A Villanelle about Villanelle

Killing Eve - Season 3 is underway, and for those who are fans or newly intrigued by the series, I thought I'd share a poem.  Killing Eve starts out as an investigation to a series of assassinations and eventually is centered on an obsessive romance.  Last year, I was researching types of poems, and I learned that the assassin, Villanelle, was named after a poetic formation.  So I thought, why not write a villanelle about Villanelle?  Today I searched for the villanelle I wrote, and it turns out I wrote it exactly one year ago.

5-23-19
Villanelle
By Caroline Friehs

Haunting a woman for weeks,
She leaves memoirs at crime scenes,
Ever alluring whom she seeks.

At the end of her blade, flesh streaks
with curdled murder left unclean,
Haunting a woman for weeks-

On end of the spy hole, she peeks.
On the separating door, she leans,
Ever alluring whom she seeks.

Unfearing of hell, yet souls sink into the bleak.
Killing to reveal everything obscene,
Haunting a woman for weeks.

Unfettered with consequences, her death count reeks.
Hidden razors in lipstick, is this fiend
Ever alluring whom she seeks?

An outlawed reaper, a stolen sickle she sneaks,
While leaving unriddled clues to be seen,
Haunting a woman for weeks,
Ever alluring whom she seeks.

New Faces in Film Break the Cinematic Déjà vu Cycle

Growing up, I used to watch movies for the plot, not the celebrities plastered on the movie boxes.  Don’t get me wrong.  I have my favorite actors, but after a few Drew Barrymore movies, it’s hard not to think of the last character portrayed.  Hollywood has produced countless films, whether loved or loathed – but movies become carbon copies of the same twenty actors.  Celebrities get recycled into their next cinematic reincarnations, and the audience remembers their past lives in film.

            While sitting on my couch in isolation, I watched a few Netflix movies, and it was nice to see some new faces.  Watching movies with actors I’ve haven’t yet heard of is great.  Instead of thinking of the protagonist’s past five roles or the celebrity gossip surrounding them, I think of the character more, and the plot becomes the focus of the film.  It’s easier to fall spellbound while watching a story unfold. 

The point of making a film is to tell a story.  Money is the other motivator, which covers production costs and pays the actors.  Sadly, celebrities drive the ticket sales moreso than the storylines.  However, that has begun to change.  Beloved actors have passed away, and new actors are bringing characters to life on screen.  Smaller film companies can air their films to Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, and more people will see these films due to quarantine.

            In the midst of this global crisis, people can view movies with new actors – seeing just the characters and the story distracts from the pandemic.  When producers cast rookies, they are granting the longtime wish of all aspiring actors, a chance in the spotlight.  When celebrities turn down movies, a hopeful individual gets a shot at their dream.

Too many people assume that a lack of fame denotes a lack of skill.  Hollywood is so competitive that the people who didn’t make the cut still had some talent.  There are plenty of good-looking runners up in auditions who were the best in their hometowns.  It’s unreasonable to believe that celebrities were competing with thousands of ugly people with zero talent.

            After decades of cinematic déjà vu, filmmakers are finally answering the call that echoes from my childhood – to give new people a chance.  I’m happy for the rising stars who are shining on my television screen.

Mother-Daughter Movies to Watch on Mother’s Day

            There are more than enough films “about a girl and her father,” but there are few movies about mother-daughter relationships.  Negativity between girls and their moms dates back to ancient Greece with Electra and Queen Clytemnestra.  Clashing moms and teenage daughters is practically a stereotype, and I notice there are some films that confront this issue.  Here are five fun movies to watch on Mother’s Day that involve mothers, daughters, and even grandmothers.

           

1.  Freaky Friday (1976, 2003)  This cross generational classic has been remade numerous times, but the two most widely released depict different time periods of mother-daughter relationships and social atmospheres.  One daughter is a star athlete, and the other is a guitar heroine in the later version.  In the original, the mother is a homemaker, which is surprising since the Women’s Lib movement was underway.  In the 2003 remake, the mom is a psychologist and selling her book.

2.  Brave (2012)  Move over, King Triton!  There have been enough Disney movies with absent mother figures.  In this animated feature, the queen gets more attention than the king.  The film deals with emotional problems commonly faced in parenting, like listening to each side of the argument.  The story is set in medieval Scotland, but the lessons transcend to modern times.

3.  The Princess Diaries (2001)  In terms of motherhood, this movie brings out the differences between Mia’s mom and the grandmotherly queen played by Julie Andrews.  Mia’s mother, Helen, has empathetic qualities, and is more artistic and laidback, whereas Queen Clarisse is more strict and set in the ways of royalty’s complex of rules and social mores.

4.  Keeping Mum (2005)  A more endearing version of Serial Mom, this is a film where Professor McGonagall goes on a killing spree.  The eye-opening connection between the morbid houseguest and hosts somewhat alludes to Voltaire’s L’Ingenu.  Moreover, the family’s wild side drips down the bloodline in different ways.

5.  Mothers and Daughters (2016)  I have yet to see this movie.  It appears to cover multiple mother-daughter situations.  Maybe I’ll watch it this weekend with my mom.

We have enough Daddy-Daughter films where everybody’s happy.  There are enough negative movies about abusive moms like in Stephen King’s Carrie.  There should be movies that involve the harmonious side to maternity and overcoming emotional obstacles, which a mother and daughter can sit down and watch on Mother’s Day.

Overthinking and Underthinking

Overthinking is not the problem.  It’s underthinking.

When someone tells me, “You’re overthinking things,” it usually means my thinking is more than what they can handle.  Thinking ahead is perceived as worrying.  Outside-the-Box-Thinking is “too complicated” or mislabeled as “scatterbrained.”  This anti-intellectual culture conditions us to think less, and then any extra step in the thought process is called overthinking.  We should think more, do more puzzles, read, and exercise our minds.  It’s conducive to learning problem solving skills.  Organs are complex muscles, and if you don’t exercise, a muscle becomes weak; the brain is no exception to this rule.

Our eyes are flooded with cyberimagery – factoid memes, 5 minute videos, thousands of songs that lose our interest in the prelude, the list could go on.  The point is that our attention span is shorter and we jump to conclusions quicker without much thought – because otherwise that’s overthinking.

Yes, I know what people mean by overthinking.  When someone is worried and speculates on every possible worst case scenario.  That involves inductive reasoning, except it goes out of control, contributing to an anxiety attack.  That could be due to building upon an inaccuracy, or it could be trying to understand matters causing the worry.  As Gavin de Becker wrote in the Gift of Fear, anxiety is caused by uncertainty.  The thinking is an attempt to quell the uncertainty by fishing for an assuring realization.  In contrast - Underthinking involves snap decisions based on singular deductions.  In other words, people judge based on impressions.  This allows people to judge from the surface and not go any deeper.  This is great for corrupt governments who want to raise sheep.

Gone are the days of, “Far out, man,” and welcome is the present, “Don’t overthink it,” and “Omg, such a know-it-all!”  Why can’t we be far out anymore? – because we are told not to think too far.

With simpler minds trained to exercise their brain less, hearing someone speculate, analyze, and make comparisons might overwhelm.  Sometimes people confuse planning ahead or just thinking at all as worrying.  Inductive reasoning and speculation can be positive too. Look at all the storylines in your TV shows.  Someone had to speculate different plot twists and endings, and then deduce the best ones to captivate the audience.  Creativity is intelligence having fun, as Einstein once said.

If you really don’t want to be a sheep, exercise your brain.  Let the complicated challenge you instead of intimidate you.  Employ inductive and deductive reasoning.  Have discussions, debate your friends.  Be creative.  Use logic.  Do puzzles.  Read.  Write.  Think.

There is no overthinking, but the elaboration on the inaccurate.

*       *       *

Later comment from me:

FYI: I took a couple of minutes to write this passage that is less than one page.  If you think this is overthinking out of irony, then you are admitting that 438 words is too much for you.  Don't let yourself be that weak.  Think, meditate, ponder.  Thinking leads to knowledge, and knowledge is power.

Originally a Facebook Note posted:  June 30, 2018

Updated:  March 5, 2020