Bildwasser
-
Posts
959 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Never
Posts posted by Bildwasser
-
-
Why would anyone be surprised that a person born in the United States
in the early 19th century would be a racist? It would be amazing if they
weren't. Lincoln was in many ways a man of his times, and those times
were racist and so was he. Where Lincoln fit in the spectrum of racism
may be hard to qualify, but he seems not to have been a rabid racist and
his views were gradually evolving in a more tolerant direction. It has nothing
to do with comparing a current outlook with that of another time, it has to
do with the statements of Lincoln which showed him to be a racist-one
who believes in the superiority of one race over another. It's actually a
rather simple matter.
The original article sets out the case for this being a sugar coating of Lincoln,
not that that should be a surprise when it comes to Hollywood historical films.
While I was at the hotel to-day, an elderly gentleman called upon me to know whether I was really in favor of producing perfect equality between the negroes and white people. While I had not proposed to myself on this occasion to say much on that subject, yet as the question was asked me, I thought I would occupy perhaps five minutes in saying something in regard to it. I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. I say upon this occasion I do not perceive that because the white man is to have the superior position the negro should be denied everything. I do not understand that because I do not want a negro woman for a slave I must necessarily want her for a wife. My understanding is that I can just let her alone. I am now in my fiftieth year, and I certainly never had a black woman for either a slave or a wife. So it seems to me quite possible for us to get along without making either slaves or wives of negroes. I will add to this that I have never seen, to my knowledge, a man, woman, or child who was in favor of producing a perfect equality, social and political, between negroes and white men.
Fourth Lincoln-Douglas Debate (18 September 1858).
-
I have seen it described as a "cult classic." That term is now used so often
it's lost a bit of its distinctiveness. Take away the camp factor and a few
weirdly grotesque and humorous moments and what's left is a rather pedestrian
horror flick. I don't see it as the kind of film that bears multiple viewings, at
least not for me.
-
I guess it shows how difficult it is for people to rise above the times in which
they were born, even in the case of Lincoln. His views did evolve over time.
I think the point the article was trying to make was that Spielberg was sugar
coating the biography of Lincoln, which is hardly new when it comes to how
Hollywood treats history.
We should take into account the environment in which people are born and
raised and understand how that affects them, but that can't be used as a
complete excuse, because then nobody would be individually responsible
for their acts. It is a vexed question.
-
No, I don't mind. Well, it has been three and a half years, and that's in internet
years. And doing it every weekday got to be a bit of a chore, though still a mostly
pleasant one. And New Year's was a good time to do it, out with the old, in
with the new. Plus insufficient respect for the four human-like lifeforms of Kraft-
werk, and last but not least, Cold Turkey slipping completely off the charts.
The Beatles 4ever, Hello Goodbye.
-
Dear Abby R.I.P.
John Prine, Dear Abby.
-
The good news is that Maltin was wrong and this one only runs 85 mins.,
which is long enough. More good news, David Manzy is Baby. This guy
totally nails the role. Surprised he never became more famous.
Now take out the camp elements and the just weird ones and it's a so
so suspense flick, nothing to get excited about. The best part for me was
the last fifteen minutes, where the director manages to build up a bit of
excitement as to what exactly happened to Baby. And also for the reason
that one can think to oneself, this thing will be over in fifteen minutes, thank
goodness.
Ruth Roman was looking pretty good, and she gets to deliver the immortal
line Get your *** out of his mouth. Bet that's something she never thought
she'd say in a motion picture when she first started out in the biz the 1940s.
And Ruth gets down with the young folks, dancing at Baby's birthday party.
She's a trooper. I felt very sorry for Marianna Hill, who died before her hair
style had finally evolved into something that would flatter her. It was a big
improvement from the Lion King mane she was wearing when the movie
started, and it evolved nicely from there, but alas, death came just a little
too early.
From a financial angle, I would ditch the PG rating and go for an R and change
the flick into a soft core porn scene. It could be advertised as Ruth Roman's
first nude role. Box office would have been better if this thing had been shot in
Lacto-Vision and concentrated on that subject, since there are hints of it in
the film already. Go all out and bring in the lactation fetishists. Got to think
outside the box.
All in all, I give The Baby a C-.
-
-I am the Balrus.
-No you're not! said Little Nicola.
-
Impossible Germany? Niemals, meine Freund. I know I've already said this,
I like Wilco's music when I hear it, but I never quite got into them. Just one
of those things. I can barely keep up with the CDs I just bought over the
last year.
I'm sort of winding it down, more or less, but just for the heck of it, Loretta
Lynn singing Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home.
-
Yep, and it's in full color too. I think this will be more a Who's Afraid of
Virginia Graham flick. And they both have unusual "children" in them.
I'm getting a bit intrigued, almost against my will. If it turns out to have
none of those so bad film redeeming features, I can always bail. This
baby doesn't need to have his diapers changed, at least I hope so.
-
Maybe Kate Smith could do a brief cameo as mommy, and
the indentation in the bed would have to be much larger.
-
The first time you see the film, and if no one blabs the plot, Perkins is
sympathetic, especially in his heart to heart with Janet back in the
parlor. That only totally works on a first viewing.
I could see a fat old drunk of the witty, self-deprecating humor type as
sympathetic, but it wouldn't be the same.
-
This guy already had enough weird mommy problems without it getting
any more kinky. A fat old drunk also might have had a problem getting
into the dress and being effective wielding that big old knife. I've seen it
quite a few times too. Sometimes I'm in the mood to watch it again and
sometimes not, but it's always effective, even if one's seen it many times
before.
-
This is another one of these drive-in flicks that TCM is trying to sell as
"underground." Yeah, sure. It does look like it might have that "car
wreck" quality, where you hate to turn away. TCM has its running time
as 85 minutes, but according to Maltin's Guide it is 102 minutes long.
Hmmm.
I prefer to remember Ruth Roman when she was a sexy dame back in
the 1940s and 1950s, not in the 1970s. Add one point for Marianna Hill,
who is hot, but subtract one point for only a PG rating. We will see.
-
I haven't seen it in a year or so, but next time it's on I'll have to watch for
the details. I'd guess that the room next to the office was only used when
the guest was a single woman, and I'd bet that the peephole has been there
for quite a while. Naughty Norman.
In the book he was also a fat middle-aged man, so Tony Perkins was a turnabout
as far as physical resemblance. I can see someone like Rod Steiger or Theodore
Bikel playing it that way. Now when you say Norman "does" his mother when drunk,
I hope you mean he imitates her.
Yep, What a DUMP. Mother Goddam in her prime vs. Norman Bates. Mano a mano.
Now that's something I'd like to see. ; -
For people who get their history from movies it may come as a surprise that
Lincoln was a racist and hardly an abolitionist. For others, this has been a
well known fact for quite some time, so there is nothing very new or shocking
about it. He was a man of his time and imperfect. If you want to depend on
perfect leaders, you're in big trouble. And Lincoln's original goal in the Civil
War was indeed to preserve the Union and not to abolish slavery. Fortunately
for the slaves, the southern hotheads did not realize this about Lincoln and
thought he was ready to abolish slavery almost immediately. By their impatience
they ended slavery in four years when it might have lasted much longer. While
Lincoln came late to the fight against slavery and perhaps through mixed motives,
in practical terms he did stamp out the slaveocrats and their inhuman institution,
and for that we should be truly grateful.
-
Free your mind and your a s s will follow.
-
Everybody sees things through their own lens, whether big or small things
or in-between. It's interesting to toss these things around and find different
reactions.
Yes, a dimly lit room full of stuffed birds isn't exactly a turn on. And that motel,
even for 1960, was a bit shabby. I can just hear Bette Davis' three word take on
the ole Bates Motel.
-
Now that would have been a funny bit of dialog: I stepped in some **** back
there, so now I've got to go back and wipe my shoes off. Now that's a real
bad girl, using language like that. I've never read the book either and probably
never will. The Wiki entry has a short section on the differences between book
and movie.
When Sam and Lila check in I seem to recall a shot of Norman reaching for the
key to the room next to his office, the one he gave to Marion, then he hesitates
and gives them the key to a room way down the row. I believe they snuck into
Marion's room and found a piece of paper with figures written on it. Next time
Psycho is on, I guess I'll have a lot of things to look for.
-
That does happen. I've never seen the big deal about clothes. I find some
of today's fashions amusing, as I'm sure other people would have found what
people wore twenty years ago amusing, but I don't really care. Most people
get older, have to find jobs and they wear more conservative things. Much ado
about very little.
-
It is humorous, but as you say, that motel wasn't exactly packing them in,
so he had to take what he could. Even a psycho can't be too choosey in that
situation. Didn't she say something like she had stepped into a trap and was
going back to fix it, maybe a trap like a bird would get into? Didn't he give
Lila and Sam a room about halfway down the row, so he knew she was out of
bounds. According to Wiki, in the book Lila and Sam become more than
friends, but it was decided to leave that out of the film.
Maybe Normom would have done better with the ladies if he had gotten rid of that
Frankenstein-like outfit he sometimes wore.
It's only a movie, Ingrid. I always get a kick out of that one, true or not.
-
I agree that Miles is rather plain compared to Leigh, but I don't know if it's
greatly significant because during the fist section of the movie the sister
doesn't really come into play. Everything is focused on Janet. I don't re-
member the details of her conversation with Normom, but she didn't seem
very seductive and I don't believe she admitted she had stolen the money.
He gave her the room next to the office, which he probably would have done
to any pretty girl who happened to check in. Remember that it was a different
situation with Lila. She checked in with Sam, who was pretending to be her
husband.
Janet was jittery while buying the car. It didn't help that that cop was right
across the street watching her.
-
I agree. Whatever triggered his killing it was set at a pretty low
threshold and Lila was young and pretty and would have set if off.
-
What happened? Freedom, baby plus fifty or so years. Try to find photos
fifty years apart where people are dressed the same way. Things change,
including fashion. We survived penny loafers, we will survive low riders too.
-
That song was sampled by Fatboy Slim too. Then there is Charlie Daniels'
Uneasy Rider from the early 1970s. Of course Charlie's shifted a few gears
since that time.
Just goes to show that, whether it's the 1950s or the 2010s, people are apt
to follow what others are wearing. No biggie. Just take a look at The People
of Walmart site, and most of them are adults. Uniforms are for Hitler Jugend
or Young Pioneers, not for freedom loving Americans. B-)
Who's going to watch THE BABY?
in General Discussions
Posted
Even though it's hard to take too seriously, an adult playing a baby is
pretty icky, not something I'd want to see too often. He was ahead of
his time in having his own crib.