automachination

My discussion with Irish poet Laura Woods on Woody Allen's misunderstood classic, "Manhattan" (1979). Mariel Hemingway plays Tracy, the "precocious" 17-year-old lover of TV producer Isaac Davis. Yet Tracy is also an idealized projection of Woody Allen. And given how many viewers accept MANHATTAN's romantic illusions ("a love letter to New York City"), it is a projection that has only strengthened with time.

Ten years ago, in my essay on "Manhattan" (linked below), I focused more on Tracy's immaturity. These days, I mostly see Tracy as a projection of Woody Allen and the character he plays. Notice how Tracy doesn't ever seem traumatized or "messed up", though she is extremely s*xual, spends nights away from home, and is forever sweet and never becomes jaded. She looks at art with Woody and repeats his POV. And at 17, she is already responsible for Woody's aspirin, is asked to "explain" the brown water, insists on organizing his new place, etc. Woody can thus indulge her "wifely" qualities, because she is auditioning for a serious relationship. He uses her attachment to keep her in check, but doesn't have to feel guilt because she is vigorous, beautiful, and resilient. In short, Woody Allen's misbehavior leaves no scars, only tender moments.

She also has strong, incisive moments that belie her immaturity. For example, she simply calls Mary (Diane Keaton) "nervous", then reacts dispassionately to this fact, while Woody gets worked up. She identifies the problem before Woody, who then exploits it. Her comment about being constantly told what is and is not to her advantage, cuts deep into what both Yale/Woody have been doing the whole time, thus exposing them. Then when Woody Allen breaks up with her, he doesn't run to a more mature woman (Diane Keaton), but to a less mature one, despite her age, because she is more difficult than Tracy. Recall that the Woody Allen character almost always runs towards "the impossible relationship".

If you read Mariel Hemingway as an idealized projection of a warped psyche, the ending becomes richer, and more enigmatic. It is not that Tracy spouts wisdom beyond her years, but that she says many wise-sounding things that Woody Allen knows are untrue. She is idealistic about their future, but he can only look on skeptically (the final face of the movie is 12 seconds of his own uncertainty), because he has been in these illogical relationships before, and knows they don't pan out. After his breakup with Diane Keaton, he is a bit shaken, and now seems to come to terms with Mariel Hemingway as his own false projection. Even though the projection talks and reassures, he no longer believes in it.

In fact, Tracy will likely move on from Woody Allen and date boys her own age (we know she mostly dates boys her age, and that this was an exception). She is written to become healthier, more mature, and "wiser" as she gets older, as if to avoid Diane Keaton's breakdowns. The "up in the air ending" is ironic for that reason, because its mystery invokes the film's faux romance, when there is likely no mystery at all.

Mariel Hemingway is not realistic, in certain parts, as a 17 year old girl, but she is wholly realistic as a projection of Woody.

My original essay on the film: www.automachination.com/illusions-woody-allen-manh…

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 4

automachination

As the world's leading Woody Allen expert, I have started a deep-dive on his greatest films with other artists and critics. We have just tackled "Hannah and Her Sisters" (1986), which is both a fan favorite and somewhere in the top 5 of Woody Allen films.

I was joined by two actresses who had a long relationship with the film, and can re-assess it now as adults with the benefit of age and wisdom. Check it out below 👇👇👇

1 month ago | [YT] | 7

automachination

🚨🚨🚨 Michael P. Tracey ‪@m-tracey‬ has now threatened me with possibly heinous, potentially violent, and allegedly extortionary acts for my EXPLOSIVE video, if legal counsel is to be believed. 🚨🚨🚨

I was urged to open a formal investigation into Michael P. Tracey, and my spies have already tracked down his perambulations all over the Internet. I now have an encrypted phantom hard drive of everything he's been accused of, including original revelations that might rock the world.

In the meantime, here is a precis of the charges against this miscreant that I've collated on behalf of We The People, which you can find on my very wild, very entertaining Twitter feed:

####

Trish @WoodReporting, you really do have me all wrong.



An uncomfortably large number of people (hundreds? thousands?) have accused Michael Tracey @mtracey of child-r*pe, of consuming illegal pornographic material, of poor hygiene at the workplace, and of taking money from accused pedophiles, s*x traffickers, and/or their defenders. Some of these accusers appear to know Tracey in real life, or know others who know him, which only amplifies one's unease in the face of his recent conduct.



Videos of Tracey interacting with women can be rather alarming. In one clip, a young lady asks why he is following her as he records. It is not clear whether he was on official business, or defending himself against an act of aggression, or merely attempting to take a creepshot. At the very least, given his ever-escalating size and slovenly appearance, he should be cognizant of how women perceive him on the street. (I've attached a photographic still from this interaction so that others can assess what they or their mothers/wives/daughters would do.)



He once accused an ~80 year old woman of "shoving", "pushing", or "swatting" him...with the caveat that it was not "excessively violent". Meaning, while he believes there was some "violence" on her part, it was of a more limited sort not rising to criminal prosecution.



Once rumors began to swirl that he had sex with a young Belarusian superstar, Tracey (as far as I can tell) waited for her public denial rather than denying it himself, possibly to bask in the unearned glow of bedding a world-famous actress. This makes me question his sexual mores and overall ethical compass. It also speaks to Tracey's perceived status as a so-called "untouchable," which today are better known as "incels," or "involuntary celibates".



More recently, he has accused many if not all 200+ women who have won legal settlements against Jeffrey Epstein's estate of fabricating abuse claims. He has also indirectly accused JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank of paying out fraudulent claims, despite not knowing the details of the vast majority of cases. He has accused dozens, if not hundreds, of lawyers and judges of perpetrating or tolerating fraud, many of whom are known and identifiable. He has made explicit statements -- NOT "allegations" -- about specific women, both living and dead, by name, including judgments re: their health, which could credibly impact employment and/or health coverage, given his cherry-picked citations of legal proceedings no one will bother to plumb. (Is THIS "slander and malice", Trish?)



Although Michael Tracey suggests these women might be guilty of crimes themselves, most have not been arrested for anything. Yet Tracey's own arrest video, wherein multiple cops had to restrain Tracey in the face of histrionic behavior, raises questions about potential criminal mischief in other arenas.



Finally, as to my own video, which Michael Tracey surreptitiously clipped before its grand rhetorical finale: in America, I have the right to (humorously or not) state ASSUMPTIONS, while repeatedly labeling them as such, as to whether Tracey appears competent to procure sex by the usual means. This is why I referred to his "AURA", of which smell is but one logical part, as women have the right to reject him for this or any other reason, which they seem to almost always do.



Given all of the above, it is my OPINION, as a man, that Michael Tracey does not give off signals other men respect, nor that women respond to sexually.



It is my OPINION, based on the overwhelmingly negative response of women to this vat of frozen goo (Trish: this is figurative language), that Michael Tracey cannot easily consummate romantic partnerships.



It is ALSO my opinion that a woman who has sex with Michael Tracey largely on account of his money is likewise a prostitute, even if not criminally nor technically so, per the wisdom of Andrea Dworkin re: long-term partnerships. Nor is this a value judgment against prostitutes themselves. After all, I believe that sex work is valid and ought not be prosecuted, as Mr. Tracey has made abundantly clear.



Michael Tracey has all but stated that hundreds of victims (not *alleged* victims, but legally adjudicated as such) are de facto whores.



But if they are deemed whores, de facto or de jure, why can't Mr. Tracey be thought a john, in the deeper, more immanent sense?

3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 5

automachination

Soon after posting our discussion, ‪@DropSiteNews‬ confirmed that the Israeli consulate installed video surveillance for Jeffrey Epstein at one of his apartments. This was done with the coordination of Epstein and his employees, possibly due to the frequency with which former Israeli PM Ehud Barak met with Epstein.

A declassified FBI memo from 2020 contains allegations that Epstein "trained as a spy" under Barak, who was himself accused of crimes by Virginia Giuffre.

As I argue on the show, Ehud Barak is indirectly responsible for the Gaza genocide:

4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 5

automachination

Check out my interview with Erik Hill ‪@erikhillreviews‬ on the arts & life. Topics covered:

- how Harlem Renaissance poetry changed my life
- Nietzsche & 'objective' morality
- objective vs subjective metrics in art
- mental illness in literature
- Steven Pinker 🤬
- our new #Minneapolis film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBE0D...

2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 7

automachination

For patrons: a rough cut of the first ~8 minutes of our film, "From There To There: Bruce Ario, the #Minneapolis Poet".

Patreon/YT compresses the file, destroying our use of grain, so we included the DVD-quality version (a ~2 gb download) in the link:

www.patreon.com/posts/preview-from-to-100287045

2 years ago (edited) | [YT] | 7