http://www.nps.gov/archive/prsf/places/palace.htm
Quick synopsis of Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/history/palace/index.html
Historical Movies as well as a little more in depth look at the exploratorium in the P.O.F.A
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108174/
Imdb is a popular source for dissecting the essence of films: Who was in the film, who produced, and when, how, etc...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kerouac_Alley
Wikipedia's take on the famous Alley as well as an interesting look at the history.
http://www.eclipse.co.uk/~sl5763/panama.htm
Historical Look at the construction of the Panama Canal.
http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&docId=9634907
A textual look at the relationship between The United States and Latin America. This is of interest because it addresses the Panama Canal and the nature of the relationship that lead to it's development.
Youtube.com
Good place to find scenes from the film as well as things relevant the S.F.s Contado and Imperial Roots.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
"So I Married an Axe Murderer" and Gray Brechin's imperial depictions.
Growing up one of my favorite movies was “So I Married an Axe Murderer” staring Mike Myers. While I enjoyed his characters, accents, and witty remarks, what stuck probably most from the film was the beautiful sounds and scenes of San Francisco depicted in the film. Some of the key scene take place near The Palace of Fine Arts, Alcatraz, The Golden Gate Bridge, The Fog City Diner, Dunsmuir House, and The Bar Vesuvio on Jack Kerouac Alley to name a few.
In continuing with Gray Brechin’s imperial study of San Francisco, The Palace of Fine Arts is a of particular interest. The Palace is located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California and was constructed in 1915 for the Panama Pacific Exposition. The Exposition was for the purpose of celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal and was supposed to serve a symbolic representation of the city‘s recovery from the earth quake of 1906. A Canal that was constructed ostensibly for the purposes of U.S. economic growth. The Palace was designed by Bernard Maybeck who modeled his construction after Roman and Greek Architecture. Among many others like it, The Palace of Fine Arts through it’s construction and historical relevancy, provides a unique perspective into the cities complicated link to manifest destiny and to the construction of an imperial city.
Beyond comedic entertainment, the film also represents the rich history of San Francisco past the typical tourist cliché’s and into the real streets and cultures themselves. Conveniently enough, the lead character is a beat poet and performs a comedic homage to the beat culture in San Francisco.
The coffee house in which he performs his on Jack Kerouac Blvd. and when he honeymoons with his new wife, he departs to a place in which he claims many Beat Poets frequented located in the outskirts of town in the woods. Other characters also represent the spirit of Beat Culture and San Franciscan ideals. Parodied through the lead characters father also play by Mike Meyers we see a comedic representation of the paranoia of large industry and corporate influence as mentioned in Brechin’s book.
With that I'll finish this post with a scene in which the late-great Phil Hartman plays a guard/tour guide at Alcatraz who does not take lightly to those who are not focused on the cliche tourist experience. As he says, "Now, what some of the other tour guides won't tell you.." I can not help but think about the reality depict in "Alcatraz in Not an Island". While this is purely a comedic film without any obvious intent towards a satirical representation of the imperialist nature of San Francisco, the scenes much like in the one posted below, cannot help but remind informed individuals as to the historical links in the film and in Gray Brechin's book.
In continuing with Gray Brechin’s imperial study of San Francisco, The Palace of Fine Arts is a of particular interest. The Palace is located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California and was constructed in 1915 for the Panama Pacific Exposition. The Exposition was for the purpose of celebrating the completion of the Panama Canal and was supposed to serve a symbolic representation of the city‘s recovery from the earth quake of 1906. A Canal that was constructed ostensibly for the purposes of U.S. economic growth. The Palace was designed by Bernard Maybeck who modeled his construction after Roman and Greek Architecture. Among many others like it, The Palace of Fine Arts through it’s construction and historical relevancy, provides a unique perspective into the cities complicated link to manifest destiny and to the construction of an imperial city.
Beyond comedic entertainment, the film also represents the rich history of San Francisco past the typical tourist cliché’s and into the real streets and cultures themselves. Conveniently enough, the lead character is a beat poet and performs a comedic homage to the beat culture in San Francisco.
The coffee house in which he performs his on Jack Kerouac Blvd. and when he honeymoons with his new wife, he departs to a place in which he claims many Beat Poets frequented located in the outskirts of town in the woods. Other characters also represent the spirit of Beat Culture and San Franciscan ideals. Parodied through the lead characters father also play by Mike Meyers we see a comedic representation of the paranoia of large industry and corporate influence as mentioned in Brechin’s book.
With that I'll finish this post with a scene in which the late-great Phil Hartman plays a guard/tour guide at Alcatraz who does not take lightly to those who are not focused on the cliche tourist experience. As he says, "Now, what some of the other tour guides won't tell you.." I can not help but think about the reality depict in "Alcatraz in Not an Island". While this is purely a comedic film without any obvious intent towards a satirical representation of the imperialist nature of San Francisco, the scenes much like in the one posted below, cannot help but remind informed individuals as to the historical links in the film and in Gray Brechin's book.
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