I watched the film "The Dig" the other night, which is about the Sutton Hoo archaeological find in Suffolk, England, on the eve of the British entry into WWII, and what I'm feeling tonight is that kind of quiet, dreadful waiting, knowing that tomorrow will start a process that will change the shape of the US for decades to come, for good…
I watched the film "The Dig" the other night, which is about the Sutton Hoo archaeological find in Suffolk, England, on the eve of the British entry into WWII, and what I'm feeling tonight is that kind of quiet, dreadful waiting, knowing that tomorrow will start a process that will change the shape of the US for decades to come, for good or for ill. There is no real predicting of the outcome.
What saddens me is that there is a clear path in all this that is right: right for the rule of law, right for the integrity of the government and the nation, right for the people's hope for the future. But the rightness of that path is completely irrelevant to the political calculation that will take place over the next week. The Congress is filled with people who would rather rule Hell for ten minutes, than serve in Heaven, and all their effort is bent to bringing about those ten minutes. They care nothing for what comes after.
I too watched "The Dig" the other night. Excellent film in a very English style, obviously and Ralf Fiennes was so very ggod...as usual. However I didn't get a sense of foreboding from the theme, rather a sense of attachment to history and the importance of the "human" approach as opposed to the technocratic. The point of the film was the discovery of a fantastic treasure which effectively changed what we knew of our forbears. The gift of the "golden horde" found in the Anglo-saxon "royal burial mound" under the buried royal "barge" (like the viking Drakkar but several hundred years earlier and probably from Jutland) to the British Museum was an affirmation that history and society is the concern and responsibility of all the people and not just a few.....as is the furure.
The sense of foreboding that I got in "The Dig" related to the people knowing that War was coming, and waiting for the onslaught. The point of the message of the film, to me, was that goodness will prevail in the end. Basil Brown's work was not mentioned by the British Museum initially but he finally was given the recognition he was due. I found it a very refreshing and beautiful film. I wish there were more like it!
Let us hope that right will prevail in the current trial, for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
I agree. The loss of death on several levels at once: letting go of past misconceptions in the dig, the letting go of the mother by the son, the step into the jeopardy the war brings, in an instant, to life and a way of life.
The foreboding was all there but a cohesive hope entered in that stunningly moving scene of mother and son in the newly dug spine of the anncient funeral barge.( Also in the reverencing of what history tells us by the British who had the good sense to keep their antiquities safe from bombs by removing them from museum to the underground!!)
That war changed totally the structure of European society breaking the predominance of a "landed" elite. The foreboding for the war was of course strong, as you rightly point out, but also the thought of her own death and what would happen to her son with neither mother nor father to care for him....a second theme of the "human" role of Basil Brown and his wife.
My father fought in the RN, and most of my family of that generation. Yes, Stuart, I was thinking of your second point too and agree. I didn't mention that because I notice this comments page has rather been taken over by the lengthy opinions of some... and I was trying not to do the same. The scene of the boy and his mother spending precious time in the ship at night was one of the most touching I have ever seen. Just beautiful, and based on a true story, I will watch it again.
Well said, Joseph. We badly need public servants who will do the right thing.
The Dig looks fascinating and I'll check it out. Perhaps you already know Foyle's War on PBS, set in the same place and time. Along with cracking murder mysteries, it's about the fierce pursuit of normalcy and the rule of law in abnormal times.
I watched the film "The Dig" the other night, which is about the Sutton Hoo archaeological find in Suffolk, England, on the eve of the British entry into WWII, and what I'm feeling tonight is that kind of quiet, dreadful waiting, knowing that tomorrow will start a process that will change the shape of the US for decades to come, for good or for ill. There is no real predicting of the outcome.
What saddens me is that there is a clear path in all this that is right: right for the rule of law, right for the integrity of the government and the nation, right for the people's hope for the future. But the rightness of that path is completely irrelevant to the political calculation that will take place over the next week. The Congress is filled with people who would rather rule Hell for ten minutes, than serve in Heaven, and all their effort is bent to bringing about those ten minutes. They care nothing for what comes after.
I too watched "The Dig" the other night. Excellent film in a very English style, obviously and Ralf Fiennes was so very ggod...as usual. However I didn't get a sense of foreboding from the theme, rather a sense of attachment to history and the importance of the "human" approach as opposed to the technocratic. The point of the film was the discovery of a fantastic treasure which effectively changed what we knew of our forbears. The gift of the "golden horde" found in the Anglo-saxon "royal burial mound" under the buried royal "barge" (like the viking Drakkar but several hundred years earlier and probably from Jutland) to the British Museum was an affirmation that history and society is the concern and responsibility of all the people and not just a few.....as is the furure.
The sense of foreboding that I got in "The Dig" related to the people knowing that War was coming, and waiting for the onslaught. The point of the message of the film, to me, was that goodness will prevail in the end. Basil Brown's work was not mentioned by the British Museum initially but he finally was given the recognition he was due. I found it a very refreshing and beautiful film. I wish there were more like it!
Let us hope that right will prevail in the current trial, for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
I agree. The loss of death on several levels at once: letting go of past misconceptions in the dig, the letting go of the mother by the son, the step into the jeopardy the war brings, in an instant, to life and a way of life.
The foreboding was all there but a cohesive hope entered in that stunningly moving scene of mother and son in the newly dug spine of the anncient funeral barge.( Also in the reverencing of what history tells us by the British who had the good sense to keep their antiquities safe from bombs by removing them from museum to the underground!!)
That war changed totally the structure of European society breaking the predominance of a "landed" elite. The foreboding for the war was of course strong, as you rightly point out, but also the thought of her own death and what would happen to her son with neither mother nor father to care for him....a second theme of the "human" role of Basil Brown and his wife.
My father fought in the RN, and most of my family of that generation. Yes, Stuart, I was thinking of your second point too and agree. I didn't mention that because I notice this comments page has rather been taken over by the lengthy opinions of some... and I was trying not to do the same. The scene of the boy and his mother spending precious time in the ship at night was one of the most touching I have ever seen. Just beautiful, and based on a true story, I will watch it again.
Ditto on the "takeover of lengthy opinions."
My father was RN too.
Your thoughts are truly welcome and "betray" both sensitivity and insight. The more we have of these in our discussions, the better.
That’s what I felt when watching the film, Sally.
Well said, Joseph. We badly need public servants who will do the right thing.
The Dig looks fascinating and I'll check it out. Perhaps you already know Foyle's War on PBS, set in the same place and time. Along with cracking murder mysteries, it's about the fierce pursuit of normalcy and the rule of law in abnormal times.
well said
Yes... you’re probably right. 😞
Unfortunately this is true— I also watched The Dig and loved the film.