tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post4867867896139900348..comments2024-03-28T02:29:13.507-07:00Comments on Legal Ruralism: The popularity of "True Grit" as a reflection of nostalgia for the rural?Lisa R. Pruitthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16469550950363542801noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-78220428127258052702011-02-08T10:40:23.428-08:002011-02-08T10:40:23.428-08:00I have difficulty in weighing one set of values ov...I have difficulty in weighing one set of values over the other, which is essentially the problem with essentializing the rural and the urban. Rich, in making a dichotomy between "The Social Network" and "True Grit" seems to value one over the other without any direct reasoning. <br /><br />First, there is the obvious problem that both are stories of how we view our lives - not of how our lives actually work. Moreover, the fact that these are made by huge multinational movie studios, also tends to diminish Rich's value judgment. <br /><br />Second, it is a reflection of nostalgia - especially considering that we are a nation of individuals with rights and freedoms developed by our (somewhat elitist) founding fathers. The obvious ability to have such freedom is not lost upon me, especially considering the advent of things such as facebook, but by making such broad statements - it seems to forget the time period we are in, and actual real situations occurring. <br /><br />Instead of theorizing and contrasting - perhaps the similarities should be drawn. Both movies involve true grit and both movies ultimately are a good story.N.P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08296347844003958446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171420941776673660.post-56254046073225977172011-01-26T17:04:59.677-08:002011-01-26T17:04:59.677-08:00I loved the movie; I have a real fascination with ...I loved the movie; I have a real fascination with westerns such as "True Grit," and the not quite as good but still enjoyable "3:10 to Yuma," because they bring to life a world where justice is so precarious.<br /><br />Today, at least in densely populated areas, we often take it for granted that police can respond to a crime within minutes. Admittedly, that isn't really true in many communities, but I think most would agree that at the very least, America has very large and somewhat reliable institutions in place that exist to enforce the law.<br /><br />In the post-Civil War era of "True Grit," justice was so remote and so uncertain that to seek it out really did require true grit. As I watched the movie I was really struck by how much Mattie had to endure in order to right the moral balance of the world by bringing her father's killer to justice. There were long rides through difficult terrain, nights out in the cold, perilous encounters with thieves and murderers- she braved all of that and more because she had to do what was right. I loved the quote from Proverbs that opened the movie: "The wicked flee when none pursueth."<br /><br />And it is worth note that it wasn't just vengeance she sought- she had no interest in torturing Tom Chaney, as Rooster offered to do, nor to see him hanged for other crimes- she wanted to see that there was a moral accounting for what was done to her father. <br /><br />Getting to Rich's article in the NYT, I completely agree that he does allude to a bit of nostaliga for the rural- and he may be assuming that it would be appropriate to assume that rural culture is imbued with Mattie's sense of moral fortitude. <br /><br />But what I think he's really getting at (or what I hope he's getting at), is that our collective sense of right and wrong, of justice, has lost a lot of the clarity that it may have once had in the days of Mattie Ross and Rooster Cogburn. The irony is that back then, justice was so very elusive, but in modern America we possess wealth and technology that would enable the ferreting out of even the most clandestine of crimes. But, as I think Rich is arguing, the very greed that was instrumental in creating that wealth has clouded our sense of what justice is, and our passion for seeking it out. Maybe moviegoers are connecting with that old-time sense of right and wrong.<br /><br />Or, as Rich admitted, maybe people just wanted to eat popcorn and forget about the world for a couple hours.RHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06751080929137894841noreply@blogger.com