"flipper" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:36:15 -0800, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:
"flipper" wrote in message
.. .

On the 'dumb blonde' aspect, one of my favorite scenes is
where William Holden reads her an editorial on corruption
he's written and gets a blank stare because it's filled with
allusions and metaphors. "Don't you get it?" .... "No."

Actually, the problem is that it's written at a college-grad level.
See below.

I think you and I are in basic agreement below but I have a slightly
different take on that point. Yes, it was 'college-grad level' as
measured by the words used but, IMO, the 'fancy words' were there
mainly for the sake of the fancy words. Or, put another way, I think
Holden is so enamored with the words, and his 'mastery' of them, that
he forgets the purpose is to communicate.

Yes. That is the fundamental problem with too much writing. You use big
words, long sentences, and passive voice because they make you sound
"educated" and important. Speaking simply doesn't -- but it's the best way
to communicate.

Mark Twain is often given credit for introducing vernacular language into
American writing. More importantly, he introduced simplicity.

After thinking about it, I realized you were right about Holden't over-use
of metaphor.


After all, isn't "I'm smart, you're not" the crux of the problem
between Crawford and Holiday? The difference is Crawford isn't while
Holden is, and their motives are also different, but I see a humorous,
yet cautionary, tap on Holden's shoulder there..I also think Holden
'gets it' while Crawford never will, 2x4 up side the head
notwithstanding.

Actually, the film's point is a humanist-liberal one. If people -- ordinary
people -- are exposed to good writing and clear thinking, they will alter
their values and behavior accordingly. Billie's change is fundamentally a
moral one, not an intellectual one. She finally understands what is right
and wrong, and becomes willing to act on that understanding.