Fences

Robert Frost wrote a funny poem, titled "Mending Wall." People associate Frost with the saying "Good fences make good neighbours," but this poem's actually a criticism of fences and walls.  It's about Frost and his neighbour going through their spring ritual of walking along the stone wall between their properties and trying to restore the stones that have been falling away. ("Stay, until our backs are turned!") It has the line, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall, that wants it down."

I've never fenced, but I love this Japanese cartoon Revolutionary Girl Utena.  Utena is a tomboyish girl in a fancy private school who ends up in swordfights with kids on the Student Council, and the winner gets "engaged" to the Rose Bride, an East Indian girl called Anthy.  I like the show's whole look, reflecting Japan in the early years of the 20th century when the Japanese elite got superficially westernized in their clothes and such.

When Utena gets engaged to Anthy, of course there are lesbian overtones.  The whole show is very gay.  One of my favorite parts is just before the duels when the Shadow Girls appear and tell a story.  I'm straight, and even I can see how gay that is!  And there's a great cast of supporting characters, like Utena's "civilian" friend Wakaba and the Student Council Presidents' bitchy little sister Nanami.  I also like the eclectic music.

The ending of the last episode brings to mind the ending of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.