Cannes past and present
It is more than a little ironic for the
Daily Mail, with its daily “Femail” section detailing the sex lives of the stars, to deride today’s trash sex culture. Nevertheless, the
Mail has a worth looking-at
article on how the once sophisticated Cannes Film Festival has gone downhill and is now just about “drink, drugs, and (of course) sex.”
Speaking of Cannes film festivals past, and the culture of the pre-1960s West, see this great photo of Sophia Loren at Cannes in 1959.
- end of initial entry -
Tim W. writes:
I thought it might be enlightening to check out the first few Palme d’Or winning films from Cannes and compare them to the last few. The Palme d’Or award was introduced in 1955, just a few years before your linked photo of lovely Sophia Loren was taken.
The 1955 winner was Marty, a quiet romance about two plain-looking people finding love. In 1956 the award went to the beautiful Jacques Cousteau underwater documentary The Silent World. 1957 saw Friendly Persuasion, William Wyler’s film about a Quaker family torn between their pacifist faith and their patriotic duty during the Civil War, emerge the winner. For 1958, The Cranes Are Flying was the winner, a Soviet film about a family’s struggles during WWII. The 1959 honoree was Black Orpheus, a lovely film setting the Orpheus legend in a Brazilian festival. In 1960, the winner was La Dolce Vita, a Fellini film about a tabloid reporter covering the decadent lives of the rich and famous. One of his subjects was a party girl actress played by Anita Ekberg, whose behavior was mild compared to today’s frolics.
The last few winners have included Elephant, a 2003 film about a school massacre with homosexual undertones. 2004 was the year the abhorrent Michael Moore won for his leftist fraudumentary Fahrenheit 9/11. For 2005 the winner was The Child, about a petty crook who sells his kid on the black market. For 2006 there was The Wind That Shakes the Barley, about the Irish independence struggle with an emphasis on socialism. 2007’s winner was 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days, an unbelievably bleak film about two college girls seeking an abortionist in 1980s Romania. Last year’s winner was The Class, about turmoil in a racially mixed French school. Naturally, the immigrant kids are bright and alienated by French society.
Not a black and white distinction necessarily, but there does seem to be a darkness in most of the recent award winners.
Hannon writes:
Just wanted to say thank you for the link to la Loren entry from 2006. Somehow this subject is endlessly and extremely fascinating. I wonder why! I very much agree with your summation of what that photo of Sophia Loren means, and your replies to those who seemed to miss the idea.
I think there is the hostility factor, of women controlling men with their sexuality. But also it is a matter of what works for them and what they want. If a sullen and morose attitude gets a woman as much attention as the sweet and feminine one, but it’s a lot less work, a declining society will tend to allow or promote that sort of behavior. What is considered female allure today is in reality mutual misery.
LA replies:
“If a sullen and morose attitude gets a woman as much attention as the sweet and feminine one, but it’s a lot less work, a declining society will tend to allow or promote that sort of behavior. What is considered female allure today is in reality mutual misery.”
You know, I ought to start collecting quotable quotes from readers, like this one
Posted by Lawrence Auster at May 21, 2009 07:20 AM | Send