Pretentious Crap
- Thread starter josef k.
- Start date
Tentative Andy
I'm in the Meal Deal
You know, it just occured to me that 'Rituals. Dancing. Loud Yelping' would be a great tag-line to put on a flyer for a club night.
I caught a scene from a film on some kind of station a while back. It had Isabella Rosselini, lying on a gigantic stomach. I later discovered that the movie was "My Dad is 100 years old" by Guy Maddin, which is a documentary about Roberto Rosselini, but I only saw that one scene, and can barely remember it. But in the scene, Isabella says something like: "My father would always shoot his characters with their faces in the middle of the screen, without moving the camera. Anything else, he would say, was pretentious." I wish I could remember the exact quote, but that was the gist of it. I like this idea a lot - pretentiousness as some kind of superfluous formalist overreach.
The other idea of pretentiousness which I have is from the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still." The new version. A really great film - unfairly maligned. Anyway, the plot of the film is that a super-powered, super-intelligent alien comes to earth to decide whether or not the human race is worth saving. Ever since I saw this film, I thought - pretentiousness is a test of what you would say to the alien, and how you would say it. The alien, of course, you can't bullshit, and he would be completely unimpressed by any superfluous flourishes, whether theoretical, rhetorical, or whatever.
The other idea of pretentiousness which I have is from the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still." The new version. A really great film - unfairly maligned. Anyway, the plot of the film is that a super-powered, super-intelligent alien comes to earth to decide whether or not the human race is worth saving. Ever since I saw this film, I thought - pretentiousness is a test of what you would say to the alien, and how you would say it. The alien, of course, you can't bullshit, and he would be completely unimpressed by any superfluous flourishes, whether theoretical, rhetorical, or whatever.
Mr. Tea
Let's Talk About Ceps
If I were directing that film, the alien would come from a culture where the ability to totally shred on a guitar is held in higher esteem than any other quality, and Yngwie Malsteem and Joe Satriani would be selected to fight the ultimate guitar duel to save humanity. Of course both men's guitars would finally explode before a clear winner emerged, thus teaching the alien an important lesson about cooperation before he returns home a little older and wiser. Then new guitars are produced for Earth's saviours, and a world-wide party ensues.
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it was not clear whether the gigantic stomach was her own or belonging to another (Jabba the Hutt?) that she was lying on.
the alien can be substituted by Allah no?
well non interest or non demand of worship doesnt detract from the same philosophical situation which would be, according to you, a test of pretentiousness.
STN
sou'wester
this stems partly from the idea of possession and, I think, partly because maleness is seen as the default position (i.e. it's never 'their' men because 'they' are the men). Both these things are as crap as each other.
"well non interest or non demand of worship doesnt detract from the same philosophical situation which would be, according to you, a test of pretentiousness."
I don't think the situation would be the same. There is a difference between the relationship which you might have with God, who would be transcendent over you, and the relationship which you might have with a space alien, who might belong to a more advanced civilization, but who wouldn't be transcendent. The alien exists on a plane of (at least, ontological) equality, God does not.
I don't think the situation would be the same. There is a difference between the relationship which you might have with God, who would be transcendent over you, and the relationship which you might have with a space alien, who might belong to a more advanced civilization, but who wouldn't be transcendent. The alien exists on a plane of (at least, ontological) equality, God does not.
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
nomadthethird
more issues than Time mag
A case study
Of these matters available here:
http://www.ubu.com/film/weiner_water.html
Warning: Definitely not safe for work.
Of these matters available here:
http://www.ubu.com/film/weiner_water.html
Warning: Definitely not safe for work.
