Susan Hated Literature

Writ & Dir: Hal Hatley

• Sarah Polley … Beatrice
• Robert John Burke … The Monster
• Julie Christie … Dr. Anna
• Erica Gimpel … Judy
• Helen Mirren … The Boss
• Baltasar Kormákur … Artaud

So there I was, flicking around this afternoon when I came across No Such Thing. My wonderful browse feature told me it was the story of a young female reporter who tried to find out what happened her missing fiancée only to discover a foul-mouthed monster whom she befriends.

Only it was a lot stranger than that. The first hour or so was all about Beatrice. On her way to Iceland to track down her fiancée her plane crashed into the sea. She was the sole survivor, but was terribly injured. In the world of this film the media have taken over and pretty much run the world, but must contend with a public who grow bored of anything after only a few hours.^[1] Beatrice’s boss tried to make her go public and tell her story, but Beatrice doesn’t want to so she is pretty much abandoned in the hospital, where she must undergo an extremely painful operation, with only limited painkiller/anaesthetic.

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Author: Cormac McCarthy
ISBN: 9780330447546 DDC: 813.54
Read for the RIP Challenge
See also: LibaryThing ; Darryl’s Library ; Skewed Perspectives ; Cynical Opimitsm ; Bookwomon

When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before.

This is a novel set at some unidentified point in the future when the world has pretty much come to an end. Something, we don’t know what, has brought society down. There is little food and little shelter left, and for our two main protagonists there is always the danger that they might meet someone on the road, someone who might kill them in order to take what little they have, or maybe someone who might kill them in order to eat them. They travel on, this unnamed man and unnamed boy, constantly on the road, moving trying to find something.

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Author: Kazuo Ishiguro
ISBN: 0571224121 DDC: 823.914
See also: Wikipedia ; Slate review ; The Dish ; stop motion

My name is Kathy H. I’m thirty-one years old, and I’ve been a carer now for over eleven years. That sounds long enough, I know, but actually they want me to go on for another eight months, until the end of this year.

I picked this upon impulse. At home, looking for something for the train, I recognised the author’s name and thought that I may as well give it a go. And I’m so glad I did because I loved this book. The narrator is Kathy H., a 31 year old woman, and the book is her memories of life at boarding school. She and other students lived at Hailsham where they were taught by the “guardians” and brought up in a privileged manner. But all is not as it seems and throughout the novels there are hints at something darker.

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Today I direct you to go read this post, it is from Joss Whedon, but rather than being about any tv or film, as you may have suspected, it is about Dua Khalil.

If you haven’t heard of her then you can go read about her, you can even watch her die. Though I won’t be clicking on that link; reading about her stoning is more than enough.

Women’s inferiority – in fact, their malevolence — is as ingrained in American popular culture as it is anywhere they’re sporting burkhas. I find it in movies, I hear it in the jokes of colleagues, I see it plastered on billboards, and not just the ones for horror movies. Women are weak. Women are manipulative. Women are somehow morally unfinished. (Objectification: another tangential rant avoided.) And the logical extension of this line of thinking is that women are, at the very least, expendable. [...] Womb Envy. Biology: women are generally smaller and weaker than men. But they’re also much tougher. Put simply, men are strong enough to overpower a woman and propagate. Women are tough enough to have and nurture children, with or without the aid of a man. Oh, and they’ve also got the equipment to do that, to be part of the life cycle, to create and bond in a way no man ever really will. Somewhere a long time ago a bunch of men got together and said, “If all we do is hunt and gather, let’s make hunting and gathering the awesomest achievement, and let’s make childbirth kinda weak and shameful.â€? It’s a rather silly simplification, but I believe on a mass, unconscious level, it’s entirely true. How else to explain the fact that cultures who would die to eradicate each other have always agreed on one issue? That every popular religion puts restrictions on women’s behavior that are practically untenable? That the act of being a free, attractive, self-assertive woman is punishable by torture and death? In the case of this upcoming torture-porn, fictional. In the case of Dua Khalil, mundanely, unthinkably real. And both available for your viewing pleasure.

I was watching Nat Geo Wild last night, and they had a programme called Why Chimps Kill showing chimpanzees hunting monkeys, launching raids and killing other chimps, and, killing and eating human babies. And was I ever greatful that I live in a country where I don’t have to worry about the effect human encroachment on animal habitat has. We don’t have this problem because 1) All our major predators were killed off hundreds of years ago and 2) there isn’t any animal habitat in Ireland. Not really.

I know, you are wondering how the chimps come into this horrific story about this 17 year old girl who was stoned to death because of religion and patriarchy. Well, they don’t really. The only things they share is that I can watch them, or read about them, and be horrified but thankful that I don’t have to deal with any of that. That I don’t have to think about watching for a predator to come into my house. That distance separates me, protects me, and lets me ignore the horrible things that happen, and instead can write blog entries on how yesterday was Talk Like A Pilot and I missed it.

I don’t mean that in a negative way. Well, I do, in one way,because ignoring problems like this is wrong, but at the same time we can’t live out lives decrying the violence that happens all over the world. We have to live our own lives, we have to have the ability to switch off and ignore them, otherwise we would be paralysed by horror. We all should enjoy the light and the froth that is the silliness of talking like a pirate or a pilot, and enjoy the fun of internet memes. And we should never feel guilty at enjoying life. But we should try to do something, however that little that may be. As Joss says

Do something. Try something. Speaking out, showing up, writing a letter, a check, a strongly worded e-mail. Pick a cause – there are few unworthy ones. And nudge yourself past the brink of tacit support to action. Once a month, once a year, or just once. If you can’t think of what to do, there is this handy link. Even just learning enough about a subject so you can speak against an opponent eloquently makes you an unusual personage. Start with that. Any one of you would have cried out, would have intervened, had you been in that crowd in Bashiqa. Well thanks to digital technology, you’re all in it now.

and then join in with week 224

1. Coastguard ::
2. Buddies ::
3. Nap ::
4. Groan ::
5. Sitcom ::
6. Reader ::
7. Heroes ::
8. Amazing ::
9. Woman ::
10. Don’t! ::

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or Das Leben der Anderen
Dir & Writ: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

• Martina Gedeck - Christa-Maria Sieland
• Ulrich Mühe - Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler
• Sebastian Koch - Georg Dreyman
• Ulrich Tukur - Oberstleutnant Anton Grubitz
• Thomas Thieme - Minister Bruno Hempf

In 1984 in East Germany the secret police, or Stasi were everywhere, watching everything. This film details the activities of one officer, Wiesler, as he monitored a popular playwright. Wiesler doesn’t believe that Dreyman could possibly be as pro the party as he makes out. Too arrogant. So he suggests keeping him under surveillance, just in case. His superior officer doesn’t agree, at first, but then Minister Bruno Hempf mentions that perhaps he isn’t such a fan, and that perhaps Dreyman isn’t a favourite. It turns out that Hempf is more than interested in Dreyman’s girlfriend, the actress Christa-Maria Sieland, and so would like nothing better than to remove his rival by having him arrested and taken away.

But Dreyman writes plays that are acceptable and even in favour of the Party. Of course he is the “artistic” sort, and so is suspect, but he has received state honours and has found much favour with the government.

Not all his friends and colleagues are so lucky. And a close friend, the director Jerska, is driven to suicide after being “blackballed” for several years. This prompts Dreyman into action. He begins to research the suicide rates in East Germany and discovers that statistics about suicides are no longer collected by the state, presumably because the figures are so high. So he decides to write an article for publication in the West. By this stage however his every move is being watched, and listened to. Weisler has more than enough evidence to have him brought in, yet he doesn’t.

This really is a fantastic film. I wasn’t too sure at first. I had heard of it before I went to see it, but didn’t really know what it was about. I’m so glad that it was on at just the right time though. It is perfectly written, perfectly acted and just an all round great film.

I don’t want to say too much and risk ruining anything, but if you get a chance I would highly recommend you go see this film. It is both depressing and uplifting at the same time. A much grimmer depiction of spying than anything you’ll see Bond get up to, this works as both a political commentary on what East Germany must have been like, but also as a look at a man who suddenly seems to discover his humanity and emotion. A beautiful film.

IMDb | Consider Phlebas | A T-Dog Tale | The New Culture Forum

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Or the evening redness
Author: Cormac McCarthy
ISBN: 0679728759
DDC: 813.5420
See also: CormacMcCarthy.com ; Library Thing

See the child. He is pale and thin, he wears a thin and ragged linen shirt. He stokes the scullery fire. Outside lie dark turned fields with rags of snow and darker woods beyond that harbor yet a few last wolves.

This may sound contradictory; I would heartily recommend this book, I have no idea what it is all about. I can tell you a basic outline of the plot, our main protagonist, who is known only as the kid, leaves home at fourteen and travels the American West, encountering violent deed after violent deed, ending up riding with the Glanton gang as they set out to “protect” people from the savage Indians.

That is the storyline, but that isn’t what this book is about, as I said, I have no idea what it is about. Violence is obviously a central theme, but whether McCarthy means that such violence is a part of all humanity and impossible to ignore, or whether he means it as a warning, or indeed something completely different I couldn’t say. So why would I recommend it?

Quite simply the prose is just beautiful. It may be describing horrible acts of death and destruction, but it reads wonderfully.

The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear. Superstition will drag him down. The rain will erode the deeds of his life. But that man who sets himself the task of singling out the thread of order from the tapestry will by the decision alone have taken charge of the world and it is only be taking charge that he will effect a way to dictate the terms of his own fate. [...] The freedom of birds is an insult to me. I’d have them all in zoos.

I think I’ll probably have to read it again at some point, maybe with some thought thrown in, but for now I’m happy to have read it.

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Dir: Alfonso Cuarón
Writ: Alfonso Cuarón, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus, & Hawk Ostby
Based on the novel by P.D. James

• Clive Owen - Theodore Faron
• Julianne Moore - Julian Taylor
• Michael Caine - Jasper
• Chiwetel Ejiofor - Luke
• Charlie Hunnam - Patric
• Claire-Hope Ashitey - Kee

In a previous review at some stage I mentioned that I’m quite a fan of Clive Owen’s. Not in “omg he’s lovely� sort of a way, but in a “he’s a good actor� sort of a way. And he is often in interesting films. Course, he is also in some terrible films, but you win some you lose some.

This may be the first film where he actually lives up to what I’ve always thought he could do, because he is perfect as Theo. Cynical, slightly depressed and weary of life, but he also has flashes of humour and a definite personality.

Theo used to be an activist, that is where he met his wife Julian. But his son died in when flu swept across the country, he and his wife divorced. Not only that, but there is also the fact that no more babies are being born. The human race is dying out. And without the hope that new life brings societies are being ripped apart in violence and chaos.

Only England still stands. Or so the English government adverts would have you believe. But at a high price. Terrorism is common. Suicide kits are advertised everywhere. And every immigrant is illegal. Sheltering, feeding or helping an immigrant in any way is also a crime.

Owen is perfect in his role as everyman turned possible hero in this dystopian England of 2027. And the film itself is very entertaining. In certain situations it isn’t at all subtle. Images of Bexhill, the refugee camp echo the images of torture Abu Ghraib. Images of London mourning the death of “the world’s youngest inhabitant� are strikingly similar to those from around the time of Diana’s death.

But that is the point. To point out the possible future by showing us a reflection of the present.

It also manages to blend the bleakness and darkness of this fascist regime with the odd bit of humour. Michael Caine’s character of Jasper is a perfect example. And the surreal aspect of Theo’s minister cousin going around the world, saving great works of art from destruction, despite the fact that in 40 or so years time there won’t be anyone left to appreciate them.

It does get a little obvious, and there are attempts to hit hard with the emotion, but I think it works. Mainly because it is balanced by the fact that the sentiment doesn’t really win out. There are also a few surprising deaths along the way. Always a good thing.

It also looks great, but we knew from Cuarán’s work on Harry Potter that he could make a scene look fantastic. Overall, well worth the watch.

IMDb | Official Site | Torque Control | The Best Brew | Cinema Blend

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