The Gift: Hollywood Looks at Psychic Phenomena, Card Reading, a Small Sourthern Town, & the Ethics of Spirituality
March 29, 2013
The Gift, 2000, directed by Sam Raimi and written by Billy Bob Thorton & Tom Epperson stars Cate Blanchett, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Giovanni Ribsi and Hilary Swank. I was attracted to it because of the subject matter (card reading).
Setting: Blanchett (Annie) lives a somewhat marginal existence as a card reader in a small southern town. This movie is well filmed and has a very authentic feel to it.
Cons: Annie is asked to help solve a missing person's case - predictably - and there are some decidedly over the top scenes. A difficult movie to watch at times. Adult topics, sexual content and violence.
Pros: Realistic setting. Well acted. Cate Blanchett is quite good in her role, as expected. Swank is very good in a supporting role (also expected). Keanu Reeves is surprisingly believable as Swank's abusive husband. Giovanni Ribsi does a wonderful job of portraying Buddy, a troubled client of Annie's and the center of a significant subplot. I hate spoiler reviews so I won't go into the subplot other than to say it raises some interesting questions about ethics as they relate to card reading and mediumship.
Setting: Blanchett (Annie) lives a somewhat marginal existence as a card reader in a small southern town. This movie is well filmed and has a very authentic feel to it.
Cons: Annie is asked to help solve a missing person's case - predictably - and there are some decidedly over the top scenes. A difficult movie to watch at times. Adult topics, sexual content and violence.
Pros: Realistic setting. Well acted. Cate Blanchett is quite good in her role, as expected. Swank is very good in a supporting role (also expected). Keanu Reeves is surprisingly believable as Swank's abusive husband. Giovanni Ribsi does a wonderful job of portraying Buddy, a troubled client of Annie's and the center of a significant subplot. I hate spoiler reviews so I won't go into the subplot other than to say it raises some interesting questions about ethics as they relate to card reading and mediumship.
It began in childhood and paralleled a general obsession with spirit in all of its forms. I was then, and still am, a good guesser (once accused of cheating after acing a test on a book I had not read).
There were certain things I couldn't quite explain. From an early age, I was able to sense what I now think of as the energy of a person or a place, and sometimes heard paranormal activity.
On several occasions over the course of my life I experienced vivid and unusual phenomena in meditation, in dreams and while on the edge of sleep. These included seeing and sometimes communicating with passed loved ones. In my dream diary I continue to record spiritual instruction received during sleep.
And of course for many years I read cards both for friends, over the psychic phone lines and in my own home card reading business. Still, I do not consider myself psychic in the usual sense of the word. But I'm beginning to wonder if I need to believe in my own potential a bit more in order to improve.
Either way, I am interested in learning more about psychic ability and will be sharing some of what I learn here, beginning with the four main categories.
Either way, I am interested in learning more about psychic ability and will be sharing some of what I learn here, beginning with the four main categories.
Telepathy - the ability to hear or pick up on the thoughts of another person. It is the most common psychic ability.
Clairvoyance - the ability to see images of an event or events that occurred in the past, present or future. Images may be literal or symbolic.
Precognition - is the ability to see the future. Can be experienced in a variety of ways with the most common occurring in and around dreams.
Psychokinesis - the ability to move objects with the power of the mind. This unusual psychic skill may be related to poltergeist phenomena.
I will be writing more about this in a future post!
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