everything that has a beginning... can be branded and a sequel made. not an end.

ok - so the matrix does make more sense to me, but there's still a part of me thats irritated by the unanswered questions - like mike was saying, there was so much in it that had so little relevance - the trainman, the french man, the little girl, the underage kid etc. when we were talking about it after the first screening, dave pointed out, all the loose ends is a pretty postmodern approach to film making. good point i thought. it was the first time i've been rritated by postmodernism i s'pose...

but thinking about that, so many films are left in some way open ended. the cynic would (probably rightly) say, it allows for a sequel, ie a franchise. well thats all the big things these days - franchises, branding - a starbucks in every city, a macdonalds on every corner, nike on your feet, gap on you hat. where style is more important and more valued than content - was matrix a victim of this? was it all just a very basic idea that had been spun out over 3 films, with amazing effects, but no real cohesive, tight storyline in the end to back it up, and potentially the option to make a forth film should they wish. will the aliens series ever really get closure? terminator 3 ended with the start of the whole war - no closure there either.

what about the scream trilogy? the first film i thought was an absolute masterpiece, using "the rules" of a horror-slasher movie to make a movie about itself. full of injokes, and self referencing, taking the cynical look at itself and then twisting it into something new, created out of the parts of its history and heritage (if horror movies can be said to have heritage...!). the sequel turns out to be based on the idea of a horror movies sequel. again, you think yo should've known what was going on but again theres the up to date twist on things, and then the third film, takes it all back to the world of media, it being about the court case, oj simpson style. american pie 1-3. starwars 4-6, 1-3. desperado 1-3. it seems its sequels everywhere, and branding everywhere - "from the makers of 4 weddings, notting hill and bridget jones..." comes another film with hugh grant in it. product placement is everywhere too - the italian job remade with high tech stuff and the new minis. lara croft 1 selling the motorola mobile (i think), james bond sold another mobile, matrix made the flip down nokia famous.

theres a part of me that loves figuring things out, but in some ways it seems i've met my match in postmodernism (or whatever label its given) - its not supposed to be figured out - its all a journey, with no real start or end - its more about the experience than finality. in that way, the matrix' tag line was completely wrong - everything that has a beginning has an end? there werent enough ends in revolutions, if any.

there is definitelty something in all this that helps me get God more though - there isnt always an answer to every question, that the purpose of a person or event isnt always what you think it should or could be, that to hold things in tension, you may need to pull something away from the thing it is naturally drawn to - its uncomfortable to do so, its hard work and emotionally & mentally taxing, but if we dont then we end up with a 2 dimensional view of things, lacking creativity and imagination for what a limitless God might want to do, (and at times, more to the point,) how he wants to do it, and with who.

probably more later...