The World Before: Arthur Ford And The Spirit Gu...
In Spiritism and Spiritualism the medium has the role of an intermediary between the world of the living and the world of spirit. Mediums claim that they can listen to and relay messages from spirits, or that they can allow a spirit to control their body and speak through it directly or by using automatic writing or drawing.
The World Before: Arthur Ford and the Spirit Gu...
Direct voice communication is the claim that spirits speak independently of the medium, who facilitates the phenomenon rather than produces it. The role of the medium is to make the connection between the physical and spirit worlds. Trumpets are often utilised to amplify the signal, and directed voice mediums are sometimes known as "trumpet mediums". This form of mediumship also permits the medium to participate in the discourse during séances, since the medium's voice is not required by the spirit to communicate. Leslie Flint was one of the best known exponents of this form of mediumship.[29]
Senses used by mental mediums are sometimes defined differently from in other paranormal fields. A medium is said to have psychic abilities but not all psychics function as mediums. The term clairvoyance, for instance, may include seeing spirit and visions instilled by the spirit world. The Parapsychological Association defines "clairvoyance" as information derived directly from an external physical source.[38]
This taming of the Oregon Trail saga comes alive thanks to the majestic sweep afforded by the experimental Grandeur wide-screen process developed by the Fox Film Corporation. Audiences marveled at the sheer scope of the panoramic scenes before them and delighted in the beauty of the vast landscapes. Hollywood legend has it that director Raoul Walsh was seeking a male lead for a new Western and asked his friend John Ford for advice. Ford recommended an unknown actor named John Wayne because he "liked the looks of this new kid with a funny walk -- like he owned the world." When Wayne professed inexperience, Walsh told him to just "sit good on a horse and point."Wayne's starring role in "The Big Trail" did not catapult him to stardom, and he languished in low-budget pictures until John Ford cast him in the 1939 classic "Stagecoach."Expanded essay by Marilyn Ann Moss (PDF, 375KB)
Winner of numerous international awards, this beautiful documentary explores the rare dance language and culture of the Yup'ik Eskimo people in Emmonak, Alaska (part of the Yukon River delta on the Bering Sea). At the heart of their culture are complex potlatch gift-giving ceremonies featuring ceremonial story/dances serving as a bridge between the human and unseen spiritual worlds. At the center of the dance was the drum, serving as the cadence of the universe. The fabric of the community is woven together through giving: "Our spirits live by giving, things we give will return in larger amounts, because the wilderness has enough for all."
In this film directed by Alexander Hall from a Damon Runyon story, Shirley Temple stars as a little girl whose father leaves her as a marker for a $20 bet. When Temple's father never returns (desperate for the bet to pay off, he kills himself when it doesn't), the bookie and confirmed bachelor (Adolphe Menjou) is stuck with the precocious moppet. Not surprisingly, she wins over the hearts of all the race-track ruffians, including Menjou's tough guy partner (Charles Bickford) and his moll (Dorothy Dell). In her first starring role (she'd already amassed 24 credits in short films and bit parts by this time), the six-year-old Temple would become and household name and the biggest child star the world had ever seen. One of the most popular stars of the 1930's, the revenue from her movies was instrumental in saving Fox Studio from bankruptcy.Expanded essay by John F. Kasson (PDF, 381KB) 041b061a72