Burtonism

Differences and similarities when speaking of Burtonism

 1. Proposal - The director I’m writing about is well known for his outside of the box approach to all of his movies. It’s always the same actors crew, but the movies are complete different one from another. One thing can be said that it’s sure – he’s one of a kind. Yes, The director I have chosen is Tim Burton. Brilliant for his fans and not only, who can’t wait for his next boxoffice  major projects. One thing we might call for sure, there’s going to be Johnny Depp involved. A lot of humor, sarcasm, stupidity and art. Weird, awesome, astonishing, crap – all these words suits his artistic approach at the same time. That’s what he’s famous for, and, to be more precise, for being himself all the way from Disney studio drawing Vincent to the glory of Dark Shadows. Burton is all that, and even a bit more.

• The main research question is “What is so special when speaking of Burtonism?”. I will try to explain what are the great and not-so-great things about his movies, what brings him so much success and one last thing – his one of a kind marks that I commonly call “Burtonism”.

• The research methods I am using in general are internet, magazines, some books in the library which are totally not up-to-date, but doing some decent deal of job and asking questions to random people in twitter who might know something more.

Sleepy Hollow (1999) 

Based on Washington Irving’s tale “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”; directed by Tim Burton; written by Andrew Kevin Walker; director of photography – Emmanuel Lubezki, edited by Chris Lebenzon; music by Danny Elfman.

WITH: Johnny Depp (Ichabod Crane), Christina Ricci (Katrina Van Tassel), Miranda Richardson (Lady Van Tassel), Michael Gambon (Baltus), Casper Van Dien (Brom), Jeffrey Jones (Reverend Steenwyck), Marc Pickering (Young Masbeth), Michael Gough (Notary Hardenbrook), Christopher Lee (Burgomaster) and Christopher Walken (Hessian Horseman). 

“History will recognize the rich imagination and secret tenderness of Mr. Burton's best films. (From a purely technical standpoint, as in the award-ready cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki, this grimly voluptuous ''Sleepy Hollow'' must be one of them.) But it will also raise the question of what we were smoking during this period of infatuation with grisliness on screen. It is not unreasonable to admire Mr. Burton immensely without wanting to peer at the exposed brain stems of his characters, but ''Sleepy Hollow'' leaves no choice. As written by Andrew Kevin Walker, who took off Gwyneth Paltrow's head in ''Seven'' and apparently considered that small potatoes, ''Sleepy Hollow'' turns the tale of the Headless Horseman into the pre-tabloid story of a rampaging serial killer.” [1] JANET MASLIN. (1999). Headless Horseman With Quite a Head Count. 

“Tim Burtons take on this classic ghost story is at once eerie, atmospheric and darkly humorous.  As with most of his films it is extremely rewarding visually, and in this case is shot with such diluted use of colour as to be almost black and white in places.” [2]

• The beginning of the scene

The scene starts in front of the livery when Ichabod Crane’s introduced to his new-old horse. The horse looks like it’s about to die any second and the Constable has clearly no idea how to use this “thing”. The landscape is very dark. There are some other animals in the picture, like for example a goat, some ducks and cows. The atmosphere is typical for outside-the-big-town villages - creepy. Assumingly the smell is terrible as it can be seen on Ichabods face. 

-His name is Gunpowder.

-He should do just fine. (speaking about the horse)

• Denouement

Then, all of a sudden, horseman shots in the air saying that the other horseman, the dead one,  killed again. It is time for Ichabod Crane to be seen in action. He tries to set himself up on the   Gunpowder, but instead of this he’s hilariously hanging as a luggage on the left side of the horse. He’s trying to navigate his “vehicle” into the right path, but unfortunately this turns out to be mission impossible and that’s the reason why the New York Constable arrives last at the crime scene.

• Crime scene

As he arrives, most of the men from the village are already gathered around the decapitated corpse. Van Tassel is giving instructions to everyone what to do. There’s some sort of priest, standing on a rock with a bible in his hands. The music is mournful. Bells are ringing.(chime,toll) The Ravens caws are very loud thus the picture is completed. Death it is saying. The trees are very dark as well, no colour can be found. It’s all grey. It might be said that the sun never sets upon Sleepy Hollow. 

• Ichabods arrival

Then, out of nowhere, Johnny Depp, a.k.a Ichabod Crane arrives  in his totally out-of-range style, fighting with the saddle which refuses to release his leg. Everyone’s starring at him in the most awkward way possible. Some of the gunmen are even laughing. Everything is so sad. There is a man near the corpse. Ichabod is required to go through the crowd and see if he can say something more than the obvious. Indeed he does that.

• The Coprse check

The forth victim is Jonathan Masbeth. However, Ichabod’s wondering how they can be so sure when there’s no head.

-That I see. And, the head?

-Taken.

We can surely say that the wood is singing its own dark song. Ichabod’s tryin to investigate, as there can be seen traces from horseshoe inbetween the fallen leafs. Ichabod is testing with some strange chemicals in bottles to see if there will be any reaction. We can say that this is an outstanding moment, because the actor is staying near beheaded body and he’s actually touching the spot where is supposed to be the head. He is anxiously calm, but his black eyes are saying that he is about to vomit his lunch every moment. The scene is very typical example of how Burton-Depp cooperation is creating a whole different picture of what’s is supposingly called “expectedness”.

“The pace and tension are both kept up throughout the film, aided and abetted by Danny Elfman's dramatic score and the remarkable visuals. There is, however, surprisingly little warmth or connection between the audience and the characters.” [2]Ali Barclay,2001, Sleepy Hollow.

Big part of Tim Burton’s style are exactly those strange-weirdo kind of glasses. We might say that this is his biggest mark in this film – something he will be remembered for. The acting of Johnny Depp at that scene is quite amazing, though the original Ichabod Crane is supposed to be very ugly. Burton tries to recreate the ugliness in the character via this weird manners of his in the acting style. 

Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. (which is actually existing street in London)

Directed by Tim Burton; written by John Logan, based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler from an adaptation by Christopher Bond; director of photography, Dariusz Wolski; edited by Chris Lebenzon; music and lyrics by Mr. Sondheim; production designer, Dante Ferretti; produced by Richard D. Zanuck, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Mr. Logan; released by DreamWorks Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes.

WITH: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett), Alan Rickman (Judge Turpin), Timothy Spall (Beadle), Sacha Baron Cohen (Pirelli), Jayne Wisener (Johanna), Jamie Campbell Bower (Anthony Hope) and Laura Michelle Kelly (Lucy/Beggar Woman).

“A great deal bloodier than most musicals, Tim Burton’s beautifully crafted take on Stephen Sondheim’s stage show still feels like a kids’ film that no littl’uns will see, such is the sweep of his story, his caricaturing, and his balletic approach to killing.” [4] Dave Calhoun. (2007). Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

“Sweeping, tragic, epic and strange, Sweeney Todd is, without reservations, one of the best films of the year. Blessed with the oddly perfect pairing of director Tim Burton’s gloomy visuals and Stephen Sondheim’s brilliant music and lyrics, it’s a clever adaptation of a notoriously difficult Broadway play. While remaining respectful to the source material, Burton has created something very much his own. It’s grisly and darkly funny in the way we expect from him, but also more emotionally resonant and genuine than perhaps anything he’s done in his career.” [5]

The scene in Sweeney Todd I would like to write about is probably the last one, if not – some of the last. 

• The beginning of the end

It starts when the young sailor lad opens the door screaming, accompanied with the beautiful Johanna dressed like a little boy, looking all over the place for Mr. Todd. The room is very dark, as most of the Burton’s film – it is almost black and white. The room is actually furnished in old Victorian style. There is a bell on the door that rings every time when someone opens it, so the barber would be able to hear if new clients are arriving. There is a big window, like a portal to the world, through which the light is falling exactly on the special chair. Chair that leads to hell. 

• Johanna and her adventure.

After Anthony left her in order to find a coach for them to leave London, Johanna has a moment on her own. Just like a infant child, she looks with a great deal of curiosity to all the things that are surrounding her. She stops in front of a desk filled with all of the barbers stuff. She looks at a picture – very nice, lovely double portrait of the whole Barker Family – her mother, she as a baby, and the young barber. But she can’t recognize none of them. It’s like she has an amnesia or something. She tooks the razor from the desk and opens it, all of a sudden, her mother is looking for the Beadle, who, apparently, entered the barber shop but didn’t come out. Scared to death, Johanna walk into a box, where previously was Pirellis dead body. 

• Lucy enters

When Lucy step into the dark room, with a single candle enlightening the space, she’s singin to herself like a mad woman. The dark atmosphere is supported by music that’s constantly increasing and decreasing its volume thus one can never be sure what’s next. The suspense is very high. Then, surprisingly, in the room enters Mr Sweeney Todd himself and stares at his wife, without recognizing her at all. 

-Don’t I know you, mister?

He cuts her throat with his razor without even considering it. At that time he thinks his wife is dead so he’s far away from the thought that he just killed his wife. The effects are very strong. All the blood spreading all over her body. His right shirt sleeve is red. The moment is extra visual. As a consequence it is plus one for Burton’s overall approach. 

• Judge Turpin is to meet his destiny

The actor who plays Turpin is well-known for his Proffesor Snape role in Harry Potter – Alan Rickman. His voice sounds very specifically, which adds an extra tension to the scene, but it’s matching to Johnny’s voice – it’s musical after all. The judge is very anxious about his sweetheart, the barbers daughter. The barber, as a good servant, calms him down and makes him feel much better. As a consequence he starts to sing about Johanna. And then, all out of sudden.

-BENJAMIN BARKER

The final cut. One last throat that remained uncut – not anymore. The Barbers dream came true. He revenged himself for all that he’s been through because of mr Tulpin’s decision. We might be able to describe the picture of the last assassination as “bloody blood bath”. Literally bloody. It’s blood everywhere. On the razor, on the barbers face, even on his teeth. His eyes are blinking all the time because of the bloodspray. 

One can see the dark clouds through the window. The white skunx stripe on Benjamin Barker’s head and his razor, as well, in action. Quite unpleasant scene that is.

Charlie and the chocolate factory. [2005]

Directed by Tim Burton; written by John August, based on the book by Roald Dahl; director of photography, Philippe Rousselot; edited by Chris Lebenzon; music byDanny Elfman; production designer, Alex McDowell; produced by Brad Grey and Richard D. Zanuck; released by Warner Brothers Pictures. Running time: 116 minutes. This film is rated PG.

WITH: Johnny Depp (Willy Wonka), Freddie Highmore (Charlie Bucket), David Kelly (Grandpa Joe), Helena Bonham Carter (Mother Bucket), Noah Taylor(Father Bucket), Missi Pyle (Mrs. Beauregarde), James Fox (Mr. Salt), Deep Roy (Oompa-Loompas), Christopher Lee (Dr. Wonka), AnnaSophia Robb, (Violet Beauregarde), Jordan Fry (Mike Teavee), Philip Wiegratz (Augustus Gloop) and Julia Winter (Veruca Salt).

“It is not ugly, exactly - by now we are accustomed to seeing grandeur in this kind of architecture - but it is nonetheless forbidding. The interior, of course, is another story. This factory does not only turn out irresistible confections. As imagined by Tim Burtonand his production designer, Alex McDowell, Wonka's candyworks is itself such a confection, a place of extravagant innovation and wild indulgence where the ordinary principles of physics, chemistry and human behavior do not apply.” [6] A. O. SCOTT. (2005). Looking for the Candy, Finding a Back Story

“Deliciously dark and packed with candy-coloured visuals, Tim Burton's adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory is an intoxicating endorphin rush. Freddie Highmore is engagingly winsome as one of five children who scores a ticket to the world's most magnificent chocolate factory. But it's his Finding Neverland co-star Johnny Depp who steals the show as the oddball chocolatier. While the story is a little soft in the centre, his take on Willy Wonka is a richly layered treat.” [7] Stella Papamichael . (2005). Charlie And The Chocolate Factory

The scene that our author is about to describe, is the one with the flying elevator. It is one of the last scene, profoundly found as a “crucial scene” by the same person in the previous sentence. 

• Amazing elevator

It all start’s with the pressing of a single button, saying “up and out”. Actually this is not an ordinary elevator. Like most of Tim Burton’s movies there is magic and lots of imagination. Here we have a flying, skyscraping elevator, capable of doing whatever you may possibly ever wan’t. We see the elevator dash out the chimney straight into the sky, while outside is winter. The whole factory is white, one can barely see the figures from the sky. All of a sudden everything around turns out to be clouds up until the moment, when the elevator reaches the zenith of it’s jump and starts to fall. Charlie and Grandpa Joe are worried, but Mr. Wonka is cool as a cucumber. It looks like he knows what he’s doing and nothing really bothers him at all. The picture here’s very bright. We could say that there’s not much of an art in it, but in fact all these computer-made factory 3d stuff are amazing. Especially when Willie Wonka pushes another button and suddenly the his invention stops just like that its free fallin. It has this astonishing for mini turbo engines, one on every side, that keeps it steady in the space. 

• House invasion

-When do you think they will be back?

- I don’t know, dear.

And then, out of nowhere, the magic elevator crushes the ceiling and parks exactly in front of little Charlie’s family. It’s an old, wood-made house, second-hand furnished. The strangest thing in this scene is that the house is kind of tilted sidewards. We could say that this is the Burton’s mark here and the key to the Burtonism. In the house, there is bad with three elder lads in it, four used-to-be, two on every side. We might say that the background says “this is what poverty looks like”. Everything is broken or newly-repaired-about-to-fall. The family is very poor but they didn’t look like poor people though. Of course, their clothes are patched, but the smiles on their faces are telling whole other story – happiness.

• strange arrival

We can see in the picture that everything’s about to destroy itself. What it takes to happen is just a single push. The picture contains: small fridge, microwave on it, strange portrait, falling beam and cooking stuff. It’s is actually something like a build-in kitchen-corner, with all the stuff. Helena looks like she just saw a ghost or something. 

Evaluation:

The key weaknesses in this research are the lack of book references (information after 2003 simply could not be found in the college library). As a strength I could mark that I’m thoroughly internet person and I did take the maximum out of it. 

About the research process I learned that time is never enough and information is always a lot more than one can afford to use.

My research could be improved if I dedicate myself to the art of filming and start to learn more and more about the matter. 

Burton recreates old stories in a great way.

References:

[1]JANET MASLIN. (1999). Headless Horseman With Quite a Head Count.Available:  http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C02E4D6163CF93AA25752C1A96F95826 . Last accessed 17.05.2012.

[2] Ali Barclay. (2001). Sleepy Hollow. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2001/06/20/sleepy_hollow_1999_review.shtml. Last accessed 17.05.2012.

[3] Wikipedia. Tim Burtons Sleepy Hollow. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleepy_Hollow_(film)

[4] Dave Calhoun. (2007). Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Available: http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/85001/sweeney-todd-the-demon-barber-of-fleet-street.html. Last accessed 17.05.2012.

[5] Katey Rich. (2007). Sweeney Todd. Available: http://www.cinemablend.com/reviews/Sweeney-Todd-2774.html. Last accessed 18.05.2012.

[6] A. O. SCOTT. (2005). Looking for the Candy, Finding a Back Story.Available: http://movies.nytimes.com/2005/07/15/movies/15char.html. Last accessed 20.05.2012.

[7] Stella Papamichael . (2005). Charlie And The Chocolate Factory . Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/07/18/charlie_and_the_chocolate_factory_2005_review.shtml. Last accessed 20.05.2012.

Book sources:

[1] Andrew Goeff (1999). Film Directors A-Z. London: Prion Books. 201

[2] I.Pym (2004). Time Out Film Guide. 12th ed. London: universal house. 55.

[3] Jim Smith and J.Clive Mathews (2002). Tim Burton. London: virgin books ltd. 345.

Burtonism

Change of plans

Corpse bride switched for Sweeney Todd : The Deamon from Fleet Street

Proposal

Burtonism 

Differences and similarities when speaking of Burtonism

The director I’m writing about is well known for his outside of the box approach to all of his movies. It’s always the same actors crew, but the movies are complete different one from another. One thing can be said that it’s sure – he’s one of a kind. Yes, It’s Tim Burton. Brilliant for his fans, who can’t wait for his next boxoffices  major project. One thing is sure, there’s going to be Johnny Depp involved. A lot of humor, sarcasm, stupidity and art. Weird, awesome, astonishing, crap – all these words suits his artistic approach at the same time. That’s what he’s famous for, and, to be more precise, for being himself all the way from Disney studio drawing Vincent to the glory of Dark Shadows. Burton is all that, and even a bit more.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Scene: Icabod Crane (Johnny Depp) arrives in the city of Sleepy Hollow, sended from New York as a special investigator, who has to solve the case of beheaded citizens of Sleepy Hollow. He, Icabod, enters the Van Tassel’s home, where his appointment is, and start to look for the old Van Tassel. All he found is Van Tassels doughter, who is dancing in circle with a bond on her faice. She, named Katrina Van Tassel (Christina Ricci), stops utterly in front of Icabod, thinking that he’s somebody local, he kiss him on the lips, then, while removing the bond from hey eyes, she scarely finds out that this is someone that she does not know. Not at all. Somebody from the men crowd comes to defend her, ready to beat down Icabod, but by the time he’s threatening the young man,  Baltus come through everyone to say hello to the newest guest of the house. He literally save his life by being silly and saluting unmannerly guest. The guest, however, turns out to be an extraordinary one, with all his weird instruments, that nobody have ever seen before, makes great deal of impression all around. He’s there to ask questions. He’s there to solve the mystery of disappearing heads of bodies. He’s looking for connection and tries to figure out what kind of man the possible killer is, when some of the men steps up and saying “He’s not a man. He headless  dark horserider, who cuts head and then disappears almost without leaving any trace of murder or something like that, well, except for a beheaded body.”

Corpse Bride (2005)

Scene: Rehearsing the future wedding. Victor (voice by Johny Depp) is rehearsing with his future bride Victoria (Emily Watson), but he’s constantly making same mistakes with the speech all over again, loosing the ring under the gown of his future mother-in-law. He even can’t keep the fire of his candle for enough time to procede the ceremony.  Scared by Victoria’s family, guilty for being good-for-nothing, Victor decides to go in to the wood in order to relax and to clear his mind. He feels caged down. It’s not that he don’t likes Victoria, on the contrary, he likes her even too much. But, obviously, he can’t manage to remember his speech. In a very late hour, deep night’s surrounding the trees, he’s repeating his vow. Over and over again. While he’s playing with the ring, which he’s supposed to give to Victoria, as she’s his future wife, he puts it on a branch. Unfortunately the branch turns out to be the Corps Brides hand. By doing this, telling his vow to the Corpse Bride, he accidentally wakes her up. According to old jewish tradition, the lads must be buried with the clothes they die in, from there comes the idea to the Corpse Bride. As she has been awaken, she rise in her wedding dress and scares the hell out of Victor, as he’s trying to take his ring back. 

Unsuccessfully. Now the bride wants Victor and he must marry her, because of the vow he said to her. He tries to escape and to go back to the village, but the things are only getting worse, because the town man-newspaper sees him with the Corpse Bride (voice by Helena Bonham Carter) and in no time the whole world knows that Victor  is cheating on Victoria.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

The most fascinating scene in this film is when Willie Wonka (Johnny Depp again) introduce his chocolate factory to the group – majority of it are children, of course. They go into it through big door, which, according to Willie, is keeping all the great chocolate inside. They all are looking towards the chocolate as it’s something unbelievable. Indeed it is. So many chocolate everywhere. They are even crossing a bridge, underneath of which runs the chocolate river. The end of the river is by the chocolate fountain, which makes the bubbles in the chocolate. All the kids are overexcited about tha fact, that there’s chocolate in all the things around them. Even in the grass. Then Willie Wonka says “Try not to loose anything, especially your heads”. It’s creepy. All of the folks are enjoying their chocolate adventure, especially one very fat kid, that contrast to the rest of the kids. On the contrary, there’s one other kid, very well-mannered and modest, who simply don’t taste the chocolate. He’s more like experiencing all of it with his eyes by his own way.

Life within earshot of a London Bell

by Dobrin Yungarev

Resume: This text is about our life nowadays in London through the view of an exchange student. I’m subscribing the area I’ve chosen to with everything that makes me an impression. As a person I’m seeing the things differently from anybody else, but as a human I’m standing for the same rights for all of us. We don’t like to be poor, unhealthy and smashed by the financial institutions, but that happens so often, that we no longer fight with it. We just accept what was unacceptable couple of decades ago and we’re just fine with it. Al though, there are some people who seems to be unhappy and fighting against Capitalism, Communism and everything else, that enslave us in some kind of way. They’re protesting and living in tents, like homeless, but they’re raising and issue that all of us should be aware of – we live in a cruel world and very few people do something to turn in into a better place. What if we all do something, for instance? What if we all stand together behind an idea and fight for it? Would it change anything? I’m from Bulgaria, which is ex-communistic country, and by the stories of my grandparents I know how bad it was. But it isn’t much better now, because the people, who declare themselves to be a democrats in the current ruling party, are the sons and daughters of the communists. 

The main theme is Life within earshot of a London Bell, so I hope there’s something interesting for each and every one of you.

Post Code : OCC 1DN

To go where I would tell you a story about, you need to use the London underground district line to Mansion House. It’s where the journey begins. I would like to focus on financial London and in particular the London Stock Exchange, Bank of America and all the rest financial-related buildings in the area of the St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The first thing that someone would notices is that it’s a quite lively area. There are people everywhere. Traffic noises are so loud, that no one could hear its thoughts. One should try to avoid the peak hours, because the tube gets quite busy and sometimes there’s not enough space in the train. However, once you get there, deep down in you you’ll know it’s worth it. After you quit the Mansion House you go left until you reach Millenium bridge, after that you shall turn right and in front of your eyes must be St. Paul’s Cathedral. This is the first stop of our journey. There’s a churchyard park and Natwest on the left. One can stop by for a hot drink or a can of non-alcoholic carbonated drink if needed and then point to Newgate street. There’s a huge part of financial London, for example – the London Stock Exchange, Bank of America, CIBC World Markets, AXA Investment Management, Merrill Lynch Europe etc etc.

Figure 1 – St. Paul’s Cathedral . Photo by D.Yungarev

The life in this particular area is very dynamic. People are moving in every possible direction, though the most interesting path is leading to St. Paul’s Cathedral. One can hear the Great Tom from miles. The bell was taken from other church but it’s truly a London bell. There’s high cultural diversity in that area not only because it’s the City of London, but also because it’s quite interesting tourist attraction as well. After all St Paul’s is one of the biggest cathedrals in Europe, isn’t it?

Before we continue I shall tell you a little bit more about the St. Paul’s Cathedral at all. St Paul's Cathedral, London, is a Church of England cathedral and seat of the Bishop of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604. St Paul's sits at the top of Ludgate Hill, the highest point in the City of London, and is the mother church of the Diocese of London. The present church dating from the late 17th century was built to an English Baroque design of Sir Christopher Wren, as part of a major rebuilding program which took place in the city after the Great Fire of London, and was completed within his lifetime.

The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognisable sights of London, with its dome, framed by the spires of Wren's City churches, dominating the skyline for 300 years.^[4] At 365 feet (111 m) high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962, and its dome is also among the highest in the world. In terms of area, St Paul's is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom after Liverpool Cathedral.

St Paul's Cathedral occupies a significant place in the national identity of the English population.^[5] It is the central subject of much promotional material, as well as postcard images of the dome standing tall, surrounded by the smoke and fire of the Blitz.^[5] Important services held at St Paul's include the funerals of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Sir Winston Churchill; Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria; peace services marking the end of the First and Second World Wars; the marriage of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer, the launch of the Festival of Britain and the thanksgiving services for both the Golden Jubilee and 80th Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. St Paul's Cathedral is a busy working church, with hourly prayer and daily services.[Wikipedia]

I couldn’t not notice the high levels of cultural diversity. It’s probably a normal thing here, in London, but I saw more Arabs, Asians, Indians, than Britons. May be it’s because of the policy that Great Britain is leading and, to be honest, is a very good one, at least for me. Aside from the fact that I am stranger as well, it’s looking strange, because Great Britain was a conqueror once upon a time in the history, but now it looks conquered. It lost its capitol city. But that’s happening with the most enormously popular Megapolis’s. After all, London is one of the 4^th most important cities in the world and it’s takin a leading role in the current European Union politics. I couldn’t resist but to question myself “Why London is more than welcome for one people, but not welcoming at all other ones? All though it should be one politics for everyone. There’s no such thing like equal rights. There are pople with rights and people with the right to leave whenever they want. As a Bulgarian, or should I say, as a European Union citizen, I should be well accepted with equal rights as the other European Union citizens, but it’s not like that. There are still restrictions, up to 2015, for Bulgarians and Romanians. It must be something with the politics I guess, but we live in a democracy, right? You can ask our Prime Minister if you don’t believe in my words. All I’m saying is that it is very unfair for me to come here and to be discriminated by all the other newcomers, but not to be able to respond in an adequate manner because it’s illegal for me to do it. However, it seems like London has more than one side. It is, at the same time, huge tourist attraction, but it’s also a shelter for every single refugee out there.

Figure 2 – Anonymous flag in the St. Paul’s Churchyard. Photo by D.Yungarev

One thing we can we can be sure about, is that the cathedral looks astonishing. If you’re passing somewhere around, it’s incredibly hard to missed it. One can see the cathedral from miles away. It even looks good when it’s cloudy and you’re mood is not that good. When we were visiting Tate Modern, I saw St. Paul’s cathedral from the coffee shop on the 4^th (I guess) floor. There’s a shopping centre near the cathedral, but I can’t remember its name, however, one can use the centre’s elevator up to the sixth floor and see the London from high above. It looks magnificent. It’s like a magical space. All of these buildings and you’re almost as high as them. One thing one can be sure about is that you’re not seeing such a view every day. I mean not like that particular one. It’s incredible. I can’t describe it. It’s visible from the London eye as well, which is one of the biggest attraction in the city. But, you should be aware of the price, because it’s not very cheap one, but it must be definitely on everyone’s bucket list.

The greatest thing about the St. Paul’s cathedral park that day was the protest. People usually protest when they want to change or say something. The voices of the protesters have to be heard in time, because today it’s just another silly protest, but tomorrow it might become something more, especially if it goes viral like KONY 2012. Lots of different people stop by the Info tent to donate, or just to say Hi. Most of the protesters behaved very natural and some of them seemed to be very nice persons. They always wanted to help, if there are any questions raised and never ignored anyone’s issues as well. They were not a bad people, but unfortunately the police had to remove them. The process was more like eviction and it didn’t looked like a democratic act. However, it was a legal act, so they have to go to prison if they wanted to stay at the park. Speaking of democracy I couldn’t not notice that a week after the eviction the park was still  surrounded by barriers. Some people might say it’s like the Berlin wall, separating two different worlds – stock exchange businessmen on the one side and the protesters on the other. Two weeks after the eviction I found the Occupy Camp at Finsbury park and it seemed better than ever. There was a new slogan I saw ‘This is not a protest, this is a process’. Now it seems bigger, better and it’s like a big happy family living in their own kind of society. Society where everyone’s just like you and me, but ones over there would never hurt your feelings or make you feel like you’re nothing. It’s like the hippies in the 80’s but modern. We are humans but lately everybody seemed to have forgotten how to behave like one. However, if you are passing near Finsbury Park, you can stop for a drink or have a chat with some kind protesters, or whatever you’re up to. I know it because I did it.

I had the chance to talk with some of the protesters while they were at St. Paul’s. One of them was in wheelchair and looked pretty bad. He asked me where am I coming from, where am I going to, etc, and then said that he could die soon in a very bad way. To be honest, I didn’t understood everything he said, but most of it - shocked me. Then I went to the Info tent in order to find a bit more and to ask some aside questions. Of course, I started with “How do you find the life around?” and the answer I received was “Not easy. Life here is not easy.” And it doesn’t looks like an easy one, not only for the protesters, but for everyone else as well (still it’s financial recession). I mean, beside the tourists, no one seemed to be happy. I didn’t saw a single smile though there were hundreds of pedestrians, may be even thousands. That made me a bit sad, because folks were too busy and have kind of forgotten their smiles, which should be one of the most important things in the world. However the protester was very nice with me as he was answering with enthusiasm. I asked him “What means the victory for you, Sir?” and he said “ The fact that you are standing here and asking questions, means that the object is completed. We want people to know about this, to educate them. You need to be introduced to an issue first in order to care about it.”  That answer satisfied me enough but I needed 

(figure 3 Protestign against: photo by D.Yungarev) some more opinions in order to be more objective on the topic which is Life within an earshot of a London Bell. So I asked the first stranger that came across, who was in shirt and tie “How would you describe briefly the life within an earshot of St. Paul’s bell?” and he said “ It’s quite interesting, busy, and everyone’s crazy. Everyone’s chasing his own career and there’s no place for mistake. Sorry but I am in kind of hurry, so take of yourself and good luck”.  Businessmen may have a decent vocabulary and behave very well, but you can’t expect a good story from them, because they are not the nicest people nowadays. Also they’re missing some honesty, to be honest. When a politician or businessmen talks to me I don’t trust a single word. I’m always trying to find the hidden clue, because they’re just simply not telling the truth to the people.

I questioned the same question some other guys, but they answered in familiar way. I went to a tourist in order to receive a different answer, but she didn’t seemed to be understanding at all. I don’t know if you’re aware of, but to enter the St. Paul’s Cathedral you have to pay an entrance fee around 12-14 pounds, but it was closed for visitors during the protest, so there is a financial side on the issue as well. However, it’s not religious question, but a humanistic one, why should I pay for visiting God’s place? I’m quite sure that if I could ask these questions to the almighty I’d definitely receive a different answer than the real one, wouldn’t I!

Figure 4 – Bicycle of a married protesters. Photo by D.Yungarev

The real rush is in the very morning, like 7-8 am, when everyone’s going to work, and it’s really hard to get by. The other rush hour (or peak) is around 4:30-6:30pm when everyone’s tired and is looking only how to get home quicker. So if you want bright opinion and ready for life businessmen you should be there early in the morning. I’m suffering from CGUFTB (can’t get up from the bed) so I was quite late and I had to run after the very few people passing in order to receive some answers. In front of St. Paul’s is always full with people but one can’t be sure whether or not he will get the right answers from the right people. I assume the need of some luck and I believe that I had it.

Later in the evening, when everyone was Im-going-home-finally mood, I could read on everyone faces that there’s something wrong with the world today. Again, nobody was happy. These people are producing, they’re businessmen, I agree that they’re supposed to be that serious, but at the end of the day, it’s all about being satisfied with yourself, with what you’ve accomplished, isn’t it? They’re making a real amount of money, risking a lot, predicting, etc, and million lifes are in their hands and minds, aren’t they one of the most important part of the today society? Today it’s all about making money, nothing else is that important. It’s like, if you’re not making enough money, you’re simply not allowed to have a normal life.

Figure 5 – The London Stock Exchange Group. Photo by D.Yungarev

That’s why I wanted to focus on business area and tried to describe the average London shirt and tie person.

Off topic - What I don’t like about the financial world is that we’re, kind of, depending on it. I mean, very few of us understand it, but everyone is involved somehow. Whether it will be by paying bills or getting a mortgage loan, it’s all the same. We’re living in a world controlled by the financial institutions. It’s up to us how we deal with it, but the more money you have, the better you feel. It’s all about the money. It doesn’t matter how you make them or what does it costs you, as long as there’s a need, you got to produce. The capitalism is the world’s best selling politics and whether you want or not, sooner rather than later you’ll start to play by its rules. That’s the way it is – you hear it from everyone, and even if you’re not happy, nobody gives a damn about you, because that’s the way it is. The only thing you can do is to accept it and live with it, no matter how hard doing is. It’s a cruel world, isn’t it? May be our only shot is to treat everyone the way we want they to treat us. It does sound impossible, doesn’t it? Everything’s changing in incredibly fast temps and it’s no longer easy to catch up with it. It’s like, we’re living for the banks and it takes, sometimes, more than lifetime to pay the loans and mortgages. Almost everybody lives on loan/credit. You spend most of your life working and you can’t even feel safe at home anymore. This is not good.

To be honest, tradition or not, it seems like no one hears the London bells anymore. They’re there, ringing at certain time, loud enough so everyone could hear it, but it don’t impress like decades ago. Only the very religious people probably smile when the bell rings. If you’re Iphone rings, it’ll impress more people. Sadly or not, the religion is not such a big thing around London. The London bells, however, are very important for the cockneys, because of the nursery rhymes and everything in their tradition, but their definitely not trending nowadays.