All That Jazz

 It's Season 2 now, so it's ok to reference Mr. Robot right?

 

So in last season's finale, as Elliot is walking through Evil Corps headquarters after the encryption package has been released, the soundtrack is playing a there's a synthesized version of Dmitri Shostakovitch's Waltz No. 2.

It's the perfect mood music for a surreal moment. However, for me it will always evoke the opening moments of Eyes Wide Shut.

Kubrick's music choices for his films is a book in itself (Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films – by Christine Lee Gengaro) and there are several ways to interpret the choices for EWS. There's a definite Stalin era vibe with Shostakovitch and György Ligeti in the mix but it's the jazz element that catches my attention here and the economic collapse element in Mr. Robot that jarred my memory.

First, I'm not a musician, I only know what I've heard over time about Jazz being all about the notes you don't play as much as it is about the notes you do play. I have no idea what that means. But I know Kubrick was a Jazz enthusiast. So I think sometimes it's about what Kubrick leaves out.


Take for instance Mr. Harford's wild ride in EWS. When he hits roadblocks, Bill whips out his wallet.
Whether it's dealing with Domino, Mr. Millich or the itinerant cab driver, Bill is able to smooth things out and get his way by throwing money at the issue.

The big exception is at Somerton and after. Once he gets into trouble there, there's no more money fixes.

Reference to a world where cash is meaningless? To a level of our society that does not use cash for transactions?

Or presaging a time when money will be valueless? (In truth it already is, it only has inherent value because we believe it has inherent value.)

Does Kubrick try to be predictive? Probably not.

The other big note not played involves the scenery. Now recall all of the controversy around the set. The movie is set in New York city in the present time (1998-1999). We know it was filmed entirely in the UK. There were complaints about the streets being to wide for NYC, not enough foot traffic, etc.

The skyline shots as well as the shots from the bridge as Harford heads down 495, are all stock footage.

But one thing you never see in EWS and would easily create the atmosphere that one is in NYC, are the Twin Towers. They are NOWHERE to be seen in EWS. Not too big a deal? Maybe not. But check out any movie or TV show, set in NYC in that time frame (1998-1999) that DOESN'T show the towers at some point, and you'll have me convinced.

Maybe not predictive. Maybe just raising awareness.

Till next time

What does it all MEAN?

I'm right, Weidner's wrong (tongue in cheek)

I said at the beginning that as an artist, at some level Kubrick wants you to put your interpretation on his work. "Well, what do YOU think it means?" kind of thing.

I have an email string with Jay Weidner regarding the star symbol at Ziegler's Christmas Party in EWS.

Basically I was trying to convince him that the star wreath was a replica of Ishtar's star because it was eight pointed.  He was emphatic that it represented Venus and that it referred to Nicole Kidman's character as a symbolic Isis goddess.

I share below:

"Images off of the cross at Hendyae.  Please note the eight pointed star and the sun.  Kidman is Isis.  She has been chosen as the new female icon of the cult.  She is the missing person in the eleven girl circle at the orgy.  Something huge was cut from EWS.  It has to do with the star."

The Hendaye reference is from a brilliant book by Weidner and his co-author Vincent Bridges

The Mysteries of the Great Cross of Hendaye: Alchemy and the End of Time

 This image and text is from the website Vigilant Citizen

The star at Zeigler’s house is nearly identical to the ancient symbol of the star of Ishtar."
nowing Kubrick’s attention to detail, the inclusion of the star of Ishtar in this party is not an accident. Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war and, mostly, sexuality. Her cult involved sacred prostitution and ritual acts – two elements we clearly see later in the movie.

“Babylonians gave Ishtar offerings of food and drink on Saturday. They then joined in ritual acts of lovemaking, which in turn invoked Ishtar’s favor on the region and its people to promote continued health and fruitfulness.”
– Goddess Ishtar, Anita Revel

Ishtar herself was considered to be the “courtesan of the gods” and had many lovers. While inspired in bed, she was also cruel to the men that got attached to her. These concepts will constantly reappear in the movie, especially with Alice.
During the party, Bill and Alice go their separate ways and are both faced with temptation. Alice meets a man named Sandor Szavost who asks her about Ovid’s Art of Love. This series of books, written during the times of Ancient Rome, was essentially a “How to Cheat on Your Partner” guide, and was popular with the elite of the time. The first book opens with an invocation to Venus – the planet esoterically associated with lust. Interestingly enough, Ishtar (and her equivalents in other Semetic cultures) was considered to be the personification of Venus.

I share this to point out that both can be right, the trick is not to put too much emphasis on one interpretation. We can be too dogmatic. That being said, I do believe there are overarching themes that carry through all of Kubrick's films and that he meant for EWS to be his magnum opus. It was to at once celebrate the Cryptocracy and expose them as well.

UPDATE: I just watched the documentary Room 237 for the umpteenth time last night. I really enjoy it because I feel, to a degree, everyone quoted in the film is right. The Shining does make reference to the Native American holocaust as well as the Holocaust and to wild speculation about Apollo 11.
I personally feel that a lot of effort goes into pointing out there are a lot of  references to the number 42 and the luggage at the Overlook. What intrigues me is no one makes the connection that in 1942, Kubrick was 14 and his family moved to a new apartment (Source : Stanley Kubrick: A Biography By Vincent LoBruttobo, pg 10).
He was roughly the same age as Herman Raucher, the main character in the movie 'Summer of 42', the movie playing in the scene were Danny and Wendy are watching TV (that has no electrical cable). It's made note of the fact that regarding Room 237, that 2x3x7 = 42. So in '42 Kubrick moved into a new room.