I was going to use my current read-Ken Kesey's so far superb Sometimes A Great Notion-as a counterpoint to this theory: the black clad bohemian author stand-in under heavy ironizing scrutiny and the more rugged, traditional elder brother of the logging clan depicted as quite heroic, but then even the good ol' American elder brother is an outcast in his community (lone individualist scabbing against the union of his small Northwest town), so I guess scratch that.
After looking at my bookshelf, I'm disturbed to find only two counter examples: "The Plague" and "The Magic Mountain." The latter might not even count as Hans doesn't go from alienated bohemian layabout to traditional hero until the very end. For some reason, I don't think pointing out that Celine's fictional stand-in in "Journey To The End of the Night" was both a soldier and a doctor really helps my case either.
My theory definitely has holes, but I agree about The Plague being a good counter-example. Hard to say with MM since his heroism seems pointless and ironic. I bought Sometimes a Great Notion—on Ross's recommendation!—but haven't read it yet, unfortunately—or Celine.
I got it back in March after reading somewhere that it was written “under the obsessive influence of Absalom Absalom.” I’m not going to say it’s *more* worth your time than Celine but goddamn if SAGN isn’t way more my kind of novel. It is probably so much my kind of novel stylistically, thematically, regionally, ideologically (hate to even admit that), that I’m not sure I can appraise it objectively. Just the absolute synthesis of my favorite aspects of modernism, romanticism and realism into one epic work. But, haven’t finished yet.
If I’m going to include an “East Asian film about the trauma of living through rapid development and authoritarianism,” its going to be a Jia Zhangke film, because he’s the most Dickensian director we’ve got left. Probably “Touch of Sin,” but “Still Life” or “Unknown Pleasures” would also work.
If you haven’t somewhere, you should write about your thoughts on the Suspiria remake, which I was offended by the existence of in 2018 and thus never got around to watching, but that more than one person (besides you) has proclaimed a great work.
I wrote about it briefly in the penultimate paragraph of a "Straussian" summer 2020 essay on Mann's "Mario and the Magician":
"By giving us a narrator who complacently warns of fascism as an incursion from without, Mann is really warning us—and warning himself—of a fascism from within. I might compare this German-authored narrative of authoritarian magic in Italy with an Italian-authored narrative of authoritarian magic in Germany. In his 2018 reimagination of Suspiria, Luca Guadagnino portrays fascism less as a specific ideology or characteristic of any one group of people or political faction. It is rather the ruthless, loveless pursuit of identity and power per se, as apt to manifest itself in a coven of female artist-magicians as in a patriarchal right-wing political party. So we don’t miss the point, Guadagnino sets his story against the backdrop of the 1970s, when a wing of the radical left, children of 1968, became increasingly authoritarian and terroristic."
That last line probably seemed more subtle at the time! It's a very long, strange, unpredictable, semi-incomprehensible film, has little to do with the original, but I loved it anyway.
Yes, I had forgotten you mentioned it in that essay, which is notable as (iirc) the origin of your "Trumpism is queer/jewish/ethnic" thesis. I was too scandalized to watch, being at that time semi-opposed on principle to remakes, especially of art films. I'll have to get to it one of these days.
Yes, I'm ambivalent about Spielberg, but that movie is incredibly visionary, moving without being sentimental, consistently imaginative, and Samantha Morton's person is unforgettable. No coincidence, I think, that he was fresh from his "collab" with Kubrick on A.I. (And I love Gattaca too.)
Rewatching Gattaca makes me feel like a small-souled technocrat (or the Jewish mother from Annie Hall). “He has a heart defect and wants to be an astronaut? What is that your business?!”
I was going to use my current read-Ken Kesey's so far superb Sometimes A Great Notion-as a counterpoint to this theory: the black clad bohemian author stand-in under heavy ironizing scrutiny and the more rugged, traditional elder brother of the logging clan depicted as quite heroic, but then even the good ol' American elder brother is an outcast in his community (lone individualist scabbing against the union of his small Northwest town), so I guess scratch that.
After looking at my bookshelf, I'm disturbed to find only two counter examples: "The Plague" and "The Magic Mountain." The latter might not even count as Hans doesn't go from alienated bohemian layabout to traditional hero until the very end. For some reason, I don't think pointing out that Celine's fictional stand-in in "Journey To The End of the Night" was both a soldier and a doctor really helps my case either.
My theory definitely has holes, but I agree about The Plague being a good counter-example. Hard to say with MM since his heroism seems pointless and ironic. I bought Sometimes a Great Notion—on Ross's recommendation!—but haven't read it yet, unfortunately—or Celine.
I got it back in March after reading somewhere that it was written “under the obsessive influence of Absalom Absalom.” I’m not going to say it’s *more* worth your time than Celine but goddamn if SAGN isn’t way more my kind of novel. It is probably so much my kind of novel stylistically, thematically, regionally, ideologically (hate to even admit that), that I’m not sure I can appraise it objectively. Just the absolute synthesis of my favorite aspects of modernism, romanticism and realism into one epic work. But, haven’t finished yet.
If I’m going to include an “East Asian film about the trauma of living through rapid development and authoritarianism,” its going to be a Jia Zhangke film, because he’s the most Dickensian director we’ve got left. Probably “Touch of Sin,” but “Still Life” or “Unknown Pleasures” would also work.
Thank you! I'm an unreliable cinephile and haven't seen those but will put them on the list.
If you haven’t somewhere, you should write about your thoughts on the Suspiria remake, which I was offended by the existence of in 2018 and thus never got around to watching, but that more than one person (besides you) has proclaimed a great work.
I wrote about it briefly in the penultimate paragraph of a "Straussian" summer 2020 essay on Mann's "Mario and the Magician":
"By giving us a narrator who complacently warns of fascism as an incursion from without, Mann is really warning us—and warning himself—of a fascism from within. I might compare this German-authored narrative of authoritarian magic in Italy with an Italian-authored narrative of authoritarian magic in Germany. In his 2018 reimagination of Suspiria, Luca Guadagnino portrays fascism less as a specific ideology or characteristic of any one group of people or political faction. It is rather the ruthless, loveless pursuit of identity and power per se, as apt to manifest itself in a coven of female artist-magicians as in a patriarchal right-wing political party. So we don’t miss the point, Guadagnino sets his story against the backdrop of the 1970s, when a wing of the radical left, children of 1968, became increasingly authoritarian and terroristic."
https://johnpistelli.com/2020/08/16/thomas-mann-mario-and-the-magician/
That last line probably seemed more subtle at the time! It's a very long, strange, unpredictable, semi-incomprehensible film, has little to do with the original, but I loved it anyway.
Yes, I had forgotten you mentioned it in that essay, which is notable as (iirc) the origin of your "Trumpism is queer/jewish/ethnic" thesis. I was too scandalized to watch, being at that time semi-opposed on principle to remakes, especially of art films. I'll have to get to it one of these days.
Nice to see Minority Report in your top 10. One of the first movies that really affected me (the other being Gattaca.)
Yes, I'm ambivalent about Spielberg, but that movie is incredibly visionary, moving without being sentimental, consistently imaginative, and Samantha Morton's person is unforgettable. No coincidence, I think, that he was fresh from his "collab" with Kubrick on A.I. (And I love Gattaca too.)
Rewatching Gattaca makes me feel like a small-souled technocrat (or the Jewish mother from Annie Hall). “He has a heart defect and wants to be an astronaut? What is that your business?!”