Since yesterday, I had been watching those past Spice Girls music videos on YouTube. I became this bouncy and happy nine-year-old all over again. While actually watching all those promo pics and all that from The Da Vinci Code movie.
Suddenly, my innocent past came back all over again. Back then towards to my teens, when there's people aware I do listened to the Spice Girls' songs, they kind of sniggered or something like that. I am so used to it now. Now I think back now, when was the last time there will not be people will snigger at your taste?
I had been saying that I do like The Da Vinci Code novel here. Nothing wrong with that. But then sometimes looking at the furore which had kind of came out because of this, I often shook my head. I often feel like crying. Why sometimes people are not free to make their own judgement and have to 'witness' what others are against for? I know maybe those devout Christian friends of mine will (who knows) turn their backs at me for me telling them I had read the book and had watched the movie and like the both versions. I am already aware how my loud proclamation of the liking of the book and the movie will make how others feel, especially if they are devout to Christianity. But I cannot help it.
There are personal reasons. I know I had said it before. Art. History. Maybe I need to elaborate more.
The very first hobby I picked up was drawing. To admit, whenever I want to draw a person on a piece of paper when I was like in my kindergarten days, I went for the easy version. Asking to draw a real person was a daunting task and the only person I know who can do that (provided you have a photo or something being prepapred beforehand in order to present to the person) is...my father. Surprise as it may be he can draw real life-like images, but he told me that each of us got to have some talents other than the one we really specialize. I found out later in life that actually in his school days as part of his course, drawing of the outline of a ship was something every marine engineering student needs to know. But other than my father, in my primary and secondary school days, there are people I know at school whose drawings are just so superb that I thought they can be real artists or of that sort someday.
I often got a 'B' in Art in my primary school days. Ha ha. It was kind of cruel reminder when I was in Secondary One that whatever I first picked up as a kid may not always work towards my advantage. I actually failed Art once. Yes yes, once flunked the subject I like. But after that, everything was fine. My Art results in Secondary One and Two always hovered around 50 to 60-plus. See what I mean?
Then the big reality in front of me - if I really want to make it big through art, it's all about practice...and sacrifice. And I never achieved on both accounts, despite for a moment of time I seriously once considered joining Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts or, La-Salle SIA. But excuse me, I read the requirements for the O Level students then (that was the crossroads at that time for me when I need to choose where to continue after O Levels when the results came out), I got to have maybe took up Art or even Design & Technology for O Levels. Those where you need the drawing prerequisites. I didn't take either one. I almost never wanted to drop Art and took up Food & Nutrition instead in Secondary Three and Four, you know. Art was actually offered to me. But then I appealed to the school at that time and succeeded.
At times, I feel like...a real idiot. Really! *laughs* I can not at least choose to study Accountancy after my O Levels but then at least I know I was one of the very few who can actually 'survived' under the late Mr David Lee's personality in class! LOL! And also one of the few who can get decent Accounts grades. I could had not listened to whatever realities about surviving the local arts scene at that time and study Art after my O Levels because I can tell people the simple reason - it was my very first hobby.
Anyhow, the Art Club I joined in my secondary school days helped me to explore things I had never see before. And actually there was once my mother almost wanted to clear out the trash and she wanted to throw away one of my works I had did in Art Club. I said loudly that I will not see it in the trash forever. My father was nearby and he vouched it for me. In the end, it was not all the trash. One of the things I can really call my own, you know.
Fast forward to the present day. Now I feel like kicking myself for not doing that back then especially with all the hoola over The Da Vinci Code. The Last Supper, Mona Lisa, The Virtruvian Man, the Lourve, Westminister Abbey...why I never took up Art earlier? I could had at least more opinion on those I mentioned. Paintings, sculptures, architecture...I'm often fascinated by all those. Guess when I know I first like to draw, all these will come naturally after that.
Now it's the history part. The whole fascination with history came by, accidentally. I don't know, it just seemed that I had always been fascinated by it for as long as I know. And when everyone else seemed to be disinterested in history, I was the lone person standing. When my father had said that history was boring, I never said anything. When my friends seemed to be struggling to revise History, I found it alright at times.
I think maybe given I need to learn how to 'argue' my points across in my History classes through writing and writing is one of those things I like, it worked towards my advantage. And what my former History teacher in secondary school once said that we just need to treat our History textbook like a novel. Afterall, it's all about events of the past. I thought for the first time back then when I first heard this in the History class, I had this big grin in my head. I know...it's lame. But what can I do when I like history? Religious (ahem, read: The Da Vinci Code and everything in between) or not, I need to find out if I'm curious. Whether it's because I need to know the content because of the school syllabus at that time or not, it's always the same. I just treat it as I knew something which I never knew. Or I thought I did.
Fast forward to now. The Da Vinci Code had certainly opened up a lot of doors for me. So many things which I never knew and I thought I knew. You get the whole meaning. Learning to dissect the fact and fiction is what I had been doing these days by watching those TV documentaries. That is only just one of the methods.
I almost became weary after watching all those relating documentaries (oh yeah, it was actually interesting to know more of the life of Leonardo Da Vinci too where it was once shown on Arts Central as part of the Da Vinci Code specials) and feel like sighing loudly each time. So imagine my feelings prior to watching Arts Central's documentary yesterday night. Beyond The Da Vinci Code, that is. It's a first part of the two instalments. But then as I watched, it had the people who wrote the books, do believe in the bloodline and the academics themselves staking their claims. Those shows I watched beforehand (not naming names) somehow never include the people who wrote those books and believing the bloodline somewhere along the line. I almost said 'Finally!' last night. It was really 'stressful' these days watching documentaries relating to the phenomeon. Discovery Channel's Da Vinci Declassified is another where they do got few of those who wrote those kind of books and the academics as well. I saw that on Tuesday.
I mean, to hear the other side of the story other than the academics, hearing out from those who do believe in the bloodline...is important as well. That is then more balanced. I am once a History student and so I am aware of this logic. Ahem.
