Burning Books

First, there was the book by Ray Bradbury. In retrospect, the author said that he considered himself a fantasy writer and that Farenheit 451 was his only science fiction novel.

Then came the movie (1966 Universal Pictures)…

… and then a remake by HBO starring Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon.

Aside from the book itself, I consider the 1966 movie a beautifully stripped-down piece of art. Directed by the famous Francois Truffaut, associated with the French New Wave in cinema, it achieves a distinctive look (making effective use of the color, red) which has aged surprisingly well. I like science fiction that depends more on concepts than on special effects, and this is another good example from the pre-CGI era.

The story depicts a conformist, illiterate society which watches rather than reads. Firemen burn books to prevent the public from engaging in critical thought.

Justification for this is provided in the argument that knowledge makes us discontent and that this leads to unhappiness. The film therefore implies that happiness is not the determining factor in the quality of human life and character, an assertion that modern culture in the west might regard as heretical. The individuals in this society are infantilized, narcissistic, and chemically dependent – all to keep them in a state of happiness. They “read” comics without words…

… and gaze naively at widescreen television monitors mounted on walls.

Remember, we’re talking 1966, here. Some of the warnings in this movie are more true today than they were then. The citizens in this society inform on each other. Is this really so different from outing or vilifying people on the internet? It should make one think carefully before clicking. We are not all of us qualified journalists, and that includes many journalists (hint: fact checking and source verification).

Oskar Werner plays a fireman with a developing sense of curiosity and conscience. Julie Christie plays two roles as his wife and as a teacher in the literate underground.

Two scenes really haunted me. One was the burning of a hidden library. The woman who owns it chooses to burn with her books rather than turn informant.

The other scene shows the “Book People” memorizing and reciting books  to prevent them from being lost forever.

If you like an intellectual ride that doesn’t depend on eye candy, this is a movie worthy of your consideration.

 

Getting It Right (2)

 

So… how good was Black Panther (2018 Disney Marvel, directed by Ryan Coogler)? It lived up to its hype, which is saying a lot. The cast was typically  impressive for the MCU and included Chadwick Boseman in the title role, Letitia Wright as his delightfully uppity and precocious little sister, Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger,   Lupita Nyongo as the love interest, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker as a Wakandan priest/shaman, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Winston Duke as the king of a different Wakandan clan, and Sterling K. Brown as Killmonger’s father. The length of the previous sentence hints at the tedium of reviewing each fine performance, so I will limit myself to the performances which stood out most for me.

 

Obviously, Chadwick Boseman was excellent. I had previously been impressed by his turn in Captain America: The Civil War. I have already mentioned Letitia Wright. Let me explain that I’m a city transplant to a smaller, more rural community. The people sitting nearest me in the theater were white – okay, we were all white – and one said, “She’s my favorite character,” during one of Letitia Wright’s turns on screen. The same goes for me. Lupita Nyongo played a strong counterpart to the Black Panther and complemented his qualities well.  Angela Bassett performed well as a convincingly wise matriarch, and in fact, all of the women were strong. I grew up in a family of strong men and strong women, so it was refreshing for me to see this on the big screen. Neither gender was reduced to being a foil for the other.

 

By the way, the costumes (especially for the women) were beautiful, and I heard a spot on NPR where the designer mentioned her use of African fabrics, patterns, and re-imagined traditional styles.

 

Not that it isn’t obvious, but I want to call attention to Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of Killmonger. Marvel has a history of writing nuanced villains with mitigating back stories, and this was a well-written character. The acting made him very affecting, especially during one scene which I will mention in a later post.

 

Although he wasn’t on for very long, Sterling K. Brown really impressed me with his acting chops and his screen presence, as did Winston Duke. I first became aware of these fine actors while watching Person of Interest on television. Since then, I have seen each of them in varied roles, and these men can flat out act. Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman were also their consistently good selves.

This movie had other redeeming virtues. My wife mentioned the sense of dignity and honor which pervaded the story and the characters (something which we found lacking for much of Thor: Ragnarok, which came across at times as a pangalactic fart joke despite the fact that I liked the overall film). There were also themes of forgiveness, compassion for one’s adversaries, community, and global responsibility.

I don’t want this post to go on for too long, so I’ll save some more for next week.