Mister K. Webcomic
Recently, the story of Atlas has made quite an impression on me. The figure of Atlas appears in the so called Titanomachy, the war of Zeus's army of Gods against Cronos's army of Titans. Or in other words: the fight of the law against time. Atlas was the general of Cronos’s army, who ultimately lost. Whereas the rest of the Titans were sent to the Tartaros, a Greek equivalent of hell, Atlas was given a special punishment. Zeus condemned him to hold up the skies on his shoulders. In other words, he who had sided with the God that immediately swallowed all his children turned into a symbol of permanence. To me, this story imagines a point in time when we discovered that our world is based in rules that can be found out, preserved and communicated to those born later. And the triumph against Chronos symbolizes the success in conserving our knowledge about these rules. The story itself is an example of that triumph. It has a structure that has been preserved over thousands of years by much effort of many people. The fact that I am able to write about the Titanomachy today means someone found a way to protect it from getting swallowed by time. I am not an expert in Greek mythology. I don’t know whether my thoughts are more than mere speculation. But maybe you agree that Atlas could be seen as an archetypical character. There are two interesting details in the story of Atlas: [1] Atlas is said to have "sided" with the Titans in the war of the Greek gods against them. This implies somehow a choice. Even if Atlas was in fact a Titan, there was another one who did side with the Gods: Prometheus. That's interesting, because then Atlas’ decision could be seen as related to the size of the burden of his punishment. [2] There is one way Atlas can get rid of his burden: he must find someone who agrees to hold up the skies for him. In fact, Herakles asks him for a favour and agrees to hold up the skies in the meantime. When Atlas does not want to take back his burden, Herakles tricks him, so that Atlas ends up in his original place. Both points deal with agency. Atlas sides against Zeus. He is sceptical to a point where he does not believe in any rules he did not set himself. But it’s a fight he loses. He ends up in defeat, with nothing and no-one to rely on, carrying everything by himself. The only way to free himself is if he could hand over this burden to someone else. If he could be sure that someone is taking care of a consistent and reliable system of rules, he can be free.
I’ve chosen this story because I think it relates to the characters of film noir. Most of them are alone, although not always by choice, and the stories are often set after an event that left a mark on the main character. That is why Films Noirs used flashbacks very often. They often expose a character’s past and the psychological burden they are carrying. One example is “the Killers”, which starts off with the shooting of a man. What is odd about it, is that the man does not make any effort to escape his killers. A good deal of the rest of the film is told in flashbacks, in order to explain why. What is similar to the character of Atlas is that this character seems to be someone whose logical substructure with which he made sense of the world had disintegrated. Interestingly, the film is based on a short story by Ernest Hemmingway, which ends with the shooting of the man. The rest of the film’s story, including the flashbacks, was added by the screenwriters of the film, John Huston and Richard Brooks. Alright. Now you can tell me that I am crazy. Do you agree with my interpretation of Atlas's story? And is there a connection to film noir characters? I'd love to hear your opinion. Till then! PK
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Hoohoo! Someone's greeting you ... He'll be another character in our upcoming story. He's desperately trying to find someone who'll read his free newspaper. Written and edited by Porlock. Want one? PK
Thanks for reading! Stay in touch by following us on facebook, twitter or instagram. If you want to contribute to the production of our next Mister K. comic book, just click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. For any questions, request or suggestions, leave a comment below and we'll respond! You always meet twice -- till then! Here is color scheme #3. Do you have preference?
Follow us on facebook, twitter or instagram! If you want to contribute to the production of our next Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. For any any questions, request or suggestions, leave a comment in the comment section below. You always meet twice in a lifetime - till then! How does Film Noir sound like?
And Jessica Rabbit's cover version of "Why Don't You Do Right?" is a clearly meant to be a performance of what Film Noir sounds like, since "Who framed Roger Rabbit" is an hommage to hardboiled detective movies: To me, these songs are fascinating examples for the Film Noir mood. Yet they bear no relation to actual Films Noirs. Music like this was not used in their soundtracks. It was rather contemporary music of the 1940s and 1950s. And that meant a certain kind of jazz to which you could dance, like the soundtrack of "Sweet Smell of Success" [1957] ... … or just plain simple orchestral score like the soundtrack for "Murder, My Sweet" [1944]. But there is one particular example that stands out and is worth taking a closer look. The Night of the Hunter [1955]
The Night of the Hunter is about a mentally ill minister who justifies his aversion of eroticism (and his serial killing of women) by the telling himself that it is the will of God.
“Sometimes I wonder if you really understand. Not that you mind the killings. Your Book is full of killings. But there are things you do hate, Lord. Perfume-smellin' things. Lacy things, things with curly hair. There are too many of them. You can't kill a world.”
The film is an aesthetic masterpiece. A good deal of the screen time, two fascinating child actors try to escape from a creepy Robert Mitchum. It contains several songs that have been written for it. Here are three of them:
1. "Hing, hang, hung!" A nursery rhyme, sung by children. They are bullying the two protagonists for being children of a man who has been hung. 2. “Once Upon A Time” A lullaby, sung while the two children are floating alone in a boat down a river, scared of going back ashore since the priest is still following them on a horse. The images of this sequence are already amazing, but the way this song contributes to the mood is in my opinion unique. It is sung over orchestral music that provides a sharp contrast in terms of mood. The lullaby calms you down, but the orchestral part reminds you that you are still being followed. 3. "Leaning" “Leaning” has another interesting aspect to it. Again, the context changes its impact. Out of context, this is just religious chant that one would imagine a church community would sing to cheer each other up on a Sunday. But out of the mouth of the priest, we get a bitter taste of ambiguity. Almost all the adults in the film ignorantly accept the minster’s moral authority, believing him to be the saintliest of them all. Only one of the children can see through his lies. This song out of the mouth of the priest is an excellent summary of the film’s theme. You put on the clothes of a priest, you quote the bible, and for some time you may get away with murder. The old woman in the beginning expresses the same motif by quoting the bible in the beginning of the film: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothes, but inwardly, they are ravaging wolves.” PK
Thanks for reading! If you do not do so already, you can follow us on facebook, twitter or instagram. Just click on the links above. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. If you have any questions, request or suggestions, leave them in the comment section below. We'll be happy to respond! Next wednesday, we'll post our third color scheme proposal for our upcoming story. And on Sunday, we'll reveal to you another new character. Don't miss it! I hate to repeat myself, but ... You always meet twice -- till then!
Bonus:
By the way, the original of Jessica Rabbit’s "Why Don't You Do Right?" seems to date back to 1936 and is also an amazing song. Apparently, it has been covered more than 100 times. Here are some of them:
Here's another potential color scheme for our next story. What do you think of it?
Thanks for reading! Thinking about following us? Just click the links right next to our red support button. We're on facebook, twitter and instagram. You're thinking about giving us a shilling or two? There's this grey button saying "Read The Beauty Pageant" with a little figure of a baiting Mister K. To donate, click on the red button right below. You can make a donation via PayPal. Actually, you want to read our first story first? Well, ok. You see the social media links? Yes? And the red button that says "Support"? Ok. Right above this button, there's a greyish rectangle with some letters in a sans-serif font. Hover over it. It's where you'll find the link! If you find our site navigation advice unsufficiently specific, you can file a complaint in the comment section. We're also very grateful for any questions, request or suggestions. I think we've said it before: You always meet twice -- till then! The artists who stayed in Austria - which films did they make?
Leni Riefenstahl
Hans Moser
Understandably, the later films of Hans Moser differ very much from Films Noirs. Austrian filmmakers at that time were faced with the censorship of a brutal fascist dictatorship. Instead of cold-blooded realism, they opted for escapism. Hans Moser mostly plays characters who come from modest circumstances. At the end of a film, his roles often to realize the beauty of their modest lives in a world of penury and hardship. Einmal der liebe Herrgott sein (1942)
The City Without Jews (1924)
PK
Thanks for reading! There is something you know about European film during the 1930s and 1940s? Or do you see things differently? Tell us in the comment section below! If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. Next wednesday, we'll post another color scheme proposition for our upcoming story. And the sunday post will contain a lot of music: We'll be exploring the sound of Film Noir! Be sure not to miss it by following us on facebook, twitter or instagram. Just click on the links above. You always meet twice -- till then! We're looking for the right colors for our new story. What do you think about this?
Thanks for stopping by! To follow us on facebook, twitter or instagram, check out the links above. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. See you next time!
Mister K. wants to show you his new hat ...
“Excuse me, Madam … ahem … " "... oh, you’re a Sir?” “I was wondering anyway … " "That is one ugly woman, I thought ...” “May I ask you a question?” “What do you think of my new hat?” “A PATHETIC ATTEMPT to cover up the fact that I’m BALDING?” "What an awful thing to say ..." PK
Thanks for visiting! If you want to follow us on social media, you can do so on facebook, twitter or instagram - links above. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. For any any questions, request or suggestions, leave a comment in the comment section below. Last time, we've explored the Austrian Roots of Film Noir. Next time, we'll take a look at its antithesis: artists that stayed in Europe. The films they produced are very different. See you next time! Which experiences influenced the characters and stories Film Noir?
When I wanted to find out more about the idea of Film Noir, I started to research about the lives of screenwriters, directors, and actors. I was very surprised that – while Film Noir seems such an American genre – in doing so, I ended up right where I come from: Austria.
There are numerous Film Noir artists who come from Austria, or whose lives in Austria shaped their art. Among them are:
(Click on the images to get to the amazon page, if you want to watch one of the movies.) Moreover, many of them had to go through similar events in their lives. it seems that there is a sort of “generic experience” of those filmmakers. One such aspect is the political climate in which they grew up. They spent their early lives in Austria, most of them as outcasts as they were Jewish. Fred Zinneman, (director of “Act of Violence”) writes the following about the experience of being Jewish in a Catholic country back then: "In Austria, discrimination had been part of life since time immemorial. It was always there, oppressive, often snide, sometimes hostile, seldom violent. It was in the air and one sensed it at all levels, in school, at work and in society. A Jew was an outsider, a threat to the country's culture. Born in Vienna Austria-Hungary, and raised as an Austrian, he would still never truly belong.” They made films in Austria or Germany shortly before or during the Nazi regime. After most of them experienced some form of persecution of their families, they were pushed to emigrate to the United States of America. And then, it seems to me, their films show either a kind of sobering realization that the US was no utopia either. Being an immigrant in a foreign country now, they felt like outcasts yet again. There is a sense of being lost in the New World. I find this idea in the film "Detour" (1945). It tells the story of a man that gets caught up in a journey to a better place, can never reach this place and is unable to return. To me, this story is a very interesting expression of the experiences of the filmmakers at that time. PK
Surprised? I hope it was worth the read. Thank you for taking the time! If you apreciate our posts, leave a comment below, or leave a suggestion if you think there are other topics worth exploring. To follow us on facebook, twitter or instagram, we have put our pages in the links above. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. It's been a long time since Mister K. has had the occasion to speak, and he does not like that. So next time, there'll be something he wants to show you. Don't miss it!
Olá senhoras e senhores!
Let me present to you another new character from our upcoming story, "The Taxi Driver". However, we’re not yet sure about how he will look exactly. But there’s one thing we’re sure about. His first language will be Portuguese. He’ll be as mighty as King Louie, as street-wise as Huggy Bear, he’ll be a prince with six servants, ... … or none of the above. PK
Thanks for stopping by! If you do not do so already, you can follow us on facebook, twitter or instagram. Just click on the links above. If you want to contribute to the production of our Mister K. comic book, click on the red "Support"-button to make a donation via PayPal. We're also very grateful if you leave any questions, request or suggestions in the comment section below. Next time, we'll explore the Austrian Roots of Film Noir. You'll be surprised how much this genre is entangled with this small country. In the meantime, we're working on our next Mister K.-story, and will be able to show you some sketches soon! Till then! |
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