WEIRDLAND: True Detective, Homefront Noir, Jeff & Ginger

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

True Detective, Homefront Noir, Jeff & Ginger

-I think the big social novel is a crime novel. (James) Ellroy writes social novels, Dennis Lehane writes social novels. (George) Pelecanos writes social novels. As we increasingly become entrenched in this Age of Empire era that were now entering, the sort of — not desolation — but decrepitude and the pervasive feeling of systems not working that are some of the governing aspects especially of noir and crime fiction in general, I think that more and more becomes the medium where you can explore the various aspects of American society currently torn asunder. I think that the kind of noir stuff that actually has a plot can often be the most effective vehicle for delivering what are our most fundamental existential questions. -Interview with Nic Pizzolatto, the New Orleans-born novelist who is the writer-creator of HBO drama “True Detective”. Source: www.nola.com

Marty finds peace with his ex-wife and family, but only after he allows his macho facade to fall. It's only after he breaks down in tears, and shows that everything is not ok, that he can find some peace. Marty takes Maggie's left hand, and we see the wedding ring of her new relationship. And for Rust, the experience of this case, and being near-death after his confrontation with Childress, gives him a "belief" in life, hope, and love. He lets go of his nihilism. In the end, the murder of Dora Lange and all of the speculation as to what The King in Yellow is and what it means didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. It was only part of the crucible by which these two detectives comment on life, have those views tested, and grow and change through the experience.

Is life an endless repetition where we'll taste all the aluminum and ash over again in a meaningless flat circle? Or is it an existence where things are connected in light and darkness, where we can only have some form of peace when we acknowledge our ignorance? The show doesn't provide a definitive answer to those questions. But the journey of the show's characters in trying to make sense of hunches and flashes of insight about a case mirrors our stumbling around in life trying to make sense of the best and worst moments. Source: www.dailykos.com

"Mob City" (2013) episode 6: Joe turns up at the Union Station and manages to subdue Leslie and hands him over to Rothman. Rothman then asks for the pictures Jasmine had took, which Joe had snatched from the locker. Joe demands Jasmine's safety before handing over the pictures. Rothman tells Joe he will set up a meeting between him and Bugsy Siegel. After leaving the Union Station, Joe tells Jasmine that he was the one who killed Hecky and tells her to leave on the next train out of town and never come back.

'Mulholland Falls' is a 1996 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Lee Tamahori and written by Pete Dexter. Jennifer Connelly plays Max Hoover's former lover, Allison Pond. Nick Nolte plays the head of an elite group of four Los Angeles Police Department detectives (based on the real life "Hat Squad") who are known for stopping at nothing to maintain control of their jurisdiction. Their work has the tacit approval of L.A.'s police chief (Bruce Dern). A similar theme is the basis of a 2013 film, 'Gangster Squad,' and a 2013 television miniseries, 'Mob City'.

The noir aesthetic derived from wartime constrainsts on filmmaking practices. Brooding, often brutal, realism was conveyed in low-lit images, recycled sets, tarped studio back lots, or enclosed sound stages. Home-front worries certainly made audiences more receptive to the darker visions depicted in film noir. A somber war-related zeitgeist grew out of harsh realities in America. As Hollywood reacted to war, elements vital to the growth of film noir began to coalesce. The Second World War created a complex array of social, economic, cultural, political, technological and creative circumstances, a catalyst for film noir. -"Blackout: World War II and the Origins of Film Noir" (2005) by Sheri Chinen Biesen

Through the surrealistic settings, David Lynch vibrates the past and present culture of Hollywood in "Mulholland Drive" (2001). The presence of authoritarian film moguls and graffiti-spattered restaurants eviscerates our impression of this idyllic dreamy place. Film-makers [and writers] like Samuel Fuller, Raymond Chandler and Polanski have of course established Hollywood as ‘capital of corrupt’, but Lynch’s vision is a notch above because he embraces the notion through an irrational storytelling method, which again remains contrary to the Hollywood tradition. Source: movierestrospect.blogspot.com

Jeff Metcalf to Ginger Szabo: "I like cheering. Who wouldn't? But that's not why I play ball. I'd play in an empty stadium... And if you want to be an actress just to have strangers can fall in love with you, then I don't get it. Because they wouldn't know the real you, and I know the real you, and I already love you, whether you're a movie star or not." -Jeff tells Ginger that acting is a "screwy" business ("Sinners Reconciled" episode from "Homefront" TV series) Source: lemongrrl.tripod.com

Spunky Ginger Szabo was a drugstore clerk who dreamed of becoming a movie star. After an ill-fated stay in Hollywood, Ginger finally got her big show business break in 1946 when she was chosen to be the Lemo Tomato Juice girl. She later appeared on WREQ (Lemo Tomato Juice Hour) with future husband, Jeff Metcalf.

Jeff Metcalf was a small-town guy who dreamed of being a major league ballplayer. He eventually did make it in the big leagues, joining the Cleveland Indians in 1946, but a leg injury almost cut his career short. Luckily for him, his future wife, Ginger Szabo, intervened and convinced his former coach to give him another shot at a tryout. Jeff persevered and won a second chance with the Indians when they sent him to their farm team in 1947. The road to love was not easy, though. Jeff and Ginger challenged each other each step of the way.

They survived the Ginger's brief, ill-fated stay in Hollywood, Jeff's flirtation with a baseball-loving barmaid, Ginger's career ambitions, and a thousand other misunderstandings. But watching them make up was always the fun part. There was never any doubt at any time how much they really loved each other, and in the end, they were finally married in memorable way : on a train, with Jeff on his way to joining the Indians' farm team. Source: lemongrrl.tripod.com

Kyle Chandler has enormous appeal, yet he hardly strikes the one-dimensional note we tend to expect from anyone labeled a hunk. His Jeff Metcalf is a rarity: a decent guy whose actions aren't easy to predict. "He's pretty upstanding," says Chandler. On TV most upstanding guys end up seeming like wimps. Chandler somehow avoids that pitfall. "As for why he's not a wimp, I guess because the acting is so damn good and realistic," he adds with a laugh. -The Observer Reporter (1992)

-"I think that sense of humor is important in marriage. A sense of humor gets people through marriage." -Kyle Chandler

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