In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Book Reviews | Regular Feature Gehring's discourse until I understood the depth behind the information . There were times when I kept hitting my forehead thinking I shouldhave known this orwhy didn'tI see that? Iknow now that Bob Hope was really Charlie Chaplin's comedie successor as Woody Allen would be Hope's. I did know about the incredible talent pool of Allen, Brooks, and Carl Reiner who worked with Sid Caesar before launching their separate careers. The only section in thebook that I feltwarranted alonger discussion was Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, just reissued for its thirtieth birthday . It is clear that Doctors Gehring and Frankenstein have a lot in common. Parody and the monster are clearly one in the same. Under the genius and talented hands of a skilled writer, a parody is a creation crafted from the parts ofother films and cultural eras which—like Frankenstein's monster—becomes both frightening and awesome, is intelligent but frequently misunderstood, and shockingly reflects our own cultural images. In essence films parodied are about us. The recently releasedAmerican Beauty is a case in point. When I saw this picture for the first time, I was one ofthe few in apackedhouse laughing! Was suburbia afraid to recognize itselfup there on a screen? Because parody pokes fun at what we have created, fear ofrecognition can be diminished by laughter, but laughter should not make the vision less relevant. Whether or not we warm up to the parody (Frankenstein's monster ) or turn against it, remains thejurisdiction ofthe viewing audience (the mob). Film parodies are much more than superficial guffaws! Beam me up, Wes. I'm ready for the Dark planet! William Paquette Tidewater Community College TCPAQUW@tc.cc.va.us Mary P. Nichols. Reconstructing Woody: Art, Love, and Life in the Films of Woody Allen. Rowman & Littlefield, 1998. 240 pages; $22.95. Human Condition InReconstructing Woody, Fordham University political science professor Mary P. Nichols offers a reading of Woody Allen films that will delight his fans, but may be less pleasing to those who simply do not get his dramas and appeal. In fact, the ranks ofthese detractors seem to be growing with the New Yorker's troubled personal life and adverse critical and box office response to his most recent titles, Deconstructing Harry and Celebrity. WhileAllen might find the academic discourse ofNichols analytical and serious, the director would probably appreciate the professor's argument thathe is perceived as an artist using film to comment upon the human condition. Nichols agrees withAllen that too many critics interpret his work as autobiographical statements. WoodyAllen the person should not be confused with the filmmaker. The Nichols' text is not necessarily an easy read, but the author does not rely upon the deconstructionist vocabulary of postmodernist film and literary criticism. Instead, Nichols turns to her political science discipline for an analytical lens to view Allen's cinema. Socrates dismissed poetry as an artificial device for the pursuit of pleasure, while philosophy was a more noble undertaking in its search for the truth. Yet, Socrates held out hope that some artist might present a defense of poetry, demonstrating how it could benefit society and humankind. This defender emerged with Aristotle, who in his Poetics maintained that poetry was even more philosophical than history, because it narrates events that might happen with their underlying truths. Thus, Nichols concludes that Allen's film art fits Aristotle's definition of poetry. Rather than inhabiting a pessimistic or amoral universe— as some of Allen's detractors claim—Nichols asserts that the filmmaker's vision embraces life rather than death, championing moral choices. According to Nichols, Allen recognizes that there are limitations to art and the possibilities of individual choice. However, the recognition of such limitations does not lead to despair. Nichols writes, "Virtue lies in making choices that will lead to a better life while avoiding the hubris of attempting absolute control of our lives and those of others. It is such an understanding of human life and virtue that makes possible a Woody Allen comedy." (16) Nichols supports this argument in a series ofessays which analyze a dozen ofAllen's films, beginning with Play ItAgain, Sam (1972) and...

pdf

Share