The Last Picture Show Message Board
Ezekiel Zeke Steiner posts a message on 11/2/2005 5:10:04 PM
A nostalgic re-creation of a Texas town in the 1950s, repeats the theme of Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons, the passing of a traditional way of life. For Welles the end of a gracious, civilized period is marked by the coming of the automobile, which symbolizes greed and ugliness. For Bogdanovich the passing of a sentimentalized period of boredom and mediocrity is marked by the advent of television. It is significant that what Bogdanovich sees as the greatest loss is the closing of the town movie theater. The fantasy world of films may be for him what cultivated life was for Orson Welles.
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the posters.
