Blinded By The Light

Hoi Palloi's recent post at Sabrina's Journey mentions the upcoming movie 'The Martian Child', starring John Cusak. "The story is as follows: A science fiction writer adopts a child who claims to be a Martian. The child lives in a box and refuses to come out; he always wears sunglasses." In the same week, A Kean Eye's spotted the Templar themed Australian Aria Awards - sponsored by Ray-Ban.

I'll Ignore the "cosmic cube" and the "coming out" aspects for now, and focus on what's right in front of me... the sunglasses.

Tom Cruise burst seemingly overnight and fully-formed (like Venus) into Hollywood stardom in 1983's 'Risky Business'. Tom plays Joel Goodsen (good son, godsend?) and his role is memorable for two reasons: his nearly naked air guitar lip-sync of Bob Seger's 'Old Time Rock And Roll', and his iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarers.

Sunglasses have indeed become 'iconic' in our culture, and the stars wear them constantly, as if to protect themselves from each other's brilliance.

Icon: a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.

Over the past 50 years, the sun has increasingly appeared as a menace. From skin cancer to global warming and all its ramifications, we're taught to fear the sun. We've slowly gone from sun worship to sun loathing. We shield ourselves with ray banning equipment and SPF 30 sunblock. We even have secret chem-trail operations that appear to be enveloping the world in a sun-proof cocoon. Safety first.

Grey aliens look like they're wearing sunglasses, or maybe sunglasses wearing humans look like grey aliens. Some have mused that grey aliens aren't as alien as commonly depicted - and may come from inner - rather than outer - space. Consider a creature adopted for subterranean living, and a short, light-sensitive golem with no skin melanin makes some sense. Rumors of underground alien bases compound the mystery.

In Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke envisions the Overlords: beings resembling the traditional human folklore image of demons: bipeds with large wings, horned heads, and tails. The Overlords are taller than humans and of proportionally more massive bodies covered with a hard, black armor shell. They are greatly photosensitive to yellow sunlight, because they are from a planet with a dimmer light spectrum.

Back in my college daze, the Ray-Ban brand wasn't the most highly coveted status symbol - we all wanted Vuarnet. Note the logo. Venus in the London Undergound?

Alchemy of the Cosmic Egg

Oakley Sunglasses uses the divine "O" as it's corporate symbol, and its corporate headquarters in Orange County at "1 Icon" pretty much say it all.

Enter the Star Gate

It's a place of reinforced blast walls, product torture chambers and the padded cells of mad science. Oakley’s design bunker is where inventions are conceived, developed, perfected and manufactured. ...the hidden catacombs of research labs and proving grounds... (sounds cozy - M)

Rosslyn, err... Oakley Chapel. Nice fan.

An epic project with precision in every detail, the structure reflects Oakley’s approach to invention. Exterior architecture signifies a stronghold, a fortress to bunker the triumphs of patented innovation. Authentically Oakley, the colossal entrance is a portal beyond the ordinary and a doorway to possibility. Built on a hilltop to rise above convention...

Modern sunglasses are based upon "polarizing" technology. The poles - gateways to the inner earth? See Holy Donuts for more on pole-centered torus energy fields. Pole dancing, anyone?

SO MANY ICONS:

Blues Brothers John Belushi and Dan Akroyd on a 'Mission from God'.

Holly Golightly - dining on diamonds in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades.