{"id":504,"date":"2016-10-19T12:09:35","date_gmt":"2016-10-19T12:09:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.fau.edu\/lifelongexchange\/?p=504"},"modified":"2016-10-19T12:09:35","modified_gmt":"2016-10-19T12:09:35","slug":"the-travel-siren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.fau.edu\/lifelongexchange\/2016\/10\/19\/the-travel-siren\/","title":{"rendered":"The Travel Siren"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"kmalone<\/a><\/p>\n

By Katie Muldoon<\/p>\n

Watching a film from another country can seduce you into beyond simply following a story.\u00a0 You can immerse yourself into another way of life, and for a time, draw in the essence of a different way of being, similar but wonderfully different from your own. International films, I believe, can, not unlike actual travel, allow added depth to a new experience.<\/p>\n

Before I lecture on a film, just like before I leave for a foreign country, I research the area hoping to find tidbits that add texture and authenticity to the visit.\u00a0 As a photographer, I \u201chunt\u201d for those out of the ordinary photos opportunities as these often have the story behind them.\u00a0 That is exactly what happened on our recent visit to Llandudno, Wales.<\/p>\n

Why was a large statue of the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland not just along the magnificent bayside promenade but also as part of the Wonderland grouping in a park at the foot of the Great Orme Mountain? Who would expect that this small resort town would have an Alice walking trail with key places of interest?\u00a0 Why Llandudno? Well, Alice Liddell, the inspiration for the famous book, has connections to Llandudno. Her family not only summered here, but her parents chose beautiful Llandudno for their honeymoon so she is critically important to the charming town.<\/p>\n

Just as interesting and another tie-in, Wales is where the long-fought Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) finally ended.\u00a0 There\u2019s an extensive, complicated story about that \u2013 just know that Richard III\u2019s reign ended and Henry VII married Elizabeth of York, uniting the two houses, ending that bloody war.\u00a0 Some feel that Through the Looking Glass was a sly echo of that Civil War between The House of York and The House of Lancaster, especially the part where the Red Queen commands the famous \u201dOff with his Head!\u201d referring to the captive Duke of York\u2019s head.<\/p>\n

One more thing about this fascinating town concerned World War I \u2013 the Great Orme which overlooks and connects the east and west bays around Llandudno didn\u2019t really look like a mountain to my eyes though many think of it as one.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of a big hill that played an essential role in WWI.\u00a0 At the very beginning of the war, planes flew over the mountain, heading, it turned out, to London and suddenly smoke and such were seen. It didn\u2019t take the Welsh long to realize that London had been bombed and to quickly get telegraph equipment to the top of their beautiful hill to do their bit to end all that nonsense.<\/p>\n

Even more, fathers and brothers quickly volunteered as one to serve in the war.\u00a0 Sadly, entire families were in the same trenches and were lost together.\u00a0 The promenade recognizes this slaughter with a handsome memorial made of red poppies, inspired by the WWI poem Flanders Field that honors all the many who died from this small town and around the world in WWI and other wars.<\/p>\n

Travel gives you an opportunity to delve into another world.\u00a0 But we have a similar chance here too. I love researching the backgrounds behind the international films at Lifelong Learning.\u00a0 Every film I teach has at least one story within the main story to unearth for the little known details that enhance and personalize the experience so that it becomes something memorable and truly educational.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Katie Muldoon Watching a film from another country can seduce you into beyond simply following a story.\u00a0 You can immerse yourself into another way of life, and for a time, draw in the essence of a different way of…<\/span><\/p>\n

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