The thing about Mamet is that even on the subject of theatre, his opinions are questionable. Brilliant playwright, good director - doesn’t understand an actor’s process at all. He writes these plays that require boatloads of acting technique to pull off and then goes around saying snotty things about acting technique.
If what is truly required is to memorize the lines and read them, why isn’t an xtranormal version of ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ better than the film? Could it be that Jack Lemmon, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino et al brought their significant acting techniques (and not all the exact same acting technique, either.) to the table when they did that film?
Mamet makes me think of an architect who expresses contempt for the structural engineers and contractors who make his work possible.
It’s very nice for the US right wing to have a spokesman who is articulate and has a great ear for the sound and rhythm of the English language but it doesn’t make me want to jump on their bandwagon. As with his opinions about theatre, he is entitled to them just as I’m entitled to disagree with him.
lindsaybluth, there’s already a long thread about Diogenes the Cynic and the Catholic school thing. Don’t insert it into other discussions as a cheap shot.
Sorry, I must have missed that thread. I was going on memory from awhile back.
Besides, I had no idea bringing up people’s history was so frowned upon. It’s been done to me countless times, so in the future I’ll be sure to report it.
There’s no rule against mentioning a poster’s history. Your post was off-topic and was just a personal swipe, so I’m telling you not to do it again. ETA: Obviously I interpreted your post differently when I thought you were a participant in that other thread. It reads differently now that I see you weren’t. Still, it’s time to move along.
I can almost forgive him for Rebecca Pigeon. At least she can be moderately easy on the eyes. I hold him accountable for what Lindsay Crouse did to House of Games.
N.B.: They were both Mrs. David Mamet when these various crimes were committed.
I think we’d agree that Mamet is the most manly-man of any belletrist in our time. And reflecting back upon Glengarry Glen Ross, which is the most manly-man work in modern drama, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has embraced conservatism - and conservatism of the most retrograde talk-radio kind - simply because he finds it more manly. It is nature red in tooth and claw. It says only money, power, and whoop-ass matter, and insists any higher ideals will carry us off to namby-pamby-land.
For some reason, celebrities think people care about their politics. The reason in question is actually a very good one: They know people care about their sex lives. There is no rational reason why I should care about Brad Pitt’s politics – nor is there any rational reason why I should care whether he is sleeping with Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie, but millions do care.
d) he sold out; e) he drank the kool-aid; f) he went over to the dark side…
‘Appeal to authority’ and ‘ad hominem attacks’ have the same problem inherent in them - one is supporting or attacking the man, not the idea. I don’t care who supports an idea I don’t agree with, and I don’t care who attacks an idea I do agree with.
Then how do you know whom to shoot?!