creative stuff on my radar

[rm]

Trailer for Closer: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/closer/video/closer_trailer_high.asx
This is like the movie I don't want to be excited about or interested in, on any level. Because first, it's the sort of thing that could, and maybe even should, suck, and won't because it's Mike Nichols and a good cast. So smarter, and more stylish than it deserves to be right off the bat. Secondly, every time I've seen the trailer, aside from being blown away by a couple of lines in it, I flash back very strongly to a conversation Michael and I once had in a sushi bar, about how much love he had to go around but not in any unfucked up poly sense of the word. But in a, he was incompetant and I should accept that with all my love and generosity because he was like Bill fucking Clinton. As the film says, if you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking. See the little twist of my lips right now? Yeah. My lot in life may be many things, but it's not to be patient with the really crass and boring foibles of other people. Sexual fidelity doesn't hold much fascination for me other than as a creative device, but how people express their need for change, how they treat the things they are weary of, and the degree to which they can see a value in something even if it doesn't have a specific value for them -- these are measures of good grace and respect, and that's surely something I wish I had known sooner.

Anyway... Meanwhile... Mists of Avalon -- I'm on page 160, and I don't remember hating Every. Single. Character. from the first time I read it. Igraine is a hateful, shallow representation of everything I never wish to be. Vivaine is a hubristic nut. Morgaine is too desperate for obedience to anything. Morgause is the most boring Slytherin alive, and Lancelet needs a good smack (and I had forgotten that business with his real name being Galahad in this book, which isn't just confusing, but makes for some interesting analysis when compared with more traditional versions of the myth). Anyway... aaaaaargh! Lots of interesting stuff though about appearance and how it correlates to happens to people in the end (and not the obvious thing about Morgaine being small and dark, it's something weirder I've noticed)... I don't want to go on in more detail about it until I've finished it, on the odd chance I'm not remembering something right, but dear me, this book is screwy.

Is there any movie out this weekend I want to see? No. Grrr. Should see I, Robot and The Village, but it's hard to care.

Comments

I Get Misty

[keith418.livejournal.com]

I guess my major frustration with Marion's opus is her lack of interest in paradox. Most great literature, for me anyway, plays with the ideas of contradictions and paradoxical situations. I don't think simple polemicists, like Marion, can ever get too far as artists because they are uncomfortable with paradox and contradictions. This means that a lot of "neo pagan" literature, in the end, is about as challenging as those stupid "Born Again" Christian novels - like the Left Behind series - or whatever.

On the other hand, T.H. White's novel seems to me to be very rich in these kinds of deep lessons - lessons and points that transcend, in many cases, the moral positions of the author. For example, I disagree with White’s assertion that "the ends never justify the means." But he was still able, for example, in his scenes with Merlin and the young Arthur, to perfectly capture the inherent quality of the teacher-student relationship.

My mom and I were once discussing the role of the minister in religious services. She, being a Quaker, thought that any religious leader was unnecessary. I pointed out, in response, that the minister's true role was to be like Merlin in The Once and Future King: they were there to plant seeds in the mind. While she still disagreed about the need, she saw my point clearly. Is there anything in Marion's book that lends itself to that sort of wider deployment of theme? I don't think so. Marion didn't have the depth White did.

Re: I Get Misty

[rm.livejournal.com]

I've never been able to get through the White book, although I've not tried in a very, very long time. Of course, several of my favourite books were unreadable for me on my first several attempts, mainly for stylistic reasons, so perhaps it's worth another attempt.