As someone who follows the media I would like to dedicate one blog to this feeling or thought. I'm sick of hearing about Angelina's children. I know Brad's hot and she's hotter, and their kids are super cute. She's a great humanitarian, saving unfortunate kids, and it's great, but enough already!
Check out this week's US Weekly and you will find a whole spread on her newest adoptee PAX, and what life is like with her kids. Frankly, and you can call me jaded, I'm tired of hearing about her kids. It was cool when she started adopting and it was crazy when she got pregnant with Brad's kid, their new baby, Shiloh. It's just that she adopts a kid every 6 months, my only interest now is to see if she stays with Brad Pitt, if she adopts so many kids that she goes bankrupt, and if the kids as adults turn in to druggees or end up being stable.
Obviously, David Spade of the Showbiz Show, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466622/ , on Comedy Central has similiar thoughts, in last night's show, he did a skit calling Shiloh 'the real baby' and talking about how soon Maddox will be doing cocaine with the likes of Kate Moss. Thoughts that have crossed my mind many times before his monologue. It makes me feel sorry for her spoiled kids, it just seems inevitable that one of them won't become a coke head if they stay in the LA scene. Really. David Spade is a genius. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Showbiz_Show_with_David_Spade
http://www.tv.com/the-showbiz-show-with-david-spade/show/43213/summary.html
In fact one of the reasons I left Hollywood was that I got sick of sooo many people taking coke all the time. Cokeheads are really annoying. Just yesterday my Sister was complaining of the prevalence of the drug and how easily people use it as a pick me up in that town. Especially Kids who as teenagers feel lost in the shadow of their parent's celebrity and accomplishments.
So enough said, everywhere I turn a magazine is toting the news of the new adoptee, just go to the local grocery store and you will feel nauseous, news shows, and especially E! Entertainment cannot stop covering the story.
It's a sign that nothing interesting is going on-other than Britney Spears imploding and exploding. That became too much to watch her problems, and felt just wrong if anyone suspect's that her problems were getting worse because of the attention.
Angelina and Brad seem to thrive on the attention to their kids, maybe it's a big PR scheme, I'm starting to wonder..because I just don't want to hear about her adoptions anymore.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Hilary Clinton Falling
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070328/pl_bloomberg/atu9goqh4ga8_1
Pair this with the Southpark episode which aired last night, and she's not looking so good. The SP episode was one in which a nuclear device was found in her umm body that they called a snatch or snizzetch.
At one point a military man tries to deactivate the device and Hilary's vagina rips his head off and throws it out of her body. Yeah. The references to Bill and treatment of Hill in this episode do nothing for her. It's Southpark Conservatism at it's finest.
Pair this with the Southpark episode which aired last night, and she's not looking so good. The SP episode was one in which a nuclear device was found in her umm body that they called a snatch or snizzetch.
At one point a military man tries to deactivate the device and Hilary's vagina rips his head off and throws it out of her body. Yeah. The references to Bill and treatment of Hill in this episode do nothing for her. It's Southpark Conservatism at it's finest.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Katie and Tom???
So the most recent US Weekly, I think not on stands, but out to subscribers shows a picture of Katie Holmes looking harried and lost with a headline stating 'Inside Katie's Prison'. The inside article then details her life of being a prisoner of Tom Cruise.
I still remember a year ago when The Soup kept making fun of her response to media questions with a tight and weird 'Sure'. My husband then felt compelled to say 'that poor girl'. It's true I do feel sorry for her. Tom Cruise seems to have lost his perfect charismatic shine. It doesn't matter that he has made up with Brooke Shields after the public post baby depression argument in 2005. And that Brooke Shields is willing to publicly state that they are friends now? Well, good for her.
It was a great move to make up with her, she was angry and her anger was shared by his major support demographic-women, particularly women in their 30's who grew up with him. And he is certainly dressing like a Daddy these days and proudly displaying his wife. But it's far too obvious that he's not quite right. His hair is always disheveled, his clothes are a little off, he's too too happy. I never thought a celebrity could be too happy or shiny, but he looks manic.
Par this with reports that Katie Holmes is cut off from old friends and family members; suddenly it seems like Tom Cruise is your stereotypical powerful man dominating and abusing his wife.
As someone who has spoken out on domestic abuse issues and spent time studying them and the traditional profile of an abusive controlling man-I think his current profile of behavior makes him seem like a movie villain instead of a film hearththrob. Really, it's like the plot of a TV movie, powerful famous male actor, adored by millions, has a fabulous career, fabulous wealth, takes on a young naive actress to make into his slave. In public the villain is perfect and in private he is a monster.
Well, not quite. There have been no reports of physical abuse, and sources state that Katie Holmes has simply been overwhelmed by the new life she has been given. So there is a more plausible reason for her behavior than the idea of Tom Cruise being a hateful abusive jerk. It doesn't seem to matter as people do love to hate Tom Cruise now. I thought he was untouchable, but his comments in 2005 made so many in the media angry, his public fights didn't help, and his strange behavior have made him a target.
At the same time, I have a hard time believing that life is so bad for Katie, I mean she has tons of money, she gets everything she wants materially and she is married to a very powerful good looking man. She shops like mad, he picks up the bills, and she's uber famous now.
Can I just take a detour and say for someone who shops so much why does she always look so bad? She needs a stylist, her taste is deplorable. Maybe that's why they are rumored to be loveless. Although I find that hard to believe with the baby.
In fact the same article states that they were making out like mad at a Superbowl party this year. If it's true that she is a people pleaser and will try to make anything work as the US weekly article states then I can feel somewhat sorry for her. She may be in over her head. Maybe she just never realized she would have to cut back her career, change her religion, enter a crazy media circus, or loose friends and family for him. And what's with his mom and sister living with them? Moochers!
Whatever the deal is now, she is set for life even after this marriage is over, and believe me, they will get divorced eventually.
Another thought that occurs to me is that Cruise went for a very young woman to have his children and his profile now fits that of the mogul older man trading in wives for younger models. That's a turn off and is incongruous with his good boy image. Also, I don't believe he is straight, maybe that's why he looks so weird because he is stressed out trying to be straight.
Whatever the case it seems the Cruise's have become the newest media target since no one can take too much more about Britney Spears loosing her mind-although she is the blurb this week too.
Can I just say I long for the days of Brad, Jen A. and Angelina on the tabloids? That was sooo much more fun. I don't care much about Angelina's newest baby and Britney just makes me feel bad, and I don't like Tom Cruise anymore so hearing about his problems is annoying. I hate the Scientologists except they are so crazy they are entertaining. In fact the problems Tom keeps having mediawise are a great advertisement against the Scientologists. It's like 'see they aren't that great, they make people crazy! Just look at Tom Cruise!'
(Note: I would like to take a moment to extend Condolences to Tony Snow and his family. Today the news announced that his cancer has come back and metastized to his liver. Liver cancer is very serious, a mentor of mine died just last Summer from it. Maybe because he is young he will survive. Blessings.)
I still remember a year ago when The Soup kept making fun of her response to media questions with a tight and weird 'Sure'. My husband then felt compelled to say 'that poor girl'. It's true I do feel sorry for her. Tom Cruise seems to have lost his perfect charismatic shine. It doesn't matter that he has made up with Brooke Shields after the public post baby depression argument in 2005. And that Brooke Shields is willing to publicly state that they are friends now? Well, good for her.
It was a great move to make up with her, she was angry and her anger was shared by his major support demographic-women, particularly women in their 30's who grew up with him. And he is certainly dressing like a Daddy these days and proudly displaying his wife. But it's far too obvious that he's not quite right. His hair is always disheveled, his clothes are a little off, he's too too happy. I never thought a celebrity could be too happy or shiny, but he looks manic.
Par this with reports that Katie Holmes is cut off from old friends and family members; suddenly it seems like Tom Cruise is your stereotypical powerful man dominating and abusing his wife.
As someone who has spoken out on domestic abuse issues and spent time studying them and the traditional profile of an abusive controlling man-I think his current profile of behavior makes him seem like a movie villain instead of a film hearththrob. Really, it's like the plot of a TV movie, powerful famous male actor, adored by millions, has a fabulous career, fabulous wealth, takes on a young naive actress to make into his slave. In public the villain is perfect and in private he is a monster.
Well, not quite. There have been no reports of physical abuse, and sources state that Katie Holmes has simply been overwhelmed by the new life she has been given. So there is a more plausible reason for her behavior than the idea of Tom Cruise being a hateful abusive jerk. It doesn't seem to matter as people do love to hate Tom Cruise now. I thought he was untouchable, but his comments in 2005 made so many in the media angry, his public fights didn't help, and his strange behavior have made him a target.
At the same time, I have a hard time believing that life is so bad for Katie, I mean she has tons of money, she gets everything she wants materially and she is married to a very powerful good looking man. She shops like mad, he picks up the bills, and she's uber famous now.
Can I just take a detour and say for someone who shops so much why does she always look so bad? She needs a stylist, her taste is deplorable. Maybe that's why they are rumored to be loveless. Although I find that hard to believe with the baby.
In fact the same article states that they were making out like mad at a Superbowl party this year. If it's true that she is a people pleaser and will try to make anything work as the US weekly article states then I can feel somewhat sorry for her. She may be in over her head. Maybe she just never realized she would have to cut back her career, change her religion, enter a crazy media circus, or loose friends and family for him. And what's with his mom and sister living with them? Moochers!
Whatever the deal is now, she is set for life even after this marriage is over, and believe me, they will get divorced eventually.
Another thought that occurs to me is that Cruise went for a very young woman to have his children and his profile now fits that of the mogul older man trading in wives for younger models. That's a turn off and is incongruous with his good boy image. Also, I don't believe he is straight, maybe that's why he looks so weird because he is stressed out trying to be straight.
Whatever the case it seems the Cruise's have become the newest media target since no one can take too much more about Britney Spears loosing her mind-although she is the blurb this week too.
Can I just say I long for the days of Brad, Jen A. and Angelina on the tabloids? That was sooo much more fun. I don't care much about Angelina's newest baby and Britney just makes me feel bad, and I don't like Tom Cruise anymore so hearing about his problems is annoying. I hate the Scientologists except they are so crazy they are entertaining. In fact the problems Tom keeps having mediawise are a great advertisement against the Scientologists. It's like 'see they aren't that great, they make people crazy! Just look at Tom Cruise!'
(Note: I would like to take a moment to extend Condolences to Tony Snow and his family. Today the news announced that his cancer has come back and metastized to his liver. Liver cancer is very serious, a mentor of mine died just last Summer from it. Maybe because he is young he will survive. Blessings.)
Monday, March 12, 2007
Dog Days a novel by Ana Marie Cox
Dog Days- http://www.amazon.com/Dog-Days-Ana-Marie-Cox/dp/1594489017
This novel was an interesting bit of tawdriness in the non-campaign season. I say non-campaign because it's not a major election year unlike next year. PSSST! Don't tell that to anyone on the current presidential campaigns! The book chronicles a young girl from Iowa-Melanie Thornton's life as a PR flack (Junior level) for the John Kerryesque John Hillman as he runs for President. His campaign is thrown a muck by a C-4 group called the Clearheads who accuse him of having brain experiments performed in college on himself.
The comparison to the Swiftboat Vets for Truth campaign is obvious. Even more obvious is the current President and incumbent in the race-William Golden. Golden says dumb things, the country does not like him(the book is written from the view of a liberal democrat), and yet he has an undeniable charm that infuriates the Hillman campaign and makes their work hard.
The main character has a best friend who is a lobbyist named Julie Thorton. Julie seems to be a composite of a number of people I have met, she's from a wealthy family, she loves spin, she has no c0mpunction about lobbying for any special interest. Julie warns Melanie that the TV host she is having an extramarital affair with is not honest and may be using her.
Julie and Melanie's friendship is a source of comfort to Melanie, as Julie is wise about the ways of DC, but in the end the friendship only serves as a demarcation of what Melanie wants to leave behind.
The affair with Rick Stossel (the tv host) is hard to understand, at first it seems to be going somewhere. But, it quickly becomes clear by Julie's statements and Melanie's internal monologues that the relationship is doomed. (SPOILER ALERT, SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU CARE) Personally, I suppose the relationship is supposed to mean more to the reader, but Cox kills it too quickly for me. I know it's going to end by the first 1/4 of the book and I don't like the guy. Maybe Cox just wanted to take out some aggression on the general DC establishment male newshow hosts. There are certainly more than enough hosting shows, cheating on wives, full of vigor.
And she has worked with more than a few in her career. Whatever the case, the character of Rick Stossel is barely attractive between his teethpicking, big nasty glasses, fatness, and unfaithful actions. He is supposedly very fast on the words and good at strategy. These two things are worth gold in the DC circuit, I'll admit they mean more then looks, most of the time, although money seems to get most people a second slot position on the social circuit even if they aren't respected at the end of the day.
What I liked about the book is that it: chronicled the relationship between pr flacks and the media just like it is, detailed the weather in August accurately(and believe me the weather in August in DC is worth an entire book, only rivaling the works of Tennyson on Misissippi), the drinking culture is dead on, and a variety of DC political culture in miniature. I think the best part in the book is when Melanie looks over to see an intern writing down word for word what the head of the campaign is saying to the Hillman staff. That would include the swearwords and dumb jokes.
I have to laugh because in my intern days and I know just about everyone else in this town, there was a sense of needing to perform but not always knowing what to perform on that leaves room for this kind of behavior. The descriptions of young staffers wearing 'West Wing' appropriate expressions is so perfect. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to tell people to calm down and chill out, that their uptight behavior wasn't going to win them a better job. Its just that behaving like this seems safer than being relaxed and jovial. Melanie's story of being called to DC for her work on issue campaigns in the Midwest and being from Iowa is almost a stereotype, I grew up in Iowa and I can honestly say there are more Iowans out here than any other state working in politics.
The best part may be when the characters of Melanie and Julie create the Capitolette, a blog supposedly written by a very slutty, albeit not bright, DC woman who has enough sex stories to make a locker room proud. The story unwinds to focus more on this character as Melanie and Julie find a woman to play the part for real-Heather. Heather is just like the character they have written out and perfect for the media blitz that follows her public appearances.
What I have to stop and remark on is that I knew the woman this Capitolette is based on-she was called the Washingtonnienne. A good friend worked with her and while I did not know her personally, I knew all about how stupid she was and how her blog affected the staff of Senator Dewine. So, at the time that she came out with her identity or had it revealed, she was working with Wonkette-or Ana Marie Cox-to gain publicity. At the time people in town conjectured that maybe Wonkette had created the whole story with only part being true to garner interest in her blog.
I have to say after reading this book which is a loosely veiled version of the 2004 events leading up to the election that year-I am now more convinced that Cox did in fact help invent Washingtonienne. I read the book Washingtonienne, Jessica Cutler's thinly veiled fictional telling of how the Washingtonienne blog blew up, it rang mostly true in describing why she behaved the way she did-but Cox allludes to the book being written in Dog Days.
So I have my own theories now based off these two books and in the end I don't think they would matter much to anyone who is not part of the DC circuit. And especially if they were not in town during this time period and familiar with the events.
I finished the book in a week and found it entertaining, but really in the end too insiderey and a bit fluffy. I couldn't recommend it to anyone unless they were seriously considering coming to DC to work on a campaign or in the political circuit.
Her webpage- http://www.anamariecox.com/
Her bio-http://www.anamariecox.com/bio.html
The Wikipedia version of her bio- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Marie_Cox
This novel was an interesting bit of tawdriness in the non-campaign season. I say non-campaign because it's not a major election year unlike next year. PSSST! Don't tell that to anyone on the current presidential campaigns! The book chronicles a young girl from Iowa-Melanie Thornton's life as a PR flack (Junior level) for the John Kerryesque John Hillman as he runs for President. His campaign is thrown a muck by a C-4 group called the Clearheads who accuse him of having brain experiments performed in college on himself.
The comparison to the Swiftboat Vets for Truth campaign is obvious. Even more obvious is the current President and incumbent in the race-William Golden. Golden says dumb things, the country does not like him(the book is written from the view of a liberal democrat), and yet he has an undeniable charm that infuriates the Hillman campaign and makes their work hard.
The main character has a best friend who is a lobbyist named Julie Thorton. Julie seems to be a composite of a number of people I have met, she's from a wealthy family, she loves spin, she has no c0mpunction about lobbying for any special interest. Julie warns Melanie that the TV host she is having an extramarital affair with is not honest and may be using her.
Julie and Melanie's friendship is a source of comfort to Melanie, as Julie is wise about the ways of DC, but in the end the friendship only serves as a demarcation of what Melanie wants to leave behind.
The affair with Rick Stossel (the tv host) is hard to understand, at first it seems to be going somewhere. But, it quickly becomes clear by Julie's statements and Melanie's internal monologues that the relationship is doomed. (SPOILER ALERT, SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH IF YOU CARE) Personally, I suppose the relationship is supposed to mean more to the reader, but Cox kills it too quickly for me. I know it's going to end by the first 1/4 of the book and I don't like the guy. Maybe Cox just wanted to take out some aggression on the general DC establishment male newshow hosts. There are certainly more than enough hosting shows, cheating on wives, full of vigor.
And she has worked with more than a few in her career. Whatever the case, the character of Rick Stossel is barely attractive between his teethpicking, big nasty glasses, fatness, and unfaithful actions. He is supposedly very fast on the words and good at strategy. These two things are worth gold in the DC circuit, I'll admit they mean more then looks, most of the time, although money seems to get most people a second slot position on the social circuit even if they aren't respected at the end of the day.
What I liked about the book is that it: chronicled the relationship between pr flacks and the media just like it is, detailed the weather in August accurately(and believe me the weather in August in DC is worth an entire book, only rivaling the works of Tennyson on Misissippi), the drinking culture is dead on, and a variety of DC political culture in miniature. I think the best part in the book is when Melanie looks over to see an intern writing down word for word what the head of the campaign is saying to the Hillman staff. That would include the swearwords and dumb jokes.
I have to laugh because in my intern days and I know just about everyone else in this town, there was a sense of needing to perform but not always knowing what to perform on that leaves room for this kind of behavior. The descriptions of young staffers wearing 'West Wing' appropriate expressions is so perfect. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to tell people to calm down and chill out, that their uptight behavior wasn't going to win them a better job. Its just that behaving like this seems safer than being relaxed and jovial. Melanie's story of being called to DC for her work on issue campaigns in the Midwest and being from Iowa is almost a stereotype, I grew up in Iowa and I can honestly say there are more Iowans out here than any other state working in politics.
The best part may be when the characters of Melanie and Julie create the Capitolette, a blog supposedly written by a very slutty, albeit not bright, DC woman who has enough sex stories to make a locker room proud. The story unwinds to focus more on this character as Melanie and Julie find a woman to play the part for real-Heather. Heather is just like the character they have written out and perfect for the media blitz that follows her public appearances.
What I have to stop and remark on is that I knew the woman this Capitolette is based on-she was called the Washingtonnienne. A good friend worked with her and while I did not know her personally, I knew all about how stupid she was and how her blog affected the staff of Senator Dewine. So, at the time that she came out with her identity or had it revealed, she was working with Wonkette-or Ana Marie Cox-to gain publicity. At the time people in town conjectured that maybe Wonkette had created the whole story with only part being true to garner interest in her blog.
I have to say after reading this book which is a loosely veiled version of the 2004 events leading up to the election that year-I am now more convinced that Cox did in fact help invent Washingtonienne. I read the book Washingtonienne, Jessica Cutler's thinly veiled fictional telling of how the Washingtonienne blog blew up, it rang mostly true in describing why she behaved the way she did-but Cox allludes to the book being written in Dog Days.
So I have my own theories now based off these two books and in the end I don't think they would matter much to anyone who is not part of the DC circuit. And especially if they were not in town during this time period and familiar with the events.
I finished the book in a week and found it entertaining, but really in the end too insiderey and a bit fluffy. I couldn't recommend it to anyone unless they were seriously considering coming to DC to work on a campaign or in the political circuit.
Her webpage- http://www.anamariecox.com/
Her bio-http://www.anamariecox.com/bio.html
The Wikipedia version of her bio- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Marie_Cox
Friday, March 09, 2007
The Remains of the Day
I finally sat down earlier this week and watched this movie. It had been on my list of movies to watch for years. This movie has a strange draw in that it is well acted and beautiful to look at frame by frame. http://imdb.com/title/tt0107943/ Of course I think if I had seen it in theaters, it might have gone over my head a bit. It's true some movies are really meant for people who have lived a bit-not the teeny bopper set.
The tension between the main character James Steven and Mary Kenton is sometimes funny, annoying and finally painful. I won't waste time talking about the plot of this move since I think IMDB or even Wikipedia can sum it up better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Remains_of_the_Day
But it revolves around the two main characters as they work to serve Lord Darlington. The backdrop is that it is the 1930's and England is not at war yet with Germany. This part is all told in flashbacks as Steven travels in the 1950's to see Miss Kenton. The flashbacks show that the Nazi movement is gathering steam and tensions are building between the English and the Germans. Lord Darlington takes the unpopular approach of trying to work with the Nazis to keep peace and trusts them far more than he should..his behavior is intrepreted as sympathy for them in the present of the film looking back.
Later in the film as Lord Darlington travels to see Miss Kenton, his car has broken down, he is confronted by some locals at a pub. They discern from his knowledge and familiarity with political figures and leaders that he must have known the now disceased Lord Darlington. The Wikipedia description says Steven is ignorant of his former employer's mistakes in judgement-that he was led astray by friends who were fascist, Nazi and anti-semitic. That may be true of Lord Darlington. But I have no doubt that James Steven knew better-it is very clear from his reactions.
Lord Darlington is someone that Stevens respects and seems to like as a master. It is clear he values his job and takes great pride in his ability to serve according to tradition. He even endures ridicule from a houseguest of Lord Darlington when asked what he thinks of a political situation repeatedly 'He says he doesn't know' by a member of the noble class. It is very clear that he doesn't want to speak out of place.
He admits to a man that gives him a ride to fix his broken down car upon perisisten questioning-that he did work for Lord Darlington and that his master admitted on his deathbed that he had been wrong to trust his 'friends'. This admission alone is enough to show that he is not in denial but someone who is simply uncomfortable with his emotions and does not feel comfortable sharing them.
Lord Darlington holds many meetings at his home Darlington Hall between Germans, Americans and other heads of state. These meetings are crucial to the story as they explain the unfolding build up to the war for England. Mr. Farraday a congressman from the U.S. says that the English are foolish and that they need to let career politicians who are experienced with these matters deal with the problem. He is a stereotype almost of the ugly american and this could explain why his warnings are not heeded. Farraday-played by a still able bodied Christopher Reeves-cuts a shocking and fiercly intelligent figure. At the end of his speech, the camera cuts to Steven as he twitches into a move to fix the table so that he does not allow himself to show his reaction to Farraday's speech. But he is obviously affected.
The meetings also reference the transition that England is going through in the period after the 1911Parliament Act which limited the role of the artistocracy through the House of Lords. England's political system and policy actions are ham strung as it tries to figure out how to make decisions. An example of this tension acted out would be when Steven continues serving while his father dies, he hears his fathers last words that he loved his mother, until she was unfaithful to him. And that he is proud of his son, the dichotomy between serving at a state dinner of great importance while his own father dies causing him to look sick-mirrors the current political system of England.
The same tension passes back and forth between Steven and Kenton as they fall in love with each other. Kenton gives Steven the chance to tell her how he feels about her, to express his emtions. But, he always holds back to his comfort zone of practiced conservative butler behavior. Their relationship is tepid in comparison to another younger couple who both impetuously leave the hall to get married, despite not having a career path in place.
Finally, Miss Kenton in an attempt to get Steven to admit his feelings tells him that she is going to leave with another man(Mr. Benn) to start a boarding House in the Western part of the country. Her choice also seems to be about leaving the pain of working with Steven while being in love with him.
She later says when they finally meet up 'the she was miserable for years' after she left Darlington Hall. It is too late for Steven and Benn as she eventually did fall in love with her husband. Her marriage is not happy, she has been spending time away from her husband-one of the reasons Steven went to visit her-but she has learned to love her husband and has a daughter who needs her to help with a new grandchild that is soon to arrive. A brief scene between Mrs. Benn and her husband quickly dispells any notion the audience has of a chance for romance between Steven and Benn.
And in fact when Steven arrives his only offer to Benn is for her to come work with him again at Darlington Hall for Mr. Farraday. While I found myself in hope that they would get together at this point, Steven's paltry offer of a job living out the same stilted love they had before is not desireable. It is clear that Mrs. Benn may have taken the offer if not for her daughter's new child, she even says she would go into service again which would not leave room for Mr. Benn, but it must be by her daughter.
Steven's inablity to allow his emotions to come through is shown in a rather funny way as well through is interactions with Lord Darlington's nephew, Cardinal. Cardinal is a journalist and rather quirky personality, Steven comes to know him when Darlington asks him to give the man who is far too old to need this education at the time-about the birds and the bees. Cardinal turns the awkward exchange into a chance to banter with Steven. They develop a friendship as the awkward ridiculousness of the first exchange is lost.
Steven cannot at first banter at all with Miss Kenton, but by the end he obviously can do so when he chooses. One sign of his emotional retreat in a flashback when she threatens to leave is that he stops bantering and retreats entirely into his butler mode-asking her to take care of a table when she is crying instead of offering her what she wants comfort and possibly a chance at a life together.
Steven again looses his ability to banter when Cardinal in his last scene tells Steven that his uncle is a fool. Lord Darlington is currently entertaining Nazi's in his parlor to try and work with them. And that they country is going to war, we later find out that Cardinal died in WWII through Steven's conversation with Mrs. Benn.
It was impossible for me not to cry as I watched Mrs. Benn get on the trolley and say good bye to Steven. They obviously love each other and it's a tough realization that their chances ended when she left Darlington Hall and their opportunities are lost. Briefly, before she heads home they discuss the end of the day and she says 'some people think this is the best time of day, the remains of the day'. Personally, I see this phrase as meaning there is still time left in the day to do things differently and reflect on what has happened and what you have done. This metaphor relates to life in that as long as you are alive no matter how many years have passed you still have time to do things differently and to reflect on what you have done. Steven shares some emotion with Mrs. Benn and an affection for her that is honest before she leaves.
The movie is incredibly sad as it shows opportunities lost, to avoid the pain of WWII, and a great love lost. But both characters have things to look forward to at 'the remains of the day'. Mrs. Benn has a new baby to take care of and a chance at a renewed relationship with her daughter. Steven has gone to work for Mr. Farraday who by nature is the opposite of the naive, uptight, and maybe even ignorant Lord Darlington. At the end, Steven watches as a bird becomes trapped in a room with Mr. Farraday and himself, Farraday deftly catches the bird and sets it free while Steven holds the door open. Our final scene of Steven is as he watches the bird fly away. The bird is a symbol of freedom and a new begining.
I found this movie much easier to enjoy when I realized it was written by a Japanese British man-Kasuo Ishiguro. The interaction between Steven and Kenton reminds me of the Japanese culture of emotional reserve that is so unfamiliar to the West and especially Americans. It also adds to the culture of confusion that is so apparent as England changed in the 1930's.
The tension between the main character James Steven and Mary Kenton is sometimes funny, annoying and finally painful. I won't waste time talking about the plot of this move since I think IMDB or even Wikipedia can sum it up better. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Remains_of_the_Day
But it revolves around the two main characters as they work to serve Lord Darlington. The backdrop is that it is the 1930's and England is not at war yet with Germany. This part is all told in flashbacks as Steven travels in the 1950's to see Miss Kenton. The flashbacks show that the Nazi movement is gathering steam and tensions are building between the English and the Germans. Lord Darlington takes the unpopular approach of trying to work with the Nazis to keep peace and trusts them far more than he should..his behavior is intrepreted as sympathy for them in the present of the film looking back.
Later in the film as Lord Darlington travels to see Miss Kenton, his car has broken down, he is confronted by some locals at a pub. They discern from his knowledge and familiarity with political figures and leaders that he must have known the now disceased Lord Darlington. The Wikipedia description says Steven is ignorant of his former employer's mistakes in judgement-that he was led astray by friends who were fascist, Nazi and anti-semitic. That may be true of Lord Darlington. But I have no doubt that James Steven knew better-it is very clear from his reactions.
Lord Darlington is someone that Stevens respects and seems to like as a master. It is clear he values his job and takes great pride in his ability to serve according to tradition. He even endures ridicule from a houseguest of Lord Darlington when asked what he thinks of a political situation repeatedly 'He says he doesn't know' by a member of the noble class. It is very clear that he doesn't want to speak out of place.
He admits to a man that gives him a ride to fix his broken down car upon perisisten questioning-that he did work for Lord Darlington and that his master admitted on his deathbed that he had been wrong to trust his 'friends'. This admission alone is enough to show that he is not in denial but someone who is simply uncomfortable with his emotions and does not feel comfortable sharing them.
Lord Darlington holds many meetings at his home Darlington Hall between Germans, Americans and other heads of state. These meetings are crucial to the story as they explain the unfolding build up to the war for England. Mr. Farraday a congressman from the U.S. says that the English are foolish and that they need to let career politicians who are experienced with these matters deal with the problem. He is a stereotype almost of the ugly american and this could explain why his warnings are not heeded. Farraday-played by a still able bodied Christopher Reeves-cuts a shocking and fiercly intelligent figure. At the end of his speech, the camera cuts to Steven as he twitches into a move to fix the table so that he does not allow himself to show his reaction to Farraday's speech. But he is obviously affected.
The meetings also reference the transition that England is going through in the period after the 1911Parliament Act which limited the role of the artistocracy through the House of Lords. England's political system and policy actions are ham strung as it tries to figure out how to make decisions. An example of this tension acted out would be when Steven continues serving while his father dies, he hears his fathers last words that he loved his mother, until she was unfaithful to him. And that he is proud of his son, the dichotomy between serving at a state dinner of great importance while his own father dies causing him to look sick-mirrors the current political system of England.
The same tension passes back and forth between Steven and Kenton as they fall in love with each other. Kenton gives Steven the chance to tell her how he feels about her, to express his emtions. But, he always holds back to his comfort zone of practiced conservative butler behavior. Their relationship is tepid in comparison to another younger couple who both impetuously leave the hall to get married, despite not having a career path in place.
Finally, Miss Kenton in an attempt to get Steven to admit his feelings tells him that she is going to leave with another man(Mr. Benn) to start a boarding House in the Western part of the country. Her choice also seems to be about leaving the pain of working with Steven while being in love with him.
She later says when they finally meet up 'the she was miserable for years' after she left Darlington Hall. It is too late for Steven and Benn as she eventually did fall in love with her husband. Her marriage is not happy, she has been spending time away from her husband-one of the reasons Steven went to visit her-but she has learned to love her husband and has a daughter who needs her to help with a new grandchild that is soon to arrive. A brief scene between Mrs. Benn and her husband quickly dispells any notion the audience has of a chance for romance between Steven and Benn.
And in fact when Steven arrives his only offer to Benn is for her to come work with him again at Darlington Hall for Mr. Farraday. While I found myself in hope that they would get together at this point, Steven's paltry offer of a job living out the same stilted love they had before is not desireable. It is clear that Mrs. Benn may have taken the offer if not for her daughter's new child, she even says she would go into service again which would not leave room for Mr. Benn, but it must be by her daughter.
Steven's inablity to allow his emotions to come through is shown in a rather funny way as well through is interactions with Lord Darlington's nephew, Cardinal. Cardinal is a journalist and rather quirky personality, Steven comes to know him when Darlington asks him to give the man who is far too old to need this education at the time-about the birds and the bees. Cardinal turns the awkward exchange into a chance to banter with Steven. They develop a friendship as the awkward ridiculousness of the first exchange is lost.
Steven cannot at first banter at all with Miss Kenton, but by the end he obviously can do so when he chooses. One sign of his emotional retreat in a flashback when she threatens to leave is that he stops bantering and retreats entirely into his butler mode-asking her to take care of a table when she is crying instead of offering her what she wants comfort and possibly a chance at a life together.
Steven again looses his ability to banter when Cardinal in his last scene tells Steven that his uncle is a fool. Lord Darlington is currently entertaining Nazi's in his parlor to try and work with them. And that they country is going to war, we later find out that Cardinal died in WWII through Steven's conversation with Mrs. Benn.
It was impossible for me not to cry as I watched Mrs. Benn get on the trolley and say good bye to Steven. They obviously love each other and it's a tough realization that their chances ended when she left Darlington Hall and their opportunities are lost. Briefly, before she heads home they discuss the end of the day and she says 'some people think this is the best time of day, the remains of the day'. Personally, I see this phrase as meaning there is still time left in the day to do things differently and reflect on what has happened and what you have done. This metaphor relates to life in that as long as you are alive no matter how many years have passed you still have time to do things differently and to reflect on what you have done. Steven shares some emotion with Mrs. Benn and an affection for her that is honest before she leaves.
The movie is incredibly sad as it shows opportunities lost, to avoid the pain of WWII, and a great love lost. But both characters have things to look forward to at 'the remains of the day'. Mrs. Benn has a new baby to take care of and a chance at a renewed relationship with her daughter. Steven has gone to work for Mr. Farraday who by nature is the opposite of the naive, uptight, and maybe even ignorant Lord Darlington. At the end, Steven watches as a bird becomes trapped in a room with Mr. Farraday and himself, Farraday deftly catches the bird and sets it free while Steven holds the door open. Our final scene of Steven is as he watches the bird fly away. The bird is a symbol of freedom and a new begining.
I found this movie much easier to enjoy when I realized it was written by a Japanese British man-Kasuo Ishiguro. The interaction between Steven and Kenton reminds me of the Japanese culture of emotional reserve that is so unfamiliar to the West and especially Americans. It also adds to the culture of confusion that is so apparent as England changed in the 1930's.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
The End of the View -Oh life sucks w/o Meredith Viera
Soooo, I was listening to Elliot in the Morning (http://www.eitmonline.com/) this week on Friday and heard the latest news that Elizabeth Hassleback is looking at leaving The View. Why?
http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index.html
Well apparently, Rosie and Joy have been harassing her so often on a daily basis about her political beliefs that she is fed up and wants to leave. I can't say I totally blame her. I think between the drama on that show set, the Law and Order episode featuring her doppleganger being murdered last Fall, and the daily rants from the cranky co-hosts Joy and Rosie-I would leave too.
I do remember Diane from the morning show EITM saying that E.H. cannot defend herself against them, when they attack her on the show. It's probably true, she doesn't strike me as the type who would engage in a nasty fight and someone who tries to get a long well with others. Also, I just don't think it's her shtick.
What is sad is that the View was once a great fun girly show, but after the Starr Meltdown and the exit of Meredith Viera that show is a joke. A really bad, boring annoying joke. The show was once fun, but Rosie has turned it into her personal soapbox for political opinions. Unfortunately, Rosie has the manners of a raging bull and believes herself to be above the average American who she believes needs to be bullied into accepting her opinions. E.H. would be the closest daily target for her antagonistic behavior..and Joy has joined in I assume because she is jealous of E.H. or just an idiot. Either is highly possible... They should both pick on someone who is their own size-well at least someone who is allowed to talk back-Anne Coulter? But they are probably too scared to do that and prefer bullying small blonde mommies on their set.
Really, everyone in the media and the shows fanbase always talks about how cute E.H. is and how the show would be just middle aged overweight women without her. And it's true, except that if she leaves there is no turning back, the show will go off the air, it simply can't survive on bitter liberal political b.s. by two cranky women and Barbara can't do it all. They've already got one sub spot that is never filled permanently and open to celeb guests. Good luck getting E.H.'s spot filled-really, I doubt anyone who is truly worth the money would take that job. It would be like taking a job as an assistant to a cranky lawyer who fires his assistants every five months after being warned that he will tortue you every day until he fires you.
If you can't understand the analogy-try this-The View was a hit because it was light, skimmed major issues with candor and fun so that women could feel like they were tuning into their local girl chat. Women can get real informed political opinions from people who actually have experience and knowledge of public policy-why would they want to hear Rosie and Joy's Hollywood wacky opinions? Rosie and Joy are really nuts if they think general public exhaustion over the war in Iraq is a free pass to attack a co-worker for their political opinions. And that seems to be their base of attack. But then again Liberals tend to believe that they are ulitmately better by political brand and try to force their opinions on everyone else.
This doesn't strike me as being very 'enlightened' or fun. I'm pretty sure that a person's daily behavior and actions are a better judge of how 'good' someone is and no one is entitled to beating up their co-workers. Even famous, millionaire talk show hosts.
There is a certain irony in that when Dan Rather chose to use those fabricated war documents saying that Bush dodged the draft during the 2004 election cycle-he unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that led to this shows demise-while sealing Senator Kerry's loss.
He was fired or asked to resign, who cares, Katie Couric took his spot on CBS News and Meredith Viera left for the Today Show. And now Rosie has taken M.V.'s spot. The show was creaking along before Starr made a dramatic exit, but the loss of Meredith Viera and Rosie's role has severly diminshed the show's quality. BTW-I loved Meredith Viera, I may or may not agree with her views on politics-but she always struck me as a classy likeable person.
This latest public tussle is just one more sign that the show is over. Personally, I think E.H. should leave, it would be one more example of how wrong Rosie O'Donnell is and the actions of Joy Behar who should really stick to the comedy. Besides, why ride a sinking ship to the ocean floor? The show is done, stick a fork in it.
http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index.html
Well apparently, Rosie and Joy have been harassing her so often on a daily basis about her political beliefs that she is fed up and wants to leave. I can't say I totally blame her. I think between the drama on that show set, the Law and Order episode featuring her doppleganger being murdered last Fall, and the daily rants from the cranky co-hosts Joy and Rosie-I would leave too.
I do remember Diane from the morning show EITM saying that E.H. cannot defend herself against them, when they attack her on the show. It's probably true, she doesn't strike me as the type who would engage in a nasty fight and someone who tries to get a long well with others. Also, I just don't think it's her shtick.
What is sad is that the View was once a great fun girly show, but after the Starr Meltdown and the exit of Meredith Viera that show is a joke. A really bad, boring annoying joke. The show was once fun, but Rosie has turned it into her personal soapbox for political opinions. Unfortunately, Rosie has the manners of a raging bull and believes herself to be above the average American who she believes needs to be bullied into accepting her opinions. E.H. would be the closest daily target for her antagonistic behavior..and Joy has joined in I assume because she is jealous of E.H. or just an idiot. Either is highly possible... They should both pick on someone who is their own size-well at least someone who is allowed to talk back-Anne Coulter? But they are probably too scared to do that and prefer bullying small blonde mommies on their set.
Really, everyone in the media and the shows fanbase always talks about how cute E.H. is and how the show would be just middle aged overweight women without her. And it's true, except that if she leaves there is no turning back, the show will go off the air, it simply can't survive on bitter liberal political b.s. by two cranky women and Barbara can't do it all. They've already got one sub spot that is never filled permanently and open to celeb guests. Good luck getting E.H.'s spot filled-really, I doubt anyone who is truly worth the money would take that job. It would be like taking a job as an assistant to a cranky lawyer who fires his assistants every five months after being warned that he will tortue you every day until he fires you.
If you can't understand the analogy-try this-The View was a hit because it was light, skimmed major issues with candor and fun so that women could feel like they were tuning into their local girl chat. Women can get real informed political opinions from people who actually have experience and knowledge of public policy-why would they want to hear Rosie and Joy's Hollywood wacky opinions? Rosie and Joy are really nuts if they think general public exhaustion over the war in Iraq is a free pass to attack a co-worker for their political opinions. And that seems to be their base of attack. But then again Liberals tend to believe that they are ulitmately better by political brand and try to force their opinions on everyone else.
This doesn't strike me as being very 'enlightened' or fun. I'm pretty sure that a person's daily behavior and actions are a better judge of how 'good' someone is and no one is entitled to beating up their co-workers. Even famous, millionaire talk show hosts.
There is a certain irony in that when Dan Rather chose to use those fabricated war documents saying that Bush dodged the draft during the 2004 election cycle-he unwittingly set in motion a chain of events that led to this shows demise-while sealing Senator Kerry's loss.
He was fired or asked to resign, who cares, Katie Couric took his spot on CBS News and Meredith Viera left for the Today Show. And now Rosie has taken M.V.'s spot. The show was creaking along before Starr made a dramatic exit, but the loss of Meredith Viera and Rosie's role has severly diminshed the show's quality. BTW-I loved Meredith Viera, I may or may not agree with her views on politics-but she always struck me as a classy likeable person.
This latest public tussle is just one more sign that the show is over. Personally, I think E.H. should leave, it would be one more example of how wrong Rosie O'Donnell is and the actions of Joy Behar who should really stick to the comedy. Besides, why ride a sinking ship to the ocean floor? The show is done, stick a fork in it.
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