Although the film is named for the men, its animating force is Catherine, a creature both utterly timeless and forever changing: at different points,s eh plays the roles of Charlie Chaplin and street tough, vamp and doting mother. Passionate and iconoclastic, she is, in fact, the only true free spirit among them. Just as the men put their talent into their art, so she puts her genius into living—or perhaps into claiming for herself the reckless male freedoms that women have been traditionally denied. Time and again, she literally dresses herself in the garb of masculinity.
On paper, the mercurial Catherine seems an implausibly grandiose conception, a woman both giddy and tragic, protofeminist and male-dominated, driven by Eros and Thanatos, love and death. But as played by Jeanne Moreau, a pop-eyed siren with the ferocity of Bette Davis and the kitty-cat wiles of Tuesday Weld, Catherine becomes one of the modern movies’ triumphant characterizations—the anima as autocrat. Whether playing with vitriol or jumping into the Seine, she elevates capriciousness to an existential principle. When Jim says he understands her, she replies, “I don’t want to be understood.” And this is absolutely true.
Almost every scene is shot through with such casual stylistic brilliance. Yet what audiences have always loved about this movie isn’t simply its technical brio but tis emotional warmth, its embrace of a world in which tragedy is forever playing hopscotch with farce. Jules and Jim is a movie that enters viewers’ like a lover—a masterpiece you can really get a crush on.
— critic John Powers on the cinematic artistry of François Truffaut
Act Like a Writer – NYTimes.com
Tchaikovsky on Work Ethic vs. Inspiration
Do not believe those who try to persuade you that composition is only a cold exercise of the intellect. The only music capable of moving and touching us is that which flows from the depths of a composer’s soul when he is stirred by inspiration. There is no doubt that even the greatest musical geniuses have sometimes worked without inspiration. This guest does not always respond to the first invitation. We must always work, and a self-respecting artist must not fold his hands on the pretext that he is not in the mood. If we wait for the mood, without endeavouring to meet it half-way, we easily become indolent and apathetic. We must be patient, and believe that inspiration will come to those who can master their disinclination.
A few days ago I told you I was working every day without any real inspiration. Had I given way to my disinclination, undoubtedly I should have drifted into a long period of idleness. But my patience and faith did not fail me, and to-day I felt that inexplicable glow of inspiration of which I told you; thanks to which I know beforehand that whatever I write to-day will have power to make an impression, and to touch the hearts of those who hear it. I hope you will not think I am indulging in self-laudation, if I tell you that I very seldom suffer from this disinclination to work. I believe the reason for this is that I am naturally patient.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky writing to his benefactress Nadezhda von Meck, 17 March 1878
this is a fabulous [artistic] commentary on contemporary society.
From freelancing to self-employment to office jobs: The perks and the promise of variety
From freelancing to self-employment to office jobs: The perks and the promise of variety
It’s good to be reminded every now and then that are successes out there in the real world, you just gotta be open to change and flexibility.
summer has broken
i’m ready to go home.
the university campus has emptied, my co-workers are vacationing and even the city of Paris itself seems to be away on break. there are less people on the metro at any time of day. the streets are calm. the people who remain are dragging because it seems they’d rather be elsewhere, perhaps Marseille, enjoying their parasols on the beach.
this trip has been everything that cannot be expressed in one or two sentences. i am extremely grateful for everything that has taken place since january. for every traveling opportunity that i had, for the people i met along the way, from restaurant servers to that American student i met at a housewarming party one evening and spoke to for a grand total of 49 minutes about gender roles in the shifting world of academic standards.
i keep wanting to write a post that summarizes what this has all meant to me, how i’ve changed and what i will carry forward. but i feel this, in actuality, will take months to unravel and years to really process, just as it did when i went abroad in highschool and came back and began to understand its impact.
i anticipate a culture shock of some kind. i welcome the political climate i am about to wade into. i am looking forward to returning to new york and confronting those things that used to agrivate and confound me, sometimes even frighten me and this time to talk with them, to sort out my former issues and to carve a new path wielding the blade of the experiences i’ve been granted.
i have 3 days left in Paris, 7 days left in France, 8 until i go home for the first time in a year, 18 until i see my beloved… and i guess you could say i’m counting down. it feels tedious to do this, but this is what people do when they can no longer wait. they make the wait a little bit more bearable by sectioning it into perfect, succinct units that are rational and logical and that are indisputable. every morning i wake up and those numbers get smaller and i feel if that is my only accomplishment for the day, i have achieved something.
until i return, i am giving thanks for the time i’ve spent with the beautiful people i’ve met in this city. i am indulging in coffee dates and picnics in the park listening to ethno-jazz and drinking champagne to my last week in the country of wine and cheese, knowing full well it has offered me so much more than just that.
i want to identify just what that is, but it’s all a mess of hues and shading and two-toned dialogues and sloppy mornings and luscious nights and feasting and living and loving and being.
for now, i take notes in scrawl so tiny and loopy, it may only be distinguisable to me. soon, i will translate those scrawls and weave them into a tale. if that tale takes a year to spin, so be it. perspective frees the chaotic mind.
is it true they landed on the moon?
so begins our – my co-worker’s and i – after-lunch, tea-drinking, vaguely politically, half-en anglais, mostly-cultural exploration of misconceptions provided by the media.
Celine, secretary of the sociolgy department, says to me “you know there are people that think they didn’t!”
i challenge her, say “do you believe that?”
“no,” she says. “that’s crazy. but there are crazy people in this world.”
i reply “yes, those are the same people that think World War Two didn’t happen and Hitler didn’t really exist.”
“what about September 11th?” she ventures.
shocked and not knowing how to proceed, i become suddenly extremely patriotic and i say “you’re really going to ask me that?”
even Vincent, administrative assistance in potical science with anarchist leanings, seems surprised. he says, in a hurried n’ mumbled french “you should know better than to ask an american that.”
“i think it’s too recent in history to question these things,” i say by way of conclusion, suddenly aware of all the emotions that this topic has stirred up and the stories i’ve heard over the years that have haunted me.
it is becoming clearer and clearer to me, the more time i spend here, just how American i am, not only via my passport, but via how i choose to identify myself. i told Lucile, my co-worker semi-supervisor, the other day that when i speak French, i lower my volume and everything i say suddenly becomes much more polite and formal.
she responded “but you speak quite loudly normally” because we converse in both. i felt the need to clarify, “in English, yes. but that’s so American.”
yesterday Elizabeth, a new friend from Yale, and i came to the conclusion that it was far too difficult to check out books from the library, like the French have a mentality that knowledge should be earned and thus terribly difficult to acquire, as though by proving one’s worth one can attain to access to basic resources like books. in an academic setting!
it’s absurd!
“they don’t want anything to change. they complain about everything that doesn’t work but when you suggest that maybe they update the system (you know, by observing the fact that it’s the 20th century and scholastic institutions update their website content regularly and have online databases), they are stubborn and say things like “well, that’s how it’s always been. it’s France.”
like, does that help explain? are you content like this?
a recent graduate of the masters program at Université Paris8 recently nodded at my commentary of the situation i have been noticing during my internship. she says “yes, the French love to complain. it’s part of our character.” then she smiled as if to say tant pis, which is to say “these things will never change!”
somedays, it makes me just want to grab the nearest administrator i see and shake them by the collar scruff and plead with them: “things don’t have to stay this way! look around you!”
my shtick is networking and alumni connections, forming partnerships between neighboring institutions that have similar ideals and objectives, having students working on their doctral theses reach out to former students in an interest to further their research and create collaborations that are both effective and stimulating.
Fatima, five doors down the hall from me, agrees with me. she used to work in my department for 20 years as an administrator. she nods solemnly as i explain my frustration with this stubborness, this lack of interest in embracing the present and using the global connections as allies.
“i agree with you,” she begins, “it’s a good idea. but good luck.” and again, like a word to the wise, a cautionary tale: “this is France afterall.”
– –
a question to my readers, especially those having spent time abroad in France (in any capacity, whether as a student, traveling, or even just visiting):
what have your experiences been? who have you spoken to? is this an unfair analysis?
Why is this happening? Because women born in the wake of feminism — women like Sandberg, Slaughter, and me — have been subtly striving all our lives to prove that we have picked up the torch that feminism provided. That we haven’t failed the mothers and grandmothers who made our ambitions possible. And yet, in a deep and profound way, we are failing. Because feminism wasn’t supposed to make us feel guilty, or prod us into constant competitions over who is raising better children, organizing more cooperative marriages, or getting less sleep. It was supposed to make us free — to give us not only choices but the ability to make these choices without constantly feeling that we’d somehow gotten it wrong.
from “Why Do Successful Women Feel So Guilty?” by Deborah Spar, president of Barnard College
Practice Living Life Better
1. Let your imagination run wild
Close your eyes and imagine your dream life. What does it look like? Where are you? What does it feel like?
You can’t live your dream if you haven’t given yourself the space to create it. You have this one life and you get to choose how to live it. Dream big.
2. Practice gratitude
We’re so busy talking about what we want, we forget to feel grateful for what we already have. What are you thankful for?
3. Pay attention
There’s a chance you’re driving through life on cruise control. Start paying more attention to your daily routine. Listen to the birds chirping, enjoy the smell of your freshly brewed coffee, and feel the cozy, softness of your pajamas. Relish the sights, smells, sounds, and feelings of your daily life.
4. Be real
We all wear masks—pretending and posturing our way through dinner parties and interviews and cocktail hours. But releasing all that phoniness and asserting your authentic self will feel like a breath of fresh air. And watch out, it’s infectious: when you’re real, you’ll notice those around you get real, too.
5. Surround yourself with positive people
You may have heard that you’re a product of the people with which you spend the most time. So pick the right crowd. Stick with the upbeat, optimistic people in your life; their company will nourish you. Avoid those that drain your energy, leaving you exhausted and unhappy.
6. Embrace change
Change is the only constant, so it’s time to start welcoming it. Stop dreading it, avoiding it, denying it, or fearing
it. Start seeing change for the possibility, fun, inspiration, and growth it can bring.
7. Trust your gut
Your intuition knows what’s best for you and it will encourage you to live your right life. Your job is to honor that inner voice—you’ll be happier for it.
8. Enjoy joy
What do you love to do? What makes you laugh? What makes your heart swell with happiness? Give yourself permission to do that, often.
9. Be gentle
No one’s perfect, we all make mistakes. Go easy on yourself.
10. Get enough sleep
In a culture that seems to celebrate those that pull all nighters and work until they drop, it’s sometimes hard to value rest. Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s a necessity.
11. Find your own success
Contrary to popular belief, success isn’t a corner office or a fat paycheck. Real success won’t just look good, it’ll feel good too. Chase your own success.
from awakeningtheself.com, “11 Practices for a Better Life”
The Painful Practice that is Budgeting
this nearly made me cry by the time i reached the end. budgeting has always scared the living daylights out of me, but this author has a very worthwhile point to make. this is the suck-it-up kind of painful that in five year’s time, i think i’ll really appreciate. it’s time to get serious about Budgeting.
When I was young and single and less responsible, and I wanted something, I subscribed to the ‘act now, think later’ way of life.
Not only did it mean I made some pretty embarrassing phone calls to ex-boyfriends and some slightly skewed social choices, it also meant that when I wanted something, I bought it – even when I didn’t have the money. And that meant that by the time Simon and I got married, he was not only taking on a wife, but a hefty bit of credit card debt as well.
After a couple of years of marriage, we managed to cut loose the chains of debt, and now I live a different life. Thanks to my husband, I am now a budgeter and a saver. My new saving lifestyle even meant I finally got my beloved camera last Spring!
I’ll admit, when Simon first mentioned the word…
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