Street Car Named Desire
I remember my first English teacher in College made us read a ton of DH lawrence and Tennesee Willams. Unfortunately for me, I didn't care about what she was talking about. I wish I could go back and appreciate things some days. Fortunately for me I did fall in love with literature shortly after. But anyway, I just watched street car and saw it for all its wonderful everything. I just read the play(really read) for the first time sometime in May and watching the movie was just awesome. Everything from the names Blanch DuBois (The aging white "virgin" masqueraded whore and her inability to stand in the light because she lies about not only her innocence but failing youth as well), Stanley Kowalski (his big brick name and big brick "brain" atiitude toward everything), Stella Kowalski (the sister to Blanch with the uncommon workmanlike first name and her inability to leave the raw sex that is Stanley), to the lighting and decor of a standard Tennesse hot Delta play was just awesome. This movie/play is so great on so many levels that it would be fruitless to try and blog it because there are so many scenes that stick with me.
The one I just remembered was when Hank was courting Blanch. It was working-class attempting to attain a brass ring to please his dying mother and Blanch is trying to keep her virtue and southern charm the whole time. She declines his come-ons pleading for him to be a gentlmen. But you know by now she is, or was, a whore, and that her act is exactly that, an act. It was like watching a gorilla play with a mirror to keep himself happy. The conversations between them were one sided and often lent themself to Blanch trying to make a gentlemen out of Hank. Well the best converation they had was where Hank offers to give all of his measurments to Blanch as if he were a piece of meat. "I am 6, 1/2" tall. Of course that's in my bare feet. And guess how much I weigh. Go ahead guess. Nope more than that. I'm 207 and not too soft in the middle." He does this the same way someone of his staure would do to someone of her supposed staure. They would offer up what they were most proud. They would offer up their sexuality and physical presence.
Anyway, you guys should read the play. You can blow through it in a night. And then go rent the movie. It's well worth it. Brando is so awesome.
