Sadomasochism in GR, in Germany, in the Western world

[Mark Kohut]

Last evening I watched a lesser-known Fritz Lang movie entitled
*CLASH BY NIGHT. 1952 *( always drawn to those Arnold lines since
I was a freshman, but Fritz 'reduces' them to personal psychic
forces here, i suggest). From an Odets play which consensus opinion
seems to say is worse than the movie.

Anyway, it is fascinating, good not great, some character changes at the
speed of infinite delta T,
 but so full of  themes and lines of meaning that resonate with some of our
Plist
stuff on male-female relationships in Pynchon.

First: that there is violence in relationships. Early scene where the young
Marilyn
character and her boyfriend discuss reported male violence in a town
marriage. He asserts he is for it; she resists, says she'll fight back and,
in a 'show-me' skirmish, she bites him. Later, a crucial scene, where
he demands her commitment and obedience--and she flings herself into
his arms. (See Strong men motif below).

The guy who Barbara Stanwyck cannot help but fall for talks violently about
his wife, himself is judged a misogynist and accepts that. An uncle to our
nice guy protagonist, who plays an Iago-type,
talks of taking the whip to women and horses.

The motif of women who want Strong Men is pervasive. A man who
'gives me confidence, who makes me feel secure", and more and worse words
from Stanwyck and mirrored in the M. Monroe and her guy relationship. And
Ryan
'wins' a disdainfully resistant Stanwyck---who has slapped and rejected him
at least twice---
by coming onto her again and stealing a kiss one more time. This time it
works.

Barbara had accepted a sweet, kind, loved her unthinkingly, boat-owning
fisherman (who shares his proceeds equally with his crew)  lacking all
guile but boring and predictable and sentimental as Barbara has long gone
beyond. Such qualities make him "weak" .She's done it all in The Big City
and lost.
 ......But there is an incredible scene after the affair is confessed,
and an Iago-like uncle goads this good man into, maybe, killing the lover
and
he confronts him (in a projectionist's booth!) and is choking him almost to
death when
Barbara shows up and, after two-three attempts, breaks her husband's
murderous
spell............what is so amazing here is a shot in which she sees her
lover gasping
helplessly against her enraged husband.......and, I may be projecting, but
his spell over
her is now over....her husband had enough strength to kill him she now
sees.

Anyway, I read major parts of a good Fritz Lang bio once,-- he came of age
in the hothouse crucible that was Vienna 20th Century, hardened, perhaps
deformed  WW1 survivor, German emigre to Holly wood--and I do remember that
he had deep psychic conflicts---one might see them as
psychic wounds as TRP presents so many of them in GR. Psychic deformations
because Europe
early 20th C  Esp re male-female 'relationships', sadomasochistic
sex not surprisingly in his life and a rationalization of power in such
relationships per the above.

if this movie isn't alluded to in GR it could have been.
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