The Pause Acting of William Shatner

Kevin Pollak did it best, his impression of Star Trek's Captain Kirk.  He called it pause acting, and although accurate also his observation was humorous.  There is truth in humor, or humor is truth?  Why am I reminded of this?  The answer is Stanley Kubrick's film, "Eyes Wide Shut," starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.  I watched part of this last night, and although I remembered it as being a labored and stilted attempted drama, the glamour and polish of New York society at the turn of the century ("Holy shite, Batman!  You mean the year 2000, not 1900!?") is appealing.  Upon viewing any film produced by a reputable Hollywood company in previous decades, today's bleak political landscape is predicted dystopia.  Many artistic aesthetics have predicted this decline in American society, including ancient cultures who believed the world would end in 2012.  In retrospect we haven't been living since 2016, so we made it eight more years.  It was not my intention to rag on the remnants of America's film industry.  They are not dissimilar to other industries who mistakenly embraced rapidly evolving technology as a substitute for content.  AI cannot make a Stanley Kubrick film nor produce a seminal television series like the original Star Trek.  The reason is AI has no soul.  We continue to see AI evolve toward self reflection and moral consciousness in Hollywood films such as "I, Robot."  I think it is possible for a computer to replicate a close facsimile of morality, because morality is reflected directly in decisions and actions.  It is the human emotional psyche which enriches soul.  More importantly purely physical sexual interaction is necessary, if the participants love making to exist as its own platform.  Not exploitative, domineering, or harmful sexual manipulation, but love-based physical expression.  America has lost touch with physical romance, and the emergence of a vocally demonstrative and somewhat antagonistic LGBT community has not fueled this luxury.  "Eyes Wide Shut," in my humble opinion, is not a stellar success, but it is worth the experience.  Pause acting has found its second chapter in this film, because director Sydney Pollack should have stayed behind the camera.  His delayed speech pattern, reciprocated by Tom Cruise, while an attempt at seeming intellectual or at least stoned, pulls the film down to a B grade.  This slowed and seeming reflective banter is a part of the tone of the movie.  When dialog and acting run short, other technical processes can nourish a film, such as sound editing, music, Folely effects, lighting, and overall artistic design.  A good example of these are in Clint Eastwood's film, "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."  It is refreshing to see a film of this caliber today, because it puts modern American film making to shame.  It is the Humanities versus technology.  Will we as a human race choose a cyber existence, or will we turn back to traditional human qualities, experiences, and opportunities which have existed since the advent of man?  The adage, "If you don't work for it..." holds truth, because the sheer labor of producing something, while possibly lacking in spirit, can get close to art.  When the spirit is not available, professionals learn  to emulate art, and that is our responsibility.  I first learned this in the recording studio, when the process of playing music was not organic and fun.  In a nutshell it nearly is impossible for any television or film company to produce quality content without the proper equipment.  That equipment is NOT a handheld digital camera.  The entire process of conceiving camera shots to tell a story and advance  plot is lost.  Novice video producers should hear terms like dolly shots or crane shots, which are passe today.  A shaky cameraman going through withdrawal letting the camera jiggle all over the place makes me car sick and is not substitute for the in depth history of cinematography.  If you are Billy Bob Thornton, you may have the golden egg in your mind.  This can make up for  shortcomings in equipment and technical film making prowess, but there has to be an emotional thread that holds it together.  When I watch DVD's from earlier decades, often I wonder how it was possible to render such aesthetic beauty on film.  The era of the blockbuster was real, and those hundreds of creative jobs annotated at the end of a film were the meat and potatoes of the film's success.  The same is true of government.  It will not operate at full creative efficiency unless it is staffed with qualified and dedicated workers.  Covid gutted most of America's efficient and money-making structures.  Nothing could reinforce this more than a national debt of thirty trillion dollars.  Is art a reflection of life, or can art lead the human race in a better direction?  There is no better time to actualize this concept than now, when America is stuck with the dystopian authoritarian political regime of continued war.  Freely I will admit  pushing buttons on my remote control in the privacy of my own home and seeing Nicole Kidman's naked body was a relief.  There was no murder, no guns, no explosions, and no aggression.  Instead "Eyes Wide Shut" is like a drug-induced trip seen through a fog.  It is best viewed with this in mind.  The sexuality in Kubrick's movie did not arouse me but acted as a reminder that in my previous years seeing nude women was not foreign.  During times of relationships it was a natural occurrence.  It was good to remember this and reminisce about my previous sexual relationships.  The world has changed, but the core tenets of human sexuality always will be the same.  Gender confusion will not change that, only convolute it.  The only way for that to happen is to do what Senator Mark Kelly suggests.  Put down the screen harboring invasive, manipulative, social media and talk to a person.  America has regressed, thus technology which sidesteps necessary human education has not been helpful.  If you had to build the camera that filmed your vision, than the substance of that filming is going to be greater, because you understand the process of film exposure and development.  If a little handheld camera makes these decisions for you, you are dropping bread crumbs on the surface of the water rather than diving deep into the pool.  You are missing the craft of film completely.  While the home computer has been indispensable for aspiring artists as a money-saving tool, one must develop the necessary skills to create a substantive and meaningful work through the human elements of sweat and blood.