Friday, December 10, 2010

"I can do nothing for you son"



I saw True Grit when I was a little girl. My parents took me to a drive-in, somewhere in Queens. I remember the movie somewhat, but mostly what I remember was that I could not take John Wayne seriously. I could not take his eyepatch seriously. I could not take the fact that he didn’t punch Kim Darby straightaway seriously. But mostly I could not take him seriously because his sidekick was Glen Campbell. At that time, Glen Campbell had his own show--the “Good Times Twangy Happy White Guys Hour” or something like that--which I had seen on TV and thought was ridiculous even at the tender age of six. (Now if John Wayne had taken along Tom Jones instead--who helmed the "Tom Jones Sexy Welsh Man Hour," which I thought was sexy even at six--I might have felt differently.) Little did I know that more than thirty years later, Twangy Glen would transform into Angry Drunk Mugshot Glen, who definitely would have made a great partner for any US Marshall looking to shoot people. But back then, there was only twangy young Glen and grizzled old John Wayne, already seeming to be something of a parody of himself (which I sensed before I understood the word “parody”).

I was not crazy about the film. So why am I so fascinated by the trailers for the remake? When the trailer comes on I perk up, and stare, and I don’t think Jeff Bridges looks silly at all, even when I ruminate on his mini-performance in the True Grit trailer during commercials for Tron.

Then I realized why I’m so drawn to that trailer. It’s that scene where Rooster Cogburn is staring down at a man that from what I can tell seems to be dying. I don’t remember the story well enough, but from the trailer it seems obvious the man’s fate is of his own making. You can tell by the look in Rooster’s eyes. And even though the dying man has done it to himself somehow, he wants Rooster’s help.

At this time of year, I too stare down desperate people caught in fates of their own making that want my help.

can i not have a point to pass i tried really hard on that final

I tried very hard at the beginning and super hard on the final paper. I have been very sick with kidney stones and then I was seeing a counselor on campus for depression. I will lose my grants and scholarships.

I see that trailer and I am one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, watching that man on the ground, and what comes out of his mouth is the same thing that comes out of mine.

(Except, you know, without the blood and death and everything. I mean, I am only an English professor after all.)

14 comments:

  1. Did you notice the vapor trail from a jet aircraft in the sky, in one of the scenes with Glen Campbell? Oops!

    An old movie I recently re-saw that fits my mood this time of year is The Great Escape. Yes, the motorcycle scene with Steve McQueen is still -very- cool. Grading this stack of papers feels like being in the cooler. Once I get done, it'll be like making the jump over the barb-wire fence: only to crash and get tangled in it, when some functional illiterate finds my office for the first time ever, to whine about the grade.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's why you slowly ride away on a bicycle and with any luck you'll find your way to "Espanya."

    ReplyDelete
  3. But you'd still rather be Steve McQueen on the bike with the sidecar. In an era before videotapes, I would travel great distances to see that movie. Still one of my favorites today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I've never seen the original, but I'll see the remake because I would watch the Coen Brothers filming Dolly Parton reading a phone book. I mean.

    ReplyDelete
  5. p.s. Kidney stones? Seriously? Cut the kid some slack, please. Those are more painful than childbirth, and trust me, I wish I didn't know this.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome! I'm not sure I'll be able to watch the remake without missing John Wayne's indignation, but will definitely not miss Kim Darby.

    Does my stare down count if I do it electronically and call students begging for a random 6% increase to their grade manipulative bullies?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Five nasty emails, two very abusive phone calls, one undocumented claim that social anxiety prevented her from participating in class - of course only mentioned to me after final grades were submitted...the stare down seemed to finally work. Or not...she just posted a very abusive diatribe, all in caps, on the site that shall not be named.

    ReplyDelete
  8. John Wayne didn't deserve the Oscar for Rooster Cogburn, though it was very entertaining to watch him and Katherine Hepburn interact in the sequel; she was excited to work with him.

    He deserved an Oscar for Ethan Edwards.

    I'm not sure whether Jeff Bridges is gonna make it work, though I, too, would pay to watch the Coen Bros. direct my neighbor taking out the trash. But Stella's take on the trailer is spot on. "I can do nothin' for ya, son." I've got a couple of those. One in particular.

    Has anyone else read the novel? It was well-received in its day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. @Snarkygirl: Go to a public library computer, create a gmail account, post an obscene comment on CM in all caps calling the student (by her full name) a horrible person, and then go home and drink some whiskey and listen to Glen Campbell sing "Rhinestone Cowboy." You win. It's all about winning and losing, right?

    Giddyup!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Stella, you made me laugh out loud with the description of Campbell's and Jones' shows. I needed that. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm grading final papers right now and wish I had a "I can do nothing for you son" stamp for marking about a 1/3 of 'em!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Yep, that sums it up, Stella and the stamp is a great idea, Dr. D. I have a red one that says "REWRITE"--it's huge.

    I see Stella has upped the ante with her avatar.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I look nothing like that avatar. But someone put it next to one of my posts back at RYS.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Whenever a bad grade is given out, a sense of entitlement gets its wings.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.