I come from a line of extroverts on my father’s side. My grandmother, aunts, uncles and father would, did and do talk to anyone, anywhere. Giving advice, cross-examining, flirting (or serious womanizing) and making the joke was/is their forte. Arms folded across the waist, they would inquire into life, love, getting people to open up and tell their stories. Macocious some might say.
I have some of that personality trait myself and now, it is in high relief. Not having family and friends here, I talk to any and everyone who will talk back to me in Bangkok. People are being polite, including the Jamaican sister who I hugged so tightly as to come off as perhaps a bit creepy.
Extreme solitude, otherwise more accurately described as loneliness, will do that.
As someone who also loves solitude, being alone here in Bangkok has not been a torture. I had the habit of waking up early to a quiet, sleeping house, having a good hour without conversation. Running alone and being quiet with a book. And so, knowing that the fab family will join me, in bits and pieces soon enough, I can withstand and put the occasional bouts of loneliness in perspective.
I good.
But there are things, events for which you must have cultural company. And one of those I experienced today, going to see the latest James Bond “Skyfall’ solo mio.
Well folks, if there is one thing to see at the movies now, it is Skyfall. And go with a group. Or in any event if you do not have a group, go alone only if you are in a verbal culture where folks will talk back to the screen.
The movie is awash with moments when you want to hit the person next to you and say: Nah, never happen! What I seeing there? What kind of stupid ass question is that? Cheese on bread. Hegas! Bourne done do dat already! Oh gorm, that man sexy on that boat in his white shirt.
And so many clever, witty one liners to repeat right away : Last rat standing!
The movie, people, is the bomb, as the young people used to say. A completely, high impact, enjoyable experience. You do not want it to end.
I have had little to no respect for Bond of movies past. Including Casino Royale. Bond irritated me with his suave, clichéd patriarchal, slimy, ogling, entitled ways with women. I could care less, stirred or shaken. And so I was ripe for the picking with Matt Damon’s Bourne. Muscular, (the man and the movie), post-feminist vulnerability, Damon’s Bourne was a spy for the twenty-first century. Gritty, street fighter and yes, sexy, sexy.
The last Bourne was a fake and I hope that was the beginning and end of a Damon-less Bourne. But to tell the truth now, this Skyfall Bond is the new Bourne. Plus.
And what a way, the de-sexied Javier Bardem stole scenes.
Go see it. And talk back!
I saw Skyfall on your recommendation and it was all you promised. Went with a girlfriend I hadn’t seen in a while but she didn’t appreciate all the talking back I was empowered to do, so I worked directly with the screen. I thought it confronted ageism well, but not at the expense of some of the best-choreographed action. It struck a balance between the reality that as my Southern mother in law used to say, Gotta make room for the young folks – enter the new Q and Ms Moneypenny – and the value of what the older and wiser bring. I loved that Bond hinted he might have had a homosexual experience or at least left it open to interpretation.
Still sexist of course, the transition of Harris from field agent to secretary didn’t feel right, maybe more because it was one of the few times a Black woman has featured in a Bond movie, and as an agent she was breaking a stereotype. Although I could argue that her original job of chasing trains and at shooting moving objects is not all that to begin with.
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The other part that I found was kind of odd nd yes sexist was the easy and non-sensical disposal of he femme fatale. It did not make any sense why she would bring Bond to the island and walk into her death.
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“I come from a line of extroverts on my father’s side…I have some of that personality trait myself“- Understatement of the year from Roberta Clarke
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We went to see Skyfall at the Drive In last night with Russell and Linda. I loved it – I suppose partly because it is so English and because I worked so closely to the British foreign office for so long! There are spies about! Judi Dench was brilliant and lent the film her strong character. The music score was also great, something you dont always notice as the film flows, the bond theme music cleverly brought in at the right time. And no one could be more suited than Ralph Fiennes as “Mallory”. Sorry Roberta but I prefer it to Bourne.
Oh and the Drive In as full as I have ever seen it, with the occaisional honking of appreciative horns like when the old Aston Martin came out! Cant beat the drive In on Saturday night with a good movie!
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Hey Roberta, you convinced me, going to see it today, need to get away from US presidential political analysis which I am thoroughly enjoying, loving the GOP’s explanation for the electoral decline of the party. As Steve Colbert said, US women had the vote in 1920, the vote for rape has been in rapid decline since then
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Another take on Skyfall. Not glowing http://reciperifle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/bond-villain.html
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Yes, I could see with some of that. It’s a Bond movie, after all.
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But on the issue of sexism, I agree with this one: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/oct/30/skyfall-less-sexist-bond-film?intcmp=239
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I miss you Roberta. I have to try to see you
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I saw Skyfall in Budapest with some non-Anglophones (there were Hungarian subtitles). Great movie but I wonder how much is missed through translation or subtle English nuances. The movie is nothing if not incredibly English. Although- a little coincidence I really appreciated: the very last line that Bond says, perhaps the last line of the film… I can`t remember what it was. Something uber cool, no doubt, which probably hinted towards the Bond action to come. The Hungarian translation of that last phrase which appeared at the bottom of the screen was something like “Buldogen” which turned out to be a roughly literal and boring translation of what was actually said– but it resembled so much the English ‘bulldog’ (a prominent image of the film) that I couldn’t believe it was incidental.
Anyway, on the topic of cultural experiences in cinemas. I watched an English film at a French theatre a while ago with a few Canadians. The film had a style of realism, following the daily lives of some inner-city teenagers- meant to be funny at times but was mostly a little sad. We Canadians laughed heartily at the humorous moments– in a dead silent cinema. No one laughed at all. Even during the movie trailers for comedies. It was bizarre and we felt a little strange. The oddest part was when, during a particular scene with a young gay man, crying emotionally, the audience burst out in giggles. They hadn’t made a sound the whole time and found one of the saddest parts funny! I don’t know if it’s a French humour thing or if it has to do with perceptions of gay people or of emotional men. It was a very strange reaction. The whole experience just emphasizes the fact that movie-going is a social. We want to share our reactions with others, even other strangers. We come to expect the collective responses to scenes- gasps, laughs, sniffs, etc. When they don’t come, I realise how much we sort of depend on them- to validate our own responses. To feel like we’re all sharing the same treat.
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