles, huge studio stage productions, thousands of special effects, and such that can make a film look epic when it isn't. Mission Impossible, for example, features grand scenarios in the mysterious Moscow, there are a lot of epic special effects, memorable fights, and I have to say I really like that movie, but I don't know If I can qualify it as 'epic'.
Musicals are also something I'm really familiar with because I love them both theater and film. For example, I love Cabaret, Chicago, Moulin Rouge, Les parapluies de Cherbourg, The Rocky Horrow Picture Show, Singin' in the rain, The Blues Brothers, everything! In any style! Classic, Modern, Rock, anything! I couldn't possibly choose a favorite musical, I can only say that I prefer musicals that actually have a plot, not just an assemble of different musical numbers.
Musicals are indeed kind of magical (even if their subject-matters are rather realistic)... nobody sings that much in real life, huh? They're such a razzle dazzle!
A few years ago, the ISIC brought a rock opera called 'Frankenstein' by José Fors and I must say that's one of the most amazing experiences I've ever experienced in a theater! I was so astonishing! And recently, we went to the theater to see Mozart's 'The Magic Flute'.
(I think Cabaret is a perfect example of Magic realism because of the Emcee's relationship with the main story)
Animals have always been a huge part of stories (whether they're for children or for adults). Animals can appear as cute creatures or as wild an evil ones. For example, Winnie-the-Pooh is a lovely, yellow, and fat bear that eats honey! (Who can resist that sort of cuteness?!).. or Oswald, the lucky Rabbit... or Mickey Mouse... who doesn't love those animals?. In contrast, we could read Patricia Highsmith's short stories about pigs killing their owners, and we wouldn't like to be near a pork ever again!
Animals could also be treated as humans with an equally attractive effect. For example, we have Babe, the pig, or Wilbur, the pig, from Charlotte's Web, or Stuart Little, the little human mouse.
I think that no matter what approach you give to animals in a story, they always give a special touch to them! And animals are some of the characters that people always loves and remembers! Tweety, Tom & Jerry, the coyote, the road runner, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Box Bunny, Goody, Felix the cat, etc. are always in our hearts!
Children's books
Children's books -usually featuring animals- are some great pieces of literature that people usually underestimates. It's true that children's books may not be a Borges' narration, but they are still great and memorable Besides Where the Wild Things Are and Winnie-the-Pooh, I would also mention The Little Prince, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Babar, the Elephant as some of the greatest books for kids (at least they were for me! I'll never forget them!)
Magic realism is something that I've been in touch a plenty number of times. Gabriel García Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar are some of my favorite writers of the Spanish language. Their stories and novels are not only beautifully written, but pretty astonishing (especially their endings!). In my mind and heart, I treasure Cortázar's short story 'Axolotl', in which the narrator eventually turns into an axolotl (A Mexican salamander that lives in the lake of Xochimilco in Mexico City). It's pretty dazzling!
Borges' poems, whether they belong to magic realism or not, are sublime! He's my favorite poet in the whole word... Nobody can reach the perfection that he gives to the Spanish language (I even have a poster of Borges!)
'Rebellion' is a ridiculously big subject. A ridiculous number of bands, musicians and songwriters are mentioned here, and even though they all have been influential at some point, I'm only going to mention those who really appeal to me and, of course, the ones I think have left the most important legacy.
When we're talking about pure rock, I think most people think of Elvis, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan, every other band is just a derivative from them... they're the ones that have really started it all.
Elvis Presley, the King of rock and roll has had, in my opinion, an incredible and HUGE influence, even nowadays everyone knows about Elvis, either as the sex symbol dancing bad boy or as the old and rather fat king of rock and roll. Even a small kid has listened to Elvis! Elvis is everywhere, even in Disney Channel's movies (I think the first song of Elvis I heard may be 'Suspicious Minds' in Lilo & Stitch). Of course, Elvis's influence isn't just his appearances on movies and such, I think he basically created the image of rock and roll, he made it danceable, catchy, rebel and catchy, surpassing the limits of jazz.
No other band has ever reach the musical career of The Beatles, year over year of success, eclectic albums that show not only the great musical talents of John, Paul, George and Ringo, but the constant maturation of the band in both originality of the music and the lyrics of the songs. I think no other band or person has ever have The Beatles' scope and constant success. They're a band that defined not only music but a whole era. They formerly started the concept of a 'rock band', being loved not only by the screaming female teenagers, but by a wide range of public. Who doesn't love The Beatles, anyway?
The Beach Boys are known as the American equivalent of The Beatles, but I think they're far away from that. I do enjoy 'I Get Around', 'God Only Knows', and 'Wouldn't It Be Nice', but we have to face they're just not The Beatles, I don't think The Beach Boys had such an evolution in the deepness of their songs as The Beatles.
Bob Dylan, maybe not as famous as The Beatles, but equally important, open the doors of a much more deep rock and roll with his epic song 'Like A Rolling Stone' (The Rolling Stones took their name from this song? I've always asked myself that...). Songs of more than 3-4 minutes were unthinkable for a rock song, and even more if it wasn't a girls/love song! Bob Dylan marked the beginning of something huge, even The Beatles must be thankful to him...
Ps. I love when he combines the harmonica in his songs. Blowin' in the wind is huge to me!
The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Doors are not my favorite bands or rock, but I can't ignore the fact that they're an icon of rock too, specially The Rolling Stones and Mick Jagger. Who doesn't know about Mick Jagger and his moves? Who hasn't seen that red tongue of theirs? They're huge but not that appealing to me. I may be wrong but I think The Beatles, Elvis and Bob Dylan are better than them because they DO sing, I think Mick Jagger rather screams... (Unlike Queen... Freddie's Mercury voice is just unique)
Much more later, yet influential and REALLY important rock bands are, of course, Queen from 70's and Soda Stereo from the 80's/90's (I think Soda Stereo is the most influential rock band from Latin America)
In Mexico, we have 'El Tri' and 'Caifane', but again, they're much more later rock bands.
(A clear influence from Bob Dylan here) - 70s
(The contemporaries of Soda Stereo) - 80s/90s
Maybe the mos 'Rebellion' ones are 'Molotov', a Mexican Rock Band that has even been banned by the national television channel 'Televisa' (These examples mix rap and rock)
I don't know what to think about all this divisions and classifications on Jazz. I don't a lot about music, but I know I like any kind of Jazz. Bebop and cool jazz doesn't seem really different to 'normal' jazz. Afro-Cuban Jazz and Bossa Nova-Jazz compositions are distinguishable from other Jazz songs, of course, but overall is all equally delightful to me. I guess that Sinatra couldn't sing to some Cool Jazz or Bebop songs, but they're still great to me. *Hats off to Jazz*
All I could think about while watching the 'Beat' films is that they look like some early Surrealist films (Un chien andalou, for example). The shots and especially the edition of the Beat films is kind of dazzling and it just doesn't feel real to me, I got a much more Surreal and nonsense taste with them. This doesn't mean, of course, that the films are bad. In fact, I love Surrealist cinema, and thus, beat films aren't bad at all. However, I don't think they quite impress or delight me... they're quite plot-less and somehow meaningless to me.
