Today marks the beginning of Black History Month. Its origins can be traced back to 1926 when African American historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) declared the second week of February to be "Negro History Week." This week was chosen because it was the week of both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass's birthdays, both of which had been long celebrated in Black communities. Over the years Negro History Week increased in popularity. It was in 1969 that both Black students and educators at Kent State University proposed that February be celebrated as Black History Month. It was first celebrated at Kent State University in 1970. Black History Month caught on, and in 1976 Gerald Ford became the first president to recognize Black History Month.
Although I have never made an official announcement that I was doing so, I have observed Black History Month on this blog for years. While I do write such posts at other times of year, each year in February I write at least one post a week devoted to African Americans in popular culture. Over the years I have written about everything from actress Theresa Harris to comic book artist Matt Baker to the legendary Cab Calloway. I intend to observe Black History Month on A Shroud of Thoughts again this year. With diversity, equity, and inclusion having been under increasing attack over the past few weeks, I feel that my annual observance of Black History Month has become much more important than it ever has been before. Here I want to point out that I also observe other commemorative months, such as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May and National American Indian Heritage Month in November, and I will continue to do so. It is important to me that the contributions of multiple ethnicities to American history be acknowledged, particularly given I am part Native myself. No one is ever going to convince me otherwise.
Saturday, February 1, 2025
Thursday, January 30, 2025
The Late Great Jules Feiffer
Jule Feiffer was born on January 26 1929 in The Bronx in New York City. He took an interest in art when very young, starting to draw when he was only three years old. He also developed an interest in comic strips while he was very young, and he enjoyed such comic strips as Wash Tubs, Our Boarding House, and Flash Gordon. He developed an interest in comic books even before the first appearance of Superman in Action Comics no. 1 (June 1938).
His mother was a fashion designer who made water colour drawings of her designs. She encouraged young Jules Feiffer's interest in art. She gave him a drawing table when he was 13. She also helped him get enrolled in Art Students League of New York. Jules Feiffer graduated from James Monroe High School when he was only 16.
It was following his graduation from high school that Jules Feiffer went to the office of cartoon Will Eisner and asked him for a job. While Will Eisner did not think much of young Mr. Feiffer's artistic ability, he was impressed by the teenager's passion for comics. He then gave Jules Feiffer a job in his studio, doing such things as colouring, erasing, cleaning up, and so on. Over time Jules Feiffer would be given more responsibilities on Will Eisner's comic strip The Spirit. even assisting on stories and drawing. Eventually Will Eisner let Jules Feiffer do his own comic strip that appeared in the back of the Spirit section in newspapers, Clifford, a humour strip centered on a kid by that name.
In 1951 Jules Feiffer was drafted into the United States Army, where he served in the Signal Corps Publication Agency where he worked on training manuals and so on. He was honorably discharged after serving in the Army for two years. It was in 1956 that Jules Feiffer became a staff cartoonist at the Village Voice. He would continue to work for the Voice until 1996 when new owners took over the paper.
While Jules Feiffer was not paid for his work at the Village Voice, he would find an income through his friend Gene Deitch. Gene Deitch had become the creative director at Terrytoons and recruited Mr. Feiffer as one the artists there. While he would not remain with Terrytoons long, he would have one major success in animation. Jules Feiffer wrote the short "Munro," which Gene Deitch directed. It won the 1961 Oscar for Best Animated Film.
As time passed, Jules Feiffer's cartoons would appear in places other than the Village Voice, including Pageant. Playboy, and other publications. Over the years he would also publish several books. Sick, Sick, Sick: A Guide to Non-Confident Living, his first book, was published in 1956. It was a collection of cartoons from 1950 to 1956. Over the years several other collections fo cartoons would be published, including More Sick, Sick, Sick; The Explainers; Hole Me!, and so on. Jules Feiffer illustrated Norton Juster's 1961 children's fantasy novel The Phantom Tollbooth. Jules Feiffer also wrote the novels Harry, the Rat with Women (1963) and Ackroyd (1977). He wrote several plays, including Little Murders (1967), Feiffer's People (1969), and Knock Knock (1976), among others.
Among Jules Feiffer's best known books was the non-fiction book The Great Comic Book Heroes. Published in 1965, it is regarded as the first history of superheroes. Starting with Tantrum in 1979, he wrote several graphic novels. He also wrote several children's books.
Jules Feiffer wrote the screenplay for the adaptation of his play Little Murders (1971) and the movie Carnal Knowledge (1971) and made contributions to the film adaptation of Oh! Calcutta! (1972). He went onto write the screenplays for Popeye (1980) and I Want to Go Home (1989). He also worked in television, writing episodes of such shows as Quest, Comedy Zone, Faerie Tale Theatre, and Great Performances. He was one of the writers on the one hour TV series VD Blues, about the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases, that aired on PBS in 1972.
Although often described as a cartoonist and author, Jules Feiffer had mastered multiple media He had worked in comic strips, animation. non-fiction, plays, movies, novels, graphic novels, and children's books. Throughout all these media Jules Feiffer tackled institutions, society, and life in general with a sardonic wit. If ever there was an artist who could probe the American psyche with intelligence and even a bit of whimsy, it was Jules Feiffer. He influenced such cartoonists as Paul Karasik, Art Spiegelman, Gary Trudeau, and others. His book The Great Comic Book Heroes was not only the first history of comic book superheroes, but it was also one of the first times that the comic book was treated seriously as an art form. The book would have a lasting influence on comic book writers and comic book historians. Few artists would have the sort of lasting impact that Jules Feiffer had.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
8 1/2 (1963)
Federico Fellini remains one of the most highly regarded directors of all time. Among his most highly regarded films is 8 1/2 (1963). Upon its release it was nominated for five Academy Awards and won the Oscars for Best Costume--Black and White and Best Foreign Language Film. In its native Italy it was nominated for nine Nastri d'Argento and won six. The Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage included 8 1/2 in its list of a hundred Italian films to be saved. In 2022 it was ranked the 6th greatest film of all time in Sight and Sound's director's poll. It ranked 7th in the BBC's 2018 list of The 100 Greatest Foreign Language Films. 8 1/2 (1963) proved influential almost immediately upon its release.
8 1/2 (1963) centres on celebrated director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni), whose last film proved to be a financial and critical success. Unfortunately, Guido finds himself suffering from a creative block, with little more than a few ideas for his next film, an epic science fiction movie. Making matters worse for Guido is that his life is not going as smoothly as he would like. He is having difficulty with both his estranged wife (Anouk Aimée) and his mistress (Sandro Milo). Both his fans and the press want to know what he is going to do next.
Federico Fellini first outlined the ideas for what would become 8 1/2 in an October 1960 letter to Brunello Rondi, who had collaborated with Fellini on La dolce vita (1960). Some sort of professional man suffering from a creative block has to interrupt his life for two-week curative rest at the baths at Chianciano. Both the professional man's real life and his inner life (his dreams and memories) would be portrayed in the film.
The script for 8 1/2 would take some work. Federico Fellini worked with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi, all of whom had worked with the director on La dolce vita (1960), on the screenplay. It was rewritten three or four times before Messrs. Fellini and Pinelli locked themselves in a pensione outside Rome. There they wrote one final draft. Some changes would be made during the production of 8 1/2. Originally was to end with Guido and his wife in the dining car of a train. While on the train Guido would picture the film's characters smiling at him before the train enters a tunnel. In the documentary Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002), Tullio Pinelli took credit for advising Fellini to change the film's original ending for its famous ending on the beach.
Even while the script was being written, Federico Fellini did not have a title for the film. Ennio Flaiano suggested La bella confusione (literally in English The Beautiful Confusion). At last Federico Fellini decided to name the film 8 1/2, given it would be the 8th and a half movie he made (seven feature films and segments in Love and the City (1953) and Boccaccio '70 (1962).
8 1/2 is known for its remarkable cast. Both Marcello Mastrioianni and Anouk Aimée had starred in Fellini's previous movie La dolce vita. Claudia Cardinale, had already appeared in several films, including Il bell'Antonio (1960) and Girl in a Suitcase (1961). Among the notable members of the cast is Barbara Steele, who was already somewhat established as a scream queen, having appeared in the horror movies Black Sunday (1960), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), and The Horrible Dr. Hichcock (1962). In 8 1/2 Barbara Steele played the girlfriend of one of Guido's friends.
8 1/2 was released in Italy on February 14 1963. It received praise from most Italian critics and other critics throughout Europe. Cahiers du Cinéma ranked it at no. 10 on Top Ten Films of the Year for 1963. 8 1/2 was released in the United States on June 25 1963. In the United States it was praised by most critics, with Pauline Kael and Judith Crist being notable exceptions. As mentioned in the opening of this post, 8 1/2 won several awards. It also did well at the box office worldwide and in the United States and Canada.
8 1/2 proved to be influential almost immediately, with films either inspired by it or outright imitating it coming out not long after its release. Among the films that owe something to 8 1/2 are Mickey One (1965), Alex in Wonderland (1970), La Nuit américaine (1973), All That Jazz (1979), and yet others. It was later adapted as the 1982 Broadway musical Nine.
It should be little wonder that 8 1/2 continues to be popular not only with directors, but other creatives as well. It is safe to assume that many artists can easily identify with Guido, having gone through their own periods of creative doldrums, all the while having to deal with their personal lives. While 8 1/2 may appeal primarily to creative types, it seems likely that it could appeal to other types of people as well. Quite simply, in dealing with his creative block, Guido also seeks to find meaning in his life, something that many people do whether they are store clerks, lawyers, or doctors. Many believe that Guido is Fellini's author surrogate, but it is safe to say that many can identify with the fictional director.
Of course, much of the appeal of 8 1/2 is that it is simply a well-made film. It is a movie with a dream-like quality, even as it weaves together Guido's real life, dreams, daydreams, and memories. This is aided by Federico Fellini's stylish direction, Gianni Di Venanzo's cinematography, and the performances of the entire cast.
Over sixty years after its release 8 1/2 remains regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. It is not merely a movie about making movies, but about so much more. It is an explanation not only of creativity, but of interpersonal relationships and life itself.
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