We watch a lot of movies at our house. Thanks to my husband, Patrick, there is no intellectual snobbery that goes into our movie collection (if it were up to me the majority of titles would probably read like a Handbook to New York Film Geeks). On any night of the week you are likely to feel the pulse of blockbuster sound effects from the hallway to our condo. Recently Patrick revisited several major motion pictures that afterwards I found haunting my daytime hours at the farm. The films we recently watched were The Fifth Element (1997) by Luc Besson and Rise of Planet of the Apes (2011), directed by Rupert Wyatt. Both films were about the fate of mankind in the future but each portrays a very different vision of what this future will look like.
In case you need me to catch you up on the plot lines, I'll quickly give you the two scenarios. In The Fifth Element, we are quite literally dropped into the twenty-third century in which man-kind exists in an aerial uber-city populated by media-freaks and fast-food misfits. The universe is threatened by "Evil" and the only hope is a scientifically engineered DNA wonder-girl, Milla Jovovitch, and her taxi driving admirer, Bruce Willis. Rise of Planet of the Apes is set in the much nearer future, when a well-intended scientists brings his work home with him in the form of a genetically enhanced chimpanzee that soon exhibits intelligence enough to take over the world from humans one ape at a time.
What I found so haunting about these films is that nature has such an aberrant role in the future. In The Fifth Element, the only natural creatures or landscape are the humans and humanistic aliens and these both are a far cry from anything we would refer to as natural in current times. The only savior for this human dominated world being consumed by an unnamed evil is a genetically modified human-like tool that looks really beautiful when she kicks butt. Don't get me wrong, I actually find the movie quite amazing in its own respect. It's the vision of life in the future that has me vexed.
In sharp contrast Rise of Planet of the Apes unabashedly indicts humans and their pesky scientific ambition as the source of trouble for the future in spite of all good intentions. In this film nature, embodied by the apes, takes over when humans seem inept. But it is a nature that is clearly considering eliminating the problem, i.e. Humans.
Media is a strange creature in and of itself. Basically it is a projection of the human mind that in turn is used to influence knowingly or unknowingly the population. We use man-made images, sounds, words to get messages and ideas across to others. Even when the material appears to be happening "live", it is edited by someone somewhere. Believe me, nothing you experience from the media is unadulterated. I know. I'm trained in just this type of weapon. So watching a movie for me is always a little like playing with a loaded gun. It is a vision that has successfully made it into the minds of millions and in the case of Rise of Planet of the Apes and The Fifth Element it is a vision of a genetically modified, hostile or obsolete natural world- nothing like the natural environment that I witness on a daily basis at the farm... Hence the haunting.
Childhood Imagination and Horses
My daughter, Honor, was raised among the horses from the age of two weeks old. She quite literally went with me every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow, to the barn to take care of the horses. This was not always an easy thing, especially for my extended family to accept, but it has been a bit of a mission for me. However, last spring, when at three years old, she barely averted two situations that could have been very dangerous, I decided school during the week was a good thing for her safety and my sanity. She was just too mobile for me to keep safe while I needed to be training horses. I must admit this fall has been a bit lonely without the little terrorist strewing halters down the barn aisle and pouring buckets of feed out onto the feed room floor. But she loves her school and I am actually accomplishing a lot more. Now, Saturdays are our days at the barn when she can ride and play among the animals.
I say that having Honor with me at the barn was a bit of a mission because it was probably one of the most important things I knew to do as a parent. You see, from the beginning of my adulthood, from my days of film school in New York City, I determined that when I had a child they had to know the life of the farm and the experience of being raised among the horses. This conviction came from my own childhood experiences.
The story of my childhood would read a little like a Bridge to Terabithia-style, divorce-nightmare. Let's just say it was the definition of complicated and confusing- actually a lot like many kids experience divorced parents. My parents did a lot of things that I look back on and think were crazy. But the one thing they did that helped me survive the turmoil was they kept horses in my life and by keeping horses in my life, they kept a connection to the natural world for me that always provided spiritual solace; a spiritual peace that can not be found among humans. I spent untold hours riding horses and letting my imaginary world unfold in the woods behind our house. I was eleven years old when we moved off of our little farm to a suburban neighborhood and began boarding our horses. But that childhood among the horses, exploring nature continued to survive in my mind and prospered into writing on the page. When I had a child, the best survival skill I felt I could give her was a connection to the land and animals.
Reality and Understanding Your Environment
Today, Saturday, Honor came with me to the barn. She is familiar enough with the routine. First we feed the horses, clean stalls and then ride or picnic or generally play around the barn. Unfortunately when we got to the barn today things were a little disorderly. A group of horses had pushed through a gate and were upturning buckets of feed as we arrived. Thankfully, in spite of her recent absence from the barn, Honor remembered the "emergency" plan when it comes to horses. She is supposed to seek higher ground- climb a fence, a gate, go in the tack room and shut the door, whatever separates her from the path of the horses. I was impressed to see her little 3 1/2 year old mind assess the situation and follow directions. We quickly gathered up horses. She helped me clean up spilled feed and pretty soon everyone was fed. All the while, Honor talked to the different animals as if they were her friends. She'd brought Axel, the dog, several toys to play with. She promised Glenda, the cat, she would feed her. She pet the goats and chatted with them about playing hide and seek. And then she wanted to ride.
Claire, the borrowed pony, was Honor's pick to ride today. As Honor brushed Claire from her perch on the mounting block, she asked me about Claire's ownership circumstances. She wanted to know if anyone else was coming to look at Claire (I told Honor a while back that Claire was borrowed and we were trying to find her a home with a kid). She wanted to know that since Claire was recently turned down as a possible purchase, did that mean Claire was going to stay at the barn forever... and basically be Honor's. I tried to moderate the situation with lots of options and basically hoped I was not encouraging horse hoarding in my child (a disease I am sometimes concerned I may have as well). Honor seemed satisfied that Claire was temporarily at her disposal and she felt she could temporarily get attached enough to ride.
Today, just happened to be one of those days when I couldn't care less what we did. I was just happy to be in the sun playing with my kid and horses. This worked to Honor's advantage because I was willing to walk the pony anywhere she wanted to go. Honor had been eyeing the hill and lake bed as possible adventure places. She and Claire seemed to follow the dog, Axel, and I just trailed along as a lead rope attachment. As we walked Honor's conversation began to spin in a hundred directions and I could feel her imagination expanding with every step of the pony. I could feel the power of nature working it's magic on her. She was taking in the trees, watching the animals' behaviors, listening to the wind and exploring her environment as a connected participant. She wanted to preserve these moments, stay in nature as long as she could, exploring every inch of land on that farm. I believe at that moment she understood how valuable this natural world is, and she felt the pleasure and peace that nature can provide.
The Future of Nature
I consider myself an environmentalist. I deeply feel that human life must be in harmony with nature in order to be spiritually fulfilled. I don't believe this because I read it in a book and I like to eat granola. I believe this because I experience it on a daily basis. We need to preserve our natural world for our own well-being. Conservation of land, of forests, of animal habitats is not just so liberals can have another bumper sticker; it is a spiritual debt we humans should pay to preserve our sanity. The loss of family farms are not just a bygone of economic hard times; they are another rift in the connection the average American has to the land. "Buy Local" is not just a cute food advertisement, it is about respecting the roots to nourishment that are already established in your community. Teaching kids about where their food comes from, giving them camping experiences, taking walks in the woods and listening to the birds, all of this seems too simple a task. And yet, the majority of parents are letting the media do their talking. Beware, I haven't seen a film recently about the future where everyone ends up happily on a beach, emotionally content listening to the waves. If there is one out there, please forward the title so I can add it to our movie collection.
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