The Power of Habit- Charles Duhigg

This book helped me get my head around so much including why I keep on eating cereal so much! Habits are key to the way we live. They shape us, they make us and at times they break us. This book explores this psychological mystery in a great way. Duhigg provides the reader with a great deal of knowledge for the topic whilst accompanying each chapter with engaging real-life stories. This easy-to-understand book breaks down habits into three parts with sub-categories included in each.

The first part of the book focuses on the ‘habits of individuals’; I found this part great at actually depicting the function and impacts that habits have. I discovered how habits work and the cycle followed to create them. By Duhigg opening the book with a foundation of the fundamentals of habits I gained a good understanding of the topic; from the get-go as well as context for the rest of the book.

The second part of the book explores the ‘habits of successful organisations’. This provided a great insight into how habits can connect to the real life of work. It showed me that the habits installed in leading businesses are what separates them from others in the marketplace. Stories from companies such as Starbucks provided me with great examples of successful habits that shape our lives.

The concluding part of the book reflects on the ‘habits of societies’. This showed how big groups of people all share in habitual choices and that these aren’t just individuals. I was amazed at realising the actual reach habits have on communities and their effects. Duhigg also helpfully conversed around neurological concepts that forge habits and this scientific understanding was really significant for me. Habits aren’t just our quirky traits but are deeper and more rooted in our human nature. I never realised the magnitude of the topic and how it affects everyone, every day. For fascinating scientific non-fiction read I’d highly recommend this. You’ll maybe see change your outlook on habits forever, and know where cereal does better fit into a typical day!

Fantastic Mr Fox

Brilliant, clever and ever so wonderfully unique. 11 years on and Wes Anderson’s ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ still has something special about it. Despite having somewhat of a relatively normal formula, it goes above and beyond all expectations. A children’s book adapted into an animated film Anderson gets so much more than that. Fantastic Mr Fox achieves something that people all ages can appreciate, have fun with and relate with through the numerous layers it has depicting the everyday. The film is something quite rare in the fact that it isn’t meant to be a big and extravagant the movie consists of characters who are just meant to be normal humans (but as animals) and the analysis of this human condition is the most exciting part. It’s the excitement in the ordinary. Understanding this movie and reading more on it I found that there were three main ideas I personally found really interesting. The equivocality of this film is what makes it truly spectacular. There are so many more ideas beyond just its plot and story, here's just a few of mine; spoilers ahead...

Throughout the narrative we understand Mr.Fox’s hopes, dreams and aspirations are somewhat distant from that which Mrs.Fox wants for them and the family. A life of risking his life as well as those he loves for his questionable occupation of stealing chickens. Yet his skills and knack for hunting don't transfer as well into writing a weekly column. Mr Fox is stuck in this job he hates and has this phobia of accepting defeat and becoming something he doesn't believe he is. This unrest in the protagonist leads to the major dilemma and conflict in the film and disruption of the farmers. Despite hardship being a consistent presence throughout an underlying beauty with Anderson’s film remains with the fact that it illustrates that failure is okay. Things go wrong, tails get shot off, tree houses get destroyed yet we learn through Mr Fox that struggle is something we all share in and shouldn't be feared. The undeniable recognition that there is good to be found throughout the failure is wonderful. The animal community are living as one, the fox family are closer than ever, and all have moved beyond the realm of lacking self knowledge and naivety but growing to be independent brilliant people. All of this despite hardship of being hunted. Anderson shows the moulding of character and positives in failure, it is a great lesson for all to learn.

In our lives we often come across obstacles, people, or everyday occurrences that apply a sense of pressure for us to change ourselves. The relationship between Ash and Kristofferson is a metaphor for this. All Ash wants to do is live up to his fathers legacy yet he always seems to fall short. Attempting all sorts of sporting trials he is hopeless, yet, when his cousin shows up and effortlessly achieves these things and Ash feels terrible and worthless. It’s amazingly relatable in the fact that we’ve all tried to do things, maybe a new hobby or talent, and someone tries it for the first time and is great from the start. However, the beauty of Fantastic Mr Fox is that it’s a film that celebrates these differences of talents. Kristofferson’s natural ability, karate skills, and Whack-Bat wizardry is all good but that doesn’t matter in the end. The brilliance of Ash is what is saving them all at the end not Kristofferson. It took three quarters of the film to find his talent but it was always there and similarly we all have that capacity for this greatness. Some people like Kristofferson find their talents really early, and it seems the most annoying thing in the world, but in reality those can just be surface level and not useful. Becoming a champion takes a long time and is a hard graft but when you get there it is amazing- understanding differences to be okay was great to see in this film and Ash becoming the ‘athlete’ he was destined to be was awesome.

Sometimes we try to run, hide or flat out deny the truth for what it is and it leads to detrimental consequences in not only our lives but the lives of our loved ones. Throughout the movie there is a denial of being ‘wild animals’ yet the way they interact, fight and eat highlight otherwise. Mr Fox converses with Kylie throughout the film about Wolves, despite never seeing one they are scared of them. The Wolf is the epitome of what a ravenous, savage and wild animal would be. Yet in coming into contact with one in the end of Act 3 both them and Ash and Kristofferson are brought to tears about the beauty of the creature. No words are shared between the creatures yet a singular acknowledgement that they are more similar then they previously would've liked to admit. They share a ‘wild’ nature with the Wold. It is a hard pill to chew but a necessary and even beautiful one. Upon doing so Mr Fox now has the potential for being content with his animal life because he knows that's what he is, he has accepted who he is. He can now get on with living his life and living it to fullest. He can now appreciate the idea of living underground because he recognises himself to be a wild animal instead of at the beginning of the film having the idealistic naivety in believing himself to be a human and destined to live above ground. This acceptance and understanding of ones self is an incredible lesson for us all. Wes Anderson submerged tough issues on identity within the digestible works of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox. It came out as a masterpiece.

Of course having a great story is the key to a stunning movie but there’s a few stand out features of this film to mention. Firstly the Stop Motion animation is ground breaking. The movement of the characters, the uniquely moulded details, and the variety of shots to the film, create such a magnitude of content. Upon reading up on the filming process I found that recording 90 seconds took 1 week to do, in addition to all that was set design, voice acting, and all the scripts and editing. This film took 4 years to make, a painstakingly long process but worth it for sure.

Another astounding thing to this film is the amazing humour. Being so in your face with titles announcing the animals plans, the pause of the quick pace with Kylie and his dazed eyes and metaphors brought to life with the foxes literally turning to lights. The dry, blatant and literal humour was refreshing and beautiful to see in a film catered to younger audiences.

Then finally the colour and soundtrack of Fantastic Mr Fox is astounding. With a palette of mostly browns and oranges you'll be amazed at how beautiful the film looks. Every scene is vibrant, colourful and diverse; I never knew there were so many shades of brown and how it could look so good! With a soundtrack underlying this all by artists such as Alexandre Desplat, The Beach Boys and Burl Ives it was a pleasure for the ears all the way through the film.

Fantastic Mr Fox is more than a movie; it's a teaching lesson, it's a palette of colour and it's just a beautiful story about life, family and everyday struggles that comes with being a normal person. Masked in the animation is something deeply profound and universal to all. I came away moved and inspired, so Fantastic Mr Fox easily gets a 9/10 from me on the movie rating scale. Thank you Wes Anderson for making a timeless classic for everyone to enjoy.