On Movies, Literature and the Triangulation of Desire

[silversolitaire]

Oookay. I wanted to talk about that very nice book I found in the library this Friday. More details later, just read this first:

I came across this particular dialogie. It's from the movie Spartacus. It's the older man, Crassius, taking a bath and his young slave, Antoninus attending him. They are having this conversation. Now tell me what it is about!

Crassius: Do you eat oysters?
Antoninus: Yes.
Crassius: Snails?
Antoninus: No.
Crassius: Do you consider the eating of oysters to be moral and the eating of snails to be immoral?
Antoninus: No, master.
Crassius: And taste is not the same as appetite and therefore not a question of morals, is it?
Antoninus: It could be argued so, master.
Crassius: Um, that'll do. My robe, Antoninus. Ah, my taste... it includes both oysters and snails.

...

Got it??? I think this is brilliant! They are obviously not talking about food, are they? They are talking about taste in men or women! And it's ingenious! This dialogue was later cut out from the final version. For obvious reasons. But, IMO, this would have given the film a whole new twist and much more meaning. Like why Antoninus left his master so rushedly to join the other slaves. Too bad they canned it.. :-(

I just would like to state that my taste, it includes both oysters and snails as well, but... I enjoy slurping oysters sooo much more! *snerk*

The book I got this from is called The Celluloid Closet - Homosexuality in the Movies by Vito Russo. I found this in the Queer Studies corner on the American lit library. Way cool book. I adored it endlessly. I can only recommend this to everyone. Unfortunately it ends 1989, since it's old, but hey, it's wonderful. Taught be things I never even guessed before.

I still can't calm down that I didn't get the obvious reference in A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Willliams. Or maybe I did, and I just forgot it. And I was so proud that I got the reference in The Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, LOL. I mean, now thinking about it, it's really sorta obvious what it was that Blanche caught her hubby doing. I remember it so well from the theater, when she runs out of the house and yells "You make me sick! You make me sick!!!!" How could I have missed that? Of course she found her husband with another man. And he killed himself over the shame... how sad. But Williams always did such great stuff.

And then in Tin Roof, Brick and... what's his name, Skipper? Now, when you think about it, it's sorta clear that Brick is gay, was in love with Skipper, who's now dead, hates Maggie for being a woman and for trying to entice Skip away from his side. It's obvious. He doesn't want to sleep with Maggie and explodes at the mere mention of Skip's name. And Maggie accuses him of it, too! She says "I hated Skipper, because you loved him so much!" And we're not talking about friendship here. She clearly says that she slept with Skipper to show him that his love is unnatural and that he has to change. Always the same construction. So tragic...

When you think of it, this is the same pattern as in the most famous love triangle, the Shakespeare Sonnets. Maggie is the Dark Lady (and what a dark lady...), Brick is the poet, aging, alcoholic and bitter. And Skipper is the young, golden-haired man. Pretty and fickle, letting himself being seduced by the Dark Lady. Classical triangulation of desire! Woohoo! *_* Now I'm feeling so smart for having realized that! *g*

Comments

A Streetcar Named Desire

[glitterdemon.livejournal.com]

Don't feel bad about not getting that reference in ASND – I didn't catch it either, and I'm usually the first to do so. I'm curious, what version of the play was the book referring to? The only one I've seen is the Marlon Brando movie, and if I recall correctly, they cut out that part. It was in my high school acting class, and when we saw the movie, our teacher made us read the play as well. No one even paused over it until our teacher "clued us in."