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  LITERATURE AND SOCIETY dance a duet and take turns leading.  It isn’t always apparent that changes in Art are a response to changes in society and culture  or whether the order is reversed. Yet the very “ominous” poem, The Second Coming by Yeats was written just after WWI, the “war to end all wars” (https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/twilight-in-the-land-of-more/). And Orwell’s dystopian 1984 (published 1949) was a response to totalitarianism before, during, and after WWII (https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/orwells-1984-is-the-book-of-our-time-a-canticle-for-eric-blair/ ). In the Roaring Twenties, the male and privileged romanticism of Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald were the rage. By the end of the Depression, the mantle of social authority was transferred to the destitute masses in Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath or the more haunted existences of the Deep South revealed in

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Movies

The French Dispatch is another of Wes Anderson’s superb films.Before any consideration of the story, the film has to be considered an exceptional viewing experience for the unpredictability (that he always brings), the richness of characters, and the uber-esoteric settings—mostly amid a Sahara of dry humor. Not to mention that the cast consists of a blend of top comedic and dramatic talent (while I am sure the actors view it as work in High Art, they seem to be having the perfect mix of challenge and fun). Some new (to his films) “star” faces are evidence of the allure of this filmmaker. The structure is a little unusual because it’s broken into segments, but it all conforms within the context of a newspaper founded and operated

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Movies

The film is a remake of the noir drama of the same name made almost in 1947. Bradley Cooper stars with Rooney Mara, Willem Dafoe, David Strathairn, and Cate Blanchett. All turn in strong performances.One of the selling points of the film for me was the rich setting of a traveling carnival 80 years ago.  In the bosom of that troupe of performers, outcasts and small-time hustlers, the protagonist develops a rare ability—or the pretense of it—and is drawn to new venues where he plies his trade on more discerning and concerning types. The film (based on the novel of the same name) draws its title from a dark secret of the carnival trade of that time. The “geek,” a nearly naked and wretched creature

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Movies

This film brings to mind any number of films (e.g. the award-winning Roma by A. Cuaron and perhaps the newly released Licorice Pizza by P. T. Anderson) where the writer/directors looked back to  the people and places and of their upbringing and told a story in a labor of love.Though Kenneth Branagh altered some of the details, he grew up in a Protestant family living in a Catholic neighborhood in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969 during the “Troubles.” Shot in black and white, and with the balance of focus falling more on the people than the politics, the tone of the story leans toward perseverance and tenderness rather than resentment or bitterness.There are several name actors, including an excellent Ciaran Hinds, but Judi Dench, despite

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Markets

  [Note: This material is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Discuss your specific risk-tolerances, needs and strategies with an investment professional] ANY STOCK MARKET–even the over-supported and resilient US stock market–will sooner or later see to it that every successful trading or investment strategy fails miserably.  Right now, there’s a good chance that “buying the dips” and other bullish strategies will fall from fashion in the coming months.  This may also include investments in intangible or digital properties or currencies or meme stocks that became a source of easy wealth for millions of investors–most of whom aren’t aware that markets can go down or that value is not derived from a message board or chat thread. A former colleague of mine, Peter H. (R.I.P

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  AT THE AGE of 22, my life path was given a shake when a roommate spontaneously recited a few poignant passages of a book he was reading. The title was The Day on Fire and the author, James Ramsey Ullman, had fictionalized the life of a great poet. Arthur Rimbaud was the enfant terrible of French Poetry; he was only 17 when he arrived in Paris, and by the time he turned 21 he had shocked the literary world.  He shocked my world, too. He wrote things powered by vision and imagination–and their impact was not overly weakened by filter of translation: As soon as the idea of the Deluge had subsided, a hare stopped in the clover amid the swaying bluebells, and said

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Movies

  THE IDEA of a more romantic Bond has been building. In Casino Royale, Bond had told Vesper Lynd that she could have all that was left of him. By the end of Spectre, Bond had chosen Madeline Swann, whom he meets again in No Time to Die. That relationship gets more complex as the movie progresses. The plot is more “nanotech” than ever before. The threat to humankind is terrifying for being more deadly and more purposeful than a mere bomb. The plot was complex and, as you would expect, moved through exotic scenes and otherworldly scenarios. The acting was compelling.  Bond veteran characters had a more dramatic  script. The likes of Daniel Craig and Ray Fiennes, but also returning characters played by Lea

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When John LeCarre died, I assumed I’d read his last book.  A friend texted me that a new LeCarre book was coming out. I investigated and ordered it immediately. The title was Silverview. I wasn’t through the first two chapters before I sensed a younger, more daring author. The author had died at 90 years of age.  He had begun the Silverview manuscript over a decade ago but paused time and time again, in search of a missing element. His son–also a writer– fulfilled a promise and saw the project through. It’s a shorter novel, but has the watermark of his best work: two ideals compete for devotion, be they patriotism and love, the individual and the institution, or conscience and expedience. It’s typically a somber

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Markets

[Note: this material is for educational and entertainment purposes only]   STOCK MARKET MANIAS are like champions in their fields: they do not go down without a fight. In August of 2020, I posted how the current  extended mania or “super bubble” represents decades of Federal Reserve Bank policies that led to a stock market seemingly incapable of falling for any stretch of time (https://www.moviesmarketsandmore.com/a-mania-to-rule-them-all/). The explanations for its longevity range from conspiracy theories to mass psychology to economic science: It is a self-fulfilling prophecy and a vicious cycle; no one sells because they are continually rewarded for buying and holding shares It is “propped up” by $1.4 trillion in QE per year (12 times $120 billion/month) and ZIRP or “zero-interest rate policy” at the

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Movies

The iconic TV show, Star Trek, flung wide open the door to science fiction literature for me. In fact some of the great early science fiction writers–like Asimov and Ellison–contributed to episodes for that show. I don’t remember when I first read Frank Herbert’s Dune, but it changed me. Three books from the 50s and 60s:  I Robot, Dune, and  A Canticle for Liebowitz stood out as a kind a Trinity in my Sci-Fi canon. It wasn’t long until film technology caught up with the imaginations of these writers: the refined special effects and later CGI in the ’70s and ’80s allowed access to countless tales of realms that could not practically exist outside of the mind. With the somber hues, the art shots and

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