Life Is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful is set in Italy during World War II. It's about a chap named Guido and his journey to find love and the sacrifice he made for his family. All I have to say is I was very emotionally attached to this movie.

Everything is happy and comedic in the beginning. There are bright colors and beautiful scenery. The main character, Guido, is clever, witty, and charming. He falls in love with a women he calls the Princess, and they meet constantly, by his plans and by mistake. She is a teacher at an elementary school and he becomes a waiter. He hears from an important man he waited on that the Commissioner is supposed to speak at her school. He goes and pretends to be the Commissioner but isn't really serious, he just jokes around to get a date with the Princess. One thing a teacher said when she introduced Guido was that the Italian race is superior- the best of all. That connects with the Dinka saying they are superior to the Arabs.

When Guido is serving at a wedding dinner he gets a call from his Uncle who is outside. Some kids painted his horse green and made some remark about him being a Jew. His Uncle warns Guido that they'll start hassling him too, and this changes the mood of the movie, and World War II starts becoming more apparent. Nevertheless, after realizing the wedding dinner is actually the very unhappy Princess's, he comes into the fancy place riding his Uncle's green horse and rescues her from this unwanted marriage.

Time passes and Guido and the Princess get married and have an adorable Son. Everyone is happy until one day the Princess comes home and Guido, the Uncle, and her Son are gone, the house is trashed. She runs to where the Jews are being shipped off on trains and willingly goes on a train, even though she is not a Jew. Guido is still happy and upbeat, like always, and plays everything off like this is a game for his Son. When they get to the work camp the family is separated like in What is the What. Like how Achak ran off on his own and went on a journey to Ethiopia, his mom and dad were off somewhere else, but still alive. Guido and his Son go with the men in the camp while the Princess goes with the women.

Just like in What is the What and Haroun and the Sea of Stories, so many things connect. In this movie:

1. He was a waiter in Italy- He became a waiter in the camp.

2. The Doctor friend he had at home- The Doctor gives the check-ups at the camp, and could have saved his life since Guido wasn't very fit.

3. When Guido went to the opera to follow the Princess- He fearlessly plays the opera music over the camp so Princess hears, and she knows he is alive.

4. According to Guido's made-up game, which is the work camp, the winner gets a real tank, which the Son wanted before even leaving Italy- at the end of the movie, when he is alone in the camp because the war has ended and everyone is either dead or have left, a tank rolls in driven by Americans. He knows he won the game.

Things connect in Life is Beautiful from his life before the Holocaust, then during. In What things connect from his life in America, to his life in Sudan. In Haroun things connect from his time on Earth, to his adventure in Kahani.

When word came to the Nazis that the war was over and they lost, they spent a night killing as many Jews as they could, cleaning out the camp. Guido made sure his Son was hidden and went to look for his wife. He was caught and shot, but not after winking at his son who was properly hidden and he marched off all goofy with a Nazi leading him to an isolated place. I CRIED, it was so sad. In the end his Son and the Princess survived, and returned home.

Monsoon Wedding

Monsoon Wedding is about a marriage set in India. The couple isn't exactly the focal point here though. The movie has several plots with different people, but it all comes together and connects through this big Indian wedding. The people jump between Indian and English language and jumps from different character to different character, each scene is someone else until they mesh and the story becomes one. There are many different points of view, and I shall attempt to list them.

1. The Bride and Groom together
2. The Bride with her ex-boyfriend
3. The Bride's father, mother, and brother
4. The Wedding Planner dude and his love interest. (Maid in Bride's household)
5. Cousin to the Bride, Creepy Old Guy, and Little Girl. (He sexual harasses the little girl.)
6. A Sister of one family and a Brother of another family. (Love interests)
7. A mish mosh of individual scenes and combinations.
I apologize for not knowing any names, they are all Indian and pretty confusing, I didn't have a chance to write them down. I wouldn't have known who was who.

In the beginning I can tell this is a very loud, lively Indian family, but the Bride and Groom don't seem excited. I'm guessing the Groom is just nervous and the Bride is thinking of her "frolicking" with her ex-boyfriend. The families seem really well off financially since the Father of the Bride is paying a big sum for waterproofing of the wedding tent.

At a dinner people start talking of immigrating to American, like Valentino did! Except one guy who went seems happy about going there, and giving advice to one girl who wants to go learn creative writing. The Bride even wants to go, but is it to escape marriage and the Groom?

There are individual relationships between different people, multiple couples. The Wedding Planner falls for the Maid, and they both like to eat flowers. Does it mean something? Maybe they are meant for each other.

When the Groom finds out about the Bride and her Ex, he says, ...Screwing ex-boyfriend- but in American you'll fit right in!
Oh, harsh! Like Valentino talking about American culture in a negative way, unfortunately. The Bride and Groom end up talking it out and falling in love.

The Cousin and Little Girl were harassed by the same Creepy Old Guy and the Father (their Uncle, who raised them when their father died) feels horrible but from this he became closer to his wife, when their relationship was drifting in the beginning. The Father, or Uncle, refuses to separate Creepy Old Guy from family, but he still loves and cares for the Cousin and Little Girl.

All these conflicts and drama happened just days before the actual wedding. It concluded with:
1. Bride and Groom in love and get married
2. Bride and ex-boyfriend are completely over.
3. Father and Mother are happy, as is the Brother when he got to dance at the reception.
4. Wedding Planner and Maid end up happy together! Aww!
5. Uncle sends Creepy Old Guy away even before the wedding ceremony begins!
6. That young love interest is still just that. A young crush with each other.

In Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the family was separated. Haroun was irritated by his father's unclear way of talking and spacey behavior, and his mother completely left the family. The Bride's family was similar in that they were separated. The Mother and Father quarrelled, the Bride was off doing her own thing, the Uncle and Cousin, who was violated by Creepy Old Guy when she was younger, were against each other. Yet they all came together just by a wedding, like Haroun's family came together by an adventure to Kahani.
Rain symbolized change within the movie. When it was raining there was a turn in the story. It was raining during the wedding actually.

The flowers could symbolize anything, I'm not sure. In the beginning the flowers could mean the brokenness of the family, the connection of the Wedding Planner and the Maid, and at the end the celebration of the wedding.

Haroun and The Sea of Stories- Chapter 11 & 12

(pg. 185) Meanwhile, back with Rashid, Prince Bolo, Murda, the Shadow Warrior, and company, they are going into battle with the real Khattam-Shud and his army of Chups. Keep in mind that the Chups never ever talk, to each other or at all. The Gups talk almost constantly and that enabled them to strategize, plan, argue, debate, and unite together. "All those arguments and debates, all that openness, had created powerful bonds of fellowship between them... And as for the rest, well, their vows of silence and their habits of secrecy had made them suspicious and distrustful of one another." (Rushdie 185) I definitely see this as the moral of the story or at least a good lesson. To have good relationships with people you have to talk and communicate in order to know each other. The people you never talk to, you don't know them and can't trust them.

(pg. 192) The Chup army was easily defeated was easily defeated and Princess Batcheat was saved by Prince Bolo, thanks to Haroun's wish for the sun to shine which melted the tower she was in. Khattam-Shud was crushed by a detached statue head. What nobody knew was the Chups hated the Vow of Silence and Khattam-Shud. They wanted peace with the Gups, and Murda became the new leader of the Chups. "They announced that they were especially anxious to restore the Old Zone as soon as possible, so that these ancient tales could be fresh once more." (Rushdie 192) This all happened in the course of what, two days? Less than that? Though the division between the Gups and Chups have been there for a long time. That's just the way stories go sometimes.

(pg. 203) Haroun's journey to the Sea of Stories, the Land of Gup, and the Land of Chup all ended happily. Butt, the Hoopoe, got a wonderful new brain, the two lands of Kahani are living peacefully, and Rashid got his gift of storytelling back. Haroun and Rashid went back to Earth. "When he awoke it was a bright, sunny morning. Everything seemed as it had always been; of flying mechanical Hoopoes and Water Genies there was no trace." (Rushdie 203) This is like the ending of Peter Pan. The kids all remembered their journey to Neverland like a dream, and though they spent days in Neverland, when they woke up it was the same night. And it was just the next day for Haroun and Rashid.

(pg. 211) The book ended with Rashid telling a story for Snooty Buttoo, the mean politician, in front of a giant crowd. The story he told was Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Too bad for Buttoo, but the people loved the story and related him to Khattam-Shud and drove him out of town. When Haroun and Rashid came home Haroun's mother, Soraya, was back, and back for good. "... 'I know that I made a mistake. I went; I don't deny. I went, but now, if you want, then I am back.'" (Rushdie 210) The "sad city's" name was also remembered when the Walrus made the city happy under Haroun's wish. It was Kahani, which means "story." I really enjoyed this book. It taught me the importance of will-power and communication. All the characters were important and believable, and it relates to our world for such a far-fetched story.

Haroun and The Sea of Stories- Chapter 9 & 10

(pg. 152) I don't understand how shadows can touch things. It did mention when shadows separate from their original person the person gets traits of a shadow and the shadow gets human traits. Those traits could solidify shadows and give them features. Since Haroun was captured they were taken aboard a shadow ship and everything is shadow, including the people. The ship manufactures all the poison that is ruining the stories. The Sea has millions of little colored streams, and those streams are different stories. It is discovered that Khattam-Shud's shadow is in charge of this operation.

(pg. 155) There are some parts that seem really random like the P2C2E, water genies, disconnecting tools, and mechanical birds, but as I read on everything connects and seems right. Characters connect from both worlds, little details and little things people say connect. For example Khattam-Shud was exactly Mr. Sengupta! The chap who Haroun's mom ran off with. "'I know you,' Haroun shouted. 'You're him. You're Mr. Sengupta and you stole my mother and you left the fat lady behind..." (Rushdie 155) Does every character Haroun's life on Earth have it's own Kahani counter person?

(pg. 162) The Chups took Butt's mechanical brain out and Haroun and Iff have boarded the evil shadow ship. (Goopa and Bagha had to stay behind becuase the pollution was too much, and Mali has dissappeared.) Khattam-Shud happens to be only a "skinny, scrawny, measly, weaselly, snivelling, clerical type." (Rushdie 153) Except this guy is powerful, and plans to plug the Source of Stories so new stories can't ever de-pollute the Ocean. Khattam-Shud's shadow is a typical evil enemy. Instead of killing the heroes right away to get rid of their chances of ever defeating him, he tells them his entire plan and puts them in an easily escapable situation so they escape and foil his plan. Just like Austin Powers and Dr. Evil.

In this case, Khattam-Shud gives Haroun and Iff an entire guided tour of his ship, showing them the generator which controls the entire poison-manufacturing ship. He also shows them his wet suits which protect the Chups when they go in the poisoned waters. Well, now we know how to beat him and how to escape unharmed. And that is precisely how Haroun does it.

(pg. 172) Haroun has escaped Kahttam's evil clutches with Butt's mechanical brain. After several tries Haroun reassembled the brain in Butt's head, and realized he still had Wishwater in his pocket that he first recieved from Iff when first arriving to Kahani. "The bottle was still half-full of magical golden liquid which Iff the Water Genie had offered him what seemed like years earlier: Wishwater. 'The harder you wish, the better it works,' Iff had told him. 'Do serious business, and the Wishwater will do serious business for you.'" (Rushdie 170) Haroun sees the Wishwater as the way to solve the entire problem. Since everything and everyone that is plaguing the Ocean is made of shadow, how else to stop them but with sunlight? "'I wish this Moon, Kahani, to turn, so that it's no longer half in light and half in darkness... I wish it to turn, this very instant, in such a way that sun shines down on the Dark Ship, the full, hot, noonday sun.'" (Rushdie 171) So, of course, it all works. Sun comes to Chup Land and the Dark Ship, the shadow-people, and the Plug that was going to plug the Source of Stories all disintegrated and melted away.

"'Never doubted you for a moment,' replied Butt the Hoopoe without moving its beak. 'Move the whole Moon by will-power? Mister, I thought, no problem.'" (Rushdie 172) Will-power seems to be something really important to have in both books. Like Haroun's will-power to save the Sea of Stories, it was was necessary for the Lost Boys to have will-power to just live. It's something in you that can make you do great things.

Haroun and The Sea of Stories- Chapter 7 & 8

(pg. 114) Each character has a unique way of speaking and communicating. Butt the mechanical bird with a brain says "but but but" all the time, Iff uses says and short sentences, Goopy and Bagha the Plentimaw Fishes only rhyme together, and Blabbermouth the Page emphasizes every other word. And Prince Bolo is dashing yet a bit foolish. "'What's that you say?' shouted Bolo, leaping to his feet and striking a dashing and slightly foolish pose." (Rushdie 102)

(pg. 129) The army of the Gups made their way to Chup Land where they encountered one the natives. A Shadow Warrior, who looks extremely frightening with black eyes. The Chups live in darkness at all times while the Gups live in light, so their eyes are reversed so they can see. The Shadow Warrior attempts to speak. "The effort of producing sounds twisted the Shadow Warrior's already-striking face (green skin, scarlet lips, white-striped cheeks, etc.) into dreadful, contorted shapes. 'Gogogol,' he gurgled. 'Kafkafka,' he coughed. 'Eh? What's that? What's the fellow saying?' demanded Prince Bolo loudly. 'Can't make out a single word.'" (Rushdie 129) The humor of this story is just as effective (and unexpected) as it was in What is the What. The humor comes at unexpected times. Like throughout Achak's painful journey, the confrontation with this Shadow Warrior, named Murda, and even in Life is Beautiful there was humor throughout the movie despite the Nazi's and work camps.

"'If, as it is said, people in the Land of Chup hardly talk at all these days, because of the Cultmaster's decrees, then it's not surprising that this Warrior has temporarily lost control of his voice..." (Rushdie 129) I saw a MTV segment called TrueLife, and this episode was about deaf teenagers who use sign language or they figure out what people are saying by reading lips. One teenage boy had an ear surgery and had to learn how to talk. Since he was never able to hear others talk he never even knew how a voice was supposed to sound. When he tried to talk I couldn't understand a word, it was so bizarre.

(pg. 142) The Chup group decides to split, with Prince Bolo and company going after Princess Batcheat and Haroun volunteered to go check out the source out the pollution in the Sea with his friends. Word is Khattam-Shud and his shadow (which, in this world, shadows are like real people) have split up, and one of the two is at the pollution side while the other is with the Princess. Butt, Iff, Goopa, Bagha, Mali, and Haroun are almost to the pollution source when they get captured by Shadow Chup People. "'So we're prisoners already,' Haroun fumed. 'Some hero I turned out to be.'" (Rushdie 142) I like how human Haroun is. He's just like a normal person, so it's interesting to see how he reacts to situations. He's comical, sarcastic, and loves an adventure- just like a regular human boy.

Haroun and The Sea of Stories- Chapter 5 & 6

(pg. 86) Like Achak had many names throughout his life, Haroun has adopted a new nickname from Iff the Water Genie. "Nothing comes from nothing, Thieflet; no story comes from nowhere." (Rushdie 86) What you've done, where you've been, it defines who you are. And if you're lucky you'll get a nickname out of it. Haroun stole Iff's beloved Disconnecting Tool, so the name Thieflet is appropriate.

(pg. 98) Gup City is in a frenzy and has declared war on Chup City. There is a Twilight Strip that connects theses two warring lands, and there a spy was found. This spy's name was Rashid Khalifa. Gasp! Gasping moments for Haroun and the Sea of Stories are when unexpected or comical things happen. Such as Rashid's entrance in Kahani and learning water genies actually do exist! Gasping moments in What is the What are when someone close to Achak dies or is never seen again, such as William K, Deng, and Dut.

(pg. 99) The Land of Gup is all about stories. Even the Gup army is actually called "the Library." Every soldier is actually "a page" in "a chapter" in "a book" in "a volume." That's how the army is divided and organized. It actually reminds me of Alice In Wonderland. Except instead of books, chapters, and volumes, there are cards, queens, kings, spades, etc. Also, Haroun and the Sea of Stories is full of creatures like Mali the Floating Gardener, Iff the Water Genie, and Goopa and Bagha the Plentimaw Fishes. In Alice in Wonderland there are creatures like the talking caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, the Time Rabbit, and the purple-striped cat. Wonderland is as mythical as Kahani.

(pg. 101) The Chupwalas hate stories so much that they don't even like to speak. In fact, they don't speak at all. "The Land of Chup has fallen under the power of the "Mystery of Bezaban," a Cult of Dumbness or Muteness, whose followers swear vows of lifelong silence to show their devotion." (Rushdie 101) Some even sew their mouths shut in dedication, but then they die because they couldn't eat or drink. I think Chupwalas have the disadvantage here. The shorter end of the stick. The Guppees could could taunt and make fun of them and they could have no comeback. However, since the Gups are so gentle what could they say?

(pg. 104) Not only did the Chups pollute the Sea, but they also kidnapped the unattractive, horrible-voiced Princess Batcheat- Prince Bolo's one true love. "'As the Chupwala soldiers hauled the Princess away, I heard them say a terrible thing.'" Wait, I thought they were vowed to silence. What would they do anyway to communicate? Sign language? Charades? So if the Chupwala soldiers got in trouble for talking, their leader, Khattam-Shud, would just charade- ...3 words...... You...... R...... banished.

(pg. 108) The Land of Gup seems like a really beautiful, magical place when it is described by Haroun. "... gazed out at the view of the Land of Gup, and the Pleasure Garden in which preparations for was were being made, and the Lagoon in which a great flotilla of mechanical birds was assembling, and out across the endangered Ocean of the Streams of Story." (Rushdie 108) Perhaps I can relate this place to Neverland in Peter Pan. That place was definitely full of magic just like the Land of Guppees.

Haroun and The Sea of Stories- Chapter 3 & 4

pg. 50) Snooty Butto is the politician's name, and he is a bit on the arrogant side. He is taking Rashid and Haroun to a houseboat on the Dull Lake by swan-boat. The lake seems to be very temperamental and the weather is doing crazy things. This situation reminds Haroun of one of Rashid's stories called the Moody Land. The land would arrange itself to fit the mood of the people, and since Rashid was depressed, Snooty Butto was full of hot air, and Haroun was irritated by Buttto, the lake was following their moods! So, perhaps the Sea of Stories is actually full real of real stories in the world, or it's stories are influenced by different places and things my Earth. How else would the story of the Moody Land fit perfectly with the Dull Lake.

(pg. 57) As Rashid and Haroun settled in to sleep, Haroun hears a noise from his bathroom. Look at what he finds! A Water Genie disconnecting his father's Story Water tap. Rashid ended his subscription, thinking he's lost his storytelling talent. Haroun takes his powerful Disconnecting Tool and questions this Water Genie. How did he know his father ended the subscription?

"'He sent it by the usual means,' Iff shrugged. 'A P2C2E.'

'And what is that?'

'Obvious,' said the Water Genie with a wicked grin. 'It's a Process Too Complicated To Explain.'" (Rushdie 57) I knew it! I knew it was important and the real way to become a subscriber, or in this case, end a subscription.

(pg. 58) Haroun continues to question the Water Genie all about the Sea of Stories and the land it's located on.

"'At P2C2E House in Gup City there are many brilliant persons employed, but there is only one Grand Comptroller. They are the Eggheads. He is the Walrus.'" (Rushdie 58) Isn't that a Beatles song?

[I Am The Walrus, by The Beatles: I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus]

Eggheads, eggman... pretty close.

(pg. 66) The Genie named Iff has agreed to take Haroun to Gup City, where the Sea of Stories is. Haroun wants to talk to "the Walrus" about his dad's subscription. The way of transportation to another world is by mechanical bird, which reminds Haroun of another character he just met that day. "'You maybe have some objection to machines?' it inquired, in a loud, booming voice that was identical in every respect to the Mail Coach Driver's." (Rushdie 66) Just like in What is the What, everything from his present state to his past connected eventually, so Haroun's story all connects too with characters.

(pg. 75) The Chups are polluting the Gup's Sea of Stories! The Land of Chup is basically the anti-Land of Gup. Polluting the sacred Sea is a huge offense because the Gups are all about talking and storytelling and the Chups are all about silence. "... things at Gup City must be close to crisis. Quick, quick! Top speed ahead! This could mean war.'" (Rushdie 75) I can't help but connect theses two lands to the government versus the SPLA in Sudan. They both are civil wars (since the Land Of Gup and Chup are connected), and like the government unfairly hired the murhaleen to raid Sudan, the Chups poisoned the Gup's Sea of Stories.

Genie!