Re: Focus NJC

[sl . m]

Colin, I love this film. It is incredibly scary. But I think they ARE Jews, but have been denying it, to each other and to everyone else. That's my memory of it anyway. I think in the end they do admit they are Jews to the police. Or else, what it may be, is that they decide they are Jews in the sense of outcasts. Maybe it's just that the characters decide to identify with the oppressed. . . decide to be THEM rather than US, because being one of US is such a vulnerable position - people can turn on you in an instant if you're not quite "right" in some way.

I'm sorry about your friend, and that's very sad about your father, and about how you feel there's no 'homeland' for gays. My sense is that Canada is quite good. They're currently contemplating allowing gay marriage -- it's going to the Supreme Court because a lower court ruled recently that denying gays the right to marry was unconstitutional: most people think the Supreme Court will uphold that. I haven't heard of or read about any violence, but that may be because it's not reported.

I think the point of that film is the speed with which we judge others, and how easy it is, even in a supposedly respectable community, for the bullies to start ganging up on people who are different. This can be the typical straight versus gay, gentile versus Jew, white versus black problem. But it can also be more subtle. "Normal" people versus anyone who has a different lifestyle. I used to notice it in England because I always rented houses or flats rather than buying one. This isn't a problem in London as lots of people rent, but outside London, most people own their homes, and tenants can be frowned upon in some communities (regarded as necessarily feckless, noisy etc). Many times, my new neighbours would - during their very first conversation with me - try to sniff out whether I was a "tenant" (and therefore had to be kept an eye on), or whether I was a property owner i.e. one of them. In one street I lived, parking was very scarce, and the people opposite me (both school teachers, both liberal, who owned their house) would always park right in front of my gates, so that I couldn't use my driveway for my car, and also couldn't part outside my house. I never said anything as I didn't want the hassle. But the first time I spoke to them, they asked whether I had bought the house, and I said "yes", wondering if it would make a difference. Sure enough, the next morning, they parked their car elsewhere. So, because I had signed on the dotted mortgage line (they thought), I was entitled to park. If I was only paying an extortionate rent each month - almost certainly more than they paid for their mortgage - I could go to hell.

Sarah


From: colin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Focus NJC

I just this film, based on an Arthur Miller book (play?). It satrred
William H.Macy and Laura Dern, both of them fine actors.