Republican brinksmanship in the halls of Congress these past few weeks has been reminding me of Grendel rampaging through Heorot Hall in “Beowulf.”
Tag Archives: Barack Obama
Obama as a Kurosawa Figure
Seen in the most positive light, Obama has chosen to be a mountain rather than an attack dog. The movie scene that comes to mind is Kurosawa’s shadow warrior trying to be a “mountain” in “Kagemusha.”
Beware the Fury of a Patient Man
“Beware the anger of a patient man.” This line from John Dryden’s “Absolom and Architophel” occurred to me as I was listening to President Obama’s speech this past Friday. Does the poem have any predictive value when it comes to our budget impasse?
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Absolom and Architophel, Debt Ceiling crisis, John Dryden, politics | Comments closed
Eric Cantor and Famous Literary Sneers
If you’ve been paying any attention to America’s budget battles, you know that Congressional Republicans are currently engaged in a dangerous game of chicken with President Obama over raising the debt ceiling. Today’s post on the subject features a parallel with Macbeth and a glance at famous literary sneers.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Ozymandias", Budget battles, Congress, Debt Ceiling crisis, Emily Bronte, Eric Cantor, Henry Fielding, John Boehner, Macbeth, Percy Shelley, politics, Tom Jones, William Shakespeare, Wuthering Height | Comments closed
Trollope, the Cure for What Ails Our Politics
David Brooks uses Anthony Trollope’s novel “Phineas Finn” to examine a very pressing issue, the tension between independence and service in our politicians.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Anthony Trollope, Phineas Finn, politics, Presidential race | Comments closed
Obama, Unconventional Epic Hero
Maybe Obama is like Beowulf, who watches out Grendel operates and allows the monster to strike first before responding. Then he reaches out with a firm grip. Bombast and theatrics are for others. His aim is to save the hall.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Beowulf, Circe/Mud Poems, Margaret Atwood, politics | Comments closed
The Godfather Takes Out Bin Laden
My first thought when hearing how Bin Laden was killed was that it sounded like the plot out of an action adventure movie (only without a heroine). There are also a number of parallels with Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather.
Tea Party Plays Chicken with America
Are there other way in which Rebel without a Cause applies to the budget battle? Maybe Jim Boehner is the weak father, unable to stand up to his Tea Party fantatics and failing to teach them that governing requires compromise. Maybe President Obama is the man in the apron, failing to robustly address a future deficit that will be unsustainable, thereby letting radicals step into the vacuum.
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Film, Government shutdown, James Dean, Jim Boehner, politics, Rebel without a Cause | Comments closed
Leaders Who Don’t Want to Govern
“Nature, be thou my goddess,” exclaims Edmund, the bastard son of Gloucester in King Lear as he prepares to embark on a course of action that, before he is stopped, results in the disinheritance of his legitimate brother, the blinding and banishment of his father, the poisoning of one sister by another, and the execution […]
Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged King Lear, politics, Republicans, William Shakespeare | Comments closed
