Emmacabre

Holy cow, has it really been two years since I wrote a Journal? Geez.

Anyway, just wanted quickly update to let you all know I'm okay and still making art! I actually graduated  with a BFA in Illustration back in December and am currently waiting (read: being driven crazy) to hear back from internship applications. I'm hoping for the best, though it's getting pretty close to the "deadline" for some of them! I also made a website that has school and personal projects - www.emmamosier.com/

I'll try not to be so quiet in the future and actually post/comment on stuff instead of just poking my head in once in a while. Right now I'm a lot more active over on my Tumblr and post art there almost every day, even just sketchy stuff - whatwouldwaltdo.tumblr.com/

So, Happy belated Birthdays, Happy belated Holidays and New Year, all that!

Whoa, a Journal. What's this doing here?

So, I'm endeavoring to start a series of drawings based on versions of the story and/or themes of Beauty and the Beast and/or Death and the Maiden. Mainly, I wanna focus on BatB versions that aren't overt versions of the story like Phantom or Hunchback, since I could do a whole series just on the retellings of those. There are versions of the basic story here, like Cocteau or Once Upon a Time, but I wanna show off some that don't get as much credit as others (I see you thar, Disney).

Okay, so, here we go -

Cupid and Psyche - Greek mythology
Hades and Persephone - also Greek mythology
Nosferatu (1922) – Count Orlok and Ellen
The Man Who Laughs (1928) – Gwynplaine and Dea
Frankenstein (1931) – The Monster and Elizabeth
The Mummy (1932) – Imhotep and Helen/Anck-su-Namun

So, yeah. That was a fun movie. Way better than expected. And I guess I've figured out my type, even if he is fictitious: big teddy bears with auburn hair who dress like hobos and with freakishly big hands and gapped teeth. Because...yeah, again. Any scenes with him and Vanellope were my favorites.

Go see it, y'all. Like, now. Or whenever.

A random in-depth Phantom Manor analysis; or, this ride is seriously underrated, even in Disney fandom.

Poor Phantom Manor. Nobody likes it because it's not clean and pretty the way Walt would want. Because it's always important what the boss wants, even if he's been dead for 38 years. Phantom Manor's kind of the lonely sister of the Haunted Mansions because it's the most different and dared to take its audience too seriously.

So, for those that know me pretty well (like, waaaay back in the DoomBuggies days - , , and ), Phantom Manor's my favorite Haunted Mansion for a variety of reasons. Great music, great scenery. Weird, ambiguous story. Either camp you're in, it's a weird, dark story. Like, really obscure European indie movie "weird." But that's why I love it.

This is pretty much me summing up eight or so years of speculation about why I don't think the Phantom is Melanie's father and is more or less part of the Imagineers' homage to Phantom of the Opera, which the ride is, according to Jeff Burke. Not only that, the Phantom wears a cape! Omg, what an obscure way to reference! But whatever.

Okie-dokie. So, here we go.

To start off, I've never thought the Phantom was Mel's daddy. That can really make him look like a sick daddy in some lights. I'll let you figure that out. I'll try to keep this as short as possible, so I'll just focus on his scenes in the attractions. At some point in my future, I'll be writing my story about it, but today is not that day. Settle in, children. I guess I should put SPOILER WARNING here, though I'm not sure why you'd be reading this unless you were like, intensely curious about my crazy ramblings.

Really, why would her dad be so evil if he provided everything he could for Melanie? Was he really that possessive and just saw her as another possession? That's entirely possible and maybe makes her more sympathetic. To me, though, that takes away a lot of the story's romance, but then again, I'm a sucker for dark, Beauty and the Beast-type romances, however contrived they may be. If he is her father, it does create more of a sense of actual ongoing conflict, depending on how you read it, but it takes away a bit of the story's romance, and to me, Phantom Manor is basically a love story gone horribly wrong somewhere. It gives more context to his narration being in the foyer and stretchroom, since it would be his house instead of some stranger's house. The word choice, however, strikes me as romantic. "Beauty lives here still...lovely, isn't she?" (I'm basing this on the Vincent Price original script, btw). Depending on how you read into that, it can either be from someone who loves her or from a very strange father. The way Vincent read it makes it sound chiding, like he's mocking her/us. What loving, caring father would do that?

I guess this is where I should bring up my theories about the Phantom's connections to Melanie/the Ravenswood house - I personally think he was Madame Leota's daughter, which would give him an excuse for being a living corpse later on; like, somehow, she brought him back to life because of his beef with the Ravenswoods/Melanie. Maybe she had some of her own, like perhaps because Melanie didn't mourn her son's death properly because she went and got engaged again. I personally think that the Phantom may have worked for the mining company that Henry owned and somehow died in an accident, even though he and Melanie were supposed to be married and he was a fairly nice guy before; coming back just made him cray-cray. Which explains the maniacal laughter.

Something gives me the feeling the Phantom was a musician; it would explain the ghost playing the piano and maybe Melanie's constant singing, but that may or may not be a moot point; just another piece of the puzzle or me just trying to look for meaning in every single scene in the ride.

Now, did a pretty funny piece about the ballroom, but whatever. That's beside the point. That's the first time we see him as a skeleton (well, kinda), but it's the graveyard scene that still has me scratching my head in relation to the rest of the ride - why is he a skeleton if he's a corpse later? I think it's a mask - and maybe it's a snafu on the Imagineers' part that his neck is Caucasian skin tone, but it's pretty clear when he tips his head back that he's not a total skeleton. Plus, he's pretty "built" for being skin and bones, if that's the case. So, again, I think it's a mask á la "Masquerade" where it's a disjointed jaw piece that allows for more articulation.

Phantom Canyon is, I think, how he looks when he's brought back, which means the ride's going in reverse time, I guess, and then a big jump to the future where Melanie apparently sacrifices herself to save guests. The Phantom being a zombie while Melanie gets older makes sense, but again, I think that's part of Leota's curse: Melanie appears to grow older after her "wedding." Also, there was an earthquake or something and her parents died. But then Melanie has to go and die for real, which I think could be part of her putting an end to Leota's curse and trying to find the man she once loved in the Phantom by deciding she'll go with him. Not as easy as kissing him and getting away; more of a Notre Dame de Paris way to go, but whatever.

Now, this is why I'm glad the Imagineers left it wide open for interpretation, though Burke says there have been lots of soap opera scenarios around it, and in his own words, "Come on; it's only Phantom Manor!" And I agree to a point, but why suggest a story if you don't want people to go all out like I have here? Anyway, that's just my long-winded theory, so if you've made it this far, way to go!

Well, I totally don't fail at falling off the face of the earth, now do I? I'm still around; just need my Wacom sent to me. Because I'm in Florida doing the Disney College Program! Woot! Working over in Hollywood Studios at Muppets, which is awesome and a bit easy-going, compared to other rides (or so I hear).

And as far as depression goes - still dealing with that, and still trying to find a pill combo that works and doesn't make me feel like a zombie. Which is slightly better than just being depressed, but still not great. Rrrargh. Depression, you're a whore of a mental illness. So now when people say "that makes me depressed," I'm just thinking, no, son. You don't know what depression is.