A Stormy Story

Tim Minchin’s Storm

Animated video about 10 minutes long

0:00-:20 – Tim explains the scene. Where the story begins and where the story takes place. All white flat. “White walls, white carpet, white cat.” He says it’s in North London. It appears to be storming as well. As it often does so in that area. This short animated film was premiered on October 17, 2010 and according to the Washington Post, the weather in the Washington area was quite stormy. The video only became available on YouTube in 2011. Its views are reaching over 1.5 million thus leading to another collaboration between cast members.

:20-:28 – He explains the who. The flat belongs to a physician with an actress girlfriend. The girlfriend is his connection to the place. His wife and he know this woman.

:28-:32 – He states that they are here for the expected fun and dinner.

:33-1:00 – He introduces the fifth guest. He explains here origin but doesn’t care for the exact reason for her connection to the other guests or how she has come to be at the same dinner party. Minchin is from Australia but moved to London and currently resides there himself.  At first, he is surprised by her beauty but then quickly becomes “weary” for he has discovered a signal that hints to the kind of person she might be.

1:00-1:14 – Everything is given away when he notices her fairy tattoo, when she says she’s a Sagittarian and that her name is… Storm. She is now “pigeon-holed” into a character that he cannot agree with. According to some experts a fairy tattoo can mean different things. “[Fairies] are magical creatures who can be enormously helpful or incredibly destructive.” And according to her horoscope as a woman it may be noted that “The society and its norms do not matter to her. She can never be the hypocrite that some people are and tend to wiggle a few tongues.”

1:15-1:24 – Dinner conversation begins and Storm says, “you can’t know anything. Knowledge is only opinion.” According to the Bible, “A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.” I would say this is a fair application… At least for Tim’s argument.

1:25-2:17 – Drinking continues with conversation. Medical topics are discussed and Storm says, “The body is a mystery. Science falls in a hole when trying to explain the nature of the soul.” A Greek philosopher was the first to purport that a soul is made of some type of matter. For centuries, experiments have been conducted to use science to prove that man has a soul. In 1901, Dr. MacDougall conducted an experiment in which it was concluded that the human soul weighs 21 grams.

2:18-2:26 – Tim explains that his usual self would happily go off on a rant at this point but he is discouraged by the wife and girlfriend.

2:27-2:38 – He makes the analogy that the group is on a vessel. He doesn’t want to explode and rock the boat but Storm is causing a metaphorical storm. Ever heard of the movie The Perfect Storm? Why would any storm in any story be any different? All metaphorical storms have to be perfect otherwise, the purpose of the storm would be wasted. It serves a point and usually the most prominent point of any tale.

2:39-2:50 – Storm explains her take on pharmaceutical companies; That they are responsible for America’s drug dependency. “They are immoral and driven by greed.” All we need is natural remedies. Again, there is a reference made to mortality or spirituality. This is a reoccurring point the woman uses to steer her vessel in this arbitrary war of words.

2:51-2:59 – “Natural Medical Alternatives” What are some popular natural alternatives you ask? Well, it may be no surprise to you, but humans have used herbs as a means to cure a multitude aliments; Namely, marijuana or other naturally occurring organisms with psychedelic properties. However, it is no surprise that America is still fighting its longest war; the war on drugs. Unfortunately for natural medicine advocates like Storm, many of the most beneficial and easily available drugs are illegal. Not only are they illegal, they are enforced to a degree that costs our nation over a trillion dollars. No research has been conducted to “prove” the effectiveness of such drugs for illness. Hmmm…. Wonder why we don’t have the money for such research?

2:60-3:40 – Says he’s taken medicine prove to work made from willow bark called… Aspirin. Despite the numerous known harmful side effects of Aspirin, it is in the top three most commonly used over the counter drugs.

3:41-3:60 – Strom says that science is the way we are trained to look at reality. It doesn’t explain love or spirituality.

3:61-4:05 – Psychics, auras, the after-life, the power of prayer

4:06-4:13 – “like a rabbit suddenly trapped by the blinding headlights of vacuous crap”

4:14-4:24 – He can be hold back no more and prepares to unleash on Storm

4:25-4:37 – “These people aren’t applying a skill, they’re either lying or they’re mentally ill” I think that his point is flawed. If these people, who are either lying or mentally ill, are capable of making us believe in their service or ability then they obviously are very god at applying a skill. Perhaps it’s not the skill we are paying or looking for.

4:38-4:49 – “Why do we pretend that it’s okay for pretend like they can talk to the dead?” Is our need to believe so great that we allow ourselves or our conscious thoughts to be sold at a given price. Say $100 per hour for a psychic reading?

4:50-5:05 – “Do we actually think that Horton heard a Who?”  This may be a reference to children and the child-like qualities that we all still retain even as an adult. We are enticed by the thought of magic or the idea that there is no rational explanation. Could we all be on the same level of knowledge?; Where no one is superior to another based on his “rational” thoughts.

5:06-5:19 – Makes mention of Michael Jackson and John Edward. Maybe we should ask John Edward to communicate with Michael now. What would he say? Would we listen?

5:20-5:37 – “Your faith in science and test is just as blind as any faith of a fundamentalist”

5:38-5:50 – “Science adjusts its views based on what’s observed.”  Although science was Albert Einstein’s greatest known subject of discovery, he emphasized the unparalleled importance of imagination. It is the imagination that propels one to make discoveries. We tend to take scientific discoveries for granted and blindly accept them as truth. This causes us all to become lazy and unenthusiastic about discovery or advancement. If we learned anything from Einstein, I would bet that he would hope it was more on the side of imagination and curiosity rather than applying his scientific methods.

5:51- 5:54 – “Faith is the denial of observation so that faith can be preserved.” Is this why the papyrus that suggests Jesus may have had a wife is only now being discovered and presented? Makes you wonder what else is out there, what other shreds of evidence exist and are just waiting to be accounted for.

5:55- 6:00- Show me that homeopathy works. We need the MONEY for research!

6:01-6:46 – No answers will be found by people standing around observing how mysterious everything appears. Albert Einstein would agree.

6:47-6:49 – Oprah interview Deepak Chopra. Deepak is actually a physician and has taught in many medical schools.

6:50-7:07 – Makes point that Scooby Doo was a good show because it proved that everything wasn’t just a mystery. If you look into any mystery enough, you’ll discover the truth. In the theme song for Scooby-Doo it is said “we’ve got some work to do now” which implies that the path to discovery and understanding requires work. How enlightening! Who would have thought?

7:08-7:14 – “Every mystery ever solved in history has turned out to be… not magic.”

7:15-7:19 – “Does the idea that there might be knowledge frighten you?”

7:20-8:00 – “isn’t this enough?” Our universe should hold our attention. We diminish it with cheap man-made myths and monsters. There is so much to be discovered in our own real and natural universe that we should be happy to use every inch and shred of matter to make discoveries. We don’t need to create crap to entertain or inspire us.

8:01-8:50 – “I am a tiny insignificant, ignorant bit of carbon. I have one life and it is short and unimportant.” Religious reference?

8:51-9:22 – He explains that thanks to scientific advances, we can live much longer now

9:23-9:37 – He knows he probably hasn’t even changed her mind.