tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13506151.post6821405728541382384..comments2023-11-05T22:12:49.545+11:00Comments on World. Oyster. Stage.: Midnight in Paris and the allure of nostalgiaMelbahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02257719342445833725noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13506151.post-19271741353830201112011-11-02T21:01:43.363+11:002011-11-02T21:01:43.363+11:00Yeah I'm probably happy with the musings about...Yeah I'm probably happy with the musings about it rather than feeling I have to arrive at some sort of Answer.<br /><br />The shitty things I've done I don't think are that bad, but then the people I've done them to may. This is the other fascination. Like history there can be multiple perspectives and there is never one truth.Melbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257719342445833725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13506151.post-71741267257565846882011-11-02T19:48:55.136+11:002011-11-02T19:48:55.136+11:00I also like the exploration of those concepts of g...<i>I also like the exploration of those concepts of good and bad; no one, it seems, is all one or the other, and so a person who is flawed and has darkness, yet who then can display something heartwarming and tender, THAT is the interesting character.</i><br /><br />Well, yes, that's pretty much where I was going. I mean, just thinking about myself: I've done many vile things in my time, but I've also done some things that I'd like to think were fairly decent. I've treated people well and I've treated people appallingly. I also think I've changed considerably for the better over the course of my adult life. So am I a good person or a bad person? Does it even make sense to ask? How are you going to weigh these things? Does it matter that I now actively try to do good, or are some things so big and shitty that I'm forever tainted? How much knowledge would a person need to judge?*<br /><br />Outside of your fringe cases, I assume this all more or less applies to everyone. Even you'd be in the same boat to some degree, wouldn't you? That's why the idea of figuring out whether someone was simply good or bad just seems to me to be deciding which bits of the story you'd rather focus on and which bits you want to play down.<br /><br /><i>*Maybe that is too sciencey, but I honestly don't know how else to approach something like this.</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13506151.post-36137580354421415822011-11-02T13:53:29.185+11:002011-11-02T13:53:29.185+11:00But there is Alex, there is a lot of point to tryi...But there is Alex, there is a lot of point to trying to work out if someone was good or bad, even if I don't know that person. Because what you can figure out in the abstract helps you with the real world; in human relationships. <br /><br />You're more sciencey and so I expect you like to operate with known facts and quantities? I'm not sciencey in that way - I like to explore the nebulousness (it's a word?) of human nature and character.<br /><br />It's not as if I'm setting myself a task of trying to nut out this man, or any other, where it's causing me confusion or frustration or angst, not at all, I love musing on this stuff, but I do like to try to understand people and how they 'work'. I also like the exploration of those concepts of good and bad; no one, it seems, is all one or the other, and so a person who is flawed and has darkness, yet who then can display something heartwarming and tender, THAT is the interesting character.Melbahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02257719342445833725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13506151.post-80686105373223211072011-11-01T14:56:12.544+11:002011-11-01T14:56:12.544+11:00Haven't seen the movie and don't know anyt...Haven't seen the movie and don't know anything about the life of Hemmingway. All I can say is that: a) There should never have to be any correlation between how you feel about somebody and how you feel about their work. And: b) There's probably not a lot of point in trying to decide whether a person was "good" or "bad". Especially if you didn't know them personally.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com