3 x 3 Meme for 9thMoon

[qos]

1) Comment and ask to be tagged!
2) I will pick THREE of your interests and/or user pics I find odd or nifty!
3) You post, explaining in detail about the three I chose!
4) People comment on your post!

9thmoon asked about the following:







These are both Katherine Hepburn playing Queen Eleanor in The Lion in Winter, which I highly recommend. She has been kept in prison by her husband, Henry II (played by Peter O'Toole) but has been brought out for Christmas Court and a fight with Henry over which of their sons will inherit the throne and some of the lands which she still owns. Eleanor is still strong, still crafty, but is reaping the bitter harvest of many of her earlier decisions and facing the fact of her faded beauty and ever-more-obvious mortality. Her husband is suffering the same challenges.

In her youth, Eleanor rode on Crusade with her first husband Louis, the king of France. As she relates in the movie, she dressed her ladies in waiting as Amazons and she herself rode bare-breasted halfway to Damascus: Louis had an apoplexy and I damn near died of windburn, but the troops were dazzled!

The first icon reflects the powerful strength of an aging woman, the second her enduring connection with her own sexuality and outrageousness which is compromised by her age and status. I like the second because there are more than a few things I would like to do -- or wear -- which don't exactly fit conventional expectations.



It's interesting that you chose these three, because in some ways Wendy, from Peter Pan is at the opposite pole from Eleanor. She's young, inexperienced, not yet aware of her own budding sexuality, but ready for her first adventure. In the recent film version, from which this is taken, Captain Hook invites her to join his crew, and she confides that she has indeed dreamed of being a pirate and always liked the name "Red Handed Jill." This combination of schoolgirl innocence and pirate fantasy appeals to me and reminds me of the girl I was. It's about dreams and fantasies and all the hidden things we are.

Arthurian Legends I am a priestess of the Holy Grail, and so a significant element of my spirituality is based in these legends. I am also fascinated by themes of sovereignty, which are also present. And Guinevere is one of my favorite figures out of legend, and I love to find new versions of her story which illuminate her complex character. (Unfortunately, there are very few really good ones.) Two of my all-time favorite novels are Arthurian stories: Firelord and Beloved Exile, by Parke Godwin, which are almost more historical fiction than fantasy, and are set in a Roman Britain version of Camelot.

Civilian Space Program I am old enough to remember watching the first moon landing, and like many I have been disheartened by NASA's failure to do anything more but send shuttles up and down again. I suspect that the next significant push out into space will not be done by the government, but through private enterprise, and I am excited that there are a number of smart, well-funded people working on this right now.

Transformation "We know what we are, but know not what we may be" - Shakespeare. We are always becoming. Situations are always changing. It's important to me to remember that everything changes. I've been through long, long periods when I've felt myself to be "chrysalis soup" -- no longer what I was, but not yet come to my new self. I love seeing transformation in the lives of others as well.

Comments

[9thmoon.livejournal.com]

Thank you, dear.
I want to see both these movies, now.

[qos.livejournal.com]

They are both well worth watching.

The Lion in Winter also includes early performances by Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton. Hepburn earned a Best Actress for her performance, and she and O'Toole are magnificent together. The script is excellent. If you want a great double feature, find a rare copy of Beckett, with O'Toole playing Henry II much earlier in his life and Richard Burton as Thomas Beckett, and watch them together.

This Peter Pan is quite simply the best version of the story I've ever seen. Wendy is a great character, and the script and her performance beautifully capture the fact that she truly is right on the brink of becoming a young woman. I also like that her 'little mother' characterization is expressed in her storytelling, not a more Victorian version. Jason Isaacs is absolutely wonderful as both Mr. Darling and Captain Hook.

[qos.livejournal.com]

Quite possibly - but it's been a while since I last saw the movie so I don't remember correctly -- and someone else created the icon.