I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own
I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing
“Now the old king is dead! Long live the King!”
Some of you may recognize the words above as the opening lyrics to Coldplay’s single “Viva la Vida.” Chances are, you have never heard these words sang by a chorus of fifth-graders from the elementary school P.S. 22 in Staten Island, New York.
The P.S. 22 chrous is lead by music teacher Mr. Breinberg, more fondly referred to his students as Mr. B. Mr. B, who arrived at P.S. 22 in 1999, convinced the administration to let him become a full-time music teacher and start a chorus choir at the school in spite of financial cutbacks in the arts. Instead of teaching traditional children’s songs, he had his students singing contemporary adult songs. In addition to “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay, the P.S. 22 chorus have also tackled covers of songs by Tori Amos, Stevie Nicks, Bjork, Journey, and others.
One fateful day three summers ago, gossip blogger Perez Hilton came across the choir’s cover of a Tori Amos song on YouTube and posted the video on his famous celebrity blog. The rest, they say, is history.
The P.S. 22 Chorus have been aired on ABC News, written about in The New York Times, and — as quite possibly the greatest honor of online fame one can achieve in this day and age — tweeted about on Ashton Kutcher‘s Twitter. Tori Amos herself once came down to see the choir’s live cover of her music, which immediately moved her to tears. As of last Sunday, P.S. 22 Chorus videos have been seen by 5 million viewers.
The Intent team was mesmerized watching these vidoes on the P.S. 22 Chorus blog. Hearing worldly themes of love, cynicism, loss, faith and betrayal sang with so much earnestness by such young children lends the lyrics an aching vulnerability that yanks at my heart strings and brings tears to my eyes. What a great gift these children have given to the world for all of us to experience.
Kudos to Mr. B for believing in the importance of arts in public schools, and for giving these amazing and talented children a chance to achieve well-deserved fame. Ending the school year, his passion and commitment to his students reminds us of the power a teacher has to change the world.
And as a mother of two little daughters, I couldn’t think of a more hopeful sign of our future generation than the shining eyes and soaring voices of the fifth-graders in P.S. 22 Chorus.
Mallika’s blog last week about saving money by going to the library really got me thinking. After I read it I dashed off to my bill box and added up my Amazon receipts. DANG! It’s gonna be hard to break my addiction, but I’ll give it a shot. I’ve never had a library card. Lame but true. This means I’ll have to be nice to the loaners – my books get battered! I write in them, take phone messages, doodle, dog-ear, use as coasters, etc. Like a little home, I make my books my own and I get real cozy. She’s also so right about spending more time in nature. Lola (the best rescue dog ever) makes her demands known on a daily basis: “Walk me or your shoes are burnt toast.” I go through withdrawals without my woods.
But cut back on movies? Now that’s where I draw the line, Sister!
These are definitely difficult times, and it’s begun to slip off of the headlines and into our own lives. I was a jackass last year – I had some nuts squirreled away in stocks, and of course that little nest went up in smoke. I look out my office window in Woodstock and watch as the stores in my town close. Foreclosure signs crop up on lawns like dandelions. Last week I drove past a long line of people waiting for a job fair to open. What a change from a few years ago when the only thing people lined up for was MTV casting calls and Black Friday sales!
I know the bean counters haven’t figured out what to call this recession-slash-depression, but I say it’s here…The Great Depression – Season Two! And I’m going to fight back like my grandparents did – with MOVIES! (this Depression is now available in blue ray box set with bonus features…)
I love movies. As a filmmaker, flicks are almost as important to me as green juice. I think films are especially valuable to help us get through and make sense of hard times. There’s no better mirror on life than a flickering hero forty feet tall on the wall. One of the reasons the Nineteen Thirties and Forties are known as Hollywood’s golden age is because peeps were so dang broke and bummed that they needed mental time-outs. In many ways, the Great Depression (Season One) was the birth of mass escapism. The pictures were cheap (around 10 cents) and they took you to magical lands with hot babes, grand homes, and epic landscapes. And woven through the spectacle were morality tales that kept us connected to core values. We need these stories today, too.
From Frank Capra’s social-political tales of the common man’s struggle for the American dream against corrupt powers (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, It’s a Wonderful Life), to delicious romantic comedies (It Happened One Night, Philadelphia Story), Hollywood cranked out hope on a weekly basis and glum Americans ate it up. I can only imagine what it must have been like to see The Wizard of Oz when it premiered in Technicolor glory, or how about Gone with the Wind? WOWZA! Though I must say, Carol Burnett’s Went with the Wind skit was almost as good. How about the dancing? As an old showgirl, I still get a kick out of Fred and Ginger. They always seemed to have smiles on their faces as they swirled my blues away. And those Busby Berkeley synchronized numbers are mondo trippy even today. The list is too big… how about Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon, Sunset Boulevard – have you seen these gems? Jaw-dropping black and white rapture.
The 50’s brought us two of my all time faves, Rebel Without a Cause (James Dean, please have sex with me in heaven) and On the Waterfront. The 60’s and 70’s – now that was a juicy time for anti-heroes! Easy Rider, Midnight Cowboy, Jeremiah Johnson, Coming Home (I LOVE THIS FILM), Five Easy Pieces (HUBBY LOVES THIS FILM), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Godfather, and the granddaddy of mythology: Star Wars!
I just adore guns, the mafia, and space. Don’t you?
The 80’s – one word: ALIEN. Now, that movie was full of spooky, wiz-in-your-pants nausea inducing F.U.N. If I could be anyone other than myself I’d be Ripley. Remember in Aliens (the sequel) when the gnarly monster was about to chow Newt? Ripley stormed over in a tractor suit and uttered my favorite movie line ever – “get away from her you BITCH”. Sing it Ripley!!! I wanted to be just like her. I dreamed of fighting predators in a white tank top and no bra.
…But don’t forget documentaries. Everyday heroes blow the big box office names away. Documentaries remind me of how I fell in love with my Brian. On our first official date we went to see Spellbound. We LOVED it, and spent the rest of the starry night chatting about film, our dreams, and the state of the world while sitting under the Gandhi statue in Union Square, NYC. I really liked him after that. Many movies later (including our own), we got hitched.
Film is soothing. Film opens our imagination and reminds us that even the underdog can – and should – win. For all its pomp and silliness, Hollywood does the Underdog so well.
People often ask me how I got through the early days of my medical shit-pickle. Simple. Creativity. Making my documentary got me through the fear. It was my outlet and I am so grateful to my angel camera. I lost myself in the shooting and writing. When I wasn’t working on my own project, Netflix brought other documentaries that would inspire my story.
Some recent fave docs: Born into Brothels, Jesus Camp, Planet Earth, Grizzly Man, Murderball, Mad Hot Ballroom, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Control Room, anything Michael Moore, War Photographer (I worship James Nachtwey). Don’t miss the first and still champion rock doc: The Last Waltz.
Here at chez Carr-Fassett, our must-see pick of the past few years is Into the Wild. Breathtaking! Perfect! Unbelievable! Sean Penn got screwed out of a gold statue on that one. Thank Goddess the Academy recognized him for Milk this year! This is also where I should mention the HBO Series The Wire. I know I’m a few years late to the party and it’s not cinema, per se, but dang is it good – and addictive. Hubs and I have been racking up the episodes like whiskey shots, one after another late into the night. Confession: I have the hots for Stringer Bell. Is it ok that I’ve considered putting a murderous thug on my vision board?!?
This weekend, turn off CNN, burn the newspaper in a bonfire, and step away from your internet cocaine dispenser. Rent a flick. Dim the lights, get cozy, and indulge in some good old-fashioned escapism.
