Topic: Movies & TVChristopher Nolan has made quite a name and following for himself in the movie business. His creative narratives and deep concepts captivate the minds of millions. But I have noticed that there is a recurring theme in Nolan's feature length films. A theme other than the use of Michael Caine that is. In this post I am referring to full Nolan projects that he both wrote and directed. This excludes such films as Insomnia, Man of Steel, and Transcendence. Now, let's take a look. In his first movies outside of The Dark Knight Trilogy, Nolan makes viewers confused with his interesting and complicated use of nonlinear storytelling. These examples include Following, Memento, and The Prestige. The narratives bounce around in time more than a toddler on eight Red Bulls bounces around in space. In Inception, the storytelling is pretty much linear, but still very complicated. It's the content of the story that plays with time. As the characters enter the different dream levels, the speed of time changes. Various things happen all at once, affecting everyone in all the levels, but they happen at different speeds. Most recently, Interstellar played with time in a similar manner and made the time theme much more obvious. The characters experience time differently in different locations. Again, various things happen all at once, but at different speeds. But there is also a certain amount of time travel involved, as when Cooper finds himself in the fifth dimension and interacts with his own past. The Dark Knight Trilogy seems to diverge from Nolan's usual film making styles. The films are still very good, but they do not have as complex of content and they do not play much with time. Of course, there are spaces of years during and between the movies in which we see how people change, so perhaps that is how Nolan slipped his theme in there. Obviously, Nolan finds something appealing about messing with time. We will see if this continues in his next movie coming out in 2017. (See IMDb and Cinema Blend.) In conclusion, I have a question I really need to ask. If he were to manage an episode or the whole show with his signature style and interest in time, what would Christopher Nolan's take on Doctor Who be like? P.S. Interesting fact: Following and Inception each have an important character named Cobb. Additionally, each Cobb is a thief of some sort. Coincidence? P.P.S. Sorry for the delay between posts over the holidays. I have plans for several posts, I just have to gather my thoughts and materials together. And don't worry. The Star Wars post is still on the way. - James D. McIntosh Jr.
Topic: SocietyAh, winter break. For you. I just graduated, sucka! I don't have to go back to school. I feel so free! I have so much more time! Until I get a job.... Anyway, this is a good, ol' fun time for students from all grades, including college, and even for their families. Recently, however, my wife pointed out to me how the scheduling for college breaks does not make a whole lot of sense. It could be better. At the school that is now my alma mater, Lindsey Wilson College, students have part of a week off for Thanksgiving break. Of course, some students and professors skip or cancel classes and take most of or the whole week off, so it varies. After that, there are two weeks of school left, and one of those weeks is finals week, which does not fully count. Many students finish classes within the first two or three days of the school week. Of course, December graduates, like myself, have to stick around for graduation. What's my point? Well, students and their families like to be together for both Thanksgiving and the various winter break holidays, right? Many students have to travel far to see their families. Also, some people go away on a trip during the holidays, right? But that awkwardly placed two weeks gets in the way of a full experience. Some students cannot afford to travel twice so close together. And then people cannot travel and see certain other places or people quite when they might want to. Would it not make sense to start classes two weeks earlier? Rather than starting in the middle of August, colleges could start at the beginning, like the high schools. Then students and their families could get out two weeks earlier and spend all of the holidays wherever they wanted to. One nice long break from Thanksgiving to some point in January. Doesn't that sound nice? Did I miss something? Is there something you want to add? Join the discussion at the links below! Check back soon! I will be posting in more topics and will find a way to send out notifications. Join the discussion at http://topic-blog-dicussion.forumstopic.com/ and tell me how you would like to get them. Also, if I get my thoughts collected again, my next post may be about the original Star Wars trilogy! - James D. McIntosh Jr.
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