Sunday, July 11, 2021

Little Gem Highlights Changing Gender Roles in Turbulent Times: 20th Century Women

 I rarely see a perfect little film and know I will want to watch it again and again. 20th Century Women is one, a feminist Avalon for the 21st century. Just as Barry Levinson's 1990 film traced the dissolving effect of television on extended family ties, writer/director Mike Mills limns a burgeoning digital culture that challenges old ways of being. 

Using vignettes that weave a narrative, Mills shows evolving gender roles and relationships against a backdrop of cataclysmic technological and environmental changes. The confusion it creates for males and females alike is insightfully depicted. 

 Generational and gender roles are negotiated and renegotiated in a world often changing beyond the imagination of characters to conceive it. A generation that refused to discuss emotions, denying and dismissing them, is contrasted with generations that wallow in emotions seeking authenticity in a digital world that promotes distance. "Thinking about things is a short-cut to unhappiness," opines lead actor Annette Benning, expressing the can-do philosophy of the greatest generation. 

Benning, always a consummate actress who conveys as much through facial expressions and body language as words, heads a cast that includes Elle Fanning and Billy Crudup. 

20th Century Women (2016) - IMDb

Monday, December 07, 2020

In A Quiet Place

Silence is sexy. 

Mystery dwells in silence.

The sultry stare contains within itself all possibilities, inchoate potential, 

Unrealized passion.

The fantasy that all things may come to pass.

The zipless fuck

Untrammeled lust

Undreamed of sensuality

Easier to imagine, because it doesn't exist. 

In the dark, forbidden places

Without language & symbols

Order from chaos

Rhythm from silence

Sighs groans ecstasy. 


 

Thursday, November 02, 2017

Charming Trompe-L'œil in Jensen Beach, FL

These charming trompe-l'oeil paintings surrounded one building's facade and decorated others in a small business area.



The next shot is of a smaller building.
This pleasant vignette is complemented by two actual chairs. I can imagine someone sitting with a cafe au lait and newspaper, waiting for a fantasy lover to descend.
Finally, the front of the building in a long view. Jensen Beach has an attractive waterfront area, perfect for casual dining on a nice afternoon or evening. It's slightly north of Stuart, Florida.