It's Just an Illusion

I should be asleep. But I am not. Instead I'm contemplating fundraising, back up plans, the end of my various favorite TV shows, trolling the internet for remnants of my childhood.

 

I'm finally caught up on all of my shows. And when I say all of my shows I really just mean 3 of them. Watched the last few episodes of HOUSE all the way up through the season Finale. Of considerable note is that it was shot on the new Nikon DSLR. It was quite an episode, and afterwards it had me seriously contemplating buying a DSLR camera (whenever we get the funding that is.)

I've been dead set on the Canon HV40 for so long, then I find myself researching the Nikon, which brings me back down to a cheaper price, which means looking at 5D's, then lowering the price some more, which brings me to the new Olympus Pen. Realizing that the video quality is not up to my standards. Which brings me back round to the HV40.

So there's that.

 

Also caught up on SUPERNATURAL. Watched the season finale tonight. Very intense, and not too dissimilar to the style of a Monster Cops episode I've been working on. Supernatural has been dealing (and usually does deal) with very intense topics, with some fairly dramatic (and often depressing) emotional depth. Tonight they really turned the volume up on it. Doesn't help that there is so much of LOST that seems to cross over into SUPERNATURAL. Well, mainly the actor Mark Pellegrino, who plays Satan on Supernatural, also plays the mysterious Jacob on LOST.

Which of course brings me to LOST. The last episode "What They Died For" was yet another intense episode that aired this past Tuesday. The SERIES FINALE is this Sunday. And for many of us it is very much an EVENT. For 6 seasons we've been on this roller coaster ride of puzzles, drama, mysteries, and thrills, leaving us with many questions. And it's all about to come to an end.

LOST is somewhat controversial in that there are several people who have questions about the show, but don't seem to be getting any answers. I've even seen many people post about how they just hated this past season, as this was supposed to be where we get answers to many questions posed in previous seasons, and some folks don't seem to be getting those answers. Not only that, but they seem to be rather bored with this last and final season.

 

For me I'm the exact opposite. I've gotten a great deal of answers, AND I've found this to be one of the most intense and entertaining Seasons of Lost. I understand we all have different perspectives, but I'm just really blown away by how anybody can't find the entertainment as well as the enlightenment to some of Lost's greatest mysteries. I think a huge part of it is that you can't be a casual viewer. To some extent you kind of have to do your homework, re-watch episodes, re-live previous seasons. If you're as big a fan as I am, that's no chore. I take pleasure in it. For someone who loves TV as well as puzzles and mysteries, Lost is very much up my alley, and for me it has not disappointed me one bit.

And now we are coming to an end with it. And yes there are several questions still in play, and I am very much looking forward to seeing how Sunday's 2 and a half hour finale will (or won't) resolve those questions. Whether I get answers or not, I think my greatest concern are for the characters. As it should be with every show, in the end it really is about these characters that you've watched, loved, hated, yelled at, and cheered for, and have generally spent a great deal of time with. In the end I'm really just looking forward to seeing their resolution.

So of course this is all that has been on my mind as I was laying in bed. On top of the usual, moviemaking, Monster Cops, where is the money going to come from? Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Somehow all this had lead me to the movie FX. Maybe it's because it's one of my favorite and most influential movies from my childhood. But for some reason I really needed to hear the end theme from the movie. It's called "It's Just An Illusion" by IMAGINATION.

Maybe it's because the movie is about a moviemaker/special fx artist fighting a conspiracy. Maybe it's all the themes involved, Imagination, Illusion, FX. Don't know what it is, but I needed to hear this song. I needed help remembering that time. When I was younger and very much influenced by the magic and mysticism of the movies. When I was (and still am) in love with and fascinated with illusions.

On some level there is a true reality to an illusion. Much of it is based on the perception of those witnessing the trickery. When you watch a magic trick, you're looking for the secret, you want to know what the backstory is, like seeking out the solution to a puzzle. When you're sitting in the movie theater, the illusion is well known. It's no secret that the light is coming from the back of the theater, and that in reality, we are all just staring at a lighted wall.

The very definition of an illusion tells us that it is not real. Yet I say, that the illusion itself can be more influential and inspiring than the truth of it all. If we believe in it, like we believe that the light hitting a screen is telling us a story, then is it really a lie. What's false about believing in something, especially when that something affects you emotionally?

Imagination is more powerful than knowledge. I forget who says that.

And now I have no idea where I'm headed with this. Ok, time to head back to bed.