The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Last week, I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe again.  Here are some observations I had about it (not all from this viewing).

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When the professor talks to Peter and Susan, one of his comments (referring to Lucy) has a sort of chiastic structure:

She's

your sister, isn't she?

You're

her family.

To some degree, this demonstrates the reciprocity that their familial relationship ought to have.

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Shortly before the Pevensie children meet Mr. Beaver, when they're merely reacting to the noises they hear him making in the woods, three of them are huddled together, even touching each other, but Edmund is standing apart:

Visually, this illustrates that Edmund's loyalty is pledged elsewhere.  He's already met the White Witch and allied himself with her.

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Later in the movie, Edmund's horse is named Philip.  This is an appropriate name for a horse because it comes from two Greek words that together mean "horse lover" (φίλος + ἵππος).

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[For what it's worth, here's a post I wrote about the book many years ago, mostly about its Biblical parallels.]

Star Wars: Rebels - S2E21 - "Twilight of the Apprentice - Part I"

Last week, I re-watched the Star Wars: Rebels episode "Twilight of the Apprentice - Part I" (S2E21), which gave me an opportunity to write about a detail I'd noticed a number of years ago but for some reason didn't write about at the time.

When Ezra first encounters Maul, he definitely doesn't trust him.  He draws his lightsaber on him and tells him to "Stay back!"  After Maul says, "You came for the same reason I did, years ago:  you seek knowledge" and explains that he knows how to get into the Sith temple, Ezra agrees to go with him but insists that Maul walk in front of him, apparently so that Ezra can keep an eye on him.

Ezra's feelings toward Maul begin to change after Maul says, "The Sith took everything from me, ripped me from my mother's arms, murdered my brother, used me as a weapon, and then cast me aside, abandoned me."  Ezra replies, "I know how you feel.  The Empire, it took away my home and my mother and my father."  As they approach the door to the temple, Maul claims that the knowledge inside is the key to destroying the Sith, and when he says that he'll share this knowledge with Ezra, Ezra starts walking up the steps in front of Maul:

Ezra keeps Maul in front of him when he first meets him, but after Maul entices him with the knowledge inside the Sith temple, Ezra goes before him.  This change visually indicates that there's a more or less definite point where Ezra starts to trust Maul.

Star Wars: Rebels - S2E19 - "The Forgotten Droid"

In re-watching Star Wars: Rebels again, I recently watched "The Forgotten Droid" (S2E19) and noticed some slight significance in the composition of a particular shot.

Instead of doing what Hera told him to and staying with The Ghost while the rest of the crew steals an Imperial shipment of fuel, Chopper goes to look at a leg that would replace his mismatched one.  Eventually, he steals it, and since The Ghost has already left without him, he escapes aboard an Imperial freighter.  Later, he contacts Hera, who's angry about his disobedience.  After she says, "Really?  So you didn't leave The Ghost to go after that leg?" he appears a bit ashamed (doing what is apparently the droid equivalent of scratching his head in an act of discomfort, unwilling to admit the truth).  In this shot, the leg is looming behind him, almost as if weighing on his shoulder in a picture of his guilt:

The Karate Kid Part III

Earlier this week, I watched The Karate Kid Part III for the first time in many years (and possibly only the second time ever), and I noticed a couple interesting features.

Much of the movie deals with an elaborate scheme concocted by Terry Silver, an old war buddy of John Kreese, the disgraced karate instructor from the first Karate Kid.  Silver and Kreese want to get revenge on Daniel Laruso for winning the All Valley Karate Championship, the event that led to Kreese's downward spiral.  First, Silver hires Mike Barnes, whom he finds advertised in a magazine as "karate's badboy," to antagonize Laruso and force him to enter the next All Valley competition.

Barnes's name suits his character.  His first and last names have only one syllable each, resulting in a sort of bluntness that matches his belligerent attitude.  In a word, his name is punchy.

Next, Silver offers to train Laruso, apparently just to inflict physical pain on him before the competition takes place.  When Laruso shows up at the old Cobra Kai dojo (which Silver claims he's trying to revive) in order to accept the offer, Silver suggests they start immediately and lends Laruso a gi with a cobra on the back.  Throughout the days of Silver's aggressive training, Laruso wears this cobra-adorned gi in the Cobra Kai dojo, visually highlighting a change in his character that he himself later realizes.  He tells Mr. Miyagi, "Everything you taught me, I did the opposite.  Everything.  I couldn't have been worse.  I did everything wrong."

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Earlier this week, I re-watched The Day the Earth Stood Still for the first time in many years, and I noticed some religious overtones.

When Klaatu arrives on Earth, he says, "We have come to visit you in peace and with goodwill," which echoes what the angels say in Luke 2:14 when they announce Jesus' birth to the shepherds:  "'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'" [NKJV]

When Klaatu escapes from the military hospital, he disguises himself in clothing belonging to a Major L. M. Carpenter, and he takes on Carpenter's name as his own.  In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as "the carpenter" (Mark 6:3) and "the carpenter's son" (Matthew 13:55).

Klaatu also acknowledges a higher power.  After he is apparently revived from death by Gort, Helen asks him, "You mean, he has the power of life and death?" and he replies, "No, that power is reserved to the Almighty Spirit; this technique, in some cases, can restore life for a limited period."

American Graffiti

A couple times over the last two months, I had some vague thoughts about American Graffiti.  Last week, I watched it again in order to pay close attention to details and write this post.

The DJ Wolfman Jack holds great significance for the characters, and every radio is tuned to his station.  When Curt goes to the radio station to talk to him, "Crying in the Chapel" by Sonny Till & the Orioles is playing.  This is the only non-secular song in the entire soundtrack, and its subject matter and placement underscore the godlike status that the characters attribute to the Wolfman.  In this light, Curt's trip to see the Wolfman at the radio station takes on the same meaning as a pilgrimage to a deity's shrine.

The Wolfman's comment "that's just a dedication, man; what I can do is I relay it, it'll be on tomorrow or Tuesday" suggests that the current day is Sunday, which also figures into this quasi-religious aspect since Sunday is the usual day for church services.

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Until the end of the movie, Bob Falfa is always wearing a hat, and he displays an arrogant confidence that he's faster than Milner.  The two features are connected:  Falfa's hat acts as a sort of victor's crown representing a status that he doesn't really deserve.  Falfa loses the race with Milner when he crashes, and it's in this crash that he's de-crowned.  After Milner helps him stumble away from his wrecked car, he's left merely holding his hat:

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Addendum (10 March 2025):  This drag race scene was recently uploaded to the Turner Classic Movies YouTube channel:

The Ray Bradbury Theater - "The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone"

Last week, I watched "The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone," an episode of The Ray Bradbury Theater.  At the beginning of the episode, celebrated writer Dudley Stone is having a book signing, and he's approached by John Oatis Kendall, an aspiring author who feels hopelessly overshadowed by Stone.  Kendall passes a note to Stone that reads, "Dudley Stone, I have come here to kill you!" and shows him a gun concealed in his pocket.  Stone doesn't seem too perturbed by this and invites Kendall to his house the following day.  There, he explains that there are many things he wants to do with his life besides writing:  "All the books I promised myself to read but I've never read; all the symphonies yet to be heard; all the films as yet unseen; spices waiting to be snuffed; beef joints, ham hocks waiting to be devoured; tapestries yet to be woven; sculptures to be shaped; paintings waiting to be painted; sons and daughters to be advised; grandchildren to be raised; far countries to be flown over, to be walked through; hang gliding yet to be tried; tides yet unswum to be swum; all of it around me, free and vital, beckoning, waiting:  my reasons for letting you kill me."  He urges Kendall to kill him, but more metaphorically than literally.  Stone shows Kendall a multitude of his unpublished manuscripts, and Kendall kills Stone's writing career by throwing the manuscripts into the sea:

Freed from the burden of writing, Stone can now do what he wants with his life.

I'm not sure which level to take this on (whether it's Stone's design, Bradbury's allusion, or just a coincidence), but the same sort of event is described near the end of Shakespeare's The Tempest.  In Act Five, Prospero says,

I here abjure, and when I have required

Some heavenly music, which even now I do,

To work mine end upon their senses that

This airy charm is for, I'll break my staff,

Bury it certain fathoms in the earth,

And, deeper than did ever plummet sound,

I'll drown my book.  [V.i.51-57]

Prospero is a magician, not a writer, but for him, as for Stone, throwing his book into the sea marks a definitive end.