The Economy

The Golden Globes and Pre-Code alternatives for the cheap and broke

The First Golden Globes Ceremony was not until 1944 so I’m not going to try and do a retro comparison to the current and past nominees.

Here are the nominees for 2010 all of which I cannot afford to see in the movie theatre.

The Hurt Locker-about the military bomb squad disarming roadside bombs.

Avatar-which looks incredible, but is obviously a message film about the Iraq War and Capitalism devouring the world. I could be wrong, all I saw was the trailer.

Inglourious Basterds is about Killing Nazis, great movie and Christoph Waltz is jaw dropping. They need to create a new category for this guy. Best performance in a movie EVER! He is unbelievable.

Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire about incest and abuse. I did not see this movie, but I will.

Up in the Air-about a guy who fires people and has a hard time committing. I can’t imagine people don’t relate to this. Didn’t see it yet, but I adored Thank You for Smoking and Juno.

So if you got fired from your job, are stuck on the couch because you are pregnant with your second child from your father, have PTSD from disarming roadside bombs in Iraq, are too busy to having a Nazi Revenge fantasy, or you are too broke to go pay the $15 to see Avatar at the Sony IMAX here are some Pre-Code options.

The Hurt Locker-Heros for Sale

Here’s a review from IMDB

“HEROES FOR SALE is terrific because it shows how an ordinary man can beaten by an ordinary life and still be great. As Barthelmess suffers the misfortunes of war and life he seems to grow as a spiritual person. The hypocrisy around him never seems to get to his heart. There’s a great scene where Barthelmess is sitting in the rain in a hobo camp when his eyes meet another man’s. It’s the banker’s son (Gordon Westcott) who took the war glory after he thought Barthelmess had been killed. The sanctimonious banker had fired Barthelmess for his morphine addiction, but finally gets caught for stealing from the bank’s depositors. The banker and son also did jail time (as Barthelmess did for leading a riot). The ironies of life become full blown there in the rain. A terrific scene.”

Avatar-King Kong because it was a huge break thru in special effects at the time. Peter Jackson is a big fan. If you haven’t seen it, you should.

Inglourious Basterds-pre-code brother would be Triumph of the Will primarily because if you haven’t seen it and you don’t get all the Leni Riefenstahl references you lose a lot of the flavor of the movie. Watch the famous Nazi propaganda film, get in the mood, then go see the Nazi Killing movie. You’ll enjoy it more, I promise.

Precious-Well, you get my favorite. Baby Face. About a girl who comes from a home where her father prostitutes her out and works her way up the corporate ladder with her natural talents. Ahem. I think Precious actually uses her brains.

Up in the Air-Madam Satan, this film is about a philandering husband and his wife who have a pointless life of leisure and get an invite to a costume ball on a zeppelin. I’m not kidding. Cecil B. Demille directed this movie. It exists.

Just a follow up on “Wild Boys of the Road”
So I was reading the Times this morning and this caught my attention. Yesterday I wrote about The Wild Boys of the Road and thanks so much for the thoughtful comments on that posting. Leaving kids on their own to fend for themselves is terribly sad. Good lord, I’m a full grown adult and I suck at it.
I couldn’t think of many films yesterday dealing with the plight of children, I don’t know why I didn’t think of Slumdog Millionaire but that’s a good one reflecting street life of children in Mumbai.
This film obviously was very popular. I think that this film could possibly be made in every country. Isn’t that horrible. I mean think about it, they could do an 8 Mile Millionaire and a Katrina Millionaire. I don’t think it would be that difficult to find true stories of children living on the streets across America due to financial distress and broken families.

Anyway, the article in the NY Times about the problems with youth prisons in New York is barbaric. Just so terribly sad. What’s worse, is that this is an old problem.

I wrote a bit about The Godless Girl, but I think it deserves revisiting for a different reason other than religion. The Godless Girl is famous for exposing the reform school system in the United States. Just like the New York Times article, the Los Angeles Times did a report in 1927 about Queen Silver, who was a child prodigy orator that ran an Atheistic Society for whom the film was based.

The two lead character’s in the film both end up in reformatories due to an accident from a death resulting from a conflict between the Christian and Atheistic Societies. The Aetheistic Girl and the Christian Boy are both sent to a Juvenile Reformatory. The conditions depicted in the Juvenile Reformatory were based on six months of extensive research done by Cecil B. DeMille. What is particularly cool about this is that he hired a girl to go undercover and do time in the Juvenile Reform system and the conditions were reflected in the film.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS0Jg1sedc8&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

“According to journalist Dorothy Donnell, director Cecil B. DeMille spent eight months and $200,000 on research before the production began. This included the enrolling of a young male informant into a boy’s reform school and a female informant into a girl’s school. Two large scrapbooks were kept in DeMille’s archive, containing sworn testimonials by many former inmates, with graphic descriptions of the brutalities they endured. Donnell later said, “I have seen these books, and read in them things so revolting that they will probably never be printed.”"

Anyway, read the article Task Force Finds Crisis in New York’s Juvenile Prison System and see the films.

The Cheat or the U.S. Debt Bomb

So I read an article in the Times today about the “U.S. Debt. Bomb.

“What a good country or a good squirrel should be doing is stashing away nuts for the winter. The United States is not only not saving nuts, it’s eating the ones left over from the last winter.” -WILLIAM H. GROSS

Ok, I’m bummed, how about you? I mean I was so looking forward to going Christmas Shopping on Friday. But that’s not going to happen now because the financial world is going to blow up.

Here’s a chart to depress you further from the New York Times:

Multimedia

Graphic

The Debt Buildup

Okay, this is all very complicated, but of course it is all very simple. Basically, we owe money. Lots. And we borrowed from other places to pay, oh….never mind… Tallulah?

Here’s a great Pre-Code film to help wrap your head around all of this.

The Cheat with Tallulah Bankhead (1931). The Shelia Variations has a spectacularly detailed description of this “EEEEFED UP” film.

Basically it is about a woman who has a gambling problem, tries to cover it up, and tries to get money business man who has a strange Japanese Fetish. Okay, the U.S. financial system may not have a Japanese fetish, but we have a very strong dependance on China’s purchasing of our debt. We have become Tallulah Bankhead at a foriegn fundraiser. And the costumes are just not as good. At least Tallulah had a glittering head dress for her international humiliation.

Don’t you think we should be more fabulous for our downfall?

The Fourth Installment of Greed-GOLD

Okay, so it seems the theme of this segment is gold and recycling. Remember the parakeet from the first segment, well now that McTeague is healthy middle class he buys a beautiful golden parakeet from a shop. (His innocent induction into the league of consumerism? The mine, the dead parakeet, the new…oh you understand the dead parakeet in the mine symbolism right?) Ok,then there are a bunch of German kids drinking beer (which may sound abusive but actually beer was the only pasteurized beverage at the time, this I remember from research I was doing years ago on bars in the 20′s, don’t ask).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCw-BnE3tN4&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

So I think we are talking about a new immigrant culture that is indulging in consumerism. I just realized something….are we in America or Germany…wait..yes sorry about that yes we are in California. Then we go to a junk yard where some guy is really into recycling…oh we are definitely in California. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against recycling but they just make me feel so guilty there about what a horrible non-dumpster diver I am. I am not the No Impact Woman. My husband says I’m a bad liberal.
Sorry about, Greed, okay. So then the recycling guy starts talking to this woman who tells him about this golden service she saw in a trunk that is worth a million dollars. We finally see some actual footage here and it is beautiful. There is this hand tinted gold footage of arms over a gold service undulating and handling it. They also have some kind of tribal tattoos…yeah…we are in California.

Third Installment of Greed

Ok, wow this is going to be a bit out of my league. So much set up. I’m a little lost, am I supposed to realize that McTeague is a bad apple even if he is a dentist? He’s got creepy friends with ties and a bit of eavesdropping on the romance between an older couple. There are alot of stills in this segment. The footage of the dolls in the department store and the dolls are fascinating. It somehow seems all so modern and real.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSHNMX2PQUc&hl=en&fs=1&]

The Second Installment of Greed

New characters, puppies, chloroform?
This is a tricky one. The stills help, but the missing footage is heartbreaking.
I feel terrible that all I can think of when I watch this is Steve Martin doing “You’ll be a Dentist” from Little Shop of Horrors. My apologies.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D00Ijdkeomc&hl=en&fs=1&]

Greed

Here’s the first installment of my viewing of the Eric von Stronheim film. The scene with the candles in the Gold Mine is quite beautiful. Kissing the tiny sick bird and throwing a man off of a cliff for his disregard for the tiny creature is quite the establishment of a character.

How do you end your day? Would you save a small puppy and throw your co-worker in front of a train?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdKOEHfxCVQ&hl=en&fs=1&]

Bank Runs-You could have knocked me over with a pin

American Madness -Directed by Frank Capra

I wonder if this is how Lehman Brothers went down. One scene illustrates just how quickly rumors get out of control and leads to a bank run. It just takes a pin to pop a balloon.
The underlying issue is that no one seems to trust the bank and who operates it. The flurry of phone calls and panicked voices. A complete void of trust in the financial system.

The topic of hoarded cash, sitting idle is a theme I’ve heard recently on the news. There is a scene where they discuss bringing the country back to prosperity by getting money in circulation. The scene where they are constructing a bailout is chilling.

We have been here before. In the film a character argues, “Help Jones, and you help the whole circle”. He goes on to say, “Jones is no risk, neither are the thousands of other Jone’s in this country.”

Oh my, hang on tight folks this film is going to hit home. I highly recommend American Madness after you go and see Michael Moore’s film, Capitalism: A Love Story.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6sCsF5fBCk&hl=en&fs=1&]

Speaking of the Weimar Republic…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWiw3mASc5c&hl=en&fs=1&]
I’m always trying to find ways to link the Weimar Republic with our current social and economic environment. The report in Time Magazine about Detroit and other news articles about Detroit’s deteriorated social and economic situation are mind boggling. CNN reports how bodies are piling up in morgues because families can’t afford the $695 to bury them and the city has no money to bury them either. “Oh the shark bites…”

Then a week later there was a huge article in the Detroit Free Press on how when housing and utility assistance was offered the Cobo Center was mobbed. “with his teeth dear…”

Then a few days later I happened to see a jaw dropping documentary on HBO called Outrage.
(I say jaw dropping because you just can’t believe what self-loathing produces, I’m so naive!)
This film is about how many of the polices in Washington against same sex couples are championed by closeted, self loathing homosexuals. Really interesting film. “…and he keeps them pearly white…”

Today I came across a film I have hear of but have NEVER seen. Anders als die Andern this film is a stunner. It is so sad that it was destroyed by the Nazi’s. The scene that really made the connection for me with the film Outrage, was the scene where the blackmailer of Paul is in an all male bar conspiring to blackmail Paul further which eventually leads to Paul being sent to jail.

So what does this have to do with Detroit? Not sure, but for some reason I can’t get Three Penny Opera out of my head. “They call him Mac the Knife”.

Anders als die Andern (1919, Germ.) (aka Different From the Others)
This is what Sex in Cinema has listed about the film:
This silent film (only half of it survives) by director Richard Oswald was reportedly the first representation of male homosexuality (“the third sex”) in a feature-length film, and the first screen depiction of a gay bar (with gay males and butch females); it was also notable for sympathetically portraying homosexuality; the two ill-fated lovers were prominent pianist Paul Korner (Conrad Veidt) and his young music student, Kurt (Fritz Schulz); the film had a tragic ending (suicide for Korner) due to the effects of blackmail (threats of exposure), jail time for violating anti-homosexuality statutes, and the social stigma of being outed; the film was banned by the Nazis and all prints were ordered destroyed, although one incomplete print surfaced in the Ukraine; the film’s themes were repeated in Victim (1961, UK), with Dirk Bogarde.

5th Avenue? Really?

Last night I was in the city and walking down 5th Ave. and could not help but to be stunned by all the vacant stores, spaces and buildings. Very surreal. I just had flashed of downtown Detroit in my mind, but I just can’t imagine that New York could deteriorate to that level. We would have to have a few riots, burn down the city and depend entirely on one industry. I think we may have a little more bounce than that. The Beast of the City may be something to look at to warn us where we may sink to and an ending not to be missed!

Skyscraper Souls
about a loan that is jeopardized, a bad stock tip and poor usage of a dead wife. Hold on kids. It’s going to be a bumpy ride!

So the Swine Flu has been bumped up by the World Health Organization to a level four and the cases in the US have gone from 10 to 50. Our quarantine is going to last awhile. So let’s explore what really has been bugging us all lately. The Man.

The man who gets it all, keeps it all, wants it for free, whines too much has no real identity beyond his job and no real emotional investment in anyone other than himself. You know this guy.

Snakes on a Train

I had a bad altercation on a train recently after having survived a modern music concert

and enjoyed a drink after the show. I had missed my train and had to take the 1:30 am home which can be quite unpleasant. Not dangerous, just drunk. I was seated next to a gaggle of unbearable human beings. An older white man in a suit, a few younger very aggressive more casually dressed, they were joined later by more men in suits. Passing beers around and stories of prostitutes, cocaine and loud testaments to what their carnal plans were for women they saw on the street and didn’t speak to.
I cracked and went after them. It was not pretty. There are reasons why someone like me takes on these creatures, knowing I’m outnumbered and that they are ultimately more powerful. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of working for these people, I’m sick of putting up with them, I’m sick of them on bubble tv and I’m sick of people telling them they are fun or funny or interesting because they are sad and pathetic and shells of human beings. Luckily for me (and because I know exactly how to handle these people: Shock, humiliate, ignore and discard) I convinced the conductor the dispose of these dregs of society. They should also know, that NO ONE LIKES THEM RIGHT NOW! Now is not the time to swagger and brag about money, status and prowess. Now is not the time to wag your entitlement around. Try watching these fine films which Warner Brothers called “Americanism Stories” The Match King (1932), Skyscaper Souls (1932) and States Attorney (1932). Really, really indulgent greed movies. These films make Gordon Geckko look like an amateur. Maybe by watching these films they may learn to get a little humility and think of others before they drop that prostitute off of the balcony.

Movies to Celebrate with as GM goes Bankrupt

So I was reading the headline in the New York Times today about how GM is about to bite it. I am someone who grew up in a car manufacturing community. I saw them close their plant in the ’80s and honestly the place I grew up in is better off for it. Now I don’t think this is a universal scenario, but survival is possible.
Anyway, while you are crying on the couch from the loss of your job, pension, life, car, home…okay while you are watching a VCR in some homeless shelter with a bunch of people you don’t know, find some comfort in this classic Pre-Code film The Crowd.(directed by King Vidor and can I just say that King is a baby name that needs to make a comeback)

It is basically a great story of going to New York with hopes and dreams and…the concept that you could have a future. And way you become a drone and the machine destroys you. I haven’t seen it in a while but I think there is a great uprising and everyone is better off for having bucked the man in the end. Very profound lovely movie and I have read it is the first time a toilet has ever been filmed in American Cinema…so..you know keep your eyes peeled.

This is exciting stuff. I wonder when the first stainless steel appliances were first filmed in American cinema.

Another film I think is pretty obvious, but is appropriate for this moment is Metropolis (directed by Fritz Lang…Fritz not as fun a name as King), now for all you special effects buffs out there, I know this doesn’t look like much to you now, but I dare you to actually sit there and create all those models and drawings that they shot against now without Vectorworks. I think they were glass paintings…wait, I’ll check back later, glass painting came later. Someone let me know if I am wrong.
Anyway, Happy End of the American Dream and know that the world has turned after such tragedies and will continue to turn. You may just not get to spin around the planet with your HD Flat screen TV.

Ecomomic Turmoil and Social Distress