Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind
I watched two old movies yesterday. The first I put on in the afternoon and watched before the Sparrow got home from work. It was one I'd heard about a couple years ago with Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor called 'Reflections In A Golden Eye'.
It was an very interesting film, firstly due to the color filter in which it was shot in (or that was added in post-production from the snippet I read). The film literally has a golden coloration to it. It deals with marital infidelity, postpartum depression and repressed homosexuality. Because of the era it was filmed in (1967), the homosexuality aspect (in my opinion) is incredibly toned down from what it could have been, though I am sure it was very edgy for its time. I was left wondering exactly what was happening at times and what a few characters motivations were throughout. Though I think that was the point.
I have had interest in knowing more about Brando for a long time. I do recall seeing 'The Island Of Dr. Moreau', a famously disastrous film, back in the 1990s. Even back then I knew of his reputation for being difficult and an eccentric. He did a movie with Matthew Broderick I remember from cable, 'The Freshman', in which he parodies his infamous role in 'The Godfather'. I'd never seen the latter film until later in life, yet the role was such a part of pop culture I knew all about it even as a kid.
And of course, I probably first knew the man as Superman's father in the 1978 film. That was most definitely my first time seeing him on screen.
In my late 20s or early 30s I picked up 'The Wild One' on DVD. It was probably around the time 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' came out, because it was likely Shia LaBeouf dressed in homage to Brando's character from that film that prompted me to research and discover it. Up to that point, I had very little interest in older films. I always found them to be a bit boring and too simplistic. I think my mind changed over the years in no small part due to my rediscovering the Universal Monster films. From there I was much more open to black and white movies and those "simpler times".
It has been years since I watched 'The Wild One', but I remember the window it opened into the world of young angst back in the Fifties. The motorcycles and leather and eternal suffering of youth is at once interesting and yet comical at the same time, considering I was able to see into the future, and the leather garb of the Fifties biker culture morphed into the leather scene in the gay community in the Seventies. I don't know this for a fact, but I could see a line being drawn between the two. Certainly Brando's angsty, tormented, yet sexy character must have appealed to those gay men of the time feeling outcast. Not to mention the whole rumor of Brando's potential bisexuality. Not sure in what era those rumors first started.
It was odd also to see Brando still somewhat fit at around the age of 43 in 'Reflections In A Golden Eye'. In the years after 'Superman' I'd always known him as a quite rotund person. And lest I forget mentioning Brando in younger days, portraying Mark Antony in 'Julius Caesar' from 1953. The first performance of that play I would see in the mid-2000s.
I've seen very few Elizabeth Taylor films. The only one I can actually think of is 'Cleopatra'. She definitely seems to play the same character type in these two roles I've seen. And I feel like I could see some inspiration for Adrienne Barbeau's character Wilma in 'Creepshow' in Taylor's performance in 'Reflections In A Golden Eye'.
All in all the film was of the type where you are still thinking about it and analyzing what you've seen long after the fact. I am quite shocked at the depth of analysis going on in my brain over it as I write at the moment.
The other movie I put in last night was the Steve McQueen film 'The Thomas Crown Affair'. This was a movie I've known about for years. I knew Pierce Brosnan redid it in the Nineties. I knew the main character was rich. And that's about all. Well, except for the styles portrayed in the film. I forget what website I was on years ago that was selling the official replica style of sunglasses McQueen wears in the movie.
It was very stylish, I will say. The fashions and decor of that era are some of my favorites and that alone was a joy to see when watching. Though, it was disgusting to see all the characters smoking so much, which was also part of that era. When I see two characters smoking, and then there's a kissing scene right after it literally makes me want to throw up. I don't know how people of that time even hooked up and produced children. It is so repugnant to me to think about the smells and tastes produced by that repellent habit.
Overall the movie was okay, though I did feel some of the plot points we either slightly confusing or pushing the suspension of belief. Like Brando, McQueen is another actor I've had interest in learning more about. McQueen especially within pop culture was always an icon of masculinity. I remember that even as a kid.
I have a Brando's autobiography. I picked it up a couple years ago now, and I am considering it for my next read once I finish my current book. Like so many others, I just find something fascinating about the man. Not in a way in which I am holding him up on a pedestal. More so because he was so eccentric and flawed. It is that aspect of the human experience that makes some people more interesting than others.
I have several other Brando films I'd like to watch including 'On The Waterfront' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Not to mention 'The Godfather', which I watched years ago but have little memory of. In one of the boxes of DVDs and Blurays that were my father's he had this Steve McQueen collection, which included the movie from last night. I think of his, I may watch 'The Magnificent Seven' next, as it not only stars him but has Charles Bronson as well. Another actor from years ago that I've always enjoyed in every film of his I've watched. I remember my mother being very attracted to him as well when I was very young, because she would always talk about catching him on television when his movies played.
With these old films I have to add, through the lens of "current year", that it is great to just watch movies that aren't laced with agenda. Seeing men and women acting like men and women. Like in the case of Faye Dunaway in 'The Thomas Crown Affair'. She is a woman, fully embracing her womanhood and using it to her advantage. She is a woman in a male dominated field, yet she is strong and holds her own against the men without it being insufferably preachy, because the writers back then were competent at character development and not screeching, brainwashed liberals like today.
But she's also allowed to be weak during the moments when the script requires it. She's allowed to be a woman and her conflict between her femininity and her job, which requires calculation and logic, is a key part of the film. It's what makes it good. There is no shame in her being a woman. Unlike films today, and the leftist culture at large, the despises femininity and wants to morph and bastardize it in some ridiculous competition with men.
And the men too, in both these films, were a breath of fresh air. They were not perfect or infallible but their flaws were not portrayed to make them seem like idiots. The scripts (and the writers behind them) did not despise men or the male characters. They were allowed to live and breath within these movies. And in McQueen's case, you can definitely see how his persona and the style around him appealed to so many men. The same way that James Bond used to. Because there is nothing wrong with men having strong, successful and good-looking role models to see, and potentially help provide inspiration in their lives.
It is good to be a man, when you are a man. It is good to be strong. Men seek success I think on different levels than women. The sexes have different, almost instinctual, goals in their lives. Even I as a gay man have not been able to ignore the call of these internal motivations in my life. I recall for many, many years dealing with impulses to breed, to put it bluntly. Not just to "have sex" but literally a feeling within me that I wanted on some unspoken, genetic level, to reproduce.
In the same way, there is nothing wrong with being a feminine woman. Not all women today, but definitely leftists ones, seem to go out of their way to make themselves as fat and ugly and unattractive as possible. Likely in an attempt to give the perceived "natural order" the middle finger. They think they are being strong by having blue hair, tattoos all over, piercings through their noses... grabbing their pussies and screeching at protests while castigating men for being what they are. Crying about "the patriarchy" so any personal responsibility is lifted from their shoulders. Even my own sister, who claims to be conservative, cries about the mythical "gender wage gap"... and there's no telling her it is a fantasy.
These movies are truly a window into a better time. When reality was in control. These days you'll get banned and canceled for saying men are men, and women are women. And no surgery or drugs or declaration can make the opposite so. In "current year" they want you to deny irrefutable fact and science and bend the knee to their fantasies. They want you to ignore your lying eyes, reject logic and reason. They will bully you and abuse you and shout you down. All to force you to embrace their lies.
There is nothing wrong with being a man. And equally, there is nothing wrong with being a woman. The first step to self-acceptance and personal growth these days is to accept that simple reality. I know all about self-hatred. I grew up on it, lived within its embrace. I thought it was simply how the world was going to be. Part of the lie they tell is that to branch out and have new ideas and opinions is "self-hatred". Not following the party line, not reciting the cult-like chants, not accepting the way they think people should be... as in my life, being a gay man who came to embrace more libertarian and conservative views... they see that as "self-hatred". How dare you think for yourself. There is only the collective.
However, they are the ones who cannot reflect, self-analyze or change. The cannot accept a differing opinion. They cannot allow for even the possibility of being wrong. You can ONLY think their way. You can only be what you are based on their ridiculous rules and perceptions. Based on their lies. Their fantasy created not simply to cope with reality, but a doomed attempt to change reality.
I spent the greater part of my adult life dealing with the internal (and external) conflict of coming to terms with reality. I don't regret the experiences. I embrace them.
It was an very interesting film, firstly due to the color filter in which it was shot in (or that was added in post-production from the snippet I read). The film literally has a golden coloration to it. It deals with marital infidelity, postpartum depression and repressed homosexuality. Because of the era it was filmed in (1967), the homosexuality aspect (in my opinion) is incredibly toned down from what it could have been, though I am sure it was very edgy for its time. I was left wondering exactly what was happening at times and what a few characters motivations were throughout. Though I think that was the point.
I have had interest in knowing more about Brando for a long time. I do recall seeing 'The Island Of Dr. Moreau', a famously disastrous film, back in the 1990s. Even back then I knew of his reputation for being difficult and an eccentric. He did a movie with Matthew Broderick I remember from cable, 'The Freshman', in which he parodies his infamous role in 'The Godfather'. I'd never seen the latter film until later in life, yet the role was such a part of pop culture I knew all about it even as a kid.
And of course, I probably first knew the man as Superman's father in the 1978 film. That was most definitely my first time seeing him on screen.
In my late 20s or early 30s I picked up 'The Wild One' on DVD. It was probably around the time 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull' came out, because it was likely Shia LaBeouf dressed in homage to Brando's character from that film that prompted me to research and discover it. Up to that point, I had very little interest in older films. I always found them to be a bit boring and too simplistic. I think my mind changed over the years in no small part due to my rediscovering the Universal Monster films. From there I was much more open to black and white movies and those "simpler times".
It has been years since I watched 'The Wild One', but I remember the window it opened into the world of young angst back in the Fifties. The motorcycles and leather and eternal suffering of youth is at once interesting and yet comical at the same time, considering I was able to see into the future, and the leather garb of the Fifties biker culture morphed into the leather scene in the gay community in the Seventies. I don't know this for a fact, but I could see a line being drawn between the two. Certainly Brando's angsty, tormented, yet sexy character must have appealed to those gay men of the time feeling outcast. Not to mention the whole rumor of Brando's potential bisexuality. Not sure in what era those rumors first started.
It was odd also to see Brando still somewhat fit at around the age of 43 in 'Reflections In A Golden Eye'. In the years after 'Superman' I'd always known him as a quite rotund person. And lest I forget mentioning Brando in younger days, portraying Mark Antony in 'Julius Caesar' from 1953. The first performance of that play I would see in the mid-2000s.
I've seen very few Elizabeth Taylor films. The only one I can actually think of is 'Cleopatra'. She definitely seems to play the same character type in these two roles I've seen. And I feel like I could see some inspiration for Adrienne Barbeau's character Wilma in 'Creepshow' in Taylor's performance in 'Reflections In A Golden Eye'.
All in all the film was of the type where you are still thinking about it and analyzing what you've seen long after the fact. I am quite shocked at the depth of analysis going on in my brain over it as I write at the moment.
The other movie I put in last night was the Steve McQueen film 'The Thomas Crown Affair'. This was a movie I've known about for years. I knew Pierce Brosnan redid it in the Nineties. I knew the main character was rich. And that's about all. Well, except for the styles portrayed in the film. I forget what website I was on years ago that was selling the official replica style of sunglasses McQueen wears in the movie.
It was very stylish, I will say. The fashions and decor of that era are some of my favorites and that alone was a joy to see when watching. Though, it was disgusting to see all the characters smoking so much, which was also part of that era. When I see two characters smoking, and then there's a kissing scene right after it literally makes me want to throw up. I don't know how people of that time even hooked up and produced children. It is so repugnant to me to think about the smells and tastes produced by that repellent habit.
Overall the movie was okay, though I did feel some of the plot points we either slightly confusing or pushing the suspension of belief. Like Brando, McQueen is another actor I've had interest in learning more about. McQueen especially within pop culture was always an icon of masculinity. I remember that even as a kid.
I have a Brando's autobiography. I picked it up a couple years ago now, and I am considering it for my next read once I finish my current book. Like so many others, I just find something fascinating about the man. Not in a way in which I am holding him up on a pedestal. More so because he was so eccentric and flawed. It is that aspect of the human experience that makes some people more interesting than others.
I have several other Brando films I'd like to watch including 'On The Waterfront' and 'A Streetcar Named Desire'. Not to mention 'The Godfather', which I watched years ago but have little memory of. In one of the boxes of DVDs and Blurays that were my father's he had this Steve McQueen collection, which included the movie from last night. I think of his, I may watch 'The Magnificent Seven' next, as it not only stars him but has Charles Bronson as well. Another actor from years ago that I've always enjoyed in every film of his I've watched. I remember my mother being very attracted to him as well when I was very young, because she would always talk about catching him on television when his movies played.
With these old films I have to add, through the lens of "current year", that it is great to just watch movies that aren't laced with agenda. Seeing men and women acting like men and women. Like in the case of Faye Dunaway in 'The Thomas Crown Affair'. She is a woman, fully embracing her womanhood and using it to her advantage. She is a woman in a male dominated field, yet she is strong and holds her own against the men without it being insufferably preachy, because the writers back then were competent at character development and not screeching, brainwashed liberals like today.
But she's also allowed to be weak during the moments when the script requires it. She's allowed to be a woman and her conflict between her femininity and her job, which requires calculation and logic, is a key part of the film. It's what makes it good. There is no shame in her being a woman. Unlike films today, and the leftist culture at large, the despises femininity and wants to morph and bastardize it in some ridiculous competition with men.
And the men too, in both these films, were a breath of fresh air. They were not perfect or infallible but their flaws were not portrayed to make them seem like idiots. The scripts (and the writers behind them) did not despise men or the male characters. They were allowed to live and breath within these movies. And in McQueen's case, you can definitely see how his persona and the style around him appealed to so many men. The same way that James Bond used to. Because there is nothing wrong with men having strong, successful and good-looking role models to see, and potentially help provide inspiration in their lives.
It is good to be a man, when you are a man. It is good to be strong. Men seek success I think on different levels than women. The sexes have different, almost instinctual, goals in their lives. Even I as a gay man have not been able to ignore the call of these internal motivations in my life. I recall for many, many years dealing with impulses to breed, to put it bluntly. Not just to "have sex" but literally a feeling within me that I wanted on some unspoken, genetic level, to reproduce.
In the same way, there is nothing wrong with being a feminine woman. Not all women today, but definitely leftists ones, seem to go out of their way to make themselves as fat and ugly and unattractive as possible. Likely in an attempt to give the perceived "natural order" the middle finger. They think they are being strong by having blue hair, tattoos all over, piercings through their noses... grabbing their pussies and screeching at protests while castigating men for being what they are. Crying about "the patriarchy" so any personal responsibility is lifted from their shoulders. Even my own sister, who claims to be conservative, cries about the mythical "gender wage gap"... and there's no telling her it is a fantasy.
These movies are truly a window into a better time. When reality was in control. These days you'll get banned and canceled for saying men are men, and women are women. And no surgery or drugs or declaration can make the opposite so. In "current year" they want you to deny irrefutable fact and science and bend the knee to their fantasies. They want you to ignore your lying eyes, reject logic and reason. They will bully you and abuse you and shout you down. All to force you to embrace their lies.
There is nothing wrong with being a man. And equally, there is nothing wrong with being a woman. The first step to self-acceptance and personal growth these days is to accept that simple reality. I know all about self-hatred. I grew up on it, lived within its embrace. I thought it was simply how the world was going to be. Part of the lie they tell is that to branch out and have new ideas and opinions is "self-hatred". Not following the party line, not reciting the cult-like chants, not accepting the way they think people should be... as in my life, being a gay man who came to embrace more libertarian and conservative views... they see that as "self-hatred". How dare you think for yourself. There is only the collective.
However, they are the ones who cannot reflect, self-analyze or change. The cannot accept a differing opinion. They cannot allow for even the possibility of being wrong. You can ONLY think their way. You can only be what you are based on their ridiculous rules and perceptions. Based on their lies. Their fantasy created not simply to cope with reality, but a doomed attempt to change reality.
I spent the greater part of my adult life dealing with the internal (and external) conflict of coming to terms with reality. I don't regret the experiences. I embrace them.