Where One Does Not Want To Go: In the Heart of the Sea

    Before the light bulb and kerosene, our cities relied on oil. All types of oil, including that of whales. The whaling business was huge. Each ship was expected to bring back many barrels of oil. The job was long and risky. Kill sperm whales, take them apart, and extract their oil and other useful parts. And be prepared if the whales retaliate. Based on the true story of the American whaling ship called the Essex, In the Heart of the Sea was released in 2015 and was directed by Ron Howard. What many don't know is that the story of the Essex is what inspired Herman Melville to write that classic novel, Moby Dick. 

Left to Right: Owen Chase, Captain George Pollard

     Once upon a time, in 1819, the Essex set sail from Nantucket, Massachusetts. The ship is captained by George Pollard, along with his first mate Owen Chase. Together they have a decent crew, including cabin boy Tom Nickerson. At first George and Chase don't get along, but soon bigger problems arise. One day, the Essex is attacked. The attacker is the biggest sperm whale the crew has ever seen. The whale succeeds in its aggression, and the Essex is destroyed. Forced to abandon ship, Captain Pollard, Owen Chase, and the rest of the crew are stranded in the ocean with a few small boats and little means of living. Is there any hope of rescue? Will Owen return home to his wife and child with the rest of the crew, or has Moby Dick gotten the better of man?

    The tragedy of the Essex is the story of men. And a Demon." Is it? Or is it really a story about what happens when you oppress someone for too long? In the 19th century, the whaling industry was dangerous and bloody. This goes for both the humans and the whales! In order to kill the whale, the harpoon was usually aimed at the whale's heart or lungs. Once it was struck, the whale would endure pain and struggle to breath as it drowned in its own blood. The whalers would witness this as well as the whale spouting blood through its blowhole with each breath! Regardless of whether or not the whales were intelligent enough to be angry about this, one thing can be said: The whale that brought down the Essex was probably
fighting back.
  
     The story of the Essex is about Courage. Courage to do what is necessary to survive, courage to do what is necessary for a clear conscience, and the "courage to go where one does not want to go." Throughout In the Heart of the Sea, bravery is extremely vital to our main characters. Though they each have to summon up their courage in their own way, the crew of the Essex had a common goal: To survive.
   In the film Herman Melville asks: "How does a man come to know the unknowable?" As the film shows us, some men come to know the unknowable the way the crew of the Essex did through their ordeal. Melville tells us that the demand for whale oil "has pushed man to venture further and further into the deep blue unknown." To venture out where one has not gone before, in and of itself, takes courage, no matter how much reluctance one may have.

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Someone Worth Saving: Moana

    Go back some years, and you find your ancestors. Your heritage. A  piece of what makes you you. In Disney's Moana, our heroes did just that. Moana is a wonderful film, rich in Polynesian and Hawaiian culture. If you look at the film from different angles such as the mentioned value of ancestry, you'll get more out of Moana than just a story about a particular group of people who love their island as well as the sea.

     Once upon a time, the young and beautiful daughter of Chief Tui, named Moana, is growing up and preparing to lead her people who all live on the beautiful island which they call Motunui. Although she loves her home and her people, Moana has been attracted to the ocean since she was little. Her father does not approve of this purely out of concern for her safety and because of his past experiences with the ocean. But something dark has arrived at Motunui. Coconut trees are ill, fish are disappearing from the lagoon, and no one knows why. No one except for Grandma Tala. When Moana was a toddler, Grandma Tala told her and other children the story of how the great demigod Maui stole the life giving heart of Te Fiti, the mother island. Now Moana knows what she must do: The ocean has chosen her to find Maui and journey with him across the sea to restore the heart of Te Fiti. They will have to face many dangers, including Te Ka, the demon of earth and fire! Will she succeed, or will her island of Motunui and its people be lost to darkness?

   Moana has a little bit of historical information. The movie shows that long ago, the people of the Pacific sailed from place to place and all across the ocean on their canoes. Moana didn't know this about her own ancestry, and it helps explain why she's drawn to the sea and wants to sail. Your ancestors are a reason for who you are and where you are now. It's undeniably amazing to go back and learn about the people that you are related to who lived in different times. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, ancestry is very important because if you can find the names of your ancestors, you can do special work for them that they couldn't do when they were alive. When you do that, you appreciate your ethnic background more, and you become closer to all your extended family who have been passed away for a long time, and they will be very grateful to you. 

    Though it would have been more interesting if they had filmed a flashback of Maui's sad past, there's still a lot to look at. (SPOILER alert!) Maui was abandoned as an infant, but the gods found him and gave him his magical fish hook, helping him to become the great demigod he is known to be. Of course, Maui still has feelings, and his past still hurts him to to think about. But Moana comforts him by telling him that, "Maybe the gods saw someone worth saving." The gods saw someone special, and that was before he was big and strong and was wielding a great hook. They could've chosen anyone to be a demigod, but they chose Maui, just like how the ocean chose Moana.
     Both Maui and Moana have to look at their past to recognize their current selves. Moana learns about her heritage, and Maui accepts how his life began. They do it together, making Maui and Moana one of the most heartfelt and beautiful friendships in Disney. Yet even now, the knowledge of the many previous people from which you have come is worth saving. Even more so is the beauty of your true self, which many people need to be reminded of. Even Te Ka!  

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The Impossible Child: Heidi

    So far ETF has never looked one of Hollywood's most beloved child actors: Shirley Temple. America and Hollywood's little darling of the 1930's, Shirley Temple is most remembered for her golden curls and "Animal Crackers In My Soup." She did a good number of films throughout her childhood, and was even considered for the role of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, which would instead star Judy Garland. But that's ok, because Shirley had many other stories to be a part of. In October of 1937, when Shirley was 9, Heidi was released.

     

   
   Once upon a time, a little Swiss orphan by the name of Heidi is brought to her grandfather by her Aunt Dete. Her grandfather, Adolph Kramer, is said to be a harsh old hermit, "feared by everyone." But Heidi, funny and sweet, finds her way into his heart. For a time, grandfather and granddaughter are happy together. But one day, Aunt Dete returns and takes Heidi without Kramer's knowledge AND consent. Before Heidi knows it, she's taken to Franfurt and into the wealthy home of Herr Sesemann to serve as a friend and companion for his disabled child, Klara. Will Adolph Kramer find his granddaughter in time before the evil Fraulein Rottenmeier tries to get rid of her? Or will it be too late? 
 
      As a child, Shirley Temple seemed to give off an aura of endless cheer. Because of that, Heidi does the same thing. It's very to charming for us to see in the film that even the grumpiness of her grandfather does not bring her down, which is could be why her grandfather comes to love her so much. This is also a reason why Heidi doesn't need to be a particularly epic film. It's just an amusing, simple, and fun story.  

   When Heidi first comes to the Sesemann home, Fraulein Rottenmeier, Herr Sesemann's housekeeper and Klara's caregiver, doesn't like her, and tells Aunt Dete to "Take that impossible child back!" Dete refuses of course. 
   What Fraulein Rottenmeier may fail to see is that Heidi is not an impossible child at all. So many things in the film that the characters thought impossible became possible with Heidi. (SPOILER alert!) Heidi learns to read when her friend Peter said she'd never be able to, she reunites with her grandfather when some, including Heidi herself, thought she'd never see him again, and she helps Klara to walk under the wonderfully childish logic that, if Heidi could read if she wanted to, then Klara could walk if she wanted to. When Heidi says that the butler, Andrews, looks like a king, he says to her,"Ah, little Fraulein, if only the rest of the world could see through your eyes." And not just Heidi's eyes, but the eyes of a child. As Master Yoda from Star Wars said, "Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is." This of course, includes the lovely mind of Shirley Temple. 

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Full of Fun: Darby O'Gill and the Little People

    Disney has never done much for Saint Paddy's Day, but they didn't do nothing. A film that goes under this category is The Gnome Mobile, but even more so is Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Released in 1959, Darby O'Gill is one of those obscure but actually quite enjoyable Disney Films.

      Once upon a time, an old man named Darby O'Gill, in the Irish town of Rathcullen, is spending his time at the local pub drinking and telling stories of his dealings with King Brian, ruler of the Leprechauns, who lives on the nearby hill of Knocknasheega. With his daughter, Katie, Darby is the caretaker of Lord Fitzpatrick's property. But now Fitzpatrick has brought someone to take his place: Mr. Michael McBride, a handsome young man from Dublin. As for Darby and Katie, Lord Fitzpatrick has given them a cottage to move into, even though Darby knows he and Katie won't want to leave the home they already have.
    Meanwhile, Darby O'Gill and the King of the Leprechauns are constantly trying to outwit each other, being what you might call, "frenemies." But now that Michael is here and Darby has been replaced, they will attempt to make Katie and Michael fall in love so that they won't have to leave the property. But Darby has yet to tell Katie that he's been replaced, and Pony Sugrue, a mean but handsome man of Rathcullen, wants not only Darby's job, but Katie as well. Will Darby tell his daughter the truth and succeed in making her fall in love, or has the time come for him to say goodbye to King Brian and the Little People?

  Darby O'Gill and the Little People is honestly a perfect film to watch on St. Patrick's Day. It is also perfect for giving audiences a small taste of Irish culture and folklore. Most people knew that the Irish love to drink, and many know of their legendary figures. The movie is not so much about the little people but mostly focuses on little King Brian. Darby tricks him into granting wishes, and Brian manages to trick Darby a few times as well. But dark times arrive in the film, and that's when they face the Banshee. The Banshee is the Irish messenger of death. If you hear the Banshee loudly wailing, it means that someone is about to meet their doom.
     King Brian brings us and Darby into a world of pretend. Leprechauns, Banshees, Knocknasheega. Such films help the imagination to wake up and bloom in anyone. Audiences may find it wonderful for Walt Disney to encourage make-believe when in the opening of the film, an acknowledgment from him appears saying, "My thanks to King Brian of Knocknasheega, whose gracious co-operation made this picture possible."

       Whatever the reason for its obscurity, Darby O'Gill and the Little People is still a marvelous film for multiple reasons: The film is not without magic, song, and dance, and it uses a more elderly person for the protagonist. Even better is that our protagonist is smart and quite funny. What better Disney film could we watch on St. Patrick's day? Even if it doesn't actually have anything to do with St. Patrick himself, Darby O'Gill and the Little People is not a film that should be ignored when you want an Irish Disney movie on an Irish holiday. (Not to mention that there is the handsome sight of a young Sean Connery.) 

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