Well here we are again. As the title says, I have some big news. That big news is this: I have a new baby brother! I'm technically an adult and all that, so it's a little strange for me. It bears mentioning that Baby Santiago is not also Phillip's brother. Phillip is my half-brother and Santi is also my half-brother, each on different sides. So while I may occasionally introduce a nugget of babyhood into my post every once in a while, Phillip will not. Because they don't live together. At any rate, that's a huge deal.
As far as movies go, Guardians of the Galaxy premiered last night, and while I didn't see it, my brother did. So I'm sure he'll be talking about that in the days to come.
However, I would like to bring up one movie that came out recently that I did see and that I think can relate a tiny bit to my situation (That of having brothers. Common, I know, but still). I recently watched Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and it being the second film in the franchise that I have actually seen, I thought it was fantastic. Or... Really good. I thought it was really good. I absolutely hated the music. The score was terrible and the music matched the scenes it went along with poorly at best. That kind of killed it for me. I recognize that that's immensely weird, but it's how I operate. As a contrast I'll offer up The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which had an absolutely fantastic soundtrack which pleased me to no end. Anyway, music aside, I saw this film and I was like "Cool! It would be awesome if I had read Julius Caesar in high school like I wanted to rather than The Taming of the Shrew so I could actually draw some parallels and put together an argument which fully explains my reasoning as to why this is awesome!" But I had no such luck. I read about Kate. It's a fine play, don't get me wrong. I just would have liked to read a drama rather than a comedy. And then there's that monologue at the end of Taming which I really just don't understand or like particularly much. By the way, I don't claim to be an expert on Shakespeare by any means. I've studied him and his work in general a little, and I've studied a few works in particular. What I've studied well and performed I know pretty well, but apart from that I'm mostly clueless. I may know a little more than some people, but it doesn't really matter. What I'm saying is that my opinions are just my opinions and I won't be offended if you disagree. Just don't be offended if I then argue with you. ANYWAY. Back to the Apes. What I was going to say initially, before all the Shakespeare stuff, was that what the movie seemed to be about at its base was power and the relationships between fathers and sons and brothers. There weren't a lot of female roles in the cast. The film didn't even come remotely close to passing the Bechdel Test. However, the relationships between brothers and the relationships between fathers and their sons were very clear. There were a few father/son duos and a few sets of brothers (Be they by blood or otherwise) which struck me as particularly clear and well-presented. I have no idea if I'll remember them all at the moment, but I hope I'll be able to make my point clear. Of course I guess that means I'll have to figure out my point.
ALSO, POTENTIAL SPOILERS
If you hate spoilers, you may not want to continue. I have no idea what's going to be in this section, but it may very well ruin the movie for you.
First we have Caesar and Blue Eyes. That's fairly obvious. The main king and his son. The king attempts to teach his son how to be a good and correct ruler, but the son fails to learn the lessons he is being taught, and instead "turns to the dark side", or seeks and easier way to accomplish his goals. We see this in his trust of Koba because he sees Koba as strong and loyal. In this is displayed youthful naivete. In addition to this, Caesar has another male child at the very beginning of the movie. Beyond that we have Rocket and his son Ash, who can be seen as Blue Eyes' brother in arms if not in blood. Rocket and Ash are both wholly loyal to Caesar, and as a result Ash is killed by Koba. This can be related back to the tendency of apes and other animals to kill the offspring of the previously alpha male. It ensures their place on the totem pole as the one and only leader. Malcolm and Alexander are another obvious example of a father/son relationship. However, theirs failed to actually engage me emotionally or surprise me in anyway, and so I failed to notice anything especially spectacular about it. That's all for the fathers and sons for now. I'm sure I've missed some, but that's all for now.
Now for the brothers! As I said before, Ash and Blue Eyes are a prime example of brothers. They hunt together, joke together, make fun of each other, fight a little, and are ultimately best friends. Koba ends that by throwing Ash off of a balcony to assert his dominance.
The other sets of brothers are a little trickier: The other main "brother" is Caesar. Caesar engages in something typically called "Retail Politics". Ever heard of Lyndon Johnson? He was a pretty big deal in the sixties. You should check him out sometime. Anyway, LBJ was a master of these "Retail Politics", and I'll give you a quick rundown of what they are:
Retail politics is the art of selling an idea or commitment by being one-on-one and up-close and personal in your conversations. By being aggressive and making the other party uncomfortable, you remove their ability to properly defend from your onslaught of decisions and opinions. It works best in person, but it can work on the phone too. It only has to be one-on-one.
Caesar demonstrated this in the first film by besting Rocket (The dominant male in the facility they were being kept in) in a way that clearly displayed his superiority. It was an "I could kill you, but it suits me better not to" kind of moment. Not exactly retail politics, but by usurping Rocket and then allowing him to continue on as second-in-command he showed that he was different from other apes and was, in fact, worthy of the respect of the apes who had previously followed Rocket. What he gained was a lifelong friend and loyalist. A brother, you could say.
Koba, on the other hand, was simply freed from a lab. He was given power out of nothing rather than given limitations out of power. In the philosophies of Machiavelli, it is better to be feared than loved. The apes Caesar defeated and the apes intelligent enough to understand his power (Maurice, for example) feared Caesar. Those to whom Caesar granted power and freedom after they had had nothing loved Caesar, but that was not enough to keep their fear of Koba from overriding their loyalty. The brothers Rocket and Caesar were not brothers by blood, but more by circumstance and grace.
Caesar attempted to foster a brotherly relationship between himself and Koba, but his efforts were futile and ultimately his attempts failed.
All of these relationships harken back to Caesar's not having a father. Caesar's mother died in the first film, but there was no mention of his father. Caesar questions Will about who his father was in the first movie, but everyone involved knows that Caesar is essentially fatherless.
Again, I'm sure I've missed some, and if you have a few you'd like to let me know of you can leave them in the comments.
These relationships seem to be a focal point of the film because the first film is about the construction of relationships. Growing into them, building them, etc. This one is more about maintenance than construction.
If you've found my ramblings interesting, please let me know. I have no idea if this makes sense or is just total garbledeygook. I would recommend the film, though. I really liked it. Just... Bring your own music.
Avante!
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