What I Watched: Star Wars (1977-1983)

The first movies I started watching on the 100 Classic Movies list were those in the Star Wars film series, even though they weren't the first ones I wrote about. It took a little time for me to get through them all with the turnaround from Netflix on the one-disk-at-a-time plan and the fact that I was really lazy about watching them and sending them back in a timely manner. I love Space, but, to be honest, I was really not interested in watching these. Before watching them I was already familiar with the franchise because, well, who isn't? Star Wars references are very prominent in American pop culture. AND I've seen Fanboys, Spaceballs, and the Family Guy Star Wars episode.

Via Wikimedia Commons

When I worked at a bookstore there was a girl there who was a major Star Wars fan. She watched the movies regularly, read all the books, and won Star Wars trivia at DragonCon every year. She loved all things Yoda and had a shrine dedicated to him in her bedroom. She had to drive me somewhere once and we listened to the Star Wars soundtrack on her tape deck. Writing this out really makes it seem like I am making her up. Like this is a caricature of the stereotypical Star Wars fan, but I assure you she was real. And multifaceted. She did have other interests. At the time I found her insufferable and we didn't get along very well. We've lost touch and now I wish we hadn't.  Also, while researching for this post, I discovered articles about all manner of strange things, like how inefficient the Death Star's trash compactor is for the size of the ship, etc. Star Wars fans are serious, yo, and I think this is where my aversion came from.

I always assumed these were serious movies, along the lines of Star Trek, but my first impression was that they were much more comical than I expected. The overall storyline is serious, but there is a lot of comic relief and some really beloved characters. Here is a summary of my thoughts once it was all over:

1. C-3PO is the best character. Don't argue with me about this because there is no argument to be made. Actually, an argument was made, so let me fervently address it before moving forward. This article is poorly written, but aside from that the author states that C-3PO is a more annoying character than Jar Jar Binks. Blasphemy! C-3PO may not be the most useful character, but annoying he definitely is not. He is a charming companion for R2D2. He is so posh with his fancy speech, uptight mannerisms, and oil spa baths. Even his obvious anxiety disorder, if droids can have one, is precious. He has so much personality for a robot and provides many comedic moments in the narrative. I read the Wikipedia article about him to get a little more insight and discovered that one of his specialties is etiquette. Naturally. 



C-3PO at the San Diego Museum of Man via public domain.

2. Princess Leia is a bad ass. Everyone knows that Leia is Luke Skywalker's long-lost sister and the daughter of Darth Vader, but that is all I knew about her before watching these movies. She is also a member of the Imperial Senate and a spy for the Rebel Alliance. It should also be noted that she has expert aim with the plasma blaster guns, which seemed to really be an anomaly in these movies. She does not tolerate idiocy, fights alongside the guys, and she will f- you up. No wonder she was every Star Wars geek's wet dream.

I love this Princess Leia tattoo so much. skyemariah via HCSWS.  

3. Luke Skywalker is a whiny and incompetant moron. The fate of the universe depends on him and maybe that is a lot of pressure for anyone, but I almost couldn't stand him. In the beginning I was thinking he was really going to have to step it up if I'm going to get on his side. My co-worker has the theory that Luke Skywalker represents a cinematic Everyman. He is plucked from his ordinary, unremarkable like and thrust into an extraordinary circumstance in which he has to overcome great obstacles. He is a regular guy, but is also ultimately posited as the hero. This is probably how the viewer is supposed to feel, but I just could not get there with Mark Hamill. This article Why Star Wars sucks actually asserts that Han Solo is the everyman hero of the original trilogy and I wholeheartedly agree with that. Also, Luke ranks #14 on Empire Magazine's 100 Greatest Fictional Characters. Ack. Why does everyone like him so much? These are the only acceptable Luke Skywalkers:





4. Han Solo and Chewbacca are the cutest best friends ever. Frankly, if I had my way, saving the galaxy would have been up to Princess Leia with the assistance of Chewie and Han. Leave Luke Skywalker out of it. I completely get why Han Solo is a heartthrob: He is the quintessential bad boy. Ann C. Crispin's backstory of how Han and Chewbacca met (as depicted in the The Han Solo Trilogy) is so sweet. In this history Han is a pilot who is ordered by the Imperial Navy to capture and skin a Wookiee named Chewbacca who has commandeered a naval ship carrying Wookiee children to slavery. Han refuses and is publicly degraded and Chewie vows a life of indebtedness in gratitude. They become fast friends and go together into the business of smuggling. Also, he and Chewbacca are extremely capable fighters and space navigators and, besides, look how cute they are as a team: 


Calvin and Hobbes as Han and Chewie by Chris Wahl, Bill Waterson, Rabittooth via DeviantArt and Creative Commons. 

5. No one in the entire galaxy is good at shooting a laser gun, except Princess Leia. Or it is remarkable how poorly calibrated those guns are. Evidently, the problem is that they are shooting plasma gas. Everyone knows that plasma gas is unpredictable and

that "the inherent instability of plasma gas in blasters reduced the weapon's accuracy under sustained fire." I told you that fans were serious. I was looking for other articles criticizing the accuracy of these gun or at least commenting on how comical the gun fighting sequences are because lasers are flying but no one gets hit, but what I found were explanations. It seems to me that with all this advanced technology someone would have said, "let's not use plasma in guns since it sucks."

6. This is old news but a petition to the White House to commission the building of a Death Star received enough votes to warrant an official response. It is pretty hilarious and shows the Obama administration has a sense of humor. They officially decline building a Death Star citing the project's proposed cost ($850 trillion), the craft's fundamentally flawed design, and the administrations oppositions to destroying planets as reasons against the project. Lolz, White House. You guys are so clever. After the petition response is published Governor Wilhuff Tarkin of the Outer Rim Territories released a statement on the Star Wars blog stating that the inhabitants of Earth are too primitive and unpredictable to handle such a  powerful weapon as the Death Star and our possession of such a craft would be a "technological terror...used to upset the peace and sanctity of the citizens of the Galactic Empire." Touche, Star Wars geeks, touche. You, too, are quite clever. 

Bonus:: My favorite comment from Donnie: 

Me: What is Jabba and what is his role in all this?

Donnie: He's a gelatinous kingpin.

Anyway, I don't think I really need to include a discussion of why these movies should or shouldn't be on the 100 Classic Movies list, BUT I will state that all 6 movies in the Star Wars franchise have been nominated for or won Academy Awards, they have a vast and rabid fanbase, they are the basis of a rich and storied fictional universe, and Star Wars references are so familiar to Western collective consciousness that we get them whether we've seen the movies or not. So, do they belong on the list? Yes they do.

Do you agree?

Operation Natural Hair Color...Psych.

I have not so much completed this goal to go back to my natural hair color as I have redacted it.

For years I have dyed my hair black and spent a lot of time experimenting until I found a color that was as black as they get, but still natural looking. I have very fair skin and I think it suits me well. My grandmother has natually black hair and last time I went to visit her a couple of her friends told me that they could tell I was Carmel Lee's granddaughter because of my black hair. In actuality, my hair is a warm light brown, which I have never appreciated and have been coloring since I was 15. For several years in college, including when I met Donnie, I even had pink hair. It had become my signature look, but was a tedious color to wear because I felt like my entire wardrobe had to be muted or I risked looking like a clown.


Me and Lucas at my sister's wedding in July 2012. Black Hair. I should definitely make this face more often since it is so becoming.

Then I had a child. Everyone always comments about how much he favors Donnie and he does look remarkably like Donnie did as a small child. When commenting on his looks my mother-in-law will often console me regarding Lucas' lack of my genes by telling me that Lucas has my mouth. And he does, but you know what? He has Donnie's smile. He does have my natural coloring. He has fair olive-toned skin, which is incredibly sensitive like mine (sorry, baby), and warm light brown hair and sometimes this pulls at my heart strings and makes me want to go back to my natural hair color.

Me and Lucas at Christmas 2012. Black Hair.

It would cost a small fortune that I don't have to lift the black out of my hair, not to mention the fact that it would likely wreck my hair with so much processing. My sister-in-law recently had black lifted from her hair to go a rich red and she survived the assault on her locks. I fear I might not be so lucky since I do so much heat styling and the texture of my hair was once dramatically altered by bleaching a smallish streak. Since I use a deposit-only color that has to be retouched regularly I thought my best route to be gradually use a lighter color as it fades. My stylist agreed that this should work fine as long as I don't let the color process too long on the ends of my hair. In preparation, I grew my roots as long as I could tolerate so that the black would be faded as much as possible and instead of my usual (racist-ly named) Oriental Black, I purchased a box of Black Brown.

Then, I had a change of heart. The black suits me and I love it. I get a lot of compliments on how striking it is with my skin tone and often get inquiries as to whether or not it is natural. Side note: Why do women always ask each other whether or not some trait they have is natural? I often get this question about my hair and my eyelashes and it makes me uncomfortable. It is not the same as asking "What mascara do you use?" or "How do you style your hair?" It is more personal than that and sometimes I feel like it is an accusation in the form of a question. And, frankly almost no body is natural. We all get up in the morning and have some sort of grooming ritual. I do, however, appreciate knowing that people aren't convinced my hair color is not natural. That is hypocritical, I know, considering my recent statements, but we are complicated creatures, so be it.

I went ahead and used the box of Black Brown because I am not one to waste money, but as soon as I need to color again I will go back to my beloved Oriental Black.

Freshly colored black-brown hair.



Close-up. Do you like my bath towel backdrop?



Obligatory car shot highlights my poor attention to detail. Notice light roots. I promise to do better next time.

Do you have any hair color stories to share? I doubt the color I use is cruelty-free, so my continued use of it is contradictory to my goal to switch over to only cruelty-free products. Do you have a good cruelty-free black hair color to recommend?

What I Read:: The Meaning of Wife by Anne Kingston: Part One

My reflection on this book really ended up taking on a life of it's own and it is incredibly long, so I decided to break it up into a series of posts. This is part one.

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I just started watching the second season of Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta. This is a guilty pleasure and I make no apologies. I admit that I have a love for trashy reality television, but considering that I don't have cable, my viewing choices are limited to what I can get on Netflix. Also, I live in the Atlanta area and despite eccentricities that I like to think fly in the face of this fact, I am southern, born and raised. So, I like this show. I cringe when I wonder what non-southerners must think of us based on the stereotypes they see on reality T.V. Anyway, this is the headspace I was in when I chose my next book and I bought this one when I was planning my wedding. It was a new release and the timing was such that I felt compelled to buy it. Now, seven years later I am finally getting around to reading it.

Look at the cover. Provocative, right?

Wifelust vs. Wifelash

The very first thing I took issue with was her argument about what she calls "wifelust." She said that women seek to be traditional stay-at-home moms because society tells us that is what we should want and that the ability to do this is considered the ultimate status symbol in current society. Maybe if this were Stepford, Connecticut. I currently work and my husband is a stay-at-home dad. This is how things worked out best for us when we discovered we were unexpectedly pregnant. I am the breadwinner in our household and one of our entire paychecks would have gone to childcare, so it just made the most fiscal sense for my husband to stay home. This is a role he cherishes dearly and he rues the day our son starts school and he doesn't get to spend all day with him. I think we are incredibly lucky that our son gets to stay at home with one of us, but in no way does it feel like a symbol of status. Is that because my husband is the one staying home? At any rate, we had to make quite a few financial sacrifices to make this work. We don't have new cars, we don't have cable television, we live in a tiny house in a depressed neighborhood, we rarely go out the eat, we rarely buy things we don't really need. BUT these sacrifices are well worth the ability to care for our child in the way that we feel is best.

Stay-at-home dad-ing

I know stay-at-home dads are an unconventional arrangement that are becoming increasingly common in a society where gender roles are somewhat less rigid and the recession sometimes necessitates this choice. James Griffioen tells the New York Times that modern stay-at-home dads are not Mr. Moms, but rather an evolving archetype of the father as provider and I would agree with this, but this article also asserts that the family hierarchy is currently in flux. Why does there have to be a hierarchy? ABCNews reports that gender roles are reversing and that families are struggling with this development. Really? Maybe changing attitudes about marriage and gender roles in younger generations is causing Kingston's wifelust to be in flux. I consider Donnie's contribution to our family to be equally as valuable as mine and both of our responsibilities come with joys and frustrations, although I would argue that child-rearing is more rewarding that 9-to-5-ing in our case. I know he feels the same way. But I would give almost anything to get to be the one to stay home with my son. He is growing up so fast and the only time I get with him is two hours in the evening, between when I get home from work and his bedtime, and on the weekends.  I miss him and think about him all day and I resent Kingston for shaming me for feeling this way.

Next, let me just say thank goodness the idea of coverture has been essentially dismantled in modern times. Coverture is a legal construct that dictates that a woman's identity is legally subsumed by her husband's:

"By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in law: this is, the very being or legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated and consolidated into that of the husband; under whose wing, protection, and cover, she performs everything..." 

Kingston does an excellent job of explaining this load of horseshit and its eventual undoing. I will say, though, that I have been to two weddings in recent years where this idea was romanticized during the vows and both times I was appalled. Are they exhibiting wifelust by embracing these outdated ideals? Am I exhibiting wifelash by being disgusted by it? These wives promised to obey their husbands in the vow swapping of these very religious ceremonies. I even voiced my shock at the antiquity of the sentiments in these modern weddings, but my family could not relate to my opinion. I remember my step mom saying that of course the wife obeys the husband. In return, he promises to protect and take care of her. And what's worse is this idea was viewed as holy, romantic, and ideal. In 2012, some women are still treated like children in the name of matrimony. I guess I begrudgingly support their right to choose this type of relationship for themselves and I thank the brave and outspoken ladies that came before me that I don't have to.

Donnie and I on our wedding day in 2005. Look how I gaze adoringly at him while he looks at the camera. Our photographer told us to pose this way because it is a very common wedding photo pose. Now when I look at it I think it is popular because maybe people still unconsciously subscribe to the idea of man and wife. The wife is an accessory to the man.

Now, I am considered a social black sheep in my family in some ways and my marriage experience was very different from this. My husband and I got married seven years ago at an old historic hotel in middle-of-nowhere, Georgia. My dad did walk me down the aisle, because I love him and wanted to share that quintessential experience with him, but no one gave anyone away and Donnie and I exchanged vows to be equal partners and best friends. I also was very clear with our Justice of the Peace that I wanted him to pronounce us husband and wife, not man and wife. Kingston discusses how Gloria Steinem, who famously said "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle," chose to use the term "partners" throughout her marriage ceremony when she did eventually marry at 66 because it is the more egalitarian option. During our rehearsal our Justice of the Peace said, "Oh, are you a fire breathing feminist?" Well, yes. Of course I am. I felt that fact was irrelevant, though, because I thought my beliefs were more mainstream for my generation than they evidently are. Also, we wanted to be married our way without judgement, coercion, or snark, which is why we hired a Justice of the Peace, but after all, this is the south.

This is one of my favorite photos from our wedding. So arty.

Kingston says that there was a shift in the 1960s and women could now marry of their own free will: "Love, not legislation, is the new exacting master." Because there still has to be a master, right? I would argue that while women are choosing to marry later in life than in the past, or choosing not to marry at all, there is still extreme social pressure to marry in our 20s. I think the frustration women feel when this doesn't happen is what fuels the popularity of books, films, and television programs about single women searching for Mr. Right (Sex and the City, Bridget Jones Diary, The Bachelorette, etc). I suppose this supports her idea of wifelust, but I'm not convinced women are so much lusting after wifehood as we are boxed in by the heteronormative social construct that tells us this is what we are supposed to have. Millie Kerr writes in The Atlantic that single people should get to have weddings too because milestone celebrations are reserved for couples. Is this veiled wifelust? It does highlight the idea that being married brings a woman social validation that she does not otherwise have. Jenn Levya writes that while marriage affords women social comfort is really is just a misogynistic status quo and we as a society need to develop new, more egalitarian support structures for one another. I agree that marriage should not be held up on a pedestal to which nothing else can compare. Also, it should be more inclusive. But Levya and I are two very different kinds of feminists because she goes on to say that even though she is a feminist she does not have to support other women's decisions to marry, specifically, "I'm not interested in privileged white women making choices." Ouch. Feels like wifelash to me.  

Spy Magazine cover (1995) ridiculing Hillary for daring to have figuartive balls via Fading Ad. We'll save the discussion for how offensively transphobic this cover is for another day. 

Finally, Kingston discusses Hillary Rodham Clinton as a wife who has been both celebrated and vilified. She is the embodiment of wifelust vs. wifelash. When she and then-governor Bill Clinton first came on the national scene she was the loving wife of a powerful and successful man. Wifelust. During her husband's presidential campaign she competed in a cookie bake-off with Barbara Bush. How quaint. How dutiful. But this was after she commented that she chose her career over the choice to "stay home and bake cookies." Then she was scorned for presenting herself as an autonomous spouse with the ability to dictate presidential policy because she was expected to remain a secondary counterpart to her husband. Wifelash. Kingston asserts that she was celebrated for ultimately "standing by her man," when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. Evidently that is what a good wife would do. Wifelust. I was only 16 at the time, but this is not how I remember it. I remember hearing people sneer about how weak she was for staying with him in light of the infidelity. People reported on the matter in 1998 and while they recognized the difficult situation Rodham Clinton was in, they still said:

"everyone wonders how the First Lady—or for that matter any intelligent woman who doesn't need a man for financial security—can tolerate indignity so complete that she has been caricatured in a Claymation bout with Monica Lewinsky on MTV's Celebrity Death Match."

I even remember thinking at the time that she should leave him for embarrassing and disrespecting her like that and thinking that was the progressive, feminist, and correct mindset to have. Wifelash. My older self is more able to discern nuance and gray-area and I realize that it was politically expedient for her to stay. It seems evident now that the choice was calculated and ultimately in the best interest of herself and her family. Kingston's book was written in 2005 and here we are in 2013 where Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State and Bill was the democratic darling of President Barack Obama's 2012 bid for re-election.   

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Edited 03/20/2013: I have decided not to write anymore on this book. Once I said I would it seemed really daunting and I don't want to write a treatise on modern marriage. I just want to put this book behind me.

What I Watched: The Lady Eve (1941)

I watched this movie last night and I thought it was perfectly forgettable. I chose it because of the cover and I thought I would like it better than the other choices I had. I told you previously about being unexcited about the silent films on the list and that unexcitement is actually turning into a strong aversion. I was looking at them in my Netflix instant queue and thinking they looked Dreadful. With a capital D. So I chose this one and now I am literally having some trouble recollecting it for this post just mere hours after watching it. This is a classic screwball comedy about a young scam artist named Jean, played by Barbara Stanwyck, who falls in love with a man she intended to scam.


Theatrical poster via Wikipedia

In the film, the man she is scamming is named Charles Pike, played by Henry Fonda, and he is the wealthy heir to a beer company. He is naive and kind of dense. In the course of one day he and Jean fall in love and plan to get married and she discontinues her con. But then Charles finds out that Jean and her father are scam artists and breaks it off with her. Jean becomes angry with Charles for dumping her and devises a plan to reinvent her identity as a British socialite named Eve to exact revenge. Eve and Charles meet and they fall in love and get married. Eve plans to drive him to divorce for a settlement and begins telling him about her fictitious escapades with other men. They end up separating, but not divorcing, and during their estrangement she reverts back to Jean and bumps into him again on another cruiseliner and they reaffirm their love for one another. Charles never knows the two women are one in the same. The end.


The lovely Barbara Stanwyck via Wikipedia

I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is one of the 100 greatest movies. It obviously falls into the romantic comedy genre because there are some comedic moments, but the plot line is ridiculous and neither of the characters are endearing. There is also some slapstick comedy in the film, namely when Charles falls for Eve and bumbles around in her company, knocking things over and falling everywhere because he is overwhelmed by her feminine wiles. So it's a comedy and an unremarkable one at that. Why is it on the 100 Greatest Movies list? Apparently is it a romantic comedy masterpiece and Mr. Dirks of Filmsite thinks that it is amazing this film only received one Academy Award nomination. I read and reread his synopsis and still cannot see his point of view. Peter Tonguette said this film was "one of the finest screwball comedies ever made," but I much preferred His Girl Friday. I will say that Jean is a very strong character and Barbara Stanwyck played her well, but her character was a swindler with no redeeming qualities. Charles could have been played by anyone. The blandness of his character, played by Henry Fonda, is actually precisely what makes their love affair unbelievable and makes Jean just seem conniving.


L-R: Henry Fonda, Preston Sturges, and Barbara Stanwyck via Roger Ebert

While researching reviews of this film I discovered that writer/director Preston Sturges was known for writing tough, witty, and sometimes caustic heroines and this was remarkable for his time.While I can appreciate that, I take issue with Charles Barsanti calling this film "as powerful a feminist statement as it is a smart comedy." Roger Ebert says, of Jean's relationship with her father, "that they're two adults and not locked into a narrow daddy-daughter relationship." This, perhaps, is the only feminist notion I can find in the film. Even though Jean works with her father she is her own independent woman and what she and her father do is a business in which she has equal weight and responsibility. Other than that I am at a loss. Tonguette asserts that it is feminist because Jean is strong-willed and shows us that "women...are the pursuers of love as much as they are the persued." That's not feminism. Do Barsanti and Tonguette mistake this movie as a feminist statement because Jean manipulates, dupes, and controls a man for personal gain? Because that's not feminism, either.   

Garden of Eden, anyone? via Nathan Hartman

I do get Garden of Eden references throughout the film. Jean's alter ego is named Eve and she is a temptress trying to lure the innocent and unknowing Charles. In the opening of the film we learn that while Charles is a brewery heir, his main passion lies in reptiles. He is a snake enthusiast "in pursuit of knowledge" about these creatures. He even brings a snake onto the ship on which Charles and Jean first meet. Jean gets Charles' attention by bonking him in the head with an apple. Then repeatedly we see him falling, both figuratively and literally, for Jean/Eve. While this theme is obvious it is pretty much ignored by most comtemporary reviews and discussions of this film. Everyone just comments on the hilarity of the movie and the outstanding performances, both of which I obviously missed.

Interesting note: Jean's main con is that she is a card sharp so she cheats people out of money during card games on cruiseliners. I always thought the term was "card shark," but everything I was reading about this film kept referring to her as a "card sharp." I started feeling like I had possibly misheard, and therefore was misusing, this popular turn of phrase. I had a friend in high school who swore another popular phrase was "I'll give it a world" and could not be convinced otherwise. How embarassing. Luckily, our favorite myth-busting website, Snopes, has an article about this etymological quandry. Evidently, both are correct and there is much dispute over which word originated first, but "card shark" in a more inclusive term which can be used to describe people skilled at cheating in cards or skilled at simply playing cards and is not necessarily pejorative, while "card sharp" is only used in the negative sense. Good to know.

Have you seen this movie? What did you think? Am I way off base by being thoroughly unimpressed?

What I Watched: His Girl Friday (1940)

This is one of the few movies from the 100 Classic Movies list that is streaming on Netflix, so I watched it last night. It is a witty satire about the lengths to which news reporters will go for a story, but with a romantic twist. Side note: Some of the other films I could have chosen last night were the long and bleak-looking silent films Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. I am not excited about watching these, but I have to if I want to fulfill this goal. Help me get excited!

Theatrical poster via Wikipedia. I hate that tag line "She learned about men from him!" She was a smart cookie in her own right.

Anyway, my first impression of this movie was that is was really fast. All of the dialogue and the action happened so quickly that sometimes I wasn't sure what was said. In reviews of the film, this is often one of the first things noted and is supposed to be part of what is funny about the movie, but I'm not sure I agree. Also, I loved Rosalind Russell in this film. She played Hildy, a young newspaper reporter in Manhatten who is giving up the reporter's life and her sneaky newspaper editor ex-husband, played by Carey Grant, to marry a dull insurance salesman and move to the suburbs. She thinks this is what will make her happy, but it turns out she is a damn good reporter and she makes a deal to cover one more story before she goes at the request of the ex-husband who is secretly trying to win her back. Grant's character goes to great lengths to prevent Hildy from marrying the insurance salesman by getting him continuously arrested and jailed on comically ridiculous charges and he thinks he is being so sly, but the straight-talking Hildy, who is the master of her own destiny, sees straight through him. She becomes consumed with covering the story of a convicted murderer who is scheduled to be executed and her fiance goes back to the suburbs without her because he realizes the life they envisioned together is not for her. She, of course, has more in common with the ex-husband than she initially cared to admit.
 

Grant and Russell via Wikipedia

Evidently, Rosalinda Russell was considered for the role of Hildy only after it was turned down by quite a few famous ladies including Joan Crawford. I'm so glad she ended up in the role, though, because she was so sassy in it and by far my favorite character. I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of her prior to this film even though she had a very long career as an actress and a writer, but I will admit that I am not as familiar with actresses in older films as I wish I were. I will definitely be seeing some of her other films after this one. Interestingly, in the original version of this story (The Front Page, 1931) Hildy's character was a man and the plot was a little different, but it was changed for this version in the initial readings. It seems the stars really aligned for the role to fall to Ms. Russell.

The lovely Rosalind Russell via Love Mind Travel

This film is characterized as a screwball comedy and I was so curious where that term came from because it sounds like it would mean a silly, Three Stooges-type film, but that is not the case. That is slapstick and screwball is a witty and more sophisticated variation and is actually a sub-genre of romantic comedy that typically includes a battle of the sexes. Screwball comedies were popular during the Great Depression and in the early 1940s and were characterized by fast-paced repartee (check), farcical situations (check), escapist themes (check), plotlines involving courtship and marriage (check), and a female who dominates a relationship with a central male character (check). Once I understood what a screwball comedy was this one seemed pretty obvious.

Hildy holding her own with the male reporters at her paper. Via Entertained News

I thought this movie was entertaining, but why is it classified as one of the greatest films of all time? I was not sure, so I turned to Filmsite's discussion for a little enlightenment. I should have seen this coming because remember how I just outlined how this movie is a screwball comedy? Apparently it is "one of the best examples of its kind in film history." Oh.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

What I Read: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Confession: I didn't finish reading Ender's Game and I returned it to the library. Also, I had to pay $10.80 in library fines because it was so late. This is not an insane amount of money, but at $0.10 per day, it means my book was 108 days late. You guys, do not abuse the library. Take your items back on time and pay your fees promptly. Do as I say, not as I do.

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"Trespassers will be exsanguinated."

I got this book for Christmas from my sister-in-law who understands my love of books AND magic. I also have a not-oft expressed love of sideshows, so this one was the trifecta being a book about magic and circuses. Not circuses in the three ring, sad animals sense, but rather the romantic, 19th-century magician sort. The traveling circus in this story has no travel itenerary and just shows up under cover of darkness, thus adding to its mystery and the curiosity of local townfolk. And the magic is real even though great pains are made for it to appear as expertly executed illusion. The circus is the venue for a secret challenge between two magicians who have been groomed for the exhibition since childhood. They each manipulate the circus and add components to the best of their abilities, but neither quite understands the rules of the game or how a victor will be determined, just that they were magically bound to the competition by their mentors and must participate. 

"I have always been nocturnal."



Via Antique Helper

Via Encyclopedia of the Exquisite

Via Isis' Wardrobe



The two magicians create tents for the circus with fantastical presentations (like the Cloud Maze, the Ice Garden, and the Pool of Tears) and, over time, they fall in love as they admire one another's skill and imagination. They eventually begin creating exhibitions for each other. I love all the acts in this circus, but my favorites are the living statues. I first heard of them when I started listening to the Dresden Dolls and read a now forgotten article stating that Amanda Palmer made part of her income as a living statue named the Eight Foot Bride, which is an icon in Harvard Square. The living statues in this story are very romantic. One is a lonely woman holding a solitary rose. One is a snow angel. My favorite is a couple entwined in an embrace, but not touching, just moments before a kiss. The reader can feel the energy sparking between them in the author's description and it is incredibly moving. I love the artistry of creating a character that doesn't move, yet intrigues passersby. I could never do it myself because standing that still and moving so slowly would make me crazy for my lack of patience. 

"I prefer to remain unenlightened, to better appreciate the dark."



Amanda Palmer as the Eight Foot Bride via Wikia

My other favorite part of the circus is the Fortune Teller. Her character, Isobel, is integral to the operation of the circus for several reasons, which I won't go into here so as not the spoil the story for someone else, but I loved the scenes where Isobel did tarot readings for herself and other characters. It is not necessary to know anything about tarot to enjoy the story, but I did find myself Googling what different cards meant and it was clear that the author carefully chose how the cards would fall, so to speak. Also, tarot cards are really beautiful works of art and after reading this book I added the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck to my Amazon.com wish list. I don't really believe in fortunes, but I do think the mythos surrounding fortune telling is fascinating. I would love to have my fortune read, but the only places I ever see that do that are crummy little houses with neon fortune teller signs in the window and that is not the experience I want. Isobel does her readings in a black velvet tent with a beaded doorway and she wears a black veil to add an extra air of mystery. The descriptions of her reading are darks and laden with psychic energy.

"That man has no shadow."

Via Amazon

I talked to my hairstylist about this book as she is an avid fantasy reader and she said she tried to read it, but was unable to finish it. How can this be? She couldn't quite remember why, but said she remembered feeling like nothing was happening. My friend Laura had a helpful perspective about this when she said that people appreciate different things about how a story is told and I think that has to be the case with this one. I will admit that the action is slow, but as the story built I felt a growing sense of curiosity and anticipation that I really enjoyed. The scenes are beautiful and lush and Morgenstern's attention to detail in creating the imagery is impeccible. By the time the two magicians figure out the rules and terms of the challenge, every move they make has dire and far-reaching consequences and this is when the story really takes an exciting turn. What I loved about this story the most is how it made me feel and this is summed up quite eloquently in a passage at the end of the book:

"Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasure and the dragons eat their foes..., someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose."

Via Wikipedia

And, shocker, a movie is currently in development. Will I see it? Yes, I will. Have you read this book? What did you think?

Daily Photo V.3

Daily Photo V.2

Can you tell I love taking pictures of this bugaboo?

Daily Photo V.1

As part of my 35 before 35 I said that I wanted to take a photo I like every day for a year. I started yesterday, but forgot to post it.

Without further ado, here is a photo I took of my son Lucas:

100 Classic Movies

As part of my 35 before 35 I want to watch 100 classic movies. My husband is a movie buff, but I feel like I am always saying, "I've never seen that."

This list comes from AMC's The Greatest 100 Movies of All Time and was compiled by Filmsite.org's Tim Dirks who writes about film. Film Greatness is highly subjective. I know because when I told him about this project my co-worker accusatorily asked, "Where's The Outsiders, Red Dawn, Gladiator?" I was curious how Mr. Dirks came up with this list and, fortunately, he wrote about that here.

THE LIST:

1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. The Godfather [Film Series]
3. Star Wars [Film Series]
4. Casablanca
5. Schindler's List
6. It's a Wonderful Life
7. The Wizard of Oz
8. Gone With the Wind
9. To Kill a Mockingbird
10. Pulp Fiction
11. Psycho
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
13. Citizen Kane
14. Rear Window
15. Jaws
16. North by Northwest
17. Vertigo
18. Apocalypse Now
19. Taxi Driver
20. Ben-Hur
21. E.T. The Extraterrestrial
22. The Bridge on the River Kwai
23. Lawrence of Arabia
24. Singin' in the Rain
25. The African Queen
26. 2001: A Space Odyssey
27. King Kong
28. The Maltese Falcon
29. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
30. Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
31. Raging Bull
32. The Grapes of Wrath
33. Blade Runner
34. Some Like it Hot
35. High Noon
36. On the Waterfront
37. The Graduate
38. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
39. The Searchers
40. Chinatown
41. Bonnie and Clyde
42. Notorious
43. West Side Story
44. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
45. Fantasia
46. A Streetcar Named Desire
47. Shane
48. Sunset Boulevard
49. All Quiet on the Western Front
50. Rebecca
51. Double Indemnity
52. The Quiet Man
53. Stagecoach
54. It Happened One Night
55. The Philadelphia Story
56. The Third Man
57. Rebel Without A Cause
58. The Adventures of Robin Hood
59. Roman Holiday
60. All About Eve
61. Red River
62. Midnight Cowboy
63. The Big Sleep
64. Easy Rider
65. Bringing Up Baby
66. The Wild Bunch
67. Modern Times
68. Duck Soup
69. The Best Years of our Lives
70. Annie Hall
71. The Night of the Hunter
72. Yankee Doodle Dandy
73. Paths of Glory
74. Touch of Evil
75. My Darling Clementine
76. The Bride of Frankenstein
77. The General
78. His Girl Friday
79. City Lights
80. Wuthering Heights
81. A Night at the Opera
82. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
83. Meet Me in St. Louis
84. An American in Paris
85. The Gold Rush
86. Top Hat
87. A Star is Born
88. The Birth of a Nation
89. The Magnificent Ambersons
90. 42nd Street
91. The Lady Eve
92. Sunrise
93. Out of the Past
94. Ninotchka
95. Greed
96. Trouble in Paradise
97. Letter from an Unknown Woman
98. Nashville
99. Intolerance
100. The Crowd

Dirks clearly states that the selection of films for this list is limited to Hollywood/American/British production of the last century with an emphasis on earlier work that is widely considered classic. This got me thinking, what are the essentials of foreign film? Independant film? What other great titles am I missing?   

I am going to review each title for the blog as I work my way through this list. Have you seen any of these? What did you think?

35 Before 35

I see these lists on other blogs and I thought it would be a good idea to create one in lieu of New Years Resolutions. I like the idea of having a list of goals and a timeframe to complete them because I often think of things I would like to do, but lack the motivation to make them happen. I am hoping that putting this out in the universe will give me the accountibility I need to actually meet these goals.

Also, I thought it would be a great topic for my FIRST BLOG POST!

Anyway, without further ado:

35 Before 35
1. Finish knitting the scarves and socks I started for family members
2. Run the Peachtree Road Race
3. Go back to Paris
4. Go on an Alaskan cruise
5. Learn French
6. Stop eating meat for good
7. Go camping
8. Lose 35 lbs
9. Be a better listener
10. Take yoga classes
11. Read 100 books
12. Have an vegetable garden
13. Have a lower maintenence, cruelty free beauty routine
14. Complete p90x
15. Host a dinner party
16. Go whitewater rafting
17. Start investing in a retirement plan
18. Pay off my credit card debt
19. Declutter my house and stick to a chore schedule
20. Complete our remodeling plans
21. Participate in 4 public service projects
22. Watch 100 Classic Movies
23. Get my back tattoo covered up
24. Keep my car clean
25. Have a signature scent
26. Get a nice camera and learn how to use it
27. Get back to my natural hair color
28. Take a photo I like every day for a year
29. Make a friend who lives near me
30. Find a church I like
31. Go Geocaching
32. Start 5 new traditions with Lucas
33. Have a better wardrobe
34. Make my own wine/beer
35. Get 100 followers on this blog

I should also note that I am currently 30, almost 31, so I have a little over 4 years to complete all these goals. I think I can do it.