Fascism

I’m In My Prime, Girls! Midweek Movie

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie poster
~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

Tonight’s midweek movie is a classic from 1969, starring the always magnificent Maggie Smith. Based on the book of the same name, by Muriel Spark.

Here’s the trailer for the movie, to give you a taste of this comedy mini-masterpiece, which has a twist in the tale, as the idyllic dream Miss Brodie offers the girls as a vision of the life that lies ahead of them starts to unravel at the seams.

A formidable lady, indeed. It was said of her that

“The Brodie set did not for a moment doubt that she would prevail. As soon expect Julius Caesar to apply for a job at a crank school as Miss Brodie. She would never resign. If the authorities wanted to get rid of her she would have to be assassinated.”

Muriel spark uses a variety of pithy phrases attributed to Miss Brodie, which not only cause us to laugh, but hint at the darkness which emerges later on, as the girls’ relationship with her continues. It is an ambiguous movie, because we are encouraged to have a fondness for Miss Brodie, while later are shocked by some of the hidden character traits which emerge as we discover more aspects of this complex character. Some may be left at the end of the movie with the impression that they, like Miss Brodie, might “rather deal with a rogue than a fool” So, take your seats quietly, pencils at the ready, and above all, “Pay attention, girls!!!!!

Consumerism and Fascism

~ Donna Emerald ~ Leave a comment

I think Scott Erb makes a good point here, that you don’t have to be Adolf Hitler to be a Fascist, you just have to believe that the state always knows best, and that what the state and its media vehicles tell you is always the truth, and you are well on the way to helping bring about a Fascist society. Erb discusses also how the advertising industry uses similar propaganda and manipulation devices to create new desires in people. He puts it so much better than me, so read on……

World in Motion

The term ‘fascism’ is one of those words that isn’t used in polite company. The images of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis mean that the term is rarely taken seriously, often used to just insult someone, like in a recent internet debate when one guy labeled for no apparent reason geologists concerned about peak oil as “fascists.” And, while Marxian theory and socialism remain acceptable despite the horrors done in their name, fascism is seen as the nefarious ideology, defeated and evil.

As someone who is most decidedly anti-fascist, I find that a dangerous state of mind. Fascism is not only real, but has many forms. It is not inherently anti-semitic, and in fact can appear quite benign. I won’t go into the academic debates about the meaning of the term, though wikipedia gives a good summary. They are concerned with political fascism, which is primarily a nationalist ideology which…

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