Saturday, March 22, 2003

Filling the Skip (2)


Saturday, 22 March 2002

Another grab-bag of ideas that I haven't found much use for.

Why does the opening sequence of David Puttnam's Chariots of Fire remind me of the opening sequence of Leni Reifenstahl's Olympia? Why did Commodus' return to Rome in Gladiator remind me of Triumph of the Will? Why do certain sequences in the first Star Wars trilogy do the same? Why does the final shot of the film version of Ayne Rand's The Fountainhead remind me of Russian "Social Realist" art? Where can I get hold of a copy of Jude Suss, so I can make a comparison of the protrayal of Suss with the depiction of various ethnic groups in Hollywood actioners?

Now that I've finally seen Steven Spielberg's AI, I'm looking forward to the release of the Critic's cut which will, I hope, spare us the last 20 minutes of the film where Spielberg completely bottled out. There are better ways to end a film than thrashing out a heavy-metal power riff on the audience's heartstrings. Next time, Steve, just smash the fucking camera.

On John Howard's Address to the Nation: typical of our PM to be the last leader in the Coalition of the Willing (as distinct from the somewhat larger Coalition of Approving Rubberneckers) to pick up on the idea that it's easier to make a cogent moral case for the war if you're willing to make a clear distinction between a country and the regime which you're trying to remove from it. In fact, his frequent references to Iraq made it quite clear that he still hadn't got it at all.

Further remark on Crean and the increased threat of terrorism: I forgot to introduce [that paragraph by saying] that it's the worst form of scare-mongering. Now I'm stuck with saying that it's the worst form of scare-mongering too, which doesn't say much for my priorities. This is what a lapse of attention can cost you.

Why do so many people get confused between bad ideas that work for them and good ideas? Why do so many dismiss ideas that are really quite simple but difficult to understand as too complex? Why do they resent anyone who understands either better than they?

And, believe it or not, there's even more of this shit to come.

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