Haah, the last few weeks have been pretty crazy...I've been in the process of preparing applications, making sure recommendations are done on time, and writing a ton of papers. So many deadlines to deal with...it's rather stressful. >_< But now I'm almost entirely ready to hand in my application, which hopefully if I get in will mean I'll be heading back to Japan for another year, perhaps longer. I'm really keepin' my fingers crossed on that, cause I know for sure that Japan is the place for me, at least at this point in my life, so I'm determined to find some kind of work there. If all else fails, the only other place I'd want to be is NYC, or maybe the UK. It's a tough world out there right now though, so naturally I'm a bit nervous about the prospects.
On another note, we watched the very interesting documentary 'Paris is Burning' in my gender class last week. It's about drag, ball culture, and the gay community of 1980's New York. It obviously deals with issues of gender and sexuality, but also poverty, racial discrimination, and inequality. It's a really touching look at how these people dealt with the prejudice and hardship they faced in their lives by creating the balls and "voguing" as a way to express themselves and be who they wanted to be, imagine they could achieve all that they wanted, even if only for a little while. I think the idea that fame lives within, that despite the limitations of the real world you can feel just as fabulous as any celebrity without the money or having people know who you are is something that can resonate with a lot of people. It's also extremely interesting to see how certain aspects of gay subculture worked their way into the mainstream (e.g. Madonna's 'Vogue') and now influence the fashion industry that the voguers at the balls admired and emulated.
I know it's been said before, but I really do believe that the LGBT movement and women's rights are among the most vital issues of our time. Fighting to improve women's rights would also do so much to help alleviate poverty all over the world, and finally surpassing the hurdle of equality for all genders and sexualities would help push many other equality movements as well. It's so sad and hard to understand how people can be so close-minded, intolerant, and downright despicable to other human beings sometimes, especially when it's a dispute over something like who we love.
Moving to the music front, I can't stop listening to 'LORELEI' by DELUHI! I love how they mix in that arabseque acoustic solo and the Middle Eastern influenced sounds...it's really beautiful and goes surprisingly well with their metal style. Although incorporating that kind of aesthetic has been done to an extent by various groups before, I think DELUHI is the only one so far to continue drawing the theme through their music more consistently, rather than it being just a phase.
In other news, the Lady Gaga's video for 'Bad Romance' is out and causing quite a stir. It certainly has some impressive visuals and outrageous fashion...it could take a while to deconstruct all of what's going on here. I like how she injects intelligence, serious creative direction, attention to visual elements, and avant-garde style into the cesspool of mainstream pop. She also has good sensibilities, is level-headed, and represents values and a female presence I find far more relatable and real than the sugary, vapid plasticness of most other normative women in pop. Although she works in pop, she does have a sort of rockstar-ish, dirty and tough atmosphere that's very appealing. People always give dance, electronic, and pop music a bad rap, but I don't think that comes from a problem with the medium itself, but rather is the result of misinterpretation, lack of knowledge, and the uninspired way it's used by some artists.
Across the pond, Patrick Wolf has put out a video for 'Damaris' off his album "The Bachelor" that was released just this summer. It's quite surprising, although the concept and presentation is fairly simple, because most of his music videos thus far have been either solitary or with groups of dancers/characters, but never featured such an intimate two person relationship. The parallel between Patrick alone at the grave and the scene with the two of them lying together in white was particularly beautiful and well done. It's at once sweet but heartbreaking, and we get to see yet another vulnerable side of Patrick that's very different from the other two videos from this album. In 'Vulture' there was vulnerability in a physical sense, while 'Hard Times' focused more on strength and overcoming difficulties. Though his work has always been eclectic, I was quite happy to see him bring a bit of the traditional English aesthetic back into his videos visually, because I will always be enamored of his 'Wind in the Wires' period with all that great imagery from Cornwell. The video for 'Damaris' also has a definite mythical quality to it that goes perfectly with lyrics. I can't say it's my favourite video by him, but it's certainly another wonderful addition to his body of work.
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