Hamilton's America, Michael's Dream

While watching Hamilton’s America, a PBS documentary about Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the Broadway hit Hamilton, I sat there thinking the whole time “this is me!” Watching this documentary got me thinking; if Alexander Hamilton, a poor orphaned immigrant from the Caribbean, can rise up to become an essential figure in the foundation of the United States of America, and if Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose first job was at McDonalds, can be the writer and star of two different Broadway hits (the other being In the Heights), then I believe that even though I come from a lower-middle class family, I’m struggling to get a job, and I live in a small town no one has heard of, I can make it. But this documentary rekindled a longing inside of me - I want to be remembered. I want people to think of Exeter as “the place where Michael Newman lived” and Cedarville University as “the place where Michael Newman went to college.” I want not only to help put these places on the map, but I also want to prove to the world that I can make it; that you don’t have to come from a wealthy or famous family to become wealthy or famous. I want to prove all the naysayers wrong. (I also think it would be really cool to have my own Wikipedia page some day.)

In the song “Hurricane,” it is explained that even though a hurricane destroyed Hamilton’s Caribbean town, he was able to use writing to get out of his terrible situation and off to the American colonies. When Lin-Manuel Miranda was talking about this in the documentary, I was thinking “I can do that!” My last blog post, even though it was kind of sad, somehow got almost 100 more views than the previous most viewed post. This is probably because it was a sad story, and people on Facebook seem to be drawn to stories like that, especially if they have a lot of comments. But this sudden rise in readership got me thinking that I have the potential to write my way out of all sorts of situations, maybe even like the no-job situation I have now. I certainly have the zeal to write and achieve and accomplish my dreams, I just don’t currently have the means, the opportunity, or the knowledge of how to get started and where to go.

Sometimes I relate to Hamilton - I feel like writing is my strongest suit, and I will use that to rise higher and higher until I reach my goal. Most of the time, however, I relate to Aaron Burr, who watches everyone else his age become successful at what he wants to do, while he is still waiting for his moment. When listening to Burr’s song “Wait for It”, I feel and relate to his emotions so immensely that I could sing along at the top of my lungs.* (I feel similarly about Burr’s emotions in “The Room Where it Happens”). Sometimes when I’m vacuuming the sanctuary at church for my dad, I’ll plug in my computer to the sound system so I can play music and still hear it over the vacuum. When “Wait for It” comes on, I sing loud and really get into the music. I don’t need to worry about other people listening, because no one else is there, and they wouldn’t be able to hear me over the loud music or the loud vacuum anyway. Maybe this is like my version of singing in the shower.

“I am inimitable, I am an original.” These lyrics from “Wait for It” describe how I feel incredibly accurately. I love being unique, I thrive on being original. This is part of my motivation for buying a purple guitar; I wanted it to stand out. Maybe that’s also why I’m so different from my twin brother. And despite the fact that “Michael Newman” is almost as common a name as “John Smith”, no one else will ever be me.

“I am the one thing in life I can control.” I’ve recently been reading Failing Forward by John C. Maxwell, which has been giving me advice on how to have the right attitude about failing, and how to not let it drag me down. I seem to get discouraged easily, but this book, as well as Hamilton, has taught me that I am in control of my life. A surefire way to not make mistakes is to not try, but If I never tried anything, the world would just run me over. Mistakes are inevitable. But since I am the one thing in life I can control, I am the only one with the power to shape my life how I want it. So what’s stopping me from living my dream? I have no clue. I know that with God all things are possible, so I sometimes wish that He would fast forward me to the exciting part of my life already; the part where I am where I want to be. There are countless actors, writers, editors, and directors who are my age and already making names for themselves. I want to be in the room where it happens. I want to be part of their world. This is making me sound like a Disney princess, but it’s true. I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell.

Another part of the documentary that reawakened a sense of longing in my soul was when Lin-Manuel Miranda was commenting that he got to work on Hamilton in Aaron Burr’s house, as well as the houses of some other founding fathers. I can’t believe that he had such an amazing opportunity like that! It reminds me of a dream that I’ve had for a few years now. Someday I want to spend a semester or two living and writing in C. S. Lewis’ house, The Kilns. I visited there the summer of 2013, and I have been longing to go back ever since. Along with working in the movie industry, this is one of my biggest dreams. And it’s totally possible too. When fellow Cedarville students and I visited The Kilns, there were a couple people staying there as part of a sabbatical program or something like that. Maybe if I’m ever writing an important screenplay for a movie I’ll get to stay there.

As far as what I’m currently writing, I have a couple more blog post ideas which I may write within the next few weeks. I’m also gearing up for NaNoWriMo. This is going to be a huge undertaking. 50,000 words in 30 days - that’s almost 1700 words a day. I have some ideas, but no plot outline or anything right now. I don’t know if I’m supposed to have one or not; I’ve never written anything this long before. Some of the articles I’ve read about NaNoWriMo explained that sometimes in order to reach the word goal, writers have to take quantity over quality; the editing can be done later (which will be hard for me, because I usually edit as I write). I’m excited to try it. Will I make mistakes? Absolutely. Will I reach 50,000 words? I’d like to, but even if I don’t, I will still have written more than I would have if I hadn’t done NaNoWriMo at all. In order to make the deadline I’ll have to channel my inner Hamilton. “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” Because I’m attempting to write an entire novel in a month.

*Maybe I’m just good at feeling the emotions of others, but I feel the same way about Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt,” which I initially heard when it was featured in the first trailer for Logan, the final Wolverine movie. Even though I don’t actually relate too much to the lyrics of the song, which seem to deal with getting older and realizing that past accomplishments don’t actually amount to much, I still felt incredibly emotional while playing it on guitar, especially after watching Johnny Cash’s music video for the song. I also love how well that song fits in with Logan’s storyline leading up to his final cinematic appearance (at least the final appearance of Hugh Jackman as the character).

Review of X-Men: Days of Future Past (Updated with the Rogue Cut)

                As I stated in my first blog post, I will every now and then post a review of a recent movie or TV show I’ve seen or a book I have read. These reviews will mostly contain my initial reactions, though I can’t promise that I won’t get off topic about random little details. I may discuss themes I found or other elements that interested me. I will probably talk about characters or scenes I enjoyed. I will likely give some kind of a rating in which I take into account the story, the content, and how much I liked it. I can also pretty much guarantee that any review I write of a book, TV show, or movie will be rife with spoilers; read at your own risk. The first movie I’ve chosen to review is X-Men: Days of Future Past.

X-Men: Days of Future Past theatrical release poster

Story and Reaction

Like any popular movie today, this movie is set in a kind of post-apocalyptic future. In response to the mutant hysteria, humans have created mutant-killing machines called Sentinels. In this dark future (which takes place chronologically after X-Men: The Last Stand and The Wolverine) the Sentinels have killed or captured most mutants, including many X-Men. Those that have survived have only done so because Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) has the power to send mutants’ mind back into their younger body. When Prof. X (Patrick Stewart) and other surviving X-Men arrive, they agree to send Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) back in time to stop the Sentinel threat before it begins. From here on, the film mostly takes place during the 1970’s, in a time that is chronologically after the prequel film X-Men: First Class, though the film occasionally goes back to the future to remind the audience of the danger the future mutants are facing. The mutants from the future are relying on the success of the mutants of the past. Meanwhile the mutants from the past are only doing what they are doing to stop a terrible future from happening.

This was one element I loved about X-Men: Days of Future Past: the fact that it takes place in both the past the future at the same time. I thought it was clever how even though they were separated by several decades, the events of both times affected the others. At the end, I was on the edge of my seat because I was worried about both times at once. Now even though I’ve seen and read many time-travel stories, this one seemed unique and that’s what I love about it. I enjoy different types of time-travel , and it was cool to see this film’s approach used so well (for more about my this, please see the note on time-travel at the end).

Confusion and Continuity

                I guess I should note now that this movie will only really make sense if you’ve seen most of the other X-Men movies. The only movies really necessary to watch before this one are the original trilogy (X-Men, X-2:  X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand) and the prequel film X-Men: First Class. If you haven’t seen these movies, don’t watch X-Men: Days of Future Past. If you have seen these movies, I would say this movie is a worthy edition to the series and even surpasses them.

                All movie series have continuity errors, but the X-Men movie series has had more than its share. Most of them, however, can be explained away. One major continuity error is the appearance of the old Charles Xavier, who seemed to die in The Last Stand. His survival is hinted at in the post-credits scene. Earlier in the film, Prof. X was teaching a class on ethics. He showed the class a video of a man who is alive but has the mind of a vegetable. He then asked the class about the ethics of transferring the consciousness of a dying man into this man’s body. In the post-credits scene, this man in the hospital bed wakes up and speaks with the voice of Prof X. This means he must have transferred his consciousness to this man before he died. However, this doesn’t explain why he still looks like Prof. X or why he is still paralyzed in the legs, but it’s the best explanation I can give. If you have any other questions about continuity errors in this film or in the film series in general, please do not hesitate to message me. I will at some point post a question/answer blog post where I answer whatever questions you may have about whatever.

Rating and Conclusion

This film is rated PG-13, and for good reason. There is a great deal of violence in this movie. Many mutants (especially in the future) are killed in brutal ways. A couple times people are shown to be drinking and/or smoking, but it’s not really an issue in this movie. When Wolverine wakes up in the 1970s, he is shown to be in bed with someone else. When he leaves the bed, his backside is shown. And unfortunately, like almost every other X-Men movie, the character Mystique is basically naked for most of her on screen appearances. There is a little language; a few s-words and one f-word. I can’t remember what else. In general, the film rightfully deserved a PG-13 rating. It’s a good movie, just not appropriate for all ages.

                The main reason I was so excited to see this movie was the fact that it was going to be a time-travel movie that would unite the cast of the original trilogy with the cast of the prequel film X-Men: First Class. I loved Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen as Professor Charles Xavier/Prof. X and Erik Lensherr/Magneto, respectively in the first three X-Men films. But I equally loved James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender as the young versions of these frenemies. To see played by both sets of actors in the same movie was a unique and awesome experience.

                There was a lot of violence, but only a little more than the other X-Men movies. The content in general was no worse than any of the other movies. The music was amazing, the special effects were awesome (especially Blink’s portal powers), and the story was very well written. There was also some great acting, especially by Ian McKellen (old Magneto), Patrick Stewart (old Prof. X), James McAvoy (young Prof X), and Peter Dinklage (Bolivar Trask). In conclusion, X-Men: Days of Future Past is easily one of my favorite superhero movies, and definitely my favorite X-Men film: I would highly recommend seeing it in the near future.

*A Note on Time-Travel

(Caution: This note includes spoilers for LOST, Harry Potter, Star Trek, and X-Men.)

                This film’s approach on time-travel is not one of my favorites, but it works well for this movie. Most works of fiction dealing with time-travel take one of two approaches: the “Whatever Happened Happened” Approach or the “Time Can Be Re-Written” Approach. In this discussion let’s begin with the “Whatever Happened Happened” Approach.

                The “Whatever Happened Happened” Approach is named after an oft-repeated line from the TV series LOST. Fans who felt they had not experienced enough confusion already were introduced to Time-Travel in season 5. After the island was moved using the frozen donkey wheel, the characters still on the island began flashing through time. During one of these flashes, the characters landed just a couple years ago, and found themselves. At this point in time, there were two of those characters in existence on the island. Later, when they get stuck in the 1970’s, they try to change history by blowing up the hatch before it is built, but this plan doesn’t work (even though the Audience is led to think it is through the flash-sideways stories). No matter what they do, they cannot change what has happened. Another film which follows this approach is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. When Hermione and Harry use the Time-Turner, they go back in time and see themselves. They even interfere with themselves when Hermione throws a rock at Harry’s head. But this was not new. They had already done it; they just weren’t their other selves at that point. When the executioner brings down his axe, it was always a pumpkin. Never was it Buckbeak’s neck. Everything that happened already happened. It’s destiny or fate. No matter what anyone does if they go back in time does not affect the future, because it already happened.

                The main difference with the “Time Can Be Re-Written” Approach is that going back in time actually does change things. Every time someone goes back in time, an alternate universe is created. This approach is named after a line Amy Pond said often in Doctor Who. I won’t, however, use Doctor Who as an example of time-travel. It breaks every rule ever created about time-travel. It goes back and forth between the two main approaches but mostly uses the Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey approach; it’s usually best to not question it. A better example of the “Time Can Be Re-Written” Approach is Star Trek (the 2009 movie). This movie uses time-travel to interrupt an important event, changing the future for Kirk, Spock, and Company, and throwing out all existing canon previously created by earlier Star Trek TV episodes and films. This is referred to in the film as an Alternate Reality. The only one who knows of the previous timeline is old Spock (who comes in handy for important info on characters like Kahn). Old Spock in this movie is in a similar situation as Wolverine at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past. He is the only survivor of the future that was.

The Rogue Cut

The cover art for The Rogue Cut. It wasn't re-released in theatres, just released on DVD and Blu-ray.

                During the editing process of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the editors and the director found that one sequence of the movie, involving the character Rogue from the original trilogy, distracted from the overall plot of the film. They cut most of that from the movie and had to re-shoot some scenes to make the film complete again. About a year after the film’s release, they released The Rogue Cut, which puts those scenes back in, as well as keeps the original footage that was shot. This is not an extended version, but an alternate version.

                In both versions of the movie, Kitty Pryde is wounded by Wolverine’s claw when he almost slips out of time. In the theatrical version, Kitty simply holds on until the end, but in The Rogue Cut, Professor X, Magneto, and Iceman decide that she can’t hold on, so they decide to rescue Rogue, who is being held captive inside Cerebro. After successfully breaking in and freeing her, Magneto, Iceman, and Rogue are attacked by Sentinels. In a great deviation from the theatrical film, Iceman stays behind to ensure their escape and gives his life to make sure they make it safely. Since this whole sequence was cut from the theatrical version, they had to reshoot a couple scenes of Iceman back at the monastery, then reshoot him dying in a different place (though they re-used some of the same effects). After bring Rogue back to the monastery, she uses her power to steal Kitty’s temporarily, then takes her place in keeping Wolverine back in time. Since this was all cut, they had to reshoot all these scenes with Kitty there instead of Rogue.

                Another difference is that there is an entire sequence in the past where Mystique comes back to the mansion, has a brief romantic encounter with Beast, then leaves, but not before smashing Charles’ Cerebro helmet. They then figure out that she will be in Washington, D.C. by seeing that there will be a special presentation there (in the theatrical version, they use Cerebro to see that her plane ticket says Washington, D.C.). Apart from these, there are a few scenes that have been slightly extended with additional dialogue, but that’s it.

All in all, The Rogue Cut is interesting to watch, and it’s cool to see new footage, but I think I actually prefer the theatrical version. Of course, that may be just because it’s what I’m used to. I’ll need to watch both versions again to get a second opinion.