Looking towards the future in Eights

I wasn't going to do this meme if I was tagged and for a while there I wasn't. Then Ginger Ingenue/Olivia/MacPherson/OnMars over at Asleep in New York tagged me and I thought "why not?". I've had a lot of heady posts on here lately especially with my Latino Images in Film blogathon so I thought I'd do something light for a change.

Since I don't like meme rules, I'm changing things up a bit. Don't like it? I don't care.

Eight things I'm working on in my life right now:
1) training for a 5k race
2) changing my diet and exercise regimens (lost 10lbs so far!)
3) waking up earlier in the mornings to squeeze in movie watching
4) watch more movies! I've been slacking.
5) start another blog
6) re-envision my social life
7) work on my self-esteem and confidence
8) be more spontaneous!

Eight classic film related things I look forward to:
1) More Warner Bros. Archive movies
2) Jack Lemmon boxed set!
3) Convincing myself to purchase Fox, Borzage & Murnau boxed set
4) Watching more of the Fox Movie Channel
5) TCM's Summer Under the Stars
6) Watching films Professor Jonas has sent me
7) Connecting with more classic film fans
8) Watching more classic films at the Brattle and Harvard Film Archive

Eight things I want to do for this blog:
1) Bring up my followers to 100 and my RSS subscribers to 200.
2) Do more contests & Quel Interpretations!
3) Write a review for every single Norma Shearer film I have access too!
4) Start my next blogathon (shhh it's a secret)
5) Communicate more with other bloggers
6) Finish my Pamela Tiffin series and start another similar one.
7) Do more Match.com style posts
8) Have more guest bloggers (contact me if you are interested)

Eight movies I'm going to watch next:
1) Smilin' Through (1932)
2) The Sign of the Ram (1948)
3) 8 Women (2002)
4) Strange Interlude (1932) Thank you Jonas
5) No, My Darling Daughter (1961) - Thank you Casey
6) The Last of Mrs. Cheney (1929) - Thank you Jonas
7) The Pleasure Seekers (1964) - post coming soon
8) all the Latino Images in Film movies that I had to tape or rent.

Instead of tagging people I want to take this opportunity to point out to people some interesting tweeters on Twitter. Here is a start up list:@tommysalami @mercurie80 @1416andcounting @talkieking @moviecollector @TCManiacs @MoviesonTCM @impossiblecat @fleurdeguerre. Look at who I follow on my Twitter page to find some other great tweeters.

Although Ginger disses Twitter, I think if you use it in the right way it revolutionizes the way you blog and the way you access information on the internet, as long as you follow the right people and tweet intersting things.

Reminder: TCM Latino Images in Film Giveaway

You know you want to win this. Enter the giveaway here.

Ignorance is Bliss vs. Knowledge is Power

Over at Noir Girl, Casey's post about Carmen Miranda got me thinking about how classic film fans watch movies. There are the times we watch films for substance, looking for stories that speak to our own personal experiences or enrich their lives by exploring the human condition in ways they hadn't done before. Other times we watch for enjoyment, for an escape from our everyday world and into another existence. Some of us lean towards the substance, others lean towards the enjoyment yet we all find our own comfortable balance between the two. We approach films different types of knowledge or lack thereof. We come armed with an arsenal of information either about the film, its stars, the director or the genre or we come completely pure and naive ready to experience something new and different. Again, a lot of us lean towards one or the other side but we find balance between the two.

In one of Casey's comments she says "the films are the ice cream, the lives of the stars are just the sprinkles on the top. That's the way it should stay." I've read a few posts by other classic film bloggers and they pretty much align with Casey's viewpoint which is that certain knowledge about the lives of stars stains the purity of enjoyment when watching the films. I don't really agree with this concept but I can understand it. Reading about Loretta Young in two separate biographies about other stars made me not like her so much and thus I have avoided her films. However, I didn't like her much to begin with so the knowledge just enhanced that. On the flip side, I've read sordid details about the lives of Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Robert Mitchum, Norma Shearer, etc. and it hasn't affected how I watch their films. I still enjoy them immensely on screen. I can see where that might not work for everyone. Joan Crawford is forever tainted by that one famous line about wire hangers.

I am far too nosy and inquisitive to not learn about the lives of classic film stars yet is it right for me to dig up the dirt? Should I honor their legendary careers by avoiding their personal lives? If so, why should I? If they did bad things, why should I overlook them? What about those stars who were genuinely good people? Should we avoid them too? Jimmy Stewart was raised in my estimation after reading Marc Eliot's biography of him. Stewart gets the bad rap of being a womanizer (total myth) and dirt-digging Eliot couldn't even find much to tarnish Stewart.

Now I ask you dear readers, would you rather know or not know and why? I would love to hear your thoughts.

Latino Images in Film ~ Giant (1956)

Giant (1956) is a superb film which is often overshadowed by the fact that it was the iconic James Dean's 3rd and final picture. While Dean's performance is nothing short of amazing, I feel that this film has many other merits which are often overlooked. The family saga follows the story of the Benedicts and their Texas ranch Reata. Jordan Benedict (Rock Hudson) runs the ranch with the same old-fashioned sentiment that was handed down to him by his ancestors. He marries fiery and compassionate Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor) who balances him out and also butts heads with him in the best way a wife can. Together they raise three children and we see how the family, ranch and the world evolves over the years. The family's story parallels the story of Jett Rink (James Dean) Jordan's arch-nemesis and the oil tycoon with a trouble soul.

I believe that Giant (1956) may be one of the best films ever made, and that is no hyperbole on my part. The first time I watched it I broke down in tears as I was so moved by the story. This epic is one of the best treatments on the social issue of racism and prejudice against Mexican-Americans or even Latinos in general. It exposes the prejudice while at the same time humanizing Mexican immigrants in a way that very few films have done. Jordan Benedict (Rock Hudson) has a clear idea about the separation between white Texans and Mexican "wetbacks". They work the same land but their lives are kept separate and social interaction is discouraged. When Leslie moves to Reata, she brings a compassion to her fellow human beings that disturbs Jordan. Many years later, when Jordan's son, Jordy (Dennis Hopper) marries Mexican nurse Juana, Jordan has to come to terms with his irrational prejudices.

Spoiler Alert - My favorite scene comes towards the end when Jordan Benedict takes Leslie, Luz and Juana to a restaurant. The owner of the restaurant makes a big fuss about serving Mexicans like Juana and her young son. When a Mexican family tries to eat there, the owner kicks them out. This angers Jordan who now sees all Mexicans as part of his family and Jordan and the owner get into a fistfight which results in the whole family being kicked out. This is quite a momentous scene as we see Jordan come full-circle.

For how wonderful this film is, it is big on "brownface". Sal Mineo is one of the worst cases. He is almost irrecognizable with his heavy brown pancake makeup. Even the Hispanic actors such as Elsa Cardenas (Juana) were given extra foundation for some ethnic enhancement. This film goes a bit overboard with almost everyone's make-up and I think that it in part has to do with it being shot in Technicolor. Several characters get specialized makeup to show the advancement of years and with the brownface, I feel like this film was in part an experiment on the use of makeup in film to enhance the visual elements. The merits of the story as a whole I believe outdo the offense of the brownface. It's lucky that the Best Make-Up Oscar was still a few decades away, as this film may have been a contender for that time!

Level of Brown Face ~ 5 out of 5 Shades.

TCM Latino Images in Film Line-Up for Thursday May 14th

Mexican Spitfire (1940)
My Man and I (1952)
Giant (1956)
The Texican (1966)