What Have You Been Up To?
Watching, listening to, reading, translating
With Rafa Lombardino
Hi, everybody! Just the other day,
I watched "Fahrenheit 451" again.
It was inspired by Ray Bradbury's novel.
The movie was made in the 1960s.
I first watched it a long time ago,
on one of those channels that feature
classics and b&w movies.
I was a teenager and had just read the book,
which I bought at a second-had store.
I was so excited to see the movie production
―the classic based on the book.
Back then, I was about 16 years old and
I was completely baffled by the concept
that this story explores.
Here it goes:
You can no longer read books.
It's a crime. It's forbidden.
So, firefighters no longer specialize
in putting out fires.
Their specialty now is to burn books.
The 451 in the title is the temperature,
in Fahrenheit, in which books burn.
That's when paper starts to burn,
so they make a little bonfire with books
because reading is against the law.
It's a crime.
It's subversive.
As a result,
there's no longer thought and reflection.
The story doesn't look into
the government or who's in power,
but it's as if the government had said,
"You can no longer think.
You can only watch TV and do as we say.
Everybody is brainwashed―
A bunch of sheep following the shepherd.
Just like Big Brother in "1984."
So, I watched the 1960s movie because
there's a remake coming out.
It'll be an HBO movie with fantastic actors.
It's about to come out,
so I'm very excited to see
how they'll bring the story to out current times.
How will they adapt it and associate it with
our daily life now, in 2018.
The book was written in the 1950s.
Ray Bradbury was very prolific
in the 1950s and 1960s,
when he was in his 30s and 40s.
He wrote a lot of "dystopias," as we say,
to indicate the opposite of utopias.
He wrote many sci-fi and fantasy books―
Books that ask, "What if X happened?
What would the world be like?"
They're great sci-fi books
that make you reflect
on how humans change when
faced with some different concepts.
I want to read it again,
'cause it's been too long.
At 16 and at 37 years old,
my reading will be completely different.
So many things have happened since 1996,
with technology advancing and things changing.
Back then we didn't have e-books,
so how's the competition with paper books.
That's something I'd like to think about
while re-reading it.
I hope to re-read it very soon
with a new perspective.
The most interesting aspect of the movie
when I first watched it as a teenager
was the role that television played in the story.
The wife of the main character
―one of the firemen who burns books―
she's completely stuck on watching TV.
She actually believes that
she participated in a soap opera,
which viewers supposedly had an influence on,
so the story progresses according to her wishes.
There's some interesting comment about it,
"How can you believe such a thing?!"
"They're talking to all Lindas in the world
―it's not just you."
There's this cool twist about
people believing everything that's on TV.
People believe and follow it.
Many are marveled at the fact that the TV
is speaking directly to them.
So there's some great commentary on the topic
and the relationship between
people consuming all that
and not being able to reflect and read books.
You can't think about anything different
from what they―
that is, the government―
is presenting as the reality,
as what your thoughts should be.
Of course the fireman meets another woman,
who is completely the opposite of his wife.
She motivates him to check out a book.
"Wait a minute! You burn books,
but have you ever opened a book?
Have you ever realized
what books can do for you?"
So he embarks on this subversive act,
going against the law and
against his own work.
The funniest thing is that I only noticed it
the second time I watched the movie―
I first watched the movie when I was 16,
but I watched it again two years later, at 18―
Only then I realized the same actress plays
the role of his wife and the woman who
is this thought-provoking character.
It was Julie Christie, a wonderful actress who,
as far as acting abilities are concerned,
she's the only one that can be saved,
because this movie is really dated.
It is extremely 1960s,
with all the bright colors.
The costume design ends up
being very dated when you watch it in 2018.
So you must watch it
while having in mind that it's a classic.
It was revolutionary back in the 1960s.
Keep that in mind.
Don't pay attention to how old the movie looks.
Think about it conceptually,
because visually
it isn't something we see nowadays.
Watch it while keeping in mind it's a classic.
Now I'm curious to see if
they'll do the same thing with the HBO movie.
Will they use the same actress
to play the wife and this young woman
who incites him to read books?
I know they got to well-respected actors:
Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon.
I'm curious to see what they'll do.
I don't know which one
will play the main firefighter.
I suspect it's Michael B. Jordan,
but I'm not sure.
I'm staying away from articles on the
HBO movie 'cause I wanna be surprised.
I haven't done it in such a long time,
but I want to watch it live,
as soon as it premieres on HBO,
I wanna sit down and watch it.
To check out the remake
and see how they've adapted it.
I think I'll like the new one better.
Even though the original is a classic
and introduced me to the story,
and it really fascinated me
when I was a teenager,
I think they can go so much further
in their social criticism of our reality.
So, that's it! I'll watch the HBO movie
as soon as it premieres.
Then I'll come back to tell you whether
I liked it or disliked it, and what I thought about it.
NO SPOILERS, PLEASE!
I don't want to spoil it for you.
I'll just do a quick comparison
to see how they've upgraded the story.
I'm excited to see how they'll remake it.
If they'll use current technology,
like smartphones, social media, e-books...
How will they introduce the
revolutionary concept from the 1950s
in Ray Bradbury's original story.
So, if you've watched the 1960s classic,
you liked it and wanted to talk about it,
leave a comment here
to keep the conversation going.
And get ready for the remake on HBO,
with a different perspective,
and let's see what they'll change.
What will this dystopia look like now, in 2018?
Alright?
See you next time.
What Have You Been Up To?
Watching, listening to, reading, translating.
With Rafa Lombardino
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