Inspiration Station

Seeking Persephone

FictionTVMini Series

Mar 25 

Written By C.C.Christensen

The stories we tell ourselves

Introduction:

Unfortunately, I have not read the book yet. I have only seen the 4 part mini series. I will be talking about the themes I found to be interesting in the story. However if you’d like me to compare and contrast the original book let me know!

Seeking Persephone is a regency romance mini series about Persephone marrying a feared and reclusive duke to lift her family out of poverty. Through many trials, miscommunications, and peril they are eventually able to connect and truly fall in love. It is a simple yet very sweet story about a traumatized and gruff man learning to open up to a shy and anxious girl. 

What’s Inspiring about Seeking Persephone?

It is a simple series that, according to my friends, is a very faithful adaptation of the book (minus the scar on Adam’s face). The actors did a fantastic job portraying their characters and embodying their struggles. I found it to be heart warming.

The message I found to be the most inspiring though is the idea of how we can change the stories we tell ourselves to help us overcome the challenges we face in life. This story beautifully demonstrates the repetitive and long process it takes to change the stories we tell ourselves. I think that it is touching and beautiful.

From the very beginning of the series our leading lady compares herself to Persephone from the myth of Hades and Persephone. This leads Adam to compare himself to the myth as well; and they spend the movie going back and forth defining themselves by this myth.

In the myth Hades wants a wife and is given permission by Zeus to marry Persephone. Knowing that Demeter, Persephone’s mother, will be against such a marriage Hades kidnaps Persephone and takes her to his kingdom in the underworld. After a ton of arguing and holding the seasons hostage Persephone is allowed to return to the surface to be with her mother. With the twist that because she ate four pomegranate seeds she has to return to Hades for four months of the year. Thus explaining the Greek seasonal cycle.

Our protagonist Persephone relates to this myth as she sees marrying Adam as sacrificing herself so her family can be financially stable. Adam hears of this comparison and struggles with seeing himself as Hades the captor of Persephone. But slowly as they come to know each other and with the support of their, definitely not gay, friend Harry they are able to slowly rewrite the myth of Hades and Persephone to match their own lives and desires so they can be happy together. 

Final thoughts:

I think that this is a very touching story. Simple and straight forward but a good romance story. I am personally not a romance fan but I found the messaging in this one to be uniquely framed and compelling. Yes, we can change the stories we tell ourselves. We can change our lives, we can face our trauma, and we can be happy. Seeking Persephone is an inspiring story about stories and if you’re a fan of regency romance I think that you should check it out! 

Donald Crews’ Children’s Book

Introduction:

I grew up with this book and I thought that it was the coolest thing in the world. I was obsessed with trains as a child, having grown up right next to some railroad tracks. Every night, a Union Pacific Railroad deiseal engine would pass though the town and blow its horn. It became the sound of home and comfort for me. “Freight Train” helped me understand and identify the different cars that the trains where pulling. With the bright colors and simple designs; I remember pouring over this book again and again.

My Library’s copy of Donald Crew’s 1978 children’s book “Freight Train”

What’s Inspiration About Donald Crews’ Freight Train:

It is inspiring how simple it is.

Being a graphic designer, my job is to communicate information visually in the simplest, cleanest, way possible. This book does that with the concept of a train in the best way imaginable. I have no notes for this book. It is perfect in the execution of it purpose. Everything is intentional and visually communicated clearly. I want to be able to be this good when I grow up.

I knew when I made this blog that I wanted vectors of steam engines. I had a foggy recollection of this book and knew that it would be a great starting point. However, I couldn’t remember what it was called or who wrote it so I begin searching my local library’s website. It took a while but I found it, as the very last search item on the very last page. I was so grateful to have found it but also astonished at how old it was.

Taking Inspiration from Donald Crews

Now I imagine you can see why I decided to call this blog Inspiration Station. Having grown up loving trains and needing a good framing device to represent a bunch of ideas and stories intersecting, making this blog a train station felt like a good fit.

That is why I was so happy to take inspiration from the designs to make my little vectors that decorate this site.

There are five different variations of the trains I placed throughout the blog.

Go ahead and see if you can find them all.

Download my custom font for free here

Click Here to see what inspired the library car

Final Thoughts:

Never disregard children’s authors or artists. They might be some of the best communicators out there. Those who truly know something teach it. Those who can clearly inspire and teach children how to understand something are even better.

That is why I love Donald Crews’ book “Freight Train” because it is a prefect colored distillation of what a steam train is. Masterfully drawn and communicated in a beautiful way.

People always say that the book is better than the movie. This I find to be generally true; books often have more detail and the added benefit of being inside of a character’s head explicitly giving us a play by play of what they feel and why they make the decisions that they do. Project Hail Mary is the same in this respect. The book has more details and you come to know Dr. Grace much better by virtue of being in his brain. However, you should absolutely watch the movie with Ryan Gosling. He does an excellent job portraying Grace and his struggles.

Dr. Grace struggling during a space walk. What’s Inspiring about the Movie Project Hail Mary? Starting with the main character Dr. Grace. He has a Doctorate in Zenobiology but was laughed out of academia because of his criticisms of the idea that life needs water to develop. He now teaches middle school science and loves it. Throughout the book he is rediscovering who he is and why he is in space being tasked with saving the earth.

Ryan Gosling does an amazing job showing Grace’s anxiety and difficulties with being tasked with a mission that he feels absolutely unprepared for. It’s a wild and bizarre situation to find yourself in. However, being a scientist, Grace manages to solve most every problem thrown his way. It is one of the things that I adore about the book. While it can feel a bit dense at times it really dives into the potential science of it all and walks you through Grace's reasoning and problem solving so that you feel like you are part of the story. Next to Rocky, it is my favorite part of the book.

Dr. Grace in the pilots seat of the space ship “Hail Mary” The movie leaves the step by step problem solving out though. Which makes sense, it would slow down the pace of the movie dramatically and as amazing as movies are you don’t get a direct viewpoint into a character’s head. The movie, however, is gorgeous. The visuals, the colors, the set that works in two different orientations as well as a place for puppetry and zero gravity wires is incredible.

I was astonished at how well they were able to shoot and move everything in the fully practical set. I loved how they depicted the centrifuge working. The way they constructed it rotating and how it could work in two different environments was incredible! The puppetry of Rocky was awesome as well! I love how they adapted Rocky and made him much cuter for the film. It is so awesome that you can tell how much love and work went into making this movie. Ryan Gosling on set with the puppet Rocky. Final thoughts They did a lot of amazing things in adapting Hail Mary from the page to the screen. I was so very impressed and I don’t think that they could’ve done a better job adapting it. From the sets to the story it was perfect. I highly recommend checking out the book if you liked the movie and vice versa. It is such a good and hopeful movie.

This book has many parts that are redacted to protect the public at large, as does this review. Similar to the online writers project the SCP foundation‍ and the novel The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, ‍There is No Anti-Memetics Division by QNTM is ———————————-—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— I love how it portrays ideas, how they can jump from person to person, and how they are unavoidable. I also love how it really shows you the horror of forgetting; not being able to remember what is important to you. Go Read This Book! It does an excellent job at cosmic horror & is genuinely worth the read!

This series started out as a simple premise; what if magical girls, but evil. However Madoka Magica has turned this story into so much more than that. They managed to create a truly amazing character study on grief, love, hope, and obsession. With genius cinematography, mixed media animation, and writing this blows most other stories out of the water with the emotional impact they are able to deliver to their audience. 

It is a franchise I cannot talk about without spoiling so there will be a huge spoiler warning! 

The best thing I can do is to recommend that you go watch it! The less you know about it when you start the better. I promise that it is definitely worth your time!

Manga adaptation cover

What’s Inspiring about Madoka Magica mini series and its sequel movie Rebellion?:

Everything is crafted with care to be wholesome yet unsettling. How it is able to pull this off is by giving the characters we meet deep motivations that drive their actions. While creating uncertainty by keeping extremely relevant information from us and the characters but hinting at it in every scene. Just something not adding up or an odd look or something eerie. It is immaculate because you come to understand the five main girls and their motivations perfectly while being horrified and shocked at the extremely relevant details that were being hidden from us in the beginning. What an expert level of craftsmanship to pull off this feeling of dread and ecstasy. A show that is good at keeping its secrets until the perfect moment and it NEVER feels contrived. It earns every single step. 

On top of masterful storytelling Madoka Magica also delivers on peak animation. It switches styles, color pallets, mediums, and so much more. There is so much genius art and composition decisions in this show that I could just gush over for hours. Like you just have to see it to believe it. The animation also just keeps on getting better and better as time goes on. So the next movie is sure to also be stunning.

I haven’t even talked about the fight choreography and how they work to make sure each character’s fighting style and powers are perfectly represented.

Go watch this show… Please.

If you want to read my Spolier thoughts go to visit:

How capture the essence of a genre

Introduction

What is a pirate?

This is a question that the Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy answers with bombastic confidence. The film trilogy I am sharing with you today comprises: Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, & At Worlds End. They set out to do one thing and one thing only. To make a film based on a Disney Parks ride to make more money. Admittedly they succeed; but they did so because during the creation of these films they were only focused on having fun!

What’s Inspiring about the Pirates Trilogy? 

What’s inspiring is that they fully embraced what a pirate story its. Its swash buckling, its magic curses on sailors, dirty sailors, and the pull between the law, and the outlaw. What works so amazingly about the Pirates of the Caribbean is just how willing they are to be messy. Dirty the actors up (granted they make Will & Elizabeth look very attractive no matter how disheveled or muddy they get) and go to new islands. 

It is incredible how 20 years ago how amenable studios were to moving their whole production to new locations. Building these amazing sets and putting the actors in these new places really does sell the premise of the story and make it all the more immersive. This is why these movies, despite their flaws, are still so breathtaking to watch.

This passion is carried over to the music, the choreography, special effects, cinematography, and writing of the film as well. Minor characters get the chance to shine and almost every part of the movie is filled to the brim with the fun that this crew had putting it all together. Its just so much fun to watch!

Surprisingly the trilogy is told through the perspective of Elizabeth Swan. She is the protagonist of this story. While Will Turner & Jack Sparrow take up much of the spotlight in later movies Elizabeth Swan is the driving force behind everything that happens in these movies. From stealing her first coin to becoming Pirate Queen each of her decisions is pivotal and advances this adventure forward at a neck breaking pace.

The fact that the center point of this plot is a woman making her way through a male dominated profession is so satisfying. She is clever, quick witted, & an excellent fighter. While I could do without every male lead falling in love with her, it's par for the course in romantasy & power-fantasies so I can forgive it. Elizabeth Swan is my favorite fictional pirate and doing a character study on her is so much fun.

The thing that stood out to me most though about my most recent watch through was how much fun this trilogy had with its own characters and lore. The two sequels knew how much people loved The Curse of the Black Pearl and made sure to pay homage to it while still driving all of the characters along interesting narratives. The ability for all of these films to connect so seamlessly and introduce so many compelling characters is amazing. It is not often that you get villains in a story that are just as beloved as the heroes. A lesson that can be taken to heart.

Final thoughts

It is not often that a movie comes along that defines a genre but when you think of pirates the first thing that pops into our cultural consciousness is Pirates of the Caribbean. They were able to take a premise that felt a bit goofy at the time and raise it to pop culture awareness with awesome film making and adventure. This trilogy is a lesson in fully embracing a premise and having fun with it. So, the lesson from Pirates, just have fun with it!

Introduction

The Boxcar Librarian by Brianna Labuskes is a historical fiction book inspired by the events that happened in the wild west of Montana in the 1910s and 1930s. The book follows three protagonists; Colette, Alice, & Millie whose stories start in different eras. Colette’s story starts in the 1910s with her father as the miners in Montana fight the copper kings for workers rights. Alice’s story starts in the 1920s as she is fighting to open a boxcar library in Missoula Montana to provide those miners with books. Lastly, Millie’s story starts in the 1930s as a writer of the Federal Writers Project journeying to Montana to help finish the American Guide Series. 

Brianna Labuskes does a wonderful job tying these three eras together into one tightly woven narrative. It is full of intrigue, drama, and good old adventure. All while showing us how books offer us a way to connect to each other and can be a guiding light for people who are depressed and need it most.

What’s Inspiring? 

There are many things to love about this story. Brianna Labuskes does an amazing job at making her readers truly feel and understand the world that Millie, Alice, and Colette live in. Her amazing eye for detail and research are on full display as she describes 1930s Montana and the struggles of the miners there. As well as the challenges that real writers and librarians had to overcome in that era. Labuskes beautifully weaves together all of these details from her research to give our three protagonists, and the world they live in, so much depth.

All of these characters feel like librarians. They feel like people who know books, who know the power of their stories, and know what stories will speak to individuals the best. These characters are written in such a way that makes you believe that they are experts in their fields, and we love competent characters.

The end of this book leaves you with the direct message that the world won’t change without intervention. Evil people will do evil things. The best way to combat that is to take an active role in spreading knowledge and understanding; To fight for those we care about and who need a helping hand. 

One of the most impressive things about this book is that it is able to show three different ways that you can do this. Colette, Alice, and Millie all teach us, in their own unique way, that it is worth it to care and that evil isn’t inevitable. That’s awesome. Good people doing what they can where they can is what makes the difference; that’s a message I think we could all use more of today. 

Final thoughts

The awe inspiring historical authenticity of this story is so impressive. From Missoula's real-life Boxcar Library, Montana's miners strikes and fights with the Pinkertons, and the very real impact and politics of FDR's New Deal. By weaving these events into one coherent narrative Labuskes manages to tell a riveting story of how books inspire us, connect us, help us envision a better world, and better understand ourselves.

That is what is so inspiring about this book; the message that people matter, community matters, and you matter. Everyone deserves to be cared for and thought about, and that is a message we see repeated over and over again in this story.

So, if you haven't read it, this book is well worth the time in my opinion. Not only will you get a wonderful western, you’ll also get a fun history lesson, and three profound messages of resilience, exploration, and trust. 

Thank you for reading!

I’ll see you at the next stop!