About This Blog

Once I got past all the boring grammar and punctuation lessons in elementary and middle school, I found that I really loved English class.

The idea that the books I had been reading had more meaning to them then what I had initially realized was incredibly intriguing to me. I loved dissecting the different passages, looking at sitations from different perspectives and spotting literary tools like foreshadowing and juxtaposition. The prospect of writing a paper was to me as I'd imagine an upcoming game feels like to an athlete; a challenge, an opportunity to experiement, push limits and even have a little fun along the way.

Suffice it to say that after leaving college, those opportunities have gradually dwindled down to virtually nothing. I still analyze books, movies, song lyrics and situations for deeper meaning and cross-reference them with other relevant information that could enable a better understanding, but now it's all in my head. It's like those classes opened the floodgates; now that I know there's a possibility of there being more than meets the eye, I can't help but look for it.

I miss writing... that's where this blog comes in.

While I have no doubt that I'll eventually wander into deeper, more abstract topics, I'm going to get the proverbial ball rolling by dissecting some of my favorite movies. Harold and Maude and Finding Nemo will be the first two because I feel like I have a fairly firm grasp on both to be confident enough in my ability to speak to the underlying themes throughout them.

I should probably take this opportunity to mention that I do intend to run through quite a few children's movies mainly because I've seen them repeatedly, thanks to my son, and because I want to document the different learning opportunities they offer for using them as educational tools when the right opportunities present themselves (you'll see what I mean when I get around to doing a few of them).

Some of you may have noticed that the title of this blog is also the tagline for American Beauty, the 1999 five time academy award-winning film about a dysfunctional suburban family that seems the very picture of normalcy at face value, but is anything but when you delve just below the surface. If you did notice, then it will come as no surprise to learn that this blog's title is not a mere coincidence, but very much a purposeful decision in reference to that film (phenomenal, if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it). Suffice it to say that I do intend to take a stab at dissecting American Beauty at some point, but it's not on my immediate list for the time being.

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy reading these posts as much as I will enjoy writing them. Thanks for reading and by all means, please do leave comments, questions and suggestions!