Monthly Archives: February 2011

Cut adrift in a sea of pointless entertainments

“The myth-maker points to the past but speaks in the voice of future history; it is the collective voice of our ancestors, speaking through us, giving us a sense of continuity and destiny; it makes connections between those who have preceeded us, and those who will follow us. Absent those myths, we are cut adrift in a sea of pointless entertainments intended primarily to divert us from our own lives.

It is not the task or responsibility of television to teach your children, or babysit them, or take the place of conversation, or reinforce societal mores, or make you feel good about your neighborhood or your job or your prejudices or your sexual orientation or your odds for hair restoration.

When television took center stage in the world of collective and mass story storytelling, it took on the responsibilities of providing new myths, fictions that point the way toward tomorrow, that remind us that there will be a tomorrow, a better one or a poorer one depending on what we do right now, and that we can’t ever afford to lose sight of that. In short…to rekindle in hearts of millions a sense of wonder, about the world, the future and our place in that future.”

- J. Michael Straczynski, Approaching Babylon, (a 1995 essay about why he created Babylon 5)

1950s movies marathon – part 18

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951, USA, Wise)

The first plan from outer space was to send a giant robot and ask nicely.  Watched it before, and again now.  I don’t think I appreciated the last time I saw it how few science fiction movies (good or otherwise) had been made at this point.  And it demonstrates nicely SF’s potential for portraying ideas that are too big for realism.  In this case, it’s a stupid idea, (Plan 9 with better writing), but this is still a fantastic movie.  And the music .. yes!

My Favorite Spy (1951, USA)

Having successfully ruined 1940′s comedy, Bob Hope now hopes to set his mark on the 1950′s as well.  I hope they don’t let him.  Watched: 4 minutes.

Der Untertan - The Kaiser's Lackey (1951) - Werner Peters

The Kaiser’s Lackey / Der Untertan (1951, East Germany, Staudte)

What Werner Peters respects more than anything else in life is a display of raw Macht.  He allows himself to be subjected to the will of others, so that he may in turn subject others to his.  Generations of Kaiser worship have thus succeeded in creating the Perfect German.  Watched it all.  Wow, these guys have an even bleaker view of the course of German history than A. J. P. Taylor.

The Axe of Wandsbek (1951, East Germany)

I’m playing a game with these German movies.  I try to guess if they were made in East or West.  This one features two references to Nazi persecution of Communists in the first minutes, so my guess is Eastern.  Watched: 7 minutes.  (I was right.)

1950s movies marathon – part 17

Ace in the Hole (1951, USA, Wilder)

A bunch of Chilean miners are stuck down in a cave somewhere, and Pulitzer-aspiring journalist Kirk Douglas is more than happy to turn it into a media circus.  He’s a bastard, but he’s a new kind of bastard, in touch with the low, greedy soul of the times.  Watched it all.

Bahar (1951, India)

Watching a comedy from a foreign culture can be an odd experience. It’s like it’s randomly phasing in and out of the funny zone. But this isn’t too strange.  It’s basically the Indian version of the old Hollywood formula: Wealthy airheads and their romantic troubles, interrupted by song and dance.  Watched: 31 minutes.

The Tall Target (1951) - Dick Powell

The Tall Target (1951, USA, Mann)

Dick Powell is on the train to Baltimore, and so is Abe Lincoln’s assassin.  Watched it all.  Every time I start an Anthony Mann movie, I promise myself not to be biased by how fantastic his previous movies have been. Maybe this one won’t be so good.  And almost every time, I find myself sucked into the movie, scene by scene.  Mann is the director Hitchcock is often credited to be, and for far less money too.  And this is one of his best movies, the kind of cramped, focused thriller Hitchcock (let’s be honest now) only rarely succeeded in making.

Miss Julie / Fröken Julie (1951, Sweden)

Everyone in the Swedish countryside is absolutely despicable.  They do nothing but humiliate, laugh at and beat each other all day.  Why, that’s terrible!  Watched: 13 minutes.