"How can you expect a man who's warm to understand a man who's cold?"
These are the words our protagonists Ivan Denisovich Shukov muses to himself in preparation of a long day ahead in “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch”. The novel examines the daily routine of prisoner, Shukov, on a brutally cold winter day in 1951 in a Siberian work camp. From the early wake up calls, back breaking labor, and scarce food rations, the novel serves as an inside look into a dark time in Russia's past based on actual experiences by the author Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
What “One Day” does so effectively is show that even in the worst scenarios it is possible to keep not only some human dignity but also individuality. Shukov in the midst of his imprisonment has managed to keep intact a set of core values that have stuck with him throughout his many years imprisonment and countless hardships. These values are the one thing that keeps him from becoming another victim to the environment he is surrounded by everyday.
The novel manages to convey so many deep and meaningful messages of how human perception is changed in the harshest of circumstances brought upon by an oppressive system. It shows how easy it is to crumble amidst such a rigid routine with seemingly no end in sight and how the only thing that will keep you alive and sane in such a place is equal parts determination and wisdom.
Album - Wish You Were Here
Following up Dark Side of the Moon is no easy task. In Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd has toned down their sound but strengthened their message. The album opens with the track “Shine on you Crazy Diamond I-V” from the subtle synth drone to the memorable opening guitar riff, the track builds altering in sound several times but never loosing it's focus, giving way to the quietly powerful song “Welcome to the Machine”. Through the use of a variety of synthesizers and tape effects that accent perfectly David Gilmour's tapped and painful vocals attacking the music industry. The track shows a darker side of the band, a more serious tone that had never been explored in any of their previous albums.
Where the record really culminates is in the title track. Not only is “Wish You Were Here” the best song off this album but it might arguably be the band's best of all time. The opening duet of acoustic guitars is so simplistic but so effective and memorable. The track showcases the bands impeccable ability to hook the listener in almost immediately and take them on an irresistible journey seemingly through space and time.
“Wish You Were Here” as a record conveys an overwhelming sense of hope. There are so many instances where the album could spin off onto a tangent, loose it's grasp on the listener and become an unfocused mess revolving around effects and synths but Pink Floyd unlike any other band knows how to walk the fine line of being accessible to just about any listener while still retaining a rich sound and deep meaningful lyrics.
Movie - The Dark Knight
Christopher Nolan's “The Dark Knight” goes beyond the panels of Bob Kane's original Detective Comics where the memorable hero Batman got his start. In fact it goes beyond any other comic book film to the point where it is inappropriate to even put it within in the context of a comic.
On the surface the plot is fairly simple, the Joker played by Heath Ledger, has arrived in Gotham to take the entire city hostage by upstaging local government and law enforcement in the most extreme and heinous of ways. Crippled by fear the city and it's people are ready to give up and quick to blame Batman, seemingly the only person who has a grasp on how to stop the never ending reign of terror and the only one who has enough determination to save the city.
What “The Dark Knight” does that so many other films like it have failed to do, is put the characters at the forefront of the action. Because of superb writing and direction each character throughout the film is genuinely important to what is going on, and because of this the audience cares and the film never looses it's core focus despite showcasing a large ensemble cast. It's easy to look at this film and merit its superb visual effects or it's stunning cinematography but none of it ever upstages the actors on screen and that is what makes it so powerful and so memorable.
