She loves the characters (especially Thomas Twp and Thomas Twp Too) but can't understand the need for raising the Hill 20 some feet to ensure Mountain status. To her it's just a "freaking pile of dirt". How can I explain how important something like this can be to people?
I love this movie's wit, characters. music and setting.
Well, having lived in Wales for 9 months myself, I can tell that "hill" or "mountain" DOES make a difference to the Welsh. It might have something to do with pride, being proud of the country you are born in.
Depending on how old your daughter is you could try the following:
Take her favourite band which she loves above all others. Then dig out some nasty facts about them, e.g. that they don't really sing very well and that everything's been improved in a studio. Her reaction will probably be denial or trying to find an excuse. That's what the inhabitants of Ffynnon Garw did - in their own special way.
A more... dramatic example: Let's take America. Definitely a country which most of its inhabitants are proud of. Imagine you grew up thinking your country was the most advanced, most civilised, in short the best in the world. And then you are presented with facts which prove that it isn't (let's say, Vietnam, death penalty, etc.) As a result you might have to rearrange your beliefs, or you can try and make them fit (e.g. by finding excuses for certain actions). Once again, that's what these people did. They wanted the hill to be a mountain because otherwise they wouldn't have been able to uphold their pride. The only difference is that they did not change their mental image, but the hill itself, - and why? Well, because it was POSSIBLE to do so.
Maybe this'll help a little?
N.B. No offence to Americans intended, could have taken Germany as well. Just thought, there's more people in here who know about American history.
The film is reputedly based on the hill behind our village. The village is Pentyrch, the hill is The Garth. At the top it has a 2oft mound but it's an ancient burial mound rather than a recent artefact. Nice story though.
Regards
Michael Bryant
I'm so tired of British people talking smack about my country. I'm not sure if it's out of an inferiority complex because you've lost your global domination or what. You know nothing about who we are, our history or our culture. Watching our movies and tv shows doesn't mean anything. It's a little like being arrogant enough to think "living in Wales for 9 months" makes you understand how the Welsh think. I lived in London for a year, but I don't pretend to be English.
"A more... dramatic example: Let's take America. Definitely a country which most of its inhabitants are proud of."
While you are shamelessly parroting a stereotype which you have no real knowledge of, I'll concede the point. Do you know why? We didn't all just happen to be born here because of our ethnicity and made a state somewhere along the way. No, this country was BUILT on a common ideology and our ancestors CHOSE to be here. THAT is why we are so proud. Because this country, with all of our wealth, power and innovation, even if not considered "the best," was built from nothing.
Also, as a British person, I'm sure you know "common" is a pejorative in your country. Here it connotes a sense of PRIDE, WORTH and HARD WORK. We are all descended from poor, working class immigrants who wanted to go to a country which didn't care about their pedigree. In fact, applauded them for it if they were successful. All of our most famous wealthy people were self-made, such as Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Stanford. We are also the first of all the modern nations to guarantee TOTAL freedom of speech and of the press, for everyone, and enshrined them in our founding document in 1789.
So yes, we are proud of our country more than people in the Old World could understand, where being proud of your country is actually sometimes considered "racist" since it is tied to an ethnicity. In that case, nationality can be viewed as happenstance, not something earned, or consciously chosen (in America's case, by our recent ancestors).
It's not a criticism-no one can help their country's history- it's just a difference, and it has created different political cultures. Just try to understand that.
"Imagine you grew up thinking your country was the most advanced, most civilised, in short the best in the world. And then you are presented with facts which prove that it isn't (let's say, Vietnam, death penalty, etc.)"
First of all, I don't think any American would call their country "the most civilized." Maybe the best, but how many people don't think that about their own country?
Secondly, I don't see how losing the Vietnam war makes us inferior. I don't think I need to remind you how many unwise wars have been waged and lost in British history; the American Revolution is one of them. Does that mean your country is crap? Does that take away from the pride a British citizen may have for their country or any of its achievements? By the way, the Vietnam War is the only war we have EVER lost. Kind of pathetic to use it to try to bring us down.
There are plenty of embarrassing or regrettable things in EVERY country's history. Who cares? Learn the lesson and move on.
Third, bringing up the fact that some of our states have the death penalty as an example of how terrible we are is typically arrogant of someone like you. Any country which doesn't line up with what policy decisions you and YOUR country thinks is best or the most moral is somehow inferior, right? Funnily enough, I don't think I've ever heard an American say, "We have the death penalty. Clearly that makes us superior to any country which doesn't." Your hypocrisy is absolutely unbelievable.
Americans have a very strong sense of justice. Here is an example of why we have it, a story which I just saw and was sentenced today: http://abcnews.go.com/US/death-penalty-connecticut-home-invasion-case-brought-family/story?id=12095310
A guy got sentenced to the death penalty. Why? That guy, with an accomplice, admitted to breaking into the home of a woman and her two daughters he'd seen at the supermarket. He beat their father with a baseball bat. Threatening the lives of her family, he forced the mother to go to a bank, withdraw $15000 and give it to him. When she got back, he raped her and strangled her to death in her own living room. Both of her daughters were then tied to their beds. He raped her 11-year-old little girl surrounded by her stuffed animals. He then set the house on fire, dousing the girls in gasoline, subjecting the 2 daughters to a slow, painful death by asphyxiation. Before this crime, he texted his accomplice "I can't wait to do this. LOL"
Think for a second how terrifying the last few hours of that woman and her children's lives were. How devastated anyone who loves them will be for the rest of their lives.
Go ahead and take a look at the family which was destoryed by this man's cruelty: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.petitroadrace.com/images/petit_family.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.petitroadrace.com/about.shtml&h=287&w=392&sz=136&tbnid=ZMjvcKNTW8NyKM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpetit%2Bfamily&zoom=1&q=petit+family&usg=__crzbhNBSOf2tJYbD0upFMDbp8sA=&sa=X&ei=P63ZTK-SO8OclgfGsM2NCQ&ved=0CCsQ9QEwAw
Look at their faces and imagine it was YOUR mother. YOUR daughter. YOUR sister. Or even YOU.
I'm not sorry some states in this country have the death penalty option. Not at all. Attempt for just a second to expand your mind beyond your own beliefs and your own political culture.
" As a result you might have to rearrange your beliefs, or you can try and make them fit (e.g. by finding excuses for certain actions). Once again, that's what these people did. They wanted the hill to be a mountain because otherwise they wouldn't have been able to uphold their pride. The only difference is that they did not change their mental image, but the hill itself"
You're an idiot. Those two things are not even remotely analogous. No, this movie depicts the Welsh wanting to project their "mental image" into REALITY. That's different from simply "changing their mental image." I also like the implication that somehow anyone who's proud to be an American has deluded themselves.
"N.B. No offence to Americans intended, could have taken Germany as well. "
Ya, but just as long as it's not anyone tearing down YOUR country, it's alright, right? "No offence?" Also how funny you chose Germany considering it's history with your country. I'm sure it just happened to pop into your head. No bad feelings there.
If you listen to the narrator, he says "this mountain" was used to defend the Welsh from various groups. If it wasn't for this mountain, these people may be gone. They're very proud of something that saved their lives.
http://www.worldofrachel.com
I'll have to watch it again I think. I can't recall that bit.
BTW if anyone's interested you can get a pretty good view on Google Earth. You'll find the burial mound with a concrete thing (possibly a trig point) on top at:
51 32 35.70 N
3 17 39.76 W
Regards
Michael
It is explained by the narrator as the story unfolds:
"... where the mountains start, there starts Wales..."
"... and if this wasn't a mountain, then Anson might as well have redrawn the map, and put us all in England... God forbid!"
"... by questioning the mountain, they were questioning our Welshness."
The classification is a marginal thing technically, but a huge thing culturally to the locals in the story - because they love being Welsh as much as they love resenting the English.