Humiliation: The Movie

[chickenfeet]

owlfish has run a few successful rounds of Humiliation over the last little while. For those not familiar Humiliation is a parlour game 'invented' by David Lodge in one of his novels. Contestants have to name a classic work of literature that they have not read and score one point for each contestant who has. The humiliation, of course, consists in that to win one must admit to not having read something that a maximum number of other people have. In the book, the winner is an Eng Lit lecturer who admits to never having read Hamlet with appropriately dire consequences.

The snag, of course, is that today, most people cannot be humiliated by not being well read. Even among the most academic (perhaps especially among them) of the participants in owlfish's valiant efforts there are plenty who fall into anyone of a number of camps including but not limited to:

• They are just texts. Why should I care whether it's the Iliad or the back of a cornflake packet.
  
• I have spent the last fifteen years of my life glossing ancient Sogdian. If I had any spare time I wouldn't waste it reading 'classics'
  
• The whole idea offends my Marxist-feminist-sinistrist world view. Take your elitist pretensions elsewhere

and so on. None the less much fun was had.

So... I decided it might be fun to try it with film, Here's what you do if you want to play.

• Comment below, by Monday 12th September 1800 EST with a film you are somewhat embarrassed to admit you haven't seen
  
• Try to avoid ones that are already taken
  
• Watch for the poll which will follow shortly thereafter and vote for the films that you have seen

And may the worst film buff win!

ETA Monday 12 September 0800 EDT:

The following films have been picked so far:

The Seventh Seal
The Godfather
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Bicycle Thief
Citizen Kane
Seven Samurai
The Birds
Soylent Green
Star Wars - A New Hope
Schindler's List
Titanic
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Dr. Strangelove
Braveheart
The Great Escape
National Velvet
Gone With the Wind
Apocalypse Now
Pulp Fiction
Rocky
Jaws
The Wizard of Oz
The Third Man
Amelie
Battleship Potemkin
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Casablanca
Adam's Rib
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Trek II - Wrath of Khan
The Exorcist

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

That seventh seal one - I think that's the name.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

we may already have a winner! Why are you still up?

[rahael.livejournal.com]

I don't know if either version would work on me. My idea of happiness is to know that there are always great books that I will fall in love with that I have yet to read. This probably comes of being a voracious reader with a limited supply. New or books yet unread is a symbol of pleasure. I think this applies to films also, since I have entered a phase of watching films all the time.

But anyway, in the spirit of the game, I haven't seen any of the Godfather films, or indeed, any film made by Scorcese or Coppola.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

But anyway, in the spirit of the game, I haven't seen any of the Godfather films, or indeed, any film made by Scorcese or Coppola.

You have to pick one

[lilactime.livejournal.com]

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - keep meaning to see it, can't quite get the scheduling right.

Also - can I have two? The Bicycle Thief. I've bought Cinametheque tickets for this *twice* (and it sells out every time it screens), and have had something else come up both times.

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

OK you can have two because it's you. Oddly enough, when the lemur and I were discussing this one of the the films I mentioned not having seen was The Bicycles of Cherbourg

[forthright.livejournal.com]

I've never seen Citizen Kane.

[gregclow.livejournal.com]

Seven Samurai

In fact, the only Kurosawa I've seen is Rashômon. I really need to rectify this.

[lemur-man.livejournal.com]

Seven Samurai is really tough going. Couldn't finish it before it was due back, and I rented it mainly to make sense of the references in The Last Samurai (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0786887001/qid=1126556502/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8300467-3544148?v=glance&s=books&n=507846).

I did see Ran though. I think.

PS I followed your recommendation of the Cooper's Sparkling Ale. Excellent stuff and it met with the approval of the one Aussie at our party who actually drank beer.

[lemur-catta.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking I'll the most points for not having seen Hitchcock's The Birds...but I might still change my mind in favour of Truffaut's The 400 Blows

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

Soylent Green

[radinden]

I'm taking the lowbrow approach, but frankly I'm spoiled for choice here, as I've seen astoundingly few films. But let's try Star Wars - the first one, which I believe is logically number 4. I fear however that I may need something slightly higher-brow around your flist...

[metalana.livejournal.com]

I never saw Schindler's List.

This is an excellent game. Especially laughable when people are ashamed at not seeing something I've never heard of.

[dherblay.livejournal.com]

Titanic. But this does not humiliate me.

[klig.livejournal.com]

The original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

[nanila]

I'm pretty ashamed that I've never seen Dr. Strangelove.

[owlfish]

Braveheart.

Many people assume I have seen it because I am a medievalist.

[owlfish]

Moral dilemma: I bet I'd do far better in this competition with Jaws or The Exorcist, neither of which I have seen. But I don't feel the least bit embarassed by not having seen them.

[keithlard.livejournal.com]

Aha - I've been telling people about and playing that game with them for years, but I could never remember where it came from. If pressed, I would probably have said Kingsley Amis, which is pretty humiliating to start with.

I once played it with an English undergrad who just didn't get it at all, and had read everything anyway so was no fun.

[ceruleanblue3.livejournal.com]

The star wars trilogy. The original ones with Luke and Darth Vader etc.

[misia.livejournal.com]

Oh, heavens. For me this could be virtually any "film of note." I gave up being embarrassed by it because I'm just so flat-out unlettered, or whatever the filmic equivalent is. But let's just say, for the sake of it, Citizen Kane. I think I once saw the end of that when I was sick, on book tour, and stuck in a hotel room. But I've never seen the whole thing.

[lnr]

Despite it being on the telly at every opportunity I really believe I have never seen The Great Escape

(Another contender would have been Citizen Kane but it seems everyone hasn't seen that. Or perhaps Psycho or Reservoir Dogs.)

[thera-flu.livejournal.com]

National Velvet.

[pshtaku.livejournal.com]

Gone with the Wind! - me, never seen it.

[coughingbear]

I haven't seen Apocalypse Now.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

Pulp Fiction (I was torn between this and Reservoir Dogs).

[momiji.livejournal.com]

Rocky

I never saw Scarface either

[snowdrifted.livejournal.com]

Came here via owlfish. :)

I haven't seen Jaws.

[blonde222.livejournal.com]

OK. I'm going to have to go with The Wizard of Oz.

[bob]

the third man.
even though ive been borrowing someones dvd of it for the last 6 months.