Film Review: The Sound of Music

Otherwise known as 'Nun Game'.
This is not so much a film review as an exercise in Catholic romanticism. I am sometimes prone to that. My bad. Not sure what the cure is, but I don't want it anyway.

Bellita, this one is for you :-)

Is this the film that spawned millions of 'I wanna be a nun' wishes by Catholic (and even non-Catholic) young women?
Is this the film that could have changed the course of my life?

I make no secret of the fact that like a lot of Catholic women (at least from my generation) at some point in their lives, I did consider religious life as a possible option for me.

It was a serious consideration.
But in the end, I knew it wasn't for me.
But for ever and ever, I shall sing the praises of nuns. I know why I respect these women...

Yes, I sometimes have mini-seizures over nuns who seem to be outside of my little picture-perfect idea of what a nun should be like.

I get all heated up under the collar when Congolese nuns demand The Pill because they are at high risk of rape in war zones, as I think this is as anti-Catholic as one can get.
Right, Bell?
So, sure, we don't let even nuns get away with anything.
But I think that's healthy. It shows we are not biased...

But we give credit where credit is due.

I have grown up with nuns and priests. I still have a lot of contact with nuns and priests. I 'get' them. I know them. I like them.


And for those who think Catholic priests are lucky because they don't have women yapping away in their ears all day (otherwise known as 'nagging'), think again:
I heard this joke a long time ago. I really hope it's not a true story, but I have this sinking feeling that it might be.

A man goes into the confessional at his local church to confess his sins and take the opportunity to complain bitterly about his wife, who he believes is responsible for his sinning in the first place.
He says to the priest: "Father, you are so lucky not to have a woman in your life ruining everything for you".

The priest turns round and says, "Are you kidding me? I am the chaplain of a convent. I get all the trouble from women and none of the good part. At least you get to have sex once in a while!"

:-)



I once joked on this blog that I lived in a convent high in the Swiss Alps.
It was in fact, only a half-joke.
I do know a group of nuns who live in a convent in a location like this, in fact not far from where 'The Sound of music' was shot.

I have said this before, but I really do believe that nuns (in a cruel twist) would make the best wives and mothers. There is a freaky reason why this might be so, but I shan't dwell on this right now. Perhaps others may have their own theories on this?

The ones I know can be incredibly "wife and mother material". Surprisingly so.
I have noticed this all my life.
Maybe this is why I wanted to join them.




I must have watched 'The Sound of Music' a thousand times by now.
But it is only now dawning on me that it is one of the most Red Pill films ever!

A confident older man with seven kids successfully (if accidentally in this case) Games a would-be nun so much that she abandons God in favour of him...

'The Sound of Music' reminds me very much of the film 'Firelight'. An alpha man, a child/children, a woman arriving into the frame to care for said child/children. Love ensues...

Of course Maria never made it to full religious life.
I think I would have had the same complaints made against me as shown below, had I been in her shoes: when you are not cut out for it, you just aren't.

The first encounter between Maria and Captain Von Trapp. It's all there...dominance, negs, aloofness. She didn't stand a chance, poor girl :-)

But the most important question for me is, will I ever outgrow this scene? Some of these creatures bear an uncanny resemblance to one of my cuddle bunnies :-)

And if I ever have a daughter, she is memorising this song from the age of ...sixteen!
This is the ultimate Girl Game, no?
Liesl is sixteen and can't wait to marry Rolf. To her, Rolf is soooo much older and wiser!
How many women can say to a man, 'I will depend on you?'
Exactly. We just don't know how...in this modern age. And yet, many men are dependable. Not all, sure, but the majority still are.
But I accept that a boy of seventeen going on eighteen is the wrong person to say this to, granted!

 

Maria is in love with Captain Von Trapp. She can't handle this, so she runs away back to the convent. Mother Supeior sends her right back to 'face her problems'. A convent is no haven from worldly problems. True. This is good Red Pill advice, for both men and women.

 

 

What a beautiful family anthem!

 

 

 

Bell, this will be you one day, homeschooling your brood :-)

 

 

The convent I know doesn't have a Sister Mary Clarence. But they could sure use one to spice things up a bit :-)

Mass is never this exciting where I am either!

 

 

And even the Pope gives a standing ovation when they sing 'I will follow Him' :-)

 

 

 

Yes, the reality is that some nuns evoke bad memories in some people. Films like 'The Magdalene Sisters' apparently don't even do this subject enough justice.

 

I refer here to 'the good kind'. People I know. And the lessons I can draw from their good example is... priceless.

 

 

 

If anyone wants to watch all of 'The Sound of Music'...

 

 

http://vimeo.com/23877961

 

Gentlemen, recognise yourselves in 00:46:01-00:47:10 and 1:08:00-1:14:00?

:P

1:25:20-1:32:30 is total chick-crack! The men would do well to avoid this bit.

How lovely is the ländler! It is as graceful a dance as the tango is sensual...

 

And out of the mouths of babes...

Kurt says: "Only grown up men are afraid of women!"

And Gretl says: "I think the men look beautiful".

 

Hahahaha!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In defence of Catholic nuns

Disclaimer: I am catholic. I like nuns. My views on this post are therefore heavily biased in their favour.

I would go out on a limb and declare that at some point in the life of many catholic women, the thought of becoming a nun crosses their mind. I might even go further and say most.

I would know. I would be one of the most.

Risk factors of the above affliction include:
1. Being raised catholic (obviously).
2. Going to catholic school, especially convent school.
3. Being traditionally-minded.

The first two are obvious. The third might surprise some people.
For afterall, to be traditionally-minded is to aim for husband and family, not the nunnery, surely!

It has to be said: those who know, know that being a nun is remarkably similar to being a wife and mother. The two paths are in fact on the same trajectory, the only differences being in the practical details.

Come again?

Let me explain.

My former headmistress from my old convent school died this month. I remember her fondly. She was a tall and stout woman. She must have already been well into her fifties when she was headmistress at my school. She almost appeared masculine in her appearance, as I recall. She was of an order which was not required to wear a veil or habit, so her visible short, greying hair added to her androgenous appearance. She even had one of those masculine first names, like Sr Ambrose (not her real name).
However, she was surprisingly soft-spoken for such an imposing figure.
But when she barked at you, you knew it. It was not a pretty sight to behold. Thankfully, her barks were rare.

She could also be one of the gentlest people I have ever known. She knew just what to say to you if you had a problem. She knew exactly how to get a girl to maximise her talents whatever those talents were. Some of the best mantras and phrases of motivation I have hung onto in life came from her. She was deeply spiritual and you could feel her desire to bring out the very best out of every girl that passed through her school. It went beyond a teaching vocation. I felt 'mothered' by her and all the other nuns at my school. I always wondered how women who had never been physical mothers could excel at 'mothering' so well.

They say the one who has to learn a trick is the one who beats the 'natural'. No-one 'trains' to become a wife, at least not in the modern era. Finishing schools, home economics classes, relationship courses and good mothers/grandmothers/aunts/sisters set women well onto a nice path to success in the marriage jungle, but it is not a strict entry criterion.

A lawyer friend of mine went deeper into religious life than I ever dared. Law school is a breeze compared to 'nun school', I hear.

But then again, to become a bride of Christ should entail being taken to task. It is, afterall, not an easy life.

People who mock nuns have either had a personal bad experience with a particular nun or group of nuns (I agree there are bad nuns just as much as there are bad people everywhere) or have a gripe against the catholic church in general, of which nuns are a ubiquitous and visible reminder.

Most people (women in particular) who have been taught by nuns would agree that it was a positive experience for them overall. Even if individual bad experiences can be recalled.

A friend of mine whose kindergarten teacher was a nun has been unable to sever the bond over forty years later, and seemingly can never venture too far from the old lady who remains the only contender for the title 'mother-substitute'.

An old man I know who was not even catholic, being fully aware of the reputation of nuns for being overly strict and possibly even slightly sadistic insisted on all his daughters being sent to catholic schools, just so they could be raised by nuns.

For there is no better teacher for a girl on how to be a good wife and mother, than a nun, this man had told himself. He was no fool.

Mother Teresa was known to many simply as 'mother'.

A traditionally-minded catholic girl who wants to be a wife and mother and who has been in contact with nuns will know that, amongst others, nuns are a wonderful role-model for the task ahead.

Who better to emulate than a bride of Christ, afterall.