It's the weekend......
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, not...
... and I'm off to watch the third in the first season of Kingdom.
ReplyDeleteHaving only made it through two Deadwood shows -- although I haven't given up -- I admit this is much more my speed:
http://www.hulu.com/kingdom
Even the ads you have to watch are sort of worth it.
Diane,One of the new digital channels I'm pulling in is something called "This" which seems to show movies most of the day.Tonight they are showing the first part of"Dances With Wolves" which I have to admit I have never seen a second of before.I'm impressed by the spectacular settings and the seeming to get historical detail down but I haven't read up on it yet.I might just have to get the 4 hr DVD.What do you or anyone else here think of it?
ReplyDeletePS ,Your pic tonight now has that goofy Johnathon(sp) Livingston Seagull book stuck in my head.
ReplyDeleteWell I guess the whole flick is being shown and now that I've seen the action between Costner and the white Indian maiden maybe it should be subtitled"Two crazy white kids lost in a Sioux World"
ReplyDeleteI found myself looking past Costner in this movie, but then he made it so I have to give him credit for the way he portrayed the Lakota people. It was a beautiful film to watch. I remember reading somewhere that those who spoke the language loved to tease him with the dialog, substituting words to humor their brethren who watched the movie.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit -- I've never seen it. There was always something off-putting about it, but I guess I should give it a try if it's ever on t.v. (and I'm sure it is from time to time).
ReplyDeleteEach year I drive by the place where they filmed it -- there's a "western town" out in the middle of nowhere in South Dakota.
My kind of Native film is Smoke Signals, which has its weak spots, too, but is still really good. But then I'm a big fan of Sherman Alexie.
Sorry about that meandering bird, John. Now that you've said that, that will be all I'll think of too.....
ReplyDeleteOn the book front, I didn't see the Obama book yet at Costco, but did pick up a $11 paperback of Jean Smith's biography of FDR.
ReplyDeleteI'm also looking at this one for my list:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/books/review/Gage-t.html
I have the reviewer's book on Wall Street on my stack, but haven't gotten to that one either. The list goes on and on and on.....
avrds: Everyone at our house liked "Smoke Signals" too. In fact, it's about the only movie I can recall seeing the hubs get tearful about (long unacknowledged father issues). I wish I could remember which of my daughter's teachers showed it in class. I have Alexie on my TBR list, too.
ReplyDeleteIt has been years since I read it, but Reservation Blues is about a group of reservation Indians who form a band and travel to, I think, NY. To give you some idea of his wicked sense of humor, the band's groupies are named Betty and Veronica.
ReplyDeleteAfter that book, I read many of his stories. He's also an amazing poet. He wrote a murder mystery set in Seattle or Spokane, but that one I haven't read. I think he has also written a children's book. He's a tough writer to pigeon hole, but he's amazing.
I liked the Native American actors on Northern Exposure very much, particularly Ed. Like "Smoke Signals," these characters gave resonance to contemporary experiences, whereas Costner's movie was pretty much a romance.
ReplyDeleteI've heard good things about Northern Exposure. That's another I should probably give a try.
ReplyDeleteI have totally enjoyed the first season of Kingdom, by the way, if anyone is looking for something a little offbeat -- and British. Plus, as I told a friend who used to write t.v., anything with Stephen Fry is worth a look.
Oh,yeah, and it's free with only minor ad interruptions:
http://www.hulu.com/kingdom
Netflix has season 2 (but not 1 for some reason).
Stephen Fry, you say? Oh my, yes. I'm saving for a long and perhaps slightly liquid vacation my DVDs of "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" from I don't even remember when.
ReplyDeleteAnother series I'm saving for some vacation (retirement?) is one I started watching with my kid before she went on to altogether other stuff is a Canadian Broadcasting Series called "Slings and Arrows" about a hard-pressed provincial theater. It features Rachel McAdams as stage-struck ingenue who wises up (I'm guessing, have only seen one season's worth).
NY, you and I are on the same t.v. wavelength.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, the PBS station here broadcast both seasons of Fry and Laurie a few years back, which you have to admit is way over the top. The sight of Fry "moonwalking" on a treadmill is worth the cost of the entire set, which I also own.
I also bought the entire Slings and Arrows series but took it with me on a trip and have never seen it since. It's either tucked away in the dark recesses of my car or gone forever. There would have been a time for such a word. I may have to break down and get it again -- or try Netflix whenever I join again.
So yes, if you like that sort of quirky English style, give Kingdom a try. It's an odd mix of drama and humor in a small English seaside town -- sort of like real life.
NY, Josh Kornbluth, Love and Taxes, and Robert Reich free on Monday:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaID=185773&CFID=16748245&CFTOKEN=11661423
Oh my, that looks like great fun, avrds. I know just the person I want to go with and am off to see if we can do it. Thanks so much!!!!
ReplyDeleteI spent Midsummer's Day sorting through books, trying to get everything on a shelf without double stack. Inevitably, there was some overlap but I renewed my mental inventory. Each time I say to myself I will catalog these books. There are some pretty good software packages for cataloging. But, I've yet to do so.
ReplyDeleteA few surprises. I was digging through my "Western" books and was pleased to see a copy of De Voto's Mark Twain's America. De Voto is one of my favorite Western writers. I love his opinionated histories and wonderful descriptive sense. It doesn't get any better than "The Year of Decision: 1846" which it appeared the course of American history was irrovocably altered.
I, too, love DeVoto. Didn't we read Year of Decision in the old history group? I have Mark Twain's America but have only read parts of it.
ReplyDeleteWe did. I wouldn't mind do another group read on De Voto at some point if you and others are interested.
ReplyDeleteLet's add him to our possible list. I know Chartres is also a big fan of his.
ReplyDelete