Fighting Finals with Films 2: The Big Chill

Feeling the end of year stress yet? Papers to write, books to read, projects that you knew about for months but are just now getting starting on?  It’s a busy time of year, tough on everyone, and it can feel like there’s no time for fun or relaxation.  The pre-finals season is a time of stress and occasional panic, but never fear, there's hope. Instead of dealing with stress by binging on chocolate and crying to yourself, check out some of these movies we have here at the library! They're fun, feel good, and funny, which will hopefully take your mind off your impending finals and the never ending list of things that need to be done by the end of the semester. They range from wacky foreign films, to iconic teen flicks, to family adventures, and they all have something to make you smile. So check these out, and take a break from those finals blues!

                                          Amelie

Looking for a sweet romantic comedy that everyone can like? Then give this 2001 French film a look, because trust me, there is a lot to look at! Amelie, a young, isolated waitress who grew up almost totally on her own due to her over- protective parents, eventually decides to break out of her shell and help people. Near the start of the movie, she finds an old box filled with childhood mementos, which she returns to its owner. The movie then follows her attempts at making the world around her better, and to find some happiness for herself, including possibly falling in love. The movie is bright, colorful, and has a light, whimsicalness to it, and seems to be set in a magical version of Paris filled with color, quirk, and a lot of cute clothes. It’s funny, sweet, and yes it has subtitles but don’t let that scare you off! No matter what language it’s in, this movie is enough to shake anyone out of the finals blues, with bright colors, lovable characters, and a story that encourages viewers to get out there and live life.

                                             Mean Girls

Oh yes. We have it. Mean Girls, the fountain of a thousand internet memes, is the movie that just about everybody of a certain generation can quote endlessly. But when was the last time you actually watched it? Well, now seems to be a perfect time. Mean Girls is the sharp, witty satire about high school politics, friendship, and cattiness. Cady, a former home school student who has lived in Africa for several years, is now going to a typical American high school. She soon becomes entangled with “The Plastics”, a trio of popular girls (ditsy Karen, neurotic Gretchen, and queen bee Regina) who rule the school with an iron heel. What follows is a hilarious tale of high school life, that is as funny as it is real. Anyone who went to high school has to remember some of the things seen here, like three way calling attacks, fake compliments, and the always complicated table seating in the cafeteria, with tables seeming more like warring nations than high school cliques. But it also has a great lesson about the importance of friendship, and the silliness of drama and backstabbing. So get your friends together and get watching. I promise, it’s still so very Fetch!

                                             Secondhand Lions

This 2003 film was somewhat overlooked when it first came out, but trust me when I say it’s worth a look. Set in the early 1960s, it tells the story of a young boy named Walter, who is dumped off by his irresponsible mother at the farm of his two eccentric uncles to spend the summer. From there, the movie sort of has two stories. One is how the boy bonds with his cranky, isolated uncles and comes to term with the fact that his mom is a crappy, crappy parent, and the other is the story of his uncles' past lives in World War I, in the French foreign legion, and his uncle Hub's romance with a Middle Eastern princess named Jasmine. Jasmine also shares the name with an old lion that the uncles buy from an old circus, with which Walter bonds (hence the title). It’s a sort of coming of age/family drama/period piece/adventure story/comedy, with a lot of laughs and heart. Plus it has Michael Caine playing a Texan! That’s pretty hard to beat.

The end of the semester is tough. Trust me, I know. I have seen a lot of them. But you don’t have to be miserable about it all the time. If you just need to de-stress, watching a movie can be a great way to do it, whether it’s with friends, family, or just in the comfort of your own room. So whether you feel like whimsy, snarkyness, or circus animals, the library has something out there for you among its hundreds of DVDs!  And if you want to binge on just a little chocolate, I won’t tell.

 

CP

Temporarily turn off your left brain and turn on your right

  

Looking for a way to unwind a little before finals? Tired of my constant blog posts that are turning quickly into a metaphor about my increasingly stressful schedule?  Well, the library can help! Again! Starting today, Thursday, the library will be having its Unplug and Unwind program, dedicated to helping students release stress, and have a little fun in between studying, papers, and coffee breaks. First off, there is the Wall of Frustration! The library has put up big sheets of paper in Labs A and B, that are basically big Facebook Walls, totally dedicated to complaining about finals and how much they rot.  Grab a pen and rant, rave, and vent about the many horrors and pains of finals season. Or, if you feel like being more positive, just write your name, draw a picture of a puppy, start a game of tic-tac-toe, or wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Show everyone that finals won't get you down! Or at least, you're going to try not to let them get you down. Read what other students are feeling, and agree or disagree with them. It’s nice to know that as the finals week madness descends, at least we aren’t alone.

Done writing “Finals are LAME” and drawing pictures of your professor with horns on his head? Grab a coloring book and get creative! The library is offering coloring books, crayons, and puzzles to play around and release your inner child, who has never even heard of finals! You can come and color with books featuring Christmas, Disney, and Sesame Street! That’s just hard to beat! Then grab a puzzle book and play some games, fun puzzle game that have absolutely nothing to do with finals. While just little things, it’s great to just do something fun and silly to get your mind off the most stressful time of the year. Play with a puzzle, color some pictures, and vent out some frustration. All these goodies are on the map cases in Popular Materials on the first floor.

Sounds pretty good right? But wait, there’s more! Hanging out at the library, and suddenly in need of some holiday cheer? Well, our buddy Archie the Eagle will be flying around the library, handing out candy canes to students who look like they could use some cheer! So come hang with Archie, eat some candy canes, play games, color pictures, or vent about finals. Oh, and let’s not forget to be nice and respectful to your fellow students at the library this week. It’s cool to try to lighten up the mood, but don’t be too loud with talking or music, no one needs the extra distractions this week as they try to stare a hole into their anatomy book. If you find yourself stuck by someone who doesn’t really get this, you can pick up some earplugs from the front desk! Or if you just want complete quiet in the library, whatever helps you most. Just remember, while normally I am sure everyone on the third floor would love to hear your weekend plans, or that awesome "Jingle Bells - Call Me Maybe" remix, save those 'til after finals. Don’t be that guy/girl.

 CP

 

Music for your Mind

So, music. It can range from soothing lotion for your senses, or a truly horrifying rash your doctor can’t explain. Around this time of year, we could all use some of that nice music for the soundtrack of Finals Week. So if you don’t have time right now to sit down for a whole movie for a pick-me-up, here are some musical choices you can find in the library right now to soothe your inner savage student!  CDs are on the main floor, around the corner from the copiers.

Sarah McLachlan-  Surfacing   [M1630.18.M335 S8 1997]

I swear, Sarah McLachlan really does do other things besides make sad shelter doggie commercials that can ruin your whole day. Her voice, which is often rather sad and haunting, can also be pretty calming given the right mood. Her 1997 album Surfacing is pretty much the ultimate “chill” CD. It`s songs are not always super happy, but they have a very analgesic effect, especially when you're just sitting there, trying to make yourself get up to go grab your books. Plug in some Sarah, and just let it flow. Just don’t watch anything with sad puppies while it`s on.

Janis Joplin-  Super Hits [M1630.18.J656 S8 2000]
Well, sometimes you don’t need your music to be mellow. Sometimes you need it to be angry. Or at least loud. And that’s where Janis Joplin comes in. Janis has one of the most emotional, soulful voices you're going to hear, or at least one of the most well known. This CD has many of her biggest hits, like Cry Baby, One Good Man, and my personal favorite, Piece of My Heart. If you're already a big Joplin fan, this CD might seem a little repetitive, especially if you like her more obscure stuff. However, if you want her biggest hits all together, or are just getting into her music, check it out. It's filled with anger and pain and emotion, and is just the kind of music you can scream along to in your car when finals stress is threatening to explode your head.

A Celtic Tapestry   [M1744.C452 1997] 

Maybe it's just me, but there is something about Celtic music that just takes me to my happy place. Maybe it’s the quick changes in pace, maybe it’s the way it can be infused with so many other genres I love, like blues, rock, or ska. Or maybe I just love a good flute solo, I don’t know. But the point is, the whole genre just makes my worries go away, at least for the 3-ish minutes the song lasts. Luckily, the library has a really big collection of Celtic music. Maybe not the most recent collection (most of it recorded in the 90s,) but it's hard to call any Celtic tunes dated when they're based on music that's maybe thousands of years old, going back to the days of oral tradition! If you're interested in going Celtic, this CD, with a good mix of sounds and instrumentals, is a good place to start. Especially if you want to try to find that happy place.

CP

Fight Finals with Film!

Ah, finals season. Projects due, papers to be written, endless study guides to memorize. And to make matters worse, there’s already holiday shopping to do and it’s dark at 4:30 in the afternoon! Yes, it’s a gloomy, depressing time of year when teachers and stores and even NATURE ITSELF have all teamed up to make the next few weeks aggressively unpleasant. But never fear! There is relief! In those rare moments of free time, here are some movies for you to pick up right here at the library to cure those finals blues! Or at least make you feel better about that paper you were supposed to do yesterday.

The Muppet Movie [DVD PN1997 .M877 2005] 

Remember The Muppets, which came out last year? With the dynamic duo of Jason Segal and Kermit the Frog? Well here’s the movie that started it all! The Muppet Movie was released in 1979, and was the first time the Muppets were ever seen on the big screen! The movie shows (approximately) how Kermit left his home in the swamp, with dreams of making it in the film business. As he travels across the country, he picks up other Muppets who have similar dreams, including Fozzie Bear, (The Great) Gonzo, and the ever-ambitious Miss Piggy. Basically, it’s a road trip movie. With songs (like its most famous, “Rainbow Connection”), an evil frog hunter, a crooked fast food entrepreneur, and celebrity cameos. And by celebrity cameos, I mean people like Steve Martin, Bob Hope, Mel Brooks, and Orson freaking Welles! That’s enough reason to pick up the DVD on its own- but really what makes this movie are its endless laughs, and its endless optimism. No matter what, Kermit and friends never give up on their dreams, and it all pays off in the end. Just like we will, hopefully, make it through these finals and get to see the rainbow (and good holidays) on the other side.

 

8 ½   [DVD PN1997 .O886 2010]

 Brain feeling drained? Want to feel smart and sophisticated and artsy? Then try this classic 1963 art house film directed by Federico Fellini, a movie basically about how crazy it is to be Federico Fellini. Part of a film movement going on in the 60s that loved experimenting in tones, visual style, and narrative -oh boy does this movie seem experimental. It’s basically a story about an Italian director named Guido Anselmi, who is clearly a stand in for Fellini, trying to get past his writers block and get his increasingly out-of-control life in order(sound familiar?) Anselmi/Fellini is attempting to finish his latest project, a big budget sci-fi epic, despite the fact that he has no idea what he wants to do with the movie. To make matters worse, his wife and his mistress both end up staying at the same spa/resort where he is shooting his film. To escape all this, the film starts going slightly bonkers, flashing between Anselmi’s imagination and his memories. It’s a strange, surreal movie, sometimes more like a dreamy musical than an actual story. It’s pure, bizarre escapism. While it does seem rather 60s at times, it’s aged well, mainly due to its surreal nature, and its basic plot, something that I think we can all relate to right now: inability to keep your entire schedule (and maybe your life) from spinning out of control.

It’s a Wonderful Life   [DVD PN1997 .I8722 2006]

Well, we needed at least one holiday flick here, and what better movie to erase the Finals blues than one about overcoming adversity just in time for Christmas! While most people remember the big happy ending, the first parts of the movie are filled with almost shifting genres, starting with angels in the heavens chatting amongst themselves, and going from there to a coming of age story to romance to comedy to drama to crushing tragedy to overwhelming happiness at the end. Lead actor Jimmy Stewart is great from beginning to end, playing a nice guy who’s pushed to the breaking point, but with divine help comes back from the brink. So many Christmas movies just seem to be a combo of wacky misunderstandings, “heartwarming” children, and everyone coming together at the end to learn some phoned-in message about the “True Meaning of Christmas”. This movie actually has all those things, but they’re played with such heart, and such pathos, you totally believe all of it. As George Bailey [Stewart] is put through the ringer, you really feel for him, so when he realizes how wonderful his life really is, and that with the help of the people he loves, he can make it through all the hard times, it does feel like you have learned the True Meaning of Christmas, whatever that is to you. It’s basically about the light at the end of the tunnel, the light many of us are hoping to see very soon. 

 

Happy viewing-  and here’s a good thing: the library’s DVDs may be checked out over the winter break!

CP