I am dumbfounded by the staggering number of people who believe that nature/God/the Universe agrees with their specialness. EVERYTHING IS TRYING TO KILL YOU, PEOPLE! HERZOG IS RIGHT! ASSCAPS!!!
points and agrees with Sean
The thing is, I saw a lot of dudes like Treadwell and McCandless pass through - guys who believed in their own specialness and who thought that Alaska (or wherever) would welcome them with open arms and show them mysteries that no one else ever saw or would get to see. I know everyone's self-absorbed, I know that everyone is the star and hero of their own narrative, but the amount to which everyone else was reduced to bit players in these guys' personal narratives was damn near sociopathic.
You don't need to go to Alaska to be a self-absorbed jackass, but there seem to be a lot of them there. It's easier there, I suppose, because you *can* wander off and not have to interact with the rest of humanity. Nature is right there, just waiting. There's also that whole romance of the Last Frontier, which - frontier life is not a hell of a lot of fun. I'm just saying.
Herzog has a deeply humanist belief in the importance of mutual kindness and respect
I absolutely agree, and I question whether Treadwell and/or McCandless ever fully comprehended that in regards to the rest of humanity.
And now this is starting to become more about my Issues in regards to how Alaska is perceived and dealt with, so I'll shut up.
Man, you guys don't want us to taunt anything fun.
You can taunt Happy Stupid President.
I stumbled on a radio station yesterday that billed itself as "Happy Radio for Happy People." You can mock that. I sure did.
I really want Angry Radio for Homicidal People.
The thought that just occurred to me, probably because of S's current hospital stay -- our own bodies are trying to kill us, people.
And this would pretty much be the mission statement of just about every early David Cronenberg movie. Lately he's been more focused on how our perception of reality affects our reality, which is kind of the same idea from a different angle.
I wasn't disagreeing with you, Cor, I was agreeing that Grizzly Man does not lionize Treadwell. I think you and I probably disagree as to how much Herzog judges him though. I don't think he romanticizes him like a Don Quixote character (maybe like a Don Quixote where Sancho Panza is eaten by a bear).
And this would pretty much be the mission statement of just about every early David Cronenberg movie. Lately he's been more focused on how our perception of reality affects our reality, which is kind of the same idea from a different angle.
I've always been a big fan of Cronenberg, but with his recent spate of films he seems to be turning into one of the Greatest Directors of All Time right before our very eyes. It's amazing product, and amazing to watch.
(maybe like a Don Quixote where Sancho Panza is eaten by a bear)
Which happened in an early cut.
But test audiences responded negatively.
You can taunt Happy Stupid President.
Speaking of which, I encountered this morning a dog poop bag with Cheney and Bush on either side with the headline "Mission Accomplished!."
