i ♥ facebook

Today I watched The Social Network with my mom and Rachel and it really got me thinking about the society I am growing up in. 

I remember the first time I got on Facebook to see what it was.  On MySpace  (What's that, right?), I started hearing that some of my friends opened up a Facebook account.  It didn't seem practical to get my own, because at the time (I'm thinking it must of been around 2007/08) only about 5-10 of my friends had one.  I remember being confused, like, "Why do we need another MySpace?"  A friend explained it to me as something along the lines of "It's made for college students to share stories with each other on their Wall."  I didn't think much about it.  Yet sure enough, when the growing numbers of my friends joining played in Facebook's favor, in no time I had completely forgotten, deleted, and mocked MySpace.

It is unfathomable how different our world would be without Facebook.  Everyone and their mom has one.  Heck, my great-grandma has one.  It creeps into our everyday lives in bizarre ways.  A perfect example from today before we watched the movie:

Rachel:  I got into Barrett!
Me:  I know; I saw your status!  I "Liked" it. 
Rachel:  Oh yeah!
Me:  I'm so proud of you!

And everyone knows that awkward feeling of running into someone in the hallways that the night before you were looking at their profile and pictures.  Nowadays being a creeper has become completely normal.  Society even encourages it, what with blogs and Twitter.

I have a shirt from yearbook camp that says, "yearbook:  the original facebook."   I find this so true.  In contrast to previous generations, my generation will never experience eventually forgetting So-and-so in ten years until we crack open our yearbooks and see his or her scribbled "Have a great summer!" because the class of 2011 (or whatever) will be at our fingertips on Facebook.  That.  Is.  Incredible.  I mean, think about it.  In less than a decade, the make-up of our society has changed so drastically.  Everyone is connected and the world is getting smaller and smaller.  If there was a zombie apocalypse, you'd probably know about it within a minute.

Facebook definitely has its pros (global connection) and cons (global addiction), but there is no denying that it has changed the way we think and act.  (It has even created its own genre of humor--if you are a fan of Harry Potter, read this.

Anyway, The Social Network deserves its four Golden Globes and copious awards and nominations.  I especially loved the score- I am so happy it won Best Original Score.  If there was one thing I could choose to be good at, it would be writing musical scores.  I am obsessed with the idea of music creating the atmosphere for films and productions. Also, props to Aaron Sorkin (writer) and David Fincher (director).  (I think I'm just obsessed with the idea of movies in general.) I want so badly to be cool enough to be a part of such a great film someday.  Here's to dreaming.

xoxo

i ♥ noah and the whale

Have you ever come across someone where you're like, WHOA.  It feels like we've known eachother forever and I just learned your name...

Well, that's how I feel about Noah and the Whale.  Just take a look at this music video.  Pure bliss.  Plus, they got their name from the movie The Squid & the Whale and are devout followers of Wes Anderson.  How perfect are they?   LOVE LOVE LOVE.

mes reves...

In my dreams, I am in France. Or at least I would be if I had control over my humdrum dreams. Instead, I am humoring myself by watching French movies! Other than watching Amelie for the umpteenth time, I have watched Pierott le Fou and Coco Before Chanel.

Pierott le Fou was a very dramatic film, as well as very chic--there was a lot of "despair", "hope", violence, and deceit, as well as fabulous outfits.  I had never seen a movie with Anna Karina, although I had read allusions to her killer style. I need to watch more of her movies, as well as more of Jean-Luc Godard's, who directed.  Apparently they were married!  And one of his films was banned by the French government.  Also, he is considered one of the founders of the French New Wave.  Who knew?  I like trying to get the whole story of things.

Coco Before Chanel was wonderful.  For some reason, I got really choked up at the end.  I feel like I owe so much to a woman who just wanted to feel comfortable in the clothes she wore.  What a revolutionary!  I think of all the beautiful and magnificant pieces of clothing that are being constructed today, and they all have such humble and simple beginnings.  I have a secret:  I've tried to leave this dream in my more naive days, but I once felt that I was destined to become a fashion designer.  I don't know how it even came about, I just remember it being so obvious at the time.  Still a part of me finds an unusual amount of happiness confined in my room with a pair of scissors, a sewing machine, and a seam ripper--my favorite tools.  Now I don't have a single clue what I want to become.  Actually, I have a million clues, but they all lead to different directions!  Life is beautiful and frustrating and slightly terrifying--but always lovable.

By the way, Audrey Tautou is officially one of my favorite actresses. She is like a modern-day Audrey Hepburn!

I want to be you, Sofia Coppola

And not because you are married to the lead singer of Phoenix (although it doesn't hurt) and live in Paris.  Okay.  Maybe because you live in Paris.  But the thing is, I am going through this crazy, loony phase.  And I wish I could say with confidence that I know that this is what I want to do with my life (I'll get to that), but my practicality gets ahold of my this far-out dream and holds a firm grip.

So, I've always known (I can say this, because since Kindergarten I've wanted "to be an author") that whatever I end up doing with myself will include writing of some manner.  And the past few years I've become increasingly more interested in taking pictures, so I've come to the consensus that I will end up making that a habit at the least.

Now, thanks to my first (and second--the next night) viewing of Annie Hall this January (seems so far when you think of all the movies I've watched since), it seems that I have become more of a cinephile than I ever thought imaginable.  I mean, I thought I liked movies before.  Now I'm going loony bins!  I am going completely loony bins.  What have you done to me, Woody Allen?

Because now I have this lunatic, crazy, completely insane desire to be a director.  Not just a run-of-the-mill director, the Wes Anderson kind--you know, basically do everything, from production, writing, directing, music selection, and cinematography...The whole crazy, insane business.  Heck, why not sew up the whole wardrobe?

Clearly, I AM OUT OF MY MIND.  But this is what I daydream about these days.  In my sleep-deprived mind late at night after watching movie after movie for the third night in a row, making films seems like the answer to my love of writing, photography, creating a story with color and design, and of course, there's no escaping it--having things my way.  I'll try to settle down about it, but it's taking over my thoughts these days.

When people ask me what I want to be, I usually just say, "happy"; now I'm beginning to realize that to be happy, is to be who you want to be.  And who do I want to be?  Well, I know the title says Sofia Coppola, but what I really want to be is SO MANY THINGS.  It's slightly ridiculous.

Ah, to be a teenager.  We really are crazy, aren't we?

Fantastic Mr. Fox

SO GREAT. Honestly, I could not have been happier with a movie. The visuals were phenomenal--stop-action animation is where it's at, man. In fact, everything from the music to Mr. Fox's miniature handmade corduroy suit was phenomenal. It wasn't just the craftsmanship that caught my heart though--I was laughing the whole way through! In a word, fantastic. Wes Anderson sure hit the target.

Alice in Wonderland

(click for info)



Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland comes out on my BIRTHDAY--March 5th, 2010. This is quite wonderful and this new adaption has completely reawakened my love for the old classic...and obviously my themed-party-planning skills. Can't wait!

Coraline

This stop-motion animation film was a lot of fun! It would have been killer in 3D had that been available...(took me about a half hour into the movie to get over that one). While the offbeat humor skated over most of the young children there, my friends and I had frequent fits of giggles--the guy who sat beside me seemed to catch on too. Always quirky, sometimes creepy, Coraline* was a charming way to spend a Friday evening (and $9.50--geez!).

*Though linked to (they worked together on The Nightmare Before Christmas), this is not a Tim Burton film. It hails from Henry Selick, who while sharing a style that is rather similar, obviously trades in Burton's dreary palate for lush, popping colors.

love this commercial...

Kind of makes you want Sofia Coppola direct your life, yeah?