Well, nix the idea of my going on a hiatus!
Just when I think I have nothing to speak of, something occurs that leaves me thinking and pondering for the rest of the day.
Well, it happened this past Saturday, before Easter. It being Easter weekend and the family was home, to amuse myself I decided to watch a movie I had just recently watched: The King and I. I think I've already told you all how much I adore this movie, and it never gets old for me. So I felt no compunction about popping it in and descending into nineteenth century Siam. My Mom saw me watching it and said, "Elizabeth, you're watching this again?! Yeah, I am, why not? Watching a favorite movie is like reading one of your favorite books for the umpteenth time: no matter what, you take pleasure in a great story. Despite her teasing, both Mom and Grandma sat down to watch it with me.
So there I am, enjoying myself, and then my favorite part of the movie: Tuptim's play of Uncle Tom's Cabin. As a young woman who participated in her high school drama club, I've always been fascinated by theater in all its forms. Granted, we've been used to European-style theater, not Asian drama, and that's why I love watching Tuptim's play: it's so wonderfully exotic and different! Instead of the actors speaking dialogue that moves the plot along, in Asian drama, the narrator speaks the story while the actors never speak at all (though they are delightfully expressive), and all the parts were played by women!
When my Mom pointed that out somewhat disapprovingly, I responded, "How is that any different from Shakespeare's day when all the parts were played by men?" She just kind of shrugged it off.
A few minutes later, Mom then said, "You know, this is the part you should have fast forwarded."
I remember looking at her surprised and said, "Why?"
"Because it's boring." Mom replied.
I looked back at her disbelievingly. "Boring? This isn't boring; this is exciting! You don't find this fascinating?"
It was then that I realized what the big difference between me and my mother is. For YEARS, I have been wondering why my mother and I seem to be on different wavelengths, different levels almost; why she finds things such as Tuptim's play boring; why she teases me about having about having notebooks filled with stories; why we butt heads a lot of the time. I finally realized what it is: My mother has absolutely no imagination!
That's why she never understood my love for historical fiction and fantasy; my love for history; my fascination with different culture---my fascination with people. She has no interest in it; she can't see beyond the mundane happenings of ordinary life. Compare that to me, who is nothing but imagination. Don't get me wrong, I will always have my feet firmly on the ground, but my head will always be in the clouds regardless. I've always had a huge infatuation with whimsy and the fantastic, and I've always appreciated the absurd. Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, T.V. shows like Merlin and Avatar: The Last Airbender, practically every Disney movie every made...they all challenge the ordinariness of daily life, where practically anything is possible. That's what inspired me to pick up my pen and create my own worlds.
This led to my study of history, but it wasn't the catalyst. Just look at where I live: the D.C. Metro area, arguably the most diverse area of the country (besides New York City). For as long as I can remember, I have been surrounded by people of different races and ethnicities who spoke different languages and even practiced different religions than mine. I just accepted it, and am comfortable around people of all kinds. My study of history began with wondering where my family came from, where I could pull out a map of the world, point to a few countries and say, "That's where my family comes from." Obviously in my case, that led me straight to Europe. But then I discovered T.V. shows like Dragonball Z (YES, I WATCHED IT! IT WAS ON CARTOON NETWORK!), saw a lot of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, just recently I saw the movie The Joy Luck Club that was a book by Amy Tan, and was automatically entranced by Asian culture. Does anyone remember The Royal Diaries series besides me (I still have all of mine!)? Because they too sparked my imagination to faraway lands and a different way of life that was utterly fascinating to me.
My mother understand none of it. NONE OF IT. It frustrates me to no end that she doesn't have any interest in these things, but at the same time, I feel sorry for her. Imagine not having imagination! I wouldn't dream of it; I can't think of anything scarier.
It was just a realization that came to me this weekend.
Well, it happened this past Saturday, before Easter. It being Easter weekend and the family was home, to amuse myself I decided to watch a movie I had just recently watched: The King and I. I think I've already told you all how much I adore this movie, and it never gets old for me. So I felt no compunction about popping it in and descending into nineteenth century Siam. My Mom saw me watching it and said, "Elizabeth, you're watching this again?! Yeah, I am, why not? Watching a favorite movie is like reading one of your favorite books for the umpteenth time: no matter what, you take pleasure in a great story. Despite her teasing, both Mom and Grandma sat down to watch it with me.
So there I am, enjoying myself, and then my favorite part of the movie: Tuptim's play of Uncle Tom's Cabin. As a young woman who participated in her high school drama club, I've always been fascinated by theater in all its forms. Granted, we've been used to European-style theater, not Asian drama, and that's why I love watching Tuptim's play: it's so wonderfully exotic and different! Instead of the actors speaking dialogue that moves the plot along, in Asian drama, the narrator speaks the story while the actors never speak at all (though they are delightfully expressive), and all the parts were played by women!
When my Mom pointed that out somewhat disapprovingly, I responded, "How is that any different from Shakespeare's day when all the parts were played by men?" She just kind of shrugged it off.
A few minutes later, Mom then said, "You know, this is the part you should have fast forwarded."
I remember looking at her surprised and said, "Why?"
"Because it's boring." Mom replied.
I looked back at her disbelievingly. "Boring? This isn't boring; this is exciting! You don't find this fascinating?"
It was then that I realized what the big difference between me and my mother is. For YEARS, I have been wondering why my mother and I seem to be on different wavelengths, different levels almost; why she finds things such as Tuptim's play boring; why she teases me about having about having notebooks filled with stories; why we butt heads a lot of the time. I finally realized what it is: My mother has absolutely no imagination!
That's why she never understood my love for historical fiction and fantasy; my love for history; my fascination with different culture---my fascination with people. She has no interest in it; she can't see beyond the mundane happenings of ordinary life. Compare that to me, who is nothing but imagination. Don't get me wrong, I will always have my feet firmly on the ground, but my head will always be in the clouds regardless. I've always had a huge infatuation with whimsy and the fantastic, and I've always appreciated the absurd. Alice In Wonderland, Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, all of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, T.V. shows like Merlin and Avatar: The Last Airbender, practically every Disney movie every made...they all challenge the ordinariness of daily life, where practically anything is possible. That's what inspired me to pick up my pen and create my own worlds.
This led to my study of history, but it wasn't the catalyst. Just look at where I live: the D.C. Metro area, arguably the most diverse area of the country (besides New York City). For as long as I can remember, I have been surrounded by people of different races and ethnicities who spoke different languages and even practiced different religions than mine. I just accepted it, and am comfortable around people of all kinds. My study of history began with wondering where my family came from, where I could pull out a map of the world, point to a few countries and say, "That's where my family comes from." Obviously in my case, that led me straight to Europe. But then I discovered T.V. shows like Dragonball Z (YES, I WATCHED IT! IT WAS ON CARTOON NETWORK!), saw a lot of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, just recently I saw the movie The Joy Luck Club that was a book by Amy Tan, and was automatically entranced by Asian culture. Does anyone remember The Royal Diaries series besides me (I still have all of mine!)? Because they too sparked my imagination to faraway lands and a different way of life that was utterly fascinating to me.
My mother understand none of it. NONE OF IT. It frustrates me to no end that she doesn't have any interest in these things, but at the same time, I feel sorry for her. Imagine not having imagination! I wouldn't dream of it; I can't think of anything scarier.
It was just a realization that came to me this weekend.