Comments on: How politics works

By: ejh

ejh — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:18:13 +0000

But the thing is, we never see Pyle as a person, as an individual, as opposed to somebody being bullied. There's a similar aspect to The Shining by which the only one of the three people we really see as an individual (as opposed to as a terrified person) is Jack Nicholson. Now my regard for Kubrick as a director is immense - I can't think of anybody who's made so many great films* of entirely different types - so I'm not actually saying this as a criticism. It's not something missing from his films so much as something interesting about them. I think that he's really interested, as a director, in alienation from one's circumstances and surroundings and much less interested in human individuality and warmth. [* but not Barry Lyndon, which is desperately boring] ejh's last blog post..Everybody loves a bank letter

By: Jim Bliss

Jim Bliss — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:34:48 +0000

Apologies for any presumption... it was more a turn of phrase than anything, really. But still, my point is that it kind of depends on the emotion you're talking about. It's precisely the dehumanisation of Pyle (and the others) that stirred emotion in me, and his suicide represents the ultimate -- and in my view poignant -- consequence of that dehumanisation. Jim Bliss's last blog post..Hey Boy, Hey Boy

By: ejh

ejh — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:37:02 +0000

if a person wasn’t emotionally engaged by Private Pyle’s suicide in FMJ then I suggest the problem may be with them, rather than Kubrick. Well, another and slightly less presumptuous view would be that Kubrick never really shows us or interests us in Pyle as a human being with personality: it's all about the horror of the training. ejh's last blog post..Everybody loves a bank letter

By: Jim Bliss

Jim Bliss — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 13:17:32 +0000

Well, I guess it depends upon which emotion you're talking about being engaged. Full Metal Jacket, The Shining and A Clockwork Orange all contain emotionally charged scenes that left me feeling very affected indeed. He didn't do sentimentality, I grant you, but if a person wasn't emotionally engaged by Private Pyle's suicide in FMJ then I suggest the problem may be with them, rather than Kubrick. Jim Bliss's last blog post..Hey Boy, Hey Boy

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:07:46 +0000

Don't forget his choices of music. I was always a sucker for this one.

By: ejh

ejh — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:59:49 +0000

Barry Lyndon? I'd stopped caring hours before. ejh's last blog post..Everybody loves a bank letter

By: Philip

Philip — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:58:07 +0000

I've always found the ape-man's inspiration and the ending more emotionally involving, myself. There's also the battle scene and execution in Paths of Glory, the last two sequences of Barry Lyndon, and no doubt one or two others. Philip's last blog post..Situation Normal: All Firmly Upright

By: ejh

ejh — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:05:42 +0000

Odd thing about Kubrick, when I think about it. For all his greatness, the only emotionally engaging moments I can recall in his works involve the closing down of a computer and the mass psychology of a crowd. ejh's last blog post..Everybody loves a bank letter

By: ejh

ejh — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:03:56 +0000

I'd certainly pay to see him singing "Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do." ejh's last blog post..Everybody loves a bank letter

By: Justin

Justin — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:35:25 +0000

I’m not so sure. I think Straw’s like HAL from 2001. He’s got to process all these various conflicting scenarios but he’s not up to the job and his urge to self-preservation overrides everything else. He finishes up looking like a bastard and doing awful things.