Blog #9 Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Ok, I'm going to do this.  Picture the following scene with Yoda and Luke Skywalker:

Isn't this better?  I mean it.  Eastwood makes Yoda look like the little green puppet he is.

Anyway.  No deserts.  No horses.  No chewing tobacco (and definitely no Chewbacca).  No wars (I'll skip the obvious snarky comment here).  No guns.  Not even a single hand-similuating-a-gun.  So, is Eastwood up to something different in this film?  Or are we in familiar territory?  Think about this in the following ways:

1.  First, as usual, what is your reaction to the film thus far?  What do you appreciate?  What doesn't suit you so well?

2.  Next, take a minute to think beyond the familiar face of Eastwood.  He looks like other male leads we've seen but is Frankie a familiar character?  Is this the same personality guiding the action of Eastwood's other films?

3.  And what about Maggie (and why do all the leads have names that end "ie")?  Have we seen such a character in the past three weeks?  Move beyond literal connections as you consider this.  What characteristics does Maggie embody?

4.  Stepping back a bit further, think about what is going on in Frankie's gym.  What happens in The Hit Pit?  Have we seen this kind of place in the past three weeks?

Blog #8. The Outlaw Josey Wales.

The scene above is set in the grubby Texas town that Josey, Lone Waite, and Little Moonlight (and the dog that Josey loves to hit on the head with tobacco juice) ride into.  It's what civilization passes for in the west—full of bounty hunters and ex-soldiers and charlatans like the carpetbagger and his potion making a buck.  And real homesteaders like young Laura Lee and Grandma Sarah who pretty much hates anyone not like her.  Think of "Bronco Billy" and "Unforgiven" here—is this the west Bronco Billy depicts in his Wild West Show? How close is this to Little Whiskey?

"The Outlaw Josey Wales" was Clint Eastwood's fifth directorial effort and his first big success as a director.  As some of you may have heard in class, he wasn't even the original director—screenwriter Philip Kaufman was.  But it was Clint's production company Malpaso putting up the money, so he felt in the right to replace Kaufman when Kaufman shot too slowly for Clint's taste.  The book it was based on was by Forrest Carter, who was soon unmasked as Asa Carter, a former speech writer for Gov. George Wallace of Alabama and white supremacist.  None of that changes what we have in front of us, one of the few successful westerns made at that time, an era when The Western as a movie genre was pretty much dead.  This movie, for whatever reason, was embraced by the public and has come to be seen as one of Clint's best efforts and a valuable film.  It was added to The Library of Congress's National Film Registry in 1996. 

1.  Your reaction to the film?  Like?  Dislike?  The scene or moment in the film that now, hours later, has stayed with you?

2.  This was made four years before "Bronco Billy," a much different film obviously (but with many of the same cast members).  We've been saying that "Bronco Billy" is a parody and commentary on the western; and it could be argued that it's a commentary especially on this film.  Where do "The Outlaw Josey Wales" and "Bronco Billy" overlap?  And to what effect?  Don't generalize—oh, violence, let's say.  Be specific!  Draw specific parallels. 

3.  You should be able to do this next question now (you'll need to be able to for the test in a week).
Connect Josey Wales to three of the other protagonists we've seen this short term.  How are they alike—how do we specifically see the parallels?  And to what point?  What might Clint Eastwood be saying through this connection? 

Quick, facile answers above will earn you less that full credit for this blog entry.  Think about these questions: use specific examples in your answers. 

One last scene.  Here's Josey on liking people.  He tries to not like people—but somehow he can't stop himself from doing so.  See you all tomorrow.

Blog #7. Bronco Billy.

We don't know about you all, but we're loving "Bronco Billy."  One of the problems we imagine you might be having as you watch this is that you are not schooled in the narrative and history that Clint Eastwood is both parodying and extolling.  There is a morality at work here—a code that the characters strive for, want, that infuses all the films we've watched.  There's something valuable and worth thinking about in this depiction of this rag tag group who support each other, who create a community. 

1.  Your reaction to the film?  And what scene or moment stayed with you—and why?

2. Why is Billy doing what he doing?  Why become a "cowboy"?  What does he hope to achieve as "Bronco Billy"?  And why does this rag tag and devoted group follow him?

3.  Antoinette Lily is most likely going to end up with Billy—we get that.  But why?  It's not as if she is fallen head over heels in love with him—in fact, she won't him kiss her.  And they are (or are they) very different.  So what's the story here: why would this woman end up with a ex-shoe salesman, fake cowboy who cashes a check for three dollars ("make that five dimes")?

4.  How do we know this is a Clint Eastwood movie?  And do not say because he's in it.

See you little buckaroos tomorrow.

Blog #6 Unforgiven (1992)

Westerns usually don't have this much rain.  Or mud.  Or moral confusion.  Thank you, Clint.  And this film just may get darker.  Before we finish the descent let's take a breath and think a little bit about what's happened so far...

1. For starters, as usual, what's your fundamental reaction to the film?  What do you like?  What
doesn't sit with you so well?  Most striking moment so far?

2.  OK, you've got three Eastwood films under your belt (hoster?).  His vision should be coming into focus at this point (we hope with greater precision that The Scofield Kid's eyesight).  So, even though we've shifted from war films and a murder mystery to a Western, we hope you see some familiar themes here.  Maybe most obvious of all is violence.  A whole lotta hurtin' is going on in Big Whiskey.  To pull this into focus we want you to think about Little Bill, the town's sheriff.  What is the nature of law in Big Whiskey?  Specifically, think about how he handles the ranch hand and his partner who cut up Delilah, English Bob and Will Munny.What was your reaction to each scene?  Now stand back and think about what we learn about the nature of justice in Big Whislkey.

3.  Now step back a little farther (slowly and don't reach inside your jacket) and think about how this depiction of violence fits the three films we've already seen.   What conclusion can you make about Eastwood's understanding of violence and justice?  Give this some serious thought, please.

Blog Five. Mystic River (2003).

"Mystic River" is as dark a film as you;ll see, both thematically and visually.  No one in Buckingham Flats seems to like to turn on lights.  And even though it's summer (The Red Sox are always on the TV), it looks more like fall—everyone seems a little cold (come to think of it, maybe it is fall).  In any case, this may be the beginning of this present phase of Clint Eastwood's directing career.  We're a long way from him co-starring with an orangutan. 

That's "Every Which Way But Loose," by the way.

So:

1.  Your reaction so far?  What scene or moment has stayed with you since this morning?  And why?

2.  I was talking about the camera "whooshing" upwards in the scene where Jimmy Markum discovers his daughter is dead.  This is that moment.  It's not as if Clint hasn't used a moving camera in the other movies or shown panoramic shots before (think of all those images of Iwo Jima or Ramadi).  But this is different.  We know there's a sky up there.  And why shoot down on Jimmy as he howls in anguish?  So think about this before you answer:  why is Clint doing this at this moment—and to what effect?

3.  What makes "Mystic River" a Clint Eastwood movie as we have been experiencing them?

Look back on the last blog—see the length that Sam or Libby or Max take in answering the questions.  That's the length we're looking for.

See you guys tomorrow.  

Blog Four. Gran Torino (2008).

Death...is often a bittersweet occasion to us Catholics.  Bitter in the pain it causes the deceased...and their families.  Sweet to those who know the salvation that awaits them.  And some may ask, what is death?  Is it the end?  Or is it the beginning?  And what is life?  What is this thing we call life?

This is Father Janovich at the beginning of the film, the 27-something priest who has no idea what has happened in Walt Kurowski's life (he does let the young priest know the worst things he did in Korea weren't the ones he was ordered to do, but the ones he chose to do...reminding us perhaps of Chris Kyle having to decide on his own to kill or not kill a mother and her child, or Mike Strank in the foxhole, plunging again and again his bayonet into the either dead or dying Japanese).  Always be conscious of how a film starts: like a good essay, it often will present its thesis quickly.  So we have a 70-something bitter old man who has just lost his beloved wife, who has pushed his sons and their families away, who has one friend, and who sees the world through a veil of bigotry and prejudice.  He's not dead though—and with the entrance of the Hmong next door and their community he gets a chance perhaps to figure out what life is as he approaches the end of it. And maybe to be the father he wasn't to his sons. Maybe. Here are some scenes to remind you of what you saw: watch them.
This is when the Hmong gang members cross onto his lawn.  This is when Walt confronts the three young corner guys hassling Sue.  And this is right where we ended where Walt beats one of the gangsters. 

It was hard not to hear the laughter from you all through the movie.  It's a genuinely funny movie—when Walt isn't pulling down on gangbangers or punks on the sidewalk with his M-1 rifle or .45 pistol ( or talking to his estranged sons, or coughing blood).  We even laugh as he says the most racist things.  Now why is that, we wonder.

1.  Reaction to the film so far?  Like?  Dislike?  What scene or moment has stayed with you, and why?

2.  Walt Kowalski is a "character"—vivid, bigger-than-life in many ways, a guy you'd remember if you talked with him for five minutes.  And if you were black or brown you would definitely remember him because he would insult you to his face.  It's easy to see Walt as a lovable old geezer.  But he has done terrible things in war.  He has estranged himself from his own family.  He is a racist and bigot.  So how do you react to him?  Do you like him?  Dislike him?  Why?  Would you want to be his son or daughter?  Why or why not?  And what do you think made him the way he is?  It's more than the war—don't just say that.  Please address all the questions we've posed above.

3.  Walt and Chris Kyle:  how are they alike?  Not how are they different, but how are they alike?  Take that question seriously and speak to it with some depth and effort.

See you all tomorrow.

Blog Three. Flags Of Our Fathers.

Here is the very ending of the movie. Go ahead and watch it all. And here is the trailer for the companion movie to what we watched today, "Letters From Iwo Jima."  Watch it too.

Clint Eastwood made one other war movie, starring himself, 1986's "Heartbreak Ridge," which is not bad—it's on cable TV quite a bit so maybe you can catch it then (check out the trailer here). But it is nowhere in the same league as the films we just watched.  "American Sniper" and "Flags of Our Fathers" are, to us, the works of a fully formed artist: complicated, complex, messy, calling out for close inspection—which is what we will do with them tomorrow in class.  As someone noticed in class, "FofOF" lost money: it was a commercial disappointment, while "AS," as we've said several times, was a gigantic hit.  Two war movies, one about the Greatest Generation and one about a war that no one wanted to pay attention, yet the one about the unpopular war was the success.  What's up with that?

1.  Hazard a guess:  why was "American Sniper" be so popular while "Flags of Our Fathers" was a money loser?  Two very graphic, very complex, very sad (if not depressing) war movies: was it simply Bradley Cooper's star power or the fact that the first one came out in the middle of Operation Iraqi Freedom, i.e. The Iraq War?  Think about this for a minute—and discard Bradley Cooper (two of his latest films, "Serena" and "Aloha," were disasters financially):  what might have made the one more popular than the other?

2.  Your reaction to "Flags of Our Fathers"?  In answering this, say what you think the film is about—a war story yes, but much of it does not take place on the battlefield.  So how would you describe this movie to a friend?  And in answering this, tell what scene or moment stuck with you—and why?

3.   Clark and I were talking after the movie and listing all the themes the movie addressed: war (of course), American history, American mythology, masculinity...but above all, heroism.  What do you see the movie saying about heroism?  What moment or moment(s) make clear what it is saying about heroism?  AND is it and "American Sniper" saying similar things?  If so, how?  If not, what is different? 

4.  Finally: what do you make of the ending—the clip at the start of this page?  Why end the film on this note?

Some of you on the last blogs skimped significantly on your answers.  One sentence responses are not enough.  That gets you a 50 rather than a 100.  Really answer these questions.  We'll discuss tomorrow.  We expect everyone to contribute.  Have a good night.

Blog Two. American Sniper and Flags of Our Fathers.

Every jackass thinks he knows what war is.  Especially those who've never been in one.  We like things nice and simple, good and evil, heroes and villains.  There's always plenty of both.  Most of the time, they are not who we think they are.
—Dave Severance—John Bradley's old captain—talking to young Jim Bradley at the beginning of "Flags of Our Fathers."

So there you have it—the most successful American film of 2015.  There are no Chris Kyle dolls, toy sniper rifles, or fast food American Sniper meals.  For me, it is an incredibly sad movie about...well, that's the question, isn't it?

1.  Your reaction to the whole movie? Like?  Dislike?  Would you recommend it to someone who is not a war movie fan?  Why or why not?

2.  We talked a little about the ending of the movie today: really, the last 10 minutes, when we see the "cured" Chris Kyle through his funeral.  Clark said it may have been too sentimental; Brooks saw it as honoring the real man.  It can be read as Eastwood lionizing Kyle as the hero so many think he is.  What is your take on the ending?  What do you think Clint Eastwood is doing in it?

3.  As I wrote above, "For me, it's an incredibly sad movie about..."  For you, how would you sum up American Sniper?  What is it about?  What is it saying about Chris Kyle, about heroism, about America, about the Iraq War?

4.  Finally.  Look at the quote at the top of the page from "Flags of Our Fathers."  Can this apply to "American Sniper"?  If so, how?  If not, why not?

Don't skimp here, folks.  200 words at least.  Answer all the questions. Finally, here's a trailer for the film we are watching now.  See you tomorrow.

Blog One. American Sniper.

What we touched upon today in class about the controversy of "American Sniper" is highlighted in this brief clip from the HBO show "Real Time With Bill Maher."  Please watch this clip and keep in mind as you do what you saw in class today.

1.  Your reaction to the movie so far?  Like?  Dislike?  Something else?  And why?  Also: what moment or scene has stuck with you since our viewing today? What about it made it stay with you?

 2.  Look at the clip above.  Take a side in the debate being waged in it.  Why do you take side you do?

3.  There are virtually no other developed characters in this film besides Chris Kyle and, to a lesser extent, Taya Kyle. This is, after all, American Sniper.  So what is the picture Clint Eastwood is painting of the man?  Is he a hero?  Is he a mad killer?  Is he a racist?  Is he a good man?  A bad man?  Something else?  Something less?  Something more?  And are we supposed to like him?  Do we like him?  You don't have to answer every question I've asked, but you should address whether or not he is a hero—and whether or not we are supposed to like him.

Write about 200 words.  BE SURE TO ANSWER THIS BY CLICKING ON THE COMMENTS BELOW. Have this finished by 11 PM.  See you tomorrow.  Here's a preview for the film.