How much is art really worth?

Well, it’s worth a great deal, clearly. It helps us get through what is, for many of us, an increasingly shitty day-to-day existence. Like contact with loved ones, music, film and other more traditional forms of art nourish us in ways we can’t quite put into words. But, I think there is a line.

This thought came to me while writing on my other blog about Rain Man (although pieces written by Empire’s current editor Terri White, Sali Hughes and Dylan Farrow (as well as a follow up written in Vertigo) had already put this somewhere in my mind. Molly Ringwald has also recently revisited the films she made with John Hughes though the #MeToo filter, giving yet more food for thought regarding favourite films). I recalled how Rain Man’s star, Dustin Hoffman is one of the many sullied by the recent outpouring of sexual harassment cases following the implosion of Harvey Weinstein’s career. I think it can’t fail to have an effect on how you react to a film when one of the people involved with it is someone with a somewhat murky moral character.

Sometimes, it might be possible to still enjoy some films, if it was more of a collaborative effort. Regarding Rain Man, I noted in the review that to completely disregard it now would be to disregard the great work of co star Tom Cruise and director Barry Levinson, as well as the others involved in its making. The same is true of Baby Driver. To refuse to watch it due to the presence of Kevin Spacey is to stick two fingers up at the huge amount of work Edgar Wright put into realising this glorious vision where driving, walking, talking, shooting and fighting is done to the sound of music. It’s a marvel and to dismiss it due to Spacey’s involvement feels somehow disingenuous.

Then there are other times where it is impossible to turn a blind eye. Last Tango in Paris, for example. The infamous butter-as-lube anal sex scene was allegedly sprung on poor Maria Schneider without her knowledge. While they didn’t have sex for real, she still suffered the indignity of having Brando smear butter around her arse and writhe about on top of her. What you’re seeing in that scene is a genuine sexual assault. Brando and director Bernardo Bertolucci claimed the pursuit of authenticity to justify their decision, as if Schneider would not be able to act the scene and the reality gives it a truer feel. Turns out Schneider never really recovered from the ordeal and for their ‘art’ Brando and Bertolucci ruined a career and a life. Sali Hughes wrote a much more eloquent article (linked above), but my sentiment is much the same as hers: fuck that. Shit like this is why I hope the #MeToo movement burns all the rot from Hollywood (and every industry) where men abuse their power over women. The excuse ‘but it’s art’ washes not at all.

Then there’s Woody Allen. You can’t separate Woody Allen from a Woody Allen film. The same is true of Roman Polanski. I suppose there is the possibility that Allen didn’t sexually assault a seven year old (and there’s the rub – as it can’t be proved, who gets the benefit of the doubt? The men so you can continue to enjoy their films? The girls/women because fuck me if there’s one thing victims of sexual assault need it’s to be trusted and supported?). But…what if he did? There are some Woody Allen films I love, and actors and actresses I love are still falling over themselves to be in his films. But I don’t know now if I can (or should) bring myself to watch them. To do so feels too much like supporting his alleged actions and the rancid system that exists to protect and support him and others like him. While Allen continues to deny, Polanski, on the other hand, admitted in court to anally raping a 13 year old, so for me there's little left to justify continuing to watch and enjoy, much less agree to perform in, his films. Yet people do. Because it's art.

I confess I find myself in a troubled quandary. The law, quite correctly, states innocent until proven guilty. But sexual assault, especially if committed years ago, is nigh-on impossible to prove. Shouldn’t some of these men be in prison by now? Does wealth or a reputation for being a good actor or director really put you above the law? It fucking shouldn’t and that’s the truth. At the very least it should signal an end to their career, shouldn’t it? Allen and Polanski have escaped the fate that has justifiably befallen Weinstein and Spacey, but I don’t think I can find it within me to continue to be objective to their work, to turn a blind eye to the actions of which they are accused.

What a bloody mess.

The problem with equality.

Most people appear to support the idea of equality. The idea that everyone is treated, supported and respected equally, regardless of race, gender etc. The problem is that many of these people don’t support equality at all, because if things were really equal, I mean really equal, then those people would have less. Those with more than their fair share aren’t willing to part with it to make equality anything more than a pipe dream to be paid lip service to. It’s why Liam Neeson is all in favour of men and women being paid the same, but isn’t willing to take a pay cut to make it a possibility. Does he really need $20mil per movie? Does he fuck. I know cutting pay isn’t necessarily the best way to achieve parity, but who the fuck needs twenty million dollars? Ever, never mind per movie?

It's why The Sun thinks the right thing to do is insisting women should be employed to walk around in their underwear at darts, boxing and Formula 1 events for no earthly reason whatsoever. It’s why the richest and most powerful will always, almost without exception, insist that they retain what they have, while the poorest make do with less, or nothing. If they’re famous they can always appear on Comic Relief or Children in Need, using their likability and fame to entreat the far less wealthy masses to fork out, so they can continue to exist in this wildly unequal reality that is to blame for a world in which things like Comic Relief and Children in Need continue to be necessary year after year after heart-breaking year.

It’s why The Sun (again) thinks it’s outrageous that someone should use their benefits to buy Christmas presents (should they and their children literally have to live a miserable existence because they are poor? Would that make you happy? Do you want to live in Oliver Twist?). This shit is all misdirection. If you’re getting angry at someone claiming a few quid because they’re out of work, or a disability benefit even though they might be able walk a dog, then their ploy has worked and you’ve been had. If you’re thinking it’s perfectly acceptable to spend most of your life working hard for barely anything then you’re doing their job for them. Those people that barely have any money aren’t the ones making it difficult for you. I read an analogy for this somewhere which basically compares the whole thing to a plate of 10 biscuits. Those CEOs, those off-shore money-hoarders take 9 and 9 tenths of the cookies before you even see them. To stop you from noticing, they point out that this person is cheating you of your hard-earned cookie crumb by not working themselves to death – doesn’t it make you angry? Don’t you think we should persecute them? What? The other 9 and 9 tenths? Don’t worry about them – we’ll keep them and that way a few crumbs might trickle down to you over time. But probably not. Anyway, it’s this person’s crumbs you should be fighting for. Look, even The Sun says so.

Don’t give me that bullshit about how by reducing some of the obscene profits of some people would trigger some race to the bottom we should avoid, not when in 2017 the richest 2% in America made enough to fund the entirety of America’s social programs designed to support the poor. There’s no reason whatsoever why with our current level of know-how we couldn’t have 10 billion people comfortably supported on this planet – we have the technology to feed, clothe and sustain everyone without destroying natural resources or ruining the planet’s climate. If we were able to redistribute wealth, resources, develop alternatives to the current status quo it wouldn’t even be that hard. But those that have the majority of the wealth and power are willing to literally let the world burn before tolerating equality. No, scratch that, they have a vested interest in it, and they will never stop distracting us by going on about the other humans in the same boat with different beliefs, gender, skin colour, country of birth etc. like they could in any way be to blame for this shit.

Genuine equality is not going to be within reach anytime soon, because it isn’t actually wanted, in spite of what is said. Hopefully one day. But don’t hold your breath.

Too many.

“A person is smart. People are dumb dangerous animals and you know it.” – Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones, Men in Black, 1997)

There’s a perfect world that most people have in their heads and think that if only they could arrange for certain things to happen, then that utopia would be within reach. Trouble is everyone is complex, multi-faceted and different, so one person’s perfect world is another’s hell on earth. Some might want peace everywhere, an informed and intelligent populace with a social conscience, leading to the overcoming of catastrophic climate change, poverty and a new age of enlightenment, co-operation and scientific discovery. Some people think their perfect world would be one without people that are a different colour, religion or [insert culturally-relevant subject matter here for yourself, because frankly, the list is endless]. It seems that many of those in charge of numerous countries think a perfect world is one without poor people (on the face of it, a commendable aspiration, but methods of achieving said aspiration are sadly much less commendable).

The truth of it is we’ll never see that perfect world we want to strive for, because we don’t all share common cause, and there are far too many people to be able a convince a significant enough portion of them to build the world you see. You might throw names like Ghandi or MLK in my face in response to that. Fair point, but are we really any closer to the world they envisioned? They just had MLK day on the US, where Paul Ryan posed in front of a statue of King, spinning some bullshit about how he agrees with the message of equality and peaceful resistance, which for him appears to mean spending much of his political career trying to reverse the Affordable Care Act, seemingly for no other reason than it was introduced by a black President and brokering a monster tax cut for the rich while standing by and watching while poorer immigrant families that have been living in the US for 30 years are torn apart by the Government of which he forms a major part. Then being bunged a cool half mil by some of the super-rich he’s working for. I’m genuinely baffled how someone doesn’t literally fall apart from this level of cognitive dissonance.

You can talk to people one-on-one, and maybe have a chance of each of you understanding the other’s perspective, which is a start you can build from. But how do you do that when there are so many of us, in thrall to different ideologies spouted on all forms of media with no thought as to how it might affect other people. You just can’t resolve that on a larger scale – everything from the democratic process (although technically we don’t exactly have a democracy, more an elective oligarchy or a kakistocracy, but I’m well aware I’ve laboured that point a number of times previously), through the ability to maintain an informed, educated and non-impoverished populace, or an ecology that can support us, right through to not going to war. There are simply too many of us to sustain it.

At some level, I think most of us know this (or is that my own brand of cognitive dissonance?). But as far as I can see are carrying on regardless hoping that somehow we’ll find a solution. But what to do? How do we even begin to move towards a point where we can begin to see eye to eye? To be honest, I’m buggered if I know. How can you fight such a large scale collective difference of opinion, particularly as it’s often fuelled by those supposedly in control? Abolish the politicking for personal profit that passes for democracy both at home and abroad, dismantle press outfits that demonstrably lie consistently to further a profit-increasing agenda. Make asshole millionaires and asshole companies pay tax. Smaller generation sizes. That might be a start. A big ask, and not something that I can see happening any time soon. A steadily deteriorating climate provides a ticking clock that makes it even more unlikely.

Ah well. We’ll either figure it out in time or we won’t. Take comfort in the knowledge that wider Universe doesn’t care a jot for your cares or mine, and try to find enjoyment where you can.

Newish occasional feature: Ending with a song relating to the post:

Blur: There are too many of us. “That’s plain to see.”

It’s about regret.

Regret. I’ve found that once you pass a certain age, regret becomes a potent and ever-present companion. I’m under no illusions; I am very much aware that I am in an extremely privileged position. It’s the idea of missed opportunities and coming to terms with the path your life has actually gone down. I wouldn’t like to run the risk of exploring the alternatives lest I risk losing what I have, but the concept is much more powerful now that more than half of my useful years are behind me.

As a storytelling conceit it tends to affect me so much stronger than it used to. It’s why The Muppet Christmas Carol, and to be fair, pretty much any version of the story (although I’m particularly fond of Michael Caine’s take, as well as Patrick Stewart’s, usually repeated on Channel 4 each year), is more emotionally affecting than Scrooged (not that I don’t dig Bill Murray’s version). The biggest emotional gut punch for Scrooge is when the Ghost of Christmas Past forces him to come face-to-face with the moment he sacrificed a future with the love of his life for something as mediocre as wealth. The ache to turn back the years and make the other choice is overwhelmingly heart-breaking. In the traditional telling of the tale, Scrooge must forever live with that choice – Murray gets a chance to rectify it, which loses a great deal of the power the story has.

It’s A Wonderful Life is another Christmas film that deals with the theme – all throughout, George Bailey has to make the choice to put his own ambitions on hold for the sake of others, and before he knows it, the chance has gone. Luckily for George, he’s able to content himself with the alternative life he built for himself over the years, but it wouldn’t have taken much to leave him filled with bitter regret. It’s a repeated trope in storytelling, and it’s precisely because it is so powerful; Magnolia is a non-Christmassy film that examines the nature of regret and how it affects us through various characters and it’s another one that has a very strong impact on me.

I guess the point (such as it is) is I don’t really think it’s possible to avoid regrets, and those that claim to regret nothing are perhaps not being completely honest with themselves.

In case for some reason it isn’t clear.

It is not normal to be a Nazi. There has been a recent New York Times article about one of the newly-bold Nazi pieces of shit over in America in the wake of Trump. It talks about how this pond scum is just like everyone else with the unfortunate exception of his extreme right-wing viewpoint. It cannot be said clearly enough: Fuck. That. Shit.

If you consider yourself an average everyday person but somehow you’re convinced that your skin colour (not your genetic heritage – that’s different – everybody’s got a bit of everybody else in their genes, Nazi or not (the video that links to, by the way, is just beautiful and should be watched by absolutely everybody)), or the religion you prefer, or the fact that you have a dick, makes you automatically better than others because they’re different, then take a long, hard look at yourself, and think about what it was that made you white, Christian, or male. Nothing special. Genes. The part of the world where you happened to be born. If you still can’t see it, then please feel free to lie down and die.

Same goes for you if you think the fact that you’re a multi-millionaire means you should pay less tax. Lewis Hamilton, Bono and the Queen can promote Children in Need or tell us what we should do to end poverty or make the world a better place all they want; the truth is, if they and every other fucknut like them didn’t invest the country’s money offshore so they could sit on a fortune of £250 million instead of a mere £198 million, there’d be much less need for Children in Need. Selfish, greedy fucks.

There are so many other examples (denying obvious truths like the facts that leaving the EU is turning into exactly the custerfuck those of us wanting to stay told you it would, that being in a position of power or celebrity doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want with the bodies of other people, that climate change is now likely to prevent us seeing the next century in as a civilised species because we couldn’t be arsed to do anything about it when we had the chance, running a newspaper that channels utter bullshit, becoming the biggest enabler of this crap out there, and, the newest – deciding that animals don’t feel pain to prevent you having to deal with pesky welfare regulations when you have your ‘sovereignty’ back (which you never actually lost in the first place)), that to go into depth would take for ever and make me sick in my soul. That’s if a soul was anything more than a human invention.

But most of all, the Nazis.

Classic or modern?

Why choose at all? Seeing Blade Runner 2049 and listening to what people thought about it got me thinking recently. Specifically, thinking about something Mark Kermode said while talking about it. Like me, he is a long-time fan of the original, and has probably forgotten more about it than I’ll ever know. He’s got a reputation (with me at least) for being a bit of a punk Barry Norman – basically, most films appear to suck beyond redemption in his opinion.

Like me, however, he has been gushing in his praise of Denis Villeneuve’s sequel – not only does it not ruin Ridley Scott’s original, but it expands, enhances and, occasionally, surpasses it. It’s jaw-on-the-floor good. One thing among many that I loved about it was the slow-burning pace at which the story unfolds, and something that Kermode mentioned resonated with me. He mentioned an experiment film students do early on in their studies, which involves them watching an older film and clapping every time there’s a cut. Then carrying out the same exercise with a modern picture and noting just how much quicker the claps come. Blade Runner 2049 is more like one of the older films; slow, detailed, and long takes, never rushing to get where it needs to go.

It isn’t necessarily that one style is always better – Steven Soderbergh, Paul Thomas Anderson and Paul Greengrass are examples of how making quick cuts can often make a strong impact – but the modern style too often becomes a dizzying Michael Bay frame fuckathon. There is no shortage of modern visual effects techniques used in making Blade Runner 2049, and they are always used to eye-meltingly brilliant effect, but it remembers that production and visuals aren’t the whole thing, and the deliberate pace and time taken to explore themes of belonging, love and what exactly it means to be human (themes raised by the original in addition to its incredible and massively influential production design) make this just about a perfect combination of modern technology in service to a more old-fashioned narrative pace.

One can only hope others learn from it…

Operation Don’t Die: Update.

The bike has been fixed. The cycling to work has restarted. It is harder than I remember it being. The route is partially blocked due to roadworks so I could do with find an alternative way. My arse bone is ridiculously painful. I still haven’t fully recovered all the feeling in my fingertips from when I cycled in the winter last year after forgetting my gloves. I almost forgot my gloves the first day and had to turn back for them.

But, the bottom line is, I need to do more exercise. So, ever graceful in my suffering, I’ll persevere. Until I get another flat.