Hannibal: A Sophisticated And Sadomasochistic Ride

January 20, 2019

Original Post Date: 07.24.16

This is not a TV Show review but a tale of my experience watching HANNIBAL (2013-2015) Season 1, 2, and 3. There will be spoilers (spoilers!).

My journey with HANNIBAL began by accident in September of last year. I had a good chunk of time to kill before my gym class began and, lucky me, downstairs Crunch Fitness was Barnes & Noble so I went to the bookstore and perused aimlessly until a white book from the New Arrivals section caught my eye. This was the book:

It was a bloodied heart served on a plate. It said The Art and Making of HANNIBAL the Television Series.

I knew about the Hannibal Lecter movie, more specifically, I knew about the 1991 movie Silence of the Lambs, but I had no idea there was a TV show about it. Confused, I opened the book and my eyes got bombarded by excess of color, and elegant food settings, and dead bodies, and death scenes, and what was I looking at!? Still confused, I looked at my watch and realized the class was about to start so I rapidly put the book down and went upstairs and forgot about it… until the next day when I returned to buy it.

I was not interested about the show per se, all I wanted to see was the art juxtaposing life and death, as well as the behind the scenes content. So that was September. December came and as a Christmas present to myself I got the entire dvd collection for the TV series, all three seasons. I was now really interested.

I watched a couple of episodes from Season 1 and my mind was immediately blown away. The whole thing was like a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, I got distracted by ‘life stuff’ and had to put away the dvd’s… until this July when my husband and I sat our asses down and devoured the entire series.

Oh man, oh man! Season 1 and 2 killed it SO HARD! That was good television! The interactions, the plots, the twists, the characters, the deaths, the feasts, Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham, the whole enchilada! My favorite scene from the last episode of Season 2 was when Hannibal, after having stabbed Will in the stomach, said to him “I have let you know me. See me. I gave you a rare gift… [pause]… but you didn’t want it” to what Will replied while still bleeding on the floor “Didn’t I?”

Season 3 was a bit slow for my taste but the ending was sublime:

When Hannibal, Will, and the Great Red Dragon were fighting at a courtyard overlooking a cliff at nighttime, Hannibal and Will locked eyes [as lovers finally recognizing each other] and proceeded to join forces and together attacked the Great Red Dragon [as lovers finally consummating], and when they killed him Hannibal said to Will “See? This is all I ever wanted for you, Will… [long pause]… for both of us” to what Will replied while looking around “It’s beautiful” and embraced in an honest hug [as lovers finally surrendering to their destructive love], before Will threw himself and Hannibal—while still holding each other—over the cliff [as lovers finally accepting it was not meant to be].

I cried. I cried with big tears coming down my face while holding my husband’s hand. Impossible love stories break my heart. Human emotions are too real for me, even if portrayed by fictional characters.

So, Hannnibal, Will, thank you for the elegant, intellectual, breathtaking, sadomasochistic ride. It will not be forgotten.

—Marath

Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN

January 20, 2019

Original Post Date: 07.08.16

This is not a book review. This is a casual and honest tale on my reading experience of FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley. There will be spoilers, so please proceed at your own discretion.

Here we go.

A few months ago I visited The Last Bookstore in Downtown L.A. as I had heard it was a magical place. Well, I’m not sure about the “magical” part but let me tell you there was a very impressive Horror Vault to which, just like moths to a flame, I was immediately pulled into. Once inside, I made a full 360 and a single item caught my eye – a blue book whose gorgeous art cover was begging to be grabbed. It was the handsome face of the classic Frankenstein’s Monster. I bought the book solely due to its external beauty. I went home and placed the blue book on top of my bookshelf and forgot about it.

Now, this is where it all really begins.

The book FRANKENSTEIN or The Modern Prometheus was written in 1818 by Mary Shelley. Needless to say some of the words used back then are now considered archaic, so for me it was a lot of pausing the reading when I didn’t know the meaning of a word, looking for it on the dictionary, and re-reading the paragraph. Thanks to Mary Shelley now I know fifty-three new words.

What can I tell you man, the book was GRAND! And I strongly think that my feelings towards it got directly affected by my love for the movie Frankenstein (1931), as well as Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Now, having read the book I can tell you, without joking around, that neither movie follows much of Mary Shelley’s text.

Victor Frankenstein broke my heart. He lived his life tormented by his creation, the ‘wretched’ monster. Victor was a fighter and even though he was almost always on the verge of death due to illness (debilitating nerves), he never gave up not even when everyone he loved was getting killed by the monster’s revenge.

And the monster (oh, the monster), believe it or not, had a gentle soul just like us, well, before it was polluted by hatred and revenge after being rejected by his protectees aka the villagers he was inconspicuously looking after, and diligently learning from. This next passage made me misty-eyed while reading it during lunch break at work:

“I had not a moment to lose, but, seizing the hand of the old man, I cried, “Now is the time! Save and protect me!” – The monster

The monster was so afraid to come out to the world. He had lived in seclusion for so long while he learned how to behave like a human, how to speak like a human, and in the end, he craved to be loved like a human. But he got rejected by the humans, in a very violent way nonetheless, due to his frightful looks. So he went away and searched for his creator, Victor Frankenstein, to request he made him a mate who would not reject him for his looks because she would also be hideous looking. But Victor knew better and refused, deciding to live with the consequences of his denial.

While reading Mary Shelley’s story I could not choose sides. I empathized with both Victor and the monster but for different reasons and each had disadvantages –the former got greedy and lost everything; the latter succumbed to violence and lost as well. I guess I would have to say that after finishing he whole story and reflecting on it, I would choose Victor as my main guy. He never gave up and that I applaud.

Even thought my time with the book has ended I still feel the emotional connection with the characters. I don’t know how to eloquently put it into words, but the raw emotions and the ups and downs took a toll on me. (Wow, I sounded like Victor.)

As for my precious blue book, it is time it goes back to its rightful place on top of my bookshelf, where it will look as pretty as the first time I laid eyes on it at the Horror Vault.

- Marath

Hey girl, it’s me, Marath

January 19, 2019

I wanted to stop by and officially welcome you to my new website, marathMARATH.com. That’s right, I terminated my relationship with tumblr due to my being unhappy with their update from December 2018 because, unfortunately, my gory horror movie content got blocked for being… too graphic? Surprisingly enough, I have no hard feelings toward the company even though they pretty much forced me out and I had to start over and move all my posts to this my new home. I spent two and a half happy gory years with them while they allowed me to exercise my freedom of speech in their community, but once the freedom left, I had to follow suit.

So yes, this is the same old me but in a nicer new place.

In order to celebrate marathMARATH.com, I would like to share with you some facts about me because life is good and I am grateful to have you here. Ready? Let’s begin:

My one true passion is Horror and it keeps me sane and happy
I consider Sinister (2012) as one of the greatest horror movies of this decade, and yes, it is my favorite movie as of today
I am bilingual (Español/English)
I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs
I take my coffee with one cream, no sugar
I enjoy reading fiction and non-fiction books, but I am super selective about them
I consider the 1818 book "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley as one of the greatest horror novels ever written
Paul Auster’s "In the Country of Last Things" is my favorite novel and have re-read it multiple, multiple times
I have seen Björk live in concert twice which is, let’s face it, a really big deal
My favorite place to visit is The Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach, California (above pictures)
I value originality, honesty, integrity, kindness, respect, and hard work in all aspects of life, including on social media
The one life lesson I have learned is this: if something matters to you, it matters, and it is your responsibility to see it come to fruition (in my case, it is Horror)

In Love and Fear,

—Marath