June 21, 2011

“All women live in sexual objectification the way fish live in water” - Martha Nussbaum. Fair enough, but when does appreciation of physical beauty become objectification? And when does objectification go from harmless to dangerous? Probably whenever it becomes the exclusive way that a man relates to women, as clearly this would not be conducive to empowerment or love. It could even lead to misogyny (hatred or dislike of women). Certainly most misogynists exhibit such behavior. But all men who appreciate the physical beauty of women are not misogynists.

May 17, 2011

Adventuress Wanted’s distributors are ineffectual small men whose heads are oversized because they work in the film industry. After months of talk but no action it is obvious that I’ll have to handle things myself if this film is to find its rightful audience. The amount of bullshit in this town is staggering. Did you know that you can get your asshole bleached in Hollywood? Apparently God picked the wrong color for some of us. You’d better check yours.

January 25, 2011

Human beings need perspective. We won’t find it on TV.

Still, my daughter and I really enjoyed the series Boston Legal. Then an old friend recommended Mad Men, an outstanding period piece about my father’s America; where white-collar workers drank whisky at the office, presidential candidates were expected to have extra-marital affairs, and EVERYBODY smoked cigarettes. And Californication is my all time favorite show of the moment; a sort of contemporary Mad Men with X-File’s David Duchovny playing a troubled novelist drowning in a sea of Californian decadence. The line is blurring between mediocre movies and quality TV. But there is a real world out there, beyond our high-def screens, beyond our political borders, and beyond most of our imaginations, and my experience in Africa will never let me forget it.