dagblog - Comments for "On Any American Saturday with Jeremiah Johnson, Chief Joseph, Roger DeCoster and the Tea Party"

I don't think that "whites"

Elusive Trope — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:41:41 +0000

In reply to I think you make too much of

I don't think that "whites" are somehow uniquely different from other races. But what I am focusing on is the America, and the history of the film industry in this country has been one predominated by those who were of European descent and the target audience was those of European descent. All one has to do is look at the the portrayal of Native Americans in films. Even in a film like Jeremiah Johnson, while the Native Americans are more realistically portrayed, the protagonist is still someone of European descent.

The reason I would use the word white, is because that is how most people tend to phrase it in their mind. A potential employer would not think I have one African American applicant and one of European descent. He or she would think I have one black one and one white one.

If one is looking at the predominant paradigm in this country from a race perspective, looking at whose psyche was able to impose itself as the "natural" expression through the media, while those whose experiences and outlook diverged were either distorted or ignored altogether, then it would be the "whites" psyche. From a gender perspective, it would have been the patriarchy that has the longest winning streak.

There has been improvements of the past 40 or so years. And as demographics change, and those in the entertainment industry chase after the dollar follow those demographic changes, we will probably see more and more diversity in the expressions coming out of Hollywood and elsewhere. That doesn't mean that distortions and the ignoring will somehow go away.

I think you make too much of

EmmaZahn — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:12:27 +0000

In reply to great quote. and what the

I think you make too much of whiteness, of race Do you truly think that other races under the same influences and circumstances aka cultures would behave differently or perhaps even worse? If you must paint with such a broad brush, why not just say European?

Me too! I have not been to a

Richard Day — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:07:25 +0000

In reply to In terms of tearing down

Me too!

I have not been to a theatre for a decade.

But we have one on the other side of town and I would pay the ten bucks and another ten bucks for popcorn and such. hahaha

I already hit the web and found all these trailers and these interviews and...

This 13 from House is 27 and one of the stars. God I fell in love with her already and I had given up on Harrison Ford and here comes James Bond.

Hell...

The title itself seems like

moat — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:04:46 +0000

In reply to In terms of tearing down

The title itself seems like something Baudrillard would gloat over.

In terms of tearing down

Donal — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 20:51:11 +0000

In reply to Donal's comment about how

In terms of tearing down myths, I can't wait to see Cowboys and Aliens.

Donal's comment about how

moat — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:58:24 +0000

In reply to On Any American Saturday with Jeremiah Johnson, Chief Joseph, Roger DeCoster and the Tea Party

Donal's comment about how some Westerns built up mythologies while others tore them down got me thinking about High Noon: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044706/

Marshall Kane is about to embark upon a life of doing more things for himself just when he is called back to protect the town. The scenes where this unfolds builds up the myth.

Then the town people leave Kane without any support in the actual fight. For Kane, the sacrifice he was willing to make to his community turns out to be something that he has to will for his own sake.

But what is that sake? If duty and honor are the tethers involving me with my community, Where does finding out that I am my own moral code (while it lasts) place the boundary between the Individual and Society? This part of the movie tears down a myth and keeps a cool heart amidst certain kinds celebration and good cheer.

In other words, High Noon deconstructed the Ayn Rand myth: The Invention of Myself can be clearly distinguished from Service to Others.

One of the tragedies of the Vietnam War is that it silenced a certain conversation that is remembered the way messages are found through a Ouija board. The cognitive dissonance you so deftly point to between conservative and liberal conceptions of the self comes from a disgust with the notion of sharing values with the opposition. The cultural wars I have seen close up and personal all showed the intent to cast out what the other held dear. In terms of myth building/destruction, the stories generated from this-group-always-hating-that-group are louder than the one's describing how people who used to talk each can't anymore.

So maybe there is a connection between High Noon and the Last Picture Show: http://www.imdb.com/find?s=all&q=The%20Last%20Picture%20Show

Not only do you have the Bridges family showing up in successive generations of perfectly crafted frames of celluloid, they take a hard look at how stuff actually happens.

P.S. I am with Dickday in bowing out of the bestest of the bestest thing. On another weekend, I could really embarrass myself.

great quote. and what the

Elusive Trope — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:03:16 +0000

In reply to What makes something an

great quote. and what the boomers are witnessing is that what follows them is a radically changing demographic. Life was so much easier when it white Jews making movies to be censored by white Catholics for a white Protestant audience.

What makes something an

EmmaZahn — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 15:26:28 +0000

In reply to On Any American Saturday with Jeremiah Johnson, Chief Joseph, Roger DeCoster and the Tea Party

What makes something an American film? Ironically, a quote from a producer describing their early movies in the Warner Bros. documentary comes to mind: "movies made by Jews and censored by Catholics for a Protestant audience". If that doesn't perfectly explain the confusion of the boomer American psyche, I don't know what else will. Wish I could remember who said it.

I would add that every

Elusive Trope — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:26:17 +0000

In reply to To me, Jeremiah Johnson is

I would add that every society, every tribe, every person has a mythology (note to self: another tangent - tie in with Joseph Campbell), and to merely tear down a particular mythology is not enough. One must understand the foundation of the mythologies that do exist.

Yeah, Eastwood who started

Richard Day — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 00:22:45 +0000

In reply to To me, Jeremiah Johnson is

Yeah, Eastwood who started out as John Wayne threw out an entire genre...

And he did it as an actor in the Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

But I keep seeing Hackman read about the Duck. hahahaha

I am too fickle. Rating is all based upon my mood at the time.

Probably a hundred films out of thousands that I would rate #1.

But I tell ya what, I love it when someone takes the time to really write about one film.

When I see something, old or new, and it has an affect on me I love to wrote about it without reference to other critiques.