The Tao of Monsters Inc.

And how is this music related? Your commentary is, I think, accurate, but if this little Disney thread takes a turn toward political digressions, I'll have to put the genie back in the bottle....

Not music related at all...but this is the opinions forum.

Cool, I like it.
Not music related at all...but this is the opinions forum.

They killed the opinions forum many months ago.
Sorry, that was the Coffee House.

Here's the description of the forum from the forum homepage:If you have a post about music or guitar that doesn't really fit anywhere else, put it here. This is strictly on topic, guitar or music related topics only. Please be civil and courteous here. This forum is moderated and respectful conversation is expected. That's why I commented.

I remember when I was in high school. We had to read the usual novels, and craft inspired b.s. about the symbolism in order to pass: "the meat loaf in Salinger's novel represents..."

Teachers encouraged this seach for deeper meaning. They'd share the academic view of what all the characters, events, and craftily chosen words really meant, and I remember thinking "if Salinger/Hemmingway/Fitzgerald/whoever really mapped out all these hidden meanings, when did he ever find time to write the book?"

Anyway.

I think most creative artists, writers, poets, etc. work on one of two levels. Either they deliberately use symbolism to tell a second story, or they don't. The trouble with symbolic storytelling is that you have to be pretty ham-fisted with it if you want the public to 'get it' (Animal Farm). If you shoot for subtle, nobody gets it but you... subtle symbolism is personal.

So if you have a story that's full of (or may be full of) subtle symbolism, you've got a story that's open to thousands or millions of different personal interpretations (take the Bible - fundamentalists who interpret it 'literally' still disagree on those 'literal' interpretations; that's why there's more than one fundamentalist sect).

Now the really neat thing is that symbolic interpretations can often be even more entertaining or enlightening than the original work. I know I enjoyed "The Tao of Pooh" very much - I read it in the day when I was reading Milne to my kids every night.

So I tip my hat to hueseph - searching for meaning in the everyday usually marks a very creative person, with or without Prozac :)

Uh....ok. Should I request to have this thread deleted? I'm not here to ruffle anyones feathers over something so trivial.

Edit: this was in referrence to the thread being completely off topic. I'm fine with it being deleted. The things people think of in the wee hours of the morning...I need sleep.

No, it's fine. I just wanted to avoid seeing your interpretation turn into a political discussion about energy, foreign policy, exploitation. I think your interpretation is right, but the discussion needs to focus on the film and not get politically controversial. That's all. (My moderator instincts see that digression as a distinct possibility to be avoided!)

Otherwise, it's all good.

searching for meaning in the everyday usually marks a very creative person, with or without Prozac :)

Sad to say, I think this is one of the side effects of all that acid I did in my twenties.
Chmicals.....brrrr. It gives me shivers to think I ever played with such volatile stuff. Sobriety is something to be appreciated.

No, it's fine. I just wanted to avoid seeing your interpretation turn into a political discussion about energy, foreign policy, exploitation. I think your interpretation is right, but the discussion needs to focus on the film and not get politically controversial. That's all. (My moderator instincts see that digression as a distinct possibility to be avoided!)

Otherwise, it's all good.

I appreciate that. Sincerely. I've had enough with politics which, honestly, I could care less about. Really the thought is just a mind working over-time after a long week of deadlines. At my job it's been "Xmas" since August. My company thrives on things that you will hide in your closet for 11 months out of the year. ...ugh. there I go off on a rant again.

My company thrives on things that you will hide in your closet for 11 months out of the year. Hey, somebody's gotta make 'em! :D

(I've been known to drag out tacky Christmas stuff in the middle of summer.)

All i know about Monsters Inc. is that -

1.Its a great movie

2.I have the dvd of it.

3.I have seen it atleast 95 times, if not more and know it word by word.

And yeah, i do know that Yak's milk is extremely nutritious.

Wow, after reading this post I'm surprised I'm a musician at all. If this is how artists think and see things, I must have no creativity at all. I am just a bread and butter man. I watch little TV, what I do watch is the News, some sports (love football and golf) and educational programs like the History Channel. Man, I am a real drag.

Sad to say, I think this is one of the side effects of all that acid I did in my twenties.
Chmicals.....brrrr. It gives me shivers to think I ever played with such volatile stuff. Sobriety is something to be appreciated.

Very interesting thing to say. When everybody thought Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was about LSD (something John Lennon strongly denied), is that because people let their thoughts get away from them, or because the music really suggested that?? I know when I first heard this song I thought it was describing an acid trip for sure. And that was even before I realized the title could spell out LSD.

So with much literature, music, and movies having hidden symbols, it is not really unusual for a person to expect to see this in a movie like this.

So hueseph, it's not the acid, it's the culture.

By the way, I have no clue whatsover about this movie and cannot imagine watching a movie like this. 8)

Yeah, Tiger just drove a ball 326 yards! :wink:

you can read subtle symbolism into the back of a cereal box, not sure why though.

I can't imagine watching golf!

Is there any subtle symbolism to it?