As the movie started out I was thinking to myself: "Why in the world am I here?" I was confused, lost, and utterly disgusted at such a dumb movie.
Let me set the stage: The movie is about the Berlin philharmonic orchestra - one of the most prestigious and famous in the world. It is made up of members of all types: Portuguese, Spanish, Americans, English, Germans, Asians, French, and Italians. Those were just the ones I could identify. So part of the movie is played in each of those languages at one point or another as each member of the orchestra was interviewed. I was very quite confused.
I caught myself off guard though. I actually got something out of this movie. In the interviews they began to explain the difficulties with reaching "harmony" as a group, and not just musicians. As part of an extremely prestigious orchestra, it was easy for them to not "click" or to think that it was "all about them." At this point the director said, "as soon as you begin to think that it's all about you, or that you are the most important; that's when you get into trouble. You have to always remember that the music is the most important thing."
I left the theatre tonight with a surreal feeling. Isn't that life, specifically socially? Don't we all have to work together? Don't we have to be ourselves without hiding our talents, give our opinions while accepting those of others, and try to adapt when a new person or idea is introduced into our little world? Isn't it true that when we begin to think that it's all about us, then that is the moment we begin to fall and bring down the entire team around us? Let us not hide our talents, yet be confident in our ability to contribute. Let us speak our mind, while accepting the voice of others. Let us work as a team and reach "harmony" because really - it's not all about "you" or all about "me." It's about US. The music is the most important thing; and that is how we can make a beautiful sound for others to hear.
I felt good writing this one - I found a purpose in the writing even though it was hard to find a purpose in the film at first. I had to take out a complete paragraph though because it was long. How is the length and flow?
ReplyDeleteI think the flow is just fine. I think if you added the paragraph, the length still would have been fine. Also, I feel that you get your point straight across. You have a good point there :)
ReplyDeleteWhere I struggled in my conclusion, you nailed it. I quite like the comparison to everyday life. Being able to connect even though you didn't at first really made this paper stand out.
ReplyDeleteHere's an awesome quote from one of my favorite online videos ever. You can watch it at (below) if you want. It's given by the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, Benjamin Zander. It's amazing, watch it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/benjamin_zander_on_music_and_passion.html
"I had an amazing experience. I was 45 years old, I'd been conducting for 20 years, and I suddenly had a realization. The conductor of an orchestra doesn't make a sound. My picture appears on the front of the CD -- (Laughter) -- but the conductor doesn't make a sound. He depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful. And that changed everything for me. It was totally life-changing. People in my orchestra came up to me and said, "Ben, what happened?" That's what happened. I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people."
I like the overall feel I got from your essay. "It's about US."
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