VIVID - THE BLOG

Platinum blonde hair. Striking red lipstick. Admirable hourglass-shaped body. Sweetly charming smile. We have all seen her, the actress and renowned sex-symbol, on numerous posters, t-shirts, cards, cups and what else the booming merchandise industry around the arguably most iconic Hollywood starlet has to offer - in Palm Springs there is even a 26-foot-tall Marilyn Monroe statue on display outside of the local art museum, granting visitors a direct look at her panties underneath the famous white billowing Seven Year Itch dress.                                                              But what is the story behind the carefully constructed image? With Blonde Joyce Carol Oates has crafted a possible version of a life beyond the cinematic screen and camera flashes, an open window to the inner emotions and desires of Norma Jean Baker – as was her actual name – who allegedly remained a partial mystery even to those closest to her. Oates´ moving and thoughtfully written novel is inspired by and does reference various real people and events that impacted Norma Jean´s life, while dipping the facts in the pool of the authors imagination – thus resulting in an intriguing example of a fictionalized biography. By the end of the final page, you might not be prepared to give an academically correct presentation on the person of Norma Jean Baker, but you certainly will be convinced to know her, to have become privy to the essence of who she was: a foster child, a longing daughter, a pin-up girl, a wife, a divorcee, a movie star, a lover, a hard worker, a sexual fantasy, an addict, an almost-mother, a humorous, knowledgeable, generous and troubled woman – soon to be embodied by Cuban Bond girl Ana de Armas in the upcoming Netflix adaptation.  

Genre: historical fiction

First published: 2000

Pages: 738

Kya Clark aka the marsh girl leaves nature-bound isolation to enter theatres    (spoiler free)

In her bestselling novel Delia Owens spins a beautifully poetic tale of a girl abandoned by her family, growing up alone but not lonely, for nature is her constant companion. She learns to survive on her own, while coping with her status as social outcast, studying the wilderness and creatures around her and falling in love. Until a boy dies and the ´marsh girl´ is accused of murder.   

Now actress and producer Reese Witherspoon, who helped the book gain popularity through her renowned literary club, has brought Kya Clark and her world alive on screen. The latter is brilliantly portrayed by Normal People´s Daisy Edgar-Jones, who skilfully conveys all the inner emotions and thought processes of her character initially described on the page. And where the movie is not able to bridge that gap through mere facial nuances, we hear Kya´s voice narrating from the off, framing the picturesque sceneries of the marshland in ever so picturesque words. Nature itself truly is the second protagonist of this romance and crime filled coming-of-age story, which director Olivia Newman wonderfully manages to capture on camera. From early morning boat rides across the calm blue waves of the lagoon, to sun-drenched reading sessions among bright green plants, kisses surrounded by up-dancing leaves and fireflies illuminating the dark. Similarly, now and again the costume choices offer an additional pop of colour to the aesthetic experience, in thorough 50s and 60s fashion. Whereas, the plot is greatly played out by a spot-on cast, besides Edgar-Jones ranging from Taylor John-Smith as Kya´s first love Tate, to Sterling Macer Jr aka her friend Jumpin and Harris Dickinson embodying the two-faced Chase, who finds his fate on the bottom of the fire tower. Just like Owen´s source material the movie keeps its audience guessing till the very – masterfully constructed – end, if the so called ´marsh girl´ in fact did kill beloved quarterback and womanizer Chase Andrews or if the town simply set off a witch hunt.                                                                                                                                                          Where the Crawdads Sing is an example of a rare phenomenon known as a successful book-to-movie adaptation, which not only stays faithful to the novel, but is able to embrace the story in all its cinematic vividness – with a Taylor Swift shaped cherry on top named Carolina, a song written especially for the movie.

As she said in an interview, Marian Keyes herself is quiet the family person and passionate organizer of big get togethers à la Casey. Which cannot be denied after having read this thick but page turning little novel.                                                                                                                   Growing up is messy, but being grown-up is even messier. The Casey brothers Johnny, Ed and Liam are -more or less happily- married to Jessie the business owner, Cara the hotel manager and Nell the stage designer. On top of that come children, teenagers, parents, in-laws, ex-spouses and the lingering memory of one that passed away. Despite their picture-perfect family trips and well-planned events, each has their own struggles and challenging relationships to handle. Actual sentiments and emotions are not always what they seem from the outside and sometimes most hard to admit to those closest to you. Keyes creates an in-depth Austenesque character study of all the different links, ties and inner turmoils that tend to complicate daily life -especially with a bunch of relatives constantly buzzing around you. Her witty writing is sure to trigger the occasional chuckle and makes it impossible not to root for every single one of the wide spread Casey clan -except maybe Liam.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     They might not be particularly harmonious, but what fun is a family without the inevitable touch of chaos? Marian Keyes proofs that being a ´grown-up´ doesn´t automatically turn you into a put-together, highly responsible and disciplined human being -those probably don´t exist. We just become an older version of the kid that keeps making mistakes, while figuring out who we are and how to cope with the world around us.  

Genre: contemporary

First published: 2020

Pages: 633

The encounter of different cultures has always evoked a sense of fascination in us -in the beginning resulting in rather negative than positive outcomes. Travel triggers an innate curiosity, a longing for knowledge and adventure, offering an escape from daily routine.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Back in the day, what we currently may think of as ´just another summer vacation´, was a much more ambitious endeavour. The journey to the destination alone took days instead of hours. In the Middle Ages, continuing all the way into the 18^th century, the less wealthy embarked upon pilgrimages to religious places of worship, covering endless miles on foot. Whereas many young aristocrats of the 17^th and following century took part in the arising trend of the ´grand tour´. It became fashionable for the upper-class offspring to venture through Europe, absorb the art of great masters, promenade alongside historic sites and return home as intellectually and culturally sharpened individuals. Later on, as trains entered the picture, leisure-based travel grew less exclusive, therefore also allowing ordinary people to effortlessly cross the country towards unseen regions. From then on, the official motto seemed to have been ´fast, efficient, innovative´. The only method of transport we haven´t mastered yet is every Trekkie´s sci-fi dream of teleportation. That way we would skip the cheap last minute flight deals and get right into line for the overcrowded Louvre.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Mass tourism is a troubling consequence of rapidly increasing technological advances, which in return fuels the booming tourism industry. Entertainment-packed coastal cruises, guided group bus tours, all-inclusive hotel chains, low-priced Airbnbs, widely spread souvenir shops, restaurants with picture filled food menus, containing at least one universally liked dish (burger/pizza/…). That´s all supposed to improve our stay abroad. But don´t we go on these trips to fully experience the atmosphere of a foreign country? We want to soak up the ´authenticity´ of that charming little neighbourhood we read about in the secret-spots section of our travel guides. We want to stumble across a pizzeria that is practically dripping with tradition and rustic aesthetics. A place hidden in a narrow side street, where the tomatoes for the sauce are grown in the back yard and the dough is based on an old family recipe passed down for generations. And of course, the highest goal of every good tourist is pretending not to be one. Never mind the backpack, the wrinkled city map and a general facial expression between awe and confusion. They will never know! Well, that´s not the only paradox concerning the whole touristic concept. It has become a common problem in several popular cities that too much living space is being turned into short-term accommodations for outside visitors, instead of providing highly needed homes for actual citizens. Although we intentionally seek out that vibrant local feeling, by doing so we are sometimes simultaneously disrupting it. Then there are the souvenir shops. Obviously, it´s nice to have something to remember your trip by and it´s even better if you don´t have to spend hours walking through town to find a simple postcard. But one on every corner tends to create a sense of artificiality. Whereas you´d never see anything like that in those enchantingly dreamy vacation ads. That would take away the magic of the ivory white sand, softly touched by bright turquoise waves or the lively oriental bazaars stacked with multi coloured spices and textures. The thing is that you´re not the only one who turned on the tv. In reality it´s more likely that at certain seaside locations, you will look up from your beach towel and are faced with nothing but a row of booked out hotels. In return, when gazing down to the beach, out of the window of your own hotel room, you´re faced with nothing but a crowd of semi-sunburnt people. It has gotten to the point where, while strolling through international hotspots like Venice, you start to wonder if this is a genuine Italian town, with supermarkets, schools, cultural festivities and traditions and most importantly Venetians -or if the name ´tourist village´ would be more fitting. Where do all these sightseeing aficionados with their clicking cameras and big floppy hats come from? For one, they are pouring out of baggage packed travel buses and high towering cruise ships. Besides influencing the urban scenery, the latter also bears a negative impact on the environment. In the long run, these oceanic mass-transport-vehicles might therefore endanger the very landscapes they are promoting as part of their touristic routes.                                                                                                                                                                                          On the other hand, the tourism industry provides a crucial income source for various individuals and regions, meaning there are ways in which native communities do benefit from the steadily rising travel boom. It´s not an easy matter to solve, but what ever is? (Not regarding the giant ships, they need to be reduced and that´s it).We will probably have to come to terms with the fact that the globe will continue to fill up with more and more inhabitants. And that that will inevitably alter several aspects of our momentarily quiet comfortable western life styles. What is certain is that there will be no ´#hikegirlsummer´ or ´#grandtour_aesthetic´ trending anytime in the near future.

29 years after Hammond initially opened the gates to his ethically questionable theme-park, Spielberg´s celebrated dinosaur science-fiction saga reaches its grand finale (spoilers)

So far, we have seen the giant reptiles run free on the territory of the original park grounds, then again in the first of the new movies on the same island but under different management and lastly the amusement park setting was replaced by a mysterious mansion serving as a secret dino-auction venue. For the big ending they obviously couldn´t just go back to Isla Nublar. Not only had the dinosaurs in Fallen Kingdom already crossed the ocean -though not willingly- and massively reduced their securely warranted distance to humanity, but a beloved action series like this hasn´t kept its audience gripped by decreasing the scale. Therefore, in order to go out with a proper bang, there seemed to have been no other option than to expand Jurassic World to literally the entire world.

We are shown a flying beast as shrieking wedding crasher, a whale-like sea monster making a sudden appearance next to a doomed fishing boat and little children being chased by little dinos. The reptiles have become a common addition to daily life, as well as valuable black-market goods, falling prey to hunters and criminals of every sort. Since the events of the second film Claire and Owen have settled down in an isolated cabin in the woods, attempting to raise and protect Maisie, the much sought-after teenage clone girl. But of course, the head strong Lockwood-replica longs to abandon her closed-off safety bubble and explore the rest of reality. Which is why she quickly ends up kidnapped and transported to BioSyn, causing her adoptive parents to go on a rescue mission. Meanwhile, Ellie Sattler and Dr Alan Grant make their long-awaited return, determined to expose the origin of the mutant-locusts plague, aided by Malcolm.                                                                                                    The latter already sums up the problem of the movie in combination with its greatest asset. Old and new coming together, exchanging poignant remarks and advice and Jeff Goldblum once again being iconic. That´s all wonderful and a guarantor for glowing eyes and contented sighs among the more dedicated crowd of wannabe-raptor-trainers. But who cares about suspiciously abnormal insects if there are actual dinosaurs walking around in the background? Ellie Sattler has apparently taken on some kind of profession related to agricultural research and is faced with the increasing destruction of fields that grow crops other than BioSyn. When she sees the creatures for the first time, she seems to be just as awestruck as nearly three decades before, in contemplation of a long-necked herbivore. However, fife preceding blockbusters full of pointy teeth, sharp claws and terrifying rawrs clearly represent a reason to question the threat level of genetically-altered locusts in comparison to an abundance of prehistoric reptiles populating the globe. After all, dinosaurs are meant to be the centre of the story, not a video-game-like suspension tool whenever there is a need for death-bringing obstacles along the way. Similarly, Grant´s presence in the context of the plot isn´t thoroughly justified. Of course, he couldn´t have been left out, that´s not what I´m referring to. But the writers didn´t put that much effort into giving his character a valid function in the story line -maybe they were overwhelmed with taking care of the numerous other protagonists, sidekicks and villains. Sattler asks him specifically to accompany her, because ´people listen to him´. Though, once they arrive at the mad scientist´s evil layer masked as highbrow research facility, Alan just stands around casting sceptical glances, while Ellie is the one receiving important information and leading them to where the locusts are hidden.                                                                                                                                                            Furthermore, despite the fact that Lewis Dodgson´s hitmen are ordered to capture Maisie as well as Baby Blue, the existence of the raptor-offspring appears to be a mere fan serving attempt to fill the dinosaur quota, overshadowed by the new twist in the clone girl´s backstory. Which simultaneously points to a controversial message, that I only became aware of when leaving the theatre. Human cloning is right. By building up an emotional connection between Maisie´s urge to figure out her place in the world and Charlotte Lockwood´s innocent wish for an unburdened child, any critical aspects in relation to scientifically creating a human being and the ethically crucial consequences of the very possibility of that process are excluded.                                                                                                                                                                                                    On the other hand, locusts and dubious genetic viewpoints aside, Jurassic World 3 is a very enjoyable action adventure. There are all the high-tension dinosaur-close-up moments, vicious killer beasts chasing after our brave heroes, a bit of humour and wit sprinkled into the dialogue and on top of that a good portion of nostalgia. In addition, I was positively surprised by how well they handled the rather large group of protagonists, not making it feel overcrowded by waiting till the second half of the film to merge the two camps. Whereas, I´m not quite sure what to make of the ending. Yes, there is something pleasantly utopian and harmonic about dinosaurs and elephants marching side by side through the savannah. However, I´m just not buying into the idea of sudden peaceful coexistence, when a few scenes earlier the line between life and death was still drawn precariously thin in the murderous face of a so-called giganotosaurus. But, then again, maybe that is the magic of cinema. The power to make us believe that somewhere out there might be a place where dinosaurs and humans can share a planet -as long as we let loose of logic and over-thinking and allow the screen to transport us into escapism.