“No Soft-Toss Against Fence”

David Lynch’s The Elephant Man is the ultimate juxtaposition. strongly introspective while curiously sociological, the film explores a man’s survival while a society reacts. built on the grotesque vs. the beautiful, it’s the thinking man’s Beauty & the Beast.

through the biography of Joseph Merrick, the “Elephant Man”, Lynch builds a balanced drama; joy and sorrow flow in waves. each character is carefully developed to outline a wholly complex, but interpersonally repetitive pattern of introspection. each character, save Merrick himself, embodies a specific social reaction to his deformations. this collection of human nature portrays society as a superficial, self-flattering cannibal that, despite its foaming mouth, at the very least possesses hope for brotherly sincerity.

there are two basic social reactions to Merrick; tied to the same theme of freakishness they fluctuate over the course of the film. as he finds himself oscillating between being a symbol of upper-crust generosity and being a goat for scum to harass, Merrick unpredictably experiences both tremendous hope and cruel torture. furthering the complexity of the story, Merrick’s highs are often intertwined with his lows, and vice versa. Merrick’s successes of the mind always end up bringing him gutwrenching shame for so violently disappointing his mother’s beauty, yet while even in his most horrific moments, he casually survives in the comfort of focused self-acceptance. no matter how promising or difficult life is for him, he knows he will always survive, for better or worse, because of his unique condition.

Joseph Merrick is a poignant duality; a brilliant, cultured man trapped inside the body of an “animal”. as he became a celebrity in 19th century England, his contrasting personality and physique provided unique perspective on the power of the mind essentially separate from the body. Because neither he nor society could separate his mind from his body, Merrick would be forever trapped in a cycle of fleeting awe and disgust. watching a man live such a life through Lynch’s camera results in one of the most perfectly dramatic movies i’ve ever seen.

Full Screenplay of The Elephant Man

Chris DeBurgh Buys Chest-Bursting Alien

so that’s what chris deburgh does all day.

this is actually one of my favorite characters in hollywood history. who, pray tell, has made a more dramatic entrance into a scene in any movie?

his portrayal of a newborn alien passing through the uterine canal (played by John Hurt’s chest) is one of the most stunning improvisations of the miracle of life i’ve ever seen. bravo.

Man impaled on fence in bid to escape attacker

i don’t know if it’s just me, but there’s something extremely comical about this whole thing. i think it’s a whimsical combination of the drunken knife fight, falling 30 feet, impaling a leg on a fence, and banging his head that made this dude’s tragedy a true classic. i think he’s alive, too.

Fox to introduce Reality Channel

just when you thought television couldn’t hurt your soul any more, Fox drops this bomb. the Fox executives sifted through about a dozen ideas for a new subsidiary channel, finally settling upon an all-reality all-the-time network. other potential spin-off channels were:

-Fox Laboratory Testing Channel
-Fox Herman’s Head Channel
-Fox Religion Channel