Looking For Alaska review
Looking for Alaska is a deliciously tragic and dark book about young people who all go through something they shouldn’t have to.
Everything in this book feels tense to me. I’m not even sure what I mean by that, but it had me sitting on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the two days it took me to read the book.
The characters in the book almost seem subsequent to the things that happen to them, and that makes me wonder if we, as non-fictional beings, are as defined by what we do and what happens to us as much as the people in this book. Maybe I’m thinking about it too much now.
John Green writes about tragedy like most people breathe air. Or at least, I’d like to imagine he does. Death, the great mystery of the unknown and acceptance are themes that are written about often but no one does it as well as John Green.
Asuncion review (sort of)
Hey guys,
Here is my review of Jesse Eisenberg’s play Asuncion, which I saw on November 17th at Cherry Lane Theatre.
First though, can I say something about the theatre? It’s so nice! It’s so small that it kind of gives you the feeling that you’re in someone’s livingroom, watching them do this show on a family reunion. Of course, the quality is a little higher.
It ties in nicely with Asuncion, actually, which was set in the livingroom of a Binghamton, New York apartment. I was right on the front row, which I guess adds to the ‘I’m in your livingroom’ feel. It was the first play I’ve seen, so I guess I have a fresh perspective.
The first thing I noticed was how damn detailed and amazing the set was. Maybe it’s because I’m an artist, or something, but that really was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. The second thing that I noticed was how close the actors were to the actual audience (to give you an indication, I kept being spat on by Jesse Eisenberg whenever his character was passionate about something).
But to get to the actual play: the opening was Justin Bartha’s character Vinnie, who immediately struck me as a hippie douchebag (and that opinion stayed with me during most of the play). What was nice about the opening was that it was really more of a way to set the tone for this character than it was anything substantial to do with the plot. It warms up the audience and let’s you know right away that this is going to be a funny play.
Moreso, this is proven by Jesse Eisenberg’s character Edgar as soon as he enters the stage with tousled curly hair and fake blood on his face. He’s been attacked on the street by a bunch of kids, and the way he expresses his opinion about these kids and the way he then reflects to himself immediately indicates that this is a guy who makes certain assumptions about people, including himself. He thinks he knows them; he thinks he knows himself.
The relationship between Edgar and Vinnie is incredibly awkward from the start. I think the audience is meant to immediately understand that, but they themselves do not.
Soon, two more characters are introduced, Edgar’s typical older, more successful, mother’s favourite, well established brother and his new wife Asuncion (ooo, title). The brother, in my opinion, serves more as a circumstance than an actual character, he is there to introduce Asuncion (later known as Sunny). All these characters seem to have more of a connection with each other than they have with Edgar. Edgar is on the outside looking in.
Asuncion is probably the most developed character in the entire play and really the only one that has any sort of character arc. The rest of the characters are pretty two dimensional and underdeveloped. That is most likely my biggest issue with this play. It’s funny and clever, but story wise, it doesn’t have the best arc.
What I, as a non-New Yorker, really liked about the play were jokes and bits about New York (such as “If you want to live in America, you’d better learn some Spanish”) as well as some details that made it so much more real (Edgar talking about which bus to take: “I can get the bus to Logan from Chinatown for 15 bucks”). It kind of added some more dimension to the otherwise pretty two dimensional play.
As a word nerd I loved all the word jokes (Madam I’m Adam and several others, can somebody get me a script?).
I guess in a nutshell the play is about this guy who a) thinks he knows the world and people, but finds out that he really doesn’t and b) really wants to be accepted and goes to exceptional lengths to do it. Edgar has good intentions about everything, but it doesn’t really give him the respect or appreciation that he (maybe) deserves. Asuncion at one point calls him selfish, but I think he’s the opposite. What she should have called him was self centered, which is an entirely different thing. I also thinks that the b part isn’t done as well as it could be and I would even say that it takes away from the a part. I would have probably preferred if it was all about Edgar’s skewed view of the world and its people, rather than also about his failing attempts to be accepted by pretending to be someone he’s really not. It’s honest, but the character doesn’t have enough of an arc to make it work. He is exactly the same person at the end of the play as he was at the beginning, in the exact same situation. Under-appreciated and sort of miserable. It’s never nice to see a character fail. Especially ones that try so hard. I would have given him a bit more credit as a character.
I noticed how much Asuncion sounds like Assumption (ok, you might have to speak in a funny accent) and I wonder if that was intentional because that would impress me. The best thing I can say about this play is that it kept me thinking about the themes that were addressed and opened up some good topics of discussion.
Either way, good night out, brilliant acting, good humor, but with kind of two dimensional characters and storyline.
The Social Network
I just watched The Social Network today. What I find difficult about films about people who are still alive is that it’s difficult to not alter your idea of them, after seeing the film. I’m therefore glad that I had previously read the story/interview on/with Mark Zuckerberg in Time magazine. He was man of the year 2010 and Time had a 20 page article about him in which he said that the film missed the point of Facebook.
I get that, comparing the film to that interview. The film doesn’t say much about Mark’s reasons to start Facebook. It plays it down to revenge on his ex-girlfriend. The interview in Time however makes you believe in Mark’s belief that we should all be as open as possible. The need to connect and to share our lives. The film doesn’t, not once, mention that motivation. What it does say, though, is that Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t care about money. And that lines up perfectly. Maybe that is why he’s making so much of it.
As entertainment, I liked The Social Network a lot. It made me feel particularly for Eduardo, as a character. I liked the tortured friendship, ruined by success. Still, it’s a film. Probably not how it really went down. It’s a perspective. One that I like.
While we’re at it, add me on Facebook and add a little note saying you’re from Tumblr.
