The Culture Enthusiast

In an episode of Seinfeld, Elaine tells Jerry: "It is so sad. All your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons." 

What's even sadder is that all my knowledge of high culture comes from pop culture, from Tv shows just like Seinfeld.

For some years I've been trying to listen to classical music. It has been somewhat difficult to appreciate it, you know, after years of exposure to every new pop band and song that ever existed. (Yes, this means I know What makes you beautiful by heart. Please don't judge me, it's an addiction.)

Anyway, one of the issues of beginning to listen classical music is exactly what happened with Seinfeld. You already know some of the songs, so you feel happy because hey, suddenly I'm not so dumb, but them it's like yeah, this is from Tom and Jerry.

Here's some pieces that made me happy to recognize them only to realize it was from a movie. See if you can guess from which movie they are (answers in the end):

1) Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro

2) Bocherinni: String Quintet in E, Op. 11 No. 5 

3) Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1st and 2nd movement

4) Poulenc: Mouvements Perpétuels No. 1

5) Listz: Liebesträume, S 541 

From the movies:

1) Trading Places (opening scene).

2) Ferris Bueller's Day Off (I'm Abbey Froman scene). 

3) The Truman Show (I never stopped believing scene).

4) Rope (Philip plays it in the piano). 

5) All about Eve (it's the only song Margo wants to listen at her party).

Do you remember any other movies that used classical music?

I just remembered I never got around to writing about Persuasion by Jane Austen. I recently finished reading all her books and that makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because they are all amazing books and sad because there are no more Austen novels to read. Maybe it's time to start re-reading them.

I recommend reading Persuasion after Sense and Sensibility since they're a bit similar in tone. The plot is Austean, as always: pride - not individual pride as personified by Mr. Darcy, but family pride - is again a key element of the plot. As I've mentioned before, Mr. Darcy's pride in Pride and Prejudice is of a palatable kind (Lizzy and us learn to love and forgive him). The pride showed in Persuasion is much more realistic, ugly and unpleasant.

Funny how many people say they dislike Mr. Darcy in the beginning of the book. Wait till you get to know Anne's family.

Her father and two sisters are utterly despicable. Her father's vanity and superficiality at an old age are just pathetic and sad. I visualize Sir Walter as the precursor of our metrosexuals, which means that, in my head, he looked like George Clooney.

Anne's family, people full of themselves, convinced her not to marry the man she loves, Frederick Wentworth, because he is poor and a nobody. Fast forward eight years, Anne is an old maid at twenty seven and Frederik is the successful and wealthy Captain Wentworth. And he is back in town, willing to marry. That is, to marry anyone who is not Anne.

There's not one Jane Austen novel who is not incredibly practical and educational. For those who didn't like Mansfield Park's heroin, Fanny Price, you will find Anne just as virtuous but much more heroic and stronger.

What Persuasion taught me is that virtue prevails. Anne has always been a virtuous and cautious person and this is more important than being vain or proud. Mrs. Smith, Anne's old friend, moved me so much. She wasn't always virtuous, she was a bit shallow and careless in the past (her husband managed to impoverish them both). Now, despite being old, crippled, poor and with no connections she is still joyful and she helps others who are poorer than her.

Moreover, in Persuasion you can see the difference between Austen novels and our modern romantic comedies. Most romantic comedies act as escapism for women. 

Austen novels, though they can be used as escapism if you want to, always teach you something through the characters and their actions. As a matter of fact, they teach you a lot about extremely important things. Rom-coms, on the other hand, don't.

Take Bridget Jones's Diary, for example. This movie is loosely based in Pride and Prejudice. But Bridget is neither smart not virtuous. She is - something Lizzy or any other Austen heroin is not - neurotic. See how Lizzy or Elinor never lose control of the situation. And notice how in almost every scene Bridget does - much to our amusement.

My point is: Austen tells us "take it easy, think it through and this will repay you." Bridget says: "sleep with a cute scumbag and act crazy 24/7 - you will be irresistible even to women!"

I made this comparison (Austen novels X modern rom-coms) when talking about Persuasion because it offers a device which has been explored ad nauseam by romantic comedies: the idea that "he will come back".

The difference is that Persuasion talks about the importance of making our own choices and, especially, making wise choices. Otherwise, learn how to live with the choices you made.

Anne didn't spend the past eight years living across the hall from Wentworth jeopardizing his relationships. She didn't have the certainty that, just like that, he would come crawling back to her. Many movies and Tv shows give this idea to women and not only is this escapism but it also makes them live in another reality. Unlike Anne, they won't move on.

I was tagged in the Liebster blog award by the lovely Rie from Rie Reviews. Thanks so much, Rie! The rules to receive this award are:

(Before I begin I'd just like to say I was extremely shocked by the news of what happened in Aurora, CO. To everyone involved: my deepest sympathies, we're praying for you all.)

I wrote a rather lengthy post on The Dark Knight Rises but I felt it was difficult to talk about it without giving away the end. Therefore, I made a video about it! This way nobody can arrive at the post because of a Google Images search and read the ending. So, just to make sure: spoilers ahead.

This is my first video post ever, I had a lot of fun doing it, hope you enjoy it! Please forgive my English and my poor video making skills...

Let me know what you think!

Writer's Corner is a new monthly feature that covers tips about writing and everything connected to it. For the previous posts, click here.

I'm so used to listening to advice with a straight face I didn't expect to crack up while reading "The ultimate guide to writing better than you do" by Colin Nissan. I found this amazing article a couple of weeks ago and was blown away. I even had to call my sister who has no particular interest in writing to read it.

Talk about good writing: he managed to impart great pieces of advice for writers and make us laugh. The article is an amazing lesson about writing in itself. 

It also has so many lines I want to use, like: "A writer’s brain is full of little gifts, like a piñata at a birthday party. It’s also full of demons, like a piñata at a birthday party in a mental hospital." 

All the tips are great and the one I need to put in practice asap is writing everyday, not just when I feel like it. 

I strongly recommend reading the post. It's short, filled with great tips and it will probably make you laugh. Hard. 

What did you think of the article and the tips? Is there any area that you really need to work on in your writing?