| |
| |
|
Humanities Information |
|
|
|
Shadows Boxing
Towards the end of Million Dollar Baby the character Scraps, ex boxing great turned gym porter, says of a character who has been away from the gym for a while, "And then a ghost walked in." This is an inadvertant commentary on almost all the principal characters in the film, and thier relationships to each other. Scraps (Morgan Freeman) is a ghost for Frankie (Clint Eastwood), as is Maggie (Hillary Swank) - the former because he lost sight in one eye in a match, many years ago, partly due to Frankie, and the latter because as time goes on she becomes a surrogate for his long gone daughter who refuses to reconcile with him (we are not told exactly what went wrong between Frankie and his daughter, though we see that he has a shoebox full of letters he sent her marked RETURN TO SENDER). Frankie goes to Mass every day; the priest tells him, "Write to your daughter." Scraps and Maggie bond because both have been trained by Frankie. Scraps and Maggie, without knowing it, become mirrors of each other, each having been gravely hurt in boxing matches with Frankie as their manager. Yet, at the same time, they mirror each other in another way - boxing is their whole life (Maggie tells Frankie at one point, "If I don't have this, I have nothing"; Scraps literally lives in the gym, in a small space in a corner with a curtain. He never leaves the place (Frankie invites him to come to Vegas for a fight and he says, "Do you know what this place would look like if I left it?") Everyone whom Frankie seems to care about in his life has been gravely hurt by him - his daughter, Maggie, and Scraps. The gym is a place of vicousness and street consciousness - a bully beats an annoying punk to a bloody pulp, only to be knocked out cold in turn by Scraps. Frankie and Maggie are both on horrible terms with their immediate families, and Scraps has no family in sight;it is such a nonissue for him that none is ever even mentioned. In this world, in these lives, the characters share much that is bleak and dismal, yet the end effect of the film on the viewer is one of hope, respect, and dignity nonetheless. Any time one character turns to another, their souls,their cores, relate - and in this way these relationships reveal to us some of the essential truths about humanity. Peter Quinones is the author of Amethyst Secrets, published by I Universe. His website is http://www.cultureboutique.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Humanities - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Authenticity of Eskimo Inuit Art & Native Indian Art Both Inuit Eskimo art and Native American art have gained international recognition as valuable art forms over the past few decades. However, the rising popularity of both Inuit Eskimo art and Native American art has resulted in the increased proliferation of imitations and mass-produced reproductions of original Native arts. Josephine the Merovingian I cannot emphasize enough the dearth of information, or the outright disinformation, I find in various web world accounts relating to Josephine and Jean Lafitte. I chuckle to think they often get her given name wrong as I have noted from the beginning of this book. Return to Ouvea, New Caledonia "Ouvea is everything you'd expect in a South Pacific island. Twenty kilometers of unbroken white sands border the lagoon on the west side of the island and extend far out from shore to give the water a turquoise hue. Heraldry in the Crafts--Why Not Specialize? I have a small website where I try to sell custom-made lapel buttons. In addition to these made-to-order buttons I also offer several specialty lines of off-the-shelf items and at this time of year I'm usually concerned with one of those lines in particular: Irish heraldic buttons. Ancient Philosophy On The Internet Can Change How We Think Here I am again sitting at my computer, my job is to write about the positive aspects of the Internet. I'd like to think of myself as a bit of a novice philosopher as well as writer. Personal Protection Specialists and Celebrity Stalking Celebrity stalking has become the way for the socially inept to; A. "normality" or B. Is Timing the Secret of Success? Success is often viewed as a magic potion. Market demand has always been there, but no-one has worked out the recipe or how to bottle it. Feng Shui Monsters Under Your Bed Good feng shui often requires making wise decisions based on your specific circumstances, rather than blinding following an ideal rule. The feng shui rule for storing things under your bed is "don't do it. Bewitching Jewelry -- Amulets, Talismans and Charms Throughout the ages, men and women have used gemstones and crystals in personal ornaments and body decorations as bewitching jewelry. Wearing them as charms, talismans or amulets, they were believed to possess the power to ward off evil spirits (or attract benevolent ones), keep one safe from harm, or to find love. Mythology and Parables in Modern Communication - Part 2 There is a big adjustment coming in terms of our Human and Spiritual evolution, where Mythology and Parables will again play a vital role in the process. As mentioned in part 1, when our usual systems of information discernment fail us - you - we - I - will turn back to something familiar and old. The Sixties A decade that stands out above the rest of our world's history as a time of revolutionary changes from all over the globe - changes that even effected outer space. There was unprecedented levels of sexual freedom celebrated among the world's youth, and teenagers around the world revolted against the generations before them. My Introduction To Northwest Coast Native American Art I had lived in Vancouver very briefly as a child and it was during that time when I was first exposed to the art of the Northwest Coast Native American Indians. It was the towering colorful totem poles out in Stanley Park that everyone gazed at with wonder and appreciation. Her Last Day in Court "Ron, I can't take much more of his sleazy behavior! I really don't think you are going to win this case for me anyway. I've lost everything; at least I can have the pleasure of making sure the jury knows their judge is another sexual power tripper, going in to his chambers to satisfy himself with the bailiff while he screws me over under the law! I don't. Human Genome Project and Mayan Calendar HUMAN GENOME PROJECT: - In 1991 Michael Coe wrote Breaking the Mayan Code in which he said knowing how this language was 'both phonetic as well as pictographic was as important as the Human Genome Project and space colonization'. Personally I think it is very important to see the Mayans had a language understandable in many contexts across numerous tribes and people. The Beothuk Canada is an emancipated country in the relative scheme of things. But it has a dark history that some people aren't aware of, and others would like to keep it that way. Marilyn Monroe and Mary Jo Kopechne I doubt Marilyn Monroe was anything but a confused star-struck drug-using individual with some gifts and talents that the Kennedy boys enjoyed. But she may have been so obsessed with them that she would have threatened to tell some of what she knew and she did have the attention of the people and media. Astrology Refuted: They Should Have Seen It Coming A comedian once showed a newspaper to his audience. The headline read, "1-800 Astrology Business Goes Under: They Should Have Seen It Coming. Body Jewelry and Todays Stars Body jewelry and body piercing practices have been observed by various groups of people all over the world throughout the centuries. For some tribes it is a rite of passage, for others it is an indicator of social status. The Crisis of Human Survival Environmental Pollution1. Damage to The Ozone Layer Causes Radiation PollutionThe hole in the ozone layer above the North Pole is becoming larger, allowing large volumes of ultraviolet radiation to fall directly on the Earth's surface, causing destruction and harm to humanity, and resulting in skin cancer and other bodily ailments. Rules of Noble Succession Let me first say that the rules of noble succession, as they apply to a specific noble family, can normally not be changed. They are determined either by:1) the rules of succession laid down in the letter patent which was given to the family member who was first ennobled (for patent nobility)or2) the rules of succession in use at the time and the place where the family was first recognised as noble (for original nobility)It follows that in the case of patent nobility the rules of succession could only be changed by the conferring authority, the reigning Monarch or his or hers successors (if the constitution would allow for such changes).
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |