Grey Gardens: What the Maysles’ Came-“lost” Can Teach Us

by Editors

Grey Gardens: What the Maysles’ Came-“lost” Can Teach Us

 

By Kimberlee A. Cloutier-Blazzard

 

In nurturing others we sometimes find ourselves.  Yet, sometimes we lose ourselves as well.

What makes the difference?  As “Little Edie” Beale points out in the Maysles Brothers’ cult-classic documentary, Grey Gardens (1975), life can be summed up “by three lines” [sic] from Robert Frost’s classic poem The Road not Taken (1916):

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both…

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

As straightforward as that sentiment may seem, Frost always maintained that the poem was a “very tricky one,” perhaps not to be read without irony.  This is the sort of irony that the perceptive Little Edie perhaps saw in her own thwarted life, a life utterly devoted to her mother—the socialite-aunt of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis—“Big Edie.”

Thirty some-odd years later, their story continues to resonate with audiences.  It was remade into an HBO dramatic special in July 2009 and the Tony-nominated musical version—which first hit the stage in 2006—recently made its way to Boston in May of 2009.  Thus, it would seem that the tale of two resilient mondaines reduced to extreme reclusion, penury and squalor is at once bewitching and repulsive in its reality.

It was precisely the conflation of seemingly incompatible states of being with the Beales’ abundant charm that first gripped the Maysles Brothers. Originally the cinéma vérité-directing duo were approached by Lee Radziwill and her sister, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, about doing a documentary about their lives growing up in the Bouvier family. In researching the family, however, the Maysles came to the realization that their eccentric aunt and cousin living in a dilapidated, flea-infested East Hampton manse would make much better film subjects than Jackie and Lee.

The Beales’ allure?  Perhaps it lies not so much in their patrician charm or their extreme living conditions, as in our own self-recognition in their dysfunctional, parent-child relationship.  Add to that a nostalgia for the Seventies in all its campy glory, and—as Christine Ebersole noted in a February, 2007 interview on “Theater Talk”—the broader issue of societal disenfranchisement (whether of gays, women, or other underprivileged group) and you certainly have a hot topic for today.

Truly, the greatest attention paid toward the story does seem to come from the gay community. But why?  Perhaps this phenomenon can be best-understood by comparing the Beales to another familiar gay-icon in popular culture, Bette Davis. In attempting to explain Davis’ popularity with gay audiences, for example, the journalist Jim Emerson wrote: “Was she just a camp figurehead because her brittle, melodramatic style of acting hadn’t aged well? Or was it that she was ‘Larger Than Life,’ a tough broad who had survived? Probably some of both.”[1]

Little Edie does seem to embody just this sort of fierce tenacity when she exhorts us with phrases like: “There’s nothing worse than a ‘staunch woman’….They don’t weaken, no matter what.”  She follows the phrase with an “OK” hand sign, and a knowing look.  Immediately, we, the audience, are with her.  Adventurous types may also feel secret camaraderie with her in her flamboyant mode of dress: an affectation which evolved both out of her desire to cover her stress-induced Alopecia, combined with her child-like love of dressing-up and playing at starlet.  The latter were inherited from her mother, once an amateur singer and performer.  Both women enliven the long, empty hours spent at Grey Gardens by singing and dancing to the dated soundtracks of their youth.

Throughout the film we feel like voyeurs, intrigued and repulsed at the same time by the direct cinema techniques of the Maysles.  Yet, the Maysles are successful in their endeavor to explore rather than exploit, because the film is not a simple act of gawking.  Along with experiencing, perhaps, Thomas Hobbes’ comic sense of superiority, we also feel drawn to the humanity of the women.  We are entranced by the same antipodes in their characters and circumstances that drew in the Maysles.

That said, in watching the original film, I have to say that at times the ladies’ bickering with one another seems to get the best of them. Yet, one coincidently also senses the inner-strength of these women, their devotion to each other, and their compulsion to provide daily nurturing for one another.  As becomes increasingly apparent over the course of the film, however, this nurturing sometimes crosses a line that veers into unhealthy territory.

According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, “Codependency” is: “a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition (as an addiction to alcohol or heroin); or broadly: dependence on the needs of or control by another.” The dictionary also notes, interestingly, that the term “Codependency” was not coined until 1979.  Thus, the Beales would not have heard of the condition at the time the documentary was filmed.  Thus, they would not been availed of that lens through which to see their relationship.

You might say the predicament all started when Little Edie came back to East Hampton from Manhattan around the close of WWII to take care of her mother. At that time Big Edie was in poor health following an eye operation, and long separated from her husband. In her own words, Little Edie was “sick and tired of lying awake at night wondering what was happening to my mother.”

In her mother’s version of events, on the other hand, it was Little Edie who didn’t desire the glimmer of society’s spotlight in her debutante-youth.  Big Edie says (in a rather philosophical way), “everyone thinks and feels differently as the years go by…”

And on and on it goes.  The two women are in constant competition.

Upon Big Edie’s suggestion that—rather than her daughter’s patient—she was busy as care-taker of Little Edie for twenty-five years, Little Edie parries with: “The whole mark of aristocracy is responsibility…is that it?”  To which Big Edie (somewhat humorously) screeches, “I’ll have to start drinking!  I can’t take it. She’ll make a drunk out of her mother.”  As each woman turns to the lens, the camera becomes their longed-for audience, we their boxing corner-men.

Twenty-five years into this codependency-melodrama, Little Edie still wonders, “When am I going to get out of here?”  (She longed to be back in New York City above all.) “Any little rat hole, even on Tenth Avenue.” “I’ll just have to leave for New York City and lead my own life.  I don’t see any other future.”

Though she longs for independence, Little Edie states that “I see myself as a little girl.” (Her mother’s little daughter.)  And, congruently, her mother sees her as an “immature girl.”  Little Edie perceives, however, that the filmmakers see her as a woman: precisely how she feels in New York City.

Indeed, according to her, living and loving in NY was her lifelong aspiration.  According to Little Edie, she didn’t go into a nightclub act in her youth because: “[When] my father [Phelan Beale] was alive…That was it. Mr. Beale would have had me committed.” According to her, her father believed in running his children’s lives and wanted her to get an MA and become an assistant in his law office.

Then, there’s perhaps the most redolent scene in the film: when one of their dozens of feral cats goes to bathroom right behind Big Edie’s painted portrait. In a rebuke to Little Edie’s constant grousing, she quips, “I’m glad he is. I’m glad that somebody is doing something that he wanted to do.”  It’s so unscripted, and so utterly fabulous.

A more subtle, yet remarkable development occurs when Little Edie’s stress-induced balding seems to abate. About halfway through the film, her hair begins to come back.  Seemingly, she’s recuperating her selfhood and self-assuredness through the therapy of making the documentary.  She even cleans the house, and redecorates, bit by bit.  She makes little altars out of roses, childhood memorabilia, and souvenirs of some of her travels.

Similarly traipsing down her own memory lane, Big Edie listens to ancient records, and sings along—reminiscing about her thwarted singing career—whilst playing with her cats.  Both matron and felines curl up on the bed together, Big Edie, singing You and the Night and the Music (1939):  “Make the most of time, ere it has flown…”

In a fashion, the mother wants to perhaps keep her daughter from making the same mistakes—getting married, losing her independence and later suffering abandonment.  Yet, she’s also seemingly jealous at her success in doing so.

The film is like an opera, the two voices intertwining, escalating and de-crescendoing as the Beales compete for center stage.  In the end, they are more like star-crossed Gemini, twin mirrors of a forged reality from which they cannot escape.

In the end, Little Edie concludes that it is her mother’s house.  And, that’s that.

She casually and quixotically remarks: “She’s a lot of fun, I hope she doesn’t die.”  Of course, Big Edie eventually did pass away, a scant two years after the film was released, setting Little Edie free to pursue her aspirations of living in Manhattan and cabaret singing, fulfilling a lifetime’s worth of stardust dreams.

In closing, it bears mentioning that in the literature on the film, no one mentions the symbolism of Little Edie’s favorite fashion accessory—one that she wears throughout the film—an oblong brooch decorated with a wreath of roses and laurel sheaves.  The two intertwining emblems are symbolic of “Love Victorious:” an apt metaphor for the spark of hope that Little Edie keeps kindled in her, the irresistible spark that draws us near, like moths to a flame.

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Kimberlee A. Cloutier-Blazzard, Ph.D., is an editor of Bread and CircusMagazine and an Independent Scholar of Art History, specializing in Northern Renaissance and Baroque. Click here to send her email.

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[1] Considine, Shaun. Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud. Backinprint.com. (2000), p 225.  From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bette_Davis.  Accessed: 5/24/09.

Vampire Movies (and Television) Worth Seeing

by Editors

POP CULTURE / MOVIES

EDITORS’ CHOICE:
VAMPIRE MOVIES (AND TELEVISION) WORTH SEEING

By G. Arnold and Erin Dionne

With Halloween around the corner, it’s time to sit back and enjoy some of the viewing choices that the season has to offer. Among the many movie and television themes that are associated with this time of year is a perennial favorite: vampires.

Since two of our editors are fans of this genre, we decided to put together some viewing suggestions with a vampire theme. Here, in chronological order, are a few they suggest for the next time you want to spend some quality time with the undead.

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Nosferatu (1922)

Nosferatu is a very slightly reworked version of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Unfortunately, the producers didn’t have the rights to the book. Not long after the movie opened, Stoker’s estate sued. The courts ordered the destruction of existing prints, but Nosferatu had already taken flight. Many copies already had been distributed around the world, making it impossible to round up and torch every print. So Nosferatu lived on.

Quickly paced and entertaining throughout, Nosferatu is bolstered by an original look and the innovative use of then-new special effects. The vampire is Count Orlok, a strange creature of the very undead type. Looking inhuman — with pointy ears, rodent-like eyes, and hands that resemble claws  — he is a far cry from the more elegant Draculas that appeared in later films. There’s little doubt about who the monster is in this film.

Nosferatu is an important piece of film history, but more than that, it’s still fun. Even if you seldom watch a silent-era movie, make an exception for Nosferatu. It’s a must-see viewing for fans of vampire movies.

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Dracula (1931)

Unlike Nosferatu, director Tod Browing’s Dracula is more directly (and legally) connected to Stoker’s novel. But the movies are very different in numerous ways. By 1931, the era of sound films had begun. And Dracula makes the most of this, capitalizing on the eery and menacing voice of lead actor Bela Lugosi. Indeed, much of the film’s staying power can be attributed to Lugosi, whose iconic and strangely mesmerizing performance was the epitome of the Dracula character for generations. A more subtle monster than Nosferatu, Lugosi’s vampire has a decidedly exotic and aristocratic air — he’s like a foreign ambassador who just happens to be undead.

Browning’s version of Dracula exerted an enormous influence on most of the Dracula films that followed. Its impact has been so widespread, in fact, that viewers may be familiar with its take on the Dracula story even if they have not seen the original. So it can be hard for audiences today to see Dracula with fresh eyes. But it’s worth a second look. Dracula is an impressive film on its own merits.

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Horror of Dracula (1958)

A generation after Browning’s version of Dracula, the British outfit Hammer Films issued director Terence Fisher’s new version of Stoker’s vampire story. Horror of Dracula (the movie’s title in the U.S.) is a stylish and engaging film, even if it is a rather low-budget affair. The movie’s energetic take on the classic story reinvigorated interest in the Dracula character, especially among enthusiasts of the horror genre. They appreciated the actors having fun with the roles. They also liked that there was more blood.

The film pits Count Dracula (portrayed by Christopher Lee, who went on to play the character several times) against the persistent Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing). The pairing of Lee and Cushing was a masterstroke and so popular that it was repeated several times. (A bit of trivia: Each actor appears in separate movies in the Star Wars series.)

There is little that is subtle about a typical Hammer film, and Horror of Dracula is no exception. But the brash directing and enthusiastic, twinkle-in-the-eye acting adds an undercurrent of fun to what would otherwise appear to be a rather grim story.

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Dark Shadows (TV series, 1966-1971; remake 1991)

In the late 1960s the vampire tradition got an unexpected jumpstart in the unlikely venue of an afternoon soap opera. The most popular storyline in ABC television’s Dark Shadows focused on Barnabas Collins (played by Jonathan Frid), whose sorrow and angst about being a vampire was an almost endearing character trait.

Not that the undead don’t also have issues in their love lives. Barnabas was a forlorn vampire and frequently at the center of love triangles. The whole series –which also delved into the world of werewolves, witches, ghosts, and all things supernatural — combined traditional soap-opera melodrama with a camp sensibility. The low-budget production values and limitations, brought on by the quick turnaround time demanded for the production of a show that needed five new episodes every week, add to its charm, if you’re in that frame of mind.

A popular and stylish remake of the series was produced in 1991. Released on DVD under the title Dark Shadows – The Revival, it stars Ben Cross as the vampire.

Dark Shadows has long maintained a cult following. Several sources indicate  a re-working of the franchise in movie form may appear sometime soon.

Many episodes from the original series have been released in various collections on DVD. A movie version of the Barnabas Collins story — featuring the original cast of the ABC series — was released to theaters in 1971 as House of Dark Shadows. (At the time of this writing it appears to be unavailable on DVD.)

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Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)

Although Tod Browning’s vision shaped how directors approached the Dracula story for decades, in the later 1970s director Werner Herzog went back to an earlier source. His Nosferatu the Vampyre pays homage to director F.W. Murnau’s 1922 classic, updating  the story and adding stunning visual design.

Nosferatu the Vampyre is much more than simply a remake, however. As a Village Voice reviewer said, it’s “a reconnection with German culture.” It’s also a reflective, moody film. In fact, critic Roger Ebert said the movie is “so slow it’s meditative at times.”

Hidden beneath layers of heavy make-up, Klaus Kinski offers a solid performance. Thankfully, he avoids the usual acting clichés for a vampire role. The performances of the rest of the cast — including Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor, and Walter Ladengast — are also commendable, but the movie is more about mood, atmosphere, and symbolism than character-focused narrative.

Herzog’s movie has a prominent personal vision. Taken on its own terms, it’s captivating viewing.

(Although the film is available with English sub-titles, the original German soundtrack offers a richer experience.)

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Salem’s Lot (1979 TV Miniseries)

Tobe Hooper directed this version of Stephen King’s chilling story about a Maine town that becomes overrun with nighttime blood suckers and the Prodigal Son writer who returns to kill them. Nominated for three prime time Emmys, watch this for the creepy-kitschy factor. Salem’s Lot stars David Soul, James Mason and others.

[Salem’s Lot was remade in 2004 for USA TV networks, with Rob Lowe, Donald Sutherland, and Andre Braugher. This one ups the gore and has more convincing effects.]

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The Lost Boys (1987)

In the 1980s, Director Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys brought contemporary sex appeal to things that go bump in the night. Even the tagline was hot: “Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It’s fun to be a vampire.”

The story involves the little town of Santa Clarita, which has one major problem: all the damn vampires. Watch new kids Corey Haim and Jason Patric as they get roped in to the local cult of the undead. It’s a fun and entertaining ride, despite the trade paper Variety’s wet-blanket assessment that it’s “a horrifically dreadful vampire teensploitation entry … that daringly advances the theory that all those missing children pictured on garbage bags and milk cartons are actually the victims of bloodsucking bikers.” (Variety‘s review is here.)

Starring Jason Patric, Kiefer Sutherland, Coreys Haim and Feldman. See the trailer for The Lost Boys at IMDb.com here.

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Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

With legendary director Francis Ford Coppola at the helm, Bram Stoker’s Dracula also boasts a stellar cast, including Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves. Lush and stylized, this take on Bram Stoker’s tale focuses on the love story between Mina Harker and the Count. Keanu Reeves, as Jonathan Harker, is as wooden as the stakes used to kill the vampires, but Anthony Hopkins and the amazing visual palette of the movie more than makes up for it.

Indeed, this is a hard movie to pin down. A review in the Washington Post complained: “You can’t tell if this is a flawed masterpiece or an intricately designed bag of wind.” Still, there are more than enough elements in the movie to make it an essential part of anyone’s introduction to the genre.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer (television series 1997-2003)

After writing the script for director Fran Rubel Kuzui’s 1992 movie of the same name, Josh Whedon took his characters and their story to television and did what is seldom accomplished: He improved on the original. Indeed, television’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer — a more somber take on the same basic story — did more than follow the never-ending struggle of young vampire slayers against an army of the undead. It also spoke tellingly about the lives of American teenagers at the turn of the 21st century.

Whedon reportedly said the show was “high school as a horror movie.” But it’s engaging viewing no matter what you call it. Amassing a legion of fans, the series benefited from not only smart writing, but also a strong cast — especially Sarah Michele Gellar in the leading role.

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I Am Legend (2007)

Director Francis Lawrence’s 2007 reimagining is about as far from the original Richard Matheson book as you can get. In his adaptation of I am Legend, a plague causes the world to succumb to vampiric, zombie-like illness, and Will Smith is apparently the lone New Yorker immune—good thing he has his dog for company!

The relationship between Smith and Marley, his canine companion, is as touching as the vampires are evil. Have a box of tissues handy for this one!

[For a different take on Matheson’s story, check out The Last Man on Earth, the 1964 movie starring Vincent Price.]

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Twilight (2008)

Ahh, first love…vampiric love. Much has been said about the sappy, silly aspects of this teen drama, but the film has some classic vampire moments: liberal gore, good special effects, and Lost Boys-esque sex appeal. No doubt this is part of the reason that Twilight, director Catherine Hardwicke’s film, is the most recent phenomenon in the vampire movie tradition.Think of Twilight as an appetizer to Coppola’s main course. With Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson.

 

 

 

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Don’t see you favorite vampire movie? No problem. Send along your favorite by posting a comment.

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G. Arnold & Erin Dionne are writers and editors of Bread and Circus Magazine.

Images (above): DVDs available from Amazon.com.

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5 movies about politics worth seeing

by Editors

MOVIES

5 movies about politics worth seeing

As the 2008 presidential campaign season finally winds down, perhaps you aren’t ready to turn you attention to other matters just yet. Here, for your consideration, are five movies worth seeing that offer differing takes on the world of politics. Each is the product of its own era, of course, but these movies also comment on the political realm in ways that have lasting impact.

1. DUCK SOUP (1933)

In this classic Marx Brothers farce, the tiny nation of Freedonia is in a dire financial situation and forced to borrow money from a wealthy benefactor. In this case, the loan is from a certain Mrs. Teasdale (Margaret Dumont), not the People’s Republic of China. Enter Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho Marx) as Freedonia’s new prime minister. His unorthodox ideas to solve the crisis may or may not seem more absurd to you than certain ideas put forth in the recent very real financial crisis, but the results are certainly much funnier. Filled with the usual Marx Brothers mayhem, the whole situation is complicated by the antics of spies from a rival nation, played by Harpo and Chico Marx. Directed to wonderful effect by Leo McCarey.

2. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)

An antidote to the cynicism that characterizes contemporary attitudes about politics, director Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is probably a movie that more people know about than have actually seen. Yet, regardless of what you already know about this movie, it is well worth seeing for a first, second, or even third time. Hollywood legend Jimmy Stewart is a standout in the lead role of Jefferson Smith, an idealistic man appointed to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Few in the political establishment think that Smith will be up to the job. They wrongly assume that he will present little obstacle in their business-as-usual world of sleazy backroom politics. But Smith is a an idealist on a mission, and soon powerful forces aim to bring him down. One of Capra’s best.

3. ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962)

Talk about backroom politics. Director Otto Preminger rakes Washington over the coals in Advise and Consent, a film that deserves a more prominent place in the pantheon of movies from the 1960s than it has. The plot involves an unpopular president who makes a controversial cabinet appointment. The president’s political enemies pull out all the stops in efforts to derail it. Yet, the slimy political trickery is not restricted to the president’s enemies. Opportunists in the president’s own party use threats and blackmail as they try to sway the outcome. Starring Henry Fonda, Gene Tierney, Charles Laughton, Peter Lawford, and a host of other Hollywood luminaries.

4. WAG THE DOG (1997)

Does your candidate have skeletons in the closet that could make for disaster at the polls? Why not start a war to divert attention elsewhere. That’s the premise behind director Barry Levinson’s Wag the Dog, in which a president with a sex scandal to hide uses spin and manipulation in order to stay in office. The producers of the film used the tag line “A Hollywood producer. A Washington spin-doctor. When they get together, they can make you believe anything” when it was first marketed in the late 1990s. This is a funny and witty film, albeit it one with disturbing overtones. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Robert DeNiro, Andrea Martin, Denis Leary, Anne Heche, Kirsten Dunst, and others.

5. PRIMARY COLORS (1998)

Mike Nichols directed this entertaining treatment of Joe Klein’s thinly veiled version of the 1992 Clinton campaign. Here, the presidential candidate in question is a southern politician named Jack Stanton, a man with one eye on the pressing political problems of the day and the other on many of the women he encounters along the campaign trail. On the surface, the movie may seem rather limited in its aims, but film as critic Roger Ebert wrote, Primary Colors is“a superb film–funny, insightful and very wise about the realities of political life.” With John Travolta, Emma Thompson, and other notables.

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There are other titles worth seeing, of course, and this list merely represents one set of viewing options. (Among obvious possibilities are two Robert Redford films:The Candidate, from 1972; and All the President’s Men, the Watergate story released in 1976.) Don’t see your favorite? Let us know about it.

— G.A.

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IMAGES (above): Duck Soup DVD; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington DVD; Advise and Consent DVD; Wag the Dog DVD; Primary Colors DVD — all available at Amazon.com

Top 5 Christmas on Screen

by Editors

FILM

It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas…

By Sarah Katherine Mergel

Yesterday, as I watching the snow fall peacefully over my mom’s backyard, I really began to think about the fact that Christmas will be here before I know it. What I wanted to do most, in light of all that snow, was bury myself under a blanket with a cup of hot chocolate and watch some of my favorite Christmas movies. I did not want to make my way to the airport and hope that I would make it home in time to give my last final exam. In any event, I thought I would diverge from this month’s history commentary to share with you a list of my favorite holiday movies (the ones I would have watched if I could). If you have not already seen these you should definitely check them out-they may just get you in the holiday spirit.

• You might call this a top-five list, if not for the fact that two movies have tied for the fifth slot. While I am not a huge fan of Charles Dickens’ classic Christmas story, I cannot help but love A Muppet Christmas Carol (1992). Perhaps it is a life-long affinity for the Muppets, but I find this rendition of Scrooge’s holiday-time redemption a worthwhile view. Somehow, Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit singing their way through the story makes it a little more interesting. My second choice coming in at number five a Christmas might not even be considered a Christmas movie per se, but nevertheless Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) has some very touching holiday moments. The movie tells the tale of the Smith family, who all year long await the arrival of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair in the spring 1904. During the winter vignette, the family faces the reality that they must soon leave their beloved St. Louis for New York City. Two reasons make this movie a keeper for me. One, it has a semi-historical setting-after all it was at the St. Louis World’s Fair brought us the ice cream cone. Two, Judy Garland’s rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” sung to comfort her co-star Margaret O’Brien is one of my favorite Christmas songs.
• Coming in at number four on my list is Home Alone (1990). When I first saw it, I thought it was a funny and it still amuses me when I come across it on TV. Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, the movie’s protagonist, can at times be a bit over the top. But his antics fighting off the Wet Bandits, played by Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern, keep you wondering what all of them will do next. Throughout the course of the movie, Kevin discovers that he does in fact need his family who he thought me made disappear. And of course, his family realizes that they need him too. If nothing else, it provides a comical take on the Christmas spirit.
• When I first saw A Christmas Story (1983), my pick for number three, I did not really think it was all that funny. Perhaps, I was too young to appreciate its humor. The more I watch this film, the more I enjoy it. Many other people seem to have had the same reaction, because the movie has become increasingly popular over time. As adults, most of us can remember that one present we wanted more than anything else as a child. Like Ralphie Parker hoping for a Red Ryder BB Gun, we pined for that one gift and wished above all that Santa (or our parents) would deliver what we most longed for. The movie has some great family anecdotes that remind me of some of the more comical events during my own family’s past Christmas celebrations as well.
• My runner-up is A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965). This TV special appeals not only because I like the Peanuts, but because I cannot resist the earnestness of Charlie Brown and his forlorn Christmas tree. If any of you are of the age where you or someone you knew had a shiny aluminum Christmas tree-the kind Lucy wanted Charlie to buy for the pageant-you really have to appreciate Charlie’s bold choice. Each year, like Charlie Brown, I look for the true meaning of the holiday, beyond the hustle and the bustle of shopping, wrapping presents, and generally rushing to get things done in time. Of course, in addition to the story itself, I love composer Vince Guaraldi’s setting of some of my favorite Christmas songs.
• Topping my list of favorite Christmas movies is White ChristmasHoliday Inn (1942) is the better Christmas film to showcase Berlin’s wonderful tunes, but I would disagree. White Christmas seems more like a Christmas story to me because buried in it is a message about the meaning of true friendship and the holiday spirit. I like the humor too-in part because Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye make a good on screen pair in this movie. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is Crosby and Kaye lip-syncing to the song “Sisters.” Kaye makes that scene. His facial expressions are perfect. Finally, one of my favorite movie lines of all time, “forty-five minutes all to myself” comes from White Christmas. The solution Danny Kaye proposes to have some time alone-marry off Bing Crosby-might not be my solution, but sometimes I really do wish I had more time to relax. When I am overwhelmed with work, that line comes to mind. (1954). As a fan of Hollywood musicals from the 1930s to the 1950s, it is no wonder that this Christmas tale set to the music of Irving Berlin ranks highest on my list. Now some people will tell you that

I suspect that you too have your favorite holiday movie. Hopefully you will find the time this season to relax and enjoy it. If you have extra time, be sure to check out one of my favorites too and let me know what you think.

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Sarah Katherine Mergel, Ph.D., specializes in American political and intellectual history since the Civil War. Her primary area of research is the rise of modern conservatism and its effects on political developments, cultural trends, social issues, and international relations.

Image: National Christmas Tree, 1978. Courtesy National Archives & Records Administration.

5 Movies About the Vietnam War Worth Seeing

by Editors

FILM NOTES

5 Movies about the Vietnam War worth seeing

By G. Arnold

With the arrival of Veterans Day, here are a few movies about the Vietnam War that are worth a look—or even a second or third look. This is not a list of “best” pictures. Instead, these five films are selected to offer a range of perspectives from different eras. No doubt, your list would be different. Let’s hear what you would add.

• Apocalypse Now. Francis Ford Coppola’s epic from 1979 was controversial when it first appeared in American movie theaters. The decision to combine a Vietnam War story with elements of the novella Heart of Darkness perplexed people. They were expecting a more literal exploration of the war from the popular director whose film The Godfather had catapulted him to public attention. Over time, however, audiences have been won over. Coppola’s movie still doesn’t answer many questions about the war, but it’s a bold statement about the madness and chaos that the war can bring. Apocalypse Now features stunning cinematography and production design and a strong performance from Martin Sheen in the lead role. Skip the Redux version and see the original cut.

• Platoon. In the 1980s, America’s taste in Vietnam War movies gravitated towards the likes of Rambo and Missing in Action. Director Oliver Stone, a Vietnam veteran himself, was unhappy with what such movies said about the divisive conflict that had ensnared his generation, and so he set out to make a very different kind of film about the war. Combining a morality play about good and evil with battle sequences that many Vietnam vets found very realistic, he created a movie that elicited a deeply emotional reaction. In an interesting casting decision, Charlie Sheen, whose father Martin starred in Apocalypse Now, appears in the lead role. The film also features superb performances from Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger. Platoon won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1986.

• The Deer Hunter. This 1978 movie was one of the first moves about the war to appear after it had finally come to an end. Focusing on a group of Vietnam veterans, it reinforced for the nation just how traumatic and scarring that war had been. The film is set after the war, but for this group of men, the war hasn’t really ended. The flashbacks, including tense scenes in which captive Americans are forced to play Russian roulette, are notable. Featuring Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Meryl Streep, The Deer Hunter won an Academy Award for Best Picture.

• The Anderson Platoon. This 1967 documentary from director Pierre Schoendoerffer was released at the height of the war. Originally made for French television, it does little more than tag along with an American unit for several weeks. In doing so, however, it offers a sobering portrait. Not really expressing a view in favor or against the war, The Anderson Platoon shows the bitter reality of a war apart from its politics. Original title: La Section Anderson. [This one is a bit hard to find.]

• Rescue Dawn. The main character in this recent movie is a pilot shot down over Laos, Vietnam’s neighbor, but as we know, the Vietnam War spilled over national borders. Director Werner Herzog offers a complex movie, in which the characters come to center stage. The New York Times called this picture “a marvel: a satisfying genre picture that challenges the viewer’s expectations.”

More than thirty years after the end of the war, Hollywood still returns to the Vietnam War theme. Oliver Stone is working on Pinkville, a film about the investigation into My Lai Massacre [Business Week reports that the current writers strike has delayed work in this project]. In addition, Sylvester Stallone is resurrecting his iconic Vietnam vet hero in a new Rambo movie, set for a January 2008 release.

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UPDATE! — Here are five more…

• Full Metal Jacket — features a great performance from Vincent D’Onofrio.

• Fog of War – an enlightening and controversial documentary with Vietnam War-era Secretary of State Robert McNamara.
• Rambo: First Blood, Part II – not exactly a favorite of critics, it’s worth seeing this Sylvester Stallone vehicle if only to see for yourself what it was that captured America’s attention in the mid-1980s.
• The Green Berets — Hollywood star John Wayne made this picture at the height of the war in order to shore up public attitudes in favor of American participation; this one is also worth seeing for its role as a historical artifact.
• We Were Soliders — based on the true story of America’s so-called first battle in Vietnam; starring Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, and Greg Kinnear.

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G. Arnold is co-editor of Bread and Circus and the author of The Afterlife of America’s War in Vietnam, [pictured right, McFarland & Company Publishers, 2006] and the forthcoming Conspiracy Theory in Film, Television, and Politics [Praeger 2008].

Photograph [above]: Department of Defense photograph, 1967. Courtesy National Archives & Records Administration.

Strong Women Make Better Dessert

by Editors

SCREEN

Strong Women Make Better Dessert:

The Power of the Female Characters in American Pie

By Erin Dionne

It’s as American as, well, apple pie. Sex and teen films go together like whipped cream and a frat party. The contemporary teen sex romp has been around for decades—remember Porky’s and Losin’ It?—but none of them have hit a nerve with their audience like the American Pie franchise. Whether it was Jason Biggs’ physical comedy, Finch’s anal persona, or Stifler’s lewd and rude nature, the first movie hit big—grossing over $100 million at the box office in 1999. But although the plot follows the boys quest to lose their virginity, it’s the female characters in the film who help elevate the original American Pie not to the level of high art, but at least to a place that twists conventional expectations. Without them, Pie would be just another sticky, unsatisfying, empty-calorie dessert.

American Pie, for those who haven’t seen it, revolves around four male friends about to graduate from high school. Oz, Kevin, Jim, and Finch don’t want to leave their high school years behind as virgins, and so make a pact to sleep with someone by prom. The only problem is that, outside of Kevin, the other three guys don’t have girlfriends and must start their pursuits from scratch. Stifler, an obnoxious hanger-on, claims to have the most experience of the group, though offers more commentary than help—and from his overblown attitude and lack of finesse, it’s clear that he’s lying. All in all, typical teen fare represented by the guys’ view of sex as uncomplicated and straightforward. As prom grows nearer, and the main characters grow desperate, hilarity ensues.

Even though the cameras follow the boys, it’s the female characters who reveal the film’s real story. They are the ones who ultimately say who, when, and where. It’s the case in nearly every teen movie, of course–without consent from the second participant, there is no lovin’ for our heroes (and the sex comedy would take on a dark, violent mantel). But in American Pie, the plot is not just about how the boys get the girls to accept their advances—indeed, it’s about what the girls teach the guys in the process: that sex is anything buy straightforward, and there’s no such thing as “uncomplicated.”

Tara Reid’s character, Vicky, has been dating Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas) for quite a while. He wants to sleep with her, but she wants to know he loves her—which stops him in his tracks.

Oz (Chris Klein), in trying to scope out someone who doesn’t know his lacrosse-playing jock side, ends up legitimately falling for Mena Suvari’s “choir girl,” Heather, and swiftly sees the value in keeping their relationship—and sex life—private.

Stifler (Seann William Scott), in his refusal to learn from the women around him, reminds the audience that not all men—especially teenage boys—understand the dynamics at play between love and sex. So focused on getting laid, his bravado, innuendo, and lewd remarks drive every girl away from him. He’s left with sickening rage as Finch (Eddie Kaye Thomas) sleeps with his mother (Jennifer Coolidge)—proof that Finch’s relative emotional maturity can attract a bigger prize than Stifler will ever attain.

But it’s Jason Biggs character, Jim, who suffers and succeeds the most with the women in the story. At its outset, he views women as merely vehicles for sex—objectifying them by masturbating to the scrambled porn channel and stripping them of personality or humanity as he obsesses over them. In his first major wake-up call, foreign exchange student Nadia (Shannon Elizabeth), object of his obsession, causes him to humiliate himself not once, but twice, in the midst of their tryst. The scene is all the more poetic as Nadia is unaware that the interlude has been staged for the high school population’s viewing pleasure via Jim’s web cam. It’s not until the end of the film, when flaky and annoying Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) not only agrees to sleep with him, but dominates their encounter (uttering the memorable “Say my name, bitch!”) and leaves him, does Jim realize that sex—and women—are more complicated than he ever imagined.

In each case, having the teenaged girls dictate the terms of the encounter not only imbues the guys’ struggle with humor, it also makes the story resonate. Kevin, Finch, Oz, and Jim may be out to “get some,” but what they end up with is far different from their initial expectations. The girls end up getting even more. They begin to understand their sexuality, develop an awareness of the choices they have and can make, and exert a measure of power in their relationships.

Teen sex romps rarely offer feminist undertones, or feature more than the stereotypical blonde bombshell characterizations of women (or if they do, it is through the archaic angel/slut representation, with one “chosen” virtuous woman represented throughout the film is the prize for the hero). After all, there’s plenty of humor to be found in men chasing women and tricking them to fall into bed, or hapless heroines being swept off their feet by a deceptive hero…or so I’ve heard. But pitting powerful women—even to the extent that they don’t know they are powerful— making their own decisions, against a group of guys ups the ante for the audience. And Pie is all the more sweet for it.

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Erin Dionne, co-editor of Bread and Circus, is the author of the novel Models Dont Eat Chocolate Cookies from Dial Books for Young Readers. Available in spring 2009.

Image (above): The cover of American Pie on DVD (Universal Studios). Available at Amazon.com.

The Simplicity of Ferris Bueller

by Editors

It’s been 25 years since the release of the iconic movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Here, from our archives, is writer Erin Dionne’s take on that 80s classic.

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POP CULTURE

The Simplicity of Ferris Bueller

By Erin Dionne

Lately, it seems that I can’t escape Ferris Bueller. The movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, which first opened on June 11^th, 1986, has been in regular cable network rotation, and it recently reappeared on the big screen at a local cinema as part of a John Hughes film festival. Before the movie started, a gaggle of writers spoke about the impact Hughes movies had had on their lives. They were contributors to the anthology Don’t You Forget About Me: Contemporary Writers on the Films of John Hughes, edited by Jaime Clarke (Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007).

While waiting for the movie to start, I was struck by some of the panelists’ interpretations of the film. Steve Almond, prolific author and creator of the essay “The Unexpected Heaviosity of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” for the anthology, had a great deal to say about Ferris (which he admittedly never saw as a teen). One of his points revolved around the observation that Ferris marked the onset of slacker culture in America—the whole, “taking the day off and not doing anything” life model.

I wondered if he’d seen the film at all.

Ferris Bueller is probably the antithesis of slacker culture. Ferris, instead, is the epitome of the 1980s suburban lifestyle and capitalism. He’s a high school mover and shaker. He works the system to get exactly what he wants, when he wants it. Just because he takes the day off from school doesn’t mean Ferris is a slacker; he’s using the day to its best advantage. Instead of sitting in the stultifying classroom listening to Ben Stein’s explanation of voo-doo economics, Ferris hits the town to enjoy the benefits of his free time. I had to check out Almond’s essay to see what else he thought of the film.

Almond, from the beginning, explains that “it was…the most sophisticated teen film I had ever seen. I wasn’t entirely sure if qualified as a teen film at all” (p.5). From there, he delves in to Ferris Bueller’s plot elements and chronicles Cameron’s breakdown, analyzing his “experience of pleasure [as] an ongoing battle against anxiety” (p. 11). With the weight of the film placed squarely on Cameron’s shoulders, Almond minimizes the importance of Ferris’s character, citing him at times as “nebbishy” and a “fabulous cartoon.” He also makes the film more complicated than it needs to be.

True, Ferris’s larger-than-life persona more than pushes the edges of believability, but his outlandishness illustrates the very real flaws of those around him—his parents, so work-obsessed that they don’t recognize their son’s lies or daughter’s needs; Principal Rooney, focused with laser-like precision on taking Ferris down; Cameron, mired in anguish over his relationship with his parents; and Jeanie, stewing in jealousy at her brother’s antics and peer acceptance. Ferris shows the audience an alternate, and, some could argue, better extreme–the devil-may-care attitude that allows him to embrace what his life currently is before making the transition to college. He’s milking those last perfect days of high school before the world as he knows it ends. Today, we’d label Ferris’s actions with the buzzwords “living in the moment” or “being present.”

The character of Ferris also serves as the conduit for the film’s story. Much like Nick in The Great Gatsby, Ferris is the vehicle through which the audience witnesses Cameron and Jeannie’s changes. Almond is correct in one regard—Cameron, more than Ferris, is the focus of the movie. Ferris, unlike Nick, also serves as the catalyst of the piece. It is he who puts the plot in motion and causes Cameron and Jeanie’s breakdown and realizations, respectively. And Ferris did it on purpose. At one point, Sloane remarks, “You knew what you were doing when you woke up this morning.” It’s Hughes’ big wink to the audience. Of course Ferris knew what he was doing—he planned the day so he can leave high school secure, knowing Cameron and Jeanie will be okay once he moves on.

Although Steve Almond had the best of intentions in elevating Hughes’ teen drama to the sophisticated level of a psychoanalytic teen angst therapy session, I still believe he missed the mark. The beauty of the film is in its simplicity, which is what Ferris extols all along: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” And if you look too deep or too long, you might miss something, too.

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Erin Dionne is a writer and Bread and Circus editor