Notes From Underglass- Why Pynchon Matters

[vze422fs at verizon.net]

on 2/22/03 1:21 PM, prozak at anus.com at prozak at anus.com wrote:

> 
>> What makes Pynchon important as a novelist is precisely because of his
>> sense of political and ethical responsibility which balances and informs
>> his aesthetics, something Riefenstahl, for example, failed to accomplish.
> 
> I prefer to be open-minded about the political beliefs of others. In
> her view, she did the same.
> 
I prefer not to be open-minded about the wholesale slaughter of people.

What you call open-minded, others might call "fellow traveller",
collaborationist, apologist, or card carrying member.


<http://www.dvdjournal.com/reviews/t/triumphofthewill.shtml> >

> Context is everything. Like certain kinds of pornography, you wouldn't know
> what Triumph was about unless you knew what it was about. On the surface
> Triumph of the Will is a rather innocent-seeming enterprise. A leader arrives.
> He speaks to some of his people, many of them earnest kids, others sturdy
> youths with shovels. Night torches are lit; people march through the street.
> Everyone seems happy and dedicated. Only if you know the historical context do
> you realize how subtle the film is at saying things and not saying things at
> the same time. And only when you clue in to the emotional Eisensteinian
> editing technique do you realize how greatly you are being manipulated. In an
> early sequence Hitler is reviewing a group of farmers celebrating the produce
> harvested in fall. One beautiful farm girl is shown several times looking
> rapturously at Hitler. This moment is meant to show not only how much the
> people like Hitler, but subtly how much he turns them on. But was this girl
> actually looking at Hitler at the time? Was he even nearby? It is impossible
> to say, but the emotional effect is telling. Triumph of the Will does not try
> to "convert" anybody to anything, and as such it is not typical propaganda.
> Rather, the film is preaching to the converted. It wallows in the strength of
> numbers at the Nuremberg Rally, but it also attempts to scare the shit out of
> all political dissidents.

Peace
Joe