Subject: Re: Beautiful Bag
From: Benjamin Samuels (madhava@sprynet.com)
Date: Thu Feb 24 2000 - 10:39:48 EST
J-
For me the value of te scene was just that it recognized and depicted
someone having that sort of zen-like experience of beauty. I didn't get
that enlightened feeling myself from the scene but appreciated it for the
recognition of that sort of experience in a movie that made it big in the
mainstream. Combined with the many other nice pieces of the movie, the
effect on me as a whole was quite pleasent, even a bit of a zen-like buzz of
being able to appreciate American Beauty.
As an aside, I was reading the other day the introduction to the new
collection of old Vonngut stories and Vonnegut is discussing what short
stories are like compared to the radio shows which were popular when he was
writing the strories in this book.. He calls short stories Budhist
cat-naps, descibing the physiological (he doesn't go into psychological)
similarities between sitting for meditation and sitting to read a short
story. Movies can be like this for me in that unlike television which is
often accompanied by multifarous distractions like commercials, remote
controls, and ugh!- other people, movies have the ability to completely
absorb me at times, and transport me through a story. The trick is finding
a story worth being transported through so powerfully.
One more thing on AB, it's been a long time since I saw it, but I remember
getting the strong impression in the first few scenes that the drug dealer
character was the killer and this making me not want to like him, or like
him only by understanding why he would commit the murder, and suspect his
dark side throughout the movie. I think it would be different for me to see
it again because then I could see him as a hero character from the
beginning.
Love,
Madhava
----- Original Message -----
From: jason varsoke <jjv@caesun.msd.ray.com>
To: <bananafish@roughdraft.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 23, 2000 9:19 AM
Subject: Re: Beautiful Bag
> On Tue, 22 Feb 2000, Matt Kozusko wrote:
> > I've consulted several telephone astrologers (and, with all due regard
> > to the once-great David Lowery, the I-Ching), but to no avail. There
> > is something in me--something extra-cosmic, apparently--that doesn't
> > like a bag.
> >
> > It was a neat idea. It was fun to watch. But to say that beauty's in
> > the bag...it's a little too cute. A little too "deep." Cute and
> > "deep" don't go so well together.
>
> Yeah, have to agree with Matt here. I think the problem is that if
> you're the original person who has the moment of realizing the bag, then
> it is significant, maybe it's even Zen enlightenment. But I don't think
> anyone who comes to the scene and is presented with, "Hey look at this.
> This is art. This is life." comes away with anything but, "This is a
> bag." The experience is non-transferable. I feel everyone's subscription
> to it as "beautiful" as part of their willingness to rebel against the
> establishment. There is no way the establishment will consider it art, so
> everyone who hates establishment is compelled to think it is. Imagine if
> this "most beautiful think I ever felt" ended up winning an Oscar: "Now,
> in the category of best supporting inanimate object we have: the Boat
> from "Titanic", the Red Beret from "Rushmore", and, finally, the Bag from
> "American Beauty. And the winner is . . ." Come'on guys.
>
> Besides, they didn't once show the guy just out of frame with the leave
> blower.
>
> > Paper or plastic?
>
> Paper, of course. I don't want her to suffocate.
>
> -j
>
> -
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