From: GC.SUL@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan)
Subject: Re: BARTON FINK: say what?  (SPOILERS)
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 18:58:28 GMT

In article <5977@npri6.npri.com>,
eric@npri6.npri.com (Eric Williams) writes:
>In article <1992Jul28.234301.398@morrow.stanford.edu>, GC.DJD@forsythe.stanford.edu (Sullivan) writes:
>> In article <1992Jul27.174622.1@hmivax.humgen.upenn.edu>,
>> bole@hmivax.humgen.upenn.edu (Greg Bole) writes:
>> >In article <1992Jul27.192508.8083@dazixco.ingr.com>, doak@sunbug.ingr.com
>> >(Doak Heyser) writes:
(burp)

>> At first I thought it was horseshit.  Then a respected friend of
>                            ^^^^^^^^^
>                        If you're going to criticize, at least
>                        be creative and insightful. This sort of
>                        terminology makes it look like the film
>                        annoyed you because you didn't have the mental
>                        power to deal with it. I know you're smarter than
>                        THAT...
no, I'm decidedly not, emphasis on Decidedly.  I have enough mental
power to 'deal' with just about anything.  I don't choose to write
a script in my head for one that was lacking in a film.  That mental
power is lacking, yes,.

>
>> mine told me he liked the film a LOT.  He told me to think of the
>> film as being the script Fink writes for the Wallace Beery wrasslin
>> picture.  So I did, I cast the picture using the characters in
>> Barton Fink:
>
>[Stuff deleted that was WAAAYYY off the mark.]
>I suggest you form your own opinions and not blindly accept the
>perceptions of others.

This is a fine suggestion, meaning I ignore your suggestion?  I am
happy to hear that I am way off the mark and this film was more than
a cynical exploitation of pseudo-intellectual film-goers.  Since I
rejected my friends' interpretation as being Cowshit, I hardly
BLINDLY ACCEPTED his perception.  He is smarter than I am, however,
and far better read, so I do pay attention when he disagrees with
me. I thought carefully of his interpretation, then rejected it just
as I rejected my own thought early on in the movie that this is
someone's idea of what a writer goes through between the ears in
the process of dragging themselves to the desk.

NAKED CAME THE STRANGER had some amazing interpretations for a work
that was intentional garbage.

>
>> Hollywood grabbed it up and produced it, and turned it into the
>> movie that confused, perplexed, and nauseated most of us.
>
>Most folks I know who saw it were one of 1) enchanted; 2) amused;
>3) stimulated into a metaphysical discussion; 4) perplexed, but
>willing to admit the film had a lot going for it. As for those theater-
>goers who would have preferred a brewski and a copy of CINDY DOES
>DES MOINES, I'm sorry--I tried to get their views but they were too
>busy belching at one another.

I can't argue with this at all.  I opened up my mind, as I say, my
friend asked me to reexamine it in a different light as you will.

>
>> See how this movie looks now in that light?
>> Cowshit.
>  ^^^^^^^ There you go again! Now stop it, or people will start thinking
>          your mother found you under a rock!

slow down, Deuteronomy, I suggest you leave my Mother out of it.

>> Mike
>Really, Mike, forget your friend's theory and chew on this a while:
>        "I'LL SHOW YOU THE LIFE OF THE MIND!!!"

I couldn't have been clearer about having dismissed my friends'
theory.  I apologize for not doing a couple re-writes on it so it
would stand out better for the average reader.

I've chewed on it a bit.  You and I are walking down the road
together and a cow crosses the road and craps in our path.  We both
stop, and take in the scene.

Mike empties his can of Schaeffers, crinkles it up and puts it in
his back pocket.
Mike:   (Burrpp)  Holy bejeziz that is one hell of a crap don't you
        think, Eric?

Eric:   I beg to differ, open your dull mind.  Do you not see the
        life in this event?  Here you and I have been discussing our
        interpretations of life and a cow has bettered the both of
        us!  Her entire being, incapable of rational thought, has
        produced an amusing  statement!  I'm a bit confused as to
        how it relates to Neitsche's ideal, yet I am enchanted by
        its' metaphysical overtones, and perplexed by its'
        simplicity.  There is no allegory here, but you must be
        bright and wise enough to see its' application to the creative
        process.

Mike:   (Burrpp) wow, and here all the time I thought it was a horse
        that crossed the road.  You're right, man, that's really great
        cowshit!

Notice my response to your criticism of my criticism.  I took your
criticism much more seriously than I took your movie.  I do not call
your criticism Cow or Horse shit now do I?  Why is that?  Your
criticism was honest and mildly interesting and a bit unpredictable
unlike your movie.  It also angered me a bit with the comment about
mom- unlike the movie.  (It never pisses me off to be accused of
being lacking of mental power, Hee, hee, how silly.)

This movie early on employed obvious tricks and cliches, I turned
off as soon as they showed the postcard more than a couple times,
KNOWING that eventually this scene would be played for real, KNOWING
that bizarre things would play before my eyes.  The fact that you
are bright enough to interpret this movie into something at least
that's interesting says that I should have paid YOU for the video
rental, and not the Producers, writers, directors, etc.

Yes, Eric, in spite of your effort, which I took as seriously as
my friend's, I have still missed out on this film. Perhaps there
is a, as you say:

>                       xxx creative and insightful. xxxxxxxxxxxx

criticism that you could make to allow me to at least glimpse the
wonder of it all.

As for CINDY DOES DES MOINES, whatever, I believe you are smart
enough to turn that into something wonderful too, I am not.

Thank goodness, I got me some more beer to drink.

Mike

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