- Day 9 -
I woke up rather late today. Around 10 or something like that. After getting ready and shuffling down the stairs, I once again found myself triumphant in beating Alex out of bed. I began to research everything, as I noticed that today was January 21. Since my audience will be dominantly American/cultured, I will just blankly state that it was a rather significant day for a few reasons. Notably, January 21 is Martin Luther King Day AND the Presidential Inauguration. I got a kick out of these two things combating each other for recognition if just because Obama's re-election (which I was in favor of) is brilliant symbolism to how far Martin Luther King Jr. had gone in his existence.
However, I didn't notice it until BBC was on and suddenly they announce that they will be doing coverage of the event. It began to hit me. This may be the first inauguration that I have just straight up missed since the 90's. While I fail to find interest in being political, I do feel that there are some requirements in being a proud citizen. One is caring enough about the inaugural speeches.
I remember in 2009 during my second semester of college. I had an 8 AM class. I am convinced that the teacher was blitzed out of his mind in some form or another. It wasn't long into the semester and he was already just the gawky guy who I felt people took thinking that he was going to be an easy pass. Jump just a few weeks, he mysteriously was replaced by a substitute that eventually became our teacher (and going further, was willing to help me out because she shopped at my store).
So, on January 20, 2009, we were sitting in the classroom and suddenly the teacher just began talking about the significance of the inauguration. He let us out literally 15 minutes into the class to go out and just experience the inauguration. That was his suggestion to why class was very short. No lie. I immediately went to my car within two minutes, turned on the radio, and they were halfway through the ceremony and 10 minutes away from his inaugural speech. I should have been more aware in the first place, but it was still amusing that he hyped it so much and it was almost already over. As of now, I haven't heard or seen anything from the coverage. If you have any leads of what to look for, please let me know.
As you may have also gotten wind of yesterday, the inauguration brought out the nostalgic side of me. Remembering America as this bright spot on my dark post-high school period. To some extent that was brought up because it was that day and also because there is still some disbelief of being in England (even still, it is like "this is unbelievably cool. How did I get here?"). Also, Alex tends to have fascinating stories and all I have is two years of trying to get back on track mixed with pseudo depression (mind you, I am referencing 2009-2011 roughly). Also, none of the people that I knew were quite as interesting or involved in my life as the people that Alex references.
The other big reason that January 21 was significant was because today was the day that we would finally see Django Unchained. This is easily the only film that I assumed that we would pay to see during this whole trip. In an odd turn of events, it was actually Viv who suggested it, as we are planning a trip to Cirque Du Soleil in London on Wednesday, which was the originally planned day. Just like that, the day was booked.
We grabbed a lunch at the Standard. Up until now, culture shock hasn't necessarily been a perfect word for anything that has happened. I have just accepted that some places don't have Dr. Pepper and others don't have refills. Simple things like that don't bother me. Oddly enough, I experienced the peak of my culture shock in five minutes at the Standard on that day. First came when I asked the waiter for ranch dressing, and I swear he gave me a look that shouted "GET OUT!" but in a polite way. The other is that Adam Ant in the Thin Blue Line is not Errol Morris' the Thin Blue Line. The radio lead me to believe that Adam Ant was somehow involved in a murder mystery until Alex cleared it up. Maybe it is the cinephile in me, but the Thin Blue Line will always be first and foremost referenced as a documentary before a TV show exists.
We just sat around talking about our lives. Alex explained to me the significance of the rave scene that has puzzled me for most of the trip. I mean, it is great in Trainspotting, but it seemed to be more than a junkie's gimmick in the time that I was out there. It is because of the musical influence. We also talked about troubled friends and Alex thoroughly made me understand why Jay and Silent Bob Get Old is worth giving another shot. There are just those friends in your life that you want to help out. I get it. I guess the problem right now is that the episode releases are too inconsistent.
In closing, the burger had a chilli meat flavor going on. It was fine, but Alex assured me that it was because it was made from a certain healthy breed of cows and made from scratch in the kitchen. Also, the infamous dog that sleeps by the fire kept bugging us during our meal. It was great, if just because I finally got to see the appeal of a dog in a pub. However, it still feels weird that the dog pretty much surveys the place like he's the boss.
We finally left the house in the early afternoon and caught the train to Hastings. I decided to be quaint and listen to a podcast called The Treatment (host Elvis Mitchell probably will be remembered by me for his interview with Joaquin Phoenix in Interview Magazine where Phoenix says that "The Oscars are bullshit." I kind of love Phoenix more just because he is honest, and no, he wasn't strictly referencing the Oscars, but the campaigning process, which fortunately paid off). There was an interview with Quentin Tarantino about his new flick, and he also discussed the significance of food in his movies. I truthfully didn't notice it, but it is quite effective. However, if you want to hear a really twisted interview, listen to his most recent Fresh Air interview in which he says that he can relate to blacks because he grew up in a multi-racial neighborhood. I am fine with it up until his belief that it somehow makes it okay for him to write in a very black way. I have yet to look at Tarantino the same way since.
We made it to the theater in Hastings and everything was gravy. We had about five minutes to kill before the film started. After hearing "Tonight" from West Side Story on the speakers in the lobby, I was in a good mood (notably because yes, West Side Story is factually the best musical film adaptation ever). Alex and I sat around in the theater discussing our opinions on Tarantino. Up until this point, I had no idea what his thoughts were. Alex finds him to sometimes be too compulsive and has too much unnecessary stuff going on. I don't know, but as my review that will come will show, I think that he has reached his peak and needs to be controlled somehow. It really has the same things going for it that pissed me off with Heaven's Gate and that goddamn fucking stupid opening 30 minutes at the college scene.
I am trying not sound pretentious with what I am about to say. In fact, I am not an expert on western films. I have taken a class and maybe have seen 20 over the course of five months. I understand the basics, sure, but that doesn't mean that I can tell you every single aspect worth mentioning. In fact, I forgot to look for that Shane moment in Django Unchained. I just worry that my broad overview of westerns and my enthusiasm for Sergio Leone's early work isn't keeping me from seeing the bigger picture.
Let us get down to the basics. The first 80 minutes is excellent. He honestly feels like he crafted a great revisionist film. Christoph Waltz and Jamie Foxx are badasses in a fresh way. The pace is moving and while it feels more slapdash than his other films, this feels like a true western, but with a spice of Tarantino. To be broad without spoilers: everything before Calvin Candie feels like a true western. There is the sense that Django is out for revenge and he is doing it well. It flips the genre on its head, but still manages to pay homage.
Everything post Calvin Candie is troublesome. I will admit that the idea of rescuing his girlfriend is a necessary element. However, the second half IS NOT A WESTERN! It is indulgent and is just an excuse for Tarantino to give his patented long conversations that feel more bogus this time and come across like "Hey, I read 'the Three Musketeers.' Look at me!" I know it is wrong to hate on a film just because it isn't entirely a western, but even then, there are two films here that just don't mesh well. You have the first half, which is a slapdash heroic fantasy and the second, which is a negotiation film that could be summed up in under a half hour as opposed to almost what feels triple that. If they had edited it down, I would feel like maybe this film could maintain its western credibility.
Using Ennio Morricone scores and shoving Franco Nero in for a cameo was nice, but the western take just fell apart in order to try and add more significance to the romance than what was essentially needed. Like I said, it was necessary, but it felt heavily bloated and tried to show Tarantino style, as done through the eyes of slavery. The humorous first half was ruined by the second half, which really had too much going on and didn't serve much of a purpose in advancing the plot. The whole mandingo thing was nice, but it went nowhere. This is oddly the first time that I can honestly say that I probably was bored during a Tarantino film upon first viewing.
It was also grating that it was trying too hard to be cutting edge. It addressed racism rather nonchalantly, but otherwise, was completely overblown. Also, the music cuts were poorly used. Even the Rick Ross song, as anachronistic and pointless as I found it on the CD, didn't boost the momentum of the scene. There isn't that much of the "reinventing a song's purpose" going on with this soundtrack. I don't think any old song will be referenced to as "that song from Django Unchained." I pray that this gets people to watch Django, though.
On a side note, Christoph Waltz is great and more deserving of that Oscar than Leonardo DiCaprio. Also, I LOVED the Duck You Sucker reference. I even kept myself from ignoring the film by noticing where all of the tropes fit in. Congrats, he hit almost every mark.
After an unceremonious ride back on the train set to the Auteurcast's episode on Se7en, we walked to the house. Chris and Viv told us that they might be out. However, it never clicked with anyone to give us the keys. We ended up sitting at the pub across the street, the Queen's Head, in which we chatted with the barman about the movie. Another odd moment is that Alex not only used a lot of cursing, but felt no need to hold back using the word nigger when referencing dialogue from the film. While I admire the need to quote sources properly, America has wussed me to just call it the n-word. I don't even try to say it because of reverence for a time passed that seems to be best summed up in Minor Threat's "Guilty of Being White" song. Yeah, I try to avoid being racist at most costs, but you know, that also involves respecting the right not to use certain words.
We also discussed fantasy film team-ups. It started with Kubrick and Hitchcock and quickly evolved into other selections. This immediately got derailed by talk of how shitty Sucker Punch was and if Guy Ritchie was a quality filmmaker. We also tried to discuss who was under appreciated comedians of the modern era, though mostly settling on Aziz Ansari. Also, bad mentions to Paul Rudd and Michael Cera (though as I said, Crystal Fairy is going to be one for the ages).
We finally located Viv and Chris and got the keys to the house. We went inside and out waiting for us was chilli. Alex pulled out the cheese and we began serving it up. I noticed that it was meatless and very heavy on onions. I only later discovered that this was because that it wasn't chilli, but was pasta sauce for pasta. Viv made us pasta, and I am kind of bummed that I didn't realize it until after I thought that I had a decent bowl of chilli with cheese on it. Alex also tested me with how much cheese I wanted to use on the "chilli" by saying that I could take as much as I want. He almost immediately regretted it.
The rest of the night was uneventful, as we just sat around talking until I went to my room and finished off the Auteurcast episode. I also caught up on Sundance news. However, nothing more exciting than the premiere of the trailer for the East.
You guys, Ellen Page is back! I admit that this sounds like a non-sci-fi version of Branded, but still. Love to hear Page talking again, and more significantly, acting in movies again. Dumb thing to say... again, speaking that she hasn't skipped a year with a release in quite some time. But... gah! I am easily amused.
Also realized that I missed the last four days of Stargroves Vlog, so I worked on that until eventually going to bed at 2:30. I know, it is late, but I was up on time the next day. I think it isn't jetlag anymore. It is my normal schedule telling me that I can do whatever I want when I want. However, it was quite a day to experience all of this, and notably find that the Imposter was on sale in the market. This feels like a big deal because, well, I don't think that any market around where I live of that scale would sell a documentary.
However, I must admit that I find it odd that I am becoming a bogus film fanatic. People loved Pitch Perfect and Django Unchained, and I disliked both for critical reasons. Kind of sad, I guess, but it is still interesting to notice how I change from year to year. I mean, I really don't want Tarantino to make any more revisionist history revenge flicks. It feels really stupid now. It is also odd that my most watched movie of last year was Girl Walk // All Day. That says something, though notably that the Master is not out on DVD yet.
Quite a day of trying to appreciate how civil rights have progressed in America through the sight of Martin Luther King, Obama, and Quentin Tarantino. It was an odd day, if just to experience the growth of America through British culture. Also, I still am weirded out by how fine Alex is saying certain words, though within perfectly referenced context. In ways, it was that moment where you realized that we were in a more progressive period. However, I still argue that Hairspray (either one, really) was a better portrayal of respecting minorities.
I don't have much else to say. It has been one week in England, and it has been something. Sometimes I feel like I still am in the middle of a gag and that I am going to drive 20 minutes back home. As much as I enjoy England, you occasionally feel like home is very close. I am not suffering homesickness, but I do have that sense of disbelief occasionally. Notably, I just don't want to screw up my time with Alex by worrying. So far, so good.
QUESION: What is Theology?
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