So, I have a totally thing about American Presidents; from their living room curtains to the effect they have on the rest of the world, I find them fascinating. I don't know he first thing about politics, but I like reading up on them on Wikipedia and learning more about America through the years.
One of my favourites (or: one of the presidents I most admire) is Abraham Lincoln. Not only did he cause major change in America, he was he first president I really knew about (through an episode of 'The Simpsons', no less!). I admire what he did and appreciate all the bad puns on his name, especially the one from Wayne's World: "If she were a president she would be Baberaham Lincoln."
Anyways, this post was just an excuse to post this video:
Talk about creepy timing. On Tuesday I received a parcel from my great friend Katie which included this wonderful book and then about thirty minutes ago, during one of my many daily visits to the Internet Movie Database, I found out John Hughes died today. While it doesn't stir up as many immediate emotions as Heath Ledger's death or Michael Jackson's does, it does feel like the end of an era.
Even though I was born in 1986, by which time most of Hughes' films had come out already, his films (the ones he either directed or wrote) were a big part of my teenage years. From the age of 13 onwards, I submerged myself in 1980s pop culture. Duran Duran records, 80s teen films, suicide sodas and endless episodes of 'The Wonder Years' (okay, that doesn't really count as it started in 1989). It felt like double escapism, not only was I escaping my daily life through movies, I was travelling in time -- two for the price of one.
Deciding on what is my favourite John Hughes movie is near impossible. His sensitivity, excellent choice of soundtrack, great dialogue and inspired casting choices made his films unparalleled. I still don't know what caused him to pretty much vanish off the face of the earth after 'Uncle Buck', but John Hughes is immortal to anyone who loves 1980s films.. come to think of it, I'd go as far as to say that John Hughes is immortal to anyone who didn't really enjoy being a teenager.
While his sentimentality got the best of him at times, there was always this sense of victory for the underdog characters; Samantha got to kiss Jake, Brian and Allison realised they were better off without the pressures of popularity and Andie and Blane ("that's a major appliance, that's not a name!") got together.. and Duckie got his Duckette in the form of Kristy Swanson. It was win-win all 'round.
While there are worse things on earth than being a teenager, John Hughes' message that things could only get better as you got older (or as you got past being a teenager!) definitely rang true for me. For this great life lesson, I salute you, dear John Hughes.
Edit: Many great tributes have been posted in the last 24 hours, here are links to some of my favourites:
I realise this blog is soon becoming a blog of celebrity death, but I was sad to hear Bill Meléndez, the man responsible for the many 'Peanuts' and Charlie Brown TV animations, had died.
Growing up I was always a fan of Charles M. Schulz's cartoons, and I would cut the comic strips out of our newspaper and stick them in my notebooks. Linus and Lucy were (and still are) my favourite characters, and I love the way they're portrayed in the animation series. Apparently José "Bill" Meléndez was the only person Schulz would allow to work on the animation of his comic strips. He made five feature length Charlie Brown films (the most famous of which is the A Charlie Brown Christmas), and 75 half-hour cartoons.
Despite being best remembered for his work on bringing the 'Peanuts'-characters to the screen, Meléndez also worked on Walt Disney's Bambi, Fantasia and Dumbo, as well as several Bugs Bunny and 'Looney Tunes'-cartoons.
Here's one of my favourite scenes from A Boy Named Charlie Brown, the first feature length 'Peanuts'-film; every animation feature should contain one mind-bogglingly psychedelic scene (think of the elephant dance in Dumbo) -- here Schroeder plays Beethoven's 'Sonata Pathetique' (it starts about 45 seconds in):
Also, something I found really surprising and fun to find out: Meléndez was also the producer for Babar Comes to America, which is voiced by the late, great Peter Ustinov (who is unforgettable as King John in Disney's Robin Hood). Babar was my one great love as a little girl and I will be the first to admit I'm a bit of a Babar-purist (Jean de Brunhoff's books are the only real Babar-books in my mind, Laurent's were rubbish), and I was horrified to see the 1980s animation series as a semi-grown up a couple of years ago but, still, Laurent-Babar is better than no Babar at all!
As a great lover of all bespectacled people (especially ones who wear their frames as big as they come), I was sad to hear Yves Saint Laurent passed away. As a tribute, some of my favourite outfits from Belle de Jour.
