Camille Paglia's Sexual Personae Chap. 2: The Birth of the Western Eye & 3: Apollo and Dionysus PATRON ONLY SERIES REVIEW

Hey Clifford - I’ve been out of the country so I’ve missed all of the SP segments. This one was outstanding. A thought I’ve had as I listen to SP has come back to me again and again. In William Ian Smith’s “The Anatomy of Disgust” he observes (and I am grossly characterizing and possibly mischaracterizing is the idea (maybe fact) there is only one “thing” that is universally “disgusting”: squirming masses of life forms. This sensation (supposedly) transcends Western culture and is felt by all peoples. Without getting into the nitty gritty of whether Smith said this, the idea comes back to me while listening to the audiobook. Perhaps this idea informs both the structure and art of the Dionysian: that we are trying to conquer our repulsion at being one of the infinite many while also celebrating it. This is all very wanky but there you have it: I am a contemplative wanker. Thank you for all your hard work.

I had the same experience with the 1933 King Kong at around the same age (pre-kindergarten). We had a wild UHF station that played genre films all weekend. I still love Kong and I always cried at the end. Harryhausen was heavily featured on the channel and Clash of the Titans was a recent release. During lockdown, his centenary was celebrated through a gorgeous set of exhibits made available online through the National Galleries of Scotland. I was invited to talk about it and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad by a local radio show. I'm currently writing reviews on a series of short stop-motion films featured at an experimental and art film festival. Still can't get away from the medium, I guess. I think you'd enjoy some of the Quay Brothers, Jan Svankmajer, and Jiri Barta if you haven't checked them out already. All great filmmakers and fabulous artists as well.

Although there has never been a matriarchal society, I believe there have been societies where the matrilinial line was considered more important. I have no examples off the top of my head but I have heard this.

Cliff, In this latest video on SP you suggested making a list of Paglia's "sexual personae." I always wanted to do something similar: Map Paglia's "sexual personae" on a spectrum running from Dionysian to Apollonian. So I dropped off an essay in Discord on that subject. It's a long unreadable mess, but if you're curious, give it a read-through. Here's the link in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/659820224513835058/1224201562457510019/1237970666163015700

yes to starting a list!

14:30 made me spit my coffee out. thank you for making my morning.

I loved learning about the caged eye. Freaked me out about the dollar bill like I was 12 again. Thanks Cliff 🙂‍↕️

Hi Cliff, Loved your video on Chapters 2 and 3. A great summary of all the main themes, and everything sounded 100% solid to me. I don't have any quibbles with anything you said. Thanks for the shout-out concerning Neumann! A couple points: --I've heard his name pronounced Noy-man. That's probably because Neumann was born and lived in Germany for the first half of his life (prior to his emigration to Tel Aviv to escape the Nazis), and Noy-man would be the German pronunciation of that name. --Just checked my old copy of Peterson's "Maps of Meaning," and the index in the back of the book cites two references to Neumann; both are quotes from Neumann's "The Great Mother." --FWIW, Jordan Peterson also mentions both Paglia and Neumann in the quick 5-minute video I've linked below; Peterson sums up the gist of "The Origins and History of Consciousness" and says that it can serve as an intro to studying Jung. Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiNQu0foqx0 Title of the video: "Carl Jung and Erich Neumann: The Successful Development of Consciousness" by Jordan Peterson. Again, loved your video; great summary of the material, very comprehensive and thoughtful! Hoping to check out your livestream on the 11th.