the kino-eye (an early soviet film collective) believed that the camera could supplement and augment the vision (and thus perception) of the human being. i found this to never be true in watching film, but in producing it, it does seem present. in reviewing my clips, i found my perception augmented and expanded. why? because captured in a reviewable format, the moment was given many lives and almost a certain immortality. barthes of course talks about this through camera lucida, but he did not stop to consider how much moving pictures complicate the capturing of time. siegfried kracaeur did. an his theory moves from the film as a photograph made several in tracing the cinema’s unique ability to vivify what is only promised as living in static photographs.

anyway, with these things swirling about, i captured a few days of video of newport life, then cut it all together. included is the newport bermuda race, a nice bonus!

newport, a summer day from Zachary McCune on Vimeo.

1898

the most interesting thing about this short clip, is that santa claus carries a tree the whole time (wtf?) i was assuming that he was bringing it to the kids, but no, that tree belongs to him, and he seems possessive.

1939

fascinating animation style (a sort of “sepia-minimalism”) problematic racial history (note the mr. bojangles doll who dances in the toy shop) and american jazz. pretty much sums up the late 30′s.

1946

no introduction really needed. this is essential americana. the most interesting thing about this movie was how much of a flop it was at theaters, and the only way it became american classic was that the copyright owners let their license lapse, and tv executives were able to play on tv for free… the rest is history. of all capra’s films, this may be the most beloved.

1965

again, here we go with the jazz. i think that jazz music becoming an integral part of american christmas celebrations could represent the country’s growing secularization and commercialism. i mean, there’s no hymns here, even though “hark the herald angels sing” does make an appearance.

also, i love lucy as a money-fetishizing psychologist who references tv pundits and the need for labeling seems to be a pretty pointed cultural satire.

1988

OMG. MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE EVER WITH THE EXCEPTION OF……………

1992

the muppet christmas carol

i actually think this is the best christmas carol ever made. and i’ve seen a lot of them.

also, michael caine made his career with this film. STRAIGHT UP. kermit the frog forced him to bring out his best.

1992

now i’ve debated this out with a bunch of people, and the verdict is in. ha2 is far better than ha (the original). why? cuz new york’s a better playland than the suburbs of chicago.

merry christmas

because real americans don’t say “happy” christmas, except with massive irony.