| An oil-stained BP uniform is the Halloween outfit for 2010 | Hadley Freeman You can tell a lot about Americans' state of mind by their Halloween costumes. This year's baddies are BP and Lady GagaCertain developments over the past week have brought me enormous satisfaction. There was the fact that Desmond Tutu announced his retirement in the week of 10/10/10, which was, as numerically based news goes, only possible to better if his name was Tututu. Another was Martin Amis announcing that it is simply impossible for anyone to write good sex scenes, which would be like me claiming that it is simply impossible for anyone to understand quantum physics. And finally, there was the Nation's revelation regarding former CNN anchor, now professional wingnut and – as inevitably as night follows day – possible future independent presidential candidate Lou Dobbs.Dobbs left the news network in 2009 to devote more time to raging against "illegal aliens" who deprive "hardworking millions of Americans" of jobs. Lo, it transpired that at least five Americans had been deprived of jobs after those aforementioned "illegals" had been hired by contractors to look after his "multimillion dollar estates and the horses he keeps for his 22-year-old daughter, Hillary, a champion show jumper". There is not a word in that sentence that does not have the delicious snap of sarcasm.This brings me to the biggest excitement of the week: the eureka moment for my Halloween costume. It's only relatively recently that I've learned that Halloween in America is not just a night for children to give themselves diabetes and American teenage girls to – as the film Mean Girls put it – "dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it", but also one for American adults to act as bellwethers of America's most pressing preoccupations. This year it looks set to be particularly telling about the state of the nation, as one might expect seeing as it falls right before the midterm elections. But not quite in the way most would think.According to a recent article in the New York Times, "political masks are so 2009". Instead, an oil-stained BP uniform is sooo 2010, while the woman who still clings on to her teenage mentality but wants to have a little more cred than she'd get if she wore that sexy nurse costume should this year wear a version of Lady Gaga's meat dress. There have also been reports of a high demand for costumes of Justin Bieber and Snooki, a reality TV semi-celebrity, who was described by a judge as "a Lindsay Lohan wannabe". Last Halloween, zombie Sarah Palins and dying healthcare plans roamed the streets. Now it's the Bieber bob.This seems strange, seeing as the midterms look increasingly like the night of the living dead and thus have inbuilt terror potential. And surely, if the Tea Party is good for anything, it's for being reinterpreted as a Halloween costume. Two words, people: Mad Hatter.But this perhaps reflects the electoral disillusionment that has become such a problem in this election, particularly for the Democrats. As a headline in yesterday's New York Times put it, "New Yorkers' Anger at Politicians Doesn't Fuel a Surge in Voter Registration." And really, if you can't be bothered to register to vote to ensure Republican Carl Paladino – best known for sending obscene emails and worrying about children being "brainwashed into thinking that homosexuality is an equally valid option" – doesn't become the governor of New York, what hope that you can find the energy to cobble up a costume of him?Maybe the once unthinkably debased nature of America's partisan politics has become impossible to render more horrible no matter how much fake blood one uses. Far better, instead, to re-focus on BP, a hate figure on whom all of America can agree. And, of course, Gaga.I, however, am made of sterner stuff and this brings me back to Lou Dobbs, who was my costume du choix. (Seeing as an English lilt now clings to my vocal chords as tenaciously as oil to a seagull, the BP uniform seemed like a risky irony too far.) But then I watched Christine O'Donnell's campaign ads, in which she advances the maverick argument that she should be elected to office because she is not into sorcery and because she didn't go to Yale. The best ideas are so often the simplest. Thus, I have decided I shall be the most famous former witch in the world, Christine O'Donnell, and will spend 31 October clothed in black and not masturbating. It seems to fit the Halloween costume brief of reflecting the state of the nation.I fear I don't speak American any more. I speak EnglishIt is a month since I arrived in New York after 20 years in London and easily the biggest shock has been the language barrier. This is deeply upsetting as I'd always taken a thumbs-in-the-armpits pride in being bilingual. But the truth is, I don't speak American anymore. I speak English.Thus, when someone rolls over my foot with their shopping cart, I say, "Um, sorry". Now, in English, "Um, sorry" means "I am informing you in my passive-aggressive way that you have hurt me. Now apologise, damn you." But in American, it means "Um, sorry". Thus, that person will turn around and say with a bright smile, "That's OK!", leaving me to silently fume, "Yes, I'm sure it is OK for you – I do hope my tendons didn't break your stride on your way to the cheese counter." But it is impossible to verbalise this in Engish so I just stand there, gaping impotently, by which point the toe attacker has taken the last box of Cheerios."Would you mind . . ." means in English "Do it". Again, the American meaning is more literal. Hence, if you find yourself shouting out your window, "would you mind not singing Single Ladies outside my window at 3am on a Tuesday?" you may receive an answer that suggests you intimated there were options. However, there are many sides to the English language and at 3am it's astonishingly easy to slip from a dialect derived from the Hugh Grant province to one more befitting the Danny Dyer region. I knew I was good at languages.US politicsHalloweenLindsay LohanLady GagaBPBP oil spillRepublicansDemocratsChristine O'DonnellTea Party movementLanguageNew YorkHadley Freemanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Jackson sets Hobbit filming date Peter Jackson is set to direct The Hobbit, the two-part prequel to the popular Lord Of The Rings trilogy and start shooting in February, Warner Bros said today. feeds.breakingnews.ie |
Bieber's mother seeks legal advice Justin Bieber's mother is hiring a lawyer, because she feels she's being excluded from her son's career. feeds.breakingnews.ie |
Trailer Trash Jason Solomons at the London film festival sees Ron Galella reverting to type, notes Darren Aronofsky's links to the 'hottest Jewish actresses' and recommends five festival highlightsOnce a paparazzo…Among the excellent documentaries at LFF was Smash His Camera, by Leon Gast (When We Were Kings), focusing on pioneering New York paparazzo/celebrity photographer Ron Galella, the man Brando thumped and Jackie O sued. As the LFF programme notes: "At 79, Ron will still take considerable risks for his shots." Indeed. Ron was a fully accredited guest of the festival last week. However, on his way in on a rare excursion behind the velvet ropes of a VIP area, Ron spied Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell attending the line-up for their film, Conviction. Quick as a flashbulb, Ron left his delegation, whipped out his camera and fired off some very up-close shots of a surprised Hilary. Cinema: the great leveller of celebrity.Just a coincidence, Darren?Certainly a highlight of this festival was Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky's nerve-jangling ballet psychodrama, featuring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, as well as Winona Ryder. Engaged to Rachel Weisz, Aronofsky also had Jennifer Connelly as his star in Requiem for a Dream. Googling Mila Kunis ahead of an interview after the film, I came across a web page for the "hottest Jewish actresses". Portman, Kunis, Ryder, Connelly and Weisz were all mentioned. So maybe now we know why Aronofsky, a Jewish director, got into making movies and rather changed tack after his maths-obsessed debut, Pi.Fancy a little drink?Already the booziest event on the awards circuit, the British Independent Film Awards' new title sponsor will be Moët & Chandon champagne, signalling that private money is as attracted to film as ever. As part of Moët's new charity drive, Toast for a Cause, all winners and nominees at the 5 December ceremony can raise money for their chosen charities by being pictured with a mini-bottle of the sponsor's champers. As one of this year's BIFA judges, I salute the idea.The return of the Nowhere BoyHaving closed the festival with Nowhere Boy last year, John Lennon will again be in focus this week at LFF when the doc about his life in early-70s New York, LENNONYC, premieres in the company of Yoko Ono. The singer's widow saw Michael Epstein's film at last month's New York Film Festival and is flying in to show her support.Final days: five to see127 Hours Danny Boyle's back on Wednesday, closing the fest once more.Carancho Argentinian thriller from director Pablo Trapero, starring his wife Martina Gusman.Copacabana Isabelle Huppert doing upbeat, alongside her daughter, Lolita Chammah.Udaan An indie-style debut from Vikramaditya Motwane.Wild River Restoration of Elia Kazan's 1960 drama which starred Montgomery Clift and Lee Remick.Darren AronofskyDanny BoyleJohn LennonJason Solomonsguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Q&A: Nora Ephron on Her New Book 'I Remember Nothing' Writer-director Nora Ephron talks to TIME about memory, egg-white omelets and e-mail feedproxy.google.com |