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Twain is a good choice, but he also works against the mythology of America. His whole thing was popping bubbles and making grounded stories that work against th
by legitster 3mo ago
Twain is a good choice, but he also works against the mythology of America. His whole thing was popping bubbles and making grounded stories that work against the backdrop of Americana.
Tracy Chapman is a pretty trolly answer, but I suspect the real answer might very well be a musician or filmmaker, not a writer.
- oliculipolicula 3mo agoHmm Wheres the evidence that Homer work ed for the mythology of Dark Age Greece? If you say its his popularity.. (I would cite the Cyclics as counter evidence) For filmmaker: itd have to be someone whom you can imagine (unironically) reconstructing Adams or other actual American heroes So.. Tom Hanks
- krapp 3mo agoAs far as I know, it's contested whether Homer even existed as an individual at all. "Homer" might be a collective title for various unknown authors.
- throw0101a 3mo ago> Tom Hanks Recency bias? Why not Jimmy Stewart? Gregory Peck? Humphrey Bogart? Paul Newman, Robert Redford?
- oliculipolicula 3mo agoNot really. He was executive producer of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams_(miniseries) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Adams_(miniseries) And will be playing and producing Dodd. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/joe-wright-in-the-garden-of-beasts-tom-hanks-120315472/ https://variety.com/2019/film/news/joe-wright-in-the-garden-... Theme of his oevre is not-so-immortal American heroes and heroism through and through Except for Redford, the others don't have their own voice Edit: but Tom Hanks is really only barely getting by from Hollywood getting less repressive over time
- kstenerud 3mo agoI'd actually put one in for Clint Eastwood. Although most popular knowledge about him revolves around his earlier acting career (Westerns, Dirty Harry), you'll notice a distinct change in many of his films once he started directing. * Play Misty for Me * Breezy * Unforgiven * A Perfect World * The Bridges of Madison County * Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil * Mystic River * Million Dollar Baby * Changeling * Gran Torino * American Sniper * Sully * The Mule
- samudrijan 3mo agoThe American medium is film/TV. The Godfather is the great American novel. A story about immigrants moving to America and starting a family business.
- matwood 3mo agoMostly agree, but I think the modern medium is film/TV, not just American. Also, apparently The Godfather book wasn't very good, but I've seen the movie so many times.
- assimpleaspossi 3mo agoToday it might be but it wasn't always. I still remember curling up with a good book and I still do today. I know a lot of younger people might not even have a library card or go looking for a good novel to read.
- srean 3mo agoNot to forget Letters from Iwo Jima Flags of our Fathers. He certainly took me by surprise by the depth of his offerings, given that I used to know him as blondie with no name and for dirty harry. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_with_No_Name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_with_No_Name
- assimpleaspossi 3mo agoClint Eastwood didn't write any of those. He's an actor, director and producer of other people's work.
- colordrops 3mo agoKubrick
- coldtea 3mo agoBritish.
- pchristensen 3mo agoHe’s from NYC
- coldtea 3mo agoAnd T.S. Elliot was a Bostonian, but adopted British! Kubrick made all his iconic movies (except Spartacus and Paths of Glory) while settled in Britain, and shot most of them in British studios.
- B1FF_PSUVM 3mo ago> the real answer might very well be a musician or filmmaker, not a writer. Walter Disney, obviously. Well, it will probably take at least another century for the fact to hit.
- rayiner 3mo agoI think that’s correct. One way to look at it: when the Greek world expanded geographically, the new people tried to connect themselves with the Homeric stories (as did the Romans). Whose stories serve that function today? Disney.
- GolfPopper 3mo agoReally? Advertising/Marketing aside, "What's up doc?" would seem to have a much bigger share of the zeitgeist, even today, than the Mouse.
- oliculipolicula 3mo agoHollywood may only think that there are any Pacific Islanders today who want to be Auliʻi Cravalho, but every allied nation hopes to get their own Emmett Brown?
- dragontamer 3mo agoStan Lee probably had more influence than Walt Disney in terms of how Americans see themselves and how people around the world sees us. Walt Disney is overwhelmingly about older stories (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty), and not anything I feel distinctly "American". The most popular and timeless properties out of Disney (ex: Mickey Mouse) aren't really telling stories or setting cultural trends IMO. Meanwhile, Superman and Spiderman (Okay, I know Stan Lee only partially had influence on Spiderman...) are closer to what people see as distinctly "American".
- LarsDu88 3mo agoYou mean Jack Kirby right? LoL
- dnautics 3mo agopopping inflated egos is the mythology of America
- sebastiennight 3mo agoA single word could be removed from that sentence and it would immediately find widespread agreement
- api 3mo agoAre you sure that works against the mythology of America? Questioning authority and mythology is very American.
- ____mr____ 3mo agolmfao
- coldtea 3mo agoWell, so authority figures tells us :)
- dredmorbius 3mo agoFilm (and television) seems studiously underrepresented given the presence of authors, playwrights, poets, and musicians. Musicals are also absent. I'd also suggest that cultural impact plays a strong part in Homer's prominence. The American Homer would probably be older rather than more recent (at least by present reckoning). Francis Ford Coppola / Mario Puzo, The Godfather; Michael Curtiz, Casablanca; Steven Speilberg; Orson Welles, Citizen Kane; Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Oklahoma!, South Pacific, The Sound of Music, etc., might make my list.