"Sherlock, Jr"

     Experimentation seems, to me anyways, at the crossroads between inquiry and imagination. Being inquisitive leads people to figure things out and to learn. One way to satisfy the Spanish inquisition is through experimentation. Imagination leads people to create new and unique things. Experimenting with what is around can aid the imagination. Both experimentation and imagination help people see new things.

     Children are naturally imaginative and inquisitive;  and because of this, it is normal for them to want to try and experiment with things. Tommy may want to know what happens when he sticks a fork in an outlet. Kimberly might experiment with putting ketchup on her taco.

     In class, most of the examples of experimentation that we looked at involved  an artist experimenting with, or stretching the boundaries of, the medium in which he or she worked. B.J. Novak's The Book with No Pictures played around and experimented with font size and style and onomatopoeia. George Melies experimented with the medium of film, seeing what it was able to do. In a similar manner, Buster Keaton played with film in his movie Sherlock, Jr.

     In Sherlock, Jr, Buster Keaton plays a movie theater projectionist who wants to become a detective. The beginning of the film is straightforward and filmed in a traditional manner; however, it is when he falls asleep that the experimentation with the medium begins. Keaton falls asleep, only to have his sub-conscience leave his body in a dream like state. Keaton used a cross dissolve technique to overlay two separate images of himself on top of each other, one being his physical body and the other being his dream.

     In no other medium can this idea and experimentation be fully developed as it is here. The layering of images can be done with traditional still photography, but without the moving aspect, Keaton's journey away from his physical body does not resonate as much. And painting two Buster Keatons does not have the same affect as having two real images of him does; someone can paint whatever they want.

     The medium of film is further experimented with when Keaton first enters the movie. By taking careful calculations, the filmmakers were able to place Keaton in the same part of the frame in various locations. And when these parts were edited together, it looks like Keaton is magically transported from one location to another. This effect can only be done with the juxtaposition of moving images; making it unique to film.

     In Sherlock, Jr., we see Buster Keaton experimenting with film medium, in the very same way that George Melies did, in order to create a new and imaginative film. By exploiting the properties of film, Keaton was able to tell and expound on his story in ways not done before.

     Experimentation seems to appeal more to children than to adults. As people grow older, they get set in their ways and reject new things that are different. However, children are still learning and growing and still do not reject what is new. Because experimentation is closely related to imagination and inquiry, both of which are strong with children, it is naturally embraced by the same children.

Imagination and "Alice"

     Imagination is an important thing. And is something that is usually attributed to children. Children are inherently imaginative and this imagination generally fades as the child grows. Give a child a stick and he will make it into a gun or sword. Give an adult a stick and he will throw it on the ground. Why that is, I have no answer. Through the imagination, we are able to "do" things we normally cannot. I feel like the song "Pure Imagination," sung by Willy Wonka, is very apt at describing imagination is and does.

     One verse of the song goes: "We'll begin with a spin. Traveling in the world of my creation. What we'll see will defy explanation." With our imagination, we can create new worlds. And this is obvious in Alice. In this film, Alice is playing in her room, when she begins to imagine and create a new world around her. She sees her taxidermy rabbit and pretends that it comes to life. She then follows the rabbit into a new world that defies explanation. The majority of the world is created from things in her room, imagined to be new and different. (Though, I am suspicious as to where the bones and skeletons came from). At the end of the film, after she has finished imagining, she is back in her room. Also, when people imagine and play pretend, they always do it in their own head and own voice. Alice voicing the characters further reinforces the idea that Alice is imagining all of this.

     Willy Wonka continues, singing the next verse: "There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination. Living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be." We can see this at play in the short "A Shadow of Blue." Unable to reach her paper butterfly, a young girl realizes that her shadow has a different reach than she does. So she imagines her shadow getting up and chasing her origami. At the end, we realize that the little girl is wheelchair bound and could not do any of the things we saw her shadow do. But, she does do feel caged, confined to her wheelchair. Because of her imagination, she is free. She is free to do things that she could not do in the real world. She could be mopey and sit on the bench doing nothing, feeling sad for herself. But, she realizes that her legs are not the only way she can move. Her imagination releases her from the here and now and allows her to be free.

     Our imagination allows us to do things and be things that we could not do or be otherwise. Without an imagination, Alice would have been stuck in her room with a dead rabbit, instead of going on a wonderful adventure. Likewise, the wheelchair bound girl would not have been able to chase her paper butterfly were it not for her imagination. Imagining things cannot replace actually doing things. But, it's impossible to actually do everything, but it is not impossible to imagine them.

Documentation and "Not One Less"

     There are several different ways for children to transition to adulthood. One way is a rite of passage, which we talked about last week during our "Adventure" discussion. Generally speaking, a child leaves the comfort of home and goes out into the wide, undiscovered world. There he learns new things and grows. Upon his return to his home, he is a better person.

     Another way does not require a sabbatical, instead the child stays at home. This transition is not marked by a pilgrimage, but rather by added responsibilities. Before, the child was a child, free to play and explore. However, at a certain point, whether through direct or indirect choices of the people around him, the child acquires new duties that he now has to fulfill.

     In the clip we watch from The Secret of Roan Inish, we see two children doing daily chores. They help fix the roof and other things. They do not have time to play; they now have "adult" responsibilities they have to complete. This is relatively normal transition for children.

     In the short story Vanka, the main character similarly has new jobs and obligations given to him. However, along with these, comes harsh punishment for not fulfilling them. He is not ready for adulthood and longs to be saved by his grandfather.

     However, the transition we see in Aruba is not, or at least should not be, the norm. Milan has adulthood thrust upon him in a frightening way. He is bullied at school. His parents do and deal drugs. His father is abusive. Milan comes home from school to find his father choking his mother. Suddenly, Milan feels the need to take upon himself adulthood and take matters into his own hands. He finds his father's gun and leaves it at school. The authorities find it and follow it back to Milan's father. Upon inspecting the home, the police discover drugs and arrest Milan's father. Because of his home life, Milan had to step into adulthood earlier than most children.

     The outside world, and even the world inside the home, can be a scary place. It can be full of sadness and despair. While it is important to preserve the innocence and happiness of children, it is also vital to prepare them for real life. Where, when exploring an exciting tunnel, they get bullied instead of finding magical creatures.

     Not One Less also tackles a similar subject. When the elementary teacher in a small village has to leave for a month, Wei Minzhi is hired to be the substitute. She is not much older than her students, being only thirteen. She must make the transition to adulthood by taking responsibility for all of these kids, not one less, and making sure they stay in school. With not much of an education herself, Wei Minzhi must maintain order and teach them. She even travels to the city by herself to look for Zhang Huike. However, this part of the film is similar to concepts talked about last week. She leaves the small village, finds Zhang Huike and returns home a changed person and with a reward. Because of the responsibilities she has, she raises above her peers and becomes more of an adult, while the other children remain the same.

     Childhood is not all magic and fuzzy creatures. There is disenchantment and and despair. Children need to be able to learn, explore and grow in a safe environment. However, it is also important that they do not enter the world disillusioned. Stories like these can help prepare them.

"From the Earth to the Moon"

     Jules Verne's 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, deals with a post-Civil War gun club in Maryland, suffering from an existential crisis. Since the end of the Civil War, there had been no use for guns, cannons and other artillery. So members of the Gun Club did not know what their future had in store, since they had devoted most of their lives to the development of artillery. However, this all changed when the president, Barbican, announced a plan to send a projectile to the moon. The rest of story follows them as they prepare for, and eventually execute, this experiment.

     In a speech given by Barbican, he says, "I have asked myself if, by means of suitable apparatus constructed with reference to well determined laws of resistance, it would not be possible tons end a ball to the Moon!". The president of the Gun Club does not wish to send a projectile to the Moon for financial gains or even scientific reasons. He merely wants to know if he can. He is curious. And it is his inquiry that fuels all the events in this book.

     From the Earth to the Moon does not focus on the event of landing on the Moon, but rather, all of the preparations done preceding the launch. Verne goes into detail regarding all of the necessary planning to send a projectile to the Moon. He has a chapter dedicated to the type of cannon to be used. He writes about the dimensions and the material that the cannon is be be made out of. Similarly, he spends another chapter on the characteristic of the projectile and a third chapter on the type of fuel to be used to launch the satellite.

     Not only is inquiry the foundation for the book, all of the characters in the story are inquisitive. Once the plan to send a projectile to the Moon was announced, everyone in the United States became fascinated with the subject. They read everything about Barbican's plan itself. They also devoted themselves to read what and been published about the Moon itself, everyone becoming curious about something that had never held their attention before. Verne writes, "The immediate effect of Barbican's proposal was to make every body brush up whatever astronomical knowledge he had ever acquired regarding the Moon. All books on the subject were in immediate and universal demand."

     All of the remarkable things accomplished in From the Earth to the Moon were done because of inquiry. If the people had not been curious, they would not have constructed a giant cannon, built roads and railroads, and other things. It was even inquiry that sent the first people to the Moon. Barbican originally only planned on sending a ball, but that changed with the arrival of Michael Ardan.

     Ardan arrived from France during the construction of the giant gun. He proposed to Barbican that a projectile capable of carrying passengers be used instead of the original design. When asked why he wanted to go to the Moon, he responded: "I don't know whether the other worlds are inhabited or not, and as I don't know, I am going to see!" The childlike character of Ardan is the embodiment of inquiry.

     Inquiry is a huge part of our existence, in particularly as children. When the Gun Club is threatened with their existential crisis, it is inquiry and a curious mind that saves them and gives purpose to their lives again.

"Babe"

     Babe (1995) is a film about a small pig, named Babe, who leaves a massive pig farm ands ends up on the quaint Hoggett farm. Here, Babe is adopted and cared for by the Fly, the sheepherding dog. While on the farm, he learns a lot of valuable life lessons, as well as helping others learn similar lessons.

     One of the biggest morals of Babe is that against prejudice. The film begins with a narrator explicitly saying that: "This is a tale about an unprejudiced heart, and how it changed our valley forever." Because Babe has an "unprejudiced heart", he is able to help break down that prejudiced barriers that existed on the farm.

     Fly and her husband Rex have grown to think of the sheep as stupid and should be treated as such. The narrator even says that Fly thought that "it was a cold fact of nature that sheep were stupid, and there was nothing that could convince her otherwise." Similarly, the sheep thought the dogs were ignorant. And these prejudices had existed for a long time on the farm.

     When Babe finally gets the chance to try herding sheep, he gets laughed at. Fly tells him that "they're sheep, they're inferior" and "We are their masters, Babe. Let them doubt it for a second and they'll walk all over you." When Babe protest, saying they are not lesser beings, Fly responds again: "Be ruthless. Whatever it takes, bend them to your will."

     Even though Babe had previously met and befriend Maa, one of the older ewes, he has conflicting thoughts because Fly, his surrogate mother, is telling him that sheep are worthless. From is own experience, he has learned that sheep are nice and good creatures; but he is being taught conversely.

     Babe tries herding the sheep Fly's way but to no avail. He eventually talks to the sheep and asks them to go into the corral. They do what they are told with no fuss. When asked by Fly how he did it, Babe responds, "I asked them and they did it. I just asked them nicely."

     By the end of the film, Rex promises to treat the sheep civilly and not to bite them. Because of Babe's beliefs that the sheep were not dumb or inferior, he was able to break down the barrier that existed between the sheep dogs and the flock. These prejudices were abolished by an open heart.

     Another lesson, or moral, that is taught in Babe is that of seizing opportunities. Even though he is not a sheep dog, Babe takes the chance to be able to herd sheep. Rex is reluctant to give him this chance, thinking it an embarrassment. But Fly, on the other hand, sees potential in Babe and lets him try. If Babe did not take this opportunity and prove himself, he would have ended up as Christmas dinner.

     Farmer Hoggett likewise seized an opportunity many others probably would have passed up. When he notices that Babe separated the chickens by color, he begins imagining Babe herding sheep. This may seem like a crazy idea, but the farmer is a feeling and followed it. And because he took that opportunity, he won the sheepherding competition.

     Babe and Farmer Hoggett were able to prove themselves and win, even thought by taking every opportunity that presented itself, no matter how crazy it may seem. And even though no one else believed in them, they had faith in what they were doing.

     What at first may appear merely as a cute story about farm animals, is actually a powerful film teaching important lessons. Babe teaches its audiences that prejudices are wrong and warrant to place in their lives. It also teaches them to seize the day and take opportunities that others may pass up on.