chimesfreedom

I’ll Die With a Buzzer in My Hand!

Tonight on Jeopardy, one of the three contestants will be an IBM computer taking on two former champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. It is a battle of human against machine.

The classic human-versus-machine song is “John Henry.” Historians debate about who was the person who inspired the folk tale. But most seem to agree that somewhere at some point, there was a real person or persons who inspired the legend.

There are various versions of the song about the folk hero. In most versions of the story, John Henry is a railroad worker who, to save the jobs of his co-workers, claims he can beat the railroad company’s new steam-powered hammer. The tale and the song represent modern human beings’ attempts to maintain dignity in the face of rising corporate and technological powers. Although the various song versions differ, the lyrics from the song made famous by Pete Seeger include:

John Henry told his captain,
“A man ain’t nothin’ but a man,
But before I let your steam drill beat me down,
I’d die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord.
I’d dies with a hammer in my hand.”

There are many great versions of the song by people such as Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash. There’s a blues version with some great guitar playing by Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Here’s another version by Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Session Band that is a little less raw and a little more like a celebration of John Henry’s sacrifice.

John Henry beat the machine, but in the end he died. Tonight, we doubt there will be any deaths, but can Jennings and Rutter beat the machine? Please answer in the form of a question.

Post-Match Update: The computer won. But this match was just a warm up for a one-million dollar rematch that will be broadcast February 16, so there may still be hope for the humans.

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Will Gov. Quinn Sign the Death Penalty Bill?

Yesterday, the Illinois Legislature passed a bill to abolish the death penalty in that state. In order for the bill to become law, the governor must sign it. The bill now sits on Governor Pat Quinn’s desk, and he has said that he does not yet know what he will do.

Illinois has been a leader in the death penalty debate in recent years, so it will be interesting to see if the governor has the courage to accept the role in abolishing the death penalty. After several Illinois death row inmates were found to be innocent in the 1990s, then-Gov. George Ryan ordered a commission to review the criminal justice system and he ultimately commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois’s death row. The results from the commission, and studies by other states inspired by Illinois, in effect, found that there are so many flaws in the criminal justice system, that we can never be sure that we will not execute an innocent person.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia do not have the death penalty, and there has been a strong worldwide trend for decades to get rid of the death penalty. Yet, when we hear about a violent crime, like the recent tragic shootings in Arizona, our first reaction is to reach for the lethal injection needle. That quest for revenge is normal and human, but it is also normal and human to act out of rational thought instead of anger. And rational thought and experience tell us that the death penalty is more expensive than life in prison, ineffective, racist, inaccurate, and discriminates against the poor.

Steve Earle touches on several of these themes in his excellent song, “Billy Austin.” The stark tale is narrated by a death row inmate who is part Native American. He does not claim to be innocent, and he describes committing a murder during a filling station robbery. The song then addresses the trial, referencing the poor representation often given to those charged with capital crimes. Earle seems to be telling us that the death penalty is not given based on the worst crimes, it is given based on what happens in a courtroom.

But my trial was over quickly
And then the long hard wait began
Court appointed lawyer
Couldn’t look me in the eye
He just stood up and closed his briefcase
When they sentenced me to die

The narrator then describes the wait on death row, touching on the racism in the system.

I ain’t about to tell you
That I don’t deserve to die
But there’s twenty-seven men here
Mostly black, brown and poor
Most of em are guilty
Who are you to say for sure?

And the song ends with another question.

Could you take that long walk with me
Knowing hell is waitin’ there
Could you pull that switch yourself sir
With a sure and steady hand
Could you still tell yourself
That you’re better than I am.

And those are the questions that face Gov. Quinn. If he does not sign the bill, he will be the one pulling the switch on everyone executed in Illinois from this day forward. And that is a heavy responsibility to bear. Because the death penalty ultimately is not about the person being killed, it is about who we are.

Bonus Governors’ Dilemmas in Other States: In the past week, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, and Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen granted clemency to men on death row. Meanwhile, also in the last week, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter granted a posthumous pardon to Joe Arridy, who was executed in 1936, because evidence now shows Arridy was innocent.

Bonus Discussion of Another Steve Earle Song on the Death Penalty: Justice Stevens and Steve Earle’s “Ellis Unit One.”

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The Last Family Member from Ozzie & Harriett Passes

David Nelson, of the TV series Ozzie and Harriett, passed away yesterday at the age of 74. The Ozzie and Harriett show ran on ABC from 1952 to 1966, and it had started as a radio show in 1944, although the radio children were played by other actors for the first four years.

For those of us who only have seen the show in syndication, it may seem old-fashioned. We see it like the TV series in the movie Pleasantville, a world waiting to be changed by our modern views, liberations, and freedoms. Yes, the show was the product of its time, but it was not such a bad thing to show family love in the relatively new medium of TV. And the show was a landmark TV series, setting the stage for family comedies ranging from The Cosby Show to Modern Family.

Although he is less famous than his late brother Rick Nelson — who had a successful rock and roll career and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — David Nelson was well-regarded on the show and went on to be in other TV roles and to own his own production company. Most importantly, David and Ricky were the ones who convinced their parents to do the TV show. So without their childhood nagging, TV viewers would have been much poorer. It is a good lesson that sometimes we should listen to the kids. Rest in peace, David.

Beware of Black Swan Hype (Short Review)

One of the main purposes of Chimesfreedom is to write about things we enjoy and to spread the word about good movies and music and their connections to our history. I do not want to waste time writing about things that are not enjoyable. But because Black Swan is getting such raves from most critics, it seems worthwhile to sound a brief dissent. Yes, there are positive aspects of the film, such as that Natalie Portman does an excellent job in the ballet scenes. And maybe we are not the target audience for this film or maybe our expectations were too high because of the positive reviews. You may love the film . . . but how do we keep our general positive spin while still sounding a warning that some may not enjoy Black Swan ? Here’s our attempt.

Review of Black Swan: If you: (1) like movies with cutting, blood, and disturbing scenes; (2) think that a one-note performance of looking confused all of the time is great acting; and (3) enjoy predictable stories that feature caricatures instead of portrayals of real human beings. . . you will love Black Swan.

End of review.

True Grit ’10 vs. True Grit ’69

I first learned that there was going to be a remake of True Grit when I saw the preview for the new movie. My initial reaction was, “Why would anyone remake a classic John Wayne western?” As the preview rolled on, I noticed that Jeff Bridges was in the movie, and he is one of my favorite actors. Then, in the preview, there was Matt Damon playing the Glenn Campbell role, which looked good. Finally, at the end of the preview it said that the movie was created by the Coen Brothers. I was on board.

The movie lives up to expectations. The new True Grit (TG2010) is a faithful tribute to the John Wayne classic from 1969 (TG1969) as well as to the novel upon which both movies are based. The acting is excellent. Although the stars Bridges and Damon do a great job as always, the movie depends on the role of Mattie, played by 13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld. Steinfeld carries much of the movie on her shoulders well. The original role of 14-year-old Mattie was played by the 21-year-old Kim Darby, who did a good job but is not quite believable as a child for today’s viewers.

Unfortunately, movies often portray the bad guys as brilliant pure evil characters. Such portrayals are unrealistic, as real-life criminals are generally less intelligent than movie portrayals, and instead of pure evil spirits, they are human beings (and often mentally disturbed as appears in the recent Arizona shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others by Jared Lee Loughner). Although the villains in TG2010 have little screen time, the Coen brothers add some complexity to roles that others may have portrayed as caricatures. Here, the villains are played as characters with limited intelligence or with realistic conflicting qualities. Barry Pepper does an excellent job in the role originally portrayed by Robert DuVall. TG2010 is a little more violent than TG1969, but the Coen Brothers used violence in a realistic way without raising the violence to a level they have done in some of their other movies like No Country for Old Men and Fargo.

The Coen Brothers also give some complexity to the three main heroes. Although I like the final scene from the original True Grit, the Coens ended the movie in a way that was both faithful to their vision and more faithful to the novel, both in changing the coda as well as changing the fates, to varying degrees, of the three main characters.

Westerns, by their nature, are often elegiac in nature, and True Grit 2010 is no exception. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “elegiac” as “of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past.” The movie seems elegiac for both its portrayal of a western past and for its version of how we saw movies in the past.

One of the haunting elements of the movie is its use of a limited musical score, often allowing us to hear the silence and the wind blowing on the plains. Throughout the movie, the ongoing musical theme is the spiritual “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” which also played a key part in the movie, Night of the Hunter (addressed in a previous post). The musical connection is appropriate, as True Grit and the Robert Mitchum movie both feature the fellowship of good people triumphing over outside threats. When True Grit ends and the credits role, we are given the song once again, this time with Iris DeMent providing the vocals. The words from a specially written song would not fit True Grit’s portrayal of the three-person fellowship better: “Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,/Leaning on the everlasting arms.”

Conclusion? True Grit 2010 is a worthwhile remake of a good movie, tweaking the original without obliterating the memory of the first movie. The character studies, the sparkling dialogue, the scenery, and the action make it an entertaining adventure. How does it compare to the 1969 movie? I missed John Wayne’s charm, but overall the 2010 movie has a more believable cast with some nice realistic story twists. Watch and enjoy both.

Bonus “Listen to this Song Instead of Watching the Trailer Advice”(above): Although I loved the preview for True Grit 2010, if you are going to see the movie, you do not need to see the trailer (or you may find it easily on YouTube). The trailer’s focus on retribution is misleading, and it shows a few good lines and scenes that are better left to your movie viewing, especially if you have never seen the 1969 movie. What might help you enjoy the movie is familiarity with the beautiful musical theme of the movie, so instead of the preview, above is Iris DeMent’s version of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”

Bonus Reviews (1/13/11 update): If you would like to read more about the plot, check out this review from Cinema Viewfinder, which reminded me that the Coens had echoed Night of the Hunter in Raising Arizona too (with the “Hate” and “Love” tattoos on the outlaw biker). Here is another review that is much more critical of the original True Grit, but it has a nice discussion of Night of the Hunter, noting that the line, “The Dude abides” from The Big Lebowski was also inspired by the Robert Mitchum movie.

What did you think of the movie? Leave a comment.

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