Going South

[malsperanza]

Last week I went South in more ways than one.

I saw O Brother, Where Art Thou & liked it very much. I always like Coen Bros. movies (& am not sure why I missed this one when it came out). And I collect retellings of the Odyssey. This one, like Charles Frasier's fine novel Cold Mountain (also set in the South), does a nice job of walking the borderline between myth or parable and realism.

The Coens often use absurdist comedy to blur the line between what is meant to be realistic and what is meant to cross over into magic. Like Garcia-Marquez if he had a better sense of humor. I expecially liked John Goodman as the Cyclops. And I liked Clooney's turn as a Ulysses who is (in his own way) clever and polutropos, a man of many minds and ways, but not exactly brilliant in the usual style of Odysseus (except for his brilliantined hair).

But I have a question:

Why is that lynch-mob scene shot as an homage to The Wizard of Oz? I mean, direct citation: camera angles, the whole scene with the stealing of costumes, the weird chanting of the guards, etc.

I suppose because The Wizard of Oz is our own childhood Odyssey parable, and Dorothy is our Odysseus (all either of them wants to do is Get Home). And there is a good joke in the grotesque idea that the Grand Wizard of the Klan bears some resemblance to the Wizard of Oz--as if he were no more dangerous and equally absurd. That if we had the courage of Odysseus, or even Dorothy's courage, we could make such wickedwitches melt like brown sugar. But unlike Miller's Crossing< this movie trivializes danger and horror, which Homer never does. Curious.

I also watched Fight Club, recently & liked that too; it reminded me of Memento and Mullholland Drive of course. Am not so sure it's a rallying cry for the alienation and angst of today's alienated and angst-ridden youth. But a good movie. Very funny.

So it turns out that staying in hotels with cable TV is worthwhile after all. Who knew?

But my god, the rest of TV is terrifying: fish-headed aliens in other galaxies must think we are all Republicans from the far fringe of the party. For that matter, everyone already thinks CNN represents the typical American viewpoint and I now see how very dangerous that is. Between that and the ridiculous suicide of the Yankees and this and this, I only survived last week by administering judicious doses of George Dickel and pulled pork.

Mm. BBQ.

Comments

[porcinea.livejournal.com]

Mmm, pulled pork.