Tuesday, February 21, 2006

The fire out from the wire

In an earlier class, Prof. Flaherty offered that democratic countries do not wage war against one another, as a common argument in support of democratic development. This might seem un-American, but I do not believe in democracy being necessarily or essentially good. When I think of the United States' fledgling democracy, I associate it with slavery (blacks) and genocide (Native Americans).(*1) In time, democratic USA flexed its muscles rather questionably outside its borders to subjugate various parts of Latin America and Asia, and continued internally with segregation, inhumane work conditions, union busting, Chinese exclusion, red scare, and more Native American "removal". The beneficial difference American democracy made (and makes) to people living in and outside of USA seems rather limited. The "democratic peace" argument to me, even if it is fairly accurate, mistakes correlation with causation. So if the United Nations moves, as Richard Falk described in his essay The United Nations and Cosmopolitan Democracy: Bad Dream, Utopian Fantasy, Political Project, closer to having democracy as an element of political legitimacy for a sovereign state, I am skeptical.

On the other hand, greater democratic participation, via cosmopolitan democracy or otherwise, within the UN is an amazing development.(*2) Which seems contradictory: democracy is not necessarily or essentially good on a state level, but good in the UN. My reason would be because the UN is not a technically a law making body. If the UN made laws, it would have to be accountable to constituents of some sort, and like USA's democracy, these constituents would be dollar bills, or "market forces", "business presence", and "globalization", and not the constituents of human people.(*3) Without the stranglehold of big business, the UN can act for and embrace a much wider audience, or actually be democratic in a way a state's legislative body cannot. The UN does this in part by (a) engaging in discussion via conferences, summits, working groups, (b) the work of the UN Development Program and various monitoring/observer programs, and (c) relying on consensus rather than votes; most of these UN activities include heavy particpation by Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) like Amnesty International, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Human Rights Watch, Radda Barnen, ICRC, etc. Otherwise, to borrow what Falk wrote about the UN but inverting and applying it to states, democratic states, whose legislative bodies do not address the needs of those who are not beneficiaries of market operations, is itself an expression of an undemocratic character, withholding attention to the concerns of peoples already not adequately represented.

Falk says "what happens after the global conferences is often indicative of the persisting role of geopolitics and statism in the implementation phases of the global policy process. UN conference 'plans of action' that read impressively are cast aside or selectively applied." In a sad way, the impotent plans of action shows democracy working. A true law making body would not touch any of those plans of action in the first place, nor invite NGOs as participants. The conferences, summits, UNDP, and so forth are Trojan horses of sort, not only providing an outlet for NGOs and the underrepresented, but bolster and developing their vital voices in general. (*4)

Democratic developments within the UN must have evolved while the economic interests were napping.(*5) Okay, that is unfair, because economic interests rarely nap. But the small idea of cosmopolitan democracy was somehow allowed to spark in the UN and it caught on fire. The backlash with the accompanying accusations of cultural imperialism and socialism are probably just the start as the economic interests catch up to close up democratic space opened in the UN.


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*1 In fairness, no matter what political structure the USA decided on, the treatments of the non white/male/propertied population would have likely remained the same; in other words, shitty.
*2 I don't believe the article gave a straight definition of cosmopolitan democracy, but googling suggests it means democracy where organizations like NGOs participate.
*3 At this point, I should say that I believe business interest should have and do offer a valuable voice in the democratic process, except, and this is the main problem, its voice and interests are disproportionately represented to the detriment of other interest groups.
*4 Simply, participation of NGOs (and therefore cosmopolitan democracy) is controversial in the sense that they supposedly are representative (for woman, for children, for environment, for workers, etc.) but at the same time they aren't elected. So questions of accountability as well as true representativeness arise.
*5 I'm using this very general term, economic interest, because I believe it is always about the dominant group's greediness; whether it is multinational corporations finding new venues to continue its race to the bottom or patriarchal structures keeping property rights from chicks.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Another 10

The below is my friend David's best of list. His taste and enthusiasm has always been a good guide for my movie exploration, and we often watch movies together. Last year, as previously mentioned, I watched about 1/2 the # of movies I normally catch, which means I also watched a lot less movies with David. And I didn't join him in his Japanese and Naruse binge.

Because we frequently watch movies together, our mutual top/favorite lists typically share several movies in common. This year, however, reveals a fairly stark divergence. Even with the few flicks we did catch together, Nobody Knows in particular, our opinions split. I don't believe his list is preference ranked but Nobody Knows still is top 10 material for him. Yet I included Nobody Knows in my Not Honorable Enough, my sort of anti group (this category is in somewhat honor of Andy Sarris, who annually lists movies in a movies-others-like-but-he-didn't list). I don't even recall the ending that still haunts David. Nobody Knows may be a somewhat controversial diss by me, because among the mainstream critics as well as many lay viewers who were fortunate enough to catch the movie it was well regarded. I thought Nobody Knows was well done, but even freshly leaving the theater, I remember feeling underwhelmed.

Here's David.


Here's Just for Laughs 05 or my Top Asian films formulated in just 5 minutes for 05 . This year I decided to take a different approach. Instead of spending significant amounts of time thinking about all the films that I saw over the past year I decided to just give myself 5 minutes to formulate this top 10. The movies that came to mind were mostly Japanese and specifically Naruse-sensei's. It was in junior high when I first saw Seven Samurai and Mifune and I just love the fact that I'm still discovering cinematic masters like Naruse or legendary actresses like Takamine Hideko. All 35. No videos.

**********Possible Spoilers***********************

2005 Top 10

Daremo Shiranai - Nobody Knows (Kore-eda Hirokazu, 2004) - I'm still haunted by the musical interlude towards the end of the film. Music video masterpiece if you ask me. Plus the most convincing performances that I've ever seen from kids. Then again they were probably just being themselves.

A Family or Where Spring Comes Late (Yamada Yoji, 1970) - Chieko Baisho shines in this one as does Ozu regular Chishu Ryu. Heartbreaking.

Carmen Comes Home (Kinoshita,1951) - The first movie that I got to see Takamine! Little did I know at the time that I'll be seeing more of her in the Naruse films.

Lightning (Naruse Mikio,1952)

No Advice Today aka Doctor's Day Off (Shibuya Minoru, 1950)

Mother (Naruse Mikio, 1952) - Cecilia Cheung Pak-chi is a splitting image of Kyoko Kagawa! Another fine actress.

Sudden Rain (Naruse Mikio, 1956) - It was cool to see Setsuko Hara working with Naruse. Funny how in the Naruse films she does less smiling whereas with Ozu her character's are always smiling.

The Approach of Autumn (Naruse Mikio,1960) - The two kids in this film are great. Why can't Hollywood make movies like this where the kids aren't annoying.

When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Naruse Mikio,1960) - Naruse seemed to have taken to scope much more then Ozu and this is one is an excellent example. Takamine is just as beautiful in this one as in Carmen.

Yearning (Naruse Mikio, 1964) - Practically 2 movies in one with a beautifully shot which will stay with you forever.

Going over this list it just occurred to me that they are all pretty similar in that they are shomin-gekis or films about the working class/those in the struggle.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

5 for 2005

From the start, it was because my friend sent me his top ten list, and that's why I made mine. That exchange continued for a couple of years. This year, however, I'm only doing a top... 5 favorites. For one reason or another in 2005 I watched roughly half the movies I normally catch, and therefore coming up with a top 10 list felt a little laborious.

Here goes...

1.
- La Nina Santa or The Holy Girl, Lucrecia Martel, Argentina: I admit that this movie probably might not deserve the top ranking treatment it's getting here (I am sure Chrissy liked this flick too, but even she would be surprise I put it at the top), but it's fun and engrossing, and a very different sort of moviemaking than what's generally out there these days. That it ultimately ends up working on a more minor scale, rather than as a "statement", is... well, ok. Early-teens are such an awkward time period.

2.
- Terrorizer, Edward Yang, Taiwan: This movie was where, years ago, I realized that Mr. Yang was special. Images are pulled together and built up and molded until they become amazement.
- Professione: reporter or The Passenger, Michelangelo Antonioni, USA: Anything Antonioni is special. Many exceptional sequences and moments in this journey.

3.
- Good Men, Good Women, Hou Hsiao Hsien, Taiwan: The finale to Hou's masterful history of Taiwan update/cycle.
- Masculin/Feminine, Jean Luc Godard, France: I don't know, the fact that this movie has dated less than perfectly may have led to my overcompensation for its good intentions and the parts that do work well.

4.
- Cinevardaphoto, Agnes Varda, France: Idiosyncratic, playful, and somewhat precious. Perhaps a little lacking in apparent "gravity"; it's charming and perceptive nonetheless.
- L'intrus or The Intruder, Claire Denis, France: Ms. Denis brings her viewers to learn about and experience the mysteries of this movie together.
- Kung Fu Hustle, Stephen Chow, HK: Buddha Palm's newest follower.
- Revenge of the Sith, George Lucas, USA: At last, a good Star Wars prequel.

5.
- Born into Brothels, Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski, USA: Serviceable doc technique by two do-gooders. All kids are precious and cute, even kids of whores.
- Nenette et Boni, Claire Denis, France: Gregoire Colin with hair and screened for free too!
- The Squid and The Whale, Noah Baumbach, USA: This movie reveals why kids spending time in the library might not be the best idea.
- 2046, Wong Kar Wai, HK: Retro pop cool, dipped in color, chain smoking, - must be WKW.

Honorable mentions
- Vital, Shinya Tsukamoto: A little slow, but that it's a sincere love story of sorts, I'll put it here.
- The Constant Gardner, Fernando Meirelles: I like Rachel Weisz, and the love story is interesting enough. Though I still think Meirelles sucks.
- Upside of Anger, Mike Binder: Binder shows some promise and the largely chick cast worked nicely.
- In Good Company, Paul Weitz: Another Hollywood flick, but I do like Weitz's earnestness (more so than the actual execution).

Not honorable enough mentions
- Nobody Knows, Hirokazu Koreeda – I wasn't amazed enough, the artsy touches and tone didn't go well with the relative gravity of the subject, and at the same time the subject was sort of tv-movie-of-the-week-ish.
- Taipei Story, Edward Yang – A lot of Ed Yang signature touches, but I don't feel his full style came together enough in this early movie.
- Head-On, Faith Akin – Turkish immigrant story. It was sort of promising, but didn't feel good enough.
- OldBoy, Chan-wook Park – Stylish, sadism, & nihilism. No thanks.
- Izo, Takashi Miike – I should give extra credit for Miike's boldness, but I think the experimentation and concept might simply be beyond my comprehension.
- Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan – This could have been good, but it wasn't.
- The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Jacques Audiard – I don't like vanity vehicles generally, so I wasn't too impressed by Romain Duris' star turn.
- Jarhead, Sam Mendes – Certain images reminded me of Beau Travail, that was cool. Otherwise, this movie was sort of whatever.
- South of the Clouds, Wen Zhu – That I barely remember any detail about this Chinese movie (even if I remember liking the movie generally) sort of forces this movie into the also-ran section.