About
Hello. My name is Tild, which is short for Matilda. I’m the proprietor here; also bartender/cook/chief bottle-washer & emptier of ashtrays. Welcome to the Owl Wagon!
So, first of all, what’s the deal with the name? Why “The Owl Wagon”‘?
Short answer: Watch Sullivan’s Travels and all will be made clear.
Artist’s conception: here’s a photo of an actual owl wagon which I doctored up a little to show you what my virtual owl wagon looks like.
Now that’s a place where I would hang out all night. Wouldn’t you?
You may recall that in Sullivan’s Travels, film director Sullivan, who has previously only made comedies, now wants to make a serious, social-commentary drama based on the rather pretentious and depressing bestseller O Brother Where Art Thou? by Sinclair Beckstein. The book (and film) is supposed to be an indictment of poverty and misery and human suffering, but Sullivan realizes that he knows nothing about any of these things.
To address this lack of experience and do some research for his upcoming film, Sullivan gets his studio’s wardrobe department to outfit him as (a studio wardrobe department’s conception of) a hobo, then sets off on a journey of discovery — on foot, with only 10 cents in his pocket and completely alone — except for the platoon of servants and PR flacks following him in a luxurious “land yacht”. This being a Preston Sturges picture, hilarity ensues, but surprisingly not without a few serious comments about human nature, the resilience of the human spirit, and poverty’s power to crush it.
Our Owl Wagon masthead quote is a paraphrase of Sullivan’s description of the kind of film he wants O Brother Where Art Thou? to be:
John L. Sullivan: I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions. Stark realism. The problems that confront the average man!
LeBrand (the producer): But with a little sex in it.
John L. Sullivan: A little, but I don’t want to stress it. I want this picture to be a document. I want to hold a mirror up to life. I want this to be a picture of dignity! A true canvas of the suffering of humanity!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
John L. Sullivan: [reluctantly] But with a little sex in it.
And there you have it: The Owl Wagon. A blog of dignity.
But with a little sex in it.
Of course, our definitions of ‘a little’ may vary…
Welcome!
~
December 2009
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