the isolation and non-living of intellectuals

Strange you would mention "Barbarian Invasions," as both this film and "Wit" feature the music of Arvo Part in their soundtracks.

"Rigorous intellectualism" does not, in itself, have an alienating effect at all. Leading a life which is out of balance, however, does. One may spend his or her days pondering at great length and depth the secrets of the universe but one must still eat, sleep, and every once in awhile, give someone a hug.




Writing about movies is like dancing about architecture

A former teacher of mine for Calculus didn't want her student to acknowledge her outside of school grounds. She apparently said, though I wasn't a witness to it, that if you saw her in public she would not acknowledge you. I did see her once at a bookstore. This was about 8 or 9 years after I had taken her course, of which my brother had taken also previous to me in the mid 90s, and she was talking to an employee about her dog that she brought with her. Apparently, she couldn't bring the dog into the store since it wasn't being used for companion purposes; seeing eye dog or something. I was in line and just witnessed the conversation from afar(no voices), and then I decided to just not say anything to her, as I remembered her remark about being confronted in public. BTW, she was a lesbian too, but I don't know if that had anything to do with her wanting to be kept alone. Her girlfriend would stop in at class, before or after, and it was apparent they were a couple. Great teacher, but she had this problem about being confronted in public. Apparently not even a "hi!" Anyway, I bought my book and drove somewhere else and got gas or whatever, then saw her walking with her dog across the street. That's the last time I've seen her.

My point is that maybe Emma's character was like this, and wouldn't want her personal issues to collide with her career issues. One is a job, one is your own life. I don't everything you do is really you, but people tend to compartmentalize themselves, their behavior, their daily routine. So just because no students didn't visit her doesn't mean the students are to blame for the absence.


"Nice beaver!"
"Thanks, I just had it stuffed."--The Naked Gun

Could it's more likely that the type of people who tend to be introverted, eccentric and reclusive tend towards fields with high levels of 'rigorous intellectualism'. That seems more likely than to say 'rigorous intellectualism' causes isolation.

Someone who's a social bunny with an active social life probably wouldn't pick a career that requires a lot of solitude and introspection.

Life is never fair, and perhaps it is a good thing for most of us that it is not.

I got that impression too. I grew up with a father who was a college professor, though he was not of the "intellectual" brigade by any means, and enjoyed social life, activity and certainly didn't bury himself in his discipline. But so many of the professors at the university were so incredibly limited by their immersion in their various intellectual pursuits. They seemed to think that it was of the utmost importance to study these things that have already been studied absolutely to death. Worse, they seemed to think that their work made some sort of difference in the "real" world, when it reality, most of it was repetitive, and practically none of it would interest anyone but their fellow intellectuals.

All I could think while watching Wit was "you spent your entire life, you isolated yourself from the world, you immersed yourself in these sonnets written by a man who has been dust for four hundred years - and now you're dying, and you're alone and John Donne is pretty cold comfort". I think the fact that she lived her life in such a way made the film even more tragic.

Even when her professor turned up and read The Runaway Bunny to her, the professor couldn't stop teaching. She couldn't just read the darn story, she had to start commenting on it being "a nice little allegory about the soul". This is so typical of the intellectual that it just hurt. The woman couldn't even give comfort without "teaching".

This movie was bleak and the main character's occupation added immeasurably to that bleakness.

The intellect is what seperates man from beast, a gift from the gods (or God, if you prefer) that makes those who decide to use it superior.

With the mind, we can fight disease, unravel the mysteries of nature, amuse ourselves in ways that do not involve the violation of others, think things through carefully, learn to be polite, harness the power of stars, and be like unto the gods.

Classical music and correct spelling alike all stem from the awesome power of the Intellect, as do all things bright and beautiful that have been created by mankind. Moreover, the Intellect gives mankind the capacity to appreciate natural beauty that the wild beast does not possess.

Wars are not started by Intellectuals, who are capable of calm, quiet reason. No, violence is the act of the Beast, of Passion. Listen to your heart--the heart has served the animal kingdom quite well for many millions of years, after all--but do not let it rule you. The Mind is where your soul lies, it is there that decisions are made, light bulbs invented, "A Little Night Music" composed, marriage proposals rehearsed.

And although the heart might say to you, "love your child," it also says, "rape that woman--kill that man." The Mind does not suggest these things. The human who has mastered Reason--that is, the Intellectual--knows when to restrain herself, and when to act. The Mind does not hate--the Mind is not racist or bigoted. The Mind, as its title implies, knows better.

Yes, Professor Bearing was a cold intellectual. She was also stoic and strong, with an admirable dedication to her chosen field. While we must certainly appreciate the tragedy of what happened to her (fiction though she may be), to begin seeing her intelligence (synonymous with "wisdom," far more often than not) as a weakness would be to belittle her character. She was a strong woman who stands to be admired. The tragedy is that she was not cared for, that she was not loved for her mind. And if she was lonely, it is, after all, lonely at the top.

Do you think you should voluntarily fail to live up to the potential you know you could reach, just because very few others would ever be able to keep up? Should the fear of loneliness keep you from being what you know you could be? Think on it.

Having worked at a university (non-teaching position), I regularly came into contact with professors. Some of them only wanted to associate with other academics and thought they were better than everyone else.

Thanks for mentioning "The Barbarian Invasions"... such a wonderful film.

"I did cramps the way Meryl Streep did accents" - Calliope (Middlesex)