tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post7862867085148851618..comments2024-03-29T14:03:27.321+02:00Comments on Dispatches from Vilnius: The SearchersJames Fergusonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-74879554231781495602013-06-26T03:09:45.114+03:002013-06-26T03:09:45.114+03:00OK. Just one last video/comment on the subject of...OK. Just one last video/comment on the subject of racialism, forced sexual contact, miscegenation, and genocide. Watch this video:<br /><br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXK0bfrvjPM<br /><br /><br />It was put together by a white, female, men's rights advocate. Most MRA's are conservatives who deny there is racism in society. This particular woman makes a convincing case as toTripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-43642670662692696882013-06-05T17:47:34.962+03:002013-06-05T17:47:34.962+03:00Thank you so much for recommending it. I greatly ...Thank you so much for recommending it. I greatly enjoyed the book, the movie, and the discussion. And it stimulated me to take a closer look at other Westerns esp at the way all the different groups are portrayed.<br /><br />In fact, I'm headed off to YouTube to see an episode of "Gunsmoke".<br /><br />:)Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-8021188112000715332013-06-05T12:47:45.104+03:002013-06-05T12:47:45.104+03:00Looks like we've pretty much wrapped up this b...Looks like we've pretty much wrapped up this book. Enjoyed it. Time to start thinking about the next reading group.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-32269601422853034162013-06-03T15:29:02.213+03:002013-06-03T15:29:02.213+03:00Will definitely look for it.
The other day I read...Will definitely look for it.<br /><br />The other day I read a Hispanic magazine which discussed Hollywood Latino stereotypes. While Latinos make up the majority of the population in California, they make up only 1 or 2% of all tv/movie characters. And most of the portrayals are of criminal or social deviants. I don't know if these numbers are correct or if there is some way to verfiy the Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-56521571984009833102013-06-02T22:56:41.981+03:002013-06-02T22:56:41.981+03:00There was a good documentary about Asian American ...There was a good documentary about Asian American actors a few years back and the long road of achieving respectability,<br /><br />http://www.slantedscreen.com/<br /><br />Mako usually found himself cast as the "bad guy." He said he could turn down the role or play the role to full effect and give his character some dignity, which he chose to do.<br /><br />It's a wonderful James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-72117302705413212422013-06-02T17:51:02.977+03:002013-06-02T17:51:02.977+03:00I remember years ago when several black scholars a...I remember years ago when several black scholars and entertainers were interviewed on TV about the merits and demerits of the show "Amos & Andy". There can be no question that the series (radio/movies/tv) presented stereotypical characters. But the show gradually evolved to the point were Amos became a dignified businessman who owned his own cab company. Other distinguished Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-52998824914879403442013-06-01T00:05:15.553+03:002013-06-01T00:05:15.553+03:00Writers seem to get very little credit.... as is a...Writers seem to get very little credit.... as is always the case!avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-78006559461936053702013-05-31T23:08:19.683+03:002013-05-31T23:08:19.683+03:00Thanx for the link - I put it on my "To Watch...Thanx for the link - I put it on my "To Watch" list & hope to see it very soon. <br /><br />Come to think of it, there is yet another Russian legend that I loved when I was a little kid in Brooklyn. Remember "The Sword and the Dragon":<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NGuNxw5jQc<br /><br /><br />It, too, deals with the kidnapping of a lady, miscegenation, Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-44163919992285916752013-05-31T17:48:43.018+03:002013-05-31T17:48:43.018+03:00Writers seem to get very little credit. Ford was ...Writers seem to get very little credit. Ford was pretty hard on Nugent as well, who adapted the screenplay. His wife never forgave Ford for it. Even today, Scorsese rarely lets screenwriters sit in on the filming. I guess directors want to have ultimate creative control of these projects and view the writer as little more than a scribe.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-64754191367064101852013-05-31T17:45:42.121+03:002013-05-31T17:45:42.121+03:00It's been a long time since I read the story. ...It's been a long time since I read the story. It actually dates back to a Pushkin poem,<br /><br />http://faculty.washington.edu/jdwest/russ430/prisoner.pdf<br /><br />There have been a couple film versions done including this modern update,<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mogQ0p1QBQA<br /><br />with one of my favorite Russian actors, Oleg Menshikov.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-87174800227839146592013-05-31T17:20:50.442+03:002013-05-31T17:20:50.442+03:00Chapter 21 was particularly interesting as it remi...Chapter 21 was particularly interesting as it reminded me of all the film critics and their comments about this and other Western movies in the 1960s & 70s. The NY based writers, most from the Village Voice & NY Times, were not shy about criticizing the movie, Ford, or Wayne. I was frequent reader of both publications in those days & well remember how they gave praise when deserved Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-21449958923218061442013-05-31T17:02:30.588+03:002013-05-31T17:02:30.588+03:00oops - error: should have written, "movies we...oops - error: should have written, "movies were made about the book", not about the movieTripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-73083591364047291172013-05-31T16:42:38.683+03:002013-05-31T16:42:38.683+03:00{somewhat off topic}
Tolstoy's "A Priso...{somewhat off topic}<br /><br /><br />Tolstoy's "A Prisoner In The Caucasus" [1870] - the legend behind it is somewhat similar to the legend discussed in Frankel:<br /><br /><br />Whites invade an area inhabted by dark skinned Natives who practice a different religion. <br /><br />Whites claim the land belongs to them even though darks lived there for centuries.<br /><br />White Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-83177782258162238072013-05-31T09:40:30.449+03:002013-05-31T09:40:30.449+03:00The most disappointing thing about Ford is that we...The most disappointing thing about Ford is that we he finally got around to making a movie about Quanah Parker, he made this piece of tripe,<br /><br /> <br />http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/306861/Two-Rode-Together-Movie-Clip-Quanah-Parker.html<br /><br />which even he regretted afterward. All though, it is Henry Brandon (once again) as Quanah, not Henry Travers.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-88981645976137012092013-05-31T08:23:38.789+03:002013-05-31T08:23:38.789+03:00I think most Native Americans watching a movie lik...I think most Native Americans watching a movie like this would simply see it as a movie. Frankel also noted that most of the Native Americans who were screened said they identified with Ethan, not Scar.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-46779774251960860872013-05-31T08:21:06.980+03:002013-05-31T08:21:06.980+03:00I think it is important to stress that Ford wasn&#...I think it is important to stress that Ford wasn't looking for "authenticity" but a sense of artistic "realism" that would be compelling enough to make audiences feel the action was real. This is pretty much the story with all films. <br /><br />Cimino went out of his way, and busted the United Artists bank in the process, to create a sense of "realism" James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-91648734048173209452013-05-30T17:12:05.094+03:002013-05-30T17:12:05.094+03:00I agree with that -- racism was so much a part of ...I agree with that -- racism was so much a part of our culture, I doubt many viewers saw that in it. Same with misogyny, which the culture is still grappling with (see the Facebook controversy). It may be beautifully filmed, but as a popular medium, it reflects the culture at large. avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-80406943088394961862013-05-30T16:25:07.508+03:002013-05-30T16:25:07.508+03:00Earlier I mentioned having distrinctly recalled wh...Earlier I mentioned having distrinctly recalled when the movie and when Ford were regarded as racist (same for the librarian whom I chatted with the other day). This was confirmed by Frankel on p 309 - et seq as he quoted Robert Warshow & others:<br /><br />" 'The Searchers' {is} on of the most viciously anti-Indian films ever made ... The entire film is in effect an argument Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-83429467264274328802013-05-30T15:18:04.011+03:002013-05-30T15:18:04.011+03:00That said, though, he also dressed his actors as &...That said, though, he also dressed his actors as "savages," not as Comanches, happy to give up any authenticity in that regard. All part of creating a feel for the story, not necessarily for history.avrdshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07997163948247445009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-40954846497013734592013-05-30T02:06:36.761+03:002013-05-30T02:06:36.761+03:00That is true. But as the narrative reveals, he wa...That is true. But as the narrative reveals, he wanted to portrayed authenticity (or so it is claimed). Adding a scene or two in which Indian alliances are portrayed would have add a good deal more authenticity. I'm reminded of Michener's "Centennial" in which the various Algonquin and Caddo tribes get together and use sign language to communicate & create strategy. Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-79705436581888628682013-05-29T18:03:33.292+03:002013-05-29T18:03:33.292+03:00The Navajo provided him with a ready group. He di...The Navajo provided him with a ready group. He didn't have to enlist others. As far as the general audience was concerned, one Indian was the same as the other.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-31151351103818497072013-05-29T18:01:47.002+03:002013-05-29T18:01:47.002+03:00Great artists have always been uncompromising. Fo...Great artists have always been uncompromising. Ford was no exception. His first love was the Western and Hollywood kept trying to turn away from it. But, he seemed equally at home with other genres. I thought he did a very good job with Grapes of Wrath, and greatly enjoyed The Quiet Man.James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-83506781160726274342013-05-29T17:39:03.162+03:002013-05-29T17:39:03.162+03:00Frankel goes into detail about the efforts made by...Frankel goes into detail about the efforts made by Ford to create an authentic atmosphere, setting, costuming, and characters in Mountain Valley and other sites. One can only imagine what hardships everyone endured in that work camp set up to build the setting for the film. There were interruptions in the work flow due to weather hazards and mounds of dust which clouded the cameras - all this in Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-49021053976176603332013-05-29T17:09:31.680+03:002013-05-29T17:09:31.680+03:00~ worse enemy ~
I wonder if all the abuses he hea...~ worse enemy ~<br /><br />I wonder if all the abuses he heaped on others was not a factor as to why it took all these years for him to get all that well deserved recognition. <br /><br />He treated actors, writers, critics, and everyone except for the wealthy producer (and the stunt men) equally bad. No doubt they, in turn, said that such a bad character could not possibly be a true artist and Tripplerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16568801152695491482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9103772230302021699.post-38949049304341444492013-05-28T20:15:06.835+03:002013-05-28T20:15:06.835+03:00I enjoyed this piece too, and also the abuse Ford ...I enjoyed this piece too, and also the abuse Ford gave Wayne for not going to war. What I like about Ford is that he was a no-nonsense guy, but Frankel noted that Ford was his own worse enemy, especially when it came to being recognized for the body of his work. It took the next generation of directors weaned on Ford's films to appreciate his genius. Producers treated him like each film James Fergusonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05901612633415337879noreply@blogger.com