Monday 18 August 2014

Spellbound

Also Known As:
Unknown
Year:
2002
Country:
United States…
Predominant Genre:
Non-fiction
Director:
Jeffrey Blitz…
Best Performances:
None
Premiss:
Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win a spelling competition.
Theme:
White culture
Similar (in Plot, Theme or Style) to:
Unknown
Review Format:
DVD

Hothouse Frenzy

Spelling bees only work with non-phonetic languages, like English, since there is also no consistency of spelling with such promiscuous tongues very happy to dip into foreign parts.

Surprising how it is often the easiest words tripping up the best spellers; the obscure ones usually presenting no problems whatsoever. Suspense comes from the difficulty of guessing the winner, since it is the stress of the contest that usually fails them rather than a lack of knowledge and practice. Your heart will go out to these kids as they struggle to spell out a word - when getting it wrong by only one letter loses them US$10,000.

The whole enterprise is worthwhile because knowing the meaning, root and word usage aids victory – it is not just another silly memory test. A subtle refection on the American Dream with some inevitably pushy parents.

Copyright © 2014 Frank TALKER. Permission granted to reproduce and distribute this posting in any format; provided mention of the author’s Weblog (http://franktalker5.blogspot.com) is included: E-mail notification requested. All other rights reserved.
Posted by Frank TALKER™ at 12:18
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Science:



No science is immune to the infection of politics and the corruption of power.



Jacob Bronowski… (1908 - 74), British scientist, author. Encounter (London, July 1971).


Sleep of Reason:



The dream of reason produces monsters. Imagination deserted by reason creates impossible, useless thoughts. United with reason, imagination is the mother of all art and the source of all its beauty.



Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes… (1746-1828), Spanish painter. Caption to Caprichos, number 43, a series of eighty etchings completed in 1798, satirical and grotesque in form.


Humans & Aliens:



I am human and let nothing human be alien to me.



Terence… (circa 190-159 BC), Roman dramatist. Chremes, in The Self-Tormentor [Heauton Timorumenos], act 1, scene 1.


Führerprinzip:



One leader, one people, signifies one master and millions of slaves… There is no organ of conciliation or mediation interposed between the leader and the people, nothing in fact but the apparatus - in other words, the party - which is the emanation of the leader and the tool of his will to oppress. In this way the first and sole principle of this degraded form of mysticism is born, the Führerprinzip, which restores idolatry and a debased deity to the world of nihilism.



Albert Camus… (1913-60), French-Algerian writer & philosopher. The Rebel: An Essay on Man in Revolt: New York: Vintage Books, (1984; page 182.)