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Post by artraveler on Feb 29, 2020 18:06:12 GMT -8
Call of the Wild Wife and I saw this yesterday. It is based on a Jack London short novel published around the turn of the last century. The movie and the book are a story for dog lovers. Most of the movie centers on a Saint Bernard, Buck. He is taken from his home in Northern California and ends up in the Yukon as a sled dog. Goes through a series of troubles until he meets John Thornton, a prospector whose life has been a series of disappointments after the death of his son. This part is very well done by Harrison Ford, who also narrates. The real story is how Buck travels from a papered house pet to the leader of a wolf pack. That story has been left intact, however there is a level of political correctness. There are two French Canadians in the book both male and white. In the movie one is Black and has a Jamaican accent the other is Aleut woman. The real bad guys, who murder Thornton and his friends are rogue Indians who hate the white man. After Thornton’s murder Buck joins fully as leader of the wolf pack and the pack takes revenge for Thornton’s murder on the Indians. All of this is left out of the movie. It does worsen the story as London wrote it. Is it a movie worth seeing? Yes, it is just remember, this is not the entire story Jack London wrote. Coming from Hollywood in these days any story that leaves you feeling better then when you went into the theater is a plus. It is suitable for kids and with a little encouragement might get them to read the book, and perhaps other stories of Alaska. I’m thinking of the Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service. There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold; The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold; The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, But the queerest they ever did see Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee |
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Post by timothylane on Feb 29, 2020 18:13:43 GMT -8
I've never read the story and it would be hard for me to see the movie even if I wanted to. But as for Robert Service's poem, I read that in 9th grade, and it certainly has a fun ending. In addition, the next year my geometry teacher read it to class (he was a good reader of poetry). Later in the day we were in another class adjacent to his and we could hear him reading it. One student amusedly noted, "He's reading that poem."
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Post by artraveler on Feb 29, 2020 19:49:54 GMT -8
It was about 7th or 8th grade when I became familiar with Robert Service, call it about 11 or 12 years old. My second son got interested in 5th grade, My daughter never got into it, then or now. I think Service is mostly a male readership, In these days of PC that makes him persona non grata in most academic settings. But then so is Kipling. So much of civilization is slipping away, doomed to obscurity because the authors were not PC enough. So much has been trivialized into sound bites and bumper stickers. I expect to see a bumper sticker of Shakespeare, "to be or not to be".
If the opportunity presents itself Call of the Wild is a movie worth seeing even with all it's faults. In six months or so it should be around to the streaming services, It is not great cinema, but it is good cinema and perhaps that is a lot for these times.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Feb 29, 2020 19:58:57 GMT -8
Here can be found the book online for free: Call of the Wild. I've read a lot of Jack London stuff. I think I've read this but I don't remember. Was the dog transgender? |
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Post by artraveler on Feb 29, 2020 20:51:15 GMT -8
Was the dog transgender? Somehow they managed to avoid that. I suppose at a deeper level you could make a philosophy argument about how the dog rejects capitalism and reverts to his most basic instincts. There is a dog food commercial that praises the fact that every dog is the descendant of wolfs. So a dog that has been exploited becomes a hunter taking revenge on those who have caused him harm. But why ruin a good story with dialectic ? I do not think that was London's intent. |
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Post by timothylane on Feb 29, 2020 20:57:27 GMT -8
London considered himself a socialist despite being quite wealthy (sounds familiar somehow), but he never seemed to push it in his writing or anywhere else.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Mar 1, 2020 7:54:37 GMT -8
Indeed. There is no reason to ruin such a good story. Jack London - Book Series in OrderI read a lot of movie synopses looking for something promising to watch. Many movies include the term “coming of age.” And I had to stop and think what that meant. I’m not sure I’ve ever “come of age,” which might be half my problem. But what does that really mean? In modern times it could mean learning that you are actually a girl stuck in a man’s body. In the age of Jack London, it meant crumbling the Snowflake, not adding more coats to it. I would have crumbled if I had found myself in the same situation as Humphrey Van Weyden who finds himself a de facto impressed member of the crew of the Ghost with the harsh captain, Wolf Larsen, in charge. There are no gender-equity police on the Ghost. There is no one measuring every word to make sure that no one is offended. One reviewer said that The Sea-Wolf “is a complex drama that would never be written today.” He is likely correct. I would love to see someone turn this book into a movie and leave all the sharp edges, for this most certainly is a “coming of age” book. Never will Humphrey Van Weyden pine for a “safe space” after his adventures. He found his inner man, not his inner girly-man. But they cannot make this movie. If they did, it would be a woman who would play Humphrey Van Weyden. Men are not allowed to “come of age” on their own. They must always acquiesce now to the superiority of woman. |
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