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The remarkably uncivil and easily offended Mr. Dewhirst may need to take his own issues to a psychologist. James Clifton ________________________________ From: Film-Philosophy Salon [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Adam Dewhirst Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 4:37 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Heath Ledger I wonder whether some of the scathing comments made here - quite understably, since this is not meant to be a fan forum - regarding the initial statement would have been made if the deceased actor had been, say, Robert De Niro or Paul Newman or some other long established actor/star?! it could have been expressed regarding bresson, godard, anyone... that really isn't the point... the sentiment expressed was offensive to me in that it is the essence of what assails me on a daily basis... take that rubbish to a fan formun or a tabloid blog or your psychologist... ________________________________ Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 09:27:31 +0100 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Heath Ledger To: [log in to unmask] Some random associative thoughts... '...I speculated about the affect this loss would have on the film industry..." There's a telling spelling error there, affect instead of effect. I wonder whether some of the scathing comments made here - quite understably, since this is not meant to be a fan forum - regarding the initial statement would have been made if the deceased actor had been, say, Robert De Niro or Paul Newman or some other long established actor/star?! So maybe we should discuss emotionality and emotional investments not only in ctors/actresses/stars, but also in films generally? On a tangent, I thought Heath Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain was fine, especially in his character's silences. Personally, I felt the film's ending to be almost too powerful, too sad. Which reminds me, as another digression, of what a producer once told me: that films that are emotionally very powerful don't tend to do well at the box office; audiences, he said, preferred the emotionally superficial... H I've been lurking on this forum for some time, and I am dismayed by the insensitive responses to someone else's emotional admission. I understand why someone might think that it is not appropriate fodder for this forum, but does that warrant the ad hominem remarks that we have seen so far? One writer calls her letter "ridiculous" and another suggests that those who agree with Connie are not worthy to be called colleagues and uses association with Dr. Phil and Oprah as a pejorative. Is this a community in which one is not allowed to admit a certain kind of interest without the danger of being flamed? Connie offered off-forum discussion of this topic. That should have been accepted in the spirit in which it was offered. Well, I agree with Connie. I was also startled to see that Ledger had died, and I speculated about the affect this loss would have on the film industry and on the community of his fans, which may turn out to be larger than we think. The dialectic between author and audience plays an immense role in the creation of meaning in text, and public and professional reactions to this death will likely have ramifications throughout the film industry that will find their way into the products they produce. There is no genre of art that can be measured by only one aspect in its creation. Film is a product of many authors, of which actors are one. Each actor adds his or her own unique artistic interpretation and input to a film; each actor is an artistic component without which individual expression a film would not be the same. Thus it should matter to a student of film when an actor passes away. Even so... Even if you can't see the merit in mourning someone else's death, can't you at least be civil? Angela Mathews * * Film-Philosophy Email Discussion Salon. After hitting 'reply' please always delete the text of the message you are replying to. 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