a few of my favorite films
and how our modern media began in the first place!
This past Sunday Neptune shifted into Aries for the first time since 1861. It feels fitting to share films I love because Neptune rules the realm of the all-that-isness, dreams, collective unconciousness, illusion, and, therefore, film and other things that are nagual, hard to pin down and changeable, yet reflective of the collective spirit. And, at a more evolved level, spirit-ual.
We had early experiments and science fiction imaginings in image-making in the 1700’s, but the first permanent reflections of reality weren’t made until the mid 1800’s when Neptune was making his last foray through Pisces (where he’s just been these past 15 years). Photography came into being during the Industrial Revolution with the increased desire for portraiture that could be quicker than a painter’s brush.
By the time Neptune moved into Aries on 14 April, 1861, the chemical processes of photography had been refined, but the set-up that involved glass plates and chemicals was still cumbersome. By the mid 1880’s, Kodak emerged and started streamlining everything. The first Kodak Brownie was introduced in 1901. However, these were all monotone images.
Interestingly to me from an astrological point of view, the first successful color image was made and seen within weeks of Neptune going into Aries (17 May 1861) during a Royal Institution lecture on colour theory at King's College, London. The photograph (below) was of a tartan ribbon made by Thomas Sutton for the Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell, whose curiosity led him to discover a great many aspects of existence that underpin so much of what we take for granted in our modern world, such as electricity, magnetism, and color theory.
Tartans are specific to clans and the combinations of colours in the weave are what distinguish each from the other, making a person identifiable at a distance. This means of identity-making combined with earlier monochrome photography’s evolution from the desire to make one’s ephemeral image more permanent than paintings could do, speaks to the individuality of Aries whose main phrase in Astrologese is “I am”, as expressed through Neptune in images.
Although the first color image was made in 1861, it wasn’t until the 1930’s that the intensive process was made more accessible to the public, again by Kodak.
Moving pictures also developed at a relatively quick trot in the early 1900’s, with the very first official “movie” made in 1887 by Eadweard Muybridge.
“…the first motion picture produced was commissioned to settle a bet about whether or not horses galloped with all four hooves off the ground — English photographer Eadweard Muybridge was given the task by former California Governor Leland Stanford.” Check out this blog post or the video above for more on that.
And wouldn’t you know that horses are ruled by Neptune?! The waves and foam are considered his horses, so it also seems fitting that our first film focused on horses.
So, now, some of my favorite films, in no particular order. Although Arrival is the one I have seen the most of any of them, after having read the short story by Ted Chiang years prior, because it speaks to so much of how I reckon spacetime and language.
Here’s a great video on the philosophical structure of the film that explains far better than I could, thanks to one of my readers!
Angel-A, a beautiful B&W fantastical story set in Paris, by Luc Besson. Just brilliant.
Woman at War, humorous yet poignant tale of an Icelandic eco-activist extraordinaire.
Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl and Wes Anderson masterpiece must-see.
Song of the Sea, Irish selkie animation.
Flow, recent Latvian animation that is amazing and not a single human in it!
The Fifth Element, also Luc Besson.
The Secret of Roan Inish, another Irish selkie tale.
Somewhere in Time, a classic of love that transcends spacetime.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, with love and humour that transcends species.
Tracks, based on the true story of an Australian woman in the 1970’s. I totally resonate with her desire for deep solitude and love of critters.
K-PAX, just so good, especially the scene where he talks about everyone in the universe knowing right from wrong. Plus he speaks dog.
Orlando, so impacted my young self, first as Virginia Woolf’s remarkable book, then in this Sally Potter-directed film with one of my all-time favorite actors, Tilda Swinton
Impromptu, another one that heavily influenced me in early years, again from book to film, this time George Sand’s autobiographical tales of love with Chopin. Stellar cast.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande for its ensemble cast work that delves into sexuality in a real, yet funny way.
The Young Lovers, similar topic of older woman younger man, but French :)
The Room Next Door, favorite actors, director and required subject matter—how we engage with dying.
It’s raining here in Brisbane and we’re shifting into Autumn, plus the dreamy outer planet Neptune has just moved into a realm I’m very familiar with—Aries—so I’m finding myself slipping into the imaginal worlds of films. Enjoy these few I can recall as having profound influence on me. I’m sure there are ones I’ve forgotten. I’d love to hear of your favorites—please share in the comments!
