Quick Update!

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone has been doing well, and you are enjoying the high quality content we strive to output.

In case you all haven’t already noticed, we are limiting our posts to once a week in order to ensure consistency and fluidity. In addition, it makes it easier for you, the readers, to keep up to date with everything.

All of the writers are going to be pursuing graduate education starting this Fall. As a result, we won’t be able to write as frequently as before. However, Bronze Lifestyle will stay active for you to spread the word to your family, friends, and followers. The site is always up 24/7 for your perusal. We hope you all enjoy the wide variety of topics we have to offer.

Thank you for your readership!

S.C. Ali

Editor-in-Chief

Quick Update

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone has been doing well, and you are enjoying the high quality content we strive to output each week.

In case you all haven’t already noticed, we are limiting our posts to once a week in order to ensure consistency and fluidity. In addition, it makes it easier for you, the readers, to keep up to date with everything.

As a result, we will be publishing new content every Wednesday of each week.

Nevertheless, please spread the word to your family, friends, and followers about this site. The site is always up 24/7 for your perusal. We hope you all enjoy the wide variety of topics we have to offer.

Thank you for your readership!

Until next week,

S.C. Ali

Editor-in-Chief

The Sound of Music 50 Years Later: Why is it Still Relevant?

By: S.C. Ali

Founder/Author

The film version of The Sound of Music, released in 1965, continues to dazzle audiences up until today. As a result of its 50 year span, generation upon generation rediscover the film and realize what a true spectacle it was (and continues to be) in the film industry. It is one of the highest grossing films of all time. The National Film Registry is a special part of the United States Library of Congress. Its goal is to, “is to ensure the survival, conservation, and increased public availability of America’s film heritage.” Only the most prestigious American films are inducted into the registry. In 2001, The Sound of Music was selected to be a part of the National Film Registry. It was regarded as “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Due to The Sound of Music’s continued success, there must be some salient points that set it apart from the rest. There are many comprehensive reviews of the film all over the internet, so this piece is not intended to be a review. Rather, it will be an in-depth analysis as to what has made the film resonate with so many people each decade.

The primary ingredient to the success of the film was the casting of Julie Andrews. Ernest Lehman, the screenwriter, stated that his one and only choice for the lead role of Maria von Trapp was Julie Andrews. The director, Robert Wise, had considered three actresses to play the lead role: Julie Andrews, Grace Kelly, and Shirley Jones. Mrs. Andrews did have some reservations about the role, because there were disparities between the original musical and the film. However, after speaking with Lehman and Wise, and hearing their vision of the film, she signed on for the role. Her casting was paramount because the film rested on her shoulders. The role involved a culmination of singing, acting, and dancing. Andrews was perfect for the role due to her agile, light, and wide ranging voice. In addition, her acting had an effortless quality to it because she was doing it for the joy of acting first and foremost as opposed to monetary gain. It is evident that this film was truly written with her in mind.

Although there are quite a few differences between what truly happened historically, the musical, and the film, the film retains three important themes. I firmly believe that these themes are the core of the film’s longevity in the industry. They are:

1. Love: The Sound of Music is many things, but it is first and foremost a love story. Love exists in so many different shapes and forms. Throughout history, philosophers struggle with defining love. However, the love between Maria and Captain von Trapp is central to the film. Whether it is their first waltz, or after when the Captain sees Maria again after she resumes her role as the governess, their love is unbreakable. In addition, Maria uses singing and dancing to build love between the children, demonstrating another type of love.

2. Happiness: The film is centered on positive emotions, which will always trump negativity. One of the strongest points of the film is that no matter what the von Trapp children planned against Maria, she always took it in good stride. Also, the songs themselves and Andrews’ voice were light and fresh. They encouraged happiness rather than sorrow. When Maria left, it was clear that the children lost their joy and spark in singing. Andrews actually stated herself that she didn’t go into opera because she wanted to sing songs that were “bright and sunny”, rather than the solemn tone of opera. The sunny quality permeates the film, and has been essential to its success.

3. Family: The importance of family life in The Sound of Music is the third and final theme vital to its success. Maria provided a very important role for the von Trapp family, one of a mother figure. Not only was she able to awaken hidden talent (such as Captain von Trapp’s penchant for music) but she was also able to enhance the relationship between the Captain and his children. She proved to the family that joy and happiness are the best way to overcome difficulty. Even in the tensest moments of the film toward the end, they stayed together as one unit. They proved that through strong family ties, you can “Climb Every Mountain”.

As The Sound of Music celebrates its golden anniversary, we can see how significant the film is in history. The themes are universal and suitable for any time, regardless of the current state of affairs in the world. Film has the power to change society. Time and time again people are inspired by film. Lady Gaga’s widely acclaimed Sound of Music medley at this year’s Oscars, which was viewed by approximately 37 million people in the United States, proves that the film still has enough life in it for another 50 years. If modern Hollywood films incorporated the themes of love, happiness, and family more frequently with genuine talent, who knows, it may have a chain effect on society’s actions and behavior. In essence, this film is unique in many ways yet relatable. If you haven’t seen it yet, I urge you to watch it and relish in its glorious message of hope.

An Open Letter to my Readers

My dearest readers,

After 32 articles and since launching in November of last year, we have seen great progress on Bronze Lifestyle. We are glad that you all are enjoying the high quality content we strive to output each week, and we hope that you are learning something of benefit.

On behalf of Andrew, Brittney and I, we would like to thank you all kindly for being a part of our blog. We really appreciate your readership.

However, there is room for improvement. We humbly request that you share the blog with loved ones. Even if you tell one person to check out our website at www.thebronzelifestyle.com, it will make a great difference. Feel free to also inform your family/friends/colleagues to add their email on the right sidebar and subscribe. That way, all of the content published will be forwarded to your inbox. By implementing these small steps, we will be able to gain more consistent readers in an efficient manner.

In addition, if you have any constructive suggestions or feedback, please fill out the “Contact Us” form on the left sidebar.

The long-term goal of Bronze Lifestyle is to transform this blog into a global publication in topics of health, nutrition, self-help, and the arts. We hope that you will join us on this journey in order to make this goal a reality.

Thank you once again for your readership!

Sincerely,

S.C. Ali

Founder/Editor-in-Chief

Did the recent James Bond film make the sky fall?

By: S.C. Ali

Founder/Author

There are no spoilers in this review.

Bond, James Bond. We’ve either seen one, two, or more films, or if not, at least heard about this legendary character. In 2012, Bond celebrated his 50th year on the silver screen, and Skyfall doesn’t disappoint.

Skyfall takes Bond back to his roots. M is under threat as her past comes back to haunt her. The movie shows many things, amongst Bond’s redemption for an event, which takes place early on in the film.

The pre-credits sequence is excellent. It is what we expect from a typical Bond film, filled with action and suspense. The location shots are breathtaking, another motif that we would expect from Bond. The title sequence is also superb, and one of the strongest points of the film. Adele’s theme song blends in perfectly with the film, and definitely has a 1960s Bond vibe to it.

Skyfall is filmed in many exotic locales including Turkey, Macau, Shanghai, England, and Scotland. Sam Mendes, who is an Oscar winning director, did an excellent job ensuring that the locales were tastefully shot, with many wide-angle views of the city lines. In addition, he made the locations blend well with the film, and it didn’t seem as if Bond was jumping from place to place. Each location had its purpose, and blended well with the plot. In addition, they did slightly incorporate some of the culture of the region where Bond was, another nod to the older Bond films. Also, the overall production design of the film was splendid.

There were many strong points of the film. First of all, I liked how the producers reinvigorated the typical formula for a Bond movie which is: action-packed pre-credits sequence, title sequence, Bond gets the mission from M, travels to an exotic locale, gets the girl, makes love to the girl, faces the villain, kills the villain, and the movie ends, typically with Bond making love to either another girl or the same one as before. Skyfall does not exactly follow this formula, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Also, I like how they incorporated a lot of technology into Skyfall (tech geeks would be satisfied), but they did not make the technology seem overbearing. Rather, it was used to support and help Bond, which is vital especially in today’s modern age. Speaking of the modern age, the film does leave the question of: Is it necessary for an agent to be out in the field when you can do so much more with all of the technology at present? I’ll leave you to answer that after watching the film.

Another strong point of the film is the quality of acting. Daniel Craig did a superb job of acting as 007, and is much more comfortable in the role than his last two films. Javier Bardem’s acting was excellent, and embodies a modern Bond villain, while incorporating some qualities of a 1960s Bond villain. Dame Judi Dench did a wonderful job as M, and in my opinion, is the true Bond girl of the film rather than Naomi Harris or Berenice Marlohe. It was so heartwarming to see the return of Q-Branch, the famous gadget officer who has equipped Bond on many of his missions. The new Q is a much younger iteration compared to his predecessor, but with the rapid evolution of technology, I think it’s a good and necessary thing. Bond and Q had some great dialogue in the film as well.

Finally, the ending of the film was well laid out and there was deep thought and introspection behind it. The scenes are well anticipated and move accordingly. There are quite a few plot twists, but I won’t give that away because then my disclaimer at the beginning of this review will not hold.

No film review would do justice if it didn’t state the bad points of the film. I HIGHLY dislike putting the famous James Bond gunbarrel sequence at the end. If you all don’t know what that is, here is a link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVLRsQuTebA

Sam Mendes said in an interview that putting it back at the beginning (it was at the end of the previous Bond film as well) would not fit well with the film. After seeing the film, I highly disagree. In my opinion, the gunbarrel sequence has a great symbolic significance and sets the tone of the film. After seeing the gunbarrel sequence at the beginning, you know for sure that you are watching a 007 movie.

In addition, I did not like the acting of the two Bond girls. I think that Naomi Harris did a good job as Eve, but if she continues in the next Bond film (you will see why when you watch the movie), she needs to have better on-screen chemistry with Daniel Craig. The main Bond girl, Berenice Marhlohe who plays Severine, did a decent job, but was not involved enough in the film. In fact, she did not seem like a Bond girl, she seemed more of a secondary character. Also, the romantic scenes in the film were not long enough. I would have definitely wanted to see an intimate scene between Bond and Severine at the end of the movie, like how it usually is in Bond films.

In conclusion, I liked that Skyfall brought some classic 1960s Bond motifs without making it seem too nostalgic. I do not think that it is the best Bond film. That title still goes to Goldfinger in my opinion. Also, I think that out of the Daniel Craig films, Skyfall is just a tad under Casino Royale. The Bond girl in Skyfall was nowhere as near as prominent in Skyfall as she was in Casino Royale, but I do like that Skyfall brought back some of the old and new together. If Bond 24, which is slated to be coming out on November 6^th 2015 blends the complexity of Eva Green’s portrayal of Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, with the old allusions in Skyfall, then we may have the best Bond film since 1964.

Overall rating: 4/5

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Welcome!

Welcome everyone to Bronze Lifestyle! This blog was influenced by the protagonist Charles Bronze of S.C. Ali’s The Bronze Treasures. There are multiple goals that the team of Bronze Lifestyle would like to accomplish (listed in order of priority):

• Discuss important current topics in health and nutrition
• Serve as a medium to promote S.C. Ali’s The Bronze Treasures
• Provide reviews in the arts which include but are not limited to: books, films, and music

We are eager to hear your feedback! If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to fill out the form in the “Contact Us” link on the left side. Thank you all for your readership!

Bronze Lifestyle Team