Comments for The Ottery

Comment on Silver-Dollar Stupidity by theottery

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:42:03 +0000

Ah, the twisted eugenics movement. You know what’s a really interesting read? Angelina Weld Grimke (the African American great-niece of the white abolotionist–now THERE’s an interesting family history) has a short story called “The Closing Door” that was published in The Birth Control Review in the 1910s. From one angle, you can read it as a protest against lynching; but, because the main character turns against having children (because she doesn’t want to bring children into a world where they could be lynched because of the color of their skin), the story could actually end up serving the agenda of the racist eugenicists (anything to keep “those people” from reproducing). The story’s in a collection called The Sleeper Wakes, and it’s fascinating for anyone interested in the cultural history of the period.

Comment on Silver-Dollar Stupidity by Mink

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:51:55 +0000

Yup. We're just not that good at researching our heroic icons. Your complaint synchs with a recent post on Dawn Eden's blog about Margaret Sanger (not Dawn's only post, by any means, on Sanger). Sanger, still championed by advocates of women's rights for her insistence on the right to birth control, was an avid eugenicist, whose promotion of contraception had an overtly racist agenda. Ironically, Planned Parenthood's first Margaret Sanger award was given to Martin Luther King Jr. (!!!) Her legacy is awfully confusing, not least because she was herself inconsistent in her beliefs and their expression. I would think that she wouldn't be a very useful figure to pro-choice organizations, nor to feminists, nor to minority communities. But she is to all. Honestly, do some reading, people...

Comment on Indiana Jones and the Girl Who Didn’t Like Him by Icelimbo

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:21:03 +0000

First, a bit of trivia: the scene in Raiders where Indy simply shoots the sword-wielding baddie wasn’t supposed to happen that way - it was supposed to be this big fight sequence, sword vs. fists & whip. But on the morning they shot it, Ford had just gone through a night of mild food poisoning and his stomach was in a bad way. So he decided to take matters into his own hands and improvise so he wouldn’t have to do all the stunt fighting. The actor playing the swordsman just went with it, and Spielberg liked it so much they rewrote the scene on the spot, did a few more takes, and that was that.

Something to also keep in mind about the Indy series is that the adventures were supposed to resemble the serial cliffhangers of the 20s and 30s (also the basic inspiration for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow). These were B-movies, hastily cobbled together and shot on shoestring budgets, with over the top plots full of holes, and a focus on exotic locations (to the extent the small budget could provide, meaning there was much reliance on swarthy foreign-looking actors in heavy makeup), derring-do, dashing heroes, damsels in distress, and flashy action sequences often involving chase scenes and just-in-time escapes from fire, monsters, etc. Looking at Indy 4 from this perspective, I found it to be strongly rooted in its original concept, and exploited the real fun in that kind of genre in great ways.

That doesn’t mean, however, that I thought it was a particularly good movie. For its genre, I thought it was excellent. As the fourth Indiana Jones film, I found it stale, predictable, and populated with one-dimensional characters. It was great fun, the way a summer blockbuster is supposed to be. But there was no excitement or suspense like was captured in Raiders, or character exploration and real emotion like in Crusade. And very little of it was funny. Even the old serials were supposed to be funny.

Comment on Eat, Pray, Love: “Travel Porn for Women” by Jillian

Sat, 31 May 2008 21:38:19 +0000

Julia Roberts??? Ha. Excellent. Anything that keeps her occupied in movies I wouldn’t have wanted to see anyway. *grin*

Comment on Indiana Jones and the Girl Who Didn’t Like Him by Jillian

Sat, 31 May 2008 21:37:13 +0000

I still haven’t seen Indy 4… but it was a series of movies that I liked as a kid. Plus I watched/read all the Young Indiana Jones available–which might have been more legit adventures.

I think what is different now is quantity. And from that quantity an opportunity to find quality.

But back in the day, Star Wars or Star Trek had the corner on SciFi (then along came Dune, Stargate etc). And Indiana Jones had the monopoly of that style of adventure (as you mentioned to bring along Pirates–which I did not like, and The Mummy, which I did)… we watched what we had. But, it’s the sentimentalist in me that enjoys the movies now.

Doctor Who held up well though.

*chuckles* Of course it was the lack of my genres in the nineties that drove me into the arms of Japanese culture.

Comment on Doctor W00t!: Steven Moffat to take over as Lead Writer on Doctor Who! by K

Wed, 21 May 2008 04:47:01 +0000

Do you think the disappearing David Tennant has to do with the Stratford-on-Avon summer festival? Just curious…

“Girl in the Fireplace” is one I haven’t seen yet, but sounds like it should be first on the list!

Comment on Doctor W00t!: Steven Moffat to take over as Lead Writer on Doctor Who! by Jillian

Wed, 21 May 2008 01:51:09 +0000

I’m very pleased also! This news is close to the best Christmas and Birthday present for the next two years… heh.

Comment on Atonement . . . Never an Absolution by The Otter

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:04:20 +0000

I’ve never really interpreted the song that way, I guess because I see it as asking for an inner peace to face difficult external circumstances. I haven’t seen the song misused in a Gnostic-y or escapist context, but it doesn’t surprise me that people would do that. In Atonement, if we’re to view the song as part of Briony’s re-creation of the event, then it makes sense that it would be somewhat dualist–she has some issues.

Hey, if you’re commenting on the hymn, that means you read the whole post, even though you haven’t seen the movie! Shame! (I didn’t really expect you and Mama Chipmunk to see it anyway, so no harm done. I just like to scold you for reading ahead.)

Comment on Atonement . . . Never an Absolution by Pop Otter

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:40:03 +0000

The three available tunes for the hymn can be tried out at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/d/e/dearlord.htm. The more familar tune in America is Rest, which I have always found easy, but dreadful. Repton seems the hardest of the three to fit with the words, but I can certainly see why those with a developed aesthetic sense would prefer it. Any tune for these words is a hard sell for me. I am not sure that Whittier has understood his scripture reference to 1 Kings 19. The still, small voice that speaks after the earthquake, wind, and fire, sends Elijah back into the thick of things, not into an ethereal calm. The poem/hymn is often used in an escapist (perhaps dualistic or Gnostic) way that seems counter to biblical faith and mission. In my view, the Bible points us toward an affirmation and restoration of embodied life. That’s why we have resurrection and a new heaven and new earth, not merely a spirit slipping away from the confines of bodily and earthly existence.

Comment on Persepolis; or, Why Did They Leave out the Part about God and Karl Marx Looking Alike? by K

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 06:24:41 +0000

Just got to see “Persepolis…” and loved it. Probably my favorite film that I’ve seen in the past year (including “Little Miss Sunshine”).

Thanks for the heads-up on identifying Marx when he appears alongside God. I wouldn’t have known what to do w/ the second bearded male floating in the clouds otherwise. =)

Anyway, I now plan to read the book.

And I enjoyed a few extra chuckles as I pictured you as a miniature otter, parading around the house and chanting “down with the shah” or the equivalent!