Movies:
Rear window
A good part of my inspiration for Defense Mechanism came from Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window, starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Many consider that film to be one of the greatest ever made.
Rear Window is set in a Greenwich Village apartment block in the 1950's during a withering heat wave. None of the tenants have air conditioning, so L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies (Jimmy Stewart) and his neighbors keep their windows open to try to get some relief from the heat.
Being a professional photographer, Mr. Jefferies has binoculars, and cameras with long lenses, and he uses this equipment to spy on his neighbors through his rear window and theirs. Yes, good old Jimmy Stewart plays a peeping Tom in this flick. But, come to think of it, what are we when we watch a movie or read a novel? We start to identify with a character or two, and we are curious to learn what happens next to them, and we peer into their private lives. Anyway, Jeff doesn't see anything R-rated -- except, just maybe, a murder.
Recuperating from a broken leg, and confined to a wheelchair, Jeff loves to pass the time watching an attractive young dancer he nicknames "Miss Torso". Often, he is saddened and even frightened by the pitiful drama of a single, middle-aged woman he calls "Miss Lonelyhearts". A composer-pianist works tirelessly on a simple melody called "Lisa", and that haunting tune spreads out through the courtyard, penetrating the windows and the lives of all the tenants, including Jeff's.
Other objects of Jeff's and our curiousity are a young newlywed couple, a female sculptor; and Lars Thorwald (played by Raymond Burr), a traveling jewelry salesman with a bedridden wife.
Jeff's sophisticated, socialite girlfriend, Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly), visits him regularly, as does his insurance company's nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter). Stella thinks Jeff should settle down and marry Lisa, but Jeff is reluctant.
One night during a thunderstorm, Jeff hears a woman across the courtyard scream, and then the sound of breaking glass. Later, awakened by thunder, he observes Thorwald leaving his apartment.
What was Thorwald doing so late at night?
If you haven't seen Rear Window, you really owe it to yourself. And see it on the biggest screen possible! I know it's not a big-sky western, and we never actually leave the confines of that apartment block, but Hitchcock gives us so much to see in that cramped space.
So, what's the connection to Defense Mechanism?
Sam Sawyer, Chief of Security at Altamura Air Force base, spies on every person who lives or works on that base, using hidden cameras and microphones. The surveillance system is controlled by Selene, the all-powerful, feminine computer who was designed by Sam's one-time flame Rita Diana Kelly to protect America from attack. Watching his many monitors, Sam studies his people, pries into their secrets, learns their hopes and fears, and tries to understand how they cope with life's trials. And as he watches, he comes to think that something bad is about to happen at this base, something connected with his former friend, Native American Johnnie Lonetree, who once, long ago, came between him and his beloved Rita.
* * *
Other Movies:
Fail Safe
Dr. Strangelove
2001: A Space Odyssey
Forbidden Planet
Fail Safe
Dr. Strangelove
2001: A Space Odyssey
Forbidden Planet
Books:
The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: an Indian history of the American West, by Dee Brown.
The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy: why strategic superiority matters, by Matthew Kroenig.
American Indian Trickster Tales, by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.
1491, by Charles C. Mann.
Unsung Heroes of World War II: the story of the Navajo code talkers, by Deanne Durrett.
The Power of Myth, by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: an Indian history of the American West, by Dee Brown.
The Logic of American Nuclear Strategy: why strategic superiority matters, by Matthew Kroenig.
American Indian Trickster Tales, by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.
1491, by Charles C. Mann.
Unsung Heroes of World War II: the story of the Navajo code talkers, by Deanne Durrett.
Quotes (that didn't make it into Defense Mechanism for various reasons).
From the movie, The Big Chill:
Michael:
Don't knock rationalization. Where would we be without it? I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.
Sam Weber:
Ah, come on. Nothing's more important than sex.
Michael:
Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?
From the movie, The Big Chill:
Michael:
Don't knock rationalization. Where would we be without it? I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.
Sam Weber:
Ah, come on. Nothing's more important than sex.
Michael:
Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?
copyright © Steven J. Maricic 2019