itsallovernow (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
itsallovernow) wrote2003-06-30 11:09 am
itsallovernow) wrote2003-06-30 11:09 am
Part of the Cultural Landscape
I opened the front door to leave for work this morning, pausing to pick up the paper as I always do, and stopped in my tracks as I glanced at the front page, seeing that Katharine Hepburn had died.
She was such an icon, such a role model - bright, sexy, outspoken, totally sure of herself, educated, talented. She seemed to be in control of herself, in control of her life and her choices and her career, and I have such admiration for that strength.
I have spent hours and hours of my life watching Holiday, and The Philadelphia Story, and Bringing Up Baby and The Lion in Winter, and scores of her other films, especially when I was a teenager, lolling about, alone in my house in the summer, obsessed with classic Hollywood stars like Katharine Hepburn, and Greer Garson and Gene Tierney and Ingrid Bergman. These were women, personas, I suppose that I wanted to emulate, and maybe still do, and Katharine Hepburn always lead the pack.
She will be missed.
I did much playing this weekend, seeing Charlies Angels 2 (because I will see anything at the Chinese Theater), 28 Days Later and The Hulk. My favorite was definitely 28 Days Laterr, which scared the crap out of me, but was really well done. Just don't eat anything beforehand. I don't know the actor who played Jim, but he was awfully yummy. The Stand by Stephen King is another great vision of a virus wiping out civilization, although it deals far more with the aftereffects, the where do we go from here concepts and the fine line between good and evil. This movie looked more at what triggers the rage inside. When Jim unleashes himself on the soldiers, free from the virus, but just as viscious, it is obviously a sign that the anger is hiding in everyone, the virus is only one trigger, and it was just as scary as the infected's violence. It's a very post-modernist vision of horror, playing on the things that really scare us, that are really a threat - ourselves, our emotions, our weaknesses and our willingness to experiment with things beyond our control. And, it was just really scary).
I liked the concepts and the ideas in The Hulk, but it just kept going and going and going. As for Charlies Angels -well, it's not like I had unreasonable expectations. It's just that, as my friend G. an aspiring filmaker, said, "If I could just have the money that they spent on lenses, I could make several of my movies." Which about sums up it's cultural worth, although all three ladies are very candilicious.
I also sat by C.'s pool - because getting sunburned the day before wasn't enough of a wakeup call - and while I slathered myself in 45, I still got burned.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kixxa, still want that translucent skin? I hate being this pale in the summer. I love the sun. I want to laze and lounge, and there is no sunscreen strong enough to keep me from poisoning myself. After having had sunpoisoning last summer, you'd think I'd have learned. That would clearly not be the case.
Also, caved. Bought the new Harry Potter which I am enjoying muchly, along with the stacks of other things I'm currently reading including The April Witch by a tongue-twisting Swedish author which is fascinating and haunting.
If M. doesn't stop watching The Cowboy Bebop movie, I swear that I'm going to hide it. He gets on a jag with things and there's no stopping him. I had to retreat to my room last night to watch ITLD, then I woke up at 3 in the morning to hear him watching one of the Farscape DVD's and of course had to stay up long enough to figure out which one. No wonder I'm so tired. I think I'll wait until part 2 of ITLD airs before talking about them, though, but it says a lot that exhausted, sun sick and cranky, I still stayed up until 1 a.m. to watch something that I have on tape.
She was such an icon, such a role model - bright, sexy, outspoken, totally sure of herself, educated, talented. She seemed to be in control of herself, in control of her life and her choices and her career, and I have such admiration for that strength.
I have spent hours and hours of my life watching Holiday, and The Philadelphia Story, and Bringing Up Baby and The Lion in Winter, and scores of her other films, especially when I was a teenager, lolling about, alone in my house in the summer, obsessed with classic Hollywood stars like Katharine Hepburn, and Greer Garson and Gene Tierney and Ingrid Bergman. These were women, personas, I suppose that I wanted to emulate, and maybe still do, and Katharine Hepburn always lead the pack.
She will be missed.
I did much playing this weekend, seeing Charlies Angels 2 (because I will see anything at the Chinese Theater), 28 Days Later and The Hulk. My favorite was definitely 28 Days Laterr, which scared the crap out of me, but was really well done. Just don't eat anything beforehand. I don't know the actor who played Jim, but he was awfully yummy. The Stand by Stephen King is another great vision of a virus wiping out civilization, although it deals far more with the aftereffects, the where do we go from here concepts and the fine line between good and evil. This movie looked more at what triggers the rage inside. When Jim unleashes himself on the soldiers, free from the virus, but just as viscious, it is obviously a sign that the anger is hiding in everyone, the virus is only one trigger, and it was just as scary as the infected's violence. It's a very post-modernist vision of horror, playing on the things that really scare us, that are really a threat - ourselves, our emotions, our weaknesses and our willingness to experiment with things beyond our control. And, it was just really scary).
I liked the concepts and the ideas in The Hulk, but it just kept going and going and going. As for Charlies Angels -well, it's not like I had unreasonable expectations. It's just that, as my friend G. an aspiring filmaker, said, "If I could just have the money that they spent on lenses, I could make several of my movies." Which about sums up it's cultural worth, although all three ladies are very candilicious.
I also sat by C.'s pool - because getting sunburned the day before wasn't enough of a wakeup call - and while I slathered myself in 45, I still got burned.
kixxa, still want that translucent skin? I hate being this pale in the summer. I love the sun. I want to laze and lounge, and there is no sunscreen strong enough to keep me from poisoning myself. After having had sunpoisoning last summer, you'd think I'd have learned. That would clearly not be the case.Also, caved. Bought the new Harry Potter which I am enjoying muchly, along with the stacks of other things I'm currently reading including The April Witch by a tongue-twisting Swedish author which is fascinating and haunting.
If M. doesn't stop watching The Cowboy Bebop movie, I swear that I'm going to hide it. He gets on a jag with things and there's no stopping him. I had to retreat to my room last night to watch ITLD, then I woke up at 3 in the morning to hear him watching one of the Farscape DVD's and of course had to stay up long enough to figure out which one. No wonder I'm so tired. I think I'll wait until part 2 of ITLD airs before talking about them, though, but it says a lot that exhausted, sun sick and cranky, I still stayed up until 1 a.m. to watch something that I have on tape.
no subject
wimp? moi? yeskindathankyouverymuch
Re:
That being said, I'm much more prone to being scared by suggestion and "zombies" have never been too much on my running and hiding fear factor. Being all alone in the world, that freaked me out as much as the zombies.
I think also, one of things that makes it scare is the total absence of everyday life - the lights and the noise and the traffic, and since those things are so present in reality, I, at least, wasn't as scared after the fact.
no subject
Must go find my Hepburn movies... I know I have The Philadelphia Story on DVD, African Queen on VHS... I want to find a bunch more on DVD but Media PLay doesn't carry them (dammit!) especially Woman of the Year, Bringing up Baby, Adam's Rib and State of the Union
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