I think the fondest pre-reading memory of Boccaccio I have is as I stood outside a billiards-room in Amherst, having been reintroduced to Will after some years, and while I’m trying to decide if anyone realizes that I’m only pretending to smoke a cigarette, he’s trying to make a point about Walter Benjamin’s “Mechanical Reproduction” and askedContinue reading “Boccaccio: Day 1, Stories 1-3.”
Tag Archives: Chaplin
film: (Chaplin) – Tillie’s Punctured Romance
I don’t care if it is the first feature-length comedy ever, because it still sucks–which, I mean to say, is that it contains everything I never liked about American comedies. The majority of its humor is from slapstick violence, some of it’s from alcohol, and a lot is because Tillie’s a real beast. I supposeContinue reading “film: (Chaplin) – Tillie’s Punctured Romance”
film: Neilan: Stella Maris (1918)
1918. I fall in love with Mary Pickford every time I see one of her films, and it’s difficult to remember that her hands were smooth and delicate, her body serenely curvaceous ten years before my grandfather was born. I cannot imagine her slacks torn, her belt broken, and yet watching her, how she loves,Continue reading “film: Neilan: Stella Maris (1918)”
film: Newmeyer, Taylor: Safety Last! (1923)
Drinking for seven hours, and suddenly the inclination to make fun like this, and it’s not unusual? Mentioning Kafka is rarely a smart idea. The only instance I can recall when it was okay was during a discussion over whether the Germans or the Czechs have more claim to him. Using the word Kafkaesque isContinue reading “film: Newmeyer, Taylor: Safety Last! (1923)”
film: MacPherson: Borderline (1930)
I was always judged very harshly by my appearance, which was something I never took much time to consider. It was around the time that my sister told me I’d taught her a valuable lesson, “that it doesn’t matter what other people think of you,” when I found myself with a host of new values,Continue reading “film: MacPherson: Borderline (1930)”
arts & fetters 