Parallel
Perspectives
P.O. Box 1083
Forestville, CA 95436
USA
Email: mailto:editor@gnostics.com
1st
Rotation of July
Year of
OurSELF 2009
Aeon of The Child
- Epok of Horus -
COMRADES OF MOTHER EARTH:
The ancient Romans were known for their practical
adaptability, and this is demonstrated in
selecting the scorching month of (our) July to hold their Neptunalia. Neptune was a
derivative of the even more ancient Greek god Poseidon. The famous statue of
this god (left) perfectly illustrates the Greek ideals of beauty, balance &
symmetry.
Poseidon ruled the open seas & earthquakes.
This probably reflected the knowledge the ancestors held relating to the
relationship between earthquakes & tsunamis. In the earliest days at the Oracle of Delphi,
both Poseidon & Apollo seemed
to share a sort of theological franchise. Pilgrims would go to the Oracle
either to inquire about the success of a voyage, or would be advised by
the Oracle to go on one. Apollo was believed to inspire the initial
message, then the suppliants would make an offering to Poseidon to insure a
good trip.
July also includes the nature celebration of Lammas Eve,
or Lughnassadh.
This marks the first of
three ritual harvest days culminating on
The Autumn
Equinox. Pagans view Nature as being the expression of
The Goddess & The
God, male-female polarities. The joining of the
polarities is called The
Sacred Marriage and, of course, it is
mirrored in human
sexuality (Tantra Yoga).
There is a sort of
incestuous aspect in
Paganism. The Goddess &
The God are brother
& sister, husband & wife—
AND The God is the Son
of The Goddess!
Perhaps the World of Deities
is one
of the Parallel Universes
linked to
ours, and patriarchal
religion,
just another male ego
superimposition?
WebWeaver: Freddie
David
Our Favorite Sight
DVD
Salomé/ Lot in Sodom (1923)
Amazon
Product Description
Starring
the tempestuous, Russian-born Alla Nazimova, Salome adapts the controversial
Oscar Wilde play with an abundance of sumptuously fantastic visuals. Loosely
based on the Biblical story, this saga of King Herod and his unbridled lust for
his young stepdaughter leads to the haughty Salome's demand of the head of John
the Baptist in exchange for an alluring dance. Hailed as America's first art
film, this striking evocation of a fantastic, surreal era of perpetual night
and rampant debauchery still retains its power to shock and captivate. No less
remarkable is Lot in Sodom, a sensual depiction of the Sodom and Gomorrah story
filled with sinewy and semi-clad bodies, delirious bacchanales devoted to
physical pleasure, and a searing, cataclysmic finale depicting the fall of a
city devoted to sins of the flesh. Both films are digitally mastered from
excellent 35mm elements. Salome includes a choice of an orchestral score
composed and conducted by Marc-Olivier Dupin and a score composed and performed
by Silent Orchestra (Carlos Garza and Rich O'Meara). Lot In Sodom has its
original experimental soundtrack by Alec Wilder.
____________________________________
It
might be sort of heretical to admit, but I never really cared that much for Oscar Wilde’s “comedy of manners”
stage plays. Part of it might be that during high school I was a “techie” for a
production of THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST. It was a dreadful production that
toured to about seven other schools. I can recite every line from the script
even today. Another factor is that Wilde’s plays primarily deal with the
artificial British upper class of the late 1800’s. Not my favorite milieu. His
play SALOMÉ is not my favorite either. That being said, I certainly acknowledge
Wilde’s literary genius & the cruelty he was subjected to by the very
society he was trying to entertain.
There
is one quote from Lady Windermere’s Fan” that’s great. The actor describes his
thoughts on the English pastime of fox hunting as “the unspeakable in pursuit
of the inedible.”
I
do enjoy Aubrey
Beardsley’s illustrations of the play. They combine Art Nouveau, Symbolism
& Decadence. His work in general is often sexually charged, with dark, even
homicidal tones. It was the perfect illustration for a dark, decadent script
that also had distinct homosexual overtones. Alla Nazimova (this was way before
the Nazi Movement and the actress had no association with them) was the protogé
of Natacha
Rambova, second wife of silent film
heart throb Rudolph Valentino.
They formed an interesting trio, to say the
least. A lot of (Caucasian) American men felt threatened by Valentino’s sauve
handsomeness & sensitive male charisma. There were allegations that the three
were in some sort of open “lavendar (gay) marriage.” Valentino really suffered
as a result of this Flapper Age homophobia.
Valentino did not participate in SALOMÉ.
The
production was “the Baby” of Rambova & Nazimova.
Rambova
focused on the overall set design & Nazimova, of course, was to play the
lead. There is no doubt that both women were probably artistically ahead of
their time, particularly in post-World War I America. They did have the cache
of Russian ancestry that seemed to appeal to a romantic segment of the
population. But the allure of doomed Tsarist beauties & poetic male lovers
could not save SALOMÉ
So
what was so “naughty” in the film that bristled censors from Hollywood to
Maine?
It’s
a difficult movie to write about because it really is bizarre &
extraordinarily different—certainly different from any other commercial release
at the time. The homosexual overtones are obvious and this in itself would set
up a barrier to wide distribution of the film. The plot can easily be seen as a
slap in the face to traditional Christianity—and Fundamentalist elements would
go absolutely ballistic if they viewed.
The
overall “feel” to SALOMÉ is very faithful to Beardsley’s decadent, “far-out” in
interpretation. That I liked. There are European expressionist, Fritz Lang elements I liked
as well. This isn’t a straight-forward (pun intended) interpretation of the
Biblical story. Herod
is a white-faced evil clown who appears to have a melting face. His wife, the
wicked Herodias, is an overweight, alcoholic cave woman with impossibly
enormous hair, wearing painted leotards. She pounces around the set rapidly
alternating between rage, lechery & glee. She was pretty funny—and I liked
that as well.
Another
comic element was the depiction of the Sanhedrin, the Council of Jewish Elders.
They were presented as 3 very short men (who could pass as triplets) dressed in
oversized turbans & vestments straight off the vaudeville circuit. I’m not
sure if the humor was intentional or not. So, go figure…
Now
we arrive at Nazimova’s Salomé.
For
starters, I didn’t see anything very seductive about her. It’s true that the
actress was middle aged, playing a girl not yet 18 (in fact, if there really was
a Biblical Salomé, she could have been even much younger.) Nazimova was known
for her beauty, and while it was not unusual for actresses of the time to play
much younger women, this didn’t “work” for me. Certain long shots of Nazimova
did suggest a young girl with a lithe, dancer's form. But close-up shots were less
flattering. The white make-up & dark eyeliner (typical to this era of
filmmaking) actually appeared to add to the actress’ years.
For me
the most disappointing scene in the SALOMÉ was the all-important Dance of the
Seven Veils. I can’t believe that an
actress with Nazimova’s background would be so lame as to deliberately allow
herself to look so ridiculous. My idea of the Seven Veils Dance is Rita Hayworth coquetishly
letting each of the seven veils slowly fall in an extraordinarily erotic, saturated technocolor routine.
See
also,
DOES SPIRITUALITY REALLY
EXIST?
Despite
the critique, SALOMÉ is a must see, particularly anyone interested in film,
drama & acting.
It
should especially noteworthy for people exploring the history of Gay
involvement in all these subjects.
Review:
THE SERPENT GRAIL
A Little History
The original 1966 Gnostic Pagan School/Tradition
ceased public work in 2007. The Tradition was non-authoritarian, but was
willing to compromise to the extent of allowing a public religious structure in
order to provide a legal, pacifist exemption for draft eligible men during the
Vietnam War (good intention, wrong tactic) as well as to legalize the religious
use of A.E.S./Awareness
Enhancing Substances as part of Earth
Ritual (didn’t work).
At
the end of the War, the Tradition gradually lost members due to ebbing activism
& waning interest in the neo-pagan movement—as well as a natural winnowing
out of the tribe. In 1996 the remaing active members felt “a window of gnosis”
existed that justified reactivating the School. The results were mixed. A more
recent attempt at a political merger was unsuccessful, splitting an already
fractured group. The experience confirmed our (Jeff & Suzanne’s) position
that metaphysics & Marxism just don’t mix—at least not on an organizational
level. Apparently some people (like us) have to learn the hard way.
So, our journey led to PARALLEL PERSPECTIVES—and
we hope Readers will enjoy
our on-going exploration of
Once again we are reminded that,
in our Beginning is our End—
And that in
our End is—just possibly—a new Beginning.
