movies with movement

Travel for Travel’s Sake

by Ekua on February 6, 2012 · 4 comments in backpacking,general travel,movies with movement,why i travel

If you follow my blog regularly, you may have realized that I have a penchant for the journey aspect of travel — all the things you see and experience while moving from one point to another. The points might be what have attracted me to a place, but I love the discovery — self or cultural — that occurs in the process of getting there.

The internet is saturated with short travel videos that focus on the said points, many of them full of beautiful image after beautiful image, many of them in time lapse form. But when it comes to actual travel, how honest are these videos? So much of travel is the movement; the in betweens are often the meat of it.

One of the first things that struck me about this video was how much watching it felt like travel feels for me. Sometimes it’s sublime moments in beautiful famous places, but much of it is exploring a new place propelled by my own feet and the unique people you meet along the way and sometimes being crowded in a boat with other tourists who signed up for the same thing and adjusting to another country’s way of moving about and looking at the world through a dirty window and seeing it for what it is, but still finding beauty in it and in the process of moving.

And then the last stretch, that bittersweet, wistful, exalted arrival at home; not always choreographed to such gorgeous melodies in the background, but a gorgeous moment, nevertheless.

Life, In Between by J. William Young.

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson

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Songs for the Road No. 14: Discovering Afro-Brazil Through Banda Didá, An All Female Drumming Ensemble

by Ekua on November 8, 2011 · 6 comments in Brazil,female travel,inspiring adventurous people,movies with movement,race/culture/identity,songs for the road,why i travel

When I look back at the time I spent volunteering in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil in 2006, it seems so natural, so inevitable that I would end up in there at some point in my life. I often forget about what drew me to it in the first place: Banda Didá, an all female drumming ensemble that is based there. Before learning about that group, I hadn’t even heard of Salvador, an Afro-Brazilian city in the northeastern part of the country.

Music as it pertains to social movements or social justice has always been a topic of interest for me. When I came across a documentary called Girl Beat: Power of the Drum, I was automatically drawn by the synopsis. It highlighted the Banda Didá organization and the work it did to empower females of African descent in Salvador.

Banda Didá was powerful. I couldn’t believe this group of women whose hands and arms pounded out the rage of the remnants of European enslavement to the beats of West Africa. At the same time, their bodies moved fluidly and rhythmically and their faces beamed with pride in their heritage.

The documentary revealed another world, one that I had not yet been privy to, but in which I felt I likely belonged: Afro-Latin culture. In mainstream grade school education in the United States, the fact that Africans were enslaved in many other parts of the Americas is often ignored. The vivacious modern cultures of Latin America and the African influence on many of them is often overlooked. At that point in my life, I was vaguely aware of Afro-Latin America, but that was the first time I’d seen it so tangibly.

As the daughter of immigrants from a small West African country, I’d grown up on the periphery of belonging. I’d accepted that position at that point. But Salvador da Bahia seemed like a place where the distinct mix of cultures that went into my creation was very much the norm in a very visible way. And sure enough, it was.

There’s a bit of drumming at the beginning of this, but skip to 1:00 for the good stuff. Those drums are heavy, and these women make dancing with one attached to your hips look easy.

I saw Banda Didá for the first time in person just a few days after I arrived in Brazil. Every Tuesday night from August until Carnival, they have a big party in Pelourinho, Salvador’s historic center. They call it a “rehearsal” for Carnival and it’s an insanely fun night of government sanctioned partying. There are concerts, street food and drinks, and baterias (drumming ensembles) marching down the cobblestone streets.

A drum circle with an intrinsic sense of spirit and all kinds of soul.

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Take Me Back to Old Havana

by Ekua on June 4, 2011 · 6 comments in Cuba,movies with movement

I recently came across this wonderfully honest and beautiful video of scenes from Old Havana. It unexpectedly made me feel like I was in Havana again. It captures what a visit to the city is all about. The main thing to see there is everyday living as is — the resourcefulness and creative solutions, lots of people spending lots of time observing the same things they see everyday, the prominent mellowness and seriousness that sometimes is what it is but can also belie spirited living, the unique characters that isolation develops… some of the things that make it impossible to compare Cuba with anywhere else, some of the elements of Cuba that make it so strange and so enticing.

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Wanderful Words No. 22: A Map for Saturday

by Ekua on May 11, 2010 · 4 comments in backpacking,movies with movement,solo travel,wanderful words

Turistas. Hostel. The Beach. These are all examples of Hollywood’s poor representations of traveling with a budget and a backpack. So it was refreshing to finally watch A Map for Saturday, a documentary by Brook Silva-Braga that takes a realistic look into the world of long term solo backpacking.

While my month-or-sos away would not be considered long term by non-U.S. citizens who go away for longer, I found that I could relate to most of the content in the movie—the initial loneliness, learning how to meet people, settling into the coming and going, traveler’s guilt and what it’s like when you have to go home. Throughout the film, I felt like I was reliving many of the emotions I’ve had abroad.

There were moments where I thought the movie was a little vapid. I think this stemmed from my wanting there to be more of an underlying story or a unique angle. Something more edgy and captivating than following yet another advantaged young person on the road. But all in all,  it’s a solid backpacking documentary full of inspirational tidbits. I’d recommend it for any past or potential backpackers.

As the film began, a traveler being interviewed by Silva-Braga supplied this quote about one of the most profound transformations traveling lightly and cheaply can instigate:

“When you have everything on your back, material goods don’t mean as much as they used to. That’s something you take with you for the rest of your life.”

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8 Shows Travelers Don’t Have to Feel Guilty About Watching

by Ekua on March 23, 2010 · 4 comments in general travel,listastic,movies with movement

I was pretty excited to catch the new show, Life, on the Discovery Channel on Sunday night. Two episodes in, I don’t think it attains the splendor of Planet Earth quite yet, but it’s one more show that demonstrates the informative and positive side of television.

With all of the educational potential it has, I wish television didn’t have such a bad reputation. Junky and exploitative shows seem to hog the attention but TV is not (yet) completely full of gibberish. So I want to illuminate some thought-provoking series I’ve come across. I realize that I live in an area with several PBS stations and many of the documentary series I’ve listed below may not be available everywhere. But if you click on the links, you’ll find that some of the shows can be watched online or are available on DVD.

Globe Trekker

Globe Trekker was the first travel show I ever got hooked on back in the day when it was called “Lonely Planet”. (I was that strange kid who hated Dawson’s Creek and preferred to watch the Travel Channel.) Globe Trekker concentrates on a down to earth travel style and is more purely about travel than any other travel show I’ve seen. It’s not shown on the Travel Channel anymore, but can be found on PBS stations.

AfroPop

AfroPop is a PBS documentary series that focuses on contemporary Africa and the African Diaspora. Labeling itself as the “ultimate cultural exchange,” many documentaries in this series present reflections on interactions between clashing cultures or viewpoints.

Voces

Voces is another documentary series aired on PBS stations and it focuses on Latino culture. While the documentaries series often have undertones of social justice, this series tends to be less abstract and more historical than those of the AfroPop series.

Story of India

This is a six part documentary that examines the history and current events of the fascinating country of India. The wonderful cinematography and the enthusiastic host, Michael Wood, are equally engaging. Because the series covers a lot of history in a relatively short amount of time, it doesn’t go into the smaller details of certain events. But for those of us who have never studied India, it is an enlightening overview of the country.

Roadtrip Nation

In this documentary series, young people who are figuring out what they want to do in life are sent on a road trip through another country. The participants drive a van or RV and visit people who have achieved success in unique and/or creative fields. They interview these people about how they got to where they are and try to see where the advice can fit into their own lives.

No Reservations

This show is pretty much a given on this list. I’ve written about my passion for No Reservations before. I don’t always love Anthony’s take on each country, but I like how he tries to approach his destinations from a unique angle. And I know I will be entertained by each episode. And beyond Anthony’s apparent passion for travel, I love that he gives voice to the often misunderstood area between cynicism and awe of life’s hope and wonder.

Sound Tracks: Music Without Borders

So far only a pilot episode of this show has aired, but I hear that a six part series will be developed and aired next year. There are many documentaries out there that cover a music of a specific region, but I haven’t seen a series like this that focuses solely on music around the world. And as I world music lover, I am stoked to see more of this series.

Planet Earth/Life

I know these are two “different” series, but I haven’t seen enough of the show Life yet. What I find more appealing about Planet Earth (so far) is that it covers a broader range of species and their interactions. Life seems to focus more on animals which can become a bit stagnant. But in that stagnancy is a nice reminder that animals really are all the same. And because it showcases some animals not covered in Planet Earth, I will continue to watch it as much as possible.

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