Top Gun, whether I like it or not, had a significant impact in my early childhood.
Being his favorite movie, my dad watched Top Gun all the time. One of his favorite Sunday night activities was sipping on some beer and watch Maverick and Goose take the skies and shoot down some bad guys. As a 5-6 year old, I could only grasp elementary movie plots, and only understood little, but I finally decide to watch Top Gun with my father.
Like the curious little 6 year old I was, I constantly asked questions regarding the movie, "Who is he? What is he doing? Why did he do that?" My father's tension and impatience was beginning to be palpable to even me, I was ruining his Sunday night ritual.
After much questioning and nagging, we finally get to the part where Goose dies in an accident.
"...Is he...is he dead?"
"Yes he is son, yes he is."
Overwhelming amounts of emotion clouded over me immediately. Being somewhat guarded by my mother in regards to movies, this was the first time I saw somebody in a movie die in a tragic way. Tears began launching themselves out of my eyes, my face turned red, and I cried uncontrollably.
My dad took solace in the fact that my day was ruined that a fictional character died. Who was I to ruin his Sunday night gameplan? He plotted his revenge.
After he settled me down, he made a personal point to make terrible jokes regarding Goose's death.
"You know where Goose is now? Sleeping with the fishes!!"
"Remember when Goose played the piano? He doesn't anymore, hes loooooonnng goooooooooone!"
He laughed out loud to himself obnoxiously as he repeatedly tortured me with these dark jokes. At first I was taken aback, I didnt understand how someone can look at death in such a light mood. I began to think negative things about my dad. Death, for all I know, is terrible and people should be scared about it! You simply do not joke about dying, it's not right.
After time, however, I began to appreciate it. My dad lectured to me about how themes of death happen in movies all the time, and that death itself will happen no matter what, so sometimes it is ok to laugh at it. I slowly began to understand that it was kinda funny.
I'm definitely a fan now of dark comedy, but I will never forget the time my innocent childhood was wildy disrupted by a mere death-- in Top Gun.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Thank You For Smoking
"Tobacco takes care of its own."
I really loved the repetition of this in the novel. The Captain says it numerous times throughout, and the ambigious use of it is what really made it great. On one hand, you can intepret it somewhat literally how the Captain uses it: "If you stick with the tobacoo industry and do hard work for us, we will reward you handsomely."
We can see this in some parts. The Captain raises Nick's salary twice during the book after he accomplishes some great tasks. You can also argue that if you smoke ciggarettes: the nicotine buzz (or whatever else there is for a reason to smoke) is indeed enjoyable, implying that ciggarettes will "take care of you" if you decide to indulge. But the other way you could interpret the quote is why the quote fits so well in the story...
Tobacco takes care of its own? Sure does, in a bad way. It kills thousands of people that use it (despite what Nick preaches) obviously, but let's look at some examples from the book. The Captain uses the quote when he explains why he's giving The Tumbleweed Man 500 thousand dollars, but besides this, The Tumbleweed Man needs oxygen and has cancer. The tobacco industry almost destroys Nick's seemingly indomitable personality and life, as well as his relationship with his friends.
The ambivalence of the quote just seems so appropriate for the book's theme. I for one don't think the book necessarily tries to preach, and the ambivalence of this quote is one main reason for that. It kind of says, "If you want to smoke, please do, and enjoy it. But be prepared pay the consequences, because you damn well know what your getting yourself into."
The tobacco industry wants to show the upside of the quote, and the government wants to show the downside. From this results a war between personal freedom and public safety, and both sides adopt each area respectively. But do they really believe in it? No. The politicians are pushing for smoking bans to get votes and ultimately get elected. The tobacco industry doesn't care about personal liberties or the right to smoke, they care about profit.
I really loved the repetition of this in the novel. The Captain says it numerous times throughout, and the ambigious use of it is what really made it great. On one hand, you can intepret it somewhat literally how the Captain uses it: "If you stick with the tobacoo industry and do hard work for us, we will reward you handsomely."
We can see this in some parts. The Captain raises Nick's salary twice during the book after he accomplishes some great tasks. You can also argue that if you smoke ciggarettes: the nicotine buzz (or whatever else there is for a reason to smoke) is indeed enjoyable, implying that ciggarettes will "take care of you" if you decide to indulge. But the other way you could interpret the quote is why the quote fits so well in the story...
Tobacco takes care of its own? Sure does, in a bad way. It kills thousands of people that use it (despite what Nick preaches) obviously, but let's look at some examples from the book. The Captain uses the quote when he explains why he's giving The Tumbleweed Man 500 thousand dollars, but besides this, The Tumbleweed Man needs oxygen and has cancer. The tobacco industry almost destroys Nick's seemingly indomitable personality and life, as well as his relationship with his friends.
The ambivalence of the quote just seems so appropriate for the book's theme. I for one don't think the book necessarily tries to preach, and the ambivalence of this quote is one main reason for that. It kind of says, "If you want to smoke, please do, and enjoy it. But be prepared pay the consequences, because you damn well know what your getting yourself into."
The tobacco industry wants to show the upside of the quote, and the government wants to show the downside. From this results a war between personal freedom and public safety, and both sides adopt each area respectively. But do they really believe in it? No. The politicians are pushing for smoking bans to get votes and ultimately get elected. The tobacco industry doesn't care about personal liberties or the right to smoke, they care about profit.
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