31.12.10
Lines
Amongst the tens of thousands of lines repeatedly typed "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" for Jack's manuscript in Kubrick's The Shining, the employed typist rebels, writing instead "All work and no pay makes me a dull boy".
19.11.10
A Red Hat by Gertrude Stein
"A dark grey, a very dark grey, a quite dark grey is monstrous ordinarily, it is so monstrous because there is no red in it. If red is in everything it is not necessary. Is that not an argument for any use of it and even so is there any place that is better, is there any place that has so much stretched out."
3.11.10
Empathy With The Protagonist
Why do so many people feel that to like a film they must 'like' the protagonist within it? For these people a film is to be rejected if the protagonist shows no weakness, no humanity, no affection, no guilt, and so on. If the protagonist is despicable, and the audience feels they cannot identify or empathise with them, there is a strong dislike of the film, and criticism of the director. Oh, how wrong these people are.
An example of this is Stanley Kubrick's 'Barry Lyndon'. Barry Lyndon is the protagonist that people cannot tolerate; a reprobate, with whom there is no relief but rather relentless indifference. He goes through his whole life without changing his ways. Perhaps there may be fleeting moments of guilt, but this only makes it worse as they are only fleeting - he is soon up to his old tricks again.
But this is precisely what makes Barry Lyndon a great film. If the protagonist is such that we cannot empathise or identify with them, what a blessing. This is a hard thing to achieve, and I admire the film-maker who manages to pull this off.
I believe that people do not like films with such characters for many reasons, but by and large because
1 - they need a happy ending, telling them that life is always ok in the end (very weak);
2 - they do not like to see traits in these characters which they too possess (the lack of common identity is simply suppressed);
3 - they are simply not very clever or interesting people.
If anyone would like to tell me of other films with such unlikeable characters I am most interested.
An example of this is Stanley Kubrick's 'Barry Lyndon'. Barry Lyndon is the protagonist that people cannot tolerate; a reprobate, with whom there is no relief but rather relentless indifference. He goes through his whole life without changing his ways. Perhaps there may be fleeting moments of guilt, but this only makes it worse as they are only fleeting - he is soon up to his old tricks again.
But this is precisely what makes Barry Lyndon a great film. If the protagonist is such that we cannot empathise or identify with them, what a blessing. This is a hard thing to achieve, and I admire the film-maker who manages to pull this off.
I believe that people do not like films with such characters for many reasons, but by and large because
1 - they need a happy ending, telling them that life is always ok in the end (very weak);
2 - they do not like to see traits in these characters which they too possess (the lack of common identity is simply suppressed);
3 - they are simply not very clever or interesting people.
If anyone would like to tell me of other films with such unlikeable characters I am most interested.
28.10.10
A Gift From A Friend
My friend shared this information with me recently:
"Was just thinking of this today.
I have a few things that I would not bear in a partner.
On my next serious date I will have a list:
Do you keep the TV on when you are at home all the time?
Do you watch daytime TV?
Do you keep the TV on as "company"?
Do you like cooking?
Does it really matter what you eat?
Do you try to add that "little touch" to food?
Are you obsessed with your parents?
What is the relation with your siblings?
What do complex family issues annoy you?
Do you live to make money?
How do you wake up?
What do you do if you are awake at night?
What is your ideal breakfast?
Do you find dried fish repulsive?
How do you behave in nature?
What do you think of spending time on your own in nature?
Do you enjoy chit chat conversations while hiking?
Describe how you would make your latte/capuccino?
What do small things in life do to you?
Do you keep everything in order and how do you act when things are not as you expect them?
What do you make of trivial things, tiny details/facts?
Well. I think this is enough Right?"
"Was just thinking of this today.
I have a few things that I would not bear in a partner.
On my next serious date I will have a list:
Do you keep the TV on when you are at home all the time?
Do you watch daytime TV?
Do you keep the TV on as "company"?
Do you like cooking?
Does it really matter what you eat?
Do you try to add that "little touch" to food?
Are you obsessed with your parents?
What is the relation with your siblings?
What do complex family issues annoy you?
Do you live to make money?
How do you wake up?
What do you do if you are awake at night?
What is your ideal breakfast?
Do you find dried fish repulsive?
How do you behave in nature?
What do you think of spending time on your own in nature?
Do you enjoy chit chat conversations while hiking?
Describe how you would make your latte/capuccino?
What do small things in life do to you?
Do you keep everything in order and how do you act when things are not as you expect them?
What do you make of trivial things, tiny details/facts?
Well. I think this is enough Right?"
16.10.10
In The Middle
Finishing something is always depressing - unless it is cooking something well, or eating a good meal (anything food related will do).
To finish something one should feel happy and proud, and a sense of achievement. But yet it is always the opposite feeling. But I am not suggesting that one should leave things unfinished. On the contrary, to not finish things can be even more depressing.
I would like to lead my life as an interruption in the middle - never really beginning anything, and therefore not having to finish anything - a middle man, perhaps. I don't think this will ever be achieved though.
To finish something one should feel happy and proud, and a sense of achievement. But yet it is always the opposite feeling. But I am not suggesting that one should leave things unfinished. On the contrary, to not finish things can be even more depressing.
I would like to lead my life as an interruption in the middle - never really beginning anything, and therefore not having to finish anything - a middle man, perhaps. I don't think this will ever be achieved though.
Shameful Behaviour
Someone recently told me that they feel ashamed of their past, even though they didn't do anything that they should feel particularly ashamed about.
I, too, feel this way. The result of this is that the thought of a by-chance meeting with someone from my past, or even seeing photographs of them, or hearing about them through others, makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure what this is - perhaps it is a worry that they know something about me that is hidden but has always been with me. They probably don't, but the fear of it is enough.
My apologies if anyone out there reading this is from my past (though I would still prefer it if you stayed away from me).
I, too, feel this way. The result of this is that the thought of a by-chance meeting with someone from my past, or even seeing photographs of them, or hearing about them through others, makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure what this is - perhaps it is a worry that they know something about me that is hidden but has always been with me. They probably don't, but the fear of it is enough.
My apologies if anyone out there reading this is from my past (though I would still prefer it if you stayed away from me).
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