There was some kind of early Kubrick theme on TCM tonight. I missed Dr Strangelove I have that on DVD anyway but I caught Lolita from the beginning. This was maybe my seventh time watching it from beginning to end? It’s extraordinary considering the period of time during which it was created but I think the 1997 version with Jeremy Irons is a little more faithful to the Nabokov novel and the story’s original time period.

Dominique Swain was a real treat playing the nymphet in the remake. Really she captured that greedy selfish gawky baby gazelle beauty that seems to be the essence of pre-teen girls. The essence that seems to attract men with an arrested imprint on what they consider attractive. I say they just haven’t matured beyond their first junior high crush.

Sure there’s the bullshit biological argument that they have an inherent urge to breed and these girls are freshly of birthing age but that’s a totally crap excuse. I think for the most part men date significantly younger women because they get to teach these young girls the ways of the world without the risk of being called on their shit as they would be by women who are old enough to have experienced life for themselves and don’t need some manipulative asshat to tell them how they should do things. In effect, they get to be the big man and their young girls won’t have the inner strength that comes simply from experience and survival to refute any of Mr Big Man’s declarations on life and mankind.

These men fear being with a mate that could be considered an equal, a peer. Because said mate could potentially beat them in whatever bullshit man-game their tenuous egos rely upon for their self-image. These man-games seem to range from jar opening abilities to obscure football play knowledge. Or in a more modern age: fragging his ass in Counterstrike to knowing cleaner more functional Perl code. It’s all the same status-reliant crap just different mascots.

This was supposed to be my thoughts on watching Paths of Glory for the first time but my prepubescent girl-lust rage took over for a bit. Sorry.

And if you took offense you might want to examine that sore spot for edges of truth. Oh hell you all know I’m full of crap and this is such an old argument anyway.