In the June 28, 2007, issue of The New York Review of Books (which many here will know is an education in itself), Scots Novelist Andrew O'Hagan (Be Near Me, others) writes a quite critical review of major American Novelist Don DeLillo's latest work: Falling Man. O'Hagan suggests that DeLillo has long had a subtext of the destructive effect caused by a mindless consumerism and trivializing media upon American society. According to O'Hagan, several of DeLillo's novels -- Libra, White Noise, Underworld, The Body Artist, etc. -- present foreboding evidence of an unspecified coming disaster. He quotes references the writer made in these novels [while Lead Terrorist Mohamed Ata grew up in Egypt, linked himself with Osama bin Laden, and came to America] to New York's Twin Towers as a vague target, an apt mecca, for people disapproving of American civilization. But when that disaster arrived, O'Hagan believes, the 9/11 event overtook DeLillo's imagination, and Falling Man proves a failure.
To quote O'Hagan:
"What is a prophet once his fiery sword becomes deed? What does he have to say? What is left of the paranoid style when all the suspicions come true? Of course, a first rate literary intelligence can eventually meet a world where reality acknowledges the properties of his style by turning them into parody, and in these circumstances, which are DeLillo's with this particular novel, the original novelist may be said to be a person quietened by his own genius. This is another American story -- the story of Ernest Hemingway and Orson Welles -- and it gives a clue to the weakness of Falling Man."
In so many words, paraphrasing O'Hagan, DeLillo has found his "future all used up."
Thinking of what I wrote the other day concerning Welles' investment of his youth in predicting the coming threat of Fascism, and finding less applause for his clarion calls after World War II, it may be that Andrew O'Hagan has inadvertently put his finger on a major problem in Welles' later career. Americans critics, and some Europeans, often yawned, or pointed out flaws in what earlier they hailed as experimental, adventurous, and farsighted.
Had not fascism been met and defeated? On to the next enemy, they said.
But Welles continued to plug away, in THE STRANGER, THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI, TOUCH OF EVIL, and MR. ARKADIN, at a notion that fascism was not dead but still secretly at work, deep among the powerful of America and Europe. His critics lamented the failure of his promise, beating him down relentlessly for never having matured. As he had Marlene Dietrich say of Hank Quinlan, the exaggerated hulk of Welles made an all too fleshly character, "Your future is all used up, honey."
One wonders what those critics would say now, looking around us at "The New World Order," "The New American Empire," and "Globalization."
Comment?
Glenn Anders
OW, Fascism & The White Stripes
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Glenn Anders
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Skylark
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It's interesting writing, especially the socio-political research - it's pretty commonplace for biographers and essayists to have an underlying theory - often one than has a contraversial bent in order to gain notice - although maybe this is becoming a little passé - the underlying theory notion can be good for giving focus and insight into a work, but when overemphasized, it can become a foregone conclusion and run the risk of being a bit of an attention-grabbing gimmick used to gain notoriety, which can hinder the original purpose of the research- there's a Van Morrison biography, really well-researched, but does anybody care about the author's underlying Irish socio-political theory in relation to the subject? http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/van.html
The underlying theory here seems to be maybe influenced to a certain extant by Higham's 'Rise and fall of an American Genius' - is this so? Maybe it would be a good idea to find a different underlying theory, like maybe Welles is a labyrinth, a puzzle, an iceberg, a renaissance man in a modern world...or why not go freestyle, have no underlying theory, that's the new thing - the writing would work well just as a series of interesting anecdotes - the reader can formulate their own opinion - it's hard to have an underlying conclusive theory about Welles - he's one complex dude - we need more information... and these kinds of articles do provide interesting information...
The underlying theory here seems to be maybe influenced to a certain extant by Higham's 'Rise and fall of an American Genius' - is this so? Maybe it would be a good idea to find a different underlying theory, like maybe Welles is a labyrinth, a puzzle, an iceberg, a renaissance man in a modern world...or why not go freestyle, have no underlying theory, that's the new thing - the writing would work well just as a series of interesting anecdotes - the reader can formulate their own opinion - it's hard to have an underlying conclusive theory about Welles - he's one complex dude - we need more information... and these kinds of articles do provide interesting information...
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Glenn Anders
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Thank you, Skylark.
I would respond that you may be quite correct, but your conclusion doesn't get us very far. Like many biographical theories, that there is no answer may be it. Did not "the objective reporter" in CITIZEN KANE come up with a similar answer? Still, in that work of art, the truth was right in front of him, nearly under his nose.
And does not the apparent return of fascism to the larger World stage in our time not help restore the significance of Welles' "underlying theme"?
Glenn
I would respond that you may be quite correct, but your conclusion doesn't get us very far. Like many biographical theories, that there is no answer may be it. Did not "the objective reporter" in CITIZEN KANE come up with a similar answer? Still, in that work of art, the truth was right in front of him, nearly under his nose.
And does not the apparent return of fascism to the larger World stage in our time not help restore the significance of Welles' "underlying theme"?
Glenn
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tonyw
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I'm writing in support of Glenn and urging Skylark (since he seems to have recently joined) to go through the various threads of this site thoroughly. Certainly, Welles was a "complex dude" but he was also a very progressive person as his activities in the 1930s and early 40s reveal - activities that brought him to the attention of the FBI and HUAC.
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Skylark
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I have no problem with the exploration of the anti far right, totalitarian, fascism themes in the work of Orson Welles. What I was suggesting being let go a bit is the Higham underlying theory of Welles as a 'genius who orchestrated his own downfall'.
Speaking of which, I cooked up a little ditty meant as a parody of Higham's views.
'1978 – A seedy bordello in a small Mexican border village – A sign that reads ‘No hay santuario’ - In the latest in a long string of abject failures, Orson Welles has just been fired from his wine commercial contract. ‘We sell no wine after it’s time’. This due to his unseemly ballooning girth that is currently at 484 pounds. His Hollywood career is through. No one will hire him. His last television appearance was on ‘Weight problems of the washed up Hollywood stars’ variety special.
He had to flee his Las Vegas home in mysterious circumstances revolving around various unpaid accounts resulting in the seizure of all his belongings. He is now reduced to performing magic tricks in a cheap burlesque bordello show in order to finance his ever-growing dependence on prescription drugs and cheap tequila.
His assistant and loyal manservant, Manuel, (who has remained loyal out of gratitude for Welles giving him the part of understudy to the lead in ‘My friend Bonito’) is the only person who hasn’t betrayed or abandoned him.
Welles sits alone in his sordid, dark, unkempt room, watching a small BW television. Empty bottles and candy bar wrappers litter the floor and a ruined print of Don Quixote sits smouldering on a small hot-plate, Welles having used it as a makeshift frying pan to cook up some kippers.
There he sits watching an old video copy of ‘David and Goliath’ repeatedly – ‘I used to be David’ he mumbles in a barely understandable grunt... ‘Now I’m Goliath…. I’m a monster…. A monster….’ Slowly, his quivering hand, no longer capable of holding a director’s clip board steadily, pulls out a gun and the former great white hope of the American dream fires a bullet into the TV screen….'
Speaking of which, I cooked up a little ditty meant as a parody of Higham's views.
'1978 – A seedy bordello in a small Mexican border village – A sign that reads ‘No hay santuario’ - In the latest in a long string of abject failures, Orson Welles has just been fired from his wine commercial contract. ‘We sell no wine after it’s time’. This due to his unseemly ballooning girth that is currently at 484 pounds. His Hollywood career is through. No one will hire him. His last television appearance was on ‘Weight problems of the washed up Hollywood stars’ variety special.
He had to flee his Las Vegas home in mysterious circumstances revolving around various unpaid accounts resulting in the seizure of all his belongings. He is now reduced to performing magic tricks in a cheap burlesque bordello show in order to finance his ever-growing dependence on prescription drugs and cheap tequila.
His assistant and loyal manservant, Manuel, (who has remained loyal out of gratitude for Welles giving him the part of understudy to the lead in ‘My friend Bonito’) is the only person who hasn’t betrayed or abandoned him.
Welles sits alone in his sordid, dark, unkempt room, watching a small BW television. Empty bottles and candy bar wrappers litter the floor and a ruined print of Don Quixote sits smouldering on a small hot-plate, Welles having used it as a makeshift frying pan to cook up some kippers.
There he sits watching an old video copy of ‘David and Goliath’ repeatedly – ‘I used to be David’ he mumbles in a barely understandable grunt... ‘Now I’m Goliath…. I’m a monster…. A monster….’ Slowly, his quivering hand, no longer capable of holding a director’s clip board steadily, pulls out a gun and the former great white hope of the American dream fires a bullet into the TV screen….'
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Glenn Anders
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Skylark: I would not support Higham's theory of Welles' mental instability, amounting to a career suicide wish. But I might speculate that Welles, after being pampered, nurtured and praised in early childhood, must have felt the early loss of his mother (not to mention that of his father, a few years later) as a decisive influence on his artistic view of the World. Through a process of projection and identification, he may seem to have developed many of his works, related to his own life, from a series of "what if" scenarios:
-- CITIZEN KANE: In what way would the loss of a mother affect the future of a young man, raised by a guardian, who comes into a fortune? [The result of Welles' inheritance and sudden fame.]
-- THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS: Can a boy who has been thoroughly spoiled survive the loss of his mother and his "comeuppance"?
And in what ways does his selfishness affect those around him?
-- THE STRANGER: How can one deal with a suppressed personal attraction toward fascism and feelings of intellectual superiority? [Welles confessed to being drawn to roles which expressed the opposite of his own public convictions.]
-- THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI: What is a young idealist's reaction when he finds the woman of his dreams is trapped in a nightmarish nest of moral corporate vipers and American fascists? [Rita Hayworth and the Hollywood Studio heads.]
-- MACBETH and OTHELLO: Themes like those of THE STRANGER and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI are examined in classic Shakespearian vehicles.
-- MR. ARKADIN: What can a dominant father do to discourage his daughter from discovering his past? Or taking up with a young man very much like himself at the same age?
-- TOUCH OF EVIL: Do the good ends we set out to achieve justify the methods we are tempted to use in achieving them?
-- THE TRIAL: How does Everyman deal with being entangled in the bureaucracy of Life, where all deeds are punished.
-- CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT: Who is to blame when the young leave the old behind?
-- THE IMMORTAL STORY: What motivates us in old age to maintain our power through voyeurism?
-- F FOR FAKE: In the end, does it matter if the World condemns our methods, even our plagiarism, if we produce works of art which are solid and admired?
-- THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND: In producing a work of art, can we really change our artistic spots when faced with technical advances of the times, changes in fashion, and cravings for the energies of youth?
From these few examples, I would conclude that, though Welles did not "orchestrate" his own downfall, he was probably intensely aware of, and concerned about, the factors which shaped and continued to shape his life, and the weaknesses he and others recognized within himself.
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I find your parody interesting and amusing, Skylark.
It reminds me of one I wrote myself, in a review of Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR, which limned the first forty-some years of Howard Hughes' life, a subject which Welles expressed some interest in. Here is the URL:
http://www.epinions.com/content_173092212356
We make similar points, I think.
Glenn
-- CITIZEN KANE: In what way would the loss of a mother affect the future of a young man, raised by a guardian, who comes into a fortune? [The result of Welles' inheritance and sudden fame.]
-- THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS: Can a boy who has been thoroughly spoiled survive the loss of his mother and his "comeuppance"?
And in what ways does his selfishness affect those around him?
-- THE STRANGER: How can one deal with a suppressed personal attraction toward fascism and feelings of intellectual superiority? [Welles confessed to being drawn to roles which expressed the opposite of his own public convictions.]
-- THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI: What is a young idealist's reaction when he finds the woman of his dreams is trapped in a nightmarish nest of moral corporate vipers and American fascists? [Rita Hayworth and the Hollywood Studio heads.]
-- MACBETH and OTHELLO: Themes like those of THE STRANGER and THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI are examined in classic Shakespearian vehicles.
-- MR. ARKADIN: What can a dominant father do to discourage his daughter from discovering his past? Or taking up with a young man very much like himself at the same age?
-- TOUCH OF EVIL: Do the good ends we set out to achieve justify the methods we are tempted to use in achieving them?
-- THE TRIAL: How does Everyman deal with being entangled in the bureaucracy of Life, where all deeds are punished.
-- CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT: Who is to blame when the young leave the old behind?
-- THE IMMORTAL STORY: What motivates us in old age to maintain our power through voyeurism?
-- F FOR FAKE: In the end, does it matter if the World condemns our methods, even our plagiarism, if we produce works of art which are solid and admired?
-- THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND: In producing a work of art, can we really change our artistic spots when faced with technical advances of the times, changes in fashion, and cravings for the energies of youth?
From these few examples, I would conclude that, though Welles did not "orchestrate" his own downfall, he was probably intensely aware of, and concerned about, the factors which shaped and continued to shape his life, and the weaknesses he and others recognized within himself.
-----
I find your parody interesting and amusing, Skylark.
It reminds me of one I wrote myself, in a review of Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR, which limned the first forty-some years of Howard Hughes' life, a subject which Welles expressed some interest in. Here is the URL:
http://www.epinions.com/content_173092212356
We make similar points, I think.
Glenn
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Skylark
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- pretty cool review of The Aviator, interesting Wellesian questions...-
Skylark
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Speaking of Mexican bordellos... White Stripes... Icky Thump
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OjTspCqvk8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OjTspCqvk8
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Glenn Anders
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Bantock
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Glenn Anders
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Quite right, Bantock.
And that Jack Metier is a pretty damn good film editor.
No one who has not seen CITIZEN KANE should ever be allowed to see the video though. Talk about spoilers!
But on the other hand, the White Stripes point up some interpretations that are not often discussed.
Perhaps Welles genius will not be "quietened." Others will carry it on.
BTW, over the weekend, on C-Span, I saw the novelist who inspired this thread, Andrew O'Hagen, a young man with a thick West Scots dialect, giving Gunter Grass a real going over in an interview. He was much more congenial with Norman Mailer. They all refused to quieten their geniuis.
Glenn
And that Jack Metier is a pretty damn good film editor.
No one who has not seen CITIZEN KANE should ever be allowed to see the video though. Talk about spoilers!
But on the other hand, the White Stripes point up some interpretations that are not often discussed.
Perhaps Welles genius will not be "quietened." Others will carry it on.
BTW, over the weekend, on C-Span, I saw the novelist who inspired this thread, Andrew O'Hagen, a young man with a thick West Scots dialect, giving Gunter Grass a real going over in an interview. He was much more congenial with Norman Mailer. They all refused to quieten their geniuis.
Glenn
Last edited by Glenn Anders on Sat Aug 04, 2007 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tony
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The White Stripes The Union Forever lyrics
It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
Sure I'm C.F.K. [Charles Foster Kane-Citizen Kane]
but you gotta love me
the cost no man can say
but you gotta love me
Well I'm sorry but I'm not
interested in gold mines, oil wells, shipping or real estate
what would I liked to have been?
everything you hate
cause It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
There is a man
a certain man
and for the poor you may be sure
that he'll do all he can
who is this one?
who's favourite son?
just by his action has the traction
magnets on the run
who likes to smoke
enjoys a joke
and wouldn't get a bit
upset if he were really broke
with wealth and fame
he's still the same
I'll bet you five you're not alive
If you don't know his name
You said the union forever
You said the union forever
You cried the union forever
but that was untrue girl
cause It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
Sure I'm C.F.K. [Charles Foster Kane-Citizen Kane]
but you gotta love me
the cost no man can say
but you gotta love me
Well I'm sorry but I'm not
interested in gold mines, oil wells, shipping or real estate
what would I liked to have been?
everything you hate
cause It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
There is a man
a certain man
and for the poor you may be sure
that he'll do all he can
who is this one?
who's favourite son?
just by his action has the traction
magnets on the run
who likes to smoke
enjoys a joke
and wouldn't get a bit
upset if he were really broke
with wealth and fame
he's still the same
I'll bet you five you're not alive
If you don't know his name
You said the union forever
You said the union forever
You cried the union forever
but that was untrue girl
cause It can't be love
for there is no true love
It can't be love
for there is no true love
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Glenn Anders
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Yes, Tony, the White Stripes make a clever pastiche here. Thank you for letting us look at the complete lyric on the page.
We can see that the opening line taken from the Nat "King" Cole trio bit in CITIZEN KANE does not finish the idea: "It can't be love because their ain't no tomorrow."
Love begins and ends for Charles Foster Kane in "rosebuds."
Glenn
We can see that the opening line taken from the Nat "King" Cole trio bit in CITIZEN KANE does not finish the idea: "It can't be love because their ain't no tomorrow."
Love begins and ends for Charles Foster Kane in "rosebuds."
Glenn
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Skylark
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Cool video, cool song, too - great idea to put the two together - 
http://cgi.ebay.com/new-F-FOR-FAKE-red- ... dZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/new-F-FOR-FAKE-red- ... dZViewItem
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Glenn Anders
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