Killers of the Flower Moon - Book & Movie.

American exceptionalism is a myth huh?

Well let's take a brief look at America's meager contribution to the world:

1. The US constitution, freedom of religion, speech, press, rule of law... yes, many ideas had prior roots, but they flourished in the USC garden, which served to yield:

2. The automobile;

3. The airplane;

4. The telegraph;

5. The telephone;

6. The light bulb (...and all the rest of Edison's inventions....);

7. Carnegie's development of steal production that fueled the industrial revolution;

8. The nuclear bomb;

9. The computer;

10. The cellular phone;

11. The internet (along witb prior 2 items--have fueled the information age);

12. As world power, has stabilized the world for 75 years, having helped end WWI, won both thestres of WW II, and the cold war.

Seems pretty damn exceptional to me--more far more so than 'mythical'.

Let's see a similar list from the entirety of Europe, or any continent, let alone any country--that would make my humble list here seem...less than exceptional.

 

As for books about American Indians, I'll offer O'Reilly and Dugard's Killing series book on the subject entitled Killing Crazy Horse:

Some reviews:

Killing Crazy
100 reviews
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Easy to read, extensive and incredibly detailed history of the brutal Indian wars
...reader, as follows: This reader/reviewer came upon this book, namely: “Killing Crazy Horse: The Merciless Indian Wars in America” (Bill O'Reilly's Killing Series) by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard when actually searching for a similar book...Read more

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Illuminating Facts While Popularizing History!
I have thoroughly enjoyed Bill O'Reilly's and Martin Dugard's "Killing" series. "Killing Crazy Horse," the ninth installment, did not disappoint. The authors tell a captivating story of persistent conflict in 19th Century America's western...Read more

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Enlightening A Complicated History
...renegotiations failed, Grant opted to use force. Although an easy, quick read, Killing Crazy Horse is not for the faint of heart as both sides turned toward brutal and barbaric practices to exact a psychological tool on each other as much as a...Read more

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The Best Non-Fiction Book of 2020
...well-researched and well-written. Having now finished their recently released “Killing Crazy Horse”, this book is in a class by itself and for this reader the top non-fiction book of 2020. What makes the O’Reilly & Dugard book special, is that in...Read more

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Killing Crazy Horse Review
Nice, easy read. Some great history of the European/Native American conflict. If you are an American History buff, this book should entertain.

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That's a good list from a technical standpoint. I was, however, referring to morality.

 

Hey we did some light genocide and displacement on the native population, but at least we invented the nuclear bomb (and used it on some non-white people) am I right?

 

Which is the customary in ordinary understanding of the meaning of the term

 

Now on Apple Plus

 

I always wondered if the Osage were the inspiration for Heller for the Native American charachter in catch 22.

 

The automobile, lightbulb, and computer (both the concept and first programmable version) were all invented in Europe.

 

I just started watching the movie. About a half hour in, will be watching in installments. It's good so far, but I can't imagine why Scorsese felt 3 and a half hours was needed to tell the story. Maybe when I get to the end of I'll say 'yep, every minute was necessary'. But I doubt it.

 

Scotland has Scotch and that trumps all the rest of this stuff.

 

Respectfully....

Rum > whiskey....

...and in the world of whiskey, Kentucky Bourbon reigns
supreme.

Jmho/fwiw

 

Imagine if we could roll back every single conquest of man ever in the history of the world. What’s that you say? You can’t imagine it? Why not?

 

Sounds like you missed plenty of other atrocities... committed by several other nations of the world. We Americans were NOT the ones taking slaves from black slave catchers/traders in Africa and bringing them into the U.S.A.. It seems the Europeans get pass on all of that.

 

The history of mankind (not just the U.S.) is very brutal. Fast forward to present day, not much has changed. Only the machinations by which the brutality is carried out.

 

I’ve really been accelerating into my appreciation for Rum and cigars over the last year so I was delighted to see this take (which I have slowly come around to myself)

 

I loved the movie and thought it certainly deserved to at least be nominated for Best Picture. That said, Kareem really gave me pause with this recent Substack, including his preference for American Fiction, The Holdovers and Dream Scenario, although I could not get into Across the Spider Verse, despite being included on 44's annual list

This one pains me because I’m a huge fan of director Martin Scorsese. My respect for Scorsese as one of the best filmmakers in history has not diminished by this misfire. An artist is not required to produce masterpieces every time. It’s enough that they’ve produced any.

Most Martin Scorsese movies have the same theme: an amoral “innocent” is seduced into an immoral world by the cultish promise of a makeshift family, only to betray them at the end in a half-assed bit for redemption. When this formula works (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas), Scorsese produces engaging, insightful, morally complex films that are both thoughtful and entertaining.

When it doesn’t work, you get Killers of the Flower Moon.

At 3 hours and 26 minutes, it’s 2 hours too long. Yes, it’s gorgeous to look at and it has its heart in the right place in exposing atrocities committed against the Osage Nation. But a good heart doesn’t make the film less boring. The biggest problem is that the character played by Leonardo DiCaprio is so dumb and venal that any time we spend with him is annoying. Rather than pay homage to the Osage, the character of DiCaprio’s love interest, played exquisitely by Lily Gladstone, is written to be so relentlessly dense that she picks a murdering cad to marry and have children with, all the time ignoring the giant red flags of all her family dying “mysteriously.” We aren’t given any reason to believe her overwhelming love for DiCaprio. Instead of feeling sympathy for her, we feel resentment that she’s willing to risk her life and those of her children for no good reason.

I went into the theater wanting to love it because of its subject matter and the filmmaker’s legacy. But I came out angry that a whole lot of talented people didn’t realize just how bad their creative choices were.


6 Movies That Don't Deserve Oscar Nominations for Best Picture--and 6 That Do

 

All respect to Kareem but this is not his wheelhouse!

And I say this as someone who was actually aided by one of his bad takes

 

I watched it in theater. While it was good in many respects, it was long and unlike Scorcese mob movies it didn’t have the entertaining anti hero perspective as making somebody who kills and steals from native Americans an anti hero would not be considered culturally appropriate. As a result it was not particularly entertaining.