Saturday 13 October 2012

Perks of Being a Wallflower - The Film of the Book that came to life!

So myself and a good friend went to see Perks film on Friday night. I was bowled over by the way the book was accurately filmed. Of course it helped that the author, Stephen Chbosky was also the director of the film, making the book alive in my eyes.

Yes, some of the initial scenes were a little cheesy with Charlie's whole naive attitude to everything. However, this is my only negative.

1. The actors chosen were perfect.

2. The soundtrack was amazing.

3. You related to the characters at every twist of the tale.

4. I laughed and cried as I knew what was coming next, for example during the scene when Charlie deliberately doesn't kiss his girlfriend.

5. The parts about Charlie's mental illness come alive in a way they didn't in the book, due to the use of flash backs.

6. Emma Watson was nothing like Hermione, and played the role of Sam perfectly, despite my reservations.

7. I want to see it again...


Thank you, Stephen Chbosky.


Kafkaesque

"Surreal distortions, often marked by impending doom".

So the Kafka museum got me thinking... Here's some notes.

- The Hunger Artist

The man feeds mentally off the crowd's appreciation for his physical starvation. It is easy to starve, no mental effort for him once he has got in the swing of things. The point is that he has to feed off something, whether it be physical or mental. The point when he is past help is marked by the time when he starts to feel sick when offered food.

Agile big cat at the end of the story. Complete contradiction to the cage's previous inhabitant.

Notes on the Kafka museum:

- Inspired by Taoism
- More observational than pessimistic. More realistic than pessimistic.
- Apart from his observations on the city being a cage.
- Wrote a very long letter to his father. This has some significance.
- The Castle (Questions on perception and a rather modern art style interactive exhibit which I wasn't sure what to make of.)
- Prague undergoing huge change. Anti semitic views.
- Died of hunger then of thirst due to TB. It's interesting to note that in the hunger artist he actually says that it is easy to die of hunger intentionally. He wrote the hunger artist during his period of illness.
- "Conversation with the drunk" - oh I still really want to write my own version of this!!
- Lived just opposite the Astronomical Clock.
- Spent time organising a Philosophical Circle.
- Time period when concepts such as Relativity and psychoanalysis were being developed (eg. So much Freud)
- The endless office... the six hours a day in his law firm office "interminable" as he dedicated all his time to writing, his passion.
- Disgusted by his own clothing.
- Broken relationship with his father.
- Leaders and famous writers - Kafka was always good at organising excursions for his friends. I think this was an important thing about his personality.

I also enjoyed the composer Smetana very much on the main video of the Kafka exhibition, though I am yet to discover that particular song I enjoyed again.