confessions of purient film-watcher ~

i've been on this weird kick of watching viet nam protest movies (the sort of fringe ones that indirectly address the state of the union in that era). i came, by this path, to a film by ralph nelson called Soldier Blue, which, oddly, i'd never heard of, and which, apparently, was so controversial, it originally received an X rating for its depiction of genocide when it was released in 1970, and had to be edited.

well of course, i had to see it, to see what all the fuss was. and all i can say is: be careful what you ask for, you may get it.

i honestly thought: how bad can it be in 1970? and sure enough the majority of the film is a somewhat dated, though charming, almost-comedic love story between candice bergen as a woman liberated from a Cheyenne village after years of being a captive, and peter strauss, the young sole survivor of an attack on his cavalry detail. there's some gore and some pretty graphic shooting ~ made less effective by the technicolor blood, but hey, it's 1970, so you just sorta go with it.



from the opening assault on the cavalry: a stunned
private honus gant, surveys the carnage. what he sees here
is nothing compared to what he will witness later.
and then comes the big finale in which the cavalry descends on a peaceful Cheyenne encampment (this is basically the Sand Creek Massacre revisited ~ my brother and i once painted a mural that read: "Chivington doth burn", which i think i posted here before once). anyway, nelson doesn't pull any punches on this one. though the film is somewhat propaganda, its depiction of rape, mutilation, and other atrocities enacted on women and children is taken from eye witness accounts. effectively, the movie turns from a silly little adventure into the fullblown horror of native american genocide.

while the performances are wonderful and i think it's a fine film ~ even an important film ~ and even though it sports a fabulous opening song by Buffy Saint-Marie (for any fans out there) i don't necessarily recommend it unless you absolutely feel, like for whatever reason i did, that you need to see what all the fuss is about.

: o p

p.s. i don't think there's any point in watching an edited version of this movie, so i wouldn't bother with any american releases (i don't think the current dvd version is actually "complete" ~ if i understand correctly, they still edit some of the violence at the end). if you absolutely want to know where to get the uncut version for free, e-mail me and i will send you the link.

random doodledge ~

in trying to fulfill faynudibranch's request for jokes about Andrew Johnson, i started drawing a scene between James and "skin trader" MishMash. couldn't get the joke to work, but there is mention of the "fatuous sot, Andy", which i hope will do for now.

James's relationship with MishMash is an odd one (and definitely unexpected). it almost sorta makes sense why James's relationship with States Morse is so hostile when you see how he is with MishMash and the sort of resentment that gets built out from Mish's attitude and the way his rabid abolitionism colors his world. and Mish is such the sydney carter of this world. he pops in and out of people's lives somewhat bizarrely (and with none of them ever knowing about the others) and then it's to a far far better place that he goes in the end. Mish and the Tall Blond Soldier share a lot of qualities in that regard. they are probably the two characters i love most who don't have "books" of their own (and aren't getting any either, sorry guys).



in my bid to capture the family resemblance,
i made his hair too flat (it should be floofier and
less combed, i suppose), but all in all not bad
for a first attempt at a character.
working on this scene has been sorta fun. Mish's over-the-top fanaticism is refreshing in a world where everyone else seem so uncertain of what they are doing. and i forget how wonderfully nasty James can be if provoked. he definitely has his dark side. put the two together and they are a fun pair to create dialogue for. unfortunately, this scene and a scene in which ladies' underwear features prominently are the only two times we ever see them together, which is a shame.

i guess i oughta start posting these boogers instead of talking about them, huh?

: o p