TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2024
Silver screen gives us the world: Is the United States on its way out?
We can't swear that it isn't! No one knows where this is going—where the apparent madness could end up.
For ourselves, we keep thinking about Kubrick's final film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999). In particular, we think about the scene in the mansion out on Long Island, where a secret society is seen to be conducting a ritualistic orgy.
For what it's worth, we recall the ritualized orgy as being built around throwback practices involving the ancient, prehistoric rights of male dominance. We haven't yet rewatched the film, but as we recall it, the secret lurking within that scene is this:
At some point, certain types of powerful people will insist on reinstating the dominance of ancient impulses and ancient practices.
We can't help thinking that we may have reached some such time here in this country—a time when Blue America's insistence on the headlong pursuit of certain types of social change have convinced a certain assembly of powerful elements that the time has finally come to stop putting up with such arrangements.
The western world began on the plains outside Troy. Among other problems of the present age, the primitive sexual politics of that era seems to be found all through the annals of the Trump appointments.
The western world came to life in an age of unhinged kings like Agamemnon stealing young women from neighboring villages and from other warriors as they fight to get Helen back for their tribal group. This is where we humans started. In the sometimes comically awful sexual histories of the Trump nominees, it begins to seem that we may be headed back there.
The lack of discernment within our own Blue America is making it very hard to resist this onslaught. In our view, the incoming president has nominated a toy chest full of broken toys to serve him during his upcoming term. Over here in Blue America, we barely know how to describe these remarkable events, let alone how to resist them.
We Blues! As we've sometimes noted in the past, we're silly and clueless and nobody likes us! Despite that unmistakable fact, the landslide inflicted upon us last week now looks like this, CNN reporting:
Nationwide popular vote (to date), 2024
Candidate Trump: 76,657,498 (49.9%)
Candidate Harris: 74,064,106 (48.3%)
Thanks to the erratic behavior of the greatest president in modern history, the losing candidate didn't even know she was running until late July—and no, she didn't run "a flawless campaign," as we hear some Blue Americans saying.
Under the circumstances, that victory margin strikes us as remarkably slender. Will it be enough to bring our society down, such as it ever was?
Eyes Wide Shut and (Hitchcock's) Notorious and Gladiator oh my! We think of them as major films which seem to hint at where we actually are.
"and no, she didn't run "a flawless campaign," as we hear some Blue Americans saying."
ReplyDeleteNo one runs a "flawless" campaign. She ran an excellent campaign, especially given the very short prep time. Somerby just cannot bring himself to pay Harris a compliment. It would destroy his cred with his online white supremacist buddies, the ones who gush over ancient Troy and dream of prehistoric sexual politics.
"Will it be enough to bring our society down, such as it ever was?"
ReplyDeleteIs Somerby suggesting that our current society is not worth fighting for? Does he think it is too flawed to mourn, should Trump destroy it? That's what it sounds like when he uses a phrase like "such as it ever was," as if we have no good society worth preserving.
All human cultures have societies. Ours has many strengths. It too is imperfect, and it definitely needs work (on things like income inequality, race relations and inclusion (those DEI concerns the Republicans want to toss on the trash heap), but we have attained a remarkable longevity free of once common diseases, we have art, literature and music in new and interesting forms, we have relative freedom and a system of government to protect it, and we have created a technology that makes our lifestyles the envy of the world. Such as it ever was? What is wrong with Somerby? Does he really want to go back to hauling water from the creek, walking to town, churning his own buttermilk and wearing scratchy woven clothing? Does he want news to become local gossip and entertainment to be Bible reading?
With this kind of attitude, no wonder he thinks Trump is just crazy and not evil.
Anonymices not only think Trump is evil, they think anyone who disagrees with them is an evil Boris from Bavly too.
DeleteWe just have to keep women out of politics as much as possible and keep them where they belong - in the kitchen.
DeleteRepublicans routinely call liberals evil, so shut the fuck up Cecelia.
DeleteTrump's not a Nazi. He's a serial rapist, who stole money from a children's cancer fund, and dreams of fucking his own daughter.
DeleteNone of which matter at all too Republican voters, because they are neither of the two things Republican voters care about.
5:26 As usual you are wrong, dude. Democrats do not use the word evil to describe members of the community that voted for Trump. Either you know that Trump incited a riot on the capital with a lie and watched his mob for hours batter and injure over 140 police before lifting a finger, and you voted for him, which makes you amoral, or you didn't know that, which makes you an idiot.
DeleteEyes Wide Shut is merely about a young couple going through marital difficulties who take their daughter shopping for Christmas toys.
ReplyDeleteDid Somerby tell you that?
DeleteEyes Wide Shut is about the Kidman character Alice who controls the sex group and who "sells" her daughter into sex slavery and has several people killed. She is addicted to gang bangs and elite power.
DeleteEyes Wide Shut is about a pizza parlor in DC where Matt Gaetz is a delivery person and makes autobiographical pornos in the basement playing the role of a pedophile.
DeleteIt's the soft creamy filling under that shiny veneer of pseudopatriotism.
ReplyDelete