Mea Culpa

Bono and Nietzsche said it better than me

On June 7, 2020

This lyric could easily be about Aladdin mocking Prince Achmed only to basically try and be Prince Achmed one he becomes Prince Ali Ababwa.

They say that what you mock
Will surely overtake you
And you become a monster
So the monster will not break you
U2 Peace on earth

And, if I were witty – I would have just quoted Bono. Instead, I went for Nietzsch and pretty royally biffed it. (pun intended)

From the Genius.com annotations

This is an oft-used quote in Bono’s lyrics, by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
JWG

He Turns Into A Slot Machine Not A Cash Register

By beforetheywerelive

On June 7, 2020

In Aladdin

The ‘wide lawns’ myth: Ernest Hemingway in Oak Park

By beforetheywerelive

On May 7, 2020

In Beauty and the Beast

Well, this is disapointing.

It’s a very compact, Hemingway-esque line, repeated often here in Oak Park. But it appears that Ernest Hemingway never said — or wrote — that his hometown was a place of “wide lawns and narrow minds.”

“We’ve never found it,” says Rose Marie Burwell, scholar and author of “Hemingway: The Postwar Years and the Posthumous Novels.”

Fans of Hemingway may enjoy the full article by Robert K. Elder of the Chicago Tribune.

Of course there’s a Beauty and the Beast reference in Hamilton. How could there not be?

By beforetheywerelive

On May 7, 2020

In Beauty and the Beast

While I was putting together the bibliography for our Beauty and the Beast episode, I came across this Entertainment Weekly article that explains the reference in the song “Take A Break”

“I actually have a ‘Screw your courage to the sticking place’ quote in Hamilton and it’s a nod to both Shakespeare and Howard Ashman
Lin-Manuel Miranda

Hamilton contains multitudes.

Movies Are Prayers: How Films Voice Our Deepest Longings by Josh Larsen

By beforetheywerelive

On April 2, 2020

In The Rescuers Down Under

“Movies are our way of telling God what we think about this world and our place in it. . . . Movies can be many things: escapist experiences, historical artifacts, business ventures, and artistic expressions, to name a few. I’d like to suggest that they can also be prayers.”

Josh Larsen puts movies into the categories of: Praise, Yearning, Lament, Anger, Confession, Reconciliation, Obedience, Meditation and Contemplation, and Joy. I make the case for The Rescuers Down Under being a prayer of yearning.

Also, a couple Mea-Culpas: First, Josh Larsen was ” the film critic for the Chicago-based Sun-Times Media for more than ten years” not whatever I said on the show.

Second, I don’t think I actually have mentioned this book on Before They Were Live before. I believe I talked about it during the 2018 Christian Humanist Radio Network Halloween Crossover while discussing Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of A Doubt on Sectarian Review. Fun episode, and great show overall. You should check it out!

Finally, I probably should have mentioned that friend of the show Ethan McCarthy was instrumental in getting the book published. Nice job Ethan!

A Christian Humanist Review of Treasure Island

By Joshua

On July 27, 2018

In 101 Dalmatians, Treasure Planet

During the 101 Dalmatians I was bumbling around trying to remember the live action movie that was reviewed on the flagship website. I swung twice and missed before giving up. And to add insult to injury Treasure Island wasn’t even released in the 60’s which was the decade we were speaking of.

Over on the flagship’s website, Coyle Neal (of The City of Man fame) gives us an overly kind shoutout in his review of Treasure Island (The rare Disney movie that was live first and animated later, but we’ll get to that when we get to Treasure planet)

I thought I’d return the favor and direct readers here over to his review. Here’s a quick taste, but do go read the whole thing.

The plot is surprisingly involved for a movie only about ninety minutes long, and numerous themes run through the film. One of the most interesting of these is the idea that a part of coming of age is growing to understand the complexities of character. An aspect of transitioning from childhood into adulthood is realizing that human character is often a mix of good and evil. We are all of us both made in the Image of God andtainted in every part of ourselves by original sin.

Humphrey the Bear?

By Joshua

On March 1, 2018

In Fun and Fancy Free

Bongo does not appear on the poster in Fantasyland. The great Humphrey the bear does, but that makes no sense, because he’s not affiliated with the circus and Bongo is!

http://thedisneyblog.com/2012/03/13/storybook-circus-soft-opening-update/

The Complete Carl Barks Disney Library by Carl Barks

By Joshua

On March 1, 2018

In Fun and Fancy Free

Walt Disney’s Donald Duck Vol. 7: Lost in the Andes (The Carl Barks Library)

By Carl Barks

Carl Barks is a legend in the history of Disney and of comic books. As Michial mentioned, he’s particularly beloved in Northern Europe. For example, The Carl Barks Collection, is what looks to be a gorgeous academic set of his works, that was only published in Norway, Denmark, Germany, Finland, and Sweden. Too bad I only read English!

Thankfully, if you are an English reader like me there is Fantagraphics. They are putting out the complete Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck works that were written and illustrated by Barks – although they are not releasing them in chronological order, which is a little confusing. Also, no commentary as far as I can tell.

And, in great news for me, they are now being released through kindle and comixology, so mea-culpa. Last I checked that wasn’t true, but I’m happy to be wrong on that one.

Gizmoduck, not Gyro

By Joshua

On February 28, 2018

In Fun and Fancy Free

Lin-Manuel Miranda is the recurring character Gizmoduck in the rebooted DuckTales, not Gyro as I said.

There Are 14 (and counting?) Land Before Time Movies – The Latest Came Out In 2016 (14!!)

By Joshua

On September 8, 2017

In Fantasia

Michial claimed only people “our age” would know the Land Before Time movies, and I said there are 29 of them – and although both of these statements are clearly false – only mine may come true at some point in the future.

Also, we’ll definitely be mentioning The Land Before Time again when we get to the 80’s because it was created by Don Bluth – a rather infamous character in the Disney Animated Studios saga.