Inception

One word: Waw.
Maybe that’s not a word but that’s the only one that can summarize it’s all mighty amazing-ness.
The subject itself was enough to attract me. Dreams. If you are reading this then you probably know me. And if you know me, then you know how much dreams are a recurrent theme in my life and my work. Most of the films I’ve written or directed have included a dream sequence. I just like the surrealist feel of them and how art uses them to subtly reveal the unconscious. Anyway, back to Inception.
This film is a masterpiece. An true art work from director Chris Nolan who has cleverly orchestrated a film that will leave you wondering what just hit you.
The film was flawless. The special effects were impressive, and mostly never seen before and the editing fitted to perfection the pace of the story. And as for the performance of DiCaprio, Cotillard and Co, simply faultless.


But were Nolan proved his genius was with the swift switching between realities, to a point where more than ever, you leave the cinema wondering wither you are yourself in a dream.
Usually, after watching a good film I feel like I am living in the said film, at least for 30 minutes until after the film has finished. The experience of watching a film in itself is, as a principle, the idea of entering someone else’s’ reality for a couple of hours. My fellow film graduates will know that it’s our inner “voyeur” side. So entering someone’s not only reality, but also their dreams is taking the experience one step further.
Anyway, if you think how confused the audiences were in the 20’s after seeing a close-up for the first time, thinking that a head had been cut up for the screen, this is the feeling we had leaving the cinema today.
Nolan has put spectacle back into film. We are entering a new era, realism has taking a new turn. And British film-makers are back in the game!
Move over Hollywood. We are the new generation of British directors and we are taking you for quite a ride. You’ll be wishing you were dreaming.

Pictures borrowed from Traileraddict.com and media.nj.com

Jean Paul Gaultier

I never really thought about him in much depth. Actually, I never really had any thoughts about him a part from maybe the fact that two of my close friends used to wear his perfumes, and that he was a controversial designer.
But because of a recent assignment for work I have had to look into his life a little bit more and have found some really inspiring notes on his work ethics and beliefs which have made me think and I found myself inspired to write again.

JPG started working as a designer at the age of 17- and from then he started a world-changing career in designing.

But the message behind his talent is what has really drawn me. He has taken feminity to a whole new level. Like Channel did when she broke down the conventions of corsets and got rid of all the superfluous laces and thrills, JPG has also given women a chance to express their independence and their rights. Funnily enough, he did that by bringing those corsets back in.
Both rebels with a cause, it just makes you think of how much fashion represents the changes in our society, and how much women and their perception have evolved in the past 50 years.

JPG was influenced by his grandmother; a woman with an extremely strong personality and a lot of his iconic items derive from some memory of her.
(See article from the guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2005/aug/28/fashion.shopping3)



And so his icons are women with equally strong personalities. Models who incarnate his ideal of a woman. Any size, any race, any tattoos or piercings, JPG has the gift of bringing the woman out of herself, sometimes in quite literal terms, but in anyway, with the one intention of making a lady feel more woman just by embracing who she is. That explains his passion for Madonna or Lady Gaga. They both go for self-expression rather than wearing something they think will please others. And that is what fashion is all about.
Though some of his more haute couture designs are a little controversial, raunchy and provocative (leather harnesses, Conical bras, elaborate corsets…) I don’t think any woman in her right man would think ‘Oh, that’s what I’ll wear to work today.’ These are images of a woman. They explore and represent exteriorly how she would be from the inside. Strong, direct, straight, powerful, yet feminine and beautiful.
This is art. Art is expression, and so is fashion.

This is my favorite quote from the man to sum it all up: 'my raw material isn't fabric, it's human beings. Voila!' (From the Guardian Article)

I guess the message I want to put across is for my fellow ladies out there, don’t be afraid to express who you are, how you feel. Don’t let yourself down. By respecting and knowing yourself as a woman, you will gain respect from others around you. Keep smiling and keep trying. Stay humble and you will see the world fall at your feet. We ARE worth it.

Images found on the web.