Author Topic: BBM and Lonesome Dove  (Read 60214 times)

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #140 on: May 27, 2010, 03:31:35 pm »
Hey A, When the Brokies were visiting me a couple of weeks ago, I got to point out the bookstore where you bought your first copy of Lonesome Dove!  I loved your visit that weekend.



Yay!  That was very fun indeed.  I love that I bought LD at a cool bookstore in good Brokie company!
 ;D

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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #141 on: May 28, 2010, 04:53:38 pm »
Earlier this afternoon I was feeling antsy at work, so I took a stroll over to the Natural History museum to check out their "Hall of American Indians" hoping to see some material related to the Comanches.  This is the first time that I've explored that part of the museum.   But, eventhough it's quite a large set of galleries, I couldn't find any objects related to the Comanches.  There were quite a number of objects related to the Crow tribe, which I found interesting... in light of a little bit of a connection to the L.D. series... and such a large amount of material related to the Lakota tribe (a branch of the Sioux mostly associated with the N. and S. Dakota area) that I wondered how/why so much of the material ended up here.  My hypothesis is that it might have to do with the fact that the Natural History museum has a long history of paleontology research and exploration in that area... so maybe there's a connection, but I have no idea if that's really the reason.  Anyway, there was an extensive display about buffaloes and the importance of buffalo skulls in a lot of different Native American communities.

Does anyone know the nuances and propriety involved in the terms "Native American" vs. "American Indian"?  I feel like in a lot of official contexts (museums, etc.) I see the term "American Indian" seeming to be the preferred reference.  For instance, the giant collection/ department at the Denver Art Museum is called "American Indian Art."

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #142 on: June 01, 2010, 10:37:01 pm »
As I recall, friend, the term American Indian was in vogue up until the 1960s or so when it became more PC to call the tribes by their preferred term of Native American. There were protests, often taking place around Columbus Day, about this by Native Americans. It seems that when Columbus first landed in North America, he thought he had reached the Indian peninsula instead so that's why he called the indigenous peoples Indians.

I was listening to an interview with Robert Duvall tonight on Fresh Air where he said that his favorite roles were in the Godfather movies and Lonesome Dove.
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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #143 on: June 01, 2010, 11:09:55 pm »
As I recall, friend, the term American Indian was in vogue up until the 1960s or so when it became more PC to call the tribes by their preferred term of Native American. There were protests, often taking place around Columbus Day, about this by Native Americans. It seems that when Columbus first landed in North America, he thought he had reached the Indian peninsula instead so that's why he called the indigenous peoples Indians.


Hi Sister Mod!  Yes, I've always thought the same thing about the term "Indian"... which, is why I'm so surprised to encounter the term "American Indian" used in the context of at least two museums (Denver and the Natural History Museum here).  I'm sure that the curatorial departments in both places try to be as sensitive and current as possible... so it's kind of perplexing to me.  I guess in a way both terms "American Indian" and "Native American" imply colonization when you think about it, since even the word/concept "American" only came about as a result of European settlement and encroachment/ historical reference - and since neither term distinguishes the often very different tribes/nations.


Quote
 
I was listening to an interview with Robert Duvall tonight on Fresh Air where he said that his favorite roles were in the Godfather movies and Lonesome Dove.

He was so awesome as Gus.






**Spoiler**  I can't quite imagine how Streets of Laredo will be without Gus... he's such a vibrant, staple character.
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Offline Brown Eyes

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"See you for supper" and McMurtry
« Reply #144 on: June 04, 2010, 01:16:12 am »
Heya!  I was just reading Streets of Laredo before bed and discovered this little passage that kind of blew me away in terms of BBM relevance.  Things like this really make me curious about how much influence McMurtry had over certain BBM scenes... it really feels like he put his own major stamp on the interpretation of the story.  I wonder how much of an interesting back story there may be here in terms of the Proulx/McMurtry dynamic (rivalry, admiration... a combo of both).

"Pea Eye tried to think of something more to say, but failed.  He had never been a man of many words... Hundreds of Lorie's looks, like this one, left him baffled.

"See you for supper," he said, finally.

"If you don't show up, I'll know you changed your mind," Lorena said...

All the same, loping across the plains, he dreaded the meeting he was riding to. ..."


**possible spoilers**

This exchange reminds me so much (obviously in a different context) of the terse exchange between Ennis and Jack after TS1.  This is also a very crucial moment early in the book where Pea Eye is deciding whether or not to join up once again with Call to go on an extended mission to hunt down a bandit (a Mexican bandit)... which would leave his wife and children alone and vulnerable.


the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #145 on: June 06, 2010, 12:04:40 am »
That's so touching. I really liked Pea-Eye. Lorena too!
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Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #146 on: July 05, 2010, 07:37:59 pm »
Heya!  I have some more passages to quote from Streets of Laredo that struck me as BBM related as I read them.  There are some spoilers here so beware.

This one reminds me of the end of the dozy embrace when Ennis does not look back at Jack.  It also reminds me of Jack watching Ennis through the rear view mirror at the end of 63 summer.

"Doobie Plunkert stood at the back door of their little house and watched hopelessly as Ted and the old Captain and the fat little Yankee rode away.  She felt her heart breaking; she didn't think she would be able to endure the ache.  If Ted had just once turned in the saddle and waved at her, it would have made the ache a little easier to bear."

This on reminds me of Ennis's vivid dream from the short story.  It comes soon after the passage I just quoted above.

"That night, without him to hold her tight, she had many dreams, and tossed and turned... Doobie's dream was so vivid that she could even smell her husband, Ted Plunkert. He smelled of saddle soap... Smelling it in her dream made Doobie remember what a good man Ted was.... The best part of the dream, though, was that Ted not only smelled of saddle soap; Ted was there.  He snuck into the bedroom, as he always did when he came in late; he took off his boots... and climbed into bed to hold her tight, as she always hoped he would, not just for one night but throughout her whole life.  Doobie tried to stay in her dream, to hide in it, but she grew more and more restless; she began to have moments of wakefulness, began to suspect that her dream was just a dream... Despite herself , she woke, opened her eyes, and knew the worst immediately.  Ted Plunkert wasn't there."

Then this passage is about a different character.  I love the moon references and even the Brooklyn reference.

"In Brooklyn, in his work as a salaried man, Brookshire had never paid much attention to the moon... it hadn't mattered to him whether the moon was full, or just a sliver, or not there at all.
   Once they were on the black desert in Mexico, Brookshire saw that the Captain had been right.  The full moon, in the deep Mexican sky, was so bright that traveling was as easy as ti would have been in daylight.  Brookshire was still a salaried man, but he was also a manhunter now... He was heading into Texas with Captain Woodrow Call, and he would probably do well to start paying more attention to the moon."
the world was asleep to our latent fuss - bowie

Offline Brown Eyes

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #147 on: August 17, 2010, 03:04:05 pm »

Heya!
I've been meaning to report here that I finally finished Streets of Laredo!  So, now I'm done with the full series.  Wow, that was quite an epic project.  I'm glad I read them all though.  There's no question that McMurtry is quite a talented storyteller.

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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #148 on: August 18, 2010, 08:56:41 am »
What an achievement! I'm impressed, friend!
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Re: BBM and Lonesome Dove
« Reply #149 on: April 13, 2013, 02:48:04 pm »
I was just reading the moderately interesting essay about The Mystique of Lonesome Dove on Fans Pages, where there's a long list of movies, books, TV shows and the like that have separate pages. Alas, nothing for Brokeback Mountain so I sent in a request for them to add it.
"chewing gum and duct tape"