Actual state of the union

A candid state of the union address would probably sound something like this, writes historian Lewis L. Gould:

"The state of the union is not good. Iraq is an insoluble mess, Iran is a long-term threat, terrorism menaces us all, the Army is strained to the breaking point, the budget is out of whack, global warming threatens the existence of humanity, and there are no easy answers, quick solutions or painless sacrifices."

But of course we'd never hear this from any president. The annual ritual has little to do with candor, and everything to do with (clumsy) political theater. It's another prop in the arsenal of TV-era continuous campaigning, a tool for building rapport. What the speech really informs us about is how the White House assesses voter concerns -- what the strategists think we want to be told.

Talk of "leadership" means "yes, we realize the poll numbers are low." Suburban America's a bit rattled about the evangelical right, and that Intelligence Design stuff came a bit too close to our own schools and children, so tell us you're going to be the science president, whatever that means. We figure the urgent talk about oil addiction means you too skimmed through "Twilight in the Desert," or got briefed on it by the author. And yep, we're worried about that "massive tax hike" you're promising to protect us from -- it seems likely, given the hole we're in. So glad you care.

One Yo-Yo Ma cello solo too many

We finally got around to seeing Geisha this weekend -- had already read the reviews, was hoping it would turn out to be better than rumoured. (One can always hope). What I saw was a potentially great movie undermined by lazy, cop-out choices, weird pacing, and lapses in taste. Either Rob Marshall didn't have the skill to bring it off, or the studio forced him into expedient but fatal (artistically speaking) decisions. Ocean-eyed Sayuri achieves her quest to become a geisha, and then -- wait, what's this? There's been a war going on? And it just ended? And Japan lost? And lovely ladies are being banished to remote areas to harvest rice and make like characters from The Good Earth? No way!

To be fair, parts of Geisha really did resemble a powerful, affecting, Oscar-calibre movie. That mostly happened in the first third, before Suzuka Ohgo grows up to become Zhang Ziyi. Everyone knows by now about the flap over Chinese actresses playing Japanese characters, and I have nothing to add to that discussion; I approve of culture-crossing. Nevertheless, it has to be said that the real standout performances here were by Ohgo and Koji Yakusho (as a physically disfigured, surly but soulful engineer who deeply loves Sayuri). They gave the movie just enough depth to save it, or almost save it, from being a gorgeous mess.