THE MT VOID
Mt. Holz Science Fiction Society
10/10/03 -- Vol. 22, No. 15
Big Cheese: Mark Leeper, mleeper@optonline.net
Little Cheese: Evelyn Leeper, eleeper@optonline.net
Back issues at http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper
All material copyright by author unless otherwise noted.
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Topics:
Torcon 3 Convention Report (announcement by
Evelyn C. Leeper)
Why Do You Think They Call It Pop? (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
The Best Radio Drama Web Sites (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
LUTHER (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
LUTHER (film comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
DISTANT (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
GOOD BYE, DRAGON INN (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
This Week's Reading (KIPLING'S POCKET HISTORY OF ENGLAND)
(book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
===================================================================
TOPIC: Torcon 3 Convention Report (announcement by Evelyn
C. Leeper)
My convention report for Torcon 3, the 2003 World Science Fiction
Convention, is available at
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper/torcon3.htm. [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: Why Do You Think They Call It Pop? (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
I really like strong drink. But I don't drink alcohol so I get my
kicks another way. What I like is ginger beer. About the only
brand commonly available in my area is Goya. My local grocery
carries Goya ginger beer. I was kind of curious if Goya has any
other sodas with some kick to them. I looked on the web and found
an ad in Spanish listing some of their brands. Google would
translate for me. Sure enough they seem to have another drink
that sounds like it has even more kick. If you look at
you will see the flavors of their soda
including "fragmentation hand grenade soda." Drinking that sounds
like an experience. "Dwells" and "drain" do not sound like
refreshing flavors, but I am interested in trying the "official
held in low esteem" soda. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: The Best Radio Drama Web Sites (comments by Mark R. Leeper)
Those of you who have read the MT VOID for a while know that I
have a special interest in radio drama. This is born somewhat of
convenience. When I work around the house I like to be
entertained. Most tasks I do I can do with a portable cassette
player (Walkman-style) and if I have drama on cassette it is a
much more pleasurable experience. Cleaning and dusting is not
nearly so much of a pain if your mind is off following Lamont
Cranston on a case. Different people will record programs in
different ways. I transfer the programs to audiotape via a jack
in my PC.
An article on Old Time Radio I wrote for the MT VOID can be found
at . As sort
of a follow-up, I wanted to let people know what are the best
Internet sites I have found for finding radio drama.
There are really two types of site. There is PC radio. These
just broadcast 24 hours a day from what is usually a non-published
schedule. The listener can sample it at random times or can just
record an interval of time and then go back and choose what he
likes. BBC7 is the exception in that it does publish its schedule
a week in advance.
PC RADIO STATIONS PLAYING CONTINUOUS RADIO DRAMA
The first five are much the same as each other. Yesterday USA has
more original programming and longer musical interludes. That is
not to my taste, but the programs are good.
1. Treasure Trove ACB Radio: ACB is the American Council for the
Blind. This site was established as entertainment for the blind,
but I can imagine they have a lot of other listeners as well. It
has a really good selection of old time radio including some BBC
science fiction. You might want to also make a small contribution
to the ACB.
http://acbradio.org/treasure-trove.html
2. The Shadow Zone: This site is a lot like Treasure Trove,
nonstop old time radio.
http://theshadowzone.net
3. Brando Classic Radio: A third similar old time radio station.
http://www.brandoclassicotr.com/otr4ever.asp
4. W.I.L.D.: A Vancouver station may have the best selection of
the above.
http://members.shaw.ca/wildradio/
5. Yesterday USA: This station associated with a broadcast museum
is a good source of old time radio, but it does it own original
programming much of which is not all that interesting to me. There
are long musical interludes, interviews, hosts talking, musical
programs, etc. They do more children's programs than the others
above. Some of their own programming is of very limited
interest and can go on for hours, but it is worth checking.
http://www.yesterdayusa.com/streams.htm
6. BBC 7: BBC has established this all-entertainment PC radio
station with rebroadcasts of their older programs. There is
science fiction, mysteries, comedy, etc. every day. Usually it is
in the same time slots. I think they always have a detective
series and often they do Sherlock Holmes. Goon Shows show up
frequently and this 1950s comedy program really has stood the test
of time. People will laugh at a Goon Show who won't even smile at
a Fibber McGee and Molly. Since BBC drama is so frequently better
than much of what was done in the US for radio drama, certainly
some of what BBC7 has is a welcome find. Finding BBC7 was a real
prize. To play (and if it does not play there are links to
Realplayer and Mediaplayer):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/bbc7.shtml
Today's Schedule (All times are in GMT):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listings/index.shtml
Fantasy and science fiction schedule:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/drama/7thdimension.shtml
(More next week.)
[-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: LUTHER (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: This historical drama could be the basis of an excellent
movie, but it isn't. It is the story of the small beginnings of a
change that influences world history to the present day. Instead,
the sweeping events are minimized and turned into a reverent
church play. There is some valuable historical detail in the
script, but Luther's philosophy is simplified and sanitized. The
acting is flat and surprisingly uninvolving. Rating: 4 (0 to 10),
0 (-4 to +4)
Up until the 1990s I would have chosen as the best film I had ever
seen Fred Zinnemann's A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS. It is a film about
philosophical and religious discourse told against the backdrop of
great historic events. I looked forward then to seeing LUTHER,
which potentially could have been a companion piece in the same
mold. It had the discourse and even greater events, but it is not
nearly so compelling a film. What it lacks is the writing, the
acting, and most of the historical splendor. This is a film that
is subdued when it could be rousing. It is drab when it could be
exhilarating. The director, Eric Till, seems to feel the film
must be compelling because the cause is so noble. It is hard to
believe that this is the same Eric Till who twenty years earlier
directed the powerful TV play "A Case of Libel."
Joseph Fiennes, the Shakespeare of SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE, plays
Martin Luther. Luther is a very troubled Roman Catholic priest.
He argues with his teachers and they are enough impressed they
choose him to be taught to become a Doctor of Divinity. Luther's
doubt revolves around his belief in a merciful God. But some high
members of the Church find it profitable to preach that all are
sinners in the hands of a wrathful God, threatening all with
eternal burning in Hell. This belief so much helps the sale of
indulgences, money given to the Church to bribe God. As is the
custom of the day, while in Rome Luther purchases an indulgence to
buy his deceased grandfather out of Purgatory and into Heaven.
There he is disgusted at the whole concept of the priests selling
a place in heaven for money. The Church finds this a moneymaking
business and also profits by the sale of "authenticated" relics,
another custom Luther abhors. He returns to his town of
Wittenberg to mock the mercenary customs of the Church in his
sermons. Then an indulgence preacher Johann Tetzel (Alfred
Molina) arrives locally and with the avaricious fervor of today's
televangelists Tetzel starts selling indulgences to Luther's
parishioners. Luther decides it is time to go public with his
anger. He takes his beliefs and turns them into the Ninety-five
Theses, which he nails to the church door. This minor-seeming
incident echoes across Europe and is the spark of the Protestant
Reformation.
This really could be very compelling story, combining action and
argument. But the direction robs the history of most of its
drama. The acting is extremely flat. It reminds one of tableaux
with one-sided arguments placed in characters' mouths. As
Friedrich [known as Friedrich the Wise], Peter Ustinov gives just
about his worst performance that I can remember, yet he has the
best acting of the film. He acts and, as important, he reacts
even if his expressions are exaggerated. Joseph Fiennes who
occasionally reacts with pained looks comes in second and there is
no third. All other performances seem wooden. Fiennes seems to
have a Renaissance sort of face and looks good in historical
films, but he needs direction. Most of the other characters are
little more than speeches wearing robes, contrived speeches at
that. The debate of ideas is never on a very high level. There
is no mention of Luther's more controversial views like his
arguments against social egalitarianism or his anti-Jewish stance.
On the other hand we do see some of the history. We see, for
example, why Luther's translation of the New Testament into
German-language would so threaten the Church.
This is a story that could have been told with some historical
grandeur, but Robert Fraisse's photography seems subdued in a
modest Lutheran sort of way. The film never really attempts to be
the feast for the eyes that A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS is. More
reverent than engaging, this story of Martin Luther is preaching
to the choir. It proselytizes when it should be showing the
issues. Somehow it seems to minimize the events rather than pulls
us into them. One ends up asking, "is that all there was to the
Protestant Reformation?" I rate LUTHER a 4 on the 0 to 10 scale
and a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: LUTHER (film comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
Some random thoughts on the film LUTHER:
1) The film was done in that declamatory (stage theater) style
that was popular in the 1940s, but has mostly gone out of style
since then. It's not quite "Royal-Shakespeare-Company-Laurence-
Olivier-Sir-John-Gielgud", but it's not method acting or Kenneth
Branagh either.
2) It is very reverential--not surprisingly, since one of its
backers was the Protestant Church of Germany. As such, it has a
closing comment about how Martin Luther started the whole idea of
religious freedom. Well, first of all, that's not true, and
second of all, he wanted religious freedom within his own set of
confines. In particular, he seemed to think that what he saw as
the abuses of the Catholic Church was all was keeping the Jews
from converting en masse to Christianity. When he discovered the
Jews had other issues a bit more central, he turned on them.
3) Another strange aspect is that while we (including the Roman
Catholic Church) now look on the claims made for indulgences as
bogus, at least in the sense that buying an indulgence for a dead
person can get them out of Purgatory faster, the Roman Catholic
Church still has the practice of having masses said for dead
people, presumably for the same function. (If I'm wrong, I'm sure
someone will correct me.) And the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints (the Mormons) is still promoting the notion of
baptism by proxy for deceased ancestors. (They have, however,
come out against the practice for people who are not ancestors,
after taking a lot of flak when it was discovered that some over-
zealous members were having Jewish victims of the Holocaust
baptized by proxy--much to the distress of the actual relatives.
Though the Mormons said that such baptism is always contingent on
the recipient accepting it, they agreed to stop this particular
variant.)
[After I wrote this, I asked a learned Catholic friend of mine
about this. To summarize his answer: The Church still has the
"Communion of Saints" (i.e., the ability of the faithful to help
each other through prayer, irrespective of separation in time or
space) as a central doctrine. But for one to benefit from this,
one must be "reachable"--not spiritually dead--and the question
remains as to whether this is possible after death. Also, before
Vatican II, the Church talked about the possibility of a person
having died in a "state of venial sin"--the right choice having
been made before death, but with leftover "punishments owed", and
the "help" had the effect of reducing the amount owed.]
4) And lastly, I would think that there would be ample material
for an alternate history based on the idea that the Church
accepted Luther's criticisms and reformed itself. Admittedly,
some of his proposed changes--such as the abandonment of the
sacrament of confession--would have been harder to incorporate,
but that shouldn't stop a good author. [-ecl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: DISTANT (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
Rating: high +1
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan produced, wrote, directed, and
even wore the hat of cinematographer on this story of a successful
Istanbul photographer Mahmut (played by Muzaffer Ozdemir) and his
unemployed and less urbane cousin Yusuf (Emin Toprak, who died in
a car accident shortly after finishing this film). Yusuf comes to
Istanbul to look for work and stay with his cousin. He soon
proves to be more than Mahmut bargained for. He comes to Istanbul
expecting to find work on a ship, but has neither experience nor
patience. Yusuf seems very little motivated and shows little
interest in making himself someone that anyone would want to hire.
If he can get work through nepotism, that is fine by him. Mahmut
is less than willing to do much to help his unambitious cousin.
Yusuf has the problem, but the focus of the film is eventually on
Mahmut, his attitudes, and what they do to his relationships.
Ceylan films the story in long slow takes, many of which are
wordless. The film opens with a long take of a man endlessly
walking across a snowy field and climbing a hill. These seem a
tribute to Russian films by Tarkovsky, one of whose films the two
characters will watch on television. Tarkovsky is not quite to
Yusuf's taste and I am inclined to agree. My opinion is that very
long takes in the style of Tarkovsky really do little to enhance
the communication value of a film and are more a self-indulgence
on the part of the director than a sound cinematic technique.
DISTANT is a film that takes more than a little patience, but it
is eventually rewarding. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: GOOD BYE, DRAGON INN (film review by Mark R. Leeper)
Rating: -1
Writer and director Tsai Ming-Liang's GOOD BYE, DRAGON INN is a
short film of very long takes. It is a portrait on film of the
big movie theater experience. We follow a woman who runs the
theater and one customer in particular and show scenes from each
of their evenings. The woman who maintains the theater walks
around doing various chores. In the nearly empty theater people
insist on crowding our hapless film-goer. It even happens in the
restroom where people insist on using the urinals on either side
of filmgoer. There might even be a little feel of a French
"Mr. Hulot" film. One customer claims there are ghosts. This all
sounds like it should be fairly entertaining, but Tsai Ming-liang
has decided to shoot the film in very long takes, takes of four
and five minutes. Our theater manager will walk down a long
hallway, slowly limping, and long, long after the point has been
made the static camera will continue to follow her. The film must
have been shot with a tenth the camera setups of even a standard
Chinese film. The result is a film that is agonizingly slow. The
people in the theater are watching an epic set in the 15th
century. That would have been a much preferable film to see. As
far as I am concerned this was a good idea for a film ruined by
the style. [-mrl]
===================================================================
TOPIC: This Week's Reading (book comments by Evelyn C. Leeper)
C. R. L. Fletcher & Rudyard Kipling's KIPLING'S POCKET HISTORY OF
ENGLAND is an odd duck. The preface by the authors says, "This
book is written for all boys and girls who are interested in Great
Britain and her Empire," and it is clearly intended for a young
audience. The writing is straightforward, the vocabulary
relatively limited (compared to most histories), and facts are
somewhat cleaned up. All gruesome details are omitted and
anything that England or Britain did that might have been
considered negative was either toned down or left out entirely.
(For example, Edward I's expulsion of the Jews is omitted, and the
only mention of Jews is how they were finally given the vote in
1853.)
And the prose is interspersed by poems about the various events,
undoubtedly Kipling's contribution. One verse from "The Reeds of
Runnymede" goes:
At Runnymede, at Runnymede,
Oh hear the reeds at Runnymede:
"You mustn't sell, delay, deny,
A freedman's right or liberty,
It wakes the stubborn Englishry,
We saw 'em roused at Runnymede!
But if the whole is somewhat sanitized, the last chapter's
discussion of the Empire can only be called at best raging
jingoism, and at worst outright racism. For example, they say,
"In Canada we had really little difficulty in making good friends
with our new French subjects, for they hated and feared the
pushing Americans.... In Australia, we had nothing but a few
miserable blacks, who could hardly use bows and arrows in fight."
Referring to Africa, they say, "The natives everywhere welcome the
mercy and justice of our rule...." And most egregious is their
description of the Caribbean: "The population is mainly black,
descended from slaves imported in previous centuries, of mixed
black and white race; lazy, vicious and incapable of any serious
improvement, or of work except under compulsion. In such a
climate a few bananas will sustain the life of a negro quite
sufficiently; why should he work to get more that this? He is
quite happy and quite useless, and spends any extra wages which he
may earn upon finery."
Well, what can I say? Clearly this history isn't suitable for
children these days, and not useful as a history for anyone else.
But as an example of cultural attitudes of its time (1911), it
perhaps has something to say to us. [-ecl]
===================================================================
Mark Leeper
mleeper@optonline.net
It is clear that thought is not free if the
profession of certain opinions makes it
impossible to earn a living.
-- Bertrand Russell
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