opinion Archives » Aliya Smyth

Why do Witches Eat Children?

September 24, 2015 2 Comments

I was thinking about Hansel and Gretel yesterday.

Which got me thinking about how stupid they were to use breadcrumbs to mark their path through the woods. Instead of saving food to eat, they mark a trail with it. I guess there could be good reasons for that.

But then they get to the witch’s cabin, made out of delicious candy and gingerbread and whatnot. Of course they’re going to dig in. And the mean old witch, well naturally she’s built said house to lure children to her so she can eat them.

And I’m like, whoa! Hold up.

Why does she need to eat children if she can make a whole house out of food?

Free Thinks

These Few Words

August 19, 2015 No Comments

For better or worse, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote A LOT of words. Even if none of the rest had value, it’s worth shifting through such tremendous output for these:

Not all those who wander are lost.

Every time I read it, I get that gut-punched reaction of: Bam! Right on!

It’s not wrong to wander, and search, and still enjoy. Doesn’t mean you don’t know who you are or where you want to go. It just means you’re not in a rush to get there.

Happy wandering, everyone.

Free Thinks

On Truth, Honesty, and the Internet

August 3, 2015 No Comments

Warning: Introspective alert ahead!

I don’t like the word truth.

Why? Because it sounds like there’s only one.

Sometimes we use the word true to refer to fact. Like humans needing oxygen to stay alive—that’s true. (And yes, fighting over what is a ‘fact’ is a debate for another day.)

But we also use the word ‘true’ to mean what is ‘true for me.’

Yes, that dress makes you look fat.

Free Thinks

Buffy and the Disappearing Vampire

February 17, 2015 No Comments

I’m a Buffy girl from way back.

The movie was the spark, but the show was the bomb! The seven-year series was creative, entertaining, enlightening, and sometimes controversial (perhaps one day I’ll post on the Willow-becomes-a-lesbian saga). Some of the storylines were not as strong as others, but there was always a compelling reason to watch the show.

One of the things Joss Whedon did brilliantly was to create the ‘disappearing vampire.’ When Buffy staked it through the heart – or managed some other fantastic kill shot – poof! Dust in the wind.

From a storytelling standpoint, this worked well because:

Write On

Gladiator – Great Storytelling, Bad History

August 8, 2014 1 Comment

Disclaimer: There are a lot of people who rag on the Gladiator movie from the historical standpoint. Which is fair enough, because there are a boatload of historical inaccuracies. But Gladiator is also an extremely well-crafted story, hitting many emotional ‘hot buttons.’ Here are five reasons I loathe and five reasons I love this movie:

Free Thinks

The Dangers of ‘Like’ Culture

March 15, 2014 No Comments

Who doesn’t want to be liked?

Apart from Holden Caulfield – and that’s up for debate too.

On Facebook, as in most of life, it can be difficult to take a position that may turn out to be unpopular. If you post something many of your friends don’t ‘like’ it increases your sense of isolation. Even more intimidating, it can make you feel as though people are judging you for your dissenting opinion. And you’re right, they probably are judging you.

An interesting article by Neil Strauss on the Wall Street Journal website compares mining for likes to stand-up comedians practicing jokes:

A status update that is met with no likes (or a clever tweet that isn’t retweeted) becomes the equivalent of a joke met with silence. It must be rethought and rewritten. And so we don’t show our true selves online, but a mask designed to conform to the opinions of those around us.

A mask is such a good metaphor in this instance. We do so often hide behind our on-line personas like revelers at a masquerade. Me included.