119. Als Ze Er Niet Is &...

Lyrics

tien tegen een dat ik mijn mond hou 

(Ten to one, I'll keep my mouth shut)
als ik je weer zie 

(When I see you again)
ik ken mezelf zo onderhand

(I know myself by now) 
een prater ben ik niet 

(I am not a talker)
hoe was het hier 

(How was het here)
zal je vragen 

(You'll ask)
en ik zal zeggen

(And I'l say) 
goed 

(Fine)
maar ik zeg je niet wat ik nu denk 

(But I don't tell you what I am thinking now)
dat ik je eigenlijk zeggen moet 

(That what I actually should tell you)

een man weet niet wat hij mist 

(A man doesn't know what he is missing)
weet niet wat hij mist 

(Doesn't know what he is missing)
weet niet wat hij mist 

(Doesn't know what he is missing)
een man weet niet wat hij mist 

(A man doesn't know what he's missing)
maar als ze er niet is 

(But only when she's not there)
als ze er niet is 

(Only when she's not there)
weet een man pas wat hij mist

(Does a man know what he's missing) 

jij praat honderduit over hoe het was 

(You talk nineteen to the dozen)
over hoe je het hebt gehad 

(About how you were doing)
en misschien als ik op dreef ben 

(And maybe, when I am on a roll)
zeg ik een keertje schat 

(I say darling once)
dan vraag je mij 

(Then you'll ask me)
hoe was het bij jou

(How was your life) 
hooguit zeg ik dan 

(At the most I'll say)
stil 

(Quiet)
en ik zeg je weer niet wat ik nu denk 

(And again, I don't tell you what I am thinking right now)
dat ik je eindelijk zeggen wil 
(That what I actually want to say to you)

een man weet niet wat hij mist 

(A man doesn't know what he is missing)
weet niet wat hij mist 

(Doesn't know what he is missing)
weet niet wat hij mist 

(Doesn't know what he is missing)
een man weet niet wat hij mist 

(A man doesn't know what he's missing)
maar als ze er niet is 

(But only when she's not there)
als ze er niet is 

(Only when she's not there)
weet een man pas wat hij mist

(Does a man know what he's missing) 

pas nu je hier niet bent 

(Only now, when you are not here)
nu voel ik het in mij 

(Now do I feel it inside me)
nu je mij niet hoort 

(Now you don't hear me)
voel ik het woord voor woord

(I feel it word for word) 
voor woord 

(For word)

een man weet niet wat hij mist 

(A man doesn't know what he is missing)
weet niet wat hij mist 

(Doesn't know what he is missing)
weet niet wat hij mist 

(Doesn't know what he is missing)
een man weet niet wat hij mist 

(A man doesn't know what he's missing)
maar als ze er niet is 

(But only when she's not there)
als ze er niet is 

(Only when she's not there)
weet een man pas wat hij mist

(Does a man know what he's missing) 

This is a fine song, though I don't like the sudden switch into present tense at the end of the first and third verse. I don't think it's poetic freedom, just sloppy writing. In any case I've linked this song to one of my favorite films, about a man regretfully looking back at his failed relationship. Although not being able to talk has never been a problem for Woody Allen.

The Movie: Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

Well, the timing of this just couldn't have been better. Woody Allen just had another of his, let's say, unfortunate interviews in which he credits himself in an incredibly chauvinistic and Orientalist way for the education and empowerment of his wife. In that same interviews he claims to admire what is happening in television, but has not seen either Mad Men or Breaking Bad. He has seen, and likes, Hannah Montana though, which is at the very least not a smart thing to admit if you are Woody Allen. It's quite easy to understand why Woody Allen is increasingly disliked, and why people are finding it harder and harder watch his films as they can't separate the art from the artist.

I was going to address this even before the interview was published, but I do think Woody Allen's art can be separated from the man. And I think Annie Hall makes a good case for this. I think Woody Allen's real life persona is utter bullshit. He presents himself as this insecure, existentially pessimistic, uncool, old-fashioned man, who doesn't really care about all the attention. In short, he presents himself as a character from his films. I have read quite a lot of interviews with Woody Allen, and never believed there is much truth in that self-characterization. He has a set of cliches which he knows exactly how to deploy to pander to journalists, and dodge questions he finds uncomfortable or boring. I think he is a much more well-adjusted, (self)confident person than he presents himself, who knows exactly what he is doing. Of course, this makes his behavior and statements such as those in the aforementioned interview even more inexcusable.

I genuinely think few things make this more clear than Annie Hall. Alvy Singer (Woody Allen's character here) would not be able to make this film. For him Anjelica Huston and Jack Nicholson are unattainable gods, only accessible if you belong to the fancy, flashy crowd of record producer Tony Lacey. Tony Lacey, by the way, is portrayed here by Paul Simon. Apart from him, Annie Hall has cameos by Jeff Goldblum, Shelley Duvall, Christopher Walken, Truman Capote, and, of course, Marshall McLuhan. Diane Keaton is so fantastic and so convincing as Annie Hall, you forget she was not some plucky upstart in 1977. She had played Al Pacino's/Michael Corleone's lover in The Godfather films. So yeah, Annie Hall does not make a very convincing argument for the fact that Woody Allen an insecure outsider, or felt like one. He was as much as Jack Nicholson part of the in crowd.

Apart from that, Annie Hall is quite simply one of the coolest films ever made. Sure, it is filled with references to high culture and existentialist philosophy, and there is indeed a great underlying sadness to the story. The film is as much fantasy of the perfect romance, as it is a deconstruction of that fantasy. That's all true, and adds to the film's greatness. But before all that, Annie Hall (both the film and the character) is cool as hell. And it's at all times clear that this is a film made by an extremely confident filmmaker who is putting on a show, knows it, and wants us to know it. Woody Allen is here dropping the mic in every other scene. When I first saw it I hardly knew who Fellini was, and I knew even less about McLuhan. Nevertheless, I was in awe by the sheer chutzpah of that theater scene. It's utterly clear that it is filmed by a man who doesn't give a damn about film conventions, who feels completely free to do whatever he wants.

There are countless other similar scenes in Annie Hall. The scenes where past and present collide, allowing Annie, Rob (Tony Roberts) and Alvy to have a conversation through time with Alvy's aunt; The scene where Allen uses split-screen to allow Annie's family and Alvy's family to interact with each other despite being in completely different places; Allen's flashback to his school days, giving children the chance to speak as adults; Christopher Walken's absurd monologue, probably one of the first times someone discovered that just letting Walken go off on a tangent is a sound strategy for your film;The first scene between Tony and Alvy where we hear them talk, but initially have no idea where the sound is coming from. We merely see an outstretched street, with far away two people standing beneath a tree. We assume these are Tony and Alvy, until we see them walking and talking down the street; The scene in which Alvy and Annie's real thoughts are subtitled while they are talking to each other, and falling in love in the process; Annie's spirit literally leaving her body during sex; Annie's deadpan monologue about her dead uncle.

There are more, but that's enough. For now, let's end by noting that this is not merely Woody Allen's film. Diane Keaton here gives one of the best performances in film history, I think. Apart from the fact that her comic timing is perfect, this may be the most convincing portrayal ever of a shy, slightly naive person, becoming  more confident, without changing their personality.  And although Allen sometimes adopts the same chauvinistic attitude as in the aforementioned interview, Keaton never lets Annie Hall lose her agency. She makes clear that she is always in charge of her life, and that she is only with Alvy, because she likes him.

118. Harder dan Ik Hebben Kan &...

Lyrics

Je buien maken vlekken

(Your temper tantrums)
Op mijn hagelwit humeur

(Blacken my great mood)
Ik heb m'n handen op je heupen

(My hands are on your hips)
Maar m'n hoofd is bij de deur

(But my head is at the door)

Ze zeggen dat het went

(They say you get used to it)
Ik heb het geprobeerd

(I've tried)
Maar hoe ik het ook wend of keer

(But no matter how I look at it)
M'n huis beschermt niet meer

(My house protects no more)

Het regent harder dan ik hebben kan

(It rains harder than I can handle)
Harder dan ik drinken kan

(Harder than I can drink)
Het regent harder dan de grond aankan

(It rains harder than the soil can handle)
Harder dan ik hebben kan

(Harder than I can handle)

Je buien zijn de wolken

(Your temper tantrums are the clouds)
Aan mijn hemelsblauw humeur

(Ruining my good mood)
Ik heb m'n handen op je heupen

(My hands are on your hips)
Maar m'n hoofd is bij de deur
(But my head is at the door)

Je ogen blijven grijs

(Your eyes remain grey)
Ontkennen elke kleur

(Deny every color)
Het is alsof hier niemand woont
(It's like no one is living here)

Alsof er niets gebeurt

(Like nothing is happening)

Het regent harder dan ik hebben kan

(It rains harder than I can handle)
Harder dan ik drinken kan

(Harder than I can drink)
Het regent harder dan de grond aankan

(It rains harder than the soil can handle)
Harder dan ik hebben kan

(Harder than I can handle)

Je buien zijn te donker

(Your temper tantrums are too dark)
Voor mijn hemelsblauw humeur

(For my good mood)
Want mijn hoofd is in de wolken

(Because my head is in the clouds)
En m'n hand al bij de deur

(And my head is at the door)

Het regent harder dan ik hebben kan

(It rains harder than I can handle)
Harder dan ik drinken kan

(Harder than I can drink)
Het regent harder dan de grond aankan

(It rains harder than the soil can handle)
Harder dan ik hebben kan

(Harder than I can handle)

Het regent harder dan ik hebben kan

(It rains harder than I can handle)
Harder dan ik drinken kan

(Harder than I can drink)
Het regent harder dan de grond aankan

(It rains harder than the soil can handle)
Harder dan ik hebben kan

(Harder than I can handle)

These lyrics are quite uncomfortable to say the least. I chose to link this song to a movie about a husband who has to take care for his mentally ill wife. Luckily the movie has more empathy for the sufferer than this song. Having said that, one could argue that my interpretation of this song is more sexist than the song itself. The song is written and sung by a man, but its lyrics are gender-neutral. It would not have been entirely wrong to link the song to a movie about woman who is abused by her husband.

The Movie: A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)

It's easy to see why Nick Longhetti (Peter Falk) loves his wife Mabel (Gena Rowlands). You can imagine that many years ago, Mabel was the most popular girl on the block. She probably hung around in blue collar bars, where she was desired by all the men. They saw in her a free spirit who sang and danced in front of everyone. Construction worker Nick was the lucky one for for who she fell.  Now years later, it's clear that things weren't as rosy as they seemed back then. Mabel's behavior is the result of a mental illness, and nobody in this film is prepared for that.

I have written often that I am not really a fan of overtly realist modes of film making. I don't much care about documentary/fly on the wall aesthetics in narrative films. I often find them purposeless, as I don't think it's a film's job to present reality as it is. Moreover, I think film is an inherently subjective medium, and realist aesthetics are often used to present whatever is being shown as objective, as an unfiltered reality. I don't think that Cassavetes is doing that here, and the purpose of his aesthetic is very well clear. It allows him to focus fully on the actors, and in doing so allows them to portray their characters very vividly. They can now act in a theatrical way, and go over the top while their characters remain grounded in reality. This especially works very well for Gena Rowlands, who gives a fantastically unrestrained performance. She creates an often frightening character who even in her saner moments seems completely out of it. Even when she seems aware of the reality of the situation, it's not clear whether she grasps truly what is going on.    

That uncertainty is I think the greatest strength of A Woman Under the Influence.  There have been many films made about mentally ill, insane people. Very often these characters are rich, or members of the higher class. They are professors, or their sons, actors, businessmen, doctors, etc. And if they are not, the film makers are cultured, highly educated people. They know the problems their characters are facing, and try to make them understandable for the audience. I don't entirely like A Woman Under the Influence, but this is a film that is never more intelligent than its characters. Nick is completely out of his depth here; he has no idea how to deal with his wife's insanity. In fact, nobody around Mabel knows, least of all herself. And director John Cassavetes, at all times, remains on their level.

This is the first time I have seen this film, or any Cassavetes film for that matter. I had of course heard about it, and its themes. Now that I've seen it I think that any critic who tries to explain the reasons for Mabel's insanity is doing the film a huge disservice. There is a reason why Cassavetes doesn't even show a glimpse of Mabel's stay in the mental hospital.  A Woman Under the Influence declines to offer any explanation for what's bothering Mabel, and why. It is entirely in the dark about it. It mirrors its characters confusion and their utter despair in not knowing how to deal with this situation. In doing so, the film also shows why other films don't take this approach. This is a film that's 2,5 hours of yelling, quarreling and suffering without much progress of any kind (thematic, narrative, stylistic). Cassavetes is relentless. He never changes his tone, never allows any room for breath. It can sometimes be enormously frustrating to watch, as Cassavetes repeats the same beats and points a bit too often for my taste. I also wish he'd offer a window into what Mabel is fighting for. What kind of woman would she be if she were sane? What are her desires and values? How does she actually want to behave? I would have found the film more interesting if it gave at least some answers to these questions. I am aware though that declining to do so, may be the point, and that the film's actual representation of Mabel may be a more realistic depiction of madness.

117. De Vondeling van Ameland &...

Lyrics

Op het strand van Ameland

(On the beach of Ameland)
was hij als zuigling aangespoeld

(He washed up as an infant)
overboord gegooid

(Thrown overboard)
op een reddingsboei gebonden

(Bound on a buoy)
hij had zich op de golven

(On the waves he felt)
als in de baarmoeder gevoeld

(As in the womb)
en schreeuwde tot hij

(And he screamed)
door een jutter werd gevonden

(Until a beachcomber found him)

Ameland sprak schande van de jutter

(Ameland deemed the beachcomber a disgrace)
een zonderling die leefde van de wind

(A quaint living of the wind)
die al de raarste dingen had gevonden

(Who had already found the weirdest things)
hoe kwam die jutter nu weer aan dat kind

(How did that beachcomber come across that child)
als hij er daags op uitging om te jutten

(Every day when he went to comb the beach)
moest de vondeling altijd met hem mee

(The foundling had to join him)
en toen die na een jaar begon te praten

(And when he started speaking after a year)
was zijn eerste woordje: zee

(His first word was: sea)

Op het strand van Ameland

(On the beach of Ameland)
speelde de kleuter jarenlang

(The toddler played for years)
de jutter was zijn meester

(The beachcomber was his teacher)
die hem wijze lessen leerde

(He taught him wise lessons)
hij stond wijdbeens in het zand

(He stood on the sand, his legs wide open)
was voor de woeste zee niet bang

(Wasn't afraid of the furious sea)
en schreeuwde net zo lang

(And screamed until)
tot de vloed zich keerde

(The tide retreated)

Ameland sprak schande van de kleuter

(Ameland deemed the toddler a disgrace)
de vondeling die schreeuwde als de wind

(The foundling screaming like the wind)
hoe was het in vredesnaam toch mogelijk

(For God's sake, how was it possible)
dat de zee zich terugtrok voor een kind

(For the sea to retrat for a child)
wat hij riep zou niemand kunnen zeggen

(Nobody could say what he was yelling)
dat was uit de verte moeilijk te verstaan

(That was hard to understand from a distance)
en toen ze het de jutter vroegen zei die

(And when they asked the beachcomber, he said)
volgens mij roept hij: ik kom eraan.

(I believe he is yelling: "I am coming)

Ik kom eraan ik kom eraan

(I am coming, I am coming)
zee wind zon oceaan

(Sea, wind, sun, ocean)
ik kom eraan

(I am coming)

Op het strand van Ameland

(On the Ameland beach)
stond hij als knaap in de avondzon

(He stood as a boy in the evening sun)
hij zei geen woord

(He didn't say a word)
begon zich langzaam uit te kleden

(He started to slowly undress)
de vloed kwam hem tegemoet

(The tide was coming his way
hij zag alleen de horizon

(He only saw the horizon)
nog eenmaal draaide hij zich om

(Turned around once more)
liep toen de zee in

(And walked into the sea)

Ameland sprak schande van de jongen

(Ameland deemed the boy a disgrace)
die naakte zonderlinge vondeling

(That naked, quaint foundling)
men had zich boven op het duin verzameld

(People gathered up on the dune)
omdat men voelde dat er iets gebeuren ging

(Becuase they felt something was about to happen)
en toen begon hij plotseling te schreeuwen

(And then suddenly he started screaming)
zo hard dat het tot aan de duinen klonk

(So loud they could hear it at the dunes)
nog even zagen ze hem op het water lopen

(They saw him walk on water)
voor hij in de diepte zakte en verdronk

(Just before he drowned in the deep sea)

Ik kom eraan ik kom eraan

(I am coming, I am coming)
zee wind zon oceaan

(Sea, wind, son, ocean)
ik kom eraan

(I am coming)
Ik kom eraan

(I am coming)

It's obviously an indictment of the Dutch film industry that I had to link this song to an Irish film. It's not very surprising though. This is a laudable attempt of Boudewijn de Groot, (and cabaret performer Freek de Jonge, who wrote the lyrics) to create a Dutch folk tale. That is not a genre that has ever been very popular in Dutch culture. It's a bit of a shame. As this song shows the Netherlands' relationship with water provides plenty of opportunities to tell stories in this vein. I actually think this song is better than the movie I am about to discuss. 

The Movie: The Secret of Roan Inish (John Sayles, 1994)

This is one of the first films I saw in the cinema. It's definitely the first 'arthouse' film I've seen. I don't remember why, but in elementary school, we went on a class trip to see this film. I think I liked it a lot; I probably wouldn't have remembered it otherwise. I also probably wouldn't have remembered it if I saw it in high school. This is very much a film for young children. This does mean that I did not care that much about the film this time around, but this is a good thing. There are way too few good directors making films aimed at young kids. Pixar is sometimes criticized for not really making films for children. I think those critics do have a point. Having said that, I'd much rather re-watch Up than The Secret of Roan Inish (I'd also much rather re-watch The Looney Tunes or Tom & Jerry, than watch a Pixar film, but that's a topic for another post. For now, let's just say that films about robots and rats with feelings existed long before Pixar).

What I like most about the film is its relaxed, leisurely pace. It is no rush to get anywhere, and the first hour is mostly an excuse to tell Irish folk stories. These are literally the kinds of stories a grandfather tells to his granddaughter. They are part family history, part Irish history, but above all they are stories about the power of the sea, and the love for it. Fiona's (Jeni Courtney) grandparents used to live on the island of Roan Inish, close to the seals and the water. The war - the film is set in 1946 - and the financial problems forced them to move. Moreover, an accident caused Fiona's infant brother to disappear, making it emotionally hard for the elders to return to the island. They do long for it though, it's clear from the way they talk about it. I enjoyed some of these stories, but I have never cared much about mythical creatures. Unfortunately the key story here is about Selkies. A Selkie is half seal, half man, and the stories tell that the people of Roan Inish are their descendants. And it is said that those with dark hair still have Selkie blood in them. For that reason they are great seamen, able to navigate the waters with whatever means they have at their disposal, even an infant crib. Indeed, Fiona's infant brother was a 'darkie'. Could it be that he still lives, and is roaming around on Roan Inish?   

John Sayles tells this story with utter sincerity. He deserves a lot of credit for that, as well as for the fact that he doesn't care at all to make this story contemporary relevant. In fact, I'd say it's so old-fashioned that if the film had actually been made in 1946, it would have to be set around 1890-1900. In a couple of scenes characters speak archaic Gaelic, and you get the feeling that resisting the urge to tell the entire film like that took the film makers a lot of willpower. Of course that would made it less suitable for children, both those in the audience, and those acting. 

This is the only John Sayles film I have seen until now. I hope to see more of him, He seems like a director who would be right up my alley. In this film, it's quite interesting that he often films from a child's height. And the scene where we first learn of Roan Inish, is quite wonderfully conceived as well. Fiona's granddad points toward the horizon and tells her that the island is right of a light tower, and that only true descendants of the island can see it at the first try. Sayles than cuts to what Fiona and her granddad are watching. It's mostly water; far away on the horizon there are some fuzzy islands that are hard to discern, and I definitely could not see a light tower. Yet Fiona does see the light tower and the island. She is special, we in the audience are not.  

116. I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Lyrics

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'cause i try and i try and i try and i try
I can't get no, i can't get no

When i'm drivin' in my car
And that man comes on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what i say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'cause i try and i try and i try and i try
I can't get no, i can't get no

When i'm watchin' my tv
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what i say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no girl reaction
'cause i try and i try and i try and i try
I can't get no, i can't get no

When i'm ridin' round the world
And i'm doin' this and i'm signing that
And i'm tryin' to make some girl
Who tells me baby better come back later next week
'cause you see i'm on losing streak
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what i say

I can't get no, i can't get no
I can't get no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction

I have been listening a bit more to The Rolling Stones recently, and while they may have never reached the heights of some other great groups, I am now convinced that they have basically never made a bad song. Satisfaction is, I think, not one of their greatest. It did allow me to discuss a film I never expected to like so much. 

The Movie: Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)

Near the end of this film, Brandon (Michael Fassbender) is riding the subway, when his train suddenly stops. Someone has committed suicide by jumping in front of it. Leaving the underground, Brandon hurriedly, anxiously goes home, where he finds his sister (Carey Mulligan) covered in blood. She has tried to commit suicide by slitting her wrists. It is an incredibly tacky sequence, and its tackiness only stands out more because the rest of this film is so ridiculously good. In fact, if it wasn't for the aforementioned sequence I might have claimed that this is the best film of the decade. This is challenging, radical, and extremely confident film making that does not provide easy answers.

I was hooked from the opening sequence. McQueen presents a period, I'd say about a week, but it doesn't really matter, in the life of Brandon by crosscutting between scenes at his home, and his commute on the metro. We see that his morning routine consists of waking up miserable, after a night of sex with some prostitute or a random woman. He ignores her, as well as his sisters' messages on his answering machine. On the metro he sits silently, while he is cautiously flirting with a girl who sits across him every day. Every day, the flirting seems to become more serious, but it's not certain whether this is what's really happening, or whether McQueen is showing us Brandon's distorted point of view. All of this happens without any dialogue. For the most part, all we hear on the soundtrack is a constantly, relentlessly ticking clock. The sequence eventually ends when the girl on the metro gets off without seeming to pay much attention to Brandon, leaving him confused and kinda desperate.

The key sequence of the film though comes, when Brandon goes on a date with his colleague Marianne (Nicole Beharie). McQueen shoots their dinner date at a high class restaurant in an exceptional long take. In much of the scene we see Brandon and Marianne in a wide shot, together with the other restaurant guests. We hear their conversation, but are constantly aware of the other conversations around them. McQueen lets us hear snippets of them, or people coughing, while at the the same time we see their animated/amused hand gestures and faces. These are real people having real conversations about all kinds of different things. That is obviously what happens in a restaurant, but I have rarely seen a film so aware of it as Shame. While this is happening, Brandon and Marianne are constantly disturbed in their conversation, by the waiter, who seems to be relatively inexperienced, and constantly makes sure that his guests have the best possible experience at the restaurant.

Fassbender and Beharie act wonderfully throughout the film, but they are never better than in this scene. They are perfect in showcasing their amused irritation with the waiter's intrusions. They are annoyed by him, but understand that it's his job. They have to control their behavior in such a way to brush off the waiter as soon as possible, while at the same time not making their annoyance visible to him, to not offend him. The scene has a very weird effect because of this. It plays at moments like the slowed down version of a slapstick scene, and this seems like a very conscious decision of McQueen. Despite Shame's dark subject matter, McQueen finds certain moments like this in which he can showcase a sly, dry sense of humor.

This scene serves two other functions as well. It shows that Brandon and Marianne have a click. They both react with amusement to the waiter, and to each other's behavior in response to him. Furthermore it shows that Brendan is perfectly capable of controlling his emotions and his behavior. He is in all respects a completely normally functioning member of society, except in matters of love and sex. Brandon is an intelligent man who is perfectly aware of this. For him the tragedy is not so much that his sexual behavior is (self-)destructive, but that he fails to understand why this is the case. He sees himself, as a non-mentally ill person, who in certain situations acts like a person he'd consider ill.

In any case, Marianne and Brandon have a pleasant, fun conversation in the restaurant, which they continue on their way to the metro station. While Marianne finds it strange Brandon has never had a serious relationship (and tells him so), she still likes him a lot and is attracted to him. The next day she happily joins him to a luxurious hotel in order to have some romantic adventures. Unfortunately at the moment suprême Brandon cannot get it up. When Marianne leaves, he calls a prostitute and fucks her.

I do not know much about (sex) addiction, but to me one of the great aspects of the film is that McQueen does not present Brandon as man with a particular diagnosable problem that he can solve if he does certain things. It seems to simple to call him a sex addict. McQueen hints that Brandon that it may actually be power that Brandon is addicted to, and sex is merely a vessel to exhibit that power. That scene with Marianne may exemplify that. Perhaps he does not perform with her, because he genuinely likes her. He does not want, or need, to exert his power over her. This reading seems to be supported by the ensuing scene with the prostitute. He takes her from behind right in front of the large luxurious window of his room. He does not mind being seen, and knows he will be. A couple of scenes before, we saw him watch such a spectacle happening at that place.

I did not expect to like Shame this much. I am not much of a fan of miserable addiction narratives. Besides, I was a bit disappointed by 12 Years A Slave, a film that actually does deal with a subject I am interested in. After the first 30 minutes, it becomes a very conventional, Hollywoodized film. It sometimes feels like a film made 20 years before Django Unchained, not one year after it. Especially the Brad Pitt as a white savior plot device is awful, also because of the terrible dialogue Pitt is given. In any case, thanks to Shame I will very much look forward to the next McQueen film. This is a film that seems to be combine the style/sensibility of the great European art films of the 1960's like Repulsion and L'Avventura, with that of Kubrick, while never copying either.

    

Mad Max: Fury Road

I was writing a PhD-proposal, and it turned out to be an interesting piece on Mad Max: Fury Road and aesthetics. 

A day before the 2016 Academy Awards, writer Brian Phillips took to Twitter to discuss Best Picture nominee Mad Max: Fury Road (Miller, 2015). Phillips argued that in the film there is a 'weird tension between its critique of, and its reveling in, patriarchal violence. Its moral theme is basically a sustained attack on its visceral entertainment value'. I think Phillips here gets at the heart of what makes Mad Max: Fury Road so interesting. Throughout the film director George Miller complicates his audience' enjoyment of it. His aesthetic choices, to a very large extent, reflect the ideology of the film's antagonists.

The apocalyptic society in Fury Road, with its uninhibited violence, its aggressive displays of masculinity, and its objectification of women, is clearly presented as an extension/result of the norms and values of the film's villains. Moreover it is profitable to them, while hurtful to the heroes, who are looking for peace and quiet. The film itself hardly allows for peace and quiet. There is a minimum amount of dialogue, and except for one scene in the middle, the film basically amounts to one long chase sequence through an apocalyptic wasteland.  The action is ramped up from the beginning, and Miller never lets go. He presents pumped up monster cars, flamethrower guitarists, gruesome deaths, scantily clad women, madmen crying for war, and brilliantly staged extended battle scenes full of bloodshed. The action is further intensified by the relentlessly loud, bombastic soundtrack.

In other words, the patriarchal society criticized in Fury Road manifests itself in the style of the film, forcing the audience to directly engage with it.  Instead of merely showing the audience the problematic aspects and dangers of patriarchal societies, Miller lets the audience, to some extent, experience them. While watching the film the viewers realize that their enjoyment of it is tied to the fact that the film revels in the patriarchal values of its apocalyptic society. This could contribute to personal self-reflection. Viewers could reflect on how the society they live in has shaped them to enjoy the patriarchal aesthetic of Fury Road. They could ask themselves to what extent their society is patriarchal, and whether they have to share some of its values to enjoy the film. They could also reflect on how attractive many patriarchal values are on the surface, and how easily they can be accepted.

Style is not merely about how something is communicated, but also about what is being communicated. As communication professor Barry Brummett puts it 'When we put on jeans, we are not just clothing our nakedness, we are speaking a language formed in cloth. Style is a complex system of actions, objects and behaviors that is used to form messages that announce who we are, who we want to be, and who we want to be considered akin to. It is therefore also a system of communication with rhetorical influence on others. And, as such, style is a means by which power and advantage are negotiated, distributed and struggled over in society" (Brummett 11). By wearing certain jeans we make a statement about ourselves. It may not be a conscious statement, or a relevant statement worth exploring, but it does mean that there are certain aspects of these jeans that we like. Our jeans communicate something to the world about who we are.

A similar argument can be made about our consumption of (popular) culture. In an analysis of television show The Tudors, media scholar Kevin Williams discusses the casting of Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the leading role. That casting is consistent with the slick, cool, and sexy, style of the show. Through this style The Tudors connotes to its audience that Henry VIII was something like the historic equivalent of a modern rock star. Yet this is not the only way to tell this story. The producers of The Tudors could have easily chosen a more restrained, 'serious' aesthetic in which case they could have cast 'some fat 250 pounds red-haired guy with a beard" (Williams 139). Then the show's connotation could have been that, despite his many wives, Henry VII was a serious, devoted king. That show would also have attracted a different audience. Some people certainly watch the The Tudors primarily because they are interested in learning something about the Tudor dynasty. Yet there are many other cultural objects they can consume in order to do this. They choose to watch this show specifically, because of the style it is presented in. They watch it because they like slick representations of Henry VIII and the historical period in which he lives, and because they like seeing Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the role of the notorious king. They share these 'values' with the rest of The Tudors' audience.

It is important to note that the audience of The Tudors would not exist without the show. Their shared values are created by the show. In other words, style is not merely used to communicate meaning, but also to create it. This is explained very well by the British sociologist Simon Frith who attributes the success of folk music in the 1960's the musicians' ability to create a fictitious, imagined, folk community. According to Firth, these communities were not formed because a group of people with the same values decided to make music. Rather, these values were created through the music. As he puts it: "My point is not that a social group has beliefs which it then articulates in its music, but that music, an aesthetic practice, articulates in itself an understanding of both group relations and individuality, on the basis of which ethical codes and social ideologies are understood. What I want to suggest, in other words, is not that social groups agree on values which are then expressed in their cultural activities, but that they only get to know themselves as groups through cultural activity, through aesthetic judgement"(Frith 1996). Furthermore Firth states 'it is the aesthetic rather than organizational/contextual aspects of performance that betray a continuity between the social, the group, and the individual. It is in deciding - playing and hearing what sounds right that we both express ourselves, our own sense of rightness, and suborn ourselves, lose ourselves, in an act of participation" (Firth 1996).

These ideas can be connected to Marshall McLuhan's famous notion that 'the medium is the message'. McLuhan argued that a medium affects society not through its content, but through its characteristics (McLuhan 108). For McLuhan, it does not matter much what is being broadcast on television. What matters is that the introduction of television affected people's behavior. For example, it allowed families to gather together around a television set, thereby creating a new social environment. These changes in behavior are the true message of television. McLuhan himself offers the light bulb as an explanation of his ideas. The light bulb itself has no content, yet it is a medium with a social effect. In the nighttime it enables people to lit spaces that would otherwise remain dark. In doing so 'a light bulb creates an environment by its mere presence' (McLuhan 112).

Now, let us return to Mad Max: Fury Road. Director George Miller could have addressed his concerns about patriarchal societies through a straightforward dramatic film that criticizes the patriarchy, perhaps even in a more coherent way than Fury Road does. The plot of that film could show the audience exactly why the heroes had to overcome the patriarchal values, how they did it, and what these values exactly are. In the process it could offer its audience plenty of room for thought. I would argue that approach would be less effective than Miller's approach in Fury Road. The message of Miller's hypothetical film would be that people like watching dramatic films that criticize the patriarchy, and make them think about it. The message of Fury Road is that people like watching a patriarchal aesthetic. As Firth would put it, Fury Road 'allows' the viewers to express themselves as people who like the patriarchal aesthetic. Miller's hypothetical film allows the viewers to think about how patriarchal values may be part of their lives. Fury Road allows the viewers to directly experience how patriarchal values may be part of their lives. In doing so Fury Road gives its audience more reason for (self-)reflection