Climax
Thanks to the dead wireless and my upcoming trip to Christchurch, I did not find time to blog about the conference's individuals days. Trust me, I could have filled pages and pages of cyberspace up about the upsets, surprises and turnarounds, but, unfortunately, you will have to let the photos tell you those stories (Do you like them? I really had no idea how to shoot a conference of people talking about issues.) However, the gathering did end with an interesting note of depressing and epic proportions that I want to detail.
After the final discussions with NZUSA (New Zealand United Students Association), Mathijs and I discussed seeing Prince Caspian as we added each other to Facebook. I told him I had not see the first movie, but it sounded like a good idea, especially since I did not want to return to a wireless hostel.
He went to see if any of his other Aucklanders wanted to join us as I checked my email. Later, I joined him and a group of others trying to figure out their post-conference plans, while one person decided to entertain us with a very upsetting movie (to me, at least).
Zeitgegeist: The Movie depicts several conspiracy theories about Jesus's existence and the perpertraitors of 911. The mastermind behind this movie suggested people derived the story of Christ from celestial body movements. For instance, three stars called the kings line up to form a singular bright one and they point towards some sign of bread or wheat (when Jerusalem means house of bread). The examples go on and on to explain why Dec. 25 was picked, the virgin mother, the crucifixion and so forth. I may not have religious views, but I did have one retort: what if God set all of these happenings purposely to honor his son and his years on Earth?
The person playing the film then fast forwarded the move to the portion that focused on one day: Sept. 11, 2001. While I thought the subject has already been tortured to death, I watched curiously to see what new facet they attempted to discover. They believe that the US government decided to destroy thousand's of lives, three historical buildings and four public airliners. I never did catch the reasoning as to why it would do that, but their evidence derived from supposed plans of emergency set in place right before the events, several demonstrations of how the buildings and airplanes rubble did not match up to the event and the warnings our government received about the attack.
I really do not know what happened on that dreadful day, but the way the film presented the story upset me the most. At the very start, they had clips running back to back of different angles in which people recorded the plane crashes (boom, bang, boom, sphsd, bang), as if it came from some overproduced action film that entertained millions. Plus, they did not seem to care that their findings could possibly find the true criminal of this awful crime and bring closure to many families, rather, they ranted about how everyone did not have the correct story and should pay attention to theirs--the entertaining one. Whatever.
As I watched this, many Kiwis saw the film's effect on me and asked if I was OK. I told them yes and started to discuss my 911 story (every USer has one of how they heard the news or partook in it) and just received "poor American" stares--something completely different for me. Usually, everyone within hearing range shares their stories, but this audience did not have planes thrown into the heart of their country that day and did not share my pain. One, though, attempted to do something sweet, though, to ease my pain. Stefan (who look EXACTLY like James), an honorary Kiwi from Germany, went to turn it off after seeing my reaction but a few actually wanted to see more of the grueling images.
I, however, had my fill and gladly left with Mathijs, Russel and Michael to visit Baldwin Street--the world's steepest hill--before catching the film. This had a spot on my "to see list" the next day but gladly scratched it off in exchange for the company. The four of us headed off to our famed destination and filled the 30 minute walk with chatter. I spent most of the time talking with Mathijs about everything from his undergrad days in Dunedin to photojournalism.
Russel, another Aucklander, and I talked once we almost reached our destination. He could not believe I had not indulged in a meat pie yet and eagerly suggested a mince and cheese one (which I mentally noted). When we saw the hill and heard the decision to climb it, I must have said something like "Oh, great" because he piped in, "Stop bitching, American." He meant no harm at all, and I cracked up at the remark.
Talking started to die off throughout the whole queer bunch as heavy breathing and grunts in response to the climb took its place. The incline became so steep you could easily reach out in front of you and touch the surface supposedly 5'11" (well for me) under you. Mathijs and I had to take a few breather breaks, but we made it up eventually and received the amazing view as our reward. We all brought out the cameras to capture the natural wonder while trying to avoid the cars cheaters used to climb the hill.
We made our descent down together, but I separated from the group to photograph from the mid-hump of Baldwin street because it visually blocked the true steepness from all photographs taken at the top. I spent a good amount of time trying to obtain a decent shot, which left me a bit behind the group. Fortunately, I caught up with them at the base and, together, we headed to the cinema for our 5:30 showing.
Michael, however, had to catch a bus much sooner and we still had about a 45 minute walk to go, so, he had to bum a ride from Neal to catch his bus on time. Mathijs, Russel and I continued our merry ways discussing a lot of topics dealing with current race relations between whites and Maori, a conversation that lasted almost the whole way to the cinema.
There, I bought an ice cream (I swear I have an addiction to dairy) and went with the others into a beautiful theater. Compared to the US, this one utilizes wider and fewer rows instead of stacking smaller ones upwards. I loved it!
The film garnered my appreciation as well. I wish they had used a little bit more plot line surrounding the annihilation of most Narnians and why Peter felt he needed to prove himself and act rashly. However, I favored the interesting camera techniques greatly, especially in the fight between the two kings. Sometimes, the character would actually come up and smack the camera recording him, giving the audience a feel what his opponent just endured--great stuff!
Our awesome evening ended at an Italian restaurant, where we swapped coming out stories, discussed our current partners and made random chatter. They were both quite friendly and entertaining, yet each in a different way. They both had different and interesting perspectives that really made me think deeply about certain aspects of the medical field (fingers and toes are evidently an extremely specialized field) and living as a queer in New Zealand.
I parted the Kiwis, thanking them for their company and wishing them a safe return to Auckland. At the hostel, I called myself editing photos, but my exhausted mind could barely function, so, it turned to the Star Wars DVD Katelin put in. I tried to enjoy it as much as I could but my eyes protested their weariness and closed several times during the viewing of it and the next screening.
Finally, I could not take the mid-conscious state anymore and took myself to bed before I could even see Luke reunite with his misguided father in Return of the Jedi.
Ah, well. I knew I would need more than the force to help me to get my life packed the next day if I did not rest enough. Christchurch was calling and I had to prepare myself to answer.
