storytelling

Guess Who Got Engaged? (Engagement)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Once upon a time, I took a beautiful and interesting woman out on a first date. Very close to the time that Donald Trump got elected president of the United States of America. I’ll never forget that night, not because that major event happened, but because it was an incredible first date, and led me on a path that I was not expecting.

The path where I met my former girlfriend, current fiancée, and future wife. But while some of you might disagree with me on the timing of this current step, the engagement actually started at the beginning and not in the midst of our relationship.

One of the textbook definitions of engagement is an arrangement to meet or be present at a specified time and place. Mysticque and I agreed to meet each other for a first date, and we both showed up at the cafe. But more importantly we were both emotionally involved in the date.

I asked her questions, a lot of them, and she answered the questions to the best of her ability. We talked, a lot. For about two hours, before I decided to move the date to the next location. She reciprocated and followed me to the UofA campus, even though she was unsure of what to expect, and as she later told me, was nervous about walking in the dark with a stranger down a creepy path (actually a well lit path, but near a parking lot and steel sculpture garden, so I can see what she means).

Then we stopped at the Arts and Business Quad on top of the hill overlooking the manmade ponds and pathways. I had brought a bottle of Bodacious blended red wine, two glasses, and a blanket. It was intentional, I love romance, and I wanted to do something romantic. Mysticque reciprocated once more. We talked for another hour or so.

Then we got up, and I kissed her.

She wasn’t ready to go home just yet, so I took her for frozen yogurt at Menchies, and we played many rounds of Connect 4. She won a lot of them. But I reciprocated.

Then I walked her back to her car, and we kissed one more time. I later found out that she told many people about this wonderful date, and how I had managed to make her life feel like the movies. That was the point I knew I would probably fall in love with her and marry her. She constantly reminds me that I still make her feel this way every day. It’s a mutual reciprocation.

Engagement with anything comes down to showing up, being present and being who you are. Mysticque and I met way back in juniour high, and had the fortune to reconnect later in life when we were both ready to engage in a healthy relationship. Part of me wishes I had saved the story she wrote about our first date, but I do have a copy of what she wrote when I proposed to her, and she accepted. I think it demonstrates the importance of authentic, personal interactions when you make creative things. People appreciate creativity, but it’s not until you put yourself out there that you risk failure and eventually success.

Thursday (November 9th, 2017) marked a significant and special day in our lives. The evening started with Tim recreating of our first date filled with all the same locations, cheesy lines, and romance. During our date, Tim deviated and brought me down to the Old Arts building and showed me a canvas with a projected movie on it. This movie (lovingly made by Tim) captured whale love songs, 27 romantic love scenes, and brief explanation of Tim’s love. Moments thereafter he proposed to me and our close family & friends were there all along watching and capturing our special day! Later in the evening Tim surprised me for a second time with more family and friends waiting back at his house. It was truly the most amazing proposal. On the weekend Tim re-proposed to me with Miguel and made the experience even more special. Thank you to all our family and friends who helped Tim with his elaborate plans and being part of our lives. And thank you to my fiancee who has made my life better than the movies.

I wouldn’t have been able to create something like this on my own. It required effort, communication, and asking for support from others. I’ve always found that family and friends show up because you show up, people can sense when your heart isn’t into it. I hope one day that I can create something as beautiful as the love I have for Mysticque, and I cannot believe I was able to capture a significant moment in our he(art). What an engagement. And it was reciprocated.

theories Summarized

It might not always seem like your life is headed in a positive direction dear readers, but I shared this story not to brag about how lucky I’ve been, but to emphasize for you the importance of engagement. Love takes practice, failure, and a willingness to put yourself out there… just like making art. But at some point you are going to realize your purpose in life, and you’ll make something really special to reflect that.

And THAT is a theory I’ll take to the bank.

Tim!

The Theory of Everything (Defining Logos)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Throughout my life I’ve heard the same mantra over and over again.

Many people state that the english language is intuitive for native speakers, but very difficult to learn when you already have another language or two under your belt. Not counting all of the weird cultural idioms that have developed over the centuries, and the regional dialects that exist inside of countries like England, the United States, Australia, and Canada. But what about the differences across states, provinces, and cities? Not to mention the fact that the english language is full of grammatical problems, oh so very many problems – the kind that can drive a professional writer into a state of madness.

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And not the shit-kicking kind of madness which induces literal pitfalls from Gerard Butler, but brain madness from literary pitfalls that are more worse than a brain freeze but less worse than a lobotomy.

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But now you’re probably thinking about what a lobotomy would feel like aren’t you? But that’s not really what this post it going to be about.

Well not literally, anyway.

No, I wanted to dig in a bit more, and poke around with a word that is near and dear to my heart, the word LOGOS. You’ll see why shortly. If we consider the words etymology, which I just get a kick out of writing, but more on that later, you’ll begin to see where the opportunity is for you to think about the principles of language differently as a creative professional.

Origin Stories

The study of the origin of words can be a downward spiral all to itself, but let’s take a tour of the word LOGOS. The word has Greek origins, and is one of those words with numerous English word equivalents, all having their own meanings – thought, speech, meaning, reason, proportions, standard, logic, order, wisdom, truth, and word (of all things), as well as a few others.

When we layer in the field of philosophy, LOGOS brings life and order to the known universe. Taking the mythical, the unknown, the fantastic and making applying a principle of organization guided by state of change.

And as someone with Christian roots, it’s compelling to learn that the term became significant in Christian doctrine to define the role of Christ within the created world. I mention this not because I want to go down the road of religion, spirituality, et al., but because as creators ourselves it is important to figure out how we order and shape our own personal created worlds. Do we created self-contained universes that only materialize once? What about sharing stories across works? Or what happens when you intertwine a series of work with yet another and bring a new level of connectedness through the broader framework?

Ultimately, what I’m really looking to share is that in the beginning was the LOGOS, and the LOGOS was with THE CREATOR, and the LOGOS as THE CREATOR.

Rubric Cube

Of course, none of this development is going to come to you easily dear readers – I can guarantee you that much. Defining something so complex as the direction you should be headed in takes time, but I think there are ways to arrive at the destination while maintaining enjoyment of the journey. As Aristotle defined in his Ars Poetica concerning the three modes of persuasion. LOGOS is an appeal to logic, PATHOS is an appeal to emotions, and ETHOS is an appeal to ethics.

Not one of these methods is more or less relevant than the other, but we have to start somewhere. And defining LOGOS is a good place to start. In the future I will spend some more time demonstrating how to articulate a LOGOS using my own art practice as an example, but PATHOS and ETHOS will definitely factor is as well.

It’s all important in the development of your creative voice, at least that’s my theory.

theories Summarized

Having said all of this, that doesn’t mean that the definition of LOGOS is fully and complete resolved yet, and much like the English language, it’s not the pack leader for most the difficult ideological concept (or language) in the world either. And did you know that Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, and Arabic all hold some difficult aspects that make them strong candidates? Fun tidbit right?

I’m just about out of theories for now my friends, but come back tomorrow for an album review of 2x mothers.

Tim!

Play It Again, Phiona (Queen of Katwe review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Movies are an endlessly interesting way of storytelling.

Because, much like oral storytelling, they rely heavily on the narrator to deliver a  perspective in time. Regardless of what the details of the story are, colour choices, setting, actors, and dialogue can all aid in creating a distinctive rendition of what has been delivered before.

 

 

 

Queen of Katwe (2016)

Cast: Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o
Director: Mira Nair
released on blu-ray January 31, 2017
******** 8/10

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IMDB: 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%, Audience Score 87%
The Guardian: ****/*****

 

Mira Nair is an Indian American filmmaker who typically focuses on international films which depict Indian culture in a positive light and she got her start making documentaries – some of her more well known films are Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay!.

Nair has been involved in activist projects for a very long time. She even set up an annual film making workshop aptly called, Maisha Film Lab in Kampala, Uganda, which translates to life. For over ten years, young directors in East Africa have been given opportunities to learn film techniques with an emphasis on telling personal stories. Maisha is currently building a school.

I mention these details because Queen of Katwe is Nair’s first film set in Africa. Or is it? Now she has directed films about other cultures previously (read:Words with Gods, Vanity Fair, and The Perez Family), but this is also the first Disney production she has been involved with.

The plot is pretty straightforward – We witness the shifting life of young female protagonist Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) as she makes some incredible intellectual achievements. What is atypical of the movie is that it is set in Africa, but doesn’t focus on conflict zones AND it has an entirely black speaking cast. But it still manages to be incredibly “Disneyfied”. What this means is that it is very mainstream in it’s depictions of Phiona and her family life, affirming the positive trajectory of Phiona. And yet her life is not at all like that of typical North Americans, just look at this plot synopsis from Wikipedia:

Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi, her mother Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o), and her family. Her world changes one day when she meets Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) at a missionary program. Katende coaches soccer and teaches children to play chess. Curious, Phiona approaches and learns the game. She becomes fascinated with it and soon becomes a top player under Katende’s guidance. Over several years, her success in competitions and tournaments leads to greater competitions, stress, and identity issues. Phiona must learn more than the game as she is exposed to life outside Katwe. Her education, both formally and informally, continues as she dreams of escaping a life of poverty for herself, her mother, and her siblings.

This is a perfect example of a triumph over adversity tale, and it doesn’t follow all of the usual beats despite containing a similar tone. The authentic experience of Phiona, her family, and friends allows us to engage with the story much better and definitely brings in some feels towards the end, especially when her sister Night finally comes home, and when Kampala experiences a flash flood. The final heart string pull comes with the credits. In what I would describe as a rare instance of showing the real people that inspired the film, Nair brings in these people to meet the actors who portrayed them, and it’s heart warming in a way that you’d expect from Disney.

Pros: Yes there are a lot of cliches embedded within the framework of the story, but all of the subversions more than make up for it, and the feelgood element is hard to pass up. Madina Nalwanga is a bright star, and portrays her role with integrity, grace, and humour. And man is it cast well – top to bottom.

Cons: I struggled with the title “Queen”. Realizing it was intended as a play-on-words about chess, but seeing it moreso as an acknowledgment of Disney princesses, though these characters are experiencing real world poverty. Sometimes the pacing is too gentle for the weight of it’s cast, supporting members included.

Runtime: 2 hours 4 minutes

Points of Interest: So I lied, kind of. Mira Nair adapted Queen of Katwe into a film after making a documentary about the life of the man who trained Phiona Mutesi, Robert Katende. But that’s pretty cool right?

In short this is brilliant little film about a young woman with an innate ability to play chess which is slowly developed to the point where she can compete with master level players. While it isn’t innovative in the story it presents, the sum of its parts are what makes this story worthwhile for a viewing. The presentation, the lead, and the setting are all well done.

Phiona’s story is presented in such a mainstream way to get more access to the incredible triumph of her life. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Because I keep saying over and over, this is a story we’ve heard over and over, and yet it isn’t because a story of a young black African woman achieving an intellectual result is a rare thing to witness in mainstream cinema. The fact that Disney pushed this through warms my heart even moreso than what I watched, and that IS a good thing. I hope they continue this trend, and that’s my theory for the day.

Tim!