Mudbound. It has been a long while since I have experienced a film of this power. Still trembling with rage at the vileness humanity is capable of. And at the supportive and enabling role the country I love has played in some of the most inexcusable and bleakest vileness.
Racism. Class. PTSD. Loveless marriage. A quadrilogy of undercurrents sliding Mudbound’s narratives along, with one standing above the others.
I think of the hypocrisies we have committed so many times in sending those of a class, those of a race off to war, to make us proud and lift the shining light of freedom up high…and upon return...yank a shroud, a social Faraday cage, a muzzle over them. Disposable heroes. The convenience of benefiting from heroism minus the inconvenience of having to acknowledge it.
Mudbound covers much ground in multiple voices as it slogs us through the farm of a post-WWII Mississippi farmstead and the two families who may live on the same land, but who live vastly different lives. Tragedy all around, with little moments of connection and tiny flickers of hope.
This is what I do not understand: I am a thinking person. And I am a feeling person. Maybe more so than some and less so than others. But a combination of those two things is what makes most of us human.
To see this film and the roots of human vileness and to realize A) this is fictional, but it is - and I concede no ground on this point - the attitudes and the actions taken are true to what have been documented as horrific reality. Reality. Again and again and again.
And the racism shown in this is brutal, bleak, and out in the open. But when I look at the roots of what drives that hatred, that ability to look at another person based on their skin color and see them not as a child of God - and therefore a brother or sister to yourself - then I have to think this. And then say it aloud:
Could this happen again?
Is this happening again?
What are the thoughts that lead to the attitudes that lead to the words that lead to the actions that lead us down this road the wrong way?
Again?
I want to be kind. And loving. And accepting.
I want to dialogue. I hold my right and privilege to converse with anyone, without agenda, as sacred.
When I look at the roads that lead us to some of those darkest places in our past, then I have to look at the mirror, gather those I care about close and am privileged to help raise and learn from,
and say to those in power, or those seeking power:
I will fight to keep those who wax nostalgic for those ‘simpler times,’
those who use euphemisms to minimize and shrug off the hard parts of the past,
those who who do not condemn others who are blatant and unapologetic in their racism,
those who gleefully, wink-wink and backslap their way around the language and nuances of the behaviors that LED to the roots of lynchings, Jim Crow, and a fascist and false Christianity…
to those fitting the above who are IN POWER OR SEEKING POWER, I oppose you. I have a tiny voice, but it can be shrill and occasionally harmonize with a choir. A choir without white robes or bedsheets on heads.
And if it’s within my power, I will do whatever small part I can to get you OUT of power, or prevent you from GAINING power.
I am speaking to those seeking power and control. I also believe in the capacity to change. I believe in redemption and trying to show a better way. And that is done, most frequently and most successfully, through relationships and dialogue, not guilt-mongering, public shaming, and feel-good callout memes. For ordinary people with no thirst for power or control, that is what I can give. Conversation, an ear, a good discussion and ideally open hearts.
But for those in power - and look. Look! There’s no need to name names to identify who they are. Look at their words and actions. Look at those who separate everything into completely binary worlds: Us versus Them. Evil versus Good. The idea that if you speak out against your leaders, you’re speaking out against your country, your armed forces, your allegiance as a citizen.
False. As a joyful citizen of this wonderful country in so many ways, I want it to be a world that is joyful for all. That is respectful to and for all. A world that is not slowly slipping down a muddy path where men with stained white sheets on their ridiculous fucking heads yank a black man out of bed in the dark of night and torture him brutally for looking at a white woman wrong.
Those ACTS don’t happen overnight. The roots to those acts are born in the hearts and minds of every person. And we either move forward and away from that. Or we go back. There is no standing still.
It’s a cliche, but let’s just ask this anyway. Not rhetorically. WWJD? What WOULD Jesus do?
Talk tax cuts and upping military spending with men in suits?
Or walk across a muddy field to share a meal with a farm family?
I don’t know. I can’t speak for him. Just like nobody else can. But what is consistent with what we know about him? How does the picture we are painted of Jesus match up with many of those in power?
Watch Mudbound. Netflix streaming. Maybe not with your young children yet. Not yet. Or do. The violent and false words of those in power are more disturbing to me for our children to hear than the the violent and true records of atrocities that have actually been committed. And are in danger of being committed with ever increasing frequency.
And remember. There is a time to be kind. And there is a time to stand up and fight. They are both powerful tools - not weapons, tools - to use. So good luck on using them. See y’all around.
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review. Show all posts
6.19.2014
FIVE THOUGHTS CONCERNING WHAT ABOUT BOB?
1. We were on a medium-sized road trip* recently, and a conversation sprung up about our favourite funniest films. I brought up the Bill Murray/Richard Dreyfuss classic What About Bob? The children peppered me with questions, having not seen it, and twenty minutes later I had somehow explained the entire plot, with a short foray into what it is that psychiatrists do; an explanation that would likely not sit well with Mr. Thomas Cruise.
2. Upon returning home, I discovered that we still had a copy of the film. On VHS. Somehow, it escaped getting thrown out with the Spring cleaning this year.**
3. The first time I remember seeing it was with my oldest friend, Matt, on a Sunday morning. I thought it was hilarious then, but on every subsequent viewing it has only gotten better. One of the only other films immediately coming to mind that has gotten better with repeat viewings is Silence of the Lambs which, in my opinion, is not as funny as What About Bob.
3b. ONE OF MY FAVOURITE EXCHANGES IN CINEMATIC HISTORY (thank you, Jen, for the reminder )
"But you said in your office I could call you Leo."
- "That was my office. In my home, I'd like you to call me Dr. Marvin."
4. At the supper table, the children ganged up on me, which is frequent, and my daughter started giggling away and suggested to all that "...we should start calling Daddy 'Bob Wiley.'"
It was pretty funny, so I had to take a break from loudly savoring my food to laugh. A little. But Bob did help affirm an important lesson to us all: let people know, enthusiastically, when they've done something you appreciate.
4b. Bob is the protagonist...but it is easy to forget that despite how lovable he is by the middle of the film, he is still basically a weird creepo guy - I do not use that description prolifically or casually - with a bunch of issues who has lied his way into stalking his psychiatrist's FAMILY on their holiday. This film isn't that far from Cape Fear, or a hundred other psycho killer films, as far as initial setup goes. And it wouldn't have taken a whole lot in the first 20 minutes to turn a light comedy into something much darker.
(for example: One Hour Photo with Robin Williams. Incidentally, Mr. Williams was in early conversations to play Dr. Marvin, as was Woody Allen.)
I'm glad they went in the direction they did with it. I can definitely sympathize with Dr. Marvin a bit as he watches his family fall in love with his patient. It's his supreme condescension, arrogance and anger that really helps cement our empathy/sympathy for Bob.
5. I'm glad they didn't go with "What About Robert?" I just don't think I could have taken it as seriously.
5b. I'm a strong proponent of the field of counseling. I'm always intrigued by the relationships, commonalities, approaches, and overlaps among psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and therapists. As somebody who values semantics, semiotics, and use of language, I tend to inwardly roll my eyes (yes: latent contempt; sorry) when I hear the notion of "counseling" tossed around casually, like it's a skill that can just be casually picked up, or a gift that somebody who gives really good advice has...INSTEAD of a profession, complete with licensing, education, oversight, and confidentiality protocols. Unfairly, I have used it first as a verb (counseled, counseling) versus a noun (a counselor, i.e. therapist in this context). But the point remains that I have heard so many times the idea of people in various other professions implying or referring to the idea of counseling as an additional skill you just sort of...integrate into your current profession, as opposed to a stand-alone field with its own set of stringent professional qualifications and responsibilities, not least of which is, AGAIN, that idea of patient confidentiality. Did I just use a 1991 Frank Oz film as a vehicle to make a very unsubtle statement about something I have strong feelings about, in large part because I have a mother and brother who work in the field? Why...yes I did.
2b. I also told the children the story of The Goonies. I cannot wait to watch it with them...someday. In the meantime, I've just pulled up the movie poster on Google, and we look longingly at it and they pepper me with questions about Chunk. So good.
2c. SAVE THE DATE: July 2, 2016. Spielberg's interpretation of Roald Dahl's The BFG hits theatres. Can. Not. Wait. My expectations are high.
Have a great Friday, and don't forget to double-feature Bob and Ghostbusters this weekend.
*four hours
**and the last fifteen years
2. Upon returning home, I discovered that we still had a copy of the film. On VHS. Somehow, it escaped getting thrown out with the Spring cleaning this year.**
3. The first time I remember seeing it was with my oldest friend, Matt, on a Sunday morning. I thought it was hilarious then, but on every subsequent viewing it has only gotten better. One of the only other films immediately coming to mind that has gotten better with repeat viewings is Silence of the Lambs which, in my opinion, is not as funny as What About Bob.
3b. ONE OF MY FAVOURITE EXCHANGES IN CINEMATIC HISTORY (thank you, Jen, for the reminder )
"But you said in your office I could call you Leo."
- "That was my office. In my home, I'd like you to call me Dr. Marvin."
4. At the supper table, the children ganged up on me, which is frequent, and my daughter started giggling away and suggested to all that "...we should start calling Daddy 'Bob Wiley.'"
It was pretty funny, so I had to take a break from loudly savoring my food to laugh. A little. But Bob did help affirm an important lesson to us all: let people know, enthusiastically, when they've done something you appreciate.
4b. Bob is the protagonist...but it is easy to forget that despite how lovable he is by the middle of the film, he is still basically a weird creepo guy - I do not use that description prolifically or casually - with a bunch of issues who has lied his way into stalking his psychiatrist's FAMILY on their holiday. This film isn't that far from Cape Fear, or a hundred other psycho killer films, as far as initial setup goes. And it wouldn't have taken a whole lot in the first 20 minutes to turn a light comedy into something much darker.
(for example: One Hour Photo with Robin Williams. Incidentally, Mr. Williams was in early conversations to play Dr. Marvin, as was Woody Allen.)
I'm glad they went in the direction they did with it. I can definitely sympathize with Dr. Marvin a bit as he watches his family fall in love with his patient. It's his supreme condescension, arrogance and anger that really helps cement our empathy/sympathy for Bob.
5. I'm glad they didn't go with "What About Robert?" I just don't think I could have taken it as seriously.
5b. I'm a strong proponent of the field of counseling. I'm always intrigued by the relationships, commonalities, approaches, and overlaps among psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and therapists. As somebody who values semantics, semiotics, and use of language, I tend to inwardly roll my eyes (yes: latent contempt; sorry) when I hear the notion of "counseling" tossed around casually, like it's a skill that can just be casually picked up, or a gift that somebody who gives really good advice has...INSTEAD of a profession, complete with licensing, education, oversight, and confidentiality protocols. Unfairly, I have used it first as a verb (counseled, counseling) versus a noun (a counselor, i.e. therapist in this context). But the point remains that I have heard so many times the idea of people in various other professions implying or referring to the idea of counseling as an additional skill you just sort of...integrate into your current profession, as opposed to a stand-alone field with its own set of stringent professional qualifications and responsibilities, not least of which is, AGAIN, that idea of patient confidentiality. Did I just use a 1991 Frank Oz film as a vehicle to make a very unsubtle statement about something I have strong feelings about, in large part because I have a mother and brother who work in the field? Why...yes I did.
2b. I also told the children the story of The Goonies. I cannot wait to watch it with them...someday. In the meantime, I've just pulled up the movie poster on Google, and we look longingly at it and they pepper me with questions about Chunk. So good.
2c. SAVE THE DATE: July 2, 2016. Spielberg's interpretation of Roald Dahl's The BFG hits theatres. Can. Not. Wait. My expectations are high.
Have a great Friday, and don't forget to double-feature Bob and Ghostbusters this weekend.
*four hours
**and the last fifteen years
5.04.2014
REVIEW: About Time
is a little film by the English fellow Richard Curtis, and addresses time travel, though not in the Stephen Hawking, Terminator, Dr. Who, or Primer sense.
(This contains almost no spoilers)
It is a little story about love in three distinct dynamics:
- a boy in love with a girl,*
- a son's relationship with his father (Bill Nighy in a role that will probably have me tearing up a bit more every time I see it),
- the eternal time travel questions of repeatable experiences: will repeating a first experience again for the first time make life better?
It's rather oddly structured as it moves around in time, often with huge leaps, and the logic is largely absent, as it is with most stories involving time travel. But - the best stories involving time travel usually find clever ways of making you not care about the logical fallacies, or address holes in such simple fashion that you can shrug, move along and enjoy the story without getting hung up on the feasibility. It ends up as more of a coming-of-age love story spanning decades that happens to have time travel as its catalyst than it is a time travel movie with a big idea and big villain. The butterfly effect scenarios are integral, of course, and conveniently ignore its own internal laws of TT (time travel). It owes a huge and obvious debt to Groundhog Day, though its tone is softer, sappier, and has red-haired people.
Quite enjoyed it. If you liked Frequency, Love, Actually, or movies with Rachel McAdams and beautiful houses overlooking English seashores and misanthropic supporting characters, then you might enjoy it too. Lovely, simple, sweet, funny, sentimental in the right places, and big important idea about life stuck in at the end.
Also, I try to keep track of who recommends film, books, and music to me, and I remember someone telling me two months ago that they thought I would enjoy this...but I do not remember who, and I am not done inventing my own time machine to go back and figure it out. Thank you, and my apologies. You can speak up now...
And by the way, they have to have spent a small fortune paying for the killer soundtrack. Somebody loves The Waterboys**.
*great chemistry with the leads
**huge fan here
(This contains almost no spoilers)
It is a little story about love in three distinct dynamics:
- a boy in love with a girl,*
- a son's relationship with his father (Bill Nighy in a role that will probably have me tearing up a bit more every time I see it),
- the eternal time travel questions of repeatable experiences: will repeating a first experience again for the first time make life better?
It's rather oddly structured as it moves around in time, often with huge leaps, and the logic is largely absent, as it is with most stories involving time travel. But - the best stories involving time travel usually find clever ways of making you not care about the logical fallacies, or address holes in such simple fashion that you can shrug, move along and enjoy the story without getting hung up on the feasibility. It ends up as more of a coming-of-age love story spanning decades that happens to have time travel as its catalyst than it is a time travel movie with a big idea and big villain. The butterfly effect scenarios are integral, of course, and conveniently ignore its own internal laws of TT (time travel). It owes a huge and obvious debt to Groundhog Day, though its tone is softer, sappier, and has red-haired people.
Quite enjoyed it. If you liked Frequency, Love, Actually, or movies with Rachel McAdams and beautiful houses overlooking English seashores and misanthropic supporting characters, then you might enjoy it too. Lovely, simple, sweet, funny, sentimental in the right places, and big important idea about life stuck in at the end.
Also, I try to keep track of who recommends film, books, and music to me, and I remember someone telling me two months ago that they thought I would enjoy this...but I do not remember who, and I am not done inventing my own time machine to go back and figure it out. Thank you, and my apologies. You can speak up now...
And by the way, they have to have spent a small fortune paying for the killer soundtrack. Somebody loves The Waterboys**.
*great chemistry with the leads
**huge fan here
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