Clinton Still Standing By Her Man

The strange ways of politics

I rarely blog about raw politics. This is more of a cultural blog. But, I have talked about Hillary Clinton before, comparing her demeanor (mostly through photographs) to four other respected female leaders. But, she didn't cut it - as I explain.

Now, I want to show the Hillary who "stands by her man." This has been her position throughout her adult life. There is nothing wrong with that. Women are always standing along-side their husbands, often with roles without which their husbands couldn't stand by them.

Of course, it was the visual aspect which interested me, when I saw her standing next to (behind) Obama in last week's unity campaign. I was struck by her pose, something I hadn't seen her do throughout her own campaign, but which resembled some she had during her husband's terms.

Did Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, and Queen Elizabeth I (or II) have that self-effacing expression?



But, Hillary's point, I believe, has always been different. She stands by her man, to later grab at the coat-tails to move in a direction she wants, away from the man/husband.

After all, her "vast right wing conspiracy" moment must have been a strategic plan for her future moves - and yes, that included a leadership role somewhere, sometime. And now, with Obama, she started off with her accusations of misogyny, but is subserviently once again standing by her "man." 2012, right? Well, I never predict, but in this case, I will.

This reminds me of Gore's sudden change in personality early on in his Vice Presidentship, when he was a more vocal, alive partner to Clinton and then suddenly went robotic.



I think Gore did this to promote his own image for a future presidential bid. To keep behind the lines, waiting for his time without causing controversy. But, people could never get the robot out of him.

This was Hillary's shining moment, which was caught in the fervent crowds she managed to attract, and under whose chants she did glow for a while. But those chants didn't accurately gauge her mediocre campaign.

She should have fought cleverly from the beginning, instead of arrogantly thinking the race was over in Iowa! As we see now, New Hampshire was not a come-back. Hillary ended up spending all her money so she couldn't move on to battle into the summer.

She now needs Obama badly, both to keep up her image and presence in the public, and to bail her out of the mess she put herself in, thinking him inconsequential. So much for strategy - which of course her ill-chosen team (by her) couldn't affect.

Clinton, like Gore's climate change obsession, will start some self-involved activity that might garner her world attention, and maybe a prestigious prize. That is after all what narcissistic personalties are good at - getting attention. But the famous Clinton machine (her husband is now too old and too bitter) is really over.

I have to feel sorry for her. But, then, it's almost as though she didn't want it to happen. So much for her self-ascribed "strong woman." These four ladies could swat her away with a flyswatter.

There was one tell-tale moment, though. I caught the final part of their live "Unity" appearance. At some point, after the speeches and congratulations, both Obama and Clinton were left on the stage with, it seemed, at a slight loss for words. Clinton then left the stage rather abruptly, walking to the left. Obama was left to take a swig at his water bottle, a little confused, wandering around the stage. He then walked down the steps, heading right.


A not-so-radiant Clinton.

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Kandinsky

At the National Gallery of Canada

Wassily Kandinsky's Succession, 1935

In beautiful Ottawa, at the National Gallery of Art, a show that was not expected to uplift, but to provide some food (images) for thought, provided this lovely painting by Kandinsky. The show was entitled "The 1930s: The Making of The New Man" - more on that later.

I've always wondered why the great art historian Kenneth Clark had such admiration for Kandinsky. I admit that some of our artistic choices are idiosyncratic. But, seeing Kandinsky's "Succession", I understood the intelligence and intuition that made him into a great (but flawed) modern painter.

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Germans Coming Into Their Own

Films that tell their stories

It always takes time to clearly analyze unbearable things that have happened in the past. This is the legacy of modern German history. Firstly, with two world wars, then with the split between East and West Germany, there has been a lot to digest.

A couple of recent films do great service to the presentation of history in direct and honest ways. The first was The Lives of Others, a film about the East German years of clouded tyranny where everyone was a potential enemy, on the verge of giving up his neighbors and friends to the state machine. In an insightful decision, the story focused on an individual man, and how he managed to overcome this.

The other broaches the horrible topic of the holocaust. Although an Austrian film, the filmmakers tell a quintessentially German story. Once again, they decided to focus on smaller, more personal players in this gargantuan game. Selected concentration camp prisoners are ordered to counterfeit first the British pound note, then the American dollar, in the hope that the Nazi can inundate these countries with fake money, and ruin their economy. The Counterfeiters is a true story, but that is not where the greatness of the film lies.

There must be a dilemma in holocaust films about how to depict the horrors of the concentration camps. Well, this film bypasses that awful decision, showing us only glimpses of the atrocities. But, the bulk of the story is told in the clean, almost normal environment of the counterfeit studios, which are set apart from the rest of the camp.

Yes, they are still in a concentration camp, but at least there are clean sheets, good food and above all beautiful music (albeit it being there to drown the noise of what is going on outside of their small haven.)

It is a story, told without camera tricks or filmic devises. It could almost be a made for TV film, or even a straightforward documentary. But, its simplicity and honesty, especially when juxtaposing the barely bearable studios with the occasional (and final) views of the rest of the camp, is devastating.

Both these films won Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.

Well done, to the Germans.

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Fellini Again

And Debussy's Clair de Lune

Projecting the opera singer with Debussy's Clair de Lune

Fellini brings back his cast of performers in "And the Ship Sails On." This time it is a troupe of opera and classical musicians. They board a ship to sail to the birth island of a deceased fellow opera diva, who asked that her ashes be scattered there.

Performance plays a large part in "And the Ship Sails On": music, opera, dance, melodrama, and finally film.

The most whimsical is the resurrection of the dead diva through a film projector, obsessively hand cranked by a deeply admiring conductor.

As her silent image (paradoxically, for this singing star) flickers in black and white on the make-shift screen of scarves strewn across a rectangular shape, the lovely, light music of Debussy's piano suite "Clair de Lune" provides the perfect sound.

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Exotic Plants

And immigration

From Michaux's "North American Sylva."
White Oak by P. Bessa, 1857

Botanical illustration took a tremendous stride during the centuries of discovery when European travelers were mesmerized by exotic plants they found in foreign lands. Since bringing the plants was not always an option, many talented illustrators brought back pictures instead. It was during this time that the articulate, precise and often beautiful illustrations gained prestige. Adventure combined with beauty must have been a worthwhile endeavor.

Exotica has always been admired from afar, either through paintings and other records, or through travel to its source. But, as travelers found ways to bring back these plants across continents to their own homelands, they had to be careful that their native plants would not be over-run by these foreign specimens.

Tree expert Todd Irvine, from Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests (LEAF), was explaining the dangers of exotic plants to native plant growth during his lecture on trees at a recent Botanical Artists of Canada annual meeting.

The Norway spruce, brought here from northern Europe, is one example of a tree which is easy to cultivate and which grows at an incredibly fast rate, displacing other plants and trees in record time. Garden stores sell it without any qualms whatsoever, despite knowing the dangers, and, I believe, guided by money. It is taking over the more lethargic and slow-growing oaks, maples and beeches and is on the invasive plants watch list for Canada.

There is a morality tale here.

Just as some plants can completely change the make-up of the surrounding vegetations, so can some groups of people change, possibly irreparably, the fabric of society.

Toronto, sanctioned by its leaders, is doing the same thing. The exotica has now a full-blown entry into ordinary society, unprecedented in previous centuries, where even one wayward entrance would cause consternation and worry.

Hindu temples and mosques are trudging in at spectacular speed and replacing Protestant and Catholic churches. And whole suburban regions are replacing the original settlers with Chinese and Indian populations.

So, in this atmosphere, who will keep up the prized tradition of botanical art, which ironically flourished because those exotica were kept in their own lands? Like LEAF's gargantuan project, botanical art in Canada is becoming local, with many exhibitions stressing "native plants." I wonder if our Toronto representatives will do the same for our population, while finding ways to get rid of the encroaching usurpers?

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Fairgrounds II

And mundane moralities

Zampano's and Gelsomina's caravan in "La Strada"

Coincidentally, TFO (la télévision éducative et culturelle de l’Ontario français(!)) had Fellini's "La Strada" tonight. It was dubbed in French, which I thought would be distracting, but it was perfect since there really isn't that much dialogue.

This is more a story about the wayward nature of circus/carnival entertainers, who are always on the road (La Strada) and seldom have homes and stability. Yet, despite this great handicap, they really do make a go at ordinary life, with their make-shift caravans.

Once again, the other-worldliness of carnivals and performers is used to tell a story. This time, a poignant story about three characters: one naive, one brutish and one incongruously named "The Fool."

Fellini clearly finds Gelsomina, the slow-witted one of the three, his most endearing character. And she is so beguiling, that it doesn't matter if Fellini is a little condescending.

And, I have met such "slow" people who have flashes of wisdom, artistry (as Gelsonina is happy to remind everyone) and individuality, if only because of their inherent, emotional honesty.

A morality tale takes place in Fellini's fairground. Well, Hitchcock used his that way also, to resolve a murder in his case.

But Fellini's project is more ambitious. It is about the little daily moralities: Gelsomina staying with Zampano; Il Matto leaving Gelsomina alone; nuns and neighborhood women taking care of the desolate Gelsomina; Zampano's final error.

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