Little Talks

Frankenstein . A classic. Typical of Gothic Horror.... Wait horror? Yes. Oh yeah, angry mobs, violent monster, fires, and all that? Nope, just a killer monster minus any of the usual accompanying suspense. Cheesy one-sided conversation aside, my point is that Frankenstein is not what most of us consider horror. It doesn't fit the levels of suspense and violence that we have come to expect with modern films. This isn't completely unexpected, since those are elements that are harder to transfer onto the page. But Mary Shelley's "ghost story" is frightening because of the story itself. Frankenstein is a cautionary tale about what happens when you create a living being and then abandon it to learn and survive on its own. Victor's monster angrily kills everyone that his creator loves because he feels that his abandonment was cruel and unfair. Victor only makes the irrational decision to create his monster because his mother, the one person who ever really c...

Ah the romance! Always a classic, the romance novel has a long tradition of telling stories about love and relationships. But as any woman can tell you, the idea that female characters are dependent upon men to have a place in the narrative (whether fictional or historical) is wrong. Here's the thing: the genre traces its roots back to the early days of the novel, sometime around the 18th century, when women in society had absolutely no legal status apart from their connection to husbands and fathers. So the fact that these tales are all about loving relationships that end in marriage means that people were aware of the fact that women were expected to marry, but were increasingly intrigued by the idea of marrying for love rather than necessity. Jane Austen, Helen Fielding's inspiration, wrote many such novels. Yet in the mid-'90s, when the columns were first being published, things were very different from the Gregorian days of yore. Feminist movements had been on the ris...

[Warning: This post contains some spoilers. Read at own risk.] The Castle of Otranto is the first (and perhaps most bizarre) Gothic horror novel there is. The dialogue is frantic and hard to distinguish from one speaker to the next, the ghost rarely makes a proper appearance and seems to be only a small danger for most of the plot, identities are repeatedly mistaken, and no one is happy by the end. Perhaps the most troublesome thing in this whole story, however, is that the patriarchal system causes as much destruction as treachery that upset the system in the first place. Manfred, the ruler of Otranto and main antagonist of the story. While it is widely debated whether Manfred should be held responsible for the usurpation of the throne by his grandfather, he nonetheless becomes responsible for all kinds of tyranny when his sole focus becomes the continuation of his lineage for the sake of maintaining said throne. Seeing as there was no legitimate ruler known to the people...

To the untrained eye, Doctor Strange is nothing more than a superhero story or a journey of self-discovery. But I am here to tell you that it is actually a story about idols. "Idols?!" you say, "I saw no weird little gods. Devil worship, or something of that sort, maybe." That's true. Of course, I'm not talking about the mysticism at all. The idol in this particular tale is success. Stephen Strange, like so many medical professionals, has spent his entire life training and over-working in hopes of achieving great success and notability. His skills are renowned, and his job is the most important thing in his life. So important, in fact, that when a dangerous car crash destroys his hands and takes away his ability to operate, he throws his life away as he feels that it is hardly worth living. He continues on a mission to find a way to restore his hands, meeting a man who happily explains to him that he found a cure for partial paralysis in a mystic alternat...

Well, I will be honest -- it has been quite a while since I read this book and I do not entirely remember it. There were a lot of anecdotes, and far fewer practical tips and biblical explanations than I think I was expecting, but that is not really what matters here. What matters is that we are living in a society where a book explaining the importance of sharing the gospel is necessary. When and why did we stop? If God is truly such an important part of our lives, we should be sharing that with people all the time. I think that Greg Laurie's chapter about the importance of personal stories highlights this. Personal anecdotes, real experiences that are relatable and understandable, are the best way of helping people to truly see the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. Perhaps, in a way, that is why Laurie's book feels so anecdotal. He proves this point by helping us to see the impact of evangelism by relating some of his experiences. This not only shows us how many lives have...

[Warning: This post contains major spoilers... Seriously, if you have not seen this movie then DO NOT read this post! It will ruin everything!] The Prestige is an amazing movie because it keeps you guessing the entire time. And the best part? The solution is the simplest, and perhaps most obvious, one you could think of (especially if you are familiar with the ways of the old magicians) and yet the writers encourage you to dismiss such a simple solution at every turn. As the audience, we are taken on a journey along with Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman!) exploring the relationship between science and magic. Angier, always trying to best his fellow magician Alfred Borden (Christian Bale...seriously, this cast is awesome!) wants to figure out how to make himself disappear from one place and appear in another, but he doesn't want to share the limelight with anyone else, so he goes to speak to the greatest "magician" he can find: Nicola Tesla. "But Tesla is a scientist!...

What if the King of England was nothing more than the pawn or prize for some of the most powerful women in the country? This is the question which frames Philippa Gregory's novel The White Princess . The story is told from the perspective of Elizabeth of York, daughter of King Edward IV, who marries King Henry Tudor after her mother made a promise with his in order to protect both of their families. Henry Tudor, though he is both king and enemy of the York dynasty which he overthrew to take the throne, is the most desirable prize for Elizabeth Woodville, the princess' mother, because he is the only way that her descendants can ever reach inherit her husband's crown. He is also a pawn for his own mother, Margaret Stanley (nee Beaufort) because she is unable, as a woman, to rule the country herself and so she desires to rule through him. It is thanks to her associations, marriages, blood status, and manipulation (read possible murder of York princes) that her son is ever a...

[Warning: Contains spoilers] At first glance, Peter Parker is your average teenager. Yet, underneath that nerdy façade lies the heart of a hero with and powers contracted from a spider bite (which, interestingly, Marvel has chosen not to portray in this round of films). What is interesting about this is that Peter truly does appear to most people as nothing more than a high school student from Queens. Unlike other Avengers -- *cough* Tony *cough* -- Peter does everything he can to hide his identity for the sake of protecting his aunt. This kid, who is equally brilliant, intelligent, and brave, chooses not to let the world know who he is. In fact, he objects to their ever knowing. Let us consider this for one second: Peter fought with the Avengers in a massive and particularly public conflict, and yet he tells NO ONE! Not his aunt, not his best friend...not even the girl he has a crush on who has openly confessed her feelings for his alter ego. And then comes the kicker. Ned, the loy...