Without Boundaries: August Rush

"Listen. Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind... in the air... in the light. It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do... is listen." -August Rush a.k.a Evan Taylor

This blog is about my journey of growing as God intended and not bending to expectations or approval of others. I'm starting a series of entries called "Without Boundaries" which will be about people who show God's out-of-the-box qualities. People who break the walls of the box we live in. They stretch limits, they're original. They live with their hearts. They are living.

"August Rush"? What a name!
Even though it is a fictional story August Rush had the characteristics for my Without Boundaries theme. In case you haven't seen the movie, August Rush is a story about a boy searching for his parents by listening to the music he hears around him. In the wind, dogs barking, car horns, and anything that makes a sound. He believes that if he follows the music and plays it that his parents will find him. He is taken in by a church and they realize he is a child prodigy. Throughout the film every instrument he picks up he learns very quickly on his own to play it at a professional level. The pastor of the church sends him to Julliard where he conducts a rhapsody at a performance where his mother finds him and reunites with his father.

"Sometimes the world tries to knock it out of you. But I believe in music the way that some people believe in fairy tales."
There are several "bullies" in the film that try to make the main characters (Evan and his parents) do what they want them to do and be who they tell them to be.

At the beginning of the film there is a bully at the orphanage that calls Evan a freak and tells him that he can't hear his parents and he will never see them.

Evan's mom, Lyla, is controlled by her father who pushes her in her career as a cellist.

His father, Louis, is forced by his brother to keep performing in their rock band long after Louis wants to quit.

Later, when Evan runs away to NYC he meets Wizard who exploits young homeless children by making them perform music on the street for money. When he sees Evan's talent he uses him to get gigs at local bars. One time when Wizard tells him to stop playing and Evan protests, he throws Evan against a wall and yells, "You play when I say play. You breathe when I say breathe! You got that boy? You forget about your parents! They were pretty quick to forget about you!"

But unrelentingly, Evan doesn't let the perceptions of the bullies in his life define who he is or distract him from his goal: to be found by his parents.


The music is all around us, all you have to do is listen
All throughout the movie you want to be a part of this music. More than the story, Evan's passion about music stirs your soul. We all want to be a part of something greater than ourselves. And Evan's journey by music entices that part of your soul and it invites you in through the music played throughout the movie.

DJ's Got Us Falling In Love Again
Christopher Hopper said something really epic. He said,"Music is the only form of media that we allow into our soul uninvited." Think about the songs you listen to on a regular basis. Take a second and remember what the words are actually saying. When you listen to those songs do you always feel/think the way the artist is in that song? But you sing it with such conviction anyway. Why? Because it speaks to your soul. Have you ever felt your heartbreaking when you sing a love song even though you haven't recently had your heart broken. Actually, life is going pretty well for you but that you still feel the ache when you sing it?

Can't Sing "Mr. Brightside"
I can't sing "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers anymore because it affects me so much that I want to cry, even though I am not in love, I've never been in love with a prostitute and I don't know what it feels like to be in that situation... I'm not a man and I am not in love with a woman. So this song doesn't really speak to anything that has happened in my life. But I still feel his pain as my own. By the second verse I want to cry. I want to puke at the thought of her being in someone else's arms.

So, do you agree we allow music in our souls uninvited or do you think that you are unaffected by what you listen to?

If there is a song(s) that affect you for no reason, what are they? What is the song about and what do you think/feel when you listen to it?

Post your comments. 'Cause I like 'em ^_^

If you would like to see more thoughts about how music affects us check out this link: MUSIC

Without Boundaries Series: << Previous Next>>

G Dragon
August Rush
Van Ness Wu