On Tuesday, December 23, 2003 at 11:13:04 PM UTC-10, Lisa Morgendunst wrote:

Well, it's winter and there have been flurries here and there. Anyway,
it reminds of that now forgotten movie Love Story.
I know, it aint no masterpiece. It's not even all that a good a film.
Still, you have to admit there's something special, even beautiful
about it.
This guy, he meets a girl and falls in love. It's not that she's the
most beautiful woman in the world nor the smartest though she's pretty
and smart.
And, somewhat difficult, even bitchy at times. But, he knows this is
THE love of his life. He'll give up anything for her and vice versa.
They can open up to eachother unlike with anyone else.
They get married and he finishes law school and has a nice job. He's
still young and has a whole future ahead of him. Yet, what really
matters most is he has Jenny, someone to come home to, someone to come
home. She's gonna be there for everyday of every year for the rest of
his life. But, she dies...
It wouldn't so bad if Oliver's an old man but he's got an entire life
ahead of him, and he'll have to go thru it without Jenny except as a
haunting memory. Granted, the movie is contrived. It's a tearjerker.
But, this one gets to me. The image of Oliver, in his mid 20s facing a
park covered with snow, all alone in the world, alone in the most
fundamental way, is a rare moment in cinema.
None of us would like to go thru a similar experience so why am I
saying that I enjoy watching this movie? I guess because even though
we don't want the pain we appreciate the beauty of sadness. It's
probably the most painful sort of inner beauty but also the most
precious.

According to Wikipedia:

- - [Hitchcock's "The Birds"'] U.S. [tv debut] was on NBC... on January 6, 1968, and became the most watched film on television surpassing The Bridge on the River Kwai with a Nielsen rating of 38.9 and an audience share of 59%.[58] The record was beaten
in 1972 by Love Story.[58]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Birds_(film)#Reception

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Remember Jedediah Purdy (born in 1974, in West Virginia), who was home-schooled, went on to Harvard and Yale and is now a professor of law at Columbia?

At Harvard, in 1993, went to the annual screening of "Love Story," and was horrified...by the audience's behavior. (As I remember, he was kind of naive about movies in general and what makes a good one or a bad one - plus, he certainly wasn't used to
dirty or nasty jokes being told in public.)

From Gawker:

...The New York Times Magazine had discovered Jedediah, in 1999, by way of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., which was making Jedediah a published author at the age of 24. Jedediah was, for the purposes of the Times Magazine and Knopf and perhaps his own purposes,
a representative or leader of what seemed to be a nascent movement against what was then being called "the ironic sensibility." (The Believer and Julavits's essay were still over the horizon, and for lack of the word "snark," people were using "irony.")

Jedediah, accustomed to the simple gracefulness of country life, had been turned against irony by a traumatic experience on arriving at Harvard College in 1993. The Times Magazine described it:

There is a custom at the university of screening "Love Story" for incoming freshmen, who gleefully heckle the film. You can guess the gibes: Ali MacGraw's first appearance is met with shouts of, "You're gonna get cancer!" When she steps into a cab,
somebody yells, "To the morgue—and step on it!"

Appalled by such cavalier treatment of a serious illness, Purdy stomped the perimeter of Harvard Yard, then dashed off a letter to The Crimson. "I felt this was a hideous practice," he says. "Placing this at the beginning of the orientation seemed an
induction of students into a cold, self-satisfied manner."

Mocking the use of cancer as a tearjerking movie plot device may not be precisely the same thing as mocking actual cancer. But Jedediah, or the version of Jedediah in the pages of the Times Magazine, worked in broad themes. People responded to those
broad themes. The piece was a sensation. Perhaps irony was bad. Perhaps it was sanctimony that was bad. "The glumly virtuous young Purdy could have used a little ironizing himself," David Denby recalls, in Snark...

(snip)

From The Harvard Crimson:

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED
September 24, 1993
"I am writing in response to Jedediah Purdy's letter concerning 'Love Story.'

"The purpose of the 'Love Story' showing is to entertain the first-year students with a movie about Harvard while mocking the popular culture of the early 1970s. Our commentary is not designed to mock cancer or the pain it causes both its victims and
their family and friends. The jokes and comments are meant to be taken lightly; however, we recognize that some may be seen as offensive and obscene. The choice to view 'Love Story' is a personal one. Before all four showings on Thursday night, members
of the audience were informed of the nature of the jokes and encouraged to leave the film and get back their ticket money if they did not feel comfortable with our commentary.

"We regret any hurt that Purdy and others felt due to our showing." Allison J. Koenig `94 President, Crimson Key Society

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On Wednesday, January 5, 2022 at 9:00:11 AM UTC-5, Lenona wrote:

Remember Jedediah Purdy (born in 1974, in West Virginia), who was home-schooled, went on to Harvard and Yale and is now a professor of law at Columbia?

At Harvard, in 1993, went to the annual screening of "Love Story," and was horrified...by the audience's behavior. (As I remember, he was kind of naive about movies in general and what makes a good one or a bad one - plus, he certainly wasn't used to

dirty or nasty jokes being told in public.)

From Gawker:

...The New York Times Magazine had discovered Jedediah, in 1999, by way of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., which was making Jedediah a published author at the age of 24. Jedediah was, for the purposes of the Times Magazine and Knopf and perhaps his own purposes,

a representative or leader of what seemed to be a nascent movement against what was then being called "the ironic sensibility." (The Believer and Julavits's essay were still over the horizon, and for lack of the word "snark," people were using "irony.")

Jedediah, accustomed to the simple gracefulness of country life, had been turned against irony by a traumatic experience on arriving at Harvard College in 1993. The Times Magazine described it:

There is a custom at the university of screening "Love Story" for incoming freshmen, who gleefully heckle the film. You can guess the gibes: Ali MacGraw's first appearance is met with shouts of, "You're gonna get cancer!" When she steps into a cab,

somebody yells, "To the morgue—and step on it!"

Appalled by such cavalier treatment of a serious illness, Purdy stomped the perimeter of Harvard Yard, then dashed off a letter to The Crimson. "I felt this was a hideous practice," he says. "Placing this at the beginning of the orientation seemed an

induction of students into a cold, self-satisfied manner."

Mocking the use of cancer as a tearjerking movie plot device may not be precisely the same thing as mocking actual cancer. But Jedediah, or the version of Jedediah in the pages of the Times Magazine, worked in broad themes. People responded to those

broad themes. The piece was a sensation. Perhaps irony was bad. Perhaps it was sanctimony that was bad. "The glumly virtuous young Purdy could have used a little ironizing himself," David Denby recalls, in Snark...

(snip)

From The Harvard Crimson:

NO WRITER ATTRIBUTED
September 24, 1993
"I am writing in response to Jedediah Purdy's letter concerning 'Love Story.'

"The purpose of the 'Love Story' showing is to entertain the first-year students with a movie about Harvard while mocking the popular culture of the early 1970s. Our commentary is not designed to mock cancer or the pain it causes both its victims and

their family and friends. The jokes and comments are meant to be taken lightly; however, we recognize that some may be seen as offensive and obscene. The choice to view 'Love Story' is a personal one. Before all four showings on Thursday night, members
of the audience were informed of the nature of the jokes and encouraged to leave the film and get back their ticket money if they did not feel comfortable with our commentary.

"We regret any hurt that Purdy and others felt due to our showing." Allison J. Koenig `94 President, Crimson Key Society

"We regret any hurt that Purdy and others felt due to our showing." Allison J. Koenig `94 President, Crimson Key Society

Does Harvard still show the movie?

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Does Harvard still show the movie?

Offhand, I don't know. But I know more than one person connected to Harvard, so I'll find out eventually.

In the meantime...

As many of you have heard, the director of "What's Up, Doc?", Peter Bogdanovich, has died at 82.

And, Jedediah Purdy wrote a big (unrelated) guest essay for the New York Times. (It was in yesterday's hard copy. Minus the photo, it took up just under a half-page.) There are over 1900 comments.

To my surprise, he's changed his name.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/opinion/us-democracy-constitution.html

Top comment, from Cc in Florida:

"I guess a good think piece, but changing our constitutional republic to a fully democratic institution would be changing what is the U.S. and has been since its founding. There is just no appetite in the republic (with its current representatives on
either side of the aisle) to do so. Not enough current representatives want to be part of ending the republic and building "something else", just too much risk and work. Most current representatives feel things aren't so bad to require that kind if
change in their lifetime. Plus there is just way too much streaming content to get through to put that level of work in. Better to sit tight and read think pieces while netflix is on in the background. Electing different representatives that would take
this on is just not an option as the people that want to make these kinds of changes are already voting at high levels. The people not voting are the ones that like things the way they are (or close enough) so even if they showed up at the pols it wouldn'
t matter. If the majority of people wanted change it would happen, you couldn't stop it."

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Lenona wrote:

Remember Jedediah Purdy (born in 1974, in West Virginia)

I don't. Are they here? Let them give their opinion. You're here though, why don't
you talk about what YOU think?




-- --

https://jtem.tumblr.com/post/673214686682054656

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On Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 5:55:13 PM UTC-5, JTEM wrote:

Lenona wrote:

Remember Jedediah Purdy (born in 1974, in West Virginia)

I don't. Are they here? Let them give their opinion. You're here though, why don't
you talk about what YOU think?

I'm not about to comment. I saw it maybe 20-30 years ago, so I don't really remember it.

But given that it's been made fun of at least ever since "What's Up, Doc?," that would suggest that if it's among your favorite dramas or romances, it's better to keep quiet about that.

What professional critic these days DOES praise it?

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Lenona <lenona321@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 5:55:13 PM UTC-5, JTEM wrote:

Lenona wrote:

Remember Jedediah Purdy (born in 1974, in West Virginia)

I don't. Are they here? Let them give their opinion. You're here though, why don't
you talk about what YOU think?

I'm not about to comment. I saw it maybe 20-30 years ago, so I don't
really remember it.

But given that it's been made fun of at least ever since "What's Up,
Doc?," that would suggest that if it's among your favorite dramas or >romances, it's better to keep quiet about that.

That's outrageous. What, you're going to be ostracized? Lose your job?
Get kicked out of your country club?

What professional critic these days DOES praise it?

Who cares?

Hollywood tries to exploit an audience. If a movie does well
commercially, that's good business. No movie should ever be made for professional critics.

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Lenona wrote:

What professional critic these days DOES praise it?

In 1970 the average movie ticket price was $1.55 but drew in a
huge chunk of change:

https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Love-Story-(1970)

Objectively? Hollywood is at a low point. Films suck, they're more
about "Woke" politics than story and audiences have shrunk so
much that many are openly speculating that the days for theaters
are over.




-- --

https://jtem.tumblr.com/post/694407216559702016

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On Wednesday, December 24, 2003 at 1:13:04 AM UTC-8, Lisa Morgendunst wrote:

Well, it's winter and there have been flurries here and there. Anyway,
it reminds of that now forgotten movie Love Story.
I know, it aint no masterpiece. It's not even all that a good a film.
Still, you have to admit there's something special, even beautiful
about it.
This guy, he meets a girl and falls in love. It's not that she's the
most beautiful woman in the world nor the smartest though she's pretty
and smart.
And, somewhat difficult, even bitchy at times. But, he knows this is
THE love of his life. He'll give up anything for her and vice versa.
They can open up to eachother unlike with anyone else.
They get married and he finishes law school and has a nice job. He's
still young and has a whole future ahead of him. Yet, what really
matters most is he has Jenny, someone to come home to, someone to come
home. She's gonna be there for everyday of every year for the rest of
his life. But, she dies...
It wouldn't so bad if Oliver's an old man but he's got an entire life
ahead of him, and he'll have to go thru it without Jenny except as a
haunting memory. Granted, the movie is contrived. It's a tearjerker.
But, this one gets to me. The image of Oliver, in his mid 20s facing a
park covered with snow, all alone in the world, alone in the most
fundamental way, is a rare moment in cinema.
None of us would like to go thru a similar experience so why am I
saying that I enjoy watching this movie? I guess because even though
we don't want the pain we appreciate the beauty of sadness. It's
probably the most painful sort of inner beauty but also the most
precious.

(Youtube upload):

"Ali MacGraw and Ryan O'Neal on making "Love Story""

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