Cultural literacy

The young Jackie Chan getting whacked by Bruce Lee. Image by way of wikipedia.

OK, enough of trivialities about policy, politics and public life. It's time to talk about something important, to wit, passing on the cultural heritage of humanity to the next generation. I did my part earlier this week when I introduced my grandson to one of the pinnacles of cinematic history.

(Previously, we explored other masterpieces like Wayne's World and Blazing Saddles.)

Yes, of course, I am talking about Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. Where else, after all, can one find such nuanced and complex characters as Bolo and Han? Or such immortal lines as "Boards don't hit back"? Or get the feel of the early 70s coolness vibe?

The classic also provides an opportunity to practice math skills by counting the guys Bruce whacks in the movie, (one of whom was the neophyte Jackie Chan). My grandson lost count but estimates it to be around 100.

It's an honor and a privilege to pass on the Great Tradition. When he's old enough to fully understand The Big Lebowski, my work will be done.

(But seriously, while diligently researching this blog post...OK, after a quick glance at Wikipedia....I read that some scholars have argued that decolonization and decoloniality are the progressive political subtexts of Bruce Lee's movies. There's a teaser here. So there.)

On Iran, death, hell and other stuff

WV Senator Joe Manchin is starting to feel the heat around the Iran deal, as this news story and this commentary show. I'm hoping that in the end he'll take advice like this.

NOT SURE I'M READY FOR THIS. It looks like Warner Brothers is going to make a film version of Dante's Inferno. Ironically, a silent version made over a century ago got it right. These days, who knows how bad it'll be? I guess the car chases will be cool anyway.

BEFORE HELL, COMES DEATH (unless it's a really bad day). Here's a look at how Americans die compared with other parts of the world.

THE END OF AN ERA. There have been lots of changes at the Charleston Gazette-Mail since the papers merged. Longtime journalist Paul Nyden is retiring. I hope he keeps sending stuff in though. He really rocked the pillars in the day.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Intellectual cinema

I'm still trying to figure this one out. The Spousal Unit, aka La Cabra, has a thing about violent entertainment. She wouldn't watch Rome, The Walking Dead, or even The Sopranos. But she loved every minute of The Expendables 2. For real. I guess it's really more about the aesthetic and intellectual quality of the film.

WHAT SHOULDN'T BE FOR SALE? Here's one person's list. What would be on yours?

YUK. At least this hasn't happened in WV. Yet.

THE BIG KAHUNA in terms of real gains for social justice will be Medicaid expansion to cover low income working adults as part of the Affordable Care Act. It looks like the feds are getting a little tougher on states that are holding back from taking this step

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

Big fights. Bigger hair

 

 When the Spousal Unit is on the road, I sometimes, when not completely overcome with grief and longing, watch videos that she would not be very interested in. This is how, for example, I got through the Sopranos. This week, I watched one that people who know of my fondness for the martial arts (and soft spot for movies about them) have been urging me to for some time.

To wit, Roadhouse starring Patrick Swayze, which apparently has quite a following and is a particular favorite among club bouncers. It was a pretty fun film, complete with a cartoon character bad guy, vehicles with giant wheels, romance and lots of smashing things.

There were plenty of fights and they were pretty big, but they were nothing in comparison with the hair. This film was released in 1989, which apparently was the golden age of the mullet. Patrick had one that couldn't be beat, although the one worn by his love interest played by Kelly Lynch came pretty close.

The big hair thing faded out most places by the early 90s, although it persisted in southern West Virginia a good bit longer than that.

Anyway, it was an entertaining cultural artifact. Now I feel like a better person.

(Technical comment: the throat technique used by Patrick could probably cause death in some cases, but I seriously doubt it would break the skin in the way depicted.)

TWO FOR THE ROAD. Most Americans believe the rich pay too little in taxes and most would support raising taxes to make Social Security viable into the future.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED

WEEKEND SPECIAL: "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE"

Goat Rope is pleased to once again feature a contribution by our official film critic Mr. Sandor Sege (pronounced Shandor Shegg-AY). And, since the holiday season is fast upon us, we have decided to reprint from last year his review of the perenially popular Christmas film "It's a Wonderful Life."

Once again, we must remind our readers that Mr. Sege sustained a head injury whilst crashing into a wall chasing a squeaky toy. As a result, he sometimes transposes the plots of the films he discusses. Nevertheless, we are convinced that his insights into the world of cinema more than compensate for this regrettable shortcoming.

It is our hope that these weekend features will help to elevate the level of public discourse and promote a greater appreciation of both the humanities and the animalities.

A BOXER EXPLAINS "IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE"

OK, so this is like everybody's all time favorite Christmas movie. It's about this Jimmy Stewart guy, except he's pretending to be someone else. That's acting, which sometimes happens in movies.

After he loses a bunch of money and thinks he messed up his whole life, he thinks about killing himself. But just before he throws himself into the river, this big twister comes and picks up his house and drops it on a witch. Only her feet are sticking out. And these little people are real happy about it.

Glenda the Good Witch tells Jimmy/the other guy that he needs to go see the Wizard to figure it all out with this angel named Toto who wants to get his wings. Toto kind of looks like a squeaky toy to me.

So anyway he takes off on the Yellow Brick Road and is joined by some hobbits, an elf and a dwarf. They have to fight off a lot of orcs and trolls, which is kind of cool.

Moomus and Doodus say I look like a cave troll...So anyway, they finally get to the wizard and destroy the ring. And when the bell rings, Jimmy gets his wings and goes back to Kansas.

And here's the thing: he could have got there all along.

The cinematography is outstanding. This is a technical film critic thing, but it's like in these old movies they take a bunch of pictures and show them quickly so it looks like people are moving around. So it looks like there are people moving around.

They say if you play Pink Floyd's The Wall while watching this movie you get real confused and depressed. I think that's only true if you run out of popcorn.

GOAT ROPE ADVISORY LEVEL: ELEVATED