John Updike

John Updike just died. I read The Witches of Eastwick, Roger's Version and Memories of the Ford Administration, which is the one that stands out for me most. It's more about James Buchanan then Gerald Ford but it offered an interesting contrast between the chaste Buchanan, the only bachelor to be president, and the open sexuality of the seventies. What appealed to me most I think is his obvious love of American history and literature as shown by the Hawthorne themes in Roger's Version, the interest in an obscure president like Buchanan and his observations on modern America.

Titanic

Recently a reader rebuked Camille Paglia’s defense of the movie “Titanic”, I’m guilty too of liking a lot about this movie despite its shortcomings. As Paglia points out, the sinking of the Titanic is one of the great all time stories. What also appeals to me about this version is the way Cameron emphasizes the passage of time and the hold that memory has on us. Of course, using flashbacks is a common device in Hollywood, but the photography of the wreck at the bottom of the ocean, contrasted with the grand ship on its maiden voyage, provides special poignancy here. We can’t help but be fascinated by the remains of a lost world, just as we are with the Pyramids and the ruins of Pompeii. At various points in the movie the camera switches from the young Kate to the old one and from the ship of the past to the wreckage at the bottom of the sea. At the end of the movie we see photos of Kate’s life since the sinking. I like the way it shows that she has moved on and built a new life, but the past still has deep meaning for her. That’s want the theme song is about and I think it’s responsible for a lot of the film’s popularity, not just the teen girls’ infatuation with Leonardo DiCaprio. I’m fascinated by the old Kate’s line that Jack only exists in her memory now. A shipboard romance or a college relationship can have huge power over us many years later. It may not be the most original theme but it’s powerful since memory is really all we have.

Lost

I recently watched the first season of Lost on DVD. I received the set for Christmas. One moment I identified with occurred in a flashback when Sawyer is having a drink with Jack's father. The father, talking about Jack, says he could fix his relationship with just one phone call and points to a pay phone in the bar. I can relate to that. Sometimes a single call can solve a problem but a person just can't bring himself to pick up the phone and say what needs to be said. You can be filled with regret for the rest of your left because of it.

One thing I don't find as believable is Kate's obsession with the toy airplane. She robs a bank and is willing to shoot people in order to recover the souvenir of the man whose death she caused. I've never really developed a bond with a material object simply because it belonged to someone I loved and lost. Maybe some people do.