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Saturday, April 24, 2004
Michael Nenonen on The Passion & the Dawn of the Dead re-makeBoth films deal with damnation, death, and resurrection. Neither offers any hope for salvation through human virtue. In this sense, The Passion of the Christ is as much a horror movie as Dawn of the Dead. Why are films about gory resurrection so popular right now? The answer may lie in both the age-old relationship between resurrection mythology and birth trauma, and in the more modern, but no more new apocalyptic anxiety that's been growing since 9-11. [...] The more frightened we become, the more we express our fear through political paranoia, scapegoating, and collective violence. For a time, this serves the interests of the powerful, as they use our anxiety to justify militarism abroad and the elimination of civil liberties at home. In doing so, they feed the beast within, encouraging our feelings of hatred and vanity, until that beast grows so large and vicious that it begins to exert its influence over its former masters. At that point, when personal passions transform into public psychosis, our suicidal descent into fascism becomes irreversible. Sounds like Gibson's little devotional gorefest is more nihilistic than Fight Club -- and with no sense of humor -- or redemption -- at all. Fortunately, I think increasing numbers of people here and abroad are taking a step back from this abyss. Fear is more than just the mind-killer, in this context.
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"Everything-mashup steez"? Here's hoping the new Tortoise does more for me than Standards; Jeff Chang props it up, though he's a little too hep for me, wordwiseIn fact, It's All Around You sounds less like post-millennial Soft Machine than the kind of world parties that form the new underground of the over-30 hip-hop-gen set?Marley Marl '86 bass thump, Art Ensemble '69 funk, Japanese dub, Brazilian samba, Afrodisco, British broken beatronix. Tortoise may be the only band that can match the everything-mashup steez, sonic skills, conceptual ambition, and breakbeat heat of the Roots. Ah, New York.
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Londoner's cicada panic While farmers in the West are braced for a genuinely troublesome insect plague.
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In case you haven't heard or figured it out yet... If you take SSRI anti-depressants you might want to read thisOf the five SSRIs reviewed - fluoxetine, paroxetine, sertraline, citalopram, and venlafaxine, only fluoxetine (Prozac) offers more benefits than risks in children. Unpublished studies of venlafaxine, for example, suggested the drug increased suicide-related events such as suicidal thoughts or attempts by 14 times compared with placebo.
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Thursday, April 22, 2004
Back from the dead (or at least hibernation) to mention the delightful news that Richard Kelly's excellent Donnie Darko is being re-released in a new Director's Cut with 21 minutes not seen in the original, including footage that isn't even included in the deleted scenes on the DVD It's premiering in Seattle in May, and follow-up wide release to depend on the reaction there. Great to see a fine film that got lost in the shuffle get a second chance. Ain't It Cool posted this entry last fall that whets the appetite for Kelly's next feature Knowing, which he'll get to start next year, the fickle and mad gods of Hollywood allowing...
10:12 PM - [Link] - Comments ()
Monday, April 19, 2004
Hiatus Going away for awhile. Many changes, no interest in posting right now. I'll try ot get archive links current & complete meanwhile.
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