Sunday, November 28, 2004

Medium Cool, Cool Medium

By Jordy Cummings

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Posted 11/28 | Add a Comment

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  1. Paths of Glory.  Kubrick

    Posted by ed from ny  on  11/28  at  09:59 PM

  2. Hamburger Hill. Irvin.

    Posted by Theo from Greece  on  11/29  at  06:09 AM

  3. Dude Where’s my Car?

    (if only to show what the children of elites are capable of in a war culture)

    In fact, the whole thing is hard to watch…

    Posted by Kap Fulton from San Diego, CA  on  11/29  at  12:36 PM

  4. Teen films, like others low-budget high-returns “Genre” type films - “Dude Where’s my Car” being the cross pollination I would assume (havent seen it) between stoner comedy and teen sex comedy, are dual edged.  One one hand, the recent spate of them reinforces patriarchal and sexist and homophobic positions.  There are no ugly people, gay people or fat people in these films.

    On the other hand, with the right writers, teen films can allow the type of critique of bourgeois society that was relegated to “women’s films” and film noir in the McCarthyite 50s (Douglas Sirk,etc.)

    My perenially teen-aged 22 year old sister recently implored me to see “Mean Girls” which is very critical of the status quo. The Christian Right satire “Saved” as well, though a little more arty, is hilarious. Imagine a fil with all of the teen hearthrobs, about a kid who gets kicked out of class for wearing a “Bush Terrorist” t-shirt and then a whole revenge of teh nerds type coming of age story with the kids defending him.  They then all go to Washington to march against the war.  Along the way critical issues of imperialism and capitalism are introduced.

    David Geffen or Harvey Weinstein would make a film like that.  Screenwriters what are you waiting for?

    Posted by j cummings from  on  11/29  at  01:57 PM

  5. I can’t help but feel that being anti-(fill in the blank) does not prompt someone to strong action as much as being pro-(fill in the blank) does.  Anti-war and its logical antipode, pro-sanctity-of-human-life, are two immediate examples that come to mind.  Would there be conditions like poverty and war to be opposed to, if we were taking affirmative action to spread our wealth amongst the general population and valuing the sanctity of all human life in the first place?  I think perhaps not.  One of the more quizzical experiences that I’ve had with some anti-war proponents resulted from a question that I posed to them:  “I’m clear about what you are opposed to, but what are you specifically advocating for in its place?” Their answers, or lack thereof, often reflected why the anti-war movement is where it is today.

    Posted by Nader Rider from  on  11/29  at  03:18 PM

  6. I disagree.  The potential strength of the antiwar movement is that it is simply antiwar.  If it was too involved in left politics, it would alienate its many libertarian constituents.  If it subsumed itself to the Democrats, it would allienate both libertarians and the left (that is why it got so weak last year)....UFPJ do a good job at PR, they just need better advisors outside of the Democrat AND sectarian loop.

    Posted by j cummings from  on  11/29  at  03:27 PM

  7. I’m not clear about what you are specifically disagreeing with, and I would like to be.  Be that is it may, however, I don’t think that many members of the anti-war movement are, indeed, anti-war.  To be more accurate, they are more anti-certain-forms-of-war (preemptive, imperialistic, oil-driven, etc.).  I know many people who call themselves anti-war proponents, but would fully endorse a war in self-defense.  That is not an anti-war position.  Rather, it is a position against certain forms of warfare, while supportive of others. The label of being anti-war is often a misnomer, I feel.

    Posted by Nader Rider from  on  11/29  at  03:37 PM

  8. P.S.  And with specific regard to our invasion and occupation (AKA war) of Iraq, I submit that our willingness to cloak ourselves with the garb of being anti-war… does a disservice, of a kind, to our cause.  For many of us, we are more anti-continued-occupation-and-rule-by-proxy of Iraq, than we are anti-war… at this particular junction of the crises, that is.  And if that is the case, would it not serve our interest more to be more accurate re. our position on the issue? 

    General labels often afford opponents the opportunity to circumvent specific issues, simply because those specific issues aren’t being flown as the rallying flag for its supporters.  Are are more anti-war, at this point in the crises, or are we more anti-continued-occupation-and-rule-by-proxy of Iraq?  The flag we fly is an important consideration to the cause we want to advance.

    Posted by Nader Rider from  on  11/29  at  04:21 PM

  9. Shayam Benegal’s “The Making of Mahmat Gandhi” is powerful film and a candid and honest portrait of Gandhi in his South Africa days, and his role during the Boer war.

    Posted by Tanweer Akram from  on  11/29  at  09:27 PM

  10. Tanweer I haven’t written you back yet and I’m sorry - but your recomendations are great - particularly the Noyce version of Quiet American, which should be viewed I think alongside the underrated film The Ugly American, with Brando, a veiled story of the early days of Operation Phoenix and Edward Lansdale.

    Posted by j cummings from  on  11/29  at  10:51 PM

  11. Joint Security Area (JSA), a Korean movie, about the North Korea-South Korea conflict, is a moving portrait of the human dimension of the conflict.

    The plot of the story is revolves about incident in the Korean border involving soliders that sparks a political/diplomatic firestorm that ignite a war. It is an engaging drama, and a testimony to the growing maturity of South Korean cinema. Constrast JSA with Shiri, a more cold war type view of North Koreans.

    Posted by Tanweer Akram from  on  11/30  at  07:40 PM

  12. You want very funny, antiwar, “anti-american” humor...check this out...

    Posted by j cummings from  on  12/01  at  01:38 PM

  13. Must chip in to say that I thought the Manchurian Candidate remake was nothing short of absolutely brilliant. As a huge fan of the original, I found this new one utterly gripping, compelling, and enlightening. I have little doubt that Halliburton-ish corps like Manchurian Global engage in these type of ops all the time. In fact, I think the point of the movie was to warn that such a govt. is what we have on our hands at this very moment. Too bad it didn’t make more money, it seemed failry well reviewed.

    Denzel and Liev Schreiber were brilliant, mad props to the entire production…

    Now when is Oliver Stone going to get off his ass and do a Zapatista movie that explains the failure of dog-eat-dog capitalism and globalization to the masses?

    Posted by Greg Schwartz from Kent, OH - USA, Earth, Milky Way  on  12/20  at  02:53 PM
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