Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Blog Four. What is Great about The Great Santini?

Bull Meechum works in the sky where he trains others to shoot down enemy jets.  

On the ground, he is different: boyish and funny, full of practical jokes, contemptuous of authority and rules.  When Bull complains about being passed over for a  promotion, his friend Virgil cautions that he better watch himself.  Even though the commanding officer of the base tells Bull that he is “a disgrace to the Marines,” he also tells him that the flight squadron needs shaping up and that he’s a “fair leader and a crackerjack pilot.”  Bull wants his squadron to imagine that what he says is coming from “the burning bush.”

Rules and authority appear to be important to the family.  Waiting for his return at the airstrip, their mother plans a decorous welcoming, yet when they hear his “stand by for a fighter pilot” and see him, they break ranks and run to hug him.  We assume they love him, and then the next morning, after tenderness in bed with his wife, he wakes everybody up at 3 a.m. to drive to a new home.  In the car he asks the kids, “Has the Great Santini ever let you down?” the kids all scream, “Yes!”  At the new home, he demands excellence from his kids and orders them to make sure that the little town of Beaufort knows that the Meechums have arrived.

In the movie (and novel) the focus is primarily the relationship between Bull and Ben.  There is also the counter-current in the relationship with Ben and his mother.  So far, the main scenes depicting these relatoinships are the basketball game, Ben’s discussion with his mother afterwards, and then the morning of Ben's 18th birthday in which Bull brings his gift, and later that day when he reads his mother's letter.  


What can you say about the relationship between father and son?  Consider the game, the birth story, and the gift.  The mother and son?  About the character of Bull Meecham?  

14 comments:

  1. Bull reminds me of my friend Ricky in elementary school. Ricky was a poor student, great athlete, and a mixed bag as friend. Somedays he would push me around, threaten me physically, and some days he would defend me or bring in candy to share with me. These nice things he did for me made it hard to justify my disliking him, and I believe that is one thing that Ben is contemplating after Bull gives him the jacket.
    The Father-Son relationship displayed in The Great Santini reminds me of the stereotypical abusive relationship. Abuser does something abusive, Abusee wants to get out of the relationship, and Abuser apologizes or makes a nice gesture. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Im not sure what Bull's reason is for his abusive actions, but he reminds me of my Uncle. My uncle was treated poorly by his father, and that resulted in him emotionally abusing my cousins. I still see the effects of his actions every time I talk to my cousins, which is one reason I have trouble seeing Bull as a good man. When I first saw the gift scene, I felt like Bull maybe had some redeeming qualities, but looking back on it that doesn't negate his abuse of his own flesh and blood.
    The Mom seems extremely loving and an ideal mother to ben. She is there to comfort him, protect him, and ensure he is happy and successful. Im not sure I have any criticisms of her treatment of Ben, and I felt that the Birthday card she wrote to him was very touching. Her unconditional support of whatever he wants to do (which suggests that he doesn't want to enter the corps and has confided in her) is something all children could benefit from in a parental figure.
    Bull Meecham is the most complex character we have seen so far. At work, he acts like an overgrown Frat Boy, in the Air he is an Ace Pilot, and at home he is a strict authority figure (exactly the kind of man that he doesn't take kindly to at work). I think it will be important to see who the "True" Bull Meecham is as the movie progresses, but as of now I can't decipher if these different personalities are acts, or are all true manifestations of his character. Maybe he is really a kind family man, a frat boy, a goofball, a hardass, or a killer pilot. As of now, his true motivations and intentions are mystery to us.

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  2. The father and son have a complicated relationship. The father believes that his son looks up to him and hopes to have the same job as him one day. While the son thinks his father is too aggressive, overly competitive and a demanding person. Although they have their troubles it is clear that the father is closest to the son. We see the father wake up Ben in the car to "talk". In this scene we can clearly tell that the father wants to get to know Ben better and believes they have an ideal relationship. The father loves the son and vice versa, but when the father realizes that the son isn't this perfect, masculine and job fulfilling person he is disappointed and angered by this. The absence of the father has clearly angered the son in the past and I believe the son almost doesn't want to create a new relationship in fear of his father leaving again.

    The three events that go on in the story also create conflict and tension in the family as well as problems between the father and the son. When Ben hears about how his father was absent during his birth we may think Ben is dissapointed and thinks lesser of his father, but we also learn that the father was extremely proud of his son and wanted everyone to know his son was going to be the "greatest fighter pilot ever". We understand the father is very proud and glad to have his son, but we know the son doesn't want to be a fighter pilot. Ben always has a constant reminder of being a pilot with his birthday gift and his father waking him up at early hours to prepare.During the basketball game the father is angered when he loses to his son and doesn't know how to deal with the son having more power than him. The father feels threatened and thinks the son doesn't respect him anymore. The father and son relationship has great intentions as the father is proud to have his son and hopes great things for him, but if we look in Ben's point of view we realize how demanding the father can be.

    The mother and the son have a much more authentic and mature relationship. Both of them understand each other and share the same emotions and troubles. The two of them do not know how to deal with the father and are scared about his mental health. With the letter written to Ben on his birthday we see how loving the mother is to Ben and how supportive she is of him.

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  3. His name is Bull crying out loud, could it not be more obvious to what his character is like. Anyways... Bull and Ben have a very complex relationship. On one side Bull loves and cares for Ben but just doesn't know how to express it. An example of this is the jacket scene on Ben 18th birthday. It seemed like Bull was so excited to finally give Ben the jacket he had been saving all these years that he couldn't help to wake him up and give it to him. When Bens enthusiasm didn't show Bull had to have been upset. Another scene was in the car when bull woke Ben up once again just to talk to him. I feel like this was just Bull taking a risk trying to connect with Ben. On the other side Bulls aggression and violence shows clearly when he doesn't get his way or win. The basketball games starts off as a friendly competition for the family to be involved in until Bull starts to lose and then it turns into WWII. Bull vocally and physically harms his children and wife, something that seems like a common thing revealed in Ben and his mother's conversation that night.
    Bens Mother is the perfect mother. She is kind, loving, supportive, approachable, etc. She is very good at being a mother because she had to raise her kids a lot on her own because Bull was gone a lot it seems like. It's a hard thing to do but I hope she will confronts Bull on how he treats his children.
    I understand Bulls background in the army and him trying to bring some of that and reflect it on his family but he has to realize that they are not in boot camp and are just kids. I feel like Bull was raised similarly to how he is trying to raise his children. And the argument this parenting method works out fine is invalid and Bull is an example of why. I think that Bull is to stuck up with always trying to be the best and needs to be proud of his family.

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  4. Bull is an interesting character because he really is a complex person. He fits so many stereotypes of a male role model both good and bad, he's a war hero, a very skilled man, and in great physical shape. However he also has a sick sense of humor, he's power hungry, and he's an abuser, all of these things shape Bull in this movie. Bull just like in any good character driven movie is neither good or bad, he just like every other human being exist in this grey area of uncertainty and it is up to the audience to judge his character. You look at the Meechum family and you see the ideal, war hero father, attractive wife, plenty of children, and a house painted a fabulous white, but once you really understand the dynamics of their family you start to see the cracks. A father who is usually never home and when he's back he creates chaos for a family lifestyle. This is the Marine in him shining through, he is unable to cope with the fact that he no longer has to worry about war directly. His inability to distinguish war and peace is what drives his relationship with his son to where it is, why else would he be training his son to be a solider, certainly it's not so he can live a normal life. They have already spoken about him joining the core something he'll enlist for in 10 days. He trains them just like any father would for the hardships of life except that his life has known extreme hardship in the form or war. There is no doubt he would do anything for his family as he speaks about going through everyone to get to see his son's birth but just like William said at the end of class, he's racing to do good for his family but he's leaving a trail of destruction at his wake. It'll be interesting to see how this will all play out in the end.

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  5. I think the relationship between Bull and Ben resembles a brotherly relationship, with Bull being the older brother. Bull is very stubborn, and verbally and physically abuses Ben, although so far, his physical abuses have not been anything serious. He takes great pride in his children getting stellar grades and being great at sports, but gets angry when Ben beats him in one-on-one, signifying that Ben is better than Bull and at least decent at basketball. The way they relentlessly insult each other without getting into a fight during the game reminds me of two brothers. As Ben takes the lead, Bull begins fouling him, nearly seriously hurting him. This is not how a father should be acting, it's more of how an immature, angry brother would act. A father should be a better role model for his son, showing not to be a sore loser. However, Bull shows some father-like kindness when he gives Ben the jacket and tells him the birth story. While the birth story is sweet, it was 18 years ago. Bull was younger, and it was his first child. Any father with a heart would be excited and do anything to see their son. If Bull still cared for his wife and children's well being as much as he did on that day, he would be a great father, although reckless sometimes. I also think that the jacket is a sweet gift, but also a hint and encouragement for Ben to follow in the same path as his father, entering the military. If Ben does follow the same path, I think Bull will be very happy and encouraging. If Ben chooses not to enlist, I think Bull will become very angry, similar in the way he did during the basketball game, and physically and/or verbally harm Ben. The relationship between mother and son is a sort of sympathetic relationship, as they understand what each other are going through, as the wife and the oldest child, respectively. They know that there is some good inside Bull, but also lots of stubborn, immature bad. They work together to deal with the bad and hope to bring out more of the good.

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  6. It's a very weird relationship to say the least. They seem almost like a relationship between abusive older brother and little brother rather than father and son. The way the great santini treats Ben is very juvenile. The competitive nature is very sibling rivalry esk right through the bouncing the ball on his son's head. It reminds me of something I might do to my brother on a particularly bad day. Then we see him with his peers, he's a child. He's being a dick to his superiors and making a practical joke with fake vomit. Hes singing obnoxious songs in the sky. He's opening a door and throwing himself at his friend to tackle them then wrestling on the floor, just like my own brother and I's relationship.
    But then we see a different man. The sensitive man who remembers the day his son was born, the man who passes down a jacket that means so much to him. The Great Santini loves his family by being a normal dad in the car and after he gets home from Spain.
    Then there is very strict marine. We see him with his kids on the stairs right before being compared to Godzilla. Then we see him again with the other marines. It's a bizarre multifaced character.

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  7. I think that the relationship between Bull and Ben is dysfunctional, but I think both of them love each other. After Bull's time overseas, Ben welcomes him back as all the others do. I think that from the first few scenes it is obvious that Ben loves Bull and that Bull loves Ben, but I think that Bull has trouble managing life outside of the military. He makes all sorts of efforts to be a father to Ben. He tries to talk to him about his future, and he tries to coach him up about how to live life. He does act horribly and abusively during the basketball game, but I do think that Bull let his pride get the best of him. Later that night, Bull is practicing basketball which is basically his only way of apologizing. Later, Bull tells Ben the birth story which was Bull's way of admitting how proud he was of his son and how much he loved him. The jacket was a very thoughtful gift and Bull is admitting that Ben has become a man. Bull is trying to raise Ben to be a man. He thinks Ben's relationship with his mother is very sweet. She writes on a note which appreciates his gentleness; a feminine quality that Bull would not approve of. The relationship between the mother and Ben is much different. This is more of a traditional mother and son relationship. On the topic of Bull himself, I think that he is well-intentioned. He just doesn't know how to express his intentions in good ways. The only way he can display all that he wants to is through manliness, toughness, competition, and a little bit of bullying, things that he uses more often than not when in the military. However, I could be wrong. Bull just may enjoy being a corporal all the time no matter who he is with, but I don't believe that is the case.

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  8. I think Bull loves his son, and he has good intentions, but his actions don't show it. The live shows through in his story about his son's birth, but definitely not when he abuses him. At some point, as a person, people's intentions have to step in line with their actions. I think this is exactly what bull needs to learn about, matching intention with action. Bull can't handle loss, he can't handle a man who's manlier than him, his whole life he's been "the Great Santini" a title that bears a somewhat sacred meaning. He carries this with him in his personal life and within his family. This title creates the need to always dominate his children, the need to always show his dominance over them, because he always has to be the best, at everything. His son seems to suffer the most brutal blow in bull's abuse on his children. Probably because he is the oldest, and strongest, so Bull feels more justified in his abuse. The mom seems to be very empathetic and sympathetic towards her son. The relationsgip they have is very, very different it seems. The mother seems to love her son, unconditionally, and non-abusively. I think this is extremely important for the son to have, a female figure in his life that shows him the importance of love and the relationship between a parent and child.

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  9. As far as the father-son relationship goes, I am conflicted. On one hand, in this new generational thinking, how Bull treats his family would be considered major abuse, and I am in clined to think that he truly does abuse them. On the other hand, I was raised in a not too different manner by my father. I wasn't chided and called a woman for beating my pops in basketball, but he did hit me when things got out of line, or he would be very hard on me. Everything my father did was the same way he was raised, and turned out absolutely fine, with many amazing qualities. I turned out fine, and I learned to respect my elders. SO I like to think that BUll is man with good intentions for establishing a good relationship, but he does not know how to express it. His actions are inconsistent, but you see where he is coming from (in a twisted sense). When he tries to talk to Ben at 4 in the morning, you see that it is a feeble attempt to establish communication between Bull and Ben, and I appreciate the gestures he takes to somehow express his love for his children. The basketball scene is a bit much, but out of that, he just has a hard time showing his love, but he sort of "redeems" himself with the jacket. He can't handle loss, lack of competition, inferiority (what that means is up to you), but who doesn't have some sort of problem with that? for the mother and son, his mother loves Ben unconditionally, and is the type of mother you see in a "typical" abusive household, having to essentially be the giver of love for the children. In this case however I think she is just a loving mother who does anything for her children.

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  10. Sorry, for the double post, Blogger was messing up for me and left off my ending.

    It's a very weird relationship to say the least. They seem almost like a relationship between abusive older brother and little brother rather than father and son. The way The Great Santini treats Ben is very juvenile. The competitive nature is very sibling rivalry-esk right through the bouncing the ball on his son's head. It reminds me of something I might do to my brother on a particularly bad day. Then we see him with his peers, he's a child. He's being a dick to his superiors and making a practical joke with fake vomit. He’s singing obnoxious songs in the sky. He's opening a door and throwing himself at his friend to tackle them then wrestling on the floor, just like my own brother and I's relationship.
    But then we see a different man. The sensitive man who remembers the day his son was born, the man who passes down a jacket that means so much to him. The Great Santini loves his family by being a normal dad in the car and after he gets home from Spain.
    Then there is very strict marine. We see him with his kids on the stairs right before being compared to Godzilla. Then we see him again with the other marines. It's a bizarre multifaced character.
    These tie together and create who we see. The negatives greatly overwhelm the positives mushing together to make a truly abusive man who mental tears apart his children and wife and although he has never blatantly hit his wife he gets very close to striking her when she challenges him. Not only that but he actually does physically abuse his son through rough fouls on the court and bouncing a ball on his head off the court. One could argue that he doesn’t hit his wife because thats actually cruel while he only hurts the oldest son to toughen him up for the marines and I wouldn’t entirely disagree with them.

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  11. Bull and Ben's relationship is poor, but there are things they have in common. Ben doesn't want to join the Marine Corps, but he shares some of his values with his father. For example, they both value winning the basketball game – that's not much, but they are operating with some of the same assumptions about what a great man is. The story about the day Ben was born and the speech about what it means to be a Meecham represent the best of Bull; his actions don't always match his own words. One of the things that he lacks is intimacy, or empathy. His wife serves as a counterexample, talking to Ben about her husband's psychology and expressing genuine concern for his mental well-being, not just for his achievements. Some of the issues in the father-son relationship likely stem from Bull's own childhood and experience with the army. He must be a naturally harsh man, and some of his particular behaviors are inexcusable, but with the jacket scene we see how much he cares about being a marine – the thing he does best. It hasn't even occurred to him that his son wouldn't want to be like him (let alone become an author). We can view this as a result of narcissism. By calling himself God and speaking to himself in the mirror, he appears to truly love himself more than any other person. That could explain why he reacts so poorly to losing to his son in basketball. But we have to look for his insecurities – they often feed narcissistic desires for respect and affirmation.

    I predict that we will see a worse side of Bull Meecham before the movie ends, but that we will also see his motivations more intimately. Right now, his boorish and cruel behavior is hard to explain, but when we understand its source, we may have to grapple with whether his personality is a logical product of his experiences. In the context of this class, the most interesting question is to what extent Ben follows his father's path. We already know what the two men disagree on, but perhaps Ben will see some more respectable traits in his father as the story moves on.

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  13. The Great Santini is great by force of personality and sheer determination to be great. When he sets his mind to something, like being the best, he will do it, regardless of who's in his way, just like when he knocks over patients in his mad rush to see his newborn son. This is an incredibly egocentric man who doesn't even notice the harm he does around him. For example, when he gives the wrong guy a swirly, he only tries to talk his way out of it to avoid getting in trouble and feels no guilt. He compliments himself in the mirror right afterwards. This guy is narcissistic enough to tell people under his command to view him as God. At the same time, in his own twisted way, he really does seem to love his son. We don't see as much clear evidence of love for his other children, but he gives his old air force jacket to him, and says that he's been saving that for him for longer than the son has been alive. This makes me think it's possible that his love for his son is an extension of his own ego, since he grooms him to be another pIlot from right when he was born. He wants to be able to say "thats my son," and be proud. He raises all of his children to be the best. He wants them to make him proud. Everything the Great Santini does he does in a big way, from flying, to parenting, to practical jokes. He is unafraid to hurt those around him and often unaware, or at least totally uncaring, of their hurt. This allows him to go far, but leaves him very morally questionable.

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  14. I think that the relationship between Ben and Bull is the definition of "tough love" you know that Bull loves Ben but expects nothing but the best and what he wants. Ben has been raised my a marine and you can really see it in the way that he acts, when Ben is asked to do anything you know that he will get it done and in the correct manner. We see Ben and Bull playing a game of basketball and Ben beats Bull for the first time and Bull towards the end of the game was playing really dirty and even pushed Ben into the concert wall. After losing Bull explodes with anger and is really frustrated, he hits his wife's hand away when she is expressing how beautiful it was that her son had finally beaten his dad, but Bull wanted nothing to do with how "beautiful" it was, all he wanted was another game where I believe that he would have stopped at nothing to win. Then Bull follows his son to his room bouncing the ball of his head and calling him names, all of this is what I would call the "tough" part. He's making Ben a strong man and not a weak soft boy. But them we see how Bull is truly excited and honestly looks like he doesn't know how to act when he's giving his first born son who is now 18 his first core jacket that he wore in war. You can see how he stumbles around and plays with the toys and is truly in my opinion out of his element when trying to show affection to his son, this is the love that I see that Bull has for Ben. Now Ben and his mother have a complete different relationship she is always kind and nice and trying to justify Bulls actions when Ben is frustrated with his father, after the game pointing out to Ben how his dad is out shooting baskets in the rain just because he never wants to lose again to his son, and when Ben thinks that his father is abusive she says how loving and how he had never laid a hand in her. I see the mother as the lover and care taker of the family like all mothers kinda play, the sweet innocent mamas.

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