Darling,
I have such a wonderful array of fruits and bouquets to deliver to you today.
Will you stay a while?
Will you sit down and savor these accoutrements for your Saturday, rather than skimming me over?
Pretty please? Hmm?
Thank you, darling. Merci. Merci.
When I went to Paris in January 2020 to write my book (Letters to a Young Woman, from Paris) before anyone knew of the Covid Pandemic, I did it because I had a sense of what was to come, and what was needed. Do you ever have these knowings in your body? This in-tune-ness?
These knowings are what my book is about, though it is such an odd little book in the ways it defies political ideology and steps outside of mainstream religion. The reason for that, Ma Cherie, is that politics is so often married to male-dominated religion, and living into the truth of spiritual teachers tends to be…well, a less popular thing to do.
Yes, let’s just call it less popular.
In the 1940 British film Gaslight, based on the play from British writer Patrick Hamilton, we see the way the husband Paul uses religion as a way to establish dominance and authority in his household. He does not abide any of the Teacher’s teachings, of course. Paul’s goal is to slowly and strategically break his wife Bella into pieces, so that she has no self-esteem and cannot tell reality from fiction. His purpose is to make her feel crazy, and for her to think she is a liar, and that she is terribly mentally sick. He has servants kiss the bible when he asks them for honesty, and he reads aloud from the bible at dinner, to suggest he is an upstanding citizen and man who would never hurt a soul. But we learn that Paul is doing all of this because he has a sick mind, and he is covering up his monstrous transgressions and crimes.
This film—later remade in the United States (1944) starring Ingrid Bergman as the wife, and Charles Boyer as the husband—is a foundational work of art that helps people understand narcissistic—and also what would be called sociopathic/psychopathic—manipulation. The man uses his privilege as “the man of the house” to enact a kind of voodoo on his wife, so that she is always tired, confused, and unable to adequately function. He does it as a distraction, a tactic to redirect attention from his horrible past and his deceitful modus operandi. Can he really be this bad, though, if he wears a suit and stands tall and speaks eloquently? Can we be forced to believe that a man who seems so distinguished can be doing something so callous?
Hmm.
Who makes the rules and the boundaries in our homes, in our communities, in our world? What boundaries are safe and necessary to cross—at times? What others must we heed with honor?
Fortunately in the film, there is a savvy man named Rough (played by Frank Pettingell) who listens to his body and his instincts, and watches things play out, and steps in—in the nick of time!—to stop egregious things from happening. Without his help, Bella would perish.
(I love these guys like Rough. I’ll take one of those guys any day over the complacent, fearful ones.)
My desire to connect with young women (and of course, women of all ages), is because I love them and want to protect them from ending up in bad relationships, such as the one in Gaslight.
Gaslight is a horror movie without blood, yet it really is haunting. It is so carefully crafted and so wondrously acted, and for me, very close to home. I think it is as relevant now as it was in the 1940s, and I hope you will watch it and discuss with friends.
Art that shines a light is the art we cling to, in times like these.
Namaste,
Ms. Wonderful
Watch Gaslight free on YouTube.
(There’s more below—don’t leave yet!)
Saturday’s Playlist on Vinyl
*I take a line from one of the songs and make the title.
I made a 3-minute movie spoof after last week’s post for the film The Devil Wears Prada.
It is called GODDESS WEARS NOT PRADA.
It is so goofy. I didn’t know Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue, wore sunglasses in interviews until after I made this thing. I channel stuff, then I see it is in alignment with reality. (That’s just my way….)
You can subscribe to Rose Woods TV to enjoy more teaching artistry at its rootiest.
If you are in the Philadelphia area, buy tickets for two shows at Christ Church for International Women’s Day this year—Friday March 7th and Saturday March 8th. I am one of the performers.
I write about movies for my local co-op Weavers Way.
Here is the latest review for Something from Tiffany’s, starring Kendrick Sampson and Zoey Deutch, directed by Daryl Wein.
The Shuttle from Weavers Way Co-op is available to read online here.
Buh-eye!
“I like a beret”. Priceless.