Rebirth
BY MELEK CANSU PETEK (ELIT/I)
Whenever I get my pen -- or keyboard -- to write next week's column, I turn to YouTube and start listening to the "Cloud Atlas" soundtrack on repeat. It gives me a certain feeling of peace, the same peaceful feeling I had right after I saw the movie. I can't think of any other music that could better endorse what the movie's taglines already say:
"Death, Life, Birth…
Future, Present, Past…
Love, Hope, Courage…
Everything is connected."
Hence, I've been planning on writing about this beautiful movie for quite some time; however, I couldn't bring myself to it. I believe the movie itself says everything that needs to be said, and therefore, rather than feeding you with information you can easily find online, or giving you spoilers, I'd like to try digging deeper into what this movie makes me think about.
If you've seen the movie, you already know that all the characters reincarnate over hundreds of years, and all the stories are somehow connected to each other -- don't worry, this isn't a spoiler. Personally, I don't believe in reincarnation, but I do believe in spiritual rebirth. I do believe that human beings are no different than the mystical phoenix, a being that can be born again from its own ashes -- at least those individuals who have the courage to do so, since we all have that power hidden somewhere within us. How, or when, is a question only you can answer, but the possibility is always there, waiting for us to discover it. I was reborn a year and a half ago, when I decided that I needed a change in my life; in fact, I needed to turn my entire life upside down. I'm not going to lie, it was quite hard, and it could have been even harder if I hadn’t relied on God during that period. However, I did it no matter what. Does that mean I'm fully in control of my life now, and everything is going exactly where I'd like it to? Of course not! In the movie, Sachs says, "Each point of intersection, each encounter, suggests a new potential direction." With every potential direction, I'm scared to death because of all the decisions I have to make and the possible consequences, but that is no reason to stop.
Furthermore, since it is springtime, we are already in the middle of that process of awakening and rebirth. April is one of my favorite months, and the primary reason is that it is a month of many blessings: sunshine, rain, a warm breeze at night, flowers of all colors, the sweet smell of spring, happier faces around the campus despite all the exams (grrrrr) and air filled with laughter. It is a time when I look around and marvel at the beauty of creation. This month is when I have the strongest feeling of being alive, and I realize just how true the words of Robert Frobisher, the musician character, are: "My life extends far beyond the limitations of me."
Another reason for me to love April -- this one is a bit personal, sorry -- is that this month, actually this very week, is the time I was born. Of course I won't celebrate my birthday for a whole month -- alas! -- but every April I become more aware of my own life. I reflect more on what I've done and what I'd like to do in the future. This year, I decided to write myself a letter, to 30-year-old me. There are some facts in life that never change, timeless or universal truths as some like to call them, and I want 30-year-old me to remember them. Watching "Cloud Atlas" once again, at this particular moment, was a great idea in that sense, since the movie verbalizes these facts amazingly well. It made me think of how there is no such thing as a coincidence, and of how love can overcome death. It made me think of all the boundaries we put between us, and yet again, how all these boundaries are nothing but conventions, waiting to be transcended. It made me understand once more, only one person is needed to start a long-awaited revival in this world: true, one might be seen as a little drop in a limitless ocean, but after all, what is an ocean but a multitude of drops?
P.S.: A fan-girl moment! I loved Ben Whishaw in this movie, and I believe he will be remembered as one of the greatest actors of our time. I strongly recommend that you watch "Bright Star" as well, in which he portrays the Romantic poet John Keats.