Another great Marie post, this time drawing on the Cultural Confessions of Scott Pack. She 'fesses up to five gaps in her cultural knowledge. I can empathise with several of those listed by people, even as there are some I am staggered at them not having liked/watched/read.
1) I've still not watched 'City of God': this is despite (shamefully) having borrowed it from lovely George over a year ago. I do want to correct this particular failing.
2) I've never read a Thomas Hardy novel from beginning to end. Actually that exaggerates things: I've scarcely read more than a few pages, even of Tess (though I like the story and extracted passages I have encountered over the years). For a long time we had several (even multiple) editions on the shelves of MANY Hardy novels. Who were we fooling? They're really REALLY depressing.
3) The Shawshank Redemption: I don't even WANT to see it.
4) I don't get Mitchell and Webb: I feel I'm supposed to, but I don't. Sorry.
5) This one will get me serious bother. I'm going to quietly add that I've never seen The Mighty Boosh. (Ducks for serious cover from incoming fire: Matt, Anna, Fuzzboy - I know you're gonna be top of the list hitting me hard for admitting that!)
I could easily have come up with a longer list, especially films I just don't get / haven't seen or seen all of (Raging Bull, 2001, Pretty Woman). It's probably not very controversial to admit I have never read Proust. Jeez, there's just so MUCH of it! Despite every bloody highbrow paper almost CONSTANTLY banging on about how great it is, I could barely cope with reading Henry James' wafflingly long prose (Daisy Miller is about as far as I have ever got - and that's short) so Proust is just off the chart boring to me. I've never read Tolkien's LOTR for the same reason. I always seem to like a Bowie track when I hear it but despite virtually every artiste since then admiring him, I can't quite bring myself to worship at the feet of mister Jones the way everyone else does. And most female opera singers grate on my nerves.
6 comments:
Me too on all but #3 (is worth it, honest). Culture schmulture :-)
My claim to fame - that appears I now must share - is to never have seen The Shawshank Redemption either.
Your lack of Boosh is disappointing but I'll tell what the tragedy is... you haven't seen Raging Bull.
Fact: Raging Bull is one of the best twenty five films EVER made. Every day in which you haven't yet seen it your life becomes that little bit more empty...
:P
I know, I know: Raging Bull is on my to-do list and I KNOW it will be worth it. But somehow I just haven't gotten around to it. If it helps, I feel REALLY REALLY bad about this fundamental gap in my filmic experience.
I won't throw things, except perhaps the Boosh boxset which you can then watch :D
The Mighty Boosh is self-satisifed, self-referential student toss, like Harry Hill's stand up, but without even the occasional joke. That's just my taste though I guess...
Mitchell and Webb got better through the series, though for every good sketch they did they also did some that started to turn them into the Mary Whitehouse Experience. It's certainly nothing on Peep Show, which I'd hope that you can at least appreciate, even if you don't like it.
CB
Aw I think it's a shame you find it self-satisfied. There's probably lots you could accuse the Boosh of - being overly 'quirky' maybe, and I know of lots of people who find the first series quite slow - but I actually think it's got a real joie de vivre, a complete lack of smugness.
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