There is more to humanity than the people around you. There are people who are wise but dead, yet alive in books and films. There are those who are wise but distant, yet approachable in their art. There are amicable strangers. In order to feel alive, one must not neglect any of these people.
Life distributes enough hardship; this hardship should not be amplified by self-punishment. One way to try to focus on one's long-term goals is to focus on trying to make other people---those whose goals are aligned with one's own goals---happier. It is convenient, though not necessary, that these other people exist.
28 December 2008
24 December 2008
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
This Frank Capra's picture illustrates the view of the world according to which (i) one should act in accord with one's desires and in spite of the prevailing social norms, and (ii) if studied carefully, one's ultimate desires---those that grant most satisfaction---will consist in being attentive and kind to others.
Was George Bailey's happiness derived from the sacrifice of his youth's aspirations in order to promote the well-being of his neighbours? No. Had George Bailey travelled the world, he would have come back to Bedford Falls. Otherwise he would not have stayed there in the first place. Hence, the movie does not promote self-sacrifice. The movie advocates doing whatever one thinks is right for himself, and this is what George Bailey did. And what happens to be right for oneself, is typically also generous with respect to others.
The movie underscores that in choosing a spouse (or a friend, or a companion) one acknowledges the direction in which one would like to go, and one acquires an inspiration and a stimulus to persevere moving in that direction. Yet it is better to travel without a compass than with a faulty compass. George Bailey was fortunate. Mary shares George's integrity and is beautiful. They do not make them like this anymore.
Was George Bailey's happiness derived from the sacrifice of his youth's aspirations in order to promote the well-being of his neighbours? No. Had George Bailey travelled the world, he would have come back to Bedford Falls. Otherwise he would not have stayed there in the first place. Hence, the movie does not promote self-sacrifice. The movie advocates doing whatever one thinks is right for himself, and this is what George Bailey did. And what happens to be right for oneself, is typically also generous with respect to others.
The movie underscores that in choosing a spouse (or a friend, or a companion) one acknowledges the direction in which one would like to go, and one acquires an inspiration and a stimulus to persevere moving in that direction. Yet it is better to travel without a compass than with a faulty compass. George Bailey was fortunate. Mary shares George's integrity and is beautiful. They do not make them like this anymore.
12 December 2008
Destry Rides Again (1939)
This is a B-movie that could have been an A-movie if made eight years earlier, pre-code, with Marlene Dietrich's acting in earnest a little more complex and a little less jaded part. The grotesqueness of the characters in the perceived Wild West deprives the movie of its subtlety and hence power. Even though James Stewart is doing a good job, he is given too little work to excell.
As for subtlety, therein lies the great challenge of art. On the one hand, the work should be sufficiently stylised in order to highlight the problem that it addresses. On the other hand, the work must have enough fine detail in order for the problem thus defined to be non-trivial and the insight emerging from the work to be non-negligible.
As for subtlety, therein lies the great challenge of art. On the one hand, the work should be sufficiently stylised in order to highlight the problem that it addresses. On the other hand, the work must have enough fine detail in order for the problem thus defined to be non-trivial and the insight emerging from the work to be non-negligible.
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