tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1026144948314414720.post3370244336198465494..comments2015-12-18T07:08:03.936-08:00Comments on Books and Banters: Twentieth Century Novels Need More Aliens ( Thoughts on The Man Who Wasn't There)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16123479578334642436noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1026144948314414720.post-90891890101015192902015-11-11T11:14:22.829-08:002015-11-11T11:14:22.829-08:00I'll pass over that preposterous remark about ...I'll pass over that preposterous remark about "boring" books on my syllabus in silence--but I do suspect that the Coens were likely thinking along these lines. I suppose some meaning could be read into the UFO stuff (a kind of representation of metaphysical meaning? a less-than-indifferent universe, watching over us, in contrast to the "benign indifference" Meursault sees in the night sky?), but it seems to me that it probably just occurred to the Coens at some point that the noir period the film reflects was also the time when UFO hysteria was strongest in American popular culture--so one more pop-cultural curveball to throw into the mix.<br /><br />Once you know the UFO plot is there, though, on subsequent viewings you start to see UFO-shaped objects throughout the film (e.g. look again at the rows of light fixtures in Nirdlinger's when Big Dave and Ed are talking upstairs; there are UFO-shaped ashtrays present throughout; the hubcap rolling after the accident, etc.)Mitchellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745167749128309461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1026144948314414720.post-26368008524570673562015-11-09T18:16:48.940-08:002015-11-09T18:16:48.940-08:00When watching The Man Who Wasn't There I actua...When watching The Man Who Wasn't There I actually found that the UFO/Alien scenes were kind of silly, didn't fit in with the plot, and detracted from the seriousness of the movie. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02023575640567772841noreply@blogger.com