Trump Emulates Goldfinger

Since I hardly read any fiction now but have still been watching films, I decided to write about films today. When I was growing up, I regularly watched films and often walked to the RKO or Loews theaters in nearby New Rochelle on Saturdays to see them. Since I haven't been able to find new ones that I like, I am continuing to watch old ones. When Dr. No was released in 1962, I went with my family to the Pelham Picture House to see it. I liked it at the time and still liked it when I watched it recently. I particularly like Sean Connery as James Bond compared to the others who have played that part. Ian Fleming was not a great writer, but he had an upper-class English background, and Bond, as played by Connery, is one of the classiest people I've ever seen in a film. In that film, Ursula Andress isn't bad either as Honey Rider. I also rewatched Goldfinger, which was released in 1964. I didn't enjoy that as much but still thought it was good. I realized that Donald Trump must also have seen that film, and I just read that it made an immense impression on him. Auric Goldfinger in the film is a fat, Germanic millionaire with Nazi connections who loves gold and being wealthy. He also likes to play golf and cheats in order to win. And he places little value on human lives. Sound familiar?

I know that this isn't a favorite topic of my readers, but I have to say that, based on my readings, human behavior is generally quite predictable over a lifetime once you understand a person's childhood and upbringing. As I wrote earlier, many people my age or older are climate change deniers. That even includes otherwise intelligent people like Freeman Dyson. Since I have been forced to pay attention to Trump for ten years now, and also grew up in the New York City area, it is very easy for me to see where most of Trump's ideas came from. Because of his narcissism, he has always wanted to be a public celebrity. The underlying problem is that he has no real talent in anything. He would have loved to hang out with Rat Pack members like Frank Sinatra, but Sinatra hated him. Over time, he could only attract B-Team people like Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan. Many people, such as Jeffrey Epstein, and current members of his cabinet, such as Steve Witkoff, are primarily second-tier financial opportunists. I don't think that he could be close to the tech bros, and they are mainly interested in manipulating him for their personal benefit. But Trump's worldview is obsolete across the board. Because he has little knowledge of world history or science, he can't grasp that the 1960's are over: there will never be a resurgence in the oil industry, manufacturing jobs in the U.S. are ancient history, and corruption and stupidity lead to unstable world economies. I suspect that his "grand strategy" may have been to steal oil from Venezuela in order to create a new supply so that he could bomb Iran. That's how stupid he is. My favorite scene in Goldfinger occurs near the end when, as Bond and Goldfinger scuffle over a gun while being flown in a jet piloted by Pussy Galore: a window is shot out and Goldfinger is sucked out by the pressure drop.  

Another thing I've noticed from watching old films is how certain aspects of sexuality were altered because of the status quo. Apparently Ian Fleming's Pussy Galore character in Goldfinger was a lesbian. Fleming thought that lesbianism was the result childhood experiences and could be "cured." So, in the novel, Bond "cures" her with his manliness. In the film, Bond does succeed, as always, but the lesbianism is ignored. This cleaning up of scripts was even more conspicuous in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) if you compare it to the stage version (1955). From watching only the film, you would think that it was mainly about family succession, with Big Daddy approaching death, and Brick's depression about the death of his friend, Skipper. It helps to know that Tennessee Williams was gay, and that the main undercurrent was the sexuality of the men. Apparently Brick and Skipper had a sexual relationship and were either gay or bisexual. There are also suggestions that Big Daddy had been bisexual earlier in his life. Homosexuality was so suppressed when I was growing up that I rarely ever heard about it. A better understanding of Tennessee Williams is now making me think that some of my high school friends may have been gay or bisexual (I'm not).