Artists, actors, directors, musicians, poets, even sports stars are often underrated because people see what they do very well but miss that they do even better.
"Sometimes I think that artists, actors, directors, comedians, musicians, poets, and baseball players (and probably a lot of other categories of people, too) can be underrated because people see something really prominent that they do very well, and miss something more important but less prominent that they do even better."
Upon reading this, I was immediately reminded of Steve Martin's virtuoso talent with the banjo!
"We are to love our enemies, and love, though not blind, does not desire to believe the worst, and it places the most merciful construction on the words and the deeds of others, even upon the guilty."
This is a very tough thing to do. I mean I know we are to love our enemies, but to put the most "merciful construction" on the words and the deeds of the guilty, especially when you know those words and deeds were meant to hurt and destroy, well, that seems to fly in the face of reality. Can I try and forgive my enemies & love them without putting a merciful construction on their motives? Would this elementary love of my enemies be enough to satisfy Jesus' command?
Barbara, we want forgiveness ourselves, and we are told that we must therefore give it freely to others as Jesus did. But we don't need to believe the lies of our enemies, I think. Jesus did not believe the lies of sinners, but exposed them to the sinners he encountered. I know many people (my husband included) who have suffered greatly because of their desire to forgive the faults of other people, and to return good for evil. My husband is the most innocent soul I know. He sets the bar high for others without even realizing it. That is why he is such a target for hate, and yet I can't ask him to be less good than he has been given to be. That line you quoted is Tony speaking from the abundance of HIS good heart. He is a rare soul. The rest of us have to struggle along and fight out the hardest of all battles, the one that is the most difficult, the one that Jesus himself did from the cross.
Spielberg, like Hitchcock, is a supremely skilled technical director. Yet Spielberg's movies, unlike Hitchcock's, have no profound moral message, no conscience-searching, nothing. It's all 'cleverness,' no soul - exactly the caricature of Hitchcock you describe from back in the day. Yet Spielberg wins all the awards, Hitchcock none. Tells you everything you need to know about modern movies.
I agree with you entirely. A dear friend of mine back at Providence College surprised me when he said that Spielberg was a poor director who didn't know how to tell a story. My friend is an observant Jew, and a movie critic -- he writes about movies quite a lot. After a couple of the early films, I really have never enjoyed anything Spielberg has done. He WANTS to tell stories; but he doesn't understand what an anticlimax is.
I have never been a fan of “scary movies” but have always admired how Hitchcock made that one moment, when the murderer looks through his rear window and sees Jimmy Stewart, so chilling—a truly scary moment—without blood and gore.
I also do not like movies whose main goal is to terrorize. Hitchcock could create suspense without the gratuitous gore and mayhem that we have been subjected to ever since the Hayes Code was abolished.
"Sometimes I think that artists, actors, directors, comedians, musicians, poets, and baseball players (and probably a lot of other categories of people, too) can be underrated because people see something really prominent that they do very well, and miss something more important but less prominent that they do even better."
Upon reading this, I was immediately reminded of Steve Martin's virtuoso talent with the banjo!
"We are to love our enemies, and love, though not blind, does not desire to believe the worst, and it places the most merciful construction on the words and the deeds of others, even upon the guilty."
This is a very tough thing to do. I mean I know we are to love our enemies, but to put the most "merciful construction" on the words and the deeds of the guilty, especially when you know those words and deeds were meant to hurt and destroy, well, that seems to fly in the face of reality. Can I try and forgive my enemies & love them without putting a merciful construction on their motives? Would this elementary love of my enemies be enough to satisfy Jesus' command?
Barbara, we want forgiveness ourselves, and we are told that we must therefore give it freely to others as Jesus did. But we don't need to believe the lies of our enemies, I think. Jesus did not believe the lies of sinners, but exposed them to the sinners he encountered. I know many people (my husband included) who have suffered greatly because of their desire to forgive the faults of other people, and to return good for evil. My husband is the most innocent soul I know. He sets the bar high for others without even realizing it. That is why he is such a target for hate, and yet I can't ask him to be less good than he has been given to be. That line you quoted is Tony speaking from the abundance of HIS good heart. He is a rare soul. The rest of us have to struggle along and fight out the hardest of all battles, the one that is the most difficult, the one that Jesus himself did from the cross.
Spielberg, like Hitchcock, is a supremely skilled technical director. Yet Spielberg's movies, unlike Hitchcock's, have no profound moral message, no conscience-searching, nothing. It's all 'cleverness,' no soul - exactly the caricature of Hitchcock you describe from back in the day. Yet Spielberg wins all the awards, Hitchcock none. Tells you everything you need to know about modern movies.
I agree with you entirely. A dear friend of mine back at Providence College surprised me when he said that Spielberg was a poor director who didn't know how to tell a story. My friend is an observant Jew, and a movie critic -- he writes about movies quite a lot. After a couple of the early films, I really have never enjoyed anything Spielberg has done. He WANTS to tell stories; but he doesn't understand what an anticlimax is.
Exactly.
Thank you for this deeply “insight full” article. It is a primer for an examination of conscience for Confession!
I have never been a fan of “scary movies” but have always admired how Hitchcock made that one moment, when the murderer looks through his rear window and sees Jimmy Stewart, so chilling—a truly scary moment—without blood and gore.
I also do not like movies whose main goal is to terrorize. Hitchcock could create suspense without the gratuitous gore and mayhem that we have been subjected to ever since the Hayes Code was abolished.
Oh, wow. I’ll have to watch the movie again with this commentary in mind. Usually I focus on Grace Kelly’s wardrobe. It’s true. 🤷🏻♀️
My daughters always wished they would make prom clothes like Grace Kelly's dresses.