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| 1952 The Life of Oharu |
This weekend, the Hulu website is streaming Criterion movies for free. What's a Criterion movie you ask? "The Criterion Collection is dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest technical quality..."
From time-to-time, some of these wonderful films are available on YouTube, but the quality of the film leaves something to be desired. Like actor's lips not moving in sync with their words---kinda like narcissists caught in a lie. You can see their lips move but the words don't match up with what they're doing. Their words are off in a way you can't quite figure out. If you insist on matching dialog to lips, you'll end up time traveling in another dimension.....just sayin'.
The beauty of watching dubbed foreign films is that lips NEVER match words and you don't expect them to. Hummm, what's the difference between a dubbed foreign film and a narcissist? You, the audience, have no illusions about speaking the same language. Come to think of it, subtitles would be a better option for narcissists than dubbing. You, the audience, would know what the narcissist was up to, no matter what s/he said. When Romeo didn't call for three days and then suddenly showed up with flowers on the fourth, the subtitle would read, "Intermittent Reinforcement". And subtitles would protect you from writing your own script---completely missing the narcissist's plot because you ONLY thought you spoke the same language. (People who speak Narcish are either narcissists, or those who have studied Narcish as a second language---like the people reading my blog.)
1952 The Life of Oharu
This movie touched my heart and even as tragic as the story was (set in 17th Century Japan), it was inspiring. Sometimes we need to see where we've been to appreciate where we are without losing hope of where we'll be. We may never see the changes we hope will come to pass but we recognize the value of our efforts in the context of time---changing the future by changing today.
You can watch a better version of The Life of Oharu on Hulu this week-end, however, there's a permanent link to the movie on The WoN Cinema (not the best quality though...just warning ya).
I'm supposed to be writing a paper on mental illness for an online class I'm taking. Lessee now...should I start my paper or watch a movie? Paper? Movie? Paper scissors stuck between a rock and a good place. O dear, I see Hulu is showing Babette's Feast, a difficult film to find streaming. And Eraserhead...don't you love that movie? 1963's Lord of the Rings, The Face of Another, Charlie Chaplin, Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal, The Blob, Equinox, even Cronos....paper, movie, paper, movie....Anybody have a favorite?
Hugs,
CZ
p.s. Another great film is Purple Noon (1960), later filmed as The Talented Mr. Ripley. You can read about this film on our forum and watch a movie trailer HERE to see if you're interested in viewing the film.
Ah, Eraserhead. Saw it in grad school, scared me so much I forgot to have kids!! Subtitles would work great for my NM, so much of what she says is passive aggressive code. It sounds like your course has you watching some great movies. You writing a paper on mental illness? You've got thousands of pages of blogposts you could use! love and big hugs, CS
ReplyDeleteGee thanks for the break, CS! Your mother could use subtitles and I'd like to be the one typing them when she's talking.
DeleteI can highly recommend coursera.org to anyone who's interested in a MOOC (multi-open-online-course). The film studies class is fantastic. The professor is so "INTO" his specialty that he makes silent films a joy to watch. He recently lectured on "Applause", an incredible movie from 1929 and I wish it were available on YouTube.
The Film studies class is taught by Dr. Scott Higgins of Wesleyan University and he doesn't require any papers or homework (other than watching movies). My class on the Social Context of Mental Illness is quite rigorous, taught by Dr. Williams at the University of Toronto.
I've wanted to post about Coursera but haven't had time to do justice to the fantastic opportunity it is for the autodidact. (ha, another GREAT word "grace a' toi").
And yes, the mental disorder I'm writing about is...NPD. Duh. I shoulda picked an illness I know very little about and that would have been easier than writing a short paper on narcissism. I've mostly just stared at my computer wondering where to start.
Love....thanks for posting, CS! I'm so happy to hear from you!
CZ
How about taking one paragraph from each of, say, thirty of your posts about NPD. Then construct transitions between them. And Bob's your uncle. xoxo
DeleteO yea? Bob's my uncle? Well Robert's your father's nearest male relative!
DeleteYou make me laugh, CS!! To be honest 'cuz you know that's one of my good and terrible traits, I had to google "Bob's your uncle" and now I can't wait to use it on my nephew. hehehe...call me sadistic but that "huh?" look in his eyes keeps me chuckling the day through. We do have our jolly times in my house. ;-)
I saw Russell Crowe interviewed on the Actor's Studio about five years ago. He used that phrase. I loved the way it rolled off his Aussie tongue. He was talking about prepping for a role. Said he just pretended to be the character for a week, and then, you know, "Bob's your uncle."
DeleteI use it alot. Also love the "Huh?" look. But more people have heard that then you'd think...try it out. xx
Hahaha reading your conversation made me smile, "Bob's your uncle" is a very common expression where I live, I didn't know about P.G. Wodehouse's version though, so there you are, one learns something new every day ;)
DeleteLove to you both,
Kara
DeleteNice to hear from you, too, Kara!
How to make friends on the Internet:
Write posts. Read theirs. Comment as time permits. Reply to comments in a timely fashion, and Bob's Your uncle. You've got friends.
Love to you, too,
CZ
hahaha great use of the phrase ;) xxoo
DeleteExcellent use of the phrase! xx
DeleteI wish I'd seen this post sooner. Just last weekend I was looking at the dizzying array of options on our new Apple TV device and thought, "I wonder what Hulu is?" Coincidences abound...
ReplyDeleteEraserhead? I didn't get it. Anyone care to share?? I saw David Lynch on the Louis CK show (how weird is that) recently and thought that maybe I should try it again. Can't decide if it's worth it or not.
I loved the bit about subtitles for narcs. Yes, if life worked like that, it would be a lot easier, wouldn't it? Just watch their lips move, read the subtitles and...Bob's your uncle!
Ha! I don't know, Kitty--I don't think Eraserhead is worth sitting down to see again. It's just beyond creepy, and I think it spoke to the time it was made--punkish etc. I saw Lynch on CK. He was amazingly great, I thought. What a strange man. He's now a guru (well, spokesman) for transcendental meditation.
Delete