FusionKnight
It's not my fault!
We kinda did this in that other thread, but I thought a more focused approach might be insightful as we spar with each other. I have 3 categories of favorites: books, films, and music. I'd rather talk about things that have been influential, rather than simply entertaining. So, for example, you're "favorite" TV show might be 90210, but the most influential show in your life might be Ken Burns' Civil War. For each of these categories, I'm just going to list a handful of items, so as not to bog this all down. Finally, the whole point of this is not to simply generate lists of things, but to explain briefly why or how these things have been influential in your life.
Most influential books:
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis - This is a very strange book. It's the retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the point of view of Psyche's ugly sister. It's an incredibly dark and hopeless story of how Oural folds in on herself over the years, feeding on her own envy, hate, doubt, and pain. In the end she is a totally broken person, and yet, at the moment of her own death, she discovers her true face. This book has helped form my concepts of self, sin, and redemption.
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - This book must be the ultimate libertarian manifesto, and has reinforced much of my political philosophy. It also facilitated a paradigm shift in my thinking about identity and purpose. I have always experienced some cognitive dissonance regarding the tension between living on earth, now, in a broken state, and a future in heaven, restored, and perfect. If heaven is coming, what's the point of now? Rand helped me realize that my identity is unique and God-given, and that if I don't express my true self, those feelings, ideas, possibilities, etc. will go unexpressed. Understanding God and self and purpose are all intertwined.
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge - What does it mean to be a man? This is the question this book explores. The first think Eldredge stresses is that it's a good thing to be a man. Our feminized, post-modern world has really villainized maleness, and this has caused a lot of cognitive dissonance, and pain for those of us who are male, and a net social loss for the world. The book talks about necessary and good aspects of masculinity like strength, self-sacrifice, violence, and shows what they were meant to be, in contrast to what they have become (war, rape, greed, sexism, etc).
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien - This helped to shape my intuitive understanding, or vision, of the spiritual world, the warfare that is going on between God and Satan. It helped me wrap my brain around the question of evil; where it came from, what it desires, etc. It also helped me visualize why and how God's plan is almost always a mystery to us, and allowed me to revel in the mystery.
Most influential films:
Firefly (TV series) - This series is about freedom, hope, finding a home, finding family, finding yourself. This resonates with me at such a deep level, I don't know if I can really describe it. It's about life as a human. I found my mind just yelling "Yes!" over and over while I watched it. It's just so... right!
most influential music:
A Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams - This is such a cool piece of music. It's 20th century minimalist. This whole piece is about 4 minutes long, and is one continuous crescendo, in terms of energy, volume, rhythm, etc. It opened up the world of minimalism to me; the idea that all the information and emotion and purpose of a symphony could be found in its smallest part, even in the silence between notes. I think this concept applies to much more than music, and has given me a more holistic view of the universe and life.
Symphony No. 5 by Lugwig von Beethoven - This is possibly the most famous symphony ever written (you know, the one that goes "duh duh duh, dum. duh duh duh, dum.) Because of its familiarity it took a long time before I actually sat and listened to it. When I did, a whole new musical world opened up to me. The interplay of themes, the instruments woven through and around each other; it was like if something as complex as Dune or Lord of the Rings were a piece of music rather than literature. It communicated an interconnectedness, an overall theme to life, woven through everything.
Tubular Bells I-III by Mike Oldfield - You may remember bits of this music being used in the film The Exorcist. It's much more than that. It's a massive exploration of sound, instrumentation, narrative, etc. It uses traditional instruments, electronic synthesizers, voice, spoken word, etc. It's like an explosion of ideas, encoded in sound. It is bizarre. It is amazing.
Most influential books:
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis - This is a very strange book. It's the retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the point of view of Psyche's ugly sister. It's an incredibly dark and hopeless story of how Oural folds in on herself over the years, feeding on her own envy, hate, doubt, and pain. In the end she is a totally broken person, and yet, at the moment of her own death, she discovers her true face. This book has helped form my concepts of self, sin, and redemption.
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - This book must be the ultimate libertarian manifesto, and has reinforced much of my political philosophy. It also facilitated a paradigm shift in my thinking about identity and purpose. I have always experienced some cognitive dissonance regarding the tension between living on earth, now, in a broken state, and a future in heaven, restored, and perfect. If heaven is coming, what's the point of now? Rand helped me realize that my identity is unique and God-given, and that if I don't express my true self, those feelings, ideas, possibilities, etc. will go unexpressed. Understanding God and self and purpose are all intertwined.
Wild at Heart by John Eldredge - What does it mean to be a man? This is the question this book explores. The first think Eldredge stresses is that it's a good thing to be a man. Our feminized, post-modern world has really villainized maleness, and this has caused a lot of cognitive dissonance, and pain for those of us who are male, and a net social loss for the world. The book talks about necessary and good aspects of masculinity like strength, self-sacrifice, violence, and shows what they were meant to be, in contrast to what they have become (war, rape, greed, sexism, etc).
The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien - This helped to shape my intuitive understanding, or vision, of the spiritual world, the warfare that is going on between God and Satan. It helped me wrap my brain around the question of evil; where it came from, what it desires, etc. It also helped me visualize why and how God's plan is almost always a mystery to us, and allowed me to revel in the mystery.
Most influential films:
Firefly (TV series) - This series is about freedom, hope, finding a home, finding family, finding yourself. This resonates with me at such a deep level, I don't know if I can really describe it. It's about life as a human. I found my mind just yelling "Yes!" over and over while I watched it. It's just so... right!
most influential music:
A Short Ride in a Fast Machine by John Adams - This is such a cool piece of music. It's 20th century minimalist. This whole piece is about 4 minutes long, and is one continuous crescendo, in terms of energy, volume, rhythm, etc. It opened up the world of minimalism to me; the idea that all the information and emotion and purpose of a symphony could be found in its smallest part, even in the silence between notes. I think this concept applies to much more than music, and has given me a more holistic view of the universe and life.
Symphony No. 5 by Lugwig von Beethoven - This is possibly the most famous symphony ever written (you know, the one that goes "duh duh duh, dum. duh duh duh, dum.) Because of its familiarity it took a long time before I actually sat and listened to it. When I did, a whole new musical world opened up to me. The interplay of themes, the instruments woven through and around each other; it was like if something as complex as Dune or Lord of the Rings were a piece of music rather than literature. It communicated an interconnectedness, an overall theme to life, woven through everything.
Tubular Bells I-III by Mike Oldfield - You may remember bits of this music being used in the film The Exorcist. It's much more than that. It's a massive exploration of sound, instrumentation, narrative, etc. It uses traditional instruments, electronic synthesizers, voice, spoken word, etc. It's like an explosion of ideas, encoded in sound. It is bizarre. It is amazing.
