June 27, 2009

When Everybody Was Slender

I have been viewing American historical films made before 1950 for a little documentary I am making. I have been struck--repeatedly struck every time I view a movie--that everyone is slender. Men, women, children, young, old, the demographic makes no difference. Everyone was slim. In archival photos of US soldiers in world war two, the young men sometimes have their shirts off. They pose for girl friends and family back home. They are so slender that in some poses you see hints of ribs. No fat hanging anywhere. They posture and mug for the camera. They were not body builders. They didn't have the bulging muscles, rippling six-packs, and over-sized necks of today's body builders. But they looked fit. Through the black and white photos, they glow with energy, stamina, alertness, motivation. In movies of the WACs and other women's branches of the services, service women all look slender and well put up; they walk tall, straight back, bright eyes, and with a briskness that reveals body confidence. Any woman today viewing such images would be  instantly jealous. Scenes of factories, families at home, people walking on city streets, the same tale doth repeat.  I know that not everyone was trim before 1950s. I look at my own family photo albums, and my grandparents were heavy by the time they were in their fifties. But when viewing documentary movies, historical scrapbooks, and archival photos of public places, you have to search to find anyone who looks overweight. The corpulence and hefty bodies we see now everywhere did not exist then. We looked healthier, more vital and alive. We looked like a strong people then.

March 25, 2009

American Genius Part 3

I have uploaded to YouTube part three of my video biography of a Southern California horse trainer. YouTube URL below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMlx1_Pae8c

February 15, 2009

Early Documentary Discovered About Democrats' Stimulus

From an amateur, but timely.

"Finches. A Morality Play." 1 minute. On YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR1Ttw4lUZw

February 08, 2009

Coleridge and The Great Gatsby

Was Fitzgerald perhaps thinking of these lines from Coleridge's "Dejection" when he wrote the ending of The Great Gatsby?

Though I should gaze for ever
On that green light that lingers in the west :
I may not hope from outward forms to win
The passion and the life, whose fountains are within.

June 2009

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
  1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30        
My Photo

My Blogs

Brooklyn Grand Army Plaza

  • Grand_army_plaza_15_a
    Inspiring civic monument at Prospect Park.

Kendall Sculpture Gardens

  • Barbara_hepworth_a_layout
    The sculpture gardens at PepsiCo's headquarters in Purchase, New York.

Metropolitan Museum

  • Atthemet_064_2_700
    Visiting the Galleries

New York City Sculpture

  • Central Park, Warm Early March Day
    Sculpture in public places.

Olympic Sculpture Park

  • Tony Smith 'Wandering Rocks'
    Modern, monumental, outdoor sculptures in Seattle.

Reliquary

  • Early Photo
    The author's baby and childhood photos in Faraway Village.

Shrouded

  • Meekness
    Shrouds may cover, yet reveal and set forth.
Blog powered by TypePad
Member since 07/2004