# Claire Beauchamp, the culturally literate snob **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 31, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905 "2009-07-31T19:28:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/81 "2009-07-31T22:43:29Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Look, if we were talking about “Oh my god, you philistine! You haven’t seen _Last Year at Marienbad_?!”, you might have more of a point there. _Bridge Over the River Kwai_ is a movie about a badass British army guy, a badass Japanese army guy, and a badass American army guy. There is a prison camp escape and a scene where they get the special effects by throwing a real train off a real bridge. It’s hardly a film with no popular appeal. > > ETA - and looking down-thread, it even has the “Hitler Has Only Got One Ball” song as the musical contribution. I mean, really. Pffft. If it was such a “great” movie, how come there was no “Bridge Over the River Kwai II”? Hah? How come? ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/82 "2009-07-31T22:56:34Z")
I love movies. I work in the business and I consume as much as possible about them in my free time (through watching, reading, listening, etc.). And I’ve probably seen more Alec Guinness movies than anyone in this thread (at least until lissener shows up). But for me to presume that someone not familiar with his Ealing or Lean work (or the other stuff in between) is “culturally illiterate” just makes me sound like a grade-A asshole. So even though the OP may know fuck-all when he says idiotic shit like: > [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > More to the point, while his stuff was good, he was hardly a _legend_. His movies were mostly quiet dramas or comedies, but they hardly changed the nature of film. he’s still right that in a thread about the **single biggest hit** of an artist (which _Star Wars_ unquestionably was, in AG’s case), to bring up an arbitrary benchmark of who may or may not be a cultureless dumbass is a perfect example of snobbery. I think it’s safe to say that more people worldwide have seen that film than any others in his CV. To say it is his best-remembered role by most people (particularly for anyone 40 years old or younger) is merely stating a fact, not an invitation to show off how goddamned smart-and-indignant you can be. And sorry, eleanorrigby, but as much as I adore _KH&C_, it is far from a household name. Maybe not obscure-obscure, but one many smart, well-read, unquestionably cultured people wouldn’t necessarily know. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/83 "2009-07-31T22:57:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Pffft. If it was such a “great” movie, how come there was no “Bridge Over the River Kwai II”? > > Hah? How come? Or a prequel–answer that! No “Building the river kwai bridge”. Some “Classic”. Huh. 😛 PS– **Archiveguy** : I know it’s obscure; I was being facetious. It just hurts to see it called that, ya know? It’s a great movie (KH&C). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/84 "2009-07-31T23:14:05Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Or a prequel–answer that! No “Building the river kwai bridge”. Some “Classic”. Huh. > 😛 Well, _Bridge Over the River Kwai_ was about building the bridge. The prequel would be _Ferry Across the River Kwai_. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/85 "2009-08-01T00:46:40Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > Those things you ride at Disneyworld? 😕 I don’t even have one of those. Mo no NO you silly person! Monocles are really really fast and go vroom vroom. Harley Davidson makes them. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/86 "2009-08-01T00:51:22Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Sadly when I first think of Lee’s roles , the first role I think of him _not_ being Saruman in ROTK. I grew up, watching him in the Hammer Film Dracula movies. Tall, aristocratic, and vicious. Christopher Lee WAS Count Dracula. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/87 "2009-08-01T00:54:28Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > As an aside my own favorite Christoper Lee role is still **Lord Summerisle**. Mine too. “Sir, have these children never heard of Jesus?” “Himself the son of a virgin, impregnated, I believe, by a ghost?” Possibly the best comeback of all time. And you gotta love a lord of a pagan sex-worshipping island who wears a tweed blazer with a yellow turtleneck sweater underneath it. Lord Summerisle’s scene in that same film wearing the kilt, playing the piano and singing is also just classic. He has one of the best voices of all time. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/88 "2009-08-01T01:04:15Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, _Bridge Over the River Kwai_ was about building the bridge. > > The prequel would be _Ferry Across the River Kwai_. That was the joke… I’ll not quit my day job. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/89 "2009-08-01T01:13:17Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, _Bridge Over the River Kwai_ was about building the bridge. > > The prequel would be _Ferry Across the River Kwai_. Jokes aside, tens of thousands of Allied POWs and civilians died building the [Thai-Burma Railway](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai-Burma_Railway) (including the Bridge On The River Kwai); it’s still a touchy subject in some places. In relation to the topic at hand, I there are a number of actors whose “other” work people should be aware of, even if they haven’t seen it. So, in the case of Sir Alec, I think a reasonable person should also be assumed to know that, besides being Obi-Wan, he was also in _Lawrence of Arabia_, _Bridge On The River Kwai_, numerous Ealing Comedies, and had his start as a Stage actor. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/90 "2009-08-01T01:17:08Z")
> [@martini enfield](#): > > jokes aside Never, you BASTARD! ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/91 "2009-08-01T01:17:40Z")
The original statement was absolutely correct - Alec Guinness is known for Star Wars more than anything else. Overwhelmingly, I would imagine. I can’t see how that statement is at all incorrect. You might not like the implications of that statement, but that’s your issue. As far as culture goes, depends on your definition of culture, as has been pointed out. I dare you to name one Guinness movie that is more culturally signficant or culturally influential than Star Wars. There are better movies (or not - it’s subjective), but the purpose of the original thread wasn’t “name the Alec Guinness movie you feel you must point out to get that trademarked SDMB superior tingle” and the original snobbish response about cultural illilteracy was textbook threadshitting. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/92 "2009-08-01T01:21:48Z")
> [@supergoose](#): > > Sigh. It’s Bow-_shaump_, light on the “p”. Don’t you know your French, you cultural illiterate? Sigh, no, you culturally illiterate slob. 😃 In the book Claire uses the English pronunciation, which is Beech-um. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/93 "2009-08-01T02:09:31Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Who is Alec Guinness? Is he that guy from 30 Rock? No. That’s Alec Baldwin. Alec Guinness hosts Jeopardy. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/94 "2009-08-01T02:22:27Z")
> [@ghardester](#): > > ‘Sir’ Alec Guiness was knighted by the Queen in 1959, 18 years before that comic book movie, Star Wars, came out. > > So, yeah, he had a little previous work experience. In my opinion he _was_ a legendary actor. But, did he ever do a _wine_ [Commercial?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpj0t2ozPWY) by some schmoe named Orson The Aliens are ATTACKING!!! & Rosebud Killed Dumbledore. Wells. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/95 "2009-08-01T02:23:41Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I grew up, watching him in the Hammer Film Dracula movies. Tall, aristocratic, and vicious. > > Christopher Lee WAS Count Dracula. I read this as \*Christopher Lee WAS Count **Chocula** \*. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/96 "2009-08-01T03:27:33Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > One is a niche sport confined to one country. The other is one of the two most important expressions of culture in society. _Film?_ According to what definition of “culture”? Because I’m pretty sure #1 is language and #2 is how we raise our children. And those might actually be flip-flopped. Either way, #3 would probably be food. Number 4, architecture. At 5+, we might start getting into arts and entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/97 "2009-08-01T03:43:20Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > But, did he ever do a _wine_ [Commercial?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpj0t2ozPWY) by some schmoe named Orson The Aliens are ATTACKING!!! & Rosebud Killed Dumbledore. Wells. [Would that be a certain rich, full-bodied wine, sensibly priced at $1 a jug?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3B3C5hR1lk) 😃 I also like to scandalise dinner guests by informing them that the frozen peas comprising part of their meal are full of [Country Goodness and Green Pea-Ness,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH1PJTY9AVA) too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/98 "2009-08-01T05:01:43Z")
Jeremy’s Iron? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/99 "2009-08-01T07:24:32Z")
> [@pedescribe](#): > > What does ‘eunni’ mean? Le sihg. :o CMC fnord! Ooh, blowjob smiley can be yawny smiley too! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2009, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/claire-beauchamp-the-culturally-literate-snob/504905/100 "2009-08-01T07:31:13Z")
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