Skip to main content

Back to the Movies

 


A big question I have asked myself over the last year is what film will it take for me to return to the movie theatre - a place that I have missed more than anything else during the hateful pandemic we have had to and continue to live through. Admittedly, I have missed many things - teaching without a mask, concerts, going to the many markets in South Africa where I am a sucker for buying treasures I don’t need, and even the gym. Well, maybe not the gym so much. But movies, the big screen, the surround sound is easily the list topper.


I have loved going to the movies since my parents gave me a quarter to go to the Saturday matinees when I was a kid. It’s a sacred ritual. I buy my ticket, purchase popcorn, find my favorite seat - on the right side aisle slightly more than halfway up - eat all the popcorn during the trailers, and prepare myself to be whisked to other worlds, and other peoples’ plights while sitting on the edge of my seat as protagonists fight monsters and demons, earth’s calamities, and sometimes themselves. Pure, wonderful escapism.  


I devoured the Frank Herbert books in the 70s and watched in awe at David Lynch’s adaptation in the 80s. So once Dune hit the theaters in South Africa, I knew it was the one. I didn’t even debate whether I should wait for it on Apple TV or Netflix. Nope, I was going even if I had to double mask, spray sanitizer all over my chair, and forego the popcorn ritual.  


I settled into my seat in a mostly empty theatre at an 11:30 showing on a Saturday. While I munched my popcorn, I waited to be transported to Caladan and Arrakis, to spice and worms, and to danger and betrayal. The film lured me into the world of Paul and Jessica, Duncan and Gurney, the Bene Gesserit, and every vile antagonist that any good story needs, as easily as a promise of chocolate to a child who has been denied candy for years. I ate up every delicious moment.


I left the theatre thoroughly sated and thought that finally, my life was returning to some semblance of normalcy. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Golden Glow of the Bush

  The Golden Glow of the Bush I have seen some glorious skies during my travels around the world, from the smog-induced fluorescent sunsets in Moscow to the burning red horizon in Lake Tahoe. Looking up toward the heavens at dusk is my favorite time of day.  But, nowhere have I ever been so mesmerized by the setting sun than in the bush. Why? Because the light the fading sun casts on the landscape is like no other. Call it the golden hour or the magic hour, or the hour when a quiet hush blankets the land as day turns to night. Birds sing their bedtime songs, jackals practice their forlorn calls, and predators wake, yawning widely, preparing for the hunt. The fading light signals transformation from the brightness to darkness, from things seen to those unseen.  Lazy, sleeping lions transform from looking like cuddly stuffed animals to ferocious stalkers of anything that moves. Hunger calls them to action, stealthy and relentless in their pursuit. Owls waken, looking for bu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Esther Mahlangu - Ndebele Artist

  This beautiful woman is 92-years-old and lives in a small Ndebele village in Mpumalanga. Esther Mahlangu is an Outsider Artist, self-taught from the age of nine, who has achieved great success with her bold, colorful art reflecting traditional Ndebele culture. It’s not clear, but it seems she never went to school and can only write her name on her artwork. However, she has two honorary doctorates for her contributions to the art world. Her success was serendipitous. In 1986, researchers from France were roaming around looking for traditional art forms. One road led them to the artist’s village, where they became enthralled by Mahlangu’s uniquely painted houses. Right time, right road!  They invited her to create murals for an international contemporary art exhibition at the Magiciens de la Terre in France. Her obscurity was soon over and she quickly became a phenomenon in the Pan-African art world. Her resume is awe-inspiring. Look her up, here’s one link - https://www.sahi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Klipspringer: The Baryshnikov of the Bush

  Meet the graceful Klipspringer, the Baryshnikov of the Bush  This is an amazing animal, hardly ever seen because it is shy and camouflages itself in the African koppies - small, rocky hills in the veld. Watching this tiny antelope leap from rock to rock, all of various heights and widths is magical. Why the folks at Disney haven’t created a klipspringer character in one of its animated films is a crime.   All animals in the bush are magnificent for one reason or another, but this rock jumping dynamo of an antelope can leap up to 25 feet in the air. Their hooves are cylindrical and pointed, allowing them to spring from rock to rock on their toes, as gracefully as a ballet dancer at the Bolshoi.  The sight of a male and female leaping together from rock to rock is stunningly poetic and made me wish I had a replay button as I almost couldn’t believe that I was witnessing graceful movements on rugged and harsh terrain. When I saw my first Klipspringer, it stood ma...
Post a Comment
Read more