Le Saboteur
Active member
Attila the Professor said:I appreciate your concern for my wallet, but it's on the "wait for the library copy" list.
I was more concerned with your lost time, but if you're worried about your wallet so be it.
Attila the Professor said:Speaking of films that bastardize the truth, I'm a little disappointed to have not caught any flak regarding my opinion on <I>Saving Mr. Banks</I>.
I have yet to see the flick, and don't know enough of the back story to comment. It was on my list of things to see, but that list quickly found itself in the trash when I realized time wouldn't allow it. I'll see it on video, but I've had The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada here since... oh, September. I should watch that one first.
Attila the Professor said:I'm a touch curious now whether you have any similarly strong <I>Blue Jasmine</I> opinions, on the basis of its Bay Area setting.
Because...? Blanche Dubois can only be seen at 632 Elysian Fields? I can tell you that I'm eagerly anticipating San Francisco's second cinematic destruction in less than a year; otherwise, I care because the events and the aftermath of Fruitvale Station happened in my backyard. The subject matter is exhausted.
Attila the Professor said:In any event, I don't see the real Oscar Grant's flaws as justification for him to die the way he did. Whenever I see it, I'll be interested to see whether I come down on Kenny's side of it not canonizing Grant or yours.
You’re equating distaste for a movie with somehow justifying Mr. Grant’s death; that’s poor from, Attila. If that’s the case, then I suspect then that you’ll go to pieces in very much the same manner as A.O. Scott.
Was Oscar Grant a good man? In the sense that we are all good men, with wives, husbands, children, etc., who care deeply about us, yes, he was. Did he have hopes and aspirations? Of course he did; we all do. Did he live his life in a manner that is deserving of, not only a movie, but a full-blown hagiography? Absolutely not, and if people need a movie to tell them that young black men aren’t animals, then, well, we need to be having another conversation entirely.
Grant chose to spend the final night of his life getting drunk and high on Class I pharmaceuticals, and with four of his friends (all fellow felons; a parole violation), was allegedly involved in a brawl and ‘terrorizing’ passengers on a BART car. There was no dance off. While it’s undeniable that Grant was shot in the back, he wasn’t neatly subdued; the cops had one hand, and he refused to give up the other. Why? I suspect that somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he was about to get violated back to San Quentin. Had any number of things conspired to work out differently, Mr. Grant would probably be alive today; or, would have lived long enough to become a statistic in Oakland’s murder rate. Instead, he gets to be the honored dead.
Coogler failed his subject. What could have been a wonderfully nuanced piece of work was turned into an afterschool special. Fitting St. Oscar with his Size 10 halo didn’t leave enough time to grant any humanity to the officers involved or to the nature of the events. Variety sums it up well, “Yet even if every word of Coogler’s account of the last day in Grant’s life held up under close scrutiny, the film would still ring false in its relentlessly positive portrayal of its subject. Best viewed as an ode to victim’s rights, “Fruitvale” forgoes nuanced drama for heart-tugging, head-shaking and rabble-rousing.”
What do you for fun in your neighborhoods?
<iframe width="640" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/SUaC1BZ5vTY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
A better use of your time:
<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/jFWHNpfjByQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Last edited: