Night #24 - "The theme I've been waiting for all my life!"

The quote is from A Christmas Story, in case any of my loyal readers has been living under a rock for thirty years (though that rock also excludes you from knowledge of Twilight, so that rock's starting to look like prime real estate from where I stand). A theme is (somewhat archaically) defined as an essay written by a student on an assigned subject, in the case of A Christmas Story, "What I Want for Christmas". However, a theme is also defined, more generally and more commonly understood as such, as a central idea of a text, movie, or other work, and that will be the subject of tonight.

As I'm relatively sure we're all aware, the overall theme the NATM movies try to beat us over the head with is of a man finding his place in the world, no matter how menial his place seems at first. However, there is also another theme running through both movies, from the world famous saying "power corrupts". In Night at the Museum, the power of the tablet to sustain life and vitality is what corrupts Cecil and gives him the idea to steal it and frame new hire Larry for the crime. It apparently doesn't take much to persuade his two colleagues, Gus and Reginald, to go along with the scheme, since they are not immune to the effects of the tablet and they're all in when it comes to Cecil's plot. (That Cecil doesn't come back for them when the exhibits fight back is a testament to his character more than anything else.) Battle of the Smithsonian actually gave me this idea, in discussing whether or not Kahmunrah's wild scheme of world domination could actually be pulled off, but in truth, the aspects of power corrupts dealt with in the film itself are the consequences. Someone raised in a powerful family who, because of this and because of perceived or real favoritism shown toward his younger brother, comes off as a spoiled brat at first glance, has been corrupted by being raised in a powerful family, and that carries through into the aforementioned scheme. His family raised him the way he is, intentionally or otherwise, and he carries that through to the logical conclusion (in his mind), wherein he simply takes what he thinks he deserves. Admittedly power isn't the only corrupting force, but it's certainly there.

It can also be said that power corrupted Larry. He became a successful businessman after leaving his job at the museum, and though he's dissatisfied with his life at this point, he keeps at it because "Cool doesn't pay for [Nicky's] Guitar God VI or whatever." He's reached a point where he values the outward signs of success more than actually feeling like his life has meaning and worth, which can be said to be a form of corruption. Jed picks up on this as readily as anyone, but since Larry does still visit the exhibits, Jed reasons that Larry isn't too far gone. He doesn't misinterpret, as Larry does still come to their rescue and come around to his true calling (once again) of being a night guard in a magic museum.

And then there are the subtle bits of symbolism, especially regarding the Gate of Kahmunrah and the Tablet of Ahkmenrah. The gate is large, garish (and perfect for a haunted house, but that's something else), and a statement in and of itself, but it's inert without the tablet. The tablet, on the other hand, is small and can act independently of anything else, but it requires outside help for anything "higher" (for want of a better word) than the "parlor trick" (courtesy of Kahmunrah) of bringing exhibits to life every night. This is discussed in relation to the brothers' relationship with each other here, but they both serve as very good representations of the brothers with whom they are now associated. Kahmunrah, the proud and grandiose one with an obsession for bringing his army back from the land of the dead, is represented by the appropriately decorated, gigantic structure of the gate. Ahkmenrah, the emotionally repressive diplomat, is represented accordingly by the tablet, which does its job just fine on its own just as he does but requires help to reach any deeper level of understanding/utility.

If you choose to ignore the central anvil message, then you don't need to turn away from these movies entirely. There are plenty of other interesting messages/speculation fuel to keep you interested; the themes discussed are just two.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": I start posting my videos from LJ over on this blog.

Countdown: 352 Days to NATM 3

Night #23 - Rosetta Stone

Or, the method Rosetta Stone advertises without the need to shell out hundreds of dollars for the starter program but with the stipulation that you need to be famous and dead and in a museum while the tablet resides there. This appears to be the method by which museum exhibits learn languages.

Ahkmenrah, for example, learned English at Cambridge while on display at the Egyptology department and possibly also while under examination by archaeologists. During this time, presumably the tablet was with him, allowing him to interact with whoever was with him in the middle of the night, but he was also surrounded by the language during the day, essentially hearing it twenty-four-seven even though he was dead for about half of that. Therefore, it's likely he picked it up "in his sleep".

The same could also be said for the other exhibits, with the notable exceptions of the Huns and Christopher Columbus. Octavius, Jedediah, Ahkmenrah, and Sacajawea are all on the same linguistic page, and every day people give tours in the museum during their open hours, conversing in English because it's the official first language of the US. Therefore, while the exhibits "slept", they were exposed to English, and during the night, they are further exposed by interacting with other speakers of the language, from fellow exhibits to the night watchmen. They have chances to use the language, so they practice, and they get better, and by the time Larry is hired, many of the exhibits are demonstrably fluent.

The Huns and Christopher Columbus, by choice more than anything else, most likely, choose to use their native tongues to communicate. Both parties can understand English, as they are capable of forming intelligible responses to Larry (Columbus in particular) when he queries them in English. They simply choose, perhaps for reasons aesthetics dictated by culture, to use their respective native tongues most of the time.

The Huns and Columbus are capable of English, because they've been hearing it for decades, just like every other exhibit in the museum and possibly in museums far and near across the country, evinced by the Smithsonian's collection, which hasn't been around the tablet for years on end. They seem to magically know English right out of the gate, and Kahmunrah even tries his hand at French, indicating that French tourists have dropped by his exhibit. Perhaps hearing English day in and day out for God knows how long allows them to work out the mechanics on their own.

Until Word of God confirms one way or the other, we'll never know for sure.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": my last truly serious post for a while, wherein I delve into some of the greater (but more subtle) themes of the movies, barring the "heart messages" of finding yourself.

Countdown: 353 Days to NATM 3

Night #22 - History Lesson

Wherein I go into a broad contextual overview of the history of the gate, the tablet, and the Brothers Egypt.

Ahkmenrah states that he was given the tablet "some three thousand years ago" and that it was "one of [his] people's most prized possessions." However, there is next to no indication that the tablet is a contemporary of his or even his father's. In fact, by stating that the tablet is a prized possession of his people implies that it holds near mythic status in ancient Egyptian society of Ahkmenrah's time and therefore that it had to have been around for a while. The same holds for Kahmunrah's gate, because it has a slot for the tablet where bits and pieces of it still remain. This implies that once upon a time, the tablet was secured firmly to the gate and suggests that they may have been crafted together. Thus, at some indeterminate point in the distant past, the gate and the tablet were made and infused with magical powers. Then they were entrusted into the care of a few select priests and passed on in the order for generations up until the time of Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah.

The gate and tablet were kept secret most likely because wide-spread knowledge of their powers and location could lead a certain type of person (someone like Kahmunrah, for example) to attempt to steal the items, unleash an army of undead falcon-headed warriors, and launch a siege of the pharaoh's throne. Or invaders could get wind of the location of the artifacts, obtain them, and use the army they now have access to to ensure that they are in power forever. Therefore, keeping the gate and the tablet a closely guarded secret serves as both a resistance measure and a means of keeping order.

However, letting it get out that the tablet has healing powers can lead to near-religious fervor and pilgrimages to the temple for the sick and dying. Letting that bit out into the public allows for a whole other level of religious devotion, on the level of Christian pilgrimages to churches which house the bones or clothes of saints.

This is maintained for quite some time, allowing the artifacts to gain the mythical status that they have, and then Kahmunrah and Ahkmenrah are born (in that order). For whatever reason (since personality tends to not factor into succession but legitimacy does, I lean toward his status as illegitimate more than the excuse of favoritism or his general attitude), Kahmunrah is passed over in favor of his younger (again, likely legitimate) brother Ahkmenrah, being one of the triggers of his resentment of his brother and fueling his motivation to prove his stuff by conquest. This eventually leads to near (or full-blown) civil war and results in Ahkmenrah's death. This could have happened one of several ways: Ahkmenrah was killed in battle, he was assassinated by his brother, or he committed suicide for the sake of the nation. Somehow, the tablet and the gate become separated forcibly, resulting in damage to the former. This could have been magically triggered by the death of Ahkmenrah or it could have been accomplished by something as mundane as trying to pry the tablet from the slot and popping it free to the detriment of the tablet's completeness (though enough of it came out in one piece for it to still be magical). The priests or some of Ahkmenrah's trusted bodyguards, or both, are responsible for the burial of the tablet with Ahkmenrah in an effort to keep Kahmunrah from becoming all-powerful. Given Kahmunrah's tendency toward rage such that it looks like a spoiled child's temper tantrum, it's not likely the priests and/or guards survived their defiant acts.

The next event of note occurs anywhere from a few months to a few years later: Kahmunrah dies, either due to natural causes or because he was killed in battle or by an assassin's arrow. He is buried with the gate he so coveted.

All of this takes place about a thousand years before the birth of Christ in the timeline of the NATM verse, if Ahkmenrah's statement is anything to go by.

Fast forward to 1952. Ahkmenrah's tomb is uncovered by archaeologists, most likely British ones since Ahkmenrah was on display at Cambridge for long enough to start learning English. Chances are he was there for examination and cataloging before being sent off to the states to spend the rest of his days in the sarcophagus begging for a breath of fresh air and not getting anywhere because the exhibits are terrified of him for some reason he doesn't fully understand.

Fifty-four years later, Larry is hired on to replace the three elderly night guards at the Museum of Natural History. In a desperate bid to return the tablet to the museum, Larry releases Ahkmenrah, and it's a good thing he did, because Ahkmenrah is a friendly. All he wanted was some fresh air, after all, and he is more than content to hang out with the other exhibits after the night is won.

Two years after that (approx. 2008), Kahmunrah is awakened from a three-thousand-year sleep to continue his plan to conquer the world, placing the tablet back where it belongs and using it to unleash an army of undead warriors to serve his nefarious ends. He learns the hard way that the gate works both ways, and Larry now has to break the news to Ahkmenrah that his brother isn't coming back.

The gate and the tablet have a long and storied history indeed, and in the words of Cecil, they are "indeed, very, very cool."

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": I answer another question tied to the history of this franchise: How do exhibits learn languages?

Countdown: 354 Days to NATM 3.

NATM 3 Update: Dan Stevens, of Downton Abbey fame, is apparently working on filming right now. This bit is delivered by this website, and really it's a rather small blurb, but I have cause to wonder. Wasn't filming supposed to start in February? Or is that filming in Vancouver and London? Or is this still a pre-filming thing where you work on how exactly you're going to play the role before the cameras start rolling, get fitted for your costume? The stance on filming (a la February 2014) is maintained by IMDb and MovieWeb, and any fan of this series knows that costumes can be elaborate and finding the right "mode", especially for a bad guy, can be a difficult, interesting journey (I'm looking at you, Kahmunrah). Given this is a comedy, Lancelot is pretty much required to be a huge ham, so chances are he's working on that right now. And they've gotta train the monkeys, so....

What? You can't have a NATM movie without Dexter!

Night #21 - Week at the Museum

The timeline of the second movie is actually quite simple: There's a night where Larry drops by for a visit, preceded by a day of trying to do something about learning that his exhibit friends are being shipped off without the tablet, followed by the night of the distress call (when we learn that the tablet was stolen by that crazy monkey Dexter), followed by a day of getting there and prepping for the mission, followed by a night of fighting bad guys.

It's the timeline of the first movie that's a little ambiguous, so I'm going to try to put it together as well as possible.

We spend a day following Larry's day to day life, to introduce us to the fact that he's broke off his ass, moving around a lot, and amicably divorced with joint custody with his son Nick. We also learn in this interval that Nick plays hockey and  may or may not have a new step-dad.

The next day, Larry, prompted by Nick more than anything else, goes job hunting through an agency which leads him to the Museum of Natural History and Cecil Fredericks in particular. He interviews that very day, is given the tour, and is hired on, though the guards have ulterior motives.

The next day Larry picks up his uniform and informs his ex-wife that he is now employed. He spends that night falling asleep on the job and waking up to learn that everything comes to life at night. There isn't much fallout the next morning, but we are introduced to the tablet, which becomes a plot point later. The next morning, Larry is reprimanded for Jed putting Octavius in the stockade and getting frozen like that, but he manages to stay employed.

It's now Larry's second night on the job. He spent the morning talking to Rebecca, a docent, about the various historical figures in the museum and hanging out in the library reading all sorts of primers. He packed up with everything he'll need to handle the chaos, since there's no more instruction manual (blame the monkey), and he's ready to go. Too bad he gave the Neanderthals his lighter, because he had to put out a fire later, which led to his getting fired the next morning, which Nicky and his friends bore witness to. What no one saw, however, was that Larry managed to secure a second chance. Cecil and Co. forward their plan.

Night #3, Nicky goes to work with his dad, where he starts to come to the conclusion that the latter is nutso, and decides he wants to go home which results in them discovering the actual robbery of the museum. Cue efforts to try to stop them, including releasing Pharaoh Ahkmenrah and Sacajawea and getting the exhibits to cooperate to present a united front for the effort. Needless to say they are successful.

Next morning, Larry is fired for the events of the previous night making the news (presumably the Neanderthals were celebrating their victory over the guard they had to handle), but he was rehired because said events also upped attendance numbers. That night there's a huge party to which all the exhibits are invited.

In all, a week at the museum is more like it.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": Speaking of timelines, I will explore the lives of the Brothers Egypt in general historical context as well as establish a timeline for the artifacts which they possess/ended up labeling through possessing.

Countdown: 355 Days to NATM 3

Night #20 - The Bloopers Reels

Just as I promised, I'm taking a break from all this serious discussion of characters and plots and symbolism and such, and I'm providing you guys with the bloopers reels for the first two movies!

Have fun!

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": the timeline of the first movie as I understand it, to clear up any ambiguity

Countdown: 356 Days to NATM 3

Night #19 - The Chain of Command

Due to the tendencies of archaeology, those of ancient peoples, and the wont of the public, museums tend to be chock full of famous people, rich people, powerful people, people who've done something, people who've done lots of things, poorly behaved women, and, in the case of Night at the Museum, often only a single night guard to keep the peace between all these prominent figures. So the question is, who answers to who?

It appears that hierarchy is established by the voluntary contribution of all parties, and this is the case in both movies, on both sides of the good-and-evil battle, in different circumstances. In the first, Larry gives the speech which rallies the troops, but it's the exhibits who decide of their own free will to pay attention and cooperate to get the tablet back. They follow Larry's orders and divide themselves up accordingly to stop the elderly, retiring night guards, but they are under no compulsion, magical or otherwise, to do so. In fact, the exhibits have a general degree of respect for whoever holds the position of "night guard", up to the point where the guards' actions are agreeable or disagreeable to the exhibits (for example locking them up behind the glass). "Night guard" is, according to Teddy Roosevelt, "a venerable position in this institution", so therefore any beef the exhibits have with the three outgoing gentlemen has nothing to do with their position within the museum and everything to do with what they do with their position. Power does corrupt, after all (a general theme which colors all of the elderly guards' interactions with the tablet).

In BOTS, Al, Ivan, and Napoleon agree of their own free will to work with Kahmunrah and help him secure the tablet to unlock his gate and unleash his army of the dead, in spite of the (possibly disregarded/unconsidered) risks to their own lives and surety (see last night). Kahmunrah could just as easily have forced them but, perhaps knowing he would meet with more resistance than he cared to deal with, he chose not to, and he still got his three recruits. Also, in that same movie, Amelia manages to get the exhibits from the New York museum and exhibits from the Smithsonian museum to cooperate to lead a resistance of sorts to get Larry out of a sticky situation with the film's bad guy. Again, no one was forced to follow Amelia into battle; the exhibits that did did it of their own free will.

The only two entities that conceivably hold positions of power (even if they choose not to operate in that mentality most of the time) are Ahkmenrah and Larry. Kahmunrah applies when he possesses the tablet (fifteen minutes, tops) because he knows how to operate it on a magical level, but he has other things floating around in his mind. Ahkmenrah holds this position because he is typically in possession of the tablet and, as remarked on Night #7, was possibly quite feared before his release. Given his literacy (Night #15) and the power of the tablet, chances are many figure it's a safe bet not to step on his toes. Larry keeps the peace, plain and simple. He makes sure no one fights, everyone gets inside on time, and everyone has something to do to occupy their time when they're not fighting for their lives/existences. In short, Larry is responsible for the lives of the exhibits, and even though he doesn't anger easily and is more likely to negotiate his way out of something, he can still kick copious amounts of ass and it's also a safe bet not to piss off the guy that can lock you out.

But Ahkmenrah and Larry simply choose to mingle with the exhibits, giving the museum a community feel much more than that of a "royal court" or similar institution. Everyone is allowed to mingle and align themselves as they please, sorting things out as they see fit (sometimes with words, sometimes with fists) and essentially choosing a leader by popular vote (when one isn't hired to fill that position, a la the night guards). Sounds like a pretty sweet deal.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": I'm taking a break from all this serious pseudo-scholarly discussion and providing of two cents to give you the bloopers reels for both movies, for a little laugh-out-loud hilariousness.

Countdown: 357 Days to NATM 3

Night at the Museum 3 Update: Apparently a character named Robert Fredericks will make an appearance, obviously some relation to Cecil, which leaves me to wonder what in actual hell is going on. Why is the Fredericks family involved? Is it destiny? Will we actually get back story, for anybody? Character development? Hell, at this point, we can just stop with the loads and loads of characters and start dealing with the unwieldy mess we have right now. I'd rather see the character development of a fence post than yet more exhibits and bad guys and artifacts and whatever else, but to be fair, I'd rather see the character development of any of those than yet more of Wayward!Larry. That plot line gets really old, really fast in my view. God, I don't want this movie to suck.

Night #18 - Will This Crazy Scheme Work?

Kahmunrah intends to conquer the world by unlocking the gate to the Underworld, unleashing an army of bird-headed, potentially immortal warriors on the world, and leading the charge himself. Given that the number of men he has access to could very well be endless, it looks like if Larry hadn't stopped him, Kahmunrah would've had it made. But is this really true?

The People You Meet on the Way Up

After Kahmunrah loses his small contingent of bodyguards/all-purpose grunt-workers to the V-J Day photograph, he recruits Al Capone, Ivan the Terrible, and Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as all of their posses, to take their places. However, what happens once Kahmunrah is able to unleash his real forces on the earth in his bid for world domination, and what happens once he succeeds? There is a deleted scene where he has his new lieutenants play Twister on a world map (which doesn't seem to be working tremendously well, so much for "borderline sacrosanct wisdom"), but honestly, will the world be divvied up to different people to be managed? On the one hand, Kahmunrah seems like the type to not want to do everything himself, and on the other, he comes off as disrespectful to those who help him accomplish his goals, which is one of the key factors for revolt. And if you've got three people siding against you and they're in control of seventy-five percent of the world, you're as good as screwed. This whole scheme could collapse on account of Kahmunrah's basic attitude exiling people who actually rule the world for him and causing a hell of a storm as a result.

One Man Against the World

No matter how endless and unstoppable the army seems, it's one against a whole host of nations of various stages of development who are all adamantly against being conquered unless it's on their terms, if at all. One man launching a full-scale attack on the entire globe is sure to go noticed, and depending on the threat level he poses, it could very well lead to the world uniting for a common cause and may result in global peace afterward. Each and every nation has an enemy in Kahmunrah if he intends to conquer and suppress them, and the enemy of my enemy is my friend, at least for now. If Kahmunrah can get his world invasion off the ground, then he has a good 200 other problems before he can even get anywhere close to success.

Vive La Resistance

Suppose Kahmunrah overcomes all these hurtles and conquers the world, and he's managed to keep some semblance of order thus far. This ties in to the point above in extreme cases of revolt, but even early on, there will be a faction, no matter how small, that will oppose Kahmunrah. Given the circumstances, this will likely be comprised of Larry, Amelia, the exhibits from the Natural History Museum of New York, possibly the three elderly guards who were forced to retire from the NHM of NY, and also, perchance, Brunden. These people know or will find out what they're up against and can figure out exactly how to counteract the effects of the gate and the tablet, and are also less likely to freak out when they see birdmen carrying spears. They are also the ones to teach others how to combat Kahmunrah's forces as the revolt grows.

Ahkmenrah

Ahkmenrah is the one wild-card in this situation. He may join the resistance against his brother, but chances are good that he won't engage in actually trying to kill him. On the other hand, he may be a one-man resisting the resistance faction with his own way of getting through to his brother and forcing him to surrender outside of whatever the regular resistance has in mind. Ahkmenrah comes off as focused on the greater good and what is best for everyone, including his brother. He also seems very nonviolent, which helps make killing Kahmunrah out of the question for him. Even so, he represents all of Kahmunrah's demons in the latter's mind, so bringing him into the picture is a guaranteed game changer.

Pride/Hubris

Kahmunrah's most prominent characteristics is his pride. In Greek epics, this was the trait of heroes, but it was also commonly a tragic flaw and led to the downfall of the hero in question. For example, Achilles' pride led him to wish that his side would lose so they would see how much they needed him, and when he does finally get back into the fighting, he ultimately ends up shot in the ankle by a bowman he failed to notice. Now, Kahmunrah isn't a hero by any stretch of the imagination (unless you're a bound and determined fangirl), but he still has the same affliction. Assuming the resistance or some other form of rebellion doesn't nip his cause in the bud, he will eventually do himself in, simply because he thinks too highly of himself. (Note: This is possibly why he doesn't consider any of the other possible contributing factors to his downfall, either.)

Kahmunrah's plan is, while unique, still susceptible to outside forces which, by design or by intention, or they just forgot to mention, are destined/forced to work against him. So will this plan work? Maybe, if he learns to account for everything working against him, but more than likely his endeavor is doomed to fail. He needs a day job.

Next on "For the Love of Night at the Museum": Who answers to who in a room full of rich, powerful, famous, and otherwise influential people?

Countdown: 358 Days to NATM 3