yay ~ !

[lookingland]

it's The New World day ~ !

<



terrence malick does native america ~ whoohoo!

if i ever got grossly famous, i would beg terrence malick to direct all my movies. malick has had a greater impact on my writing than many authors.

i am counting the minutes before i can leave for bloomington to go watch this film (and have been counting since november when it was originally supposed to be released!)

: D

Comments

[my-agatha.livejournal.com]

I don't have a good feeling about that one. Maybe because IRL, she totally died of syphallis, but still...

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

syphilis? never heard that before. she died of smallpox or a fever on the ship back to america last i was aware of.

either way, the film is fanciful on a number of levels, but so far as the basic facts, it keeps them straight.

: D

[bellalanay.livejournal.com]

She didn't die from syphilis. History records that it was from small pox or the like.

[my-agatha.livejournal.com]

Oops. I dunno where I heard syphallis, then.

[annabellissima.livejournal.com]

I can't even begin to tell you how much I want to see this movie.... Just like you, I am a fanatic when it comes to Native American/old country historical films. If I remember correctly, we both foster one particular reason for loving these movies so much >:)

badsede bought me Last of the Mohicans for Christmas, so I just recently got done watching that as well.. I'd like to see this with him when I go visit for Valentine's Day/6 month anniversary.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

enjoy ~ !

it was and wasn't exactly what i expected ~ i'll prolly see it again before i say more.

: D

[lastremnant.livejournal.com]

I am curious about that film. Let me know how it is. I also saw Into the West and enjoyed it. But one thing I dislike about modern native american movies is an overly idealistic portrayal of native americans while overly demonizing the settlers. I really long for fair and honest portrayals outside of the modern rewriting of history (i.e.--bad people all around for various reasons and probably equally distributed). Old hollywood went too heavily into stereotyping native americans and making them always villains...modern hollywood does the exact opposite...let's find a more truthful middle ground.

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

i thought Into the West tried pretty well ~ not all the native americans were "good" (though it got a little heavy toward the end).

this film takes a much different look at colonization and inculturation. i won't say it isn't idealized because malick is a stylist, not a historian. while there's lots of nice accuracy in the film, it's more concerned with image and emotion ~ and that's what you take away from it. the settlers are depicted pretty bad, but then they were a pretty bad lot (historically).

either way, like i said, malick isn't really interested in "truth" of history and doesn't pretend to be. this is a film about the seduction of young america by an overwhelming force it cannot fight off ~ as told through the story of one innocent girl. as a metaphor it's exquisite. i advise taking it in for its artistic merit and leave your preconditions at the door.

: D

[(Anonymous)]

mleh...I don't know. I am unsure what to make of your analogy...cause I don't consider that time period as being "young america" as much as I don't consider England during the time of the Norman conquest as being "young england"...it was old america by that time and then changed into another old america by the introduction of more people. I don't think the new people destroyed innocence. I don't think that america was "innocent" then and then was suddenly transformed by the big bad europeans as much as what typically happens in ALL civilizations in history, i.e.--a change. And I don't think that change was bad. I also am VERY tired of the OVERUSED metaphor of "experience destroying innocence"(an untrue and misleading one given by hollywood and literature ever since the renaissance). In truth, innocence can and will never be truly destroyed. But, what you say still sounds interesting. We'll see. :)

I do like artistry. ;)

P.S.-- bought the new host...waiting for them to set it up, then I go through the winding road of uploading lots and lots of files *rubs his head at the headache to come* :)

[lastremnant.livejournal.com]

oops, that was me. :)

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

i don't think i was very clear in my previous post ~ i wasn't using young america and innocent in a metaphorical way to describe america and the colonization. i was using colonization as a metaphor for the seduction of an innocent girl in a very literal way ~ because that's what the story is about more or less.

i think it can work both ways, in truth. while i agree the whole "paradise lost" thing has been hammered to death the truth is native america didn't need colonists "improving" their lives through technology/science and in that imposition they were, in fact, dragged out of eden. colonist "knowledge" brought sickness, terror, and a new kind of war to people who had been otherwise in a balance. you only have to look at the huron missions to see what chaos Christianity alone wrecked on the northeastern tribes ~ and those were people trying to do good.

so no, america was not young and native peoples were not innocent, but the colonists still descended like greedy snakes into the garden and taught the people that they were naked and should be ashamed.

[lastremnant.livejournal.com]

Hmm, see, I am debating that the situation can be taken into light of all history. And of course Rome wiped out Carthage, Israel wiped out the ancient tribes of the middle east, etc.... What I mean is that it isn't that unique a situation in history really. And I am quite certain that a few native american tribes wiped out others of prehistory too. I guess I see it as just the way of history in this world. It happens everywhere to every culture. And I rather can't blame the Europeans for trying to Christianize america...perhaps some missions efforts were unChristian and therefore hypocritical, but very much like the temper of that time...but, for evangelizing, they wouldn't be Christians if they didn't try to display their faith to others and spread the word.

P.S-- I am playing devil's advocate. ;)

P.S.S.--as a safeguard to your reply, I have already declared my independence and enlisted Lee, Longstreet, and Stonewall Jackson...leaving you with, for the foreseeable future, just *coughs* McClellan...;)

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

ew ~ i dun't want tricky Mick. ptui.

i'm not saying any of those things that you are. of course colonization and war are inevitabilities. that doesn't make them right or okay. and even the best efforts of the missionaries were disruptive and destructive in some (many) cases ~ in others they were not and worked to the good of the people.

but i'm not even picking sides here. i'm just saying it's wrong. simply wrong. i don't think it's unique. i don't think the desire to spread the gospel is evil. i'm saying there was a culture here that wanted to keep their way of life and were bulldozed by the spanish, the french, the english, and anybody else (Christian or not) who believed in the entitlement of Manifest Destiny.

Manifest Destiny is evil. it's the stuff of imperialism. it's the justification of little hitlers and napoleons all over the world. and little constantines too.

God did not create man to make war and enslave one another. it's what we do, but it isn't right and never will be.

: o p

[(Anonymous)]

I saw it tonight. I only went to see it because two of my friends are in the film. I wasn't expecting much from it but I thought it was beautifully shot. We (my friends who saw it with me) all agree that it was fairly abstract for being such a huge production. I love the soundtrack.

[bellalanay.livejournal.com]

Sorry that was me!

[lookingland.livejournal.com]

lj's been bumping people lately, it seems! hahahaha ~

my jury is still out on the soundtrack ~ i think i'm still disappointed that hans zimmer passed it on to james horner (who, i think, then tried to do hans zimmer) ~ hahahaha ~

i'll have to see it again.

: D