Making the connections

Recently I started playing one of the NYTimes free games, called Connections. The goal is to separate a field of 16 words into four categories. In other words, the player must make the connection between these seemingly disparate words, and oftentimes, other possible connections can obscure the one true connection designed into the game. What a feeling of satisfaction when those four blocks bounce and are drawn together in a line of color announcing the category I've just completed.

I admit I have a hard time with this game, which I find more challenging than the Mini Crossword or Wordle. I think this is because making connections is really unique to each person, so trying to see someone else's connection between words, which themselves are symbols for ideas that may not be internalized the same for every person, can be challenging. Not to mention the fact that words can have different meanings and even different parts of speech! (Side note: I harbor a deep suspicion that AI is used to make these connections for the game.)

In a recent post on this blog, I wrote about Dziga Vertov's film "Man With A Movie Camera" and how the filmmaker created connections between images that might not be obvious or recognized -- until they are shown, and then the connection still might not be obvious to the viewer. 

Perception is everything, in other words, and perception is rooted in our life experience; internal communication system (how we think and express ourselves); and our openness to allowing new connections and ways of seeing, whether from without or from within.

Regarding my film, "Korea Dreambus", I intend to draw connections between my personal journey and the Korean martyrs; the viewer and the Koreans present in the film; being a foreigner (oeguk) on pilgrimage and being a human being. 

I aim to explore universal truths in the film, such as the search for meaning; the need for community; the yearning for God every person has in some form; the delight we can experience in the tiny moments of life; humor as a divine attribute that humans share; the call we each have to give ourselves completely for the good of others (a reflection of God's love).