Biden-Garland Outlaw Jokes
In 2016, Douglass Mackey was telling jokes under the nom de Twitter “Rocky Vaughn,” after the character played by Charlie Sheen in the 1989 movie “Major League.”
The Fleming Foundation Cultural Commentary
America a Captive Nation: The Subjugation of English
It is in the nature of alien invaders, if they arrive in sufficient numbers, to impose their language on the conquered people, and it is in the nature of ideological revolutions to distort and reshape the language as a tool for imposing their revolution.
Wednesday’s Child: Semiotics of the Kitchen
In Soviet times, “nationality” – meaning race – was, just like a subject’s given name and surname, a legally obligatory declaration. The famous “Fifth Line” on his internal passport was part of his destiny, perhaps the most important part, because once he was “Russian,” “Jew” or “Tatar,” his education, employment, and other material opportunities were set in stone. He was labeled for life.
To the Halls of Montezuma Again? Will Biden Bomb Mexico?
I’m horrified by the kidnapping of four Americans and the killing of two of them in Mexico. If you live near the border, you know such things happen.
Westerns Episode 3
In this episode Dr. Fleming and Stephen discuss High Noon (1952) and how it has endured despite the intentions of its creators. Homework for next episode: watch Rio Grande.
Westerns Episode 2
In this episode Dr. Fleming and Stephen discuss the virtues of the 1929 Victor Fleming adaptation of Owen Wister’s novel The Virginian. Homework for next episode: watch High Noon
Wednesday’s Child: From the Web
“The past changes so quickly,” a Twitter pundit has observed, “you have no idea what will happen yesterday.” Not very original, as the gentle reader may remark, seeing the thought is basically taken from Orwell or maybe a writer of a still earlier era, like Karl Kraus, but a sinuous phrase none the less, something undeniably well noted and prettily put. Try trawling for a mot this juste in The Spectator these days, to say nothing of The New Yorker.
America A Captive Nation: The Subversion of Language, Part A
Among the most precious parts of a cultural revolution is language, and it is inevitable that the language of a subject people is treated no more gently than religious shrines or historical monument.
Ray Olson at the Movies
In the 1930s, MGM’s top directors were Clarence Brown (a favorite of Garbo’s), the prolific W. S. Van Dyke, of whom I’ve written for FF, and Victor Fleming. In 1939, MGM observed its silver anniversary. Since it was the biggest American movie studio, it launched a campaign to make 1939 known as Hollywood’s greatest year
Jan. 6 “Narrative” Was a Hoax
Finally, we’re getting some insight into what really happened on Jan. 6. As I have said all along, there was no “insurrection.” It was just some aging Boomers and GenXers on heart meds being let into the U.S. Capitol building and roaming around.
Wednesday’s Child: NEP Comes Home to Roost
To my mind, today’s sociopolitical climate is a mélange of images from the NEP period, the short-lived “New Economic Policy” of the early 1920’s when Russia’s rulers attempted to combine totalitarian power with free enterprise rather the way China is now openly doing. What are some of those images?
