Letters to the Editor
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It is not about generations
To all the writers who think this is a generational thing. I have an earlier criticism of Ms. Paglia, and I'm 55.
Any good filmmaker or muscian studies his forebears, as far back as possible. They incorporate what they have done if they like, then move forward with their own style. Simple. Blues muscians from the 1920s and filmakers from the 20s USSR should be studied too. It is not either / or.
If you are an artist, you can't throw out the 60s anymore than you can pull a bone out of your skin. On the other hand, culture didn't stop - it changed somewhat and moved on. Could you say creativity was very high in the 60s? I'd say yes, it's pretty obvious. Creativity moves in waves, based on what the overall political and social context is.
Because of the failure of the Iraq war, and the crisis in the environment, it is weakening the dominant Christian / corporate culture in this country right now. Actually reminds me of the 60s a bit. I see a revival of all sorts of art and culture, especially on the Internet. And it is a worldwide phenomenon, cross-fertilizing each country's culture intellectually.
Paglia is asleep at the wheel now, but the opposite, being dead to the past, is just more of the same.
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Classic films?
Camille sez: Aside from Francis Ford Coppola's "Godfather" series, with its deft flashbacks and gritty social realism, is there a single film produced over the past 35 years that is arguably of equal philosophical weight or virtuosity of execution to Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" or "Persona"?
Camille: Could it be you're stuck in an artsy-snobby time warp in which only films from the past by foreign directors with subtitles and oppressively heavy philosophical implications can be considered classics?
I'll give you two films from the 1990s that rightfully belong in the "classic" category:
A League of Their Own (1992). This film, about the pioneering women's professional baseball league that flourished during World War II, is full of history and social relevance, not to mention a great story and a superb performance by Tom Hanks (as a drunken ex-major leaguer). Geena Davis, Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna round out the roster and there's a great cameo performance by Jon Lovitz as a cynical, wisecracking baseball scout. Who said socially relevant films can't be fun? Penny Marshall was the director.
Groundhog Day (1993). You want heavy philosophical implications? How about a film about a world-weary TV weatherman who must live the same day of his life over and over, and over....until he gets it, not just "right," but perfect? Bill Murray is perfect as the smartass weatherman, Phil Connors. Andie MacDowell pairs up with Murray in one of the most touching love stories ever on film. Harold Ramis directed.
I would add a third film in the "classic" category, but I don't know if you're ready to appreciate the subtle nuances of Rodney Dangerfield's "Caddyshack."
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ALL THE GOOD SHIT'S ON CABLE
Oh, Camille! Gotta love her - really knows how to get a rise outta the guys. The irony. I know. I know.
My own take on her politics? Self-hating liberal, is it not obvious? But the whole liberal self-flagellation thing - sooo
3 years ago, Camille. And as Hillary says it's 'Progressive'. Move on, babe.
Anyway, so. Point one: I personally thought Anne Edwards kicked Ann Coulter's ass. "high-testosterone counterpunching?"
Anne was flailing like a madwoman, Camille.
Point two: "saggy Hillary cleavage." Uh-uh, not in this house, babe. Hillary's been looking good, especially in that debate with the pink top that Edwards dissed and Barack claimed to like. Hillary looked radiant that night! And the cleavage's been holding up pretty well for a Senator her age;-)
Point three: "No one will ever resolve the eternal hatreds and ethnic rivalries of the Middle East, which have been churning and festering for 5,000 years." Actually people have had the strength and courage to bring peace to the Middle East at various points in it's tumultuous history. It just doesn't too long.
Only a decade and some ago Yitzak Rabin almost got them there again. But he got shot in a tragedy the full effects of which we are still paying for.
Point four: "Republicans will still comfortably retake the White House next year if my fellow Democrats don't get their act together on the cardinal issue of geopolitics." Isn't that exactly what Barack and Hillary have been trying to sort out in their past coupla tangles?
Point five: With you on the death of arthouse. ALL THE GOOD SHIT'S ON CABLE...
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Oh give me a break!
You see these two fingers? It's the world's tiniest violin playing just for you.
This article isn't just sloppy and silly, it's also so Euro-centric it gives me hives.
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Wow Camille
Did I make out with you in the balcony of an art house in Chicago back in the late 60s? You old cradle-robber you! It was hot.
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It burns...
Ohh...the stupid...it burns my Precious.
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Ridiculous and Sublime
Well, maybe the best ideas are inevitably mined at the inception of any great new art form, only to be rehashed and diluted as the years go on. I must agree with Godard that film is dead, but that's not what is troubling. What I find disconcerting is that where shall a new expression be found? Surely not in video games.
As a gen-x type (whatever that means anyway), I had no business caring about the films of Ingmar Bergman. Instinctively I rented 'Persona' at our neighborhood video store (now a Blockbuster, may it rest in piece) and found myself in pandemonium at the end. To this day I still cannot think enough about this film. And I will never forget silently crying at the end of 'Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie', as I watched the characters walk into the void of postmodern entropy.
Thank you Camille Paglia, for the YouTube link. Ordinarily, neither Rita Hayworth nor Mazzy Star have such power over me, and I find music video montages at best quite laughable, but this was gorgeous, like finally being there, at the "palm at the end of the mind," if one likes, witnessing the last extent of the American imagination.