I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong.

— Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild (2007)

Lars: Well, Bianca can help you. She's got nurse's training. Gus: No she doesn't. That's because she's a plastic...thing. Lars: That's amazing. Did you hear that? Bianca said God made her to help people.

— Lars & Gus, Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Give George a headline, and he's good for another 30 miles.

— Gen. Omar Bradley, Patton (1970)

Katsumoto: Do you believe a man can change his destiny? Algren: I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed to him.

— Katsumoto & Nathan Algren, The Last Samurai (2003)

Half my life is over, and I have nothing to show for it...I’m a smudge of excrement on a tissue, surging out to sea with a ton of raw sewage.

— Miles, Sideways (2004)

If you don't have money at my age, you're not even in the game anymore. You're just a pasture animal waiting for the abattoir.

— Miles, Sideways (2004)

Miranda (to Daniel): I bring home a birthday cake and a few gifts; you bring home the Goddamn San Diego Zoo. And I have to clean up after it!

— Miranda, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences.

— Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild (2007)

Often the most barbaric atrocities occur when both sides proclaim themselves freedom fighters.

— Yuri Orlov, Lord of War (2005)

The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

— John Keating, Dead Poets Society (1989)

I'm hearing horses! Parry will be so pleased!

— Jack Lucas, The Fisher King (1991)

Young William: I can fight. Malcolm Wallace: I know. I know you can fight. But it's our wits that make us men.

— William & Malcolm Wallace, Braveheart (1995)

All I ever wanted was a single thing worth fighting for.

— Jake Sully, Avatar (2009)

(looking at remains of a battle) I love it! God help me, I love it so. I love it more than my life.

— Patton, Patton (1970)

I've seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light.

— Maximus, Gladiator (2000)

Look at me, jerking off in the shower... This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

— Lester Burnham, American Beauty (1999)

Not the archers. My scouts tell me their archers are miles away and no threat to us. Arrows cost money. Use up the Irish. The dead cost nothing.

— King Longshank, Braveheart (1995)

When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines on you.

— Ron Franz, Into the Wild (2007)

I have a hard-on for you the size of Florida!

— Parry, The Fisher King (1991)

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying.

— John Keating, Dead Poets Society (1989)

Quintus: "People should know when they're beaten!" Maximus: "Would you, Quintus? Would I?"

— Quintus & Maximus, Gladiator (2000)

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win a war by making the other poor bastard die for his country!

— Patton, Patton (1970)

I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong... but to feel strong.

— Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild (2007)

Lars: Well, Bianca can help you. She's got nurse's training. Gus: No she doesn't. That's because she's a plastic...thing. Lars: That's amazing. Did you hear that? Bianca said God made her to help people.

— Lars & Gus, Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

Give George a headline, and he's good for another 30 miles.

— Gen. Omar Bradley, Patton (1970)

Katsumoto: Do you believe a man can change his destiny? Algren: I think a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed to him.

— Katsumoto & Nathan Algren, The Last Samurai (2003)

Half my life is over, and I have nothing to show for it...I’m a smudge of excrement on a tissue, surging out to sea with a ton of raw sewage.

— Miles, Sideways (2004)

If you don't have money at my age, you're not even in the game anymore. You're just a pasture animal waiting for the abattoir.

— Miles, Sideways (2004)

Miranda (to Daniel): I bring home a birthday cake and a few gifts; you bring home the Goddamn San Diego Zoo. And I have to clean up after it!

— Miranda, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

The core of man's spirit comes from new experiences.

— Christopher McCandless, Into the Wild (2007)

Often the most barbaric atrocities occur when both sides proclaim themselves freedom fighters.

— Yuri Orlov, Lord of War (2005)

The powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

— John Keating, Dead Poets Society (1989)

I'm hearing horses! Parry will be so pleased!

— Jack Lucas, The Fisher King (1991)

Young William: I can fight. Malcolm Wallace: I know. I know you can fight. But it's our wits that make us men.

— William & Malcolm Wallace, Braveheart (1995)

All I ever wanted was a single thing worth fighting for.

— Jake Sully, Avatar (2009)

(looking at remains of a battle) I love it! God help me, I love it so. I love it more than my life.

— Patton, Patton (1970)

I've seen much of the rest of the world. It is brutal and cruel and dark, Rome is the light.

— Maximus, Gladiator (2000)

Look at me, jerking off in the shower... This will be the high point of my day; it's all downhill from here.

— Lester Burnham, American Beauty (1999)

Not the archers. My scouts tell me their archers are miles away and no threat to us. Arrows cost money. Use up the Irish. The dead cost nothing.

— King Longshank, Braveheart (1995)

When you forgive, you love. And when you love, God's light shines on you.

— Ron Franz, Into the Wild (2007)

I have a hard-on for you the size of Florida!

— Parry, The Fisher King (1991)

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying: And this same flower that smiles to-day To-morrow will be dying.

— John Keating, Dead Poets Society (1989)

Quintus: "People should know when they're beaten!" Maximus: "Would you, Quintus? Would I?"

— Quintus & Maximus, Gladiator (2000)

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. You win a war by making the other poor bastard die for his country!

— Patton, Patton (1970)

Goodbye, Polarity Film Club

posted by Eivind on December 10, 2010, at 6:36 pm

For the past year, I’ve been running an online film club on a community site consisting of people from the now dissolved “The Deida Experience”. We’ve watched eleven films and are about to watch our 12th. This is the list of the movies we have covered:

Revolutionary Road (US) | IMDB
Avatar (US) | IMDB
Elegy (US) | IMDB
Eyes Wide Shut (US) | IMDB
American Beauty (US) | IMDB
The Constant Gardener (US) | IMDB
The 13th Warrior (US) | IMDB
Amelie (FR) | IMDB
Okuribito (JP) | IMDB
Walk the Line (US) | IMDB
Dangerous Beauty (US) | IMDB
As it is in Heaven (SE) | IMDB

It’s been a great experience to lead a group of this type and I have enjoyed it immensely. Actual growth has taken place as a result of the Polarity Film Club. But now, it is closing down. I tell you this, dear readers, because I want to honor the end of something that has been important to me. This represents the dissolution of a group of people I have come to appreciate a lot. I also tell you this because I wonder if there is interest for an online film club hosted on Masculinity Movies, where we discuss movies in a forum setting and see what gems we can excavate together. My energy must move towards this webpage now. 2011 is going to be an important year.

To give you an idea of what a filmclub like this may mean, I include here part of the text I wrote when the Polarity Film Club opened.

For the last year, I’ve been building a website about masculinity in movies on my spare time. It’s called Masculinity Movies and can be found on www.masculinity-movies.com.

Prior to and during the development of the site, I have spent a fair amount of time reflecting on the role movies have in shaping our identity, society, sexuality and intimate relationships. I set out with a working hypothesis – that movies looked at from the right perspective can serve as great teachers of universal principles. With some mileage under my belt, the hypothesis still holds firm; I believe it is true.

I have found that when we take our time to really penetrate to the core of what good movies are trying to tell us, some timeless laws of great importance make themselves manifest. These laws are what I hope to extract from the movies and put on the table for us to investigate and discuss.

Tell me what you think.

Thanks,
Eivind