Here.
NYTs: A.O. Scott Video Review of “Dead Man”
Here.
Film
New York Magazine Describes Cate Blanchett as Having Face of a “Wooden Squaw” in “Robin Hood”
Suppose this might get me in trouble with the pro-squaw people again, but isn’t this the epitome of using the word as a racial epithet?
From New York Magazine:
Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood is a pompous, interminable hash. Billed as a precursor to the legend we know, it’s rich in bogus historical context, along with enough mud, blood, and clutter to overwhelm our happy memories of Errol Flynn’s grin and Olivia de Havilland’s radiance. Here, Robin and Marian are played by a scowling Russell Crowe and a grim Cate Blanchett, who has the face of a wooden squaw stained by decades of cigar smoke. I can’t remember a more un-fun-looking couple.
Turner Classic Movies Channel Doing “Native American Images on Film”
Here.
New Scholarship on “Deadwood”
Michael B. Kent Jr. and Lance McMillian have posted “The World of Deadwood: Property Rights and the Search for Human Identity” on SSRN (h/t Law & Humanities Blog). The abstract:
The year is 1876. Gold has been discovered in the fledgling camp of Deadwood, bringing hordes of new arrivals each day seeking to strike it rich. The allure of wealth is coupled with the allure of complete autonomy. There is no law. Although part of the United States, Deadwood is unaffiliated with any existing territorial government. It is free. Or is it? From this backdrop, HBO’s highly-acclaimed drama Deadwood springs forth. Series creator David Milch is frank about his mission behind the story: to explore how order arises from chaos. The assignment and protection of property rights play central roles in this journey from anarchy to law. In the world of Deadwood, where ownership of land can be worth millions, law’s promise and law’s pitfalls are both on full display. The stakes are high; the lessons are many.
Stories are powerful teaching tools because they marry information and context. Film and television also supply a picture of law in action, marshalling the power of the visual to make law more real, less abstract. Because of its rich complexity and invocation of ancient debates over what property is and who rightly can be deemed to own it, the three-season run of Deadwood provides fertile ground for this type of interdisciplinary study. Deadwood demonstrates that the interrelationship between property and law is complex, with many moving pieces and many valid points and counterpoints. Property has both naturalist and positivist attributes, it both pre-exists and coexists with the state, it is about economic power and personal identity, it supports both an individualist and communitarian mindset. Accounting for all of these strands in a balanced way is a lot to ask of legal institutions, especially inasmuch as the strands often are in competition with one another. Deadwood suggests that, while law is certainly a component piece in the puzzle of human relations, it alone cannot do all that we ask of it. And therein may lie the ultimate lesson: Law can be a blessing, but the human condition requires more.
Here’s to more Indian law and legal history scholars taking a look at the “Deadwood” show. This seems to be a decent paper, but like the show it keeps the Indians in the background.
Oscar Night: “Avatar” and “Pocahontas” Mashup Trailers
When you’re watching the Oscars tonight, and Avatar wins, remember the debt James Cameron owes to Pocahontas. Hat tip to the New York Review of Books.
Compare this trailer…
Vodpod videos no longer available.
With this….
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Sundance Film Screening at Michigan Critical Issues Conference — UPDATED
The date and time is March 5, 2010, at 7 PM at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
Michigamua Documentary Weds. at U-M
For over 100 years,
One student organization at the University of Michigan
Has secretly abused the cultural artifacts and historical traditions
Of one of America’s most disenfranchised populations.
George Bailey Would Get Probation and a Criminal Record — NYTs
George Bailey, the hero of It’s a Wonderful Life, would still be guilty of larceny and would likely get probation in New York State, and could be liable for some jail time … according to the New York Times.
An excerpt from this article re-thinking the famous film:
And what about that banking issue? When he returns to the “real” Bedford Falls, George is saved by his friends, who open their wallets to cover an $8,000 shortfall at his savings and loan brought about when the evil Mr. Potter snatched a deposit mislaid by George’s idiot uncle, Billy (Thomas Mitchell).
But isn’t George still liable for the missing funds, even if he has made restitution? I mean, if someone robs a bank, and then gives the money back, that person still robbed the bank, right?
“The Exiles” — Film Screenings — Grand Rapids Nov. 7-13
THE EXILES chronicles one night in the lives of young Native American men and women living in the Bunker Hill district of Los Angeles. Based entirely on interviews with the participants and their friends, the film follows a group of exiles — transplants from Southwest reservations — as they flirt, drink, party, fight, and dance.
Filmmaker Kent Mackenzie first conceived of The Exiles during the making of his short film Bunker Hill—1956 while a student at the University of Southern California. In July 1957, Mackenzie began to hang around with some of the young Indians in downtown Los Angeles. After a couple of months, he broached the subject of making a film that would present a realistic portrayal of Indian life in the community.
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