tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post7344896260285449410..comments2024-01-06T05:34:00.027-06:00Comments on Blog Meridian: "I could tell you some stories . . . ": Barton Fink, narrative, and listeningJohn B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-46568902744851604022008-01-23T21:47:00.000-06:002008-01-23T21:47:00.000-06:00Anonymous, whoever you are, thanks for that commen...Anonymous, whoever you are, thanks for that comment. <I>The Recognitions</I> is on my To Be Read Someday List, and it may just get bumped up a little.John B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-62798741214753958912008-01-23T20:20:00.000-06:002008-01-23T20:20:00.000-06:00The part when Fink says: "Frequently played, seldo...The part when Fink says: "Frequently played, seldom remarked"<BR/>reminds me of the last sentence in Gaddis' The Recogntions, but <BR/>in reverse.<BR/> <BR/>At the end of the novel Stanley goes into this ancient church and begins<BR/>to play a piece that he has been working on practically his entire life.<BR/>A priest comes up to him and warns him not to play with so much bass<BR/>because the Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-44036097620990514562008-01-06T20:39:00.000-06:002008-01-06T20:39:00.000-06:00I are smarter than monkeys. I like monkeys.I are smarter than monkeys. <BR/><BR/>I like monkeys.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-68065344952645777032008-01-06T19:31:00.000-06:002008-01-06T19:31:00.000-06:00Oof. You are kind. I'd just logged on in order to ...Oof. You are kind. I'd just logged on in order to say that I really need to re-view <I>Fargo</I> before I go blowing off like I did.Sheila Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02030653752024764363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-41506457849006171642008-01-06T19:09:00.000-06:002008-01-06T19:09:00.000-06:00Thanks to all for the kind words.Michael, you said...Thanks to all for the kind words.<BR/><BR/><B>Michael</B>, you said:<BR/><I>I agree that a solid plot with structure and clear motivations make the experience more satisfying and complete, but there's lots of other art that I cannot fully fathom, and it moves me nonetheless.</I><BR/><BR/>Me, too; I have some notions as to what "Kubla Khan" might be about, but the truth is, it works at a level John B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-30531568861519009672008-01-06T18:47:00.000-06:002008-01-06T18:47:00.000-06:00Yeah, Michael. John does that (makes one think har...Yeah, Michael. John does that (makes one think harder about what one likes, and why).<BR/><BR/>I reckon I will just have to re-view <I>Fargo</I>. I wrote it off years ago, John, for precisely the reasons you favor it. I found it emotionally thin compared, say, to <I>Barton Fink</I>!<BR/><BR/>I know I'm in a ridiculously tiny minority!Sheila Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02030653752024764363noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-79664254080084380622008-01-06T13:55:00.000-06:002008-01-06T13:55:00.000-06:00Great. Something else to add to the 72,000 page Am...Great. Something else to add to the 72,000 page Amazon Wish List.<BR/><BR/>Cheers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-89479860531179795022008-01-06T13:51:00.000-06:002008-01-06T13:51:00.000-06:00Funny coincidence, John: Kathy and I watched Barto...Funny coincidence, John: Kathy and I watched <I>Barton Fink</I> this weekend, too. We had not seen it in a couple of years.<BR/><BR/>My recollection was that I did not like it as much as other Coen movies, but after seeing it again I have to move it up my list. Not to the top, yet better than I remembered.<BR/><BR/>The Coens can frustrate, especially when it comes to coherence, plot linearity (ifAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-60781985248804227042008-01-05T22:34:00.000-06:002008-01-05T22:34:00.000-06:00Sheila,Thanks for the kind words. I don't know ho...Sheila,<BR/>Thanks for the kind words. I don't know how smart this is--there's a fair amount of commentary on the film, but it tended to head in slightly different directions from the stuff I found myself thinking about.<BR/><BR/>I give the nod to <I>Fargo</I> because the story is fascinating and morally weighty to me. It engages me emotionally as well as intellectually. It has a clear agenda:John B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06358811061653958120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7640521.post-28056939877777905322008-01-05T18:29:00.000-06:002008-01-05T18:29:00.000-06:00Wow, John, it's great to read such an extended (an...Wow, John, it's great to read such an extended (and smart!) disquisition on <I>Barton Fink</I>. (And, yeah, even though I respect your opinion re: <I>Fargo</I>, I still think <I>Barton Fink</I> is the the Best o' the Coens.)<BR/><BR/>"Is it yours?"<BR/><BR/>"I don't know."Sheila Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02030653752024764363noreply@blogger.com