Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, noting the gro
Interesting list. I'm a Rules of the Game fan. Not so sure about some of the others.
ReplyDeleteCNN interviewed the editor for Sight and Sound magazine for BFI, and he felt that The Artist may have had some influence here, especially in regard to the three silent films in the Top Ten. He also said that it is much easier for critics to reach a consensus on a classic film than it is a contemporary film, which is why so few recent films made it on the list. Glad to see In the Mood for Love on the list. Great film!
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