Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 1080
MeFi post:
The Woodman Speaks
What in the holy hell has he contributed to film? ...His movies aren't really well-written; he doesn't draw characters that well beyond a stock set; his conception of space isn't really that developed; and he clearly hasn't thought that hard about what the image means.
I don't know if this is worthwhile arguing, because it involves so much subjectivity that the best one can do is truss up "Yeah, well I like it!" with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 2:22 PM on September 29, 2008
Sorry about the length. Here's the link (which I found by googling "'Hannah and Her Sisters' script."
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 3:38 PM on September 29, 2008
MeFi post:
Life as an asexual couple
schroedinger: I can't help but feel a little sorry for him, in the way that I feel bad for people who don't like dogs or the Muppets. I mean, it's the Muppets, man! How can you not like the Muppets?
DU: Yes, I would say that dogs or a children's puppet show is probably the ideal analogy for sexuality. Go with that.
I see these sort of confusions all the time, and they drive me batshit insane. Maybe DU was just making a snarky... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 10:55 AM on September 9, 2008
MeFi post:
Nightmare on Sesame Street
So, are these books actually scary? I remember hating kid-lit horror stories when I was a kid, because they were never scary. No one ever died, because that would be wrong in a story for kids.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 7:44 AM on August 5, 2008
MeFi post:
Incest: Taboo or not taboo?
I'm curious as to whether or not disgust at brother/sister incest has anything to do with having a sibling of the opposite gender (or of whatever gender you're attracted to).
I'm not even slightly disgusted by it. In fact, it bores me. The other night, I saw a play in which two consenting adults -- brother and sister -- had a sexual relationship, and I thought "THIS is the conflict? Biiiiig deal."
I'm not claiming to be more liberal or... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 10:18 AM on July 15, 2008
MeFi post:
The letters of Stanley Kubrick
The machete shown above belonged to Adam Baldwin's character, Animal Mother, who in the original script used it to hack off a dead female sniper's head. The decapitation wasn't shown in the film, but the head was.
When?
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:20 AM on July 15, 2008
MeFi post:
I Never Drink Water, Fish F**K In It
Bottled water is delicious water in convenient, portable form. I don't want to always want to carry water around with me, so sometimes I buy it in a bottle.
Same here. I live in NYC, and I appreciate the great tap water. It's what I drink when I'm at home. I drink bottled water when I'm not at home. I don't believe that the bottled water is special. I really don't care if it comes from mountain springs or the faucet in the bottled-water company.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 8:16 AM on July 5, 2008
Do most of you live in cities where there are no self-serve water jug stations?
I know what you're talking about. I used those regularly when I lived in Florida. But I've never seen one in NYC. They may exist, but even if they do, they wouldn't be practical for me.
Like many New Yorkers, I don't own a car. I get my groceries by walking to the grocery store and back. I can just barely carry what I buy as it is. I can't imagine lugging gallons of water, too.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:29 AM on July 6, 2008
MeFi post:
It may not be art, but I know what I like.
There are three types of debates:
1) In which people define basic terms before debating them:
X is an attempt to Y.
Debater 1: X fails at its attempt to Y, because...
Debater 2: X succeeds at its attempt to Y, because...
2) In which people have an emotional, stream-of-consciousness, word-association discussion centered around a topic:
Topic: X
Discusser 1: I like X.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 10:59 AM on June 24, 2008
I'm not sure why video game enthusiasts are so pressed to establish their hobby as "art."
I agree. But I'd add puzzlement as to why traditionalists are so pressed to deny games are art. What does it matter what's art and what's not?
Is this debate anything more elevated than the old generation hating the new generation and vice versa?
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 11:12 AM on June 24, 2008
There's no reason "high art" has to be political or comment on human nature. That's a fallacy. In the postmodern era...
It's a fallacy IF you define art the way postmodernist define it.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 11:19 AM on June 24, 2008
So, you'd like to pretend we're in the modern era or...?
Not necessarily. It just seems to me like you're making a bunch of "this is a done, cut-and-dried deal" claims about things that are really a matter of personal taste and opinion. For instance...
It's important to discuss art from our present moment, which is postmodernism or beyond.
Wow, that's a packed statement!... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 11:50 AM on June 24, 2008
I do argue that some sense of self-referentiality or some nod to the ontologies of a piece's function, formal history or context are one thing that clearly elevates a piece from functional entertainment object to the realm of art.
I can't tell if you're saying something fascinating or banal. It it's the former, then you have to complete (what seems to me) an unfinished statement.
What you're saying is banal (and tautological)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 11:55 AM on June 24, 2008
but if you want to discuss "what's art" from the perspective of classicists
Personally, I reject all such discussions. I don't see the point of them, and generally they don't have much intellectual meaning (though they may have emotional "I hate you because you don't like what I like" meaning).
I think there is a ton of meaning in closely-related discussions. Discussions such as...... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 12:02 PM on June 24, 2008
grumblebee: Well actually. I think Ebert has laid out his definition of art, although you have to sift through his blather about bodily functions in order to get there. High art is:
1: It's an expression of an artist and not participatory.
2: It leads you to an "inevitable conclusion."
3: It can be distinguished from "entertainments." (ie. ballet is art, circus is entertainment.)
4: It helps "consumers become more... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 12:22 PM on June 24, 2008
straight, can you name a few? If you're right, I would like to experience what you're talking about.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 12:52 PM on June 24, 2008
Well, then you're not cut out for work in philosophy, and no offense there! Discussing the boundaries of concepts and the ontologies of our existence - what is art, what is it to be human, what is reality - is not a utilitarian activity exactly, it's decidedly a modern indulgence, but it often does generate intellectual or artistic inspiration.
Sure, discussions of "what is art" can generate inspiration -- they do this because "what is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:14 PM on June 24, 2008
Discussing the boundaries of concepts and the ontologies of our existence - what is art, what is it to be human, what is reality - is not a utilitarian activity exactly, it's decidedly a modern indulgence, but it often does generate intellectual or artistic inspiration.
I think there are some key meta-questions about discussions like these. (Assuming, again, you're not just using them as pegs for brainstorming or fun, round-robin discussions.)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:30 PM on June 24, 2008
But if you want to be protected from thinking about the meaning or the accomplishment of the art as you experience it, then we are at odds. I like having the option; I like that Brecht existed, and Lacan.
The interesting thing here is that you can't be both within a world and without at the same time. On some level, we know that movies (novels, etc.) are contrivances. But I like forgetting this fact -- for as long as possible -- while I watch them.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:57 PM on June 24, 2008
I'm arguing for my own point of view, for its evolutionary advantage. It's not an exploratory mission to a hidden summit, which we can all climb together, it's a tug of war.
Yes but is there any way of arguing such points of view besides what I always see people do, which is making lists of features and then proclaiming those lists better than other people's lists (without defining better)?
Because if the Ebbert/Barker way IS... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 2:01 PM on June 24, 2008
I do think there's a more rigorous way to do this. I've been doing it for a couple of decades.
I have defined the rules for crafting a certain kind of work. My rules aren't perfect (I'm continually defining them), and -- like I say -- they only kind of work. Me being me, I'm talking about sensual, enveloping works.
My claim is that if artists follow my rules, they'll tend to create sensual, enveloping works. And, from a critical point-of-view,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 2:10 PM on June 24, 2008
It's funny how personal context plays into this:
I would say that some works are unquestionably alienating, in the sense that there's almost no way you could watch them and not think about the fact you're watching a contrivance. An example that pops to mind is Felinni's "And the Ship Sales On." [Spoiler follows.] At one point, towards the end, the camera pans to reveal that the ship is just a set. You see the technicians, the boom mics, etc.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 2:24 PM on June 24, 2008
I assure you, I can turn off my brain and _just watch_ films of all sorts but I totally had a blast last night discussing what the commentary on sexuality in Gremlins is.
You probably don't mean to do this, AV, but when I've had this discussion with people in the past, they usually say something like, "Look, I can be like you. I can get into ________." And to fill in the blank, they bring up "Gilligan's Island" or "Star... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 2:33 PM on June 24, 2008
MeFi post:
Everything should be subject to critical analysis.
professor Philip Pecorino “has stated that it is his job to get students to reject a belief...
How does he plan to do that? By providing evidence that the belief doesn't accurately describe or predict events in the physical universe? By proving that the belief relies on contradictory premises?
That assumes a belief is a sort of rational entity.
It assumes that the psychology of belief works this... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:47 AM on June 18, 2008
MeFi post:
It's all in your head.
Something I've often wondered: how many people are completely uni-sexual? Is there a better term? I'm talking about people (gay or straight) who are exclusively attracted to a single gender -- the opposite of bisexual.
Almost everyone I've met and gotten to know well enough to discuss this stuff with has admitted to at least some fantasizing about both genders. People who consider themselves gay have -- at some point -- had sexual thoughts about the opposite gender;... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 6:57 AM on June 17, 2008
It's funny. I don't like mushrooms either, and that also makes me feel stunted. Maybe "stunted" is too evocative of damaged or whatever. Let's say I feel sad. If there's stuff out there that's possible to appreciate, I'd like to be able to appreciate it.
I've often wondered how plastic people are sexually. It's hard to talk about this, because we live in a time when people are still persecuted for their sexuality. If you say people are plastic, it sounds like... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 7:14 AM on June 17, 2008
I can't imagine why somebody hoping to understand the human brain at a fundamental level would care what the sex of the person carrying it around is.
Well, if male and female brains are different from each other in significant ways, that seems like a good reason to care.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:16 AM on June 17, 2008
MeFi post:
This are the world.
A serious discussion about this needs consensus over the meaning of "racist," otherwise people may be arguing apples vs. oranges.
When is something racist?
1. When it suggests to most reasonable people that race A is superior to race B?
2. When it's offensive to members of a particular race (e.g. if Black people say, "Wearing hats is racist," is wearing is racist).
3. When a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 2:41 PM on May 25, 2008
What really bothers me about blackface is that it represents this notion of abnormality and difference -- that black people have literally something on their face, something opaque, dirt-like, that you rub on top of white skin as to emulate black people. ... this notion of portraying a black person by rubbing pigment on the entire face is ... an expression of a belief of difference and latent racism. This is totally different than makeup or putting a mask on the face, because makeup... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 10:42 AM on May 26, 2008
Grumblebee - It seems like you want a scientific, objective definition of racist speech and acts.
No, I want two things (both of which are different from what you think I want -- sorry if I wasn't clear):
1. I want people to agree (or agree to disagree) on a definition of racism during a specific discussion of whether or not X is racist. If there's no agreement, there's no point to the conversation.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 5:21 AM on May 27, 2008
I'm all for emotional/experience-based conversations, but this one wasn't framed that way.
And here, boys and girls, you see grumblebee's hypocrisy. In my zeal to prove my point, I lapsed into passive voice. Convarsations aren't framed. People frame conversations. I wouldn't blame anyone for saying, "What do you mean 'the conversation was framed'? By whom? Maybe you frame it that way, but that's not how... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 7:03 AM on May 27, 2008
I agree that racism is horrible. But I'd also argue that some desire to see racism 'wiped out' is to think of it as some sort of strange external evil that can be killed, invaded, warred against -- and that this sort of thought is more harmful than helpful.
Yeah, I can see how it comes across this way. But I don't think racism is a "strange external evil." There's nothing external about it. It's a rather natural attitude. Playing armchair... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 7:17 AM on May 27, 2008
I agree that we (who don't daily suffer racism) have much to learn from others (who do).
Please. Don't do this.
You're assuming that a collective 'we' exists, presumably the readership of Metafilter, and that this readership/'we' doesn't suffer racism.
Sorry for the confusion (all my fault). I didn't mean Metafilter (or our society at large). I totally understand how a reasonable person, reading my... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 8:03 AM on May 28, 2008
MeFi post:
All I need to make a comedy is a park, a policeman and a pretty girl.
I'd also recommend seeing the 1992 film Chaplin, in which a then 27 year old Robert Downey Jr. turns in an extraordinary - and Oscar nominated - performance as Chaplin. (How he lost to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman is a mystery to me. No knock on Pacino in general, but yelling "Hoo Haw!" should not have carried the day!)
Funny that you link these two films. "Scene of a Woman" was made by City Light Films. And consciously... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:32 AM on May 27, 2008
MeFi post:
New Yorkers and their quirks
New Yorkers have that reputation for a reason: compared to other places, on average, they probably are. For me what's always stood out more is the attitude of self-importance.
Are you sure there's such a thing as "New Yorkers"? Why do my lefty theatre-people friends have in common with Hasidic Jews, the wall-street set, or people who live in Chinatown?
WHICH New Yorkers are you talking about. Or do you think all... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:33 PM on May 20, 2008
When you're sitting next to me on the subway, do not stick your elbows out like chicken wings so that you can more easily hold your magazine. Those are my ribs you're poking. Do not heave a huge "What A Day!" sign when you're standing over me. I don't want to smell your coffee breath. Do not sit with your legs wide apart. I'm not up for porn, and I'd like a place to sit down. Do not bring your bike on the train during rush hour. Do not hum quietly to yourself. It's like fingernails on... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:52 PM on May 20, 2008
You're wrong that "NYers" have that attitude or any attitude. There are too many people here for there to be any sort of consensus.
Naturally, in a really big city, there are going to be a certain number of rude people. And you notice them ... because they're rude. You don't notice the people who aren't rude. If you walk by 500 New Yorkers on the street, how many out of those 500 are rude. If one of them is rude, that's going to have a huge impact on you,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 12:58 PM on May 21, 2008
conveniently?
Doesn't that imply I did it on purpose? I didn't. I just didn't read carefully enough. I apologize.
I disagree with "many." I think it's more like "a few bad apples." Unfortunately, they're the ones who stand out.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 11:02 AM on May 22, 2008
MeFi post:
Kids? Who'd have 'em?
I've never thought about this before, but there wasn't a time when I first thought of my parents as human, because I always thought of them that way. I always thought of them as frail, as imperfect. I don't know why. There were always responsible, they always took care of me, and they dealt with whatever life threw at them.
But I remember, even as a very small child, being worried that my parents might die while I was at school (even though they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 7:56 AM on May 21, 2008
I did used to think of teachers as superhuman. It was easier for me to feel that way about them, because I wasn't as involved with them as I was with my parents.
I'll never forget the day that changed. It was in nursery school. I was five. It was 1969, and people weren't as educated as they are now about the cosmos. But my father read me books about stars and planets, and astronomy was a pet subject of mine.
One day, in school, I was trying to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 10:08 AM on May 21, 2008
MeFi post:
The Affairs Of Men
When I think about the guys I was friends with, the monogamous types were effusively monogamous. In other words, it wasn't a thing where they just pretended to want a married, monogamous relationship because they felt social pressure. On their own, they would bring it up and either gush about their current monogamous relationships, or be devastated when they didn't work out.
This describes me pretty well.
That said, I have a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 12:51 PM on May 20, 2008
It's all in the genes, they tell us.
That viewpoint is false, and it drives me crazy.
it's how we are raised. We are raised so long, for so many years, and we take in so much subtle information from our families and outside influences, that it's not "one size fits all."
That viewpoint is equally false.
When I hear either of these views, I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:08 PM on May 20, 2008
What do you base the "falseness" upon? It is Nature vs. Nurture, the age-old argument, right?
This debate is over. Read any recent biology book. There's no Nature vs. Nurture. There's just Nature AND Nurture. Sure, non-scientists continue the debate. But they're wrong, of course.
There will presumably always be debates over individual behaviors and how much they're informed by Nature vs. Nurture. Most of the time,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 6:29 PM on May 20, 2008
It is best therefore for a man to marry late, around the age of 40, and marry a younger woman, about 10 years younger.
Best MAYBE in that limited sense. On the other hand, I'm much more into being in a relationship with someone my age -- shared cultural references and all that.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:23 AM on May 21, 2008
I completely agree with you, jokeefe. Given what we seen in the animal kingdom, it's possible (even likely) that there are profound differences between male and female sexuality. But it's foolish to say what they are, because we view everything through an extremely dirty cultural test tube.
In American culture, most women are raised to suppress their sex drive.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 10:01 AM on May 21, 2008
MeFi post:
3 to 10 classroom hours
Note to both theists and atheist: (Please, WILL EVERYONE IN THE WORLD STOP WHAT THEY'RE DOING FOR FIVE SECONDS AND LIST TO ME?)
It makes no difference what Einstein thought.
If Einstein thought there was a God, that doesn't mean there was or wasn't one. Same if he thought there wasn't a God.
So if you want to have an intelligent conversation about religion, leave Einstein out of it. Of course, if you want to score points... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:15 PM on May 20, 2008
grumblebee is Einstein!
I was going to disagree with you. Then I saw my hair in the mirror.
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 1:53 PM on May 20, 2008
fourcheesemac, we're on the same team, in that we're both atheists, but I'm bothered by quite a few things you wrote. I'm bothered, because you evoke science while making quite a few pseudo-scientific claims (or at least claims for which you provide no evidence). Those of us on the "science team" have a particularly strong responsibility to play by its rules:
If a social scientist ran an experiment to see what the most effective way of convincing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee
at 9:56 AM on May 21, 2008
