FACT: The nebulous and unseen primordial force of nature that destroys New York City (Cloverfield) in the film is actually a rampaging giant Liz Taylor.
Slate magazine has an absolutely brilliant and thorough literary analysis of John O’Hara’s classic novel, BUtterfield 8 (like the old telephone exchanges--PEnnsylvania 6-5000) which is set during the torrents of the Great Depression and Prohibition instead of the post World War II period of the screen-adaptation with a timeless Elizabeth Taylor, that uses the novel as a lens to gain an understanding of the current economic mood and reality. This state of unbalance, this limbo that policy-makers have suspended all hopes and fears over is an uneasy one. Ron Rosenbaum superbly explains how this novel explains the turning point and associated queasiness and questioning. A lot of academic energy has gone into trying to explain the causes of the last Great Depression and reasons why we are in the present Great Recession, rife with technicalities, parallels and the shifting of blame. History usually cannot be relied upon to repeat itself in a manner that presents simple and human solutions, but being able to access the environment and the struggles of select players, as well as the economic maneuvers, can be insightful.
