tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post115638914875912540..comments2023-11-05T07:45:02.082-05:00Comments on Mystery Man on Film: Subtext with Billy MernitMystery Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1159182286858362942006-09-25T07:04:00.000-04:002006-09-25T07:04:00.000-04:00Very late to the game here. Found you through Bill...Very late to the game here. Found you through Billy's link and am enjoying this informative series mucho!<BR/><BR/>In Pirate's OTC2, I thought when Jack said "Pirate" he was also calling Elizabeth one--acknowledging their sameness.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this series!Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06238624456509484422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156786680897696362006-08-28T13:38:00.000-04:002006-08-28T13:38:00.000-04:00You’re absolutely right, Billy.You bring up a grea...You’re absolutely right, Billy.<BR/><BR/>You bring up a great point in that there are quite a few contrasts in that scene:<BR/><BR/>* the simplicity of the words compared with the enormous emotion<BR/><BR/>* the simple answer to a big decision<BR/><BR/>* a simplicity that speaks to a great depth of what is really being understood<BR/><BR/>* there is tentativeness and yet heartfelt conviction<BR/><BR/>* there is an acknowledgement of what they really want compared to what they just heard themselves saying about each other.<BR/><BR/>* a simplicity that also conveys many other things they’re really saying to each other (I really love you, I really want to be with you, I really don’t care about all the bad)<BR/><BR/>And ya know, I always loved the fact that they had this moment in a hallway, which to me, physically represented this moment of truth in their lives, a moment where they had to choose to walk either in separate directions, or together in one direction or the other. They could agree to NOT give it a try and walk together in the same direction or they could agree to in fact give it another try and walk together in the OPPOSITE direction. And being in that hallway, one of them could’ve walked away at any moment. But there they are, free to leave but choosing to stay together. Verbally and physically.<BR/><BR/>I’m sure it was no fluke they picked a hallway for that moment.<BR/><BR/>Am I missing any other contrasts?Mystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156750983611736892006-08-28T03:43:00.000-04:002006-08-28T03:43:00.000-04:00well, sure. "eternal" comes from the world we're ...well, sure. "eternal" comes from the world we're actually living in now. <BR/><BR/>it's the depth of what's understood, under those "okay"s! how much pain from past, present and future gets acknowledged by two people in a simple, seemingly casual agreement. and there's a resonance of the tentativeness of their very first encounter implicit in the moment...mernitmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09185401856113179709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156720378889871512006-08-27T19:12:00.000-04:002006-08-27T19:12:00.000-04:00"Rosebud" probably the most famous one-word subtex..."Rosebud" probably the most famous one-word subtext of all time. Think about it, the whole movie was about trying to uncover the subtext!<BR/><BR/>The "Okay"s from Eternal Sunshine moved me to tears. As off-the-wall as it may seem, that movie felt more true and more real than any other break-up film I've ever seen.<BR/><BR/>As for the "Pirate" -- meh, that subtext wasn't really earned. I've seen the film and I won't comment further for those who haven't, but needless to say, it didn't resonate with me nearly as much as the other two.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156701976381380722006-08-27T14:06:00.000-04:002006-08-27T14:06:00.000-04:00I agree! And I think the meaning was pretty self-...I agree! And I think the meaning was pretty self-explanatory but certainly great.<BR/><BR/>One-word subtext. Just great.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Billy.Mystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156648603771729492006-08-26T23:16:00.000-04:002006-08-26T23:16:00.000-04:00"Pirate."My favorite line in Dead Man's Chest."Pirate."<BR/><BR/>My favorite line in Dead Man's Chest.MaryAn Batchellorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02465966881051431143noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156610221630206272006-08-26T12:37:00.000-04:002006-08-26T12:37:00.000-04:00How about "Okay. Okay" in Eternal Sunshine? Does ...How about "Okay. Okay" in <I>Eternal Sunshine</I>? Does it not mean "I love you so much that I am willing to take all the bad in order to have the good?"Mystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156609554908693082006-08-26T12:25:00.000-04:002006-08-26T12:25:00.000-04:00I think they made the same supposition that Crossw...I think they made the same supposition that Crossword mentioned about "Rosebud" in <I>RKO 281</I>, didn't they? That may be where I first heard that theory.<BR/><BR/>Of course, "Rosebud" really is the epitome of great subtext, one of many pieces of Kane's inner puzzle, perhaps even the most important piece of Kane's life, the part that represents childhood innocence lost and never reborn, a symbol of his love, which was dismissed as junk and thrown into a fire, and essentially the birth of a very broken man who's very possessive about his materials and who keeps a sign out front that says "no trespassing."Mystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156552697202035692006-08-25T20:38:00.000-04:002006-08-25T20:38:00.000-04:00I've heard that "pet name" story, too -- never ver...I've heard that "pet name" story, too -- never verified -- could be the equivalent of a Hollywood urban legend, but it's nice to think it's true, isn't it?<BR/><BR/>Rosebud is of course the sled... represented by the snow globe... which is the one thing Kane can't destroy and that stops him cold in the midst of his out-of-control destruction-fit. As a balding millionaire head-case whose wife has just left him... the subtext beneath uttering "Rosebud" appears to be:<BR/><BR/>"I'm suddenly holding my childhood, my innocence, and a whole other part of me that's long gone in my hand -- so grief and mourning over everything I've lost trumps insane rage right now."<BR/><BR/>Thanks to Welles' delivery, there's also a frisson of longing, regret and... wonder, mixed in there. So it's quite a pathos-punch of a moment.<BR/><BR/>Re: the book, Crossword, I'm happy to have been of service.mernitmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09185401856113179709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156547804355457472006-08-25T19:16:00.000-04:002006-08-25T19:16:00.000-04:00I know I am late to the subtext thing, it has been...I know I am late to the subtext thing, it has been a trying two weeks for me, but I G-mailed you one, hope it's okAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156514242460990422006-08-25T09:57:00.000-04:002006-08-25T09:57:00.000-04:00...errr... good point, generous host!Could it perh......errr... good point, generous host!<BR/><BR/>Could it perhaps be, that rosebud, an unopened flower of a rose, is a metaphor (struggling here) for Kane's arrested development (now totally winging it) and is, in fact, a brilliant juxtaposition (sweating) of the ...<BR/><BR/>okay, I give up.<BR/><BR/>I heard it was William Randolph Hearst's pet name for his wife's clitoris. <BR/><BR/>If true, then it represented an inside joke between the two writers, since the film was already a biopic of the magnate. And how in the name of everything that is holy, did Welles and Mankiewicz find out this little factoid anyway? But they were clever little sausages, so I would put nothing past them :)crosswordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10495338772991002583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156469216755421662006-08-24T21:26:00.000-04:002006-08-24T21:26:00.000-04:00So what was "Rosebud" referring to exactly? Heheh...So what was "Rosebud" referring to exactly? Hehehe... <BR/><BR/>Can anyone tell me?Mystery Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17486331815227364944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156447617149188662006-08-24T15:26:00.000-04:002006-08-24T15:26:00.000-04:00One word. I guess it doesn't get any more economic...One word. I guess it doesn't get any more economical that that (unless there's subtextual punctuation!).<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the examples Mr.Mernit; btw, "Writing the Romantic Comedy" is a great piece of writing and a must-have for writers interested in that genre. I'n not kidding, my copy has around 30 coloured post-it flag stickers permanently assigned.crosswordhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10495338772991002583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30413383.post-1156447111450432222006-08-24T15:18:00.000-04:002006-08-24T15:18:00.000-04:00Ooooohh. One-word subtext. Now I'm going to be l...Ooooohh. One-word subtext. Now I'm going to be looking for it every time I watch a movie.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com