Monday, April 15, 2013

The Simpsons and Parenthood



I should start by saying that I love The Simpsons. Ever since I started watching them way back when it first aired as a full-length show, and have been hooked ever since, despite the declining work of the past 8ish years. I can quote thousands of lines - this show is a part of my life and always has been.  

One of the things I have always loved about The Simpsons is this; the more you know, the funnier the show is. For example, if you know who Ayn Rand is, then the fact that Maggie goes to “Ayn Rand School for Tots,” is an added comedic element. There are thousands of allusions throughout the Simpsons. But as I got older, there were other aspects that became funnier. For example, when I watched a re-run at the age of sixteen and saw Otto leave “Stoner’s Pot Palace” and claimed that to be false advertising because it sold kitchen supplies, I suddenly got a joke I hadn’t before.

Now that I’m a mom, a lot more of The Simpsons makes sense. I see Homer and Marge sitting and talking in bed on a regular basis, and understand why they do that. Because, after a long day of child-rearing, who wants to go back downstairs once the kids have finally gone to bed? I find myself doing the same thing – retiring to the bedroom around 8 when Victor goes down because while I don’t want to go to sleep right away, I don’t want to head back downstairs.

In many episodes, Homer often daydreams about sleeping. That’s kind of a joke because he’s lazy, but after having a baby, I can relate! There have been many times when I daydream about falling asleep.

When Maggie stays home with Homer in one episode, Homer is trying to pull her from the door frame she's clinging to and can’t pry her off of. He says “She’s starting to give!” and I realise that that’s true – babies may be small, but if you try to take away something they want, it’s not easy! They hold on tight!

I’m sure as my kid (and future kids) continue to grow, I will continue to relate as a parent to my favourite TV family. If a show only gets better as the audience becomes more educated, and develops more life experience, I think it’s a pretty good show! Screw Flanders.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Sensual connections with Beethoven

On Saturday, I had one of my favourite indulgences. I went to the symphony to listen to Beethoven's 3rd Symphony - Eroica. It was a very moving and delightful experience, and there was something about it that was almost sensual. 

As a master of his craft (and my favourite composer), Beethoven has the ability to connect with his audience the way an author might. Music, even classical, is just another form of communication. In fact, I see music as the ultimate universal method of communication. It doesn't matter what language you speak, you can hear music. 

Like reading a work that you find yourself thinking "yes, I can totally relate to that!", I experienced that feeling while listening Beethoven this weekend. The second movement was rather melancholy and dark. It struck a nerve, because we have all experienced personal misery or disappointment in our lives - whether it is fresh or a long ago ache. With this movement, he has found a way to open us - to share in that pain and expose us, to leave us vulnerable. It is as though he is with me, and together we share our unhappiness. Anyone who has experienced an intimate relationship is familiar with that act of sharing, and how being vulnerable with someone can allow for feelings to deepen.

From that moment when he has me so exposed, I am at his mercy. He can take me further down into the darkness, or liberate me. Which he did in the final movement. And this is the part where there may be a sensual connection. 

Exposed and vulnerable, he then takes the listener through a surge of beauty and delight. One of Beethoven's early criticisms from his audience was that he could not end his symphony. However, I found it quite the opposite. It is not that he could not end the piece, but that he wants you left breathless at the end. As I sat there listening to what could have been the end, I kept thinking to myself; no, don't be over yet. Until finally, after there are a handful of moments when it was rather close and you just weren't sure, but you didn't want it to end there, suddenly, yes, the end is clear. Everything else in the world disappears save for you and the music. And in the sudden moment when the instruments stop but the music is still heard, I whispered; "Wow," and was left breathless. That is what a master of the art can do!